Fellaini: I'll stay if Everton finish fourth

So the new yardstick for greatness is about 8 consistent games of decent football, mostly against teams in the bottom half of the table.

I don't begrudge him a thing if we don't finish 4th and he moves on.

No, not at all. He is an excellent player who deserves to play at the highest level. Once it clicks up front, we will score the goals we need to give him the chance to fulfil his ambitions. If, by malign fate, that doesn't happen, then we'll rake in a fortune that Moyes can use to strengthen the squad.

Give me a break!

Not sure if you forgotten the rest of his Everton career in all the hype... but he's been very inconsistent.

A midfield with Neville in it is not good enough for top 4. The Hammer was good business but as a covering player, he shouldn't be starting in that team with everyone fit. The fact is, Osman is the wrong side of 30 and Pienaar isn't getting any younger; we need to start bringing more youth into the side and mix up our play more.

We have come to rely too heavily on Fellaini, who, whilst undoubtedly a great player, was never who we built our team around. The main cause of the poor goals we're conceding comes from our losing the ball in midfield and not having anyone to plug that gap. I'm not saying Fellaini should go back into centre midfield, but we are undoubtedly lacking physical presence there. (Vadis or N'Zonzi would've been decent options.)

Yeah I'm not denying he hasn't been, but your point is mind numbingly low for the hell of it, and at least get your facts straight.

He's been playing really well for a year now, not 8 games, and even before then, he's had some great performances, albeit some really crap ones too.

He deserves this hype.

And he's only just 25 (his birthday's today by looks of it) so should be coming into his peak, which is exactly what he seems to be doing. Credit to Moyes for spotting his talent, taking the risk and paying a club record transfer fee for a 21-year-old ugly duckling. I'm glad to say I've always liked him, it looks like Ciaran still doesn't, there's no pleasing some people.... ; )

I hate to sound like Mason, but your 'fact' isn't a fact in the fuckin slightest. He had a decent run of games two thirds through last season, but was nowhere near the quality he's shown this year.

For the rest of the season he was up and down like the proverbial knickers.

Remind me how many top teams were beating down our door over the summer?

You guess wrong. Anyone who hasn't been impressed by him this year would be being churlish. However it seems to have gone to his head, without actually doing it consistently.

I also think the fact that he's obviously better in the forward position would make him difficult to fit into a top team.

But I don't think I can see him really suit the real big clubs' style. I can't see neither Chelsea or Man City use him in his current position. Arsenal have not made a cross or a long ball to be chested down for three seasons. Maybe Man Utd could use him in his current position but I doubt it.

Then as a holding midfielder, a new Vieira. I am not sure he is good enough defensively for that. Maybe he could improve on that. But I don't see any of the big clubs buying him for that role.

So if he is smart, he stays with Everton but since football has gone mad I am sure we will get a silly offer we can't refuse. I would just be sad if he rots on the bench at Chelsea or Man City for the reasons mentioned above.

Just saying like...

Citteh don't need him, Chelsea's midfield is good enough without him, the only two clubs that would probably go for him are Arsenal and Man Utd. Arsenal will never offer enough for him and I don't know if Man Utd could afford a one off payment like that.

So abroad it is then... ta ra, Felli!

Rooney left for the same reasons and so did Arteta so I don't blame him at all. EVERY player worth his salt wants to win medals and trophies and our illustrious club are hopefully looking to provide the opportunity?

We must strengthen our squad anyway and that's just to survive. We have the smallest squad in the league and now have injuries to Neville, Mirallas, Anichebe, Hibbert and Gibson plus Felli's suspension for the Norwich game.

We have Neville and soon after Distin to replace because of their age. We also have a clutch of 30 years plus players who need decent cover eg; Osman and Hibbert. We do not seem to have youngsters good enough to replace them at the moment.

If we reach 4th place without adding players in January then it will be a miracle!

Whether or not Jelavic can find form will be one of the key variables as to whether it’s possible.

The other point is probably Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea and most top European clubs would bid for Suarez, but I am not sure that would be the case for Fellaini. I just wish he would stop talking about moving till the season's finished; then, if we don't get 4th, he can say he wants away. I am not sure how this kind of talk goes down with his teammates.

If there was ever a reason why we should finish 5th, that's it.

He's telling BK that he'll stick around if Everton make it but the side could do with some additions in Jan. Not Rocket Science.

We didn't build on the last success and if we don't build on this team, we'll lose more than just Fellaini in the summer.

Do you honestly believe that Rat Boy would stay at the RS if a big club really came in for him and doubled his pay packet and offered him CL football at, say, Real Madrid? That the badge/wrist kissing, sly, odious little shit would carry on at Anfield?

I think you need a reality check, pal.

It should read, "I want more money and I wan't it made easier for me to win nice shiny things"....Ambition.....fuck off!

Felli has improved a lot, but I think part of it is how Everton and Moyes have developed his game, and whether he'd get that at another club is debatable. What will be of interest is how Everton cope without Fellaini this weekend. Although he's played well, there have been games when he may as well have been absent, so I think we may struggle.

