Salomón Rondón

[Cornish Steve]

1 minute ago, Hafnia said:

Stop frothing at the mouth Steve, those comments were about DCL.

FFS this is torture.  Shall we start slating Godfrey as being shit and a waste of money whilst we are at it?  Another player who is miles off the pace.  

We are in a situation that isn't ideal.  You wouldn't even be seeing Rondon if DCL and Richarlison were fit, read what Rafa has said. 

If that's the case, then apologies for misreading the article.

I am frothing at the mouth because, with eleven players on the field, we could have won.

[Hafnia]

Just now, Cornish Steve said:

There's a sense in which his manager will want to defend his decision to bring a has-been from the China leagues. Also, he'll want to encourage the guy, too, and that's to be applauded. In the end, though, you can't defend the indefensible.

FFS mate, do you seriously follow Everton? Do you absorb the information available?  Rondon is completely unfit, 4 months out. 

Benitez brought him in with the intention of him getting trained into fitness and DcL and Richarlison got injured.

He was part of a great team effort today, yet here you are point scoring cos Rafa had the temerity to get rid of Rodriguez 

[Cornish Steve]

Just now, Hafnia said:

FFS mate, do you seriously follow Everton? Do you absorb the information available?  Rondon is completely unfit, 4 months out. 

Benitez brought him in with the intention of him getting trained into fitness and DcL and Richarlison got injured.

He was part of a great team effort today, yet here you are point scoring cos Rafa had the temerity to get rid of Rodriguez 

What on earth has this got to do with Rodriguez??

[Hafnia]

3 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

If that's the case, then apologies for misreading the article.

I am frothing at the mouth because, with eleven players on the field, we could have won.

Get a grip man.  We could have won if Davies shot and didn't pass or mina checked his run.....we could have won if Rondon never had his shot blocked. 

[Hafnia]

34 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

What on earth has this got to do with Rodriguez??

Everything is my guess.

No-one is more critical than me of players, but seriously man - this is chronic.  Rondon is miles off being fit and is churning out 90 minutes, for a big fella it's a huge effort 

He was making intelligent run etc stop comparing him to DCL because he is not near fit. 

[RuffRob]

I don't think you could have put an equally as unfit Ellis (possibly) or 18 year old Dobbin in to a game like this today. 

I believe Benitez went with putting Rondon on for his experience  and positioning and occupying of centre backs as a presence rather being the player that would spear head any sort of counter attack or relay on razor sharp finishing. Others in the team will have been responsible for the speed of effective counter attacking.

A inexperienced youngster striker may not be as disciplined as Rondon in executing Benitez tactics and game plan. Which I am guessing why Rondon got the nod. 

In the end we where only a few centimetres or one too many passes off famous victory - so hard to say Benitez should have gone with somebody else given the end result. 

It is quite mouth watering thinking of a fit DCL spearheading this team. 

[Bill]

I can just forsee a post from Haf at Christmas time still saying something like .... For fuck sake man he had four months out. 

[Hafnia]

11 minutes ago, Bill said:

I can just forsee a post from Haf at Christmas time still saying something like .... For fuck sake man he had four months out. 

If he's playing at Christmas and he's unfit like now then I will hold my hands up.  he literally has been thrown into a situation I have not seen before. 

[MC11]

Watched him at West Brom & Newcastle. He’s Victor Anichebe MK2 (when fit). Average at his best but will get a goal here and there. I wasn’t expecting anything else tbh squad filler. 

[Cornish Steve]

1 hour ago, MC11 said:

Watched him at West Brom & Newcastle. He’s Victor Anichebe MK2 (when fit). Average at his best but will get a goal here and there. I wasn’t expecting anything else tbh squad filler. 

And that was when he was at the peak of his career.

[Hafnia]

6 hours ago, Cornish Steve said:

And that was when he was at the peak of his career.

Newcastle fans are notoriously tough to please regarding forwards..... They loved him..... Only scored 11 in 32 games but they loved him.  

Rafa has managed him twice and brought him here, based on what I've seen from Rafa so far I fully trust his decision.  So yeah, I'll wait till Rondon gets fit before I write him off. 

 

 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

It is what it is, Rondon is clearly not fit yet and for those saying why bring him in then I think the answer is the FFP restrictions we are under

Ellsi Simms was pictured with a protective boot around his ankle this week which is why he never made the squad yesterday . So that leaves Rafa with the choice of trying to play Rondon back to fitness or throwing Lewis Dobbin in at the deep end and while he looks a great prospect I don’t think he has the experience or the physical attributes to be playing as a loan target man at this stage of his career

Personally I thought he looked an excellent player at Newcastle and as as Haf says the Geordies loved him so he must have been doing something right, if he can get back to that level when fit then I think we will have a very useful squad player on our hands, if he doesn’t he will soon be out of the door and as a free transfer on a short term contract I think he is worth the gamble

[RuffRob]

15 minutes ago, Hafnia said:

Newcastle fans are notoriously tough to please regarding forwards..... They loved him..... Only scored 11 in 32 games but they loved him.  

