Jesters Banter

Everton FC and USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard has been nominated to be Everton's Player of the Decade. Vote here if you agree.

It was a snowy debut for Landon Donovan with Everton FC, as they drew Arsenal yesterday at Emirates Stadium in London. Watch Donavon's comments to the BBC.

2009 USL First Division Rookie of the Year Marcus Haber is off to the Championship:

Following a successful rookie season with the Whitecaps in 2009, Haber impressed the West Midlands outfit during a four-day trial last November.

Last season with the ‘Caps, Haber scored eight goals and recorded four assists for 20 points in 30 United Soccer Leagues First Division (USL-1) regular season matches. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound, native of Vancouver, BC, also added three goals in six playoff matches and one goal during the 2009 Nutrilite Canadian Championship. For his efforts, Haber - who turns 21 on January 11 - was named USL-1 Rookie of the Year, as well as the Whitecaps Newcomer of the Year and Fan Favourite.

Alas for USMNT fans, Haber is Canadian, but still, it's good to see USL players attract interest in Europe.

It's a very telling tale that Landon Donovan's loan from the LA Galaxy of MLS to Everton in the English Premier League is big news in the US and a yawner in the UK:

News that Los Angeles Galaxy forward and U.S. captain Landon Donovan would join Everton on a 2 1/2-month loan was generally relegated to the "in-brief" sections of English sports pages. In a nation which devotes acres of newsprint to soccer, it barely registered, even as the media is full of potential comings and goings in the January transfer window, one of two periods in the year when clubs are allowed to acquire players

(more after the jump)

Arsenal FC Below is a link to a survey being conducted by MBA students at Arizona State University. They would like to get information about American Arsenal fans. If you are American, please take a few moments to take the survey. Your time and participation is appreciated.

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/212669/5vnrn

You couldn't have asked for a much better draw for Team USA. The USMNT will be in Group C, with England, Slovenia, and Algeria. While there are no guarantees in international football (particularly with the mixed performances we've seen from USMNT), but conventional wisdom is that we should at minimum be able to beat Slovenia and Algeria and break out as second in the group.

Copy of my message to the members of Jesters Banter on Facebook.

Now that Stephen has taken the reins of marketing for the BR Capitals, I'll be taking over Jesters Banter, both here and on the wider web. I want to thank Stephen for starting a fan page for our city's club and taking us through the 2009 season. I'm looking forward to building on the excellent work he's done.

One of the toughest challenges sports clubs face is keeping up the buzz and interest during the off season. In New Orleans, this is tough, even when the Saints aren't undefeated. Still, there's a lot of soccer going on--high school season is starting here in Louisiana, the European leagues are in full swing, and we'll have a string of international friendlies from now all the way until La Copa Mundial next June.

I've acquired the domain jestersbanter.com for the group's website. Stephen did a site at webs.com that was just fine, but I'm a computer geek and wanted to set something up on my server. You don't have to register or sign in to use JestersBanter.com, but there is a "Facebook Connect" option that allows you to sign in using your FB identity. I fully intend this Facebook page as well as the website to be community efforts. If you'd like to write for Jesters Banter, please join the site and start a blog, and we'll promote your writing to the front page for all to easily see.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and talk to you again soon!

I've taken over the whole "Jesters Banter" umbrella from Stephen Smith, who is now the Marketing Coordinator for the Baton Rouge Capitals (USL-PDL). Since the Capitals are arguably the biggest rivals to the Jesters, Stephen had a bit of a conflict-of-interest. :-) The current Jesters Banter website is still up, as is the Facebook page. I plan to transition the web presence here and tie it to Facebook so folks don't have to login twice.

Look for developments here as we go along.