Photo by ISIphotos.com
Everton FC formally announced the completion of the Landon Donovan loan move on Friday, clearing the way for the U.S. men's national team star to make his temporary move to the English Premier League.
Donovan will join U.S. teammate Tim Howard and the Toffees after the New Year, pending acceptance of his UK work permit application, which is a formality given Donovan's U.S. national team status.
Donovan's loan will last for roughly ten weeks and have him back with the LA Galaxy in time for its season opener vs. New England on March 27.
So who will Everton be facing during those ten weeks? Try nearly every top team in the EPL. Here is a rundown of Everton's schedule during Donovan's loan:
Jan. 2- vs. Carlisle United (FA Cup)
Jan. 9- at Arsenal
Jan. 16- vs. Manchester City
Jan. 27- vs. Sunderland
Jan. 30- vs. Wigan
Feb. 6- at Liverpool
Feb. 10- vs. Chelsea
Feb. 18- vs. Sporting Lisbon (Europa League)
Feb. 20- vs. Manchester United
Feb. 25- at Sporting Lisbon (Europa League)
Feb. 27- at Tottenham
March 6- vs. Hull
March 13- vs. Birmingham
What do you think of Donovan joining Everton? Will you be looking forward to watching him face the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United? Hoping he winds up in England permanently come a year from now?
Share your thoughts below.
I think everyon eis comparing curent form and ability. Not that of the past. So yes I would also rank him above Yakubu and Fellani. Prolly not Cahill and Saha though.
hey ives can u get more in to detail of whats going on at rangers. Because i heard the coach wants beasley to stay and is not playing him to showcase and sell him.
I’ll be excited when Landycakes decides to cut the umbilical chord for good and transfer to a proper league. Simply put, he’s wasting his talent in MLS.
Arsenal? Chelsea? He won’t even smell their reserves!!!! Joke of the day.
I can care less about either teams in Liverpool. Plus this whole madness about him starting. Everton has injuries, but not at the forward position. They are missing defenders and midfielders. So unless he is coming to create and fill the void left by Mikel Arteta, he is not taking Yak, Saha, Cahill or Fellaini’s spot on that team. Maybe out wide as a winger.
Yakubu and Saha are very inconsistent, mainly due to injury. If they were clearly better players, LanDo wouldn’t be coming. But they can’t stay healthy for a long stretch.
I would say he’s on par with the available field players, and any given day one could excel over another.
LOL, look at Yakubu and Saha’s scoring records in the EPL. You obviously don’t know what you are talking about; too funny. Yak and Saha along with Cahil and Fellaini are ahead of him. Keep dreaming that some MLS player is better than the two most expensive players in Everton history (Fellaini and Yak). Yak at Portsmouth and Middlesbrough was one of the most successful EPL goal scorers this century only behind Thierry Henry. Look it up before you make an such uninformed and ridiculous statement.
March 6- vs. Hull
This game should be fun to watch if Altidore and Donovan are both starting. Probably the two biggest USMNT goal scoring threats in an upcoming World Cup on the same pitch in the EPL would be something new.
The second best player after Howard. No question
That kid Castillo has some nasty moves. Good signing.
This time he really needs to create things when he gets the ball. I think his mistake at Bayern Munich was to try to conform to their system, when what they really needed was an attacker to run at defenders. He needs to try and make a huge impact instead of just finding a niche.
seriously. go to everton mate. enjoy the championship next season.
but why would he stay in the US
he has more potential
he needs to be recognized and the US soccer clubs are falling apart anyway
England is the best place in the world to play in
and he is perfect i would say for Arsenal, Chelsea, or well i don’t see him in AC Milan, but probably Manchester United
A liverpool fan rooting for Everton to win? You are not a fan of the Kop. No Liverpool fan will root for the team across the park regardless of who is playing at Goodison Park.
Yes you are biased. Tim Cahill, Tim Howard, Louis Saha, Yakubu are all ahead of him. Typical to put the blinders on.
He stands to make over 2 million in MLS next season. No top European club will buy him at his age. Also No small club will pay him 2 mil. Does Dempsey even make that much playing for Fulham? And he is probably the highest earning American in Europe.
Liverpool vs Everton, February 6th, ESPN2
You do realize……
IF even half as much as excitement was for him staying in the US, the league would be on par with England and we could watch him here rather than hoping it is on FSC.
FSC would do well to debut their HD capability for these games.
Obviously a mistake, but you think the English or the world really cares who the US captain is? Get a grip.
And the question of Donovan’s career: Where does he line up?
Feb 6 will be great. I hope US TV picks that up. I’m a ‘Pool fan (sadly). Conflict of interest there. Though I’d be happy with a Donovan goal, Howard shut out, and a Rafa firing!
