Teenage fullback is the only arrival

We're either borrowing the cash from next years tv or someone's leaving!!

My mate who cleans the bird shit off the Easyjet planes at John Lennon airport swears he just saw Messi get off the plane with an Everton scarf!!!

Roll on midnight!

I'm not convinced the whole lot went and that all of the remainder went to the bank. I have a feeling we have quietly had a sum tucked away for transfers but have not been open about it, so that we don't get screwed in negotiations. I do also believe we will be borrowing against future Sky revenue to help bolster whatever is in the pot .... although why it's always left to deadline day for clubs to make a move is beyond me. We needed these players on Jan 1 !!

Are we 26th richest? Or just 26th in terms of income?

The last major transfer that was cash up front was when the Reds were up shit creek after selling Torres, and Newcastle demanded all £35m up front or no deal, and that was on deadline day.

Therefore it's quite plausible that Everton could land a £10m bracketed player. The other thing to remember is that in these days of ludicrous wages, is the total cost has to be factored in - £60k a week over 5 years brings another £15m+ to the costs column, before bonuses.

Who'd be a football chairman eh?

Maybe they can get him for a good price.That would be the scoop of the year and a brilliant long term investment.

Matt, I agree that's the sensible way to look at it, i.e. costs spread over the period of a contract. Does that leave us, though, with the outgoings in any year being the sum of many contracts signed years previously, plus, as you say, the annual wage / bonus outgoings? So leaving not a lot to spend in any year, even if only the upfront part of a new signing?

If Stoke have no chance against Barca then how come a British team north of the border managed to beat Barca in the Champions League this year? Stoke aren't that far different from Celtic. No snow required! Barca and Real are great teams and there's maybe another 2 or 3 good teams but how many divisions can boast a team outside the top 4 winning the Champions League? And Chelski may not even make the top 4 this year either.

The Premier League has far more strength in depth than La Liga. Chelsea did to Barca what Stoke do to every team that visit them. Get physical and defend deep.

Im sad about missing Fer as he has all the credentials..young, tall, quick and strong enough to compete in the premier...hope we go for him in the summer, maybe another Viera ??
Ofoe is an unknown to me so I cannot comment.

We need a decent young right back.
I did not realise how valuable Hibbert is to us as he has been sorely missed.
Jags has to get back to centre back he does not have the pace for fullback.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_f1N51Gv9c

Possible transfer targets then? Negredo obviously...a resurrection of Fer? Stones seems a possibility. Then there's Sinclair, Vadis, Ince (would love him), Huddlestone, Phillips, Marin, Guidetti etc etc (Although City may need him as a fourth option now)

Hopefully it will be a good day.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-player-profiles/darron-gibson/2013/01/31/everton-fc-s-season-won-t-implode-if-they-can-t-add-new-signings-100252-32716282/

Alan Myers has just said on SSN that Fellaini is going nowhere, still nothing on Negredo and Wigan have agreed a fee for John Stones (never heard of him).

We better get a move on if we want players as I'll be absolutely fuming if we sign nobody and then hear people saying "at least we never sold anyone!"

If the big Fella stays, and I hope he does, will the spaniard really be what we need as surely we would be better investing in a holding midfielder (to get Neville off the pitch) a pacy winger as cover for Mirralles or a right back.

Also, with Craig Gordon on a free (still the most expensive British goalie of all time and only about 30 years old), would he not be worth bringing in as cover for Howard. Surely, as an out of work footballer, he's not going to ask for too much.

Luckily my boss in on maternity leave so I get to watch first hand the disappointment of us be strung along with the thought of signing a goal scorer only for Spurs to swoop in and take him from under our noses!

When the BBC live text editor gets everyone in a spin by postulating out loud whether Baines might suddenly attract a last day bid, or others saying about Fellaini, it sets the tone for a seriously dull day.

The clubs finances have been well documented so that if someone is sold, it is because of that. However, I do wonder if part of the theatrics we're being treated to is the board playing out the final act of trying to tie Moyes down to a long-term deal.

Certainly if he's not prepared to commit, he shouldn't be bringing any players in who a new man "may not fancy".

Remember that other right back we used to have, Dan Gosling, who joined Newcastle to play more first team football. Great move, Dan. Looks like he's on his way to Villa now.

This is the latest from Guillem Balague: "Everton is interested in Negredo but Sevilla want to sell for €20m. At that price, he is not going to Everton."

Whispering to each other "Who is this ginger fella next to us, and what does he mean by track back?"

The Negredo link has gone quite. I can't see it happening... I would be made up if it did all the same.

But there is one guy who I will trust today, and that's Phil McNulty.

Any news on the unnamed Spanish player yet?

Also, there is no way Arsenal will go for Fellaini...they have Cazorla for the AMC role, and need a defensive midfield, a left back, and a striker in that order. They couldn't afford Fellaini anyway.

Baines and Fellaini could still attract stupid money. Someone out there must want Heitinga. The quiet on these fronts has me unnerved - not every transfer is a Lescott-esque media game.

A forward would be exciting obviously - nothing quite captures the imagination like a striker... but we desperately need another centre mid. Even just a filler.

Here's European football expert Andy Brassell with reaction from Twente's Leroy Fer, speaking after his move to Everton broke down on Wednesday. because of a problem with the 23-year-old's knee.

The midfielder is "deeply disappointed", he told the website of his representatives Sport Promotion, but is hopeful a deal to take him to Goodison Park can be resurrected in the summer.

"Everyone has done everything to make this transfer happen,'' lamented Fer. "I was even prepared to financially brainstorm to get around the problem, but nothing helped.'' The 23-year-old, who is now preparing for Twente's Eredivisie match against Utrecht on Sunday instead of the Toffees' game with Aston Villa, said he understood Everton's position.

"I was approved by the doctors in England," he said. "The meniscus is firmly back in order, but the wound is still fresh, although I can play back smoothly. Everton then decided to change the method of payment - slightly more for their security than directly because of the medical results. I can understand that, especially when you're talking about this kind of money.''

On the plus side, Gibbo was on the bench yesterday. If only he could stay fit for 4 months...

Harry is still buying anything that moves.

9:35 Finch Farm, Fellaini going nowhere.

Wigan have gazumped us to Stones.

Also was he misquoted in this article!

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11711/8352299/Boss-Harry-Redknapp-launches-scathing-attack-on-wages-at-QPR

"Harry Redknapp is back in his car, and back on Sky Sports News, talking about his delight at signing ‘top, top player’ Chris Samba. The QPR manager says he is not expecting any more signings before the transfer deadline, just as his phone rings in the background."

The guy is a walking parody of himself.

On a serious note, the Samba deal is disgusting. £12.5million and £100k a week for him is nothing short of disgusting... him and Remy are greedy bastards, and although I think they will escape relegation, I would love them to go down.

I wonder what QPR's wage total is now?

Also, let their best midfield leave imo on loan (Faurlin). I wouldn't have minded him in our squad.

Okay, it may happen but the team buying could be deemed to be desperate and the sellers could soak the buyer with the cost and the player with his terms. Everton have known for a while that the goalscoring had dried up and with the Mirallas injury problems to boot they could have acted earlier.

The question is,was a midfielder the priority and now that deal fell through have they decided on a striker instead or were both on the radar all the time?

But that said, the television rules in Spain are biased against Real or Barca, and ruin the competition of the league somewhat, and I personally prefer the Premier League, as I still think it gives more surprises, and is still more balanced. Truly though, our league is becoming more European, and the difference between Spain and England is now negligible. A top player in Spain these days will generally do well in England, and vice-versa, and I think immediate impacts (aka Michu, Hernandez, Chico, Mata, Silva, Cazorla) are becoming increasingly more common as a result.

Gary Neville says that we don't panic buy (what about Felli?) and we are a sensible club...? It's glaringly obvious to every fan that we definitely need good reinforcements to sustain the challenge for a top position.

