I wasn't a fan of US Soccer til around mid 2007, so I missed out on the whole EJ is the next big American soccer hero hoopla, but how did that start? I know he scored a hat trick on his debut, but during the 2006 WC qualifers, was it evident that he was all speed and little technique or was it just he was over-hyped? I read that Benfica wanted him back in 2005 but he didn't want to leave MLS. Should he have gone? What difference would have been made as opposed to him heading abroad in 2008 to the PL. Did EJ even play during the WC?
not trying to be nit picky, but it was 2005 not 2007...his hype and his career have been on a downslide since his toe injury (i believe it was his toe) before the WC. however, i missed out on his prime years because i was in iraq so i can't tell you what kind of player he was.
Didnt bruce not play him after the loss to czech rep. cause of some comments to the press that it was a 'war' and some other shit that made us look bad?
it started on bigsoccer when people who don't know what they're talking about... like Anton... go on to say how amazing he is because he's just so fast... and just flies by mls back lines. then, he goes on to do nothing for the usmnt... and even less when he moves to europe. i'm going to continue to point out that i called this when he moved to europe. it was the worst thing he could have done. he wasn't good enough technically or tactically. the guy is fast... that's it. and as a result he basically killed his international career as he can no longer find any half way decent european side that will play him on the field.
ahhh yes... the toe... the toe got him. i commend you for being in iraq... but it wasn't his toe. it's the fact that he's just not a very good soccer player... he sure is fast though... sigh...
I disagree with your last point. He had found his niche with Cardiff City, but they didn't want to shelve out what it would cost to keep him. The bolded comment was hilarious. I repped you for that.
Ah, EJ. Aside from Donovan I can't think of any other player who gets more idiotic bile direct his direction. Perhaps Adu. Let's recap: 1. EJ started out as a youth phenom on various YNTs in addition to doing residency at Bradenton. He did quite well and obviously earned the hype. 2. 3. EJ then signed with FCD at 17 or so 3. He scored a hat trick in the initial round of qualifying. Hype went supernova 4. he went on to become the youngest player to lead the league in scoring. Benfica makes offer. Reports indicate that EJ felt he wasn't ready. EJ also signed an extremely good contract with MLS that gave him leverage. 5. EJ hurt his big toe which derails things for a while 6. EJ has a mediocre WC'06 and stated afterward that he was still not 100% fit 7. EJ gets traded to Kansas City. Unsubstantiated rumors of 'bad attitude' began to ferment. 8. EJ scores back-to-back hat tricks in MLS. A few overseas teams come sniffing round 9. EJ signs an extremely good contract with Fulham 10. EJ earns and converts a pen against Argentina but otherwise doesn't impress in a national team jersey 11. EJ gets minutes with Fulham and demonstrates that he's not ready for the Prem. 12. EJ gets shipped out to Cardiff where he demonstrates that he's clearly not ready for the Cola. Bradley unfriends EJ. 13. Cardiff assign someone to give remedial instruction on technique and tactics to EJ 14. EJ turns things around the last third of the season with Cardiff. 3 goals and 4 assists occurring mostly during that time I believe. 15. EJ is back with Fulham and goes through a full pre-season with them scoring some goals and getting a few assists.... 16. To the present. EJ is in the team but hasn't made the bench for a Prem game so far this season. He did make the bench for a Europa game.
My take on the player: Like Benny Feilhaber, Michael Bradley, and Freddy Adu EJ was 'overpromoted' though each story is a bit different. Feilhaber found himself on the outs at Derby before establising himself in Denmark. Freddy Adu. Sigh. Bradley is going to see some serious time on the bench this season as well. EJ rocketed through the 'system' without actually picking up the skills needed to succeed at the highest levels. I place the blame for this squarely on FCD. Piss poor development history imo. EJ's lack of technique had been known for sometime so it's no big thing claim 'knowing' that things wouldn't work out. He's a hardworking player who seems to have picked up some skills during his stint in Wales. He's still got good size and is still fast. He'll never be a goal monster in the Prem but I'm hopeful that he do in the Prem what Josh Wolff did in MLS. That is say score some here throw in assists there run like crazy to stretch the opposition defense.
Eddie Johnson is a waste of God's talent. He should have been the next big thing. What we should have done is to kidnap his sister or put a sniper rifle to his head. He has to perform or else ...
alright fine... he found a spot with cardiff... they just couldn't fork out the cash to keep him around. and that's a problem. he costs a lot for what he brings... the teams that could use him can't afford him. who does that sound like?? jozy?? adu?? it's a problem. i think it's a big problem and it's the result of the overhyping of american players. it hurts their career to be loaned out year after year or sit on the bench of the silly big team that bought into their hype. it's not good for them.
