PBP: Howard, Donovan: Everton @ Arsenal, 1/9/2010[R]

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad Gameday' started by appoo, Jan 8, 2010.

  1. ...In my defense

    Feb 11, 2006
    Yeah I noticed that.

    Still, the cross was shanked. There was also quite a bit of backpassing from Donovan which can obviously be attributed to this being his first game with a new team in a new league.

    If he's able to get his teammates (Saha) to trust him and play the ball to him more often, he could do good things for Everton.

    The question is....will ten weeks be enough?
     
  2. bungadiri

    bungadiri Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jan 25, 2002
    Acnestia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Your assessment of the tone of this thread is really off.
     
  3. Wessoman

    Wessoman Member+

    Sep 26, 2005
    Austin, TX
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think Donovan played well in a debut with a new team and a new league. But if you say he didn't contribute much to Everton's attack you are high. He had an assist, and nearly fed a goal to Neville in the classic Donovan to Hejduk/Spector play.

    Furthermore, Donovan did NOT "Saha". What I meant by that is by holding the ball while fully marked when teammates are open in space at full stride. Donovan was very adept at one touch--In fact, there was a time when he passed unselfishly when I felt he had room to run.

    Most of Donovan's shortcomings had to do with lack of understanding with his teammates. One shortcoming Donovan had is the slow release pass, which will not work in the EPL but is common in the MLS. Furthermore, as he was slipping and shanked a shot, it's clear that climate is different. You can't wear short studs and cut like that in January in England, Landon.
     
  4. ...In my defense

    Feb 11, 2006
    LOL I thought he was talking about Ramsey.

    Vela, I have a feeling, hasn't quite found himself at Arsenal.

    Some of his teammates don't seem to trust him. At the same time, he's developed good chemistry with guys like Bendtner, Wilshere, Merida and Eduardo.

    A loan would be good for him, only because this is a WC year but Wenger won't let him go because of his injury situation.
     
  5. appoo

    appoo Member+

    Jul 30, 2001
    USA
    Saha doesn't pass it to anyone, with any regularity. See him ignoring a wide open Cahill on a break, to instead attempt to beat 2 defenders and take a crazy shot.

    By the end of 10 weeks, I think Landon will be exactly what we thought he was - a pretty damn good player, but not at the level of Messi, Ronaldo, Fabregas, Iniesta (his doppleganger), etc.
     
  6. ...In my defense

    Feb 11, 2006
    I absolutely agree, I thought he was great and any negative comments can be directly attributed to the fact that he's only trained with Everton for a week.

    For a while there, the pitch at the Emirates looked frozen solid.
     
  7. Alex_1

    Alex_1 Member

    Mar 29, 2002
    Zürich
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
    I'd say that's fair - 6.5 to 7 to me. Could get interesting if he gets more settled, confident there & fit. Makes for some intriguing prospects if only Mikel Arteta were there as well.

    I'm happy for him. Maybe with Tim Howard, a well known teammate for about a decade with him there it makes things that much easier for him. But... I'll save some of my other questions/judgements until after the next two matches. ;)


    ... time to go. Watching Man. U. and their defense is nothing short of comical thus far...
     
  8. Wessoman

    Wessoman Member+

    Sep 26, 2005
    Austin, TX
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed. I don't mean to harp on Vela, but the kid is not an EPL player. On one of his two big possesions, he danced eloquently with the ball around the box, looking for a release, but this gave Everton's defense time to reorganize so when Vela finally did find the seam, it was completely slammed shut and the play was worthless. My flatmate kinda giggled at that play and said, "Wow, Vela isn't Premiereship material, is he?". And yeah, he's right.

    That said, Vela is a monster. He needs consistent playing time, and I really think Vela's skillset is not suited for the Premiereship. I know Wenger likes players in that mould, but I think Vela really should play in Spain. He would be more of a help playing at Villarreal or Barcelona than he is at Arsenal. Jus' sayin'.
     
  9. Non-dairy Creamer

    Feb 28, 2007
    I feel the exact same way, to put it bluntly but honestly , there's is nothing that Theo Walcott has done in an Arsenal shirt that Carlos Vela hasn't. It completely mystifies my that he doesn't get regular time and then when he's in he's not as sharp b/c of lack of PT.

    from goal scoring to how those are scored (chipping the keeper for example) to vision and creativity I'd actually give the edge to Vela. Obviously Walcott has more pace but that's it.
     
  10. respite_cdd

    respite_cdd BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 12, 2009
    Harrison, NJ
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Braved Hoboken parking and traffic to watch this match in a bar full of Arsenal supporters.

    From the 27th or so (which is when I got there - @#$%ing Hoboken parking...), through his being taken out, I thought he proved a couple of things (from my admittedly biased opinion):

    1) He can most certainly play at that level. I don't think there should be any questions about that anymore.

