According to reports out of England, Fulham has put the word out that it wants to unload Johnson and four other players during the winter transfer window in order to reduce its salary bill.
The development shouldn't come as a surprise for Johnson, who has struggled for minutes even amid injury woes at the London club. Johnson has made just one league appearance this year and has yet to score a goal in his two years with Fulham.
Where will Johnson turn to next? He enjoyed some success during a loan stint with Cardiff City last year, but it remains unclear whether he will find opportunities with any League Championship teams this time around. Might a return to MLS be in the cards? It seems unlikely unless Fulham releases him outright.
Where would you like to see Johnson go next? Would you like to see him land in the League Championship, or do you think it is time for him to come back to MLS with an eye toward a run at a 2010 World Cup roster spot?
Share your thoughts below.
Agree. By all accounts he has improved in the last 2 years. No reason to head back to MLS just yet.
I’ll take that bet in a heartbeat. He won’t see one second of playing time this weekend.
Wouldn’t put him on my team even if I was the GM or manager of San Jose.
The guy is a bonefied bust.
He’s got the first touch of a newborn fawn.
The ‘love’ at Cardiff for Eddie wasn’t legit. If you follow the online forums, at least, it was apparently something of a cruel put-on at Eddie’s expense. They compared him to Forrest Gump.
I think the guy can still offer something if he can get his head in the right place, which may be a tough ask at this point. He should leave the yobs and go to Scandinavia where he can get some real PT at a decent level.
We don’t want him.
Get out of England… Holland, France, or Denmark are the leagues Eddie should aim for.
Eddies got 1 major problem: He’s too pricey. Championship teams might be interested, but willing to buy him from Fulham for a significant sum? Not likely. I doubt Fulham will get much for him in this economy. But if they expect to make their money back on the deal and ask for too much, he wont move.
He’ll go somewhere in England at the end of the day. No viking teams or teams from continental Europe will be willing to pay for him, I think.
come on, man. taking a penalty in stoppage time of a league fixture against tim howard, with 40,000 Merseysiders screaming at you is one thing.
taking one in a reserve match against a 17 year old goalkeeper with no one watching is quite another.
Beautiful.
might as well go to league 1 and try and get time there pre-world cup. MLS will eventually be the best fit, but he needs to play this winter.
Oh… and one other good thing about this… EJ will now likely get a few looks as Fulham will have to show him off in the shop window… I think he will make an appearance this week for Fulham.
In that case:
DC will hire Onalfo, unload Emilio or cut his salaray in half, then bring in EJ.
Emilio and EJ up top in black and red. 30+ goal season between the two. I can see it now….
TK… you are cooking the books… EJ started in MLS when he was 16… He was injured for over 2 of those years and yet scored 41 goals in 127 apps… that is 1 goal in 3 games and is regarded as a “very good’ scoring rate… He learned a lot at Cardiff and even more at Fulham… Fulham have no reason to pay a player 15k (GBP) a week when he cant make the starting 11… that is why they are transfer listing him.. they can find a player for a quarter of his wages that can provide cover.. also I think you are slighting Fulham a bit..they are a quality EPL side these days… Jozy cant even make impact @ Hull yet you all crown him the next big thing…
He was there last season on loan in Cardiff. So I’d assume no worries.
He’s too good for the MLS, and not good enough for the Premier League. Let’s be honest, there is a huge gap between the two leagues. I say go to a League One or Championship side where he can find consistent playing time.
I do dare say it, but with the absense of James Beattie at Stoke City after January, why not go sword fight with Tony Pulis in the locker room? (Joking, but seriously, a move to Stoke could happen.)
Hypotheticals aside, he should really just go to a lower league where he can get playing time. The name of the club should have nothing to do with his decision, rather how much time he spends on the pitch.
Blohkin… I watch Fulham with a very very kean eye… EJ did not look out of place in the game against West Ham… He should have scored and it could have been the turning point… He also saw very little time behind 3 very good strikers @ Cardiff.. there is no doubt EJ needed to learn how to play differently as speed can be neutralized by intelligent defending in most cases but that being said… he still has desirable ability and someone will give him a chance… you do not give up on a player who has scored 12 times for a national team ranked in the top 20 of the world… I honestly think EJ could do just as good of a job as some other strikers in the Prem (one named Jozy Altidore comes to mind)….
You guys kill me with your fantasies.
No one is paying his wages. Ever. Unless EJ tears up his contract or FFC pays part of it he is going to be in limbo. An overpayed striker who can’t score. Wonderfull.
Again,7 MLS seasons. One and a half where he actually scored or was effective. Washout in Europe.
Yet, the fantasy continues.
Also it is worthy to note that guys on the reserve side like Riise see first team action consistently in Europa and they were not the ones who stepped up to take the PK.
I think after this past weekend in the EPL with the misses by Lampard and Defoe we can not discount the importance of being able to step up and score a PK when called upon.
hahahah perfect!
Hollywood United???
