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Sir Landon Of Donovan

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Old fashioned? Look at the salary differences! Look at the times that soccer is shown on the US, on regular cable not the expensive one. It is not old fashioned but true. I was not talking about the old adage that "All of our best players go into football or basketball", but rather that over all evey athlete has to look at his options and soccer is about 3-4 on that scale.

What you say is right. Soccer in the US is expensive and the infrastructure is not there yet. There are a lot of resaons why players are not spotted early, identified and gotten into great training facilities.

We have the traiing facilities in spades, but not the wherewithall to truely identify top players. Some live too far away and lack funding to get there and train. The list really goes on and on. We are both right.

I own a youth soccer website in the state of Florida. I watched Josy Altidore train at a fly by night place in Boca in Florida, since he was 8. His father was always there watching. I have no idea what HE paid, but I know that I paid for my son training along side of him. The training was not cheap, and a struggling family could not afford it.

I can not tell you how many times I have seen such promising soccer players go to high school and then get involved into American football.

Is it turning around in the US? Yes, soccer youth leagues are up probably above baseball, but then soccer rec leagues cost less in terms of equipment. Interest here is growing, but it is years down the road in terms of popularity. It may never get there, but it is better now and becoming better every year. BUT, we still have all of the problems that you and I have idenified.
 
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thebes20 said:
Old fashioned? Look at the salary differences! Look at the times that soccer is shown on the US, on regular cable not the expensive one. It is not old fashioned but true. I was not talking about the old adage that "All of our best players go into football or basketball", but rather that over all evey athlete has to look at his options and soccer is about 3-4 on that scale.

What you say is right. Soccer in the US is expensive and the infrastructure is not there yet. There are a lot of resaons why players are not spotted early, identified and gotten into great training facilities.

We have the traiing facilities in spades, but not the wherewithall to truely identify top players. Some live too far away and lack funding to get there and train. The list really goes on and on. We are both right.

I own a youth soccer website in the state of Florida. I watched Josy Altidore train at a fly by night place in Boca in Florida, since he was 8. His father was always there watching. I have no idea what HE paid, but I know that I paid for my son training along side of him. The training was not cheap, and a struggling family could not afford it.

I can not tell you how many times I have seen such promising soccer players go to high school and then get involved into American football.

Is it turning around in the US? Yes, soccer youth leagues are up probably above baseball, but then soccer rec leagues cost less in terms of equipment. Interest here is growing, but it is years down the road in terms of popularity. It may never get there.
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I don't mean to minimize the obstacles. There are enormous obstacles.

But this is my view. I'm 43 years old. 35 years ago, there were almost no youth programs, most adults had never watched a professional soccer game, we had no professional soccer league, no stadiums, no nothing besides "soccer made in Germany" on PBS. The progress that has been made in the USA during my lifetime has been staggering. It may take another 50 years, but we will get there. The ball will keep moving forward, even if the pace is frustratingly slow.

So I don't disagree that we continue to have enormous obstacles with regards to player development. I just don't view the disincentive of low MLS salaries as that important in the scheme of things.

The exposure of the global game in the USA is growing like wildfire. And these international soccer stars are rich and famous, and that is becoming increasingly well known. And guess what, that group of rich and famous world soccer stars is starting to include American kids.

It may take another 50 years, but we will get there.
 
In 1993 and early 1994 I went to a few international matches held in Southern California leading up to the World Cup. One was Switzerland v. U.S. in a 12,000 seat stadium, with maybe 1,000 seats left open. I would say 8500 of the fans were Swiss. The second game was actually Sweden vs. Romania, played at a high school stadium in front of maybe 3000. This is in a place where there are about 3 million+ people living within 30 miles. (Amazingly, both of these games were repeated during the WC itself, both with the same end result).

Between 1994 and 1999 I would say that about half (if not less) of the US' national team matches were broadcast live on English-language television.

I lived in rural Indiana from '03 - 07, a place where people over 40 had mostly never even seen soccer played. We started a soccer association, leveled out some fields, and started a youth league. In '08 the high school finally started a high school team, over massive opposition from all the football/baseball fanatics.

Things are definitely changing, and they are changing fast. There are players in MLS now who admit to having grown up of dreaming of the opportunity to play soccer in this league.

