With Peter Reid's 9 million pound offer for Robbie Keane turned down why doesn't he purchase Landon Donovan? I am sure he can do a great job for Sunderland.
Where is that picture from Geordienation?? And what movie is your signature from...that sounds so damn familiar. Donovan at the Stadium of Light?? Geez, if they could have somehow picked up Sanneh, most Americans would have been hard pressed to not root for the Black Cats! I think 9 Mill pounds (about $13 million) would shatter any record for an American. Considering Donovan's performance at the WC, that is not an unreasonable price for a proven international striker.
i love landon and all, and i believe that he has the POTENTIAL to be great, but he is no robbie keane. at least, not yet. i'd love to see him go though.
I think it's from Say Anything. Someone else on here uses another quote from that movie, the 'Power LLoyd' scene
Why is he not?? I know Keane played well for Leeds, but he wasn't their first choice at striker IIRC. I think this is the attitude that is still pervasive in most circles, though. It is still a prejudice against Yanks...even we fall prey to it. Who is to say Donovan is not on par with Keane?? The only common ground we can compare them on is the WC, and Donovan's team went further and scored more goals, in many ways because of Donovan. He scored 2 goals in the WC, was responsible for an OG, and had several chances that were stuffed by and "out-of-his-mind" Kahn. And isn't Donovan about 2 or 3 years younger than Keane?? I think he had a better overall WC than Keane, even though Keane had one of the more memorable moments.
Keane is better (for now). Donovan will be a great player one day, but if I had to pick one of the two to play up front for me today, I'd pick Keane hands down.
Keane has proved himself in EPL, Donovan has proved himself in MLS. not taking shots at MLS, but c'mon don't be silly.
Kenae had 3 goals and 4 assists in 25 epl matches last year. I'd put my money on LD beating those numbers.
yeah a league so good, that robbie keane is your 3rd striker. the year before fowler showed up, keane played for inter and leeds. 18 games for leeds, 9 goals. i'm not dissing LD, but he's not as good as robbie keane. could he be? yes. could he be even better? yes. is he? not in my opinion
capt america is spot-on. the things keane did at wolverhampton, alone, make for a more impressive resume than anything donovan's accomplished at the club level. not to mention that he was excellent at coventry in the prem before his time at inter and leeds. this is not to rip donovan, who i rate very highly, indeed. but think of some of the strikers who have put up big season goal totals in mls, and you'll have to admit, strong form in mls does not automatically translate into goals in one of the best leagues in the world. and donovan certainly doesn't do himself any favours (in euro managers' eyes) by opting to remain a big fish in a small pond, rather than giving the bundesliga his best shot. there is no way that peter reid, or any other prem manager, is going to rate ld anywhere near robbie keane when it comes time to break out the checkbook.
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! What kind of EPL team is going to be foolish enough to throw money at an American after watching JMM flourish in Everton or Lewis tear it up at Fulham. Donovan needs to prove himself for a lower fee, and that sucks, but its the way it is. The MLS is not a proven feeder league into the EPL yet, the players who have made the jump have had mixed success at best. It is going to take a couple of players like Landon to go over there, score some goals, and establish that the MLS has something to offer before we can even dream of offers like 9 million pounds. As to those for Donovan being an established striker? PLEASE. Two goals (one meaningless, one with the other team pushing for an equaliser) does NOT make an established striker. Nor does MLS success. I don't like it, you don't like it, but thats how the Europeans view it, and as long as we want their money we are going to have to play by their rules and impress them. P.S. The MLS doesn't even own Donovan and in the few and far between statements out of Bayer it appears they have no interest in transfering him unless they get a stupidly large bid....
lack of funds...Bayer not willing to sell..Reid seemingly clueless on the tranfer market...doesn't pair well with Niall...(...insert reason here...)
Blah blah blah is what all of the MLS-EPL comparisons are worth at this point. LD proved on the international stage that he can score and be a threat. Maybe he's not worth $13mm but he can surely help sunderland, this I have no doubts about since his performance on the international stage against the best competition. 2 goals, an OG and several dangerous chances. It's crystal clear to all but the most jaded that he can play and be effective in any league in the world.
Well, except for the fact that Bayer is fighting tooth and nail to get Bobblehead back b4 next season... And anyone who compares LD to JMM and Lewis is comitting the cliche of "comparing apples and oranges". We are talking about a 20 yo who scored twice at this WC, and made Kahn work for his money, not 30+ JMM or an unfairly benched Lewis. Saying LD isn't worth it because of what they did is like saying that every player in Trinidad And Tobago deserves alot of money because of Dwight Yorke, or every Costa Rican because of Wanchope. Get real.
yeah, that's fair. i think we just have to face the hard-luck fact that the bottom falling out of the international player market just happened to coincide with exposure of the US's first 'class' (if you will) of international-calibre talent. i mean, who'd have thought in june that beasley wouldn't be off to europe this fall? players both significantly better and worse than donovan who six months ago were almost certain to move over the summer are staying put due entirely to the transfer market. so it doesn't matter if keane is better than donovan, or which peter reid prefers - the bottom line is that purchasing clubs don't value contracts as highly as the holding clubs do. and until the market settles in, there won't be many transfers, because neither buyers nor sellers want to have been foolish once it does settle. they can't both be right. so i guess what i'm saying is, i agree that LD could probably play in any league in the world, and i think most club managers would agree, also. but, sadly, the question is less of his footballing value than of his monetary value - of which everyone's is in question right now.
And Donovan has proven himself at the World Cup. I think Donovan is as good a player as Robbie Keane. I really do.
Conveniently for comparison purposes, Donovan and Keane happened to play against the same world-class defense and keeper during the cup. Both looked very dangerous, and were robbed on spectacular opportunities. Each was the most dangerous offensive player on his team, and each gave the German defense fits from time to time. Keane score a remarkable, memorable goal; Donovan was a Kahn fingertip away from finishing perhaps the highest-quality run by a US forward in history. Pretty comparable stuff. Enough there to rate Keane higher as of today, but not by such a wide margin. Donovan would have gotten first division time in Europe, if he hadn't been competing for time with a top 3 Bundesliega side / European runner-up. That's a stretch for any youngster.
Way out of context... I had to point that out. Look at his history with Coventry. But to be fair, peole should not give too much credit to Robbie Keane either. He is a talent, however hasn't really lived up to his billing either sans this World Cup. There's not a great deal of loyalty in Keane's mind either but... when he is on he is extraordinary. But unless he gets his way, or if he's out of form or favor, he disappears. He was so burried behind the pecking order in Italy, you had to wonder if he were abducted.
Landon is faster, younger and has better vision. Landon MAY be one of the very top players in the world someday. There is no chance Keane will reach that level. If I had to choose one,I'd go with Landon.