2021/22 James Rodriguez

[Barnfred 55]

Maybe he does, but my point was that none of us on here know what his wages are so it's pointless everyone arguing about it.

The club, through their conduits, have released at least 2 versions of this to suit whatever narrative they have. Both can't be true. As far as we know neither may be true.

Bad form by the club to try and manipulate the supporters in this way but the player is the one taking most of the stick here.

 

[roy vernon]

The club, through their conduits, have released at least 2 versions of this to suit whatever narrative they have. Both can't be true. As far as we know neither may be true.

Bad form by the club to try and manipulate the supporters in this way but the player is the one taking most of the stick here.

And that’s exactly what the club want. They know exactly what buttons to push to get most of the fans onside.

 

[davek]

Yep agree. As I said wel see how this pans out. I expect him to be gone in Jan but if he get time when needed and contributes that's all we should care about at this stage. Not in a position to not use him when needed. Goals , assist and points all I care about for the team. The manager has set his stall out and its great we have an style of play

LC away to QPR and sub appearance to run down the clock or when we have a game well under control I would imagine.

No way he'll start other than in an injury crisis.

He's burned his bridges with Benitez.

 

[FrenchDarrenBent]

Yep agree. As I said wel see how this pans out. I expect him to be gone in Jan but if he get time when needed and contributes that's all we should care about at this stage. Not in a position to not use him when needed. Goals , assist and points all I care about for the team. The manager has set his stall out and its great we have an style of play

I do hope you're right. The fact that nobody wanted to sign him now, makes me fear nobody will want him after a sustained period of inactivity*. 200k down the drain every week until this time next year.

*inactivity meaning no footballactivity. I'm sure he'll be active on social media, showing of his Rolex or something.

 

[blue1948]

It is what it is now and if that means Benitez has to eat humble pie then that is what he should do for the sake of the club ,no man is bigger than the club and it would show good managerial skills .Play him when fit as he is a league above the rest and would spot Gray in a jiffy.

 

[Tubey]

It's not about freezing Rodriguez out. If he's here, of course he'll be involved in the squad, Benitez will use him.

The reason the ideal scenario was that he left was that his importance to Everton under Benitez didn't justify the wage. Benitez clearly sees him as a luxury player at a time when those wages would be best used elsewhere.

If he's fit to play and/or can be arsed playing, he'll be in match day squads til January. But he - rightly - won't be relied on, and will probably barely ever start a game. He's a supremely talented footballer who both occasionally can't be arsed playing football and has a body that won't let him play football consistently. It's understandable some managers won't want to accommodate those downsides.

 

[BlueToff]

Having a forward diamond with DCL at point, Richarlison and Gray interchangeably behind and James behind them as the creator, supported by Doucs and Alan or Gbamin... well, I'd love to see it.

Tbh I'm still not convinced James is best served starting central but if his role in the team is to drop deep and let runners stretch the play, it gives us another option.

I don't think he should start at the expense of a system that works. But one system won't work in every game and he'd be wasted if we don't use him in too capacity. He's too good to waste or, as the Benitez-fuelled Joyce article suggests, actively look to move on when we can't get a replacement in.

 

[Kever10]

So just mentioning this vid again.

Look at the amount of absolute sprays he sends out all season.

And we've now got Gray and Townsend as genuine runners as well as Richarlison and Digne.

There is 100% a place for him in this team/squad.

Mad thing about this is the amount of absolute sitters we missed. He should've been approaching 20 assists last season instead of 9.

 

[BlueToff]

It's not about freezing Rodriguez out. If he's here, of course he'll be involved in the squad, Benitez will use him.

The reason the ideal scenario was that he left was that his importance to Everton under Benitez didn't justify the wage. Benitez clearly sees him as a luxury player at a time when those wages would be best used elsewhere.

If he's fit to play and/or can be arsed playing, he'll be in match day squads til January. But he - rightly - won't be relied on, and will probably barely ever start a game. He's a supremely talented footballer who both occasionally can't be arsed playing football and has a body that won't let him play football consistently. It's understandable some managers won't want to accommodate those downsides.

I get all that. But he's a brilliant option to have.

I don't actually know when we play Norwich at home, but I'd very much like to see him start against Norwich at home, and Watford etc.

There's some proper dross in this league and every game doesn't have to be won like how we won against Brighton (which was actually a very good counter-attacking performance).

