2021/22 James Rodriguez

[BlueToff]

The contrarian part of your take is with respect to Iwobi. We agree that Rodriguez did much of his work early on when we had movement. Once the injuries started to mount and we lost that, he became less consistently effective.

I think he got frustrated the way an Iniesta would get frustrated by players that won't follow the Gretzky dictum and go to where the ball should be.

I think that the odd individual bit of magic from Rodriguez in the second half is still worth more than Iwobi, though the wage discrepancy is a problem.

I'm 100% on board the three-man midfield train. Whether or not Gbamin is the answer to replacing the forward passing of James, we need another answer due to the risk of injury.

What about Iwobi?

He was the best of a bad bunch. It doesn't make him particularly good at it...? That's what I meant.

FWIW I think he came on and played well the other day.

 

[Visbaluz]

i really hope he stay as a blue... 99% of colombians would be happy if he goes, but am a strange kind who actually wants him to stay and fight for once on his life, impose himself to the coach via quality and hard work and make history in a club hungry for titles/victories.

raphatel is pretty stubborn as all coaches are , but a player with james quality + steel determination will eventually bend any coaches knee.. that or said coach suffers from serious ego problems/ pride...

 

[Wat Tyler]

What motto?!

“Give it Giggsy to end of season.”

 

[BlueToff]

Would it be too much to ask that he stay off social media for a while? It's all very well saying he was misrepresented, but you can only be misrepresented if you're on there in the first place. Time to be a pro, James: head down, get fit, get into the manager's plans. Alternatively, get your transfer. Everything else is self-inflicted/deliberate noise (delete as applicable).

I mean as someone stated in here earlier a major benefit of James signing for us - away from his talent - is that he has a huge following. The 8th largest in the world.

We can't reap the rewards of that with billboards in New York, lighting up skyscrapers in Bogota, and then complain that he's on Twitch or posting on Instagram can we?

 

[Drico]

I mean as someone stated in here earlier a major benefit of James signing for us - away from his talent - is that he has a huge following. The 8th largest in the world.

We can't reap the rewards of that with billboards in New York, lighting up skyscrapers in Bogota, and then complain that he's on Twitch or posting on Instagram can we?

Of course we can. If he's doing what he should be doing on the pitch, we have zero need for his social media utterances. His performances will speak volumes. This is what's wrong with so much modern football. James is currently famous for being famous rather than being a top footballer. Right now, he's the Boy George of soccer.

 

[Runub]

What motto?!

Used these words in tweet. Must be club moto

 

[ForeverBlue92]

Would it be too much to ask that he stay off social media for a while? It's all very well saying he was misrepresented, but you can only be misrepresented if you're on there in the first place. Time to be a pro, James: head down, get fit, get into the manager's plans. Alternatively, get your transfer. Everything else is self-inflicted/deliberate noise (delete as applicable).

Spot on that - lad should be training hard and trying to convince Benitez he wants to fight for his place in the squad but instead he's mouthing off on xbox Live telling @carlos21 his career plans.

 

[BlueToff]

Of course we can. If he's doing what he should be doing on the pitch, we have zero need for his social media utterances. His performances will speak volumes. This is what's wrong with so much modern football. James is currently famous for being famous rather than being a top footballer. Right now, he's the Boy George of soccer.

Oh ffs.

'If he's doing what he should be doing'

It seems, he's in isolation. Who knows if that's true but we know four others are supposedly too as well.

You can complain about it all you like but I imagine you were buzzing last year when there was an Everton signing being announced in Times Square.

James is a top footballer, he also happens to be very famous. He also happens to have injury issues which is why he's here and not still at Madrid or Bayern etc. And when he was on the pitch for us last season, he was consistently very good. It's not on James that we finished 10th.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Oh ffs.

'If he's doing what he should be doing'

It seems, he's in isolation. Who knows if that's true but we know four others are supposedly too as well.

You can complain about it all you like but I imagine you were buzzing last year when there was an Everton signing being announced in Times Square.

James is a top footballer, he also happens to be very famous. He also happens to have injury issues which is why he's here and not still at Madrid or Bayern etc. And when he was on the pitch for us last season, he was consistently very good. It's not on James that we finished 10th.

He's dissin us laaaaa...

 

[BlueToff]

He's dissin us laaaaa...

Better go get my death to Ancelotti versebook out

 

[BlueToff]

Btw, fully know he wasn't perfect in every game. But bloody hell, this suggestion he hasn't performed for us is mad. Played more minutes for us last year than in 4 out of 8 previous years and was (in terms of raw numbers) our third-best attacker, playing a lot less games than the top two.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Better go get my death to Ancelotti versebook out

We misinterpreted what they were actually singing Toff.

 

[Papa Shango]

Of course we can. If he's doing what he should be doing on the pitch, we have zero need for his social media utterances. His performances will speak volumes. This is what's wrong with so much modern football. James is currently famous for being famous rather than being a top footballer. Right now, he's the Boy George of soccer.

Well this is quite the modern pop culture reference!

 

[Drico]

Oh ffs.

'If he's doing what he should be doing'

It seems, he's in isolation. Who knows if that's true but we know four others are supposedly too as well.

You can complain about it all you like but I imagine you were buzzing last year when there was an Everton signing being announced in Times Square.

James is a top footballer, he also happens to be very famous. He also happens to have injury issues which is why he's here and not still at Madrid or Bayern etc. And when he was on the pitch for us last season, he was consistently very good. It's not on James that we finished 10th.

The reality is that he is a gifted footballer with both injury and attitude issues. I want him to say - but only if he is committed. His carry-on on social media involving a private jet on the day we were getting hammered 5-0 at City raised huge issues over his commitment. If he is as committed as his more forgiving admirers suggest, he'll get his head down, get fit, and get back into the manager's plans. His task should be to embarrass Benitez. He really shouldn't be having to explain a "misunderstanding" about his commitment because he can't stay off social media for a few weeks.

 

[Librarian]

Has us all knee jerking like Russian dancers