We had a chance, and apparently we had some sponds, to bring one or two in. NOTHING (apologies to Stones). We had a chance to push on, aim high, aim 4th, back the gaffer, look smart, look savvy, look ambitious. We failed on all fronts.

Why would Moyes stay and I'm no blinkered fan of him at all? What should you, me, him, her feel happy right now? COZ WE DIDN'T SELL ANYONE? Bollocks. Yes, keeping certain folks was vital, but we needed new peeps to push on and we failed. A month and we failed.

We had some money, apparently and we failed to spend it. I'm not advocating panic rush stuff, we had a month. Why FFS did we bid for Fer this week and not earlier and then have a rethink!!! Why so late????

Let's face it: a boardroom of mental midgets with one or two exceptions, and a gaffer who is of higher standing and deserved better backing this last month.

We, you and me, deserved better, as did the gaffer, we didn't get it. Let's see what bullshit Kenshite comes out with this week, but he wont say a fucking word. Every day, every week, every season, every window I hate him more and more.

Scenario a) Bill makes funds available to DM and we still fail to achieve what we all want, DM refuses to sign a new contract and his replacement has no money to spend – equals a very sticky situation.

Scenario b) Bill makes limited funds available for a promising youngster ~ we fail to achieve what we all want DM refuses to sign a new contract but his replacement has money to spend - equals a more acceptable situation

Scenario c) We achieve what we all want with limited spending Moyes stays and has money to spend in the summer – equals good for everyone

We didn't lose Bainesy or Felli... They're like two new signings!

No-one is guilty of pinning our hopes on a crock and leaving it too late to find a replacement. If in fact the intention ever was to have a fall back plan. The puppet masters who loosened the purse strings come out of it with clean hands; blue Bill, their subservient front man gets a fresh round of applause. He served his time in the Boys Pen, don'tcha know...

The messaiagh who spends half his waking hours searching for players to improve our squad while the other half of his waking hours is used to oversee one of footballs most expensive unproductive training set ups. Talented youngsters enter its gates only to end up on the scrap heap without getting a smell of the first team.

All that's required is for Davy to sign that damn contract and most of you will break into a version of the Halleluja chorus.

Read carefully — "Every day, every week, every season, every window, I hate him more and more."

Don't become a detective, Dick.

I happen to have a splash of belief in the 'conspiracy theory', but that aint Moyesman stuff. Moyes, I believe, has decency and dignity. Kenshite and his confidantes have zilch of either.

I am no fan of Moyes in any shape or form. But he deserved better backing this last month.

Your supposition only works if it really was just a double bluff to fool all us mug punters, produced by collusion between Bill and Davey, et al.

Despite our lack of spending power compared to the top clubs we are competing with them and doing brilliantly. How this transmits itself to anything negative is absolutely beyond me.

We didn't get players in because we don't have the money to buy unconditionally. We haven't got money because we are not a brand and we don't generate the revenue that brand clubs like Liverpool do. We won't get investment because we are an economic basket case with massive future liabilities.

Why is this so difficult to understand? Why do we still get outrage that we haven't spent a pile on players and at the start of the window? We don't have money to spend — simples.

For me, Moyes, Kenwright and the Everton board, far from being incompetent as some would believe, are doing a magnificent job in keeping Everton up at the top of UK football. Why is it that the football world sees EFC as a glowing example of what can be achieved with low income and a loyal manager and board and yet a bitter section of our own supporters can see nothing but negativity in everything that the club does. This is 2013 not 1970, times have changed for the club.

Most people would have accepted a couple of loans, given that we tried to get Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe at the end of the summer transfer window (apparently only thwarted by running out of time) and Jelavic isn't on peak form, but then expectations were raised by bids for M'Vila and Fer. In the end we didn't even get loanees for positions that the manager has identified as priorities, so the transfer window has to be classed as a failure by even the lowest standards the club would apply for itself.

Unless you are assuming that CL qualification wouldn't bring financial rewards, it seems reasonable to borrow some money from board members that can still be off-set by the extra TV revenue or selling players in the summer, even if the hoped for fourth place isn't achieved.

Ho hum.

Not getting players is disappointing for everybody but it doesn't mean that the club weren't making every effort to get new players in. So far Gibson and Mirallas good as they both are have proven to be bad buys as they are both injured so much of the time. We can't afford more buys like that.

In my business we have a phrase called sweating the asset where we expect to get maximum performance from everything with no comfort zone. This is where EFC are now, they are operating absolutely at the limit of their finances. For me they are doing brilliantly in the face of as lot of adversity. I'd say the future is grim because the way we are operating now is probably unsustainable. In the meantime I'll give them my full support, I've watched them for 50 years now and they have been far worse than they are now many times.

I live in hope of a sale to the right people but I can't see how anybody would buy EFC. Would you put any money in?