Do your talking on the pitch, you will look a right twat if no-one wants you at the end of the season!

Don't forget, this guy is reportedly on £75k a week, no club will pay much more in this league barring Man City, Chelsea & Man Utd. Add at least £20m we would want, and that is one expensive player.

Oh hang on!! the manager doesn't know whether he's coming or going so we can't "plan".

One step forward ...... etc.

Dalglish spends £100 million, Rodgers doesn't play them or sends them to West Ham.

It's a great idea if you like that sort of thing but I wouldn't call it a "plan".

Utter garbage. Messi and Ronaldo couldn't make us the best team in the world.

If your current employer isn't meeting your objectives and ambitions, you move on. Doesn't matter what walk of life you're in, unless of course you have Zero ambition.

Now that's a plan!

Isn't a player more likely to reach his peak and be the best he can with good players around him? Messi for example might not get quite so many good balls if he was playing for Stoke, mainly because they have possesion so much less than the likes of Barcelona.

Of course it doesn't always work out like that but not sure you can write off a player who wants to play with better players.

Doesn't add up buddy. I've moved several times in my career for finance, career growth and opportunities, but it doesn't mean that I'm trying to do it the easy way. It means I'm ambitious and my employers at the time weren't meeting my ambitions.

Howard
Coleman Jagielka Heitinga Baines
Mirallas Gibson Fellaini Ronaldo
Messi
Jelavic

Almost enough to get me back playing Football Manager!

He can hide behind the "ambition" line all he wants, he want's more zeros in his wage packet. Being in a team with better players, will make his job easier because there will be less pressure on him to be the "big shining star" of the team.

I think it is you who needs a reality check, Suarez has said he is happy to stay at Liverpool with no strings attached; Fellaini wants out if we don't get top 4.

Now maybe Suarez has his agent talking to all sorts of clubs, I don't know but he is at the moment happy to pledge his loyalty to Liverpool. So you may be right that if a Champions League club offers him a move he may leave, and I just wish Fellaini had adopted the same attitude.

Mirallas Fellaini Pienaar
Messi Jelavic Ronaldo

We would win 5 - 2 or 6 - 4 etc every week!

Now where's me corn flakes...

But doesn't that just stand in every walk of life? You move on for more money; you work with better colleagues and so the targets are higher and you're no longer the star.

He's no different to any of us, but he is saying that he respects the club, appreciates that it stuck with him through injuries, and has confirmed that he would stay if we match his ambitions.

I see nothing wrong with that and, with the January Window approaching, it's up to BK to gamble on this squad and the Manager.

Brian, you're correct, I need a reality check on many things, but not that! Suarez is about as trustworthy as a bloke who is very untrustworthy indeed. To my mind, he typifies the sort of little cretin who says whatever he thinks the fans want to hear.

Do you honestly believe everything he says? That he was honest and upright in the racist uproar that followed his spat with Evra? (another creep, but there you go...)

He is a cheating little shit and nothing will change my opinion of him. I've wiped better than him off the sole of my shoe following a stroll through a farmyard.

At least Fellaini has been honest, however unpalatable we find it.

Or being in a team with better players means he is under more pressure to perform more consistently, lest he be benched. Which is something which is not going to happen at Everton regardless of how consistently he plays well.

I wonder would people apply the same "He's a mercenary – that's not ambition!" thinking to anyone who has joined Everton from a smaller team, eg, Jagielka, Cahill, Johnson and of course Tim Howard in recent years.

[Can you tell I'm bored...?]

The Sunderland game summed him up really — he did fuck all for 75 mins apart from wave his arms around like a massive shithouse and then, out of nowhere, scored a class goal and made another with a sublime flick.

Until he starts consistently dominating games for more than five minute spells, à la versus Man Utd, then he is dispensable if the right offer comes in.

It's all about greed, more money and they hope more accolades or medals, fuck all to do with ambition.

How is that not ambition? Was Lescott not ambitious? Rooney? Was Tim Cahill not ambitious moving from Milwall to Everton? Baines from Wigan?

Taking a step up shows the individual believes in himself and shows ambition. If he's going to earn more money playing on a bigger stage than Everton can offer, then wtf is wrong with that?

I wouldn't begrudge Fellaini his move if we don't finish 4th. When on his game, he looks a class apart, just as long as he doesn't disrupt things in January, I'm happy.

Also, if in any other job, a colleague or yourself left for a similar role but with better pay and conditions, everyone would pat you on the back and say, "Go for it". Why would/should it be any different for footballers?

My dad reckons Chelsea Supporter's Club want me.

For lots of reasons: football clubs are totally different to 'most companies'. This is a stupid point that has been rebutted over and over and over again put people still keep making it. It simply and obviously isn't the same. Do you have fans at your work? Do people who earn a tiny fraction of what you do invest emotionally in what you do? Does your performance affect the mood of tens of thousands of people every week? There's a lot more but it's so obvious and I haven't really got the time.

I don't buy into this ambition malarkey at all, it's all greed. I have no problem with greed, I want more money than what I am on now, that's why I went to night college to get better qualifications. I don't consider myself ambitious because I want a better paid job, I just want a better paid job.

