FAN ARTICLES

Return of the Loan Rangers?

By Anthony Jaras : 04/02/2011 :

Comments (10) :

So, we have let some players leave on loan. Opinions are divided as to whether this has been a positive step. I am undecided, so let?s look at each individual case.

JOSEPH YOBO ? At one stage, a fans favourite, Joseph settled in very quickly and most of us were impressed by his pace and athleticism, along with his professionalism. Then, slowly but surely, catastrophic mistakes started to creep into his game. These mistakes were punished, heavily on several occasions and we started to see a different side to Yobo, a side that we didn?t like as we were starting to panic every time the ball went near him. If we were panicking, maybe his team-mates were too!

So, after a while warming the bench and making cameo appearances, have we missed him? I would say that we have, mainly due to the fact that due to injuries, we have suffered this season at centre half. Hibbert tried and failed to plug the gap left by the unavailability of Jagielka and Heitinga against West Ham and it led to a goal. As a result, Jagielka was rushed back to play against Stoke City and this, arguably, led to a goal for them too.

Joseph Yobo is due to return to Everton at the end of the season, unless the performances persuade his current employers to part with the cash for him. My view is that if we can get the cash directly, to put straight back into the team at the centre half position, we should do the deal. If however, the cash goes the way of the Pienaar payment, then I think we should keep our fingers crossed that Yobo comes back a fresher player. (Ahem, it will be like a new signing!)

AIYEGBENI YAKUBU ? Again, opinion is divided as to whether Yakubu is finished in the Premier League; however, one of the things that baffles me is how a player that terrorised and bullied Liverpool one week, then scored the winner against Stoke City, was suddenly dropped and then loaned out without any real explanation. Yakubu looked like the player we had craved for in the derby match and then to pop up with the winner with a top finish against Stoke, gave us the hope that he was going to return to the Yak of a couple of seasons ago.

What the hell happened? I would like to know before I pass judgement on whether or not I want Yakubu to leave on a permanent basis, as I still think that Yakubu is worth a good few goals a season and considering the rest of our strike force, a good few goals would do us the world of good.

JAMES VAUGHAN ? Vaughan is another player that has flattered to deceive; however, I think this is down to fitness and not ability. A lot of fans rate JV highly and were upset to see him go, especially when you consider the new contract we have just handed to Victor Anichebe.

One of our fastest and hardest working strikers, JV is a player that would no doubt have gone on to greater things had he been fit during his time in the first team. My worry is that if we kept him, injuries would again hamper his progress.

I think that regrettably, this is one transfer we should attempt to allow to happen. A fully fit JV is a very welcome inclusion to the squad; however, I can?t see this ever being a realistic prospect.

In my view, there are good aspects of each player but overall, if we can sell all three and invest the money back into the squad, we should go for it, otherwise, get them back until we can adequately replace them.

Reader Comments (10)

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

John Talbot
2 Posted 04/02/2011 at 18:16:29

Have to agree with you on he Yak. Played his best game of the season then doesn't play again.

Can't understand it myself!

Mark Wayman
3 Posted 04/02/2011 at 18:26:39

Yakubu had a good run of games against Liverpool, Spurs away, Stoke and Blackpool, and I thought offered a great deal. Came as a surprise to see him dropped.

Apparently, Yobo claimed to be unfit to play for Everton before our demolition by Benfica last season, then made a miraculous recovery to play for Nigeria in under a week. Upsetting his manager.

Vaughan I would like to be given another chance, but it seems unlikely. Whenever he was about to get going he got injured.

If Moyes left in the summer I think maybe all three would be given another chance. Not that I'm saying I want Moyes to leave.

Lee Mandaracas
4 Posted 04/02/2011 at 18:50:51

Wonder why they have gone? Here's a thought; we have saved at least £50k per week since Yobo was loaned out, yet nothing was available in January. Pienaar goes for £3m (£2m now and £1m later apparently) and frees up a further £50k p/w from the salary line. Yakubu going on loan saves us around another £60k p/w. Vaughan goes on loan freeing approximately £15k p/w. Agard and Silva must have freed up at least £5k p/w.

