The Mail Bag
Transfers...
Comments (19)
Right, I know that the transfer window can be a delicate time for fans of every football club, and I freely admit to being frustrated with the past several years of this ? increasing rumours, no action, no money ? blah, blah blah.
Now I don't jump up and down for every single rumour, but I am sure that all fans like to believe rumours about players that they want at the club more than the ones about players they don't want - and with this is mind I have laughed off every link this year between EFC and defenders... until now.
The Icliverpool website ? usually good for announcing things that the club want them to announce ? has written an article about the French defender Bassong. Which leads me finally to my point: does anyone on this site believe that EFC needs another defender??!!!! There are officially 9 on the books (admittedly including Gosling, Irving and Rodwell), but EFC have only 7 midfielders (including both Kissock and Van der Meyde) and 7 strikers (including LuKas).
Now I am not a footy manager (obviously) but surely we need midfielders more than anything else ? 7 on the books!! One of whom DM will never play, and the other who is young and has quite limited experience.
Rupert Sulilvan, Posted 05/07/2008 at 16:41:59
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You say we have 10 defenders but only 3 of them are recognised centre backs which is not enough to go confidently into a new season which includes 4 competitions, also, this guy can play a holding midfield role in addition to being a centre back so would be a good aquisition if is good reputation off the pitch is backed up by performances on it!
"Just wait patiently please until we actually sign someone"
FFS Michael, some of us are knocking on a bit you know!
FFS Michael, some of us are knocking on a bit you know!
Who are the 7 midfielders we have then?
Arteta (recovering from surgery), Osman, Pienaar, Cahill (recovering from 3rd broken foot and plays behind the striker more these days). Maybe you could include Kissock at a push.
That's 5... please don?t tell me your including VDM, there?s no point if Moyes completely refuses to use him.
Arteta (recovering from surgery), Osman, Pienaar, Cahill (recovering from 3rd broken foot and plays behind the striker more these days). Maybe you could include Kissock at a push.
That's 5... please don?t tell me your including VDM, there?s no point if Moyes completely refuses to use him.
I personally think we need a minimum of 8 more players between now and the start of the season. A Right Back and Defensive Midfielder for the first 11. We also need A Goalkeeper, 4th Centre Back, Right Winger, Left Winger, 2 Centre Midfields and a forward.
That would give us a squad capable of competing on all fronts and the option of freshening things up if legs start to tire at the end of the season.
That would give us a squad capable of competing on all fronts and the option of freshening things up if legs start to tire at the end of the season.
We don?t need 8 players and we won?t get 8 players. We?ll get 3-5 if we're lucky which would do me. Three midfielders, a backup goalie and a backup centre-half. Other than that, I can?t see us strengthening anywhere else.
Neville will play at right back next season. I?m all for replacing him but Moyes isn?t. It won?t happen.
I expect some of the players Moyes buys will be versatile. Someone like Fernandes who?s perfectly capable of playing right, left and centre.
The good thing about our current team is we are very versatile. The likes if Osman, Pienaar, Cahill, Arteta, Lescott, Neville, Jagielka, Baines etc can all play in different positions which gives us more options.
I can guarantee we won?t get 8 new players in.
Neville will play at right back next season. I?m all for replacing him but Moyes isn?t. It won?t happen.
I expect some of the players Moyes buys will be versatile. Someone like Fernandes who?s perfectly capable of playing right, left and centre.
The good thing about our current team is we are very versatile. The likes if Osman, Pienaar, Cahill, Arteta, Lescott, Neville, Jagielka, Baines etc can all play in different positions which gives us more options.
I can guarantee we won?t get 8 new players in.
Andy van der Mayde has had more abuse on this site than any other player. Okay, a lot is pretty much deserved but not all of his problems have been self-inflicted. I believe that he has more natural talent than any other player at the club.
If DM gives him another chance and a run in the side we just might a proper winger.
If DM gives him another chance and a run in the side we just might a proper winger.
If what you say about his natural talent is true, Andy, how do you explain the fact that David Moyes stedfastly refused to use him for the entire season? Yea, he?s upset about his young daughter?s medical condition, which is not strictly self-inflicted... but with some professional help he should surely be able to get back on the pitch and start playing football again? Moyes gave him numerous last chances and finally gave up with him something like 15 months ago. That is the only explanation that seems to fit the facts, talent or no talent.
I have great sympathy for any parent with a sick child, most of us have had kids in hospital and its horrible .and if that was the only problem we have had with Andy I would be the first to defend him but we all know its not.he has taken the piss out of the club from the start ..what is even more criminal is the fact he is wasting a talent millions of people would give their right arm for.
