Sir Landon Of Donovan

[kenada_blue]

Wat?

I think some of you are making the Donovan/Beckham stuff a bigger deal than it was. Not even the same circumstances. Donovan was irritated at Beckham for not returning from his loan to AC on time, during the MLS regular season. Apples to Oranges situation. They have both since resolved any issues and are now friends. Not that it needed to be done, but Beckham was pimping the EPL to Donovan, saying he thought Donovan was ready & should make the jump.

Most MLS fans want to see Donovan stay at Everton, as it will only make him better. The only people that don't want Donovan to leave are Galaxy fans, and Don Garber.

It doesn't take a genius to realize Donovan would rather play in the EPL, but it really is beyond his control, so he just "says the right things" in the media to make it happen.

Oh, and his forehead is so big, we say he has a "fivehead" here in the states.

IMO the biggest concern for you guys shouldn't be whether or not you should sign him permanently. The question is does another team out-bid you for his services after you've been so kind to display him for all to see during the loan spell. I really do hope you guys can end up with him on permanent transfer, it's a good fit and you guys are ripe for some quality to push up the league.

Said that from the off. And with our track record, its more than likely he'll be at another club than ours.

 

[Nordecke]

Said that from the off. And with our track record, its more than likely he'll be at another club than ours.

As you boys would say " Rubbish".. LD is not a prostitute he wont chase the money.. He likes comfort over dollars.. The evertonians have showed him love and he will return the favor.. Only two possible outcomes can come of Donovan.. 1: Back to Galaxy 2: Stay's Blue

 

[MLS is not quite EPL]

Could hear the fans chanting "USA, USA" on the TV when Donovan went over in the first half to take a corner. Then Moyes pulls him off in the 90th minute so he can experience what its like to hear Goodison Park alive and showing its appreciation for his effort.

Glad you said this, because I was going to as well.

Hearing the Brits chant "U-S-A, U-S-A" on the corner kick was awesome. Brought a tear to my eye. My gf is British and happens to be a huge Donovan fan for years. We watched the match on FSC and she loved it too. Moyes' move of taking him off early just to get him a fan reaction was tremendous on Moyes' part. Class guy for sure. Donovan's eyes coming off the field & his smile, you knew he was genuinely happy. A happy Donovan is a very effective Donovan. Just wait until he gets into true match fitness (when he does, he can sprint for a full 90, trust me). You guys will look back and definitely consider this one of your better loans signings.

I tell you what, I wasn't necessarily an Everton fan before, but it's hard to not root for such a classy organization & group of fans. You guys have embraced one of our own & shown the greatest hospitality. I sincerely wish you guys the best!

 

[Neiler]

Intresting read on Donovans new contract, it reckons there is a 10mill USD release clause, which would mean a fee of £6.1. Also a critical analysis of his intentions.

Match Fit USA: Donovan's Key Contract Clause

 

[best little spaniard]

Intresting read on Donovans new contract, it reckons there is a 10mill USD release clause, which would mean a fee of £6.1. Also a critical analysis of his intentions.

Match Fit USA: Donovan's Key Contract Clause

£6.1 is not bad really.

Not as good as £2.5, but not bad nonetheless

 

[OHIO Patrick]

As you boys would say " Rubbish".. LD is not a prostitute he wont chase the money.. He likes comfort over dollars.. The evertonians have showed him love and he will return the favor.. Only two possible outcomes can come of Donovan.. 1: Back to Galaxy 2: Stay's Blue

I total agree he will go for comfort rather than pay. Look how bayern munich treated him and compare.

 

[chicoazul]

£6.1 is not bad really.

Not as good as £2.5, but not bad nonetheless

That's more realistic.

This has got Osman to Birmingham/Bolton for 5.5 written all over it.

 

[kenada_blue]

£6.1 is not bad really.

Not as good as £2.5, but not bad nonetheless

£6mill is **** all really.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

WE WANT THE DON!!

he's the double don !!

 

[TheDevils2001]

£6.1 is not bad really.

Not as good as £2.5, but not bad nonetheless

It's a fair price probably more like bargain to be honest, don't expect us signing Donovan for the same price we spend on Pienaar or Arteta.

Different situation to be honest for Arteta, as his former club don't need him, but was trying to get us pay more fees for them, lucky the player want to play for us, so we able to force them lower the fees.

This time is not the club don't want Donovan, but rather he fancy moving on, so we could easily have to pay 10M for him, so, 6M is a bargain price for him.

Three more games before the transfer windon close, we should make up our mind before the window close, if his performance improve during the 10 weeks with us, which is what I expect to happen, there would be a lot of club will be winning to out-bid us for his service, so, it best to sign him before this happen

I know we might not have much money, but surely we could find 6M somewhere to get this deal sorted, we can always treat this as one of our next summer signing.

 

[joshb729]

Another American here chiming in.. Something to consider about Donovan's failure in Germany and the go at Beckham.

