Oh dear... perhaps you haven't been following along, Ian, but there is a school of thought, voiced repeatedly on here, that such players are precisely what Moyes is limited to... and also where he has seen some of his greatest coups in the past: need I mention Lescott, Cahill, Jagielka...???

Moyes's tactics in big games are questionable, I agree, but that surely is a different matter... although there are those who will say his inability to buy the superstars prevents him from allowing his team to play expansively in those big games. I don't buy it myself. Nothing ventured...

Absolutely ridiculous.

For a start - remember Lescott, Jagielka, Cahill, etc?

Secondly, it’s TheE People linking Moyes with Ledley, Commons and O’Neil. Only an idiot would buy in to these rumours.

Thirdly, as for Naughton, half the league seem interested in him - do they all lack ambition?

Does the fact that a young player has started out in the lower leagues mean he is a poor player? Moyes has stated his intention to buy young players with potential and desire. Quite a sensible practice from my persective given our lack of financial muscle to splurge £80 million on Christiano Ronaldo! A quarter of that sum to go on one signing would be nice.

A lot of our signings never really make me go "WOWOWOWEEEE!" — Arteta, Pienaar, Felli were unknown entities to me. Just because they were foreign and had played in top level leagues abroad did not excite me. Over time it is fairly safe to say they are very good performers on the whole. Shandy van der Meyde came with a huge reputation and he was a massive damp squib. Reputations can often mean little.

I agree with Michael that we should try to be more expansive. Certainly having a team full of ’championship’ players doesn’t restrict that — I thought Swansea City were one of the most attractive teams I watched last year. They took Fulham to pieces. For Swansea, Fulham would be a ’big team’ given their relative league positions.

Players "with proven Premier League quality"? That means PL players, or ex-players. Many a man with a good track record in Europe has come to these shores to struggle in the cauldron that is the PL. They usually need six months to settle, and some never do.

Which is one reason why I think Moyes wanted Jo again - we’ve done the hard work with him since January, and if he is going to make it (which I think is very possible) he should do it with us.

Naughton is a real prospect, hence Appy Arry’s apparent interest. His club seems to be stuffed with right backs, in contrast to ours, which is why I think he will follow Jagielka to Goodison.

And as for paper talk — did any of them forecast Owen to MU? Not a one, I believe.

I don’t know why Moyes signed Championship players like Cahill, Lescott and Jagielka. He even signs foreign players we never had previously heard of like Pienaar, Fellaini and Yobo, and even picks up players from reserve teams like Neville and Howard. Disgraceful behaviour!!!

Why doesn’t he spend £30m-£50m on individual players such as Tevez, Berbatov, etc???

Moyes lacks ambition? What planet are you on? The one thing he cannot be accused of is lacking ambition. Maybe you’d prefer him to go to one of the Sky 4 to prove he doesn’t.

For a start Naughton will be class. If we can pull that one off, I’ll be more than happy. Jo is a shrewd move in my opinion. Would you have been happier if we’d have spent £18 million on Jo last season? Would that make Moyes ambitious?
Repeating everyone else here, but Cahill, Lescott, Jags etc.... I’d take a few more of these so-called ’underwhelming’ buys if there are any on the table.

Nonesense thread in my opinion... sorry.

Moyes is a good manager... period. If he didn’t have ambition, City would have Lescott. Remember the Nugent rumours. Moyes didn’t rate him, boy didn’t sign… Genius!

Some managers take shortcuts and spend big (Benitez, Hughes, etc). Others create superstars (Moyes, Wenger, etc). Being an Evertonian takes patience. I never thought Jagielka would be as good as John Terry. I never thought Lescott would be worth £18 million. I never thought Cahill would draw comparisons with Totti.

Whoever arrives will have to step up. Players are better for playing for us. The arrival of Naughton will potentially give us a young, all English international defence, which ranks amongst the best in the country (if not the world).

The arrival of Jô gives us 4 deadly strikers. Come next season if he doesn’t make the grade Moyes will find another.

