Landon Donovan has seen plenty of success in England, but should he come home now? (Getty Images)

Part of me wants Landon Donovan to stay in England. The other part of me wants him back here in the US with the LA Galaxy. Thing is I cannot for the life of me decide which is the right one to go with.

Its a rough dilemma to be in for Donovan. He wants to stay on with Everton just a little bit longer but we know LA manager Bruce Arena has said no a few times to the press recently.

“It was kind of like in that movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’, where the man says that there is a chance, it’s just one in a million,” said Arena. The Galaxy coach, who has remained in frequent contact with the midfielder throughout his loan, did not appear concerned about the comments.

“There is always a chance, it may be one in a million, but there is always a chance.”

Yeah a chance, a very small one but one nonetheless.

Where to stand on this is a tough thing. Donovan has clearly done well this time around in Europe with Everton. It comes to show that if you place him in the right system he cannot be stopped. He’s done nothing but be pretty freakin’ amazing while playing for Everton these last couple months.

But should we as MLS fans be selfish and want him back so soon? I’m sure LA fans certainly do. Their team won’t be nearly as good without him.

But would keeping him with Everton until June really hurt LA? I kind of doubt it. I’m not saying he should make a permeant move to Europe here just yet but I do think a little more time wouldn’t hurt. I’m sure it would easily help the US Men’s National team this summer if Donovan was playing at a very high level in England (not to say he wouldn’t be at a high level here in MLS).

I think one big thing this loan has proved to the rest of the world is that players from MLS can play and that Donovan most certainly is a force to be reckoned with. I know I’m happy to see Donovan finally do well in Europe. And as much as I want to see him stay in MLS I wouldn’t be at all upset to see him make a full fledge run in the EPL with Everton.

How do you want to see this story play out with Donovan? Do you want him back here in MLS or would you rather see him at least get an extension on his loan with Everton?

Donovan will join fellow US National Team member Tim Howard with the Toffees after the New Year, pending acceptance of his UK work permit application. Given the amount of time Donovan gets with the national team clearing a work permit shouldn’t be an issue at all.

The 10-week loan is pretty short though and I have to wonder exactly how much impact Donovan will be able to make with Everton. But judging by the schedule after the New Year for Everton, Donovan could face a number of top clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea.

What do you make of Donovan’s chances with Everton? Think he’ll make a big enough impact or will he ride on the bench the majority of the time?

Donovan gets a new deal and a loan to Everton.

We knew going into the day that the LA Galaxy would be making some sort of “major” announcement regarding Landon Donovan. It was pretty easy to guess that Donovan was in the works to get a loan deal to EPL side Everton.

Well that deal was announced today along with Donovan signing a four-year extension with the club. The money side of things wasn’t announced but some believe it is a “DP-level” contract, of course without actually being a DP. Of course we all know Donovan’s contract was grandfathered in terms of not being a DP back when the league started the DP program since he was already making above the league maximum.

Donovan’s loan deal to Everton won’t be a long one though as it is for just a short 10-weeks from January to mid-March. Yes that also means Donovan will be back in a Galaxy jersey for the First Kick next year.

That is good and bad if you ask me. I like that Donovan signed a new deal with the league because I’d rather see him here right now than anywhere else but at the same time I think a short loan like that is kind of weak. I’m not saying give him a David Beckham style loan for six months or anything but 10 weeks just doesn’t seem long enough for Donovan to do anything of note with Everton.

I also kind of see this new deal for Donovan as a starter for how the league could be starting to handle it’s star players. We already know they are working on keeping Stuart Holden with a big time raise and signing Donovan like this just tells me the league is slowly starting to get serious about it’s stars here. They realize they have to keep at least some of them to market to the fans out there.

Donovan is the face of the league right now and it was wise to give him a little boost in pay. Hopefully it just means more of the same to come for the rest of the players in the league with a new CBA. But we’ll see won’t we?

What do you make of Donovan’s new deal? And the loan to Everton?

Could we see Landon Donovan in the EPL next month? (Getty Images)

A lot has been said last night and today about Landon Donovan’s potential loan move across the pond this winter. First it was a possible move down south to Club America in Mexico but now it seems to be a loan to EPL side Everton.

