Will Johnson: All-Star

[rdroze]

Will Johnson has been named to the MLS All-Star team following the injury of Shalrie Joseph.

Nice. I get the feeling it may not be his last All-Star appearance.

[jonovision]

quote:Originally posted by rdroze

Nice. I get the feeling it may not be his last All-Star appearance.

The only way it's his last is if he punches his ticket back to Europe in the near future.

[Obinna]

wow, excellent achievement for him, hope he gets to see the field for this one

[loyola]

Pat Onstad also has been added to the All-Star roster. He'll join Kasey Keller as the MLS keepers.

[BearcatSA]

Congratulations, Will!

[bettermirror]

Outstanding. So where was this form in the GC? Was he played out of position?

[FootieFool]

quote:Originally posted by bettermirror

Outstanding. So where was this form in the GC? Was he played out of position?

I thought Will showed good form in the Gold Cup.

[bettermirror]

Not for me.

[redhat]

I'm sure Will played much better with his MLS team than with the

Canadian squad. That being said, I thought he played well, and tried to

do a lot of the offensive plays on the right flank, many times getting fouled

as a result.

People forget that this GC squad gets together for less than 2 weeks and they

are supposed to play as if they've been together forever. That's why lots of

friendlies are essential to any preparation or campaign.

[BearcatSA]

There are lots of things I liked about his play during the tournament, particularly his playing making instinct with the use of a quick pass. However, in the QF we needed more out there than what his specific skillset could provide: he opted to play the ball backwards to the mids or Stalteri on a number of occasions when he looked to have a good opportunity for a 1 v 1. Regardless, I'm looking to see him do well in the rest of the season with RSL and to make more appearences with our MNT.

[brownbear]

I side with those who were not overly impressed with Will's play during the GC. I thought he was adequate and nothing about his play jumped out at me. To paraphrase another poster, does he play a different position on his club team?

[Guest Ed]

Well to put a different spin on WJ, I think he will evolve into our number 10 within a couple of years. He is a smart player and we are hurting somewhat on that front.

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA

There are lots of things I liked about his play during the tournament, particularly his playing making instinct with the use of a quick pass. However, in the QF we needed more out there than what his specific skillset could provide: he opted to play the ball backwards to the mids or Stalteri on a number of occasions when he looked to have a good opportunity for a 1 v 1. Regardless, I'm looking to see him do well in the rest of the season with RSL and to make more appearences with our MNT.

I agree with this assement and would add that he has an excellent first touch relative to many on the Canadian team and moves pretty well off the ball to (although that is harder to judge on a TV screen).

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by brownbear

I side with those who were not overly impressed with Will's play during the GC. I thought he was adequate and nothing about his play jumped out at me. To paraphrase another poster, does he play a different position on his club team?

Yes. He plays a more defensive position and more centrally.

[RS]

From what I've seen, he plays alongside Beckerman and Morales in the central midfield. He seem to be a box-to-box type there, although he does concentrate more on the defensive side of the ball as the RSL attack goes through Morales and Clint Mathis.

[Macksam]

Will started off strong but sort of trailed off towards the end of the Gold Cup.

[Tuscan]

^ I noticed that too, and I wonder if it's because our competition didn't really heat up until the game against the Ticos, which really showed his inadequacies in a winger position. I thought he was brilliant in the first two matches, a definite play-maker, but come the Ticos, and especially the dirty honduran game, he really fell off the radar and was neutralized quite easily. I have faith that he will become a better player who can contribute both on the attack and on defense, almost a super Kevin Harmse (but with actual positives associated and good decision making). The one thing about his performances this tourney that shouldn't be forgotten is that he is a hard fakin worker, every second he was on the pitch he was involved somehow, and that was impressive. If we could just make him a finisher (dear lord, that point blank attempt during the dirty H game), the kid would be golden.

[Keegan]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

Well to put a different spin on WJ, I think he will evolve into our number 10 within a couple of years. He is a smart player and we are hurting somewhat on that front.

He isn't good enough to be our #10 he is a hard worker with pace, ball winning skills, passing and a powerful shot but he lacks the touch, technique and skill to be a #10. He doesn't have the skill of a guy like De Rosario or De Guzman guys who have recently played that role for the MNT. But who knows I mean Canadian players generally get better later and Will is better than De Ro was at his age.