I really am optimistic that this team could challenge for the top if we could get some financial support. The better players would want to stay with us if the club displayed real ambition. DM could become the new Bill Shankly!!!!

I really used to like QPR, back in the Ferdinand / Sinclaire days... they were fun to watch (post plastic pitch days anyway). Now they are just a full blown advert for what is wrong with the top flight in English football.

In the words of one Geordie – 'I would just luv it' if they disappeared into the Championship!

Back to the OP – don't hold your breath. Clock is ticking, I heard someone saw the Stracq bard a flight to John Lennon Airport – return of Count Stracqula?

But now I want them to be relegated.

Their chairman is already sending out signals that he has had enough. He is gambling it all on staying in Prem this season. But even if they do survive this season (and they should given the depth of their squad) I am sure it will end in massive losses and an implosion in a couple of years.

As would some help up top, since Jelavic has forgotten how to play football.

Did they only find out on Monday they had £9m to spend?

"And on Merseyside, the Liverpool Echo are quoting Negredo's agent Juanma Lopez, who says that the deal is "impossible." Looks like Everton have left it too late."

I personally think some are falling for it as well!!

We had to strengthen, left it way too late. "We will be happy with what we have got" — just does not sit with me.

http://garpat.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/wordcloud/

Your post on QPR is spot on. I agree with everything you say... Hope they do go down! Been ages since I was on here, I'm in Adelaide now. Gotta stay up through the night for this, so I hope I'm not disappointed. But if I fell asleep and woke up to another Fellaini-like deal I'd be over the moon!

I personally think a couple of Championship bargain signings, maybe a CM on loan... and one very decent striker is our limit today. Gueye sale/loan; Vellios/Duffy out on loan maybe, they seriously lack competitive gametime.

BK and co know all about dropping wage bills as they regularly loan out loads of players with very little trouble.

We ONLY have trouble buying or loaning IN

I do not want to see anymore stopgap loans or freebees of the likes of Hitz, Neill, Hahnemann, MacFadden and co. sitting on our bench wearing our strip demeaning our club !

For me it has to be Moyes and I am sorry to report I would be very surprise if anything more than a loan or two happens.

Why are Chelsea offering us cash for Fellaini today? See above.

It's not rocket science, and there is method in the (deadline day) madness.

Was more hopeful that we would recruit a powerful and pacy midfielder to provide cover in front of the defence more than anything else. Did anyone notice that Fellaini didn't play the advanced role last night? He patrolled between Neville in defensive midfield and the attackers, giving Ossie license to roam and support the likes of Baines, Pienaar, and Mirallas. For me this made everything work much more slickly than they have for a while and I would like to see this set-up used as much as possible for the rest of the season.

As things now stand, a quality player in any position (bought or on loan) would be a real boost, even as a sign that the club can still make things happen when the chips are down.

Stones and Butland seem to be going elsewhere, though I am not too fussed about them anyway. News about Beckham at PSG just makes me yawn, but I am getting more and more annoyed with the SS obsession with Mario Balotelli's move to AC Milan. Who in this country really gives a toss (unless they are Italian or something)?

More logically however It may well be that an agreement has been reached for the summer which would explain this sudden influx of cash from behind Bill's sofa.

I normally wouldnt be so paranoid but this is Kenwright's Everton we're talking about.

If we do sign him, I'll eat Goodison Park.

I will be happy if we lose nobody and keep Gibson and Mirallas fit for the run in.

Only thing I can see happening is maybe getting a loan or two in, presumably no medical means this can be done with a phone and fax machine...

Someone should explain to EFC that the transfer window is 31 days long and not 2!.

I spoke to a few people today and it is quite clear we never had the money in the first place so why bother with the offer to Twente? The knee is even a minor issue.

Why do we continue to put up with this nonsense year after year? This club doesn't deserve the fans it has supporting them. Kenwright is still a Spiv conman and he will never change.

You have a very short memory!

We are supposed to have £9m quid to spend, and our centre-half is playing fucking right back!!! Our striker can't buy a goal, and our midfield lynchpin is a 36-year-old who can't pass wind.

We are 1 point off a CL spot and we are desperate for reinforcements.

I give up.

My point (to Tony) was more that we have managed to buy people in January, contrary to his suggestion that this 'happens every year'.

It doesn't.

You are beyond daft.

I also think we will sign someone before today is out.

If you are happy with this shite then great... but I'm not. Last year, we were not promised anything and got a few decent players in. This year, we have been promised one of the up-and-coming stars of Europe and had it ripped away from us... That's the difference.

That to me, says the players feel the need for fresh blood as well.

Draw your own conclusions.

Seeing Mirallas and Gibson back does give me hope of finding our scoring form again, but then Moyes would have to try out both Vellios and McAleny to see where they are form wise compared to Jelavic.

I have no doubt that either Vellios or McAleny would do better then Jelavic right now, and I can not understand why they are not tried and tested. We have to make the best use of the WHOLE squad, not just the first eleven.

Rotation is key at this time of the season, and I fully believe that we would be better off playing Vellios and McAleny instead of Jelavic for the next 5 games or so.

James, myself and no doubt most people on here share Marsh's frustration at the usual deadline day scramble and, no doubt, spin emanating from Goodison, but to spout the "I spoke to a few people today " sort of tripe without any proof that the "people" were qualified to add some accurate insight into the apparent transfer dealings is just ridiculous.

One very slight potential link...Apparently Fabio Quagliarella is in talks with an English club... Juve want to get rid to fund a move for another striker. Could be us...

We should have pulled out the stops to buy him and not pissed about with the deal - unless his knee is genuinely a concern, then its a different matter. The reason the deal went south, is we wouldn't pay upfront and Twente wanted the cash so they could buy another player - they even stated this fact.

I got the fright of me life when I first set eyes on the Stracq!!!

Kevin.. Spot on. We can wave goodbye to 4th place if we fail to strengthen, Surely we won't waste our fine start and present good position. If we do then I would not fancy reading the subsequent TW threads.

I think it was a mistake to wait until the end of the transfer deadline before trying to sign someone. Vadis should have been the first player in on loan, and then we would have less pressure to get one more.

It seems like Moyes always has to wait until the end before something happens, to me it probably has to do with money not coming in until late January each year. Half-season tickets and so on.

I do not think Everton will get anyone in at this late time, and for anyone to think that would be naive.

Moyes' £8.6million move for Dutch midfielder Leroy Fer could yet be revived at the eleventh hour with FC Twente agreeing to let him join the Blues initially on loan

The whole board should hang their heads in shame, and as for Kenwright — he should be run out of town.

Superstar strikers for £15m were never really on the cards, but we certainly got a few miles out of that load of shite.

Please no

Presumably this lad (if he actually comes) will just play in the reserves and not come close to the first team anytime soon.

Not exactly where our focus should be on deadline day!

This Stones lad is supposed to be a great prospect but we need finished articles. I sincerely hope this doesnt mean Coleman to right wing. He's been coming on nicely at RB

Stones has been doing well, and is only 18, and I doubt we've given much more than a million up front...we can't complain about the lack of good youth players, and then moan when we sign a very promising youth player. Of course it's not what we want, but I don't think getting Stones in will affect that.

I'm still confident we will bring in at least one senior before the deadline. (Pretty confident anyway...)

And then "we have been promised one of the up-and-coming stars of Europe and had it ripped away from us... ". Who promised us what up-and-coming star, when? Promised?

We were much more attacking and creative, with many good attacking situations not actually resulting in a shot on target down to their desperate defending.

We were the better team by far and thoroughly deserved the win despite what simply looking at stats tells you.