Landon Donovan seperated from his wife, actress Bianca Kajlich, just this past summer. I have a friend who plays in the MLS. He tells me Donovan was having trouble coping with lifestyle in Munich, being away from her and such. According to my friend Bianca was the one who wanted to end it, she wanted to live the single Hollywood party girl life. When their marriage began falling apart he was having a rough go at handling it and this was around the time he went off on Beckham to the Grant Wahl.

I hear he's in a much better place mentally right now. I am not surprised one bit at his big smile as the Everton supporters showered him love. I am quite confident, that if things keep going well for him there that he will definently want to stay. There is nothing left for him to accomplish in MLS.

I'm not sure if this has been discussed yet as I haven't read through the entire thread, but another factor to consider is that MLS and the Players Union are in bitter battle over wages, players rights, etc.. Both sides have said that it's very possible the MLS season doesn't start in March.

 

[The Yank]

When their marriage began falling apart he was having a rough go at handling it and this was around the time he went off on Beckham to the Grant Wahl.
.

From my recollection, as a fan here in LA, Donovan never said anything about Beckham and Milan. He certainly didn't say anything to Grant Wahl about Milan when Donovan was in Munich.

What Donovan said was during the Middle of the 2008 season. Landon and Becks both went out on loan at the end of the 2008 season. It was impossible for that scenario to happen.

Us fans were the ones talking [Poor language removed] about Becks not Landon. All Landon did was smile when we erupted onto him when he came back(bad choice of words? LOL).

 

[Rook]

From my recollection, as a fan here in LA, Donovan never said anything about Beckham and Milan. He certainly didn't say anything to Grant Wahl about Milan when Donovan was in Munich.

What Donovan said was during the Middle of the 2008 season. Landon and Becks both went out on loan at the end of the 2008 season. It was impossible for that scenario to happen.

Us fans were the ones talking [Poor language removed] about Becks not Landon. All Landon did was smile when we erupted onto him when he came back(bad choice of words? LOL).

Landon's beef with Beckham was that Beckham pulled a Robinho at Man City had tuned out, and didn't give a bit of effort. Becks also acted like he was way bigger than the team and pulled the strings for the Galaxy off the pitch behind the scenes. In 2008 Becks wasn't even one of MLS's 20 best players, he was just atrocious.

Calling him out was the right move, Becks has a nasty habit of not putting in the effort until he's challenged. Becks came back in 09 a much more dedicated and better player.

I also think that one of the reasons why Donovan is a much better player today than he was a few years ago was becasue of Becks. Donovan was famous for not putting in any effort, coasting by on his talent and often thought that he deserved a spot in any team just because he was Landon Donovan. I think Landon saw a little bit of himself in Becks act and said to himself that he doesn't want be the type of player who acts like he is bigger than the team. He started putting in maximum effort and started to be a leader on the pitch.

Over the past 2 years I noticed a change in Donovan. First of all as I said before his spell in Bayern wasn't as bad as people said it was. He was quite effective when he got on the pitch, never griped about playing time and worked hard. However the match in which I said to myself that Landon is going to be a force for now on was the Italy-US confed cup match. Landon played well but what I was most impressed with is how the Italians targeted him for destruction and never hesitated to throw a hard tackle whenever he was near the ball. Before (see 06 WC) if you tackled Landon hard he would check himself right out of the match and litteraly be scared of the ball. However against Italy he was schythed down about 10 different times (including once in which his head was piledrived in the box which should have been a clear pen and a much different 2-2 scoreline), and each and every time hr immediately got right up w/o even looking at the ref. The old Landycakes was gone.

Talentwise the skies the limit for Landon. He's always had it and we will be very lucky if we could get him, even its only from Jan-May for the next few years. Plus at Everton he's got a manager who knows how to get the best of talented players who aren't named Jo. Donovan's main weakness, is if you close him down quickly and give him no space to work with he will often struggle. Moyes and co could smooth out this rough edge in no time.

 

[RNG]

I'm yet another new US poster who's been watching Donovan with a lot of interest in his last two games for Everton.

One thing that no one has mentioned yet:

LD is actually a better player--by at least a couple of notches--than you have seen yet. This is not so much a question of fitness (or even match fitness), although that will improve as well.

But LD is above all a team player, a combination player. As you have already seen, his skill is not beating defenders 1 v 1 with fancy moves. It is quick sharp passes, direct movement off the ball, intelligent reading of the defense--give and go's with teammates at bursts of speed.

That combination play may be his deadliest ability--and of course that only comes over time, working with the team.

The more he understands the Cahills, Sahas, Fellanis and Pienaars etc and the more they come to anticipate him as well, the more useful a weapon he will be for the team. Of course, this is true for any new member of a team, but for LD, it's exponentially true.

Just watch-- you ain't seen nothing yet.

 

[Robert Jarvis]

If LD wants to prove his worth as a footballer now is the time to do it. Now is the time for him to join a top European league and not just a loan spell. He may do well at thw World Cup but if the USA fall at the first hurdle, Donovan is nit going to get much exposure.

If he wants to prove his worth then Everton is IMO the club for him.