Howard To ESPN: Decision To Not Play Was "Made Quite A Long Time Ago"

In an interview with ESPN today, Tim Howard revealed that the decision to not play versus the Philadelphia Union was "made quite a long time ago."

Everton's starting goalkeeper discussed a multitude of topics with ESPN's Matthew Artus, some of which included the English Premier League team's friendly against the Union tonight. Howard stated that any discussions and decisions about his playing time took place months ago.

They don't get made this week. Those types of things are discussed amongst ourselves months and months in advance. That's the unfortunate part.

The announcement that Howard was not joining up with Everton, nor would he be playing in the friendly came as a surprise to both Union fans and the team's front office. Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz had the following to say about the situation (via @ChrisVito):

"We're really surprised. One of the reasons we entertained Everton's phone call was because of Tim Howard and we were under the impression Tim Howard was playing."

Howard is said to be on vacation, currently, but flew out to Philadelphia yesterday and appeared on multiple media outlets, including local TV station CBS3 this morning.