Everton sell Rodwell to Man City

Did he?!

In lots of ways it's a shame but its the only way Moyes will get any money to spend so im all for it in the current Blue Bill climate.

If Moyes can bring in 2/3 players just like he did when Lescott went I will be happy and its a while till transfer deadline day. I just hope we don't get the usual spin from the club saying things like "He asked to leave" or "It was Rodwell's decision"

I'm pretty sure this is a Kenwright and Moyes decision.

In fact I'd say his main flaw is his lack of aggression and his weakness in the tackle.

He's a very graceful CM with plenty of potential. But he seems to have zero self-belief

If the fee is £20 mill then it's a great bit of business for someone who may not have even started next year. I say re invest in some width and try to bring the average age of the squad down.

Personally it's a great deal for us and one Moyesy wouldn't have given the green light to if he didn't think he wouldn't get all the money!.

And I'm not Rodwell's biggest fan but I think that's a great move for him as well. Be at a club now with a lot of top players to learn from and, with the way City try to play, it will suit him better than it would with us, IMO.

Hopefully now Moyesy has got targets lined up and we can squad build with quality cos, if we get in the right player for in the right areas, we could have a very good season! I'm a bit surprised we didn't try and get Adam Johnson as part of the deal but all in all it's a good one for us and hopefully we can sign some good players.

I think we will end up with two buys AND a free or loan out of this deal. We have created the salary headroom so it makes sense and the squad gets a significant boost. All this and we may now avoid the need to sell Baines or Felli. Overall a very fair outcome providing Moyes gets that money to spend.

And I'm not sure about our financial situation, all I have is the evidence we all have to go on. The past couple of summers, we have sold without bringing anyone for any real value. In January, we had to sell Billy before buying (and managed to get rid of Saha). But this summer, we brought Pienarr, without bringing in any significant money. We've also decreased our wages considerably with the departures of Arteta, Cahill, Saha, Billy, Yakubu, Yobo, Beckford, Rodwell and fringe players. There is no doubt that our wage bill has decreased considerably, and we've made a good net saving in transfers. I don't see why Moyes wouldnt recieve 10mil of an estimated 15million sell fee.

And City have gone for Rodwell, because De Jong looks to be going next season, and Barry is getting older. I think they will regret not spending the money on Fellaini personally.

Fingers crossed he passes the medical then City can hand over the cash and set about carving a Rodwell shaped arse groove in their bench.

This does allow us to buy a player of quality for the right. But Moyes likes to get numbers. I hope he does the former and we build a stronger starting 11. I don't like the sounds of some of the names mentioned and would hope he goes for a European talent (hows that for a generalization about talent and price).

As much as I am a Donovan fan, not sure I want to replace a 21 yr old for a +30 yr old. Good luck Moyes.... Now we have some interests as deadline day approaches.

As much as I am a Donovan fan, not sure I want to replace a 21-year-old for a +30-year-old.

Good luck Moyes.... Now we have some interests as deadline day approaches.

If Moyes gets £7-10 million from it, it could work out very well.

I think Rodwell going is only good news for Barkley. With the hope we "just" might see him play a bit more...

£15 / £20m is good business IMO... But I am not a business man. If Moyes gets 50% of this and the banks get the other 50%, it is a win-win situation.

Now, If Moyes gets feck all and the banks get 100% of the Rodwell money, I am sure there will be a few well pissed-off blues on here.

Sleepless night ahead...

The only way selling a young player like this for this amount of money is if we had a couple of youngsters coming through in his position. That's how clubs in Portugal and Spain stay strong when the big boys buy their young stars. I can only hope that we see Barkley and the young kid Francisco Junior as these two players. I would rather us spend a decent chunk of the money we received on one quality player than a few who we think might be decent.

But if we have investment, why would we need to sell Rodwell?

I think its more likely to be small investment, maybe a buyout of one of the shareholders.

Kudos to Moyes he's backed his own judgement and if he nears the impact of Jelavic/Gibson with another acquisition or two he'll have done fantastically well with this deal.

Rodwell hasnt done anything for us for the last two years and to get £15m+ can only be a good thing. Cant it ?

If we do have some form of investment, this wouldnt have anything to do with the playing staff, so selling Rodwell is till a + IMO. As We have some decent young talent for the midfield already at the club.

Will Rodwell be missed? I don't think so. Will we see more of Barkely? I hope so.

I will be happy if we give Moyes 50% and the bank 50% At least we have a few weeks left to re-invest in the team...

Sounds good to me.

In the short term we will hopefully deal with some debt plus get two or three players in that enhance the squad. Please Davey get a right winger and another striker and midfielder.

Medium or longer term – who is next to be sold to keep this ship afloat. And what if we eventually sink or lose miracle worker (IMHO) captain of the ship Moyes.

Nothing against Jack but he's still totally unproven as a regular premier league player (far more a Jeffers than a Rooney if you like), seems pretty injury prone and is essentially a supporting figure in our squad right now.
We have a clutch of other youth players with potential in Duffy, Barkley, Junior and McAlney (not to mention the likes of Gueye, Coleman and Vellios that are already getting game time and frankly we need the cash for placating banks + strengthing some key positions with a little more proven talent rather more than we need another youth prospect who won't play.

I wonder if there's some box-ticking in this for Man City (e.g. quota of English/youth players for CL squad), but if not it seems a much better deal for us than for them.

The money has to go on a quickish winger and a striker.

