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Afternoon Ticker: Donovan secures work permit, Kroenke picks up more Arsenal shares and more

Landon Donovan 2 (ISIphotos.com)
 

by TRAVIS CLARK

Landon Donovan's Everton journey has yet to begin, but the last piece of the puzzle fell into place today. The final hang up in the process was a work permit allowing Donovan to secure the 10-week loan agreement with the Liverpool-based club. The club confirmed that the work permit has been approved, and the loan deal can officially go through.

Work permit issues have hung up Americans heading to England in the past, but it was never going to be a problem for Donovan, who has 120 caps to his name. With that in hand, all Donovan has left to do is wait for January 2, the day when the transfer window opens and he'll begin his loan spell with Everton.

Here are some more stories from Tuesday:

Kroenke increases stake in Arsenal

Stan Kroenke in the news once again, with the announcement Monday that the billionaire had upped his stake in Arsenal once again. His latest addition of 25 shares moves the Colorado Rapids-owner just 17 shares short of the required threshold to launch a formal takeover of the club.

A showdown between two prospective owners seems to be looming, with Uzbekistan oil tycoon wondering what the American is up to. Usmanov owns 26 percent of the club's shares, and at one point seemed destined for a takeover until Kroenke arrived on the scene.

No transfer funds for Hull

If Phil Brown hopes to keep Hull City in the Premier League for another year, he'll have to manage with the players currently at his disposal. Current chairman Adam Pearson indicated that the struggling club will be unable to spend in the January transfer window, as there are no takers for their unwanted players. The club will only be able to buy if they can sell players from their current roster first.

Burnley after Arsenal youngster Wilshere

Owen Coyle has Burnley in decent position as the English season nears its halfway point. The Clarets are in 14th place, though just three points separate them from the drop zone. With the January transfer window nearing, Coyle has revealed a desire to acqure youngster Jack Wilshere on loan.

Wilshere is one of the top English prospects, but hasn't found himself able to crack Arsene Wenger's starting XI this season. While a move is far from certain, it would suit Wilshere well to get playing time on a regular basis, not to mention improve Burnley's chances of staying in the top flight.
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Looking forward to Donovan's loan spell? Think Kroenke will be a good Arsenal owner?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. According to the official Takeover Panel rules Kroenke can’t let anyone know publicly what he is intending or it would automatically make him wait 6 months after the declaration to pursue the intentions.

    Usmanov is playing politics by trying to get Kroenke to announce his intentions which would cause a delay but Kroenke and Hill-Wood are not playing.

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  2. Does anyone know when Donovan can start training? Can he begin training before Jan 2nd? That’s the Carling Cup game. I doubt he’ll be able to be ready for the pitch in Emerates Stadium Jan 9th with only 5 or 6 days of training, but he’s proven me wrong before (playing 90 minutes at altitude with a deadly virus).

    Come on Landon.

    I’m keeping my fingers crossed that with Gazidis and eventually Kroenke at the top of the Gunners totem pole, more scouting will be done in the states and eventually some youngsters will make their way to North London.

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  3. Finally some real truth. The real difference is speed of play. Anyone who has ever played at a decent level then stepped on a pitch where everyone is better knows.. it’s how fast you can adapt that will decide if you make it. And a big part of that is positioning. Your first touch has to be good, you have to be heads up and not just scatter the ball and you have to not get caught out of position.
    For this reason any and all US MNT players should go to Europe and get accostomed to it if possible.. if even mostly in training.

    Neither RSL or Galaxy are better than Portsmouth. Not even close. I root big time for the MLS and what it means to US soccer but the that’s just the truth.

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  4. I like what Arsenal are doing. First Kroenke has slowly eased his way into the club (buying shares and then joing the board). I am an Arsenal fan, and I must say I was worried when Usmanov should up out of nowhere. But with the addition of Ivan who I would assume knows Kroenke well, I like the way they have prepared themselves for what I see is a future takeover.

    Arsenal, while being a top 4 club also have a great deal on their plate with CL, EPL, FA and Carling cup dreams, plus also the amount of debt created by the new stadium and the collapse of the real estate market with what they have done with Highbury.

    Yes, its a sport and a game, but overall its a business and they might catch a lot of flack by selling players like Adebayor and Toure but when you buy players who dont want to be playing for your club anymore low and sell them high and make profit, its always good. Continue to build their brand world wide, make profit, cut in to your debt, perform at the highest level, and do all that with pride and dignity, I think that make for one of the best teams, organizations, and business in Europe.

