The Mail Bag
The summer of Pienaar
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Last summer, our pre-season preparation was thrown into chaos by the Lescott business... in fact, it blighted our entire season. It seems that this summer it will be the turn of Pienaar.
I really can't bear the thought of protracted negotiations with David Moyes having no idea of what he has to spend and who he needs to replace. Or indeed open letters appearing on this site begging him to stay. I like Steven Pienaar but think he is vastly overrated.
Now my idea of contract negotiations may be unsophisticated and simplistic but why can something along the following lines not happen:
As soon as the season ends DM asks for an urgent meeting with Pienaar and his representatives. He tells Steven that he is an important part of the good times that are ahead. He mentions Lescott and his appalling misjudgement; then, he suggests to Steven that he can achieve financial stability and professional fulfillment at Goodison Park.. Finally he cuts to the chase and asks what he wants exactly..
DM goes to Bill and asks what is the absolute best we can do. DM goes back to Pienaar, makes him an offer, and says let us know within a week, emphasizing that this is an absolute final offer.
Pienaar says Yes, everyone is happy. Pienaar says No and DM wishes him the best of luck for the future. He alerts interested clubs that Pienaar is available for £13 million, immediately.
A deal is done. Two decent players are brought in in good time for pre-season. Everton are happy and Steven Pienaar has made the biggest mistake of his career.
Can life be this simple? Why not?
Andy Crooks, Posted 02/05/2010 at 18:29:15
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Seriously though, why can't there be deadlines? Why can't the club present the player with an offer and give him, say a week or two or three, to give them an answer. It doesn't have to go on for months! It's ridiculous.
2nd: From our point of view, his value could increase dramatically dependent on his performance.
3rd: A lot depends on other movements in the transfer market, ie, Modric goes to Manure, Pienaar goes to Spurs, N'Zogbia comes to us.
I do not agree Lescott's move blighted our whole season; injuries to Arteta, Jags, Yak etc etc etc etc did that... and I do think that the inclusion certainly of Heitinga improved us as a team.
What I hope for and expect is to start next season with a fully fit squad and any transfers out to be replaced, if Pienaar goes so be it; Donovan, N'Zogbia in instead is fine by me. Common sense dictates that Moyes has an idea of who if any might go and will look at replacements long before buying, it's like you know your car is on the way out and you do your research on replacements long before buying.
Pinnear could well also think the same way.
Let's be realistic and not all think Everton is the only team true professionals want to play for.
Transfer negotiations can take a long time. It is not always in the interests of the selling club, the player, or his agent to conclude business quickly. They want the best price/contract and that means waiting for all offers to come in. We could have sold Lescott for £15m if we had accepted Man City's first offer. Would that have been good business?
Pienaar needs to sign on a four-year contract prior to the World Cup. If he plays a blinder and the bigger boys come calling, then sell him at a Lescottish overprice. Meanwhile, we have been looking at other players ourselves during the World Cup and, if we do need to replace him, we can do so quickly (Moysey will be there after all). Win-win.
What if he moves to a bigger club and wins trophies, or plays in the holy grail of today's football, the Champions League?
Don't think that's a mistake for the modern footballer!
Okay, the timing wasn't great to say the least but the price we got for him was worth the wait. The Lescott affair wasn't helpful to say the least but what killed the 1st half of the season was the injury problems and key players like Cahill being out of form.
Regarding Pienaar, I prefer another Lescott standoff rather than let him go for nothing.
If he does leave and goes to go Man United to get Champs League, would Sir Alex offer a sweetener in the form of Owen Hargreaves???
Thomas; from what I've heard from way too many Man U fans, Owen Hargreaves has the pelvis of a pensioner or a labrador in old age... so no thanks on that front.
Better players have left the club. (Other than Rooney, in the last ten years... who?)
I can't believe that anyone who watches Everton is not very concerned that we will lose him. Real team players with his skill, tenacity and speed of thought do not grow on trees.
In the last decade, we have not had a better player at the club, though Arteta now he has a shot, Heitinga and Fellaini are now competing.
I remember last year when everyone was saying, "Yea, well... Lescott loves the club; he has found his home..." and now I hear people saying, "Yeah, bet he regrets it now..." (leaving Everton); does he fuck!!! I bet he looks at his bank balance everyday and is delighted.
Assou-Ekouto, the Spurs full back, did a good article in the Guardian, basically saying, red, blue or white shirt, wherever the money is, he will go — it's a job. I admire him for his honesty; let's face it — Pienaar will go and we will move on, but he will be sorely missed.
A good poker-playing manager might be able to fake lack of interest in him and hold fire until he is available on a free at the end of next season but that gamble is reliant on him having a mediocre or poor World Cup.
