Levonte Johnson has become a lightning rod for criticism lately, mostly in a way that I think is either unfair or missing the point. I would like to explain why that is here.
Johnson’s detractors start from a totally correct assessment that I would not contest for a second: He isn’t very good technically. Johnson’s first touch is well below average for an MLS player, he’s not a very high-percentage dribbler, he isn’t offering very much with his passing game, and his balance is quite poor for a professional athlete (seriously, he’s always falling down, get this guy in the yoga studio). But despite all these things being true, I still think he’s a positive value player in MLS.
Thanks to MLS’s salary cap and byzantine roster rules, squad building is a bit more complicated than “Who is the best player available?” The question you need to be asking is “What’s the best way to fill this spot?” Consider Lucas Cavallini, for example. By most traditional measures he was a pretty good player. But he was terrible value because he took up a DP spot and didn’t provide the kind of game-breaking performance you need from a DP. This principle also applies further down the roster. Levonte Johnson is on what’s called the “supplemental roster.” That means he makes the minimum amount of money you can pay a senior player under the CBA and does not count against the salary cap. The fact that he even gets on the pitch enough for anybody to have any strong opinions about him probably puts him in the 90th percentile of senior minimum players. So, is Johnson the best way to fill that lowly roster spot? I would say yes, for the following reasons.
Firstly, Johnson is almost always decried as “just pace.” Well, sure, but being really fast is still helpful! When there are 10 minutes left, you’re up a goal, and the other team is pushing forwards a guy you can just pump the ball into space for is useful! Last time I checked, goals scored through pure athleticism count the same as goals scored through beautiful passing play. Johnson also does not get enough credit for the intelligence of his off-the-ball movement. He has also been criticized for poor finishing because he failed to convert a few big chances. Well, he’s able to get those chances because he makes good runs off the ball. Studies on finishing as a statistical concept show you need a huge amount of data to determine a player’s finishing ability. You certainly can’t make any determinations from less than 700 MLS minutes.
A commonly cited point, if you start arguing with people about Johnson, is a screenshot showing him having 0 goals and 0 assists in 24 appearances. But this line (if we can be generous enough to call it that) is staggeringly disingenuous. For one thing almost half of those “appearances” were less than 10 minutes in length, with many being less than 5. Sure, if you get subbed on in the 89th minute to waste some time and do some defensive running that’s “an appearance” but how likely is anyone to score in that situation? Secondly, the Canadian Championship and Leagues Cup are real games! They count, there’s a trophy at the end of them! Johnson’s Canadian Championship goals were the reason the Whitecaps avoided another humiliation at the hands of Cavalry this year. If you include all competitions Johnson averages about a goal contribution every 3 90s. That’s not great but it’s pretty standard backup fare. Make no mistake, Johnson is a backup. For all the ire he garners you’d think the Whitecaps were playing him 90 minutes every week. But they aren’t! Johnson has played about 20% of the available minutes in MLS and has started 6 (six!) games. That really isn’t very much!
As I alluded to earlier, Johnson’s value as a Canadian Championship player can’t be understated. People love to trot out the “CPL quality” line but Johnson has torched CPL defences pretty much every time he has come up against them. He has played 250 career minutes against CPL teams and scored 3 goals. That’s a really good return rate and in the games where he has failed to score, he has always at least generated a number of opportunities. Someone you can rotate in for those games who has a good chance of scoring is valuable for a team as thin upfront as the Whitecaps.
So returning to our “who is the best player for this spot” query: I would say a guy who is a reliable danger man in Canadian Championship games, can stretch opponents late in games, and might score a goal purely through being really fast in MLS is a perfectly fine use of an off-budget senior minimum slot. It is a little problematic that someone with this profile is the next man up at striker if Brian White is injured. But that isn’t Johnson’s fault, that’s a Whitecaps squad-building issue (there should be someone on the senior roster who can step into that role).
Like I said at the start, I am watching the same games you are, I know Johnson is very limited. If the Ali Ahmed of strikers comes through WFC2, by all means, kick him to the curb. But a lot of the online commentary on him is totally out to lunch.
His option was declined. I guess Schuster did read the article.
