He has provided balance and another good attacking threat. Plus just what we have been missing! Genuine pace. I would like to see more of him running at defenses with the ball at his feet before deciding whether to keep him or not. Great loan so far though... keep it up!

Exactly James. The balance of the team finally looks right. Osman is a tricky little footballer but is much better when linking up with play in front of him in the middle. He lacks the pace to be our creative outlet on the wings.

Pienaar on one wing (although he too can play in the middle) and Donovan on the other, provides us with width on both sides.

Donovan is also an intelligent footballer. He knows what he should be doing and reads what his opposition are intending to do. To me, these are key ingredients for a good winger. Without Donovan, we only have Pienaar and Arteta at the club who are capable of playing out wide and Arteta is definitely better in the middle.

Why on earth we spent £10mil on Bily is beyond me. He looks like neither a winger or a midfielder and his effort is disgraceful. So far, Donovan looks 10x the player and I do hope we can arrange to keep him, at least to the end of the season.

I’m delighted with him so far. A very astute signing and not just on the pitch. The marketing boys should be creaming themselves. IF it was possible, we should move heaven & earth to make it permanent. I can think of a lot of PL clubs who are kicking themselves for not getting there first.
Onwards & upwards...

He’s done well enough so far, the Birmingham FA Cup game his positional sense let him and the team down, with reflection more so after watching Chelski beat Birmingham and their first two goals came from that side which is clearly Birmingham’s weakness.

Long term, we are potless and, even if for sale, I’ve little doubt the MLS would slap a big price tag on him. I for one am happy that he’s lived up to the record and scored as a number nine for Everton as no previous number nine’s have failed to score; even Dunc scored that penalty rebound to keep the stat safe.

There can be no doubt that at this moment, to use the phrase, he thinks he’s died and gone to heaven. If this continues into March — and we all sincerely hope it does — the desire to stay will be very strong. The facts are simple: he is doing very well in the toughest league there is (I didn’t say best because I don’t know what best is... but I know what tough is).

How good is he? Too soon to tell, but he certainly has the makings. Pace has been noted. Good control, the basic tool kit. As we used to say, a good head on his shoulders — a football brain. Actually, does he head the ball? He plays well on the ground, which will do me. And his dead-ball delivery is excellent — a definite plus.

And he is almost certainly a good learner. His mind will be buzzing with what he has seen and done (and should have done) and he will, I suspect, become a very good PL player quite quickly. His attitude is an exact fit. I’ll bet he’ll respond very positively to Arteta’s promptings over the next few weeks.

Sign him up.

Am I watching the same player? I am not trying to be deliberately provocatie but he looks average to me. A heavy first touch, poor positional sense and not even as quick as I hoped, he isn’t a huge improvement on what we have.

Bily may still come good... just look at Fellaini. Bily has far greater technical ability than Donovan and will contribute more in the long term. I suspect we have a few ’USA’ cheerleaders perhaps convincing themselves that Donovan is better than he really is. Let's not forget that the MLS is lower half Championship standard at best.

I suspect that Donovan might be an impact player who will gradually become nullified by opponents. I like him but I think full backs will start sitting deeper on him and pushing him wider.

On the other hand, I suspect Bily has a little more flexibility. His sweet left foot cannot be stopped so that full backs will be working overtime to block it. But also he has a great first touch which will undo teams in the box or on the edge.

There’s a lot more to come. We shouldn’t be comparing Donovan and Bily as they are totally different players.

Donovan seems to fit the Moyes mold of player, gritty and determined. I think he’s made a great start and brings the option of teams defending to have to be careful of Everton's left (Peanut) and right wings now, which is something we haven't had.

With all the players coming back to fitness, it's going to be a very difficult midfield to be selected into. Arteta and Rodwell aren’t available to start and play full games yet!

This is why I think Donovan is really here as a stop-gap until Arteta is back up to full fitness.

I noted that Arteta was really moving into the spaces that Fellaini has been occupying when he’s come on, and really this spoilt Fellaini’s game. Perhaps it's just re-balancing of the side, but this is something Moyes will need to try and avoid so as to get the best out of both players.

Kev. When you take into consideration that he’s playing in a league even players from Europe have difficulty adjusting to because of the pace of the game, and so far Brazilians can’t adjust to, he’s playing against superior players and better organised teams (sorry bout that, sounds a bit chauvinistic), and he’s come from a sunny climate to play in the worst winter for 15 years, he’s done brilliantly well. Long may it continue!

The nice thing about Donovan is that he always the fastest player on the pitch. He truly has Michael Owen (pre-Hamstring injury) or Marc Overmars type pace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXkModt0v1s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIU3_gSlfXk&feature=related @5:55

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lWTRN8BrZ4&feature=related @2:30

He’s never going to be the guy who dribbles right at people like a Messi or Ronaldo, his game is to run right by people.

