Landon Donovan's first home game for Everton will see him face red-hot Manchester City.
Everton-City is can't-miss action for American fans, but all soccer fans will want to be watching the La Liga battle between Barcelona and Sevilla. If you want some non-European soccer, then Boca Juniors-Estudiantes should provide enough spice in one of Argentina's top rivalries.
If you will be watching today's action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Today's TV schedule is after the jump):
SATURDAY SOCCER ON TV
7:30am- ESPN2- Stoke City vs. Liverpool
9:30am- Setanta USA- Manchester United vs. Burnley
9:35am- ESPN Deportes- Mainz vs. Bayer Leverkusen
10am- FSC- Chelsea vs. Sunderland
Noon- GolTV- Osasuna vs. Espanyol
12:15pm- FSC- Everton vs. Manchester City
12:30pm- ESPN Deportes- Wolfsburg vs. Stuttgart
2pm- GolTV- Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Madrid
2:30pm- FSC- Bari vs. Inter Milan
4pm- ESPN Deportes- Sevilla vs. Barcelona
5pm- FSC- Portsmouth vs. Birmingham
5pm- Setanta USA- Tottenham vs. Hull City
6pm- Azteca America- Jaguares vs. Cruz Azul
6pm- Telemundo- Monterrey vs. Indios
7pm- FSC- Cagliari vs. Livorno (Delayed)
7pm- FSE- Boca Juniors vs. Estudiantes
8pm- Telemundo- Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Toluca
8:30pm- Setanta USA- Wolves vs. Wigan (Delayed)
10pm- Telemundo- Atlante vs. Queretaro
11pm- FSC- Boca Juniors vs. Estudiantes (Delayed)
When people like Zaki speak of Israeli’s they mean Jews, why would he hate Muslim Israelis?
Um, to be considered Israeli officially, you have to be Jewish.
“Bob Bradley’s transparent tactics have that covered already”
That implies that other managers have tactics that are opaque.
You can try all the various tactical strategies you can come up with it still comes down to how well the players execute those tactics and how good those players are. Who is the smartest tactician managing today? Hiddink? Wenger? Mourinho? At the end of the day those guys all have the players. Bradley has a lot less of them.
outstanding
It’s pretty clear from your series of posts, Kyle, that you don’t understand the Haiti crisis at all, let alone Altidore’s response.
Donovan did disappear at certain times, but I think that’s more how he (and the Russian kid accros from him) are being deployed by Moyes. He doesn’t seem to have the freedom yet to drift into the middle at all, he was really hugging the touchline the whole game..
This is the opposite of how Dempsey is used, as Hodgson has him really play as a Left Central Midfielder in the attacking third
“Unfortunately, if Donovan and Dempsey keep playing the way they are right now, the English will learn to respect them, learn how to cancel them out and proceed accordingly.”
Nah. Bob Bradley’s transparent tactics have that covered already.
Your theoretical racist would be a rare bird indeed. I doubt any racist pretends that distinction, but in any event a false analogy.Israel is a foreign country, and a nasty one at that,see Gaza, and it certainly doesn’t represent all Jews, not to mention that 20% of Israelis are Arab.
Don’t conflate Israeli and Jewish players. I think his position is stupid, but in European Union it is considered anti-Semitic to conflate Israel and Jews. Zaki, if the quote is true, said Israeli, not Jewish. To pretend they are one and the same is ignorance or hasbara.
Hate to burst your bubble but it would have been better to take them by surprise. I don’t want respect or credibility for the USMNT. I want for them to win as many games as possible.
One very, very big reason we beat Spain in the Confederations Cup and ran Brazil so close was that, in spite of everything, they just couldn’t believe the US belonged on the same field with them and played accordingly. Had our goals in the Brazil game come much later,Brazil might not have had the time to recover from their refusal to take us seriously. We scored too early.
Unfortunately, if Donovan and Dempsey keep playing the way they are right now, the English will learn to respect them, learn how to cancel them out and proceed accordingly. Damm that David Moyes! And I thought Scots hated England.
Yes please. 98% of his comments are snarky rebukes to praises of national team players. Prick
He came off to a standing ovation in his second game because the coach subbed him out expressly for that purpose. I’d have to say his little loan spell is going extremely well so far. (Keep in mind he had an assist early in his first game as well).