Rodwell is a typical example of an over hyped young prospect. It is in Everton's interest to over hype him because we are now a selling club and need to make maximum profits , especially when selling on youth players. Everyone at Everton knew that after a season or two he wasn't really living up to expectations;he couldn't gain a regular place in the side;he had little command in games,poor passer,poor tackler,poor goalscorer,poor at shooting,not captain material etc;no one could decide what his best position was;he became increasingly injury prone and yet everyone at Everton still insisted he was the real deal to those ready to splash the cash.

They kept promoting him in advertising material because he's eye candy and to make it look like he's still has superster status at Everton. The laughable pundits in the media, of course, went along with all of this hype, as well as, the clueless England manager Hodgson.

In a way clubs like Everton are lucky to have clubs like Man. City.They always want to be on the bak pages. They have so much cash they aren't bothered about spending spending on over hyped players. It makes headlines.£15m plus is nothing to them but a big bonus to a club like Everton. The club propaganda about Rodwell has eventually been rewarded. I'm pleased City still have Mancini because he is overrated as a manager and will always be prone to wasting lots of money on transfers.

What's not to like?

I for one will be interested to find out whether Rodwell can hack it in that company. I'd love to see him do well.

I wish the lad well but have never seen him play a game at more than 50% effort. Even Lionel Messi would be ordinary with that attitude.

He'll do OK at Citeh I think, most likely as a replacement for De Jong who is in the last year of his contract and may leave, and for a slow and ageing Gareth Barry. If he can stay fit he will be a big asset for them.

As for us, I'd like to see some of the cash spent on a proven Premier League player who will improve us this season rather than some youngster "for the future" as we have enough of these in my opinion. Hopefully Barkley and Junior can step into midfield to provide solid backup for Fellaini and Gibson.

COYB

Bill Kenwright is likely to pocket approx 6m of Rodwell fee and the rest will go into a transfer budget.

My info comes from reliable sources.

Money will be spent on players.

I suppose Moyes is being pragmatic but, if he doesn't get a decent amount of this money, he really should consider uttering an even mildly negative comment about his friend Kenwright.

Yes, we are where we are, but why be so accepting of it?

"What a kick in the teeth for the fans."

We are the fans, Kevin, and 99% of us are happy with the deal.

It's not 'Championship Manager' stuff, it's reality. £15 - £20 mill for a player who has been average. It's terrific for EFC.

I like Jack, he seems like a good lad. I hope he does well at City. But first and foremost I care about Everton. This is nothing but good news for the club.

It is not a bad deal given Everton's financial predicament but Everton should not be in this predicament.

Rodwell could have developed into Everton and England captain.

All those doubters who point to the last 2 years forget that he was injured most of the time and when played the team were struggling.

Just watch him go with City and then the same people will be saying we sold him too cheaply.

Rodwell had potential but we can't carry valuable English players with potential in our squad, if you're worth £20m but not a place in the starting eleven you're on your way.. Much better this than Baines or Fellaini and I'm not sure how much say in it the club would have if an offer of this size came in for one of them.

If half the money can be put to work on a winger and striker (is Junior Hoillett still available?) then I'll be chuffed to bits.

Does anyone know what all these fire sales have done to our debt levels?

But if it disappears like the Arteta,Yakubu and Beckford money did around this time last year, then it's fucking disgrace.

Be helpful if we could use "quotation marks" when including text that ain't of our own making, please!

A decent player, and a change may do him good. He's about as effective in midfield as Neville for us, and maybe 5 years down the line he could be a centre back. He's probably a front 2 player, if he ever gets the chance.

This money is unlikely to be spent on incoming players. We have sold someone way off our first team line-up. Mancini must have had a hole burning away in his pocket - more petty cash from the sheikhs.

Good luck Jack - you looked the part. No doubt Ross thinks he's next in line for pay-day. He's yet to do anything in top flight football, so let's wait and see.

You will be missed by many a true blue I hope you never forget your roots and hope you remain one of us at heart.

NSNO.

Another thing I can't stand is why (bar Lescott) do we always agree to the first sum offered? For a club so desperate for cash why don't we demand higher fees? Rooney was sold for a pathetic amount and I'm sure we could've got at least £5 mill more for Rodwell, look at Henderson FFS.

Nobody has damaged this club more in its entire history than our inept chairman. Kenwright is a cancer to our great club.

We can debate Kenwright and EFC's finances till the cows come home. We are where we are until someone buys the club.

Our only policy can be to sell players for as high a price as possible as we have always done under Moyes. If we can keep our best players like Baines and Fellaini, and retain our very brightest young talent, Ross Barkley, then selling fairly average players like Rodwell is fine by me.

There seems to be some attempt to make this transfer indicative of Everton's decline. I think it's wide of the mark. If you can sell a non-essential player who plays in a position where we are more than comfortable, then why not? We are dying for a winger and hopefully now we can get one - and the rest of the money can keep the wolves from the door.

" There may yet be another departure before August 31 too. John Heitinga’s future is in a degree of doubt with the Dutch defender mulling over his options, although any deal for the 28-year-old will only be sanctioned if Moyes has a like-for-like replacement lined-up. "

Here's hoping we have a few replacements lined up - interesting few weeks ahead either way.

If true there is more likelihood in Donovan coming in November.

Also heard that Johnson coming our way fell through because of wages.

Suspect there is also something in the Matt Phillips/ Seamus Coleman story too.

But the rumours of incoming players seems to be well exceeding the Rodwell money now

Just out of interest, what if the fee we got for Rodwell was not as big as we are thinking ? It was 'undisclosed', so we may well be a few million out.

Rodwell might well turn into the player that he has been previously hyped to be, but what he has offered the club in the last two years has been very little indeed. I'd rather lose a player that will not upset the current momentum than one that would, so with the finances seeming as desperate as they are the loss of Rodwell would be the best solution; provided it ring fences the other current squad members.

