Donovan wins Honda Award as clueless voters get it wrong

In what has to be one of the more embarrassing results in American soccer award history, Landon Donovan has been named the 2008 Honda Player of the Year, beating out Tim Howard in a vote that can best described as a bad joke.

The announcement marked Donovan's fifth Honda Player of the Year award, and while he has certainly earned many of those, the 2008 prize will go down as the clearest example of a flawed voting set-up that has culminated in a result that has to diminish the credibility of a once-prestigious award.

Created by Futbol de Primera, the Honda Award is voted on by 213 "journalists across America." Now you find me even half that many soccer journalists who cover the U.S. national team with any legitimacy and you too can have a prize.

The voting wasn't even that close. Donovan finished with 297 points while Tim Howard received 249 points. Clint Dempsey finished third with 176 points.

While Donovan does deserve credit for breaking the national team's career goal-scoring record, his contibutions to the national team this year were well below his normal standard and it can be argued that he shouldn't have even been a finalist, with Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra having had stronger years for the national team.

So what went wrong? The easy explanation is that Futbol de Primera has given out ballots to an inordinate number of journalists, many of whom don't even cover the national team, and apparently some who must not even follow the team all that closely.

The reality is that as far as national team player of the year awards go, U.S. Soccer's official player of the year award is considered far more legitimate and is voted on by a select number of media (and by select I mean much fewer than 213).

What do you think of Donovan being named Honda Player of the Year?:

poll by twiigs.com

Who do you think deserved the award? Do you even think Donovan was a top three finalist? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[Rob Usry]

Tell us how you really feel Ives. LOL.

Howard is the best USA player in the world at the highest level in the world. Nuff said.

[Louis]

wow now this is a historic upset, a unwarranted one at that. If I was Landycakes I would just give the award to Timmy

[CACuzcatlan]

I'm a Galaxy and USNT fan and I completely agree with you. He did not deserve to win this. Lets hope he doesn't somehow manage to win MLS MVP

[thumpjosh]

headline says it all...

wtf?

[Alticooper]

wow

[A.S.]

Ives, can you clarify the criteria for the Honda Award? Is it for the player with the best performances *in US National Team matches*? Is it for the best US National team player *in all matches, including for club*? Is it for the best US player (regardless of whether he plays on the National Team) *in all matches*?

Because I might vote for different players for each of those criteria. The best player in US National Team matches was Howard, Boca, or Gooch. The best National Team Player in all matches, including club, could very well be Landon - he had a great season for Galaxy. I'd argue that the best US player this past year was Brad Freidel - he's been great; better than Howard I'd say - but of course he doesn't play for the Nats anymore.

[Steve]

Ives you should refuse to particpate in future votes as a protest agaisnt this injustice. Speak for us little folk with no voice!!!!

(your headline does nail it)

[kpugs]

I bet at least 50 of the ballots were returned with David Beckham as a write-in candidate.

[eric]

Drat. I'm late to headline joke party.

[adam b]

wow. i dont even know what to say....

ives, good job with this article! you're not afraid to say what needs to be said. bravo! this is an absolute joke.

[MM]

The Honda award seem to have gone to the person with the most recognizable name. I wonder how many of these journalist were wondering why they couldn't vote for David Beckham.

[Miguel]

The math seems a bit off Ives. The award is voted on by 213 soccer journalists, but Donovan got 297 votes, Howard 249 and Dempsey 176. Check it out, thanks!

[garbaggio]

I'd alos like to hear the criteria for the award, but if club form is included among the factors, Landon Donovan is not a bizarre pick.

The problem with judging USMNT performance is that most of the games in any given year are basically training matches. Even the high profile summer matchups w England, Argentina and Spain weren't do-or-die affairs. Then, when the US gets placed in a relatively easy Concacaf qualifying group, the games don't get any more difficult.

My personal vote would be for Eddie Johnson. Who can forget the crucial 6th goal he scored in the qualifier against Barbados last June? At that point it seemed the Barbadians were about to regain the momentum and put our dreams of World Cup qualification into jeopardy. Thanks in part to the exploits of the Grown Up Man we survived and were able to move onto the next dangerous stage where we could face off against the aging Guatemalans, the even more aging Trinis, and the "we want asylum" Cubans.

