Re: What's the Deal with Landon & Germany Here's the latest: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/news/Kind=1/newsId=254686.html Looks like Donovan will be in Germany this weekend for a look-see. Looks like this is really gonna happen. Though I'm a Quakes fan, I am really looking forward to seeing what he can do in Europe.
Let's hope MLS can afford to bring him back when he wants to come home someday. Make us proud, Landon.
Damn, wouldn't it have been great to see him in Madrid against Real. C'mon Bayer! You have to progress now!
It's going to be tough. Bayer has to win at home against Kiev or it's almost over for them. Bayer, Kiev and Madrid have 7 pts. If they win at home they will have a good goal differential. Even a one goal victory gives them a plus 4 I believe. Real is at a -3 right now I think. Madrid plays lame duck Roma in Roma - empty stadium I believe against mostly reserves I bet. They need goals!!! Even if they win by a couple of goals it still would leave Bayer needing only a tie in Real. Not out of the question with Bayer's counter attacking prowess. If Bayer beat Kiev by one Kiev's goal differntial is a plus 3. Their last game will be at home against lame duck Roma. I see a slaughter in the cold weather with a Roma reserve team now. Going in to the last round it could easily be Bayer 10 pts - win at home vs Kiev needed for this Real 10 - win in lame duck Roma needed Kiev 7 pts - at home for lame duck Roma in last match where victory would give them 10 pts and a better goal differential than both Real and Bayer... Hmmm, can anyone say collusion in the last match????????? Should be interesting.
And to think Bayer had the win yesterday within grasp with a great late-game goal...only to give up an even later late-game goal.
"Despite having a talented midfield including Bernd Schneider, Robson Ponte, Jacek Krzynówek, Marko Babic and Paul Freier..." So does LD even sniff the field for the rest of the season? Or will Bayer 'punish' him by playing him in the reserves? Given convey's difficulty in breaking into Reading's first side, I coubt LD will move right into a starting spot at Bayer.
i'm rooting for Bayer big-time right now. it would be wonderful to see Bayer against, dare i say it ................. PSV in the next round?!!!
I'm sorry, but how does Bobby Conveys situation in the English second division have anything to do with Landon Donovan in the Bundasliga?
"You can never have enough good players" by the coach is a shade different than the director of football, Michael Reschke telling SI that "I am sure that Landon will be around 70 to 80% minimum on the field." Now who makes the decisions on playing time again....? Of course I'm sure Landon appreciates the realities of the situation as well as anyone.
i tend to disagree with you, how can you compare Donovan with Convey There will be no punishment you must be kidding Donovan has skill,has vision and is quick, Bayer will be thrilled to have him on the field, the only question in my mind , "will Donovan be thrilled ?" i hope so, we can see SJ has no future at the moement, i suggest Donovan to run
You should review the UEFA rules for the competition this year: first tiebreaker is points in head-to-head matches between tied teams, followed by goal difference in those matches, and only then do the others (i.e. Roma games) matter. If all 3 finish on 10 points, with a Real victory at home to Leverkusen, a Leverkusen victory at home to Kyiv and both other teams beating Roma, the situation will be: Real: 7 head to head points Leverkusen: 6 head to head points Kyiv: 4 head to head points Thus, Real will qualify first. Leverkusen and Kyiv will then be tied, both with 3 points against the other, and it will come down to goal difference (Leverkusen must win 2-0 or better, after losing 4-2 in Kyiv). If, on the other hand, all the remaining matches end in draws, with another 3-way tie, we will have: Real: 5 head to head points Leverkusen: 5 head to head points Kyiv: 5 head to head points Then it will come down to goal difference in those games, which right now is (and would remain with draws): Real: -1 Kyiv: +1 Leverkusen: +1 This would make Kyiv the group winner (better head to head versus Leverkusen and overall goal difference) and would mean that Leverkusen take second (4 points versus Real Madrid head to head). Other than these situations, it is hard to imagine a 3-way tie--it either would require Leverkusen to win their final game in Madrid while Roma wins in Kyiv, or for Madrid to lose at an empty and unqualified Roma. But those are your only legitimate three-way possibilities (unless you're in college, you lucky bastard).
Damn. Just found out Bayer play Real next. Not Kiev. This changes things. They pretty much have to tie this match. If they lose by a goal and Kiev win by a couple they will have to go into the final match having to win by 2 or 3 goals. Not easy, even at home, against a very good Kiev team. A tie in Real is definitely not out of the question with Real knowing they have lame duck Roma after that. That screw up yesterday can really cost them now. Dammit.
I only meant winning that particular game - not winning the group. But thanks for the added info. seriously [not being facetious.]
Thanks for the info guys. Didn't know about the rules as regards to head to head points. This gives Bayer a much better chance. A win at home against Kiev, regardless of the Madrid result, and they are in. Right? ...or am I in Homer mode. Always a possiblity.
Just an FYI Last year the Bundesliga played just under half their games before the short break in January (about 3 weeks off), I think shut down right before Christmas and then Jan 25(?) was the first Bundesliga weekend in 2004. I will assume that Landon will be able to train with the team until the Jan transfer window opens and he is actually eligible to be put in a gameday lineup. One could assume that since the whole team/league will have 3 weeks off right after Landon becomes eligible, that he should be able to be at the same fitness level as the rest of team/league when the season starts up again. Given these circumstances, I would like to think that going 3 whole months without playing (NATs games aside) will not hurt his playing chances, and in fact might help him recover from the MLS season. I feel any comparison between Landon's and Convey's situations is silly. Landon will have to adjust and depending on how long that takes and how Bayer uses him will determine how well he does.
don't forget that in the UCL, 3rd place teams don't get dropped completely, they go to the UEFA Cup. So Landon should be playing in Europe one place or another.
Not if it's 1-0. If they finish tied with Kyiv (say they win at home, lose at Madrid, and Kyiv beats Roma in Ukraine), it will be head to head as if it was a quarterfinals two-leg match. They lose 4-2 on the road, so must win by 2 goals to move ahead of Kyiv. But they do control their own destiny regardless of what happens in Madrid.
If he played in the reserves Landon would tell them to go FCUK OFF and quit the team!! I doubt it considering Landon is a few notches above Convey in talent and speed. Convey and guys like Beasley when Beasley has a bad spell, are going to learn the good thing about being in MLS. YOu get to play almost all the time. Landon seems like a good kid. It obviously isnt all about the money for him at this point. He approaches the sport in a way, that alot of older seasoned pros do in their twilight. He wants to be happy first and everything else comes second. Not a bad way to look at life. He knows he is blessed and he isnt a bitch about it either.
Point is, Convey is not as good a player as LD, but he can't get time with a 2nd division club. Bayer is a first division club. How can you just assume that LD will be slotted into the starting 11 - he will have to prove his worth, and take minutes as he gets them. I predict that he will be subbed into games over the rest of the season, and after two months, BigSoccer will declare him a complete and utter waste. (see Convey thread) I was. I hope you're right - and I suspect that LD has also been led to believe he will see significant minutes or he wouldn't be going back. Perhaps he is only going back for a trial until the next MLS season starts?
Yeah he'd quit the team ... sure that would happen... And what would he then do for the next 3 years? He sure wouldn't be playing in any FIFA sponsored league or event...
Ok, we hear this a lot... Repeat after me ... "he is going to Leverkusen because they own his contract." Its not a trial, he's already signed! They've already said he's not going to be loaned to MLS again. MLs can try to buy him outright, but I dont' see that happening. It's not like they said, "Hey Landon, we'd like you to come over and play for use for a while... if you don't mind. So... what do you say?"