No one is giving us 100 million for him. We should have taken the money earlier.
He's worse since the injury, but not much. It's a look at the near future. He hasn't been an explosive player all season. His shooting is the most recent thing. It reminds me of Gerrard at the end where he did everything he used to do but at like 60% power. The curling shot after cutting inside is mostly gone so he can't use the threat of it, he's slower off the dribble, his gas tank is worse, his top speed is worse. He's a model pro and a fierce competitor but his tools are leaving him.
Keep in mind this is a player who has always been characterized by fading form later in a season, and purple patches at other times. In the past we blamed the afcon, but now he's had a mid season break and just when we need him to find real form, he's worse than ever. For me, the purple patches are less remarkable, and the rest of the time isn't worthy of a start. Who else should we start? Well, yeah. That is part of the problem. We should fix that problem by selling him, because we can't afford to play him in spots on his wages, and he wouldn't have it anyway.
He's only going to get worse, and id rather not watch it happen and remember when he was great, which was years ago. Be great if he could get a title on the way out, and you can never say it it's a failure of application, but he just isn't worth the price, at all if you look at it coldly.
