That's my thing mate
Some people here are like vultures just waiting for the opportunity to jump on him as soon as he is playing poorly
We are better off without him
He is a passenger we can't carry
Bring on Siggy, he'd be bossing this game
We are way worse with
We don't win with him
I can see why top clubs don't want him
He can't perform in away matches
Made his name in the world cup scoring against mediocre countries
Geez man. Lad has been phenomenal for us and some here are foaming at the mouth to tear him apart after a bad half
There's also a touch of, dare I say it, suspicion of flamboyant foreigner types in the world of pie and mash English football. I think people are entitled to say James didn't play great last night or on any night where he struggles. But anybody denying that even when he's struggling he's capable of changing a game in an instant just doesn't understand the player we have on our hands. A world star for a reason - and not because he's got a pretty face.
The "not one for blind adulation" comment would be fine based on a single game where James isn't performing. But anybody who has followed his career knows that James is a magnificent player. Any adulation has been earned on the pitch. As his goal last night showed, he's the only player in our side that could have taken that chance as clinically and beautifully as he did. All the auld talk of Richarlison being the best player at the club has long since died. And he was rated by many simply because "he got stuck in " not because of his glorious technical ability. Peter Beardsley was the last player at Everton who had the technical skills to compare with James. Some were suspicious of him too. Kanchelskis was more about pace and power (with no little skill) - but it was the pace and power that many admired.
We'll always be second raters in this league with inferiority complexes at places like Old Trafford and Anfield until we embrace players like James who turn up at these places and make their mark because, frankly, they feel at home there. As seen last night, even when out of sorts, James produced our best moment of skill in the game. At Everton, sadly, some will always prefer graft over talent.
