If so ... Moyes Out!

Lescott is going to Villa for £11m

Dont be so negative! You won't be seeing the Jag back in the first team till November so nobody will be leaving, especially from centre back.

I doubt it. Yobo knows that Jagielka will miss the start of next season so he?ll get ample opportunity to prove his worth and win back the starting berth.

Not only that, but there will be other injuries and Moyes will rotate players in the cups, particularly if we make the Europa League which involves more games than the last time we were in the Uefa Cup group stage.

He?s signing a new contract with an established and stable team that will be in Europe and challenging for a top four spot next season... basically the same reasons why Lescott wouldn?t want to leave.

I forgot for a minute that Evertonians can?t just see good news as exactly that, good news. We always look for a catch...

We all know it’s a squad game these days. Simply put - each team (including us) needs more than just the basic two centre halves.

We’d be a fool not to keep a man such as Yobo on. It has no bearing on Jagielka or Lescott. We simply need the squad to be as strong as possible for our assault on numerous fronts.

Unless a £25mil bid comes in for Lescott, then he?s staying. (If a £25mil bid comes in, fanbloodtastic, he?s good, but he ain't that good and we can do a lot with that money...)

Also, do you honestly believe, 2 weeks before the biggest match in 20 years, Moyes and Elstone are gonna sit Jags and Yobo down and say ,"We're getting rid of Lescott in the summer"??? Even if Moyes and BK had been in contact with City (which is totally unlikely), how the feck would the players know???

Hang on ? we also signed a young centre back from Germany... hang on ? he?s young, talented... but we also have Rodwell. This must mean were getting rid of Rodwell in the summer, otherwise that German lad wouldn't have come.

It's called a squad, hopefully Everton are going to develop one soon enough, with centre backs the start (we're gonna play 60+ games next season, what with Uefa Cup victory and retaining the FA Cup, coupled with finishing 4th or 3rd... we?ll win league in 2 seasons (don't wanna get too optimistic).

That Is optimistic.

Joe Barnes, ----- Idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If Yobo plays well then he is in the team. Surely no-one who has full use of thier brain thinks having 3 top quality centre halves battling for position is a bad thing??

I wish we had this quality fighting for every position, can you imagine. If Lescott has a run of poor form, he is out for Jagielka or if Jags is not performing to the levels he can, then he is out for Joleon, so on & so forth.

That's without taking suspensions & injuries into account. Now we are looking to have a season with more games in a testing competition (Europa Cup) and competition for places is an absolute must. Plus it cant be bad for reserves and youngsters to have 3 international defenders around the place to learn from.

Positive, realistic attitude lads.

It’s great news that Yobo has agreed to sign a new contract. This to me shows that the club is serious about gatecrashing the Sky4 and staying there. I think this talk about Lescott leaving is all nonsense because if ever Moyes was going to let one of his centre-halfs leave, it would most probably be the older in Yobo. Plus, why would we sell one of our great assets (Lescott) to one of our immediate rivals in Aston Villa??

Could it not be that these players can see an unbelievable opportunity to work together to make something truely memorable, & that team spirit is a big deciding factor in why these players would commit to 5 years?

Or am I just pissed...? Either way... COME ON YOU BLUES!!!

Moyes has said nobody is for sale and only wishes to add to the squad. So why do we invite this speculation on ourselves? A few days ago, it was Yobo. will he or won?t he? Now he?s signs, it?s because Lescott might be on his way, forgetting the fact that Lescott signed an improved contract extension last year.

Come on, guys! Let?s not despair. The Blues are on the up. Even the grudging media are beginning to accept it. Apparently, somebody on Talksport (I can?t remember whom) spoke of Everton as being part of the Big Five!!! We haven?t had it as good since 87!

If you lot were manager and City were offering Jo + cash, how much cash would it take? £15mil?

Villa, Arsenal, City, (and Liverpool), all need better centre backs; they are all our rivals.

Considering that climate and the fact that Lescott has proven his versatility, my asking price would be £30mil.

Fucking hell... we get a feelgood story before the final, vital players sign long term deals, and idiots start talking up nonsense speculation... get a grip!

Let?s hope we can bask in the glory of a cup win and delay the silly season of transfer speculation for a few weeks at least.

Alex, well said. We are in pre-final week, and we have foul rumours coming on site. Let's enjoy our trip and the result, and leave all the close-season stuff 'til close-season ? God knows, you wont be able to move for them...

Lescott wont be going to Villa. Apparently Randy Lerner's suffering cash flow problems due to the downturn in the market... If he goes anywhere, it will be Man City. I would take £15mill plus Jo or bald-headed fella in the centre of midfield.

Lescott is going nowhere, nor is Yobo, Jags, Neville, Hibbert, Baines, Rodwell or Howard for that matter.

Everton?s success (like most great teams) has been built from the back, keeping it tight, giving the midfield something to build on and this isn?t going to change.

