Relegation could be tough on Americans

Sunday bloody Sunday.

One way or another, at least four and possibly nine American players are doomed to relegation today when the 2007-2008 English Premier League season comes to an end.

Either Manchester United or Chelsea will clinch the title, but at the other end of the table, Derby County, which includes former UCLA players Benny Feilhaber and Eddie Lewis, already is assured of going down.

Joining Derby in the ridiculously named League Championship -- which is, in fact, the second division in England's four-tier professional setup -- could be either Reading, with Americans Marcus Hahnemann and Bobby Convey, or Fulham, with its quintet of U.S. players -- Brian McBride, Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra, Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey -- or both.

A victory on the road over F.A. Cup finalist Portsmouth can save Fulham from relegation. It staged a miracle recovery to avoid the drop last season, and has won three of its last four games to make a scrap out of it this time, but the odds are long.

Fulham has won only seven of 37 matches this season and of those seven only two have been on the road. Even the always upbeat McBride acknowledged that Portsmouth is "going to be a very difficult game."

Reading, which is on the road against Derby, and Birmingham, which is at home to Blackburn Rovers, are the other teams in the relegation dogfight.

Reading's task would appear easier since hapless Derby has won only once in 37 games. A win would save Reading, as long as Fulham loses or ties.

Birmingham, meanwhile, has no option but to win, but standing in its way is Blackburn's former U.S. World Cup goalkeeper, Brad Friedel.

Friedel, along with Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard and West Ham United defender Jonathan Spector, would be the only three Americans left in the Premier League should Fulham and Reading both be demoted.

------

Even if Fulham fails, Dempsey will be staying with the London club. He signed a new contract last week that will keep him at Craven Cottage until 2010.

But McBride's and Bocanegra's future is less certain since both will be out of contract once the season ends. McBride has said he wants to stay, but Bocanegra wants to move on.

The chances of either returning to Major League Soccer -- McBride is a former Columbus Crew player and Bocanegra played for the Chicago Fire -- are slim. Even if they were offered designated player contracts, they would still earn more by staying in England.

Keller has been trying to wangle a contract with Seattle Sounders FC, which begins MLS play next year, but movement on that front has been slow. Seattle is not sure how much Keller, who will be 39 next season, has left to offer.

Hahnemann, too, is originally from the Pacific Northwest and could be a Seattle target, but any move depends a great deal on the outcome of today's games. If Reading survives, he will stay in England.

------

Chivas USA and the U.S. national team have suffered an unfortunate setback with the news that left back Jonathan Bornstein will be sidelined for six to eight weeks after spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

The injury, which occurred during training Thursday, means that Bornstein will miss a minimum of six, and possibly as many as eight, MLS games between now and late June.

He also will miss the U.S. national team's prestigious friendly matches against England on May 28, Spain on June 4 and Argentina on June 8, as well as the two-game World Cup qualifying series against Barbados starting June 15.

Heath Pearce appears to be the likely choice at left back for the U.S., while Chivas USA will be left scrambling to fill the gaps in its decimated defense, given that injured Lawson Vaughn also is sidelined for six weeks.

Pearce plays in Germany for Hansa Rostock, which on Saturday was assured of being relegated to the Bundesliga's second division, as was Duisburg.

------

The U.S. women's national team, tuning up for the Beijing Olympics, has added two games in Scandinavia to its summer schedule.

After playing Italy, Brazil and Australia in the Queen Peace Cup in South Korea in mid-June, Coach PiaSundhage's team will travel to Europe to play Norway on July 2 in Fredrikstad and Sweden on July 5 in Skelleftea.

The latter match will be a homecoming of sorts for former Swedish standout Sundhage, who played for her country in the 1991 and 1995 Women's World Cups as well as the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

The match against the Norwegians, meanwhile, has some intriguing facets because Norway is one of the U.S. opponents, along with Japan and New Zealand, in the first round of the Beijing Games.

------

For comments or questions on soccer, e-mail: grahame.jones@latimes.com