The Luxury

James Rodríguez earns £140,000 per week, £7,280,000 per year playing for Everton as a M/AM (RLC). James Rodríguez's net worth is £69,836,000. James Rodríguez is 29 years old and was born in Colombia. His current contract expires June 30, 2022.
Career Earnings:
Year Weekly Wage Yearly Salary Club Position League Age Contract Expiry
2021 £140,000 £7,280,000 Everton M/AM (RLC) Premier League 29 30-06-2022
2020 £215,000 £11,180,000 Real Madrid M/AM (RLC) La Liga 28 30-06-2020
2019 £224,000 £11,648,000 R. Madrid M/AM (RLC) Bundesliga 27 30-06-2019
2018 £190,000 £9,880,000 R. Madrid M/AM (RLC) German First Division 26 30-06-2019
2017 £184,000 £9,568,000 R. Madrid M/AM (RLC) La Liga 25 29-06-2020
2016 £170,000 £8,840,000 Real Madrid C.F. M/AM (RLC) LIGA BBVA 24 29-06-2020
2015 £177,000 £9,204,000 Real Madrid C.F. M/AM (RLC) LIGA BBVA 23 29-06-2020
2014 £43,000 £2,236,000 AS Monaco Football Club SA M/AM (RLC) Ligue 1 22 29-06-2018

It's a toss up whether anyone will pay his wages and a transfer fee. He, as far as I know, hasn't been told he can go (has he?) So we have a player in a bit of a no man's land. I think that if he stays, there are possibilities for him playing an integral part of the team/squad.

I think along the lines that you've mentioned. A team, or at least a formation, could be used that would allow James to use his talents, which vastly improve the team's approach to putting the ball in the net.

You call it a No10 but I'll use the term schemer, as that's got meaning for me. But I think it amounts to the same thing.

You mention him being not much of a runner, and that's probably true, but he can make up for that with his killer passes and eye for a goal making chance. We have two reliable goalscoreres, Richarlison (if he stays) and Calvert Lewin. We also have two players to attack and defend on either wing, Townsend ansd Gray and we have at least one fullback, Digne, to hopefully build a leftwing partnership with one of them.

It's probably a pipedream, but all of a sudden, we can bring Richarlison where he likes to be, alongside Calvert Lewin It gives us a decent looking attack, with a supplier to any one of those four, plus the fullbacks.
The players in the midfield? Well it is hopefully looking good for Gbamin, Townsend and Gray are very athletic, so it's possible to look at a further number of options between, Allan, Doucouré, Tom Davies, and Gomes.

Gomes, if he can improve is mobility, could be another clever player to give the rest of the team options.

I'm not sure Seamas, can be expected to last the full 90 all season, so we might have another player in by then end of the transfer window.

It shows me that we could use James and have plenty of options to available to vary our tactics depending on how the game is going.

One thing for sure, it will be a long time before we see such a skilful player grace Goodison Park again.

Potentially, the best player I will have seen since Alex Young graced the pitch, that's high praise from me.

Personally, I think we need more luxury players, not less of them. And I don't mean 11 luxury players all out on the park at once. A balanced team that accommodates a few stars.

I think it is telling you call out the absences of Allan and Doucoure, which in conjunction with the loss of form, confidence or injury of James pretty much gives an explanation to our failure under Ancellotti last season. Because let's face it, that's what he bought alongside Godfrey. He didn't think the existing team / squad were going to cut it as they haven't been for years.

I hope this player stays. I hope Goodison get to see and enjoy him. I watched Everton win titles and a European trophy. I haven't seen a player in an Everton shirt this gifted since Kevin Sheedy.

If we don't want luxury, we don't want titles. Let's go and buy some Lee Carsleys and Marcus Bents.

For me its quite straight forward. He's the best player we have and if we can get him fit he'll get us enough point to justify his wages. The VVD injury last year was quite a painful one in the nether regions so not a surprise he was out a while.

Hopefully Benitez can get him in shape and play him in the middle. With the likes of Richarlison, Grey and Townsend providing pace and willingness to run, Rodriguez' passing ability will be a real asset. Just give him the ball in the middle and let him pick out the runners.

I hope he stays and helps us to get a few wins at the start of the season. Our first half dozen games are all winnable so heres hoping.

Seriously, Everton need a player like James Rodriguez to get to the next level. A class player. Someone whose brain matches his feet with an elite footballer's instinct.

Sadly, with this current incarnation of Everton we are weaker with him in the team. It's heartbreaking to say it , the reason being is that we don't have the fast, physical and technical players required to accommodate him.

What would you rather see Pat?

Genuinely.