Paul, I have the greatest admiration for David Moyes but he doesn?t strike me as being an 'arm round the shoulder' type of manager. I fear that AVDM just might go somewhere else and turn his career around.
For VDM to ?turn his career around? someone has to actually want him! And I doubt that Moyes has been inundated with requests the last 2 years or he would of got rid of him in a heartbeat.
Adam, the reason no one wants VDM is because he hasn?t been given a chance at Goodison Park. I was lucky enough to see him play in a good Ajax side and when he signed for us I thought that he would be one of the best signings we ever made. I don?t mean this in any way as a criticism of David Moyes but I really believe that if VDM was with Arsene Wenger he?d be a star.
If VDM was with Wenger he’d have been shipped out by now and probably for a decent enough price just because he would have been at Arsenal. Injury prone and with suspect character? Franny Jeffers anyone? Wenger hasn’t time to waste on those types either. Less time than EFC in fact.
The squad profiles on the official site worry me still. Aside from the fact they persist in listing Neville as a midfielder we only have Arteta, Cahill, Ossie and Pienaar on the books as proper first team midfielders, Two of which are currently injured. That to me means we have quite a desperate need for a minimum of 3 quality additions and that’s cutting it fine. And of course assuming the likes of Gosling and Rodwell are to push their claims next season.
I’m not pressing the panic button just yet but if we’re in a similar situation in say a fortnight i’ll be very concerned.
The squad profiles on the official site worry me still. Aside from the fact they persist in listing Neville as a midfielder we only have Arteta, Cahill, Ossie and Pienaar on the books as proper first team midfielders, Two of which are currently injured. That to me means we have quite a desperate need for a minimum of 3 quality additions and that’s cutting it fine. And of course assuming the likes of Gosling and Rodwell are to push their claims next season.
I’m not pressing the panic button just yet but if we’re in a similar situation in say a fortnight i’ll be very concerned.
How I see it is we may aswell use Van der Meyde as a squad player next season. Someone who can come in when where down to the bare bones, someone who can sit on the bench and someone who can make the numbers up.
Don?t get me wrong: I never want to see him playing week-in, week-out because he doesn?t deserve it... but he should be used. We're paying him and as a player he can still do a job.
It would save us going out and buying a wide player. We could leave that and strengthen in the areas that really need strengthening.
I?d definitely think about using him this year. Hopefully Van gets his head down and contributes.
Don?t get me wrong: I never want to see him playing week-in, week-out because he doesn?t deserve it... but he should be used. We're paying him and as a player he can still do a job.
It would save us going out and buying a wide player. We could leave that and strengthen in the areas that really need strengthening.
I?d definitely think about using him this year. Hopefully Van gets his head down and contributes.
That means VDM will be "like a new signing!"?!?
The horrendous exchange rate at the moment can’t be doing British clubs any favours in the transfer market. Not so long ago a 5m Euro player would have cost close to £3.5m, whereas now they’d cost about half a million more than that. Presumably there’s a similar impact on salaries, with players wanting to earn the equivalent in Euros.
To tell the truth I am disapointed of the lack of transfer activity so far at Goodison. We stumbled over the finishing line last year, and the sides we finished above (Man City, Villa and I include Tottenham this year) are already better than last year and are going to strengthen further.
Apart from bidding from Ramsey, we haven?t really heard of any concrete evidence of a bid for a player. Why do Everton always dither over signings? How many players were coming here and the transfer was drawn out, only for them to go and sign for somebosy else (Fernandes and Sissoko spring to mind). If we went in for Arshavin in January when we were the only linked club, perhaps we would have a gem on our hands. Too many times we are linked to players first and then one of the big boys comes in and signs him.
The talk of overseas investors not buying Everton because of Liverpool, to me seams to be nonsense. QPR have just been bought by one of the richest men in the world and they have to compete with Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, West Ham, Fulham.
Apart from bidding from Ramsey, we haven?t really heard of any concrete evidence of a bid for a player. Why do Everton always dither over signings? How many players were coming here and the transfer was drawn out, only for them to go and sign for somebosy else (Fernandes and Sissoko spring to mind). If we went in for Arshavin in January when we were the only linked club, perhaps we would have a gem on our hands. Too many times we are linked to players first and then one of the big boys comes in and signs him.
The talk of overseas investors not buying Everton because of Liverpool, to me seams to be nonsense. QPR have just been bought by one of the richest men in the world and they have to compete with Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, West Ham, Fulham.
Now is the time to strengthen and take Everton on to the next level and reguarly compete in the Champions League. Once we have an injury crisis or play too many games, our season seems to crumble and we just about manage to hold on.
