By Doug McBride
Who’s the best player in the Premier League this season?
It’s time to cast your vote people. This season’s PFA Player Of The Year (POTY) shortlist includes Wayne Rooney (Man. United), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), and Carlos Tevez (Man. City. The Young Player of the year category includes Rooney, Fabregas, James Milner (Aston Villa), and Joe Hart (Birmingham City). If you agree with the recently announced short list we’d love to hear from you, and if you’ve got a gripe, well…likewise. Speaking of gripes…here’s a tip: There was no mention of Frank Lampard this year among the top names, even though he led all midfielders with a personal best of 17 goals in the Premier League this season. Lampard also led his team with 12 assists, which puts him one behind Fabregas’ league leading 13, and his team broke a team record for goals scored in all competitions this season. There’s also the fact that Lampard’s team sit four points ahead of Man United at the top of the league, with just a handful of game left to play. So, who’s your pick for the Premier League’s POTY? Praise, gripes, arguments and rants are all welcome here in equal amounts, so don’t be shy.
UPDATED AS OF 4/15/2010
Whatever happened to Freddy Adu and Eddie Johnson?
If you haven’t heard much about the progress of Freddy Adu, or Eddie Johnson in a while, well…join the club. Adu, long touted as the future of American soccer has been languishing on the bench the last three seasons in Portugal and France for Benfica, Monaco, and Belenenses. In a nutshell, the guy hasn’t made much progress with regard to playing time or goals. Eddie Johnson has been doing much of the same since signing for Fulham F.C. EJ never played much, and never scored for Fulham, but he did go out on a loan spell with Cardiff City, where he contributed 2 goals and 4 assists. Too bad those tallies required 5 starts and 25 appearances as a sub. In an interesting turn of events though, Adu and Johnson both signed loan deals with Greek side Aris F.C. within a few days of one another back in mid January. Both Benfica and Fulham have retained the rights to their respective players, but Aris has an option to buy in both cases. It could be argued that neither player has even played well enough to warrant a permanent move though. Adu has tallied 2 goals in 6 appearances for Aris, while Johnson has 2 goals in 15 appearances for the side. So, neither has lit up the scoring charts exactly. The move amounts to a European lifeline of sorts for both players, and a last, desperate chance to impress before the World Cup. Truth be told, this might be a last chance in Europe period, for both players before one or both of them are forced to return to MLS, after failed European journeys. Unfortunately, neither player should be considered a serious contender for the U.S. World Cup Team, on this kind of form (or lack of form). So, what’s your take? If you’ve got thoughts on Adu or Johnson give us a shout, a tweet, or start a conversation on our website or facebook fan page!