    2) His passes need to be crisper.

    3) Not bad for someone who's probably still a bit jet-lagged.
     
  11. Wessoman

    Wessoman Member+

    Sep 26, 2005
    Austin, TX
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There is inconsiderate. Then there is selfish. Then there is Saha.

    And I agree with your ten week assesment.
     
  12. purojogo

    purojogo Member

    Sep 23, 2001
    US/Peru home
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He did ok....but 10 weeks is too little time....There is no option to buy in this loan deal, is there..I mean even if he did extremely well at Everton, he could not be purchased at the time the loan ends, since it's outside the transfer windows for the season, correct?
     
  13. BS49

    BS49 Member+

    Jan 25, 2008
    Drinking a beer
    Club:
    CF Atlas Guadalajara
    Nat'l Team:
    Mexico
    "Not Premiership Material"? The guy had the two assists last game and is highly rated by Wenger (a guy who knows alot more about soccer than you). He needs more minutes that's all. Do you think Jozy is Premiership material? I definitely think Donovan is but we will see in about 5 games when the honeymoon is over.
     
  14. jcsd

    jcsd Member+

    Jan 27, 2006
    I see 3 obstacles to this:

    1) The MLS and the Galaxy are always going to ask for top dollar. They don't want to feellike they're giving away one of their prize assets on the cheap.

    2) Everton's lack of financial resources. Moyes has done amazingly with the resources he has had. Everton can't afford to pay over the odds for any player, especially not right now.

    3) The imminent return of Arteta would mean that Donovan becomes more of a luxury than a necesscity.

    Maybe Everton will still buy him or maybe another Prmeiership club will (one that's a bit more free with it's cash). I think there's factoirs other than how well he plays though.
     
  15. jcsd

    jcsd Member+

    Jan 27, 2006
    IIRC yes, as under Premir League rules loans can be made permanent outside of the transfer window.
     
  16. genom

    genom Member

    May 27, 2006
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think he'll be bought at the end of the loan if he continues this level of play.
     
  17. SoccerKowboy

    SoccerKowboy BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 13, 2007
    Virginia, USA
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There is no honeymoon in the EPL, except that which is created by the player himself.
     
  18. KALM

    KALM Member+

    Oct 6, 2006
    Boston/Providence
    There really was no need to bring up Jozy's name in that post, unless you were trying to provoke an argument.

    From the context provided, the person you replied to clearly meantt that Vela was not a good fit stylistically for the Premiership, not that he wasn't good enough. Hell, he even mentioned Barcelona as a better alternative.
     
  19. schrutebuck

    schrutebuck Member+

    Jul 26, 2007
    If Donovan does well in his loan and Everton can't hold on to somebody like Pienaar, I could see them paying 20 million to the Gal-Gals for LD.
     
  20. genom

    genom Member

    May 27, 2006
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As a G supporter, hot damn i'm salivating at that potential number.
     
  21. Beastmode21

    Beastmode21 Member+

    United States
    Jan 19, 2009
    Seattle, WA
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Matt Le Tessier- "Donovan transitioned brilliantly to the premiere league." :cool:
     
  22. Alex_1

    Alex_1 Member

    Mar 29, 2002
    Zürich
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
    That's one of the things I wanted to wait another week or two before asking. ;) From what I understand, it could be that the loan is 'extended', perhaps similar to what Milan did with Beckham last year, or maybe what Manchester United tried to do with Larsson a few seasons ago. He signed a new deal, but I wouldn't be too surprised if there was some kind of contingency in place in case... unless the 'contingency' is on LA's behalf and it was him signing the new contract. From there, you'd have the summer and the WC with afterwards, being a time to look more at player puchases, etc.

    But I want to wait and see how the next match or two goes before jumping ahead. If he really does return to the better form I've seen of him, IMO it might mean he's enjoying it, relishing the challenge and may want to stay. This was a pretty good step. But it's too early to really for me to guess on it right now.
     
  23. fusion101

    fusion101 Member

    Jan 11, 2002
    I think Donovan had a solid match. The one area of his game that I think was better than a lot of his teammates was his tactical awareness. He really didn't do much for creating many opportunities but he was able to hold the ball and make intelligent passes especially when Arsenal was overrunning Everton.

    I hope Landon can get himself more involved in the attack in the upcoming matches. He can beat defenders on the flank with his pace he justs needs to take the chances he gets.
     
  24. USAin2006

    USAin2006 Member

    Sep 7, 2004
    NYC
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    "And with Arsene Wenger's side missing Alexander Song, they struggled to impose themselves in midfield allowing Everton debutant Landon Donovan, in particular, to take advantage.

    The American gave Gunners left-back Armand Traore a torrid time throughout, and it was from his corner that Everton opened the scoring."

    BBC Match Report
     
  25. ...In my defense

    Feb 11, 2006
    This.
     

Share This Page