3rd week in August by all accounts
- Status
I think hes a very good player and we will be a better side for having him in it
André Gomes has said he wants to lead Everton’s attempt to challenge the top six having regained the confidence and enjoyment that he lost at Barcelona.
The Portugal international completed a £22m transfer to Goodison Park last week after being sold on the club and Marco Silva’s plans during a successful loan last season. Gomes, who signed a five-year contract and could cost £25m with add-ons, endured a difficult time at the Camp Nou, where he insists the biggest problem was the pressure he exerted upon himself following an initial €35m move from Valencia in 2016. He consulted a psychologist to help him at Barcelona and admits he needed the loan to Everton to rediscover his self-belief.
Gomes said: “With Barcelona everything was perfect. I think the first year was good and the second was difficult dealing with expectations. The problem was with me. It was the pressure and expectation I put on myself, not that of the fans or the club. The environment was really good. When I spoke to Marco [Silva] the first time, before I came on loan, I wanted to feel more capable again. I wanted to try to be myself – to do the simple things. I am glad I accepted that loan because now I feel really good. That is why I have signed. It was an easy decision.”
The midfielder made 78 appearances during two seasons with the Spanish champions, winning La Liga once and the Copa del Rey twice. “I don’t feel like I failed,” Gomes said. “It was a really good experience in Barcelona. For me it was really good to play with Iniesta, with Busquets, with Messi, with Suárez. You can really enjoy the training sessions, learn a lot, especially in the game, and when you play Champions League every week, cup games, derbies against Madrid. It’s a kind of different pressure but you learn a lot.
“You also learn about your mistakes when you are not good, or not at a level you are expected to be. That is more the problem: the expectations on yourself and how you are not capable of doing something when you are not at that level.
“At that time I had one person I was speaking to, to try to help me to figure out some issues I had with myself. It’s not a big deal to have someone close to talk to, someone neutral who knows the environment. The big difference now is the way I enjoy more the simple things; the training sessions, how many times I go to the gym, times I am with my teammates in the hotel, times I am with my family, the games. It’s all about enjoying more.”
Gomes’s signing, plus that of his fellow loanee Kurt Zouma, was a priority for Silva and the 25-year-old accepts his permanent return brings added responsibility. “Fans now know me, the club knows me, the manager is expecting me to do the same things but to keep improving,” he said. “The mindset for me is to keep improving and do better. If I continue doing this, I have to take responsibility and help others. That is normal.”
Everton’s new recruit also believes the club’s ambition must be to qualify for European competition. He added: “We know it is tough. The top six are strong. The Europa League and Champions League finals had English teams. But we have the ambition. We want less ups and downs during the year and I seriously think we can achieve big goals – fifth or sixth, at least.
Last season we did not start well but we finished well, especially at home. We can work on that. I am not saying we will reach that goal, but we want it. We will try to accomplish that.”
The Portugal international completed a £22m transfer to Goodison Park last week after being sold on the club and Marco Silva’s plans during a successful loan last season. Gomes, who signed a five-year contract and could cost £25m with add-ons, endured a difficult time at the Camp Nou, where he insists the biggest problem was the pressure he exerted upon himself following an initial €35m move from Valencia in 2016. He consulted a psychologist to help him at Barcelona and admits he needed the loan to Everton to rediscover his self-belief.
Gomes said: “With Barcelona everything was perfect. I think the first year was good and the second was difficult dealing with expectations. The problem was with me. It was the pressure and expectation I put on myself, not that of the fans or the club. The environment was really good. When I spoke to Marco [Silva] the first time, before I came on loan, I wanted to feel more capable again. I wanted to try to be myself – to do the simple things. I am glad I accepted that loan because now I feel really good. That is why I have signed. It was an easy decision.”
The midfielder made 78 appearances during two seasons with the Spanish champions, winning La Liga once and the Copa del Rey twice. “I don’t feel like I failed,” Gomes said. “It was a really good experience in Barcelona. For me it was really good to play with Iniesta, with Busquets, with Messi, with Suárez. You can really enjoy the training sessions, learn a lot, especially in the game, and when you play Champions League every week, cup games, derbies against Madrid. It’s a kind of different pressure but you learn a lot.
