Moyes has left it too late again I fear.

I still expect a couple in though, Probably at deadline day again.

I think most of the manager's talk about potential signings in this transfer window have been qualified by phrases that added up to ".... but we might end up bringing no-one in."

Wasting time and money on no-hopers would be detrimental so I can see that opportunities may be limited, but we may just have to take a chance on another maverick. I just hope that we are really putting the work in to talk to players and work something out, rather than token bids and Bill wiping his sweaty brow with relief as each one gets away.

Patience lads, like Danny said, prices go down in the last week.
Let's just wait until 11pm on that fateful day to either complain or praise.

I'd be happy with Vadis Ooe and a pacy young striker/winger. Maybe that Niang bloke we were after, is he playing at Milan?

You should be asking Bill what he's doing to get Moyes the loanees he wants.

I honestly think Moyes knows that most of us think he's fucking useless but says to himself, "Who the fuck do they think they are, telling me who to pick?" Because that's how arrogant managers are... one thing's for certain: he'll be first name on the sheet for the Bolton game.

Jimmy, now Molde are going for their 3rd League title on the bounce - is Solskjaer thought of as a great young manager over there, and would he make a good choice if Moyes left?

If something happens, it happens.

I DO NOT.

Our illustrious board are all millionnaires but unlike othe club owners do not give money from their own pockets when its required.

Every business has a budget to purchase stock to sell so why don't we have a budget for the manager to purchase players (stock).
We are bringing in players who no one else wants on short term stop gap contracts in the hope that they can perform above their normal standards.
These players have been released from clubs lower in the league than we are due to age, injuries that will not go away or just lack of ability.
eg; Lucas Neil, Saha, Beattie, Hitzelberger, Hahnemann,Drenthe, MacFadden etc.
We buy players or take as freebees who other clubs are not competing for eg, Bily, Heitinga, Jelavic, Naismith and Oviedo
Once in a while we have some luck with one or two like jelavic and for a time, Saha.

We are becoming a club who will take the left overs of the transfer window because this board will not back DM.
Whilst it was in peril of going down money became available magically, but now we have a decent first eleven with realistic chances of breaking into the top four this mingy board will not dip into their carrier bags.
DM has exceeded expectations and is embarrassing the board who are happy with survival.

Its obvious to me and the board should not be allowed to get away with this poverty cry.

Bang on

The board offer nothing to EFC, they don't and never have put a penny in and never will either

Then "allegedly" they expect a massive windfall if the club gets sold

Seriously, have we ever heard of a more nasty and devious set of people in our beloved clubs history

This was a Transfer window they should have grabbed at, once it was clear we had the real potential this season it should have been in the planning

as usual they give the manager and fans nothing

Fuckwits

I'm trying to stay positive.

I've only see snippets of Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, but others have said they have seen him this season and don't rate him. Maybe Moyes feels the same on reflection?

I don't agree that we were ever promised any signings, and I also think that the loan market is a little more complicated than you suggest......

However, I do understand and share the frustration. I hate the fact that we haven't been seen to make any significant attempts to sign anyone. The last two games have illustrated how we are crying out for some fresh faces, just to mix it up a bit and give us the opportunity to change our system if required.

For whatever reason (not being an agent or football journalist I cant pretend to know why) transfer deadline day always offers the best chance of a good deal.

I may be naive but I still live in hope that come 1st February we will have at least one new face in the squad to freshen things up.

Still almost a week left, more than enough time to bring in Messi and Falcao!

John, about loans which you are more difficult than we imagine.

OUR club loan out shedfulls of players and we have had as many as twelve lent out one season without snags !
Why is it more difficult to loan players IN !

Stop making excuses for the mismanagement of OUR club...let them make their excuses, don't make them for them.
We lent out Barkley in a hearbeat to Leeds, can you explain that ??

I'm sure we could loan in a few youngsters without much trouble, but what would be the point of that? Better players will cost more to bring in, then there might be sorting out wages and future fees if we decide we want him.

I'm as frustrated as the next Evertonian and by no means think our board are out to do the best for our club but transfers are not as easy these days – if they ever were – and will take time. Plus, there hasn't really been much activity by Prem teams at the moment....

I said it weeks ago: Don't even look at any of the shit the papers or Sky spout till the last day / few hours, that's when we will sign someone. Expect a loan from Man Utd or Chelsea as a sweetener for Fellaini going in the Summer.

And if you were Moyes, would you sign a Contract? Once he does go, maybe then people will wake up and see the real culprit for the reason we have no money:

Bill "I went in the Boys Pen" Knenwright.

I mean how many has he signed now? Must be 3. God, he's insatiable.