[Ryan G]

Miguel, what needs to be checked out is your reading comprehension skills. Nowhere did Ives say Donovan got 297 votes, Howard 249 votes, and Dempsey 167 votes. Read it again.

[Ryan]

Miguel, I believe the voters are asked to send in a Top 3, thus the reason for 3 players with votes tallying way more than 213.

[GMD]

I sense some Metro bias/frustration in our author...

All kidding aside, Howard deserved it, but I hope Landy does well in Europe for some odd reason..

[victory]

Ives: Any chance of having the list of 213 "journalists" posted. I would love to see who the Federation considers qualified.

Just another example of how screwed up the Federation is.

[Danny]

The Honda award now officially means NOTHING. Please don't even announce it next year.

[WeatherManNX01]

Howard got royally screwed.

That is all.

[Amy]

Timmy!! Timmy!! Timmy!!

[kco]

LAME!

I guess this means Landycakes will win another ESPY then too.

[Blake]

Best. Objective Journalism Headline. Ever.

[gerald]

It should have been Timmy and most of us knows this

[Eric Anderson]

It's clear that I'm in the minority here, but I actually think Donovan deserved to win the award. Donovan is our most dynamic and influential field player; the team suffers a lot more from missing him than missing Howard. Howard had a great year, but I still think Donovan was better.

[Alexi Lalas]

I swear, I only voted once. Honest. Cross my heart & hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.

*pfffffpt*

[Nicole]

Ives, you don't have to make such a rude title just because you disagree with the outcome.

For one, it leaves Donovan open to a bunch of crap posts - and it's not his fault that he won.

Secondly, I could see why he would win or come in a close 2nd to Tim Howard. It's clear the team suffers without him (as Eric Anderson said before me) and he's a leader out on the field, whether he's making his patented 50 yard scoring runs or not.

It's not as big a travesty as you're making it out to be.

[Eugene]

This whole 'gold star' is a joke. It should be honor enough just to play in the national team's jersey without needing some special kind of award.

Do other countries do this kind of nonsense for national team players every year or do they just give out international career achievement awards based on hitting certain milestones (like Beckham getting his 100th cap)?

[Tony in Quakeland]

I'm a huge Donovan fan....

but this is wrong.

[Ryan]

Ives,

Maybe you got it wrong. Has that ever crossed your mind.

Both Landon and Tim Howard played in 8 games for the US national team over the last year. Landon scored 2 goals and had 4 assits. Tim Howard and the defense had 5 shutouts against the likes of Barbados (twice), Guatemala, Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago. Not really world beaters.

[Ives]

Nicole, nothing rude about the headline. It's an opinion. You can choose to disagree.

And Eric, are you saying Donovan should get credit for the games he didn't play in, like the England and Spain games, since his influence was missed? Or should he be judged on the games that he actually played in, like the Mexico game where he was barely noticeable, or the tough road qualifiers, where he failed to score and failed to be a dominant player?

Here's a simple question. Which national team games did Donovan play in this year where his performance won the team the game or kept the team from losing? The friendly against Sweden's B team in January. Any others? Nope.

Now ask the same question of Howard. Argentina, Guatemala road qualifier, Cuba road qualifier. That's three big games he helped the US win or tie. He also managed to keep Spain off the board for 45 minutes before coming out at halftime.

Even if you want to say for some strange reason that you don't think Howard deserves it, can anyone really say that Donovan played better this year than Oguchi Onyewu?

None of this is to say that Donovan isn't a good national team player and important natonal team player. I would never say that because he is a very important player, but any objective observer who watched the national team play this year can agree that Donovan did not have a good year by his standards.

In the end, I don't think Tim Howard is losing sleep over the snub, but it certainly removes a good amount of respectability the award had, which is sad.

[Isaac]

Poor Timmy. I think Landon should get an honorable mention for at least holding together the team and being his usual composed self but didnt really have any performance this year that stood out to me as awesome. Timmy however, well lets just say we're lucky to be in the next round of WC Qualifying.