[nolando]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

Well to put a different spin on WJ, I think he will evolve into our number 10 within a couple of years. He is a smart player and we are hurting somewhat on that front.

I agree completely. He's young and oozes potential. Now get him out of the MLS soon, please.

[Macksam]

quote:Originally posted by Tuscan

^ I noticed that too, and I wonder if it's because our competition didn't really heat up until the game against the Ticos, which really showed his inadequacies in a winger position. I thought he was brilliant in the first two matches, a definite play-maker, but come the Ticos, and especially the dirty honduran game, he really fell off the radar and was neutralized quite easily. I have faith that he will become a better player who can contribute both on the attack and on defense, almost a super Kevin Harmse (but with actual positives associated and good decision making). The one thing about his performances this tourney that shouldn't be forgotten is that he is a hard fakin worker, every second he was on the pitch he was involved somehow, and that was impressive. If we could just make him a finisher (dear lord, that point blank attempt during the dirty H game), the kid would be golden.

Yeah, I agree totally. Anyhow, I see good things from him in the future.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by Gordon

I agree with this assement and would add that he has an excellent first touch relative to many on the Canadian team and moves pretty well off the ball to (although that is harder to judge on a TV screen).

Good point. In the first half of the QF he hit a great first time pass which an in-stride Hutchinson failed to control effectively, so that gives you an example of what he's capable of on his touch. Also, though he missed that great chance I liked how he moved into the scoring position in the first place, so perhaps that's an example of his instincts.

The one thing that I have concerns about involves his physical attributes. Right now, he seems too lightweight for the 50/50 challenges but perhaps that will improve with a few years and strength training (as an aside, I felt the same way about JDG a few years ago but he's become for more robust as he matured, so hopefully the same will happen with Johnson). As well, though I like his hustle he doesn't strike me as really quick or fast, so at the international level I'm not sure playing the wing in a mainly advanced role is his best spot.

However, I'm pleased to see him get many kudos from the posters and I hope he continues to develop into an important member of our MNT.

[nolando]

Will played the whole second half and scored a goal during PKs but the MLS allstars lost 4-3 after going 1-1 during regular time.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by nolando

Will played the whole second half and scored a goal during PKs but the MLS allstars lost 4-3 after going 1-1 during regular time.

Good to see him cooly slot that home!

Everton looked like they were running on fumes for the second half but Howard and one of his posts forced the match to penalties. Second half sub Donovan was playing like his hair was on fire and gave the fans their money's worth, so good on him. I realize it was an ESPN broadcast catering to an American audience but listening to Harkes' jingoistic commentary praising Keller and Howard during the shootout made me want to puke.

[SoccMan]

I love these coments about how players should get out of the MLS and go play in Europe. If your good enough you will find your way back to Europe. Look at all the American players who are in Europe, most of them played in the MLS first, they proved themselves in the MLS, by starting and playing most of the games and playing well. If you play well in the MLS European teams will notice and will come calling. This is what Will Johnson realized, and that's why he came back to play in the MLS. If he plays well and proves to people that he can play well in the MLS European teams will come calling simple as that. I remember our good friend Jason Bent who thought he was too good for the MLS when he played for Colorado. I saw him play for Colorado Rapids several times and he did not stand out,was not even one of their top players,however, after a couple of seasons in the MLS he quit and went to tryout in Europe and played in the fourth division in England and did not advance any higher if I recall. He should have stayed in the MLS and proven himself there, instead of leaving. You should only consider leaving the MLS if you are standing out with your play in the MLS, Jason Bent at the time of his departure from the MLS had not proven himself in this league . If you don't stand out in the MLS what makes one think that you will in a decent league in Europe. Prove yourself in the MLS first let the European clubs take notice of your play in the MLS and then you should consider going not before.

[Gian-Luca]

Not that I disagree with your main point, but I will just for clarity's sake mention that Bent helped his fourth division team (Plymouth) make it up one level and played the last 2-3 seasons of his career at third level in the UK before his career prematurely ended through injury.