Sounds like he will go to Manchester United for training over the winter. I know Man. U. already have an Eddie Johnson. :>) But this kid is cannot miss guy. As I know, Man. U. kept tracking him since 2001. At 20 years old, 6' tall and 180 pounds, Eddie is a very fast guy who can break any defense. He also has good foot skill and making smart runs. Before this year, only weakness on him is the finishing. He is the leading scorer with 12 goals in MLS this year, and scoring 4 goals in WCQ as substitute for 2 games. He did win the golden boot award in 2003 WYC. He still have polishing to do, but his potential is like Thirey Henry.
Sorry, we don't want him... we don't like Henry very much... I mean that's really something. You talk up a player and say he is great, just like a player on a rival team. Way to sell him!
"FC Dallas began an off-season training camp Monday that will continue through Nov. 17. Following Thanksgiving, Clarke hopes to send his younger players to train in Europe. He said Manchester United is a possibility for forward Eddie Johnson, and midfielder Ramon Nunez could go to Glasgow Celtic." quote from a story in the Dallas-FtWorth Star Telegram though you have to register -- link on the front page of BS right now. If he does go it will be strictly training as he doesn't have the caps right now to go to england. But he's got the stuff and will get the caps before long and most likely head to europe before too long. He has the potential to be a monster striker. He would have scored more goals this season but had a crap team behind him.
Sorry No. Never not a chance. Eddie Johnson won't even score half the goals Henry has scored in Europe. Eddie Johnson scored 12 goals in the MLS he probably wouldn't equal that total playing two years in the coca cola championship. Saying Eddie Johnson has the potential to be like Henry is complete garbage, you must be 15.
Enter the douche bag http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Henry When Henry was twenty where was he, Monaco. He was there until he was 22 and in 119 games for Monaco he scored 32 goals, or one goal every 3.72 games. Wow excuse me while I cream my jeans over those overwhelmingly impressive stats. Would Eddie Johnson score as many goals today as a 27 year old Henry, no. Could he score a goal every 3 games, yes. When potential comes into play it is highly subjective. Saying Eddie Johnson defineately won't be as good as Henry in seven years is as stupid as saying he will be no matter what.
Yeah, but you have to understand that comparing him to one of the best strikers in the game when the only competition he has played in is the MLS is rediculous... No player on the US senior team has the potential to be like Henry, yet some are willing to say that a player who can't even make that starting eleven is worthy of comparison Henry? That's just hillarious. Perhaps you should set your sights a bit lower. Oh, don't look down on the French league, the level of competition there is much better than that of the MLS. Note also that Arsene Wenger at Arsenal was the first to employ Henry soley as a striker.
Yes, yes. But what POSITION was Henry playing back then? IIRC he never played up top as a forward until Arse bought him from Juve.
i'll end the suspense - henry was a left winger at monaco, not really all that different than where he plays now - he was always considered a great talent, but did not reach this level until arsenal
I hope Eddie delays Europe beyond his current plans, but he probably will not. Let me add a few things to your thinking on Johnson, take them for what you will. One, this is only his first year as a full time starter. His previous two years were heavily compromised by injury and personal issues, some with family others with a crap Coach he had problems with. This year he had his breakout year and won the starting job from the all-time leading scorer in MLS, Jason Kreis. And it's true what someone else said that his service was crap for much of the year. While the Dallas defense was OK, midfield was crap and he had to fight it out alone. He is only now reaching adulthood, physically and more importantly, mentally. He has two more years in Dallas when his options expire. So the league with either sell him a year from now to recoup some investment, or keep him two years and try to persuade him to sign with MLS couple more years--something he is almost sure to reject. You can keep tabs on him as [insert shameless plug] at www.3rddegree.net [end shameless plug].
There is nothing wrong with comparing yourself to the very best in the world as it means you are striving to reach the top level of play. Comparing Eddie Johnson to TH is a huge stretch now but in a few years who knows. I will say EJ does have the physical attributes to be a great player and so far this season he has shown he has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. I don't care if Europe under-estimates MLS, let them believe the league is crap, we who watch it day in and day out know these teams are competitive and would give any good team a run. It is only a matter of time before we start to see MLS really turn it up a notch and prove it belongs.
Even that assessment sells him a bit short. In the 1997-98 season, he scored 7 goals in 9 Champions League appearances, leading Monaco to the semi-finals. Following that season, he scored three goals in helping France to win the World Cup. It seems fairer to say that Arsenal -- he debuted there at age 21 -- is where he began to perform at that level consistently.
It's OK to set your sights high. EJ should want to eventually aim for Europe if he wants to be an outstanding player. But a little perspective is also helpful. I'm a big supporter of American soccer and American players. However, I have no illusions that we've yet reached the same levels as players and teams who've been doing this for a very long time. There isn't one American forward who is presently close in ability to Thierry Henry. Nevertheless, because he is still young and developing, EJ has the potential to be a very good forward, but even if he does everything right, will probably never be as good as TH. That in no way diminishes EJ, but players like Henry don't come along every year.
So he did well in the world cup like Landon Donovan I don't think anyone is comparing present day Eddie Johnson to present day Thierry Henry. I will try to compare present day Eddie Johnson to circa 1997 Thierry Henry. Both are really, really, ********ing fast. Both have great potential as Forwards but haven't consistently performed. Both aren't the worlds best finishers. Both have had great performances. I would like someone who had seen a lot of 1997-8 Thierry Henry to make a better comparison because I did not see a lot of him.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet that Henry's brief spell on Juventus' books led many Italian pundits to believe that Henry, as a prospect, had in fact missed. Not to mention the fact that Milan let Arsenal have Vieira for nothing. It happens all the time that certain young players' present output does not reflect their potential.
If I'm not mistaken, Henry used to play as a wing back before he joined Arsenal, so that goal scoring record is understandable.
Like I said, I might be mistaken. But he certainly wasn't a striker anyway, so my point still stands.
if you can't see the talent and potential in Eddie Johnson, you just don't know soccer. He's got size, he is comfortable on the ball, heading is accurate, shooting very good, speed. No he's got his head together. I don't see any other US striker with as much star potential as this kid. He is good enough for Man U. or, heck, Madrid.
not to start at this age for either of those teams, of course. But I don't think a co-scoring leader from the last U-20 World Cup would seem out of place on either of those illustrious teams.
Mikey10 thanks for confirming something I already knew for certain, read the whole thread next time. Bluedaddy thank you for telling me something I wasn't 100% sure of, I thought he split time at forward and the wing. edit: this must of been the first time you've ever made a faux pa judging by all your rep points.