ToffeeWeb - Season 2008-09

The Mail Bag

Stephane M'Bia

According to the French L'Equipe website (my French isn't brilliant), it seems that we have offered over €8M for MBia. He says he has been promised by Rennes that they'll let him go if a decent offer comes in and as far as he is concerned Everton have made such an offer. He also says that he considers Rennes have already got someone to replace him. Sounds promising (even though it contradicts reports earlier in the week).

I don't know much about him, but he is a body, that plays in midfield and he's meant to be pretty useful. Fingers crossed...
Matt Barry, Cardiff Posted 08/08/2008 at 10:30:10

back Return to the Mail Bag

Comments

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Liam Reilly
1 Posted 08/08/2008 at 09:13:36

Someone's talking nonsense. On the rumours in this site and anything I've read elsewhere, Mbia has confirmed he is staying put at Rennes, however Football365 has a contrasting view on this where he claims he has already spoken to Moyes and wants to go ASAP: (http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3948346,00.html)

Good news if it's true though, just the kind of player we need.

John Kenyon
2 Posted 08/08/2008 at 10:50:01

Just seen on BBC Sport that Stephane Mbia has said he is subject to an 8 million euros bid from us. Do you think he'd be a good buy and do you think this could be the start of some signings?

Bill Green
3 Posted 08/08/2008 at 14:18:02

Rennes finished just above the relegation zone, so don’t get too hyped up, it’s not a great league! a lot of money to pay for an untested player.

Mike Williams
4 Posted 08/08/2008 at 14:22:38

From l?Equipe
Rennes : M?bia décidé à partir. Il n?ira pas au clash, il le promet, mais Stéphane M?bia - actuellement à Pékin avec le Cameroun - n?a qu?une idée en tête : aller à Everton, où lui est proposé 1,5 million d?euros par an et la découverte de la Premier League. «Il faut que Rennes me comprenne, supplie-t-il. Je veux que les dirigeants des deux clubs trouvent un accord. J?ai confiance».
Translation
Rennes M?bia has made his mind up to leave. It won?t come to a breakdown in relations, he insists, but Stephane M?Bia, currently in Peking with the Cameroon team, has only one idea in his mind: to go to Everton, who have offered him 1.5 millions Euros per year and exposure to the Premiership. "Rennes must understand me," he pleads. "I want the management of the two clubs to reach agreement. I?m confident."

Seems fairly clear to me. Now is he any good - apart from being a midfielder and breathing, that is.

Chris Dawson
5 Posted 08/08/2008 at 14:38:34

I remember a few years back Moyes was looking at an african midfielder playing in the french league. We bid £4m for him but he decided to stay in France and went Lyon. Lyon then sold him a year later to Chelsea for £24m... his name was Michael Essien

Lets hope that this goes through and he is another Michael Essien!!!

Tony Williams
6 Posted 08/08/2008 at 14:40:50

"What a difference a day makes", as Bluekipper states

Aparantly M’bia said this only yesterday.

"Listen, all the world knows that Everton and Sevilla are after me. But I have a contract with Rennes and I do understand that Rennes want to keep me. My contract with the club expires in June 2010, however, I am staying this year because I have a good relationship with Rennes. Next year maybe I will want to further my career, but I need to respect Rennes. They gave me the platform to be who I am"

jay wilson
7 Posted 08/08/2008 at 14:45:06

Rennes finished 6th not just above the relegation zone.

Tony Bell
8 Posted 08/08/2008 at 14:45:08

I don?t profess to be an expert in the French League but Stephane M?Bia does seem to tick all the boxes.

A tall (6ft 1"), strong, powerful defensive midfielder. We need a bit of height in the team to allow Lescott to move back to his preferred CB and so we can move Baines to LB. If this does come off (sick of all these rumours as everyone will be) it would not only bolster our lightweight midfield, but allow 2 of our better defenders to play in there natural positions. Hopefully Lescott will be happy ans stay for many years and Baines gets his chance at LB

Martin Cutler
9 Posted 08/08/2008 at 14:57:14

In the 3 years he?s played for Rennes, they have finished 7th, 4th, and 6th.
Apparently he?s done quite well, and scored several goals, in the ANC tournament too.

