Just last week as I was listening online to one of my regular UK-based sports radio programs and they were talking exceptional accomplishments in football in relation to Leo Messi’s goal numbers over the past couple of seasons. Then one of the hosts started talking about Robert Earnshaw.
Without mentioning he now plays in Toronto FC, he talked in detail how Earnshaw is the only player to ever score a hat-trick in the English Premier League, English Championship, League One, League Two, FA Cup, League Cup and an International Fixture. The 31-year old striker almost added Major League Soccer to those lists of competitions after scoring two goals in Toronto FC's hope opener against highly favorite Sporting KC.
Although not the brand name as many other players, including those who have played Major League Soccer, Robert Earnshaw was a star in English Football, scoring 167 league goals and now 233 goals overall including 16 goals for the Wales National team. He was also involved in £12,650,000 in transfers playing for clubs Cardiff City, West Brom Albion, Derby County and Nottingham Forest.
As an MLS fan it excites me to see a player who I was aware of elsewhere play for a club that I now follow. Although in evaluating his potential success in the MLS, the fact he played in the lower divisions in England and was successful, shows promise. Unlike other foreign signings, Earnshaw will not be intimated by the environment and should have some experience playing with players with a wide range of quality.
Earnshaw doesn't have the greatest size standing 5'8 and his goal scoring has been based mostly on speed and scoring instincts, which not only shows up in his goal scoring but also his ability to get shots on net. Most of his goals are scored within the 18-yard box, although during the 2010-2011 season he took responsibility of being Nottingham Forest’s dead ball specialist, scoring two direct free kick goals and four goals outside the box.
With Toronto he has already taken charge of penalty kicks where in England he has scored 12 on 17 throughout his career and the one against Kansas City was his first since 2007. One concern historically is his lack of assists with only 14, which for a forward shows an inability to hold the ball. If and when Danny Kovermans returns, TFC will hope to establish the classic Big/Small man partnership with Kovermans doing much of the dirty work.
Statistically I have been following Robert Earnshaw’s career since 2002-2003 when a then 21-year old phenom grabbed the attention of many scoring 31 goals in League One and then 21 goals in the Championship as Cardiff City moved up the English pyramid. He was bought by newly promoted premier league club West Bromwich Albion finishing in the top ten of scoring with 11 goals in 2004-2005 helping West Brom escape Relegation.
Since then, Earnshaw’s career has been similar to what is called in Baseball as a AAA+ player; not good enough for the top league but excelled in the league below which included a 19 goal season in 2006-2007 and 12 and 15 goal seasons in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. As well, his thirteen career English Premier League goals is seven more than DP Kenny Miller who cost Vancouver at least twice as much as Earnshaw has Toronto.
Which brings up the question is Robert Earnshaw a good signing? My answer will be, as with every transactions done in the MLS under a salary cap system, is it depends on how much you pay him.
In my Toronto FC analytical preview issue written before Earnshaw joined Toronto I wrote that any non DP signing historically won't make a huge difference in a team’s outcome, so I didn't expect Earnshaw to automatically make Toronto FC a wining team.
However, he is already doing better than the eight goals I predicted for him in my preseason projected statistics for Toronto FC. Another important caveat is he has a reputation for being a great guy, so at least he is a potential bright spot in what was predicted of being a rather bleak season as part of the rebuilding process.
Aaron Nielsen has worked within the soccer/sports industry for over 15 years. His statistical analysis brings the beautiful game in a whole new light. The detailed player data and prospect lists he produces are used by many scouts, agents, and football insiders around the world.You can find updating stats regularly at ENBSports.
|