Everton confirm Cleverley signing

Phenomenal signing!!

We have two senior centre-backs, two wingers, no creative players below 33 and Martinez has said he only wants to sign 2-3 players this summer.

If Cleverley came in along with the players we need I would be happy, but I expect that he wonÂ’t, leaving our squad weak in other areas and with five central midfielders competing for two roles (excluding Barkley and Osman who could both operate deeper).

A decent player, but an underwhelming signing given our specific needs, and the fifth ex-Wigan player to arrive in 2 years. At least, unlike at Liverpool, we know who is in control of our transfer policy.

IÂ’m slightly irked at MartinezÂ’s insistence to buy players heÂ’s worked with before... but viewed as an isolated signing, I think itÂ’s a smart move.

Having said that, heÂ’s a decent player yet to reach his peak... The moment he becomes an Everton player, I will give him my total support and hope that he repays it by stepping up to the plate and giving his all. So long as he does that, there will be few complaints from me.

As long as we are not using YoboÂ’s pen, he should sign on quickly.

Hopefully he will be the player that pissed through our defence and smashed one past Taliban Tim for us.

Beefs up the squad and a replacement for Barry and Gibson, who for different reasons wonÂ’t be playing too much next season. Also at 25 heÂ’s a good age and brings youthful legs in the CM position. Joins early so has a good couple of months to Â’gelÂ’ etc.

Now onto the proper stuff - pace and creativity in midfield, another CB and a second striker. Also wouldnÂ’t do any harm to get rid of an oldey or two like Pianaar, whoÂ’s injuries and age seem to have caught up with him.

Decent signing overall but on its own no where near enough.

Cleverley is not a poor footballer, there can be no doubts he has talent just maybe not what we need badly at the minute but heÂ’s still a decent signing for no fee.

I sincerely hope the Raul Meirelles rumours are just gossip, at if we signing another bleeding 32 year old letÂ’s just get Barton.

Like most fans on here have said, we need a creative midfielder, left winger, CB and I feel we definitely need another striker who can score goals.

Tim Sherwood is no fool. He is one of the best and shrewdest young managers around. He was DESPERATE, absolutely DESPERATE to sign Cleverley full-time. But instead, heÂ’s coming to us.

So, knowing he was wanted, at a traditionally big PL club, by the most go-ahead, ambitious young manager in the league, instead, he CHOSE Everton.

People need to pause .... and just think about that!

I wouldnÂ’t slang Cleverley off before heÂ’s even had chance to kick a ball for Everton.

IÂ’m not for one minute suggesting we have signed a midfield maestro, creative genius but what he is, and itÂ’s something I have banged on about for ages is a proven Premier League player who unlike a foreign lad coming in from abroad, wonÂ’t need the excuse of a "settling in period" he wonÂ’t need time to acclimate and basically he offers help if we do suffer injuries or bad form to players in that area.

Barry and Martinez both said that he played a lot more than they wanted last year, and with Besic quickly adapting to the premiership, we will now have good rotation in the more defensive roles in midfield.

Like someone said above... if he is our "marquee" signing, then I am not impressed. If this is to give us numbers as Barry will be 34 (and got stick last year) and Ossie is already 34 (and got a lot of stick last year) it brings the age down.. the athletism up and for someone who is an England International and was wanted by a very shrewd coach... I am not disappointed.

Yes he was at Wigan and lots of people are whining about that... but he was also at Man Utd and played a lot for them. If we judge every player we buy based on who they were loaned to at an earlier stage in their career we could have very slim pickings!

Knowing Martinez though he will probably be pushed out wide as out of position Osman replacement.

While not by any means an exciting signing, Cleverley will give us another option in midfield and will reduce the average age. Gareth Barry will not play as many games next season so we needed to add to our numbers. Roberto has said recently that we will need to sign three or four players this summer so I expect to see more happening later in the summer. A wide player and a defender must be the next priorities.

IÂ’m not overwhelmed with Cleverly but itÂ’s nice to bag an early signing.

I look at this as an opportunity too good to pass up, especially with our lack on finance and like others would like to see strengthening in other positions. We have other options in the central midfield at the moment, but apart from James McCarthy and hopefully a rejuvenated Ross Barkley, we are thin enough if looking forward to this time next year. Barry, Osman and Pienaar are unlikely to be featuring regularly due to advances in age, GibsonÂ’s participation doubtful due to injury, unsure still whether Besic will make it at this level. Ledson hopefully will be pushing for a place as well. This time next year, we will definitely be looking for additions to midfield, so this opportunity from Bosmania has just come early.

