MLS Week 24 Review: What Does Henrik Larsson Have to do with MLS Anyway?

By: Daryl | September 16th, 2007

Eddie Johnson ready to go Former New England Revs star Clint Dempsey scored again for Fulham this week, further cementing his reputation in the Premiership. Meanwhile Eddie Johnson has been talking about his plans to leave MLS behind and cross the pond sooner rather than later. This got me thinking about Henrik Larsson. Bear with me on this.

Because it seems like MLS players proposed moves to Europe take about a decade to actually get done, said player loses out on valuable experience. Dempsey learned nothing in his final MLS season, and didn’t look entirely interested in being there, especially after his move to Charlton was scuppered by MLS asking for a higher transfer fee. But with the MLS season scheduled how it is (ie in bizarro March to November world) that opens the door (or rather the window) for players to “do a Larsson.”

For those with very short memories, Larsson left Barcelona after the 2005/6 season, and signed for his old Swedish club Helsingborgs. But because the Allsvenskan league is scheduled somewhat similarly to MLS (April to October, coincidentally plus a Superliga style Scandinavian tournament called Royal League) Larsson was able to play on loan at Manchester United during the Swedish offseason, from January 1 to mid-March, before joining Helsingborgs.

Henrik Larsson at Man Utd I’d propose that guys like Eddie Johnson would benefit from doing exactly the same thing. Say no Premiership team makes a cash offer for Eddie Johnson when the transfer window opens in January. Part of the problem is that European clubs aren’t always keen to gamble on signing a player from MLS because it’s very difficult to gauge the standard of the league. But what if a Premiership team struggling for goals (let’s say Derby, because they are) had the opportunity to sign Johnson on a two or three month loan deal from January to March?

They wouldn’t have to pay any loan or transfer fee, and they possibly wouldn’t have to pay any wages as Johnson is still getting paid by Kansas in the MLS offseason and is eager to have a taste of Premiership football. It’s win-win as the club gets a free striker and the striker gets a free club. If it doesn’t work out then it’s still experience gained for the future, which would benefit both the player and (should he return) the MLS. If it goes well then Johnson returns to MLS in March and plays until the European transfer window reopens in the summer before joining Derby permanently.

One downside is that the Premiership clubs might not be happy to have a player and then lose him. What if Johnson joined Derby on loan, scored a boatload and gave them hope of staying up, before having to pack his bags and fly back to Kansas in March. One alternative solution is that for a small fee (so the league gets something) Johnson could be loaned from January until June. If it hasn’t worked out then he returns to MLS mid-season, a little older and a little wiser. He could even cut it short and return in March if it’s clear he’s not cutting it.

Enough rambling, because Johnson plays (and scored) in the MLS this weekend, and that’s where he’ll be until the end of this season anyway. So on with the The Offside MLS Awards:

First Past the Post: DC United
By beating RSL 2-1 on Wednesday, DC became the first team to officially make the playoffs in 2007. They’re the form team in MLS right now, so fans better hope there’s no repeat of 2006. Where they were the best team in the regular season, but not in the playoffs.

Atmosphere Award: The SuperClassico
The flares and singing that marked Chivas’ 3-0 SuperClassico win over Galaxy certainly gave the game a bit of atmosphere. Maybe throwing flares on the field smacks a little of fans trying to prove something but it gave the game a sense of occasion (and caused a nice little panic at ESPN.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M1jjjWY5So

Best Innovation by a One Footed Player: Pat Noonan
The way the low cross came in from the left, New England Rev’s Pat Noonan really should have hit it with his left. Instead he twisted his body slightly and used the outside of his right foot as a makeshift left foot to find the upper right corner.

Best Use of Gridiron: Khano Smith
Every MLS fan hates seeing games played on gridiron. It’s demeaning. But sometimes it’s useful. When Khano Smith scored the final goal in the Revs 4-2 win over Dallas (who had two from Carlos Ruiz) the gridiron markings meant we all knew for certain that he’d struck from exactly 20 and a half yards out. See for yourself (if you have Windows Media Player.)

Longest Penalty Run-Up: Cuauhtémoc Blanco
I’ve (probably) said this before but Blanco is doing everything a Designated Player should do. He’s added to the gate and added some creativity to Fire’s play, but he’s also added a sense of theater to proceedings. With Fire 1-0 down to New York Red Bulls and chasing a playoff spot they won a penalty. Blanco took it, but began his ran up way back outside the penalty area, charged at the ball and smashed it into the corner. Awesome. Red Bulls regained the lead and went up a man when Fire’s Wilman Conde made a crazy decision to handball in the box, but Fire levelled at 2-2 when Blanco crossed for Gonzalo Segares to head home.

Best Comeback Kansas City Wizards
Who needs Beckham when you have Scott Sealy? The Kansas City player fired home a sweet free kick to open the scoring for Kansas against Columbus, but the Crew came back to make it 2-1. They looked to have it won but amazingly KC scored a 93rd minute Eddie Johnson penalty and a 94th minute Sealey header to take all three points.

Flashiest Game: Colorado 1-1 Chivas
That may be the worst pun in the history of The Offside. Chivas were leading 1-0 in the 71st minute when the game was stopped due to lightning near the stadium. The local TV station apparently gave up and went to the movie of the week, but the players came back out and Colorado equalised through Colin Clark just five minutes later. The failure to take all three points meant Chivas fell short of a definite playoff spot, but it’s only a matter of time.

Keeper of the Week: Nick Rimando
The only things between Toronto and a win over RSL was keeper Nick Rimando. He kept TFC at bay more or less on his own with a total of 12 saves. Proud owners of Windows Media Player can see highlights of Rimando’s heroics. But he won’t be a popular man in Toronto. The 0-0 draw extended TFC’s MLS record scoreless streak to a staggering 822 minutes.