Friday, February 9, 2007

Fast Eddie

Eddie Johnson appeared as a second half substitute against Mexico as he tried to catch Bob Bradley's eye.

Now, Eddie gets no love. It seems everyone wants him as far away from the U.S. team as possible. He couldn't beat out Chris Rolfe for the starting spot against Mexico, his critics say. He was far less impressive than Kenny Cooper against Denmark, they add. He scored a paltry two goals for Kansas City last year. He's clearly washed up, right?

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I don't think he's done. After watching some additional highlights and having had the chance to digest the game even further, Johnson didn't do as bad for himself against Mexico as many thought.

The play in the second half where Bobby Convey nearly scored was created in part by Johnson's quickness and alertness. Gonzalo Pineda held the ball in his own box and was about to try and clear it out when Johnson came flying in. Pineda fumbled the ball away as Convey made a move toward Pineda as well. Convey picked the ball up completely unmarked inside the area.

Also, it was Johnson who kept up with Landon and served as a valuable decoy when Landon broke away and scored the second goal.

As a second half sub, he was a part of one should-have-scored scoring chance as well as a goal, Plus he had a long range shot that tested Oswaldo Sanchez.

Not bad from someone who supposedly doesn't belong anywhere near the U.S. team.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

johnson only served as the decoy because he was prodded by donovan to join the play. look i dont think he is washed up either, but at the same time, if we as a country are going to be as good as we want to be, players like ej need to earn it. We can't continue to let players get run outs based on potential...you need to earn a call up, and scoring two goals in a domestic league doesnt earn that. i think one of johnsons big problems is he isnt challenged enough, everything is given to him.

A.C. said...

I think Johnson's impact in a game is undervalued. Defenders have told me in interviews that he disrupts their structure because of his speed. They have to play further back, they have to watch him more. It opens up the game for other players.

Anonymous said...

i thought he did a nice job coming back and possessing a little. When he entered the game we FINALLY had a link between midfield and the forwards that was missing all game.

that said he should get no credit on the donovan goal. donovan was dribbling while directing EJ where to go because EJ was late seeing the play. that, to me, was his worst moment of the game.

he just needs to get back to MLS play and start scoring. then things will fall into place for him.