Donovan Cut - is this the end of Landon?

He is a great player, no doubt. But in 20 years is anybody going to talk about him? I would guess Ronaldo's going to make "best ever" lists for a long time to come.

And I don't even like the guy (added since it sounds like I'm all over his jock).

 

Because they have people better than him who can play that position (Khedira, Schweinsteiger, or Lahm would be our best player if they were American).

 

Landon didn't get fat, he just got his "man body." In your 20s you have the "young buck" body, very different. That's why when you're 20-something and you have to fight a guy in his 40s, the one thing you avoid is he connecting a punch to your jaw. He'll break it, even if he's smaller than you.

The "young buck" body is what most wingers need. It's good for speed, for agility, for turning this way and that, dribbling past people. Landon has been moving from winger to playmaker, and a playmaker needs a "man body" so he's not pushed off the ball easily, so he can cover it and the only way to take it away from him is by a foul.

He got a flat abdomen when standing straight. It looks bulky when you're all hunched over, speaking into a microphone. Bet you now Landon is stronger than ever though. I was a winger too, and at 5'10', 120 lbs., had the body for it. Then I aged and couldn't do it any more, so moved more to the center. It's tough to take the ball away from a guy who's 5'10" and 160 lbs. Also, you can push the "young bucks" around without making any effort, so the ref won't even see a foul.

I think Landon is going to end his career as a pure playmaker. For Galaxy, he's a creator now, and even last year during the Keanovan days, he was assisting more often than scoring, and when he scored was a return from a play he had created. All that makes the choice of playing him as a pure forward more puzzling.

 

First, pretty sure that was a sarcastic Lobos made.

So, that goes back to even before this whole mess started. People were wondering where LD would fit in the team.

 

That Azerbaijan match showed we could use a real playmaker. Heck, the diamond formation is made for a creative 'trequartista'.

 

I was enjoying your post up until the second finally and the cheap shots. Brad Evans was one of JK's favorites for quite a while, but had no business there. Brooks may turn out be our future star CB and has a better upside than Goodson. Gonzalez was nursing an injury and should have been left off. But a healthy Gonzalez is better than Goodson. And you said LD was left off in favor of Green, but then your number 5 bullet says Davis was chosen in favor of LD. Which one is it?

 

How is that a measurement of how good he is now?

As I've said in other threads...if Pepe, Coentrao, Moutinho, Nani, Alves, etc were American, nobody here would be calling them average.

 

That game showed me they were playing with some heavy legs. JK even addressed why they chose AZE to play right after hard conditioning. So, we still haven't really seen what the team is capable of.

But, let's say you are right (And I do like the idea). Where would Donovan fit is not on the wings along with Dempsey and Bradley?

 

"Listless" would be very very suprising. That would indicate that the players themselves didn't give a damn......that's France of 2010, at Game 2 of WC, territory... we ain't there yet..... [ ]. Now, "Unsettled", that would be a reasonably understandable indicator of a bad omen of things to come...
To the players on the team: "Eff JK and his merda, you guys take charge, settle down as a team, and drive right through Germany and out of the group. Heck, drive right to the damn final. It is your WC, not Jay Goeppingen's".

 

CAM, in the diamond:

---------------Jones---------------
-----Bradley-------Bedoya-----
-------------Donovan-----------
-----Dempsey---Jozy----------

Zusi in a diamond is wasted, he won't be going wide any more. And Bedoya is better than Davis, IMO. Both Bradley and Bedoya can defend too, so when under siege, it goes back to 4-3-1-2:


------Bradley----Jones----Bedoya------
-------------------Donovan----------------

All that is a moot point, though. But it makes much more sense to have Donovan as the primary CAM than Bradley. Bradley is a connecting CM, not a distribution/attacking master.

 

True. We'd be calling the majority of them MLS All Stars... But isn't it your contention that MLS level just ain't good enough?

 

Davis looks to be a starter tomorrow and I'd be shocked if he didn't start at least one game in Brazil. For those of you who are defending the Donovan cut, are you OK with Brad Davis starting for us in the World Cup?

 

Are you implying that it's a bad decision regardless of what happens in said hypothetical World Cup match?

 

Natural Light.

 

No, why would you infer from my question that I think it's a bad decision even if it works out? I think it's going to go horribly awry and I'm wondering whether those who support the Donovan cut, sitting here today, also think staring Brad Davis in a World Cup match is going to go poorly.

 

Not to mention that Boyd was left off the roster in favor of Wondo. Unless that was done just to throw us off the trail....

 

I didn't infer it. I asked you if that was your meaning.

 

I'm not calling them average by any means. But I'm also not calling them extraordinary, best-in-the-world-at-their-positions talent.

Anyway, this is all beside the point, Ronaldo is in his absolute prime and Landon isn't. Leaving him off the roster seems premature, but leaving Ronaldo off the Portugal roster would be the dumbest move in World Cup history.

 

I'm guessing no one's actually going to answer the question presented...

 

I would try USA Men General. That's where the few people supporting Donovan's exclusion have congregated I think.

 

OMG! How did it come to this? And I like Brad Davis.

 

For the record, I like Brad Davis too. Great player. Loved me some Steve Ralston too. Neither was/is World Cup level, however.

 

Orrrrr a bunch of Bundesliga players has been introduced who are all just very fit which is something the Bundesliga is still known for. Mmm.

 

To a certain extent, this is true, however, he was called into camp for three caps after being a fixture on their youth squads. Low quit calling him back and the rumor was that he was too much of a loose cannon. And injuries played a part, perhaps, also. Anyways, he was one of the first players to make the one time switch (to the US). Again, the point being, Jurgen can work with someone like Jones, however, mysteriously Donovan appears to be an issue.

Absolutely, they have about 8 players that we probably would build our team around.