After they stopped us winning the Prem Title last Season that is one hell of a Double.
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They are shit.
But Hamhead Rodriguez will be alright I reckon given a run of games
I know we all want to take the piss here, but the midfield trio of James, Allan and Doucoure. Thats a whole new starting caliber midfield established in just one window. what do we actually think about their midfield compared to other midfields in the top 6? Especially under Ancellotti?
That’s a solid midfield trio. When we compare it to top 6, it’s definitely Eighth.
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Well done to the Ev for buying a decent midfield. It’s not as good as ours though. And Ancelotti isn’t as good as Klopp either.
Nik, in all serious are you saying you’d have any of them ahead of Hendo, Gini, Keita, Fabinho, Milner or Ox?
There are more good players in the world than we can buy. Other teams are allowed to have good players too. There is nothing we can do about this.
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By the way, Everton are literally borrowing money to pay for this. Good luck to them, but it’s not what I want Liverpool to be doing.
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Umm, im simply asking where do we think Everton’s midfield ranks if we compare them to the other top 6 teams? Im talking from a functional standpoint, im not saying our midfield is bad or worse than theirs. the mix is interesting and all 3 players would be starters in most teams. So im just wondering what we all think about the mix on and how Ancellotti could make it work for Everton?
I think probably Eighth.
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I think it’s very hard to tell until we know whether Rodriguez is a quality player coming off the back of a bad run who will return to his best form, or a guy who got overhyped on the back of a good World Cup six years ago, who has struggled to live up to that hype ever since, who will flop badly.
Allan looks to be a good DM choice so they’ll be more solid, but Doucoure while good is nothing special. So, a lot hinges on Rodriguez to know whether their midfield is good enough for the top half of the table, or firmly in the middle.
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I have a funny feeling that Rodriguez is going to get booted up in the air early on, and then disappear for the remainder of his contract.
There is a reason why Everton had a clear run at him. I think they are primarily signing a name. It feels a lot like us signing Joe Cole. A signing to prove what a big club they are, but doomed to failure.
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Oddly enough, he’s the same age as Cole when we signed him.
And Morientes when he came to us.
And Shevchenko when he went to Chelsea.
Hm… not looking good for Haymeez. 
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Short arms will still be in goal though so we can expect the usual howlers.
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The last two are good players and have decent records. But I think James would be a hit and miss player. He is talented, no doubt. But there would be probably as many great moments as awful ones.
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That’s harsh. Typically we talk about the world cup doing this to someone’s profile when their performances were unexpected. They were not for James. He was already one of the most in demand players in the world prior to then and the world cup was just a high profile demonstration of why. Initially he did well at Real, but then suffered in the dysfunction at the club the followed Ancelotti’s firing.
There are huge question marks over him at this stage of his career given how long it has been now since he’s done anything important. But those purely because of what happens to a player who finds himself at the wrong club and loses several years in the process rather than because of any real questions over his talent.
I think one of the keys to this summer is that Allan and James are both players who Carlo knows and has got excellent performances out of before.
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Maybe on the harsh side, but point being that winning the Golden Boot propelled him into everyone’s thinking as one of the best players in the world, whereas barring the two seasons prior to the WC and the one immediately after, he’s failed to show. A very good player no doubt, but not a world-class one.
Big gamble from the Toffees - fee may not be huge but I’d think his wages must be - on a player who hasn’t been in form for five seasons now.
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I’d have to admit being a little more cautious at Everton’s rebuilding than others here, and knowing Ancelloti as a world class manager, its more likely they turn out to be a considerable threat for the coming season. A certainty for top 6 IMHO.
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I’m more “worried” about Doucoure being in their midfield than Rodrigez. I like my meat and potato players…and Doucoure will be a handful for them in the middle. Allan is supposedly the same, but I’ve not seen him play. Rodriguez will flit about in the periphery of games when it gets tough, and it will get tough playing for them. Will certainly be interesting to see how they get on this year.
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I would argue his performances that month were a fair reflection of his standing in the game. Where maybe there was some disconnect was in winning the Golden Boot, as he’d never been a prolific scorer before that. That maybe created expectations for him at Madrid to be something he wasnt, as he was never going to be able to go there and share the scoring burden with Bale and Ronaldo without completely changing his game. I think what ended up happening then was a guy who had a good first season, but had to defend why he’d ONLY scored 10-15 goals.
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Don’t knock him, he’s a fellow Jimmy. Or Himmy
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Every year they’re going to challenge to top 4 with their amazing transfer window.
This time next year, they’ll be trying to get rid of James on loan. They’ll all call Doucoure a donkey (he’s not , but its the Everton way) and Ancelotti will have walked.
11th.
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