Nikica Jelavic

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Tubey said:
But those saying Jelavic is a bad player are just plain wrong. You can't do what he did at the top level and be an inherently poor player. The problem is clearly form and confidence rather than ability, and it's gone on so long that it's now looks irreversible.
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Load of my arse mate.

His first 3 months here were a fluke pure and simple, same with Cissé. These things happen.

Why was it a fluke? Because his Dixie Dean breaking record of 11 in 16 has gone to 8 in 50.

He's an absolutely appalling forward and I really don't think that's an exaggeration. He's got no pace, no first touch, a complete inability to stay onside and a very limited passing range. For a team who plays with a lone forward we might as well take to the field with 10 men with this bloke "leading" our line. That West Ham game was the final straw for me, the ball was bouncing off the lad all afternoon and we went in 1-0 down at the break having done sod all, Lukaku comes on to replace him at half time and the rest is now Everton folklore.

Sure, he's scored goals in the Austrian and Scottish leagues but an ironing board could nod the occasional header past a despairing keeper in those places.

The lad's done with us, has been for well over a year and my responses in this thread are so frequent because I find it baffling how people still cling on in hope that somebody with a goal ratio of 1 in 6 will somehow fire us up the league.

Even his last goal (9 months ago) needed a deflection to go in ffs...
 
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Sozzled said:
I think Kone will be ok as a backup but nothing more. The way I see it is this... It's hard to come by a good striker these days who's nailed on to get you 15+ goals per season for under £25m. That's money we don't have. I'd rather give Jelavic another crack of the whip than offload him with an unproven who could end up doing nothing. We've all seen what Jelavic "can" do.
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Ok...I agree on your striker valuation point, which means 6m for Kone who got 12 or something was not such a bad punt especially as the manager knows him, but....what is your limit for giving players a crack of the whip as we have been doing this a long time now and he is still bad??

I mean, you say we have seen what he can do, and that you don't suddenly become a bad player but what about that dude at Bolton Ricketts who looked the business and then disappeared off the face of the earth. He couldn't stop scoring and played for England....then nothing.

Basically its possible its only a question of form and confidence, but youd have to admit that after his last year or more with us it is also possible that this is closer to his real ability.
 
bicycleheader said:
In fairness Tubey was making the point about form and confidence, not you Sozzler but I'll assume you agree.
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It could be either/or. But I'd say that if you've actually proven capable, it's likely to be a case of form rather than ability. Look at Michael Owen after he left Liverpool - he didn't lose his ability overnight, but he had injuries and a culture shock and looked a shadow of the player. But he could have came to life at any point and nobody would have been surprised.

Look at Kevin Campbell when he came to us from Turkey. He'd been out of form at the top level for a long time, but his ability shone through when his form came back.

There's loads of examples of players coming good and going bad - but I think it's lazy to just dismiss players as terrible if they've done it beforehand at the top level. Kone hasn't; there's a distinct jump to the level Everton play at compared to Wigan, but if he had started off well, then clearly he would have shown the ability to perform at the level and the expectation would be he could do so again, even if he went off the boil.

Form is temporary, class is permanent. The problem is that form for some players can be more temporary than others!
 
Tubey said:
It could be either/or. But I'd say that if you've actually proven capable, it's likely to be a case of form rather than ability. Look at Michael Owen after he left Liverpool - he didn't lose his ability overnight, but he had injuries and a culture shock and looked a shadow of the player. But he could have came to life at any point and nobody would have been surprised.

Look at Kevin Campbell when he came to us from Turkey. He'd been out of form at the top level for a long time, but his ability shone through when his form came back.

There's loads of examples of players coming good and going bad - but I think it's lazy to just dismiss players as terrible if they've done it beforehand at the top level. Kone hasn't; there's a distinct jump to the level Everton play at compared to Wigan, but if he had started off well, then clearly he would have shown the ability to perform at the level and the expectation would be he could do so again, even if he went off the boil.

Form is temporary, class is permanent. The problem is that form for some players can be more temporary than others!
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Well with Kone I don't think he has had enough minutes to show much either way. I saw enough in his movement, touch and link play in his few minutes to give me some hope he was going to come good. I could be wrong.

With Jelavic I don't agree with dismissing him as terrible but again there has to be a limit to the patience shown with players and it's past time with him now. It's good we have a club/fanbase that don't run players out of town if not performing well but there has to be ruthlessness also.

So basically I dunno if Jelavic is terrible, and maybe he might come good one day, but based on his last year or more we should definitely be offloading him and giving somebody else a chance even if we are not sure how they will do.
 

bicycleheader said:
Ok...I agree on your striker valuation point, which means 6m for Kone who got 12 or something was not such a bad punt especially as the manager knows him, but....what is your limit for giving players a crack of the whip as we have been doing this a long time now and he is still bad??