If he gets himself noticed, his value and desirability will increase and a bidding war will ensue — not to us but to Pienaar himself, to line up a pre-contract as a free agent with a big sign-on fee.
Gavin; Your poker analogy is very appropriate. I think it's time to gamble.
If he won't sign, Moyes should say to Pienaar, "Just stay for the rest of your contract, then I'll let you go." Keep him sweet for the sake of team spirit.
In lieu of investment, I think next season is our ONLY chance to make the Champions League. If we do, Pienaar will sign on again. If we don't... well, he only cost £2.5 million. Money well spent.
First, just playing out his contract? Players do that but overwhelmingly they want a contract done for more than one year. With good reason; Pienaar like the rest. Players are one soft tissue/muscle injury away from career over/coming back at much diminished physical ability.
So Pienaar might play out his contract and go looking for the holy grail (at age 29 no less) of contracts. But that would be pretty reckless. I just don't see him and his advisers considering that as Option #1.
Second, I think he wants to stay. Of course, he wants to get paid and God bless him. Any of us would. But who went and got him and developed him? Moyes. Was there heavy EPL competition to sign him when he bounced around SA, Germany and Netherlands? If that was so, DM surely couldn't have signed him. No money to compete, right?
EFC is going to have a terrific season next. Pienaar knows it. Will he want to be a main cog on a top side or a guy starting now and again and off the bench for a perennial powerhouse? And, let's face it, for no particularly greater salary than EFC can afford. Might be he chooses the latter. I'm banking on the former.
Third, isn't he sort of in the same position money-wise as Landon is in the States? He must be SA's top dog; some of which reflects in endorsement deals back home. No?
If he goes, he goes... and too bad for him because he's in a great place with EFC. Too bad for us some because he is terrific. I just think he'll stay.
Next season's going to be a great one for EFC. We know it. So does Steven.
I have a few problems with your thoughts.
1. Vastly overrated???? Did you see us against Stoke without him? HIs energy, pace and vision would be missed enormously, IMO.
2. Don't you think the management of EFC have already reached impasse on the negotiations and are relying on Moyes and the players to persuade him to stay?
3. If you just say to a player and his agent, "Take it or leave it," what would you expect the outcome to be? That's the sort of tactic that starts wars...
4. Pienaar-type players do not grow on trees nor come for about £6 million, which is all I think we'd get for him with 1 year of his contract left. Now that figure may be debatable but look what Spurs and Villa paid for Bentley and Dowling respectively — neither of whom could hold a candle to Pienaar, IMO.
I am concerned about the level of wages in football but what do you do? — Either join 'em or be beat by them.
As others point out, footballers think money first, the maybe CL football. His no show yesterday and no mention of injury on OS says to me he is already gone. I hope I'm wrong and he stays... Not having either him or Arteta in the Autumn is what killed our season for me. We would have finished above Livrpool otherwise, and at least got EL footie.
But if he doesn't want to sign, then the reported £15M bids would compensate. We have DM choosing signings remember, not the FSW.
http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2010/05/02/pienaar-injury-update
My fear is that Pienaar and his advisers are waiting for the World Cup and perhaps a spectacular goal... then he will surely move. Okay we will get more for him but if it happens a week before the start of the season or, even worse, after the season has started, then we have a repeat of last summer. I say do what must be done now.
The World Cup creates inflated reputations and we might gain by a better deal for Pienaar; however, we will still have to buy and at short notice in an inflated market.
As an Evertonian I've now come to expect the worst. The fact he's not signed his contract yet would indicate to me he's on his way. I would rather lose a few quid on him and sell him early than repeat the Lescott saga. It's ludicrous also to suggest he'll be allowed to see out his last year. A club in our financial position cannot afford to do that.
I will be absolutely gutted if he goes but I think he will go. I couldn't get too excited over the Stoke game once I heard that Pienaar was 'injured'. It's what Moyes does when he is confronted with a player who wants to leave. I really and truely hope that I am proved wrong on this one.
Alan (30); Distressing as last summer was, if we had settled the sale of Lescott early, we would have lost more than a few quid. I agree that it is not in our interests to see Pienaar remain with us for the last year of his contract but, if he chose to do that, could we prevent it?
I can't remember the last time Everton played good football without him.
Although We have managed to play well without the rest of them.
You know that good football isn't possible without good movement and Pienaar's movement is as good as it gets. Losing him would be catastrophic.
I don't think ANY player is irreplaceable but can we afford somebody who adds the dynamic to our play that he does and, as evidenced by Bily, we'd have a settling-in period when we could have stability by retaining him.
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1 Posted 02/05/2010 at 19:18:18
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I'm sure in his time at Everton alone he as achieved financial security.
David Moyes will have to be firm on a take it or leave it aproach though as the last three summers have held us back.