Chris Bergin is reporting on his site that Landon becomes the first back-to-back winner of the Honda Player of the Year. What is he going to do with all these cars he is winning? It's ironic that big villain of the boards this week wins the POY. Cheers. http://www.ussocceruk.com/USsoccerUK_Forum/thread-view.asp?threadid=520&posts=46
He's giving the car to me. Yeah, villain! That's what happens when you get all that hype and are put up on that pedestal. A lot of people get their jollies off just sitting waiting for him (or anyone else who is in a similar position) to do something wrong and then tear him down. Of course, they don't know who they are, and they'll all say, "Not me!"
well i think ld is a good player. Timmy was my choice but i don't think he was even in the final cut. I like landon but he is not helping himself staying in the MLS. a good example is the kid from argentina i think delassandro. great ball skills, attacking midfielder but kind of small. He moved from his argentine club to wolfsburg. i saw some of the match against werder bremen this weekend. he made some mistakes but he could hold the ball against much stronger guys. makes me wonder when i see LD get knocked off the ball consistently and expect a foul. he should go back to germany and learn how to play against bigger, nastier opponents. otherwise he is never going to the next level and the us nats will suffer. The MLS is a good league to start with but our style of play isn't as aggressive yet. defenders leave attackers with too much space and time. A good example is McBride at everton. he tore it up for a couple of weeks and then defenders started marking tight and effectively shut him down. had he stayed i have no doubt he would have adjusted to heavy, physical marking. just my 2 cents.
I am sure that he will eventually go to Europe, I would guess England or Spain. But the guy doesn't want to go now.
too bad. i think he would become an off the hook player if he would make the effort. delassandro has improved remarkably from last year. but his loss is our gain. i have enjoyed watching him play at spartan stadium.
I don't see Landon getting knocked off the ball that much. He has developed some muscle, and I've seen him hold onto that ball with some rough hits. I've also seen him, with those quick feet, "dance" through defenders like they weren't even there (ironic, huh ). I think he gets knocked off the ball kind of when he wants to get knocked off the ball. I think him staying in MLS has really been good for him. He has matured (in spite of what some BS'ers want to say). I mean, look at the numbers he's put up, the diving has almost stopped. Some might say he took a step backward on Sunday, but I don't see it that way. It was just a different side of him and despite the hand-wringing, he's not on the verge of going off the deep end and losing control all the time. In fact, I don't think he lost control on Sunday; just made some BAD decisions in frustration and trying to do something to spark his team. Staying in MLS this year has allowed him to work on some weaknesses in his game, mostly the mental aspect I think, and he's obviously getting better. That being said, I personally don't see him staying here for next year IF the opportunity arises for him to go, especially now winning Honda Player of the Year again. If the team can manage an MLS cup victory, and if by some chance LD is named MVP (though I really think it goes to Spencer), what more could he accomplish here? Plus, his stock will have risen in Europe and just maybe someone will be willing to fork out the bucks for him. Just my 2 cents.
Re: Re: Honda Player of the Year [R] Sorry, Albany, read in an article he's giving it to his sister. Maybe you get it next year!! As an aside, it's a really good article in the Press-Enterprise about LD winning...he was even crying. Think it shows what he's been through this year and how he's battled back. Good for him.
good stuff still kickin' I agree with your comments about sundays match against the metros. I thought LD handled a poorly officiated match very well. Sure he did a couple of floops but who doesn't if it will help your team. His crime is just not doing the flops very well. his tackles were kind of chippy but not beserker. He did do a lot of whinning but i have gotten used to his complaints. just part of LD's game for better or worse. I liked him showing some gumption and backbone and dishing out the punishment. some of those chippy tackles are expected in other leagues and called professional fouls. I only saw one rash challenge. i also like your observation on LD's progress. Don't get me wrong I really like the guy and his style of play. I think the MLS has helped him but it is time for him to move on to greener pastures. I just wish he would stop whinning all the time.
Do you mean "winning" or "whining", or is the word you have a combination of both? A sort of whining while winning. I agree that Landon should perfect his flopping/diving technique, and he had a couple of masters (or are they?) to learn from Sunday with Che Guevara and Johnny Walker Red.
hmmmm.... my spellchecker seems to be out of order today. you are right though little buddy landon does seem to be on the winning side alot these days. ahhhh to be the golden boy. obe wan guevera has mastered his jedi mind tricks on the refs this season. he should be teaching at jedi college with the flopping that he gets away with. may the force be with you
I'm not sure whether getting knocked off the ball is a problem for him or not, not having watched him enough and not being a very well-educated soccer fan at this point. I see some opinions here that getting knocked off the ball isn't a problem for him. His biggest asset seems to be his speed, which gives him the ability to get enough clearance from a defender to take a shot. I've noticed that when marked close to the goal he has the ability to place the ball off to the side (thereby avoiding contact with the defender), beat the defender to the ball, then knock it home. I've seen him score that way several times in just the short amount of time I've watched him. But having more mass, assuming it doesn't affect his speed much, would seem like a good thing for him. He's still very light. It's just physics. He'd be harder to move. So I have to ask a naive soccer question, still being pretty new to the game. Do soccer players ever try to beef up a bit like basketball players do? Or do they worry that it would have a detrimental effect on their speed, coordination, or stamina? Or is it just too hard to make it happen while staying match fit (does it just burn off anyway)?
