Seasons2020-21Everton News
James: 'I am happy'
In the aftermath of Saturday's win over Liverpool in the Anfield Derby, James Rodriguez has been giving every indication that he is quite happy on Merseyside despite the mischief-making of one little-known Spanish outlet last week.
Defensa Central had tried to claim that the Colombian star was unsettled on Merseyside by the weather, the lifestyle and the physical nature of the Premier League but those suggestions were dismissed by Carlo Ancelotti.
Now, fresh from another brilliant assist which laid in the opener in the Derby for Richarlison, James himself has spoken of how content he is in his new surroundings and with his new challenge at Everton.
"I am happy. We all know it is a new stage for me," he said in Marca Claro. “[At] almost 30 years old, I am fine. I am happy for every new thing that is added to my life. It all adds up.
"It was tough [against Liverpool]. Everyone knows that [they are] a great team. I think it's a team that is in the top three of those who play football well.
"I'm happy to have helped my team win. Since 1999, Everton haven't won [at Anfield], so we've made history. I'm happy I was there. I hope we can continue well.
"We always want to win," he continued. "There are games in which things go well and others in which things go wrong.
"Football is very physical now. There are teams that don't have much quality, but they want to win by force, making fouls.
"We are ready in each game and what we do want is to play well. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't, but hey… it's part of football."
James Rodriguez giving it the “up the toffees” whilst streaming cod on twitch. What a fella pic.twitter.com/42aFbazqiu
— ً (@CarIoMagnifico) February 22, 2021
And as if that wasn't enough, the one-time World Cup Golden Boot winner was dropping Everton-related slogans into his online gaming on Monday evening.
Rodriguez streamed his exploits with friends on Call Of Duty: Warzone over Twitch and slipped in an “Up the Toffees” reference as well as “Merseyside Is Blue”, no doubt to delight any Evertonians who had tuned in.
Reader Comments (79)
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
2 Posted 23/02/2021 at 08:18:36
I still sometimes fall for these type of stories partly, or those clickbaits, and I should know better by now, but it is always at the back of my mind the old "no smoke without fire", but when you see it from what you believed to be a credible source, it does raise doubts.
Glad he is HAPPY and according to other recent articles Mosh is going to waft more cash Carlo's way in the Summer Transfer Market too. Now who we will get is a matter for conjecture, Isco, Rabiot, Zelik, or Aarons plus?
3 Posted 23/02/2021 at 08:20:10
4 Posted 23/02/2021 at 08:30:33
He knows what is required now, he will adapt and hopefully Carlo will leave him in the No10.
I am certain that we will see and even better James as we move into the spring.
5 Posted 23/02/2021 at 08:48:57
6 Posted 23/02/2021 at 09:02:36
7 Posted 23/02/2021 at 09:03:51
8 Posted 23/02/2021 at 09:09:26
He's never going to track back and run round like a headless chicken but he's the type of player we have been lacking for years. Like my brother said, you don't buy a Ferrari to take your rubbish to the tip.
9 Posted 23/02/2021 at 09:33:50
UNHAPPY MY ARSE!!
10 Posted 23/02/2021 at 10:28:19
As for not liking the lifestyle, I'm sure he understands that lockdown means that he hasn't got to see the lifestyle yet, nor would he anywhere else.
11 Posted 23/02/2021 at 10:52:23
Am still elated over the win, so, so happy.
I have Watched the highlight over 50 times 😇😆.
Let the winning mentality continues till the end of the seasons.
Europe elite competition is our target and quite achievable.
12 Posted 23/02/2021 at 10:57:54
i'm just happy that the lad is here.
It seems that unlike some clubs we have finally built a squad that wants to be here. Of course they all want to play. But it also looks like they all have bought into the dream.
When we started against Wolves with no strikers, nobody gave us a prayer.
When we are bad and nothing clicks, there are many who write us off. But the players bounce back.
Tell me the last time we beat Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester in one season. Never mind about the 10+ years since we celebrated a derby win.
We are a work in progress. Not finished yet. But the structure is there and the signs are hopeful.
A top half finish would have been considered progress after the last 2 years. Now a Europa League place is being touted as the consolation prize. Heady days indeed. And this man, along with the other star names is heading up that shift in outlook.
I can't think of any player, except maybe Bernard, in the squad who doesn't want to remain here to lift silverware.
Its 1984 again.
13 Posted 23/02/2021 at 11:14:14
It's like the apparent lack of toughness to cope with the Premier League. These South American boys are literally dragged up in some of the worst poverty on the planet. And real poverty, not what we often cite in this country. They're tough cookies.
Glad he's happy, even more glad he's here full stop.
14 Posted 23/02/2021 at 11:56:53
15 Posted 23/02/2021 at 12:24:27
e.g. his exploits at the 2014 World Cup. I thought he didn't look that spectacular, save for a couple of eye-catching goals.
I take that back.
The way he creates space and plays the ball for his team mates.
James supposedly didn't have a proper pre-season, and this is his first season. Comparing him to Chelsea's imports and how practically all non-British players take a season or so to get up to speed, James has done pretty well, hasn't he?
