Ex-Files: Eddie Lewis
Born in California, Lewis first started playing soccer at UCLA in Los Angeles where he was a potent goal scoring threat, despite being a midfielder. After his graduation, Lewis was drafted by the San Jose Clash in the third round of the 1996 MLS College draft and became a regular fixture in the side in just his second season. As a result, he attracted interest from abroad, namely First Division Fulham, who brought Lewis to Craven Cottage after making over 100 appearances in three years for Clash.
Lewis endured a torrid time in West London as he was largely used as a fringe player, making little over 20 appearances for the club and as a result , sought after first team football. First team football is what he got as his availability alerted Preston manager Craig Brown, who saw Lewis as the final piece of the Preston jigsaw and signed the American international for £500,000 in the summer of 2002.
For the first time in his career, Lewis was a first team regular right from the start of his tenure and proved to be an influential player at Deepdale. His best season for the Lilywhites proved to be his last as Preston reached the Championship Play-Off Final. His impact from the left flank was nearly enough to fire Preston to the big time, only to fall at the final hurdle against West Ham United in a 1-0 Plat-Off final defeat at Cardiff in May 2005. Lewis didn't have the best of games, which of course was his last for the club.
After months of speculation regarding his future, Eddie Lewis rejected the offer of a new contract from Preston and joined Leeds United on a free transfer, joining up with former Preston team mate, David Healy and later Richard Cresswell. Lewis was a fans favourite at Deepdale, but his popularity rapidly diminished when he became a Leeds United player, especially as Preston fans urged the American winger to sign on. The Californian made over 100 appearances for Preston and scored 16 goals.
Lewis' time at Elland Road was a mixed one to say the least, enjoying the highs of the Promotion chasing year of 2006 and enduring the misery of relegation to English football's third tier. Although he became a key player for the club, Leeds narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League which seemed to spark the decline in Leeds' fate. Following the 3-0 defeat to Watford in the Play-Offs, Leeds were relegated to League One the following season and as a result, Lewis left the club and joined Derby County, where he was reunited with his former Preston boss, Billy Davies.
Derby had just gained promotion to the Premier League under the guidance of Billy Davies and was brought to the club and given the difficult task of supplying Derby's strike force in order to keep the up. Unfortunately for Lewis and Derby County, his first full season in the Premiership proved to be a record breaking one for the wrong reasons. Derby smashed Sunderland's record of the least amount of points gained in a Premier League season, 11, and also the number of defeats in any one Premier League season.
Despite the arrival of Paul Jewell, Derby's form continued to be poor and as a result, Jewell as indicated that there will be a massive clear out this summer, citing that many of the current crop of players will never play for the club again. Whether or not Lewis is one of the ones out of the door remains to be seen.
Eddie Lewis made 27 appearances for Derby in the 2007/2008 season in all competitions.