Landon Donovan isn’t going to the Premiership

By: Bob | July 27th, 2007

Maybe the food in England isn’t so crappy after all. Or maybe Landon Donovan has figured out that he at least needs to pay lip service to the notion that playing in a more competitive league will make him a better player. Whatever the reason, Dononvan is quoted on Sky Sports News as saying he has a little bit of interest in playing in the English Premier League.

The caveat is that his interest isn’t strong enough to take him away from the In-and-Out Hamburgers and the beach right this minute.

“The older I get and the more I play, the more I’m yearning for that highest level I can play at and I think the Premiership would be the best place the play,” he told Sky Sports News.

“If I were to go obviously the language isn’t an issue. There are a lot of Americans there. It would be the easiest place the settle, Germany was difficult.

“At the moment I’m happy here, at least for the next few years with Dave (Beckham) here. I want to be a part of this too. Not many people get to be a part of this, so I want to live it.”

Ignoring the fact that he could possibly be the only person in the world to ever call Beckham “Dave” and that the Premiership might not even be a good fit for him, I find this proclamation to be a bit disingenuous. If he was truly eager to play at the highest level he would be pushing himself to do that right now at the age of 25 when he should in theory be peaking as a player. A couple of years as a sideshow in the Beckham circus aren’t going to make him a better player. Exhibition matches around the world could be fun but they aren’t a replacement for playing week in and week out against the best players in the world. A couple of years from now there might not even be interest from teams in the Premiership.

It certainly is Donovan’s right to choose where he wants to live and work, but let’s be honest about it. He is choosing comfort over challenge. I don’t think that is going to change anytime soon.

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Category: English Premier League, MLS, World Football

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Jared

Bad food, worse weather. I choose California.
Karl

If he thinks his size or lack thereof will handcuff him he should try the SPL like Beasley. Seriously, are MLS players any smaller than SPL or EPL players? probably not.
Connor

I agree and think he is a bit intimidated with the EPL.
combat chuck

That's "Yes Sir, Mr. Beckham, Sir" to you, Landycakes.
Chad

Donovan gets a bad rap. He's inconsistant but still possesses more vision and playmaking ability than 90% of the players in MLS.
tyduffy

His biggest weaknesses are size and mental fortitude. England is not the place for him to go.
Brian

He should get hair plugs and enter the In-n-Out burger contest. The guy is a waste of space. He would get destroyed in my Sunday Morning League. Seriously, we have 38-year-old Costa Ricans with more talent than him, plus I would take the red card, do a professional foul, and slide tackle to broken leg on him.
andrew

Donovan continues to prove that hes a pussy.
JT

He's a weenie.
Dave

Landycakes isn't going to the Premiership. Christ, is it THAT slow a news day around here?