Mirallas sent back to Everton early

Lyndon Lloyd Friday, 4 May, 2018 37comments | Jump to most recent

Olympiakos have reportedly terminated Kevin Mirallas's loan spell following a succession of poor displays.

It represents a sour end to a move that the Belgian forward had long sought as a way to resurrect his career, particularly in view of the upcoming World Cup Finals in Russia this summer.

Having battled to hold down a first-team place at Everton in the latter half of last season, Mirallas agitated last August for a transfer back to the club from which Everton signed him in 2012.

Then-manager Ronald Koeman refused to sanction a loan move but after being sent home from training by interim boss David Unsworth in November, Mirallas was eventually granted his wish during the January transfer window, returning to Olympiakos to a hero's welcome.

The poor form that cost him a regular role at Goodison Park followed him to Greece, however, where his temporary employers appear to have finally run out of patience and sent him back to Finch Farm despite the fact that the season isn't yet over.

If the reports from his native Belgium are true, they effectively end his hopes of earning the permanent move back to Olympiakos that he was hoping for when he re-joined them a few months ago.

Reader Comments (37)

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Christine Foster
1 Posted 04/05/2018 at 19:30:28

Like a new signing.. for Sam..

David Currie
2 Posted 04/05/2018 at 19:31:54

No surprise they got rid, he is crap, lazy and bad attitude.

Gavin Johnson
3 Posted 04/05/2018 at 19:43:33

With this guys bad attitude and declining ability we'll be lucky to get takers on a free this summer.

Matthew Williams
4 Posted 04/05/2018 at 19:46:22

Just when things couldn't get any worse !.

Andrew W James
5 Posted 04/05/2018 at 19:51:26

No excuse for a poor attitude. No sympathy. To have good ability like he does but throw it away by being an idiot/poor attitude is inexcusable.

Get rid.

Brian Cleveland
6 Posted 04/05/2018 at 20:34:57

Andrew "Get rid" is what Everton were trying to do and he's managed to turn his previous hero status into a disaster, so who can we get "rid of" him to if even Olympiakos don't want him... at this rate we'll have to pay someone to take him!

Len Hawkins
7 Posted 04/05/2018 at 20:45:53

Stitch Moyes' ring piece up and give him to West Ham they deserve him.

Peter Lee
8 Posted 04/05/2018 at 20:56:56

I hated playing with others who had it all in spades but lacked application and team discipline. I had the last two but they never compensated for the lack of the first. It works the other way too.

Mirallas is a classic example. I have never been able to understand why successive managers allowed him that latitude. It says something about SA that he gave him a month then showed him the door.

Steve Ferns
9 Posted 04/05/2018 at 20:59:05

Mirallas now has the summer of his life to save his career. Either he works hard and gets back into our team in pre-season or he works hard and proves his fitness and gets a move.

If he carries on the way he has, he may as well hang his boots up. I doubt he has it in him.

Daniel A Johnson
10 Posted 04/05/2018 at 21:06:58

Mentally something very wrong with this lad.

Andrew W James
11 Posted 04/05/2018 at 21:07:19

Brian - yes agree. Just frustrated he s still here and I want rid of him.

Jerome Shields
12 Posted 04/05/2018 at 21:58:03

The hype surrounding Everton at one stage of these great young players that were coming through and all was needed was to get a Manager to gel the talent together in the first team squad, has started to ring hollow.

The problem is that some players got the idea that they were better than they were. They got away with not putting the work in at Everton and just thought would walk into any team. We still have players in the current squad who think the same.

It's got too comfortable at Everton for professional footballers of limited ambition. The deadwood is really turning into a big problem and could jeopardise any progress at Everton. They are not fit to play in the Premier League.

James Flynn
13 Posted 04/05/2018 at 22:00:55

The 3-0 whipping of Arsenal. Kevin created that last goal; the Arteta own-goal.