If you bulk up, you're going to lose speed. Just ask Jerry Rice. He did, and found out that the speed he lost wasn't worth it. As you say, it's just physics.
ha ha. too true indeed. I had heard about his reputation for flopping but did not really appreciate his mastery of the skill until i saw him live and in person.
Ok Ok. A couple of you have called me on my belief that LD gets knocked off the ball far too much. I still think the guy gets knocked off but apparently i may be sniffing too much glue at the old hacienda in oakland. I swear I have noticed LD getting moved off the ball. But if youse guys say he holds the ball I will let this one go. JazzJ I agree with you that LD is fast. DMB fast. and yes i think he can make it in a faster more physical league but he has to go there and learn how to do it first. I firmly believe MLS will be able to produce the high level of play the some of the top euro leagues. This won't happen for at least 10 more years so LD can't really wait. He needs to play at the highest level so he can be the very best he can be. (sound like an army recruiter, shudder) speed kills but you can bulk up and keep your speed if you train correctly. there is nothing like taking a shoulder charge from a defender and leaving him on the ground as you scurry away. anyway that is my 2 cents for today.
I'm not totally convinced of that, but I'm sure someone has the answer. It's physics, but it could be complicated. I think it depends on how you bulk up. I wasn't thinking of carbo-loading, but weight training. I found this on a site about training for speed... "Speed is related to power (the ability to apply a great deal of force in a very short moment of time). Power is related to strength. Sprinting strength can be greatly enhanced with weight training to develop the gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles, which are the primary movers for explosive hip extension and maximum acceleration. Strengthening the abdominal muscles and hip flexors improves acceleration and stride length." I wonder if there is a way for him to bulk up that has little to no effect (or even a positive effect) on his speed. If you think about the fastest sprinters (in track) they've got pretty solid frames, including upper body. Of course, what sprinters need to do is worlds away from what soccer players need to do. But some soccer players with good speed, like Cunningham, are not exactly toothpicks either. But every body is different, so I think it's hard to say.
Remember, a typical soccer field is 15-20 times as big as a basketball court. Despite having twice as many players in soccer, each guy has a lot more space to cover. As a result, there's a lot less cutting and bodying up, a lot more running to take up good positions (distance running, with sprints mixed in). That's why you don't see soccer players toting around a lot of muscle mass (especially attackers). It just isn't worth it. Even a high-ball specialist like McBride stays as light as he possibly can. BTW, any chance your real first name is "Jed?"
That makes sense. Probably the stamina factor makes it "not worth it", as you say. By gaining muscle mass, you may be able to improve your ability to fend off a defender without affecting (or maybe even improving) your sprinting speed. But I don't think anyone can dispute that carrying around more weight is bad for stamina. And I'm sure stamina is a big factor in how fast you can move at various times in a match. So I guess you just have to learn to play with the cards you're dealt. (no, sorry, no "Jed" here)
It's irrelevant. The steering column is on the wrong side or the car. Good onya, Landon... keep it going, all the way through the playoffs.
what do you guys think about this: Wynalda: Media is wrong (from mlsnet.com) Last week San Jose Earthquakes and U.S. National Team star Landon Donovan added to his collection of soccer honors by capturing the Honda Player of the Year award, outdistancing both Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra, second and third respectively in the voting. ESPN2 analyst Eric Wynalda found the voting by the media for this award to be seriously flawed, exposing what he believes to be a lack of insight into the sport of soccer by its foremost journalists.
I think perhaps Eric is starting to get a little nervous that Landon is going to break every record Wynalda ever set...by the time he's 25! I also think Eric is still a little upset that Landon didn't take Eric's advice (which he gave him at the last Honda POY ceremony) and jump at the chance to return to Leverkusen. That being said, the case for Bocanegra to have won it is strong. But at the same time, LD doesn't deserve this kind of press from Wynalda, either. (Course I loved what he had to say about Foudy.) To each his own opinion, I suppose. (I wonder if the voting was flawed when Wynalda won it those two times?)