And in respect of how much Moyes will get to spend - and with some people demanding immediate reinvestment - I doubt that there will be much to spend. It's like if you have to sell your bicycle because you are behind on the payments for your car. The priority is keeping the car. If you can afford some new hubcaps and maybe a decent sound system then all the better...

Best post on here pal. Poor yourself a large one.

Rodwell is shit, he has no redeeming features. I can't believe another team have actually paid us money for him! We should be paying them. Or paying the council to take him away if we leave him outside Goodison.

£15 million!

BEST DAY EVER.

"He's doing a medical at this moment. I think he's a good player, he's young and it's the first time he'll play to win things. It will be difficult for him but I am sure in a couple of years he will be a top midfielder because he's strong."

Thought he had more class than that, what a Cun*t !

Probably at Moyes request so the price of whoever we bid for now doesn't ramp up by a few milion because we are suddenly 'flush'.

This is a truly horrible situation... our best talent since Rooney gets fed to the banks and people think this is something to celebrate. Shameful.

I wouldn't trust Moyes with any money he gets either.

Doesn't he know all league managers are meant to stick behind the media-generated hype and not succumb to such brutal honesty?

Mancini should be ignored. He is a fool.

That's a shot at Everton, not Moyes. Everton would not be winning leagues with Mourinho or Guardiola, nevermind Moyes. But go right ahead, keep living in your deluded dreams of Everton being a sleeping giant with just the right manager.

What was it our wonderful manager said before that game: "knife... gunfight..." can't quite remember but it really got us up for it and we really showed them what it meant to play to win things.

I've a feeling your posts about Fellaini is a self-fulfilling prophecy..

Hope I'm wrong...

You really do seem to have a simple mind. Playing to win things means having to take the pitch with the pressure of knowing you are favorites to win the league. That's something Rodwell has never done, because everyone and their mother knows Everton have no chance to win the league.

No-one is happy about selling a potential talent like Rodwell, but every financial analysis I have seen indicates that we have to make a c. £10M profit on transfer dealings this year. Given that unfortunate fact this is the least worst option, particularly given our relative strength in centre-midfield.

Seriously, don't try that BS spin here. Even some of the most anti-Moyes people won't buy that crap. Or are you saying Moyes has never, not once, went out to win a match? It's quite clear what Mancini was saying to anyone not wanting to spin it to meet their agenda. You're doing this site a disservice otherwise. You really should be ashamed about that one, a new low for you.

So we stay where we are, until someone comes along with a steamroller we can borrow or a fat sack of cash to pay the tollkeeper.

I doubt he would have been found in many Fantasy League teams in the last 2 or 3 years.......!

The question is who to bring in? Agree with those who say Hoilett and Diame would have been nice. Dempsey is good but apparently valued at £10m which I think is double what it should be. Isco from Malaga is a very good shout.

Even when we have a chance of winning (like being gifted a goal in an FA Cup semi-final, or before that, scoring the fastest ever goal in an FA Cup Final), the ultra-cautious, fanatically defensive, risk-averse dour negativity of our wonderful manager puts paid to that because he has not instilled a wining mentality into the players.

We do not play to win things.

Many on here say we have a good team and need a couple of players to make it an exciting one. They will moan like hell if we "don't take the opportunity" this season presents. Well if Moyes strengthens the squad by getting in players who can perform in the upcoming season, surely that is what we want?

But the big "if" is whether he will or can...

That said, even if we play a more fluid system, it doesn't mean we will succeed more.

I think it's a great deal for us. We have enough centre midfielders to cope without him, because with Gibson and Fellaini, he wasn't even first choice! We got great money, as much as £20 million I heard, and hopefully we can spend it on key areas.

It's only gonna be a good deal if we actually sign some players. I have a feeling Moyes is gonna go for Philips from Blackpool and Rhodes from Huddersfield. Just a hunch.

Hopefully maybe we can get Adam Johnson as well.

1. Your Man Utd mates are pathetic armchair fans who aren't worth you wasting your breath.

2. FourFour Two is not the fountain of knowledge.

3. Everton are not 'fodder'. Players will come and players will go. We will steal and be stolen from. It's the nature of the game.

4. Welcome to reality

Anyone who can play on the right side would be a nice start.

You decided to start with saying it's a kick in the balls to "all the Moyes lovers". We scored the fastest goal in a FA Cup Final, did we have a different manager for all the games that got us to that final? And I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that Chelsea had a squad better than anything we could have dreamed of, and the better team simply dominated. That's just a crazy thought though isn't it, that the better team won when they were needing to play at their best, and with us missing a couple of our best players through injury.

Gifted a goal in the FA Cup semi-final, did we have a different manager in all the matches leading up to it as well? Was it Moyes or Distin who gifted them a goal in that match? Funny that Mancini was a very defensive, cautious manager until this past season, when he was able to bring in the massive amount of fire power he wanted. When he didn't have all those great attacking options, he knew defense was his strength against better sides and played that way, the Italian way, who somehow have won a fair amount of "things".

With regards the Rodwell transfer – as many have said, I would love to have seen him fulfil his potential with us. I have no doubt he will go on to be a top class central midfielder and we will all look back and think what if? But £15 - 20 million is good money for a player who would not get into our first XI. It is a sign of the times and a result of the total mismanagement of Everton Football Club that we are having to cash in on such players, rather then seeing them through to the finished product. NSNO.

I've watched virtually every Everton game over the last few seasons and I have been thoroughly disappointed with Jack Rodwell. He is rubbish. This is my opinion.

I also think Mancini is an idiot. Another opinion.

Need to calm yourself down, McGlone.

You can watch all you want, you clearly don't.

