Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons not to mention if we are talking about JJ being a left wing, i dont see Adu as competition.... perhaps rogers... i see adu as more of a 2nd striker perhaps CM if someone is capable of covering his def. responsibilities...
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons No, you guys are missing the point. It's not just that Jemal has a willingness to take shots from distance. It's that he can absolutely shatter the ball into pieces from distance. Yeah, Ricardo Clark likes to shoot from outside the box, and I like that, but he's not able to put a ton of power behind each shot. Same for Michael Bradley. With the exception of that terrific half-volley he had for BMG in a friendly this winter, I've never seen Bradley unleash a shot from distance that had the sheer power and pace behind it of a Jemal Johnson cracker.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons Do we plan on adding any friendlies between now and the Gold Cup? I know the schedule is tight, but I think I'd like to see a guy in a friendly first before throwing him into the mix in a tournament like the Gold Cup. That said, if there are no friendlies between now and then, I wouldn't object too heavily to a Gold Cup spot for this guy just to see what we have and if and how he could help.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons I gotta call myself out. Cooper hit a sweet long distance shot tonight. He's got it in him
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons If hitting a shot hard was an important critrea for an International, then Davy Arnaud would be in the team next week.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons That's not what we are getting at. We are just saying that JJ's ability to shoot with accuracy and pace from distance is an attribute that some in our pool lack. It doesn't make him an international. While his shooting intrigues me, it's his overall skills that have caused me to cast an eye on his season. I don't think this season is a fluke; his skills have never been question from what you read. It was some off the field issues and maturity that plagued him. Being at MK Dons has been a revelation. Ince, first and now Di Mateo have instill both a system and discipline that has positively exploited his game. JJ is turning into the player many have said he would. Either way it happens, via promotion or free transfer (he's out of contract in the summer), he'll be a Championship player next year. I would just like to see Bob call him up along with Jeremiah White. You can never have too much depth. I'm pushing for a Gold Cup look and see.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons I don't feel like arguing against the international prospects of an English third division player would take much effort. That being said, do you think the US lacks players in their pool who can strike the ball from distance?
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons I think that Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Pablo Mastroeni, Sacha Kljestan etc. would be taking(and making) plenty of shots from outside the area in the English 3rd division.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons Clint Dempsey has had quite a few good efforts from distance in the Prem of late.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons Yes, I do - And not just players who can strike the ball from difference. I also think the US lacks players who can put the ball on frame with tremendous power from deep. Have you seen highlights of some of Jemal's goals (both with Wolves and MK Dons)? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sxuFsx1g9s"]YouTube - jemal johnson[/ame] http://watchsocceronline.blogspot.com/2009/02/jemal-johnson-highlights-must-see.html http://watchsocceronline.blogspot.com/2008/11/yanks-in-championship.html Seriously, I don't care what division he's in...I haven't seen too many (if any) players in our pool who can tattoo a ball on frame the way Jemal can. And the thing is, these aren't half-volleys or shots he's hitting when the ball is rolling back toward him. He can hammer in shots from distance directly from a dribble. Mastroeni hasn't done that. Kljestan hasn't done that. Rarely do I see Donovan or Dempsey do that (though Dempsey has been hitting some impressive long shots this season in the Premiership).
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons Ok. Now, do you think that being able to strike from distance is an important criteria for being an international player?
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons It is important to have players with the ability to strike from distance, as to keep the defense honest.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons It's important to have players with varied skills so we can throw different looks at the opponent.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons It's important to have guys with pace who can actually use both feet and get in quality crosses from the wing.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons Yes. And to preempt your next question, obviously it's not the only criteria. But Jemal Johnson does possess a particular skill set and core competency that I see as rare in our pool. To me, that makes him worthy of a shot (a call-up for a friendly or the Gold Cup since that's a deemphasized tournament this year). No one's calling for him to be a starter, and I certainly recognize that having a powerful shot is not the be-all end-all for a player. We really have no idea if Johnson can actually help on the defensive end. We have no idea if he has proper positioning sense and knows where to be on the field to make plays. We have no idea how good of a team player he is and how he would contribute to our team's chemistry. But it is clear that his best asset is something that we are lacking in our pool, and to me that makes him worth a look.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons His game against Cheltenham Town back in January was ridiculous. His two goals he flew up the pitch and launched shots on goal. He also helped set up the other goals with his play down the wings. US starter no, but it wouldn't hurt to atleast bring him into camp for the Gold Cup this summer. I am hoping to see him in the Championship next year and see what he does there.