I’m amazed by the spin that EJ apologists are putting on this move…. “he wasn’t given a chance,” “he’s played so well for the Reserves,” “he’ll find playing time elsewhere and compete for starting spot at WC…”
Wake up! This is not a positive outcome. This is not a validation of EJ’s skills/ability. Fulham, not exactly known for its depth of scoring firepower, is dumping this guy ASAP…
The only place for EJ in South Africa is in the stands. Why would BB reward EJ’s failure- and make no mistake EJ failed at Fulham, despite all these apologists still wishing for his 2004-2005 form…
Let it go already…..
Rangers, Monaco, or Belenenses.
yeah, but what if he doesnt find playing time? unless he latches on with a team like alcorcon or willem II or le havre, all signs suggest that he wont.
You obviously haven’t watched KC play. Any goals he scores there would be well-deserved.
I would assume he’d have work permit issues if he was to go to the Championship?
I think his time in England is done.
Good point. He has been scoring and playing on a pretty good reserves squad. He just needs to get to a team that is short of strikers and then establish a position. I think a lot of coaches/managers are a bit superstitious with their strikers and will play the guy they think will save the day. I think EJ needs to score in the minutes given to get that break. Most managers don’t have the luxury to just play a striker hoping he will get in the game eventually.
Agreed..the American system should focus more on learning the game the right way, we already have the physical abilities.
Johnson is the prime example of what was wrong with the US youth system a decade ago. All this talent and raw skill but no soccer mind to use that skill. You can’t depend on a lucky bounce and your genes 100% of the time to score. Some players need to be taught how to play instead of being told how good they were because they were more athletic than the guy next to him.
Agreed — I also agree with Barry that Denmark would be a good place for him. Denmark, the last resort of Americans desperate not to return to MLS?
Cardiff could have kept him for another season — they didn’t want him. The loan was very expensive and not all that successful.
I can guess that MLS is the last place he wants to go after being with a mid-table PL club in London for several years.
He’ll stay in Europe where he’ll make more money and — if he does find PT — his goals there will look more impressive to Bob than goals in Kansas City.
i dunno, i want to believe in him, but i can’t help but think he’s just not that good. people always talk about how he has this great natural ability, i just dont see it.
the guy scored twice in an entire campaign in the championship, what makes anyone think he would be a starter for a team like cardiff, let alone a team in the eredivisie.
again, i will always pull for eddie, and it troubles me that he has not gone on to greater things, but i cant help but think he might need to return to MLS or drop down a couple levels if he stays in europe.
How about Holland or France?
Awesome.
it was a penalty. not that sick.
How about Hull? Obviously I’m wearing USMNT rose-tinted glasses, but it was the first team that popped into my head…
I think you’re right. A return to Cardiff would be best for him. Get him some serious Playing Time and maybe he could work his way into a WC 2010 spot. However, I’m wondering if Tracy may not be moving up the board quicker than Findley, Cunningham, and EJ as a likely filler at Striker. Still would like to see us have multiple options for WC 2010 and not just 1 or 2.
i can see him going to the viking leagues
A cardiff fan said it best… “his crapness seems to have become a bit of legend and myth rather than reality”… I have watched Eddie very closely over the past years and he has improved his overall game a great deal… he still has confidence issues but so would anyone when you are a striker that sits behind Clint Dempsey when all the other strikers are crocked… Eddie really has never been given a fair shake at Fulham. He certainly has played well enough to warrant a start yet Hodgson still does not give it to him… Nevland has had the same sort of treatment but Erik has taken the few chances he gets and Eddie just has not in games… (not counting reserves where he is a legend!. I would like to see him go to Reading.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but… EDDIE, COME BACK TO KANSAS CITY!
But if Johnson was to come back to MLS, I would imagine he would want to be wherever Onalfo is coaching, as Onalfo was the coach that helped him re-find his scoring touch in MLS that lead to his transfer to Fulham.
How about a stint on the continent someplace? Maybe the Eridivise or SAS Ligaen might be a good place for him to play? The guy is still young and you never know what might happen if he gets some games in a row. Scoring for the reserves in the EPL is never a bad thing.
He seems to play well in the MLS. Maybe a team like RSL could use him, especially if Johnson could get back to his goal scoring ways.
Belgium, Denmark, or CCL!
I think it would be a good move if EJ were able to go back to Cardiff. They loved him and he loved them. They’re sitting third right now in the Championship so they will be battling the rest of the way to get promotion. I think he could be a good striker in the Premiership if he’s already an established starter, which I think he could do if he goes there, when they go up. He might not start when he first walks in the door but I think we all know he has the ability to be a starter. But does he have the work ethic? I hope he gets back on track and there is a battle between him and Robbie Findley for the starting spot in SA.
I think a move to Netherlands would be good for him.
Classic title Ives!
Perhaps even better would be “Hodgsen ready to unload Johnson”
Eddie needs to come back to MLS, find his form again, get his mind and ego back to Planet Earth and show everyone (including himself) that he still has talent or doesn’t.
Please Bob, no more EJ on the national team until he gets some playing time. He did not look good in his last appearance. If he goes to a Championship team I think he could get some minutes and work his way back to becoming a scoring threat, but right now I think he’s not worth a roster spot, even if Davies is still injured in the summer.
Scored the winner yesterday against the Arsenal Reserves. I bet a Championship team picks him up. He has been scoring regularily in the reserve squad and he looked good in preseason. Maybe he is not Prem quality yet but he can hang in England I think.