I think we definitely need some decent central midfield cover. Hitzlsperger isn't fully fit yet and doesnt look like being considered to be brought on for minutes let alone decent game time.

Maybe another loan move for Odjidja-Ofoe as when were without Gibbo through either injury or suspension for long periods, it shows badly how much we need him IMO. He protects the back 4, uses the ball very well and makes us tick along with Pienaar.

Also I think we could do with bringing Donovan in on loan again IF he was up for coming for a third time?. I know weve got Mirallas now but Donovan would be able to add competition and cover for if we was again, to lose a player like Mirallas through injury or suspension. If Mirallas was going to be out for a while, we would miss his pace and directness and having Donovan would replace him and replicate what Mirallas gives us.

I think a striker aswell would be handy as I don't think Anichebe is any good at replacing Jelavic for any sustained period, I just don't think he'll get us the goals we'll need on a regular basis. And I don't think Vellios is quite ready, or fancied for that matter, to step in either, so a striker on loan aswell would be nice.

Personally , unless DM agrees a new contract , I don't think there will be much happening in the January window.
I can see Johnny leaving which may allow us to buy a replacement and possibly a couple of loanees.

I don't know how old Kevin Doyle is , but we could do with someone like him to hold the ball up as Jelly is an out and out striker and I think he is wasted when he's not in the box.

Obviously RB and CM are areas of concern , but without cashing in on Fellaini or Baines we can't afford the type of player we need.

Let's just hope we are in the higher echelons of the league come the start of the window.

Lewis Holtby from Schalke should be our only priority. A 22 year old German international Central midfielder with only 6 months left on his contract and an Evertonian to top it all off.

Quality player and has come out a few times in interviews expressing his desire to play in England and how he supports Everton.

Phil, I would have Holtby in a heartbeat. A proud Evertonian, I think he'd be a great fit. Not sure if Moyes rates him though. If he did, why would we not have moved for him in the summer? Holding out for a better price maybe?

After the last 2 transfer windows, I think Moyes or at least someone at the club is doing something right. I think right now, we can trust the club with transfer dealings. We can't trust them to make funds available yet but I really don't have anything negative to say about transfers since January. I'm not worried what they're going to do next transfer window either.

All Moyes can do is bring in loans, remember he spent all the Rodwell money!

We need cover in defence, central midfield and attack. All 3 will have to be loans.

I do NOT want Donovan as he is a loan wasted since he only would be here for 8 games. That would be pointless since we need a stable squad until the season ends.

1st; one game at a time. 2nd I'm not too worried about Jan. in comings, it's the possible out-goings. 3rd one game at a time. 4th one game at a time. Repeat until the end of the season

If we could add Holtby and perhaps a younger version of Distin then I think we would be looking very good indeed!

In reality I think a couple of January loans is the most likely outcome unless of course we sell someone. If we could get £5M+ for Heitinga then I think we should let him go.

Sell Fellaini.

I'm getting the feeling he thinks he is bigger and better than EFC. His lazy moaning attitude stunk the place out. For me, when Felli wants to, he can be top notch and on his off days he is awful.

If Chelsea make a £25 mill offer, I'd bite their hands off. With that money I'd get Holtby, and try and land Phillips and Ince, that would give us pace throughout with backup if Mirallas or Pienaar get injured.

Sam #470

IF we got £5m for Heitinga, where are we going to get the other £15/20 million for a 25 years-old Distin?

Oh yes, and just let's "add Holtby".

Get real!

Ken, I know its cold outside but cheer up.

Holtby is on a free at the end of the season. Plus you might remember a young man called Joleon who we snaffled for about £4m a few seasons back. To make you look even more silly Distin himself was bought for about £4m when he was 25!

A new chairman would be nice.

I'm with Mark... CM in is a priority, along with another creative wide player.... another Donovan cameo would be superb.

Ken

I know what your saying in terms of maybe not selling Heitinga and then leaving ourselves light at centre half especially needing to replace Distin long term, but......

