Moyes now the focus of media mischief

If you knew year on year, that you had to sell the family silver in order to survive, you would get hold of an income stream from somewhere. Even if it meant filling shelves in Sainsbury?s.

We have been in this situation for years, and certainly since the year Rooney was sold. It?s the apparent and repeated impotence in the face of the same problem that gets to me.

Is there really no-one out there in the business world interested in investing in or even just sponsoring a club with a great history, phenomenal potential, relatively successful (7th), and an enthusiastic (albeit opinionated ? we don?t specialise in shrinking violets) set of supporters?

Oh well. First rant of the Summer over. I have another rant about pundits, and one in particular, but I?ll keep my powder dry for the minute

We started with the Baines speculation, then onto Fellaini and now Moyes. This appears to be a systematic dismantling of Everton Football Club by the media and should be met with firm statement from the club. No comment from our board may as well just be a statement saying that we are selling Baines and Fellaini and the manager will not be re--newing his contract. Come on Kenwright stop hiding ....

To give some of our supporters, who really should know better in believing stuff in the papers, a warm glow inside? Not all of us fans are so naive.

I'd prefer they were spending their time looking for funding and new players. Not knee-jerking to every rubbish journo story. If they did, they'd have to employ a couple of extra PR staff and there would be a press-release every 24 hours.

Everyone should just chill out, and wait and see what happens. Its a reality for most of the clubs in the premiership that money is tight, and that there wont be much movement until players are sold to generate funds for new purchases. Thats just the way life is, so why react to a story, when we should all be aware of the financial restraints around not only our club, but around the financial world generally?

It shouldn't be, as most clubs will have to, we have been doing so the last few years, and so this isn't really a story is it? So I can't fathom why people are jumping up and down and expecting the club to issue a statement or do something/anything about nothing. Breaking news : EFC may have to sell before they buy. Hold the back-pages...!

One of the responses above; "This appears to be a systematic dismantling of Everton Football Club by the media" is possibly the most melodramatic and laughable post I've ever read on TW.

By the time the new season starts, there will have been transfer rumours about every club in the premiership, and the vast majority of players. Its the same every year.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Can you really blame any player wanting a move to a bigger club though ? If you were a decent player, and you knew you would probably end your career without any medals by staying at Everton - wouldn't you be tempted to move ?

Look at Lescott & Rooney, I can't see them regretting their transfers, or their bank balances !

Football is fooked unfortunately, wages & medals win you loyalty.

It is inevitable that players will leave, but thats not the issue here, the issue is that the board should come out and respond to press reports when it ultimately can be damaging to the stature of the club. Whelan at Wigan is a good recent example. He really got up Liverpool's noses with his media play acting but it worked. Levy at Spurs tells people where to go if it is not in his clubs interests or matches his valuation. Our board gives the impression that the first question they ask is 'how much would you like to pay for him'?

No they don't, and to be fair, they've always played hard ball on player valuations, Lescott was excellent business, so too was Arteta, Rooney and Beckford to name a few.

We will have to sell to buy, it's no big secret considering the club have announced the fact on more than one occasion, it's a question of who we sell, and how much the manager gets from the sale to invest in the squad.

If people on here think Moyes would have to take a pay cut to go elsewhere, you're kidding yourselves, I reckon most of the clubs in the PL would give him a better contract than the one he's already on to get his services.

Read what you want into it? Simples. I cannot see that score (two out in last three years) doubling in one summer. The two oft-quoted players (Baines and Fellaini) have three and four years on their contracts.

So if the situation is as you say it is: that means we will etiher sell no significant players or just one (and the latter to allow us to buy another striker). Just what I have expected all along.

The trouble is that we're effectively just treading water when we keep selling our best players and trying to fin new ones untill we either get relegated or miraculously get into the champions league. The odds on the former will be much shorter I should think.

I very much doubt we will sell Baines and Fellaini this summer. One of them perhaps and I think i'd rather it was Leighton. Superb as he has been, if we could get 20m for him then I think that would be a pretty good deal. 6m for the bank and 14m for a replacement LB and another striker or winger.

For me, an excellent piece of business would have been the transfer fee in cash.

Sam, how did you get to "Up to £30m?"

4 unaccountable people wanting too much for the club is the root cause, AGMs banned, the monstrous situation were an employee becomes stronger as the club becomes weaker is laughable business practice.

There is a "con" of several years duration at EFC it's based upon the chairman being an evertonian and disguises the exploitation of the club unfortunately the very thing that identifies a fan - blind loyalty - makes them the "marks".

Note to the BU, concentrate the message on restoring AGMs - everything else will follow.

Your point about employees becoming stronger as the club gets weaker is relevant at the majority of PL clubs I think.

