Sounders make a suprise move: Acquire Eddie Johnson from Montreal for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle

By Money Mike

Well I don't think this was in anybodys mind. We already knew this guy signed with MLS, but none of us tought that he would end up here in Seattle, but it turns out to be the case. Earlier this afternoon, the Seattle Sounders have acquired U.S. veteran Eddie Johnson from the Montreal Impact. In exchange, the Sounders have traded Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle to the Expansion Side. This move was made about an hour after Johnson was acquired by the Montreal Impact through the Allocation process. Johnson joins the Rave Green shortly after his contract with Mexican club Puebla was cancelled due to his low fitness levels.

Johnson began his professional career with the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) in 2001 and he was inconsistant at the start of his career, scoring only seven goals in 43 matches. In 2004, he had a breakout year making 26 appearances for Dallas, scoring 12 goals and setting up three others. In 2005 however, Eddie Johnson suffered a foot injury and he didn't make much of an impact with Dallas since then. In 2006, Johnson was traded to the Kansas City Wizards and it didn't start out the way he would've wanted to, scoring only twice in 19 appearances. In 2007, Johnson returned to form and had a career year, scoring 15 goals in 24 appearances with the Wizards. In 2008, Johnson left Kansas City to join Premier League club Fulham and since then, this guy has basically disappeared. His time with Fulham has been unsuccessful, he was loaned out to three clubs and had unsuccessful stints with them. In order, 18 appearances and no goals with Fulham, 30 appearances and two goals with Cardiff City, 16 appearances and five goals with Aris Thessaloniki and 16 appearances and no goals for Preston North End. On December 22, 2011, Johnson agreed to join fellow American teammate DaMarcus Beasley at Puebla F.C. However, Johnson was released just days after signing with the club.

Going into the 2011 season, Fucito was recovering from a foot injury and Neagle, who didn't make a single appearances during his first stint with the Sounders in 2009, re-joined the club on trial after spending 2010 with USL club Charleston Battery and IFK Mariehamm in Finland. These two weren't expected to do much during the 2011 season, but after Steve Zakuani and O'Brian White suffered injuries that kept them out for the rest of the season, both Neagle and Fucito stepped up and made a huge impact. Fucito made 19 appearances and scored two goals and Lamar Neagle finished with 23 appearances and five goals including a hat-trick in a 6-2 beatdown of the Columbus Crew.

Thoughts on this move:

I'm really shocked about this move. I'm not going to tell you guys whether or not I think this is a good trade. Eddie Johnson's had his ups and downs during his career. Lately his fitness levels have been down. Adrian Hanauer and Chris Henderson must have a reason that we don't know about for acquiring Eddie Johnson. If Johnson stays healthy, I think he'll have a pretty good season. Right now, I'm just going to keep my opinion to myself and wait and see what happens.

Sounders lose James Riley in the Expansion Draft, trades Tyson Wahl

By Money Mike


The Expansion Draft took place today with the Montreal Impact joining Major League Soccer in 2012. The Seattle Sounders yet again lose a key player. As a matter of fact, they lose two key players. The Montreal Impact selected James Riley before trading him immediately to Chivas USA in exchange for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen. The Impact also acquired left back Tyson Wahl from the Sounders for allocation money, which can be used to buy down player salaries in relation to the salary cap. Former Sounder midfielder Sanna Nyassi was also taken by Montreal in the Expansion Draft. If all the speculation is true, it looks like there is another trade involving the Sounders and the Montreal Impact with Miguel Montano heading to Montreal, but there is no information at this point.

Riley joined the Seattle Sounders in 2009 having been selected by them in the Expansion draft. In his three years here, Riley made a total of 84 league appearances and scored one goal and assisted on nine others. He was voted Defender of the Year for the club and was also voted the clubs Humanitarian of the Year the past two seasons for his contributions in the community. Riley became a fan favorite here in Seattle for all of his hard work not only on the pitch, but in the community as well. With him gone, the Sounders also lose that veteran approach that Riley brought to the team. Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer said that there are going to be some changes defensively, but I didn't see this being one of them nor did the rest of the Sounder nation here in Seattle.

Wahl was another Sounder selected in the Expansion draft prior to the 2009 season. He's received some critisism from fans about his work rate a few times during the 2011 season, but you can't deny the fact that he was the most improved player on this Sounders team during the 2011 season making 23 appearances, scoring one goal and two assists. He got more playing time in 2011 than he did in his first two seasons combined here in Seattle and he got more playing time here in Seattle than he did in his three seasons with the Kansas City Wizards. This guy emerged as a weapon with dangerous crosses on set pieces. Another huge loss defensively for the Sounders.


Thoughts on Riley and Wahl leaving/Who do you go after in the transfer window?

In all honesty, I'm upset about these two guys leaving the Sounders after all the hard work on the pitch. The positive sign is that these two had a combined salary of $150,000 in 2011, so the departure of these two should give the Sounders more money to spend during the offseason.

Now there have been a couple of questions regarding home-grown talent. If you want to look for a replacement at right back, draft DeAndre Yedlin who, of course, is a defender and obviously a big deal with the University of Akron. In case you guys haven't kept track of the Sounders FC Academy, Yedlin is a native of Seattle who spent a couple years in the Sounders youth system. Yes he's only a freshman at Akron, but how often do you see a freshman defender make 22 appearances with one goal and six assists? How often do you see stats like that. I think he should enter the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and I think the Sounders should draft him in the first round. If you want a find somebody at right back, get somebody who has been in you're youth system, who knows about the team, and has prooven himself that he's ready to take his game to the next level.

Now with Wahl gone as well, who do you replace at left back? There was a rumor a week ago about Joachim Thomassen signing with the club. He's listed as a midfielder, but he can also play left back. So with Tyson Wahl now with Montreal, maybe the Sounders should consider picking up Thomassen.