Sir Landon Of Donovan

[Crede]

I think the armbands were worn by everyone and they were for Keith Alexander, the manager who died recently.

I'd like to see Landon at Everton. I tend to think Everton is a real top 4 possibility for next year, just look at the players, Tim in goal, a CB pairing of Heitinga and Jagielka with Distin available if needed, Leighton at LB, Neville, Hibbert at RB (granted that's not sexy on paper but Neville's the captain for a reason), then the midfield is nice, Feillaini as the holding mid, Arteta in the middle, Pienaar and Donovan on the wings, Cahill playing behind the striker, and that's leaving out Osman (who I think is really good), Rodwell, Billy, Gosling, and Heitinga can play there too as well as Victor, and then you've got Saha, Yak, Victor, and Vaughan that can play up front.

That's not bad.

 

[The Yank]

1: LD is a natural player.. MLS had little to do with his development, if anything.. he was 17 playing in Germany..

2: Spain? The EPL is the most challenging league in the World.. Pace, Strength, Balance, Spain has 1 and a half world class teams...

3: Evidence you want? Watch a Galaxy game then watch an Everton game right after.. You should "if you have any knowledge of football" see why playing for everton in his prime is a major, MAJOR step up...

Now dont get me wrong I love our league, CREW supporter here.. But lets say Robbie Rogers were to become consistent in his play and a prem side wanted to play him, welcome him, start him, love him, I would say run and never look back... In 20 years, maybe just maybe you can compare our league to the EPL... Thats a big Maybe though...

1. Sure LD is a natural player but to say that MLS had nothing to do with his development is crazy. He has been learning in the MLS for pretty much all of his adult life. The past 2-3 years has shown Landon to be a different player from the one he was earlier in his career.

He was known at one time for disappearing in games and with the added responsibilities I believe he has done away with that.

2. Landon already has the mind to play at a fast pace and is used to playing against strong athletes. The American game is very similar to what the English do. The style in Spain is widely hailed as being more technical and Donovan could learn much from playing there. He has said it himself that it would be the best place for him to play. His favorite player that he has played against was Xavi.

3. What is it exactly that I am supposed to see? That there are better players on the field? Of course there are. The question is does that necessarily make Landon a better player? In the MLS he learned how to be very good at pretty much all forward positions. If he is needed on either wing, up front or behind the strikers he can show equally well.

Would Landon have learned that if he was playing a conservative role as just another good player on a team? The comparison with Dempsey can be made. Dempsey plays naturally with a lot of flair and he does very well with Fullham but the USMNT needs him to be more than what he is at Fullham. At Fullham he plays a conservative role as part of the team and that carrys over to the Nats. If Dempsey expressed his talent more in International games he would be amazing.

What happens if Donovan started playing like Dempsey does with the National team? We wouldn't even make it to the group stage. It has been said before that the problem with Donovan finding a team to play for in Europe is that the position that Landon plays does not exist anywhere else. Landon is a Free roaming-Central Attacking-Wing-Striker-Back.

P.S. - Don't get me wrong I love Dempsey too but I wish he would do more for us because I know he has the talent to do it.

 

[Nordecke]

1. Sure LD is a natural player but to say that MLS had nothing to do with his development is crazy. He has been learning in the MLS for pretty much all of his adult life. The past 2-3 years has shown Landon to be a different player from the one he was earlier in his career.

He was known at one time for disappearing in games and with the added responsibilities I believe he has done away with that.

2. Landon already has the mind to play at a fast pace and is used to playing against strong athletes. The American game is very similar to what the English do. The style in Spain is widely hailed as being more technical and Donovan could learn much from playing there. He has said it himself that it would be the best place for him to play. His favorite player that he has played against was Xavi.

3. What is it exactly that I am supposed to see? That there are better players on the field? Of course there are. The question is does that necessarily make Landon a better player? In the MLS he learned how to be very good at pretty much all forward positions. If he is needed on either wing, up front or behind the strikers he can show equally well.

Would Landon have learned that if he was playing a conservative role as just another good player on a team? The comparison with Dempsey can be made. Dempsey plays naturally with a lot of flair and he does very well with Fullham but the USMNT needs him to be more than what he is at Fullham. At Fullham he plays a conservative role as part of the team and that carrys over to the Nats. If Dempsey expressed his talent more in International games he would be amazing.

What happens if Donovan started playing like Dempsey does with the National team? We wouldn't even make it to the group stage. It has been said before that the problem with Donovan finding a team to play for in Europe is that the position that Landon plays does not exist anywhere else. Landon is a Free roaming-Central Attacking-Wing-Striker-Back.