Once it was in and thinking how he fought off 2 Gunners to get the ball in our half and sprinted forward (And he had sprint speed) and gave Mikel no options but to throw his foot out. I thought right then, "We got a player here."

Didn't realize, at the time, that Pienaar's legs were tieing a white flag to a stick to wave. But didn't care. With all the excitement of that season, I though Mirallas was really going to be something. Not a super-star. But a really good attacker, who didn't mind putting in the work tracking back. Oh well.

Makes you wonder about professional athletes who have athleticism and skill, have a career in the big leagues, but never are as good as it seems they should be. We could go thru a whole ream of paper making a list of pros fit that description.

DIdn't mention it in the Arteta goal, because I forgot, but I looked it up. Kevin passed the ball to Naismith, who passed it back and Arteta toed it in.

Mirallas' body with Naismith's head on top of it. That would have been a player. What the hell, Barkley shoulders down, Arteta himself neck up. THAT would have been a player.

Kevin was a "shouda, couda" who never was. And he has two more years on his contract.

Jerome Shields
14 Posted 04/05/2018 at 22:16:36

The hype surrounding Everton at one stage of these great young players that where coming through and all was needed was to get a Manager to gel the talent together In the first team squad, has started to ring hollow. The problem is that some players got the idea that they where better than they were. They got away with not putting the work in at Everton and just thought would walk into any team. We still have players in the current squad who think the same.

Mike Gaynes
15 Posted 04/05/2018 at 22:45:03

In the first 30 seconds of my first game at Goodison (is it really only a year ago?), I watched Mirallas slice through three Leicester defenders like a knife and get dragged down -- the ref played on and Davies jumped on the loose ball and scored. And in the second half, Kev placed a perfect corner on Jags' head for the gamewinner.

It would have been impossible to believe at the time, but that was literally the last of "Super Kev" -- he never had another good day in a Blue shirt. And now just 13 months on his career is in ruins.

Amazing how quickly it can all go bad.

Steve Ferns
16 Posted 04/05/2018 at 22:49:27

The biggest problem with "super Kev" is that he was a one trick pony. He as best on the left, cutting inside on his right and beating a man and shooting. He couldn't get round the outside and put a cross in.

At the end of last season he looked to have lost a bit of pace, and he couldn't beat a man like he used to. Teams also seemed to have figured him out and instead of coming inside and shooting, he was forced inside and tackled, or lost it, or shanked a desperate shot into then crowd.

Mirallas was a frustrating player for sure. But his highlight reel is a good one. Let's remember him for the good times.

Andy Crooks
17 Posted 04/05/2018 at 23:09:27

Steve, that is very generous of you. In my view, he is a self satisfied, overpaid, undertalented sack of shite.

Justin Doone
18 Posted 04/05/2018 at 00:33:41

Frustratingly frustrating. Good player, bad attitude.

I may be one of the few but I'd be happy to play him again as a 10, playing more centrally and allowed to roam. He'd be an outlet that we often lack.

The discipline of tracking back should have been a given but the lazy player's (Inc. Lukaku and Barkley) got worse under Martinez as he wanted to save their energy for attacking. Not great when your 2-0 down?

The left forward position is a problem area that no one has fixed. I'd play Baines as a left wing back to solve the issue and keep the width in a 5-3-2.

Other options include Bolasie, a similar frustrating player to Kev. Better attitude and more athletic but poor team player and decision making. Lacks a football brain.

I thought Vlassic played well there last week. Again not the happiest to be tracking back but as a young player that discipline needs to be installed in him now. Play well, give it your all and you keep your place in the team. He at least could link up, playing 1-2s or into space for runners.

Brian Williams
19 Posted 05/05/2018 at 00:57:17

We sometimes tend to forget that some of the "heroes" on the pitch, the superstars of Sky TV are just as likely to be arseholes with bad attitudes as the fella who works in the garage or someone you can't stand at work.
Mirallas has had chances aplenty to change his attitude and it aint likely to happen, ever!