Number ten 8 games 2 goals, no assists
Rw/Rm 10 games 4 goals,3 assists

Big problem he seems to play better and be more dangerous on the right when things are going well but a complete liability when not. You move him into the number ten role and he's no longer a liability but isn't the same player.

What is the point in selling him for £20M when we are signing the likes of Begovic, Gray and Townsend? What are we planning to do with that money? Because we certainly won't be buying anyone of similar quality for £20M.

James is capable of 10 assists and 8-10 goals. We had Iwobi and Bernard on more combined wages that contributed nothing like that.

Keep James, and offload those that aren't contributing elsewhere.

4-2-3-1 at home with James as a 10.

4-3-3 away with James used as an impact sub would do me nicely.

Obviously, this depends on the opposition. City at home would probably require 3 hard working midfielders.

I didn't like his attitude against Man Utd, he was lazy and sulking after 20 minutes.

He might have a cultured left foot but, when things aren't going his way or we are behind, he has no fighting spirit.

James's assists and goals last season helped us register a ten points improvement on the previous season. Had he lasted the full campaign we might well have qualified for Europe. A lot of ifs, buts, and maybes for sure but we are highly unlikely to see another player with anything like his skill set in the foreseeable future.

What am I saying!! We'd have a fast attack, that'll never do, and a creative genius behind them. That'll never do.

He lacks the physical dimension of robustness, pace and strength on the ball traits that killed his career at Bayern and Real. Top level clubs won't "carry" players but we do no matter, age, ability or commitment.

It is a key reason why we are a basket case club

Play him in Sigurdsson's role, and let him take some of the set pieces like Sigurdsson does. Even if he only plays 2/3 of the games, he will get us at least 10 goals and 10 assists. But he will get on the ball far more than Sigurdsson and make far more progressive passes.

The problem at Everton is not Rodriguez. Get legs and pace around him and he will get space to remind everyone what a good player he still is.

Rafa either gets more from James or let's him go. Mal#17 you summed it up! Summer resting and didn't want to know after 20 minutes Saturday. This season is a battle and we need James but he must be prepared to put a shift in. Remember top teams have more workers than luxury players! Win the battle then play!! Perhaps James needs the last 30 minutes when defenders are tired.

Next season is about working hard and cutting the mistakes out. James must take responsibility as one of the most experienced players in our team! His body language reflects on the team! Come on James be our hero next season!!!

Which James will we get on any given Saturday? I'm not sure even he knows. Due to his wages... unless somebody else gets a sudden rush of blood to the wallet, we seem destined to have him for the season.

Use him if we can, but be prepared to hook him off early if he's not doing it... a bit harsh? maybe.
Perhaps we can play the Macho card back at him... can't do it? - What's up McFly? Chicken?

Lyndon, good article, but you and others are still persisting with the "move him to #10" theory without regard for the fact that he's already a #10 -- a natural distributor and fairly frequent goalscorer -- but he instinctively gravitates to the flank to perform this role, moving inside only to make a final pass or shoot. He has always played this way.

Conor #13 is right (and hey, Conor, how often do I say THAT, eh?) that he's not the same player when he's positioned in the middle and told to stay there. The solution isn't to force him to play in the center of the pitch. The solution is to let him operate in his natural neighborhood and assign his wing defensive duties to someone else.

Whatever else he is, Rafa's smart. If he wants James in the lineup, he'll figure it out.

Not if you want to win games, you don't.

We've got lots of young players who want to prove themselves. If one of them had been on the ball that day at Anfield instead of James, we'd still be winless at Anfield.

Dennis @21. I meant no disrespect to Lee Carsley. Good player and every team needs one or two. Maybe better quality Lee Carsleys, but needed when we talk about balancing the team to accommodate players like James. Marcus Bent - no, although that last minute equaliser at Southampton was special!

If there is someone who nominally starts in right midfield but who rotates out of that position to allow James to do his thing but is also there to cover from a defensive standpoint, then it could work.

My feeling is that, as long as he is here, we need to build the team to his strengths and stroke his ego. It's not the Everton way but he's a unique case – we've invested in him to this point so we need to accommodate his particular temperament if he is to remain at the club because of what he can do when he's in the mood.

Of course, when things aren't going well, he's tough to watch!

It was widely reported that he was actually taking a pay cut. This seems pretty incontestable. On investigation, it turned out that, because he was getting a longer contract than the one he was on, it meant he could earn more here than he could by staying in limbo.

You can never know what "bonuses" may be offered to a player, but we can be sure as hell (or we should be able to) that no Everton player was paid much bonus last season.