Therefore we only need a quick, strong winger to beat players, cross balls and hurt teams. Defour and Ledley? Don’t rate them but under Moyes… who knows?

Institutional memory goes along way in football. At it’s core the team is the same so expect us to be hard to beat. If we are stronger than last season then we should be reaching for that 70 points mark.

From the outside looking in, I wouldn’t want to be playing us… In Moyes we Trust!

Ian, have to agree with the other responses... I think that Naughton could be a great signing — I’m more concerned with the paper talk that Villa are sniffing about and can’t quite understand why the deal wasn’t sewn up.

Perhaps you’d prefer us to be in a bidding wars of around £10M for Downing, Sidwell or Cattermole? Or we could sack DK off and try and get Terry (sorry... all roads lead to that discussion right?).

Terry — £280,000 a week; really?!!

I actually think it shows ambition and long-term planning. Rather than go and spend his whole pot on some mercenary, we are actually trying to "cherry pick" from the lower leagues..

If you take players who have shone whilst surrounded by less talented team mates, and put them in a team that they don't have to carry with individual performances, then you can generally get more out of them, as they can concentrate on their own position rather than have them also cover for the inadaquecies of lesser team mates.

And of course, as previously mentioned, DM has a fine record with players bought from the lower leagues.

I am also less than enamoured at the thought of signing Ledley. It is splashed all over the Sunday papers and I am a firm believer in there being no smoke without fire.

On the other hand, I hope we do sign Naughton, if only to get shot of Hibbert! A real liability as far as I am concerned. Perhaps we could also get someone, Defour possibly, to replace Osman and then I would be a very happy bunny.

Back in the 80s, NOBODY got excited by the arrivals of

• Sharp from Dumbarton
• Sheedy from Liverpool Reserves
• Reid from Bolton
• Gray from Wloves
• Steven from Burnley
• Mountfield from Tranmere
• Van den Hauwe from Birmingham
• Bracewell from Sunderland
• Southall from Bury

Sure you get the drift by now!

It is NOT where the players we sign come from that matters, but their abilities, potential and fit into our squad.

The names you mention are young, talented and improving. Highly likely to be Premier League players in the future whether or not Everton are in for them. Personally, I hope we do get them, if Moyes is after them as it is likely to work out very well for the player and more importantly for Everton. Moyes has been very successful with developing players making a step up.

Many a player outside of our club have gone on to have amazing careers despite being plucked from relative obscurity: Ian Wright (non league), Stuart Pearce (Wealdstone Utd?), and Roy Keane (Cobh Rangers?) are examples that spring to mind. If Anton Peterlin turns out to be real quality for us that really will be something!

Well in Moyesy! COYB!

I seem to be in a minority of one.

There are proven Premier League players who I’m sure we could get for reasonable money rather than potential. What about Matt Taylor for a start or Alan Hutton, Kieran Richardson? All better than those we are linked with.

By the time our "steals" from the championship have proved themselves we could be miles away from the top four.

Wow what an ill-conceived thread.

Moyes signs Naughton for £3.5m, Rafa signs Johnson for £17.5m.

Moyes brings in Jo for the season, SAF signs Owen.

I’m highly critical of Moyes, but so far this pre-season, I got nothing to moan about... and that’s good!

Taylor, Hutton, Richardson — Championship players (maybe Richardson could cut it, debatable), whereas the likes of Cahill, Lescott and Jags have proven to go the other way, Championship to EPL. Delph looks at promising target too.

Who made the better deal? SAF signing the relatively unknown Ronaldo for £17m 6 years ago, or Real Madrid signing him this year for a ridiculous £80m. It’s not always about who knows who’s name...

Joeynkoo

Yours was an ill-conceived reply.

I would sooner have Johnson and Owen than Naughton and Jo. I think those players clubs will finish higher than us next season. I would go as far as to say that Jo is one of the worst finishers I have ever seen at the club.

To describe Taylor and Hutton as Chamionship players is ridiculous. Taylor scored goals well into double figures last season from midfield in a poor Bolton team. I think he probably scored about 15 more than Pienaar.