But then again I do think Fellaini is awesome and that we are 'NAILED ON' for 4th.

(Actually Chelsea's implosion and a certain rotund Iberian waiter has me casting greedy eyes at 3rd place...)

BTW, If we do sign Ronaldo and Messi in January, I'd line-up:

Howard
Neville, Jags, Heitinga, Baines
Mirallas, Fellaini Barkley, Pienaar
Messi
Ronaldo

Man City / Chelsea — £30M please.

This was the first dictionary definition of ambition I came to:

an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honour, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.

Then the biting ban and his diving and deliberate standing or stamping on Mirallas, Distin and again at the weekend against Wigan... Oh and his racism / hypocritical act when wearing the tee-shirt after being banned.

The only people who must be blind to his antics are Liverpool management and fans. He is a good liar and as far as I am concerned is one horrible little shit. I would not give him the steam off mine — never mind a contract.

There is such a thing as loyalty to team-mates, decency and respect. Are footballers separate from humanity?

Brendan, I hope you aren't implying that in supporter terms Eugene is Guardiola and I am Benitez? I will sue.

The club goes on.

To me Moyes is worth more.

At least you're not denying he wasn't as inconsistent earlier on in the year, and I also agree with you that he was very inconsistent earlier than the second half of last season, but he did have some great performances on top of that.

And seriously, how do you know no-one wanted Fellaini? Because the media didn't mention it? Oh they are always correct in their reports!

I think he exaggerates his own importance to the team and doubt whether he'd command a regular place at any of the big Champions League sides.

Still, I admire his self esteem.

You do get some players that stick around, but most just screw the riches of the game. Bosman was a terrible outcome.

When you tell me to get my facts straight, and then.... Ah nevermind.

He's absolute quality, he's one of the most dangerous and talked about players in the Premier League right now, and that is the first time in my life that that has been true of an Everton player.

He's unplayable at times, and when we've cocked stuff up a bit, he's rescued points near-single handed. Don't pretend you don't see that just because of a couple of comments he made that suggest he's not as committed to Everton as you are.

Wait til he leaves, THEN slag him off royally, he won't be one of us then.

He is a fine player with, most of the time, an incredible work rate. But, Mike, he's not unplayable against teams who set out to make him very easily playable. A one trick pony with, let's be honest, a bloody good trick.

I don't like being even mildly negative about a good Everton player but the reverence for a player who will fuck off if we don't meet his standards is, frankly, sickening.

'If you can't beat them, buy them' — that’s become the motto of modern football. It's really a pity.

Mancini is probably the worst for this, last season’s victory speech should have included a special thanks to Wenger for all his good work as a Man City scout.

To the very least, the rules need some type of tweak to better compensate the teams whose youth teams feed the game.

The downside to his game for me is when he is played as a sitting defensive mid. He seems to me to get passed around, ends up chasing players around the pitch.

Question for me is, would any of the big teams want to change their system to accommodate him? Man Utd play Rooney there when fit at present; Man City have sooooo many options, but it would seem to me that Toure would have to limit his forward movement to allow Fellaini to play his most effective position. Is his passing good enough to fit into Arsenal's style of play? Chelsea... they usually play with one up too, maybe he could fit in there.

His reputation is now at it's peak... If they want him at all they will want him sooner rather than later.

He might be prepared to wait until June, just like Pienaar waited for the World Cup and the next window after that.

Whether there will be anything to wait for... that is the question.

Cheeky fecker, who the clucking bell does he think he is, fucking Pele? Play the game, get your God knows how much a week, and shut the fuck up.

Good job us supporters don't do the same, isn't it, hey.

He is a great player, I don't disagree but I think he has been listening to his arl fella for too long.

Felli does NOT say......."Unless EFC finish in top 4 then I'm deffo offski!"

He DOES say that he wants us to finish in the top 4 cos he wants to play in the CL

GOOD Felli! — Cos I want us playing in Europe too!

TBH, I'd be bloody disappointed with him if he said, "So long as we avoid relegation, I'll be overjoyed!"

And Tony(assuming you're being serious)....trying to diminish a player's ability because he was in the team when we failed to beat QPR and Reading is an example of some very problematic logic... football is a team game isn't it?

On that note...RVP was in the team which failed to beat Norwich last week.. And he was in the Arsenal team last season which dropped points on several occasions to the league's lower positioned teams. Similarly, Bale was in the Spurs team (Although I think Bale is very one dimensional), which drew with Norwich at home, and lost to Wigan (Also at home), and Hazard and Mata played when Chelsea drew, like us, with QPR etc etc.

Interestingly though, I think this season, and most definitely last, illustrated that teams do drop points against the divisions bottom clubs. The reading result was hard to take given the first half performance, but, it happens to everyone, even United. Unlike a couple of Spurs' dire results at home to the bottom clubs this season as well (Especially Norwich), we illustrated we could create alot of chances, which bodes well for the entire season. Hopefully, we can keep Fellaini, and pocket 25million in Champions League qualification money.