ToffeeWeb - Season 2009-10

The Mail Bag

Big Week — Good or Bad?

Things are going to happen this week, i can feel it in my water. I think the Lescott "will he, wont he?" saga will come to an end this week. I believe the silence that has come from Joey is deafening...

So when he (as I believe he will) goes, Everton and more importantly Blue Bill will hit us hard with a few signings as to lessen the impact and to please to fans. Whether it does or not is a different matter. If the Arsenal message boards are to be believed, they are claiming we have Senderos signed and waiting....

If, and I know it's big 'if' (but hey ho I'm bored) we sell Lescott, we need quality players in, we can't be seen to be selling our best players without a plan.

I'm aware I'm rambling, Everton this close season (as last) just has my head spinning. I ain't even said SHIT yet — it's spinning that much. Peace.
Sean Elliott, Glasgow Posted 03/08/2009 at 11:44:07

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

Jason Broome
1 Posted 03/08/2009 at 15:45:09

You can "feel it in your water." I suggest you flush!

We are the window shoppers of the Premier League and we won’t be signing anyone until we either sell Lescott or receive the television revenue.

Peter Griffin
2 Posted 03/08/2009 at 16:42:28

According to Sky Sports Aston Villa have agreed a fee for Fabian Delph. Not sure how much.

Brian Lawlor
3 Posted 03/08/2009 at 16:48:41

Post removed. Please don't say "Lescott has gone." unless you can provide a link or unless you state it is merely your opinion. Thanks. — The Editor.

Richard Murray
4 Posted 03/08/2009 at 16:50:58

Yes, looks like Delph is Villa bound.

Does anyone know the nitty-gritty of the Sky money, i.e. when the payments are made to the clubs? How much we will be getting this close season? Et cetera, et cetera.

I get the impression, as I’m sure others do, that Moyes is waiting for this cash injection in order to sign a £10-15mil player that will really improve us.

Tom Bowers
5 Posted 03/08/2009 at 16:50:39

Let’s not moan about a probable Lescott departure. He was an excellent bargain buy and his goal scoring particularly season before last was excellent but remember his season last year was a little less impressive and cashing in right now might be the best thing to do although we have to move quickly for a replacement. City may be the only club willing to pay £20million and Everton need the money.

Robert Heaton
6 Posted 03/08/2009 at 16:55:00

He’s already said it's loans and frees for us this year.

I doubt he would have claimed that if we were getting someone for £10-15 mill. ATM I’d be happy with a few promising youngsters for £3-4 mill. If you can get any for that price any more...

Alec Laurie
7 Posted 03/08/2009 at 17:03:04

He said loans and frees last year then spent £15M on Fellaini.

I’ve never thought of the Sky money before, but it makes sense actually - that would explain things! Is the reason we leave it until late August every season because we have to rely on the Sky money for new signings? If so, why the fuck don’t they just tell us that at the start of the window to save us all grey hairs!

On a positive note - if we keep the same group of players fit as we had last season, we WILL finish 5th AGAIN (min) - COYB!!!

Richard Murray
8 Posted 03/08/2009 at 17:00:39

Yes, I know that Robert, but I get the impression there might be one big signing a la Fellaini this close season.

For a start, we were willing to part with a fair amount on Naughton and one would assume there must also be some funds to address the CB cover and the wingers, or lack of, wingers issue.

Also if this is not the case and we are just going to bring in loans and frees why not do it earlier? Or at least at this point in the close season — less than a fortnight before kickoff?

I just have a feeling Moyes is waiting on something, possibly Sky money, and depending on a deal funded by this will then pursue the loans and free transfers to bulk up the squad where necessary.

This is, of course, just conjecture and I could just as easily be completely wrong.

Ciarán McGlone
9 Posted 03/08/2009 at 17:18:04

He didn’t say loans and Bosmans last year... in fact it was quite the opposite — we were all expecting big things that never materialised. If you can cast your mind back to Kenwright’s seminal phrase... ’watch this space’... or my favourite: ’Wow’.

Joe McMahon
10 Posted 03/08/2009 at 18:11:23

I don’t know about you guys but I’m just sick to the teeth of it; every season it’s like this for us Blues fans. It’s a big word and I’m not being dramatic but I HATE Bill Kenwright — how can we not move on to strengthen the squad in time for the new season from finishing 4th, 6th and 5th twice? Our transfer policy since the arrival of the showbiz Luvy is an embarrassment.

Jimmy Saville
11 Posted 03/08/2009 at 18:18:48

Leeds insisted on dealing only with Villa despite late attempts to enter the bidding.

"Leeds United wishes to place on record our appreciation for the honourable manner in which Aston Villa have conducted their interest in the player," the Yorkshire club said in a statement. "The club has resisted approaches from other Premier League clubs since agreeing terms with Aston Villa."

If only Sheffield United played ball like this?!

Were we one of the other Premier League clubs interested? Did Bates block us after we poached his young full back? Did Moyes actually want him?

Being based in Leeds, I've seen him play last year and he does look like a good future prospect!

Paul Avery
12 Posted 03/08/2009 at 18:23:22

Typical Everton... take too long to make a move and another target goes somewhere else. The story of pre-season.

Mark Wynne
13 Posted 03/08/2009 at 18:58:52

Well, it’s painfully honest that we can’t follow up any interest in players without the Lescott or Sky money. It’s like Summer ’08 all over again - only this time our squad will be even smaller.

Fancy that, eh?

Chris Kennedy
14 Posted 03/08/2009 at 19:51:10

http://www.football.ch/de/start.aspx?vNews=1&newsID=10.

Arsenal Defender Philippe Senderos Said To Have Signed For Everton this is reported on the Swiss FA website. no news on the Official Everton Website yet.