*didn’t
I think the article is good and generally spot on, but it’s missing something. He has played a total of 910 minutes of MLS action in two years. That’s the equivalent of 10 games.
Giving up on a player this inexperienced with his pace and clear soccer IQ (as you point out, he has good movement off the ball, places himself well, and generates chances) it just foolish. I keep comparing him to Theo Bair, not because he’ll end up scoring 15 goals in a season in the Scottish Premiership or wind up in League 1, but because we gave up on Bair way too early and never capitalized on his potential as a player or a transferable asset.
Johnson is never a liability on the pitch and has unknown upside. For $90,000 that doesn’t count against the cap, how is that not a no-brainer.
“Like I said at the start, I am watching the same games you are, I know Johnson is very limited.”
He also turns 26 at the start of next season. How much more ceiling do people think he is going to have? Erik Hurtado, whom many article conributors on here slagged for having limited talent and no upside because of his age and route to the pros (4 years at Santa Clara as well as time with Timbers 2) was 22 when he was drafted. Johnson flitted between schools until having one season at Syracuse that made him become an MLS draft pick, when he was a couple of months short of his 24th birthday. But apparently he has upside, but Hurtado didn’t.
I think people see what they want to see in him because he is a Canadian. If he was American, I think the narrative from the contributors here would be quite different.
Levonte aside, the Caps desperately need to sign a decent striker whose last name isn’t White. I don’t pretend to understand the complex salary cap system MLS uses, but surely we can scrape together enough Garber $ (GAM/TAM) to sign a striker with a different profile than Brian White. A lack of depth at striker is the one glaring weakness of a Caps team that’s as strong now as it’s been in years, perhaps ever.
There’s always something positive to take from a player. No matter it’s Whitecaps or my Sunday league team.
The question should be asked before even going into such conversation: what are we pursuing as a club, as fans?
We couldn’t expect all of our strikers are Brian White standard for sure, but as a young(?) player I’m really expecting a higher standard as our “minimum”. The first touch, the run, the positioning, the composure, the mind set, the finishing, the mistakes.
I didn’t even consider those 0,0,0 statistics.
At the end of the day, I don’t think it is “right or wrong” to accept players to be “okay” or “as is”.
Comparing to the previous backup young strikers like Theo Blair or Erik Hurtado, I think I would agree with most of the critics that Johnson is not at the same standard. (I would say it’s a minimum MLS standard, and yes, it is so subjective coz I’m just a fan who enjoy football)
“Make no mistake, Johnson is a backup”
Important to every successful MLS squad, very cheap back ups can do a job for you and Johnson fits that bill. Has some good things in his locker but some limitations that affect how far he will progress.
I think Schuster will address the back up forward situation with some new winter signings, possibly international and new to the league, possibly MLS experienced. In the meantime, guys like Johnson and Raposo will serve an important purpose for the club unless they get supplanted down the road by other cheaper, younger Cancon prospects who might have more ceiling.
What needs also to be kept in perspective around here: none of these guys are destined to be international call ups for us but they might continue to have good MLS careers as back ups. They are who they are.
i guess i am the outlier– the major reason i dont want him back for 2025 is that he lacks soccer skill and soccer intelligence- when he does get the ball, he is going to places that lack sense; and secondly, when running with the ball, it usually gets out of the reach of his feet and defenders strip him of the ball; he has SOME quickness, but how effective has it been ?? NOT MUCH- he rarely beats any defender
as i say frequently, speed without skill and intelligence is a lot of nothing- he usually has little to no impact in a game
Hits the nail on the head.
Great article
Your penultimate paragraph is spot on. I get frustrated that he’s the only option off the bench when the starters are done, but I’d rather see him get minutes than Kreilach who really hasn’t fit at all.
In early 2023, I laughed because WC left Levonte’s birth place and other details as UNKNOWN on thier website. That was two seasons ago.
https://www.whitecapsfc.com/players/levonte-johnson/
Poor guy gets no respect.
Just as an aside, it is Ahmed that needs some yoga and work so as not to fall down every few steps!
A number of Caps fans need a scapegoat to get angry about and go on and on about. Previously it was Tiebert, now it is Johnson. Nice article.
What a great article. Thanks!