Long Balls would be bald-face lying if we said we remembered exactly where we were the moment David Edgar uncorked an impressive long-range shot to score against Manchester United in the English Premier League on January 1, 2007. (On the floor most likely.) Sure, it was deflected, and yes, Edgar was only 19 at the time and owed the start to Nicky Butt's pregame injury, but that goal acted as a catalyst for a tiny generation of Canadian football fans, spurring as it did the belief this country was on the verge of celebrating a bona fide European star.
As it turns out, we weren't. Scoring on his home debut with Newcastle remains the pinnacle in David Edgar's European career. From there began a slow downward spiral that he is only may just be recovering from.
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Edgar stuck with Newcastle for three seasons, making only 18 first-team appearances in the Premier League. In the summer of 2009 he joined Burnley on a four-year deal and has remained in the English second-division since, bouncing on loan spells between that club and Swansea City without ever nailing down a regular first-team spot at either. He even had an official transfer between the clubs scuttled at the last minute due to some misfiled paperwork.
But Edgar's start for Burnley against Coventry City on Saturday represented his 10th appearance out of 12 Championship matches played so far. He has now almost twice as many minutes this year (853 give or take a few) as in any one of his last four seasons.
The now 24-year-old defender has earned praise from local press and fan bloggers this year, along with some recent criticism. Strong performances have given way to some mistake-filled outings. As Tony Scholes writes in the Clarets Mad match report from the Coventry match: "Poor David Edgar came close to gifting [Coventry] four opportunities in the opening ten minutes, but it wasn't just him to be fair."
The crucial difference this season, at least so far, is that manager Eddie Howe keeps picking him.
Is Edgar headed back to the Premier League any time soon? Unlikely, especially considering Burnley currently sit six points out of a promotion playoff spot. But it's not completely outside the realm of possibility. It's certainly more within the realm of possibility now that he's playing on a regular basis. Or who knows? Perhaps Edgar would enjoy playing regularly as a Canadian in the MLS for a Canadian MLS team. He could certainly earn a respectable wage doing so, while establishing himself as a fixture on the national team in time for a 2018 World Cup qualifying run.
Yes, the national team. He's played all of the last three games in Canada's current qualifying run, two at centreback and one in the problematic right back position. Some supporters see him as a solution there, others see him as the future backbone of Canada's defence, which makes sense considering he's played most of his career at centreback.
But the only thing that matters is where national team manager Stephen Hart sees him. For now Edgar must compete with Kevin McKenna, Dejan Jakovic, Andre Hainault and Adam Straith for the two spots in central defence. The longer he plays week-in-week-out with Burnley, the better his chances.
Other notes:
Rumbling big-man striker Olivier Occean returned to the scoresheet after pausing from his roaring start to the 2.Bundesliga season with Greuther Fürth. After scoring five goals in his first seven appearances he went scoreless for his next four until potting his sixth of the season in a 2-0 win against Energie Cottbus on Saturday.
Engerie Cottbus you say? Yes, the home of 20-year-old Canadian defender Adam Straith. Young Straith played 1860 minutes for Energie in the 09/10 season and then only 490 in all of last year. He's already at almost half last season's total with five appearances for Energie this year. Stephen Hart leaned heavily on Straith for the national team's 2010 friendlies then basically stopped calling him until the most recent matches against St. Lucia and Puerto Rico.
Randy Edwini-Bonsu was awarded Finnish second division club AC Oulu Player of the Year. His one and only national team cap came during the infamous friendly against Jamaica on January 31, 2010 in a Canada side that also featured Carlos Rivas, Tyler Hemming, Massih Wassey, Antonio Ribeiro, Eddy Sidra, David Monsalve and Nana Attakora.