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Kone is still some way off full fitness
Kone appeared jaded throughout his pre-season performances, not helped by observing Ramadan which meant he had to fast during the hours of daylight, and after he missed three open goals last night, his manager said that his main summer acquisition to date is not yet match sharp.
“I think it'll be a couple of weeks before Arouna is fully fit. It think that will be just the normal time.
“He's not far away physically from his best moment last season. But it's been a testing summer for him with Ramadan and his personal situation.
“I thought when he came on Saturday he showed he is ready and desperate to perform. I don't think he's too far away from being at his best level.”
Quotes or other material sourced from Liverpool Daily Post
Reader Comments (75)
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2 Posted 29/08/2013 at 14:44:09
He'll fit right in with our current strike force!
3 Posted 29/08/2013 at 14:45:56
4 Posted 29/08/2013 at 14:56:46
First time I've ever heard it as an excuse though.
5 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:02:34
To me, I think he is not as good as people think he is. 13 goals last season is the realm of many strikers who are average at best and poor at the worst. Ramadan and eating habits are not the cause of lack of skill and ability. I hope I am proven totally wrong and he is our next legend number nine but what I have seen up to now including last season's performances is not promising.
6 Posted 29/08/2013 at 14:43:40
We know we're never going to be in the market for a Ibrahimavic or a Messi and we know we can't afford to have a couple of miserable-looking, 100 grand a week strikers refusing to play coz the manager looked at them 'funny'.
Basically, we need to see every penny we spend working it's nuts off.
That is why I don't understand why we would entertain the following.
Players who takes Ramadan seriously and therefore can't perform during pre-season and aren't going to be strong enough until 6/7/8 games of the season have been played.
Players who may fuck off to Africa for the cup of nations (or if Yak's performance was anything to go by - 'The Cup Of Meet Up With Your Mates And Family And Hammer The Bar-B-Q')
This might seem a little..um..'intolerant' but this is not the case - my ONLY concern is that when Everton ARE able to cobble 5/6m nicker together to buy a striker, I'd like to think we're getting every cents worth.
The player's only distraction should be how big his daft headphones should be (XXXXL or XXXXXL?)
By the way, my girlfriend is French-Algerian and a month back (in shite French) I was wishing her mam 'felicitacions' on (at 84!) completing Ramadan.
The difference is, she doesn't play for Everton
(although should we decide we need to replace Osman....)
7 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:07:48
8 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:21:21
God almighty, it's like having a centre-forward who can't play well on hard pitches 'cos he gets blisters on his tootsies. Remember him?
Wasn't bad though!
9 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:20:31
I'm not defending his poor finishing last night, he should have had a hat trick and possibly won a penalty. What I will say is that it his overall contribution was pretty good. He got involved in the build-up play, had some good hold-up play and at least he had the opportunities to score. If he carries on getting the chances they will start going in. Strikers thrive on confidence and once he scores his touch will improve.
Its as if people want him to fail so they can say they were right all along. I'm realistic enough to realise our three main strikers are not of the highest quality and none are the 20 goal a year striker we crave, but we have to work with what we got and rubbishing them at every opportunity won't help matters.
11 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:34:45
I saw enough of Kone last night to know he will be an asset for us.
The African Nations Cup (remember when it's name made sense?) is another matter altogether. What a farce.
13 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:48:28
14 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:51:44
And did Martinez ever bleat about it when Kone was at Wigan?
Or any other managers of teams with Muslin players?
How many EPL games have been stopped for the players to observe the call to prayer?
15 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:57:27
16 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:54:44
17 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:06:08
But then I looked at some footage on the interwebby thingy... shows a full MotD from 1967, first game of season and we battered Man Utd 3 - 1. Watch it if you can... the person to whom we refer was well back behind the ball when needed and put in a few good tackles besides scoring a pearler.
Also worthy of note is a tackle that Howard puts in on Georgie boy... the ground shudders!
18 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:10:55
19 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:19:28
His finishing last night was off but everything else was good. When he came on for 20 mins against West. Brom. we looked more dangerous immediately.
So you've made your mind up already on one match and 20 mins that he's useless, alright, the guy scored 13 goals playing for Wigan last season. It's London to an onion that he'll be an important player for us, care to bet?
20 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:29:26
What the fuck?
21 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:28:36
Yes his finishing was garbage but he held the ball up well and has pace which causes defences problems they just don't have when playing against flat foots like Jelavic and Vic.
Kone should start at Cardiff.
22 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:32:29
I have been defending Kone here, but going without food for 16 hours isn't enough to throw off his whole pre-season. Make sure you stock up in the mornings and evenings and the worst you might get is the odd grumble from your belly. Liquids are a different matter and running about for long periods in the hot sun without a drink would be tough, but surely not enough to destroy his pre-season.
