2021/22 James Rodriguez

[TheBigIguana]

Of course he doesn't.

Would help us though.

Again, it's a squad game. I don't get the obsession with starting XIs being the be all and end all

Yeah sure, bring him off the bench.

The five subs era I think got substitutes a little too much buzz. Now that we're back to three the impact is less. Teams aren't going to be able to as easily just do something else on 60 minutes again.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

Do you think the club would be right to sell him before the January window, given that we can't replace him.? If the answer is yes, can I ask why you believe that?

To be honest, given our squad strength is so poor in the forward areas I'm finding it hard to comprehend this.

Would rather he be kept until January at the earliest mate but ultimately we don't know the clubs financial situation in regards to staying below the profit/loss rule for the 3 year period.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

Were you around when Everton were last great mate?

I miss that all conquering bunch of lazy mavericks under Howard Kendall.... The team that beat Bayern Munich with nothing but fancy footwork..... Then there's the last team to win a trophy, the dogs of war. They were called the dogs of war because they were pedigrees, showdogs, straight from the poodle parlour.

The likes of Gylfi, Delph, Schneiderlein, Gomes, James just wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes on the pitch. ...... Too aggressive.

Sheedy and Steven are my favourite lazy mavericks ?

 

[Visbaluz]

Your assumption is that we only have one way to play, but can we really say that? I mean it's too early, and I have not analyzed the matches in detail, have you? What exactly are you thinking about?

so far everton has shown 1 way to play on offense and 2 on defense.. on offense is the good ol long ball to the wide players and counter on a fast break. most of those ended up in crosses. everton is yet to sucessfully break n stationary defense AKA a "parked bus" on the box. when we tried crosses were to frontal , never won the corner line to force a lateral cross so all of em were deflected, one of those forced doucures goal (wich is was a total fluke if you see the play) .

on defense theres 1 "innovation", everton now presses higher, towsend , gray/rich are pressing higher. but the most comom defense comes from all everton getting behind the line ball and defend just outside the box (nothing new here).

ive seen all of everton matches , imo once teams start to GIVE the ball to everton and not grant em the fields of free run behind their defense things will get nasty. everton looks LOST with the ball and is unable to create holes in enemy defenses thus 99% of the time relies on a FRONTAL CROSS to the box, wich are super hyper easy to clear.

 

[BlueToff]

Yeah sure, bring him off the bench.

The five subs era I think got substitutes a little too much buzz. Now that we're back to three the impact is less. Teams aren't going to be able to as easily just do something else on 60 minutes again.

We've not had the use of five subs in England other than in the Cups last season, though

It's still five subs in the other leagues I believe

Regardless of having 3 or 5 to use I know who would be good to call on to break down teams or to rotate into home games when we want to be able to play a slightly different way

 

[HumbleWedbetters]

I think it's actually you missing the point.

I don't think there's a single person in here who believes for one moment that James will be here after this season runs out. We do have a 1 year option on him but it's absolutely inconceivable at this time that the club will exercise it.

I don't think there's a single person in here who thinks we will build a team around him this year or even thinks he will be a regular starter. I think the majority of us believe that he won't fit like a glove into the managers tactics and that, at best, he will be playing a bit part this season.

And from what I've seen from the majority of posts in here, although many of us think the world of James even so far as he's one of the most talented footballers ever to wear our shirt, for the reasons outlined above we nearly all believed it was for the best for the club and the player if he moved on during the window, provided that he was replaced in the squad as a creative player.

The thing is, that didn't happen. The transfer window was a mixed bag and we ended it with a squad low in numbers (and arguably quality) in certain areas and the forward area is one of them. As I said, without James we have 6 covering 4 positions, one of them has never played for us before and is coming from 2 seasons in a farmers league, two were bought in conceivably as squad cover, and a fourth would have been gladly punted from the squad by 99.9% of our fans before the season started. Just 2 injuries and we're then into the youth players.