Rafa has managed him twice and brought him here, based on what I've seen from Rafa so far I fully trust his decision.  So yeah, I'll wait till Rondon gets fit before I write him off. 

 

 

I agree, so unfair to be giving him belters before he has had the opportunity to get fit and settle in. I am pretty sure none of us studied the finer points of Rondon's game in that much detail before he arrived at Everton. I would like to see him when he's settled in and fit before making any sort of judgement on him in the role of back up striker.

To stronger preconceived opinions can have a habit of biting you in the arse!!

[Hafnia]

15 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

I agree, so unfair to be giving him belters before he has had the opportunity to get fit and settle in. I am pretty sure none of us studied the finer points of Rondon's game in that much detail before he arrived at Everton. I would like to see him when he's settled in and fit before making any sort of judgement on him in the role of back up striker.

To stronger preconceived opinions can have a habit of biting you in the arse!!

Exactly.  It's irritating beyond belief and to be honest the lack of appreciation of fitness Vs football fitness is a joke. 

Rondon is probably carrying an extra 4 pounds which on top of a limited cardio output is like wearing a weight vest and being told to go and play against elite level footballers.

Varane never stepped out once yesterday, nor did linderloff.  He showed his experience in his positioning, if he wasn't doing his job our midfield would have been overrun and that wasn't the case. 

You would think Rafa is prone to favouritism with some of the bemusement at rondons inclusion..... I think we know quite well that isn't the case.  He likes players who do what is asked of them... Nothing more. 

[Hafnia]

38 minutes ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

It is what it is, Rondon is clearly not fit yet and for those saying why bring him in then I think the answer is the FFP restrictions we are under

Ellsi Simms was pictured with a protective boot around his ankle this week which is why he never made the squad yesterday . So that leaves Rafa with the choice of trying to play Rondon back to fitness or throwing Lewis Dobbin in at the deep end and while he looks a great prospect I don’t think he has the experience or the physical attributes to be playing as a loan target man at this stage of his career

Personally I thought he looked an excellent player at Newcastle and as as Haf says the Geordies loved him so he must have been doing something right, if he can get back to that level when fit then I think we will have a very useful squad player on our hands, if he doesn’t he will soon be out of the door and as a free transfer on a short term contract I think he is worth the gamble

Nail on head. 

I mean ...... Some players in his situation may say they are "tired" and unavailable for selection, he has played more football than most players who are fit and he must be feeling it big time.  He ran till the last minute yesterday, and looked dead on his feet.

This is the sort of attitude we have been missing from the squad, for the first time in ages there appears to be togetherness. 

 

[MC11]

Let’s not get away from the fact he’s actually crap though lads ey? 

[Bill]

27 minutes ago, Hafnia said:

Exactly.  It's irritating beyond belief and to be honest the lack of appreciation of fitness Vs football fitness is a joke. 

Rondon is probably carrying an extra 4 pounds which on top of a limited cardio output is like wearing a weight vest and being told to go and play against elite level footballers.

Varane never stepped out once yesterday, nor did linderloff.  He showed his experience in his positioning, if he wasn't doing his job our midfield would have been overrun and that wasn't the case. 

You would think Rafa is prone to favouritism with some of the bemusement at rondons inclusion..... I think we know quite well that isn't the case.  He likes players who do what is asked of them... Nothing more. 

That's his wage packet.

[London Blue]

Saw the Brighton game last night, they would be playing in Europe next season if they had an average Premier league striker. Sadly for them they have Maupay, who is genuinely shit at finishing. 

Rondon will get fit and has proven he can score in the Premier league. Maupay is fit as can be but will never be a good Premier league striker.

[RuffRob]

57 minutes ago, MC11 said:

Let’s not get away from the fact he’s actually crap though lads ey? 

is this incite on your extensive Rondon knowledge or just what you have seen this last few weeks when he's not be fit, but has been willing do get on the pitch when not in the best shape?  ( it not long ago we had a player who wasn't prepared to do that!!!)

So no point in giving a fair crack at the whip then? and just put him in the Delph box straight away is it?

I will give every player, whether I was for or against his original transfer, a chance to show what he can do for the club. 

