Ponte to Japan

I wonder if he'll break his ankle over there...

 

Re: Ponce to Japan

Doesn't this guy know that his name has "connoatations" in certain places?

PS: I fixed the title.

 

Donovan would have probably had more than a chance before he even moved to Japan. Ponte was injured for a large part of the season after Donovan had abandoned ship for MLS. I'm still puzzled by the move. Granted, it's worked out well for MLS and yes, the player is "happy". But there is still a way that Leverkusen probablyo could have worked out for him, if he's as good as so many fans believe that he is. IMO, even if Leverkusen changed their formations, that doesn't mean he couldn't have been utilized either on the wing or as a forward. And then there's the chance that he could have played out the season, risen his stock, and moved on to another club in another country with a lifestyle mroe similar to what he wanted. Ponte was never that great of a player. He was far from being on the Selecao's radar and now he's off to Japan? Although to be fair he was injured at the worst possible moment.

But Donovan is where he wants to be, in Los Angeles, California, and where he seems to always want to be, so more power to him then. What's odd, though, is I bet if LA didnt' have a talented roster and they were losing all the time even with him on their team, he might not be 'happy'. Frustrating player. I honestly don't 'hate' the guy, just don't know what the hell to make of the player. Off the field he says/sometimes does some pretty stupid things... I'd actually suggest he hire a publicist. On the field you see what could be along with his many talents, and then the next day you see just an ordinary player without those talents... assuming he makes enough of an impact to even get noticed.

 

Re: Ponce to Japan

IIRC,Part of the reason Donovan left was because the team was going to change from a dedicated a-mid to two more "two-way" central mids.There was going to be no real place for Donovan or Ponte next season.

 

Re: Ponce to Japan

Also, after the Liverpool game, Donovan had also lost his job as Ponte's backup, so there's no reason to believe the job was Donovan's if Ponte wasn't there.

I think it's seriously time to move on. I mean it's been three months, it's time to start seeing other people...

 

Thinking about your post....I had a flashback to those wonderful NFL Studios films of football players from the 1950's and 1960's. You know the ones: They are bleeding from their nose (but still playing), playing on a bum leg, exhibiting an enormous amount of commitment to the cause....a cause-btw- that wasn't even paying enough for a living for many of those guys. Many of those guys coulda played football for fun, and just focused on their regular jobs (after all, that was THEIR real career). Yet, their passion was so clear to everyone there- including the fans in the stands. I reckon it is one reason that the NFL then became so popular. It literally felt like warriors going to battle, risking everything everytime..even if a regular season match that was relatively meaningless..

So when I hear comments from Landon like, "I've got a great life outside of soccer and that is number one for me"...well, don't be surprised if that isn't exactly "building block stuff" for a great league. I think Landon is a committed player and a good one, but yeah, there is something different about the guy who plays like its the only thing in the world to them.

In other words, Landon- hire a publicist

 

I'm pretty sure Ponte was all but gone before LD left. In fact, I think that BL did not pick up his contract while LD was still on German soil, or very soon after.

 

Uh, was there a point in there somewhere?

 

This thread should be moved to some rivalry thread where guys with Donovan-envy can take their shots at him unbothered by reason or decency.

 

everyone who doesnt have something positive to say about a player is unreasonable and indecent?

wow.

 

You are saying that? Because I certainly didn't.

 

What does that have to do with anything in this thread?

 

love to know who got a better financial deal, LD to mls, or ponte to japan. This may tilt to LD, I'd think. anyone know?
As for "LD and the half-assed... " okay, stumped on a harry potter pun, but you get the point, many of us have been less than supportive of the decision, but I would think that ship has not only sailed, but hit an iceberg, gone down, been raised, towed to shore and put in a museum. which of course means it's fair game to revisit on holidays, etc...
Still, it's hardly donovan-envy, martin, unless that's all that fandom is. Still, I never looked at the young man and thought, I wish I were him or able to, well, frankly, run, any more than I watched Jordan and wished I could afford to bet money like that.
We like watching games, so we follow those who play them. We also have opinions, and like to think they're worth listening to. Seeing as it's unlikely anyone in our homes would bother to listen to us (and certainly not about soccer), we spout off on message boards. It's kind of like the circle of life, complete with hyena chorus.

 

What does this thread have to do with anything? Or have to do with soccer, other than Donovan bashing?

I was saying that this is a stupid thread and belongs in a forum where stupid is tolerated at an even higher level than this thread.

Clear now?

 

Take out your 3 posts in this thread, and the rest seems pretty reasonable to me. But if that's insufficient, perhaps you can have Buff move it to such a place, you personal guestbook forum perhaps?

 

Rep.

That guy was the only one acting like a prick, and for no reason at all. People were having decent talk about it, analyzing the situation and what could have been, and he contributed nothing.

 

You and your fan club are entitled to your opinion. I think this is a stupid thread that has nothing to do with Yanks Abroad.

 

there you go thinking again.

 

Just ignore him - that's the kind of poster he is and why I tend to do just that - ignore all of his posts unless I have no choice but to acknowledge them.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the thread and it's something that I had thought of too - particularly when Ponte went down injured not so long after Donovan transferred back to MLS. Like someone else said, he may have fallen even further down the depth chart after the match but who knows what could have happened then with Ponte out. I still think that he was versatile enough to be utilized in more than just one position, as an attacking midfielder. The thing is, his attitude of not wanting to be there most likely dominated and he couldn't get himself up to fight for a place or to demand more on the club... he didn't have the desire to be assertive, if that makes sense.

With Ponte gone, like I said though who knows. If Leverkusen is changing their style of play then that still doesn't mean he would have been SOL as far as playing time. It just means he may have been utilized in a different way. Or... he could've transferred out. But I guess it is irrelevant - MLS and Los Angeles seems to be the ony place he wants to be, so he did what he had to (no matter how others may look at it) do to return.

 

I've seen some pretty juvenile landon donovan threads man, and i've seen nothing in this thread that merits the way you're acting.

sorry DC didn't get him man, lighten up.

 

nah, a shoulda coulda woulda thread is pretty immature and lame

 

I believe the accepted term is "informationally challenged."

 

My original post was "light" dude. The lack of lightness started elsewhere, but figuring that out is too much, I guess, MAN.