Andre Gomes: How Looking Beyond Raw Statistics Reveals Importance to Everton

That's the problem with modern football, everything is evaluated by stats. I'm quite old school and tend to judge players on what I see and not some stat that says he completed 50 passes which were entirely sideways or backwards or had 100% tackle rate when in fact the player only made 1 tackle in the entire game.

I guess stats have their uses but you can't beat judging a player with your own eyes. For me, Andre Gomes is a quality player who oozes quality. We are lucky to have him.

Like Dave (#1), I tend to see what the player does and judge what he can and does do well but, if it isn't adding to team performance, I ask what the rest of the team is doing at the time. Gomes's true value may be seen when the midfield, and the team, as a whole is worked out.

If two of the Holy Trinity had been missing, would we have been left with just a Messiah or Saviour?

These two paragraphs from the article stand out.

'The Portugal international possesses a highly craved tactical awareness to be in the right place at the right time, whether that be to receive a pass under pressure from his teammates or helping them break-up opposition attacks.'

'Simply watching Gomes play reveals intelligence and an ability to read the game, allowing him to knit everything together superbly. He makes those around him so much better, and keeps the Toffees ticking on and off the ball.'

In a recent game I saw on TV, forget which one, it was noticeable that Andre constantly looked around to not only see where he was in relation to the play but I assume to see where others were with a view to the next available play. Although this seems an obvious thing to do, you seldom see it with our present players.

Ian - Schneiderlin does that too. He looks around to see which opposition player he can stand behind and therefore not receive the ball!!

The evening after the derby at Anfield when Pickford gave them the winner, I was chatting with a couple of old RS mates from back home. Once the banter stopped, they were purring at how good Gomes was that day. 'Imagine how good he'd be in a really good team', one said. No stats necessary.

I'm torn on Gomes. Is he a 'one good game in four' player? Will he fare better under Ancelotti? Will he look better in a settled, balanced midfield?

The other thing that stats don't reveal is that football is a team game. For Gomes to excel, he needs dynamic players around him in midfield and good movement up front (all with the technical ability to receive and control quick and long passes).

Gbamin will make a big difference if he ever returns fully fit. We then need another midfielder with some drive who can chip in with a few goals from open play. If we bought, say, Malcolm and Rabiot, then the whole team (Gomes at the fulcrum) could be transformed.

Kevin, yep, you are right.

Paul (5), I second your view on André; when he is good, he is very, very good, as in the Liverpool game you mention. He never flapped when in possession of the ball and he was holding two and three Liverpool players at bay before releasing the ball to one of his own players in much better positions.

He had an excellent game, should have buried that header, though, and I thought we had a very good midfield player to make the rest of the team play.

Undoubtedly he needs better players around him to take some of the workload off him, that will help, but at the moment he flatters to deceive much too often.

I think most Everton fans want André to make it here for the simple reason that he is a thorough gent as a man and hope that he increases his popularity as a player.

At times I've judged André as one of the best players in the Premier League era to wear the Royal Bue shirt. He is one of those footballers who can look out of place in the sea of mediocrity around him. I remember seeing Cantona play at Goodison and thinking the same thing.

But Gomes can also look heavy-legged and lumbering, and he made no secret of the fact that he found it difficult, mentally, at Barcelona when the fans turned on him.

The fact that he seems to be one of the nicest, most generous and genuine guys you could ever wish to represent your club is a real bonus.

When football does resume, men like Gomes will shine – the game will need footballers who are not just self-obsessed wage-collectors, but also seem to want to put something back into the community personally. André is the best we've had since Naismith for that.

I hope next season is the best of his career, and he becomes an Everton legend.

As much as I like André Gomes as a player, for me, the jury is still out... but, in fairness, he should be judged on a full injury-free season.

The infamous Pickford derby was perhaps his most effective game but that level of performance for me has not been met since when playing the so-called top six.

For me, if he can keep his belief and confidence and get the required drive for when the chips are down in games, then for me he can make a difference.

For me, he's not close to Martin Dobson, Trevor Steven, or Bracewell, but he needs an injury-free season to pass fair judgement.

When the season starts is another question.

All stay safe and well.

Gomes is a difficult one and I'm personally not convinced about his all-round game, which lacks substance. The way people talk about him, you would think that he's a top class European footballer. In reality, he is the best of a very, very average bunch here at Everton.

On the ball, yeah he's good. Good passer, good range and is one of those types that can dictate the tempo. However, that is strictly when he's "on".

He has serious drawbacks. One is that he isn't consistent. When he's on, he's on. However, he can go missing and away from home he can disappear completely. He's one of those types that will delight the home fans every 1 in 3.

Off the ball, he is distinctly average, which isn't ideal in a midfielder really!!! I'm of the opinion that his centre-halves would, putting it mildly, like a bit more from him. He contributes to a distinctly soft centre and lack of resilience. His lack of mobility and general athleticism are glaring and, as a result, he struggles to play in a 2-man centre-midfield.

With a player like Gomes who, let's be honest, is a defensively average, fairly immobile, ball-playing deep-lying midfielder, there's no in-between – you'd better consistently produce at a very high level at what you do, or, you are a liability that compromises the side going forward and especially defensively.

For me, he has a lot of work to do to justify the slightly baffling adulation. At soon to be 27, he needs to start producing sooner rather than later. You could get a more effective, productive and consistent player in for half the money we shelled and on less wages. Top beard though, I'll give him that.

Bobby #11, if Gomes were a "defensively average" player, that would be a significant improvement. To my eyes he is a defensive disaster -- not for lack of effort, but for lack of intelligent awareness.

For all his attacking nous, he is a mass of bad decisions while defending -- the article compliments his recovery statistics, but fails to mention how many of his challenges come from bad angles and result in idiotic fouls that give away dangerous free kicks around the box. He also cannot track opposing runners as a midfielder must, has poor positioning fundamentals, and wins nothing in the air defensively despite standing 6'-2".

I do believe he is absolutely critical to this club's desperately needed transitions from defense to attack, and I'm willing to overlook his general lack of productivity around the box -- plus he's a genuine class act as a human being. But without a crackerjack defensive midfielder behind him, he is as much liability as contributor in my opinion.

Robert's right... he needs a Gbamin, or somebody like him, to really become what some here believe he already is.

Good thread this, two camps, I can see both sides of the argument, and like everyone else, I hope André Gomes comes through and becomes a very effective player for Everton, especially because he's got all the tools required.

Going off track just a little bit, but if Ancelotti is going to play 4-4-2 in this modern game, then he's going to need four proper workhorses — across the middle of the park, especially against the better teams. Otherwise, our last fixture at Chelsea will just keep getting repeated once they start playing football again.

Gomes is a talent, no doubt... But goals win games and he needs to be more productive.

If he's not contributing forward, then he's got to ace it defensively. And he's good but not ace.

So how best to use him? Well, we'd need a front 4 (2 strikers and 2 wingers) all contributing 15+ goals to get to where we want to. Less than that and we remain 6th-12th.

So, we need better players around Gomes for him to fit – otherwise, he's never going to contribute enough.