The ones that got away?

Comments (3)

Watching MOTD on Saturday after our ignominious opening-day defeat, it occurred to me that the current problems at Goodison may run deeper than most of us would have expected. Yes, there?s the problem of not having strengthened the team that finished fifth last season. Yes, there?s the problem of having let two players go who made 88 appearances between them last season (Johnson and Carsley) without bringing in replacements. Yes, there?s the problem of Moyes not having signed his new contract amid rumours of a lack of available transfer funds. Obviously this last problem has potentially had an impact on the other two ? but watching the other sides playing on Saturday got me thinking ? have we really got NO money at all? After all, look at this list of players: Mikael Forssell, Kris Commons, Zoltan Gera, Daniel de Ridder, Philipp Degen, Geovanni, Thomas Sorensen All these footballers moved on free transfers over the summer. Now, without mentioning specific players, it?s obvious that not all of these would suit Everton, even on a short-term basis. Many are simply not good enough to break into the first team on a regular basis; some have poor injury records, others don?t play in positions in which we need strengthening. However, can anyone argue that having one or two of these players (or others available for no transfer fee) would have been preferable to taking on Blackburn with 10 senior players, one of whom (Valente) has scarcely played in two years and another (Jagielka) was playing hopelessly out of position?

Yes, I?m all for playing kids ? if they?re good enough. My understanding is that both Rodwell and Baxter seem to have pretty promising top-level football careers ahead of them. But starting Rodwell (out of position if he prefers central defence) with only five minutes or so of first-team experience, and blooding a kid straight of school in Baxter seems desperate to me in any circumstances, when in theory we could have signed Zoltan Gera (or even Claude Makelele for goodness sake!) who would do a decent job in the Premier League, freeing up Pienaar, Arteta and co to rest now and then. Not since the injury crisis at the back end of 1996-97 forced Dave Watson to pick teenagers Michael Ball, Richard Dunne, John Hills and Co can I remember something as threadbare as this.

I know that wages and signing-on fees are a major concern when signing any player, and in Van der Meyde we have a prime example of what can go wrong when a player comes in on a big contract then doesn?t play for long spells. Yet watching Geovanni (a former Brazilian international with experience at Barcelona and Benfica) thrash in a brilliant goal for Hull against an experienced Fulham side including Simon Davies (disappointing at Everton no doubt, but experienced, hard-working and versatile) really made me realise how little money we must really have.

Don?t forget, we also let Manuel Fernandes and Stefan Wessels go too. While neither set the world on fire with their performances last season, surely there will come a time when having them on board would be beneficial (if not Saturday, then when international call-ups, injuries and suspensions kick in, or fixtures pile up between November and the end of January).

If Johnson had to be sacrificed to fund a move for Moutinho or Vagner Love, fair enough. But surely some other squad players could have been brought in on Bosman moves (like those above) or on loan? Or is there really no money for anything? Or is it all down to the board not wanting to splash out ANY money until Moyes?s contract situation is resolved?
Chris Marks, Hertfordshire     Posted 18/08/2008 at 09:45:37

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