Im beginning to wonder if he's done as a starter. Third game in a row where he's done little to nothing. The Cons are overshadowing the Pros at this point. Little effort, poor passing (last night), horrible set piece kicks... cant somebody else do it?, won't attack and what happened to the speed? Bradley needs to send him a wake up call and yank him. He should have come off last night. Even England has stopped calling Beckham now and I think Donovan has to either start playing or start sitting. Not quite ready to lose his phone number but if this continues, he has to accept he's not going to play 90 any more and maybe not even start. Sacha outplayed him last night. Im tired of watching him coast through games
What bothers me is that multiple people will and have considered this as a real idea. Bullsh... This is a far overused complaint on here in general because people only see what's on screen...which would be the ball. So they get to say anyone who doesn't make a long dribble on the ball isn't giving effort or moving. That said, you're out of your mind if you think Donovan isn't giving his all. How are his kicks on set pieces horrible? Sometimes they don't get over the first man, but if you take 20 free kicks a game (like he does because he takes them all), stuff happens. He's not a world's elite at this, but don't call him horrible. "Landon, you're not starting today." - BB "Any reason?" - LD "You're not that good at free kicks and it's about time I showed you!" - BB "Have you been reading Bigsoccer again?" - LD "...no" - BB I really wish people who made outrageous claims would read this stuff aloud. Read it in front of a friend and see if they laugh. If they do...probably not your best idea.
Landon is by far the most creative midfielder out there. He's getting everyone involved in the game and his overlapping play with Dolo has been outstanding. On the downside, Landon has probably been too passive with the ball and needs to get himself some quality chances. His free kicks haven't been impressive, but that's what happens when Beckham takes every important free kick for the Galaxy.
Landon hasnt been landon donovan of old at all during this tournament. Terrible set peices, he doesnt run at players, no help of defense, no speed, no energy. It is almost like he lacks fitness. Either that or he is trying to conserve his energy to become a hero again.
This is the great myth of Donovan. He is not very skillful. He can't dribble very well at all. He gets to space before you do, then gets the shot off before you can recover.. Maybe that guy at BM was right, I know he can run and kick... He will hit a nice cross/corner and he has some vision out of the midfield, but I would rather he be on the end of the pass for the finish, personally.
Donovan has always been at his best with space to run into. He doesn't beat good defenders on the dribble, however, with space he can knock it on and run past. He is smart and knows where to be, has the quickness to get there and the sharpness to deliver or finish. That's Landon. I didn't think he had a bad game today at all. The answer to your post is an emphatic yes.
It's like the mid 2000's all over again! Where's the "Convey is better than LD" thread. That was a hoot!
Donovan should start. and he should be given that room in the middle to run at people. As for his passing last night, (and I can only speak to last night's game as I didn't see the Canada or Panama games) I don't think he was nearly as sharp as he has been in the past. Sometimes the accuracy that he normally has to thread those small gaps wasn't quite there. And other times balls weren't waited as well as he normally does. I hope that was a one time thing. Because we only have one other player capable of making those tight perfectly weighted passes on a consistent basis, and he has yet to make it from the 23 man to the 18 man roster. Donovan still should start. And if by some miracle we end up ahed of Jamaica by 2, give Donovan the last 20-25 minutes off and give him a break. Let me add, I think his effort last night was fine. I saw plenty of hustle. And free kicks are going where they are supposed to. Just because a US player doesn't find the end of every one doesn't mean the kicks are bad. Guys need to lose their mark, find space and then the ball has to be there. The person taking the kick can't necessarily know exactly where that space will be.
OIC If somebody doesnt agree with you hes a dumbass. Maybe I should report you for a personal attack What the Hell is he doing out there? Takes every kick then either kicks it into the wall or too long. Poor passes... avoids contact... won't attack.... Don't confuse what we're seeing here now as the Donovan of 5 years ago. Something is wrong and I think it's just desire. Jamaica is a rough, physical team. Donovan will totally disappear the first time they bump him. He needs to either show up to play or sit.... period
Unless he's carrying a knock none of us know about it or there's something going on behind the scenes in his personal life, Landon is just not playing to the level we need him at to win this tournament. He needs to be more selfish out there and go for goal. Nevertheless, even a LD at 75% is better than any other options we have on the bench.