The point that is being made in this thread is that EFC had 30 days to do something, and only apparently acted in the last two, and that the fan's disappointment stems from not seeing a new face other than Stones once the Fer Deal was off. Once again - no apparent contingency plan - utter lunacy.

As for Sweating the Asset - in what world is it a good idea to plan to use 100% of your assets? If you plan to use 100% of your staff and one of them is off sick you can no longer operate at 100% capacity - plain idiocy mate - especially without a contingency plan. Sweating the Asset is simply a Capitalists excuse for not being able to think ahead and plan - sorry but its bollocks mate.

You don't work for EFC do you?

"Sweating the asset" is often defined as cutting costs, virtualizing, or getting as much use as possible out of what you already possess. It's what EFC does to the letter if you think about it

I don't work for EFC.

Mike, you say "milking the asset", please explain that.

Not a Moyes or Kenshite lover , but as previously stated, if Moyes is to go in the summer why give him money to spend on players a new manager may not want.

Okay we only bought one young kid, but as our RB position is currently vacant and he has been playing regular football give the lad a shot, it's only Villa and might well just fit right in.

Cup half full and all that.

I currently live in Barnsley and know that we have bought a good young player in Stones, but after being seriously linked with such players as Negredo and Fer and apparently having the money to get them, but ending up with none, leaves me feeling shortchanged.

I always get annoyed when we leave things til it's too late - it happens every year. We had identified the types of players we needed but failed to get them. For this reason I believe we have had a poor transfer window.

All I can say is that we know we have a bit of cash now, plus what we can rustle together for the summer, so we had better get in the players we need then – and early! (just in case)

My point was more that I don't see your argument as a defense for what they have done in this window - if you target Fer because you need him and you have the money then fine - but waiting until you only have 2 days (out of 30) to procure the 'asset' is not what I would consider to be good planning or strategy, furthermore, if you have identified a need - then you should also therefore have a back-up plan (and enough time to carry it to fruition). In addition to which, why announce this prior to having sealed the deal?

Obviously we do not know if EFC did have a back-up plan or not, however I find that their approach has flaws, was risky and once again has proved to be (at least in my eyes) a PR failure - again!

The only thing of which we can be certain here is the feeling of the fans - and I for one feel disappointed by yet another 'apparent' bollocks up by the club. Even being generous to EFC and assuming that the club spent months trying to find the money, started negotiations with Fer in week 1, and with their contingency target also just in case; and then assuming that all these plans fell through at no fault to EFC - fine - in which case I as a fan still question their PR for this debacle. Unless (as some have opined) this entire transfer window was merely an opportunity to show the fans that the board can and will invest - whilst having no intention of actually investing - this window was an absolute mess - only serving to show the lack of skills within the current management structure.

As for my comment 'do you work for EFC' - my apologies, I have an innate dislike of comments defending what I can only consider to be utter incompetence in the management of a football club.

I strongly believe that the same people currently crying about lack of contingency planning, failure to back the manager, worst case scenarios etc. would be exactly the same people condemning Everton if we spent money we didnt have in this transfer window, failed to qualify for CL and had to sell players (assets) to avoid even worse financial problems. Kenwright would then be called financially incompetent (or worse) and the same people on here would castigate him for taking a risk with Everton's future, not being able to understand not spending what you don't have etc. etc. etc.

From a financial point of view, the lack of signings in this window was excellent. Everton's finances are such that we aren't in a position to gamble on signings to produce CL football. That may be sad, but it's true. From a football point of view, I wish to god we could take that gamble, but we can't. If you want to understand why, watch what happens to QPR if they don't avoid relegation this season - they'll be another Portsmouth. But a large section of QPR's fans are probably delighted with 'Arry's wheeler dealering in the transfer window.

The interest in the Negredo was pure fiction.

Whether these guys would have fired us to 4th spot is debatable but the board and Moyes have no defence at all now if we fall short. It's almost inevitable that they'll go their separate ways in the summer, along with the likes of Fellaini and Baines, after which we'll be in free-fall.

I think it is unforgivable that we have not brought a senior in, in either the central midfield, right wing or striking position. But I do think for a minute that the Fer aborted transfer was part of some kind of conspiracy, and think it idiotic to suggest that it was.

Also, with respect to the lateness of the deals... we should have got in a loan signing earlier imo, but... how do you know how long we were negotiating for Fer for? and similarly, everyone knows stuff gets moving at the end of the window. It's bizzare of course...but it's the reason why Harry is being interviewed in his car, why City, with all their financial might, brought four or five players on deadline day in the summer...there is an issue with the system, which makes for one day of great entertainment, but is not effective or fair.

I recall a saying that we used in the Army which should be adhered by our board Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performances.