Not to mention the goals and the assists that he has contributed to.
He is definitely the most high profile player the club has in years (or ever, if you consider how international his profile is).
It's a joy to watch him play. There is still so much in the season to play for.
Like all toffees, here's hoping that we win the FA cup, and get into European placing (CL placing is a bonus, but not entirely impossible).
16 Posted 23/02/2021 at 13:26:16
17 Posted 23/02/2021 at 13:58:24
18 Posted 23/02/2021 at 14:22:18
I would hope the club is switched on to potential adjustment difficulties and have some uv therapy and personal chefs set-up for the players. The one thing they cant offer at the moment is mini-breaks and the simple knowledge that you cannot travel at whim could provide psychological stress even for multi-millionaires
19 Posted 23/02/2021 at 14:35:41
Rob #9, I noticed that too.
Colin #14, I don't even want to know what that is.
John #10, you've said it elegantly, especially with your line about Sheedy's left foot. I was ecstatic when we signed James, to the point where I'm sure some of the folks here were rolling their eyes at my gushing. I believed he'd bring us something we hadn't seen in decades -- the change of a game with a touch or two. And he has.
DK #2, I'm looking forward to the summer window too, but not necessarily to see any of those players come in (especially not Rabiot, thanks very much). I expect Marcel and Carlo to bring us a few that aren't yet on anyone's speculation list.
20 Posted 23/02/2021 at 15:30:02
21 Posted 23/02/2021 at 16:55:28
22 Posted 23/02/2021 at 18:45:14
23 Posted 23/02/2021 at 19:14:19
24 Posted 23/02/2021 at 19:15:01
He'll think he's gone to heaven.
25 Posted 23/02/2021 at 19:16:47
26 Posted 23/02/2021 at 19:33:58
27 Posted 23/02/2021 at 19:42:09
That's a load of crap about British food! The English breakfast is the envy of the world. It's the only breakfast in the world prefixed by its nationality and a good old Sunday roast with beef and Yorkshire pud is absolutely unbeatable and you can have it any day...not only on a Sunday! And Cod and Chips has been copied all over the world from New York to Corfu. If it was called Poisson and Frites Francais you'd think it was fucking posh wouldn't you?
Speaking of France, unless you specifically ask for beef an order of steak and chips gets you horsemeat while Italian food is all sauce and no substance. Chinese food was mainly invented in Liverpool anyway so doesn't count and while I draw the line at jellied eels London did give us chicken korma.
You're talking to an expert here mate. I'm 5ft8in tall and weigh 16 stone. I never got where I am today eating crappy foreign food!
So there.
28 Posted 23/02/2021 at 20:24:49
29 Posted 23/02/2021 at 20:47:13
Bobby #28, amen. Pete Mills took me out to my first pie-and-pastie takeaway in Crosby a few years ago. Never had a better lunch in my life.
Dave #27, my wife was reading over my shoulder at your comment about Chinese food, and if she had any family in England they'd be hunting you down right now with those cleavers they use to chop lotus root.
30 Posted 23/02/2021 at 20:58:13
I don't think you'll be able to try one nowadays, but Dave Abrahams will probably be able to explain the joy of a 'Connny Onny Butty', most popular immediately following the Second World War.
31 Posted 23/02/2021 at 21:00:32
32 Posted 23/02/2021 at 21:04:13
33 Posted 23/02/2021 at 21:14:27
Any game where shits just gotta blow up is solid. Grab some C4 and run around, no gun, just planting and demolishing. Good fun.
I, too, think Christine Foster had this right. This "rumor" was total bullshit and probably emanated from the dark side.
34 Posted 23/02/2021 at 21:27:07
35 Posted 23/02/2021 at 21:37:34
36 Posted 23/02/2021 at 21:56:28
Lovely,
I used to love it, but I feel my arteries furring up just by writing this!
37 Posted 23/02/2021 at 22:17:49
38 Posted 23/02/2021 at 22:28:37
39 Posted 23/02/2021 at 23:05:43
40 Posted 23/02/2021 at 23:12:10
41 Posted 23/02/2021 at 23:15:59
That said, I do love my childhood treat of chips peas and onion gravy from the Goodison Supper Bar. Can we please take that to Bramley-Moore Dock with us?
Pasta is all sauce? You're thinking New York, not Roma; you have just offended the Italian nation sir!!
Back to James. He is a joy to watch for me. Slows the game down to a pace he sees it at. Very few can do that.
42 Posted 23/02/2021 at 23:46:45
43 Posted 23/02/2021 at 00:05:45
Not sure why John thinks a conny onny butty is necessarily a thing of the past. Conny onny is sweetened condensed milk and readily available, though perhaps not a standard part of most households' shopping list these days. Never had it on a butty myself but my great aunt and uncle used it in coffee. Saves spooning in the three sugars separately I guess. We kids used to fight over who got to suck the spoon, although we all got a spoonful as a treat in the end.
Personally, I could eat the stuff straight out of the tin. I'd vote we keep the conny onny secret from James. If he finds it as addictive as we did, he'd end up Dave Robert's size in no time!
