Showing posts with label Donovan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donovan. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

My Apologies and an Ode to Donovan



I must apologize for my lack of posts recently. The Navy has decided to put me at work flying twice a day for the past couple of weeks and I took a cross country this weekend to the West Coast. I have neglected my most important job, bitching about Tottenham. A funny thing happened when I stopped posting however...we started winning. Do I feel bad posting and possibly ending the streak? Not really. This streak isn't going to end any time soon. I can see the FA Cup final and Champions League football on the horizon. Half of our team had the flu in the Everton game, and we still gutted out the win. This is an omen. It has been several seasons since the infamous Lasagna gate incident where we needed a win against West Ham to secure fourth and crack the Champions League and our squad was poisoned by someone. All fingers point to the scum, Arsenal, who somehow managed to sneak into the fourth spot we left open. My conspiracy theory places Osama bin Laden as the main culprit. How in the hell can you support a team that has bin Laden as a supporter? I mean, shit, you might as well root for Mexico and Virginia Tech while you're at it. Back to the subject at hand....Spurs are headed for great things. Not even sneaky viruses can keep us down anymore.

I want to take this moment to send an ode out to Landon Donovan. I felt that the US wouldn't have even qualified for the World Cup without him. While the rest of the squad was inconsistent, he was a rock and offensive genius throughout qualifying. This alone would have put him on my Mt. Rushmore of favorite people, but after missing the wide open goal against Spurs, he has now deified himself. All the guy does are things that benefit me. How in the world did he miss? I've looked at it from every angle and it's just puzzling. It was his dominant foot at the far post without a defender providing pressure on his back. This is the type of miss that could just send Landon reeling. Everyone knows he is sensitive and has a tough time when the heat is turned up. He didn't do much in the Netherlands game today, which was his first game since the miss. It's a bad sign. Keep an eye on this fragile little boy just crumbling under a lack of confidence. Just so you know, I hope he doesn't fall apart. I'm all America people.

Onto Super Pav...The last time I can remember a player so far in the doghouse, only to prove all the doubters wrong on his return, was David Beckham at Real Madrid. Capello had completely written him off when Beckham turned Madrid's season around and led them to the La Liga title. Like Beckham, Pav was being shown the door earlier in the season but somehow managed to pull a 180. The signs were there that Pav would be given a chance when Harry let Keano head to Celtic, but no one could have foreseen Pav's rich vein of form. It's always difficult to judge how much other players like each other, but it is obvious Pav is not only a fan favorite, but a fan in the locker room. When someone scores, the team is excited for obvious reasons, but pay attention a little closer to the celebration. Pav is absolutely mauled every time he puts one in. Bale and Corluka nearly ran him over in the Wigan game. The players celebrate his goals as if they scored. I have watched a lot of goals and celebrations this season, and Pav's are easily the happiest and most fun to watch. He has become the catalyst the team needed to kick start the second half of the season. Keep scoring you Russian.

Here is the picture of Wayne Bridge's dirty pirate hooker of an ex-girlfriend. As an American fan, she should be commended for tearing apart the English dressing room. Only a woman can have such a negative impact on morale...

Monday, January 18, 2010

Dempsey and Donovan



It looks like we aren't going to find out any more news about Dempsey's knee until tomorrow. As we like to say in the Navy, stand by to stand by...

It has been revealed today that Landon Donovan has hinted that he would like to stay in England longer than the current loan deal. Major League Soccer has dealt with this before with David Beckham and so they had to expect this kind of comment to be made. Everton's manager David Moyes has inserted Donovan right into the starting line up and has helped them get two great results at the Emirates and at home against Manchester City. Put yourself in his shoes for a second. Landon comes over, immediately sees playing time in the best league in the world, and more importantly, has played a role in turning around Everton's season. You can easily see why he feels pumped up at Everton. He has lived a fairy tale so far. Donovan has been known to be emotional, so the report is nothing unexpected in my eyes.

From a business prospective, the MLS was very smart to sign him up for four more years and then loan him out where he could raise his value. The longer you have a player under contract, the greater the potential transfer fee. If he can continue to shine and impress at Everton, you can bet on Everton or another club approaching the league with an offer. If Altidore went for ten million dollars, how much would Donovan go for? My best guess is that Donovan would be able to leave at a minimum fifteen million. He means a lot to the MLS and is a big part of its marketing.