Just curious as to where people think someone like Edson "Butter" Buddle should play? I've heard of interest in Norway, I believe, but it seems like his touch and ability to move defenders might be well suited for a tougher league, like the Bundesliga, or even a more physical EPL team. Mods - please move this to the appropriate forum if this isn't it.
Feyenoord? FC Utrecht? PSV? I think Germany would be a nice spot for Edson. He's looking very good and shows tremendous potential.
Edson Buddle will start at forward for the US of A in Germany 2006. That fall, if not sooner, he will be a starting forward in either the EPL or Bundesliga. He's the man. Period.
Since most people usually tag the EPL or Bundesliga as destinations for young Yanks, I'm going to go out on a limb as saying Bundle could ply his trade in Italy or Spain. Maybe with teams like Udinese, Chievo, Real Betis,Sevilla, or Celta Vigo. I like his style of play and I hope he becomes a regular with the Nats soon.
He does need to move on to a higher, more fully-concentrating league after 2004 at max, but Buddle's ability to hold off defenders.....I really can't think of an American player who I think has better fundamentals ever (including McBride)...Buddle has GREAT balance... Certainly, it would be nice to see Edson and Connor compete for the McBride role for 2006...it will only make them better (to try to outdo each other in league)..
Buddle does look pretty strong at holding off defenders. Somebody in another thread said he lacked speed. But on that third goal against Dallas, he raced to the far post, beating (I think) Eddie Johnson to the ball, and Johnson is blazing fast.
where? Until recently I'd have said the A League, before we put him on the MNT or a higher league let's see some consistency over a period.
He has to be given his chance to shine for the Red, White and Blue first. If he does well, a lot of doors will open real wide. He has to avoid injuries though.
Re: where? Uh, he has shown some consistency. When he's healthy, he's an absolute bear to defend. You are aware he's missed most of this season due to a hip injury, right? And he's still got 8 goals! When he was healthy last season, he regularly destroyed teams. Ask any KC fan what he can do, and has been doing for quite some time. I was saying over a year ago that he was the 2nd best forward on the Crew (behind McBride, but better than Cunningham). Now he might be the best forward on the Crew. It's very close.
Re: where? He scored 11 goals last year, and has 8 this year despite injuries. He's shown he can handle MLS defenders fairly easily. So for him to improve, he needs a new challenge.
Re: Re: where? Panic - thanks for putting it more succinctly than I was able. I can't believe the "MLS" and "A-League" commentary here, none of which has been supported by any examples or anlaysis. Buddle's ability to move MLS defenders around is the exactly why he needs to go overseas and hone his skills. And, just to back up the info with numbers, I did my best Peter Hirdt impersonation and ran a little analysis on some of the scoring stats of the league's more well-known players, to see where Buddle stacks up: Code: Min G PK A Pts Min/Goal Shots On goal OGP INP Min/Shot FC FS Min / FS Min / FC Give/take Ralph 1755 11 1 5 27 159.5 100 56 56% 10% 17.6 29 32 54.8 60.5 0.91 Mathis 1561 9 1 1 19 173.4 70 32 46% 11% 22.3 28 29 53.8 55.8 0.97 Twellman 1618 13 0 4 30 124.5 72 38 53% 18% 22.5 28 49 33.0 57.8 0.57 Buddle 933 8 0 2 18 116.6 38 20 53% 21% 24.6 9 15 62.2 103.7 0.60 Ruiz 1967 13 6 3 29 151.3 70 42 60% 10% 28.1 64 77 25.5 30.7 0.83 Donovan 1446 7 1 5 19 206.6 38 22 58% 16% 38.1 26 29 49.9 55.6 0.90 So, from this, we can see that Buddle is scoring more frequently than any of the other stars in the league (Min/goal). And, if you look at shooting accuracy (OGP = On Goal Percentage, but even better - INP = In Net Percentage, which removes Ralph's numerous SOG's = Shots on Goalkeeper as well as penalty kicks), Buddle is lethal at putting it in the net, almost twice so of all others except Donovan and Twellman. The one other stat that might lend credence to the impression that he's extremely strong on the ball is that he suffers fouls less frequently than any of these others... is it because he's too fast for defenders to catch (probably not) or because he's able to maintain possession under pressure, where the ref may let possession/advantage play on (maybe)? He's also so far and away in last place in fouls committed in this group that perhaps he needs to hustle back on D more often or get a little scrappier in the box... then again, that would probably drive his offensive stats even further ahead of the rest of the group. Just some stuff to think about. Anyway, what the heck does all this mean for where he should play? I had been thinking England or Germany because of his size, but maybe these fouls stats indicate he should head to a "flair" league, like Spain or Italy.
WOW! That was some beautiful work. I think you should contact his agent and let him see that stuff before he renegotiates. I'm not keen on Spain, but you might have something there. The Italians are quite physical, but I don't think it would matter to Young Edson, the problem is getting in there. Germany is the most open door to American players. He won't get rich, but he'll learn how to work hard, and play in a very tough league. Holland would be nice, but I'm they are too tight with money. Minimum Non Euro salary is €380,000 and only a few teams can afford that. EPL: No chance for him Belgium: Great place for him to launch himself in Europe. Hard for Yanks to break in over there from what I've seen. So back to Germany, I'm sure Bayer Leverkusen knows about him, and Berbatov isn't exactly lighting up the scoring charts.
Just watching the replay of the Crew vs Dallas match from Saturday and I must say that young Buddle is finally starting to win me over. For years I haven't believed the hype lived up to the product, but now that he's healthy and playing hard, he really seems to have the goods. Personally, I'd like to see him stay in Columbus for one full, healthy season and score somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty goals. From that point forward, I think the Bundesliga is the place for him to go. He could do well there with his size, pace and skill. I'm not sure if he could get consistent playing time in the EPL or Spain or Italy, therefore I like the idea of a mid-table Wolfsburg or Bochum for Butter.
Sorry, but the numbers point out a need to develop physically before he moves anywhere. If he's being beat up in MLS, he'd be murderered in the bund, or any top league in Europe, for that matter. I know this is spec, but unless he's got an EU passport, his credentials don't point to anyone needing to spend a precious non-EU slot on him for the first team for at least a couple years. Before he moves, he has to be at least as good as if not better than the best Americans, South Americans, Africans and Asians coming out. He's not. Yet. I'd agree that unless lightning strikes, his coming out party is after 2006.
Having seen Fugita play for FC Utrecht this weekend, Buddle can play for them. Right now. I don't think the numbers show that he isn't physical at all. I saw the games and he is pushing defenders around like high school kids.