Nobody knows if the club is looking at Holtby, this is a market we have looked to in the past, out of contract players with a nominal fee. No doubt we will again if Moyes views the player as suitable.

Currently its one of the ways we HAVE to operate.

We also need a midfielder so its hardly an outlandish suggestion is it?

I havent seen enough of Holtby to know if he is the kind of deep lying holding, mid we need immediately in the window but, I think long term we are light in there anyway. Ossie, Nev and Pienaar are all the wrong side of 30 and Fellaini is playing further forward. We havent replaced Rodwell in the squad and if he was here and fit would have been playing a lot of football.

Also, on a side issue, like Spurs with the Pienaar deal, signing him is a no brainer from a financial aspect. If it doesnt work you get a player for minimal outlay and as they are then on a long term deal at your you make money when theres interest.

On Distin, when was the last time we paid that money for his long term replacement, or indeed anyone, ever?!

We are taking players 27 and under in the main. Distin was different as we needed someone in asap and he fitted the bill for 3/4 seasons, knew the division, is a good player and didnt cost too much.

Moyes may well go championship again for any long term signing as he did with Jags & Lescott. We don't pay over £5/6m for anyone lets be honest, unless we get a windfall.

We are ok at centre half right now but the priority in the window is mid.

I also think we could do with a little more up top or wide. Look at the impact a player like Mirallas has.

We are still very light on wide attacking options, with the lone striker being king these days you need a couple of them with the 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation. Another player of that ilk, such as Donovan on lone or a longer term younger wide attacker, would be good. We could genuinely play the system we kicked off at QPR then, a great system away from home if you have the right players to play the system, on the day we didnt, as the squad is thin. Vic was on the other side and he struggles to play that role effectively.

Moyes also was sniffing around cover for Jelavic in the summer remember (Rodellega), so we will have to see.

Personally a deep mid and another attacking option, whatever form that takes, will do for me.

Drogba on loan anybody? The RS have been linked. He would be a great impact sub, well better than Vic anyway

That lad at Portsmouth, Kevin Allen (I think) — twinkling feet and a real cut above the rest in the Sheff Utd v Pompey game last night. Another Mirallas in the making.

How long is Essien on loan at Madrid for? If it expires in January maybe that's another one to re-visit.

Holtby - (is an attacking centre midfielder, sometimes can play out wide, not a deep lying midfielder), is available on a pre-contract agreement in January. He's made all the right noises about Everton and so we need to get an offer in.

Flamini - out of favour at Ac Milan, was released from his contract in the summer before signing a one year extension. Has only played twice and AC are apparently going to let him go. Exactly what we need and should be a minimal fee, still in his twenties. Unlikely to get him but worth a go.

Vossen - We desperately need cover for Jelavic. Belgian striker with good record in the Belgian league. Available (reportedly) between £3 - 4 million. We desperately need someone else upfront because if Jelavic gets injured we're screwed.

3 players, all within our price range, in the areas we need. We would do with another centre back, right back, goalkeeper (cover or pushing Howard) but without selling Heitinga, Baines, Fellaini or Jelavic, that isn't going to happen (and I'd rather all of them stayed).

Andrew, Drogba? Yeah!!

2 problems.

Dont think Drogbas ego allows him to do the "impact sub" thing.

Plus we would be having collections in the stands to pay his wages!!!

Just a bit of a random thought, we have Vellios and Gueye on the bench all the time and arent getting any game time. To see if they're the real deal, why not put them out on loan in the Championship (presuming any clubs want them of course) and replace them with loan signings, hopefully more established players?

Its working with Barkley, it worked with Coleman and Osman, just like to find out what Vellios and Gueye are like if they play regularly.

Holtby is also worth trying, even if it is quite unrealistic. You never know, if we are in a good position by January, and his Dad supports Everton... could be worth a go.

Andrew re Drogba, one of my housemates is Chinese and is actually a huge Shanghai Shenhua fan, and apparently a no go, they love him down there.