Pienaar's excited tweet about welcoming new additions is equivalent to a kid in a sweet shop urging purchase of another quarter of pineapple chunks. Footballers just want "more" - but more in not necessarily better. The optimum may be exactly what we already have. I know footballers always say they like competition for places, but it means nothin, it's just press-release-speak. What else are they going to say in public - that they resent the new guys because they (a) threaten their own position at the club, and (b) show that the manager lacks confidence in them, which is likely to make them perform worse? No, of course not. But if we get in the much touted striker, Willie Whoever from Wherever FC, then do you really think Anichebe, Jelavic or Velios will be pleased? I don't think so. New signing can disrupt the team, and one of the things EFC have going for us is that we have a fairly settled team and a fairly stable set up.

We don't need any new signings, we need the players we have to do the business - much the same business as they have been doing this season, only a bit better and more consistently.

Or not?

Do you not think its the case that Piennar is stressing that we need more good quality players?

We were much better than West Brom but we've seen how we struggle even with just a couple of injuries to key players.

I am basing this on the tenuous idea that footballers understand that a good squad can be a useful thing in helping them all to achieve things they can all be proud of.

Buying new players has negative as well as positive repercussions. Apart from which, I disapprove of the whole "Buy, buy, buy!" ethos which is passes as normal these days. It seems to me that football fans are being trained to expect their clubs to splash the cash on transfer deadline day, almost as a form of entertainment. It's just "shopping therapy" for blokes! "Ooh, I don't like that handbag anymore - I've had it for ages". Er, you've only had it for a year and there's nothing wrong with it, love. "I want a new one" Etc, etc.

Your sincerely, Mr Devil's Advocate

Disagree with your shout on Pienaar as well. The lad has been an ever present (or near enough) this season and his form will dip occasionally. He is still putting the effort in, often popping up on the right to help move the ball away from defensive positions. He would certainly benefit from having more attacking threats in our side to attract defenders and give him a bit more room to operate in.

That to me is common sense, not simply grasping for more playmates.

I didn't say Pienaar doesn't put the effort in. He does - but, frankly, so what? Working up a sweat is the absolute minimum we have a right to expect from a man playing for Everton. I thought he was generally poor against West Brom (and Southampton), but I don't have a problem with him generally. He's a right good 'un. I just think he should refrain from advising the club to spend money it doesn't really have on reinforcements when he'd be better off improving his own performance - because there is room for improvement

I don't agree with you that bringing in other players - to increase our attacking threat or give him more room to work in - would make him play better. Baines plays brilliantly no matter what. You don't hear him complaining that he has to do too much work because somebody else is not up to standard or that there's no one there to take advantage of his crosses, etc. He just does the business.

No disrespect to the young Barnsley lad,but I hope he isn't the end to our spending today (if we beat Wigan to him that is)

You're probably going to be a 4th choice right back behind Neville, Coleman, Hibbert... oh wait, 5th maybe since Jags also plays there now. Good luck!

I'm still holding on to some hope that we can make a signing that's going to help in the push for fourth... doubtful, but at least Fellaini and Baines are here until the summer.

Bringing in a couple of players now, right now, is clearly a sensible option for us. Sensible because it is blatantly obvious we need to improve if we are to have a serious chance of a top four position.

We have several away games at top clubs to come and we have a team who seemingly malfunction when we don't have our best eleven playing. That's not to take away from our boys who not for the first time are fighting against teams with vastly superior resources and are holding their own. Kudos Mr Moyes.

If we are to progress we need players and now is the time. If we were mid table it wouldn't really matter.. This isn't being flippant or excessive or unrealistic. Our chance is now. Happily It looks like the club recognise this too, looking at the sums we appear to be dealing in. I really hope something happens tonight.

Remember we bid £12 million for Shearer the day AFTER Newcastle agreed a £15 million fee.

Laughing stock or what???

The kid will not touch the first team anytime soon presumably, so lets focus on a position where we do need strengthening. Doubtful that GIbson will be injury free for the next 4 months.

Dan - no one can be on form all season. Even Baines had a bummer against Southampton! But when a player has a dip in form it's up to a manager to ... er, manage that. Just dropping him and bringing in a new player doesn't really solve it, in fact it can generate different problems. Maybe that will exacerbate his poor form, whereas persevering with him and showing confidence in him might help him get over it? Moyes is currently experimenting with bringing Jelavic on as a sub. Who knows, that might work. I hope so.

Unless we're talking squad rotation, which is a different kettle of cod, I think.

What does this mean? It means they want to destroy the vlaue of money through inflation. Its value has fallen 15% plus since the banking crisis already, essentially reducing everyone's debt burden by 15% (and anyone's savings by the sqame amount).

UK debt is enormous (and I do not refer to to govt debt, which is relatively low against each of three major private sector areas: consumers (you and me), non-financial companies - eg Everton FC -, and financial companies - the worst of the lot). To save the banks, we need a zombie economy in which no-one sells their house (tick), and reduction in the value of money (part done, and soo to get worse). We could just nationalise the banks for 10 years, and sort them out, but govt friends and bankers wouldn't get rich that way.

So destroy the value of money it is. Perhaps, that's where the money is coming from. It just won't be worth that much. Hope we get a bloody good striker, or Jela wakes the feck up.

"A PSG signing that will actually improve their chances on the pitch?"I am watching the Beckham circus and on one of the French TV channels very close to PSG (they own it) has reported that FELLIANI could be a PSG player today!" booms Sandrine Kane. "Sorry Everton fans!"

However, I stand my ground on Pienaar. He's not on top form at the moment, but he's a skillful hard working player who's done really well for us over a period of time. Nevertheless, he should shut his cakehole about the club spending money and concentrate on playing football very well - which is what he's paid for. You're a midfielder, Steven, not EFC's manager/chairman/financial controller.

Wes.

Brown.

You heard it here first.

i think this is a joke tbh - then again we did sign MacFadden again!

Says world football god / expert Robbie Savage, who himself moved from brum to blackburn during a, erm....january transfer window (remember that one, to be closer to his ill parents in wrexham even though brum is closer to wrexham than blackburn!) and then from blackburn to derby during a, erm.....january transfer window.

f'ing absolute tool!

To follow up my previous posts in Pienaar and gratuitous cash-splashing, I've just seen this quote from him on the OS: "November wasn’t a good month personally but the manager stuck with me. I had to pay him back and in December I did my best. January has also been a good month."

There you go, I rest my case. Someone has a dip in form but the manager sticks with him and he comes good. Much better than buying in a shiny new midfielder at the first sign of trouble. Cheaper, better for team morale, just generally better.

John
O
Shea

What happens if they never find their form again and we're stuck watching them play shit week in week out (Neville).

Then again, he does have an amazing knack for both stating the bleeding obvious and talking total bollocks - but hey, he's an informed pundit!

And how could I forget about the hair.........aarrrrrr

come on moyes - SIGN SOMEONE FFS.

Denis - how about I send you into an apoplectic rage by reminding you that Moyes tried to sign Savage. It came quite close to a deal, as I recall. I reckon you would have literally exploded with disgust if he's trotted out on the park wearing an Everton shirt! So don't go advising Moyes - who is reading this, obviously - to buy just someone because it might just be the new Robbie Savage!

You know those games when players are walking round scratching their arse and we draw or lose when expected to win?

That's sort of shit we end up with

I don't think laziness or arse scratching is generally the problem with us. Even Vic is putting in a shift now. DM has his faults, but he's not a slacker.

Tbf, savage would have been ok to have as a player, he just needs to keep his mouth shut. Always one of those you hate playing against.

Both local radio stations still claiming the Fer deal is back ON.

Talk Sport are claiming Vladis wotisname is signing for us along with a Brazilian striker and the return of big Denis!

All good fun eh!

The Telegraph's Jonathan Liew says he doesn't believe it's Tottenham. Arsenal would be an obvious interested party as well as us.

If it seems like they are trying then that must be the truth right? I maintain that, if they really wanted to bring in top players, then they would not waste any time in doing so. Here, Everton have wasted an entire month almost and so far have no results to show for it.