Colin Glassar
21 Posted 05/05/2018 at 07:57:57

We will never get rid of this leech now. Just add him to the long list of spongers we've had over the years.

Mark Murphy
22 Posted 05/05/2018 at 08:09:16

He'd do well at Rangers next season - bet he goes there on a free

Sam Barrett
23 Posted 05/05/2018 at 08:28:49

Some disparaging remarks about, in my mind, not a bad player. Questionable attitude and the "penalty" incident may be clouding some judgements here. One thing I did like about Mirallas is that he always showed passion and fight when we played the rs, if we had more like that then maybe we would've actually beat them a couple of times over the last few years

Peter Howard
24 Posted 05/05/2018 at 08:44:21

It's nothing to do with form- poor or otherwise.

The simple fact is that he is not that good and has a bad attitude.

How he made it as far as he did is a mystery.

Joe Foster
25 Posted 05/05/2018 at 09:27:04

I wonder if he feels slightly embarrassed. Pushed for a move to the Greek league and couldn't make it there. Now back to one of the toughest leagues in the world.
I imagine his pay cheque will keep him happy enough but he must realise that he is finished.

Richard Lyons
26 Posted 05/05/2018 at 10:20:19

Maybe he could accompany Allardyce to West Brom?

Ian Riley
27 Posted 05/05/2018 at 14:30:04

The person who sanctioned a three year contract should be shown the door. Those blaming the current manager for what? Has Sam been blamed for Brexit yet? Oh no that's next week's what can we blame sam allardyce for. As for good old keV not making it in the greek league? Ship him up to Scotland!!

John Hammond
28 Posted 05/05/2018 at 14:57:19

The welcome he got when arriving at Olympiakos was like they'd just signed Maradona. Now he's been booted out in disgrace. We cannot have this fella around next season, not with his shitty attitude.

Dave Abrahams
29 Posted 05/05/2018 at 15:17:21

The Greeks are giving Kevin back to us, remember the saying: Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

Ian Hollingworth
30 Posted 05/05/2018 at 20:54:10

Great, just what we need.
He's shit and we are stuck with the clown
Sums up everything about Everton FC

Dick Fearon
31 Posted 05/05/2018 at 22:32:37

Ian @31 Won't be long before we get clowns on here demanding he return to the first team and a certain big clown will probably do just that.

Soren Moyer
32 Posted 06/05/2018 at 02:06:58

Another one who will collect his wages for doing fuck all!

Alec Garner
33 Posted 06/05/2018 at 08:56:36

Just the type of player we don't need at the club next season; past his prime, frequently goes missing in games, has discipline issues and is potentially disruptive... ship out ASAP

Jack Convery
34 Posted 06/05/2018 at 19:06:18

Lock the doors at Finch Farm, turn out the lights and perhaps he'll f off thinking we are closed. Hows your planning for the Russian trip in the summer going Kev ?

Jack Convery
35 Posted 06/05/2018 at 19:13:19

Lock the doors at Finch Farm, turn out the lights and perhaps he'll f off thinking we are closed. Hows your planning for the Russian trip in the summer going Kev ?

Eddie Dunn
36 Posted 06/05/2018 at 19:33:21

He's a poor man's Arnautovic .

Fran Mitchell
37 Posted 06/05/2018 at 20:07:23

He was a hell of a player, one of our most exciting signings of Moyes' later years, and gave the impression he could be something special we hadn't seen, right until that Derby game, when Mirralas absoutely scared the hell out of them and Suarez took action and crocked him. Since then he lost it.

Matthew Williams
39 Posted 08/05/2018 at 12:34:55

Can produce quality...but only when it suits him,had more than enough chances to shine & always let himself & more importantly the team down badly.

I fear we might go down the same route in our supposed pursuit of Shaqiri,another player who only plays for himself & only when things are going well going by past displays.

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