ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Irvine's after-match comments

Alan Irvine is talking about a good display from a patched-up side and the season hasn't started yet. Have Everton forgotten about us fans? Can somebody please tell us what's going on. I thought the plan was that in pre-season you strenghten the squad. Are we so broke? Or hasn't Moyes got a clue when it comes to the transfer market? I just couldn't believe Irvine's comments. The season is one week away. Please, please let me wake up and it's all a bad dream.
Michael Sullivan, Wirral Posted 05/08/2007 at 00:15:02

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norman merrill
1 Posted 05/08/2007 at 06:29:49

NO, Michael its not a dream, this is Everton, this is the way we are run, it seems that ground move is the priority, after the unfortunate injuries to Vaughan & Cahill, you would think that would be a wake up call, rumours now are that we are about to offer 10million for a midfield player, were is that coming from? and the Leighton Baines issue(thats if we are interested} is a long drawn out saga, as usual.
It seem that patience, is something that all Evertonians are born with, but with the window closing in a few weeks, that may be about to run out.

Mark Pendleton
2 Posted 05/08/2007 at 09:06:24

I too was very concerned at the "patched-up" comment. 2 friendly matches in a week and we can’t cope! I was also very concerned when Anichebe needed treatment near the end of the Palace game! We’ve currently 1 fit senior striker, 1 reliable goalkeeper, 1 injury prone left back, insuffucient central defensive cover (even classing Lescott as solely a central defender). We’ve also a midfield that without Arteta has no creativity. We don’t need a £12m midfielder who may disrupt the side and/or not settle. We need or 3 (minimum) £5m players to improve and increase the squad. I keep thinking Moyes is plainly aware of this and will save my wrath until the transfer window closes! Looking forward to seeing Pienaar although if we can’t risk £2.5m on whether a player settles of not then how can we risk £11m without a loan deal first?

Brian Waring
3 Posted 05/08/2007 at 09:21:53

Michael,Irvine is talking a load of shit."A good display" I watched the game,and we were poor.One thing that worried me,we never looked like scoring from open play.The chances we did have,came from set pieces.9 times out of 10,AJ was playing to wide.

James Bernard
4 Posted 05/08/2007 at 12:10:48

It is a truely worrying statement, but iam still expecting some kind of transfer run to at least our squad to a respectable size. Perhaps if it pulls through the Gonzalez transfer, followed or before the Baines transfer, will be the start. After that i would want at least 2 more players, a winger and a striker.

Stuart Mitchell
5 Posted 05/08/2007 at 12:17:29

You want some even better news!! Man City are Buying Fernandes for 10mill, I am not happy about that!

We should be going into this season, looking 4ward to it. Yet we have not strenghened and are now being rocked by injurys.

Unless Moyes has some major trick to pull out of his bag, its gonna be a long hard season in the lower reaches of the League

Shaka
6 Posted 05/08/2007 at 12:35:21

Reports up here are suggesting Newcastle have lost the race for Baines. Hope that cheers u lot up.

Steve Broon
7 Posted 05/08/2007 at 12:44:25

I was coming on here to post exactly the same comment. What is going on? Dithering Davey is losing face here. We risk losing other player like Arteta in the near future because of not moving forward. I have to blame BK mostly though as he is not providing the funds for us to buy players. I used to travel from Glasgow every home game but why should I bother. Look at the friendlies yesterday. Nugent was the star player. Koumas scored twice and Darren Bent was the player most fans turned up to see. What is the link? Moyes didn’t think they were worth the money. What a joke!

Gavin
8 Posted 05/08/2007 at 13:16:23

Missing out on Nugent and Koumas was a mistake by moyes. 4.5m for a player who has played for england and has plenty of skill is a good deal. A lot of people will be surprised by Koumas this season, I’ve seen him play for wales a lot and this kid has talent.

Allan
9 Posted 05/08/2007 at 14:08:41

1st half we were pretty good yesterday, take into account players missing (Ossie, Neville, Vaughan, Cahill) and 1st half we hit the woodwork 3 times and looked really good at times - all that despite playing with Phill Fattielka in midfield along with the 2nd rate Da Silva (he looks rubbish)

2nd half was poor though, disjointed, no decent passing moves (no Arteta, ahem!) so no real cohesion. Having said that, we were playing with basically a 2nd string out for the last 45.

Friendlies dont actually count for much once the real deal starts. we all know that really. Spurs look pretty tasty though eh.

Sam G
10 Posted 05/08/2007 at 14:22:22

Gavin don’t be stupid.

Firstly, Nugent cost a staggering £7.5m not £4.5m - please get your facts right.

That surely explains in a sentence why Moyes did not waste money on a player who scored a poor goal for England and isn’t even technically gifted nor does he score many goals.

Koumas is overrated and does not have the pace to cut it in the Premiership. All he managed to show me was he was a good dribbler..but without pace you are the next McFadden waiting to happen!

Give me a break.

Blame the board- but not Moyes here.

The players he has bought look to be shrewd signings so far.

Sure Moyes may have wanted Richardson and Smith..but he was on the verge of agreeing smaller deals for both when the North East (i.e. Sunderland and Newcastle) start to panic about their lack of signings and gazzump us without ridiculous amounts of money for average players.

Steve Broon
11 Posted 05/08/2007 at 14:47:28

Sam G. Get YOUR facts right.Nugent was 4.5. Secondly you say that Moyes has bought shrewdly then say he was going to but 2 average players. Moyes is to blame aswell for being too tight. You need to speculate to accumulate. This is the new market now because of the sky money. He has to but or everything is going to go wrong... early!

Connor Rohrer
12 Posted 05/08/2007 at 15:27:11

Nugent actually cost about 6 million all together. Portsmouth paid 4.5 to Preston aswell as about 1 million to 1.5 million to Bury.

I dont think it is Moyes’s fault we havent spent much. He has a limited budget and he has to stick to it.

Sam G Koumas is a good player and he will show us this season what we where kissing. You dont need pace to cut it in the premiership. Arteta isnt quick but he is our best player. Koumas has got pace if you dont believe me watch him.

I would rather had Koumas than Jagielka. Did anyone watch him against Palace because I did and he was shocking. His distribution is in the same league as Neville and Carsley.

Brian Waring
13 Posted 05/08/2007 at 15:40:08

I think this bid for Gonzalez is a load of bullshit.But,if anyone is intrested Porto are playing in the Rotterdam tournament on Sky today at 4.45pm.It will be intresting to see if Gonzalez is actually out there with them.

Scott Milne
14 Posted 05/08/2007 at 15:32:49

If Newcastle do get Baines, they may sell Martins on the Cheap - he’s not guaranteed 1st team football, even with Owen out - not with Viduka, Smith, Luque etc...

Ideally, we’d get both, but...

Fully believe that Nugent will become the new Beattie - flashes of form separated by long periods of nothing special and that Koumas will never set the league alight.

Pienaar could be a terrific piece of business, one of my dutch mates rates him incredibly highly and Dortmund obviously did if he was deemed good enough to replace Rosicky, hopefully he can capture that form with us. Jakielka also is a good signing, never going to win the Ballon D’Or or anything, but a good earnest player that will prove essential with his versatility and more so when Carsley and eventually Neville pack it in...

Hopefully, now the mad rush is over and Moyes can seal whatever deals he surely must have been working on...

Patience is a virtue and all that...

Shaka
15 Posted 05/08/2007 at 15:44:19

Don’t write off Koumas just yet. I’ve watched him few times for wales. The guy has talent. His already scored 3 goals in preseason. His got a point to prove. may be 5.3m isn’t such a bad price. If he carrys on in this form.