I would think Moyes is taking part in this trick, and just being pleased about his salary. He can act like he has ambition all he wants, but action speak louder then words.

It is clear that we need a midfielder and a striker, but not enough have been done to make it happen to be honest. Every January tends to be like this, we are now in fifth and have a real chance in getting CL but in the end we will lose out because Everton are not able to do what is needed.
Clearly Everton have money to use now so we can not blame that fact here. It is not enough to bring in a defender who is 18, we need a midfielder and a striker the most.

I thought leaving Fer was an ok idea at the time, as we had the chance to persue other targets. Now I find myself praying we just give Twente what was agreed.

We are so close to a top 4 spot here. I'm not suggesting we put all our eggs in one basket...but can we please spunk £9 million on someone! If we don't make CL then we make any money back by selling Fellaini.

I'm normally rational guy when it comes to football...but Everton don't half test your sanity.

In one sense, the board tried; in another sense, it tried not hard enough.

I've still got an inkling someone will come in...but I'm not sure whether that is just blind optimism.

Bedtime.

This Negredo talk sounded farcical from the outset - although, I have to add, Everton don't seem to have anything to do with this sheer speculation.

The Fer deal probably collapsed for two reasons: his knee - who am I to say it's an excuse? probably just cold feet - and a very, very late move.

Having said that, let's not exclude a couple of loans come 11 pm.

And please, everyone, do not ever, ever again mention Joao Moutinho: he now plays for Porto, not for the penniless Sporting Lisbon, and Porto are known to sell for very high fees and to drive a hard bargain. Off the screen (expect him to go to Spurs at the end of the season, though...)

I just fear we are missing a massive oppotunity here...and there is very little risk.

So we buy Fer for £8.6M

1. We get champions league and pocket a load of cash and retain our best players.

2. We don't. We sell Fellaini for a load of cash.

Where's the risk?

More seriously, I think this month's transfer activity probably means Villa are doomed.

Sorry for being off-topic.

Well you've got to have a dream, haven't you...

The formation would be a 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.

To be fair, we'd be pretty strong on the right...

Firstly, what a fantastic name - Habib Habibou! Why can't we buy someone with a name like that? Secondly, I have never heard of the Central African Republic. Is it because I is white?

My dad can run quicker than him and he's 67 !

If the guy looked a medical risk after a scan, fine, ask to stage payments; what I had a problem with a couple of days ago was an official announcement of any sort (pending detail/wage and medical); no club does that because it tells the rest of the world that the guy is available. it was on our clubs home page BEFORE he signed. Was it "we're being ambitious" false PR? Probably not, but we need to understand why that announcement was made. It serves the club and fans no purpose to become a tablloid column so at the very least it shows how badly we are run near the top. Its not a transfer deadline story now Andrew, but a 'how is our club being run' story, and for me that's current news not old news.

Talking of Gueye going to Brest, there's a place in Italy, near Lazio, called Arsoli. Suarez will end up there one day, unless I'm much mistaken.

This transfer window has been a wasted opportunity as far as I am concerned.

Ok he didn't say that...but he might if he had a crystal ball.

We may not be able to spend 20m on a player but I would have thought our scouts could find multiple players, who we could afford to bring in - its their job after all.

Being a scout at EFC must be the easiest job in the world - no one expects us to sign anyone anyhow, so you can just put ya feet up and switch the telly on.

'That messy looks pretty handy, out of our range though - oh well, lets have another bash next year...'

Graham - I'm genuinely impressed. I feel bad for not knowing, but there you go. Why have I never heard of it? Do they play football there? Obviously they do, hence the great Habib Habibou!

I don't believe we ever had the sort of money that was mentioned in the last few days.

'Leeds make their third signing of the day as the Central African Republic striker Habib Habibou joins on loan until the end of the season with a view to a permanent deal.

The 25-year-old is perhaps best known for a video of him throwing a duck from the pitch.'

I'll take Stones.

Know where my vote would go.

F'all going to happen on the transfer front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7VKpT8zdsg

Si - it's been the Central African Republic since 1958 - before that it was French colony of Ubangi-Shari! Never heard of that either. It just gets worse...

That said, I don't think we can buy a cm with a dodgy knee. What would happen if it went in three months, and we had a Michael Owen on our hands? When you have as little money as we do, you must be cautious.

Mega gutting though. We may have gone for tons of players today, which we don't know of, and will never know about...But I'm inclined to say that we could have been boasted by a loan of Sinclair, or Marin or the like...and it would have been great for squad morale to have someone come in. The only slim chance of getting top four now rests on players staying fit.

But it says alot really..Arsenal spend 8.5mil on a left back, Spurs bring in one of the best midfield prospects in the world, and we do not add a senior player. Even Lpool have managed 20mil plus on Sturridge and Coutinho.

Graham was the one who knew the capital.

It is next to what was the Congo though.

Any one think we wouldn't have gone for Stones this transfer window if we had signed someone else / if Wigan hadn't been on the verge of getting him?

I hate to bash the club....but surely we could have found a replacement for Phil Neville.

B.K to Moyes " You are going to have to bring someone in, I will be crucified if we are the only P.L. club who haven't signed anyone."

Moyes " Aye, I know a kid we can get for next to nothing, he's only 18 but I'm off anyway."

If signing a young defender is enough to get Moyes to sign a new contract then why wasn't it done ages ago.

I can't imagine what has happened over the last week or so really amounts to showing the manager that he is being backed, so if he does sign he will be shown to be a charlatan who is happy with the money.

I think Moyes was more concerned about keeping the players he had.

If it had been a good young keeper I'd have been more impressed.

Still part of me hopes we've sneaked a deal for someone somehow...It's pathetic really.

For me, this has been the worst transfer window. They made us believe that we had signed a highly rated young Dutch international, then made us believe they were going after a class Spanish striker, and made us believe we might have some money. They will be posting the letters for season ticket renewal next month and this is the first time that I just don't know if I will bother. Moyes, Fellaini and Baines will all be gone in the summer, and others will likely follow.

Just seen in interview with him on Sky and seems a really down to earth lad. His agent, by his side in classic 'I've got money' big collar shirt and massive watch...utter scum.

I don't know what this means for Hibbo and Coleman. I thought Coleman was our RB for years to come. Its a strange one...no matter how good a prospect he is.

Let's look on the bright side... we've got Villa at home on Saturday! If that's not three points then I don't know what is.

We are run like a middleweight championship club who happen to be sitting 5th in the premiership. I bet my bollocks we don't end up in the top 4....I completely hate that fecking cunt Kenwright

14 games to go, we'll just have to get behind the players we have and call an inquest at the end of the season.

If we finish in the top four then Moyes should be given the freedom of the city. Going to bed fed up and disappointed.

Gun fight and knives, some truth in that one after all.

Sky money & loans is the business model - this is all the evidence anyone needs that there is absolutely no ambition on their behalf to be contenders for a top 4 spot.

Woods & Earl are worth hundreds of millions, and we get a kid from Barnsley who won't even see the bench.

Injuries, suspensions, fatigue, small squad to begin with... even smaller after one in and one, possibly two, out. Top 4 won't happen now.

I cannot think of one redeeming feature any of them bring to the table.

I say the board are waiting for Kenwright to implode.

Have yer not fuckin' got it yet???

Don't let the facts or the results get in the way of a good moan eh lads!

Is anyone really surprised that once again the Board let us down and whilst I'm happy that we have signed a good prospect this should been additional to a decent midfielder and striker to allow us to compete over the hard part of the season.

We struggle by with him in the side. If you think he adds to the team then you need to see a doctor.

Yeah cos we need all 11 players to be on fire to be just 1 or 2 places higher than were we would have expected to be anyway.

Got to stay positive ay?

Tin-fuckin-pot.

