2021/22 James Rodriguez

[Spadge Vernacular]

I don't think he's ecstatic to be here at all.

But he is here. Mbappe isn't ecstatic to be at PSG, he wants to be at Madrid. There's loads of players who would rather not be where they're currently at, but it's football and they just get on and play for the sides.

James quite literally hasn't been given a chance to do that for one reason or another.

The only time he was available before yesterday, the club were trying to get him off to Porto. It'd have been ridiculous for all parties to risk someone with his injury record playing in the Brighton game.

He absolutely should have been in the squad last night.

The manager is having a nervous breakdown about him and trying to sack him but he hasn't got the sack powers. He is opting for the 'he is not fit' message to the press that he used at Madrid. Worryingly for the manager, the people at Madrid did have sack powers and used them on him instead of James. It must have been very upsetting and might lead a person to thoughts of vengeance. Shakespeare had a premonition about this very scenario and wrote a play called Hamezlet about what we are witnessing. The UK audience had a bit of a thing about the Spanish at the time so he changed the title.

 

[Joey66]

Did your microwave tell you that, Joey

I have sauces, HP, Daddies etc lol
James was once a world class player his own country have told him, he's not needed anymore ......

 

[Simon Buttle]

Did your microwave tell you that, Joey

He has been talking to those plants in the garden again.

 

[miff]

I don't think he's ecstatic to be here at all.

But he is here. Mbappe isn't ecstatic to be at PSG, he wants to be at Madrid. There's loads of players who would rather not be where they're currently at, but it's football and they just get on and play for the sides.

James quite literally hasn't been given a chance to do that for one reason or another.

The only time he was available before yesterday, the club were trying to get him off to Porto. It'd have been ridiculous for all parties to risk someone with his injury record playing in the Brighton game.

He absolutely should have been in the squad last night. He isn't going anywhere until January. Cenk Tosun wasn't wanted and didn't want to be here this time last season yet we finished the transfer window with him being our back up forward even though he was injured. So why in the world would you not utilise James?

If he looked or acted like he was remotely arsed, we should have him in the squad 100%. - but I don’t think he will

on this bit ‘James quite literally hasn't been given a chance to do that for one reason or another’ - don’t you think he’s culpable in any way or is it easy to blame Benitez and his national team manager for lack of game time?

 

[Joey66]

He has been talking to those plants in the garden again.

Co2 works well on plants ......

 

[Barnfred 55]

You’re being dead strange now. He is a world class player that doesn’t want to be at our club.

That he chose not to play in Turkey, guaranteed first team football, with all his wages covered, suggest you are wrong.

 

[Nymzee]

If he looked or acted like he was remotely arsed, we should have him in the squad 100%. - but I don’t think he will

on this bit ‘James quite literally hasn't been given a chance to do that for one reason or another’ - don’t you think he’s culpable in any way or is it easy to blame Benitez and his national team manager for lack of game time?

He's not playing for Colombia because he's not getting games here and he's not getting games here because he wasn't fit and the manager doesn't rate him. Not sure why that's so difficult to understand.

 

[miff]

He isn't, at all. I really, really, really don't know where this assumption has come from.

He's a popular member of the squad.

Just because a player isn't particularly thrilled to be at a club doesn't make them a bad person or a rotten apple. And the club haven't exactly shown him any commitment, they spent all window and then even after we couldn't get anyone in trying to ship him off.

Why isn’t he being picked for Everton or Columbia?
You tell me why?

 

[MikeH72]

That he chose not to play in Turkey, guaranteed first team football, with all his wages covered, suggest you are wrong.

Because he doesn’t want to play in Turkey suggests he wants to play for Everton??

 

[Barnfred 55]

Hopefully. I know they are playing well at the moment, will see how important the manager sees the carabao I guess. I still think we should go strong though

I'm thinking the manager won't though.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

That he chose not to play in Turkey, guaranteed first team football, with all his wages covered, suggest you are wrong.

There is a strange bunch here that wants our best world-class player to not be playing for us. I think they might have to go to more than just Dave (

 

[miff]

He's not playing for Colombia because he's not getting games here and he's not getting games here because he wasn't fit and the manager doesn't rate him. Not sure why that's so difficult to understand.

So this is all the managers fault?
Honestly?
None of this debacle rests on James?

 

[Nymzee]

So this is all the managers fault?
Honestly?
None of this debacle rests on James?

We know from the press conferences that Benitez doesn't want to use him, that we tried to sell him etc.

We don't have a clue if he's not training well, we don't have a clue if he's disruptive etc.

One is public fact, one is speculation, yet you're siding with the speculation?

 

[Charles Hawtrey]

If he looked or acted like he was remotely arsed, we should have him in the squad 100%. - but I don’t think he will

on this bit ‘James quite literally hasn't been given a chance to do that for one reason or another’ - don’t you think he’s culpable in any way or is it easy to blame Benitez and his national team manager for lack of game time?

 

[BlueToff]

If he looked or acted like he was remotely arsed, we should have him in the squad 100%. - but I don’t think he will

on this bit ‘James quite literally hasn't been given a chance to do that for one reason or another’ - don’t you think he’s culpable in any way or is it easy to blame Benitez and his national team manager for lack of game time?

Hang on

He played every game in pre-season

He then had to isolate. That's not his fault, not Everton's fault,not Benitez's fault. It happened. Godfrey has clearly had covid so he had to isolate, fortunately he didn't get covid (maybe he's vaccinated, maybe he just got lucky)

He trained before the Brighton game. I was told by someone I believe that there was a mutual decision from both player and club not to have him in the squad while the talks were ongoing with Porto. Now you can look at that negatively or just accept it for what it is – Everton being sensible because they needed to try and get a deal done, and from James' perspective, why risk an injury? The move didn't come off.

Since then, all we know is that he has been training. Townsend, who loves Benitez more than you and Dave (okay, maybe not Dave), said in his interview yesterday/Sunday that James has been training really well and he is looking forward to playing with him again.

Last night was the first real chance we'd have got to see him in a squad without any cloud of a move hanging over his head, Benitez's head etc. Benitez can't hide behind match fitness as his reason, because he picked a clearly unfit Rondon and a just-off-the-back of injury Davies.

Given our best forward is out for the next 3 weeks possibly, we cannot be having a squad of 20 without James in it.