So help me out here... How does the 11 outfield players (rather than the normal 10) work then (4-2-3-2-1???). And why three goalies (we have need only two per position? FOr that matter,m why five strikers??? I'm confused...

Assuming you’ve missed out Valente as your 22nd man ?

God give me strength - the last time Smith scored it was with Christiano’s bird, he hasn’t found the net for two years - STOP CALLING HIM A STRIKER.

Peter
Don’t mean to contradict but that’s 21 players?

Peter,

Fair play to you for trying to paint a brighter picture.... I’d much rather log onto this site and read positive contributions than some of the depressing and totally fictional shit, which has been the order of the day for far too long on here.
IMWT.

Matty that’s what Toffeeweb is all about someone posts a downright lie or an assumption and about 5 comments later everyone starts to believe it and say it’s absolute disgrace and that Kenwright, Moyes, Bully, KEIOC, Bradley ad nauseum should be put up against a wall and shot.

David Moyes has pocketed all the transfer money if you ask me.

Not bad theory really but what it does miss is that we don’t need a third goalie - just one who can put some pressure on Tim Howard.

However including Vaughan in your forward line is flawed as he is so injury prone he can’ tbe relied on.

Rodwell and Baxter are too young to really be considered and imo Victor simply ain’t good enough.

Moyes aint no Morhinio.

Nathan I don’t think Rodwell is too young but he needs an experienced midfielder alongside him. He is young and prone to mistakes but does look to have a good passing to the right coloured shirt along the floor mentality which we certainly don’t have when Neville plays in that role.

Baxter I feel could do with a season on loan in the Championship where I’m sure he would flourish and learn the hustle and bustle of the game more than 10 minute cameos at GP.

Peter
if you think we’ll get through 60 games with just the addition of Tiago and M’Bia then you are seriously deluded.

I would be happy for any addition right now but our weakest area is MF which also contains all the small and injury prone players so if we’re going to beef any area up that has to be a priority.

Also I have to point out the quality of all 22 of Mourhino’s players and from this season naming 18 players could be a serious problem for a squad of only 22.

There is so much wrong with this letter I don’t even want to begin. However, I just want to direct those of you gullible enough to believe we are 5-1 to be relegated to the following link:

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/barclays-premiership/relegation

But doesn’t signing M’Bia just give us another African Nations Cup headache next year?

I say to boycott efc home games in showing your anger towards this management. No signing at all. Are they keeping their $$ all to themselves ?

A delegation was reported in a paper the other day sent to Portugal to sign Moutinho... did anyone else read the article? The chosen one had 22 players of TOP QUALITY by the way, and a bottomless pit of money to sign the best as and when required.

Look at the guys you have included and wake up from your silly dream... we need to PAY for someone and not borrow players who are not wanted at their own clubs. Smith and Bullard have had long injury spells and Tiago has been a flop elsewhere. This does not represent the quality players we were promised. I wish people would stop providing excuses for our total mismanagement, lack of foresight and ambition.

If we have no money (which I really do not believe) then why is it that the Stoke Citys and Sunderlands have??? Stop making apologies for this rank bad board and dithering manager, who should have been overseeing the priorities instead of touring the states. I for one could foresee the pit we were digging and I'm sure all of you could too... why couldn?t they??

Why was the appointment of a 2nd in command for DM made before signing new players? We actually have more backroom staff and board members than we have senior players... STOP giving them back fucking doors.

Peter - I admire your optimism. A few weeks ago, in early July to be precise, there were several critical comments aired on ToffeeWeb re our lack of activity in the transfer market. At the time I posted replies supportive of David Moyes and urging patience as there was some weeks to go before the the season started. However the season has started and we have signed nobody. I fear my patience is coming under severe pressure.

I would not class myself as a Moyes/Kenwright "basher" ? I have in the past posted several comments that have defended our management. But I feel there are certain questions that need answering from the powers that be at Goodison.

1) If we have a small squad, why sell players, eg McFadden and Johnson, when there is no immediate replacement on the horizon? The much maligned Gordon Lee had replaced Bruce Rioch within a day of his moving back to Derby County with Trevor Ross from Arsenal.

2) Phil Brown at Hull City has had even less time to bring in new players, yet he has made several additions to his squad.