I have to add that I have been impressed by Cleverley at Villa in their game with us and a few other snippets I have seen in latter half of season. Looks like a genuine hard working player, and will be glad to welcome him and cheer him on in the Blue shirt.

re Wigan. He was just on loan at Wigan for one season. He has played over 50 games for Man Utd since then.

’Just to be clear: this is not a free transfer. Yes, we are not paying a transfer fee but assuming he is on around £60k per week his wages will amount to £15M over the 5-year contract. Throw in one or two million for the agent’s fee and it can be seen where the club’s money is being sent.’

IÂ’m afraid youÂ’re completely wrong, John. We will of course have to pay the player a wage and he will command a higher signing on fee than usual but he is, to all intents and purposes, a free transfer. You do realise that even a player we pay a fee for will still expect a Â’signing onÂ’ fee and the agentÂ’s fee on top of that.

IsnÂ’t it annoying when someone smugly tries to educate you on a subject which they are evidently misinformed.

I donÂ’t think I will be the only one who expects Everton to make a couple more of these Bosman signings.

Must be my ageing eyes, but at first glance, I saw a double Â’rÂ’ in Â’GerardÂ’ and thought WTF?!

I reckon Cleverley will turn out to be a good Â’un for us. Not sure about Deulofeu - superb occasionally, but not the finished article just yet.

BTW - IÂ’ll be cheering on Juve tomorrow - 30 years after Heysel.

England international. Got potential. Free transfer (i.e. no transfer fee). Re-sale value if it doesnÂ’t work out.

RM has got a lot of things wrong – but this isn’t one of them.

There may be some who think that TC is a waste of a wage. Personally, I think heÂ’ll do quite well.

This signing does not excite me in any way. ItÂ’s a free transfer, itÂ’s a marriage of convenience, getting one because heÂ’s free. Am I the only one who sees it this way?

The anticipation continues...

25 years old, multiple years experience in the PL already, English so adds to the home grown quota and no transfer fee - cannot really see a downside here AS LONG as this is not our main signing of the summer!

The wages heÂ’ll be on will be covered by those saved from Distin and Alcaraz so other than whatever the signing on fee was we have not spent any extra money (talking to you Mr Kenwright!).

Should still have powder for the transfer market – however much that may be. Good start to the window imo. Welcome aboard Mr Cleverly – now get your shooting boots on.

WhenÂ’s the last time we had 4 players in the England squad?

I look forward to seeing him in the Blue.

Hope he comes good for us but I have to admit that I am so disillusioned with Martinez that I struggle to believe in anything he has a hand in.

I think heÂ’s average and will be blocking the development of younger players like Ledson who have the potential to be much better than the very ordinary Cleverley.

YouÂ’re a blue now and letÂ’s hope you get yourself a good enjoyable few years at our club..

Not a great great player but the fact is he commands no transfer fee, is a England international, and the bit I like most: "Premier League experienced".

He will do a job, he may even help out the likes of Barkley and Ledson.

But, Tim Sherwood? I think he peaked in keeping Villa up and has nothing to offer other than tough guy soundbites. I would love Martinez out but IÂ’d rather have him than Sherwood and that is some indictment of the wild eyed loon of Cup Final day.

HeÂ’s free and apart from wages cannot understand knocking the guy before hes even pulled the shirt on.

IÂ’m pretty sure if we signed Messi, some would say heÂ’s too small.

Now if itÂ’s the only signing we make, fair play, letÂ’s just wait and see who we bring in, then have a go if needed.

Nice to get a good early signing in the bag, onwards and upwards.

Cleverley is a good player and once that shirt is pulled on I will support him, why anyone wants to slag this transfer off is beyond me.

Early business for one!!!

Cahill, Pienaar and Jageilka – signings were all met with a certain level of apathy but turned out well... even the aforementioned Phil Neville had his moments! Give the lad a chance!!!

We arenÂ’t going to get top end as we canÂ’t offer CL football, a realistic chance of getting it soon and obviously the money that the rich teams can.