Just a fact of life that it is one of the places were moving to EFC is likely to be a step up the career ladder.

Probably not worth doing any business in this transfer window, but next window Moyes(or whoever is managing us), needs to have a clearout of the more saleable members of the squad(i.e. Fellaini/Heitinga), and also those who are not good enough(I'm thinking Naismith primarily).

With the freed up salary (about £8M for those 3 players I'd estimate), plus whatever we get in transfer fees, we need to get in about 4 or 5 younger players with potential and make best use of Barkley, Duffy, Vellios.

We're unlikely to challenge for top4, but at least we'll be on a sound financial footing and have a team able to get mid-table or better.

Neither is it good to keep people who are not of sufficient quality on high wages(Naismith) or expensive players who can't play much(Heitinga). This is especially true when you have an budding youth players(Duffy/Barkley) who are in need of games.

Its my view that anyone at our club being paid £40k+ / week needs to be a first team regular.

Patience my Nordic chum, we will sign somebody, and as usual you will probably never have heard of them, but they could turn out to be half decent. It's the Everton way.....

We definitely need strengthening in the middle and down the right, whether it's the channel or the wing. At present we must be the most lobsided team in the Premier League. Against Southampton there were so many Everton and Saints players on our left side of the pitch, it's a wonder it didn't tip up.

Also, this Naismith business is a strange one. I've never been able to fathom out his exact role. In all my many years of watching football I have never seen a winger head so many long balls. Is this a DM tactic? If it is, it is certainly not working.

Nail on head, I think. What a great idea, I have to say.

As I live in Norway, I feel I have known Solskjaer since before Man Utd, but what matters is his natural winning drive and eye for really good young talents.

I think Solskjaer would bring Magnus Wollf Eikrem, who is a great midfield talent (attacking midfielder) with him when he moves to England again.

My manager choice after Moyes leaves would be Solskjaer or Neville, because to me they both seem to have that winning drive, though Solskjaer is more proven than Neville is right now.

Regarding my mailbag letter I did put in the wrong word "promised", though I have heard Moyes complain many times that we are short here and there one would think he made that promise to himself before January came.

Moyes seemed very driven during the start of the season with regards to bringing in players on loan, but I have noticed he has toned it down the closer we have gotten January.

Moyes then makes the lovely Bill comment and I start to wonder if he has given up on bringing in players in January.

I really think if Moyes had the money then we would have seen a loan player by now. Someone like Vadis Ojdijda-Ofoe. Moyes like to bring in new players early, so why wait until the last day??

I think there is not enough money for him to get who he wants, so he just let go of his plan.

Hard to believe he is contemplating staying on under the circumstances...

In all seriousness, I agree that prices drop during the last week and Moyes will sign one or two players, albeit on loan, perhaps.

Marin from Chelsea would be ideal, and Gameiro. No need to spend all our money on a GK.

Butland would be fantastic of course... but I'm not sure I believe the stuff about £3.5million up front. I also expect his overall fee would be around the £7-8million mark which, given what Spurs sent on Llorris, would be excessive imo.

I also think the calls for a Diame move are interesting. He has been superb this season, and would be a better alternative than Neville, whilst Gibson cannot be relied upon... and if Gibson is fit for a few months when he comes back, well it gives us three very good options in the centre of midfield.

Is a win against Bolton, a draw against a Championship side/League 1 side at home in the Fifth round of the FA Cup, a mid-week win in the league, and the signings of Marin and Diame too much to ask for?

Of course... but it's nice to imagine.

Moyes the best manger we have ever had? You named three who had actually won trophies, two of them double league champions.

Where did you work that one out?

Easy, we loan players out early so it gets their wages off our books. We bring players in late for the same reason.

I like the Diame shout, supposedley he has a £3.5m buyout clause in his contract.

I understand leaving it late but we BADLY need new players. our patience will cost us a few points unfortunately

I think if we had the spending spree that Newcastle have just had that we really could challenge for 4th. Even just Gouffran, Sissoko and Yanga-Mbiwa would really improve our squad considerably and give us the impetus to sustain an attack on the CL.

Unfortunately, there doesn't to be any cash available, and there does not seem to be any sign of a player being sold to raise funds. With this in mind, my eye cannot help but drift towards the likes of Bentley as the next best option. It's a shite option I know but there is no point in me looking at what Newcastle or any body else is doing. I would only get depressed.

I will be crushed if Moyes is not able to bring in anyone because of the Fer deal going bad. I hope Moyes has time to get another midfielder if the Fer deal falls through, but I am not optimistic right now.

This whole thing smells much like the Vadis Ofoe deal, some stupid reason why Everton drag things too far or for too long.