[Isaac]

how many goals did Landon have this year? lemme think....Swedens B team(penalty) Barbados,FIFA Ranking 121*chuckle* (cheap free kick that the keeper wasn't ready for) Cuba( tap in from 6 yards out). I'm not saying Landon should feel obligated to score every game, its just that he should be a good all round offensive player and create chances for the players around him. He leads this team in assists as well so if our offense is only producing against European B-teams or teams that are 100 spots below us on the FIFA rankings and sound like the name of the Boss on the final level of Final Fantasy XI Im not buying that kinda crap.

[Don]

Ives, why do you refuse to answer the legitimate question posed above of what are the criteria for the award? All you do is rant on about your preferences.

[Don]

Ives, since when can't an opinion be rude when expressed using a word like "clueless". For example, how about "Donovan Wins Honda Award as clueless journalist gets it wrong."

[randall]

i would have bocanegra, howard, and donovan (in that order)- but but i dont believe its not nearly the outrage most of you seem to think.

[Betinho]

Ives,

From your response, the answer to the question of criteria would be this is a purely national team award. In that case all the outrage is warrented. And I wouldn't disagree that Howard deserves the award even if the club play was included. However it wouldn't be so clear cut and all the drama would be a little over the top in that case.

Why does this award even exist if the US Soccer fed has one for USMNT player of the year too?

[SC]

Timmy Stood on his head vs Argentina, He could have had the SO vs Spain too if Bradley kept him ...

[Ives]

Folks, the criteria is national team performances only.

And Don, you can call the headline rude if you want. Like Nicole, you're entitled to your opinion.

[KingSnake]

Because Honda gave USSF a crapload of money?

[Ives]

Ryan, if you're going to challenge me at least have your facts straight. Howard never played Barbados this year. Brad Guzan did. The two Howard shutouts you're missing are one on the road against Poland and that scoreless draw against some team named Argentina. Howard also had a goal-free 45 minutes against Spain. In fact, over the course of 180 minutes against England, Spain and Argentina, Howard surrendered one goal on a free header from John Terry.

[JoeD]

Awww, did someone get their feelings hurt because of the word clueless? Poor baby. Guess the truth hurts, huh.

[Isaac]

Ives 1
Ryan 0

[RS]

Someone got owned.

Who cares about the award anyway? I'm sure it's an honor to win and all that, but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things?

[Mark]

Howard deserved the award. I think Landon is the best field player we have, and I agree that this wasn't his best year. And the fact that Dempsey got third doesn't seem right to me either. Against the best competition the team played, he was mostly invisible. He did play better in the qualifiers, which are important games(call me captain obvious), but doesn't seem to take into account the entire body of work.

Don't they give the winner a car? If so Landon now has enough to make a basketball team with, so that's got to be worth something.

[Reid]

Why is it "you people" get so offended, Ives i hope you write an article with the same tone on ESPN.com

[Crusaders FC]

Anyone who follows soccer at all knows that Clint Dempsey was our best field player in 2008. If you don't agree, ask anyone in England how Dempsey did when he played for Fulham. Shouldn't scoring a bunch of goals in the Premier League be considered a better accomplishment than scoring a bunch of goals in MLS?

Tim Howard is our best player, period.

Besides, Landon wasn't even the best player in MLS (Guillermo Barros Schelotto, I am looking in your direction). The Galaxy didn't even make the PLAYOFFS!

By any objective standard, our top three players are Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, and Brad Guzan, who played so well this year that he got picked up by a Premier League team, excelled in international play whenever he took the field, and also HIS MLS TEAM MADE THE PLAYOFFS!!!

[KungFuSoccer]

Not my vote this year, but clueless? Donovan is the glue that holds the team together. Bonus points for breaking the goal record. Not a ridiculous choice at all. Can you even compare a field player to a keeper?

I think Dempsey is an odd and clueless pick for third. Has he done anything consistently well in the last year for the USMNT?

My vote, Howard, Gooch, then Donovan. All good choices.

[Tim F.]

The three most deserving players for USMNT team player of the year are:

Gooch, Bocanegra and Howard

[Phil]

Nice Reid. It is pretty easy being racist on the internet isn't it?

[Don]

Thank you for clarifying the criteria for the award. Thanks also to JoeD for demonstrating the true meaning of clueless.