Colin: "comatose sheep"? Really? Thanks very much. By railing against the board, do you mean by venting on this forum? Is that the extent of your demonstration? Posting messages on a forum that I doubt members of our board ever read? Or maybe you're hitting those keys on your keyboard really, really hard as you type to better express your frustration? By the way, we all have the same Everton, whether we deserve it or not. If you really want to protest against the board, stop going to matches, stop watching matches, stop doing anything that could generate a single penny of income for the club. Write to the club and explain your reasons. Post on here about your decision. You won't bring down the board with that one action, but maybe you'll rally other supporters to your cause, get a groundswell of opinion behind you, become the next great martyr and overthrow "Blue Bill" and his minions. It's unlikely, but god knows it's more likely to make a difference than spouting portentous nonsense on here and calling fellow supporters of Everton names.

My main worry is the effect this window will have on the existing squad. Last night Neville and Stevie P were on twitter having banter, with Stevie P asking the skipper who we were signing. Neville responded initially with Yak, then said it must be Yobo. Now I know we shouldn't read too much into these things but it did seem to me that there was a bit of despair from 2 experienced players that the club had not gone out and got some fresh faces to kick us all on.

We will of course see tomorrow the effect if any it has on the squads morale but if the players think this was a window of missed opportunity then it could not only affect the rest of the season but also the choices they make in summer.

Your argument makes no sense to be honest, just because no-one else signed a great midfielder or striker, doesn't mean we could not have purchased numerous players, who would have given us a great shot at C.L. football.

Not worth getting wound up, just a depressing realisation that the status quo is maintained.

And before some prick says my attitude is what is holding the club back....don't.

As Mac Lloyd said of all the transfers done who did we miss out on who would have improved our chances of getting 4th. Seems like some just live to critisize, I mean last week they were castigating Moyes for bringing back Mirallas to soon from injury when he was taken off against Bolton. Yet there he was playing most of the game against WBA, but I don't hear them same people coming back on and praising Moyes for the way he handled it. But we will never change some peoples opinion of either the manager or the club, I would be really interested to hear were some of these critics believe we should be in the league ahead of both Manchester clubs and Chelsea who spend more in one season than Moyes spends in 10 seasons.

One team who had a worse window than us is Swansea, who sold one of their main strikers and didn't bring anyone else in.

I fear 7th place beckons for us but you never know.

1 point off 4th, do I need to elaborate?

B.T.W. - Season ticket holder.

Conspiracy? Bizarre, in my view, to think we'd go through almost the whole of the process in trying to sign Fer, knowing you'd deliberately sink the deal at the 11th hour, just to pull the wool over the fans' eyes in some way. I've worked at senior management level and seen some conspiracies being played out but never one as bizarre as that. Counterproductive - just look at the reactions here to losing out on Fer.

Cock-up over Fer? I honestly don't know. I would guess (stress "guess") as follows. Fer would have been scouted before January, not a last minute idea. But approaches made to his club not too early, else you weaken your bargaining position. A provisional offer made and accepted in good faith part way into January, subject to medical. Medical duly and genuinely finds an issue (none of us here can say how good his knee is as we ain't seen it; and it's no use saying it was a minor op he'd had - I and others have had that minor op but still been left with other knee problems subsequently requiring e.g. lateral release). So, prudence then dictates that an attempt is made to renegotiate the provisional terms - part payment and if the knee works out ok then full payment. Seller declines. End of deal and move on. Prudence not cock-up, I'd suggest.

Cock-up over no Plan B? Maybe Stones was the Plan B? I DONT know. But one possibility is they could only afford what they were going to pay for Fer but not Fer plus Stones. Fer deal falls through so they move to Plan B, Stones. I stress I don't know. But who does, we're all guessing.

Outcome. We still have Felli. We still have Baines. Maggie May goes on loan. We have a lad who's represented his country, so building for the future (but was their stratgey to buy for the future of for CL place?). And we haven't worsened the debt situation.

BUT, I'm still left with that niggling feeling that, as some have suggested, the money would have been better spent on securing the short term (CL place), because if that failed, Felli goes and we recoup the expenditure. So, maybe if not a cock-up (in the sense that the plan went wrong), then at least a debatable strategic choice.

What we did was again kept within our means which is essential for the survival of the club. We didn't buy a star but we did the next best thing and bought a potential star which is good business and capital stewardship.

If anybody seriously believes EFC is run by incompetents and you want them out then you have one option and that is not coming on here to continuously bleat about it. You have to stop going to the game, stop watching them on TV and stop buying merchandise. If enough do this the club will fall and Kenwright will be out. The vast majority of Everton fans will not do this though and it is not because they are sheep, it's because we appreciate the difficulties that the club is going through and as supporters we will support them through these difficult times.

