Tim Ream has seen it all. In his nine seasons at Craven Cottage, he has played under five different managers and had more than 20 partners at centre-back, and he has been one of the main reasons why the club earned three promotions to the Premier League.
In Fulham’s 3-1 win against Sheffield United on Saturday, Ream made his 300th appearance for the club, making him only the 28th player in club history to hit the said milestone and the first from outside Europe to do so, as per the Premier League 2023 updates.
Ream has come a long way, and SBOTOP is here to have a brief look back on his career.
Ream was a can’t-miss talent
Ream’s journey started at home in St. Louis, Missouri, where he became an instant football star.
In 2004 and 2005, Ream was named All-State, All-Conference, and Class 2 Defencive Player of the Year. He was also named on the NSCAA All-Midwest Region selection team while finishing his high school career with 15 goals and a record 39 assists for St. Dominic.
Ream also won two national titles for academy club St. Louis Scott Gallagher (SLSG), and he also helped lead St. Dominic to the 2004 Missouri Class 2 championship. He was also a St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro selection, as well as being the Archdiocesan Athletic Association Player of the Year following his senior season.
Ream played for St. Louis University, where he became the team’s first-choice defender for the Billikens while earning NSCAA first-team All-Region and second-team All-Conference honours. In three seasons, Ream recorded six goals in 82 appearances.
He would go on to play for the Chicago Fire Premier in the semi-professional USL Premier Development League. Ream would only have 19 appearances there before moving on to the NY Red Bulls in Major League Soccer after he was drafted 18th overall in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.
The versatile defender made his full Major League Soccer debut against the Chicago Fire on March 27, 2010, which ended in a 1-0 win for the NY Red Bulls. Six months later, Ream scored his only Major League Soccer goal against the Colorado Rapids in a 3-1 victory.
He helped the NY Red Bulls win the Eastern Conference title in the 2010 season, as he started in 30 matches. Ream was named the team’s Defender of the Year, and he was on the three-man shortlist for MLS Rookie of the Year.
In his second year in New York, Ream played and started in 28 of 34 matches during the regular season. As his stock kept rising, it felt inevitable that he would move elsewhere.
Bolton gave him his first EPL foray
The Wanderers got a hold of Ream, signing him to a three-and-a-half-year contract in the 2012 winter transfer window. Ream actually revealed that he canceled his honeymoon to complete his signing, which just goes to show how dedicated he is as a player.
Ream made his full Bolton debut in a 2-0 FA Cup victory against Millwall on February 18 that year, and he made his Premier League debut the following weekend in their 3-0 defeat against Chelsea. Unfortunately for the Wanderers, they were relegated to the Championship after finishing 18th that season.
In the 2013-14 season, he won his first Bolton Player of the Year award and was voted the fans’ player of the year, which earned him a three-year contract ahead of the 2014-15 campaign.
Ream became a fan-favourite because he was always available when called, and for the second year in a row, he was named Bolton’s player of the year.
The American international was eventually sold to Fulham, with whom he signed a four-year contract. All in all, Ream had 114 appearances for the Wanderers in three seasons.
He is now a Craven Cottage icon
At Fulham, Ream was one of the team’s regular starters at the backline, either as a centre-back or a left-back, although he can be deployed as a defencive midfielder when necessary. He had to wait three seasons before getting back to the Premier League in 2018-19.
The Cottagers may have gone in and out of the English top-flight, although the Premier League 2023 odds like their chances of staying this time despite the tough grind ahead. But the one constant for them has been Ream, who has been an image of resilience for the club. At 36 years old, Ream may no longer be the undisputed choice at centre-back, but that has not changed his character at all. He remains an integral cog for the team, as he serves as co-captain alongside Tom Cairney.
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