Goodie my typo has been corrected. Must have been a shock to you all that, sometimes, I too can make mistakes
World class. No. He scored a lot of goals but so did Sturridge. Is he world class? Well, no. Take someone like Andy Cole. I think he is behind only Shearer in terms of Premier League goals and yet he would have dozens of chances before he converted one. Not a brilliant footballer, but someone who was able to score a lot of goals. My point being that to label someone 'world class', you surely need to consider more than simply the number of goals scored in what was not even a full season. Tiss was world class, Suarez is world class. Are you really saying he is as good as them? Its the injury. How many more would he have scored? Impossible to say. If he can come back strong and repeat the feat then maybe we can start talking in those terms. Also, as I said elsewhere, he was playing with some generous players who were happy to pass on a chance to him when in another team they might have taken it on.
A much improved player who would have been in Rio but for the injury. I have a feeling that if he comes back as strong as he could do, then we will get a ridiculous offer for him next summer which we will probably accept.
I think JRod is talented and exciting, but you can look even better in the right team. Saints were easy on the eye last season...the question is can the players who've moved on do as well at other clubs. Good ones should adapt after a bedding in period, but choosing the right club is all important. I think Chambers has gone to the right club for example, whereas Man City is probably wrong for Jay.
I'll confess that I gave him a fair bit of stick for not being clinical enough. He proved me wrong in some style last season.
Do you think so? I always had the feeling that he was going to be the one left out. Who do you think would have been left out, Lambert? That said, I think its a trip he did well to miss.
15 goals in the league playing for a mid-table side without a penalty or free kick. He would have got more if not for the injury. Runs all game for the team and is disciplined. He is a great player. I rate him higher than Lallana and Lambert.
JRod said that he'd been told he would probably have gone to the WC if not injured. He was surprised himself.
The other issue with this story is where did the media pluck the figure of £15m from? Saints don't let stars go that cheap especially to a bottomless pit of cash like Man City...lets start the bidding at £30m! As seen this summer we can get 2-3 really good players for that amount if JRod "demands" a move
Rodriguez can be very good in the right system, and near useless in others. Overall, I'd say he is better than average and that's about it. That said, he improved a lot last year and I think he would have improved still more this year. Don't think he would ever be what I consider "World Class" but he could have moved up into the "very good" category. But now all that is a little uncertain as that was a bad injury he suffered both physically and mentally because of his reliance on speed. I hope he can bounce back and maybe give us a few goals in the second half of the season, but I would not be averse to selling him if we get a decent price and he wants to go.
Just to take issue here slightly, Will suggests it's all going to happen. As it is a rumour, perhaps would might be better substituted..? Indeed. I see that Rodwell is already flourishing at Sunderland. Too many English players are being tempted by the richest clubs, when there is absolutely no chance of them playing regularly. Yes, it is great to have confidence in one's own ability, but being realistic is also a great virtue, if a player wants to play every week, rather than pick up a fatter wedge and sit on a seat all the time. If Jay went to a club like ManC, he get a game once every 2-3 months, and then that would be 20 or so minutes as a sub. He might have to be patient, but while that happens, his career progression might start to slide. There are inumerable players whose careers went stale. ManC's own best example is Micah Richards who was actually excluded from ManC's squad this season simply because he is no longer considered good enough. He's now gone to Fiorentina on loan.
Suarez is a bit of an outlier, so it would be strange to say JR is as good. Sturridge was flattered by rather effective supply because of Suarez's presence. JR wasn't. I would argue that whatever "world class" means, it's easiest to measure in a striker because for a striker, all that matters is getting the ball in the back of the net. Doesn't matter if they look overweight and unfit (Le Tiss?). If the ball goes in often enough they have done their job. Assuming he'd got to the end of the season with 20 goals (I know he might not, so take that for granted) he'd have been in pretty exalted company. If that list isn't world class, I don't know what is. I think you're defining "world class" by comparing a player with some ideal of how a footballer should look or play. When it comes to strikers, surely what matters is how many times you get it in the net per game. I know which I'd prefer in my team. A striker could run on all fours in a monkey suit as long as he got the ball into the net: if he did it enough, I'd call him world class while everyone else was laughing at him. Vin
The thing I like about him is that he does not let defenders relax, alot of his goals were self made by making the defender make a mistake. Rickie made space by dragging the defenders about which Pelle will have to learn. Tadic can pass the ball for Jay to run onto which we were lacking last year. Once the foursome of Jay, Tadic, Pelle and Mane have gelled it should be a pretty impresive offensive unit. Speed, strength,skill and the ability to break quickly and run at defenders. With regards to Man City the move would purely be for money. If he spoons 4 chances at St Marys a then a few twats may shout something, but most would get behind him like they did with Pelle. He would get so much **** from City fans that his confidance would be shot
Very good player, but unsure whether he could lead the line and he will take time to adjust after his injury. If someone offered 30 million for him in the Summer, I'd bite their hands off. On another note, I'm glad we didn't splash 10 million on Ings. We can get him for free in the Summer and, albeit he's only had a few games, I think he will take a while to adapt to the PL and won't offer much this season; a bit like Rodriguez where he didn't offer much in his first season, but flourished in his second season.
