James Rodríguez

[Palfy]

1 hour ago, Shukes said:

So… what justify’s them being in the squad and given a chance over him?

I think you’re asking the wrong people only Benitez can answer that mate. 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

https://www.goodisonnews.com/2021/09/22/james-rodriguez-set-to-leave-everton-for-al-rayyan-player-after-agreeing-three-year-deal/

[Romey 1878]

 

[Haiku]

Good

[Bailey]

The frustrating thing is that we will probably still be paying some of his wages!

[MikeO]

52 minutes ago, Bailey said:

The frustrating thing is that we will probably still be paying some of his wages!

At least it'll only be around half of them, £500,000 a week was crippling us.

[SpartyBlue]

8 hours ago, Shukes said:

There’s lots of players in the squad that we want gone…. But no one wants to sign them either…. Not a single team anywhere in the universe.

So… what justify’s them being in the squad and given a chance over him? Serious question as I watched us last night.

Some utter dross in our squad who he looks miles better than. I could understand if they were giving it their all….. but they aren’t.

James didnt want to be at Everton. His comments and actions both showed that. Any speculation on what the club or Benitez want is ultimately irrelevant because the player has absolutely checked out once Carlo left. Nobody is bigger than the club. 

[SpartyBlue]

6 hours ago, RPG said:

I understand that Ellis Simms is only just gettting back up to speed but if he isn't going to come off the bench to replace Rondon when he runs out of gas then there really is no point in having him on the bench to begin with.

With a full strength starting eleven we are capable of Europe but as soon as we pick up injuries and suspensions the quality, belief and confidence levels seem to drop far more than, imho, they should.

He was an emergency option. Full stop. As an aside not many teams in the world could handle dropping 4 of the first names off their team sheet without a significant effect.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

So this means we are now down to a 23 man squad until at least January, deep joy 

[Elston Gunnn]

45 minutes ago, MikeO said:

At least it'll only be around half of them, £500,000 a week was crippling us.

Naughty, naughty boy.

[plaidharper]

Wonder which Twitch superstar we will bring in next?

[Romey 1878]

15 minutes ago, plaidharper said:

Wonder which Twitch superstar we will bring in next?

I'm not sure anyone beats Tim Howard tbh.

[RuffRob]

And its done.

Al Rayyan have just announced signing him

 

[Cornish Steve]

On 21/09/2021 at 02:11, RPG said:

Football is a team game. James doesn't come across (to me) as a team player. His skill is not in doubt but his commitment and application most certainly is.

His number of assists proves otherwise. The recorded training sessions show him very much part of the team. I'm interested to know why you think he's not a team player?

[Cornish Steve]

On 21/09/2021 at 09:39, London Blue said:

He is definitely expensive. 

... because he is definitely world-class.

[SpartyBlue]

Just now, Cornish Steve said:

His number of assists proves otherwise. The recorded training sessions show him very much part of the team. I'm interested to know why you think he's not a team player?

For me it’s more about his willingness to play when he’s not at 100%, to show more effort defensively, to put the team above himself and his personal success. He sits because he’s tired, he doesn’t know who we play, he refers to Everton, his club at the time, as “they” etc.. To be a team player your ultimate goal has to be the success of your club. Do you think that was the case with James? Does anyone? 

[RuffRob]

https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2264973/colombian-james-completes-qatar-move

not even a thank you or good luck - James must have really been taking the piss out of the club - I expect since around Jan/Feb time. 

So frustrating after a amazing first couple of months with the club - he looked to be the signing of the season. What a roller coaster he has been for us.

[Cornish Steve]

2 minutes ago, SpartyBlue said:

For me it’s more about his willingness to play when he’s not at 100%, to show more effort defensively, to put the team above himself and his personal success. He sits because he’s tired, he doesn’t know who we play, he refers to Everton, his club at the time, as “they” etc.. To be a team player your ultimate goal has to be the success of your club. Do you think that was the case with James? Does anyone? 

I put no weight whatsoever in quotations when English is not a player's first language. It's so easy to spin what's said out of all proportion. Using 'they instead of 'we'? I'm not a Spanish speaker, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn it's a cultural issue. English is such a weird language with so many nuances we take for granted.

[SpartyBlue]

1 minute ago, Cornish Steve said:

I put no weight whatsoever in quotations when English is not a player's first language. It's so easy to spin what's said out of all proportion. Using 'they instead of 'we'? I'm not a Spanish speaker, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn it's a cultural issue. English is such a weird language with so many nuances we take for granted.

You’re bending over backwards to support your view here. The evidence is against you. We can ignore his us vs we quotes and he still comes off badly. Not knowing who we play isn’t a mistranslation. Being on an airplane before the season is over isn’t a cultural difference. Consistently terrible defensive effort is there for everyone to see. Not ability, mind you, effort. Can you imagine Seamus or DCL ever doing anything like that? Rafa isn’t going to question his commitment if he was a “team player”. I expect the club knew for a long time that James didn’t want to be here and that explains his disinterest. If he ever cared about being at Everton that left with Carlo. 

[Haiku]

7 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

... because he is definitely world-class.

He's not. His fitness and commitment is nowhere near acceptable, hence why he missed out Copa America and now signed for Qatari club. This is not a great example of world class player, who is supposed to be on top of his game at the age of 30.

[RuffRob]

5 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

... because he is definitely world-class.

emm, world class players don't end up in Qatar at 30 years old because nobody else will pay them 'world class' wages. James has world class footballing abilities but chooses not to put in the work in to be a true world class player. 