No doubt you are excited that we have signed Peterlin from the American fourth division. We must have beaten off considerable competition to sign him.

If we sign the players we are linked with, we will be behind the usual top four plus Man City, Villa, Spurs and West Ham.

Firstly: the basis of this thread is tabloid newspapers and their daily transfer gossip. You use this to criticise Moyes, very strange to me.

Secondly, Naughton is highly rated, 20 years old and a right back. If he does turn out to be what is expected of him, the £4.5-6mil being quoted seems a steal.

The other two I’m less exited about, but if we did go for Ledley then good. A 22-year-old, versatile, hard-working player who has ability. He maybe not Cristiano Ronaldo, but Moyes is building a squad that can compete in the top 6, this requires having a squad. He will allow Pienaar / Arteta to rest occasionally. Sounds good to me.

I prefer us buying players BEFORE their value jumps up becaue of Premier League experience.

Richardson!!! You are joking, he’d cost about £6 or 7 million and is proven in Premier League. If by proven you mean proven to the extent that he is no more than average.

Hutton, hardley proven in the Premier League, hardley plays and injury prone... but played 1 good game in the Champions League for Rangers. Nah, I ’d rather go for the inexperienced Naughton.

Taylor, a decent player, a decent left foot, but not a wide player, a central player. He ain't gonna kick Arteta or Fellaini out the team. Bolton also don't wanna sell him, he would probably cost about £8-10mil, so Nah.

I think Naughton could be a great signing, all our first 11 really needs urgently is a winger and ready to go. An extra defensive mid would be nice, but Pip is adequate for now, along with Rodders and Peterlin.

Ian.

You certainly need a reality check! Ok, every player is different. Are you saying Cahill, Lescott and Jagielka are not good players? Are they established PL quality? They are because Moyes gave them a chance and believed in them.

Alan Hutton is not a proven PL player. Ok he may have ability but according to your theory he is not an established PL player. He has only played a few games for Spurs after arriving from... Scotland!

Peterlin may or may not make it, but I doubt he has been bought in to be in the starting XI this season, he is almost certain to start in the Reserves.

It’s about players' abilities and potential, not how much they cost. Not where they have come from but how far they can go.

Everton can’t spend millions on players so if we can get players of equal or better abilities than already in our squad and in the league at a cheaper price, then isn’t that better?

Bad call, Ian, I'm afraid.

With the exception of Per Krøldrup (which was a scouting fuck-up and the scout was consequently sacked) and, to a lesser extent Shandy, Moyes’s record in the transfer market has been exceptional. He has brought the bargains mentioned above into the team, got rid of dead wood at the right times and brought the average age of the team down dramatically. I, like everyone else, would love to see Moyes with the money to compete for the big signings but he doesn’t have it — that's not his fault. Questioning his tactics when he is up against teams where one player cost more than our starting 11 is a bit naive also. The guy is good but God wasn’t a ginner — I've seen the pictures.

Buying the young potential is currently the best long-term option for our club. Hopefully things will change but there is little many of us can do about that so what's the point discussing it?

Naughton, Delph, Commons and Ledley could prove to be very good business. Your glass may be half empty but if you are going to moan about it give to me — I will drink it.

Ed Note: ginner? Perhaps, ginger???

Ian Edwards - you are entitled to your opinion as is everyone but my opinion is you are talking out of your backside.

Owen was too much if a gamble and wouldn't have played the required number of games we would have needed him to; Jo is young and scored goals for fun, albeit in an inferior Russian league; however, last year I saw games where his link play and hold-up play was better than the Yak's and he was still finding his feet with this new teammates. Give him a season and run of games and he will produce the goods.

We would have had no hope in signing Johnson and besides we can't afford £18m on a fullback plus £80k pw in wages. We need to be finding the next Johnson (or Perhaps Baines, Alves, Boswinga) which usually means buying young and slightly raw. Now I haven't seen this lad play but if Moyes, MO’N and Redknapp are all sniffing round I would trust their judgement over mine and yours — I doubt you’ve seen him player much either.