3) We have all known ? supporters as well as those within the club itself ? that our squad lacked numbers. It is not a problem that has occurred overnight ? so where has the planning been??

Peter; I think the fact that we can only put 6 subs on the bench for the Blackburn match - and of those only 1 had previously played in the Premier League is scandalous. David Moyes has the audacity to criticise some of our defenders for "Not doing their jobs". Has he been doing his job these last few weeks ? I would suggest Peter he has been doing his job rather badly during the close season. He should take some responsibility for the mess that we are in.

I think somebody once said the best form of leadership is that of example. I am dissappointed with David Moyes ? I expected better from him. I think he has a lot to do to restore my faith and the faith of other Evertonians in his managerial skills. I feel badly let down. It is time for David Moyes to show some leadership.

Mourinho is overrated. There i said it.

His tactics are terrible. Already you can see a difference in Chelsea with a decent manager at the helm. Avrim Grant copied Mourinhos boring tactics. He bought the league and when Abramovich refused to give him more cash that was that.

Every team he has been with up to date have showered him with the cash to strenghten his team.

I like to see him manage a club like us or someone smaller to see how he does.

Moyes has done a better job than most taking a team with absolutley nothing and a small squad and gave them stability in the league. He also finished in great positions. Overachieving with the players at his disposal.

He does have his faults which annoy us. But to say he is no where near as good as mourinho is ludicrous.

Like Harry Redknapp said this morning regarding these rich clubs give his wife the money they have and she could do well

I have been saying that for years. The likes of Abramovich have ruined football. Because of his money there are inflated prices on players becasue teams know they can extort someone willing to take their best. As a result every team does it now.

No doubt Moyes takes some blame for the lack of signing players but i reckon he thought he could do it like he did last year but it backfired. He didn’t realise it wopuld be more difficult to sign good quality players.

Peter - exactly which bookie has us at 5/1 to be relegated??
Check the full odds from all bookies here: http://odds.bestbetting.com/football/england/premier-league/relegation
Not one bookie has us less than 20/1

Steve - David Moyes should take most of the blame not just some of it for the lack of signings.As I keep on saying - if we have a small squad it makes NO sense to sell players without an immediate replacement as with McFadden and Johnson.I feel the same about our management as I do about the Labour Party Leadership - Much has been promised, much was hoped for - but we have been badly let down.

I don’t know about the legitimacy of the Mourinho 22 man claim, but I certainly got the impression they had more than 22 men on that team. Hell, they seemed to buy that many every close season. Even then, if you’re able to send the likes of Hernan Crespo out on loan, or put Shaun Wright-Phillips on half-time orange duty for a couple of years, do you really need to worry about the fitness of injury prone guys such as those at Everton: Arteta, Cahill, Baines and Vaughan (to name but four)?

What you don’t seem to understand Peter is that yes, on paper we could have a great looking eleven, but with a season of 38 games, plus maybe another 15 cup games, we don’t have any strength in depth.

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone on this site who thinks the versatility of players like Jagielka, Neville and Baines is a substitute for good midfield players. In the modern game most teams use in excess of 20 players a season and though in the good old days everyone used no more than 14, to plan for the season around a decent core and a mediocre (at best) fringe, is inviting fatigue and injury to your best players. You only have to look at the Fiorentina games and the subsequent way we finished the season with a whimper.

Though I think Moyes’ comments about this summer’s lack of transfer activity smack of him taking one for the board, whoever you blame, you must concede that without adequate reinforcements we are going to struggle. To get anywhere near last season, the adding of M’Bia and Smith isn’t nearly enough. Even before we started shedding players for fun, we needed another couple of quality midfielders.

Now the need is even more crucial with probably 8-10 new faces and not just our board’s specialty of loan players needed to build on last season. Anything short of that and the best we can hope for is mid-table obscurity with last year’s qualification for the UEFA cup converting to a dalliance with Europe guaranteed to be briefer than Britney’s Las Vegas nuptials.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum?

You make me laugh Peter. God help us if everyone thinks like you.

I see you’ve listed Phil Neville in our 22 man squad. We’ll never win anything with him playing and scoring for Man U every time we play them.

According to Portuguese daily A Bola, Moutinho is staying with Sporting. Yesterday a representative of Everton met with his agent but no agreement was reached as Sporting refuse to drop the price.It would appear that that's that!