We could be losing Jacobsen and Valente (although I think at least one will stay ? probably the former), so that gives us defensive options of:

RB: Neville, Hibbert (possibly Jacobsen)
CB: Lescott, Jagielka, Yobo, Rodwell
LB: Baines, [Lescott]

Then there?s the potential of youth given a chance here and there (including this new German lad). Basically we?re looking at 7/8 players there for 4 positions, with some that can be flexible (i.e. Lescott at LB), to me that seems pretty much essential in terms of cover for injuries, being able to support a campaign on 3/4 fronts (FA, League, Carling and Europe). Considering the fact that both Rodwell and Neville play in midfield as well/mainly, then this actually means more like 6 dedicated defenders.

Then there?s the ANC (which will see Yobo off in January) and the fact that Jags won?t start the season and we don?t know when he?ll be back to fitness.

All in all, I think the setup we had is pretty much the acceptable minimum core we need (I?d definitely like at least one more cover and thing that the Youth Academy can provide via the likes of Irving or Mustafi) to approach the season. Now we need to make sure we have at least the same cover and options elsewhere.

Up-front it?s a little bit tough to say what we need: If Yak was back, we held onto Saha and Vaughan/Anichebe were fit again, then with Cahill and Fellaini as support/cover we should be fine. That said, I?m not sure when Yak/Anichebe will be back fit and if Saha will be staying so I wouldn?t be surprised to see at least a loan signing up front.

Midfield is obviously where we need the main activity:
RM: Osman, Gosling
CM: Arteta, Cahill, Fellaini, Baxter, Kissock, Wallace, Peterlin
DMC: Neville, Rodwell
LM: Pienaar


Whilst there are a lot of players there, there?s a lot of youthful potential some of which just won?t make the step up and the positions and quality aren?t adequately covered. Whilst Rodwell will be a definite first team/sub in the midfield spot (either DM or CM), Baxter, Kissock, Wallace, Peterlin and even Gosling are all still very much question-marks ? nice to have as options to blood, but not first team quality.

To me, it?s the wings and a central midfield playmaker we need. I?d love to add a powerful defensive midfielder to that list, but ultimately we have to be realistic and Neville and Rodwell have both looked good when playing behind someone creative like Arteta.

Whilst I don?t have the same vitriol for Osman as most here, I do accept that he can be bettered and I also think we need some genuine pace (an Ashley Young, Sean Wright-Phillips type) that can play down the flanks. In the modern game I don?t think we need to be fixated on left/right as players swap so regularly and often play better on the ?wrong? side.

One really decent wing option would make a big difference to us (and provide more service for likes of Yak, Cahill and Fellaini to tuck away) and to me it?s a real shame we didn?t get Obinna on trial last year as he sounded like he could have fit the bill.

David Bentley would be a wild card (not sure he?s pacy enough) and the lad Adam Johnson at Boro showed real promise when he burst onto scene (better than Downing)... I am sure there are numerous other international options though (haven?t played FM for a while! ;-)

In central midfield, god knows. It sounded like Moutinho could have been the guy for us, but it equally sounds like he?ll be out of our price bracket, so it?s going to be up to Moyes to pull another Arteta-like rabbit out of the hat. Still, if anyone can, Davey can.

All in all, I think 2-3 decent players is all we need to genuinely strengthen the squad and I actually believe that this year the club is set up to get them. Robert Elstone has impressed me so far and if he can wangle a £10-15M purse for DM to spend then with a bit of luck we might get it all sorted out by end of June.

Two points:

1. Lescott to Villa is a complete non-starter. Firstly, if they want Lescott, there are clubs that would want him as much, but be willing to play more. Secondly, he?ll never play for them. Have you heard the excuse he gets from their fans? Simply because he had the temerity to start his career at Wolves.

2. These contracts do not necessarily mean they?re both staying. If you look around the league, you see the big clubs looking seriously at improving the home grown content of their squads before the 6+5 rule (which, apparently, is a done deal) comes into effect the season after next. Even though anyone with a bit of sponge between their ears can see that Alonso is a league ahead of Barry, Barry is English (or, more importantly, is home grown). Similarly, Jags would be one of the only players outside the sky 4 to get in the England squad. Say the 6+5 rule forces Fergie to replace Vidic with an English player... who?s the back up centre back to Ferdinand... Jags. So what these contracts are for (in my humble opinion) is to make sure we get a whole lot of wedge for two players who might become near necessities to the richer clubs. And yes, I know Yobo?s Nigerian. But I think that because he?s been here more than 5 years he qualifies as home grown.

I agree %100 that we need a pacey winger, I think Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow not sure of spelling of name) would be perfect, left footed so Pienaar can go the right. Also M'bia would be good. Hard to say but forget Moutinho, he seems in it for the money I'm afraid. If Lescott goes, I wouldn't be surprised if Moyes went after the young PSG boy. We still need a 20+ goalscorer... doubts on Yak being as good when he returns. I feel Anichebe may go this summer as well.

