Landon Donovan’s return to Goodison on a two-month loan deal from LA Galaxy provided a welcome boost for the Everton faithful, who have so far endured a most unremarkable season. Having helped to ignite David Moyes’ side in a similar loan spell in 2010 with two goals and three assists, Donavon arrives with expectation heaped on his slight shoulders.
A smart assist for Victor Anicebe’s equaliser at Villa Park provided a glimpse of his talent, and in this latest article for Members, we examine Donavon’s impact so far to analyse his potential for his remaining weeks in England.
The first significant statistic to note is that Donavon has played every minute of every game since he became eligible. David Moyes threw him straight into the action in the 2-1 home defeat to Bolton and the American played the full 90 minutes in the trip to Spurs in the same Gameweek. Donovan looks to be a nailed-on starter, then.
Moyes has so far deployed Donovan on the right-flank, playing in front of Tony Hibbert against Bolton and then Phil Neville in the last couple of fixtures. He held this role for the trip to White Hart Lane, although he tended to tuck in far more in this game, joining midfield areas and looking to support Victor Anichebe and Louis Saha up front. He took up a similar position at Villa Park, drifting inside to provide the killer ball for Everton’s goal at Aston Villa. So far, though, that single assist has been the sole Fantasy contribution from Donovan over his three appearances but, as the ICT Index shows, it hasn’t been for a lack of trying.
