How has Eddie Johnson has changed our lives? New WVH writer John Parker takes a look.

By John Parker

Brian Mcbride was a good player. So was Joe-Max Moore. Eric Wynalda held the American scoring record for nearly a decade.

Alright, I don’t know where to start with this, and my free writing is a little sub par here. But there is a point, and it’s not that subtle. The US has produced some adequate players up top, but the position has been the country’s Achilles heel…and an anomaly. This is a nation that hosts the most astonishing athletes in the world, and yet cycle after cycle we see gadflies, overachievers and “hard workers” leading the line. Meanwhile, the Damani Ralph’s of the world were entering the MLS and snatching golden boots.

Before the 2006 cycle, this is what we not only experienced, but expected. We waited on the coming Hispanic infusion that would introduce craft to the position; the demographics of America were rapidly changing, and the future of American soccer supposedly with it. We would see a new breed of player, one who preferred to play on the ball, to strike it from distance and to create for his teammates. Brian Mcbride was great, but we could improve.

But then something curious happened. Eddie Johnson, an American striker with sub par ability on the ball won the golden boot with the U-20’s, and then again with the MLS. It was astonishing…because he was an astonishing athlete. Playing off the hips of the defender, Eddie looked to impose his will with his speed. He didn’t finish off of crosses or set pieces but rather through balls. He was introduced to the National Team and quickly reeled off seven goals. The message boards lit up. People bought the jersey they were sure to wear for a decade…after all, who offered what Eddie did up top? Those seven goals may have been somewhat of a fluke, but they may also have been proof of something greater than just Eddie. The American style, with its counter-attacks and its high pressure defending (which leads to interceptions up the pitch) could take advantage of a forward who routinely got behind the defense. The Twellman’s of the world slowed down our attack when, if anything, we needed to be speeding up.

Don’t beat yourself up for falling for the hype to early. I did…and your favorite blogger probably did too. After all, it’s not like we could complain that Eddie’s ball skills didn’t compare with the rest of the pool. We’d later realize how much better Mcbride’s first touch was, or how much better Moore was off the ball…but the point is for a youth player it was tough to criticize him in comparison (remember, he was battling Taylor Twellman for a spot). Continue Reading…

Looks like the youngsters at FC Dallas won’t all be there much longer. According to some reports from England, Fulham may be after Dallas striker Brek Shea.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson looks set to plunder the US market once again with reports suggesting that he is keen to lure FC Dallas starlet Brek Shea to Craven Cottage in the January transfer window.

And they may well be joined by 19-year-old Shea, with The Sun reporting that he has caught the eye of Hodgson with a number of impressive displays in he MLS since making his debut last year.

Hodgson is said to be keen on bolstering his attacking options in the New Year and is thought to be considering a �2million offer for the striker, who is also equally adept at playing on the wing.

I don’t think it is any secret here in Dallas that guys like Shea won’t be here in Dallas next year if Schellas Hyndman has anything to do about it. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him and FCD easily go for a transfer fee like the one Fulham is considering over Shea.

Is that price right for Shea? I think it is fair considering the lack of playing time he has gotten in Dallas. I know he isn’t one that is totally happy in Dallas so don’t be shocked to see a move like this in January.

We’ve had a full day of interesting news with the UEFA Champions League draw, the US Men’s National team roster announcement that took four hours to do, and random news here and there. Time now to close down the day with some links and thoughts on what’s going on.

I wanted to get into some MVP race discussion. I mention earlier that I felt Colorado’s Omar Cummings deserves to be in the discussion, well I have a few other names that are right up there with Cummings.

- Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy): Aside from his 10 goals and five assists, Donovan is the cog that keeps the Galaxy going. When he is on his game the Galaxy are a tough team to beat. You will see that when he is gone with the National team in the coming weeks, LA just doesn’t look the same without him.

- Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids): Current leader in goals in the league with 11 (and one assist). Casey will probably get more mentions than his teammate Cummings due to the number of goals. One thing is certain though, Casey has stepped his game up in a big way this season and the Rapids are finding out just how good he can be.

- Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC): Some may say that there are better candidates on the Sounders’ roster but Montero gets my nod. His 10 goals and six assists is more than enough for me to place him here. We know just how dangerous he can be and when he is on it is something else to see.

- Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew): Before he went out with an injury GBS was the clear favorite in this race but his injury made it worth watching again. He still is up there in the top of the league leaders in goals with 10 and isn’t doing too bad with three assists on the year. If he returns to even half the form we saw out of him early on this season he still has a great shot at another MVP award.

