Striker Option?
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I hope the rumours of Everton's interest in Leroy Lita are true. Especially at the price that has been mentioned ? under £500 k. Leroy has a lot of ability, he's quick, knows were the goal is and is a quality striker.
So why so cheap? ? after all, he's only just turned 24, had a good record at Under-21 level for England (9 apps, 6 goals) and 50 goals in 180-odd games at club level, a lot of which were as sub. About three years back, he was mentioned as making a step up to the full England squad and was very impressive when he first come on the scene when Reading came into the Premier League.
A number of injuries held him back, most notably a broken ankle at the start of the 2005-06 season, he found it difficult to get his place back, and his career seemed to stall. He has been loaned out to Charlton and most recently Norwich City; I believe this loan has come to its end, with 7 goals in 16 app for them. I think the low asking price is mostly reflected by not his contract being up with Reading at the end of this season, but with the player's attitude re a quite public fall-out with Steve Coppell.
Leroy now seems over his injury problems
and what I've heard is he's getting back to his early promise, Norwich would like to keep him on a full-time basis, but Leroy would like to get another chance in the Premier League.
At the price I feel it would be a low risk and great value for money move for Everton. Leroy could be such a talented player and, if Moyes could get his head right, well we could have a quality striker addition to our squad.
David Lawless,
Liverpool Posted 05/01/2009 at 10:28:42
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Agree.
We need players now. We don?t have the strength in depth with current injuries to mess about. Moyes needs to act quicky... I hope we don?t have another last day of the window racing around trying to get players in.
Anthony Millington
Posted 05/01/2009 at 14:54:21
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At the moment, I think he?d probably get in the team, because he has pace and scores more goals than Anichebe. I?m not sure about signing him permanently though, because what will happen next season when we have Yakubu, Saha, Vaughan, Anichebe and Lita all competing for one place in the team?
Some of the other players we have been linked with e.g. Vagner Love have never played in the Premier League so would probably need time to adapt, whereas Lita has played in the Premier League before and has a decent scoring record too and he?s available on the cheap. If we want him though, Moyes needs to act quickly before he?s snapped up by someone else.
David, you ask "Why so cheap?" and the answer is he isn?t a quality striker like you?ve tried to claim he is. He reminds me of a lesser version of AJ, pace to burn but limited productivity in front of goals.
But I?m not one to cut my nose off and fully agree that we need players in soon with no messing and iI wouldn?t turn him down because, at this stage of the year, who are we realistically going to get that?s any better?
He’d cost around 6 weeks of Saha’s salary and if he’s the only option open to us he’d be a bargain. Certainly an impact player to bring on...
If he was any good lads, why didn’t Charlton take him after his loan spell there, or Norwich, where he is on loan now? I can’t see it being down to the fee, anyone of them clubs would have had to pay, so there must be more to it, maybe something like..... he is just shite!
Sorry David, missed the bit were you mention Norwich would like to keep him, but he want’s another crack at the prem.
Lita a quality striker?? A piss-take surely?
Lita is a decent striker actually ? it's his attitude which has always let him down. He has had so many fights outside Bristol night clubs that I've lost count! His ability should not be questioned though.
I first saw him play for Bristol City against Everton in the Carling Cup a few years ago and he was by far their best player, and I've followed his progress since then. He has the quality to score goals in the Premier League, as he proved with Reading in their first season, but his attitude and conduct off the field has always let him down. This is why I very much doubt Moyes would go for him, as Moyes doesn't generally buy these type of players ? no matter what their ability.
Surely now is the time we should use our access to the FM database to purchase the next big thing from Keblakistan!!!!!!!!
Just heard a rumour that Fletcher and O’Shea are being lined up to come accross on loan. Anyone else heard anything?
I mentioned Lita about a month ago, I hope we sign him, he would be a bargain for about £350k.
He would be twice as good as AJ was.
If the rumours are true that he?s available on the cheap then he?s definitely worth taking a punt on, yeh he?s got similair qualities to what AJ had but is that such a bad thing? It's something different to what we?ve already got in the squad, I mean I?d much rather bring him in for £350k or whatever the price is supposed to be than carry on with Anichebe upfront. For me, Lita is probably a better player and definitely has more goals in him and we would get a lot more games out of him than some of the other strikers in our squad (Saha, Vaughan)!
Garbage. Anyone not good enough for Reading?s reserves is surely not good enough for Everton?s. What the hell has happened to people?s expectations here? We?re 6th in the Premier League FFS and you?re talking about signing a guy on loan to a team at the bottom of the Championship. Do you actually watch any football and undertsand what makes a good player and what makes a bad player? If Everton are so skint then any money forked out on a shite signing is high risk.
Alan Clarke, are you serious. What exactly do you expect us to get, either on loan or cheap? Lita has represented England under 21s and scored goals wherever he has gone yet he is not good enough for you at £350k????? I know if we had money he wouldn?t be first option but we have to take what we can get. I bet you will be happy to sing his name if he starts scoring!! Let's be realistic and forget about Ronaldo, Arshavin, Eto as its never gonna happen.
I’d hardly call him a quality striker but could be worth a punt to make up the numbers. Very similar to when we signed Marcus Bent, and I guess he did a job.
The guy thinks he is a lot better than he is and they are his problems ? attitude and ability. What will happen when Saha is back from injury? toys out of the pram again methinks: "but surely I, Leroy Lita, am bettter than him". A waste of money which could be spent on a proven striker?s loan wages who we could ship back if he wasn?t good enough.
Kieran Fitzgerald
Posted 05/01/2009 at 18:38:51
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Reading are scoring goals from all over the pitch at the moment. Do you not think this is just a chance for them to get a player they simply don?t need off the books. Offer Lita for a small fee so that plenty of teams can afford him.
