David Bentley (possibly) and Eddie Johnson to MLS: Last Chance Saloon for both?

Wonker (Flickr) and Jarrett Campbell

With the MLS season kicking off next month, teams throughout the league have been shuffling their decks with the hopes of getting the balance right in a league that is so renowned for its parity and competitiveness. In this preseason merry-go-round, the names of two players who are looking for redemption in their respective careers have come to the fore: David Bentley and Eddie Johnson.

There are parallels to be drawn between these two players, despite the fact that Bentley and Johnson are a winger and striker respectively. Johnson, whose 2007 MLS season was a career year for him, was the subject of widespread interest abroad, which eventually culminated in his January 2008 transfer window move to Fulham. Bentley, who had just finished off a couple of scintillating seasons at Blackburn, found himself intoxicated by the lure of Tottenham's bright lights and Champions League aspirations left a comfortable situation at Ewood only a few months after Johnson had penned his deal. Both looked destined to wear the colors of their countries on the international stage for years to come, but, in continuation of the aforementioned parallels, this was not to be and both couldn't be any further from their national teams at this point.

Bentley's spell at Tottenham has been blighted by so many issues from day one. A lack of form, injuries, the emergence and evolution of both Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale have conspired to keep him off the field at White Hart Lane. Subsequent loan spells at Birmingham, where he failed to impress, and West Ham, where his time was cut short due to a knee injury, have done very little to offer him any renewed hopes of suiting up for Spurs or England anytime soon. 

With the hope of renewing his career, Bentley's agent has recently spoken of his client's desire for a loan move to MLS, and the rumor mill has labeled Vancouver as being likewise interested in soliciting his services. Should Bentley find his way into the league, whether in Vancouver or elsewhere, he would be oh so very wise to not underestimate MLS in the way that some European exports have in the past. The athleticism and physicality of the league is very much on par with that seen in England, and other challenges inherent to MLS, such as extensive travel not seen in smaller European countries and playing in the dead of summer, have proven to be problematic for foreigners before. Bentley will have to acclimate quickly to these aspects of the game in North America, and it will be absolutely paramount for him to do so. A flop here in MLS would just about spell an end to his Premier League and probably relegate him to being a Championship player for the foreseeable future.

There is probably at least some hope for Bentley, but I'm a bit more skeptical of Johnson's prospects in returning to MLS. Johnson has already signed a contract with MLS and Colorado has already signaled their interest, which is surely the result of concerns over Conor Casey's recovery from at torn Achilles, but it seems, understandably so, that there might not be much interest from other locales. 

To say that Johnson's career has fizzled since his transfer to Fulham would be a bit too kind; I'd go so far as to say that it has stopped just short of flatlining. In but 20 total appearances for Fulham from 2008-2011, Johnson never scored, and a loan spell at Cardiff for the 2008-2009 season saw his score a paltry two goals  in 33 appearances. There was some hope to be mustered when he scored five goals while on loan again at Aris in Greece for the 2009-2010 season, but this hope was once again lost when Johnson was released by Puebla in December of last year, merely days after signing with the club and without playing a single game for them. The word is that this quick dismissal by Puebla was the result of his fitness being nowhere near where it needed to be.

Concerns about fitness aside, it is also not to be discounted that Johnson's reputation before his move to Fulham was largely built upon two good seasons in MLS (2004 and 2007) and a torrid scoring streak in a US shirt. In between these spells of good form, a healthy and fit Johnson was plagued by inconsistency in front of goal (tallies of two, two, three, five and two in MLS seasons other than 2004 and 2007), and one would be remiss to not mention that the standard of play in MLS is unquestionably higher than it was when he left. If he was short of match fitness only a few weeks ago, he will have needed to turn the corner very quickly if he is going to be of any use to anyone in about three weeks' time.

Two players, two former next great things for their countries, and now two players striving to come anywhere close to replicating previous glories. MLS isn't the easiest road to take for this purpose, which in turn also makes it perhaps the best road to take as the club season in Europe winds down. Hopefully they would see it the same way.