The issue we're discussing is, if we sell James now, we are not in a position to replace him and the above scenario will exist. Even if he does go, it's inconceivable that we receive any fee or we'll be covering less than 50% of his wages, most probably significantly more. It's utter lunacy. But people like you actually want this to happen because of some belief that him staying would make the whole squad perform poorly. I've no idea where you get that notion from but it's never happened at any other squad he's been a member of. Plus, if James want's a career after this season, either top level domestic or International, he has to perform for us.

Do I believe that a person who isnt commited to the club and likes to be indulged is bad for the sum part? 100%

So I'm not bothered either way. If he stays he better buck up

 

[TheBigIguana]

We've not had the use of five subs in England other than in the Cups last season, though

It's still five subs in the other leagues I believe

Regardless of having 3 or 5 to use I know who would be good to call on to break down teams or to rotate into home games when we want to be able to play a slightly different way

We're just going to disagree here but I think that it is both a substantially different way and not something we can really do given the rest of our squad.

 

[BlueToff]

Of FFS

Now he's playing basketball with kids.
FFS what a monster he is! It's all about HIM, isn't it!

 

[BlueToff]

We're just going to disagree here but I think that it is both a substantially different way and not something we can really do given the rest of our squad.

We managed it fine for a good chunk of last season but okay

Let's see, it's on the manager

 

[HumbleWedbetters]

Sheedy and Steven are my favourite lazy mavericks ?

Steven wasn't lazy. The only one we indulged was sheedy.

Given the mix of quality and workrate through the team we could tolerate that. We had defenders so quick we parked on the half way line ..... But what am I telling you this for..... You know more than our current manager.

 

[Egil Olsen]

Well I watched each match and when the onus is on us to control the ball for more than about 30 seconds we very much struggle.

It would be nice for us to have more attacking options that can pick those incisive passes into the likes of Gray, Rich and DCL

Well, I think that's an oversimplification. A team's style is not just how much you prioritize ball possession versus being more direct. In the matches I have seen, we have e.g. varied with how high we pressure, choice between counterattack versus keeping the ball, through trying to break the lines or playing around the opponent, etc.

There are many factors to consider when looking at playing style. I can agree that when we meet teams that defend very deeply, we may need the qualities of JR, but it has nothing to do with playing style. If you meet teams that defend themselves deeply, then all managers in the world know how to respond to it, but it is very difficult in practice.

 

[BlueToff]

Well, I think that's an oversimplification. A team's style is not just how much you prioritize ball possession versus being more direct. In the matches I have seen, we have e.g. varied with how high we pressure, choice between counterattack versus keeping the ball, through trying to break the lines or playing around the opponent, etc.

There are many factors to consider when looking at playing style. I can agree that when we meet teams that defend very deeply, we may need the qualities of JR, but it has nothing to do with playing style. If you meet teams that defend themselves deeply, then all managers in the world know how to respond to it, but it is very difficult in practice.

I agree with that. James isn't really the fit for a pressing system from the start of every match. But each team you come up against is different.

Some teams, like Liverpool or United very much want you to press, as that opens up the space in behind.

Other teams like Leeds, you have to press and go man-to-man with. Brighton it can be a bit of both.

Every team in the PL plays a different way so you have to prepare for each game accordingly.

 

[Lord Buckethead]

We're just going to disagree here but I think that it is both a substantially different way and not something we can really do given the rest of our squad.

We seemed to be doing it fine last year until the midfield and full back got injured...
Another question would be why bring in a manger who wants to rip up they way we play, and the squad if focused for, and do it another way?

 

[TheBigIguana]

We managed it fine for a good chunk of last season but okay

We managed it fine for about four or five games until teams realized that they didn't actually need to fear half the team in possession. This team bar James cannot use the ball effectively.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Would rather he be kept until January at the earliest mate but ultimately we don't know the clubs financial situation in regards to staying below the profit/loss rule for the 3 year period.

Given the countries with windows still open, do you think it's even conceivable that, if he does go, we won't be covering at least 50% of his wages. Plus, even if he is on the higher of the estimates £200k, that's less than £4m until January.