Cleverley is decent, at a good age and gives me some optimism for next season.

Season ticket sales are good so letÂ’s really get behind them, I say. COYB.

To add to the positives of the day, Naismith has just scored for Scotland.

Bring on next season, IÂ’m getting withdrawal symptoms already.

A striker, a number 10, a centre back, and two top wingers were on my list, plus a keeper if I was being greedy.

HeÂ’s on a free so weÂ’re not eating into the kitty much and he plays in a position where we have a couple of 30-plus players who are probably in their final seasons as first team squad members and we have another that unfortunately canÂ’t keep fit so itÂ’s a good signing for the squad imo!

Now letÂ’s go and get our main targets in within the next few weeks and have everyone in and ready to settle before pre-season and letÂ’s hit the ground running!

You watch; this will be a great signing.

Optimism or stupidity. Well if this made me annoyed, IÂ’d give up supporting football after 50 years. No hope... why bother?

I think he will be a great signing and it will look better with a couple more.

As to Clever Tom, sure thing! Certainly not as eye catching as if Roberto had unearthed midfield utility man Tomas Cleverido from the Peruvian third tier, but I think itÂ’s clearly a solid signing. He is the right age that we need, has plenty of EPL experience and wants to be a Blue. Roberto prefers to work in the free scrap bin and the loan market anyway I think.

I am a bit nonplussed at this particular signing unless it is a move to increase the squad size as Cleverley is not the player to improve our scoring stats. The player I want to see is a genuine playmaker who can provide ammunition for our strikers. IMO Cleverley is overshadowed by Delph at Â’Palace and Delph would be an exciting signing! I would love to see Delph and Bolasie at Goodison playing for us!

Cleverley is a pretty run-of-the-mill midfielder and, although a good freebee, he is no better than who we already have.I suppose he could take over from Barry but he does not have OsmanÂ’s craft so I do not see him as a schemer at all.

I reckon we have signed another worker (drone).

Ironically, this is how I would answer a question on how I feel about Cleverley signing for us!

I couldnÂ’t have put it better myself. Oh, and by the way, if you sign a player in early June, does it make him a better player than someone you sign at the last minute of the transfer window? Because according to some on here it seems like this is a big mistake and I canÂ’t wait until next October / November when we are struggling what the reaction will be to Tom (youÂ’re one of us now) Cleverley Another nail in my coffin of renewing our season tickets. So thanks, Bob. Not

How times have changed since 1990.

They get our cream and we scrap for their rejects.

We needed a Manny Fernandez type and we get a freebie.

Its the Everton way under BK.

As for other early signings? Henen or Lennon maybe. IÂ’m really not too sure. Martinez said we have "found" the players we want but, as Van Gaal pointed out the other day, the process is a lot more complicated than just getting a guy to put pen to paper.

As we know, Martinez does not like giving permanent contracts to strangers. EtoÂ’o was a rare one but it might not have been his choice. Strangers are a big risk, as Steve Bruce discovered at Hull, and our fella prefers to weigh them up on loan.

This season he may be forced to change tack but the player will have to be special. WeÂ’ll see.

He will be worth £13M after five years.

LVG bought players that didnÂ’t gel, and Mourinho has players that donÂ’t work. The difference is they have the funds to get enough players to hide the dregs.

I think Tom is a good option at the right price; as long as he wears the Blue jersey, I will support him and our manager every match.

Recent tables show us as being in receipt of the 8th largest TV receipts but just because we invested £28M on one player last year, we now seem to be stuck for cash. Why?

Freebies are nice but we donÂ’t need a big squad. We need quality over quantity in a season we donÂ’t have Europe.

The important thing to remember here is also the fact that as a free agent, he could have gone anywhere, and certainly Villa wanted him, but he WANTS to play for Everton. Now, isnÂ’t that refreshing compared to the musings of some of our current squad, from whom you might have expected more loyalty?

Give him a chance, is my thought on his arrival.

I really donÂ’t understand whatÂ’s not to like.

"He once played for Wigan he must be shit!"

"I heard a few Manc gobshites saying heÂ’s shit so he must be!"

"He’s free and didn’t cost us £25million so he’s nothing more than a Manc reject!"

Watch him play a few games first for ChristÂ’s sake, then please feel free to return wiping the egg from your face.