There alone we are looking at a saving of £1,150,000 in Yobo's salary since his transfer on 1st September plus £2m for Pienaar's transfer. We have spent £250k or so on Vellios but that is it. By my calculations above we are saving that much every ten days in salary savings alone.

Face it, we are screwed. As they say in the States; "You do the math!"

Mark Wayman
5 Posted 04/02/2011 at 22:26:47

Yakubu's wages are reportedly around £35k per week. Relativley low considering what other players capable of 20 goals a season, but apparently so.

John Shaw
6 Posted 04/02/2011 at 22:25:11

Yak did play well against the RS and scored the winner against Stoke, but he was absolutely appalling against Blackpool, was hauled off and then dropped for the next game. I agree he had a lot to offer when he could be bothered and got fit, after his injury he just didn't seem bothered, I mean, how long does it take to get back in shape?

Roman Sidey
7 Posted 04/02/2011 at 22:35:48

John, fair call that Yak hasn't gotten back into it since he came back from his injury. The hardest part though is getting back to the standard of the EPL compared to the reserves league, and we all know how much of a run Moyes gives his strikers, so it's no surprise the the poor fella hasn't gotten his groove back.

Lee Mandaracas, while we are saving a lot from loaning these players out, I haver to back Mark up in saying your figures are very high.

Trevor Lynes
8 Posted 04/02/2011 at 23:55:55

I have never seen Vaughan as ever being Premier League standard and I can't see him improving elsewhere. He is not a natural goal scorer. Anichebe is also not a natural goalscorer but he is better than Vaughan, but I don't see a lot of improvement in him either. Yak is not interested and looks past his best.

Yobo still has ability and could be a squad member as Heitinga may well leave. Beckford should be given an extended try with Saha so long as Louis stays injury free, but we do need fresh blood to push the team forward and compete for places. We need decent cover for Baines urgently and at the moment we do not have adequate cover for Arteta, Fellaini and Saha...

Derek Thomas
9 Posted 05/02/2011 at 05:41:59

Reasons why? 10 million of 'em needed as soon as poss... for the bank.

Matt Bone
10 Posted 05/02/2011 at 11:44:31

I was under the impression that, when Vaughan sign on loan for the rest of the season, there was a permanent purchase price agreed ?somewhere between £750k and £1M. As his contract is up at the end of the season, are we likely to see him in an Everton shirt again? ? I doubt it.

I don't think we'll see Yakubu either and, unless Jonny goes, we've probably seen the last of Yobo. Yobo has the longest contract of the 3 and is perhaps the only one we'd get a half decent fee for.

Yakuba would have one year remaining on his current contract and would go for a couple of bob, predominantly to get his wages off the books. West Ham's offer looks a massive missed opportunity now.

And on the subject of transfer fees, why is there always SO much different in reported amounts? On transfer deadline day, we saw Sky reporting an offer of £1.5m for Neville, Harry Redknapp saying he'd made a good offer and yet Moyes saying it was only £250k.

Now for me, Moyes has always been honest with the public (perhaps too honest for his own good at times) so I know who out of Moyes and Redknapp I'd believe... and don't get me started on Wenger.

Lee Mandaracas
11 Posted 05/02/2011 at 15:30:21

Apparently, some on here think my figures are slightly high. My basis is anecdotal in the main so I will accept the possibility Yak may be on £35k p/w and not the £60k I was under the impression of. That said, when he joined us for £11.8m he became one of our highest earners on £50k p/w at the time so I find it very hard to believe he is on £35k p/w. Even if I am wrong and he is on £35k how on earth can anyone focus on that and not the incredible crux of my point? Okay, maybe we can make back the transfer purchase cost of Vellios in a fortnight and not 10 days. How is my point regarding the several absent millions missed?

Apart from all of that I was sure I also read that the Yakubu loan cost was £750k so that means by the end of January we have generated a transfer profit in excess of £3,500,000 WITHOUT factoring ANY salary savings (aside from Yobo's, which is included in this figure up to the point of the window closing but no loan fee is known if appropriate). Thereafter we are saving a minimum of a further £150,000 each and every week!

Now tell me we are not in perilous trouble!

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, 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 Talking Points submissions across the site.

About these ads