An Uncertain Donovan

I don't care about the xbox tournament, dude is chilling when he could be playing. I don't think he's a great leader.

 

Who said "great"?

 

Not a leader anymore, perhaps, but he definitely was. Maybe that's what makes his absence so difficult to accept...for me anyway.

 

Admit it, sidefootsitter, you're Sam Borden. I mean, seriously, Ricky Williams? Again?! I'm going to be having dreams about that interview with his Saints helmet on.

 

Not Borden (but he gets props for mentioning Terence Malick, who played for that famous FC Hollywood club). Not as goofy looking but older.

 

This talks about something I've brought up and we'll have to see how the team and Landon handle it when he does return. Landon's achievements are on thing and are great for the history books, but there's no substitute for being there and fighting next to your teammates.

http://www.noshortcorners.com/2013/03/the-london-donovan-situation-in-120.html

I was all ready to unfurl a lengthy piece about Donovan's absence and its inopportune timing as the boys take shrapnel hits in the trenches while Donovan walks his dog. I'll leave that up to newly minted NYT global soccer writer Sam Borden.

Instead, in a succinct 1:21, is an illustration that cuts deep to my point. What you're watching is a clip toward the end of the HBO series Band of Brothers. David Webster, the lad hopping on the back of the Jeep, was pegged by machine gun fire in Holland and left Easy Company for the hospital. Unfortunately for Webster (or fortunately, depending on your vantage), his absence forced him to miss the Siege of Bastogne, one of the toughest periods of the war for the 101st Airborne. The group suffered untold losses and its share of grief while Webster was laid up in a hospital bed. When Webster returns, he faces a group changed by the battle and cold to a soldier they felt somewhat abandoned by.

Without making light of war, the parallels between Webster and Donovan are obvious. If this period now isn't the USMNT's Battle of the Bulge, I don't know what is.

 

This is rediculous hyperbole. If Donovan comes back and plays consistently and well there will be no problems. If he doesn't, there will be problems. It's that simple.

 

Ah that Donovan... is he Achilles hiding among the daughters of Lycomedes? Is he Lancelot, walking away from the courth of King Arthur in disgust? Is he Luke searching himself in Dagobah?

He's between annoying to the fans, and mythical. Campbell would be delighted.

 

LD will be ready to go to the White House with the team:

The Galaxy and the Los Angeles Kings, the NHL's reigning Stanley Cup champions, also owned by AEG, will be fêted Tuesday in Washington. LA announced last month that Donovan would report to camp the last week of March, and Tuesday begins the final week of the month.
“I bet he will be [there],” Mike Magee said after he was informed of Donovan's planned appearance. “It's convenient, right? Convenient timing. ... Landon's obviously been a key figure for MLS and the LA Galaxy for a long time, so I'm not surprised he chose not to miss this trip.”
The Galaxy will head to Toronto, where they play March 30, following the White House gathering, but Donovan isn't likely to be available for games until mid-April.
“We need to be patient. It's going to take some time,” Arena said. “You don't go from being away to stepping on the field and being ready to play and being up to the level that he left us in December. So it's going to take some time, and we need to be patient.”
Donovan's teammates are looking forward to his return.
“It'll be good,” A.J. DeLaGarza said. “I'm sure he will get a lot of banter the first couple of weeks, but I'm sure he can take it. He's definitely going to help our team. He's obviously one of the best players in this league, so everybody's looking forward to it.”
DeLaGarza and Magee said nobody on the Galaxy had a problem with Donovan missing all of preseason and the first month of the campaign – the team's been at it for two months now – although Magee teased that Donovan might get a little rookie treatment.
“[Carry the] water bottles, push goals [into position in training], clean the rookies' shoes,” Magee said. “We're going to make him do it all.”

 

Wonder what LD is up to today?? Sleeping, playing video games, getting ready for baseball season or scouting Mexico v Honduras???

See you June LD

 

It's obviously hyperbolic to compare sport with war; that doesn't make the point invalid.

Anyone who has been through a shared trial or challenge shares a special connection. If the team is sitting on a goose egg after three games, I would expect some attitudes to harden towards him.

However, what that video clip doesn't show is that there were more trials to come that Webster shared with them. There is a later scene where Webster again prepares to board a truck, but this time a hand is extended to help him up.

 

Go read what his Galaxy teamates are saying about him right now. I suspect his USMNT teamates' attitudes will be similar to that. I'm just saying that we can sit here and turn this into a huge deal, but it's not. Sure... there might be a couple of younger guys on the team that are a little resentful, but if you think for one minute that Dempsey, Bradley, and the other central vets on the team are not going to be thrilled to have a motivated in-form Donovan back on the field with them, then you are out of touch with reality.

 

You're being argumentative. I don't think what I'm saying is unreasonable...or perhaps you've just never been in such a situation to know what I am talking about. In any case, since we're throwing around psychological analyses, if you think being in last place in the Hex after three games won't temper the welcome committee's enthusiasm, you're deluding yourself.

Thrilled? More like desperate.

 

when he comes back if the USMNT is in poor shape and fail to qualify - Klinsmann will take the heat. But so will LD ... and Klinsmann can go find another coaching job somewhere ... LD is not getting any younger and his career is coming to a close. But these are his decisions ... just have to wonder if he really thought this decision through back in Oct-Nov. The US sure could have used him in Honduras in February.

 

https://twitter.com/BuenoSoccer/status/315142057968664578

 

Landon Donovan is just going on a tour of locations where the USMNT or the Galaxy aren't...................

Next on the agenda will be Norristown, Pennsylvania.

 

Look... I honestly think that this entire discussion is hyperbolic and rather rediculous. Honestly... what do you believe is going to happen? Do you think guys aren't going to pass the ball to Donovan? Will they refuse to speak to him in practice? If Donovan shows up ready to play there will be no issue. If he doesn't, there would be issues with him anyway, so I don't see why we have to invoke the image of war where a team refuses to acknowledge a former teamate because he "wasn't there". It is completely a moot point.

 

He's spending time with his brother while he prepares to get back with LA.

 

They sure share the family haircut...

 

His brother lives in Madison

http://wisconsinsoccercentral.com/set-pieces/national/3543-donovan-drops-in-for-a-game-at-keva

 

That's not his brother!

 

Well he's still alive. That's good.

 

Aren't we all his brothers, sister?