Blues miss out on M'Vila

If it's true hopefully we have an alternative target, Sissoko and Diame are similar player and would strengthen our team.

No! I can't bring myself to believe it. BBC or not.

The second tranche (£3.3m) would have been payable next year, after the August Sky payment had come in. Both modest outlays, really.

I would expect any bids we make for players in this price range to be structured like that and hopefully one will come off before the end of the window.

Pahahaha. A wind up surely.

It's a right load of bollox as we haven't even got £3+ million to offer upfront. I think we've got something close to £2M and that's enough for a loan or two at a push!

These are all players that would've improved are team. We are standing still as a club when we should be pushing on for 4th spot.

Just a couple of loan signings PLEASE!!!! ... to bulk up the squad a bit in case of more injuries.

As compared to a lower salary at higher tax rates and only one of the three clubs in England (us) having any likelihood of offering European football.

There's so much money in Russian football now (Zenit spent, what, eighty million quid, on two players last transfer window), that unless a player is going to be picked up by one of the absolute top CL clubs in England, Germany, Italy or Spain, why wouldn't you go to a big club in Russia rather than a middling club in one of the big four leagues?

The difference is Newcastle have an owner who is willing to dip his hand in his pocket for his club.

And his pockets are significantly deeper.

Bill's worst crime is not being a more successful businessman.

So, if you're a footballer who lives outside the UK and has 2 offers on the table, one giving say 30% tax on salary, and no more and Ed Miliband's rate, where would to ply your trade? A footballer, in many instances, gets one really good contract (maybe 2) in their footballing career. @James (319) is not me.

I have little sympathy for the rate of tax paid by footballers or any other mega rich individual, I do have sympathy for the ordinary folk who strive hard every week of the year to maintain their living standards only to be told they face wage freezes and higher prices in the shops. I really couldn't give a flying fig if no overseas player wants to play in our league, or how much they have to pay in tax, they'll survive.

Besides which, football is supposed to be an escape from these everyday concerns, a past-time that is supposed to allow us to dream about glory for whichever team we support, I'm not so sure what it stands for anymore as supporters seem to have adopted the mentality of accountants who are happy to see the bottom line of a balance sheet, and in the case of Evertonian's that leaves very little to celebrate either.

Put up the prices for us mere mortals and pay them for the privilege of cleaning up after them and if they are loyal we can send our wives and girlfriends round to cater for their every need.

I don't agree with huge corporations not paying tax either. I also don't believe in fleecing fans for the luxury of watching a game of football. For someone on minimum wage, it takes 4-5 hours of their labour to pay for a match-ticket, include refreshments and travel and the average person has to work a full day in exchange for 90 mins 'entertainment'.

Then they get their tax cuts, the poor save a few hundred, while the rich save millions and millions, and get tax breaks on things like yachts. All while the public funds that pay for social programs go broke, allowing those same rich to claim these government institutions don't work. Of course, their business wouldn't work if the customers continued to pay less and less while the business's expenses continued to stay the same or go up. But somehow government is supposed to exist this way. But yeah, we're "envious" by wanting the rich to pay a little more taxes on their millions, whatever?

Depends how you define really good. If you are earning £30k a week you will earn £1.56 million a year. Even paying 50% tax that looks like really good money to me compared to the average salary of something like £30k a year (less than £23k net). Earning at 33 times the average rate how many years do you have to work to be set for life? 3 or 4 years?

Basically, if you are playing in the premier league, no matter were you are relative to other footballers, you are on EXCELLENT renumeration compared to 99% of people. M'vila's preference was for more money than he actually needs rather than Everton. If he habitually gives money away and is seeking the highest possible wage for humanitarian reasons then fair enough. If it is simply to buy bling and never have to lift a finger beyond the age of 30, then he is just being self-serving (which is his prerogative).

It's not as though they are forced into retirement once their footballing career is over is it?

