Mirallas blocking Landon's return?

, 14 October, 24comments  |  Jump to most recent
A somewhat unexpected suggestion made in this blog has the scintillating form shown by Kevin Mirallas potentially blocking the 'annual' arrival of Landon Donovan on loan this season.

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Quotes or other material sourced from This is Futbol



Reader Comments (24)

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Peter Thistle
1 Posted 14/10/2012 at 17:33:05
I thought Donovan said he wants to rest this time and not come over here when MLS ends. So not sure if Mirallas has anything to do with it.
Tony Cheek
2 Posted 14/10/2012 at 18:28:50
Sorry about that Landon, have a nice rest this winter... to tell you the truth, I would have been well pissed off if DM had put Kev on the bench for you this time. Think we have found a good ùn here, but thanks anyway!
Ben Jones
3 Posted 14/10/2012 at 18:34:47
I'd still definitely take him, he's definitely a player who would make an impact. We're not going to progress until we have a good squad as well as a good team.
Ian Bennett
4 Posted 14/10/2012 at 18:45:14
Sign him up. Our squad will need some cover over the season, and Kev can play a couple of roles, freeing up the right birth for Landon.
Keith Glazzard
5 Posted 14/10/2012 at 18:44:40
I said in August that looking forward to Landon joining us again would be a sign of failure. Good player, like him, but from the start of the season please. Like Ben I would welcome him if he wants to come, and it would be great to see him have to fight for a place, not walk into one.
Leung Chi Ho
6 Posted 14/10/2012 at 19:05:30
Love to see Landon back, we need quantity with quality, with him on the beach to change things or play the right mid slot with Mirallas in the middle and Fellaini in centre mid sound interesting!!

Not sure about the Blue kangaroo, love to see the true blue back but only good enough for the beach, and he would minimize the chance of Barkley playing either...

The Achilles Heels of our team is right back, hope Moyes bring one RB and CM comes January!!!
Kunal Desai
7 Posted 14/10/2012 at 19:28:21
Not sure if we really need Landon back in January, think the emphasis should be in getting cover in central midfield. Hopefully we go back in for Ofoe as there is too much reliance on Gibson and Neville is not the answer in that position.
Bob Willis
8 Posted 14/10/2012 at 19:35:09
Mirallas is the future.

Landon, thanks for the memories, mate, but you were never here for Everton – you were here for Landon USA.

Still, you played your part... now bow out!!
Barry Rathbone
9 Posted 14/10/2012 at 20:16:19
Possibly we've moved on and he wants to rest but he "got" this club and his arrival was like Superman, flying to the rescue in the nick of time.

Landon will ALWAYS be welcome here – he showed what we needed and TRANSFORMED this club each time he came.

Phillip Nuttall
10 Posted 14/10/2012 at 20:18:00
I would bring him back on a loan deal.

Everton do have strength, but not in depth; when we get one or two (on occasion 3) 1st team players injured/suspended, we struggle.

It has saddened me to see Phil Neville played off the park most games in central midfield; his performances have been below par this season and he proves that Everton could do with more numbers.

I would personally like to see Fellaini drop back with Gibson and put Kevin Mirallas behind Jelavic, he is a great player and looks like he will dazzle this season when he reaches full fitness. But you do need cover; Landon would be a great option coming from the bench if required & keeping "Super Kevin Mirallas" motivated to keep his place. No harm in it, I say.

Sam Hoare
11 Posted 14/10/2012 at 20:32:18
See that reo-Coker has signed for Ipswich, no world beater but would not have minded seeing him add to our very limited options in the middle of the park.
James Martin
12 Posted 14/10/2012 at 21:11:42
Phillip, if Neville had been played off the park by most teams this season, why would we be fourth? The last time Fellaini started a game in the deeper role, Leeds really did play him off the park.

Our success this season has been built around Fellaini playing further forward. Even with our midfield injuries and multiple attacking options, Moyes has kept Fellaini uptop and even brought Osman into the middle — something he was never really keen on (god knows why). It's obvious that, until we have a mega injury crisis, Fellaini is going to stay uptop because Gibson and Osman (with Neville in reserve) play the deeper roles better than Fellaini.

It looks good on a fantasy football sheet to have Fellaini behind an array of attacking talent but it's not good for the balance of the team and it's wasting Fellaini in a role that he's not good at.
Brian Garside
13 Posted 14/10/2012 at 22:50:09
Bring LD back for a loan period allows for more rotation. When he goes home we will have a more refreshed and eager squad to take us to the end of the season. LD will also provid a blast of fresh energy which would have a galvenising effect on everyone else. I say yes please.
Anto Byrne
14 Posted 15/10/2012 at 01:24:46
Great player, in my humble opinion, he was the catalyst that saw the turn around from January onwards. We are a bit light in certain areas so it would make good sense to have LD even as an impact sub.

