Source: FOOTYMAD
Eddie Johnson profile
Johnsone is the third USA international to play for PNE joining Brian McBride and Eddie Lewis to the list as well as the other two also having Fullham Connection. Edward "Eddie" Johnson was born on 31 March 1984 in Florida and became one of the youngest players to sign with Major League Soccer (MLS) when he was drafted by Dallas Burn as a Project 40 player in the second round of the 2001 MLS Super draft. In 2004 he scored 12 goals in 26 league games In January 2005, Benfica offered what would have been an MLS-record $5 million for Johnson, but Johnson and the league both rejected the offer. With Dallas in salary cap trouble, Johnson was joined the Kansas City Wizards on 14 February 2006. In August 2006, MLS had reached an agreement with Spanish club Real Scoiedad for a year-long loan but the plan fell through. Three months later he nearly joined Reading but didn’t sign for the club. Johnson returned to form with the start of the 2007 MLS season netting 12 goals from the first 11 matches. On 2 June 2007, Johnson became the first player ever to score back to back hat-tricks in MLS play when he scored three goals against the New York Bulls and New England Revolutions In July 2007 although MLS accepted a $6 million bid from Derby, Johnson preferred to finish his season in Kansas City. Johnson left the national team camp in California on 17 January 2008; he completed a transfer to Fulham on 23 January, 2008 for £3 million, signing a contract extending until the summer of 2011. Appearances at Fulham have been limited with 6 appearances in the Premier League in 2007/08 one in 2009/10 and 11 in 2010/11, but has not found the net. He made his debut as a substitute for fellow American Dempsey in the 76th minute on 23 February 2008 as West Ham won 1-0 at Fulham. A week later Johnston made his full debut in a 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United. He joined Cardiff on loan for the 2008/09 in August, making his debut for the club during a 2–1 League Cup victory over MK Dons on 26 August. He went on to make his league debut four days later as an 85th minute substitute in a 0–0 draw with Sheffield United. He scored his first goal in English football on 7 March 2009, in a 3–0 victory against Doncaster Four days later Johnson was named man of the match for his performance in Cardiff's 3–1 victory over Barnsley After two goals from 30 appearances Johnson returned to Fulham from Cardiff for the 2009/10 season and featured in the majority of Fulham's pre-season fixtures. On December 31, 2009, Johnson joined Greek side Aris Thessaloniki on loan for the remainder of the 2009/10 season. On 13 January 2010, Johnson made his first appearance for Aris, coming on as a 79th minute substitute in a 2–0 victory over Asteras Tripoli in the Greek Johnson scored two goals in their playoff win over Olympiacos. Johnson scored 5 goals for Aris in 16 league appearances and was one of the top goalscorers in the Greek Super League Playoff with 3 goals Johnston joined Preston on loan on 31 January to seek regular football. Johnson had significant success at the U-17 level, scoring 23 goals in 25 appearances and leading that team in scoring in both 2000 and 2001. This success continued at U-20 level, and in 2003 he won the Fifa World Youth Championship Golden boot as the top scorer. Johnson received his first cap and scored his first goal for the senior USA team against El Salvador on 9 October 2004. He then scored a hat-trick in his second appearance four days later, all within a seventeen-minute spree against Panamas. Johnson appeared in two matches at the2006 FIFA World Cup and was named to the United States pre-2010 FIFA World Cup squad but was cut before the team traveled to South Africa. Overall he has notched 12 goals from 42 International appearances.
