What's the Deal with Donovan?!!!!!

As this subject really needs a thread of its own...I hijacked Tom's comments.

Is Donovan as spoiled as it seems on the surface?

Would it have turned out differently if Leverkeusen had dealt his contract to Eindhoven.. or even Fulham?

{I know that he will see banners, Saturday, at Crew Stadium lettered "Donovan - der Aufgeber" -quitter-}

WTH, if he's so concerned with playing in a comfortable environment, is he going to LA to play for Steve Sampson - who SHOULD be coaching some NCAA Div II college team?!!!

My take on it.. on the optimistic side.. is that Donovan is content with being the big fish in the little pond and it MAY be that he sees himself as another Brian McBride, willing to do less on the career slope in order to elevate MLS quality and perception. If so, that's a weird way to do it..if McBride had gone to Leverkeusen under the same circumstances, he sure would have fought harder for that position.

And a lot of writer/fans are as concerned as Tom that this will set back the image of US players on the world stage...

I'm not sure that's true in the long run. There's such a rapid gain in new young players doing their training in MLS that I think the US team could field an all-MLS side and stay within the world top-25.

Well, I guess the only thing to do is sit back and see if Landon does another snoozer year like he did at San Jose in 2004... though to be fair, that team was operating under a cloud - not knowing their future in Northern CA.

And whether he can handle no longer being the US team "golden boy"...that mantle having fallen, almost overnight, on Ed Johnson's shoulders.

 

Petty, just to set the record straight, I am not concerned this will set back US soccer. I was just saying that journalists and pundits are saying that it has and will set back US Soccer. I am in the same boat as you. There are mnay, many fresh, new faces of US Soccer that can and will evenutally succeed overseas.

It is unfortunate Landon did not try harder to gain a spot on a top Bundesliga team. Did he expect a position to just be handed to him? I am not disappointed in the implications of this on US Soccer, but I am disappointed in Landon Donovan individually for not fighting for his spot and making the best of his chances.

In getting to a point Petty made in another thread, I do not think that his decision to leave had anything to do with McBride's situation here at Fulham. McBride is older and his career is on the down slope compared to Donovan's. I could not see Bruce sitting him on the bench. Who knows though.