Comparing the development of great young English players

Landon Donovan is good, but Wayne Rooney is a little better at 16 than Landon is at 20. And Rooney doesn't whine constantly (that I know of)

THF, I will take your word for it. Clan no blood no foul. lol.

It's too bad the World Cup went to so many people's heads.

leftymop, there are no big heads. The fact of the matter is that the US had a very good showing at the cup. The final 8 is not a shabby performance, no matter how they got there. I've heard arguements that if the Koreans wouldn't have beat Portugal, the US never would have went on. Of course this is true and the same could be said about other teams in each of the other brackets.

-The US had held on for a 3-2 win against a technically better Portugal.
- The US played so-so against South Korea in a tie.
- They were soundly beat by the Poles.
- The US looked better than Mexico in a 2-0 win, (which is a team the US has done very well against in recent years)
- The US looked the better team against Germany in a 1-0 defeat in the final 8. The Germans escaped on that day. In the previous meeting only months before that, the US 4-2 in a friendly and the looked like schoolboys against the Germans.

Carlton Palmer played in Premiership AND played for England. Either way, in his prime, I wouldn't have picked him for my Sunday league team.

Palmer was an under-rated player...
He was an awkward defensive midfielder who gave 110% every game .He wasn;t reallly international class but he was alright at club level.

Landon Donovan might get a game at somewhere like West Brom or Birmingham City, I suppose. But as has already been pointed out, getting a game means nothing. Bjorn Tore Kvarme plays in the “best league in the World” for Osasuna. Vinny Samways also treads the green in Spain.

By and large, a player who cannot get regular action in the Bundesliga is nothing to get all sticky in the seam about.

Relativity. A wonderful thing.

Matt, Donovan is turning into a decent player. I rate him in the top 20% of English players in the premiership. There a few English players of that caliber starting at clubs better than West Brom and Birmingham.

Of course YOU rate him in the top 20% of English players. Let’s see - there are 179 Englishmen in the Premiership … so you are basically saying that he is somewhere in amongst the top 36 English players in the Premier League. So you would need to draft that list wouldn’t you?

I dunno, does he come above or below the likes of Matt Jansen, David Dunn and Franny Jeffers? All of whom are not making any notable progression toward regular full honours with England? Or is he a bit more peripheral even than that? You know - Chris Powell or Seth Johnson territory?

No … hang on. You’re aiming a little higher, right? What with English players being so bad. You’re probably thinking around the Paul Scholes mark, right?

LOL!

I say again ... West Brom or Birmingham. He might give the likes of Darren Purse or Jason Koumas a run for their money.

Hehe, Rooney has only just turned 17. He's got a whole YEAR to go before you can say whether Alan Smith did better than him.

Did Alan Smith score in the Prem at 16? No, neither did Michael Owen.

damn i am getting way off topic here
ha ha

lets take a look shall we

landon donovan vs michael owen:

we all know owen is one of the best playing the game right now

these two guys come from different football worlds
one has the highest quality training and 100 years of tradition
the other is from a strong up and comer with a lot of support and opportunities

the two have never performed in the same league so its tough to compare them directly

but you can make comparisons on their world cup performances

owen
two years old than dovovan
striker
played in france 98 and korea/japan 02
has been in 9 wc games
has scored 4 goals

donovan
two years younger than owen
midfielder/striker
played in korea/japan 02
has in in 5 wc games
has scored 3 goals

LMFAO!

He might give the likes of Darren Purse or Jason Koumas a run for their money.

Matt, players like the above grow on trees France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, and even the US. Donovan would be a valuable player for many of the clubs in the Premiership. I stand by the top 20% list.

It might please you to know that I put Reyna in that same top 20% list, and Friedel and Keller are in in the top 10% list for keepers.

It might also please you to know that I put Joe Max Moore in the top 30% list as compared to English Premiership players.

Comedy is always pleasing. Rampant delusion less so, but as it's exclusively your problem around here, I shan't be losing any sleep over it.

JMM is not even in the top 30% of Everton strikers. He's utter pap.

Agree on Keller and Friedel, but then even a "what is Heysel" debutante can pull that one out. They're both good keepers. Friedel in particular has improved immeasurably since we first picked him up from Columbus.

As to Koumas and Purse, - never mind France and Spain and elsewhere, they grow on trees in places like Wales and the Black Country too. Glad you're finally with me.

ROFL!

C'mon you guys, this guy is obviously taking the piss and trying to wind you up. I'm a Yank and I don't even rate Moore in the top 30% of American Players! And yes, Donovan is decent(as are about a 1000 others), but he is also overated by many American fans.

01. Kevin Campbell
02. Thomas Radzinski
03. Wayne Rooney
04. Duncan Ferguson
05. Nick Chadwick
06. Rodrigo


That is the current line of strikers that believe it or not (ARE AHEAD) of Joe Max Moore for actually starting for EVERTON. Joe Max Moore doesn't even get in the reserves anymore.

Being the 7th choice Everton striker isn't good news.

Michael Owen at age 18 scored 21 goals in the Premiership. Then he scored an amazing goal against Argentina in the WC98. The next season, aged 19 he scored 23 goals in the Premiership.

First player to score a hatrick against Germany since Hurst in 66'. European Player of the Year 2001. Current Premiership top goalscorer. Scored more goals for England than ANY other former Liverpool player. (hes only 22). He's been a regular Liverpool player since he was 18 years of age.

Do you really think Landon Donovan compares?

Although Donovan scored 3 goals at the WC, what is his ratio for the USA? goals per game compared to owen?

Matt (and some others), I think you're underrating Landon, in part because you don't know some of the facts. He left Bayer when he was only 18, and has been in MLS since. He isn't playing in the Bundesliga at 20 much like McManaman isn't in the Faroe Islands league. I don't think that means McManaman isn't good enough for the FI league.

And before anyone goes there...Rooney looks to be a wonderful talent, and at an incredibly young age. IIRC, the poster who first brought up Landon made reference to Rooney scoring 2 at WC '06. Unless I'm missing something, that would, in fact, be a great, great feat. For that to happen 1) England would have to qualify, 2) Rooney would have to get playing time ahead of Owen, Vassell, Smith, etc. and 3) he'd have to bag two.

If the poster's point was to compare the players, he's off the mark. But Landon's resume is pretty impressive for a 20 year old, and in the specific case, frankly, I'll bet Rooney doesn't score 2 at WC '06.

Pure f'ing comedy. Guys, c'mon. Why are even comparing these two players??

I think I now understand the term "Only in America"

I think LD was last in Germany when he was 18. You are correct he was not getting playing time.

Maybe you should get your facts straight. Donovan scored 2 NOT 3 goals in 5 games.
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/pl/175507/index.html

Clan, he was the kid that scored more goals than anyone on the English squad besides Owen. He and Owen both had 2.