Exactly we are 1 point off fourth and people are moaning, I will ask the question again where do you think Everton should realistically finish in the league given how much we have to spend compared to other clubs. Because I don't believe there is another manager who would get us any higher than Moyes is doing.

We should be praising him to the hilt not moaning, and I may add we are 5th playing attractive football not score and hang on for dear life.

Don't mix up defending the club with supporting the team. B.T.W - Season ticket holder x 3

Even if we had bought the lads Sissoko and Gouffran (who went to Newcastle for a combined £3m) we would have some experienced and useful players who might help us turn a few of our turgid draws into wins and thus better compete for 4th.

I'm not expecting the world but to have not brought in a single player capable of joining the first team squad this season shows really poor club management in my opinion.

"stop blubbing...buying you a bike would not be fiscally prudent...anyway, tangerines are good for you"

People saying we didn't spend and have a real push for top 4, well neither did Chelsea or Arsenal and Tottenham only bought 1 player. Man Utd only bought 1 player and Man City didn't sign anyone to my knowledge and they will be pushing for the title and have a lot more money than us.

I would have loved us to sign a player or two to strengthen key areas, but it wasn't to be. Doesn't mean the season is a write off, we're still in a good position going into the final third of the season.

Not supporting the board and am a season ticket holder (of 17 years), before that brigade start!

You say we aren't in the position of having a Tony Fernandes who can just put his hand in his pocket and unearth £30m.

Wrong, we are. Robert Earl, founder of Planet Hollywood and Lady Grantchester, of the Grantchester family allegedly with assets of £1bn, according to the Sunday Times rich list, are shareholders of the club. One or both of them may also be directors, I'm not sure. The point is, we have exceedingly wealthy people involved in the management and control of the club for whom even £10-15m, which is all we would have needed to bring in the signings necessary, is a drop in the ocean.

It is not in dispute that Kenwrong has no personal fortune himself, but these others do and it makes me fume that they sit there doing nothing, putting nothing into the club and watch us slowly stagnate and miss chance after chance to achieve financial salvation by making it onto the CL gravy train. What on earth is the point of them being there if they won't contribute?! I lay more blame at their door than Kenwrong for this one.

I haven't always agreed with your view points on TW but that post was bang on mate!

We have been selling players/assets (btw, "sweating the asset"?!?! Jesus wept) to avoid financial problems, caused by Kenwrights mismanagement, for over a decade now. Have you forgotten this? Players will be sold in the summer again to cover the boards failings, yet we have an opportunity to increase income through CL qualification thanks to the manager and the best, yet most threadbare squad, for years but the board come up short yet again.Kenwright has been financially incompetent for years btw.

You then state "From a financial point of view, the lack of signings was excellent". Is this what we are reduced to now? Nobody was expecting us to blow twenty mill on a player, just bring in a couple of new faces to freshen up and strengthen the injury blighted, smallest squad in the league. One or two loans even. Bill comes up short again. You carry on looking at Everton from a financial point of view and you may work out why we are in such dire financial straits in the first place. Like I say, the Everton you deserve.

By railing against the board I mean taking every opportunity at my disposal, to challenge the now fading orthodoxy that Bill will do right by us, he's a blue after all. The man is a charlatan and a habitual liar and more and more evertonians realise this. You ask me what i'm doing about the situation? Well not much I can do apart from take delusional people such as yourself to task.

There is a massive difference between the EFC board and Tony Fernandez. For sure the EFC board have money they could put into the club but they are wealthy business men for good reasons and that doesn't include putting money into a football club. Fernandez is new Asia rich and acting on emotion rather than sense, an EPL club is a play thing. The EFC board are correct in not putting their own money in as it is an unsustainable solution; our solutions have to be permamnent.

Colin, you really should learn some manners mate. Because people don't agree with you or you with them it doesn't make them sheep, goldfish or delusional. Their opinion is as valid as yours, possibly more so as you are in a small minority of Everton supporters who hold such biased and totally negative views

James McCarthy in for Fellaini? Oviedo playing where Baines once was? Heitinga in every week instead of Jagielka and a misfiring Striker with no sign of decent cover (and no Anichebe isn't good enough). This was our final chance to bridge that gap and I firmly believe we blew it good and proper.

And these permanent solutions are, oh wise one?

"To reach 4th place we needed more bodies, we had to buy a couple of decent players but no we havent and here we are stuck with the likes of Anichebe who is barely Conference standard. Someone mentioned QPR but at least they have taken a risk and are not obsessed with what happens if things go wrong"

It is theis kind of comment that really puts you and posters like you in the camp of total lunacy. Firstly, Vic, love him or hate him is at least a decent prem player. As for the QPR comment, why don't you ask some Portsmouth fans what they think of that kind of wanton stupidity. It is like listening to a bunch of spoilt brats who have absolutely no idea and have never taken responsibility for anything in thier lives.

