Donovan Cut - is this the end of Landon?

A fine start to an analysis thread.

 

He lives or dies by this call. If it pays off and we shock the world he will be lauded for it, just like with Kahn. If we fail he surely falls on his sword or is fired.

 

Holy shit.

 

I'd like to say that I'm surprised but I'm not. Klinsmann's done this before.

If Donovan were the Donovan of 2010 he'd never have done this, but this cut wasn't totally about Donovan.

 

Stunned. I certainly thought this was a possibility... but I never thought it was close to likely. WTF.

One thing's for sure. This is Klinsi's roll of the dice. I *really* want to hear the reasoning behind this - there must have been a compelling reason, right? RIGHT?

 

I'm on board. Fire him

 

These guys don't see eye to eye. Donovan does not have the mentality Klinsmann wants. There's no way Donovan isn't one of our best 23, even at this point in his career. I think this is a wrong decision.

 

You're going to have a really hard time convincing me that Brad Davis is a better option than Donovan. I don't care if Donovan is 70% of the player he used to be. It doesn't bother me too much, because I question how much Donovan would have contributed anyway, but to not select him over Davis makes me think this may have been more a personal clash between Klinnsman and Donovan.

 

Guys, it was written in the stars. This could work, or it could backfire. Landon was that youthful injection that helped us achieve new heights, so now it's up to Julian to do the same. As much as I wanted him on the team where did he fit in? Impact sub is the only place I saw him at

 

If we go down in flames, then the fire Klinsmann chants should start in earnest. But first let the man lead the team into the tournament. This could be a masterstroke of motivation and management. Or... it could've been a stupid gambit that blows up in his face.

 

Not terribly stunning to me. In 2010, right after the World Cup, I gave Donovan slightly better than 50/50 odds to make the 2014 team. The threads pondering whether LD would be on the 2018 team were always nothing more than ridiculous nonsense. Would I have had him on this team for veteran leadership and a possible spark off the bench? Yes. But putting aside history and looking at current form, apparent injury issues, etc., it's not unthinkable that JK left him off the squad.

 

That's an important role.

 

A coach has a right to choose, but in this case, Donovan cut, Wondo, Green, Yedlin still there? Unless LD is injured and can't get up to speed, it is hard to see the logic in this....

 

Definitely the end of an era. Makes me feel sad. It's hard to imagine that he wouldn't have brought something valuable to the team, Klinnsman is really rolling the dice here.

 

This also makes it harder to market the team, when the most recognizable face got cut.

This is going to be weird, being at a World Cup without Donovan.

 

If he was considered a forward, then everyone who was picked above him is on much better form. That's the simple truth. There's no way I would have left Wondo off the team after his form the past year or so with the nats.

 

This. Like EJ, this was a personality cut. Hopefully it doesn't backfire.

 

I was coming here to post the same thing. There is absolutely no rational basis for leaving Donovan at home over some of the choices.

 

I'm half-expecting him to announce his retirement by year's end honestly. I know that sounds knee-jerkish but I have a gut feeling.

 

Klinsmann criticized Donovan's mentality all the way back in 2002. If we go 3 and out like 2006, if we look moribund in attack, JK is gone.

 

Wow just wow