Landon & Timmy - Everton/Man Citeh 1/16/10 [R]

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad Gameday' started by Toolhead, Jan 12, 2010.

  1. sffp1

    sffp1 Member

    Jul 4, 2009
    Virginia
    Club:
    Zenit St Petersburg
    Not 100% sure why people are all racing to judge which of the Beatles was the most anonymous. Why are we comparing LD to the other three midfielders? They all played different roles today. Sure, the Belgian Fro was outstanding (a fact I love, b/c I root for Belgium in Europe for family reasons). But Donovan played a great game. He had both good and bad touches (like everyone else involved out there). But most important, he helped seal off the City left wing attack which got practically no chances.

    Did he link up as well as the other Everton players who've played together all year long as opposed to a two weeks? (note - this was a rhetorical question) He'd probably get more touches if Neville's first choice pass wasn't 50 yd.s upfield.


    It's a solid start for LD's premiership career. And it was a lot of fun watching Everton play. In the past I've been ambivalent about them, but that was an impressive performance against an upper-table club.
     
  2. sffp1

    sffp1 Member

    Jul 4, 2009
    Virginia
    Club:
    Zenit St Petersburg
    Not sure how you mean this exactly. It wasn't necessarily Landon playing at his best, but his overall contribution to the game was a good one for Everton.
    Heck, the corner kicks plus the defense was good all by itself without the other usually positive things LD brings to the table.
     
  3. MarioKempes

    MarioKempes Member+

    Real Madrid, DC United, anywhere Pulisic plays
    Aug 3, 2000
    Proxima Centauri
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's about right. Those who know him well know he's capable of 8s and 9s, and I think you'll see that after a couple more games.
     
  4. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    He had one or two bad moments and four or five good ones (mostly corners). He didn't get a lot of the ball because a) he's the new guy and b) the rest of the midfield is playing batshit insane. It was a 'solid 6.'
     
  5. wsmaugham

    wsmaugham Member+

    Apr 3, 2002
    Chicago
    I think most would agree that he was tentative offensively, aside from some early play. It was really his lack of aggression and indecision on the ball that made Garrido look good in his 1v1 match-ups against him. Had Donovan not over-thought things my guess is he would have caused him fits. I've also noticed that he has generally been coming late into the play offensively, although he may be simply following tactical instructions. He was impressive defensively and there was little to no attack down his side of the field largely as a result of his "shepherding defense".
     
  6. lamu202

    lamu202 Member

    Apr 23, 2003
    Yorktown, VA

    I'll just reiterate how bogus all of these 40 times are. Take a look at these 100m dash 10m splits from the Olympics. Usain bolt's 2008 40m time is 4.6 seconds. 40 yards would be about 4.28 seconds or so.
    http://speedendurance.com/2008/08/22/usain-bolt-100m-10-meter-splits-and-speed-endurance/

    Sort of puts everything into perspective.
     
  7. #1 Feilhaber and Adu

    Aug 1, 2007

    To be honest i never liked Donovan at RM.


    He plays his best going from either the center or from Right to left.
     
  8. Nermalthecat

    Nermalthecat Member

    Mar 1, 2001
    Avon, CT
    Not necessarily. Bolt is huge and he's not a great starter. It takes him longer to get to top speed, but once he does, his huge stride eats up the final 60 yards. It's very conceivable that a pro WR or DB could match or even edge Bolt over 40 yards. There's no way it's happening over 100, though.
     
  9. SoccerKowboy

    SoccerKowboy BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 13, 2007
    Virginia, USA
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Right. Also those NFL combine dashes are electronically timed, so they are accurate.
     
  10. tubby_butter

    tubby_butter Member

    Mar 22, 2002
    Providence
    A professional performance IMO. In the 2nd half, he #1 took care of his positioning and defensive help, and #2 tried to pick his spots to contribute offensively. Exactly what you do with a 2-0 lead, and helped his team win.

    yeah, I think his touch was a bit off, and he isn't quite on the same page when linking up with teammates. I wouldn't criticize him for that though. it takes time to build trust with teammates.

    Tactically, Everton play a lot like the USMNT. They put an extreme amount of pressure on the ball, and play it to the front man or to CM to build the attack. ONe of the main differences - and a challenge for LD - is that the wing players stay pretty wide and don't switch off a lot. LD has a tendency to let the game pass him by, if he isn't allowed to drift in and receive the ball. It looks, as of now, that isn't part of the gameplan.
     
  11. Dignan

    Dignan Member+

    Nov 29, 1999
    Granada
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Cap him now.

    I hear he is half Canadian.
     
  12. Marko72

    Marko72 Member+

    Aug 30, 2005
    New York
    What I meant was it was not a great individual performance by him. The tentative thing was obvious. However, he played a good, tactical, professional match and did not become a liability (like I said, Moyes was in no hurry to sub him off, he was the 3rd guy subbed off at the 90th minute). His corners were generally good. He didn't have a "serve one up on a platter" moment like he did in the last game, but most of them represented legitimate opportunities. Fellaini headed one just high.

