The Guardian has reported that Everton F.C., home of American goalkeeper Tim Howard and former home of US greats Joe-Max Moore and Brian McBride, has expressed interest in acquiring Los Angeles Galaxy forward Landon Donovan on loan during the January transfer window.
Initial Reaction: NO!
Wait for it...there it is! Of course most fans of the United States National team would find it ideal for Landon Donovan to be playing for an top-flight English side such as Everton. I mean, why wouldn't you want your best player getting minutes against the best club teams in the world week and week out? Not to mention playing alongside Tim Howard under a manager who is famous for loving Americans.
I'll tell you why.
Landon Donovan has been the anchor of the United States Men's National team for the past 8 years, and with 120 caps and 42 goals for his country, it's hard to argue against his success on the international level.
We recently played two friendlies in November against two World Cup sides, Slovakia and Denmark, suffering 1-0 and 3-1 losses, respectively. These matches were both played without several of our top players, including Landon. While watching the team perform during those two matches, it's safe to say I've never seen us look so flat, so unimposing, and so downright awful. Coincidence that Landon wasn't out there? I think not.
USA fans must recognize the fact that we CANNOT win as a country without him on the field.
So, back to the loan issue.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Landon Donovan has enjoyed his success for his country while being a domestically-based player. His career at Los Angeles has been incredible, with him having similar numbers for the Galaxy as he does for the United States (121 apps, 64 goals). So my question is, if this guy has been dominating the pitch for the USA while playing his club ball in MLS, why would you want to change that a mere 6 months before we enter the World Cup?
MADNESS, I TELL YOU!
Donovan doesn't perform well in European club football, it's been proven before and if he makes this move, it will be proven again. His first stint with Bayer Leverkusen saw him get on the pitch 7 times in 5 years. That's disgraceful. His second stint saw him at Bayern Munich, where got 6 league appearances and 0 goals.
The bottom line is that if you see Landon Donovan get on a plane and leave for Merseyside this January, you'll see our World Cup hopes leave with him.
If you want to see more of this next summer in South Africa, then we need to keep Landon in the MLS
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