We moved for Rondon in July mate. It was a deal Benitez was set on all summer.
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Absolutely gutting that we have had to shift our best player to make way for a kopite tyrant none of us wanted.
All I see in this thread are either people who wanted us to keep our best football player and get something out of him on the pitch and the other group that has swallowed every bit of propaganda put out by Benitez and the club's media cronies.
I know which group I'd rather belong to.
I know which group I'd rather belong to.
neil999
Player Valuation: £80m
Or you can have a brain and judge things on their own merit
Not true though
I'm in neither group. My opinion on Benitez has nothing to do with my opinion on James.
Sod off Rodriguez. We don't need you, we've got Iwobi...
James brought sexy Colombians to GOT.
Benitez just brought kopite WUMs.
I know who I'd rather was still here.
Benitez just brought kopite WUMs.
I know who I'd rather was still here.
Kinda funny we replaced our slowest player with our new slowest player... Only Everton can do that
I was on board with getting rid of Rodriguez prior to Benitez.
When he had his Christmas holiday... sorry, 'injury', and then he had 'fatigue' from... not playing football apparently but was fit enough to jet off to Colombia for the national team while we had a game on... yeah, I'd long since grown tired of his prima donna antics.
I'll be honest, I don't think it's as black and white as that
Since Ancelotti left - maybe even before - I imagine James was more than open to leaving.
But, as I said all along, he's just not that arsed. He'll just want to play and get in the Colombia team. Now he knows as well as any of us that he's more than good enough to play in Everton's side regularly.
However, we have hired a manager who is wanting to go in a direction that wouldn't have accommodated James. The club, meanwhile, are absolutely up the creek financially and clearly from the get go this summer, bar when we took him to the US to flog around the place and plaster his face everywhere, wanted him out to alleviate the wage bill. This has been proven by the fact we have tried to, and now are doing, get rid of him when we can't even benefit from that wage cut in the short term by replacing him with another player.
I think Benitez would have found a way to use him if he was here and now, given that we were looking to move him to the middle east, it makes even more sense that he wasn't involved v Burnley or Villa. And, I think James will have also been partly to blame for that too - he probably thinks well if they're still trying to ship me out, I'm not going to hamper my chances of a move.
He didn't want to take a wage cut to go to Porto and unless we subsidised his wages no other European club could afford him in the current climate. This was proved by istanbul basaksehir, one of the richer clubs in Turkey, still needing us to pay his wage and we even bloody agreed to it. Which is mad. But, he didn't want to go to Turkey because it's a complete drop off.
Now, Mendes will have still been working on behalf of both James and the club to find options. Qatar has presented itself as probably an ideal move in the sense that Qatari clubs can almost certainly afford to pay his wage, meaning Everton don't have to - though I wouldn't be surprised if we still did because we're run by morons. Benitez himself has said it now - it's fully down to the FFP limits. Qatar having the WC next year is massive in this sense too. You've got a player who is desperate to play in that tournament, and now will be the poster boy for the very league for the season leading up to it. It's crap, and I'm sure James has taken some convincing as talks have seemingly been ongoing for days.
In my view, the club are still idiotic. We are so, so short, we are letting our best technical player go and can't replace him. There's no excusing it. It just shows how crocked we are financially. James obviously wasn't going to be here beyond this season and would probably have gone in January, when a European club would likely have come in for him anyway. But the club can't wait that long and maybe James can't wait that long to get playing again to try and force his way back into some form of contention.
Anybody saying this is about money is also being stupid. He won't be earning more in Qatar than he will be here. At least not on the initial contract, especially if the rumours of a £6-7m loan fee are correct.
I mean you can be injured and sit on a jet.
There was an Everton article on the website when James didn't get selected for the Copa squad which actually explained the process and the Everton medical staff's view.
I'll dig it out, but it basically said he wouldn't be fit for the two WC qualifiers, but would be fit for the Copa. He was injured. But, Colombia's manager decided because of him missing the qualifiers, he couldn't rely on him to play in the Copa. It's totally fair, btw.
