Landon Donovan
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1. He wouldn't have played in game one due to the formation we started in and the injury subs we had to make.
2. If he was on the roster, he might have been the sub they brought in for Bedoya for the last 20 minutes instead of Yedlin. I'm not sure he could have done Yedlin's job any better as all Yedlin was brought on to do was to use his speed to get up and down on the outside. Donovan might have been a little better at killing the last 5 minutes since he is just a more experienced player.
Do I still think Donovan should be there over Brad Davis? Yes. Would he have made a difference in the outcome? No.
2. If he was on the roster, he might have been the sub they brought in for Bedoya for the last 20 minutes instead of Yedlin. I'm not sure he could have done Yedlin's job any better as all Yedlin was brought on to do was to use his speed to get up and down on the outside. Donovan might have been a little better at killing the last 5 minutes since he is just a more experienced player.
Do I still think Donovan should be there over Brad Davis? Yes. Would he have made a difference in the outcome? No.
1) Yep.
2) No, that was always going to be Yedlin. He was brought in for two reasons: His speed and his defense. Donovan brings neither of those at that position. And Yedlin did a great job wasting time from that position, as was mentioned at the time by Twellman. He's also responsible for getting the cross in the started the 2nd goal sequence.
As for being there over Brad Davis, talent-wise you can make a case. But none of us know if Donovan was an issue in the locker room (whether spoken or unspoken). At this point you can't question Klinnsman because he's made all of the right moves and all of the right subs.
2) No, that was always going to be Yedlin. He was brought in for two reasons: His speed and his defense. Donovan brings neither of those at that position. And Yedlin did a great job wasting time from that position, as was mentioned at the time by Twellman. He's also responsible for getting the cross in the started the 2nd goal sequence.
As for being there over Brad Davis, talent-wise you can make a case. But none of us know if Donovan was an issue in the locker room (whether spoken or unspoken). At this point you can't question Klinnsman because he's made all of the right moves and all of the right subs.
Everybody's always crapping on Brad Davis.
Look, he had a decision to make. He could bring 20 non-goalies, 13 or 14 of which will actually play, and he decided to leave off 1 guy who has a track record of defying that coach and is at a point in his career where he's basically useless from that ~6 who won't play.
I'm 110% ok with it. I love it, actually. We're at a point in American soccer where people's admiration for you doesn't make it where you can skip every single qualifier and get automatically added to the 23 man roster at the end. It also says, "Hey, don't go on ESPN and tell a reporter that often after 12 minutes of practice you have to take a break."
If Klinnsman brings him to Brazil, Donovan doesn't play... And instead of getting to make HIS decisions (on point so far) he has to listen to the American public who have never watched a soccer match other than USA-Mexico tell him that he should have put in Donovan the other night in place of Bedoya or even have started him in place of Altidore.
If Donovan and Klinnsman were buddies this would be different. But no way smug *** Landon goes to Brazil, doesn't play, and doesn't make a big deal about it.
Donovan and Davis both have above average corner kicks, but Davis can hang around and finish the game. That's where I see the decision to bring him/leave him off.
ETA: All of that is without even mentioning that Donovan is not a forward in Klinnsman's system.
Look, he had a decision to make. He could bring 20 non-goalies, 13 or 14 of which will actually play, and he decided to leave off 1 guy who has a track record of defying that coach and is at a point in his career where he's basically useless from that ~6 who won't play.
I'm 110% ok with it. I love it, actually. We're at a point in American soccer where people's admiration for you doesn't make it where you can skip every single qualifier and get automatically added to the 23 man roster at the end. It also says, "Hey, don't go on ESPN and tell a reporter that often after 12 minutes of practice you have to take a break."
If Klinnsman brings him to Brazil, Donovan doesn't play... And instead of getting to make HIS decisions (on point so far) he has to listen to the American public who have never watched a soccer match other than USA-Mexico tell him that he should have put in Donovan the other night in place of Bedoya or even have started him in place of Altidore.
If Donovan and Klinnsman were buddies this would be different. But no way smug *** Landon goes to Brazil, doesn't play, and doesn't make a big deal about it.
Donovan and Davis both have above average corner kicks, but Davis can hang around and finish the game. That's where I see the decision to bring him/leave him off.
ETA: All of that is without even mentioning that Donovan is not a forward in Klinnsman's system.
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Off topic a bit but former Saint Steve Gleason in late stage ALS tweeted this:
@TeamGleason: Michel says my mechanical voice has more enthusiasm than Landon Donovan...
-SG
That guy is something else.
@TeamGleason: Michel says my mechanical voice has more enthusiasm than Landon Donovan...
-SG
That guy is something else.
I strongly suspect this is the case. Donovan has always been a bit of an unreliable pre-Madonna. Sometimes, his attitude is great, he works hard, and is a good leader. And sometimes he just decides to flake out for months on end and sulk, pout, or just walk away. I think Klinsmann decided when Donovan walked out for 6 months that he just couldn't rely on him.
I don't think we have a single reason to question Klinsmann on his roster consists of. Who scored the 2nd goal against Ghana? Brooks. Who some said wouldn't play and didn't need to be there. Also, they said the same about Yedlan and his speed got that ball crossed in that Dempsey eventually put away for goal 2 against Portugal. I think we need quit second guessing him. He has proven himself to me.
I would have liked to have had Donovan on the bench for moments like the Portugal game. Donovan is not the scorer he once was but he can still possess the ball and make level-headed decisions. If you're going to sub for Dempsey in '86, I would prefer to have Donovan for those 10 mins. than Wonderlickski - not that he did bad playing the ball.
Klinsmann wasn't expected to get out of group stage, so he wanted to work for the next cup. Now they're better than he thought - with the luck of the schedule - and the difference between winning the group and possibly going home was 10 mins.
In case you missed it...
Klinsmann wasn't expected to get out of group stage, so he wanted to work for the next cup. Now they're better than he thought - with the luck of the schedule - and the difference between winning the group and possibly going home was 10 mins.
In case you missed it...
That has nothing to do with his competitiveness. He stocked his boat with youth who would get very little time on the pitch. It's understandable with Julian Green, who could easily go and play for Germany. If you're tying to win NOW, you don't prefer youth over experience.
And his quib about not being able to win the world cup wasn't too far off. Unfortunately nobody asked him for a yes or no answer on the logical followup question about winning the group. I think that it's clear that he was willing to kick the can down the road but take whatever this team could get.
You bring Julian Green for the same reason you draft a QB in the first round and let Chad Henne start over him.
In 4 years Julian Green will have just turned 23 and will have already been through World Cup training, preparation, and practice once before. We're also talking about the player with the highest ceiling to ever don the red, white, and blue.
We'll agree to disagree on Brad Davis... But being angry that Julian Green was invited is just ridiculous.
If you want to point to what he's looked like so far in limited appearances, it took Landon over a year to start for the USMNT after getting his first cap.
Donovan has been pretty average to below average with his ball skills against top competition the last year or two. He has lost his speed and first touch. The only thing he's been good at is poaching goals and free kicks. We already have Johannson, Wondolowski, Zusi, Diskerud, and Davis (a super left foot, something Donovan can never claim to have had) on the roster that fill those needs. All 5 of those players have been in much better form the last year as well.
As for Green, there are always players who are on the roster and don't expect to see action unless there are certain injuries. I can say with confidence that, at most, Donovan would have played 4 minutes so far. AT MOST. More likely zero, which is the same as Davis and Green.
As for Green, there are always players who are on the roster and don't expect to see action unless there are certain injuries. I can say with confidence that, at most, Donovan would have played 4 minutes so far. AT MOST. More likely zero, which is the same as Davis and Green.