He has made a mug of our club and us fans (you just need to look back though this forum on how stupid he has made a lot of us look). In the initial buzz of signing and playing he showed in the first couple of months that he ability to be a great Premiership player, but he has chosen not to put the work and effort in that is needed to make it in the Prem league week on week throughout the winter months. This to me is so much worst than him simply not being a good enough player - he just didn't care. 

Everton fans have always loved and appreciated player who really put a shift in and work their socks off. James has turned out to be the opposite of that.  

 

[SpartyBlue]

1 minute ago, Haiku said:

He's not. His fitness and commitment is nowhere near acceptable, hence why he missed out Copa America and now signed for Qatari club. This is not a great example of world class player, who is supposed to be on top of his game at the age of 30.

It’s a shame because he has the talent but seemingly not the heart. If he’s playing for Bayern or Real Madrid with world class players who can hide his weaknesses he can be tremendous but if he’s asked to do more he gets exposed. The commitment issue reminds me of Kean. They believe, rightly or wrongly, they should be at an elite  club. If they find themselves elsewhere their commitment and their attitude suffers.

[SpartyBlue]

3 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

emm, world class players don't end up in Qatar at 30 years old because nobody else will pay them 'world class' wages. James has world class footballing abilities but chooses not to put in the work in to be a true world class player. 

He has made a mug of our club and us fans (you just need to look back though this forum on how stupid he has made a lot of us look). In the initial buzz of signing and playing he showed in the first couple of months that he ability to be a great Premiership player, but he has chosen not to put the work and effort in that is needed to make it in the Prem league week on week throughout the winter months. This to me is so much worst than him simply not being a good enough player - he just didn't care. 

Everton fans have always loved and appreciated player who really put a shift in and work their socks off. James has turned out to be the opposite of that.  

 

Such small margins. If we had made Europe and/or Carlo had stayed I doubt we are having this conversation or anything like it.

[RuffRob]

5 minutes ago, SpartyBlue said:

Such small margins. If we had made Europe and/or Carlo had stayed I doubt we are having this conversation or anything like it.

I actually think James had essentially 'given up' sometime before Carlo left. Carlo threw him under the bus when he said in his press conference that James was too 'tired' to play in one of he matches. James doesn't have the effort in him to make it in the Prem. The talent, yes, but essentially he can't be arsed - almost criminal really how he has taken his wages every week. He is not a player who you would hold up as an example and role model to any youngster in the game. 

[StevO]

27 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

Everton fans have always loved and appreciated player who really put a shift in and work their socks off. James has turned out to be the opposite of that.  

 

Everton fans have also always loved a player with a bit of magic in their boots. 

[SpartyBlue]

8 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

I actually think James had essentially 'given up' sometime before Carlo left. Carlo threw him under the bus when he said in his press conference that James was too 'tired' to play in one of he matches. James doesn't have the effort in him to make it in the Prem. The talent, yes, but essentially he can't be arsed - almost criminal really how he has taken his wages every week. He is not a player who you would hold up as an example and role model to any youngster in the game. 

I don’t disagree though even a disinterested James was quite productive for us. It’s unfortunate but I suppose it’s understandable on some level. He’s used to playing for super teams that are competing for titles. Now he comes to Everton and a more physical league where we are battling for 7th. Heart wasn’t in it.

[RuffRob]

5 minutes ago, StevO said:

Everton fans have also always loved a player with a bit of magic in their boots. 

Indeed, but not so fussed on them if they can't put the effort needed to get on the pitch to use this magic week in and week out.  whether you are being paid £5m or £10m a season players have got to put in the best effort that they can- period. Nothing else is acceptable in my eyes. 

@StevODo you think James has put in the best effort that he could have for Everton FC? 

[Wiggytop]

32 minutes ago, SpartyBlue said:

I don’t disagree though even a disinterested James was quite productive for us. It’s unfortunate but I suppose it’s understandable on some level. He’s used to playing for super teams that are competing for titles. Now he comes to Everton and a more physical league where we are battling for 7th. Heart wasn’t in it.

Agree 100% and I think this move highlights how little he is prepared to put effort in, he will probably cruise about spraying worldie passes because there’s going to be very little pressure on him. I don’t see the Colombian manager being impressed with his apparent lack of ambition.

[StevO]

1 hour ago, RuffRob said:

Indeed, but not so fussed on them if they can't put the effort needed to get on the pitch to use this magic week in and week out.  whether you are being paid £5m or £10m a season players have got to put in the best effort that they can- period. Nothing else is acceptable in my eyes. 

@StevODo you think James has put in the best effort that he could have for Everton FC? 

The likes of Deulofeu still got a cheer when he came to Goodison. Not because he worked his arse off, because he was often lazy, but because he could produce a bit of magic. 
 

To answer you direct question; I think James put the same effort in for Everton as he did at Real and at Bayern. I didn’t see him play for any of his other clubs before that. He’s a luxury, he always has been. But his moments of quality have always outweighed his lack of defensive ability. When he has been a success is when his team have made the most of that (such as at Everton at the start of last season when Coleman and Doucoure protected him). The biggest difference from James playing for us and for some of his other clubs is that they will accept having a luxury player in their teams, they are often used to it. Half of our fans won’t accept it and that’s fine. Some will always want to see 11 players bust a gut for the club, some will accept 8 or 9 busting a gut and the other two or three win us the game. We all have different ideas of how we would like the team to play. 
The only thing that surprises me when fans say that James should work harder or do more defensive work. He never has been that player and that isn’t the player we bought. 
Finally, it’s a shame we never got to see him in the flesh in front of a full Goodison. If there was a crowd in when we saw what he could do last season it would have been great. But it is what it is now, and feels like a missed opportunity to me. 

[London Blue]

3 hours ago, Cornish Steve said:

... because he is definitely world-class.

Was