Donovan. Landon f'ing Donovan...from the S.I. Beckham article... "It would be kind of a nice gesture if he came in and just splashed the locker room with cash for some of the younger guys, but I don't think it's going to be a big issue," says forward Landon Donovan, the Galaxy's second-highest-paid player ($900,000). YOU'RE MAKING IT A BIG ISSUE!!! What kind of captain/leader of team does this?!?!! Making an incredible situation an awkward situation. I know he probably (probably not) meant for this statement to not mean anything, but this is not the way to hit things off. Unbelievable. I want the Galaxy to win, and I enjoy watching Landon play, but for f***'s sake....
Give the armband to a seasoned vet that everyone looks up to like Cobi, Pete, Xavi, or Becks. At least they know what to say and what not to say. When Landon wears the band he represents the Galaxy, and he is too much of a prima donna. That said on the field Donovan kicks ass, and I hope he never leaves. I can understand if LD has some resentment towards Becks but put a cork in it! Be a professional for friggin' sake!
Im gonna have to... AGREE with you on this one. I thought it was an inappropriate quote. He is still one of our better players right now, so until he starts doing terrible will I mention this again.
I can't believe he'd say something so childish. That's a huge red mark on him in my book. What a way to welcome one of the most humble and respected athletes in the world. Please give the armband to cobi, or back to pete.
reserving judgement, could be out of context. Landon is usually good about that stuff so who knows what really went down. and dont forget passback made some stupid coments not to long ago
Lighten up people! Take the time to read the whole article if you haven't already. In full context, it seems like a mostly harmless sarcastic comment by LD. Judging by the rest of his quotes, it doesn't seem like he's trying to stir the pot here. Granted, Dononvan has a history with making stupid comments to the press, but this doesn't rise to that level in my opinion. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/grant_wahl/07/10/beckham0716/index.html
LD is a good captain who has matured a lot since coming into the MLS. Read the article instead of just the quote
Nooooooooooo...it's way more fun to take things out of context, so I can use it as ammunition in the "Landon Sucks" discussion that all of us World Soccer Daily Clones engage in...........
...By the way, it really is a good article. Well written. To continue, reading the rest of what he said doesnt change that he made that statement. It was a stupid statement. The kind that makes the entire party stop mid-drink, pause in silence for a few seconds, and stare at Landon. Out of context? What else would he have meant by that? He might have been trying to "lighten up" the topic, but he did a terrible job of it, and did the opposite. I truly hope that is not the way he feels, because if it is, then he should be splashing HIS cash to the less fortunate players in the locker room as well.
So he's a "character" and not a robot. Big deal. Its too bad he couldn't invoke a smilie after the statement so you would see he was laughing at the time. You really ought to work for the UK tabloids. You could have a field day with this.
I agree. LD makes a lot of money too compared to most of those guys in the locker room. LD is a great player, but I am not sure how much of a leader he is. That said, I think that most of these guys are probably not accustomed to this kind of scrutiny and Landy by all accounts seems to be a pretty low key guy. It is a little embarrassing, but give him a break.
Well, now, we can't give it back to Pete because earlier Pete said something similar to what LD said. And we can't give it to Albright because he said something about Becks better buy them all dinner. I know, Ty Harden - wasn't Ty the one who said he'd clean his pool? Or was that Jazic? I think it was Ty. So he should get it; he's willing to clean Beck's pool. Although when you think about it, that's sort of insulting too, in a roundabout way. So he's not worthy either. Never mind that all these guys have a sense of humor - which appears to be sorely lacking among some BigSoccer posters - the captain's armband should be worn by a stone-faced neanderthal robot. Trouble is, I don't think we've got any of those on our team. What to do, what to do. Edit: Blue Celery should wear the armband. He's totally worthy.
Yeah! and that wanker has made 6 penalties in a row!! (or whatever it is that Steve Cohen makes fun of Landon for).
I would totally wear it. Thank you very much for the support. It was a stupid thing for him to say. He shouldnt have said it. Its not the way to be a leader.