James earned £90k a week. Worry about his frailties by all means, but stop fretting about his wages.

The worry about James is that he cannot protect the full-back when he plays out wide, but play out wide he must. That's were we REALLY see his brilliance.

Seamus isn't getting any younger, but I am certain he will not let anybody down. However; The opposition will be queueing up to get down his wing if Rafa doesnt find a way to offer him protection.

That's why he is paid the big bucks.

He was brilliant on the right at the beginning of the season; I question, however, if even a marauder such as Dumfries could protect the space that got so exposed once we got found out.

Midfield options as it stands are Allan, Doucouré, Davies, Gomes and Gbamin. I don't think that's too shabby to be honest. We have more pace in the wide areas of the supporting front 3 in Gray, Richarlison, Townsend (yes!!). Supported by Digne overlapping and Dumfries (if I keep saying it??!!).

Then just let James roam in the middle and do his thing. When fit obviously.

Personally I'd always try to find space for him with fast legs and energy around him to make up for any shortcomings but I'm not sure that the route Rafa will go.

He's a class act but you just have to work in today's game, unless your name is Messi.

I'm fine with Allan & Doucoure. Both were brought back too early and run into the ground by Ancelotti, who clearly didn't trust any of the other midfielders. I hope Benitez has them driving forwards and giving Jemes space to do his magic, rather than having them sit back and invite the other team to score like Ancelotti did way too often.

I expect Rodriguez to feature st some point. Even rhino-skinned Benitez must surely realise that he can't afford to totally alienate the crowd from match day 1. That said, I'm not sure that occasional flashes of brilliance are worth keeping in the long run, given the inconsistency, lack of pace and proneness to injury. He is indeed a luxury in a team that needs to graft.

He mentioned the Liverpool matches and said to get there early. I hope that doesn't spark an early stampede to the Goodison Supper Bar.

Sorry, I just flitted into a parallel quantum universe in which Everton have always been shite.

As shown by many here, his contributions are at least comparable, if not superior, to some of the supposedly more hardworking players who 'graft for the shirt'.

Many of the comments here are well argued (both ways); nevertheless, I hope he can stay, play for the team, and I believe, on the whole, we are all better for it.

He contributed 6 goals and 4 assists last season, so find a team shape that works best to accommodate his talent and gives him freedom to pop up where he sees an opportunity. The claim that he doesn't try when he is selected is the opposite of what I have seen when he has played.

Hi Stan [48], you appear to have overlooked that other waste of space, Peter Beardsley, who played in the exciting team that finished 12th in 91-92 and 13th in 92-93.

Only 7 days after smashing Southampton 6 - 1 at Goodison. I recall the false smoke signals coming from the Main Stand from my spot in the lower Gwladys making us believe the result at Chelsea was going our way, giving us the hope we could still clinch the title.

Deflated.

What are the odds on Everton 6 Southampton 1 for Saturday?

One thing about James that can be said is that, given a chance, he can and will finish. How many other Everton players can that be said about?

Lyndon is right that it's a dilemma but let me also add one thing to the mix. Having a high profile player like James at our club certainly helps. It gives us more exposure in markets we might not otherwise have been able to really penetrate. Just seeing how many people came out to the Florida Cup and to see the reception he got let me know (if I already didn't) that we have a very special player on our hands. Building the Everton brand, especially with a new stadium in the works, to me, is important (although certainly not as important as what's done on the pitch.)

That said...

I get the issues regarding injuries. Is that something that will plague him the rest of his career? It could but I personally think it's worth the risk. I doubt we could sell him anyway due to his wage bill/fitness record so we may as well do our best to get him healthy. If Rafa wants rid of him, then fine but again, who's buying? As it stands, he is our ONLY creative player on the ball who causes real trouble for defenses.

At the end of the day, I'll assert that a James Rodriguez who is healthy for say, half our matches is better than many of our players who are healthy for all of our matches. I hope the reception he gets at Goodison motivates him to do his best for us, stay healthy, and propel us up the table (and, possibly get him a good move if he wants one.)

Now we're going to have to play against him twice a year.

Fuck me!

[Shakes head.]

It all fizzled out way too fast, and I actually fear for us in the coming season, but a small bit of me wonders if the magic dust could be spread again...?

Yes, Lukaku will probably get a couple of his so-called lucky, miss-hit goals against us. You know, the sort that he gets after beating a couple of defenders – twenty-odd times a season.

Although I remember his fantasy goal versus Middlesborough, he never touched it but claimed it and it was awarded to him!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wk7wrcdcag

Or that he wouldn't become one of the best in the world after he left us. Which he has.