Tony Williams
10 Posted 08/08/2008 at 15:01:00

As my namesake has said, I don’t know too much about him but h plays for a decent side, adds much needed height to the team.........but.....he will be another player who will go missing every couple of years for the ACoN, so that would be Yobo, Pienaar, The Yak, M’Bia, almost teh spine of the team....eeek

Dave Harrison
11 Posted 08/08/2008 at 15:01:30

It doesn’t matter where Rennes finished and how good the French league is....Cahill, Lescott were not from top tier of England....and more importantly Carsley was an annual relegation fighter....

matt bone
12 Posted 08/08/2008 at 15:48:33

Is he an essien or a nyarko?

Nick Entwistle
13 Posted 08/08/2008 at 15:59:24

So that 8M euros you say. Exactly how much is that?

Brian Finnigan
14 Posted 08/08/2008 at 16:02:53

Everton probably use Zimbawean Euros. So 8 million is less than tuppence.

Martin Cutler
15 Posted 08/08/2008 at 16:03:38

Apparently, 8 million Euro?s is.....

$12,027,995 (US dollars)
or

£6,313,496 (pounds sterling).

I hope he?s good!!

Mike Allison
16 Posted 08/08/2008 at 16:10:08

Come on fellas, own up. Who’s been editing Wikipedia? Stephane M’Bia’s entry refers to Everton as a ’Premier League super power’. Maybe a campaign of sustained propaganda of this sort might encourage more players to sign?

Connor Rohrer
17 Posted 08/08/2008 at 16:04:11

I actually watched him in a friendly the other day against America. I was originally going to have a look at Jozy Altidore the American lad who Villarreal have just signed but then realised Stephane Mbia was actually playing.

From what I seen he looked a good player. Big, strong, athletic and tidy when in possession. He bulldozed past the likes of Bradley and Edu a few times and looked physically a very strong player. He also has that height and long stride that we miss in midfield, someone who can win high balls and intercept balls coming through the midfield.

If I was going to compare him to anyone at the moment it would be Momo Sissoko when he was decent at Liverpool. Similar sort of build, defensive minded but with lots of energy and a real worker. I think he?d be a good signing, I?d like to see more of him but from that one game I could see why Moyes is looking at him, he certainly fits the bill.

Aide Dews
18 Posted 08/08/2008 at 16:07:19

Ive not seen the lad play but he must be pretty decent i mean you would’nt have teams like Arsenal, Man Utd, Barcelona (last summer) and recently Seviila after your services if you was’nt!! like Chris Dawson says lets not miss an opportunity to bring in a player who could maybe turn out to be a cracking player like Essien, i remember a few years ago when Moyes baulked at the £5m asking price to buy Essien from Bastia and he ended up at Lyon and then moved on to Chelski for £24m!!! we missed a real trick with that one!!!

Aled Jones
19 Posted 08/08/2008 at 16:26:03

We missed on Essien because we couldnt get a work permit for him, as he hadnt played enough games for Ghana.

James Marshall
20 Posted 08/08/2008 at 16:33:01

http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gAB8Q4aEhbxso4RLYvItM4nQnRaQ

Must be true.

Trevor Lynes
21 Posted 08/08/2008 at 16:56:56

Lets hope he is a young Patrick Viera, now that is the sort of midfield tough guy we need..plus of course Viera could play..I thought maybe we could have got Yobo doing that job as he is comfortable in possesion and has a big stride..I think even Jags could do the job and that would enable Lescott to move to central defence and bring Baines into the team.

James Marshall
22 Posted 08/08/2008 at 17:11:07

Yobo is appaling in midfield, his control and distribution is crap - leave him at the back and dont give him ideas above his station I say!

Tony Williams
23 Posted 08/08/2008 at 17:33:14

"I owe everything to Rennes, my formative club. But they must understand me. In Africa, I have a family to feed. And I am very ambitious"

Fook me! How big is his family that he needs nearly a million quid a year to feed them?

Paul Power
24 Posted 08/08/2008 at 14:25:15

I have a source that tells me Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite better known as Kaká could be on his way to Goodison Park for a cut-price of £20,000,000.