Eggsyblueskin
Player Valuation: £40m
It’s not a loan
Make sure you are fully comprehending of a situation before you comment on it.
It prevents you making ill informed, wholly incorrect statements.
Also, if we can get the lad back on the pitch performing at even 50% of what he his capable of, he will be one of only two players we have who are worth the price of admission. (The other being Pickford.)
He is also our only genuinely creative player.
So I’d prefer we gave him until the end of his contract to prove himself , and yes he is contracted to us and is therefore our player, so let’s support the lad.
GoldenToffee
Player Valuation: £50m
Herein lies the problem. He's not wanted to actually put in the work of a professional for half a decade now. That's not going to change any time soon. Yes, we all have great sympathy with him and support him if he's still going through all kinds of trauma which is quite likely, but he's finished as an athlete and we're just the suckers left to pick up the bill.
Cameron Manning
Player Valuation: £35m
That unfortunately is the situation as it stands and I think we all want Dele to get back on his feet as a man but I don’t think he will coming back to help us as a player.
blueblueday
Player Valuation: £2.5m
I wonder, like most things in life, if the truth of Mr Ali's predicament lies somewhere in inbetween what he has told us and the opinions of some of the individuals on this thread.
What we know is that he was once a coveted footballer many moons ago but for some time now has underperformed dramatically.
We now have his explanation for why this may have occurred. I believe him wholeheartedly and I have to admit I teared up a little during his interview.
However, part of me thinks he has chosen to become public to win himself some more time at the top level. He has successfully gained our sympathy after suffering a considerable amount of fan vitriol. We now live in a time when mental health is taken a lot more seriously by organisations and the general public alike.
Everton now has a duty of care as it would not look good for the club to treat him inappropriately.
From a public relations perspective, it wouldn't surprise me if he had been advised to do the interview in an effort to try and force the hand of Everton in an attempt to extend his career.
Does he believe he can contribute on the pitch anymore? I don't know, but I hope so. That's the thing though, isn't it? He has created a narrative for himself where we have given him time to make some sort of comeback.
He has suffered appalingly as a child and I wish he had sought help earlier in his career. I don't judge him for his behaviour off the pitch or his astonishing earnings for such a small workplace contribution. I only wish him good health.
It would be a beautiful story if he indeed managed to rekindle his desire and get back to playing again. Most Evertonians would savor it as there isn't much else these days to hang onto! I would absolutely love it but I remain skeptical.
Whatever the outcome I wish him the best.
What we know is that he was once a coveted footballer many moons ago but for some time now has underperformed dramatically.
We now have his explanation for why this may have occurred. I believe him wholeheartedly and I have to admit I teared up a little during his interview.
However, part of me thinks he has chosen to become public to win himself some more time at the top level. He has successfully gained our sympathy after suffering a considerable amount of fan vitriol. We now live in a time when mental health is taken a lot more seriously by organisations and the general public alike.
Everton now has a duty of care as it would not look good for the club to treat him inappropriately.
From a public relations perspective, it wouldn't surprise me if he had been advised to do the interview in an effort to try and force the hand of Everton in an attempt to extend his career.
Does he believe he can contribute on the pitch anymore? I don't know, but I hope so. That's the thing though, isn't it? He has created a narrative for himself where we have given him time to make some sort of comeback.
He has suffered appalingly as a child and I wish he had sought help earlier in his career. I don't judge him for his behaviour off the pitch or his astonishing earnings for such a small workplace contribution. I only wish him good health.
It would be a beautiful story if he indeed managed to rekindle his desire and get back to playing again. Most Evertonians would savor it as there isn't much else these days to hang onto! I would absolutely love it but I remain skeptical.
Whatever the outcome I wish him the best.
Forget the Everton angle for a while.
What would you say constitutes a successful comeback for Dele
20 top flight games (in a major league) over a full season?
5 goals? 10 goals?
An international recall?
I only ask because so many are utterly convinced he's completely finished as a top level player. What would the naysayers who say such a thing make them admit they're clueless. (one presumes a single substitute appearance would be enough as he's 'done.')
What would you say constitutes a successful comeback for Dele
20 top flight games (in a major league) over a full season?
5 goals? 10 goals?
An international recall?
I only ask because so many are utterly convinced he's completely finished as a top level player. What would the naysayers who say such a thing make them admit they're clueless. (one presumes a single substitute appearance would be enough as he's 'done.')
You clearly know the man on a personal level to know where his mental attitude to football is right now as well as having been able to watch him recover from injury and start to rebuild his fitness to be so certain of his demise as a footballer.
StDomingosGringo
Player Valuation: £10m
It’s getting tough not to see this thread as a litmus test for your humanity.
Get on the six game Dele train! Woo woo!!
Get on the six game Dele train! Woo woo!!
Just expect the goalposts to move on here and you won’t be disappointed, it’s better to be seen as being right than admit you got it wrong. It’s the way of the internet.
DCL “will never, ever, play for Everton again” according to some on these pages, when he did start in our run in to the end of last season it was spun to “See, he only lasted 5 games”…
I hope Dele is gaining the mental tools to be able to function in the way he now wants first, then gets himself physically fit and we can go from there. I’d love him to get back to half the player (which is NOT impossible) as he would still be able to contribute to our season.
I'll be honest, I was on a fishing trip.
There's posters in this thread who are adamant he's 'done' as a player. Some are so convinced of their ability to judge a situation, they'd be positively disappointed to be proved wrong, even at the detriment of the team.
I think for all blues we'd love nothing more than him to come back and recapture shades of his form 5-6 years ago.
The realist though questions if that's even possible. I can't think of any player who's went off the boil for this long a period and made a comeback.
Forgetting the Everton angle, I hope he finds solace and happiness again. Whether that's here, there or anywhere, being able to move on with his life after the absolute horrors he's gone through.
…it really isn’t a matter of ‘I told you so’. He might well turn out to be very decent but I just don’t think the club should gamble £10m on that scenario. We were linked with some decent midfielders for around that figure early in the summer.
Mrbluenose
Player Valuation: £6m
Back playing week in, week out, regardless of the level. Enjoying his football.
If he wants it, I believe he can, with help, be a good player again.
If the hunger is gone, he's just pretending and is done.
ChesterBlue
Player Valuation: £35m
My thoughts too, it’d be hard for him to make us worse