Yes, I think Landon Donovan is an absolute starter. However, I wouldn't be opposed to him being a sub and/or Dempsey. And not for lack of effort because, unlike the OP, I don't believe Donovan had 3 poor showings in a row. He had a solid, effective game vs. Canada; he was poor vs. Panama; he had a OK/solid game vs. Guadaloupe. He made several runs into the box after making a pass last night and was never rewarded with a return pass. By and large, his teammates held the ball too long. He's lacking on set pieces and he is tentative in front of goal, but that's all. I think he, and Dempsey, are somewhat frustrated right now. They are both moody players, they are the driving force of the team. I can't help but believe they were a little disappointed in the re-hiring of Bradley as the coach. When it was being contemplated that Bob was going to be re-hired and then when he was re-hired, they had no ringing endorsements for him and of course, they're not going to come out and say anything publically against him. They see the same problems now as were happening in the last cycle: the team not being ready to start the game, giving up, or almost giving up, a goal in the first 15 minutes of play in every game. Constantly having to come from behind. Lack of a great deal of scoring from the forwards. And with the exception of last night's game...a fairly unhelpful central midfield tandem. They're having to dig deep to come up with ideas, and perhaps they've hit the bottom of the well right now. Maybe LD could gain a better perspective if he watched from the sidelines for a little while. I'm just not sure how the team would react to that.
I would sit him vs Jamaica. He isn't sharp, he seems to lack confidence and isn't making the best choices when playing the ball. His free kick from 20 that he crossed to the defender instead of shooting in the second half last night was an abysmal decision. Bedoya seems capable of playing 60 minutes. Give the kid a chance and Landon a break. I think Edu should get a start too for daddy's boy. Michael hasn't done a whole lot and Jones had a very good game last night.
Bench Donovan Seriously. Has he done anything of note this tournament. We've played some of the lower ranked teams from ConCALaugh and he's contributed nothing. There's been no fight in him, no drive and no ambition. Gone is the Landon who would put a team on his shoulders and force a win. We aren't going to make the final of the GC. We may as well bench Donovan and some other worthless players and play the youth (even if we get killed). Cheers, James
The one play that had me concerned for his health is when Collet blew past him down the left flank on a 30-40 meter run and Donovan couldn't keep up with him. Collett pentrated our zone and had a dangerous opportunity. I've never seen Donovan beat ( for speed) late in the game by someone dribbling the ball past him like that, he even tried to grab him and Collet shrugged him off like he wasn't even there. I really think something is wrong with him, fatigue? Also, I think his biggest failure is still playing in MLS. He could've brought some much needed publicity to American soccer and MLS too ( in a positive way). He really is an MLS product. It's disgraceful that our best field player is still in MLS at his age, grow a pair please.
oh lord, for all the people who act like you are insane to criticize Howard, Bradley (both), Dempsey, or Donovan; isn't it more insane to not criticize them when they are not playing to their potential (and do not try and make me out to be one of these "i want the US to lose so we can clear house" idiots either)? And you can say all that you want and i do not care what you say, but Landon Donovan has been a big fat "F" for all three of the group stage games. He has been the worst player for every single game, in my honest opinion. he is slow of thought, doesn't hustle, doesn't show to the ball, is passive on the ball, back passes way too much, spends too much time complaining to the refs, and hardly any of his forward passes have hit their mark. he will seriously disappear for 20 minutes at a time then he will get on the ball and make a back pass. Sacha Kljestan and Alejandro Bedoya have provided more spark for our offense than Donovan did for any of the games. I'm sorry but Donovan is not infallible. he should be called out for his downright atrocious play. he is supposed to be the leader of this team and fans should be calling him out for his 'girly man' performance. still, this team is suppose to be built around Donovan and we do not have anyone of his talent besides Dempsey, so i do not see how you can sit him right now.
You can't sit Donovan. Saying that, I don't think he has played well at all in this tournament. Atleast Dempsey is out there creating some chances. Donovan needs to pick it up.
Re: Bench Donovan He's had an assist or been part of the build up in 3/4 of the goals we've scored. I agree with StillKickin. Don't know if it's just moodiness or LD maturing into a different type of player. A couple of times he's made a pass when I expected him to thunder into the box and take a shot. If he is, in fact, slowing down as people are saying that can do a lot to a player's confidence, especially if speed is a big part of your arsenal. Kaka' became a shell of the player he used to be when he lost his speed. He could afford to be a bit more selfish, but maybe he's adjusting to not having the pace he used to.
I don't think fatigue should be an issue for him at this point in the year but regarding the run, everyone will meet somebody who's faster then him/her. It wasn't a surprise he got blown by, it happens once and a while even to the fastest of players.