Landon Donovan enjoyed two different spells at Everton when the club were inside the top half of the table.
Everton decided to bring Landon Donovan to Goodison Park on loan from LA Galaxy in January 2010.
This was the first stint where the American made 13 appearances, scoring two goals and assisting three, which isn’t a bad return considering the fairly limited minutes
He then re-joined Everton on another three-month loan in January 2012.
Donovan really stepped things up in his second stint with six goals in just nine appearances in all competitions, operating as a right winger.
Spending time on Merseyside has made it easy for him to make his latest judgement on the moment Everton went from hovering around mid-table to being a relegation club.
Landon Donovan shares the exact moment Everton turned into a ‘relegation club’
Everton finished in eighth and seventh position during Donovan’s time at the club, so the current state and in seasons gone by will be new to him.
It’s only since the 2021-2022 season that Everton have really started to slip down into relegation territory, with Sean Dyche managing to do the job in the last campaign.
Landon Donovan thinks he’s noticed the exact moment things went wrong for Everton and the reason behind the recent woes on Merseyside.
Speaking alongside former Everton star Tim Howard on the Unfiltered Soccer podcast, Donovan believes that the flurry of signings the club made with huge amounts of money is to blame.
“It’s leadership right and there’s been a severe lack of leadership. We were talking about Christian Pulisic earlier, the grass is very rarely greener.
“When I was there for the brief stints with you Tim, Everton were a top six, seven, eight, nine, ten club and everybody then all of a sudden thought well now we can make a push and be a Champions League club, and it’s like be careful what you wish for because a huge influx of money, bought tons of players and it just all went pair shaped, and it all went bad.
“And now every year they’re now a relegation club, right, fighting for survival every year, so the grass is very rarely greener but there’s been a severe lack of leadership that hopefully will change going forward.”
The Friedkin Group may just be Everton’s saviour
It’s fair to say that Everton are currently going through a strange period.
The Friedkin Group have already suggested Dyche will be gone by the summer, so this is very much a period of transition until the new stadium kicks in and relegation is hopefully avoided.
Everton fans can look forward to a bright summer full of exciting events. A new manager will likely be appointed, the new stadium is set to open and money will be spent on the transfer front.
However, as Donovan says, it’s important the new owners don’t go overboard with their spending as there are PSR issues, plus it’s better to seek and repeat bargains like Iliman Ndiaye.