And another random off topic thing, the Chinese league released their team of the year, Drogba didnt make it, Yakubu did. What the hell?!

Jon (489).

On the Jelavic thing, we do need the cover.

There were people expecting Jelavic to keep up his goal record from last year and it just cant be done for a very good reason...............playing up front on your own for Everton is fucking hard work!!!!

There will be times his sharpness is going to drop as, and to his credit he is prepared to do it, he puts in the graft. But he does get isolated, especially away from home. Personally I think a way to get him more support would be to go that 4-3-3 formation where you can get 2 wide attacking players around him easier.

One problem, we need another wide attacker to play it effectively.

Priority is to get better players than we already have. My prediction is that this will not happen.

Just been given ifo on Gibson from the lad who drip feeds me info from Finch Farm, Gibbo is nowhere near fitness and won't be for a while. Hope that is untrue

People keep saying that we need more widemen but I think they may be forgetting Oviedo, who though it is early days looks like he could be very tasty and has certainly got some real pace.

That gives us Mirallas, Oviedo, Pienaar and Naismith who can play wide as well as maybe Coleman, Osman and Mcaleny who I would like to see get a chance or two.

Getting everyone fit and keeping them fit would be my first hope, especially Gibson, Fellaini, Jelavic & Mirallas. If we have an FA Cup run similar to the League Cup run, then number of games is not going to be an issue next year!

Another central midfielder as cover would be nice given Gibson will spend half his time in the treatment room and Neville in midfield has to end at some stage (surely!)

Next 4 games are all winnable against the so-called 'lesser' teams but then we have four very tough games against Arsenal, Man City, Spurs and Stoke (away) just before Xmas. Anything above 12 points from these 8 games would be a decent return imo (at a minimum win 3, draw 3 loose 2?).

Quite frankly I'm more than a little bemused at the posts on here for the most part: flashy winger please, free-back up for Jelly please, Donovan please, this Holtby fella please. Flash, flare, speed, dash, please.

If, and it's a big bastard IF, we have decent sponds to splash out in the next window, flash, flare, speed, dash ought not to be at the top of the shopping list for me at any rate. Here's my twopenneth for what it's worth.

(1) a proper decent goalie please who's up for it and would not be mere cover for flapping Timmy but could step into his shoes three months from now.

(2) a centre-half please, not least coz if the powers that be are looking for sponds then the flying dutchman is likely to walk. Not a single one of our centre-back pairings so far this season has looked anything but shaky. Not one. We say he or they are the best for what we have, but when all is said and done my hunch is that a majority of us are aching for Moyes to solve what we always felt what his strength: get it sorted Moysey mate.

(3) a blood-drinking child-hating mean mother defensive mid who scares the shit out of any player silly/unfortunate enough to find himself heading in his general direction on the pitch. Tough with a touch of pace who can pass and makes opponents wince when they see his name in the starting 11: a Reidy-type if you will.

So, you can see why Aidy (427) makes little sense to me looking long and lard at the current squad – bring Landon back, he says, cover Jelly, get us another Gibbo (better) – and Phil (#430), by far the most short-sighted and quite frankly wrong post for what we need right now IMO; Holtby from Schalke should be our only 'priority'.

Jeez. I know we all like our team to have dash and flare and goals but Holtby on his tod would solve nothing. Would be nice to have him like, but nuts and bolts first: goalie, centre-half, blood-sucking mid.

Denis I can see us in 10 years bemoaning a tired Neville still playing in centre midfield with his dyed hair and gray beard... Oh, what's that?? He just signed for another 2 season extension??? FML

But on a real note - We need cover - ONE player goes down (Gibbo) and we seem to not have an answer. That's bad.

I like what Jon was saying but haven't seen enough of Flamini recently -- (although I did hear he shagged a mate's ex girlfriend in Malibu a couple of years back). I just wonder how he got those god awful shorts off? They're so tight it looked like he had to jump off a roof to fit in them.