Oh really? How about thoughtful, considered analysis.

http://theexecutionersbong.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/better-the-neville-you-know/

I'm no major fan of Neville, but I appreciate the positives he brings. And the ability of professionals like Moyes to know better than most punters on here

There is a difference between youths we buy for a nominal amount, or at 16, and someone who has been making waves like this guy has.

And Junior has been here for six months...give him time. Kennedy needs it too. Doesn't mean they won't turn out good at some point, or we won't make a profit long term.

Think we need to rein it in a little and realise that
a) we didn't lose anyone and
b) we have signed someone.

Granted the young lad is one for the future but we have to operate like this to push through players for the future and generate potential income. We are not in a position to have taken a risk on Leroy Fer as we would NOT have gotten insurance on his knee so if that knee goes we are screwed, we cannot operate like this!!.

We went in for Negredo and sadly was not available at this time but atleast we tried to operate within our means, which is more than most of us thought.

Granted we could have tried to do business earlier but if no one else noticed alot of business has only happened in the last 48 hours as well as the fact we cannot offer silly wages so almost have to look for the best of a bad bunch as players can be waiting to see if a better option for themselves comes along.

We could have panic bought but didn't. Think of the future and not just a signing to make us all feel better. Remember Bilyaletdinov anyone?, felt great but after 1 game was more of a hindrance than a saviour...case in point!!. COYB

That is one signing that could have waited until the summer. Why would any club attempting to reach the C.L. put all their efforts into signing a player who may be in the first team in 3 years time?

Wise up to way this club operates people.

P.R reasons? How does that work? Have you seen the reaction on here? Hardly 'good' P.R is it?

Neville was finished for me when he criticised the fans booing the negative substitution at the mighty Bolton and when he suggested his twitter account had been hacked when he welcomed Fer obviously not following Kenwrights dastardly plan.

Arlen stats can be manipulated to make anyone look good I base my opinion on watching him week in week out

Yes, we may be 5th and hanging on to Spurs' coat tails for now, but one glance at our remaining fixtures and the way our rivals for 4th have strengthened tells you that without further strength in central midfield (which for me was always our number one priority), Moyes would have to be awarded Manager of the Century, never mind the year, to make 4th place and will do bloody well to keep us in 5th.

Wednesday night was a great example of how useless he is. When we have possession he never wants the ball if there's an opposing player within 20 feet him. In fact sometimes he actually moves behind an opposing player while pointing elsewhere..

The times when he actually has the football thrust upon him, he usually puts the player he gives it to in difficulty with a hospital pass.

Utter shite.

As for the transfer window. A fuckin shambles.

No, not the innability of our custodians to provide financial support.. the attitude of some on here who quite clearly swallow the bullshit they're fed - then go on to defend it.

Shambles.

One thing guys... Why are some of us looking at Stones as a negative? we've fucked up big time when it comes to seniors, but I personally don't see the point in lamenting the signing of a very impressive looking youngster, who several Prem clubs, including Chelski have been linked with. I also expect the deal will involve a figure rising to £3million, not a £3million payment.

What do you think all the Negrado bollocks has been about?

Think we need to rein it in a little and realise that
a) we didn't lose anyone and
b) we have signed someone.

Granted the young lad is one for the future but we have to operate like this to push through players for the future and generate potential income. We are not in a position to have taken a risk on Leroy Fer as we would NOT have gotten insurance on his knee so if that knee goes we are screwed, we cannot operate like this!!.

We went in for Negredo and sadly was not available at this time but atleast we tried to operate within our means, which is more than most of us thought.

Granted we could have tried to do business earlier but if no one else noticed alot of business has only happened in the last 48 hours as well as the fact we cannot offer silly wages so almost have to look for the best of a bad bunch as players can be waiting to see if a better option for themselves comes along.

We could have panic bought but didn't. Think of the future and not just a signing to make us all feel better. Remember Bilyaletdinov anyone?, felt great but after 1 game was more of a hindrance than a saviour...case in point!!. COYB

Just £500k then.

If Kennedy isn't better than Stephen Naismith (who is nothing more than a passenger when he plays right midfield) he should pack in. Moyes hasn't give him a sniff. He incidentally came with a similar fan fer as our latest wonder boy. He may come good (how many 18-year-olds play in the Premier League?) but make no mistake it's a long shot and not something that will get my pulse racing. If it floats your boat, your easily pleased.

At least I'm bevvied.

Will someone tell me why? The board can’t come out and say, there’s no money and we aren’t selling the club and just stop the lies, is it too much to ask?

Goodnight.

Having said that, our main rivals haven't strengthened greatly either so all is not completely lost. We are now hugely reliant on avoiding our usual injury plague though and I can't help feeling that it's a sign that we're lacking ambition (we've got 40 points after all, that'll probably do some people).

On the bright side, a warm welcome to John Stones... a real bright prospect for the future.

We didn't have enough for 4th in August and we still don't. I hope the Europa League does for the horrible shower and Spurs but if they both keep their league form up we could finish 6th or 7th or even 8th.

From what I can see, referees have cost us 4 points this season - Newcastle at home and Norwich at home. (There are other decisions but I balance those out with some that have gone our way)

Our defenders and goalkeeper have cost us another 4 - Howard at Stoke and our inability to clear at Fulham.

Our strikers (sorry Jelavic) have failed to make the above not such an issue.

The FA are useless, we cannot change that.

Our defenders should sort it out, we can change that.

Our striker needs serious competition.

Therefore I curse the board for not backing Moyes for another striker. We create so many chances yet have rarely scored more than 2 per game.

Jelavic looks shot so we now have to rely on an injury prone Belgian and Victor Anichebe. Hardly the platform to get to 4th.

The only way this can happen is if Gibson and Hibbert return and we start turning clean sheets and nicking goals from Fellaini, Osman, Pienaar and Baines.

Either way, if we get 4th by some miracle, it's going to be a long and nerve jangling 4 months.

And Kevin...what point are you trying to make? Of course Twente wern't happy... but why would we not want to re-structure a deal for Fey if he has the potential of long term knee trouble. And Sevilla didn't want to see their best striker...yep, that's our fault, isn't it? If you don't try, you don't get.

Again, I will say this...why can't Stone be a silver lining? instead of an avenue for frustration.

We lost out on bargains like Holtby (£850k) and Butland (£3.5m) due to this negligence. These two inept idiots apparently started to look at "possible targets" in mid January which is absolutely pathetic. If elstone is BK's ventriloquists dummy then Moyes is his lap dog. They are a little, self serving gang who are in it for personal gain and for fulfilling their egos.

On the other hand I think the signing of Stones will be inspirational as he is very much in the Bainsey mould.

What has happened this week is absolutely disgusting. To treat our fans with such contempt is one thing but to try and treat us all as though we are all fucking thick as shit is another.

Basically what the club is saying is that there is not a single midfield or attacking player in the whole world who is better than what we now have who we could buy for £8 million with two to three days to look? It's a fucking scandal on a Tesco/Kings Dock type scale. I hate BK and Moyes for the Fer debacle. Fuck the knee-jerk bullshit, they didn't have the money — so fucking say so. Twats.

The second half of this season will be tougher than the first as we play all of the big clubs AWAY... If we have any more injuries, Jelavic can't find form and the injury prone likes of Gibson and Mirallas continue as they are... we could be in for a reverse of the usual second half of the season climb.

At least Gueye has moved on though!!

Oh how I love supporting this club!!

He will now be blamed for not getting 4th place and it was all to do with this transfer window.

Blunt terms - we were never going to do it, even if we had signed Fer and Negredo!

After 24 games we have taken 2 points less than the same fixtures last year. Yes, 2 points LESS than last years same fixtures. Not 24 games, but the same teams. We still have to go to Arsenal, United, Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool and City at home. Quick assessment of last 14 games will get to 64 points - probably. Spurs and Chelsea are on for over 70.

Fer and Negredo would not have given us another 8 points.

So we finish 5th and it is all Bill's fault because he has not invested in a dream that will not happen.