Lita is young enough to still make a go of things and just wants to hold out for a move to the Premier League. He took an offer of first team football away from Reading by going out on loan. A Championship team, yes, but still first team football. Now he can use the transfer window to get first-team football in the Premier League.
I agree with the original post entirely. I sent in a couple of posts regarding the lad which weren?t posted (I must be persona non grata).... Thing that sticks in my mind was feeling threatened when he got the ball in a decent position when he played against us at Goodison.
Definitely worth a punt!!!!
I would take a punt on him. He has everything to prove so will be eager to show Coppell what he has missed. He and Coppell fell out and I think Coppell is a little like Moyes in that, once you piss him off, he is very reluctant to give players a second chance.
He must be more of a goal threat than Big Vic.
Leroy Lita = Marcus Bent = no problem = worth a punt ? what other option have we?
Worth a punt. He would add pace to the team and we will more than likely sell him for a tidy profit within the next 18 months!
Top player... choked on me cornflakes when i saw £350k. As mentioned above, does appear to have attitude problems but I couldn't give a shit when he's bangin 'em in past the red shite, better than that shit Anichebe. Reminds me of Saha in his heyday!
@ £350k ? not much of a gamble!!!
I really don't rate Anichebe'
Is he better than Baxter ?
Alan Clarke you tit, do you know anything about football and Everton FC for that matter? Yeh, we are top six at the mo but we haven?t got top six money to go out and sign a top notch centre forward at the minute and thats why Lita, at £350k, is being mentioned in the same breath as Everton because at this moment in time he?s all we realistically can afford until the summer and going by what Moyesy was saying last week we might not even be able to afford him, he said it would be loan deals all the way because basically this January we have?nt got a pot to piss in!!
Do you honestly think Moyesy would?nt want to go out and sign the likes of Vagner Love, Giampaolo Pazzini and that Gomis fella, get a grip man!! if Moyesy had the money then im pretty sure he?d be trying his damndist to get Vagner Love in as every Evertonian knows he?s well interested in the lad!! and its not garunteed that we?ll sign a top centre forward on loan either as clubs are?nt too keen on letting ?em go out on loan, they would much rather sell, so sorry Alan Clarke if are expectations this January are some what low!!
He’s rubbish. And he wears silly colour boots. What else do you need to know? I’ve seen him play a few times and he is like Marcus Bent. Quick but no end product. So £350k fee, 18 month contract at say £15k p/w = £1.17m total. Now does that look good value? Not in my book...
Err... get real.... He's crap!!!! Full of himself and thinks he's the Big I am!!!
Move on!!
Any striker that comes in will play deputy to Cahill. As we can’t afford quality.
This guy can?t be worse than Big Vic, can he? I?d be happy to get him provided we offset whatever his overall cost is by losing Vic. Victor just hasn?t cut the mustard and I can?t see him ever doing so for us. He has size, but all indications are that it?s fairy floss and he couldn?t knock the head off a beer. The best (and it?s been ordinary) I?ve seen him play this year was when Moyes was employing him wide on the right as an attacking midfielder/sorta winger.
If people are talking seriously about Leroy Lita, then we are just as well going for a scouse Evertonian in David Nugent who is no worse, would probably cost next to nothing now, and I'm sure would give his all to play for us. I do however feel both players are not of the quality we need, but certainly as potential short-term stop gaps. While we are at it, sign Lee Trundle!!!!
My god, how expectations have fallen at our once great club. As many people have admitted, he can't even get in the Reading team, and he has an attitude problem ? just the type of player we DON'T want here. I would much rather Moyes gave baxter, Jutkiewicz, etc a go than some gobshite like Lita.
Yeah, let's go and buy Lita. Whilst we are there, why don't we see if Bakayoko is still kicking round, oh and Brett Angel must be out there somewhere as well....
Get a grip, I?d rather get Big Bill Kenwright to stick a pair of boots on.
Think about it...
Moyes managed to make Marcus "Barn door, banjo" Bent work well for us, and look where that got us.
There?s no reason Lita couldn?t do a job just as well as, if not better than him.
I know where the goal is, so if this is Lita?s greatest asset i would suggest Everton look at signing me for a lot less.
We won?t ?sign? anyone for the simple fact we don?t have any money ? if we manage the odd loan deal we should consider ourselves lucky.
I read this in the paper... and for that amount of money I don?t think he is really that much of a gamble. A decent player who has scored a few in the Prem.
But if not him... how about Mikael Madar?
Links with players like Pavel Pogrebnyak and Bafetimbi Gomis make me laugh... Don't get me wrong, either one of ?em would be great; however, I was watching Sky Sports News last night and it said on there that they understand Everton are interested in signing Pogrebnyak but Zenith value the player at around about £10m! Why are these stories coming out linking us with £10m pound players when we probably haven?t even got 10 pence to spend?!
Moyesy has stated clearly that we won't be in the market for permanent signings this January and that it will be loan deals for us and then the big spending will be in the summer. Well I say big spending but what I mean (or what Moyesy means) is we will make money signings in the summer... how much for is any bodies guess?!!
....what will happen next season when we have Yakubu, Saha, Vaughan, Anichebe and Lita all competing for one place in the team?
Surely you mean competing for the treatment room couch?
Aide, "tit" is a bit strong, isn?t it? My point is that if we?re skint then £350k is high risk. Put it to towards someone?s wages at the end of the season. Lita is not good enough. If Lita = Marcus Bent then why don?t we just sign Bent, probably on a free? I?m not suggesting we sign some top class player instead, we just shouldn?t buy some washed-up crap with an attitude problem.
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1 Posted 05/01/2009 at 14:31:29
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We need players now. We don?t have the strength in depth with current injuries to mess about. Moyes needs to act quicky... I hope we don?t have another last day of the window racing around trying to get players in.