P.S. - Don't get me wrong I love Dempsey too but I wish he would do more for us because I know he has the talent to do it.

yea he is a beast.. Gotta love the Deuce... You could see how bad we missed him though when we played the dutch..

 

[blue_kate]

I think the armbands were worn by everyone and they were for Keith Alexander, the manager who died recently.

I'd like to see Landon at Everton. I tend to think Everton is a real top 4 possibility for next year, just look at the players, Tim in goal, a CB pairing of Heitinga and Jagielka with Distin available if needed, Leighton at LB, Neville, Hibbert at RB (granted that's not sexy on paper but Neville's the captain for a reason), then the midfield is nice, Feillaini as the holding mid, Arteta in the middle, Pienaar and Donovan on the wings, Cahill playing behind the striker, and that's leaving out Osman (who I think is really good), Rodwell, Billy, Gosling, and Heitinga can play there too as well as Victor, and then you've got Saha, Yak, Victor, and Vaughan that can play up front.

That's not bad.

Looks good on paper, however I know something will go wrong. I doubt we will get a full season out of some of the key players there. However if we can keep Saha, Arteta, Fellaini, Jagielka and Baines fit I think that will give us some form and confidence to challenge for 4th next season. The only problem will be Manchester City. If City get fourth this season, you can guarantee that they will spend big in order to equip themselves for Champions League next season and if this happens I fear we will be chasing Arsenal for fourth, rather that Villa, Tottenham, City and Liverpool as we would have done this season.

 

[Nordecke]

Looks good on paper, however I know something will go wrong. I doubt we will get a full season out of some of the key players there. However if we can keep Saha, Arteta, Fellaini, Jagielka and Baines fit I think that will give us some form and confidence to challenge for 4th next season. The only problem will be Manchester City. If City get fourth this season, you can guarantee that they will spend big in order to equip themselves for Champions League next season and if this happens I fear we will be chasing Arsenal for fourth, rather that Villa, Tottenham, City and Liverpool as we would have done this season.

Mo' Money Mo' Problems..

Biggie Smalls *I think*

 

[BlueTak]

My other half said on SSN this morning they said Moyes has gone to LA for "Emergency negotiation talks"

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

Really hope we can get him and if Moyes has gone to L.A. that Landon has given him a key so that he can pick up some of his c.d.'s and stuff, cancel the papers etc.

However, unless the deal is done now then I can't see us being in any position to negotiate come the summer if others get involved, for us it's a major outlay to spend 10mill whereas the chelseas of this world can spend that just to stop someone else getting him.

For someone to come on loan in jan and go straight in is unusual, the effect he's had has been great and I hope that the effect that we have had on him plays a big part in any decision he makes.
As I've mentioned previously he is wearing the Everton No. 9, the shirt of the greatest centre-forward that the world has ever seen, I think he's been well versed on that fact and seen it as a great honour, after all he could've picked another number, or it could've made him think about the pressure that it carries, but he has risen to the challenge well.

we'll be sad to see you go Landon and we hope that you will come down to our end at st.andrews for a proper send off.

 

[COYB]

sign him up sign him up sign him up!!! ill be gutted if we dont manage to get him even if it means him coming back on loan, i still think we missed out on manny , way he played for us at times was amazing lets hope
its not another one of them, he wants to stay even if its a deal where we pay half this year + half next? surely we could afford it if we get in to the europa league next season, our midfield at the moment
even mentioned on sky sports 1 were more like an arsenal side..
in the middle of the pitch ****ng love it!

 

[BuffaloTF]

They made some big steps this offseason.. only to be detoured by the CBA talk...

1: the USL and NASL merged to create a solid second division with possibly a pro/relagation in the future...

next step is for MLS to create a reserve league.. It is hard to compete in the American market for soccer..
The way I see it, if you cant fit a commercial in every couple minutes then the networks dont want anything to do with it.. sad really..

I'm not sure where you heard that the USL and NASL merged... because they didn't. The USSF stepped in and forced them through binding arbitration to operate together under a shadow league for 1, and only 1, season. Afterwards, the NASL will still be the NASL and the USL will still be the USL. Some NASL teams are actually in the USL "conference" this season. The NASL may be more closely aligned with the MLS, but there will never be promotion and relegation in America. Never. Teams pay big money to join MLS, and cities pay big money to build stadiums for top-flight professional teams. It won't fly with team owners or local taxpayers.