Let's be honest, Eddie Johnson is simply the perfect example for the US "fans" who spend all of their day hating on everybody on the team to pretend like they got one right. You have all of these people saying "I told everybody over and over again that EJ would be a bust from the beginning, and I was right!" Well sure, EJ hasn't lived up to his potential. But you know what: these are the same morons who swore that Michael Bradley was only getting called up to the USMNT because of nepotism, who demanded that Clint Dempsey never be allowed back on the USMNT, who insisted that Tim Howard would never be able to be a quality starter, who demanded that Landon Donovan would be a bust with the national team, insisted that the USMNT would never beat Mexico with Bob Bradley as coach, and so on... These people hate on EVERYBODY. They hate everything about the US team... although they continue to post on here and pretend that they're "fans". The fact that some percentage of all young players will fail to live up to the hype doesn't mean that these people knew anything. It reminds me of those "psychics" that get interviewed right around New Years every year who predict apocalyptic earthquakes and terrorist attacks. There is some probability of a bad event any year, and whenever one happens every psychic screams "I called that! I have psychic powers!" But they're just like the EJ haters: even a broken clock is right twice a day.
much of it wasn't EJ's problem, much of it was that US soccer and the fans are so desperate for a star and/or a goal scorer that we put all our eggs in the basket at the first glimmer of hope. glad to see that he's fought his way back to fulham's good graces (well, they've kept him around, haven't loaned him out). I think best case for him is a super-sub at the WC and that's still a longshot at this point.
i will attempt to address this... 1. michael bradley is a consistent starter for the usmnt only because of his father. 2. clint is one of the most talented players the us has ever produced. i have never ever said that he should not be on the usmnt. 3. tim howard IS the best player the us has ever produced and he deserves to be the starter at everton and the usmnt. i have never ever questioned that. 4. landon donovan is a **********. that's personal. but he still is in my opinion the 2nd best best player the us has ever produced and deserves to not only be on the usmnt but could get decent playing time at a mid level club in europe (not bayern... but mid level). 5. i am ok with bob as a coach, except for the blatant love for his son. i think he has done a fine job otherwise. he can only do so much with the pool of talent that we have and considering the confed cup results i don't think we can ask for more. hopefully we get some lucky bounces as the world cup and we could very well get out of our group. EJ is like a lot of the other guys that get hyped up on here. i remember there was a time when people on here were claiming alex nimo to be the next big thing. the problem with american sports fans in general is we want to be the best. and right now we are not the best in soccer. and that's a problem because we look at any young guy with a hint of talent and proclaim them to be the american soccer savior... hoping for world soccer domination. there is a very real difference in ability between guys like landon and dempsey and guys like EJ. if you can't see that while they're on the field that's your problem. it comes down, in my opinion, to a lack of understanding of the game and a deep wanting for soccer glory. i love the usmnt. i also understand where we are as a soccer country today. i was going nuts in 2002 during the wc run and i was going even crazier in the confed cup run this year. it was a fun time. but if you're thinking every other young pro american soccer player is going to be our soccer savior and lead us to consistent wins in big tournaments your crazy. it isn't going to happen... not now and not for a very long time. the fact remains that we still, to this day, do not have a very effective system in place for identifying elite talent at a young age and then developing it. we just don't. it's getting better than before. but it's still not even close to what goes on in some european countries. prior to the '90's did we even have real professional soccer players on the usmnt? the soccer federation here in this country is taking baby steps towards development and it's happening but it just takes time. guys like eddie johnson, for whatever reason, just didn't get developed at a young age to be a big time players... and that's not to take away from what he's done thus far. he played for a championship team in england... that's more than anyone here on this board can say. and it's mainly due to his athletic ability. but the guy... like many other players in america at this point... simply is not where he needs to be in order to be dominant at an international level. deal with it.
I can't tell if this is satire or if it's serious, but if it's serious then we have a remarkable example of everything wrong with the USMNT forums - all in one post. Amazing. I applaud those who keep track of posts like this. Because when these morons and haters try to join in the celebrations after big USMNT victories, they need to be called out. They're not welcome.
I think this is a key point. EJ may be 5th choice striker at Fulham, but how many strikers does the USA have that a Premiership team would even be interested in? Just Altidore (and Dempsey and Donovan if we're going to be completist), Cooper and Davies maybe just maybe, but most probably not (if it is was otherwise they would've moved to better clubs than they have just done). How many strikers does the USA have that are better than Diomnys Kamara? Again just Altidore. EJ should not be ruled out of the USMNT picture.
Hype is when people same great things about you before you go on the field and perform. EJ was praised highly for great games in which he delivered and saw his great spead, strength, and potential to be the forward we never had! He got injured and other things and lost his touch and level of playing, kind of like beasley, i have always liked them both, but when they ain't playing good they shouldn't be called up, same should go for all players but we all know BB has double standards (obviously nothing to do with EJ) but i sure hope Ej can find his game once again he was nice to watch!
Thanks. I am under the understanding that the USA Men forums had a higher level of required posting quality, and that there are a lot of people on BigSoccer who can post on other forums, but not here. Why would you let somebody like that - whose yellow card indicates that he's been a problem before - post on here?
regardless of the Jwaksman's flaming... eddie johnson was over rated and is still not an international level player.