Also, Michael and Lyndon, do yourselves a favour and change the headline. Nobody has sold anyone to anyone.

Good business IMO.

I'll just restate my understanding that what Mancini said was unfortunately 100% accurate and it struck a nerve with me because that is above all else Moyes's biggest flaw in my eyes. He does not set up, encourage or inspire the team to win things.

Football is ultimately about winning; yes, you need to keep a lid on how many the opposition score; Moyes has put almost his entire focus on this... to the obvious detriment of winning. It pervades so much of what we see on the field, and for me it is both inescapable and irrefutable. But his apologists will continue to make all the excuses under the sun.

I think Moyes has learned his lesson to get things done early. If players are going to go, let them go now, not 3 weeks from now. After Lescott, Arteta, etc affecting the way we played the last couple seasons, my disappointment with Rodwell's departure is reconciled by the knowledge that the transfer was done right and done for a more than reasonable fee.

Who to bring in? Anything, really. With Naismith on the right and Pienaar on the left, the squad looks solid but small. Looking forward to seeing who we purchase in the next few weeks.

In all seriousness I do think he's awful. I'm sure there are redeeming features but I don't know what they are. He is quite atheletic, and he seems to have two good feet, but the problem is they're not actually good, they're just equally poor.

I'm not trying to be a dick, I just genuinely don't rate the guy.

Can someone who is a fan of Rodwell please outline what you think his qualities are?

"Potential" does NOT count as a quality btw.

100% accurate? Moyes plays matches for 0-0 draws in every match does he?

I agree his football isn't free flowing but Moyes always tries to win. Every manager always try to win.

I think we need a bit of a wake up call ................it is NOW that matters

If the money from Jack's sale is invested in 1 or hopefully 2 players then who knows we may upset the odds, and the London press once again.

Otherwise we will have to sing about our glorious history for a bit longer.

We do need Rodwell. Did any of you see Gibson just got injured? Who's going to be playing against Man U now in that position? Fucking Phil Neville.

This is a further sign of the complete fucking financial mess out club is in yet most of you are applauding it. I am fucking fuming.

Rodwell is very very average. Injury prone to boot. Also does anyone even know what position he plays!? To get £15-19m depending on which site you read for a player of his standard is a bloody gift horse.

Now yes I do agree with you though we need a replacement as our squad is light but surely some of that money will be reinvested?! If not there has to be an outcry even he get slip out of.

Moyes 5 Mancini 1, I believe. I'm sure MK will correct me if I'm wrong.

I doubt Mancini would be so assertive if he took charge of Man.City's squad circa the Shaun Goater / Nicky Summerbee era.

..and operated under those conditions.

Amazing what a seemingly un-limited transfer budget can do..

Anyway I have a feeling we will regret this and I think he will flourish at City. I hate to see us selling home grown players

Did you watch Chelsea win the champions league last season? Or inter Milan a few years before? Well just ignore those examples of a defensive mindset proving ultimately successful and try and play like Barcelona shall we?

And for the matter every club now thinks we have this wad of cash for transfers could we not have someone lined up before we sold Rodwell. Just glad it wasnt Baines or Fellaini but hey there is always the January sales.

Kevin (#159): Three words: "here and now".

BK: "Davey, you need to sell to get some cash in. Seems to be interest in Felli."
Davey: "I have my principles, nobody's going."
BK: "Davey, you need to sell to get some cash in. Seems to be interest in Bainsey."
Davey: "I have my principles, nobody's going."
BK: "Davey, you need to sell to get some cash in. Man City offering £15M plus for Rodders."
Davey: "I have my principles but if you don't like them I have others [acknowledgement to Groucho Marx] – sell him."

It always fascinates me how a man who never plays to win ends up with so many accidental victories.

Either we took short money for Jack. Or the board do not want the fans to know how much we got so when we spend a pittance on players the fans can't be upset as we have not spent the full amount of transfer fee.

By the way, Jack is going to be a top player, keep an eye on him when he plays for a coach who allows him to play, instead of a coach smothering him with negative instructions.

Yeah those 5-yard sideways passes are phenomenal.

I recall SAF commenting on Zidane saying that for all his quality, he doesn't hurt teams enough. Though early in his career, you can label Rodwell the same. He flatters to deceive. He does nothing with tremendous grace.

What's that supposed to mean?

(Genuinely, no clue).

For us Luddites, arl-arses and those who have the seen great Everton teams and thus had the football equivalent of shagging Kate Bush (ask yer dad), supporting Everton is emotional, unrealistic, nonsensical and often downright certifiable.

I am saddened by the fact that we have to sell our own who have been with us since childhood and that we can't afford to take a chance of another year or two of nurturing.

I am more saddened, though, that we have been lead to this point and are forced by current circumstances to sell to survive and, while not being totally naive re the vagaries of finance, stand by my unrealistic expectations of what this great club should and could be achieving – did I not say certifiable?

And young Rodders... good luck – and I presume you're not allowed to tell us whether you jumped or were pushed?

That makes more sense to me.

Another thing, I don't think the whole lot of what we got for Rodwell should go to Moyes. How will we ever pay the debt off if we just keep spending like for like???

Selling manager " I have a good idea mr chairman,Everton don't have much money lets knock a couple of million off our asking price"

Afraid not

We have lost Cahill, Rodwell, Straq, Drenthe and not really strengthened enough for my liking. The squad is shrinking beyond an acceptable level and with some injuries we might be screwed.

Time for Kenwright to do the right thing and put a decent wedge of the Rodwell fee into Moyes's hand so he can try and build up a decent squad.

There was a thread on here last week saying we should try him at right back, maybe Mancini read it ?

