Barnfred 55
Player Valuation: £80m
It's a shame it hasn't really worked out. I don't think many people were aware just how much his physical condition had declined over the last couple of years, but in reality this is common place with players who matured at such a young age as he did.
He has shown that he is no longer capable of holding down one of the forward places, which is a shame as he is by far and away our best finisher. He is still capable as one of a midfield 2 or 3, in games where we expect to dominate possession and he is given the time and space to play. In fact, we have nobody else who can take control of a game in such circumstances. But these games will probably amount to maybe 15 games a season at most, and that does not justify him being our highest wage earner. In fact, I doubt the player himself would be happy playing in so few games.
I do think he's a realist. He probably came here with all good intentions of leading Everton back to the good times, but I believe he's realised himself that he is no longer up to the task. He probably has one season left in him and I think the States would be the ideal partner for him in that they get a big name to promote their competition and Wayne gets a final big pay day.
It's a shame you can't look back in this season and say he's been a success because he clearly hasn't, but he's probably done as much as anybody else has apart from maybe our keeper. For me, I'd liked to have seen him have more of a positive influence on our younger players and I'm disappointed he hasn't delivered at all in this regard.
The sad truth is that if we are going to have a team that can challenge the top 6 then the current Wayne Rooney is not good enough to play a major part.
He has shown that he is no longer capable of holding down one of the forward places, which is a shame as he is by far and away our best finisher. He is still capable as one of a midfield 2 or 3, in games where we expect to dominate possession and he is given the time and space to play. In fact, we have nobody else who can take control of a game in such circumstances. But these games will probably amount to maybe 15 games a season at most, and that does not justify him being our highest wage earner. In fact, I doubt the player himself would be happy playing in so few games.
I do think he's a realist. He probably came here with all good intentions of leading Everton back to the good times, but I believe he's realised himself that he is no longer up to the task. He probably has one season left in him and I think the States would be the ideal partner for him in that they get a big name to promote their competition and Wayne gets a final big pay day.
It's a shame you can't look back in this season and say he's been a success because he clearly hasn't, but he's probably done as much as anybody else has apart from maybe our keeper. For me, I'd liked to have seen him have more of a positive influence on our younger players and I'm disappointed he hasn't delivered at all in this regard.
The sad truth is that if we are going to have a team that can challenge the top 6 then the current Wayne Rooney is not good enough to play a major part.