As soon as i heard this good news in work, speaking with a few fellow bluenoses i said i bet somebody starts a topic up on toffeeweb and is panicing claiming this must mean Lescott will be on his way.
sure enough somebody did, it’s like Everton fans cant accept good news, We are trying to build a squad so why cant we have 3 quality centre backs like most teams do ?
Some of the people on here really make me laugh negative just for the sake of it.

We need three top class centre backs, simple as that.

BBC headlines Jo going back to Citeh cos we can’t afford him. If Lescott was going I think that headline might be different.

For the record, I’d rather we kept Joleon than trade him in for the lesser Jo.

It?s worth just thinking about this from Yobo?s point of view. He?s played in Belgium (Std Liege) and France (Marseille) and has now been with us for seven years since he became Moyes?s first signing. He?s captained the side. He has established himself as a top PL player.

He?s now put his name to five more years ? probably the end of his top-flight career. Why? Because he thinks Joleon is off and away... this is his big chance...??? Garbage! He is staying because, for lots of very good reasons, he wants to stay.

I would say that if he thought that players of Lescott?s quality were leaving, he would be more tempted to go elsewhere.

Chris - just checked the OS and what Moyes also said was that we haven’t been offered a loan deal yet. I think this means that he wants one. I still think Jo, and Lars, will be in the squad next season.

All of this has nothing to do with Lescott. The only reason he would be going anywhere is because he told Moyes that he wanted to play somewhere else. Money (especially that paid to agents) would be the prime suspect and this is possible. But unlikely.

Lescott ain't going nowhere, especially at such a small fee of £11 million!!! Biggest joke I've ever heard if anyone actually believes he will leave. Anyway, I would love to see Everton play with 3 CB?s next season (once Jags is fit again) with Baines and Neville as wing backs. I think that would be quality.

Any club with aspirations of challenging the top four needs at least three quality centre backs. The Eruopa League is a massive drain on the playing staff in terms of extra games... plus Jags is out 'til November. Add to that the fact that Yobo will be in the African Nations Cup next year, won't he? Why would we let Lescott go?

If anything happened to Baines, we know Lescott can cover. All our centre-backs will play regularly next season in one position or another or in one competition or another. Keep the faith... a top team doesn't get rid of top players. You need three class centrebacks to keep competition for the two places at its optimum anyway.

Ollie / Joe Barnes - Lescott is a brummie and Villa fan, so the links with him to villa are primarily for that reason, and the fact Laursen is now finished. However, rumour has it that Lerner has been badly affected by the global downturn and is reluctant right now to splash cash. Wheater from a relegated ?Boro will be MON?s natural choice for all these reasons, so Lescott I don?t think will be on their cards given the price tag we would naturally stick on him (circa £15m). He?s going nowhere.

In the end, que sera sera. But it?s very humorous watching how many people on TW appear to have Joleon Lescott?s mobile on speed dial, and his agent?s, enough to know where he?s going.

What utter bollocks. He may go, he may not. Me thinks not. He only recently himself improved & extended his contract. He?s a future Everton captain, an established international, amongst great people and friends instead of a disparate bunch of cliques.

I like Jo and can see that he could become a great player in the right environment and management (us). But we don?t have the cash, end of. Man City need Lescott more than we need Jo. But I don?t think there?s a sum of money that we would find acceptable either with or without Jo. It only works if Lescott makes it clear he wants out. Has anybody actually seen or heard anything whatsoever from EFC or Lescott to indicate as such? Not to mention gettig it direct from the only people that actually know.

Exactly. As I said, speculative bollocks.

You, like most of the other reporters on this website, try to read too far into simple things for a reason that can be none other than that you want to be recognised as a skilled sports expert, when in actual fact your talking out your arse, Ian!

Sorry to put a dampener on your negativity but Yobo and Jags signing a new contract may actually be because Everton are going places, not (as your theory suggests) that there must be some sort of conspiracy behind it.

I read that Roger was a Birmingham fan and not a Villa fan - another reason for the Villa fans giving him loads of abuse along with the Wolves connection.

In my opinion, no offers for Jags or Roger should even be considered unless they are well over £25m.

I think we need a right midfielder - not Bentley though, he hasn?t got the work mentality that Moyes demands.

With Miki back, that?ll give Moyes a selection teaser to chose from Neville, Peanuts, Cahill, Fellaini, Osman, Jack the lad, and the best Spaniard we know.

Don?t forget the African Cup of Nations though, so Joe and Peanuts will be missing for a while.

First off is to win the final!

COYB

I am not sure this had been covered but if someone is sent off today, could he miss the final or is it the 7 day issue or that they are transferred over to next season? Because that fooker Riley hates us and I wouldn?t be surprised if he sends one or two of our players off today.