Official: James Rodriguez to Real Madrid

He's not a scrub, stop with the knee jerk lol.

Last season he was considered one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe and had a legitimate case. Because he plays for a team who seem to have no idea how to use their best players properly doesn't mean he wouldn't excel elsewhere.

After all, pretty much all their midfielders have had periods of looking top quality in their careers and they all look like shite this season.

He's not a scrub but he is playing like shit at the moment so I understand the criticism.

A couple games ago he didn't even start and our midfield still got destroyed by Malaga and he had a terrific first season filled with goals and assists with Carlo he was actually playing well during Bale's absence. He's in a slump and a pretty bad one so I'm not against having him on the bench.

Everyone was hating on Bale last season too and this year he's the most efficient producer in Europe.

Bale isn't playing that well, let's be honest. Yes, he's playing way better than last season, but it's not like he set the bar too high for himself.

I don't want him to go down the same road Ronaldo has: focusing solely on scoring goals and completely disregarding his other duties.

This season, he's been more disciplined and less selfish. But technically? He's limited and will forever be. Not to mention injury-prone. He's been better than Benzema and Ronaldo, but frankly who isn't?

Bottom line, if it was up to me, I'd sell him, Benzema and Ronaldo without even blinking if I could.

As for James, I don't want to be unfair to him and label him a scrub because scrubs don't play like he did under Carlo or in the World Cup. I'd like to believe that he's playing in a poorly built squad out of position. So I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being especially when everybody else in the team is playing almost as bad as him.

Here's what irritates me though: his below average work rate. It seems to me that BBC's laziness has gotten to him. We could blame his poor form on Rafa and Z. But laziness is something that the player can get rid of in a second if they want to, regardless of who's in the dugout.

James is a beast. I think his quality shows more when he's a big fish in a smaller pond. Liverpool would be perfect for him.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:

He's been better than Benzema and Ronaldo, but frankly who isn't?

Yeah  , who isn't better than guy who delivered 19 league goals in  19 games and earned his team the highest  points  while struggling with nagging injuries , right ?
You should be more concerned about how even relegation teams are cutting through your midfield like a hot knife through butter rather than blaming the  perennial scapegoat .

Your argument is very weak to say the least. Are we now looking solely on numbers to determine whether players are having a good or bad season? Because if so, Ronaldo is having one heck of a season right now. And "highest points"? What in god's name are you talking about?

"Nagging injuries"? So him being made of glass somehow plays in his favor?

And yes, I'm quite concerned about how weak our midfield is. But then again, when you have lazy primadonnas up front like Benzema and Ronaldo, you don't need to look any further for an explanation as to why defending with 6 men is quite the task.

"Perrennial scapegoat"? yeah, absolutely, I'm only blaming him here.

What in god's name i'm talking about ? i'm talking about decisive goals that actually won Madrid points . you know, the sole goal in a 1-0 win, the crucial equalizer in a 2-2 draw etc... not the penaldos , not the redundant braces and hatricks  against over matched opponents long after the game was settled ...
Numbers  are obviously not everything in football ,but let's not pretend that goals aren't an important metric to gauge a center forward's performance .

Of all the things to complain about,  the CF who's delivering a 1.0 ratio  and a constant flow of game-deciding goals  should  be  among the last of your worries imo.

Right, thanks to his 'decisive' goals, we're now perching high...in third place with Villarreal breathing down our necks. Truth is, with Ronaldo regressing, Benzema isn't good enough to win us games constantly and carry the whole team by himself. This was further justified when Bale fell injured. Ever since then, Benzema's spark started to slowly fade, and went from a game changer to a walking dead as proven by our most recent games where he went missing for most of them. And now, he's injured. Hurrah, what a player!

Goals aren't everything. In fact, they are the last thing I look at when assessing a player, regardless of their position. I rate disciplined players higher, and I absolutely hate lazy players.

Benzema is lazy and very fond of walking. His work rate is pathetic, only second to Ronaldo's. Even his link up play has become mediocre in recent games. Apparently, him too thinks that his job is finished when he scores a goal.

P.S: he doesn't have a 1.0 ratio. He has 19 goals in 20 appearances. Not that it would've mattered anyway.

He still snatched more winners and equalizers than any other Madrid  player . That's decisive  for a striker regardless of whatever negative or cynical spin you wanna put on things .

