Seasons » 2015-16 » Everton News
Martinez says Rodriguez may need time to adapt
23 Comments The 22-year-old arrives from River Plate Montevideo as an unknown quantity to Everton fans but his new manager says he has the ability to succeed in the Premier League once he adapts to the physicality of the English game.
While Martinez betrays little hesitance to throw his other South American acquisition, Ramiro Funes Mori, into the action against Chelsea this weekend if needed, he is more circumspect about Rodriguez's need to settle in first, although he predicts the striker will adapt quicker than most.
“He is ready now to help the group because, remember, he had to be an important player for his team, River Plate, in Montevideo in Uruguay," Martinez says in the Liverpool Echo and his goalscoring record is very good for someone of such a young age – and he knows how to be effective.
“But being ready for the British game is very, very different. We’ve had players who take a month or six weeks and others who take six months, it depends on individuals. What we are doing now is making sure his individual programme helps with his physicality and gets him to the level.”
Rodriguez showed his predatory instincts with a goal just 10 minutes into his debut for the Under-21s a few days ago and Martinez says he will offer the senior side something different once he makes the step up.
“I think it’s fair to say he is a fox in the box,” the Catalan continued. “He is very, very clever in the way he occupies the space and technically he is really strong and he can fit into a possession team and a team that relies on combination play. But he is a player that can also find two yards of space in the box.
“He doesn’t have a specific profile that means he can’t adapt to different ways of playing, and so that’s why he is going to be successful in our set-up and in the British game.”
Reader Comments (23)
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 09/09/2015 at 19:27:49
3 Posted 09/09/2015 at 20:01:32
" ...he can fit into a possession team and a team that relies on combination play."
Huh?
4 Posted 09/09/2015 at 20:03:38
6 Posted 09/09/2015 at 20:17:03
7 Posted 09/09/2015 at 20:20:01
8 Posted 09/09/2015 at 22:11:42
9 Posted 09/09/2015 at 22:24:52
He then goes on to remark that Leandro will be successful because he can adapt to different styles of play. This is obviously untrue about any top Premier League player. If a player is not top drawer (and Leandro hasn't yet proved he is to anyone but RM) then no amount of versatility will compensate.
I find it demoralising to read because repeatedly talks drivel like this, giving the impression he doesn't know how to build a squad which will be top 6 material.
10 Posted 09/09/2015 at 22:36:25
11 Posted 09/09/2015 at 22:43:12
12 Posted 09/09/2015 at 23:03:35
But the man can spout some nonsense! I try to give him the benefit of the doubt with English being his second language and all, but he's is pretty consistent with his madness. I honestly have no idea what 'fitting into a team that relies on combination play' means!
13 Posted 10/09/2015 at 01:45:34
15 Posted 10/09/2015 at 08:54:38
I am just really concerned to be honest because if Lukaku was to get injured what really are we left with here?
It's not really an awful lot of top class proven choices is it?
16 Posted 10/09/2015 at 11:24:00
Is Coleman shite too as he was penny's and from a shite league, was Arteta shite because he wasn't playing regularly at Real Sociadad, was Pienaar useless because Dortmund didn't play him?
Give the lad a chance first.
Go to our Rumour Mill page, go down to Uruguayan forward and scroll to comments 99, 100 and 101. There's a guy there who talks a lot of sense and is well in the know about a lot of the South American league players.
You may all be pleasantly surprised and slightly hopeful even.
17 Posted 10/09/2015 at 12:43:38
Players who arrive and watch, week after week, must suffer a dent in that. Then they get rusty, which erodes confidence further, before being given up on and shipped out.
20 Posted 10/09/2015 at 18:32:29
Leandro is technically proficient and mentally able but his build is slight and will require much strengthening.
One of our better signings.
21 Posted 10/09/2015 at 20:07:36
The give the lad a chance / we haven't seen him yet is fine and as it should be. Personally I was just saying how this transfer made me feel.
22 Posted 10/09/2015 at 20:09:52
23 Posted 10/09/2015 at 20:21:06
In fact I always thought our player were more on the smaller side and possessed skill and artistry and to quote a, perhaps out of date, motto 'Nothing but the best'.
Regards.
24 Posted 10/09/2015 at 20:43:48
To be honest I don't have much faith in RM's judgement anyway. He's brought in players with plenty of premiership experience that have turned out to be totally crap. So stick him on the bench at least. He'll sink or swim but endless prevarication won't get the player anywhere.
26 Posted 11/09/2015 at 09:25:22
27 Posted 11/09/2015 at 14:09:37
28 Posted 14/09/2015 at 09:26:04
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.
Top of the Page
1 Posted 09/09/2015 at 19:07:30
So, if the scouts and RM have watched him live and seen things that others have missed and Bill is daft enough to give Leandro a 4-year contract, then we all hope and pray he's good enough for the squad. But please, please, please, RM, get out of your parallel universe.