"The EFC board are correct in not putting their own money in as it is an unsustainable solution; our solutions have to be permamnent."

Are you saying they should just walk away with a huge profit, if they manage to convince someone to purchase their shares?

Surely the first rule of selling a business is to make sure the club is in a healthy financial position, with a view to expanding it's current market share?

This translates into making investment into the assets, and presenting a sound financial plan for raising revenues i.e. Champions League football.

They are not selling the club as a distressed business are they?

They are being laughed out of every mainstream lending facility because of their refusal to guarantee loans for operating costs - that's why we have to lend from the B.V.I.

You seem reasonably intelligent, so I cannot comprehend why you would fail to understand that a refusal to invest in your own business means you have absolutely no faith in it whatsoever.

What message does that send out to the banks, supporters, and anyone who want to purchase this great club?

"Martin, you say ;

"The EFC board are correct in not putting their own money in as it is an unsustainable solution; our solutions have to be permamnent."

Are you saying they should just walk away with a huge profit, if they manage to convince someone to purchase their shares?"

2 + 2 = 5????

In Martin's defence I think what he was trying to say was:

"The EFC board are correct in not putting their own money in as it is an unsustainable solution; our solutions have to be permamnent."

Not

"they should just walk away with a huge profit, if they manage to convince someone to purchase their shares?"

Hope this helps

If you believe that then it may well be time for you to sit down, take a deep breath and look at the cold hard facts, rather than the fantasy football scenarios that many wish for.

We have had our expectations raised only to be let down yet again and thats what pisses a lot, you call it a minority, of fans off. How many times has that happened under the current regime? I am as pissed off as anyone else but how can you defend the actions of a totally incompetent board that has self created a financial model that is only sustainable in the short term through selling assets to get by? I get sick off hearing people say aww plucky Everton are skint and have to operate on a limited budget, who's fault is that? Clue - the current custodians of our club.

In my opinion we shouldn't be supporting this pack of charlatans but lambasting them taking into account the lies and constant let downs we have all endured under their tenure. Is it any wonder that some fans are pissed off?

Not worth getting wound up, just a depressing realisation that the status quo is maintained.

And before some prick says my attitude is what is holding the club back....don't.

I agree mostly with Martin Mason.

We know Everton have to watch the pennies. The priority was a defensive midfielder, cover for Gibson. Money was made available but it didn't work out (I hope nobody is advocating just spending the money even if the lad's got a knee problem). The back up plan was to buy a decent young right back so Neville is covered to play defensive midfield.

It's not that complicated.

I don't think the club is beyond criticism and it's ok to dream but I can't understand peoples' fury when a dream doesn't come true. It's reality. There's not much money. If you don't like it you are welcome to buy the club yourself.

Just a thought: maybe we should try adding at the beginning? Then again, that would be too easy.

Colin, the club never raised anybody’s expectations of new players in the window just past. They were purely your own expectations so your frustration is self inflicted. I think your hatred of the board is based on the same thing. They can’t deliver your expectation that’s all especially when they don’t use their own money to meet your expectations. By any rational standards they are doing a pretty good job.

As far as I can see our only hope now is for this squad to magically gel as we did in 1984 when we had what we thought were a bunch of duffers; on the pitch success would be the driver for increased revenue. As Liverpool have shown, throwing good money after bad doesn’t guarantee that success.

Let's just look forward to Saturday, heres to a good performance.

Ba
Beckham
Butland
Samba
Willian
M'Villa
Holtby
Balotelli
Srurridge
Sissoko
Remy
Forren

We have no open lines of credit. Its like to bloke down the street with a shit credit rating but a half decent job. He gets paid £3,000 at the end of the month, but cant get a loan in the meantime.

We are Evertonians, we support regardless. Take it for what it is. We are 1 point off 4th and in my opinion we have every chance of finishing there.

But we do, a couple of them at least, and isn't 2 heads better than one?

We know the TV money is coming, now we've achieved the lofty ambition of reaching 40 points, so why not aim higher so that when it arrives we also have Champions League money on top of it. Anyone who says look at Leeds should grow up. I'm not advocating buying Ronaldo, just strengthen or even freshen up the squad so that we aren't solely reliant on Gibson to make us tick or the Jellyfish for goals. Here endeth the lesson. NSNO.

Maybe the Club could market it as a new cologne "Eau de Neville's Ballons" perhaps?

I'm not going with the outlandish conspiracy theories, but a relatively small gamble by the board ( with Fellaini completely underwriting it ) to sign Fer and Negredo would have surely paid massive dividends especially as Spurs and Arsenal did nothing special at all.

I still think we are in with a good shout of 4th but it could have been virtually nailed on with a bit of backing yesterday. And Moyes clearly knows that too.

