On yesterday’s show, I referred to Fulham star/American scoring dynamo Brian McBride as the injured “McKnight.” Instead of dropping to do 60 push-ups for punishment, I took a trip to the numbers archive and found out that, going into this year, the Cottagers had a blistering 11-4-6 record (39 out of a possible 63 points — a 62 percent success rate) in league matches where “McKnight” scored. For the record, Fulham had a 34-51-29 overall mark (131 of 342 points, 38 percent) during that span.

This, to me, is what makes McBride clearly the greatest U.S. performer in the Premiership. Blackburn keeper Brad Friedel is a pretty close No. 2, but no Yank has been more valuable to his top-flight club than McBride with Fulham. I’m wondering how differently this year might be playing out for the decimated club with him on the field this season. Perhaps banking on another big go-round from McBride, the organization spent the bulk of its offseason efforts this summer retooling the midfield and back line when there was a glaring lack of depth at the forward position. His nasty knee injury in the third match of the season set the tone for what looks like a forthcoming relegation ticket after a lenghty stay in the top division.