Good morning all. As we try to wrap our heads around Landon Donovan's new contract (which Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl puts at four years, $9 million), things continue to get more and more interesting in MLS during a time of year when things are usually slow.
So what is our take on Donovan's new contract? I think it's a good deal for both sides and offers Donovan some serious insurance. How so? Well, if Donovan had faltered with Everton, or at next summer's World Cup, he would have been in far worse position to negotiate a new deal and it would have been extremely unlikely that a team would come along next summer and pay what MLS would want for him.
Now, with the new deal, Donovan can head to Everton with some added security. And if he enjoys a strong showing at Everton AND at the 2010 World Cup? I have a feeling MLS would listen to the offers that would likely come pouring in come July.
Is the deal a cop-out by Donovan, as some fans and critics are suggesting? I find it hard to call going from two years/$1.8 million to four years/$9 million a cop-out. I've written on more than enough occasions that Donovan needs to go to Europe, but I also never thought I'd see the day (at least not yet) when MLS would give an American player a $2 million deal. Combine that with the fact that Donovan is about to head to England to play in the world's toughest league for ten weeks, and I really don't see Donovan as someone who is running from challenges. If he's running anywhere, it's to the bank.
Now, onto the D.C. United coaching search.
Few could have ever pictured D.C. United having trouble finding a head coach, but that certainly seems to be happening. The league's most successful franchise is struggling to find a coach after Akron head coach Caleb Porter turned down the D.C. job in a move few could have seen coming. Curt Onalfo had been considered the most likely successor to Tom Soehn if Porter didn't work out, but now even that looks suspect after the team's failed attempts to talk to Frank Yallop and John Spencer (though D.C. United insists that the attempts to speak to Yallop and Spencer came earlier in the process, and not this week.)
Should D.C. fans panic? Not entirely. While the draft is less than a month away, D.C. does have the luxury of still employing general manager Dave Kasper, one of the best in the business and someone well-equipped to run the draft on his own.
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Perhaps the most interesting thing we've uncovered in our digging on the D.C. coaching story is the fact that Portland has begun looking for its head coach. A handful of MLS veteran coaches have already been contacted and one source believes Houston assistant John Spencer is a candidate for the job.
Spencer's situation is an interesting one. I know folks are wondering whether he really wants to be a coach after passing on the Chicago job two years ago and passing on the chance to discuss D.C. United's job this week. The Chicago situation came down to Spencer being made a low-ball offer. The sense I get as far as his current situation is that he is waiting for other jobs to open up and would rather stay on the Western side of the country.
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As Houston Dynamo fans (and for that matter, U.S. national team fans) await word on where Stuart Holden will go next, a new club has emerged as a potential suitor. Sources tell me that English Premier League club Blackburn is expressing interest in Holden, who will head into the January transfer window a free agent. Blackburn is currently sitting in 12th place in the EPL but could be losing left winger Morten Gamst Pederson to Scottish club Celtic. While Holden isn't a natural left winger, his versatility and status as a free transfer could make him an attractive option for Sam Allardyce's squad.
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For some quality reading, check out this in-depth piece on FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala from our Designated Player brethren over at The Original Winger.
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That's all for now. What do you think of Donovan's new deal? Stunned to see D.C. struggling to find a coach? Excited to hear Portland has begun its coaching search? Can you see Holden succeeding at Blackburn?
Share your thoughts below.