Sure there will be a few bad ones to fuel the negative moaning supporters. LetÂ’s get behind the team and manager for next season.

Oh, the other great news is, the groundsman has solved the sticky grass problem.

Watch Ross and Cleverly destroy everyone in there path.

On another thread, someone said signing him this early showed a lack of ambition. This, when the clubÂ’s been accused of leaving signings late so as not to have to pay them over the summer.

It was funny for a while, but sadly itÂ’s become repetitive.

Barry and Gibson have at times been outstanding for Everton, both of them are ageing and certainly one of them injury prone. This is a logical smart piece of business. People need to get a grip and stop slagging off everything Martinez does.

Think he will turn out to be good for us.

The foundation of the premier league was a relatively sizeable one for instance bringing with it a massive refocusing of wealth and the onset of some huge buyouts. Of course bk wasnÂ’t in charge for the first 7 years of the pl, Peter Johnson and co were - and if my memory serves we werenÂ’t exactly grasping the nettle in those days...in fact we spent many of the gplÂ’s formative years dicing with relegation and finishing between 13-17th (with exception of 94-95 when we hit 6th with the help of a Utd Â’rejectÂ’ called kanchelskis).

In the 13 seasons since Bill kenwright became chairman and appointed his own managerial choice in Moyes for a full season (Walter smithÂ’s disastrous reign of expensive ageing stars was conceived under Carter/Johnson) we only finished outside the top 8 three times, once being the second season major wobble under Moyes to 17th and the other two in 11th (including Martinez second season wobble just gone) otherwise the club has been a fixture in European challenging from 4-8th or a more realistic average of 5-7th. And this has been achieved without bankrupting the club or having a massive influx of cash as man city, Chelsea and to lesser degree Liverpool, Man U and arsenal have enjoyed.

ItÂ’s a fair distance still from the heady days of the 80s IÂ’ll grant you and IÂ’m by no means saying the guys a genius or a saint, mistakes have been made all over the place with the Kings dock the biggest and the search for investment seems to have been pretty lightweight.
However the fact that season tickets are at record levels, that the club is seen as a viable challenger for European football each season, that we have a very decent first team core that other clubs covet (notably stones, Barnes, jags, Coleman, McCarthy, lukaku, Mirallas, Barkley, besic) and that an 11th place finish plus decent Europa cup run is viewed as a disaster season does suggest that bkÂ’s reign isnÂ’t all bad. A long way off the 80s A grade and certainly could do better but a marked improvement over his predecessor.

We won the FA cup in Â’95 under Johnson.

Barry is ageing. Martinez gave him a three year deal on 80 grand a week at the age of 33 of which he still has two years to go.

Do you know that to be true? ItÂ’s criminal if so! CouldnÂ’t there be appearance clauses at least in case of injury in year 2 or 3? Is RM soley in charge of contracts or shouldnÂ’t the CEO also sign-off? How does it work?

That is what I understand, what was reported. He was on 120 grand a week in the previous loan season from city and held out for a three year contract.

The man has been a huge disaster and he hasnÂ’t finished yet, God help us!!!!!!!.

That’s correct. We were always financially sound under Moores and that continued under Johnson who even left money in the kitty when he went. Then Kenwright took over and the balance dipped for years until the recent tv money. Sunderland have £50M this summer!

Threre is a Nottingham forest player who can play in several positions. Greg Halford 30, right back, centre back, centre midfield, right midfield and even up front as striker. He would be a good squad addition in my opinion. I know what most of you think about lower league players. But when your cash strapped, you have to have other options, a plan B. ThereÂ’s another player also IÂ’d like to see in a blue shirt, Cyrus Christie 22 Derby and R/Ireland defender. And loan wise Kenneth Omeruo 21,, Centre Back, from Chelsea. But was loaned out to Middlebough last season.

Barry didnÂ’t have his best season last year but he is still a very very good player and will be vital to our coming season. YouÂ’ll always remember him getting caught in possession but forget the other 100 times a game were he keeps it and makes us play. Top player and weÂ’re lucky to have him.

God Forbid if we never had this board, think of the mess we would be in!

Not sure if I wanted Cleverly but heÂ’s one of us now, so I wish him all the best and hope his desire is as big as his bank account. The lad can play, itÂ’s just that these kids are already that rich, you just wonder if they need to push themselves enough, sometimes.