His fitness was not the issue last night, it was his sharpness. Martinez is making excuses for him when he should have said "Arouna missed a couple of great opportunities tonight. I was happy with his contribution and I'm fully confident that he will be more focused in our next game and not let chances like that go begging again.". Sometimes bullshit is not the best policy!
23 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:35:49
24 Posted 29/08/2013 at 15:57:05
He certainly didn't lack movement but the expected sharpness wasn't there.
The whole thing is so unprofessional it boggles the mind. Even worse. Our manager doesn't expect him to be fully fit till the end of September and this is "normal".
Thank God Evertonians have a great sense of humour. Without it we'd all be in straitjackets.
25 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:51:18
The main reason is because he's not very good at football from what I can tell.
He was in the right place on more than one occasion, which to me would indicate his fitness wasn't too terrible - it was his ability to kick the pigs bladder into the onion bag which was the problem.
26 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:53:13
27 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:49:49
Leathering the ball over after beating a man 6 yards out is lack of composure - Ramadan doesn't figure, he needs to up his game pronto.
28 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:49:08
I was at that match against Man Utd in the 1967-68 season. They were the Champions and also went on to win the European Cup. Alex Young had a great game but Man of the Match for us by far was little curly Alan Ball. If Bale is worth £85 million, Ball would be worth over £100 million, he was that good.
29 Posted 29/08/2013 at 16:32:13
Tucking the ball in the onion bag is NOT more difficult for them than it is for their team-mates, is it ?
30 Posted 29/08/2013 at 17:24:21
Don't tell me yours still hasn't arrived ?
Mine fits like a glove, a weird, crotch hugging, debilitating glove that draws some "looks" in Asda and makes entering my PIN a bit of a "performance" admittedly
31 Posted 29/08/2013 at 17:11:01
I'd be more worried if we had a boozer or a fat bloke like me on the books. Adhering to Ramadan shows a discipline from which other footballers might learn.
32 Posted 29/08/2013 at 18:08:25
no need to bullshit us with fabrications of Ramadan. Give us a break. Don't disrespect our intellect. The man just is in a slump due to a move.
With that said, the boy needs to IMPROVE stat. Those misses were frightening.
33 Posted 29/08/2013 at 18:16:52
At least there isn’t an African Cup of Nations this year, mind you he wouldn’t make the Ivory Coast squad at the moment. I would of preferred to have seen Lacina Traore come to Everton, considering Anzhi Makhachkala are having a fire sale at the moment. Someone who makes Peter Crouch look small never mind Baines, Pienaar and Osman.
34 Posted 29/08/2013 at 17:56:24
Yes, it was a lack of sharpness that cost him last night - I'm not blaming that on his fasting. I'm just saying that the reason he's not played much pre-season is because he wasn't in the right state.
I also said on a previous thread that Kone should have forfeited his wage whilst he wasn't giving football his best efforts. That didn't go down well.
35 Posted 29/08/2013 at 18:20:12
Check it out on the highlights.
Michael K,
London to an onion means its a certainly, a bookie would lay you the value of London ie, a gigantic fortune if you bet an onion ie. worth bugger all! in other words I'm saying its a certainty that Kone will be a good acquisition for us.
36 Posted 29/08/2013 at 18:39:11
When we lose Fellaini on Monday night I hope with every once of my blue soul that someone with a bit of nous says "Alright, he's yours, but only if you chuck in Javier Hernandez"
37 Posted 29/08/2013 at 18:41:29
Martinez also referred to his 'personal situation', which ostensibly transcends the Ramadan issue some are fixated on. Perhaps there is more to it than we are aware?
39 Posted 29/08/2013 at 18:52:37
I saw enough in his link up play and touch to know he will very good for us this season, it was obvious to me he wasn't sharp and reacting as quick as he can.
I reckon at least 15 goals this season and lots of important link up play.
COYK
40 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:02:48
41 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:18:59
42 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:24:10
43 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:26:48
44 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:27:25
45 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:23:00
He looked sharp, got into the right positions and overall his play was very good.
He did miss several chances, including a couple of fairly easy ones, but he showed enough to make me think he'll do really well for us this season after a couple of games to get sharpness. To me he looks a better all-round striker than Jelly.
Wasn't only him that missed chances last night either. Naismith and Osman(amongst others) both missed fairly easy chances if I recall correctly.
46 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:31:12
47 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:56:43
48 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:56:06
49 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:55:50
50 Posted 29/08/2013 at 19:58:45
51 Posted 29/08/2013 at 20:06:53
52 Posted 29/08/2013 at 20:31:34
Players take time to settle and our players will need to get used to a different type of forward to Jelly or Anichebe and learn how to get the best out of him.