And yes, he should never have put that photo on when he did. But he was given permission by the club and the manager at the time to leave the country and go and have time with his family in Colombia before, in theory, joining the national team. That decision rests with the club. And like all of our ire with all the crap that is currently going on, that's where the focus should be. With the club and how it is run.
gaino92
Power level over 9000
Everton's James Rodriguez confirmed as an Al-Rayyan player
The Qatari side, coached by former France and Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc, confirmed the signing of their new recruit on social media with a 15-second clip.
www.dailymail.co.uk
So his wage has gone from £200k to £220k in the space of 2 paragraphs
@Tubey
www.evertonfc.com
Everton Director of Medical Danny Donachie says James Rodriguez was on course to be fully fit for the start of Colombia’s Copa America campaign.
Midfielder James has been left out of his country’s 24-man squad for the tournament next month and preceding World Cup qualifying matches against Peru and Argentina.
Although James missed the final two games of Everton’s Premier League campaign due to the recurrence of a calf injury, Donachie said he had no concerns over the player’s fitness and he could have played some part in his country’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
But, after "good communications" between Everton and Colombia’s medical departments, it was decided it was safer to wait for the start of the Copa America, so James could complete his rehabilitation.
The South American tournament is due to start on 13 June, providing a replacement host is arranged following a coronavirus surge in Argentina.
James joined Everton from Real Madrid on the eve of 2020/21 and in his debut Goodison Park campaign played 26 matches – starting 24.
He scored six goals and provided nine assists for Carlo Ancelotti’s team before the minor calf problem ended his season early.
“It was a very small injury at the end of the season and we had no issues at all with James joining up with Colombia,” Donachie told evertonfc.com.
“He was hoping to play in the two qualifiers [on June 4 and 9] and the only discussion we had with the Colombian FA was whether that was a good idea, or whether it would be more prudent to prepare him for the tournament.
We decided collectively it would be better for him not to play in the two World Cup matches, then he would be absolutely ready for the start of the Copa America and able to play the entire tournament without any issues.
“I have seen the tests carried out by Colombia and there is nothing in them to say he is not going to be fit for that competition. We agreed he would be fully fit, without any questions, for the start of the Copa America.
“We spoke about his rehab and they agreed to continue the process but there was never a doubt in our mind he would be in top condition in time for the tournament.”
Everton Director Of Medical On Playmaker James' Fitness
Latest news from Everton Football Club
www.evertonfc.com
Everton Director of Medical Danny Donachie says James Rodriguez was on course to be fully fit for the start of Colombia’s Copa America campaign.
Midfielder James has been left out of his country’s 24-man squad for the tournament next month and preceding World Cup qualifying matches against Peru and Argentina.
Although James missed the final two games of Everton’s Premier League campaign due to the recurrence of a calf injury, Donachie said he had no concerns over the player’s fitness and he could have played some part in his country’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
But, after "good communications" between Everton and Colombia’s medical departments, it was decided it was safer to wait for the start of the Copa America, so James could complete his rehabilitation.
The South American tournament is due to start on 13 June, providing a replacement host is arranged following a coronavirus surge in Argentina.
James joined Everton from Real Madrid on the eve of 2020/21 and in his debut Goodison Park campaign played 26 matches – starting 24.
He scored six goals and provided nine assists for Carlo Ancelotti’s team before the minor calf problem ended his season early.
“It was a very small injury at the end of the season and we had no issues at all with James joining up with Colombia,” Donachie told evertonfc.com.
“He was hoping to play in the two qualifiers [on June 4 and 9] and the only discussion we had with the Colombian FA was whether that was a good idea, or whether it would be more prudent to prepare him for the tournament.
We decided collectively it would be better for him not to play in the two World Cup matches, then he would be absolutely ready for the start of the Copa America and able to play the entire tournament without any issues.
“I have seen the tests carried out by Colombia and there is nothing in them to say he is not going to be fit for that competition. We agreed he would be fully fit, without any questions, for the start of the Copa America.
“We spoke about his rehab and they agreed to continue the process but there was never a doubt in our mind he would be in top condition in time for the tournament.”
Everton's James Rodriguez confirmed as an Al-Rayyan player
The Qatari side, coached by former France and Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc, confirmed the signing of their new recruit on social media with a 15-second clip.www.dailymail.co.uk
So his wage has gone from £200k to £220k in the space of 2 paragraphs
I mean it's gone from 140k to 250k in the space of eight weeks anyway. A lovely rise every few days.
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