He wouldn’t be available until January 1, so Everton fans who would love to see their offense get a bit of a boost by someone like Donovan will have to wait it out another couple weeks. Everton is currently 15th in the EPL table, just three spots from the drop zone. So a move for someone like Donovan is definitely needed at this point in the season.

We all deep down, whether we actually like Landon or not want to see him do well no matter where he is at. Steve Davis brought up an interesting point earlier though about Donovan and his past struggles across the pond. Davis said had he just toughed it out over there back when he was in Germany he possibly wouldn’t be the same Donovan we know today. He may even be more like Eddie Johnson, or Freddy Adu, or any number of US stars that “had” to go to Europe only to just sit on the bench and watch their careers slip away from them.

Donovan is no longer that smug teenager that we hated a while back. His career is on track and a move back to Europe is a good fit for him now, more than ever.

And that’s why a loan makes the most sense here, even if it means he could return by say April or May to Major League Soccer. Who knows how long exactly Donovan would be used by Everton. Remember last year when he went to Bayern Munich he saw some PT early on then to only see his time on the bench grow more until the loan expired. Let him get some time over in England and bring him home in time for the World Cup sounds like a good deal to me even if going to the EPL isn’t my first choice for him. I still think he is a better fit in leagues like Germany or Italy (but that is probably just my feeling).

I don’t have a fancy name for any of this yet but feel free to come up with one if you’d like.

Reuter’s Soccer Blog Interview with The Don

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First of all I didn’t even realize Reuter’s had their own soccer blog. Secondly, this is a pretty decent interview with MLS commissioner Don Garber. Of course they go over the usual stuff of how the league is trying to attract those causal fans that attended all those games this summer and what not. Then the usual expansion news. Nothing really new of note there but from the quotes it sounds like Montreal is a sure bet while Miami or somewhere down in the south isn’t too far off if things present themselves correctly for the league.

Vermes Introduced as Interim Coach in KC

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It is never easy to fire a guy in the middle of the season and improve from it. Chicago nearly did it a couple years ago when they booted Dave Sarachan and replaced him with Juan Carlos Osorio. I just don’t see that sort of thing happening in KC this year. Good on KC to at least keep the interim hire in-house a bit with Vermes. Who can KC go after for the full time gig though is the main question. Honestly it may be time to go after someone like Paul Merinar from New England or John Spensor in Houston. No doubt their names will be thrown out in the next couple of months like they always are this time of year.

Cooper’s Dad Blasts MLS

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What can you say, its a dad protecting his son in some ways and calling out what he sees that is wrong. I can’t blame him in the least bit for feeling this way. Kenny Cooper senior helps represent his son and I know a year ago he wanted this move for Kenny.

“I still have difficulty understanding in this league, as I expressed to the commissioner in Toronto last July, I can’t understand when you have young American players who can play anywhere in the world and they’re somewhat punished because they’re Americans,” he says. “As someone who’s been in the league and the country as a coach, and the system for 38 years, I think that this league at times would rather reward a proven failure than unlimited potential.”

A lot of folks still worry about this that the league is letting go of quality young Americans for over priced and over the hill foreign players. The league does need to find a better way to keep young home grown talent, that’s for sure. I’m sure it will be something addressed down the road but in the meantime we will continue to lose quality players from the league like Cooper. I think the biggest hit will come when/if Landon Donovan heads back to Europe for good. Garber sees Donovan as the poster child for American players in the league (as he should) and losing him would be killer to the league’s image.

From PDL to EPL

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This is a story I should have discussed a while back but missed when family was in town I suppose. Wake Forest product Cody Arnoux signed a one year deal with EPL side Everton. The one-year deal is basically a trail with the reserve squad but still even that isn’t bad at all.

Arnoux was an NCAA All-American last season and was projected to be a top pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft if he had finished his final season at Wake Forest and declared for the MLS draft. Instead he went the Marcus Tracy route to Europe, bypassed MLS for a European contract.

Another guy that would have been a big deal in MLS. Hell two guys if you count Tracy. Things gotta change here.