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  5. In the last 2 games Hull played the announcers were not happy with Jozy not playing more and not being involved in the last game. I think Jozy is the one american who has fan support.

    I think he will be on again off again thorugh the ermainder of the season.

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  6. Can’t wait for Kroenke to do something about the RAPIDS!
    seriously tho they are a okay club with a decient platform to grow from but it would be great to have an owner that actually promotes his club

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  7. Portland is going to have a nice situation to launch a MLS club from. stadium, city, geo location, fans, usl success, just hope the players turn out.

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  8. Andy in A,

    You make a great point that I never see on this site.

    I don’t know if you remember a fine English center forward named Bob Latchford (Birmingham, Everton and England) but a long time ago he said (I am paraphrasing here) the difference between the top flight guys and the rest was in the speed of thought or rather not thinking. In other words,the top flight guys didn’t have to think about what to do, it just happened when it needed to.

    This is the result of constant training and indoctrination from early on. As a Bundesliga midfielder once told me in a similar vein,”the ball is always faster than the man”. He would have dismissed those fans who criticise Dempsey’s lack of running as ignorant.

    MLS/US players, and certainly Donovan, have the physical skills to compete in the EPL but the mental part, the speed of thought, the instincts, will be what Donovan will have to overcome.

    Given his extensive experience at the highest levels (and a supportive manager), he probably has the best chance of any MLS/US player to excel in this short span but it won’t be easy.

    Altidore, known more for his physical gifts rather than his “football brain” is learning the hard way. If he is lucky, he will have some idea about what is going on by the end of the season.

    McBride, who was older and more experienced than Jozy,managed to ease in by playing first at Preston, then at Everton and finally at Fulham.

    US fans have some wildly unrealistic expectations about how easy/hard it is to adapt to a completely foreign culture and to a game where everyone but you knows what is going on. And that “everyone” includes the guys who are competing for your spot.

    When you look at how they developed their careers, it’s no surprise that Claudio Reyna and John Obrien, became and remain, in many ways, the best USMNT midfielders in recent history.

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  9. your last post doesn’t even deserve a response… best 11, fifa 09, hotshots, victory, these are your training wheels so that you can begin to learn about the game which you clearly know nothing about

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  10. 1. MLS teams winning games against Prem teams is not the same thing as competing over the course of a full season.

    2. MLS teams playing with different rules are no longer MLS teams. Could a team called LA Galaxy or Real Salt Lake compete in the Prem? Of course they could with an expanded roster and some more money to buy beter players. Could the LA Galaxy or RSL compete in the Prem? Nope.

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  11. Wow… lets see the sounders with a lot of first team players playing limited minutes can hang with chelsea should have won if they could finish, hmmm. galaxy only lost to chelsea by 1… hmmm… well if you take int o affect teams like hull, wigan and bolton who are horrible and in the prem, then YES mls clubs can compete in the epl. The EPL is not just 4 teams, and from 8 to 20 there are some definite question marks secondly if MLS teams are competing in the EPL they are playing with a different set of rules and they wouldn’t have a salary cap. Your idea of what MLS is is the most absurd thing.

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  12. an MLS team competing in the EPL??? That is seriuosly the most absurd post so far this year… I’m sorry, but there are reserve strikers on watford that are better than Buddle, or Cunningham, Conor casey…. wow why don’t people understand that MLS is 1) a feeder league and 2) a league to bring stars over to make a little money before they’re completely cashed… this isn’t a knock on MLS, it serves a purpose- market our young guys, engage america with the game, make players available such as beckham/blanco to members of the american public who would otherwise never get to see such greatness.

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  13. Why would Kroenke want to take over Aresenal?

    The only good American owner in England is Randy Lerner.

    How much debt would Kroenke put on Aresenal if he were launch a takeover? Besides, isn’t he a mediocre owner in Colorado?

    While the Glazers’ have been good at letting Sir Alex do his thing, they still put the club into way much debt. A CL slip up and they could be in trouble.

    I laughed Carrigher saying no big deal to CL exit. Maybe not to him, but the owners are crying at the loss of revenue.