Home wins, Villa, Reading, QPR, West Ham, Fulham & Draw with City and Stoke (we have to foul up at least once) = 17 points. Away win Sunderland, Draw Norwich, Arsenal, Liverpool. Lose Chelsea, United, Spurs = 6 points = 64 points. So I'm wrong, we win at Arsenal and Liverpool and only 1 loss = 70 points. Yeah, and we would have done that with the 2 new signings. Dream On!

We were not going to do it, so it is not his fault, except we now know it is his fault - rather, we just get depressed and €30m spent including one guy who maybe will be finished with a dodgy knee and still with the same end result come May.

Our ridiculous draws meant we still maintained 4th as opposed to progressing higher. Reason? Our direct opponents were in Europe and dropping the odd point here and there while West Brom were in great form. We've slipped a place down because Spurs aren't playing on Thursdays..for the moment.

Soon our direct opponents go back to Europe meanwhile West Brom won't keep the pace up. I predict that one of Arsenal, RS or Spurs will drop silly points in their Sunday matches or whatever.

Meanwhile, our away games:

Chelsea - we do ok there
Man Utd - nothing to be scared of
Spurs - not great but a draw or gutsy win is possible
Arsenal - again not great but a draw is possible

But we do have City at home which is usually a good result. We also have West Ham, Fulham and QPR at home. Games I would expect 9 points from.

Never mind Bill, what about the other board members who are worth 100's of millions, why didn't they underwrite some signings until the extra £30m arrives next season?

Have you considered the possibility that we might draw at Spurs and Arsenal, and only have to better Spurs' results by one point between now and the end of the season, and can drop 2 points on Arsenal? Have you considered that Spurs still have to play Thursday night Europa league football? and Arsenal have Champions League?

Have you considered that Mirallas and Gibson are coming back to fitness?

Why write us off?

One more thing...if we don't have the big clubs at home it also suggests something else...we have easier home games. We can still get fourth...it will take an almighty effort, but why write us off now? These are the players that have got us into fifth arnt they? and largely the players which secured us a great second half of the season last year. If we go into May six points off fourth, I might give up then. But I'm not giving up yet...especially when we have great Jan onwards form in recent history, and Spurs have one of the most pathetic implosions of a big club in recent times in theirs.

By the way, in response to the comments on Kennedy, he was described by his Scotland coach Ricky Sbragia recently as "exceptional", so don't write him, or Moyes's eye for a young player, off just yet.

And Spurs are not a big as club as their fans would have them be given they've not won the FA Cup for over 20 years, the league for over 50 and don't fill their ground every week despite this myth they would fill a 60k stadium if they moved...I assume they think corporates would pad that out but corporates don't want to travel to Zone 3 London/Seven Sisters when they might be getting into the Emirates or Chelsea.

I agree with Jim K (for what it is worth).

I like this site; I've visited for 8 years and commented about 30/40 times (3 times so far tonight!), but some of my fellow Blues leave me nonplussed; my view is that there is a consistency in the Club now, matched quite rightly by expectation, neither of which were there 10 years ago. The stakes are higher now, but, in my opinion, we are better equipped than ever before to meet them. If you want delusion (or a chuckle) visit Red and White Kop – it demonstrates what can happen when you detach yourself from reality.

Sod blaming the board; we know they're toss, and will always be toss until we find a fool with more money than sense, which'll probably never happen. At least we don't seem to have gone backwards.

Saturday will be the 25th game of the season which makes it closer to 2/3 of the season gone rather than half, we can make fourth, if Moyes motivates the team well enough and we start to tighten it up at the back. We just beat WBA and all our major contenders slipped up, so why the doom and gloom?

If we are still within striking distance come the end of February, anything is possible. Stay in the FA Cup as long as possible and morale will be okay, we don't need the supporters to throw in the towel just yet, but we do need the fans to get behind the team on the pitch, starting on Saturday.

If the CL dream ends and we miss out on European Qualification then the supporters can rightly start an inquest into the running of the club.

Whatever happens you can guarantee that BK will still be here for the long run, he's going nowhere, BK is to Everton what Peter Swales was to Manchester City. As long as he hits the season ticket sales target, he has nothing to worry about.

The Board must think we will remain injury free for the remainder of the season. Fat chance of that happening. Also, Jags and Ossie reckon the aches and pains kick in around the 25 game mark which just happens to be this weekend.

Strange how we only went after one player. A player we knew had knee problems. A tall handsome lad with a long slow stride who could score goals but couldn't trap a bag of cement. Odjidja-Ofoe is a much better footballer. Likewise the Yank who Stoke snapped up for £4ml.

For me it would have been the Everton fan Holtby. Learning we had the money only makes things worse. Watch this intelligent dynamo at Spurs. He will light the place up.

Our 1st team are a good little outfit and we will just have to get behind them. Giving Neville, Heitinga and Naismith abuse upsets the whole squad and does more harm than good. I hate to hear boos for anyone in an Everton shirt no matter how poor they might be.

We never intended to buy Fer @ £8m. We tried it on and Twente saw right through it. Amateur, just like the whole Everton set-up I'm sad to say, particularly our PR and Marketing team.

A bit of cartilage trouble showed up in the scan! If that is true, who do they think they are kidding? That might have been a a career-ending injury a century ago but now?

Just see how well our torn ACL boys fairing at the moment. Jags, Arteta etc etc. Taking the piss. As Tony says, they must think we are absolute idiots.

I know I am... just forked out a fortune to bring my lads over for the Easter break, from the USA, to see a few games. Reading at home, the 6th Round Cup tie, assuming we beat Oldham in the big one and get a home draw, and Man City.

Will I ever learn?!

The whole we'll pay the rest when he plays a few games goes down like a lead life jacket. Clubs have not forgotten Per Krøldrup. Money on the nail please.

We are in a good position to challenge for fourth (or higher) and whilst we may still do it, it would have been reasonable to assume that we could lower the risk of one of the things that could adversely affect us (the loss through injury or poor performance of key personnel) by bringing in some quality reinforcements.

We didn't even end up with a couple of loan deals, so I can't see how the manager can be anything but disappointed with the way the club has been able to back him in this transfer window. At this level making things happen is the bottom-line and good intentions or wishful thinking just don't cut it.

Welcome and good luck to John Stones. I hope he got some assurances that the manager he was signing for will still be around next season.

Actually, this non-event transfer fiasco has a distinct smell about it, as many posts have pointed out.

Fer can drive forward but has limited skills. £8ml was far too much. Vadis and Holtby are better all round players yet we couldn't afford £6ml for these guys.....and the Negredo business has to be an insult to our intelligence. Richer Clubs than Everton could not afford this brilliant player.

The recently disclosed massive wage bill eats up most of the money and I can well understand the club not wanting to increase it. This they have managed to achieve but if it was their plan all along they should have told us.

Apart from Baines we don't have any fancy superstars but over the last 38 games we lie 3rd behind United and City. God knows how we do it but we do. It's actually pretty awesome. We have players out of position, players who look useless and a regular injury list. Our manager drives us crackers with his 5 and 10 minute sustitutions and his failure to see that there are other players on the bench who can actually play football. We are unlike any other team, playing to his unique and mysterious system and keeping the opposition awake at night worrying how they will cope against our lobsided onslaught. It's a crazy situation which is not good for my health but we're stuck with it.For Evertonians it is never easy.

Have you forgotten the last 10 years? The running of the Club has been bad for at least that long, with the current incumbents responsible for a litany of lies and failures.

What this transfer window shows is that this Board has no ambition and if our players and manager have then who can blame them if they leave to fulfil that ambition where it will be appreciated?

A word to those saying we can keep our money to use in summer.We will have a maximum net spend of £5M taking into account players leaving. We won't even spend the £8.6M (ahem) Fer transfer money.

The things some Blues will take in is unbelievable, grown intelligent men being kidded season after season.