[nelson]

lol at the title

[jpc]

my question isn't with donovan, it's with the fact that dempsey was one of the final three. He's on the bench for Fulham, and until just recently has been playing like crap

[Mark]

Crusader, you're including league play into your ranking. While with the Nats, the criteria for the award, Dempsey did not play well. He picked it up in qualifying, but still not a top 3 type of year. Even if you want to add club form, he wasn't starting for Fulham on a regular basis by the end of last season, and he has played sparingly this season as well. So I wouldn't agree that he's a top 3 player there either.

I'd agree with several posters that if the criteria was simply best player, then Donovan would get more consideration due to the brilliant season he had for the Galaxy for all the good it did them, and decent play for the Nats...

But Howard would still probalby win...

[Eric Anderson]

Ives,

I'll admit the Howard has been great this year; he was definitely the man of the match against Argentina and in Guatemala. However, I think you do have to recognize how bad the offense struggles without Donovan when voting for this award. Besides, I think you are giving Donovan too little credit for the games he did play: he was dominant against Poland and Trinidad, and was our best field player in Guatemala City and Havana. I think he was better than you give him credit for against Mexico and Sweden, although it's been a while since I watched those games. Obviously he was good against Barbados, but everyone was that game. Still, I feel that every game Donovan has played, he has been our best attacking threat and one of the top field players. The team suffers a lot more from losing Donovan than anyone else (Howard included), and it's for that reason that I feel he deserves the award. Just look at the team's record with and without Donovan--it's obviously not the only statistic to look at, but I think it gives an idea of how important he is.

[Miguel]

Yeah, I must be out of it today because I've just read the 4th paragraph in the story above and the numbers still don't add up. I'm assuming, of course, that by points, Ives means votes. If that is not the case, maybe an explanation of points would be in order. And Ryan, if everyone of those 213 journalist voted for their top three and Landon Donovan was in everyone of their top three, then Donovan would have 213 votes (unless it is a different system with the point).

[Ethan]

I think Eric Anderson makes a decent case.

[JoeD]

Eric, you give Donovan credit for the games he doesn't play in? What kind of sense does that make? You say the team's record without him is a measure of how valuable he is. I say that he has conveniently missed some of the tougher games the team had this year.

Where was Donovan against Guatemala? Where was Donovan against Cuba in Cuba? Where was Donovan against Argentina? Where was Donovan against Mexico?

Keep pumping him up but any way you slice it he shouldn't have won the award.

[Allegre]

It just shows how much work there is in the USA for soccer journalism to progress. Thankfully we have Ives to help!

[DGinLA]

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gooch & Blackmouth had better seasons but Timmy deserves it. Hey Landypoo give him the car at least....

[PCFC]

How people said "no, but it was close" is an even bigger disgrace!!!!!!!!!!

This award is either completely voted on by soccer-illiterate sports writers, or it is completely fabricated by executives who want to cash in on the inevitable Donovan move to Europe.

Give up your medal Donovan!!!

[Damon Starr]

Ives sounds like you are just a little upset. What did they take away your vote? Bottom line is Donovan is the best player this country has produced to date and if he never plays another game for the MNT he deserves ten more for what he has done for soccer in America.

[eric]

Crusader - are you kidding me??? Dempsey had a lousy year for the Nats until the last couple games.

I'm in the camp that believes that we saw just how dependent the team is on Donovan to make the offense go when he was missing, but that's no criteria for Player of the Year.

[Tony H]

Ives: I am a voter, and I voted Howard-Dempsey-Bocanegra. I don't think Landon deserved it this year, but I don't think it's the crime you make it out to be. And I don't base my vote entirely upon national team performances -- to do so would be idiotic. The national team is part of a larger context, and because this award is based on the national team, I throw great weight to the NT performances. Probably somewhere between 65/35 and 70/30. And I grade actual competition -- the qualifiers -- much more so than friendlies. Landon was decent for the NT this year, but not great. Howard was great. Landon was very good, often great, for the Galaxy. Howard was great for Everton.

[doc soccer]

Way to go ives. Dont let these people challenge you, these people are senstive as a 6 year old girl. unbelievable if they dont like they can go some place else but they shouldnt because you have the best blog on the web. also it was clueless howard stood on his head all year amd yes you can compare a field player to a goalie look at all the accolades iker cassialles has been considered for the past year. Ives, brush them haters off.