Anyone can have a shit day at the office; Jelly had a shit full season and missed far easier chances than Kone did, yet most of us(rightly) are still giving him the benefit of the doubt. People shouldn't write off a 29 year old international who scored a decent return in previous seasons solely on the back of just 90 minutes of football with a new team.
53 Posted 29/08/2013 at 20:55:00
Check it out on the highlights on Everton TV.
I'm not Kones dad by the way, I'm his mum!
54 Posted 29/08/2013 at 21:14:54
55 Posted 29/08/2013 at 21:33:25
He's just given birth allegedly Gavin.
56 Posted 29/08/2013 at 21:54:00
57 Posted 29/08/2013 at 21:57:36
WTF does "London to an onion" mean?
58 Posted 29/08/2013 at 22:10:47
What I was saying was that I'm that confident that Kone will be a good acquisition and that
if he gives me a onion and Kone is a flop I have to give him £100 trillion, meaning I think its a certainty he will turn out a good buy.
The expression could just as well be London to a bar of soap!
Hope you understand my ramblings.
59 Posted 29/08/2013 at 22:54:44
60 Posted 29/08/2013 at 23:37:21
61 Posted 30/08/2013 at 00:31:18
62 Posted 30/08/2013 at 05:53:17
Everton to a lemon
London to a bar of soap
Is this an online footy forum or an online shopping channel?
63 Posted 30/08/2013 at 06:29:32
...which meant he chose to fast during the hours...
64 Posted 30/08/2013 at 09:17:12
65 Posted 30/08/2013 at 13:49:43
However, before running down our own, maybe some Evertonians really need to wise up
Ramadan does NOT occur at the same time each year, and this year Ramadan occurred through July/August
Abstinence from food, drink (including water) and sexual activity is required throughout Ramadan during daylight hours (up to 18 or 19 hours per day this year) factor in the warmest summer for quite a while and it is obvious that Muslims in Britain endured 30 days of exacting observation for their religion
Additional prayer (as much as 24 hrs on one certain day) is either required or undertaken
Given these conditions, Arouna Kone can easily be seen to have fair reasons as to why he may have struggled to match his team-mates during Ramadan
Most Muslims believe that following Ramadan they become they stronger for it and that
I hope that "Eid al-Fitr" began Arouna's resurgence and that spiritually, physically and mentally he is the stronger for his observance of Ramadan
Arouna is a Blue
66 Posted 30/08/2013 at 14:37:43
I still can not read nor say
Ramadan
without the need to follow it with
"Ding Dong"
67 Posted 30/08/2013 at 14:48:36
Example, if a muslim was in the land of the midnight sun when Ramadan fell would he fast for 30 days because there was no sunset?
68 Posted 30/08/2013 at 14:57:28
I took my information from a Muslim website, and it did specifically mention Scandinavia and the difficulties of the elongated daytime
http://www.ramadantimetable.co.uk/ramadan-blog/263-the-purpose-of-ramadan-and-why-muslims-fast
Some years go I had 2 Saudi Arabian mates (One was a proper Blue) who were (pretty slack) Muslims who observed Ramadan, and even then it was a tough ask, but at that time Ramadan fell during November.
Remember that Islam is NOT a shilly shally faith like western versions of Christianity are, with ever increasingly diluted versions available for increasing degrees of heresy !
(I’m not religious at all BTW, though I do try to understand the chosen faith of others. Just can not get my head around the cult of "Anfieldism", makes fuckall sense to me !)
69 Posted 30/08/2013 at 17:23:15
70 Posted 30/08/2013 at 17:55:39
In what I have read I have seen not a single word regarding "shooting boots", though in fairness, he really hasn't had much match practice
Even so, his lack of anticipation on Wednesday was actually worse than his absence of finishing
I don't want him to be shit, I want him to be incredible, he wasn't
71 Posted 30/08/2013 at 18:15:13
If you are clued up then you are clued up, it was plain enough was it not ?
72 Posted 30/08/2013 at 22:10:17
We badly need a striker who can score, at the moment we don't have one.
We also need a playmaker and a ball-winning defensive midfielder but every move for us will only happen if we sell Fellaini and/or Baines.
73 Posted 31/08/2013 at 09:19:12
Never mind its his first 90 min, he isn't yet match sharp, he as Ken Buckley would say joined in with some good joined up stuff . But NO he's now going to replace Phil Neville as your new whipping boy !!!. For Christ's sake give him 5-6 matches before you verbally rip him apart. Evertonians your joking !
75 Posted 31/08/2013 at 10:55:13
76 Posted 31/08/2013 at 11:25:32
77 Posted 01/09/2013 at 01:55:40
They are both of a similar standard (very good) but lets not bank on more than 12 goals out of either of them.
We need a prolific goalscorer and can't afford one.
78 Posted 01/09/2013 at 02:21:59
79 Posted 01/09/2013 at 02:30:38
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1 Posted 29/08/2013 at 14:41:47