YES to Holtby

Maybe to Flamini (no to the daisy duke shorts lol)
And Yes to Vossen (but only if he'll get a haircut)

Priority is get everyone fit, keep them fit and keep them here. I'll be slightly stunned if we get anyone new in January.

Vossen for sure, even if it's a loan to start with.

Odjidja-Ofoe on loan until the summer then sign.

Holtby... yes, if the price is right.

And, of course, this cheap yet world-class central defender we are all wanting!

Taking a leaf out of Jack Charlton’s little black book, I have begun to compile a “players who most need sorting out” list. Suarez and Gerrard both feature.

I would therefore like us to sign Johnny Morrissey. Rattus Uruguayus’s career as a diver would soon be at an end. And after experiencing a Morrissey tackle, by the time he landed, Stevie G would actually wake up in Stoke.

Three or four players picked up in the middle of the season, only one, Heitinga, out. How do we afford to buy, and pay wages for, the players that the Hetinga transfer fee and freed up wages doesn't cover? Remember, our budget runs annually from August to August when we get the Sky cheque in the post. Where exactly do people think we have a spare ten million mid season?

I'm all for strengthening while we are more attractive than ever right now, but I do think we would still need to raise cash to do so, especially if it is in the January window. I can't see beyond selling the likes of Gueye, Anichabe and Vellios as Hetinga is the only senior player that we have spare. The only other way to raise funds is the unpalatable idea of selling a hugely important player like Baines.

If we are prepared to wait, then signing players on a pre contract in January and bringing them in for free in the summer is ideal. We can still have time to figure out who we sell in the summer, how to draw up our budget for the squad for the following season and what way we can fit these new players in. It does mean being patient though. Yes, the down side is that we don't get the extra impetus it would give us mid season but without selling big name players to finance it, I can't see us signing three or four players in January.

Sam #478

"about £4m when he was 25".

He's now 34, ever heard of inflation?

Probably not so let me explain it in simple terms, it's that nasty problem that makes things (relatively) more expensive all the time; and it is particularly noticeable in the football transfer market.

I stand by my claim that a 25 years-old Distin would cost about £20/25m.

If that's silly, I bow to your superior intellect.

Lescott was bought for £5m, after spending most of the previous season on the Wolves treatment table. Other clubs had considered him and walked away from a deal. Moyes took a very big gamble which paid off big time - they don't always.

I repeat "Get real!!"

I think there are some quality centre halves out there from lesser leagues that won't cost riduculous sums of money. Partiularly in places like Scandinavia, Belgium and Eastern Europe. Hangeland, Vidic and Kompany were all relative bargains.

We already have a decent centre half ready to move up in Duffy, no idea why we don't go back in for Ofoe and look for loan cover for Jelavic

Ken Crowther@610. Thanks for the condescension and the explanation of inflation, though I think what you are referring to is probably called extreme hyper-inflation if something worth £4m then costs you £20/25m less than 10 years later!!

Arguably the best centre back last season was Vincent Kompany, who was bought for less than £6m less than 4 years ago. Buying any player is a gamble, whatever their price but if you really believe there aren't any good young centre backs out there for around the £5m mark then I repeat stop being silly!

Ken, there are always bargains out there. Just need the right talent spotter to find them. Cahill, Arteta, Pienaar, Jagielka, Baines, Gibson, Jelavic. And that's just our club!
A lot of clubs across Europe find gems in South America for peanuts and sell them on for huge fees.
Players like Pastore, Sanchez, Falcao all got bought cheap as chips and got sold for huge fees.

I don't think we should be looking for wide players or strikers as a first priority. Mirallas and Pienaar are first choice followed by Naismith then anyone of Gueye, Oviedo or even Coleman could play there. Similarly upfront Jelavic has cover most notbaly in Anichebe, backed up by Naismith and Mirallas who can play there before you get down to Vellios who is similar in style. We only ever play one anyway so whilst top class cover would be nice it would be a luxury, and for the sort of top class we'd want they'd be a lot of money and would get hacked off sitting on the bench (like Anichebe has). Our cover has to be in midfield. We have only really three players Moyes trusts fully in there being Osman Gibson and Neville. I don't think he views Junior or Barkley as ready and doesn't want to move Fellaini back after his poor showing against Leeds and his good form in that advanced position. Neville is mid 30s and Gibson seems to be injured a lot, we oculd really do with 2 or 3 central mids, preferably one who could cover full back as well.