I hope Stones doesn't read Toffeeweb judging by some of the earlier remarks. All the world and his wife have been whingeing about us getting a RB, we get one, and suddenly one poster claims we have enough RB's already in Jags, Neville, Coleman, Hibbert, Heitinga, The Toffee Lady, Dixie the fuckin' mascot, that huge pair of hairy bollocks that may, or may not, contain a man attempting to raise awareness of testicular cancer, ,,,,,unbelievable.

The top and bottom is that a new signing would create some excitement for the fans and freshen the team and even provide alternatives in games when changes are needed.

Also if a good window is keeping our better players, how sad. Thats not progress and surely our aim is to finish 4th which by previous seasons finishing positions would require progress in order to acheive??? Seems to me the club have no ambition/cash/desire and are relying on Moyes and the players to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

I hope that next time the Club try it they will need an army of seals because fewer and fewer must surely be falling for this pathetic bravado ?

Getting through that glass ceiling of 4th is his nightmare scenario as he would have to find something fast and he doesn't have the minerals!!!!

We have known we needed a CM for 6 months. Since then we have only learned that Darron Gibson has more injuries than we could ever have imagined.

So we've had £8.6M set aside and 6 months to find a centre mid better than Phil Neville. We failed. I am forever giving the board the benefit of the doubt...but how can you here?

There's Spurs fans annoyed at their lack of transfer activity...well Jesus Christ, we should be calling for BK's head!

All this talk of a light squad and 'brining in a couple of loans', we get the oppotunity and we cock it up. Unbelievable.

FFS, yes I know we are still in 5th and I know we might still get 4th and I know that we always have a strong second half of the season. But why don't we just give ourselves a shot in the arm? We saw what happened last January, if the same thing happened this year we'd be odds on for CL. So short-sighted, pretending to bid for players that we can't actually afford just to make it look like we were busy in quality players when in actual fact we were probably looking to bring in Beckford again.

I would add that I wasn't expecting us to splash millions, but it was clear that the squad needed strengthening, and we could have done this through a couple of loans.

I am happy we kept our key players, but a good transfer window would have involved getting atleast 2 players in who could step into the first XI immediately. John Stones may prove to be a first teamer but in all cases I think the lad will need time and we need to be patient with him as he is so young.

Ultimately our activities in the transfer window are dicated by the Board and BK. If Moyes was given access to funds, he would have brought in players. He has shown this in past Windows.

I dearly hope our squad can summon the puff and the mental strength to maintain momentum. If we do achieve 4th from here, it will be a truly remarkable achievement.

I think it is more likely we will finish 5th - 7th, and the FAC represents our best chance of glory. We should be able to raise ourselves for one-off games at irregular intervals and have shown that our fit and firing first XI is a match for anyone. Not so sure we will have the stamina and squad depth to win enough matches to finish 4th (or perhaps even 5th)

The inquest will start if (as is likely) we fall back and finish a now "typical" 7th. The inquest will start when players submit transfer requestsseeking ambition. When that happens let's not buy the club's spin and lies and the inevitable dirty tricks that will ensue.

If this miserable window does at least unite us in attributing blame where it should be -ythe board! - then at least it has delivered something.

The money was never there - that's why the spend is £500k. The whole thing was a PR scam - looking busy - with out real intent - easy to do when you know how.

Be interesting to see Moyes' reaction. Will he sign?

The situation is that we are where we are and on reflection the window could have played out a lot worse. Who here would have happily seen Fer in and Felliani out for instance? I certainly wouldn't. Keeping hold of Felli and Baines was a top priority and that's been achieved.

The addition of a young right back who I think will get some game time this year (as a sub for Neville) is another tick on the sheet as that's been a problem position for years and with Hibbert and Coleman both out injured presently we need help. IF he is able to step up then it could mean Coleman pushed up to a right wing role giving us another option should Mirallas injury return.

What's more, with Gibson and Mirallas both off the treatment table, our first team is looking like it could be back in business:

Howard
Neville/Stones - Jags - Distin/Heitinga - Baines
Mirallas - GIbson - Osman - Pienaar
Felliaini
Jealvic/Anichebe

Subs: (3 from above) + Vellios, Naismith Oviedo, Hitz

With Coleman, Hibbert and (next month) Barkley to come back plus the likes of Junior, McAlney and Duffy getting some cameo appearances I don't think we're looking in too bad shape for the run in.

IF Mirallas and Gibson stay fit and Jelavic can get a bit of form back, then I think we still have a genuine shout for 4th. Noticeably none of the teams around us, bar maybe Liverpool (I think this year's too soon for Coutinho, but Sturridge is important addition for them) have notably strengthened in the window either. Spurs have added more midfielders that we may have liked but they didn't need and failed to address their lack of strikers. Sure Chelsea do have Ba now (can you imagine where we'd be with him and Jelly!) who will do well IF he plays, but the waiter is persisting with Torres and the rest of their team seems to be falling apart. Likewise, I remain to be convinced a Spanish defender is going to solve the defensive problems at Arsenal.

14 games to go plus (hopefully) another 4 in the cup, if we can just keep the morale strong, the side fit and get the slick of luck we were denied in the first half (it is supposed to balance out after all), then this could be a vintage year.

More to the point, with an incredible wealthy set of board members and owners - why have we no money? Why aren't we signing people that could give us the impetus to push on? Is is because BK sold our soul and it's too expensive for him or anyone else to buy back?

It's a load of crap. Yes get behind the team, but don't expect us to like the smoke and mirrors.

As for the rest of it, well I'm gutted to be honest. Yes we are doing well, yes we are in a strong position to attack a CL place. But over Christmas and beyond what most, not least of all DM, has started to happen. The absurdly small squad has been stretched, not by loads of injuries but just two or three key players being out for lengthy spells. Performance levels have dropped from others as they come under pressure to cope. It is to the players credit that they have hung on in there and scraped some results when generally playing aweful.....Saints away was as bad as I've seen for a long time. But there is still spirit there and we remain in that good position.

So now was the time to gamble. Now was the time to increase that short term loan to £20m or so and go in eat lire than usual for targets and yes, I suspect that if we had offered £15m for Negredo ten days so he would be here now and perhaps with the risk on Fer and this very promising lad from Barnsley that would have been enough to make the difference. I think a bank loan should not have been necessary but then Earl and Woods who have the money just don't seem willing to invest in our club in what is surely a risk but a reasonable one with a genuine chance of success.

I believe there was "effort" in the last few days to recover the situation but this is the Premiership, it's unforgiving at best, and however harsh it sounds, the club has failed to deliver the glaringly obvious, indeed desperately needed, squad increase and improvement that was needed right now. We can overcome this but only with a huge slice of luck to give us an injury and suspension free run in, because our best 13 or so can compete and get that CL spot and win the FA Cup. I really believe that. But I can't see us being that incredibly lucky with injuries because several of those key players look fragile to me and let's face it, EFC just isn't a lucky club.

I can see how all this fuels the Blue Union fires. Why wouldn't it, really, it's a mess. But again, inside Goodison on Saturday there has to be the support to match the players efforts and regardless of how frustrating it is, being there for the team and just focusing on each game as it comes, and hoping for that luck, is all that's left to us right now and we can do it, it's there for us. But it will need an incredible effort, luck and skill and the kind of amazing support you see at our way games from the best fans in the country.

Result.... our paper thin squad is thinner: one in and two out.

“He’s someone that we are bringing in looking towards the future and not for today really.”

- So why the fuck are we wrangling this deal through at the eleventh hour?! All we have done is stall this lads development.

Moyes on Gueye: “He was involved a lot here and was around the bench, but he was really keen to go back to France at this present time."

- He was involved a lot. Was he?! About three, five minute spells at the end of games. Has the man completely lost it or what?

