Jack Rodwell

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Barnfred 55 said:
Agree with a lot of that mate. Think there's also been some re-writing of history regarding young Jack too. For some reason we love to dish the dirt on our academy kids, even after they leave the club apparently.

As a kid he was always highly thought of. In those days it wasn't like today where you can watch a lot of youth football live on TV or on line and we know a lot about the younger lads coming through. Then, you had to be something special to have your name known but most Evertonian's were looking forward to seeing him make it into the first team. He represented England youth at all levels and was also invariably captain. He was a regular for what was then an open age Everton reserve team from the age of 15. He made his first team debut in Europe at 16 and premier debut aged 17. He played 21 times for England U21s making his debut aged 18, and then made his debut for the full England team aged 20.

When he first became a regular in the first team at 18 I thought he looked a natural and had the ability to turn both ways with the ball which is very rare. But I felt he had that coached out of him pretty quickly by the ultra cautious Moyes. He came into a squad that included Arteta, Fellaini, Cahill, Piennar, Neville and Bilyaletdinov, so it wasn't just because there was no competition for places at the time. I also felt we didn't know what his best position was. I always liked him playing further forward as he had that extra bit of quality, and when he was fit he was an absolute athlete. Remember a MOM performance from him there in a 3-1 home win against United in which he scored our third goal. A couple of MU mates of mine were really impressed with Rodwell that day and even joked about buying him.

I really don't think he was that over hyped by our fans at all. As a kid he was probably the best player in the country in his age group and expectations were high. But it wasn't just Everton who held him in high regard. We (the club or the fans) don't pick the national youth and older age teams and it was clear that they rated him too.

Sadly from the age of 18 he was besieged by injuries which have hampered him all his career. So the majority of the playing time that should have seen him develop into a top class footballer was actually spent on the treatment table. It was very sad but, from memory, not many were disappointed when he was sold to City for a decent fee, as we knew by then that he was unlikely to come good.

To read the posts in here you'd think we were dealing with a Franny Jeffers mark 2. The lad could have gone on to be a top top player for us, at a time we had a group of players together capable of challenging for trophies. The fact that injuries put a stop to that seems to be celebrated by some on here and I can't understand that thinking.
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I remember him playing v well on his England debut under Capello. Deffo had a lot of potential. Shame about all his injuries. I do think there was an issue with his mentality though. I remember he sometimes looked kind of lost in games. Did he not come through the youth system as a CB and then only get put into midfield in the first team?
 
Billy Dean said:
I remember him playing v well on his England debut under Capello. Deffo had a lot of potential. Shame about all his injuries. I do think there was an issue with his mentality though. I remember he sometimes looked kind of lost in games. Did he not come through the youth system as a CB and then only get put into midfield in the first team?
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I think the mentality issue became more obvious as he developed, or rather didn't develop. I'm not an expert obviously but I imagine the injuries would have had an impact on that, but also the fact throughout his youth he had always been the main man as it were, the captain, the one to go to. Suddenly all that stopped and with the injuries his career actually started going backwards. He always came across as an intelligent lad so I'm sure he could see this happening to him.

It was clear by the time we sold him that he wasn't going to turn into the player that we hoped and even though he was still only 21 I was sure we made the right decision, and so it turned out. I hate writing players off so young, but in his case the injuries, and yes his lack mental strength too, probably justified it.

But I don't think he was overhyped at all. Apart from Rooney I don't think anybody has been so highly rated coming through the youth system and I'm sure he would have gone in to be a top player if not for the injuries.

Think he played both centre back and centre midfield for the youth teams. I remember seeing him playing centre back in an England schoolboy international.

Turned into a right one now by the sounds of it.
 
Sunderland manager Chris Coleman admits he doesn't know where Jack Rodwell is
The £70,000-a-week midfielder has not made a senior appearance for the Black Cats since September

Sunderland boss Chris Coleman has admitted he does not even know where £70,000-a-week midfielder Jack Rodwell is.

Former England international Rodwell, whose contract included a wage reduction clause deferred for 12 months when the club was relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, has not made a senior appearance for the Black Cats since September.

He still has a year remaining on the five-year deal he signed when he arrived at the Stadium of Light in a £10million move from Manchester City in August 2014, but even in the wake of a second successive relegation, he is not in Coleman's thoughts.

Asked if the 27-year-old could play a part in Friday night's Sky Bet Championship trip to Fulham, Coleman told a press conference: "No. I don't even know where Jack is, to be honest with you, so no, he won't be involved.

jack-rodwell.jpg

Rodwell has not played since September (Getty)
"I'm sure that if there was a sniff of a first team appearance, I'm not sure he'd be 100 per cent fit for it, so I don't think that's going to be the case."

After an injury-plagued three-and-a-half years on Wearside during which Rodwell struggled for form when he was available, the cash-strapped club offered to tear up his contract in January in a bid to remove him from the wage bill.

However, he decided to stay where he was, insisting in a newspaper interview that is was "unfair" to expect him to walk away from his lucrative deal with nowhere to go, and that he was fit and available for selection.

Indeed, he even expressed his desire to rekindle his international career.

However, Coleman, who admitted last month he did not know if Rodwell had returned to training with the Under-23s after a foot injury, insists there is little he can do about a man he believes does not want to play for the club again.

chris-coleman.jpg

Rodwell is not in Coleman's plans (Getty)
He said: "I'm quite sure we've gone down the legal route of that situation, and we're stuck with a player that doesn't want to play for Sunderland Football Club and wants to leave.

"But then where's he going to leave and go to? There's the conundrum. He's here and he's got one more year on his contract. He doesn't want to play for us, so fine, go and play for somebody else. But the stumbling block is the contract.

"But we'll see, it's the end of this season now. I know Jack did that big article (and said) he wanted to play for England again, so to do that, he's going to have to go and play football somewhere. The proof is always in the pudding."

Should Rodwell remain on the books next season, his salary will be reduced by 40 per cent.
 

I still think there is a player in there, needs a new start on a lower wage in a more defensive role, maybe not in the premier league but at a good footballing club.
I hope he sorts himself out, maybe even agrees to reduce or terminate his contract for the sake of his career.
 

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