By the way, MK, I too thought back then that Moysey mosied into Dodge City with a clear intention of dishing out some bloody noses and getting stuck in. He does seem to have been ground down by the effort over the years...

Who says we won't go out and buy a couple of decent (not potentially decent) players?

I very much doubt he'll get booed when he comes back.

Why can't we just wait and see what happens with the money before we start crying about everything and anything we know nothing about?

Man City asked how much we wanted for Rodwell. We said £15m, City said no, but we'll offer £10m, to which we probably said okay, how about £7m. Then City came back with £5m and we said no, how about £1m....

Well at least Barclays will be happy.

Perhaps this sale is essential but the fact that some should be happy or believe that this is a great day is a signal of what has become acceptable to some Evertonians. A good young player has been taken off us by a better team and some celebrate; I am incredulous.

Kenwright drags us slowly down and Moyes covers his back all the way, a sad day...

I doubt Rodwell would have propelled us into the Champions League

Answering your question (#178), from the our current Board's past perspective and, of course, with the sarcasm font swtiched on:

"Another thing, I don't think the whole lot of what we got for Rodwell should go to Moyes. How will we ever pay the debt off if we just keep spending like for like?"

"Jack is a top player, oozes quality, Moyes has held him back" etc etc.

Yes, just like he has held Baines back and stopped him from becoming a top top full back. Like he has held back Jelavic who has stagnated since Moyes bought him. Like Moyes has made Felli go backwards rapidly. Like Moyes has ensured that Heitinga hasn't turned it to a quality ball playing centre half. Oh hang on, I forgot it is only certain players he chooses to stifle isn't it? Nothing to do with Rodwell actually maybe not quite being good enough to develop into a quality player is it?

Can someone explain.

Sadly that is not forthcoming at the moment. So what can we do in the meantime? The same as any other club. Sell players we don't need for as much as possible. Then buy players we do need for as cheap as possible.

For the record, I think Jack is class and in a couple of years will be a dominant box-to-box scoring midfielder.

Baines was good but not anywhere as good as he was now. Fellaini has improved immensely, Heitinga was crap at Atletico before Moyes signed him up. Credit where it's due for god's sake. And how many games has Jags played in centre mid? Maybe like 5 at the most?

This is almost as poor as your shout about Duffy being better than Jags and Distin? And the mighty Niall McGinn, the world beater, who plays for the mighty Aberdeen!!!

Others, like me, dreamers and unrealists, feel that investing in the team/squad and engendering better results on the pitch is the way forward.

This current Board have one aim only – keep Everton in the Premier League as a means of safeguarding/increasing their investment.

To do this, they have sold everything but Goodison Park and the remaining players, sold and rented back Finch Farm, outsourced all but the bullshit PR spin factory, mortgaged/remortgaged/re-remortgaged against future Sky money, season ticket sales, etc.

So, in essence, they have mainly preferred the above stratagems rather than spending "like for like" throughout Bill's tenure and we are deep in the mire.
Perhaps, to be fair, occasionally they used them to obtain money in an attempt to improve the squad.

"with respect, how can you be pleased about this deal? I cannot see how selling Rodwell improves our prospects for the forthcoming season."

It provides us with the money to strengthen where we really need it. Sell players you don't need, buy players you do.

I would love nothing more than to see Everton top of the league and buying the very finest players. So what do we do? Make the best of what we've got? Or bankrupt ourself by living beyond our means. There is only one option for our club - sell for top dollar, buy as much quality as we can afford.

Just to reiterate - we've just sold a fringe player for £15 million!

Clearly my question was an invitation for Kenrick to embroider his 'three words,' but your irrelevant response is appreciated.

Lets use some money to bring Donovan back , and 1 forward and attack-mind right back, coyb...

I can see tiny tim will back in January and Rodwell will loan back to us after winning some tropies in the beach for few seasons...

Kevin Ratcliffe was the guest at this year’s Everton Supporters in London AGM.

He said that Jack Rodwell would have to leave Everton, adding that the only way he would fulfil his potential would be to play with better quality players.

The sad bit for me? That he wouldn’t be able to do that at Everton.

They were all only potentially quality players weren't they? Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to sign them, would we, as bigger clubs would have been in for them too.

And that's also the point with Rodwell: he is still only a "potentially quality player" after nearly 100 top flight games. Of these games you can count on one hand the number of influential games he has had. If he was so good, his quality would have shone through on many more occasions. It simply hasn't done so. All the hype when he played for England was exactly that – "hype". He did nothing of note in either of his England games either.

What I'm saying is that it is complete bollocks to somehow try and blame Moyes that Rodwell has only ever had a handful of good games for us. The only person to blame for that is Jack himself or he simply isn't quite good enough.

There's something fishy about his incessant brand of 'selling our best youngsters is great for this club' bullshit...

I couldn't care less what Mancini, Hodgson or any other manager thinks of Rodwell to be honest. I have seen the lad play more games than any of them and I know how good he is.

I suppose I'm of the mindset that the quicker we lower the debt, the quicker we find a buyer and the quicker we get rid of the clowns we have now.

I'd much rather do it your way though.

Kenwright and the rest, out NOW!

"I hope Moyes gets all of the money from the transfer to spend on new players."

What is wrong with reducing debt? I sincerely HOPE some of that money clears the debt hanging around our necks, reducing our interest payments and putting us back on the right financial direction.

Fellaini and Gibson are the starting central pairing, Rodwell was only going to be cover this season. We now have Pip, Naismith, Heitinga who can all cover in the event of an injury. I don't like to see a home grown talent leave, but having £15 million sat on the bench is not a luxury that we can afford.

