Diomansy Kamara is out until the new year after knee surgery . Best of luck EJ, I am sure somewhere someone believes in you.
Yes that is true, Kamara will be out for 6 months but there are other strikers. I really hope EJ gets his chance and does well. This pre season will be a true test to see if he can do well. Also you could have posted this in the Fulham offseason thread.
Yeah, I would think that Eddie needs to have a pretty solid pre-season. Otherwise, I'll bet Fulham will be trying to bring in another striker.
Fulham has been looking both at small/supporting (Sverkos) and big (Kitson) strikers. Eric Nevland hasn't played badly when he was given a chance and they still have Healy and John.
Unless Collins John miraculously recovers his form from 3+ years ago, he's not a threat to displace Eddie Johnson. Personally, I rate Erik Nevland and probably David Healy ahead of Eddie, but I don't think Nevland and Healy would form a good partnership because of their lack of size. That opens the door for EJ to move in. That said, take a look at Fulham's roster. Right now, their strikers are: --EJ --Healy --Nevland --Diomansy Kamara (inj.) --Collins John You can guarantee that Roy Hodgson is looking to pick up at least one quality striker in the transfer market before the summer's end.
The last thing EJ needs is a guaranteed starting position. Somewhere along the way he has to stand up under some adversity and perform.
Clint and EJ return to pre season training on July 12 (next saturday). Hopefully EJ's confidence is high since scoring against Barbados (i'm not worried about Dempsey as he has been doing well). Fulhams pre season schedule July A Tue 15 19:45 Southend H Sat 19 15:00 Celtic A Wed 23 20:00 Busan l'Park A Sat 26 20:00 Ulsan Hyundai August 2008 A Sat 02 15:00 Birmingham City H Sat 09 14:00 Torino I think Southend United will be a good opportunity for EJ. A league one side. No doubt this pre-season is crucial for EJ to prove himself. He had some goals with the reserves last season but he also missed some good goal scoring chances.
I thought Kamara was on his way out this summer? I guess either way it helps EJ a tad - less competition or less money to buy competition. But a drag for Kamara who can't afford to give up any speed. Sorry to hear it.
I suppose, but even if you include Dempsey among the strikers, there isn't enough quality there to keep the team away from the relegation zone. I thought Roy was supposed to be upgrading the squad so they wouldn't go through the same problems as this past season. So far, the team's forward pool is weaker than last year, considering that they haven't signed anyone up front and have parted with their best striker from the last 3 years in Brian McBride. It's also an unfortunate misuse of Dempsey's skills to have him playing as a target striker, and that would be his role if partnered with Healy or Nevland up front.
Fulham will sign at least one other striker. Every day they're linked with somebody else. In today's BBC gossip section they mention Hakan Yakin of Switzerland. He's in his early 30's, but still might be able to help them. I believe, could be wrong, Hodgson coached him at Grasshoppers.
I'm been surprised with Nevland, I think he's good. It's obvious there will be competition for EJ, he needs to step it up and prove that he should be with the first team.
This is precisely why EJ should be left out of WC qualifying. I know we're thin up top, but EJ needs to prove himself at Fulham and not have to worry about jetting around the globe to play against Cuba for the Nats.
EJ just needs to work on some things, and a full season at Fulham should be able to help him with his first touch and in other areas as well. It is a big year for EJ.
Unfortunately, EPL teams don't give you a year to get your act together. In MLS, clubs can afford to keep throwing a kid out there in the hope that something will eventually click. In the EPL they don't have that luxury.
Right, but in training he'll be able to work on it and he'll be coached better and see better opponents etc. Hopefully he does start and does well but he can still improve and not be an automatic starter.