Well, I suppose congratulations are in order Mac (544) as I believe that you are the first of the Moyesmen to do this. You co-opted the 'eh, eh, so who ya gonna get in then, eh, eh, Rodgers, eh, Lambert, eh, give me a break, Martinez eh, eh eh, eh', and you've turned it into the 'eh, eh, so who ya gonna get in then, eh, eh, Crouch, eh, Graham, eh, give me a break, Becchio, eh, eh eh, eh' defence.

You gotta love it. This is how it works. If Everton had not stalled in the stalls we would have had exactly the same players to cherry pick, eh. eh, eh. Give Moyes some credit Mac, I think he has his own mind and ideas okay.

'Idiotic views', eh, eh eh? I don't think so really do you. And 'depressingly negative' or as others might put it: most Evertonians have very good reason to be disappointed about yesterday's antics or lack of.

And Declan, it's insulting to true blues who care deeply about this club to say that exactly the same folks who are whinging and whining about grey yesterday would line up in the same formation to have a dig in other circumstances. Great you respect freedom of speech. Nice one, the other side, so to speak, and not idiots. But that reductionist inflexible spin is every bit as insulting and absurd as Mac's arrows.

All together now, 'Billy don't be a hero, make it all up for your life, Billy don't be a hero, make sure you push up the price', and amazing guitar solo from Mac sporting nice looking crisp free Evita teeshirt

Goals don't just come from strikers, as we saw... anyone is allowed to score, it's not netball! Part of a strikers play is to make spaces for others too. I'm not Anichebe's biggest fan, but why get on his case for the other night? He did nothing wrong....

Anyway, the window has closed so, whatever the rights and wrongs of the deals, we just have to carry on with what we have got. Which is a team capable of getting a Champions League spot.

I just hope the crowd tomorrow isn't as nervous as Wednesday night's against WBA. They were quiet all through the game which is unusual for a night game at Goodison, and when WBA pulled a goal back you could feel the anxiety spread from the crowd to the players and the final 20 minutes were really tense despite WBA not creating a worthwhile chance. So I hope the fans are up for the game tomorrow against Villa.

The even funnier comments are the conspiracy theories, like the Fer transfer was one big ruse.

And Paul #731 I'm very encouraged by your statement "give Moyes some credit". There's hope for us yet!

We didn't have the money and there is is fuck all wrong with his knee. The player himself and Twente are as confused as some of us by this so-called knee problem. The trouble is you're too niave and Kenwright plays on it.

How on earth Slippery Bill has lasted this long I will never know but I must say I reckon Moyes is up to his neck in it as well. As long as fans come out with the kind of crap you're spouting here, BK is as safe as houses.

A big chance to push on has been missed but also in the process the fans have been cheated yet again. You believe in the board all you want but there are some of us who know exactly what they have been up to this week. More skullduggery and Bullshit..

Here are a few questions for you. Do you believe that over the last four weeks the squad needed strengthened and do you believe it could have been? Do you accept that a competent club would have alternative targets? Do you think that an attempt at the champions league needed us to add to the squad? Can you not see that supporters are entitled to be angry at a missed opportunity? Do you not think that Moyes has been let down?

The manager spoke about a couple of loan signings so there is nothing to back-up what you say about how he prioritised things. We were still going to spend the money on the lad with the 'knee problem' it is ust that Twente didn't like how we wanted it structured. Personally, I think this was our strategy on the bid from the very start because we knew about the injury. I think we stressed the idea of him breaking-down too much and pissed them off. If they have any serious doubts about him they would have found some compromise to offload him to us.
We may have been interested in him anyway but we went in for Stones because Wigan had agreed a fee for him. It is highly unlikely that he has been bought merely to facilitate playing Phil Neville in midfield when Gibson is missing.

Martin Mason: "the club never raised anybody’s expectations of new players in the window just past." So making bids for M'Vila, and Fer after the manager had stated that it would essentially be a couple of loan deals in January doesn't count as raising expectations? Robert Elstone talking about a great deal of effort being done to bring in 'much needed reinforcements' doesn't count either?

I am used to working for businesses were 'sweating the assets' would be considered to be standard practice. Unfortunately a lot of those businesses also tend to become very familiar with terms like 'fire-fighting', batch rejection, emergency repairs, product recall and (sometimes) redundancies or bankruptcy. Conversely, I have worked were they have found that a little forward planning and the willingness to take low risk opportunities for judicial investment can really contribute to the stability of the business.

I know that football clubs do not necessarily fit in with manufacturing models, but I do think that our current board has become so risk averse that they are now missing decent opportunities to bolster the club.

Are you BK's brother or something? You just seem to accept every piece of BS thrown at us. I don't understand how you and others can be so understanding.

