Landon Donovan is back on Merseyside for another 53-day whirlwind tour that will see him potentially face off against Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur. That match, along with the remainder of Everton's schedule between January 4th and February 25th, will likely receive a ton of attention from FOX Soccer and ESPN, along with American soccer fans in general who's ears perk up whenever Landon Donovan is in the news.
How Bill Kenwright Is Using Landon Donovan To Pull The Wool Over Evertonian Eyes
Landon Donovan’s two month loan with Everton is little more than a public relations maneuver by Bill Kenwright to distract supporters from the real problems at the club.
LA Galaxy fans will sit nervously for 53 days hoping and praying that their captain returns healthy in March as the defending MLS Cup champions prepare for their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal tie against Toronto FC. Basically, there’s going to be a great deal of attention paid to Dononvan and Everton for the next two months, which is exactly what Bill Kenwright and his “Knights of the Idiotic Table” want.
I don’t appreciate your ruse, Bill.
Make no mistake, this is not an attack against Landon Donovan. He will help Everton for the next two months, giving David Moyes a desperately needed attacking option as he attempts to get his team to create a shot on goal, possibly even put the ball in the back of the net. Don't be fooled though, that's not why Landon Donovan is on Merseyside for a second absurd two-month loan, it's all about bamboozling suppoters right as Everton enter yet another transfer window with serious needs and zero money to address any of those needs.
This is a team that requires new leadership and new investment like the desert needs the rain, but the sky is clear and the winds of change are not blowing at Goodison. That of course was the plan all along from Kenwright and the board, and Landon Donovan is already covering whatever cost were associated with the loan by just agreeing to rejoin the Toffees. If you followed the reaction when the announcement was made yesterday, you would have thought Dixie Dean himself had risen from the grave, match fit and ready to go.
Beyond just the general excitement, there are Everton supporters and American soccer fans now scrambling to order Everton jerseys adorned with Donovan and the number nine. The online Everton store is no doubt crashing from the increased page views as the sheep get in line to get sheared by the snake oil salesmen that run the Everton Football Club.
Bill Kenwright is in the process of teaching us an important lesson about the general futility of sports and how insanely manipulatable loyalty is. He’s proven you can drive a club in to debt, limit the ability of a talented manager to field a competitive roster, and then make it all acceptable by bringing in a player who has worn the Everton jersey ten times and at most will wear it 11 more times.
This isn’t new investment, this isn’t new ownership, this isn’t a long-term plan to fix Everton’s problems, this isn’t what the club needs. It’s a smokescreen, brilliantly executed by a wolf in sheep’s clothing. All the angst and frustration that has been building, the work that has been done by the Blue Union (like them or not), the pressure that has been building against Kenwright just blew away with one slick public relations maneuver. It’s as if Landon Donovan is a pressure release valve and Kenwright just opened him up.
This loan deal doesn't solve the bigger issues that Everton face. It's not likely to appease Louis Saha and Phil Jagielka, who have spoken out in the past weeks about their concerns with the direction of the club. They've acknowledged that the fans' frustration is effecting the team and rather than attempt to start the process of healing the various wounds, Kenwright has slapped a band-aid on them.
The entire situation is a metaphor for modern football.
Kenwright is proving that club owners just have to give fans something shiny to distract them while they pillage the world, or in this case their loyalty and in some cases their wallets. It’s disgusting and it’s become so common place and so accepted that it makes you want to spit at the feet of the sport.
On blue side of Merseyside for the next two months, everything will be a little bit brighter and feel a little bit better because Kenwright has provided a momentary distraction. It’s a placebo in the form of a American attacking midfielder and when the effects wear off at the end of February, Everton supporters will be left with all the same problems and a club with no choice but to sell talent in a desperate attempt to balance the books. That’s fine though, because Landon Donovan is back and that’s all that matters.
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