#lodejames trends on Twitter, criticism and comedy follow
We need to talk about James. Well, Twitter thinks it does anyway, and the Trending Topic threw up plenty of criticism for the wayward Colombian star.
#lodejames: 'We need to talk about James' might be a decent translation, or 'The James conundrum' perhaps, or simply 'What's happened to James?' His fall from grace is a puzzle so impenetrable that both Golem and the Riddler were left speechless. Twitter had its say during a debate that raged during the Levante match while the Colombian star became a Trending Topic.
Yet another pallid performance from Real Madrid's €80M galáctico set social media ablaze, some blamed Florentino, some lamented another case of a footballer who got too much, too soon, some enjoyed themselves:
"It's embarrassing, even in an A8 he can't lose an Astra" said @danipalafer (who clearly can't see the difference between an A8 and an R8), referring to the police chase the player was involved in recently in Madrid.
Others focused more on his football, "James won the lottery with move to Real Madrid".
After a promising season under Ancelotti, the Colombian star's showing deteriorated seriously under Benítez, and he still hasn't shown what all the fuss was about at the World Cup under Zidane.
During another anonymous match against Levante in Valencia, James was substituted for Isco, the whistles at the Bernabéu from the Madrid derby still ringing in his ears. His inexplicable fall from a promising perch engaged Twitter with commenters as baffled as they were critical.
The Colombian press is now moving on to another great hope in Jhon Córdoba, who scored for Mainz in their 1-2 victory against Bayern Munich.
El Colombiano says that Rodriguez "continues in his current malaise" with another 'discreet performance', while Córdoba "is a rising star" in Germany. Colombia.com says that the player "hasn't won over the fans" in the Spanish capital.
AS Colombia delved into the no.10's movements vs Levante in some depth, saying; "He lacked the character to silence his critics, his crosses were imprecise, yes, he helped out more in defence, but to win the fans back at the Bernabéu he'll have to show much more sacrifice".
Here's a selection of what they were saying:
"James isn't finished, far from it, what he has is a galloping attitude problem":
"It all started with Kevin Roldán"
"What a shame, James could be the best player on this team with his talent, but he prefers to walk".
"#lodejames is already a bad joke. What a lack of respect for the madridistas. Luxury player. It's the cantera moving this club forward"