Let's accept that Fer had a dodgy knee, even though he hasn't, and that the club acted in the correct manner, which they didn't... So what happened to Vardis Odidja-Ofoe then? A last-second hitch, according to the club, scuppered the deal... so why wasn't it completed on January 1st? Why has no one from the club mentioned him since — including Moyes, who was the man trying to sign him, after all???

The truth is it fucking stinks and it does, time and time again, every season...

So come on, someone who uses Twitter — find out why we didn't sign Vardis, which is more of a mystery than the Fer debacle.

Over to you, Brent.

It's no use looking over the park and compare what they do to us, we are in a completely different league to them when it comes to splashing the cash. We can't waste £2 Million never mind 20million plus on players, they can, aided and abetted by the TV companies as they give them 1/2 million every time they're on the box.

BK will carry on for as long as he wants to, because he can and because nobody else wants to buy Everton. Even if we had a disastrous season and found ourselves relegated, he would still be in the hot seat and we wouldn't be able to do a dicky bird about it.

If all the season ticket holders decided not to renew, he would still carry on with the extra monies we get next season from SKY and the sale of our prize assets, this guy is no better than Peter Johnson was, and he isn't going to change any time soon.

Sky and all that comes with it has been bad for Everton, bad for Football, but a godsend to people like Bill Kenwright.

Milking - 'Other operating costs'.

Enough explanation?

I've had a look and it and it turns out Martins right, I'm pushing the envelope with it instead. Interestingly I'm going to climb my personal mountain with it in the morning too. I've called it Tiger. You can't be a Tiger unless you call yourself a Tiger. I've coached it and its responding well. Raaaaah...... (in the rear view mirror)....... Raaaaah....

"Sweating the asset". Sounds like fuck all in, last drop out, to me.

Mac #756, the question wasn't "Who can we afford?" or "Who would be interested in coming to Walton?"

It was "Who would improve our team?" with the implication that there were no worthwhile transfers out there when there were, and some of them I listed we were linked with.

BTW, Ba was £7 million and we bid £8.6 million for Fer, so easily affordable.

The club is neither stagnating or falling apart, we have had many good players come in and we have got rid of players who were not going to make it at the top level, that is called regeneration. We have the best team and squad that we've had since Moyes came, we have played some great ball over the last year or more, we are in 5th position in the hardest league in the world and we have done this with very limited resources. This is a credit to the club and in no way justifies the wailing and gnashing of teeth or the sackcloth and ashes of the bedwetters in our ranks

Mike Green@824

Mike, you really need to read a book on the basics of balance sheets and how to interpret them. "Other costs". has no sinister meaning, it simply means all other costs not listed on the balance sheet which is very high level, they will all be available for any person who has the authority to see them. You imply some kind of skulduggery so I'd be very interested to hear what it is and what makes you form this opinion. If it has basis in fact then it should be very easy to explain why it is so.

Nobody on this board has a scooby what went on in the transfer window. Why not just say "I don't know," instead of generating myth in the absence of facts.

I would have loved to see a midfielder and a forward added but we are left with a team that, like it or not, is a point off 4th despite injuries and suspensions.

Today's side could be the strongest we've put out since the early part of the season when we were phenomenal to watch. We are massive favourites to be in 4th tonight.

The only two injured players are on their way back within a couple of weeks.

Get this right over the next few months and we'll be in a much better position to attract players... and there's better value in the summer.

Is it really all doom and gloom?

Really disappointing that we failed to support the manager at the one point in the last 8 years where Champions League football (and the £millions that come with it) are within our grasp. I doubt Moyes will be signing a new contract before the season is over and we know if we've made a European slot. High stakes few months coming up that will transform the club one way or another!

If they are happy with the board and the way the club is going that's fine. I guess at 3.11pm they will be clapping madly when Bill gurns and waves at the crowd.

They are happy and nothing anyone can say or do will alter that so....

Nobody can be ultimately happy for the club unless they reach a sustainable pinnacle which enables them to win Champions League and world club championships by virtue of a high income stream with no debts and no limits on who they can buy.

Meanwhile we live in the real world (well, most of us do) and being "happy with" becomes a relative term whereby rational fans accept that we are doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances that we are in and we accept that this will always limit us. That is we are at or above the potential that our financial situation gives us. Our real potential is same as clubs such as Villa and Newcastle and a little bit above Stoke, Southampton and West Brom. That we are well above them in actual performance is for me a sign of how well the club is being run and managed not of how bad

Spending J8.5MM of increased debt on another greedy possibly crocked player is not going to guarantee us success and a fit Mirallas or Gibson is just as good, a better developed Oviedo the same.

The reality for us is we are limited financially; our board will not inject significant amounts of their own money (as the vast majority of club directors don't); we are not going to find a rich buyer; we are doing absolutely brilliantly for a club of our status and such a wafer thin squad; the future is pretty dire given future liabilities such as ground refurbishment; we have no real routes for increasing revenue or any alternative business model to the one we operate now.