The credibility of our country and league has probably grown by miles in the last 2 weekends – and right at the time when we need to get into the Brits heads. They’re now going to be a lot more scared to face us!
Donovan joins a team that is 21 games into a 38 game league schedule. He hasn’t played a game with these guys, hasn’t ever played in this league and hasn’t had a game himself for nearly a month or so. so you criticise him for being”invisible for large parts of the game” and lacking “confidence”.
What did you think, that Moyes was going to make him the focal point of the offense in his first two games? That he was going to come in and score two hat tricks in his first two games? I’ve been watching the EPL since it started and Donovan had a fine debut, especially when you consider all the expectations, hype and hoopla. As others have pointed out, people on US boards are far less generous than the Brit media critcs who are famous for being especially condescending in the extreme. Well, they can’t hold a candle to you.
Josh, maybe you’re not very good at math, but the very definition of 50-50 ball precludes winning it from being something every “player should already be doing.”
If you win a 50-50 which generates a possession resulting in a goal, you deserve some credit for the goal. Coaches certainly notice and reward such results.
and some American racists would claim there is a difference between hating African-Americans and hating black people in general. In both cases, the bigots are wrong.
What a wanker you are!
I love soccer, play it year round. Snow, extreme humidity, I play! but family is more important! If you think that your career is more important? Then I pity you.
Ricardo clark also plays in a better league though. Outside of the top 3 teams the spl is below mls standards.
People hating on Donovan’s performances to this point must have forgotten how tough it is to come off of a club season, take a couple of weeks off, and then plop into a new environment and hit the ground running.
The fact that he doesn’t look lost is astonishing to me.
Mike well said…
What about being there for his parents who potentially lost their entire families? How about a little sensitivity towards that? I’m not directing this to you, ahm, probably a bit more towards Kyle. Whether or not he has been playing well is irrelevant. You’re saying that he’s not showing dedication to his team when his parents have potentially lost their brothers and sisters. Ok, he probably can’t be in Haiti right now, but he can be there for his parents who are probably grieving and going through hell. Perhaps you don’t understand what it means to have a close family and/or you don’t understand what tragedy is like…or maybe you’re just a cold and insensitive p.o.s., but I sure as hell hope that you’re in no position of power over people in your daily life.
Bottom line is that Everton is 1-0-1 with LD in the line-up and he is fitting in. He is definately adding a little spark to a team that was in desparate need. Some nice combos with Saha.
Good for LD.
Landon looked good. No denying it. The fans acknowledged it when he came off. Plus it’s probably not a coincidence that Everton looks like a top 10 or better all of a sudden.
He wasn’t GREAT.. ok we accept that but Landon is proving that he has what it takes to be a good EPL player.. not bad.
On that specific play Everyon was fortunate to get the PK. I think if Landin keeps that ball he has space to run and the play is actially more dangerous than it should have been.
Anyone notice Landon delivering the planned long corner to opposite six corner to be headed back in the mix the way the USMNT does to success?
WTF are you smoking?
You’re so right in so many ways. I love how people on this site like to cheer basic stuff a player should already be doing. Now they’re giving second assists. If Richards doesn’t pull the shirt, there’s no penalty. Anyone who actually watches the game on a regular basis knows that. Apparently when you win a 50-50 ball and pass it to a teammate, you’re instantly the catalyst for a goal which is the result of a penalty. I know these people love LD, but c’mon. If you want to give anyone on Everton a credit, give it to Piernar, or no one. Glad to know there’s an actual soccer fan on this site, instead of these losers who are only watching because the NFL is not on.
The Donovan critics who are now saying he was “just average” were the same ones who were saying he’d get his jock handed to him two weeks ago. When he gets his first goal, it’ll be a lucky one, and when he makes the weekly EPL first XI for the first time it won’t be deserved. Donovan (and probably all of the other Americans overseas) can never please these type of soccer know-it-alls. Donovan played well, not spectacularly, in his first two games at Everton. But one thing he has clearly done is show that he can play at the EPL level, as a starter, something that any objective USMNT follower knew with a certainty already. Are some people getting OVER-excited about his performance? Sure, but so what? The naysayers are off by a mile, the over-excited folks are off by a foot.