I mean, you say we have seen what he can do, and that you don't suddenly become a bad player but what about that dude at Bolton Ricketts who looked the business and then disappeared off the face of the earth. He couldn't stop scoring and played for England....then nothing.

Basically its possible its only a question of form and confidence, but youd have to admit that after his last year or more with us it is also possible that this is closer to his real ability.
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Jelavic was scoring bags up in Scotland too. A poor league (no doubt) but it is his finishing ability that is in question here. Even if he had scored on Saturday he wouldn't have seen a starting place tomorrow or Sunday anyway (rightly so).

That miss meant nothing to me other than he actually had that chance! over the last 12 months of his decline he hasn't had "many" of those clear cut chances anyway. He's not a striker who can make his on goals they need to be put on the plate for him. I'm not denying I've seen him miss sitters over that period. But if that is what we are questioning him on then I must say he is no Ricketts because he's finished very well for 2 season prior to coming here and half a season there after.
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...gets-set-launch-bid-5m-unsettled-striker.html

QPR are prepared to offer up to £5million to try and prise Nikica Jelavic away from Everton.
The unsettled striker, who could return to Everton’s starting line-up for Saturday’s FA Cup tie with QPR at Goodison Park, wants to be playing on a regular basis, ahead of next summer’s World Cup, and has attracted an enquiry from the Championship promotion hopefuls.
Loftus Road boss Harry Redknapp is now ready to step up his interest with an initial bid of around £3.5m that could rise to £5m.

‘QPR have asked about him,’ said Everton manager Roberto Martinez. ‘I’m sure he knows about it, because, these days, the players are the first to find out.
'He will never go out on loan, but he needs to play to go to the World Cup, so if he is allowed to move, it will be out of respect for his career and what he has done for us.’
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£5m??? I'll drive him there myself. Shades of the Anichebe fee!

Basically we'd double our money on a player who we've only had for 2 years, and who hasn't scored regularly for a long time.
 
In the Guardian, says QPR will discuss a deal with Jelavic & Everton tomorrow, Redknapp is hoping to beat West Ham to his signature. Andy Hunter is a blue journo and is usually pretty accurate with these things:

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/03/everton-qpr-nikica-jelavic-transfer-deal

Queens Park Rangers will hold talks over a deal for Nikica Jelavic with Everton on Saturday as Harry Redknapp looks to beat his former club West Ham United to the signing of the Croatia international.

QPR are one of several clubs to have inquired about the 28-year-old, whom Everton are prepared to release on a permanent transfer providing the manager, Roberto Martínez, lands a replacement. Everton have received only proposed loans for Jelavic so far but QPR and West Ham are willing to pay an initial £3.5m and, with the Championship club at Goodison Park in the FA Cup third round, QPR officials will pursue their interest in the striker.

"They have asked but there is nothing concrete," Martínez said. "We have had a few clubs ask about Nikica and Johnny Heitinga because I made it public. Teams have been really interested in two players of their experience and want to find out about the situation. I think when people realise Niki is not going to be available on loan that changes things."

Martínez says Jelavic will be available for selection against his prospective employers despite being aware of interest from Redknapp, who tried to sign the striker before he joined Everton for £5m from Rangers in January 2012.

Martínez said: "I'm sure he knows because these days the players are the first to find out. It won't change his motivation if he plays. It would be very cynical to think that he would not want to knock the team out of the Cup. It's different when there is a firm bid on the table but we're not in that situation. There have been a few clubs asking about him, a few from abroad and a few from the British game."

Hamburg have also inquired about Jelavic but are understood to favour a move in the summer, whereas the striker needs regular football to secure a place in Croatia's World Cup squad. The forward has struggled to recreate his impressive impact at Everton when he scored 11 goals in 14 games. He lost his place this season to the on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku but with Arouna Koné expected to miss the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury, Martínez is adamant Jelavic will not be sold without a replacement on board.

"That would be the case with Arouna injured," he said. "Niki will never go out on loan because it would leave us totally open and we cannot replace him in that respect. He's a big asset and, if we are allowing him to move, it's out of respect to his career and what he has done for us. He needs to play to go to the World Cup and I accept that but it has to be the right terms for the club. I wouldn't let the squad be weakened just to satisfy an individual."

Everton have scouted the Standard Liège striker Michy Batshuayi but Martínez believes the 20-year-old is not ready for the Premier League. He said: "We are clear in what we need. It's someone who can fit in straight away with the physicality of the Premier League and can adapt quickly."
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