For that, BK must thank managers Moyes and Martinez who have, one way or another, managed to deliver Â’on budgetÂ’ given the odd blip. Only the Â’moneybagsÂ’ clubs can match that record over the last 15 years !

All that is to ignore the disasters of KingÂ’s Dock and Kirkby, the failure to maximise commercial income and PR disasters aplenty.

But then, they tell us we canÂ’t have everything and very slowly - and at a great distance - I am learning to overcome my prejudices against chairman and manager and focus on Â’the big pictureÂ’.

Perhaps, the fact that I shall not be putting over £2000 into the Club’s coffers next season has something to do with my relaxed viewpoint. ?

Spectacularly missing the wider point.

Giving a 100k a week, 3 year deal, to 33 year old footballer when you have already had a year out of them and the squad is the 2nd oldest in the Prem, is a bad idea.

As far as Cleverley is concerned, it matters not one jot what he has or hasn’t done for his several clubs in the past but more whether or not he can deliver good value on his £10 M contract with Everton FC.

I love this quote from Bobby: "It says a lot also, when someone like Tom is available on a free transfer" – Yes it does say a lot, he’s not good enough for the top and we got no hope in hell of finishing anywhere near the top 4. Expect more boring shite football next season, pass left, pass right, pass back ....yawn

Kone, Cleverley, McGeady, Naismith, Barry, Gibson, Hibbert, Osman & Howard... even Pienaar... These players will not get us Champions League football.

Gibson I like, good player but he is injury prone and has played about 35 games in his total Everton career, I read the other day which is a shame but we need to get people like this off the wage bill.

Osman has been a good servant, maybe good for 1 more year as a sub for last 15 / 20 mins.

I suppose itÂ’s a free transfer, right age so shouldnÂ’t grumble too much. HeÂ’ll get my backing in blue.

Welcome to Everton... now prove me wrong!

I personally think we could now sell McCarthy, he is the most valuable asset in our central midfield. We now have McCarthy, Cleverley, Gibson, Besic, Osman, Barkley and Barry looking to fill 2 positions, it doesnÂ’t really add up have all these players unless some are heading out?

Maybe under the Â’Â’charismaÂ’Â’ of Martinez he will be come a positive factor in EvertonÂ’s midfield alongside Macca, Besic and Barkley depending on your particular starters. It would certainly seem that a few others will now be let go.

Saying that McCarthy has many years of value but itÂ’s a luxury. The central midfield should be Barkley plus one be it Besic or Cleverley (assuming McCarthy goes).

Cash in and fill the critical Number 10.

This transfer has been done early in the know that RM can now use the transfer kitty with that position now secured for the season. We all know we need a Number 10 and a striker a left winger and a good quality CB. This will come at a cost so, if this signing has helped to keep back the money we need for those players, then it will be a great signing.

Good luck, Tom – show all us blues fans what you are made of.

IÂ’m not as sceptical as some about our prospects in the transfer window. There is a lot of TV money coming in and we are not under pressure to sell. As the board showed last summer, they are not afraid to invest a fair chunk in a prospect like Lukaku. I would aim to bring in one or two quality players each summer instead of spreading the money out on 4-5 mediocre ones. We might not get instant results, but I will be happy if there is a 3-4 year plan to take the squad to the next level. We just donÂ’t have the resources to do it in one spending spree.

I donÂ’t think Barry is still a very good player. He was poor the last 10 games and shocking the last game against Spurs. His pace has gone and he rarely gets a tackle in.

Martinez has swopped his role with McCarthey, asking Barry to stay back because he canÂ’t get forward any more. Three goals first season; none last season.

If we manage to get players in the areas that we are sadly lacking, 2 wingers and another striker/no 10 then fine, if not then I shall be very irritated that we have gone for another CM that we are quite overloaded with already.

Al #76...Barkley, Besic, Cleverley, McCarthy being a midfield for years to come??? God I hope not, no width, still 2 defensive midfielders and and not a lot of creativity... I thought weÂ’d had enough of that for a lifetime this season

It could also say that he is overrated or not good enough for any one else to take a gamble.

Ever the optimist I prefer to welcome someone who outwardly wants to play for Everton Football Club.