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons I'm a few days late but I've had enough of your takes here... I wonder if you even read the whole thread. A few pages back you would find an article where Jemal states the USSF has already been in contact with him about a summer call-up and that it would have already happened a while ago but things (injuries, etc...) popped up last minute that scuppered getting his 1st cap. Pray tell- Do you know more about our player pool then the USSF? Have you been scouting League One and following Jemals performances the whole year as they have? Who cares what division the player is playing in? If he can do a job for us, he can do a job. Personally I don't think the USMNT has reached a level yet where players from League One can be summarily dismissed, particularly when players like Jemal and Zak Whitbread are rated by clubs in higher divisions. Also MLS is often compared to League One in terms of quality -- if Jemal played for Houston or New England or any other MLS club would you laugh him off? Should MLS players not be allowed to play for the USMNT by this standard also? PS- To put it another way, since playing in the third division rules out JJ in your opinion, please rank all divisions of world football for us and set a cut-off bar where players under that bar are automatically ineligible for USMNT call-ups. We'll call it the "BigRose30 Line of Demarcation"
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons I don't think that having doubts about a 3rd division player's international credentials is all that cynical of a point of view. The reason I doubt 3rd division players, is because the best 3rd division players don't stay 3rd division players. They become 2nd division players. And if he plays in the Gold Cup, all the best to him. And if there is truly going to be two separate squads, then I'm sure it's likely. But I wouldn't hold my breath on him playing in a World Cup Qualifier until he finds success at a higher level.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons Your doubts are justified. No doubt about it. I'm lobbying for a call-up but I too am skeptical. However, I have seen enough of JJ at least know he does have a bit of skill and does have a few attributes that he could bring to the table. But no one has advocated for JJ to be called into a qualifier and play. We just think he's warranted a look and see. I don't feel comfortable throwing any player who has zero caps into a qualifier no matter what club level they play at. I hope JJ gets a call-up for the Gold Cup. It's a perfect time to see him because it is for multiple games and multiple training sessions. You see him up close and personal instead of a normal friendly where there's 2-3 trainings and a match. Oh yeah, I feel sure whether MK Dons are promoted or not, JJ will be a Championship player.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons I stand by my comment above -- in fact I'd just quote it but that'd be a bit much. Once again you've shown you haven't read the thread (look into that) cause that article I mentioned also talks about how more then a handful of championship clubs are lining up for JJ since his contract expires in the summer and Franchise FC and his reps are still someways off in terms of negiotiations. In fact it would be smart of him to see if they get promoted before he resigns, with all that interest from the championship. His squad has hit a bit of a rough patch and look likely to hit the playoffs and the lottery that entails -- judging by their current form he would do well to go to a higher level on a free in the summer. As to the success at a higher level comment -- have Jozy/Freddy had any success yet? Has Brian Ching had success at a higher level? Is MLS a higher level then league one? All questions that are debatable at best. PS- if the money is any indication of the level of play, League One salaries make MLS look like chump change. Mike Grella turned down MLS even though they made him a their best offer for a draftee and went to Leeds on an 18 month deal. He told a SBI correspondent that Leeds offer was significantly better then MLS.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons I've read the thread, thanks. Transfer gossip is just that. He still plays in League 1. Brian Ching used to be a lower division player actually in USL-1. He then showed well enough to be signed with MLS. He played well enough in MLS to warrant a callup to the national team. And he's had success on the full international level. So, the answer to your question is yes. That is a question that cannot be answered objectively of course. However, Steve Nicol and Steve Morrow and countless others with a better grasp of the subject than me have attested that MLS is at worst on par with the Championship, albeit with less depth. This is both misleading and irrelevant. Misleading because Leeds salaries are quite high for League 1. They have EPL infrastructure but with third division talent, and one only needs to look at their recent history to realize why. It's irrelevant because I'm sure some US internationals could make more money playing in Saudi Arabia than in MLS, but how would that work out?
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons Just like all your takes on here -- why go on a thread just to piss on a player? Makes no sense to me. _____________________________ Not to threadjack this but MLS simply isn't on par with the championship -- the Championship has significantly more full internationals. Money does matter, squad players in the Championship and League One actually make a living and don't have work a 2nd job to make ends meet so they can concentrate on their footy. Furthermore, what are Nichols and Morrow going to say - that MLS is sh-t and wouldn't even register in the UK? Of course not, they are biased in that they try to market the league not knock it down. The day the MLS playoff winner gets 60m pounds come to talk to me. After you take all this time to knock League One and you make a straw man argument using USL-1 as an example! So if he's in a 2nd division he might be ok to play for us but third divison he's not Again I ask you to rank all leagues and set a cutoff as to who can wear our shirt cause I am confused.
Re: Jemal Johnson joins MK Dons It's really not just Nicols and Morrow, although I'll add that Nicols was speaking fairly candidly to a Scottish paper not intended for an American audience when he compared MLS to Championship quality soccer. But I've read many quotes from coaches and players with European experience, some of them with absolutely no connection to MLS, who have stated that MLS is about Championship level. Here's an earlier post of mine in the MNT News & Analysis forum where I list a few quotes that are fairly representative of what I've read over the years: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=17199469#post17199469