I do agree that the organization of youth soccer is pretty ridiculous in this country, but the change in the seventeen years I have been a fan and player of the sport has been remarkable.
 

From Landon's Facebook page:

"I'm a little speechless after Sunday afternoon's send-off. I can't thank you all enough for making me feel a part of your family. It was an honor and an absolute privilege to play in front of you all at Goodison. And the sun has been shining for 3 straight days...It almost feels like southern California! We'll have... more info soon about whether I get to play a few more games before I leave. Thanks again!"
 
Dylan said:
From Landon's Facebook page:

"I'm a little speechless after Sunday afternoon's send-off. I can't thank you all enough for making me feel a part of your family. It was an honor and an absolute privilege to play in front of you all at Goodison. And the sun has been shining for 3 straight days...It almost feels like southern California! We'll have... more info soon about whether I get to play a few more games before I leave. Thanks again!"
Click to expand...

class
 
Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian said:
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.
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The thing is: what if he hasn't really adapted yet? It seems to take MLS players (US and otherwise) about a year and a half (given that most come in the January window) to fully adapt to play in the Premiership, and raise their game and conditioning accordingly.

What if Landon still has an upside as he adjusts to Premiership play? Admittedly, he's done better than most, so the upside is probably less than others, but it wouldn't surprise me that there is still some upside.
 
dabes2 said:
I don't mean to minimize the obstacles. There are enormous obstacles.

But this is my view. I'm 43 years old. 35 years ago, there were almost no youth programs, most adults had never watched a professional soccer game, we had no professional soccer league, no stadiums, no nothing besides "soccer made in Germany" on PBS. The progress that has been made in the USA during my lifetime has been staggering. It may take another 50 years, but we will get there. The ball will keep moving forward, even if the pace is frustratingly slow.

So I don't disagree that we continue to have enormous obstacles with regards to player development. I just don't view the disincentive of low MLS salaries as that important in the scheme of things.

The exposure of the global game in the USA is growing like wildfire. And these international soccer stars are rich and famous, and that is becoming increasingly well known. And guess what, that group of rich and famous world soccer stars is starting to include American kids.

It may take another 50 years, but we will get there.
Click to expand...

You and I are the same age. But WE are the difference.

My kid brother got lucky. His first U-little soccer team had a kid on the team whose dad was an expat Colombian on staff at the local medical college. For 2 years, Tom got coached by someone who knew and loved the game and conveyed that to his kids. It literally changed his life. Not even getting burned by Friedel cheating off his line for a penalty at U-16 state playoff turned him off.

You remember what it was like -- most youth soccer coaching was a bunch of clueless dads standing around yelling "Err - don't touch the ball with your hands, kids!" They had no absolutely no idea what to do. There's a direct connection between the naive cluelessness of youth coaching in the U.S. and the current style of U.S. play - disciplined, pacy, but not very technical. We play to our strengths, but our strengths are self-created.

But now, the generation of kids who started playing at the same time Pele was with the New York Cosmos, people whose version of a British accent is inevitably a Toby Charles impersonation, people who did things like moving the TV antenna around to get the CBC feed from Windsor, Ontario to watch the '82 World Cup -- all those people are in their late 30's and 40's. They know something about football, love it, and can pass actual knowledge and love on to their kids.

The generation of players who are U-littles now are going to be phenomenally better than anything seen before in the U.S.
 

He has been an outstanding loanee and will be missed. But TBH at his age if he really feels he needs to get more recognition (and money) it is this year that he needs to move.

Hopefully to us.(y)
 
Yes, I followed a bit of the IU soccer, but during my two years there I was a bit too academically oriented. My earlier college career at Cal State Fullerton I would go to every home game, even though the team hardly ever made it out of the regional playoffs.

A couple good players came out of CSUF, including Mike Amman and Duncan Oughton (Kiwi player now with the Crew).

Enough college talk though - don't want to derail.
 
Maverick said:
we'll be ok... assuming Mo Creek's knee is better next year
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Absolutely true. Watford needs to toughen up. Elston needs a head fake. Hulls needs to quit running around scared and shoot something other than a 3.

When Daniel Moore can't get time, things will be much better.

IU should bring Donovan in on loan - he's do well.

Back to thread.
 

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