44 Posted 24/02/2021 at 00:18:30
Let's stick a few up Southampton. UTFT!
45 Posted 24/02/2021 at 01:17:45
"Dad, I'm hungry"
"Well, have a sugar butty"
"I don't want a sugar butty"
"Well you're not hungry, then"
Anyone remember the sheer delight of a mashed banana and sugar butty, as a kid? Ambrosia. 💙
46 Posted 24/02/2021 at 02:59:39
As for James – he's our gold dust.
I see Leeds thumped Southampton 3-0 last night. Let's hope we are up and at 'em from the off come the weekend. COYBs.
47 Posted 24/02/2021 at 03:49:17
Si (#25); Are you sure jam butties were mined? I thought they came from the Jam Butty Factory and the treacle was mined.
Mike G; Is a ham sarney kosher? Don't worry, we'll keep it in-house but it does remind me of a true story set many years ago. A friend worked in an abattoir in Woolton and the Rabbi used to come around to check the sheep were kosher. This involved him rolling up his sleeve and putting his arm down the dead animal's throat to check the lungs weren't stuck to its sides. While he was doing this one of the lads went around the other end, put his arm up it and shook his hand. Never seen anybody jump that high before or since.
Where ever you may wander,there's no place like home...
48 Posted 24/02/2021 at 03:58:23
Let's hope he gets a feel for the dark, muddy north-west of England.
49 Posted 24/02/2021 at 05:36:49
But no, that ham was no more kosher than the Italian sausage I had for breakfast -- before I knew I was eating a butty! (My wife cannot stop giggling at that.)
I love the mind-broadening aspects of TW. My education never stops.
50 Posted 24/02/2021 at 07:41:42
51 Posted 24/02/2021 at 09:11:04
52 Posted 24/02/2021 at 09:35:30
53 Posted 24/02/2021 at 10:12:13
54 Posted 24/02/2021 at 10:15:28
55 Posted 24/02/2021 at 11:04:51
Another favourite butty of mine was an Ulster fry butty. Not to be confused with the Ulster fry breakfast, this was a slice of fatty, salty, cold meat served on two slices of mothers pride with lots of butter to keep the cholesterol levels down.
56 Posted 24/02/2021 at 13:18:16
James would be in his element with that, perfect carb loading a couple of hours before a game!
57 Posted 24/02/2021 at 14:04:35
58 Posted 24/02/2021 at 14:19:20
59 Posted 24/02/2021 at 14:26:56
Wonder if it is a reference to the last match?!?!
Funny fellow James.
60 Posted 24/02/2021 at 14:45:40
I worked with a feller who used to have alternating butties for his packed lunch, always the same. Mon Wed Fri Dairylee cheese spread and onion butties, Tue Thurs, Corned Jock and onion. I am not sure if he is still alive.
61 Posted 24/02/2021 at 15:16:16
Miles better than your peanut butter and jam sarnies (joking) and totally kosher.
62 Posted 24/02/2021 at 15:23:28
63 Posted 24/02/2021 at 15:44:23
64 Posted 24/02/2021 at 18:16:54
65 Posted 24/02/2021 at 18:20:30
66 Posted 24/02/2021 at 18:45:49
67 Posted 24/02/2021 at 19:19:55
Of course we want to play forward if it's on. But at the same time, playing forward for the sake of playing forward will just give possession back to the opposition and invite pressure onto our defence.
Conversely, overplaying at the back or going sideways too much will allow the opposition to get back behind the ball and deny the space that could be exploited with a quicker pass forward.
The key ingredients are composure and decision making. Really good players have composure and make good decisions with the brain, even when under the type of pressure where others would just snatch or smash at the ball. James for the first goal, Tom for the second, both demonstrated composure and looked for options and movement. I can watch both of those goals time and time again. And not just because of who they were against or the historical context of the result, just the pure footballing beauty of them.
68 Posted 24/02/2021 at 19:22:14
69 Posted 24/02/2021 at 19:34:52
70 Posted 24/02/2021 at 19:38:07
So a "butty" is salt, vinegar, potato chips, and buttered bread smashed together? Or is it french fries in lieu of the potato chips?
Either way that sounds absolutely foul, and a heart attack waiting to happen!
And no, Derek Knox lurking out there somewhere, I don't mean it's missing duck or turkey or some type of fowl. Foul = disgusting.
If I get there before I die, I'll stick to the pies, fish n chips, curry, and the bowl of Scouse. The "butty" ain't ever entering this digestive tract!
How the hell do you people make it past 60 years old? 😂
71 Posted 24/02/2021 at 19:49:02
72 Posted 24/02/2021 at 19:56:56
73 Posted 24/02/2021 at 19:57:10
And just remember that a pastie over there does not mean the same thing it means here. Although both are delightful in their own way.
74 Posted 24/02/2021 at 19:58:49
75 Posted 24/02/2021 at 20:04:07
76 Posted 24/02/2021 at 20:07:09
77 Posted 24/02/2021 at 20:10:08
78 Posted 24/02/2021 at 20:18:59
79 Posted 24/02/2021 at 20:35:17
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.
1 Posted 23/02/2021 at 08:02:56