Ideas for Portland

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The Nation writer Dave Zirin lays out financial dealings in Portland for Timbers owner Merritt Paulson to rebuild PGE Park for entrance into MLS. He offers up alternatives to the current deal. I guess this is more of things to come from the Rose City. Folks not quite for what’s going on presenting their opinions and what not.

More on Montreal Expansion

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I’m probably a day late on this article but oh well, basically it is more of the same from our friends to the north on the Montreal expansion. From what some are saying we could know something regarding a team for either the 2011 or 2012 season by the end of the summer. Honestly, I expect an announcement around MLS Cup time.

2009 MLS All-Stars (Getty Images)

A lot of folks this morning are calling for the end of the MLS All-Star game, or at least the current format of it. While I am more in the ladder part of the calling I do not see this current game going away at any point in the near future after what we saw last night. In a way I honestly believe last night’s loss on PKs to EPL side Everton may have actually saved the All-Star game more than gave fuel to the fire to get rid of it.

Why do I think that? Honestly this game unlike a few of the past was the most watchable of any of the All-Star games in recent years. I know the Chelsea game was a good one and that one is definitely a close second to this one in my mind in terms of level of play and excitement from end to end. For once it actually looked like a meaningful game, rather than just a friendly.

While a loss is never a good thing to talk about, the league did showcase their talent on a national scale and losing in PKs is not the worst thing that could have happened here. Plus let’s face it, getting by Tim Howard is never easy and since he is in mid-season form rather than pre-season form it made it even tougher.

I still may not like the format of playing a club from another league for the All-Stars but last night did give me a reason to get behind the whole show a bit more than usual.

I will say that if the league continues to do a showcase game like this for their All-Stars, they need to move it up in the calendar a bit. Putting the game on at the same time as three of it’s clubs participate in CONCACAF Champions League matches is unacceptable. I guess going against some of the summer friendlies this past month was too tough to have this game a little earlier in the summer. Not to mention it would have been stupid to place it during the Gold Cup tournament too.

I still think going forward the league does need to do a better job at placing this game in the schedule. Next year will be a real challenge with the World Cup going on. My bet it will be late July once again, after the World Cup.

Thing is will it make a difference moving it to a different time of the summer? Or would we be better off without it? Some have made their claim to get rid of it due to busy summer months, while others continue to enjoy it.

Dominic Kinnear is excited for tonight, are you? (photo via MLS)

It is that time once again, the MLS All-Stars take on a club from the other side of the pond. Feel the excitement? Yeah I honestly don’t. Just like every year I get less and less excited about this game, mostly because of the set up of the league taking on a club in preseason mode. Still the league’s record against these clubs speaks for itself and they’ve done well against some solid clubs.

Tonight will not only be about those worthy (and some unworthy) of the All-Star label but about the venue for the league to showcase on national television. Rio Tinto Stadium should be a big part of tonight’s game. More than likely we will see plenty of hype surrounding this year’s venue.

Its hard to do a preview for one of these games. We know Everton is in preseason mode and are a bit cautious of the league’s All-Stars. The All-Stars also bring an interesting setup to the field. Right now we don’t know who exactly will be starting for Dominic Kinnear tonight but you can bet we will see the majority of the roster used tonight.

I think the league will come away with a result tonight that is positive. Losing the game really isn’t an option for the league, which may be part of why I don’t like this format.

What scoreline do you all see tonight? I’m going with 3-2 MLS. What say you?!

Blanco was selected based on being the next highest vote-getter among midfielders, edging out Houston’s Ricardo Clark due to a high media vote count. Let me just say the league hands out a lot of media votes so it wasn’t shocking to see the Latin media vote more for Blanco than anyone else. Blanco did draw more fan votes than Clark, but Clark had twice the votes Blanco did from players and coaches/GMs.

Honestly this wasn’t a shocker to anyone who saw the voting tallies yesterday when the first XI was announced. Blanco may not be the most deserving Fire midfielder to make the roster (Marco Pappa gets my vote for that) but he will bring in some fans for sure.

Houston Dynamo manager Dominic Kinnear will fill out the rest of the roster along with two picks from MLS Commissioner Don Garber. I may have more thoughts on the two comissioner picks later this week.

