Comments on: How MLS Has Ruined Eddie Johnson

By: pat

pat — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:24:13 +0000

Eddie Johnson has pretty good technical ability, it doesn’t look that way at times b/c although he is extremely fast, he’s not the most fluid athlete and looks very robotic on the ball at times… he’s no Henry, and will never have the ability to just glide w/ the ball past people, but he’s only 23 and is going to get much better at this…he is however, very good in holdup play and also a good finisher as well… As far as his streaky play, he’s going to be streaky b/c he plays in the MLS w/ players well below his caliber who can’t provide him the ball on a regular basis. For the Nat’s he was injured and never fully got back for the WC; however, he was one of the few bright spots at Copa America and when healthy has always been dangerous… I think he will do well in the premiership, and will learn to use his physical tools to the best of their abilities, which is very encouraging

By: Ben (England)

Ben (England) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:39:28 +0000

Looks like he may be coming to Derby in the premiership next season!!! thats great news his pace is immense and with Billy and his staff coaching him properly he’ll improve dramatically!!! and his confidence should improve too!

You’ll have world class forward playing For team USA in the 2010 world cup in Africa!!!

By: Apparently the MLS is ruining Eddie Johnson. - Team News - The Offside - Kansas City Wizards Soccer Blog

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:29:25 +0000

[...] working with someone whose bias will favor the MLS. But over at SoccerLens, there’s an interesting article written by Daniel Miedzinski arguing for the true reason EJo has not shown the ability to break [...]

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:52:47 +0000

Sounds like “David Bellion Syndrome” to me.

Tons of pace, no control at all, no skills at all.

He’s still sh!t too…

By: Alan Magor

Alan Magor — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 08:56:33 +0000

Eddie Johnson would benefit from moving to Europe, staying on the bench for a season or so, and learning from some top-class coaches and playing against the world’s best every week.

Like you guys have said, he has potential, and I think his style of play might suit the Italian or Spanish leagues especially – or even the Dutch Eredivisie.

The states have lots of good young players coming through the ranks – Altidore, Arguez, Ibrahim, Peterson come to mind. I’m a big fan of the MLS, but do feel that Johnson would benefit from a move away from home.

By: USA U-20 Flying High | Soccerlens - Football News Blog

USA U-20 Flying High | Soccerlens - Football News Blog — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 06:13:52 +0000

[...] Jozy Altidore is still in need of training and growth, at 17, he reminds me of Eddie Johnson at this age. The difference is what Altidore can do with the ball. He can control it, and control [...]

By: David

David — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 04:59:54 +0000

You are completely correct. The MLS was created on the model of other american pro sports leagues where overseas transfers are very rare. It is extremely important that Freddy Adu gets to Europe as soon as possible to achieve his fullest potential.

By: cbbennett

cbbennett — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:47:42 +0000

Holland is a great place for developing players. Bradley is just the latest of a line of Americans, which also includes John O’Brien (Ajax) and DeMarcus Beasley (PSV).

By: Daniel Miedzinski

Daniel Miedzinski — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 17:23:44 +0000

That is actually a great idea NYSpursFan with the loan system. If we could get some players to agree to go on loan and come back it would be great. Landycakes improved his game by going to Germany even though he gave up and came back. What we need to do is send players to Holland to train. Look how fast Michael Bradley has developed with Herenveen.

This all sounds nice and peachy, but it only works in theory. After most players go to play in stronger leagues in Europe, they would probably prefer to stay there where the level of play is much better.

By: NYSpursFan

NYSpursFan — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 17:12:30 +0000

I think the argument is the exact opposite. If he is fast enough to blow by defenders, then he should be doing that. But he doesn’t. He sees a defender and he stops. If the MLS were as bad as you think, then Eddie should be blowing by defenders and taking shots like crazy. He isn’t. So how is that MLS’ fault?

Now where I do agree with you is that Eddie lacks instruction and training. I think that can be said for many US players, especially on offense. We create good athletes with great stamina, but we fall short skill-wise. So, I agree that MLS needs to encourage players to go abroad to develop. But, I think the return trip has to be part of the agreement, i.e., loan Eddie to a European team for 2-3 years, while MLS covers part of his salary, then Eddie returns to the MLS. I suspect that many Second Division-level teams would be interested in a guy with his speed for a few years.