Drumblue
Player Valuation: £8m
I think it's more to do with his workrate of the ball.
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Not really.
There's been talk for the last 6 weeks now from relatively reliable journos with club connections that the club would be open to offers.
His replacement is Andros Townsend.
Exactly. If you look at Delph for example, he's probably on a relatively decent wage here and did no have to move home when he signed from City.
He and his family will be comfortable and settled; rightly or wrongly, unless he really desires first team football there will be little motive for him to move on.
Will he want to take a pay cut? Unlikely going from his character. Even if we subsidies some of his wages, we're not fully releasing cash to reinvest.
It's the same with Iwobi: who'd want to pay his wages if they see what we see? The fault is our own. James, however, will be a person of interest.
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That sounds fine in theory.
However,
A: Imagine selling James for £15mil and watching £28mil/£34mil Iwobi all season.
B: Who actually trusts brands to sign a replacement?
C: Imagine selling James and signing Dumfries
If we had already sold Iwobi, Delph, Gomes, Tosun and Kenny and then it was James being sold...then it 'may' mean weve cleared the decks for a couple of top young players...or are keeping our powder dry for next summer after being clear of FFP.
To sell James with those players still on the books is distasteful.
that all sounds fine in theory, however, consider;
a. Having James in your team and still finishing mid table
b. Having James in your squad but you can only pick him when he’s not bruised his balls or wants to stay fit for the copa (then doesn’t get selected)
c. Having james in your team and having to cover for his lack of pace - which is stand out snails slow and being completely exposed down whichever flank he plays.
outstanding player with exceptional ability and someone who has so much more ability than the rest of the team, but we have not been able to accommodate him and consistently get results since the start of the season just gone.
after last season, especially our home record and second half of the season no one in the Everton squad should feel safe or be untouchable.
we are finding it difficult to shift any of those players you mention because they are poor players that virtually no one wants to buy and especially on the wages we’re paying them.
Interesting to see West Ham dump their Mavericks and finish in the European positions - albeit non are as good as James but they did it with Jessie Lingz and Craig bloody Dawson.
It's all well and good saying this - that's fine.
But the two examples you use, as you say, is all down to us - and were under Brands' remit. Just as giving Bernard £120k a week was, just as giving Gomes near that much was.
It's also Brands' remit to shift players we haven't wanted. Just because that's hard to do, doesn't mean he hasn't failed at it - he has clearly failed, because all he's ever done is put people on loan, let them run down their contracts (or both) or just released Rooney on a free.
So either way, it's on the club, and it's the club's fault, and I am just no longer giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Buy a right-back and playing James in a 4-3-3 would work absolutely fine.
You have the energy in midfield, you have the energy down the right flank and James has the freedom to roam.
Because we've brought in some decent wide options, we also then have the option of switching it up when needed.
We've required a right-back for 3 years, and one player in that position who is quick and athletic could transform our team a few different ways.
Let's get this right, Brands has been an absolute failure.
2 weeks to go before the season and we are still light in the most pressing position and the signings we have made sound like Benitez sorted.
So who exactly was on Brands list or are we going to wait once again to the last minute and hope a signing or two hit the ground running.
Absolutely dreadful performance from him yet again.
Tbf I think Gray probably was one of them presented by the recruitment team. I kind of half expected that he might have been in under Carlo too.
Begovic - an easy option, but again we had no money for a back-up GK (which is fine) and it wasn't exactly like a hard pick. Townsend, that's clearly all Benitez.
Yep, he's had 3 years to get a right-back, and we're still no closer.
He said in his first interview that he doesn't like to leave stuff late. We're always in need of at least two players every deadline day.
I have just watched the James clips from his twitch stream.
I'm no psychologist but I suspect he's got a titty lip because the manager doesn't put him on a pedestal and allow him to do what he pleases. (no matter how good that can be)
Like all the current players he's been told I need you to do this and when we don't have the ball I need you to do this, this and also this.
That's just not James game.
I think he believes being told to do actual work means he's not wanted.
We're definitely closer to a Moyes a mentality than an Ancelotti one.
He had his own way with Ancelotti and he won’t get that with anyone else.
Although I’d rather he stayed, I come down the side of the club on this if we choose to sell.
We really don’t know what James wants in all this. I think it is likely he wants to leave.
Exactly that, Ancelotti indulged him at 3 clubs.
At two of the clubs he was surrounded by other exceptional players so it disguised a lot of shortcomings.
I'd really like him to stay for that stardust he can sprinkle, but I can't see him knuckling down for the greater good.
He’s engineering a way out while trying to not look bad. Simple as.
A man who can’t function without Ancelotti, who is injury prone and was dropped by his national team after legging it before the end of the season.
I’m not impressed.
The later they come in, the less pre season they get, the more risk of injury.
Doesn't like to do signings in January (even when needed) and yet doesn't mind leaving the squad short throughout the summer.
Absolutely clueless and shame on the board fkr giving him another 3 years to continue his poor performance
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