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  14. Sorry not enough quality/depth yet so in the end they will probably relegated. Now if you were take an MLS team and replace 5 players with any other 5 MLS players then for some of the better team staying up is a possibility. However you have to remember if you are adding 3 MLS teams you have to take out the 3 EPL teams at the bottom so the task will still be difficult

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  15. I agree with you in some aspects Andrew but where the MLS would have trouble is the speed of play… It is not just athleticism as there is an abundance of that in MLS but the thinking in a split of a split second that is required in the EPL is where they would find it tough… in a sport where 1 or 2 goals make the match the momentary lapses or just plain slow thinking get in the way… also the final ball in MLS is lacking whereas given time and space in the EPL..they are deadly… even the relegation prone clubs…

    As a side note… I played for Chelsea’s youth squad (U16) back in the 90’s and I will I was actually far ahead of the other guys in regards to the physical aspects, including shooting, runnning, heading etc… I was miles behind them on tactics and knowing where to be… the US even with an influx of foreign coaches still is way behind in that area… you need only look at the U-17s to see this…

    Clint is a perfect example…he looks lost on the Nats now only because he plays under a tactics manager like Roy Hodgeson and he is where he should be not where our guys anticipate he will be.

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  16. Maybe 1 team a year could win a few games, but it’s ok. The league is young and considering the depth problems created (rightfully) by the cap, MLS has nowhere to go but up. The league’s best years are far ahead of it.

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  17. This actually may be worse. He won’t reveal his plans, which is driving people nuts. He just keeps buying up more shares gradually (which is front page news) but won’t come forward and reveal his ideas.

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  18. I know I might ruffle some feathers by saying this, but after watching a few games over the past weekend on FSC, I honestly believe there are a few MLS teams that could compete in the EPL. Im not saying win it, but I dont think they would be relegated either. I seriously do believe in the MLS and think that the talent level is a little bit higher than people want to give it credit for. Im saying this because I believe Donovan will do a solid job at Everton, and honestly Holden should go to Blackburn since he would do well.

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  19. I’m impressed how Kroenke has gone about getting involved with Arsenal in a very gradual way. He hasn’t seemed to be ‘threatening’ to take over the team, but rather to get involved in the operation first, become a part of the club before seeing what he wanted to do further. I’m not an Arsenal fan, but it looks like it’s been a better approach than that of the Glazers and the guys in Liverpool.

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  20. Jozy has a ticking clock on his head if they don’t have funds. He must score if he wants to continue playing in England.

    On Donovan, I expect him to arrive before January so he can train a bit with the team. He’ll want to start the ball ASAP and Everton have a bunch of tricky games within a short time period.

    Never been his biggest fan but love it when I get proven wrong with our players!

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  21. What number do you think he’ll wear, oh my god I want to buy a jersey now? What do you think his nickname will be? How many goals do you think he’ll score? What if they want to buy him how much will MLS want get for him? Do you think he should go for 4 months instead of 3? Do you think he should make it permanent? Do you think he should dye his hair a different color? Do you think all of the England defenders will try to break his legs? They also try to break Beasley’s. What ya think, what ya think?

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  22. “Much of Europe continues to face transport problems because of freezing weather but some services have resumed.

    More than 90 people have died across the Continent, 10 of them in a single day in Poland, where the winter death toll now stands at 79.

    Air, rail and road transport has been severely disrupted.

    But Eurostar resumed a limited service and flights restarted from Frankfurt airport – Europe’s third-biggest – after it was closed overnight.

    The disruption has come during the busy Christmas holiday season, affecting many people’s travel plans.”

    January 1st or 2nd he’ll fly over. Now would not be advisable.

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  23. Hopefully since there are no more players coming in…that will mean that Cousin and Fagan and VoH will not be getting the nod over Jozy… he needs to find the net soon… the Hull fans are already fading away from him…they thought he was going to be their savior..

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  24. Landon…if you ever wanted to lose the Landycakes moniker… go and give Everton a big boost… make an instant impact and earn the MLS the 15 million $s that MLS wants for you… I believe in you and I think the circumstances have never truly been in your favor… Moyes loves Americans and will surely give you the chance you have always wanted again some of the best teams in the world no less… GET IT DONE!!

    PS. Just a little disheartened that Fulham was not on Evertons schedule so that all my Fulham mates can shut there mouth about your ability… Prove em all wrong!!!

    Reply

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