    Which means, all in all, it wasn't a bad match. I compare his game today to a MLB pitcher that manages to give his manager 6+ innings of 2 run baseball, despite scattering a bunch of hits, on a day when he doesn't have his best stuff.

    (And that's the difference between a really good pro and a talented rookie who isn't such a good pro yet. It's one thing to tear it up when you're on. It's another thing altogether to hold your end up of the bargain so that other guys on a hot streak can win it for you when you're not personally so hot.)
     
  13. Tima

    Tima Member

    Oct 3, 2006
    Cambridge
    As an Everton fan I can tell you the general feeling so far amongst us is he is really good.

    His corners are excellent, and with Fellaini / Cahill etc it offers a new dimension in attack and the fact he has such good pace means we have another threat we have lacked this season.

    If he carries on this well we'll be very satisfied, if he plays much better we'll be delighted.

    3 "easier" games coming up so maybe he'll have a chance to show some more of the attacking side of his game.
     
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  14. dred

    dred Member+

    Nov 7, 2000
    Land of Champions
    I don't buy the "he needs to adjust to the speed of play in the EPL" argument. He was never rushed into a bad decision, he was quite comfortable with the pace of play, just watch his dummy on his scoring chance. What he struggled with on his 5 or 6 poor plays was knowing his teammates tendencies. He made several square balls into space as if expecting someone to run on to them. Typically he had time to think and look but didn't have the right mind-link with the other player. This is the kind of thing that will improve with practice.
     
    1 person likes this.
  15. JcUSA

    JcUSA New Member

    Jul 26, 2003
    Boca Raton, Fl
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed
     
  16. Principal Firebush

    Principal Firebush Smorgy Borgy Borgy

    Jun 20, 2006
    Ohio
    Yeah I was reading a couple Everton boards and many already want to buy him. There's one thread on grandoldteam.com called "Sir Landon of Donovan".:D
     
  17. Deep Wilcox

    Deep Wilcox BigSoccer Supporter

    Jun 5, 2007
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's also Neville's second and third choice pass.
     
  18. Marko72

    Marko72 Member+

    Aug 30, 2005
    New York
    You know, I was thinking about this today (as a fan, I reserve the occasional opportunity to put the cart well in front of the horse). City is one of those teams that could afford to buy him if they wanted to, and Everton lacked the funds (another being Tottenham). But honestly, I think this Everton team is really the right place for him. I wouldn't see him fitting in with the City team concept or player mold as well, as City goes now. He's got himself a nice place there with Everton, where he makes the team better and I think he'll look better once he gets a better level of understanding with his teammates (particularly Fellaini, Neville, Pienaar, Cahill, Saha). What he can do fits well with those guys. And he's got a US Nat teammate in Howard, and a good manager.

    The thought of Landon staying on with Everton has a really good feeling to it, a much better feeling than I ever got with him over at Bayern. This just feels like a really good fit.

    Hope he can find himself a nice dog-friendly apartment in Liverpool. ;)
     
  19. matabala

    matabala Member+

    Sep 25, 2002
    Accurate assessment
     
  20. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Landon Donovan stock up, Robhino stock down.

    dear lord Robhino was an absolute calamity this game. Wouldnt be surprised if that Barcelona link opens up again after that gruesome display.
     
  21. Marko72

    Marko72 Member+

    Aug 30, 2005
    New York
    Any chance you'll change your moniker?
     
  22. lplaksina

    lplaksina Member

    Jan 5, 2002
    I believe he did exactly what was asked of him by David. Once he and the others get on the same page, I think this will be an exciting team to watch.
    Quite impressive so far.
     
  23. ussoccerFan12358

    Mar 11, 2006
    Central NY
    If he wants Everton to pony up the $10 mill or whatever to get him from MLS, he'll have to shine. That said, I feel like he's well on his way. Another solid performance, he hasn't earned a transfer yet, but we know his best is yet to come.
     
  24. Eliezar

    Eliezar Member+

    Jan 27, 2002
    Houston
    Club:
    12 de Octubre
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We have to remember that even if Everton owned Donovan right now that he'd likely be a rotation player once Arteta comes back. Arteta is classy.

    I agree that he'd fit in well though and would get plenty of PT.
     
  25. dabes2

    dabes2 Member

    Jun 1, 2003
    Chicago
    So Donovan has played two matches for Everton during the murderers row part of their schedule, played 90% of the time, had an assist, fit in, not looked intimidated, coped fine with the speed of play, helped the team get fantastic results and folks are saying "meh".

    I'm pretty sure anyone thinking about this from Everton's perspective (vs. the USA fans perspective) would be thrilled. Donovan is showing himself to be a very high quality player.
     

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