James Rodríguez will not play again this March and that reality, confirmed by Everton’s own coach, Carlo Ancelotti, opens the question: how much advantage does he give due to his physical problems?
The first answer is very pragmatic: the Colombian misses the match that nobody wants to miss, the FA Cup quarterfinal against the mighty Manchester City, on March 20 (12:30 pm). Considering this is a major tournament for the ‘Toffees’, who see it as plan B back to European competitions, it was clearly one of those days that it would have to be.
But beware that because of this injury he was already out four games in which he was missed against Southampton (victory 0-1), West Bromwich (victory 1-0), Chelsea (defeat 2-0) and Burnley (defeat 1- 2), the latter being the game in which the difference his talent makes was particularly noticeable.
Of course, there are many who remind him that before, when he suffered another prolonged loss, he left his team without the magic of his left foot against Tottenham in the FA Cup (victory 5-4) and against Premier giants such as Chelsea (victory 1 -0), Leicester (win 0-2), Arsenal (win 1-2) and Manchester United (loss 0-2). Yes, Ancelotti managed to win a good part of those games and they answered, among others, Sigurdsson, but the truth is that he was not there and that’s it.
The probable date, knowing that that term is pure uncertainty in his case, is April 3 against Crystal Palace for the Premier, after the break of the FIFA date. It will be ready? Sadly, he doesn’t know it.
And meanwhile, Everton has been finding solutions without him. The main one, without a doubt, Sugurdsson, the man who has managed to occupy the place of the Colombian, just behind the 9 to win generation of the game and define if necessary. His 6 goals and 9 assists, compared to James’ 5 goals and 8 assists answer all the doubts.
It is true that the South American creative has a better average of key passes: 1.7 by 1.1 of the Icelandic ((51 passes compared to 36), but as long as he is not on the court to defend that brand, to make a difference, he will to having to get used to the fact that the man who was already there and who found his best version with Ancelotti, move him in the preferences.
The underlying reality is more than worrying: what happens if James does not return soon, if the team continues to play as against Burnley and if the goal of qualifying for the Champions League is not finally met? That everyone loses: Everton was armed to fight in the Premier and return to Europe and everyone will be in question, from Ancelotti down, if it is not fulfilled. In addition, James is an expensive player and his permanence depends on the income of significant amounts of money such as those provided by UEFA. If there is no money there is no romance, and both parties know that.
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