[badaids]

I genuinely think we’d get more effect and laying Keane up front than Rondon at the moment. At least he’d win a few headers and the others might play off him, and he’s not less mobile than him. Rondon isn’t even offering that.

[RuffRob]

8 minutes ago, badaids said:

I genuinely think we’d get more effect and laying Keane up front than Rondon at the moment. At least he’d win a few headers and the others might play off him, and he’s not less mobile than him. Rondon isn’t even offering that.

Putting Rondon on the pitch as a the striker (rather than Keane!!!) is Benitez call - so you really need to be questioning Benitez not Rondon.

But Benitez is getting results, so maybe he knows what he is doing player selection and team set up wise, even when a player in not yet firing on all cylinders and make shift sides have to be put on the pitch. 

 

[Bill]

He's not fit you know. 

[msloan78]

56 minutes ago, badaids said:

I genuinely think we’d get more effect and laying Keane up front than Rondon at the moment. At least he’d win a few headers and the others might play off him, and he’s not less mobile than him. Rondon isn’t even offering that.

Just had a flashback of us doing that with Martin Keown.

[Cisk]

He's improving - I think he'll come good and score an important goal or two this season when needed. Think his role is going to be a super sub for us.

[London Blue]

He is a cheap back up who the manager has worked with before and trusts, no more, no less.

[Aidan]

It'll be fair to judge him after he's actually had a decent run of games. He looks nowhere near fit enough and very rusty.

It is difficult to see what his strengths actually are at the minute.

[FairWooney]

he was invisible  lot of the time but actually when the ball went forward in the air he usually won it.  6 times he won the ball in the air, twice as much as anyone else.

The probably being a not all that quick and not fully fit striker in our team at the moment is we spend very little time around the oppositions box so anyone that's going to get chances has to be quick and sharp getting forward.  Maybe if we actually had possession and were around the box he'd be making more of a nuisance of himself.  That's not his fault but he's also not going to change that and nor are we most likely as that's how we're setting up and it's working!  When DCL comes back in he'll enjoy the quick counter attacks with Gray, Townsend and Doucoure, as will Richarlison.

[Hafnia]

2 hours ago, RPG said:

It's easy to loook at him in isolation and list his individual shortcomings but the fact of the matter is that we are doing ok as a team with him up front. So, he isn't fit and he is very rusty. But let me suggest this. Put an unfit and rusty James back in the squad and have Rafa ask him to play and  do his best as there is nobody else and James would have cried off, claiming he  'wasn't ready' to play. I think Rondon deserves a lot of credit here. He hasn't hidden, I am sure he knew that he was going to be well off the pace and get some negative press but still he fronts up, week after week, and keeps on giving his best - which is steadily improving - without a thought for his own personal reputation. His manager and team needs him so he  gets on with it as best he can. Say what you like about his fitness but there is absolutely nothing wrong with his attitude. Get him fit and we may well have a player on our hands.

Exactly.  He is synonymous with the improvement in collective squad attitude.  If he ends up being shit I will be one of the loudest in saying get him out.

Compare him to a Delph or Rodriguez..... That's when you realise where problems lie in squads 

[Bailey]

On 01/10/2021 at 15:23, Hafnia said:

I'm more than happy to be wrong and have held my hand up when wrong and paid out money to a good cause in being wrong .... So that's another inaccuracy there isn't it?  You must do more research bailey! 

Rondon is here as cover, he cost nothing..... Keep some perspective here. 

Paying up a losing bet about a player returning to the league is very different to owning up that you were wrong about his characteristics as a player! There are pages and pages of it.

I have perspective, I get the situation he is in completely. As I have said, I am commenting on what we have seen from him so far (not a lot) but that may change. He had his best moments in an Everton shirt late in that second half which were at least the things you would expect him to do.

On 02/10/2021 at 11:43, Romey 1878 said:

My point is that it was a bad decision to bring someone in who wasn't capable of being cover when we needed it. I think it was silly to bring someone in who would take time to get up to speed when injuries can strike at any time, as has been shown here.

It's bad decision making, pure and simple, and I'm sick of them because they're a regular occurrence at this club.

I'm not pissed with Rondon, I'm pissed with whoever decided to sign off on this move.

I get the feeling that they thought Rondon was going to be more up to speed than he is.

 

[RuffRob]

and we have to remember he was a transfer deadline day freebie. My guess was he was probably best available at the time and for the money or lack off. I am hopeful fully fit he can do a job for us until we have a bit more cash to play with or a young gun or two make the leap to the first team proper. 

Anyway, think we have weathered the immediate storm of both DCL and Richy being out (at the same time) as well as Rondon not being fit and up to speed. With a bit of luck in two weeks time all three will be injury free and fit.