City have taken a gamble, without a doubt. Rodwell does have potential, but in my eyes has not lived up to it by any means yet. That's not to say he won't, but there are no guarantees that he will either.

I think if we can bring in a decent right-sided player, and Jelavic maintains his form, we have a Europe-challenging side. Naismith adds a new dynamic to the team, and will score goals and create this season whereas unfortunately Cahill was not doing so last season.

I do not see how we are worse off without Rodwell in the short term at all. I think Moyes has made the right call, and took the money on a player who literally only showed potential. I can count on one hand how many good games he had for us. To me, it is another sensible piece of business by the club.

I am satisfied that Jela and Naismith are here and am looking forward to the new season.

I am trying to make the best of the present situation, although I still have a competitive spirit. Getting older and can't run up the wing like I used to, but still enjoy giving air to the ball.

Glass half-full. I drank my fill of championships and cups from 1960.
Come on you Blues!

Dan there's nothing wrong with reducing debt. The problem is this, selling players is the only strategy (sic) that the board have for doing this! The other aspect is how they managed to get us into this situation in the first place. But hey let's just ignore those aspects.

What it means is other clubs will only rate Rodwell a £10m player... sad.

First of all, Rodwell would not have made the difference in us qualifying for CL. Just my opinion based on past performance. Now let's say Moyes is given some or all of that money from the sale of Rodwell to spend. We add a right back, a right-sided midfielder and maybe cover for Jelavic. Best case scenario, we finish 4th and qualify for the CL. We might make an extra ~£3m from finishing higher up the table but would've spent £10-12m to get there. We might even have a good cup run and win the FA or League Cup. An extra couple of mil there. We've still only made back about half of what was 'invested' into the squad. Meanwhile, the debt is still there, the size of the squad won't be able to contend with the extra European games so we'll still have to sell to buy because no one will lend us any money! So even in the best case scenario we would've made a net loss of ~£6m and would be in a worse position then if we had just paid off £12m of debt and finished 8th again as most would expect.

Imho, the best thing to do is consolidate our position in the league, spend just enough to keep up with the Joneses just so we don't fall behind, and concentrate on wiping out that debt. It is crippling the club and we can't do anything because of it. No investor is going to touch us until it's wiped out because investors want to get their money back as soon as possible, then see some return on their investment. With the club making a loss or barely breaking even every year and having to sell players to balance the books, that will take eons and our supply of players that could fetch £15-20m is finite and shrinking. No sane person would ever invest their hard-earned in the current state of the club. And no buyer wants to spend £40m wiping out the debt introduced by his predecessors when it could be better put towards players or a new stadium/re-development. EFC will have to dig itself out of its own hole before we see the back of BK.

It's just that I notice there's no wording such as "believed to be" before it. So is this definite? Because if it's not it will make quite a few posts on the topic redundant?

Kristian, please tell me you're taking the piss with your fantasy football remark.

Gregg O'Keefe originally said £15M in the Echo.

Phil McNulty on Twatter says £12M plus £5M in add-ons...

In the latest piece linked from the Echo, Gregg O'Keefe now also says £12M plus £5M in add-ons

Meanwhile, Everton say: Undisclosed.

I hope not, our record of paying 30% more for returning players a la Pienaar would be quite upsetting!

I wouldn't be quite so unconcerned had it been Baines or Heitinga. I guess they will be next years interest payment though.

I wish Jack luck. I do believe he will eventually develop into a quality midfielder, it is just a shame Everton are no longer in a position to give players like Rodwell more time to develop while at Goodison NSNO

Rodwell is shit, he will be on the bench... he will not get a game.... Good deal that £12 million up front and £5 million when he plays x amount of games.
I said it earlier, why would the club want an undisclosed fee?

I wish him luck, but if I was being really cynical then I'd hope the move prooves unsuccesful, because as some people suggested it might lure others away for higher wages.

James Stewart - "As I said earlier its a great deal for a bit part injury prone player but the Bullshit Bill annual sell to stay afloat business model goes on another year."

I totally agree with the first part of your statement, and if we had offered Rodwell to Stoke or Sunderland for, say, £10m I would go along with the rest. But the current Prem champions with pockets deeper than their oilwells have come in and offered the player 3X his wages, and paying EFC what I regard as a lot of money for this player.

Was this BB's cunning scheme? Are they buying a pup to keep us afloat, an act of footballing charity? I doubt that they see it that way.

In any case, all that shit about Rodwell and Old Trafford goes into the trash where it belonged in the first place. Please tell me, anyone, if you tipped Jack to go to Middle Eastlands. Yes, he may well have been on his way out, but for footballing reasons as much as anything else.

I rate Rodwell as a player. It's just Gibson is more suited to Everton's style of play under Moyes.

There are positives though, £12-17m for a bench warmer, two very good players signed permanently, Fellaini and Baines should stay as it is all just pure speculation, Moyes will be very stupid to get rid of them and everyone at the club will be keeping a firm grip on them.

We have some fantastic youth coming through; Junior looks great, Duffy looks like a good defender. Coleman impressed me in the friendlies, so maybe he might have a good season. Maybe Barkley will be involved in the United game with Gibson being injured until the second game (could be wrong about that).

There is plenty to be optimistic about, and when we get a few loan players in (maybe someone permanent) most of us will be happy. I'm personally looking forward to the United game as I do think we can get a result there.

I'm just trying to be positive instead of being negative. We have virtually the same squad that finished the season on a high but now with a excellent talent in Naismith, if we can recapture what we did there then what's to stop us getting into the Europa league?

Seems like the word is out in football circles about Dire Dour Defensive Davey Boy.

If Ross does the business he'll be the next quality young player that the shitty Kenwright regime has sold.