I agree James, with both of your posts. In the middle is where we are short.

San Hoare #667

Condescending and silly in the same breath, that's what I call multi-tasking.

As I tried to explain to you, inflation has been particularly prominent in the football transfer market in the (recent) past; and you, of course, may apply any adjectives that you deem appropriate.

However if you call that "extreme hyper-inflation" I wonder how you would describe that which occurred in pre-Deutchesmark Germany (people being paid daily because yesterday's prices are just a pleasant memory, and, reputedly, needing a wheelbarrow to carry the cash on he way to the shops).

James #669

Thanks for your sensible comments and your politeness.

I guess I would call that one of the worse cases of hyperinflation recorded Ken. Not far behind the Zimbabwean dollar a few years back which peaked at over 6 sextillion percent, eventually rendering the currency obsolete.

Anyway, returning to football matters the point as I and others tried to explain to you is that Moyes has a decent history of bargain hunting and there are some bargains to be had out there.

Sam #697

Pax!

thinking of the future ithink a priority is for a experienced right back. T.H.is getting to the age that injuries take longer to heal and I am not sure if S.C. is the answer for the future at right back

Ha. Ok ken. Though I enjoyed the tangent!

Priorities

1 Jack Butland, would replace Howard straight away the most over rated keeper in prem league, drives me crazy how he acts in goals.Yeah so what he is a good shot stopper a neccessary requirement for a keeper id imagine.Butland would be a long term solution for us.

2, Lewis Holtby, 22 German international and an Evertonian, oh and ive seen enough of him and Schalke to say that he would push us from being top 4 pretenders to genuine contenders.

3.Vadis Odadye or whatever he is called, I trust Vincent Kompanys opinion when he says he is quality, would get Neville out of midfield and he would put genuine pressure on Gibbo and Ossie. Loan first in January have a look and view to buy in January.

4. Another striker to back Jelavic up, not a necessity as Velios must be given a chance first the lad has something about him that I like,hope he gets a good run out soon.Mirallas can also play up top if anything happens to Jellyfish.

Not to much to ask for is it??

A lot has been said here about possible additions and to be honest I don't watch enough of other leagues to comment on particular names, that said the number one priority has to be holding mid as that is where we are the thinnest on the ground one injury and were struggling.

If there is money available after this this then I would like to see another out and out striker to give competition to Jelavic but as it seems clear this is unlikely to happen then we must be looking to bring on the likes of vellios later on in games we are winning to give them a chance against teams that are pushing for the equalizer.

I also see very little benefit in selling Johny as any money gained would have to fund a replacement like for like, this means little or no cash to outlay so a window trawling the loans market.

Am I the only person who will be pleased if we don't entice Donovan back for a few games ? If he was as fond of Everton as he maintains then surely he would be moving heaven and earth to engineer a move across the ocean.
Plus the fact that we have, hopefully, moved on in terms of our football. He is a decent player but we have been in the unedifying position of seeming to beg him to play for us. Cobblers ! He should be prepared to row the feckin' Atlantic to wear the shirt.
We can do much better

It always makes me laugh coming on here. You still get some dick head slagging off Fellaini. Well for all those who do, you have shit for brains.

Steve, I think that's a little strong.
Fellaini prior to this season was a mix of inconsistency borne through naievity and injury.

This season he has had a couple of anonymous performances in what has been a fantastic season for him. Yesterday against Fulham was one of the most complete centre forward performances I've seen in my life from a player who is not a centre forward!

There is someone on this board who opined that Gravesen was better than Fellaini. I said he was comparing apples and oranges, but your call of dick head shit for brains would've sufficed