[Lloyd Heilbrunn]

Clearly, someone told them Clint and Timmy drive Toyotas.....

[andrewdiceway]

Tim Howard deserved the award in my opinion. And, again in my opinion, it shouldn't have been close.

However, it's not as if Donovan campaigned for this thing... Let's place the blame where it belongs, squarely at the feet of those who voted, and resist the temptation to add another log to the Landon-bashing fire.

[Camjam]

I am a huge Landon Donovan fan... But Howard deserved this award. I love how Donovan plays, and am often perplexed by the amount of criticism shown to him by many Nat team supporters. Even on this blog today Landon-bashing is rampant. That being said, I don't see how your post insults LD in any way. You were stating the facts: Timmy deserved this award, and although LD may have had a great year for club and country, it did not compare with what Howard has done. Beautiful entry that says what needed to be said.

[RapidsMan]

I never thought LandyCakes would stoop so low as to pretending to be a Nicole on Ives' blog to defend his award.

Timmy is number 1 in my book.

[daggius]

pretty sure 20 goals in a mls season is a nice accomplishment

who cares about national team games usa is just playing against cuba and friends anyways

[Binks]

Has clue. Does not vote as I fear Big Soccer stupidity is spread through participating in any online voting scheme.

The internet has done as much for soccer in America as it has to harm it.

[Eddie Johnson]

Phil, your a child who wanders into the middle of a conversation. You only hear what you want. It was a jab at people for calling Ives "rude" or whatever (and i have no clue what their race is and don't want to know). Also the point of what i wrote was hoping that Ives writes an article for ESPN with the same feeling. Because the only way that the voting will come to light is if someone like Ives takes it out of the dark. Us writing on this board or other boards won't do shite.
So Phil just because you see words together your mind shouldn't immediately jump to race

[Reid]

EJ post was me

[Tim F.]

I woke still stupified by the short list and by the vote outcome which clearly left it for Timmy to win given that Gooch and Bocanegra weren't on the short list. (The vote among Gooch, Bocanegra and Timmy would probably be close with Timmy likely getting the nod in that scenario as well.)

Perhaps the voters think that MLS games count and/or consider the players' careers as a whole? That's all I can fathom. It makes zero sense.

[brett]

Damon Starr - good lord, its not about past accomplishments.... its about the past year... Howard has clearly been the best player for the USMN this past year.... shows up 100% to each game, always on top.... he's saved us an embaressing game against Argentina, at which the game could have easily been 4-0(or more)....

while LD is an important player on the team, he opens the field, he produces, he does alot that cant be replaced (this is coming from a guy who calls him landycakes on a regular basis), but he was NOT the best for the USMN this year....

someone mentioned Howard's shutouts against the likes of Cuba, Guat, and T&T arent impressive (as they arent superpowers) but how many of LD's goals and assists came from these same lowly CONCACAF teams?? how many goals and assists were notched against the likes of Barbados?? again, LD is important, but Howard has been a CLEAR runaway for best this past year...

[PCFC]

I hate these people trying to justify Donovan winning it this year. Yeah he is one of the best players for the US, yeah he has done well in the past. But this year was literally defined by the 'Wall' that is Tim Howard.

Last year we had the same argument, but this year it was unarguably the wrong choice!

I think LD's agent bribed some writers in anticipation of his move to Europe. $$$$

[Hartman]

I gave up on this award years ago due to the fact that McBride mindblowingly never won this somewhere between 2002-2006...or ever. To me, he's the guy that opened the floodgates for the number of players in Europe right now. Proved Americans could get it done internationally and in Europe.

[Joamiq]

This is a complete joke

[Newton]

The Honda award is a popularity contest voted on by old-school fringe media guys and friends of Futbol de Primera. This award has nothing to do with USSF. (there's barely a mention of it on http://ussoccer.com ).

If Donovan wins the US Soccer Athlete of the Year award, well, then I'll worry that the voters have gone clueless.

Futbol de Primera Honda Award:USSF Athlete of the Year::Nick Teen Choice Awards:Academy Awards

[Joamiq]

Eric Anderson, the award isn't supposed to go to the player with the highest value over a replacement player. It's supposed to go to the best player. Which Donovan was not.