I think in these vids, he’s playing the withdrawn striker/cahill role but, his speed is just as effective on the wing.

He’s got 120 caps, He’s played against and beaten many of the best teams in the world, and I think won the U-17 golden boot at the world cup a decade ago, so he’s been at this awhile, I wouldn’t worry about him.

It’s a shame he resigned with LA just before the Everton loan, that made no sense. He’s probably worth more to MLS in shirt deals and TV rights than Everton can afford if Everton were interested in keeping him.

Admittedly he was pretty poor against Birmingham, then again, if Neville can’t distribute the ball better and make some runs down the flank...it will limit LD’s effectiveness. My guess is that Moyes doesn’t want Neville getting too far forward because his pace is a liability. Time for a new right back.

If Moyes can get him, LD’s got 4 good years left. and is the kind of player to log a goal every other game or 1 in 3.

Send him back to the states. Tactically inept, careless in possession, headless chicken. We already have Vaughan.

1. Pace - tick

2. Close control — er... not at all obvious to me

3. Ability to dribble past players — no...insufficient close control

4. Ability to run past player — tick (speed), but requires space

5. Positional sense — I was watching the Birmingham game on TV, so a bit hard to tell. Never really in the screen where I expected him to be. When on the touchline was often hiding behind his marker. Those at the match have confirmed he drifted in side for long periods despite Moyes shouting at him to get wide. Maybe he is too used to being the "main man" at LA and wants to get more involved so hunts for the ball too much. But did much better against City and Arsenal

6. Footballing brain — in all matches I have seen, he often took the wrong option or appeared hesitant as to what to do when he suddenly had a bit of space. Perhaps he needs time to adjust to the pace of the game? But not an obvious strength at the moment.

7. Better than Bily? — Bily is far more skillful, but a lot slower. Bily is a bit of a disappointment, but may yet come good. Donovan is meeting expectations, and I would put him in our first XI at present. But neither is a great player yet; but both could develop into great Everton players given time and application.

I agree entirely with David Ellis. Donovan has great attitude and work rate. He does have plenty of pace, but he has none of technical ability or vision of Bily. Bily has really poor focus and seems to have built very little understanding with players. He’s also a glory hunter and seems to try to get himself on the score sheet rather than have the team score goals (Fellaini is a model of unselfish play in my opinion. He wants the team to win).

And Bily is totally ponderous. (He likes like he’s a tad bloated to me even though he’s a thin lad). But, I think he is a gifted soccer player and I am sure that if we don’t turn him into a great player, some other team will. Perhaps he will never be a great PREMIER LEAGUE player. I write more on him because, at the moment, he is a long-term prospect. We can’t afford Donovan even if he wanted to stay in England.

Kev, the lad certainly had a good baptism to the Premier League, Arsenal, City & B’ham, and then scored in his fourth game.

With the formidable list of opponents coming up thick and fast, we should have a better idea, if he is suited?He has got the skill, its application that will be tested.

Being from the USA, I take the same approach you folks take with your BEST players. You hate them too. I’m not a huge fan of Landycakes. But, he is better than average and is servicable for the money we didn’t have to pay to get him. I’m fine with him playing 70 minutes and being a threat to score.

Just thought I’d look something up. Who do you think they are talking about?

"Experts reckoned that he was too inconsistent and too peripheral to cut it in England."

And yes, it took him a couple of seasons to find his feet in his new country, but he did OK in the end.

Alex Young, that is.

So much for experts, eh?

People seem to be overlooking some very pertinent facts.

Firstly, if a good player arrived at Everton from a lower half Championship team, do you think he would fit in immeditely or would you be prepared to give him time.

Secondly, I don’t see Bily as a winger, certainly not the right wing. He's not fast but has an eye for goal. I would play him in a more forward striking position cos I’m sure he has goals in him.

I could definitely see Landon staying on Merseyside. He had bad experiences in Europe before coming to Everton and I think he is enjoying himself much more here than he was with Bayern. He has the pace, the skill and the eye for goal to be a solid Premier League player.

I’ve watched the boy for a long time now — since he was the outstanding player in a very good 2002 US World Cup team.

He’s two-footed, and can head a ball quite well although he prefers it in at his feet. A very very cool finisher, at all levels I’ve seen him at, from the "second rate" MLS to World Cup Qualifiers and Confed Cup.

In many ways, Landon is the player Franny Jeffers could have been, although I’ll give the American credit for a much better work ethic and football brain than "our Franny". He’s a truly excellent addition, and if there is a snowball's chance in hell we could sign him permanently, I urge Moyes too!

I predict most fans will be sorry when he goes back home and have to send Bily back out there...