I'll give you it was stupid. And maybe even if it was a joke, he shouldn't have said it. But it has nothing whatsoever to do with his "leadership" ability. You don't seriously think anyone in the dressing room thinks it was anything other than a joke? Remember the Fox Sports pre-season preview program? With Joe Cannon talking about how he should stay single for another year because of how many hot chicks would be around once Beckham shows up? These are jokes among guys in a locker room. You have a few yucks and move on. How much of a deal do you think this is, seriously? And you know what? I am not and have never been much of an LD fan. But I will say this: I would much rather have a human fallible character as a team memeber (and leader) than someone who was pre-programmed and spit-polished by the PR department to only say the right PC thing. ITs actually one of the more attractive features of MLS that the players, including Landon, let it hang out and are willing to let us see them as people and not cardboard cut-outs with posse entourages to run interference and counsel them on every public statement. When you blow this insignificant joke into something big, you are making the veritable mountain out of a molehill.
I suspect that as our English friends begin to follow MLS, we will see more of this. Every word is parsed, every quote mangled, just to generate some controversy or publicity. Oh well, the good w/the bad....
My god people, what Donovan said was not a big deal at all. I don't think he meant come in and hand out $100 bills to the youngsters. Would it be a bad thing if he kicked down some plasmas, a few recliners and some xbox for the clubhouse? If the jersey #'s are correct and Becks gets 50% then the guy potentially has already made 10 mil before he's even got here.
Good grief, haven't you been reading all the crap that's been published since January? Every Galaxy member, and even the BWHD ladies, are being peppered relentlessly with stupid questions until the "journalist" gets two or three words to string together in a misleading, out-of-context "quote" or headline. I thought it would be good for the team to get all this coverage, but it's closer to nauseating--the domestic stuff is for the most part ignorant and the European stuff is for the most part condescending and sour grapes. Must...Stop...Reading...Google...Headlines. . . . . . . . . . .
LD...not my captain. Wasn't my choice for captain when he was handed the band at first...hasn't shown to me to be a valuable captain...just a bad example. Remember the world is watching now... The captain title holds through locker room, practice. games, press, personal life...I hold it at a high standard, I just wish that he would as well. I have heard him say that it is important to him, but not sure how you qualify that one. Not sure what exactly is meant by that comment, but it wasn't appropriate.
Your first statement proves what I said. Thank you. Your second statement I do not agree with. A leader shouldnt put awkward vibes in the dressing room. Thirdly, that "joke" was about another players earnings. Joking about money... is not that cool. And lastly, I surrender to you that my post may have made it out to be a bigger issue than it should be, so Im not doggin you. However, it might prove to be that "mountain" in the long run. i.e. if the Gals continue to lose. For my taste, I would prefer a different player as captain for our team. A true leader. Perhaps...Becks himself. P.S. Your dig about the British tabloids....kinda hurt.
Here's a BBC radio interview with Donovan talking about Beckam today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6294762.stm
This may have been discussed elsewhere but ... What type of role will LD play when Becks arrives. I know Martino and others have been taking corners, we all know who will take free kicks anywhere inside of 30 yards. Will LD still be our PK man? Also, what about positioning? It seems the arrival of Pavon, Buddle and Gray along with the stellar play of Martino and the imminent arrival of one DB is kind of creating a tussle for positions. Any thoughts/suggestions on the matter?
First of all, thanks to whomever posted the whole article, it was actually an interesting read. I caught wind of the comment of the quote on World Soccer Daily and just about turned the radio off. Once the name Landon Donovan is mentioned on that show it is useless to listen for atleast half an hour. First we have to hear Steven whine and then 3-4 of his secret admirers call in and say "Landycakes is a **********, I hate him, he has no balls etc..." And they call Donovan a whiner! As for the comment itself, it was probably a dumb thing to say, but equally dumb for one to judge it without knowing in what context the comment was made.I think Beckham will eventually be the captain of the Galaxy regardless. As for Donovan, I think he has actually matured a lot as a person and as a player. I really don't care what he does in his spare time or what he says. But I noticed during the Gold Cup that he has a better feel for the ebbs and flows of a match and took control of the tempo of the US offense. I for one think he and Beckham are going to play very well together. My 2 cents.