Even against Leeds the other week, a game I wouldn't start James in even if had been available, having him to come on when we were on top pushing for a winner in the last 10 would have been a brilliant option.

He's here now, and we can't do stupid stuff like push him out of the door and pay half of his wages when we can't even get a replacement in. I understand trying to use him in the swap deal with Diaz but it looks like Porto moved the goalposts anyway and would rather have had £68m in cash (which is understandable, but Diaz isn't that good yet). It didn't happen so let's make the most of him. Doesn't have to be in every game and doesn't mean the system is built around him. But his passing quality through the lines to genuine runners, well it'd be great to see.

 

[BlueToff]

Mad thing about this is the amount of absolute sitters we missed. He should've been approaching 20 assists last season instead of 9.

It's why in every creative metric he is right up there based on how many games he actually played.

Has to be said, Grealish did create something like 30 more chances than him in just three more league games, but Grealish has that pace that James doesn't have and frankly played in a much more balanced team at times (even one that was geared towards him).

 

[BlueToff]

If we can't find a role for him over the next 4 months then something is wrong with us.

I think Rafael is incredibly pragmatic, so I am confident the differences will be buried and he will play a valuable role for us.

James should be naturally motivated from a WC perspective as well as a future Club perspective. Rafael has a thin squad, so should be motivated by that, let alone his obvious quality...

This precicesly.

There is no benefit to freezing him out. There is also no benefit for him not to be motivated.

There is also no benefit to the club looking to move him out when we can't get a replacement in, especially as any move now would probably result in us paying a chunk of his wages.

 

[BlueToff]

I think James dropping deep is the thing I'd like to see eradicated from his game the most when playing for us

It depends.

I agree that him dropping deep (especially when we played that weird diamond) isn't what you want to see, because physical, powerful midfielders in the Prem can just eat him up and it puts us on the back foot.

But I have no issues with him drifting back to the halfway line with the proviso there's more than one player making a run which, under Ancelotti, there rarely was.

Look at most of those clips. In a lot of them, he's picking out the only man that's in space. He does it to perfection most times (I know, it's a highlight reel) but now we have Gray and even Townsend who are showing a real willingness to run in behind/wide to stretch teams. Throw in Richarlison, Iwobi and possibly Doucoure depending on the situation and suddenly you're looking at 2-3 options for him to hit.

Movement has been sorely lacking in recent seasons but hopefully the signs so far are good that we're making those runs. In turn, that makes it less likely James is going to drop in and not have anybody to pass to.

 

[Street end man]

If he shows he is the real deal in training and looks head and shoulders above his rivals I think this talk of a stand off between him and R a f a would vanish. He'd be picked without doubt. If he doesn't play I'd assume he's not up to the job.
I personally could never see him putting a shift in for the team that the likes of say Townsend has recently, however that may change if he truly wants a game, which is the crux of the matter here.

 

[Saint Domingo]

So just mentioning this vid again.

Look at the amount of absolute sprays he sends out all season.

And we've now got Gray and Townsend as genuine runners as well as Richarlison and Digne.

There is 100% a place for him in this team/squad.

Shows how poor some of our finishing was last season.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

I get all that. But he's a brilliant option to have.

I don't actually know when we play Norwich at home, but I'd very much like to see him start against Norwich at home, and Watford etc.

There's some proper dross in this league and every game doesn't have to be won like how we won against Brighton (which was actually a very good counter-attacking performance).

Even against Leeds the other week, a game I wouldn't start James in even if had been available, having him to come on when we were on top pushing for a winner in the last 10 would have been a brilliant option.

He's here now, and we can't do stupid stuff like push him out of the door and pay half of his wages when we can't even get a replacement in. I understand trying to use him in the swap deal with Diaz but it looks like Porto moved the goalposts anyway and would rather have had £68m in cash (which is understandable, but Diaz isn't that good yet). It didn't happen so let's make the most of him. Doesn't have to be in every game and doesn't mean the system is built around him. But his passing quality through the lines to genuine runners, well it'd be great to see.

That's the thing Toff we can't play counter attacking footy every game because there will be teams that will just sit back and look to counter attack us, it will be up to us to find a way to break them down and that is where James comes in, a player who can unlock defences in the blink of an eye. I just hope him and Benitez can sort their ego's out.