If we'd got rid of all the tosh, and people were like ah well, it's for the best with James, then fine, I could just about stomach that.
If he's the first one out of the door it just sums up how badly run the club is.
And yes, I don't trust Brands to get it right because he's shown zero evidence he can pick a creative player.
Everton, that.
TBF, I'm sure Rafael would happily keep James.
My feeling is the club would want his wages off the books rather than keep him if Mendes - as it seems - has been doing what Mendes does and finding a move, which James will genuinely just give a nod to or decline either way (but he'd clearly be happy to move).
There'll be no resistance from us. And while I can see why, it's just pathetic, because we have Delph, Iwobi, Bernard and Gomes who all contribute nothing. We have Sigurdsson who, while I've stood by him, isn't anywhere near the quality of James.
Instead of adding to the genuinely fantastic talent we have - but one who we just simply were far too reliant on, and that is on the manager and poor recruitment - we're just starting from scratch, again.
I'm sick of it. It's every other year. And I will be fascinated to see what happens if a bid comes in for DCL and he starts to get itchy, btw.
Club and Ancelotti ultimately allowed it. He should have been on the bench even with no intention to play, so he could be there for the lap of appreciation at least.
Bit like how the club and Ancelotti should have made sure we weren't so reliant on a 29-year-old who hasn't been able to stay fit for a full season for about 6 years.
he'll be a miss, but we will be able to play another way. I'm just fed up of what stuff like this says about the club. We complain about mediocrity but then happily wave off actually talented players while dossers see out massive contracts and offer nothing.
I know you aren't doing this, but there's some serious revisionism in this thread. When he played he was often our standout player, despite all the lazy stereotyping that went on. We got 26 games out of him, which if we go back to when we signed him was probably what was expected.
Yeah better keeping Iwobi , delph and Gomes . No place for the likes of James here
We're a team that needs better players and he is a fantastic player.
I'd rather have a luxury player who is genuine quality, than the luxury players we have who are crap - and we have about 8 of them.
James is a top class player.
However:
1: If your listing down an eleven could you put him in it? Hes not someone you can build a team around due to his fitness issues -- the same as you cant build a defence around his fellow Colombian, Mina who is our best centre back.
2: If hes on (total guess) £150k a week and were getting a €10mil/£8.6mil fee then thats £16.4mil into the pot...a tidy sum for FFP. Also the fee covers his wages last season making him effectively free last season.
3: Were all highlighting players like Gomes, Iwobi, Delph, Kenny, Bernard, Sigurdsson etc as those we want to leave first. But the transfer market doesnt work like this. Other teams arent going to prioritise for us which offers for unwanted players come in before those that we like.
If James does move on first, that doesnt mean the others wont be following.
4: Hes 30 in 2 weeks and his injuries and physical condition wont improve. I have said before that i could have seen him moving into a deep lying playmaker role under Ancelotti as he aged but who knows?
5: Im a big fan of James and also Mina. For me when fit they are exceptional players. However, we need players in the 11 who can play almost every week for us and make us a consistent top 6 side. Once were there then we can afford to add one or two players who play 60% of the season to nudge us into or closer to the top 4.
For me, this is a huge summer. Ancelotti and James (soon to be) out and Benitez in.
The board is aware that those two outgoings are going to cause disharmony in the fanbase and so lets see the ins/outs this window.
There may be some positive surprises.