I also remember some harsh criticism of a certain player from Norwich, one Dave Watson, when he arrived at Goodison.............the annals of EFC is full of poor unrated players who went on to be stalwarts and BIG favourites amongst the fans. I hope that this signing is another that will prove the doubters wrong!

A mixed bag, granted, but I do think that every Everton manager is constrained from early signings for financial reasons rather than lethargy or indecision.

I hope now that the Everton Manager knows that we do need these kind of players at Everton.

Also, Clive, I always thought that we werenÂ’t that well off under Johnson, I know we signed some players for decent fees like Materazzi and Dacourt but didnÂ’t we have to sell them as we had no money and had to recoup? So spending what we didnÂ’t have.

Cleverly hasnÂ’t signed because he wants to play for Everton, he has signed because he wants to play for RM. He is an experienced player and and international. He will slot in alongside McCarthy, as a replacement for Barry. He is not the best player in his position, we cannot afford that, but he is good. He will improve our team. Give the lad a chance, and get behind the team.

In other words, this signing doesn’t affect our ability to sign other players, and the wage bill is covered by the savings made with players we offload, like Distin. Yes Cleverley will cost us £15 million over the course of his contract, but that is OpEx.

I wish I owned Everton, IÂ’d rip through this shower of wankers like a dose of salts. Having said that, this is good business.

We can dream of top half.

Also, hereÂ’s an idea for those who find this site too negative. Post some happy, positive stuff.

So welcome! DonÂ’t get booÂ’d too long, sink a low one into the corner at the next Derby, especially if against expectations! Hero status until you prove otherwise!

Well, he could do it... ;P

The last time we had a TC in the side......

HeÂ’s still free to speak to other parties, and who knows what might transpire between now and July.

It would be typical Everton to jump the gun, announce the signing of a player a lot of people are underwhelmed about anyway, then for someone else to come in and sign him!

You never know though......

OK, if not him, then who?

Who else; (a) plays in a similar role; (b) is the right age; (c) is affordable; (d) wants to come?

His stats show he keeps possession but doesnÂ’t make key passes. He doesnÂ’t make many assists and he doesnÂ’t score that many goals. If weÂ’re going to have a discussion about who would be better then we need to know how heÂ’s going to play!

Good business in my opinion.

I also think he will add to our squad. With Besic coming more into the first team to take over from Barry this will allow McCarthy, Cleverly and Gibson (when fit) to play a more advanced role to link up with Naismith or Barkley. I do think we could do with an Arteta type playmaker, but they are few and far between and will cost a considerable amount if available.

If Martinez can bring in a centre-back, offload Mirallas and bring in Lennon and Deulofeu, find a decent backup striker (like Austin) and locate that elusive playmaker then we will be looking really strong. I would expect us to get in three out of the five we need, but you never know with Martinez. He has surprised us on the transfer market before. Fingers crossed!!

So the best we can hope for is the Tom CleverleyÂ’s of this world.

I donÂ’t think itÂ’s a bad signing, itÂ’s a decent one. The kid can play a bit, Ferguson thought so and so have a few England managers. He can pass, has a good engine, getÂ’s up & down the field, is the right age and has a point to prove.

We donÂ’t have the draw or the cash for the best players out there, and IÂ’m a lot happier with Cleverley than I would be if we signed players like McManaman or some other no-mark from Wigan.

(I know Cleverley played for Wigan on loan.)

Perhaps, like our Â’boardÂ’ the Yanks are not prepared to back their manager with transfer funds as his tenure may be short term!

Milner coming to the end of his contract, Ings a freebie from a relegated smaller club and Bogdan an also-ran keeper......sounds familiar eh!

As for us, I keep hearing the words of our old mate Peter Johnson, "Blend, blend rather than spend, spend."

I do feel their stock has sharply dropped off though, which is also part of the reason they wasted so much money on ordinary players last year too.

The Premier League is fast becoming very London-centric outside of Man City & Man Utd as well. Even the second level players from Europe seem content to go to London clubs purely because of location. There are so many issues attached to buying players these days, that club history seems very low down the list.

My one problem is why a 5-year contract? Is it a rule that Everton must offer five years to everyone? If he doesnÂ’t work out, I hope there is a buyout clause or his wages will continue to eat into EvertonÂ’s future transfer prospects down the road.

Definitely builds my confidence in him. Quality.