“You also learn about your mistakes when you are not good, or not at a level you are expected to be. That is more the problem: the expectations on yourself and how you are not capable of doing something when you are not at that level.
“At that time I had one person I was speaking to, to try to help me to figure out some issues I had with myself. It’s not a big deal to have someone close to talk to, someone neutral who knows the environment. The big difference now is the way I enjoy more the simple things; the training sessions, how many times I go to the gym, times I am with my teammates in the hotel, times I am with my family, the games. It’s all about enjoying more.”
Gomes’s signing, plus that of his fellow loanee Kurt Zouma, was a priority for Silva and the 25-year-old accepts his permanent return brings added responsibility. “Fans now know me, the club knows me, the manager is expecting me to do the same things but to keep improving,” he said. “The mindset for me is to keep improving and do better. If I continue doing this, I have to take responsibility and help others. That is normal.”
Everton’s new recruit also believes the club’s ambition must be to qualify for European competition. He added: “We know it is tough. The top six are strong. The Europa League and Champions League finals had English teams. But we have the ambition. We want less ups and downs during the year and I seriously think we can achieve big goals – fifth or sixth, at least.
Last season we did not start well but we finished well, especially at home. We can work on that. I am not saying we will reach that goal, but we want it. We will try to accomplish that.”
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/04/andre-gomes-everton-european-ambitions (Just so people know where it came from, don't want The Guardian getting snippy)
Stuff them, all their in-line links have remained
Thinking more along the lines that they don't give Grand Old Team some issues more than doing them a favour to be honest
Saint Domingo
Player Valuation: £80m
Would be nice if we had a bigger aspiration than finishing 6th but I know where he is coming from.
Make him captain .
ForeverBlue92
Player Valuation: £80m
Do Gomes and Tielemans play the same position?
Interesting that Tielemans scoresld 3 goals and assisted 4 in just 13 games for Leicester whereas Gomes scored 1 and assisted 1 in over double the games for us.
Have Leicester got the better deal or do they play different positions in midfield?
@CRIMHEAD what you think mate?
Interesting that Tielemans scoresld 3 goals and assisted 4 in just 13 games for Leicester whereas Gomes scored 1 and assisted 1 in over double the games for us.
Have Leicester got the better deal or do they play different positions in midfield?
@CRIMHEAD what you think mate?
Are we going to see graph's now ?
CRIMHEAD
Player Valuation: £40m
Tielemans played really far forward when I watched them - not as far forward as Maddison, but pretty far. He played more as a deep lying player at Monaco when I watched him play there. So he sat back a lot, picked off passes more, played more long balls, that type of thing. He helped the build up, you don't see much of that at Leicester with him. When he did, he doesn't dribble by people or hold the ball like Gomes, he'd rather pass it by people.
He can score from distance. No question. He can pick out a pass in the final third. He definitely creates chances a lot of chances. Way more than Gomes even when he WAS playing farther back.
But he's not a good defensive player IMO, either. He has always looked lazy to me, poorly positioned for someone that likes to sit back and fire passes all over the place. Gomes isn't lazy, he's just slow and fouls a lot because he's not always in the best position.
I'm not sure either are all that great, honestly. Gomes was asked to do more for Everton. Silva had him playing all over the place and being asked to hold and advance the ball from our back third routinely. But Tielemans is much better in the final third.
Ron Burgundy
Player Valuation: £15m
Homoerotic jokes aside, this boy makes us tick.
Anyone cherry picking stats to try and justify his "lack of productivity" clearly didn't watch us much last term. He was, for the most part, a cut above the rest.
Absolute mustard is Andrè.
Anyone cherry picking stats to try and justify his "lack of productivity" clearly didn't watch us much last term. He was, for the most part, a cut above the rest.
Absolute mustard is Andrè.
CRIMHEAD
Player Valuation: £40m
Or they did watch us and think you amongst others are simple wrong. He's a 20M pound player. He has strengths and weakness like every player. If he's a cut above the rest of our players, then we stink. Anyone can play this stupid opinion game. But if the only support you have is sheer arrogance, you are probably wrong, dumb, or both.
TheBigIguana
Player Valuation: £90m
Careful...
- Status
