Yeah, I'm going there... Thought this might be an interesting topic, since both sides of the pond are well-represented on this forum. And of course because of Wednesday's match. You can pick one of the two players to man the right side of Tottenham's midfield for the rest of this year. Never mind potential, value in the transfer market, or performance prior to the last couple of seasons.
I have this idea that Donovan should play forward, whether it's for club or country. Granted, another striker wouldn't hurt right now, but you said RW, so I'm sticking with ol' Azza.
this was a no brainer for me. landon is better as a forward.. even though he missed a sitter against us when he was on loan with everton a few years back. i still wouldn't mind having him as a forward since a large portion of our current crop blows chunks. landon could score the winning goal to knock england out of the world cup and i still wouldn't like him.
Landon played well out on the wing during his last try with Everton but I agree with most that he would probably be best up front. I am split. If you say that either player has to play one of the wings, I do think I would go with Lennon.
I used to hate Landon with a passion because I always felt he wussied out when he went to europe. He got man handled and cried that he was home sick so he can play in a league that he can dominate. However, his last world cup stint I eased up a him because he carried our team to the next round. I do agree he plays out of position. I think he should play more that CAM or free roaming player behind our main striker, then the same could be said for Dempsey and his current position as a midfielder for the USMNT. One thing Landon does much better than Lennon is that he can cross (yeah I said it) but Lennon has improved on it. Tough but I'll slide with lennon because his pace can be a huge threat on the wings and cause teams to change tactics.
Here's my take: Lennon is a better pure winger, faster, trickier, better dribbler, more disruptive in an opponent's penalty box. He also uses his speed better than Landon. Donovan is a better passer, crosser, finisher, freekick/cornerkick taker, is still very fast, an excellent decision maker, and is more versatile. He can float into the center from the wing, and though not as effectively, can also play the trequartista role. Donovan is a decent header of the ball for his size, and occasionally will score with his head. Oh, and he's a deadly on penalties, as long as the keeper is not Nick Rimando. The two are fairly even in terms of off-the-ball movement, tracking back on defense, tackling (or lack thereof). Both play very sound positional defense. In terms of experience, they are again fairly even. Lennon has much more EPL experience, but Donovan has excelled for Everton, and is a very seasoned international. The Blues had one of their best runs in the EPL when Donovan was on loan. Given that Tottenham is going to have to break down more teams in their final third (i.e. WBA and Norwich), I think Donovan is more useful. Conversely, Donovan tends to rise to the occasion, and was very effective against Arsenal, Chelsea, and even Liverpool in his initial EPL stint.
Really? Always seen him as a choker imo, with the exception of one or two games in this past world cup (and v/s Mexico). Was certainly shyte in the prior WC and at club level in Germany. Inferior player to Dempsey, imo, and I wouldn't even swap Azza for Dempsey. But, just my opinion...
That was pre-2009 Donovan. He's all grown up now. Ah, Dempsey had to come up... You all know I have a mancrush on Clint. And he'd also be great against bus parkers. But not on the wing, or replacing Lennon.