John Brennan
15 Posted 03/08/2009 at 19:58:42

Richard, I remember reading somewhere not so long ago that we have earned £11.5 million for finishing fifth. I believe we should also have something extra because as other posters have said, we definitely offered at least £5 mill for the Sheff U kid. I also have no idea if it is true that we offered a good few quid for Defour.

These other teams must surely know how much we have coming, even if we haven't received it yet, it's all available on certain websites etc, in fact I am sure under EC legislation it has to be made public after a certain amount of time. The amounts available for us to spend did not, of course, take into account the fact that we may lose Lescott, but much as I want to keep him, if he insists on going, there's nothing I have against him for doing that.

Anyone who thinks City won't be a threat this season is surely in cloud cuckoo land — ok, we are playing in Europe but to be brutal, it's small beer compared to what is on offer for the BIG 4 plus City. I see them as the big threat to Arsenal, not us or Spurs, sorry, but there we are.

If we can bring some so called better players in, I will stick with mostly British players and go for Wheater, Hutton and Bentley. Plus a couple of outsiders, any talented Spanish midfielder who can play with Arteta and Senderos if he really is coming, and, well, back up for Baines and Howard??? COYB

Andrew Gage
16 Posted 03/08/2009 at 20:11:44

Right, can someone tell me why we have to wait for the sky injection of cash. Surely when you agree a fee etc the money is not paid there and then. The receiving club would not receive the cash for a few weeks or months anyway. So why can't we set a deal up now?

My mind is thinking there is nothing happening on the transfers apart from the odd enquiry here and there sorry to say....

Alan Clarke
17 Posted 03/08/2009 at 20:00:39

Ciaran, he said loans and Bosmans then put in a bid of £6 million for Naughton so I reckon he’s still going to part with some cash for someone. He’s also said he wants more defensive cover and after failing to sign Naughton he must be after defenders.

I know we’re short of players in this area but I do get the feeling Moyes is only happy when he’s signing defenders. He’s always quick to replace defenders but signing attackers doesn’t seem to come so easily. I really would love to see us go all out to sign a pacey winger if Lescott goes. Sky money + Lescott money would surely buy us a decent player?

Mark Wynne
18 Posted 03/08/2009 at 23:58:49

Right, can someone tell me why we have to wait for the sky injection of cash.

The truth is, Andrew, that the club are chest-deep in debts. All they manage to do is to convince the banks that our "success" and share of the Sky pot will bring in a certain amount. That then guarantees a loan. The next year we do it all over again, except we have to sell a Rooney or a Lescott now and again... so we don’t drown in interest repayments. Don’t even get me started on our "free" stadium. If that’s what free is, I’m going into work tomorrow and offer to work for "free" too.

Mark Wynne
19 Posted 04/08/2009 at 00:02:53

Ciaran, he said loans and Bosmans then put in a bid of £6 million for Naughton so I reckon he’s still going to part with some cash for someone.

I’m not sure where this stands legally. If I went out tomorrow as the manager of a Conference football club and offered £100 million for Kaka knowing a) someone else will offer the same (or more) and b) he wouldn’t join my club anyway, how does that constitute a bid?

Last year when, Everton put in a bid for Aaron Ramsey after Arsenal had their bid accepted, no-one here thought he’d turn down North London for Merseyside. Take the clubs out of it and ask where the player could see himself in five years. While we trawl the High Street for dog ends, other teams like Arsenal, Spurs (think the two Kyles), heck even Stoke City are able to secure players for the coming season.

After the usual bollocks, here we are, again, with a small squad — smaller than last year, heading toward a season where frankly if we finish in the top ten we’ll have done well. Where did the idea that "only the best is good enough" get lost? People here constantly make excuses and apologies, but you can’t escape the fact that you can hardly say that what we’ve been served up with over the last near 20 years could ever be referred to as "the best".

Yet people still swallow it — not me, I tell you.

Eric Myles
20 Posted 04/08/2009 at 02:45:34

Why does it always have to depend on the Sky money actually having been received in the bank? Surely we’re not so hard up that the bank can’t give us a bridging loan to make the down payment on a player and get him in a month before the money arrives?

Alan Clarke
21 Posted 04/08/2009 at 09:47:01

Mark, I like a good conspiracy theory but do you really think we bid for players based on the fact we know we won’t actually get them? Would Moyes really be a part of this? I seriously doubt it. What does it achieve? It hardly appeases anyone does it? In fact it makes the natives even more restless so it would be totally counter-productive to have a transfer policy of bidding for but not signing players.

I think the Naughton bid was genuine. Sheffield Utd accepted it, we just don’t offer untried Championship players stupid money to sign for us in the same way Spurs do and rightly so.

Ciarán McGlone
22 Posted 04/08/2009 at 10:26:04

Alan,

There was also the Defour bid...which was either ridiculously low..or simply engineered to make it look as if we were doing something.

Smoke and mirrors if you ask me.

Mark Wynne
23 Posted 04/08/2009 at 11:26:09

Mark, I like a good conspiracy theory but do you really think we bid for players based on the fact we know we won’t actually get them?

Alan, hell yes. That sort of behaviour happens in the City all the time. Sure, it could be about testing the water, the resolve of the player or even to demonstrate to investors or even potential investors that we’re a "big" club who can mix it with the big boys at the upper echelons of the Premier League. Business is all about confidence and all this "smoke and mirrors" as Ciarán so aptly put it, costs nothing.

Mark Wynne
24 Posted 04/08/2009 at 11:30:16

Surely we’re not so hard up that the bank can’t give us a bridging loan to make the down payment on a player and get him in a month before the money arrives?

I think you answered your own question there Eric.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment to the MailBag, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and MailBag submissions across the site.