Most of all we should perhaps bask in what for us is a successful period and hope beyond hope that we get 4th place and have a decent run in europe next year because that is our only route to salvation. We should perhaps give support to our magnificent club and the players who turn out for us instead of constantly bitching about them. We can't all support winning teams, we can't all be United fans and thank god for that. Imagine being a RS fan now forever stuck in the 80's? That is reason to be bitter, we have none.

If we make 4th we will be in the Champions League which is worth £40 million - not true we will still have to qualify (which isn't beyond us) but even then if I understand this correctly it is worth £5 - 10 million at best unless we get into the final stages (unlikely) http://www.uefa.com/uefa/management/finance/news/newsid=1676422.html

So advocating that our owners put in £20 million to have chance (no certainly even this year) of earning an extra £5-10 million is high risk. That £20 million would have to be put in every year too as a 'one off' appearance fools no-one (see 2004). After a very few years the amount our owners stand to get out will be exceeded by that which they put in.

Our BEST long term strategy by far is to invest in the stadium. Take as much of the new money this summer and save it for future building plans. Unfortunately this will result in poorer league placing, pissed off fans and no doubt a new manager.

As a business all of this only makes sense if you win. We are up against 8-10 better funded teams, threeor four of which are past winners of CL. We have an established record of beating four or five of those above us in the money league which is outstanding but we need someone who can throw many tens of millions at us and provide a stadium to change our fortunes. And then of course we will be paying £50 a game.

Until then we tread a fine line, throwing all of our funding into the team hoping for an improvement in results which will bring in more funds FASTER than our competitors funds increase. This is impossible to do in our present stadium and so on...but at least we have a team which we are starting to really enjoy watching again and have a chance of a minor cup win.

There is a chink of light. If we were to get into Europe our chances of winning get better with every Sky improved deal as our European competitors generally don't get this level of money. We can do this without anything other than our current level of funding. Increased UEFA points = better chance every year but increased number of games might cost us 5 places in the PL which cancels out the financial benefit of playing in Europe.

Who would be a Chairman & manager in the Premier League?

Let me first say that I am NOT a Kenwright fan, and I too am underwhelmed by this transfer window. I heard rumours all Deadline Day about who we were in talks with and which deals were likely/not so likely/complete bollocks. From my sources though, I was told that up until the 11th hour (literally) we were in talks to sign up to SIX players either on loan or permanently.

I think most people on here would say that a few of those deals coming good would have been more than welcome. However, this talk about a threadbare squad is a bit hard to take. Yes, the squad is not the best in the league but we do have some sort of cover in every position. Taking into account that, even with Everton, not all of our first XI will be injured at one time, we have the following:

Howard / Mucha

Hibbert / Coleman
Heitinga / Jagielka
Duffy / Distin
Oviedo / Baines

Neville / Gibson
Hitzlsperger / Osman
Barkley / Pienaar
Naismith / Mirallas

Anichebe / Fellaini
Vellios / Jelavic

Granted, a few of those players on there should never wear an Everton shirt again, naming no names (Neville and Naismith). But, that squad has gotten us to within a point of 4th place with more than half of the season gone, and even the most hate filled Evertonian would say that we probably deserve at LEAST 6 more points than we have at the moment.

Basically, I guess my point is, we can't do anything about the window now. We are very well placed for a Champions League spot, we have pretty much got a fully fit squad, and (a few games aside) we are playing the best football that I've ever seen in my life – I'm 26. Teams are becoming scared of coming to Goodison, parking the bus and praying for a point. That makes me feel good. Psychological victories before the game has begun means half the battle is won.

Let's try smiling and enjoying the football, not the economics and the politics.

The performance of a club is a sum of performances from all employees from the Manager down through the coaches, scouts, trainers, groundsmen, physios, dieticians, accountants, ticketing, medical, etc. Whilst I agree that the key man has probably been Moyes, the board plays a massive part in the day to day running of the club especially all aspects of financing. Moyes owes his job to the board and answers to them in all aspects of his job. Don't forget too that the successful forays we've made in the transfer market have mainly been down to the board once the player has been identified by the Manager. The board are responsible for the running of what is a very high turnover business and for me they are running a very tight ship and doing it well.

And if your experience of a balance sheet is from reading a book about them as you recommend others do then you have a lot to learn about accountants and their little tricks to hide the truth (think Enron).

And our top players wanting moves to CL teams is not 'regeneration' of the squad but a realisation by them of the lack of ambition of our board and wanting to get out to a team with ambition.

They don't. You're wrong again. All aspects of the day to day running of Everton Football Club have been outsourced, from the catering to the club shop. We have no staff. Nothing to "run". Just bills to pay.