' and I wanted to be part of that. 'Doubts always creep in after a long, hard, unsuccessful, unfulfilling season like the one before that but it's nothing a
good couple of weeks away couldn't sort.' In fact, Ream feels he has been playing some of the best football of his long career – which has also taken in Chicago Fire, New York Red Bulls and Bolton – as he has got older. 'Since those early weeks of last season, I have been playing at a good level, the best I've felt and played in close to 11 years in England,' he says. Silva is the man behind the revival. That summer of 2021 was crucial to Ream's career. He was at a crossroads when the current Craven Cottage boss replaced Scott Parker, under whom he had played little following promotion. 'Everybody wants that feeling from their boss, right? That feeling th){kind=link}
Tim Ream admits he thought he had played his last game in the Premier League until he met Marco Silva and credits the Fulham boss with revolutionising the club’s prospects.
USA defender Ream made just seven top-flight appearances the last time the Cottagers were in the division two seasons ago, a campaign that ended in relegation, but is now flourishing again as a key part of Silva’s defence.
The 35-year-old was a regular last term after the Portuguese’s appointment, playing 48 times in all competitions as Fulham came back up at the first attempt as champions, and has started all 12 of his side’s matches back in the Premier League.
He would have been forgiven for thinking at the end of the 2020-21 season he may have been finished in the top flight but former Everton manager Silva’s arrival in July 2021 changed everything.
‘Of course, I wouldn’t say, “No, I wasn’t thinking that way…”,’ the centre-back tells Metro. ‘I was 33 when we were relegated and you think, “Is this it? Are you coming towards the end?” I thought it very well could be.