I would like to see at least 5-6 quality signings before to the season starts. I?d scrap the stadium plans because what's the point having a nice new stadium if theres no decent team to play in it, after all you don?t build a new house and put old furniture in it, do you?
Hopefully, a few new signings will appear over next few days otherwise I can see all the hard work over the past few seasons going to waste and us fininshing 8th - 10th at best.
Could not agree more Gareth. If £12m is Moyes entire transfer budget then I suspect it may be goodbye to Moyes at the end of the season. Yes I know we have broken our transfer record in each of the last three seasons. I am well aware of that. But I also think that Moyes is getting to the end of his tether continually propping up the Board.
I believe Moyes was quoted as saying "I do not know whether I will be shopping in Harrods or the bargain basement".
Anyone for the bargain basement?
I don’t understand fans insistance that we should have MILLIONS to spend on players???
Do those people realise that we are making a loss year-on-year? We are crap as a business. We have got the worst ratio of attendance to shirt sales in the EPL.
We are NOT Arsenal. We are NOT Man Utd. We are NOT Chelsea. So why do fans think we can compete with them when in comes to signing players.
Comments like "I think we need 8 players"! What??? Okay, if we are buying them from the 2nd Division. But from other EPL sides are a decent European side - forget it. This is going to be a very hard summer. Hey, it is a bitter pill to swallow but we have not got the financial clowt to sign the great players or even the numbers we need (due to the salaries even the average players get in the EPL).
Do those people realise that we are making a loss year-on-year? We are crap as a business. We have got the worst ratio of attendance to shirt sales in the EPL.
We are NOT Arsenal. We are NOT Man Utd. We are NOT Chelsea. So why do fans think we can compete with them when in comes to signing players.
Comments like "I think we need 8 players"! What??? Okay, if we are buying them from the 2nd Division. But from other EPL sides are a decent European side - forget it. This is going to be a very hard summer. Hey, it is a bitter pill to swallow but we have not got the financial clowt to sign the great players or even the numbers we need (due to the salaries even the average players get in the EPL).
Barry, you forget that we were in a similar position last year angsting over transfers. Come August 1st, £20 mil from the increased TV money popped in the bank account, we went out and spent it.
This year, I expect something similar to happen, only for it to be nearer £40m because of the bigger revenue and our better finishing position. Now is not the time to panic. All these teams improving now have got rich people that can lend them money. They?re in a way worse as a business as we are because if that investor were to pull the plug they?d be mired in debt.
Football as a business model is crap anyway, very few teams make a profit year-on-year, and the economic climate will mean it?s going to be harder to shift shirts (if the club ever releases the new one, I want the away released by the time I come back over!) as people keep the money in their pocket.
Can we please have some faith in Moyes because he has been doing this and is proving himself very thrifty with the money, very rarely blowing anything he hasn?t got yet to spend. Say for instance, we blow £30mill now and then for some reason the money doesn?t appearin the account? We?re left saddled with a mound of debt we can?t clear. Receivers come in, sell off our best assets, we do a Leeds and fade forever into the oblivion of the fizzy pop league.
No thanks. I?d rather keep the money and spend it when I can and on what I can.
This year, I expect something similar to happen, only for it to be nearer £40m because of the bigger revenue and our better finishing position. Now is not the time to panic. All these teams improving now have got rich people that can lend them money. They?re in a way worse as a business as we are because if that investor were to pull the plug they?d be mired in debt.
Football as a business model is crap anyway, very few teams make a profit year-on-year, and the economic climate will mean it?s going to be harder to shift shirts (if the club ever releases the new one, I want the away released by the time I come back over!) as people keep the money in their pocket.
Can we please have some faith in Moyes because he has been doing this and is proving himself very thrifty with the money, very rarely blowing anything he hasn?t got yet to spend. Say for instance, we blow £30mill now and then for some reason the money doesn?t appearin the account? We?re left saddled with a mound of debt we can?t clear. Receivers come in, sell off our best assets, we do a Leeds and fade forever into the oblivion of the fizzy pop league.
No thanks. I?d rather keep the money and spend it when I can and on what I can.
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But back up a moment: read the story... "The Metz defender is trying to attract interest from Goodison." it's just the player mouthing off. Also: "David Moyes wants defensive cover and more options on the flanks." ? not to mention a new back-up goalie.
Bassong has not been transfered to Everton. There is no indication that he will ever be transfered to Everton. Like so much of the 'stories' we link to in the Rumour Mill, it's garbage plain and simple. Just wait patiently please until we actually sign someone.
"The Blues go to Switzerland on Monday for a week-long training camp and no new arrivals are anticipated before they return."