Keiran Richardson is not good enough to be a starting 11 player for us but would demand a transfer fee and wages of someone who would. Ledley looks like he could develop into a good player — it's all about buying them in young, hoping they develop into the sort of player we can't afford. Hutton was injured and cost £9m and Matt Taylor has about 1 good game in 4.

I am more than happy with being linked with Naughton and Ledley and having signed Jo for the season.

Defour would be great — looked better than Fellaini against us... however, it's wingers we need more than central ball players (both would be good though).

We sign this type of player because we dont have the money to go out and compete for the top players and pay them the wages they can get elsewhere. So Moyes targets younger players who are good but can improve and either make us better in the long run or be sold at a big profit.

Naughton & Ledley are young and seem to be highly rated. Taylor would be a good addition and Hutton also and they would help us stay 5th but would not make us any better. Richardson would not be any improvement; 1 or 2 good games per season then long times he is missing in games. Naughton/Ledley may just keep us at the same level but they still have potential to be great players for us. So, in our current financial state, I am all for signing young players with potential.

As for Jo, he’s on loan; I don't particularly rate him highly but with the Yak back & half a season each between Vaughan & Saha, that should be enough striking options for the season, considering we play one up front and have Cahill.

FFS he’s trying to sign a right back. He’s seen the problem! What’s yours?

Forgot to mention Fabian Delph, who I think would be great.
Not 100% sure about Ledley, but Hull look set to get him according to gossip.

And can you beleive it... M’Bia is (alledgedly) already angling for a move next year even before signing contract for Marsaille!!! I hope they tear it up infront of him and he ends up rotting:
goal.com

Ian Edwards - Your post and your subsequent replies to
Joeynkoo Ludden and Mike Hunter are ridiculous.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion but yours verges on delusion as we simply do not have the money to buy the big name players that you crave. We COULD NOT HAVE bought Owen, Ronaldo, etc... even if Moyes had tried.

So, with little money Moyes is doing absolutely the right thing in unearthing gems in foreign or lower leagues. For me the the excitement comes not in the signing of the lesser-known player (Naughton, Lescott, Pienaar etc...) but in the rapid improvement of the player under Moyes’s supervision and I for one can see that he is slowly but surely lowering the age of the squad while improving key areas and, limited in his big game tactics he may be, this is one of the signs of a good manager.

Ian - It is a frustrating time of the year for us all as we are powerless to influence our progress. For me Hutton, Richardson and Taylor aren’t Champion League material.

I am stunned that Arda Turan has not been linked with Manchester United as he is exactly the type of player they are missing.

He would grace any side in the Premiership, especially ours!

The players that Moyes seems to be targeting are young and good quality. The two strongest links (Fabian Delph & Kyle Naughton) have both represented England in a strong U21 team and are sought after by several other Premier League teams. No guarantee that they’ll make it but they certainly tick a lot of boxes.

Maybe a more interesting Q on here would be:- Hypothetically, if Moyes had £15-20m to spend this summer, would you rather he spend it all on Moutinho/Defour or get in 3 really promising players like Delph, Naughton and say Tuncay?

Quite simple, Ian, we cant go for Top 4 UK material as he would want to start talking about £80k salaries hoping for more whilst we pay max £50k. The Moutinhos etc would probably settle for the £50k, whilst the Championship lads would bite your hands off for £30k start.

It will be our salary cap which ultimately in today’s football environment will limit our potential. Arsenal are finding that out big time, and unfortunately Man City are raising the bar further. The only good sign on the horizon is that Liverpool will also start to wobble due to entry of Man City into the top eschelon of transfers and particularly if they do achieve a Top 4 place and attract even more players.

Karl Masters,

Excellent reply, But don’t forget, we had a manager who knew exactly what he was doing in those days.

What utter rubbish.... Davey has proved, time and time again, that he knows what he is doing and has brought on Championship players to be "the bees knees". Would you turn down £20 million for Lescott after the small amount paid for him?... no I didn’t think so. That’s what Davey has done... made such good players of them that they are worth their weight in gold.

