A Day Late, But...

I try to get up a column for Monday, but this real job thing keeps getting in the way. Sorry. That being said, it was an interesting weekend for soccer:

Landon Donovan - That bastard Grant Wahl from CNNSI stole my line about the "goosebump moment" when the Everton fans started chanting "USA!" after Donovan entered the match. Then they got even louder after he got a goal (wonderful strike!) and an assist (spectacular ball!). Hell, I was impressed when the announcers brought up the MLS labor dispute and saying how it could actually work to Donovan's advantage if there was a work stoppage as he'd be more likely to stay at Everton for a spell longer. Who knew they were informed about anything from MLS???? Anyway, Donovan is playing as well as he ever has, which is good news for the U.S. and good news for the L.A. Galaxy. Granted, he was largely invisible during the match last week against the Netherlands, but that wasn't much about his play as the fact that he was marked out of the game...when that happens, SOMEBODY needs to step up. Speaking of the U.S. game;

U.S./Netherlands - Yes, I'm a week late, but let me throw out my 2 cents (Ha ha, get it?) about the match.

A. The team didn't play horribly, and should have had a man advantage for the last 60 minutes when de Jong's tackle broke Stuart Holden's leg. I actually think Holden got off lightly, as I've seen legs snapped in 2 like that in other instances. How de Jong was allowed to stay on the pitch is a wonder? Oh, right, they were in Europe, where the U.S. never gets any calls.

B. Can the Jonathan Bornstein experiment please be over? He's a good MLS player, but has proven time and again he is not up to International caliber. John Harkes said after the deflection off Bornstein for the 2nd goal, that he was "the unluckiest player on the pitch." Really? I was going to say "the worst." I have a theory on why Bornstein is seeing so much playing time, but I'll hold off on that for a bit longer. In the meantime, if Onyewu is not healthy enough to go for 90 minutes in June, and you have to keep Bocanegra central instead of the left, just play Cherundolo on the right and Spector on the left...please, for the love of God, Bob, make it so!!!

C. Jose Torres was good. He deserves a longer look than 20 minutes as a sub or 45 minutes in a half. He might not be athletic enough to go against England on June 12th, but with his skills on the ball, wouldn't he be a great option against a lesser team like Algeria, and possibly Slovenia? If Bob has a 24-man roster, he might as well use it. And we know what we're getting from Michael Bradley. We get it...he's your son...he's going to start every game for you. But would it kill you to take an extended look at a Torres/Edu pairing? Jones/Clark? (if they're ever healthy again). Gotta look at some other possibilities for when the Golden Boy is ejected or gets 2 yellows and has to sit a game. Might want to have a couple of guys who have been on the field together before.

MLS Labor Dispute - Got a good chat in with Richmond Kickers Assistant coach Jesse Myers earlier, and he had a really interesting take on the problem that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else.

Since there is no agreement in place, MLS teams haven't really made any cuts. In fact, the rosters have gotten bigger as more and more players are in camp. Here's the problem: The 2nd and 3rd division rosters of the USL/NASL are getting close to being finalized as their seasons are only 3 weeks away. So, when the MLS dispute is resolved, and the players are released from MLS teams, where will they go? If the lower divisions are fully stacked, none of those teams will have the money to bring in very many of those released players. As Jesse told me "There will be a large amount of players who are good enough to play in the 2nd and 3rd divisions but won't be able to find a home. Then what?" Yet another interesting twist to this ongoing saga...

Player to Watch - Jonathan Villanueva - He was considered a stud his first couple of years at UVA. and at one time seemed like a sure MLS high pick. However, his play seemed to drop off a bit and his stock fell. In steps the Kickers, who sign him to a deal with the club. Richmond has a knack for finding the right players to fit their system, developing them, and helping them to grow, in many cases, to go on to the 1st division and even MLS. Villanueva might be another in that pipeline. Myers told me he thought Jon was the best player on the field in Richmond's exhibition win over VCU last weekend. Will be interesting to see how quickly he adapts to the pros.

That's it for this week. Look for Walsh to add something later in the week.