BTW before you TW Moyesophile sycophants start - Peanuts RETURNING at a loss of face and money to Everton is NOT a BIG signing. But it is a pathetic joke on Everton by Spurs.

Disappointing to see Jack go, but the reality is that we'd all rather him than Baines or Fellaini and it seems like we got decent money.

£12M? That's little over half a Henderson or a Downing. It's a third of Andy Carroll. Great Business again by EFC. Our desperation for money puts in a situation where we cant even name our price to mega-bucks City .

Thanks Bill, when does Moysey get to re-invest his £250k out of this transfer fee?

I agree it's a disappointment as Jack showed promise. Sadly we can only afford here and now. Sad reality.

Think utd would have been a better bet for hime given their track record with youngsters. Interesting to see what happens to him at city over the next couple of years. With the midfileders thay currently have, he certainly will not be making regular first team appearances - presumably.

For Everton, its 12m of badly needed cash. Hopefully some will be used to clear some of the debt with a little given to the manager to finally bring in someone in the midfield who has some pace.

At least he still has almost 3 weeks till the window shuts.

Peter, you still don't understand that selling a player near the end of his contract and then later buying him back for a higher price while he's not long into a new contract with another team is not the same as selling a car and then buying it back for a higher mount. All to do with different types of market and market values. See previous posts in previous threads about peanuts.

I wish the lad luck but I never saw what all the fuss was about to be honest.

Just hope Moyes gets to reinvest.

No mate,i keep hearing it`s good business.
The spin doctors have got more fans than you would think possible accepting the bollox.
"Another one of our young international players gone lads.
It`s all for the good of the club though"

Still, it's fairly good deal - I'm not sure he'll ever really be worth what City paid (those wages!!!). Even if does turn out to be valuable longer-term, he's worth more to us in cash than he is as a player. With Fellaini and Gibson being such similar (and better) players there's no room in the side for Rodwell, and the money is better reinvested elsewhere - preferably with the squad on a right midfielder, but probably in large part with the bank. Oh well.

Let's look at the facts:
1) Rodwell had 1 or 2 good games over 2 years
2) He's been repeatedly injured and looks pretty fragile
3) When he was fit, most of the time he came on he looked ineffectual and made an art out of the sideways/backwards pass
4) Yes, he's been groomed by the youth England setup but he's a back-up player for Everton
5) We have no money for transfers and need to sell to buy
6) Other saleable assets who could attract a decent price tag include Felliani, Baines, Heitinga, Jagielka, Jelavic.

Against all of the above, 㾸M+5M add-ons seems like insanely good value. Sure Henderson went for more, but to be fair he'd been playing regularly (and pretty well) prior to his sale. And besides ,look at the results, he's hardly been a good advert for paying over the odds for young British talent has he.

So my advice is let's take the money, wish Jack well and hang onto our bile for a little bit to see what happens in the transfer window in the next few weeks. If Moyes is given ٤-7M I think he can bring in at least 2 players (and maybe a couple of loanees too) before the window closes.

That sums it all up nicely for me. Both the concise statement of facts (and opinion) and your statement about "Yet again the bitterest of blues are out to indulge in a whinge fest".

Thanks, mate. There are many, many more on TW who support what you say.

all due respect you have answered your own question there mate.
£12-15 million in, and Moyes will get £6-7 million to bring 2 players in and maybe a couple of loanees.And before anyone mentions Cahill,Arteta etc it is very difficult to find Premiership players for £3million nowadays.
The fringe player will play for his country in the upcoming fixture by the way.

Gibson: 80 apps in a Man U shirt, 11 goals.

Both similar in their ability to protect that back four (ie. less good than Carsely)..

Both had 5 or 6 moments respectively where they looked class (Gibson's volleys, Rodders skinning Kompany my particular favourite)......

Both very unlikely to get game time in Manchester.

Gibson for Rodwell with 13-15m in change is likely very good business on its own and that's before injuries - Gibson played every game from a cold start....Rodders record was beginning to have shades of James Vaughan about it.

So on its own good business......and I'm breathing a massive sigh of relief that its was Rodwell not Fellaini that Mancini fancied (although the later is now wondering how Rodders now earns 2x what he does)...

Agree with comments on the Board on here...

Current operating plan of the club is unsustainable - valuable home grown talents, much like the bankruptcy of Rangers are one-time events that have bailed us out this year.

As for the comments in his press release - this sort of thing is usually agreed between the clubs and typed up by a PR hack - so suspicion is warranted.

The key problem is that we have some laughibly priced debt - the banks (and others, fill in the blanks) have clearly extended us credit at loanshark rates in the past - blame on the board not the banks for that by the way! So if we're not going to buy players with Rodwell money I'd at least like to hear the club say - 'here's how much expensive debt we got rid of and it will save us X per season in interest cost' that would actually be acceptable - but I doubt they will.

You only have to look at the precedent already set by Kenwright with the fire sale that took place last summer with only loanees coming in. Moyes even admitted the Arteta money went straight to the banks.

The 'whingefest' is not about the loss of Rodwell as a player but what it represents. Our small squad has yet again become smaller this year and people are celebrating the fact declaring it as 'good business'.

Where has this £6-7million figure come from that Moyes has to spend? Plucked out of thin air no doubt by Kenwright's happy clappers.

Why exactly does it 'HAVE' to be seen as good news?

Because that's your opinion? Because you don't have the foresight to see that this lad is the best thing to come out of this club since Rooney?

Because you fail to appreciate that it's part of a cancerous malaise that is eating away at this club?

Good news? Do me a fucking favour.

Bitter? You're fucking right.

I'd rather be bitter than an uncle Tom for the regime that has this club on its knees.