Considering Hull has an Algerian player, I’m surprised he’s considering going there…
I liked your post. Thanks!
overall a middling performance by donovan. he can play much better and more confidently on offense. he did work his ass off on d though
You Donovan defenders are an uptight bunch. He did ok, had several nice corners but he was invisible for large parts of the game. I think it was a confidence thing. The game was played around him quite a bit with his teammates not passing to him. That said he had a few nice one touches that showed vision. I think he can adjust to the high tempo but it would take more time than he has on this loan.
Askn his coaches, Everton fans and the British media, very, very well.
Ask web-dwelling US soccer fans, he played like a club-footed hunchback with jock rot.
John clearly meant Man City not Everton smarta$$… which was hotter than Birmingham. Take your arrogance elsewhere please
What on EARTH are you talking about? I made two comments about Landon during the game, one of which was “Oh man. Landy looks dangerous.” Then in the comment you replied to, I started it by saying he took steps forward today and ended it by saying “A promising start to the game though, and something to build on.” Just because I pointed out a few things he needs to work on doesn’t mean I’m not impressed by his start. We’re on the same side here!
Zaki is a true thug, as someone who was an exchange student in Egypt and follows Egyptian footy i can assure you that he is a bigoted selfish prick
You say that now that you’ve been called on your condescending tone but reading your posts on this thread you sound like Donovan was doing poorly.
Frankly, in terms of a first and second games I’ve seen far worse debuts in the EPl. The fact is, not every player in the EPl is flawless.
Compare LD’s to Robinho. That guy has twice the talent Donovan will ever have but you tell me who you’d rather have on your team. There is a lot more to being a player than just skill. At the EPL level LD is showing himself to be a direct, honest, straight forward player. Moyes likes guys like that.
Don’t forget Defour.
you are the joker. the point is, the ball wouldn’t have even made it that far if LD hadn’t split the defender and got it to pienaar to pass on to Saha. from there, Richards can be bad or good…either way, it doesnt take away from the chance that LD helped create.
You also forgot Steven Defour.
The hottest team in EPL is Birmingham City. Not Everton, please why do i bother on these people developing when it comes to football? Bunch of bs as always, typical.
I’m surprised Zaki is willing to go to Hull considering there is an Algerian internationl at the club in Kamel Ghilas.
I’m pretty sure Orozco is left footed, and prefers playing CB. But is capable of playing LB.
How did Landon do today? I missed the game ARG!!!!
Those in the Arab world would contend that there is a diffference between being anti-Israel and anti-Semitic (not saying I agree)…
Can somebody block this idiot troll?
It’s all good. You still make good points
Gotcha, sorry for scanning comments. You definitely know what you are talking about.
One other note about today’s Everton-City match – how annoying was it that the ref didn’t play advantage that one time when Landy came away with the ball and was streaking in on goal all alone? Infuriated me. Could have been a big play for him.
If you’re referring to my comment, I didn’t say he wasn’t running enough. He ran a lot, especially on defense. His motor is a big plus for him. I think he has just had a tendency to make a pass and watch it rather than staying in motion, and that’s not a good thing. He did this a couple of times when he moved into the middle of the field, and it clogged things up.
I’m worried, but he went 120 in the last League Cup game. Hopefully that gets him back into the picture. I think part of the reason we’re not freaking out is because DeMerit is a strong deputy. But I’d still rather have both in top form, of course.
The US Soccer boards are tougher on Landon than the British media! Jeez, those guys are looking for a chance to make fun of our players, had plenty of doubts before he made his debut, and have been overwhelmingly positive. And the Everton fans are obviously appreciative.
I hate when people defer to one or two random Brit opinions (“I was watching at the bar with an Arsenal fan, and HE SAID…”) because in most matters I think we’re just as smart and watch/read as much as any fan base in the world. But the overwhelming opinion, dare I say consensus, is that Donovan is playing great, and they’ve seen a long line of top shelf players fail in year one of their EPL careers. Watching critically is good, but keep it in perspective.
And the comment that Donovan isn’t running enough is the dumbest thing I’ve heard all day. There is something called a team formation, and you play within it. LD makes great runs, and is beating people with his speed, but he isn’t going to just tear up the field on every play or Everton would be exposed to counter attacks.
Let’s go Barca!!!