It's enough to make your mask go Baaa Baaa Baaa Baaaa.
We don't care what the red sheep say.
What the flock do we care?
Cause we only know, that there's gonna be a show.
And the vaccinated sheeples will be there!!!!!

[Just thought Mark's insane rant merited some actual lyrics.]

He will be back around that mark when he returns to this league and I'm backing our Championship-at-best forward to score more than him.

Evertonians disliked Lukaku and gave him stick because he was a self-serving lazy fucker who disrespected the club from the day Martinez rescued his career when West Brom were the only other takers.

Calvert-Lewin will play for a negative team and will get far less chances than Lukaku. But I'll be taking the mug odds the bookies will offer when I back him to win his personal duel with a guy who would have won many more medals... if he wasn't such a lard arse permanently on the lookout for his next move.

I sometimes think there is an unhealthy streak of masochism among our ranks. The more players disrespect us, the more they are fawned over.

I think the term "he is a 20-goal-a-season player" as if this happens on a regular basis, which it doesn't. I just checked to see who has scored 20 goals in the Premier League consistently and the ones who have done it the most are Shearer with 7 times, followed by Aguerro (6), Henry (5), Kane (5) and Van Nistelrooy (4). I think Van Nisterooy has the best conversion for goals scored against matches played in.

Now while there are a lot more who scored 20 goals in 1 or 2 seasons, I think that any team who can boast a 20-goal-a-season man is doing extremely well. Now some will say that some teams are set up just to feed a main striker and that's why some players score 20 goals a season more often, and they may have a case in that argument. But, however it's acheived, 20 goals a season on a regular basis happens a lot less than people believe.

My post was in response to the false and oft repeated claim that he "consistently scored 20+ a season".

He didn't even get close all the other times. That's why our Championship-at-best player who couldn't hit a "cow's arse with a banjo" will score more than him.

I've waited for old scuffer to come back. Now we'll see...

When he came, he was motivated, full of desire, and playing for his "father" figure. Now, he has been abandoned and has had a few physical encounters of the 3rd kind and is currently with a manager that wants more contribution than he can give, so he wants away.

He is typical of a lot of highly talented footballers who want to be the star of the team rather than part of the team.

Whilst I love his occasional flash of brilliance, I don't think he enjoys tough love so I can't see him motivated to do anything except escape Everton.

Brent (78), Poetic licence, fair enough, most of us use that now and again.

Also agree with Andy @89, Mark's post should definitely stay up. It's hilarious.

And on the subject of James, just hope I get to see him play in a blue shirt live - once will do!

"But besides that Mr Thompson, what did you think of the game?"

He started off well too - 'dodgy Russian money'

But from there he basically becomes Farage after 14 pints of Olde Nobby-Heade's Best Bitter (7.4 abv).

Guessing if Everton decided to make a donation to the RNLI, this poltroon's head could actually explode.

Up the GRRRRRR!!!! Toffees!

I think it will okay with the season ticket, if I go I'm taking my paper proof certificate to show them, I might also take my barrister to argue my case if needed!!

Failing that, I'll have to go old school and get someone to lift me over the turnstile!! I might be 49 but I've managed to maintain 13 stone since the age of 20!!

Ability that won the derby by the way.

I hope we get to see him in a blue shirt at Goodison this season as even rare glimpses of his talent might brighten up what is nailed on to be quite a miserable time for us blues.

“Ability that won the derby, by the way”. I think “ Ability that helped to win the derby” would be more accurate, it was a team effort that day at Anfield – with most of them playing 90-odd minutes, by the way.

You like James Ian, fair enough, I appreciate the quality he has, just not enough of it for me.

I recall a ToffeeWeb poll in which 80% voted to sell Stones. I recall numerous posts with incessant negative criticisms of Lukaku. It's actually a bit weird witnessing Evertonians doing this, wanting to get rid of the best players.

The problem here is clearly not the individual top players. The problem is clearly Everton, the lack of quality in depth, the lack of winning mentality, and the readiness of some Evertonians to want to get rid of our best players.

Unless the first two change, we'll win nothing, and unless the third changes, too many supporters will accept winning nothing.

As long its a blue win he is celebrating of course

DCL has scored 64 goals in 220 games for Everton, which is about 1 goal very 3.4 games on average.

Lukaku is clearly a top class striker, and has been for a few years.

DCL is clearly a top class striker, but this has become apparent to the wider world only over the last year, although many Evertonians have known his potential for a few years longer. But some Evertonians are still unconvinced by him, just as some Evertonians were never convinced by Lukaku.

We simply need to keep hold of our best players, and sign more top quality players to complement them. Our problems boil down to that.