The market isn't exactly filled with CFs that possess the Captain Majid-like work rate that you'd like to see at Madrid,  so you will probably just have to fix the " actual " problems in midfield , and maybe ditch Ronaldo for a tenacious proper winger .

This madrid fanbase never ceases to change.
I question the circus that is real madrid and i can see flo behind it but then I took a 2nd look.
Florentino is a reflection of the toxic madrid fanbase.
I read posts here and I question... we even support the same team?

To get thread back on topic before it becomes mind numbingly painful to read...

I had high hopes for James but when report of him wanting a raise came out, it was downhill for this guy.

A shame as when he actually bothers to work hard, he did well. Now? Bleh.

Hopefully isco joins him on the transfer boat. Profiles no longer suitable for madrid.

farfan wrote:He still snatched more winners and equalizers than any other Madrid  player .

Here are the games in which he was decisive:
Granada (1-0), Bilbao (1-2), Atlético (1-1) and Betis (1-1). (4 games in total, only two resulted in wins). That's hardly something to brag about.

That's decisive  for a striker regardless of whatever negative or cynical spine you wanna put on things.

I'd say there's more sugarcoating and bias in your statements than there's cynicism in mine, if there's any at all. Fact is, he has only been decisive in four games so far this season. That may be enough for you, but definitely not for me. I expect more from Real Madrid's number 9.

The market isn't exactly filled with CFs that possess the Captain Majid-like work rate that you'd like to see at Madrid

No. What I'd like to see at Madrid is someone who earns their paycheck, plays for the badge and leave everything out on the pitch. But that's not what I'm asking Benzema. I realize he doesn't have the talent or professionalism to be that guy. I'm merely asking him to be professional enough to do things that are pillars of his job as a CF.

so you will probably just have to fix the " actual " problems in midfield , and maybe ditch Ronaldo for a tenacious proper winger .

Not just Ronaldo, Benzema too needs to go. They're both largely responsible for our midfield being ran over. Atlético outran Madrid by 11km, and our static attack is one of the reasons trudging behind that figure.

You have the right to think as you please. Me, on the other hand, I make sure not to let numbers cloud my judgment. As long as Benzema is lazy, unprofessional and indifferent, he'll stay a liability, and no amount of goals can change that.

I'd even go as far as saying that we would be better off without BBC. Bunch of lazy primadonnas.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:He's not a scrub, stop with the knee jerk lol.

Last season he was considered one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe and had a legitimate case. Because he plays for a team who seem to have no idea how to use their best players properly doesn't mean he wouldn't excel elsewhere.

After all, pretty much all their midfielders have had periods of looking top quality in their careers and they all look like shite this season.

Yeah, pretty much. Mind you, he is honestly playing badly. His first touch is poop, shooting is helter-skelter, basically passes like me after a couple of beers and seems to have lost all understanding of proper off the ball running. Essentially, every criticism he is receiving is legit.

The odd thing is, none of that was applicable last season so I wanna believe this season, he just is having a crappy work year.

According to @GuillemBalague, #RealMadrid are pushing #James out of the club.

How the hell do you think you can recoup the transfer fee? It's not going to happen, since Man United will not buy him this window. Noone else would pay it.

I personally don't see how Madrid expect to recoup the money they spent, hell, if they get 50% of the fee they initially paid, that would be plenty.

Woodward get it done

push Rooney out of the starting 11

Tbh James is playing the exact way Jose described his perfect 10 last year. He's a goalscorer first and foremost imo, an artist in finishing. A brilliant technician, but unfortunately very slow.

The guy has the talent for a great team to be built around him. Madrid really doesn't suit him. Had Pogba not gone to United he could have been our metronome. Like Pogba, he requires a very specific set up to do well. I can't hink of any club that can make use of his strengths now tbh. Sad story.

James/Pogba swap?

Seems like a fair deal to me.

vanDEEZ wrote:James/Pogba swap?

Seems like a fair deal to me.

No thanks. All we need now is for Rooney to be benched and we can compete with the top of the epl.

So, if he does get sold off, would he be considered a flop?

nah

Doc wrote:So, if he does get sold off, would he be considered a flop?

The flop level is too extreme. He played well when he wasn't used as a CM. If he was allowed to be the AM he would be perfect, but Zidane wants a 433 and BBC must start.