Hello PNE supporters... First off congrats on signing Eddie, I truly hope he helps in pulling you off the bottom. I am probably one of the few people that can give you the most honest assessment about Eddie's ability, situation, loan spells and early career as I was from Kansas City and support both the Wizards (now called Sporting KC) and Fulham for over 10 years now.
I knew that some Fulham and Cardiff supporters would try to get word to you all that Eddie was not all that good but the fact of the matter is, he is much better than they will ever give him credit for... so here goes a fairly in-depth look at his time in England (and Wales and Greece) after his arrival from my home town club.
Eddie arrived at Fulham in January of 2008 and there was immediate speculation at the time that he was more a Sanchez signing than a Roy Hodgson signing and that much of the legwork had been done by Sanchez and Hodgson seeing how Fulham were in a great deal of trouble decided to continue with the signing and see what he could do.
Hodgson indeed saw what Eddie could do... NOT MUCH...why not much you say? Probably because he just threw him onto the pitch in a spot he never played before.. the wing against Manchester United no less... He saw Johnson's pace and Fulham lack of it and thought it might help... It did not, Eddie looked nervous, unsure and certainly not up for it. Eddie finally got to play up top in his last game of that season against Blackburn in a much needed fixture and actually won the free kick at the top of the box that Jimmy Bullard lashed home for a much needed point...Johnson was only good for one thing at the time...pace over the top which created space for the midfield as teams trying to run the trap knew they would get burned with a high line..
So what we learned was something I already knew... Eddie was severely lacking in tactical awareness and his touch was very nervy... A lot of this goes back to the US system that he was brought up in...most of the time especially at the youth levels of our national team, there was a focus on athleticism up top, a great engine in the midfield and good goal keeping... That worked very well at the U17 World Cups at the time but would prove to fail as the players matured. Basically it just meant that over half the players would be decent technically, excellent athletically and clueless tactically... Eddie was the poster boy for this mold...
Eddie went through the summer and it became clear that he was not going to be in Hodgson's plans in that upcoming season (after Fulham's great escape) and was loaned out to Cardiff where he was greeted with some pretty decent fanfare as Peter Risdale told the supporters that he was to come in and bring goals but was on Premiership wages (and Cardiff were footing a bill of around 15k per week) and for a club in some fairly significant financial troubles at the time, that was a big deal.
So Cardiff.... after already being informed that he would cost a pretty penny the supporters were very excited that Eddie might be just what they needed and all came out to watch him play against MK Dons in the League Cup, Eddie had a gilt edged chance tipped over the bar in the 41st minute by a fine save but from inside the 6 he should have scored... Throughout Eddie looked not in-sync with his team (fair enough that he had 2 days of training only with them) but it also was clear that he just was not sure where to be... Then came the match where 90% of the Cardiff vitriol still stems from... The Swansea match is where Eddie had a well and true stinker... He was clueless and worst of all looked lazy... Most of the Bluebird supporters never got over that match and held on to it tight when concerning Eddie... It was finally clear to Dave Jones that Eddie was just not sufficiently ready to help in a starting role and needed to learn a lot about playing the CF position... The Cardiff staff began to work privately on his teaching (I am sure they were shocked about paying 15k a week for a player who was not sure where to even be on the pitch) and eventually things began to click with Eddie, he learned where to run, how to chase and close down defenders and even how to hold the ball up... During the winter months Eddie got a few chances and actually did quite well but in between was forced to go home for a family tragedy that took him right back down the ladder he had worked up... Also at that time Cardiff brought in Michael Chopra who just added another fairly quality player on top McCormack and Bothroyd that he would have to unseat for playing time. The final nail in the coffin was Eddie against Plymouth making a run through on defense and expecting a ball to be played by Chopra... Chopra did not play it until several seconds after it should have been and Eddie was offside by a good 15-20 yards and looked foolish in a televised game... Eddie then became a laughing stock fans began to take the piss.. By that time they realized while he may have turned into a hardworking and honest player, he was not going to be an answer for them and their promotion hopes... Then Bothroyd and Chopra both got injured and Eddie was about all there was... he came on and actually for the fans that looked at things objectively looked quite good and even earned a few man of the match awards for excellent play which included some nice assists and a couple of McCormack rebound goals created from forced good saves. Eddie still had not scored though and finally the day came against Donny Rovers... Up 2-0 and rolling in an important game Eddie come on and curled one home on the run from the top of the box and the place went mental... Most of them were taking the piss but Eddie was relieved to have finally scored. He went on to feature mostly as a sub and score a lovely 1 on 1 vs Derby (only to have a cruel own goal minutes later on a corner that hit off his head that he know nothing about) and finished the season with Cardiff on a personal high note but as you know the club missed on playoffs thanks to a 6-0 smacking from PNE...
So while the loan spell produced only 2 goals and 4 assists in 30 apps you must understand that only 7 were starts and most were last 5 minute sub apps. The main point however was it made Eddie realize how hard it was to succeed in English football and it provided him a much greater understanding about tactical awareness and off the ball running.
Back with Fulham Eddie started very bright in preseason down in Australia scoring a few goals and looking a good partner with Eric Nevland.. things were looking up. Eddie even got a late sub appearance in the Europa League qualifier and provided a splendid assist late on for Andy Johnson... With Bobby Zamora struggling to find the back of the net and Kamara always complaining it seemed like Eddie would get his chances but as it turns out Hodgson only was playing him so much in preseason and early in the summer to try and attract buyers as he was not in Roy's plans... Eddie only got one start in the League Cup against Man City (where he got an assist) and 2 sub apps in the Prem where he blew a gilt edged chance that would have given Fulham a win over West Ham late on.
Eddie was desperate to try and make the US World Cup squad so he was eager to go out on loan again... this time it was a bit of a strange one... he would travel to Thessaloniki to play for Aris FC under Hector Cuper....This would prove to be Eddie's most successful stint... Eddie performed very well under Cuper and looked the player that people back home in the US thought he could be... Eddie scored 2 lovely goals against Olympiakos in the playoffs and was a favorite with the great fans of Aris... His loan spell had ended but he received a call up to the US pre-World Cup camp and everything was looking up for him... Eddie got to camp unfortunately with a hamstring issue and it ultimately prevented him from making the squad.
During the summer preseason Eddie again looked to be a much improved player and perhaps was going to finally make his mark, he scored some lovely 1 v 1s including 1 against Werder Bremen at the Cottage and the fans that had not already written him off were seeming impressed by the difference in him... Zamora returned after having a magnificent year along with the entire Fulham squad and while nobody thought Eddie was going to be a starter there were several (myself included) who thought he would add to the squad and things seemed fresh for him under Mark Hughs.. Zamora then broke his leg and Andy Johnson was still not back from injury and Eddie was getting chances and playing well enough to be mentioned several times in interviews after the match. Eddie had 2 real chances to finally open his account for Fulham and as luck would have it both times he was denied by fabulous saves...Hughs then signed Moussa Dembele and with Andy Johnson retuning along with the emergence of Clint Dempsey and still waiting Diomansy Kamara it became clear that Eddie was not going to get many more appearances... His agent sought a loan and he has now ended up in probably the best possible place for him... A team that can use a player who in my opinion is on the rise...
So... what can Eddie really do now after all this experience out on loan and with Fulham? The honest assessment with no preconceived notions is this... He will work hard, he will cause the opposition to be nervous and he will finish much better than people give him credit for... His does not blast the ball into row Z as some might have alluded, he does not shoot straight at the keeper and he is actually quite excellent in 1 v 1 situations...