Oh dear, where to begin with such a ridiculous article.

Budgets & financial constraints (i.e. real world)?

Moyes’s previous record on buying & developing talent from the Championship? Young Naughton is viewed in many quarters as the next big thing & England cert (already U21 int’l).

if you live by tabloids you die by them.

The other "rumours" about Defour, Moutinho et al

The fact that Moyes has shaved 10 places off our average league position before he arrived, and thus added millions to the pot?

The fact that we’re now European regulars?

Or maybe this is just one of Ciaran McGlone’s negative boys, who’s just enjoying himself by expressing how pissed off he is. It’s just like being positive, only different. Who knows? Who cares? What nonsense.

Keen young talent or Premier League journeymen? I know what I’d rather sign. I wouldn’t touch Richardson with a barge-pole, he’s a proven unfulfilled prospect. Hutton is proven in Scotland which puts him at Championship level, he has hardly shone at Spurs, has he? I do think Matty Taylor is a good player but none of us know what Moyes’s budget is so how can we possibly speculate?

I’m happy with the way the footballing side of the club is being run, and while Moyes has his weaknesses they are far outweighed by his character, vision and growing authority. As I say to all Moyes whingers, who else do you think could do a better job?

Agree with the majority of the posts and would add that one of the major transitions during the Moyes era and the subsequent improvement in finishing position has been the overall reduction in age across the squad.

Also, although it has gone out of the news recently, there may come a time when the governing authorities "local quota" rule comes in to play and it can only be beneficial to have so many young English players on your books... to have in the first team if they turn out to be good or to flog at exorbitant prices to foreigner-stuffed teams if they aren't!!!

It really makes no difference who we are linked with which appears to be what you are discussing here. Newspapers print things to make money, it’s what they do, how many players have we or anyone else for that matter been linked with this summer, and how many of these transfers have been complete....??? next to none.

Proven Premier League quality, we cannot afford that mate, that's why we shop around to buy the rough uncut diamonds that we do... Arteta, Cahill, Jags, Lescott, Howard, Baines. Yakubu was proven Premier League quality and to a lesser extent, even though he wasn’t everyones cup of tea when he was signed, so was Phil Neville.

Moyes's tactics are dodgy perhaps in some of the big games, but safety first policy to some extent has seen us rise up the table. Hopefully should the team continue to show the improvement that it has in previous recent seasons, then I am more than happy for it to continue. Especially considering what an absolute shambles we were before Moyes rocked up that first season. I think questioning Moyes's ambition is harsh too.

Ciaran,

Hypothetically, if Moyes had £15-20m to spend this summer, would you rather he spend it all on Moutinho/Defour or get in 3 really promising players like Delph, Naughton and say Tuncay?

3 really promising players, no question.

The OP is mistaken in my opinion, Moyes is doing the very best he can with what he’s got...

Ian, If we signed the players we are after we would be behind the top four and Villa & Spurs. Well Villa and Spurs are after Naughton???

The original post was misguided at best, but your return to post later was laughable.

You counter the reams of arguments against your claims by raising the names Taylor, Hutton and RICHARDSON!!!!!!

Taylor is a decent player who can cut it in the Premier League, but he plays centrally and we don’t really need a player there. He could possibly play left midfield and move Pienaar to the right but we’re not exactly desperate for a player like him.

Hutton is a right back and we do need one of those, but even 'Appy 'Arry is trying to buy Naughton (who you rate as underwhelming) so what does that tell you? As others have mentioned he is also NOT proven Premier League quality, so again your argument collapses.

Richardson? Do me a favour, he’s bobbins. He pops up now and again and scores a 30-yard screamer and that’s about it! He also appears to be a bit injury-prone and most of his goals come from free-kicks. Wouldn’t pay £10 for him myself but you’re entitled to your opinion.

F– for that one. Try harder next time.

PS - Taylor scored 10 goals for Bolton in all competitions last season. Impressive from midfield in a weak side but not "well into double figures" as you suggest.