Expect most of those games on FSC, unless early then on ESPN2.
I think he’s immediately the second-best player on that squad, but maybe I’m biased…
Maybe Landon will take the initiative himself.
On another topic, DCU signs Cristian Castillo. From Behind the Badge;
Please welcome the newest member of D.C. United – Salvadoran international Cristian Castillo. General Manager Dave Kasper has confirmed the 25-year old’s signing this morning, telling us the midfielder will join the Black-and-Red on loan from Mexico’s Leon FC.
Here’s what Kasper had to say about the club’s newest player:
“We are excited to acquire a young player like Cristian, who we feel is one of the most talented players in El Salvador. He has performed well at the club level and certainly established himself as one of the most important players on the national team in the recent World Cup qualifying campaign. Cristian has excellent speed and technical ability, and will be an exciting addition to our midfield.”
Just has to be registered for the competition, which shouldn’t be a big deal.
If it was CL (like at Bayern last year) it would be a different story, as no team would want to register a guy that would be gone for the final stages.
Ives, i thought that the MLS window was open until 4/15 so if there was a stoppage that would be the last date that he would be able to come back before having to sit out until July
Too bad they aren’t playing Villa, too. I’d like to see him go up against old Friedel.
13 games, go prove yourself young Landon. I can’t see why he wouldn’t get his chances in that squad.
LOL
I hope he does well, this is all predicated on him doing well. If he does well in this short loan spell AND has a good World Cup, a European club will come in and offer a good transfer fee for Donovan (especially with his new contract).
On one hand, this situation does put alot of pressure on Donovan, cause he has so little time to acclimate to a new league, country, etc and to excel. At the same time, especially with the WC looming, if it doesn’t work out, he won’t rot away on a bench but be able to return to the Galaxy and play into form. This unique situation has both positives and negatives – but everything depends on Donovan’s play.
The unique deal also ensures that he will play, since Everton will want to get the mileage out of him that they will need since they are suffering injuries, fatigue and fixture congestion.
Thanks for your support Kevin.
What happens if there is a Work stoppage in the MLS can Landy stay with everton until any possible stoppage is worked out?
(SBI-No, because he’s still bound by FIFA transfer windows, so if he stays beyond that deadline he’ll then have to stay until the end of the year and then not rejoin MLS until July.)
Is he eligible for the Europa league matches?
(SBI-Yes.)
I like it, and I hope that if he is contributing and Everton advance in the Europa league that the loan will be extended
I hope Landon excels with the Toffees, they could really use a shot in the arm….
The EPL is a rough place and will certainly give him great experience. But, we should all cross our fingers that Steven Gerrard (Feb 6), John Terry/Frank Lampard (Feb 10) and/or Wayne Rooney (Feb.20) don’t decide to aid England’s first match chances with a well (poorly?) timed tackle to the knees, shins, ankles or metatarsal area.
And all of the sudden, every single Everton match becomes must see TV for fans of the USMNT.
I think they can win 7 out of 13 of those games. Also he can get more games with a run in the FA Cup and Europa League. I cannot wait for the New Year!!!
Iron Fists, that’s hilarious. Thanks for the morning laugh.
In all seriousness, this is great news. I think LD will take a few games to settle in, and then he’ll hold his own. I doubt he will excel or be the “star” they’re looking for, but, regardless, this is great for his game and the USMNT.
He says in the press conference he was sick of losing.
So he signs with the 16th place team for 10 weeks of that schedule?
The ideal situation would be for him to get crushed over there, not too hard to see happen, then WIN the World Cup and play out his career in MLS bringing in 100s of thousands of fans.
That will all depend on his work permit/visa. Once he obtains his work permit he will need to get his visa through the UK ocnsulate in LA. He has to enter the UK with the visa and work permit to get it stamped.
all of the big four that’s good competition
The Toffees website incorrectly describes Donovan as the US captain. Last time I checked Bocanegra was the captain.
That’s some great competition for our #10. When the Merseyside Derby comes about, I hope Landon says something like “Well we play Chivas USA in the Super Clasico so I know what this is all about”, making Englishmen’s heads explode.
This is great.
I wish him the best of luck in the move and hope he gets plenty of Playing time. This could help and hurt the US in the WC match with England as He can learn some of the tendancies of the english players he’ll line up against…but they can do the same to him.
Awesome. Brutal strech of games for Everton, but all those maquee matchups are sure to be televised!
If he plays well can he extend the loan like Beckham did last year? Just up to the world cup?
How many games will be on ESPN or FSC?
Alright, now get your butt over there early, spend Christmas with the Howards, and get integrated with the team.
Excellent. Really hope he excels.