Mirallas is a good player but he needs time to gel with Jelly. The first Jelavic goal against Soton was one of the best in terms of build up and finishing, I just hope to see more.
Edward Simpson
15 Posted 15/10/2012 at 02:46:21
It would be great to have Donovan back. As someone said previously, we need greater depth in numbers and he would fit that bill.

I would be very doubtful to see him back in the New Year especially as he said he is having a break. RW is something we don't need to worry about for now, CM is though as Moyes is putting Fellaini more forward now.

Neville does get slated an awful lot but I do think that it's slightly unjustified sometimes, we all know that he isn't the player he used to be... he was never a super talented player in the first place but he adds a tremendous amount of leadership which drives the team forward. We struggle for leaders in our squad, Neville has provided that aptly.

Getting Odjidja-Ofoe in January is of paramount importance; Gibson has proved already that he is a tremendous passer of the ball but will struggle with injuries as seen recently. We won't as a whole unit be able to cope with that along with the niggling injuries you get every week.

I don't agree that we need another RB, Coleman has a lot to learn but we also have Hibbert, two players who are weirdly different from each other. Again as someone said earlier, I would like to see Mirallas behind Jelavic at some point, and Naismith needs a chance to actually prove something as he hasn't done anything yet which is disappointing.

I do think Moyes needs to hurry up with the decision on whether Hitzlsperger should join us. For me, it's a no-brainer, we're seriously lacking strength in the middle of the park.

Let's hope we manage to so some good, early business in January.

Mike Gaynes
16 Posted 15/10/2012 at 15:50:08
Donovan has missed the last couple of US World Cup qualifiers because of a knee problem. I'd say there's no chance at all he'll be returning to Everton on loan this season.
John Siffor
17 Posted 15/10/2012 at 16:52:31
Kevin has been really solid thus far, but may be better in the middle. Donovan wants to come back and would have been here permanently, but MLS wouldn't have ever let him out of his contract. Had he played a lot of games this year, I would think he would have waited until the start of next year. However, he has taken a lot of time off this year (very few USMNT games), so he may actually come at the January transfer window. Good for all sides.

BTW, he can actually pass the ball, which KM is a shoot-first player (nothing wrong with that). The right side is not his natural slot, so not sure why some would think they are competing. Plenty for room for both.
Ean Palese
18 Posted 15/10/2012 at 19:17:14
What would be wrong with more (needed) depth? Are we all so sure that no injuries will occur during the busy part of the season? Donovan adds international experience and is certainly comfortable at Everton. What would be the big deal about a loan deal?

He is kinda like that camp girl that you see once a year - blew your mind the first time you saw her, shagged her eventually and talked about what you would do in the world together as you looked up at the stars. The next summer you looked forward to seeing her and she was the 'for sure' summer shag again but this time you knew it was only a shag in the end. This time you know you could still get in her pants but there are new birds on offer, so she has been relegated to the bench. But at least you know you can still get a quality shag even though she may not be your first choice anymore.

Ben Jones
19 Posted 15/10/2012 at 19:34:23
Ean,

With descriptions like that, how are you not a football journalist?

Mike Green
20 Posted 15/10/2012 at 19:46:50
But what if she doesn't want to play second fiddle Ean....? She's still a good looking girl, she was catch of the county at one point. Maybe she's proud.... Maybe she's concentrating on her studies.... Maybe she's a little hurt.... Who knows......
Matt Traynor
21 Posted 15/10/2012 at 20:19:45
Ean well done. I thought Martin was the only thread killer.
Jim Knightley
22 Posted 15/10/2012 at 20:26:44
We only have two talented attacking wide players in our squad...why on earth wouldn't we want Donovan back when he has been so impressive in his last two spells?

Pienaar has also shown that he can be a very good central midfielder at international level.

Ian Bennett
23 Posted 15/10/2012 at 20:42:36
Ean - can we not just play with both of them and have smiles on our faces?
John Wilson
24 Posted 16/10/2012 at 01:24:57
Donovan, Hitzlsperger, Ofoe... we need this level of talent to give us depth this season and elevate the bar.

Then Moyes must give EPL minutes to challenge Barkley, Duffy et al to keep their hopes alive.


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