Yes, we got it all: £20 million plus add ons of: £3 million if he signed a new deal beyond three years at the club, and £4 million for league titles and Champions Legaue. We got the lot.
Not that that was a good deal. Unfortunately, 2004 was a lull in the market. Had we sold in 2002 or 2006, we'd have got more.

Now, I know I am seeing this from a fans point of view but what do you want from a career? For me, financial security for me and my family for life. Well, they could get that with any club in the premier league. Next , the chance to play for your country and win medals with your club.If Rooney and Lescott were at Everton they could have done that.

Finally, the opportunity to show that you are not part of the scum England team culture that , and by fuck they love it, sets them apart from the ordinary man in the street who through the turnstiles or by their Sky subscriptions pay their wages.

A footballer with intelligence, dignity and some kind of empathy with the poor sod who allows him to live like a king.

Fellaini and Baines have consistently committed themselves to the club by extending their contracts. We can expect nothing more than this, as it boosts their selling price if.... And the if usually comes about by doubling the weekly wage - sod the medals and caps. Who knows, Bluebirds could change into Red Dragons overnight if money had anything to do with it.

None of us know if EFC has to sell anyone for any reason. We got Jelavic because Rangers were going into financial freefall. It might happen to us one day, then everyone including the Toffee Lady is up for sale. But as far as we know, it's only happened in a Barmby/Arteta situation.

I just wonder if it is Everton causing the rumours to generate some interest.

As some posters have already said Everton could quite easily make a statement saying Baines and Fellaini are under contract and going nowhere.

The silence from the club is deafening.

Ian Bennett in a recent analysis of the accounts said something like £32 million of debt is due in 1 year (this year). But I expect that is not solely from the banks and some of it can be rolled over into a new loan.

I reckon you're right 'cos going by our past history we sell them on the last day of the transfer window which is about 4 games into the season

27m for Rooney was not good business at all. He is the outstanding player of his generation and I think it was pretty obvious even at the time he was world class. We should have held out for more.

I'm an Everton player.

I'm happy at Everton.

I want to play in Europe.

We didn't qualify for Europe which is a shame.

If a CL club comes in for me and I have to go then I will go.

But I love Everton . I am an Everton player and I am happy at Everton.

And anyway I am on holiday at the moment....(so fuck off ?)

If, however, you read the various newspaper reports, they are all slanted by omission. The main thing that gets repeated is the 'if a CL club comes in for me etc....' bit. The Star's (yeah I know I said 'newspapers' but....) interpretation reads almost as if Fella is asking for a fucking transfer. The way the Telegraph puts it over gives the same impression but what none of them mention is the fact that he also states in the interview that as far as he is aware nobody has made any enquiries about him at all!

This is how journalism works, especially football journalism. If stories are not entirely made up (and many of them are) the lackies trawl the internet for snippets of news and then the hacks twist it to make it into a 'story'. Exactly the same thing happened with Heitinga a couple of years ago and the 'riding a bike to Barcelona' story.

It's bloody nonsense. When the club announce they have had an offer for Fella, Tom, Dick or Harry, that is the time to announce it and make a statement and not before.

Fellaini leaving would be a blow but he won't go for less than £20m and probably £22m or even £25m if there is a fight for his signature. I think this is the likely scenario in terms of transfers out, plus Cahill and Victor. I'd miss Fellani, a lot, but believe there is a chance of replacing him with, if not exactly like for like, then a different type of forward looking midfielder, possibly called Ross Barclay ?

All this could see £27m arrive and Moyes would be lucky to see £12m. He will need £4m for Piennar, and I suspect £2m for Naesmith from Rangers. I think I'd rather have the long needed right sided winger than another "top" striker and persuading Landon to move permanently would be brilliant but unlikely. So it's a bit up for grabs how Moyes might spend that £6m or so......we will I hope grab some Bosnans like Rodeagua and Fernandes and / or use the loan market. There is an alternative and that's to ensure Baines and Fellani stay and Jags goes, which would be the better squad option in my view but of course reduce the cash to around 17m and Miyes may only get enough to buy Piennar and Nasesmith.

It may sound daft but in terms of the wider thread here I think pretty much everyone is right !!! It IS amazing that some are apparently surprised that we have to sell to buy. It IS very frustrating that our "dignified silence" cannot be broken to at least reassure fans that the team is not about to be totally dismantled but then I'm not sure just how meaningful any statement can be until the decline has passed. It IS the case that wheeling and dealing is not necessarily the end of the EFC world as we know it, but it's all about degrease numbers leaving and what money Moyes gets to rebuild. And finally, it really IS utter nonsense to see just how absurd the media has become during transfer windows, made far worse by the explosion of social media use and the creation of endless fan led web sites which often insist on repeating the nonsense to fill the vacuum left by the wet summer days.