Others to mention:

Shalrie Joseph (New England): Without him the Revs would be dead in the water.

Brad Davis (Houston): While Brian Ching scores all the goals it is Davis who does the dirty work that sets him up.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago): While I’m not a fan of his work he is second in the league in assists.

Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto): The Reds wouldn’t even be near playoff contention this year if it weren’t for DeRo.

Got any other names that I am missing?

Continue Reading…

Guillermo Barros Schelotto got the best of Claudio Lopez on Saturday in KC. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

If you blinked this weekend you may have missed some changes in the standings this weekend. A couple clubs continues to fall down the standings while a couple more continue to rise. Also we saw the western race (and the overall race for that matter) tighten up a bit with a Chivas win and a Houston win this weekend.

I believe the groups I’ve mentioned a couple weeks ago in the standings are still shaping up though one or two teams may have shifted around in the groups. The bottom of the barrell is still what it has been for a while now this year.

The Shifting Crew

The biggest move though may be one few noticed due to their game being on at the same time as the US national team’s game on Saturday (yeah, genius plan to schedule it like that). Columbus notched another win in typical Crew fashion this week in Kansas City behind two goals from their MVP and probably current league MVP front-runner Guillermo Barros Schelotto. With GBS scoring instead of setting up the goals this season we are seeing a slightly different Crew side this season but one that is starting to get results.

Sometimes it takes a club a while to get use to a new coach but if you didn’t notice the Crew are back in playoff contention right now. They also have a game to spare on those above them in the east.

Weird part may be though that this club still isn’t healthy here in the least bit this season. But as always good teams figure out a way to get results no matter the lineup. Columbus was still a good team at the start of the season but now they are finishing out games and getting points rather than struggling to get draws. Its hard to keep in mind that they’ve only lost twice this season.

One more thing, when I look at KC I still see a quality team here but I’ll keep saying it, they are missing one to two key elements to make them really good here. I think keeping their attack through Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez can help but the playmaking in the middle just isn’t there enough. Also the defensive mistakes are really hurting this club. The U-8 style defending on the first goal just won’t get it done. I know Jimmy Conrad is already taking the blame for that goal. Continue Reading…

Conor Casey and Colin Clark lead Colorado over NY. (Getty Images)

I guess one could say things are getting a little more interesting here. Summer is here which means clubs either distance themselves from others or some start to figure things out and turn things around for their season. I think after week 11 we saw some of that with some clubs flipping a switch and making things even tigher in the standings.

Honestly it was an interesting week as a whole. The midweek games gave us a preview that it would be an interesting weekend. Loads of goals and loads of cards too carried over from the midweek to the weekend. And of course some more draws happened along the way but not as in other previous weeks. I think the gulf in class is starting to show between some clubs and we are seeing that it is a very long season.

While some clubs near the bottom of the standings got wins this weekend for the first time in months, I’m not about to jump on board and say they’ve all gotten things figured out here. Some may be getting close but others are still a good bit away from being where most thought they’d be. One thing is certain though I believe we will see a very tight race for those final playoff spots this season. Sure a couple clubs will see themselves out of contention by the All-Star break but I do believe the competition for those final spots is where the league wants and needs them to be here.

As for the games this weekend, I did write down a few notes from each. Continue Reading…

Luciano Emilio and DC travel to New England to face Shalrie Joseph and the Revs. (Getty Images)

I won’t lie, last night’s game between Chicago and Chivas put a sour taste in my mouth for this weekend. The game itself was entertaining but the officiating was lacking in quality as we’ve all seen by now. Hopefully this weekend won’t be filled with yellow and red cards or lots of questionable PK calls.

Sorry for the rant but that’s just how I feel going into this weekend.

As for the weekend ahead here, we have a full slate of games with everyone in action except for Chivas (who played last night). I do hope we get seven quality games like last night’s contest though. Aside from the horrible officiating in the middle it was a good game. I’m gonna start switching things up here for the weekend previews. While I like doing longer previews for each game, time just doesn’t allow me to do so anymore for the weekend games. Instead I will stick with a quick preview and a player to look out for along with the score prediction. Continue Reading…

You know I’ve thought long and hard about FC Dallas and what to make of them so far this season. I’ve thought what it would be like if I had all the money in the world to buy them from the Hunts and make them into something that they deserve to be. I’ve also thought even more about why this club is struggling so much not just off the field but on it.

Mainly it comes down to a few factors but most ultimately end up with a lot of blame on head coach Schellas Hyndman. Continue Reading…