Keep in mind this first eleven doesn’t actually mean this is the starting roster for the game against Everton, Kinnear will decide that.

The first XI goes as follows:

Kasey Keller (Sounders FC), Geoff Cameron (Houston), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Wilman Conde (Chicago Fire); Shalrie Joseph (New England Revs), Stuart Holden (Houston), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew), Freddie Ljungberg (Sounders FC), Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC); Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids) .

No real comments on the players picked today. Not as much ballot stuffing as once thought here from Seattle or Toronto. No RSL player in this mix so it will be interesting to see which RSL guy gets called up to the game.

What do you make of these selections?

Editor’s Note: Geoff Reid appears on WVHooligan.com each week. Today he returns to preview this weekend’s FA Cup final.

We’ve reached that time of the European season again and after this weekend it’ll all be over for another 2 months plus. The great thing about the game today is football is going on 12 months out of the year. Most leagues run from August to May, MLS being an exception going from March to November with internationals all in between with big tournaments each summer. For myself, who’s life revolves around the sport 24/7 it keeps me sane! And this time of year I’ve always looked forward to the final of the world’s oldest knockout competition: The FA Cup Final.

This year’s final looks a very intriguing matchup. One side like’s to play open, attacking football although under Guus Hiddink Chelsea look much more stabilized defensively and balanced compared to Luis Felipe Scolari. The other side is a lot more blue collar and hard working being Everton. David Moyes has built himself a very solid foundation with a good bunch of players that have been at Goodison Park for a long time now. Moyes understands that he can’t beat teams like Chelsea by playing better football then them, so what he has done is surround technically gifted players like Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill with workmen like players and it’s worked to a charm the last few years.

Team News: New Brunswick, New Jersey’s own Tim Howard will most likely have a busy day tomorrow. If Tim has a quiet day, then Everton’s defense will have limited Chelsea’s chances and that is the main key here. In front of Howard will be a back four consisting of Leighton Baines, Joleon Lescott, Joseph Yobo and Tony Hibbert. The midfield will likely have five in the middle out of Phil Neville and Maroune Fellaini anchoring the unit with Leon Osman, Steven Pienaar and Tim Cahill being the creative sparks further forward. All of this will mean Moyes will start with a lone striker up top. Who it will be is tough to tell. Luis Saha could get the nod, however, it is possible for Cahill to get the call since he has played as a lone front man before this season.

Chelsea’s lineup won’t be complicated. Petr Cech will start in goal and look for Everton to test him early since his form has been shaky this season. The back four will be the usual suspects of Jose Bosingwa, John Terry, Alex and Ashley Cole. The midfield could be three across the middle with two wide men further forward with a lone top man. Since Hiddink took over, both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba have been paired together more often then not, and their would be no reason why it would change. Whichever system the Dutchman goes with, the midfield will be Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and Florent Malouda but also look for the inclusions of Deco, Saloman Kalou or John Obi Mikel possibly.

Key Matchup: The midfield, that’s the bottom line. Whoever can control the middle of Wembley will win this match. If Phil Neville and company can keep Lampard, Essien and Ballack quiet and win the first and second balls then they should be in good shape. How can the toffees do this? By pressing high and playing physical which are Everton strengths. If Chelseaa’s midfield get any time to feed Anelka and Drogba, Everton will need Howard to bail them out.

Hiddink vs Moyes: Nick Webster from FSC gives the edge to Moyes because he thinks Everton will want it more. I couldn’t disagree more. Sure, Hiddink and the blues would have wanted the Premiership and Champions League more. However, Hiddink has won a lot in the game and he’s accomplished so much in a storied playing and coaching career. Being his first FA Cup Final and a trophy he grew up watching, he will be motivated just as much as the fans. Players like Terry and Lampard understand what the tournament is all about so there will be no complacency from Chelsea.

My Pick: Since this is the FA Cup and romance is what makes this tournament what it is, I’m going for Everton even though I am a red. I wouldn’t be shocked if it went all the way to penalties. US number one Timmy Howard was the hero in the semi-final against Manchester United so why not do it again?