And I may catch some flack for saying it, but promotion and relegation are endangered species in Europe too. The economics of the sport these days are not conducive to such a system. For example, look at Newcastle after being relegated. Look at the issues Hull City faces if (when) they get relegated. Look at what Portsmouth has done to itself to try and remain competitive. Even Manchester United is in financial dire straits and is a top-flight club every year. Across the 20 teams in the EPL, they total 56% of the total debt in all European leagues - some 3.4 billion pounds. A lot of that debt is in assets such as stadiums, Emirates comes to mind. And with Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham, West Ham all looking at building new homes, that number will only increase. Already the new West Ham owners are back beating the once near-dead horse of Salary Caps. Even with salary caps to protect teams player investments from spiraling out of control, the larger community investments of stadiums will also need to be protected eventually. A 400 million pound stadium may fly in the Premier League, but never in the Championship.

 

[dabes2]

Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated writer who got to know Landon well as the author of the Beckham Experiment was at Goodison yesterday and wrote this story.

Landon Donovan savors time in Premier League with Everton - Grant Wahl - SI.com

 

[RAFUH]

However, unless the deal is done now then I can't see us being in any position to negotiate come the summer if others get involved, for us it's a major outlay to spend 10mill whereas the chelseas of this world can spend that just to stop someone else getting him.

For someone to come on loan in jan and go straight in is unusual, the effect he's had has been great and I hope that the effect that we have had on him plays a big part in any decision he makes.

I really don't believe Landon will go to any other team. If another team offers more than Everton this summer and MLS wants the bigger paycheck, I think Landon says "no thanks, I'll stay in LA". (not that this helps get LD to Everton which is what I would prefer!)
There's no guarantee things will go as well at another club (he knows that first hand).
Same for Everton.... there's no guarantee that another player-with-pace would fit in so quickly or so well.

Let's hope it all works out ad Landon stays a Blue!

 

[Glynne]

Sign him up Moyes, the guy clearly likes being at Everton!

 

[MLS is not quite EPL]

The MLS and the players are currently deadlocked. The players get paid ridiculously low wages pretty much across the board (around 55K pounds-- a year!). On the other hand, soccer isn't a big ticket item for us.

And sadly enough, that's actually a higher salary for an average MLS player. I'll make an example about one player, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, who made $36k last year. (what is that, about $25k pounds?). He was one of the best CB's in the MLS last year and made the MLS XI.... and he made about $25k pounds last year... for the whole year!!

From what I understand, the players are asking for so little and Garber wont budge.. Cruel soccer world here in the states..

Actually it's the other way around; the players union is asking for several HUGE changes to the league, while the MLS has offered up smaller concessions, and is limited (legally) of what they can concede. The sticking point is the players aren't budging at all. Biggest sticking points:
* guaranteed contracts
* free agency within MLS
* transparency of the owners' finances

I can understand the first request... if a guy gets cut, he still wants his money. The second point, i can understand, but won't happen. If the MLS moves to free agency, it will entangle itself in a huge legal battle over whether or not it is a "single entity". the NFL had fought this for over a decade and won, but at the expense of a decade-long legal battle ($$). The MLS surely wants to avoid this, so they will *never* concede free agency unless they get some sort of "carte blanche" from our legal system to operate as a single entity.... and that won't happen. So free agency is a point of contention that won't happen anytime soon, and the players are taking the stand (at this point) that if there is no free agency, there is no deal. Hopefully this changes with the mediation.

The third point I don't understand much at all, except for the fact the players are trying to see how much "room" each franchise has for financial spending.... i *think* this leads to a push to raise the salary cap, but that's just a guess.

this is all what i've taken away from everything from all i've read on the many forums & news outlets i read anyway

A deal is a deal and were looking like bad hanks by moaning about him going back.

He is not our player.

Good post. We're grateful to have him here, but let's not forget he's not Everton's property.

FWIW I don't think Landon will go to another EPL team. No reason to do so. Everton wants him, he plays well here & has things formed with other players. It just comes down to Moyes in the next transfer window. I think keeping him right on this loan is more unlikely, but signing him on a permanent transfer after the WC? Very real possibility. Donovan's not motivated by money, he'll return to Everton.

 

[Gazdalf]

See you soon Landon.

I expect you will be back at Goodison as a "Home" player, sooner rather than later.

You have tasted us.

We have tasted you.

I am looking forward to the future buffet.

 

[MLS is not quite EPL]

some interesting quotes from that Wahl article someone else posted:

I asked Donovan if he wanted to stick around these parts instead of flying back to LAX.

"Yeah," answered Donovan "It would be nice to stay."

That's out of his control, though, and he knows it.

The rumor mill has already started, with talk that Chelsea may have an interest in bidding for Donovan as a potential replacement for Joe Cole. And while Moyes himself professed not to be interested in a full transfer ("I don't think that's ever been on the agenda," he said), he would be foolish to come out now and declare his interest so publicly anyway.