His dribbling is much, much better than I remember it from his last MLS stint. I can see why he struggled in England, a league not friendly to dribblers. And he did fairly well in Greece. Anyway, the way he's playing now, he's GOT to be a candidate for the Nats. But given his previous history of playing really well one season and the sucking for a couple, if I were Klinsy, I would make him prove it next year. EJ in 2013 will be one of the more interesting individual stories in MLS. If he keeps it up next year, they could be a great team. I hope they get a shot at representing MLS in CONCACAF.
Where would you rate him currently, though? Klinsy's definitely high on Altidore, Boyd and Gomez, as well as Wondo...and if you have Dempsey or Donovan taking a forward role, that can only push EJ further down the line. That said, I do agree that if he can sustain his current level throughout the rest of the season, he would likely get called in for a friendly without many of the Euro-based players.
Right now, I don't rate him that highly. But if it's next June, say, and he's still playing like this, I would rate him #2 behind Altidore (assuming Landon and Dempsey are midfielders.) The guy is playing at an incredibly high level right now. But he's more or less done this before. For a while.
+ He's contributing to build-up play more than just laying it off(or as most of us call it "back-passing" ) & He actually plays some really really good cross field passes & one time balls. I can't help but think he would even be more successful in Liga MX had that move not fallen trough w/ Puebla but things happen for a reason I guess.
I always stuck up for Eddie when people were dogging him when he wase about to come back to MLS. He really showed me the kind of player he could be when at Aris. He has a good soccer brain, but at times can be timid to push more agressively, or to slot dangerous through passes to partners in front of him. He's getting that confidence in MLS though, and I am happy for him. I really wish he'd gone to mexico though, he'd been awesome at Puebla.
He looks *fast* this year. His header goal against LA happened because he was so far behind the defenders when the cross-pass started that he wasn't even on their radar. Then, boom, a burst of speed and he beat both of them to the ball.
It probably helps that he is on the pitch with a couple legitimately world-class assist artists in Rosales and Tiffert. Forwards do not get service like that on many other MLS teams. Still, Seattle has a handful with the Montero/Johnson pairing. They aren't poachers; they win legitimate goals going straight through good defenses. That said, it proves (once again) that Seattle's FO are possibly the most competent in the league, certainly when it comes to finding diamonds in the rough. They snapped up Johnson for peanuts when the conventional wisdom was that he was washed up. Well played.
EJ made that first goal single-handedly by being athletic and leaping over and in front of 2 defenders. And scoring goals is only 20% of EJ's game... mostly it is hold-up play in the center third... the raw speed, strength, aerial supremacy, and finishing is a small fraction. 13 goals, maybe, but that's a tiny part of his overall game.
He still holds onto the ball at his feet too long and often takes (many) extra dribbles than necessary. But I do agree his overall game has improved.
I think EJ should be the #9 in the January Camp. Let's see what he can do with Shea, Zusi, and Pontius providing service. If he does well, then we can think about including him in full rosters.
Wait.. I thought Knave was the kid with the hat pulled so far over his head that he's hiding his identity from the shame of being a Chivas fan...
EJ linked to it on his twitter feed a few weeks back. Yeah..That crowd shot must make some MLS fans envious. It's from the last LA home game i believe