I saw that others commented upon this post, but, of course, Tim made his comments as he left the USMNT, which you are comparing to Donovan's comments following the World Cup cuts. Here is what Donovan said when he came back . . https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/11A9...p4?versionId=SL4LcSXaIIgnzywYs2.aLMKsYHrUGVqb “If I can go back in with the national team and they ask me to play goalie, then I’ll play goalie,” Donovan deadpanned during a conference call with reporters. He added, more seriously: “My job now is to make it so that he wants me back. He has not said anything — he hasn’t said he doesn’t want me to be part of it. He has said the door is open and once I’m playing again, he’ll evaluate me like any other player, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” It's a bit unfortunate that you chose to compare Donovan's comments following his being cut from the World Cup squad as "entitled" with Tim Howard's comments in his decision to take a leave. Who can say what Howard might say, should he return and find the door closed, especially had he made every effort to prove himself in his return.
Brad Guzan has been awesome, so far this season, for Aston Villa, registering shutouts in each of his first two matches. He has improved dramatically and become a big time goalkeeper since winning the starting position for the Villains. Nick Rimando will probably get MLS goalkeeper of the year, for the first time in his career, this season. Certainly, he is deserving of this honor. That being said, the best MLS goalkeeper this season has actually been Bill Hamid. He has been outstanding and a key performer in DC United's resurrection. For years, he made too many youthful mistakes, mostly around a lack of concentration and considering all the variables. This is the first year, I have become a fan of his. He is ready to move overseas.
The funny part about this is that it should be a lot easier to keep Howard off the team. Guzan is a much better replacement for Timmy than Zusi/Green/Wondo/Johannsson/Bedoya/Davis/et al was for Donovan.
Difference here is that Tim's break may actually be good for the US squad. A dominate #1 keeper like Tim makes it hard for younger talent (like Mini-Brad). Guzan may be the future for the US, but it's hard to judge that future without putting him between the pipes against good competition. Tim's opened the door for that to happen without any bloody "goal-keeper controversy". Good on Tim. Besides, he has his acting career to look after now- he's great in the Tim Lasso commercial!
I agree. I feel it's important to have Guzan man the pipes for a major tournament (The Gold Cup). Having Timmy come in for the Copa America and qualifiers only makes a lot of sense.
us youth coaches have a reputation of stunting player development by focusing too much on results. funnily enough, i think the same thing happened with the usmnt in the brazil cycle. i hope jk has learned (and is given the leeway to fail in friendlies etc) that integrating a squad requires thoughtfully experimenting (instead of willy nilly picking random formations/ unproven players that were obviously never going to help in a world cup) and that he HAS A HUGE ROLE IN PLAYER DEVELOPMENT. basically, i hope jk acknowledges that the usmnt coach must have a role in developing talent in the us (unlike in europe)....and that he plays the players that can help in the next world cup....and that he does not marry the team to players who cant. guzan is definitely a player who could do very well in a world cup...as well as other keepers next in line....
I respect Tim's candor in needing a break, and I appreciate his decision to focus on his family a bit more. He's worked his ass off for the USMNT, put in good service, and this seems like an opportune time to take time away. It'll give younger guys a chance to get a look, and it won't make a huge impact on international play (TH wasn't at last Gold Cup anyway, I doubt he would have been at this one regardless). For the record, I think there are two distinctions between LD's and TH's situations (both of which, IMO, were equally legit). First, Tim handled his better PR-wise. He simply said "I want to spend time with my family." Who's going to have a problem with that? It sounds admirable in terms of priorities, and we can all relate to some extent. LD made the mistake of being too open about his having lost some fire for playing (which may well be true of TH and others who are not taking time off), which in the hands of media vultures and haters became solid-gold evidence that LD is an entitled prick who doesn't have the right kind of character. Second, Tim chose a better time. 2015 will be a low impact time to be away, and if no one good emerges and/or TH decides he wants to play for the MNT again, WCQ will be no worse off. But LD chose possibly the worst time you can imagine--the beginning of what was shaping up to be a very rough WC cycle. I say "chose" in each case, but of course it's not entirely up to a player when they're burned out or overburdened or whatever else. But the timing of his departure from the MNT was definitely worse than Tim's. And as some others have pointed out, of course you can compare TH's and LD's self-imposed sabbaticals. You can compare anything, regardless of whether they are similar or dissimilar. The comparison yields similarity, or its absence. But the act of comparison doesn't necessarily imply similarity, identity, equivalence, or anything else.
Assuming we play against Mexico again next year, I'm more than confident we'll get more pictures like this with Guzan in charge
I guess Jurkoff will throw him off the National team next. He is going to miss all those practices and games. Maybe he will forget how to distribute to no one once we get a lead Now jurkoff will be looking for a German keeper who was spawned by an American to replace Howard.
Not sure you can blame a lot of those on him. The first one perhaps. Not sure what's happening at Everton right now...
He would have been better off being given the red card for the DOGSO handling outside the box rather than having to stay for the final 70 minutes of that match.
Well, they drew Leicester away on opening day, drew with Arsenal, lost to Chelsea. If you hadn't watched the games, those are results you'd kind of expect. Leicester's not bad, as other teams are learning. Everton will be fine..................... Tim Howard will be fine............
One thing that people don't always consider because it is easy to forget as a fan watching a player(s) do things we only wish we could do is that professionals probably think of everything (including breaks) in a much different way than we do. We see someone abandoning us and his teammates while professionals also see what they do as a job and better understand teh pressures and difficulties of being on the road away from their families and all of the other issues taht go with playing professionally and internationally. I suspect that Howard's and Donovan's vacation/sabbaticals are viewed quite differently by his fellow teammates (possibly even by Klinsmann). There has been a lot of speculation that Klinsmann left off Donovan because of the sabbatical but that may or may not be true. We really don't know the reason.
Should have gotten that card and one for the head contact with the Chelsea player. Either could have been yellow or red. He was a bit lucky.