I wish they'd just come out and said there'll be nobody coming in and nobody going out. Instead of this bullshit about £9M midfielders on the 'brink' of joining.

For the very first time in my life, I would happily support a protest against the board. It's not about BK out, as such, but there is clearly somebody taking the piss.

We needed a decent midfield player today if we are to get 4th spot; it looks like the Europa League then next season.

Thanks, Billy and Davey!

The teams who seem to be bringing through the youth are realy just buying the best youth from around the country from lower league teams.

Rodwell.
Coleman (20 ish)
Gueye
Vellios
Duffy
There's more.

Jeffers, Dunne and Ball were from an entirely different era. We were, lets face it, crap as well as skint.

"He’ll play for England one day (and soon). Only made the first team late last season but had a huge impact. Good stopper who’s also creative going forward. Makes mistakes but usually harries back and retrieves the situation.

He needs to put a few pounds and bulk up.

We knew he wouldn’t be with us long and I’m pleased that he’s gone to Everton rather than come back to the championship with Wigan.

He’s a Tarn lad and most Barnsley fans are pleased for him on a personal level (just wanting more than £3m)."

Hopefully he develops into Baines Mk 2 in the next couple of years.

Paul G. Spot on with Neville and Barkley – yes – Neville has been doing it all season – but I I'd been still writing next week if I reported all his mistakes of the season. Barkley had a cracking game against Villa Real in a pre-season friendly – but no recognition from the selectors.

However, my guess is that unless Moyes has some sort of cautious Presbyterian bypass, we won't get a good look at him until he's about 29.

(possibly about the same time as Barkley is 'ready')

If it's about skill, then he is not going to gain it, just like that. If it's about experience, playing in a real football team is the only way. And that will probably mean being loaned out. Not hanging around the academy until his contract is up.

When Dunne, Ball and later Jeffers came into the Everton side back in the 1990s, it was possible back then to bring inexperienced players of 17 and 18 years of age straight into the side. Now, the standard is far much higher to get away with playing inexperienced youth without the required skill factor.

If Moyes could replace Neville with someone from the academy, he would have done so by now. But when Moyes tried Junior against Leeds, he did not do so well. And Everton got beat 2 - 1. Even though he was not solely responsible.

It's odd (to me), many supporters seem to have fallen for some idea that a 17/18 year-old who is selected, BECAUSE he's 17/18, is automatically going to come on, shit himself, trip over his boots, generally look like Bambi, score an own goal, then be booed off after 10 minutes

(nb: personally I'm more worried about our 37 year olds performing this way).

Fact is some young'uns are up to it and some aren't and the ONLY way to find out is by giving him/them a proper run in the side

(nb: rather than one game and - "HE MADE A MISTAKE!! LOOOAN!!!"

Just to put in perspective they have yet to beat a team in the top half of the table this year.

Maybe you could choose a better example of a manager employing younger players successfully say Lambert.

Sterling does look a prospect, but so he should he was signed at 15 for what could end up being £5m. Who are these other outstanding youth prospects?

I think he's just saying that Liverpool's decision to give Sterling a chance will pay dividends. He looks a good player now and should end up a very good player. Shelvey and Wisdom are also getting chances and I think they'll both turn out decent.

The point is that these lads, just like Barkley, Garbutt, Lundstrum etc have all excelled at youth level. Liverpool are giving their lads a chance to progress - Everton are not.

I've just been watching Moyes on Everton TV talking about Stones. He said something like, "Thats the good thing about Everton, we have a small squad and give our young lads a chance." Well I'd disagree strongly with that one. The one oppotunity his has given the 'youth' is away at Leeds, when he threw them all in at once. Surely the way to do it is to surround a youngster with experienced players...not just hope a bodged reserve team can do a job in a very tricky away tie. Barkley's one chance after his Wednesday loan came at home, trailing to European Champions, and then gets shipped out because he gave the ball away trying to overplay. Why didn't he come on when we were drilling Cheltenham? Where he could have actually had a chance to play without pressure. So many oppotunities missed.

Sorry there, bit of a rant.

Probably, 90% of Everton's games under David Moyes have been tight affairs, so there have been vey few opportunities to put in a youngster and even when it happens there is very little time for the younger player to make an impact.

If we achieve CL, the pressure will be on BK to find the resources to fund next season, if we don't our best players and manager are likely to leave. If we race into a four goal lead before the hour mark during the game, some senior players may be exposed to the competition of youngsters and so perversely it's in the senior players interests to keep things tight and interesting. We are a strange club,

I can't believe I'm arguing with a fellow Evertonian about the merits of Liverpool. I have stated that Sterling is a good prospect but he is in danger of being overplayed. Wisdom is quite simply not ready, if you saw him at Goodison that was quite clear. Shelvey will never be a top class player, big yard dog who is physically beyond his years but lets not forget Liverpool payed big fees for all three.
These players might be getting into the Liverpool team but they would not get into ours. Quite simply because there are only two Liverpool players who would get into our first eleven and you don't know how good that makes me feel.
Let me give you a number 419. The number of days since that shower were above us in the League.

I'm not arguing that they're great players. Sterling is certainly a talent and the other two are players who have excelled at youth level.

The point is that they've been given a chance. Moyes has done everything to avoid giving our youth a chance. I know I keep harking back to it...but 4-0 against Cheltenham and he brings on Heitinga, Hitzlsperger and Naismith. I was not the only one perplexed in the terraces.

The way I saw the Cheltenham game is that he was using players who are likely to be part of the squad for the remainder of the year. Moyes is naturally a cautious and pragmatic manager, traits which some would have you believe make him a poor manager. I like to look at the League table and make my judgement.

I think Moyes would be willing to give the kids more of a go if they didnt let him down at Leeds and if we were mid-taable not playing for anything. Moyes will not take the risk on an untried and tested player when we are so close to 4th place which I can understand.

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,25212,15231_8461639,00.html

FULL-BACK OF QUALITY<>Hi Peter, In a previous column you praised Championship full-backs Kieran Trippier and John Brayford. In your opinion, where does John Stones, who has just joined Everton from my beloved Barnsley, rank in comparison? Cheers, Liam Ashfield (Barnsley fan)

BEAGS SAYS: John's meteoric progression was monitored by a host of Premier League clubs, with Chelsea, Wigan, Aston Villa and Swansea all keen to pluck the 18-year-old, but Everton - a fantastic club, with a great manager and supporters - have now secured his signature to give competition to Toffees stalwart Tony Hibbert and Irish youngster Sheamus Coleman in the right-back position.

Stones is a very gifted young footballer and has all the attributes required of a modern-day full-back; he has athletic prowess, excellent distribution, is cool in possession and can also operate at centre-half. Former Barnsley manager Keith Hill and current incumbent David Flitcroft have also spoken very highly of John's temperament, describing him as a model professional and a joy to work with.

I wish him all the best at Goodison Park, one of the bastions of English football, while it is great to see that some of the reported £3million fee the Tykes received for Stones has been put towards bringing in Chris O'Grady, Jason Scotland and Rory Delap. Each of those players has bundles of experience and a point to prove - though whether they can help Barnsley secure the points they need to stave off relegation is debateable.

Fer was playing well for FC Twente. He had played against a top dutch team only days before earning rave reviews. He was the best player FC Twente had.

We did nothing in the transfer window. He bought a 19-year-old right back yet he won't play Barkley who was supposed to be an excellent player.

We'll be lucky to finish in top 10.

The tide is turning, slowly, but we are better than them.

We just need to kick on and believe in ourselves.

--------------------Reina-------------------

Johnson-----Jaggs----Distin------Baines

Mirallas----Gibson---Gerrard----Pienaar

------------------Fellaini----------------

-------------------Suarez-----------------

Two or three players could've given us a real positive push towards finishing behind Man Utd and Man City, who in my opinion are too far ahead already. Can't think we'll get anywhere near the 3rd or 4th now. As Walter would say ...."disappointing".