[brett]

Newton - lol, love the comparison :D

[TimN]

Most American sports journalists are woefully out of touch with soccer. They don't understand the game, player development, many things. If they did, they would have realized that while Donovan has had an OK year, it's certainly not been top tier, particularly for the MNT. Yes, he's been a scorer for the Galaxy, but of course that is a team that has missed the playoffs for 3 years running.

Michael Bradley, Tim Howard, or Carlos Bocanegra would all have been better choices.

I surely hope MLS, Donovan, and Bayern Munich can come to some sort of agreement so that Donovan can develop his game more against stiffer competition. He is getting ready to have a 10 day workout with them...that's exciting.

[Rich Bull NJNY]

Perhaps the subject was a bit harsh, but Ives, once again, is on the money here. Freakin popularity contest.I do think he deserved votes, absolutely, but not to win, not even top 3. Sounds like the voting system is off. Do they make you choose 1st place, 2nd place, etc, like in MLB? IF not, they should.
I blame these alleged "soccer journalists". I was very surprised to hear that number of soccer journalists even existed!

[Rich Bull NJNY]

Maybe it's the Metros/RedBulls fault, but here in the most famous city in the World, the NY Metropolitan area, where all sports have serious fanatics, I don't hear SQUAT about the RedBulls on the radio. Espn tv mentions soccer games in passing, the radio station sometimes mentions final scores, but that's it. The FAN? They don't make them laugh. It's messed up. They spend hours talking about College teams I could give a shh about, but nothing on the MLS playoffs. But I digress. So I ask you, who are these voters? Tennis guys with time on there hands? Golf experts with side gigs? High school soccer analysts maybe? I'm sure Ives has many colleagues out there that cover soccer with as much gusto as he does, but to find people like him and us that dig for information on this beautiful sports on a daily, there aren't many. I do think the key is a successful Red Bull team, and a successful USMNT. Then, maybe, the world will notice. That being said, I hope Landon goes to Europe and kicks serious butt, like he should've been doing for a couple of years already.

[A.S.]

"Folks, the criteria is national team performances only."

Thanks for the clarification, Ives. IMHO, any award based only on the few National Team performances each year is a pretty worthless award. But in any case, based on that moronic criteria, the (co-) winners should probably have been Boca and Gooch.

I don't know what the criteria is for US Soccer Federation player of the year, but if you are going by the performances of all Americans at both club and country, I'd say that Brad Freidel should win the award (even if he didn't play any games for country), with Gooch/Boca tied for second, Donovan 4th, and Timmy 5th. For his club side, Timmy's been pretty leaky.

[Rafael]

What happened? I though Timmy had the award back when the US team tied Argentina.

Ives, How do we get this fixed? Because if what you are saying is correct, than we have voters who vote blindly. What a blow to Timmy!

P.S. I'm a DC United fan!

[Gullet]

Donovan wants to be a benchwarmer in Germany instead of a leader that brings the Galaxy back to respectability. Even with all the goals this past season he was very inconsistent. Let this "me" player go and stop giving him awards!

[ras]

Like it or not, a big-name player winning a "best of the year" award when he is arguably not the best of the year happens all the time in pro sports -- especially when people who aren't very knowledgeable (fans, or journalists, or whatever) vote. Heck, it happens all the time in any awards that are voted on.

So, I say we all just take a deep breath and simmer down.

And re the headline: I know this blog isn't a completely objective news source, but I was a little surprised at the tone.

[green]

YAWN. . .

[jgildea]

This has got to be the most bizarre rambling comment section that I have ever seen...

[RPH]

Yeah, this has been a good laugh.

[BK]

Nice Reid. It is pretty easy being racist on the internet isn't it?

Posted by: Phil | November 11, 2008 at 09:04 PM

What? Racist? What in the world are you talking about?

[Ryan]

Ives,

You are correct about the shutouts for Howard.

However you do not mention that they were friendlies and ment nothing to England, Spain and Argentina.

Please provide all the facts not just the ones that you want your cronnies to see!!!

[jamesclark]

I agree with you Ives. The names on my ballot were Howard, Onyewu and Bocanegra.