SSFC trade Mike Fucito AND Lamar Neagel for Eddie "Grown Ass Man" Johnson

Nice to hear. However, why should that change the doubt? I mean, it's not like we are playing the USMNT U17's or anything.

 

(of an idea or opinion) formed prior to having evidence for its truth or usefulness.

Of course then *all* comments on trades are 'preconceived' until the guy(s) do or don't produce.

Some fans are concentrating on the 41 MLS goals. Others are concentrating on frustrations in Europe.

Pretty sure we'll find the eventual reality lands somewhere in the middle.

 

I'm sorry, I wasn't aware he'd played for the Seattle Sounders before, please show me the stats when he was here last and I'll retract my statement.

 

Because, as we all know, until you've played *for* the Sounders, you can't evaluate a player's career in soccer or guesstimate what he might do going forward.

FFS, the slate is clean as a Sounder, so good on him for what we all hope is a rejuvenated career.

The thing about 'rejuvenating' is, though...it means to...

'return to a former state, to make new again'

which implies that someone or something has become old or is not like its former self.

The Sounders traded for *that,* and now we must all move forward with hope that the rejuvenation will indeed occur.

Nothing wrong with acknowledging that. Hell, it makes for a better story if Eddie does make a comeback. But it isn't like Montero leading the Colombian league two years running and then coming to MLS, or even the last dramatic year for Nkufo before he spent time with us.

This is a guy in need of a career fixer.

 

You might note I was being sarcastic, figured it was heavy handed enough I didn't need an emote.

I'm going on when he was last in MLS. When he was in MLS last he was a pretty prolific goal scorer.

I'm also thinking on his time at Aris, where he scored 5 goals in just 16 appearances.

Do I think he's gonna be amazing? Nope. I just think the trade was worth the risk and I think it's ridiculous the lamenting about 2 players that weren't going to get much playing time.

Especially two players that people keep calling prospects. Considering their age relative to EJ it is ridiculous to be upset at losing them and gaining him. He's only 3 years older than Fucito and has done much much more. The trade was rather savvy also because Montreal burned their allocation pick. There is just so much smartness about the trade that it baffles me that anyone would be upset by it.

I loooove Neagle and Fucito, but I can recognize a good move when one is made. EJ just needs a total of 9 goals to surpass both of their output in their tenure with Seattle. That's not a huge amount, and if he frees up Freddy in the process things will work out well.

 

Great post and my thoughts as well. I've always wanted EJ to succeed and I've watched him for a long time. I'm hoping my instincts are wrong about him.

 

Some fans are doing both. They see what he did in MLS before he left for Europe. Then they watched him not make it in the EPL then bounce around to places he really didn't fit. Except for a stop in Greece where he did very well. If it wasn't for Aris having money issues... Players do get bounced around at times from team to team where they don't really fit. It happens.

I think the Sounders style could benefit EJ. He played well within a possession based style before at Aris.

And then I look at Lamar and Mike. They were expendable.

 

The reality is if Johnson was a SURE thing and not a "reclamation project" then the price-tag would've been much higher. If the pair were not "fan favorites" and instead, say Gonzales and Carrasco (just throwing out two names) then the uproar wouldn't have been so great. Trading two reserve players potentially fighting for time in 2012 for a definite upgrade and position of need at forward (and opening up an additional roster spot) makes sense.

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ht...anauer_fridays_trad.html#.T0HDs8x7dVM.twitter

 

This doesn't hurt us in terms of our Starting XI because Neagle wasn't going to beat out Rosales, Fernandez, AND Zakuani for a wing spot and it was doubtful he was going to beat out Sivebaek.

S@H's cult-like adoration of Mikey aside...he wasn't producing.

Of course...EJ isn't exactly Ronaldo.

 

i could see him score some goals paired with Justin Braun... but i don't care for the L'Impact

 

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110...kdown-seattle-shows-its-championship-ambition

McCarthy says move shows Sounders' title desires.

 

If EJ produces similar to OBW before his injury this is a good move. If he is an improvement over OBW, could be really, really good.

 

I don't know. The further White's play for the Sounders drifts into the past the more glorious those 7 games seem in the minds of many Sounders fans.

 

Not true. I remember very vividly how I thought about his play. The first two games he was abysmal. He blew at least 3 sitters against LA, and I nearly gave up on him... my one hope for him was that at least he put himself in position to actually have a sitter at his feet 3 times ... Then he blew another easy 1 or 2 against NY and I really started to fret.

After that his improvement curve was dramatic and he became exactly what we wanted from him, including that GotW header. When his blood clot happened, I became sad and worried enough to email my doctor friend about his prognosis... the response was "well he'll be out for awhile at the very least. At worst he's looking at amputation." Trust me, I don't get sad about players I think are crap.

If EJ steps in and can play as well as OBW after 7 games, I'll rate it a success. I still rate Ochoa highly, so at least this year we have options.

 

Awww, crap. I'm reading the twitter feed on Sigi's presser. Looks like he's doggin Ochoa's preseason. I get the feeling he was one of the "fat" ones coming into camp. (@donruiztnt)

 

I agree with Ajas. He was completely out of sorts in the first few games, but he was really starting to get better the further into the season we went. He wouldn't have been a 10-goal scorer or anything like that, but his height and Rosales's crossing ability would have made an excellent pairing that would have been worth the high single digits.

 

damn. ochoa is ********ed.

 

Yeah, it's one thing if the coach says that to you, it's even more worrisome when he decides to say it to a room full of reporters. Gotta wonder how closely Sodade is nipping at Sammy's heels in the depth order.

 

love this trade because it was outside of our comfort zone. too often i get the chill and relaxed vibe from some of our players.

 

too bad for ochoa, he better get his ass in gear if he wants that starting spot.
i had some higher hopes for him when he stayed here & worked on his fitness with the trainers in the offseason.

 

Keller said this several times about lack of competition for spots. I like this move too.

After reading Sigi's quote Ochoa better get his ass in gear. Gotta be hard to stay focused with a new baby but hey your a pro Sammy get going.

 

Hopefully it's yet another fitness issue with Ochoa, while embarrassing, it's better then Sigi just basically saying he sucks.

 

Wait.. Where's the faux outrage over Sigi calling out a player in public like there was when Sigi said that he wouldn't trust Fernandez the next time he tweaks a hammy during pre-game warm-up.

 

http://goalwa.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/sigi-schmid-talks-about-eddie-johnson/

“I think a lot of times when you look at players and their careers, sometimes there’s a phase where things haven’t gone as well for them…Sometimes that happens with players. Our focus and what’s important for us right now is how Eddie’s doing right now, how he performs with our team, how he fits in with our team. I think he’s highly motivated. I think he still has a lot of ambitions and goals in front of him and he’s still young, so he can still attain all those.”---Sigi Schmid