NOOOOO!!!! Donovan Should Not be the Player of the Year.

I know that a lot of people don't put a great deal of stock in goalkeepers. To a certain extent it is the aberration of the position, they dress differently, they can use their hands in a game where such skills are not thought of a sporting. some people think all that goalkeepers do is kick the ball a really long way and spend the rest of the game looking for hot WAGS in the stands.

So why am I talking about this: Landon Donovan has been voted the Honda Player of the Year (for the fifth time) beating out my personal choice Tim Howard.

Don't get me wrong, it is not that I think Donovan is a poor player or undeserving of his previous four awards, but he was not the best player for the U.S. team this year. His national team form has been off, he has been absent from entire games despite being in the starting line up. Yes, I know he has scored more goals for the U.S. Men's team than anyone else, but he doesn't deserve it this year.

Tim Howard had a spectacular year. His performance against Argentina alone warranted the award. Additionally, Howard has had five shutouts in 2008 (including Argentina) given up just three goals all year as the U.S.'s number one keeper.

Goalkeepers have the toughest job on the field. They can be completely inactive for 88 minutes of the game, but no matter what, they will be expected to make the stop in the last minute of the game. Goalkeepers rarely win games for teams, but they can certainly lose games. Tim Howard never lost a game for the U.S. although they did lose.

The voters for the Player of the Year award got this one wrong.

Landon Donovan Training With Bayern Munich

Chris Courtney ntoes that Landon Donovan is training with Bayern Munich, telegraphing a move the German giant in January.

Bayern has been unapologetic in their interest in the American International. Donovan has made no secret of his desire to move overseas again. Bayern's manager Jurgen Klinsman knows and likes Donovan.

The question will be, will MLS make a reasonable deal or will they pull a Taylor Twellman type matter. the L.S. Galaxy have to be salivating at the idea since it will free up a massive amount of cap space to help them acquire some more players.

Donovan to the Premiership

His agent did not issue a denial. But it was one of those, non-answer answers.

If Donovan is going to go to Europe, now is the time. Donovan is 26 and in good form, both for the National Team and the Galaxy. There would be no work permit issues since he has been on the National Team call ups for the past several years. I figure that his best bet would be some mid-table team. He wouldn't get playing time with a big four club, and there would be too much pressure for him with a bottom table team.

Of course, if Tottenham get sell Dimitar Berbatov, Donovan might be a good fit there.

Landon Donovan

Let's face it, the man is a goal scoring machine. He has scored eight goals in five games, with a brace last week and a hat trick this week. He looks great in form and has really shown that he is worthy of his salary.

However, his exhuberance after scoring is not winning him any fans either here or abroadh. To celebrate scoring a goal is natural. I have to admit that I like some of the funny little dances (although Sasha Kljestan's "Hong Kong Phooey" dance really didn't do it for me), the belly slides, the knee slides, the shirt doffing (or the new trend of hand written undershirts with tributes of one type or another), the energy that some players put into running around the pitch after scoring, etc. I don't like the taunting of a crowd (see Santino Quaranta), but I can sort of excuse that. What I cannot tolerate and what I have seen Donovan do in two successive weeks is taunt fellow professional players after scoring.

I didn't like it last week when Donovan taunted Houston's Patrick Ianni (who was lying on the ground at the time) after scoring. But while I didn't like it, I could forgive Donovan for one indiscretion. But this week he hasn't learned his lesson and decided to taunt the entire Chivas USA bench, not once but twice, in a display that Chivas coach Preki called "crap." It is utter rubbish and shouldn't be tolerated. I think the MLS needs to send a message, particularly to Donovan but also to the rest of the league by fining Donovan for such behavior.

There are two reasons for this. If Donovan continues on his scoring trend and the rumors turn out to be true that he could go to Europe either this summer or more like in the January 2009 transfer window, then everytime he acts in this manner, he dminishes his transfer value. Right now, with his performance in the MLS and to a certain extent internationally, Donovan might be worth high seven figures or low eight figures in transfer fee. Such a fee is a veritable mint for the MLS and indicative of an American player commanding high salaries abroad.

Second, Donovan diminishes the game in my eyes with these antics. A certain amount of trash talking is expected in profesional sports--it is part of the game. But as a professional, you have to act like a professional. I respected Ianni for getting up and walking away. I respected the Chivas players for not rising to the taunt and allowing Preki to be the point man. These players acted like professionals--Donovan is acting like a 15 year old who is too big for his britches.

A few thousand dollar fine (say $5,000) should be enough to get Donovan to remember to behave. Another incidnet should be followed with another fine and a few game suspension.

Garber needs to come down hard on this behavior BEFORE it becomes the norm. It cheaps the game and it cheapens the players.