Yobo update... or recap?

Ahh this transfer saga has all the hallmarks of haggling over something at a Turkish bazaar or Arab souq. Let's just get some money for him and be done with it. Fenerbahce know they've had the upper hand for a year. We don't want him, no-one else does, and we need to sell to buy. They'll hold out forever because we'll either sell him for dirt cheap to be rid of him or let him go back on loan.

Worst negotiating position ever!

Zzzzzzz

The trouble is that BK personally will be handling this sale, hence the complete and utter bollocks. What did we expect from him? He is neither a business man nor a salesman..

Apparently the Yobo sale was 99% done about 3 days ago.... typical Everton...

James Morgan, never was a truer word said.

It was widely reported a couple or so years back that Arsenal were interested in Yobo, OK, it was in the papers (so it must be true) but we only know what we read. And if you're happy to believe everything about the Yobo/Turkey story then it has as much credence as the Arsenal story. And if Senderos can find a Premier League club and Huth go for £5m, I'm sure Yobo would have been able to find an English club willing to pay at least £3m-£5m for him two years ago.

Inexcusably bad management. There are occasions when Turkish clubs have reportedly reneged on contracts to pay players wages and the racism and corruption that is rife in Turkey is well documented. The only surprise... or maybe it's not, come to think of it... is that Everton trusted Fenerbahce at all. I wouldn't buy a kebab off any of them.

Ray Roche,

I'm not sure where you get your information from but there isn't well documented racism rife in Turkey. Far from it in fact. Don't just throw accusations at a country without evidence. There is certainly no more than in the UK.

I won't deny that there may be corruption within some teams as last years match-fixing scandal highlighted. Though the TFF found them and others innocent.

And the part about not paying players wages is miniscule. Besiktas had problems last year but there are also teams in the UK who have done exactly the same.

Jerry Pemberton

The TFF found them innocent? Have a look at this, in particular, the sentences handed out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Turkish_sports_corruption_scandal

And if you can recall it, our own Kevin Campbell complained about his club CHAIRMAN using derogatory racist remarks, a "discoloured cannibal" for one. And Emre somehow avoided punishment with his remarks to our own Howard, Lescott and Yobo.
This would also suggest that there is a degree of racism in Turkey.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/sports/10982344.asp

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/21/emmanuel-eboue-football-
racism-sepp-blatter-video-turkish-football-soccer_n_1105088.html

http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=277631
And I suppose their human rights record is also blameless.

Finally, a golfing partner of mine owns a villa in Turkey. His impression is that racism is certainly rife in that country. To be fair, he also says that the local population where he spends half of his time is great, friendly and generous.

I fogot to add that if you're spending plenty of money in a local community they would be friendly.

I'm working in Turkey...........it's pretty racist.

I was in a bar watching the Galatasaray v's Fernabache play off final and a massive black was in there, he was Dutch. The bar was rammed and there were loads of people discreetly nudging each other, pointing, sniggering and staring.

It was pathetic, utterly pathetic.

He would have been within his rights to have knocked the living shit out of about 20 of them on the spot.

This season Emre has been at it again, this time with the ex-Spurs player Zakora. He, apparently, racially abused him. I can't remember if there was any sanction from the governing body.

Regardless, Zakora levelled things up the next time they met:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3iNHpZX_hg

Bobby, I have also seen the YouTube video. Justice being seen to be done...?

Ray Roche,

I know full well about what has happened in the match fixing scandal, I've followed it since day 1 and Our chairman Yildirim was wrongfully imprisoned all the way up until the courts made the wrong decision regarding his involvement. I am also aware that a few of our officials were found guilty though the outcome of their supposed fixing was negligible.

As for Emre, I have never been particularly keen on him despite being an excellent footballer. He is not racist. Why would Yobo, Dia, Sow have played with him last season if this is true? He's an idiot, a trouble maker but not a racist. The remarks against Howard, Lescott and Yobo are unfounded.

In terms of the Zokora incident, he was found guilty of abusive language but not racial abuse. He served his 2-game ban and I remember watching when Zokora did what he did, it was disgraceful.

The Eboue incident was not racial abuse. It was the fans being hostile as they usually are during a big derby match. Our players had torrents of abuse and all manner of objects thrown at us during the two away Trabzon matches last season.

I never said racism isn't present in Turkey, it's sadly present in all countries.

And Bobby Thomas, that incident can be due to any number of reasons. Whether he was a fan of one side or the other, whether he had previously aggravated people and is known in the bar or whether he had committed something else. I may have also been down to racism but if that is the case then it is a minor occurrence.

Jerry, you carry on whistling in the dark... You're the only one in step.

You'll be wearing a tee shirt next.