Fucking shameful post.

The fact Rodwell is playing for an experimental England side means nothing.
1. England are largely shit (as demonstrated at Euro and Olympic level again this summer)
2. Carlton Palmer played for England (I could name 100 hopeless players given time who had a cap)

Like most, I'm a bit gutted to see a young local lad leave, but it's been clear for the last couple of season that he is a bit of an enigma. His premiership posture and Viera-esque physique mimic a world-class footballer... but the lad is a footballing dunce. I'm not convinced you can coach that out of someone.

Thankfully Moyes has only given the armchair scouts fleeting glances of Rodwell... just enough to convince them he is still a 'prospect' and worth the punt given their need to increase young British squad numbers in time for the new UEFA rulings on 'home-grown' talent.

Like it or not we are a club that needs to sell to survive. We do not have the luxury of waiting to see if our Branche's / Cadamarteri's / Jeffers' / come good when silly money is floated under our noses... and £12-17 million for a reserve-team player who most were convinced would never make the grade IS silly money.

Also Predictable Peter, you are not special. About 90% of us said the exact same thing. We wouldn't buy a big name but we would sell one. If you can call a player with less than 14 games in two years a big name?

Alan (360) is spot on
Look at the Senior Squad Player Profiles screen on the OS

2 goalkeepers, 4 oufield players with 22 appearances between them
No contingency in that lot

I hope I'm wrong and Moyes gets some decent cash out of this but how will you feel if we only keep enough away from the banks to pay next season's police bill?

Paul, it might not be a question of whether he'd become a key player but when that happens. So, you could argue that it's just that Everton can't afford to wait whereas MC can afford to wait and have him on the bench (Mancini's comments point to that).

I'm a Rodders apologist.. but he isn't good enough to tie Fella's shoelaces.

The managers aren't deluded but one of them thought that Koncheski was the best left back in England.

He will no doubt improve at City, if he gets off the bench but it was probably more to do with the "home grown" quota than thinking he would add something extra to their midfield of stars.

I think you should probably give Fergie a bit more credit on the youth front though. If a club takes a plyer on when he's 12, I would give credit to that club for bring him up to first team standards by the age of 18/19. Re the De Silva twins, Manu scouted them when they were 15 and agreed with the brazilian club to take them when 17, so not sure they nicked them. Also current players like Evans, Wellbeck & Fletcher came through the youth ranks.

Anyway, good luck to the kid and 100k a week! Foook me blind with a barge pole!

This is not a criticism of Rodwell, but this transfer shows the gulf now between the "haves" and "have nots". As well as a sizeable transfer fee, they are reportedly playing him £100k a week. We pay our top player £70k a week. These clubs can simply sweep aside from the loyalty argument by dangling cash. Rodwell will certainly be no closer to first team football at City than he was at Goodison, but he will have a lot more in the bank. My main concern is in his mind, and his agent's, he's "made it", and if he never fulfills whatever potential people thought he had, will it really matter?

If someone could illustrate how they think 'investing' in the playing squad will magically get us out of the financial shit instead of getting us deeper in it, maybe they'd stop getting labelled unrealistic? The only way I see of getting out of the debt is by *drumroll* paying it off!

You were wrong though.

Brent @346, he knows full well that that is the case but that doesn't fit in with his 'bash everything to do with Everton' agenda.

This took me by surprise, as Rodwell follows another CM (Cahill) out. But it was the one area where we had plenty of players: six, including attacking mid - Cahill. If you consider Naismith a straight (but unlikely as good) replacement for Cahill, we are still at five (Fellaini, Osman, Barkley, Gibson, Naismith). And we can't really afford more as we need another striker, desperately.

I hope we sell Anichebe, and use the funds to bring in a striker and at least one more player; one of full-back, right mid, or CM.

Moyes himself said recently that we don't need a billionaire or 100s of millions (though he agreed it would be "nice") but an amount of cash each season to allow him to improve the squad in depth and quality

At the moment, with this inept Board frantically bailing out the lifeboat after they've drilled holes in the bottom of it, our only hopes for more cash is by continuing to develop Academy players and sell them on, improved league placing, cup runs and the revenue from extra TV exposure being a better team would bring

If, big IF, we could get into the Champions (sic) League, we would have cash for improvement AND reducing the debt

Round and round we go
People say I'm a dreamer, but..

I'm closing this temporarily and moving the messages over there. If you have reputable links rather than speculation, please post them.

The lack of transparency from the board is dividing fans like never before and that's going to cost them in the long run. Which leads one to the conclusion that them being honest and transparent will cost them even more and that is why they don't do it.

I'd rather bank the cash, spend some on the odd transfer target, some on loan wages and the rest to the bank than continue to hope that Rodwell turns-in-to the player we'd dreamt he'd become.

I know the lad had been afflicted with injuries, but I think he had too often flattered only to deceive.

Sounds like a panic sale to me. Kenwright probably bit their arm off at the first offer.

Admittedly he's not yet lived up to his early promise, but look at how much henderson went for and he truly is a turd.

£15M would've been at the low-end of what I'd have expected to see him move on for....and if Moyes wanted Johnson, I'd have expected at the very least a season long loan arranged too.

We're lucky that we're relatively well endowed with centre midfield players, such as ossie, fellaini, barkley and gibson. What we're in dire need of is a quality right winger with a bit of pace. If we can get one of those with the proceeds then we'll be in much better shape than with rodwell in the squad.

I always liked the look of him on the ball – comfortable and confident – but there seemed to be something missing.

Not enough goals, not enough tackles and not enough forward passes.

Nice bit of business... now, if we can just get a few mil for Vellios.....

"My feeling". Not prediction.