I don't entirely agree that "Any player with genuine ambition needs to play in the best league. Which at present is England, Spain or Germany". It's not unrealistic to expect Russian teams to win the EURO Cup and progress to the latter stages of the Champions League. Is it really a lack of ambition to turn down QPR, Newcastle or us in exchange for signing for a Russian team which is more likely to see regular European qualification?

@Brent (358) - I think you can see from the font styling used, that Steavey was simply quoting a sentence from my post.

Everton's biggest problem is not tax rates, it is to be cash poor when previously unpopular alternatives are flush. You don't change fiscal policy for that.

I think there is some valid point buried somewhere in there re taxation of highly paid footballers which may be relevant to the topic.... Try to focus on that, please!

The guy chose Russia because Rubin offered more than us, almost £3 million more. He apparently wanted to move to the Prem over the Russian league to enhance his international prospects. He was apparently going for a hearing to get that ban upheld. But because we were outbid, he could only choose Russia. So he didn't choose Russia over us at all.

Either way, though its good isn't it? It kind of confirms we at least have £3 million to spend. I'm sure most of us thought we had zero to spend. I certainly thought £1 million max.

Take the example of "comedian" Jimmy Carr, exposed for paying 1% in tax on his earnings: we may think it's wrong morally, but it wasn't illegal, his accountants/advisors exploited loopholes in our tax system. Bearing in mind that today's PL footballers are probably richer than the likes of Carr, do you seriously think they would not exploit the same loopholes?

M'Bia has gone where he's gone because his club was offered more to sell him and he was offered more to play for them, simple.

Because of high taxes on players salaries, Everton are caught up in a wage inflation on having to give higher salaries. Take Walcott of Arsenal as an example, has been reported to have just signed a £100,000 salary per week more like a £50,000 per week. When he might have settled for £75,000 per week if taxes in the UK were lower. Saving the club £1.5 million a year.

So lower taxes can save the clubs like Everton millions of pounds every year. When Everton ar.e desperate to lower their costs and increase their squad of more quality players

Steavey - why do you think the government should give a rat's arse about football clubs when successive ones have allowed our manufacturing base to crumble into dust. They know we will just turn to some other form of entertainment should the clubs actually fold.

It's simple economics, things have to be paid for and that comes from taxes. The tax burden (i.e. the money the government requires to pay for things) has to be spread, with those who can afford it taking a greater share because more of their income still falls into the disposable category.

I love football, but it's not that important. Immense divergence in wealth has been thrown down our necks for the last 30 years. The result is a bust economy heading for a decade-long tailspin in which millions are over-indebted, and to bail out the lot (the over-indebted, the banks), we have to force the innocent – the young, the savers – to lose the value of their money and to take on more debt: eg, govt stopping the fall in house prices means rather than learning from mistakes the young will have to become indebted, too.

A disaster.

And as for Miliband, he was the only Labour (except Abbot of course), but only serious Labour leader contender to complain that Labour not only got it wrong embracing neoliberalism, but got it wrong in saving the banks, too.

No English clubs had an offer accepted for him. He could either have stayed at Rennes or gone to Rubin. And by the way, Rennes were desperate to sell him. So he didn't choose Russia over England, he chose Russia over France.

People seem to have really have got used to the idea that some things are too big to fail, and don't understand the long term consequences of that policy for the vast majority. Now that perverse logic is apparentlybeing applied to our football club and people are expecting the British government to rally around.

Players do have power in choosing where they go irrespective of transfer fee, though it is normally tied to the length remaining on their contract. Don't know how much time he had left, but his other option was to sit tight and run down his contract until Rennes had no control over what he did next.

I have my doubts about the whole story anyway but I think we need two new signings regardless!

Okay, I need someone who understands employment law and basic human rights to come on here and explain whether this idea of football contracts being like some kind of indentured servitude is correct or not!

I remember clearly we DIDN'T sell Tim Cahill to the highest bidder because he didn't want to sign for them, so he went for a pittance to live-it up in the States.

David Barks, you missed the last 13 years of Labour government where tax was raised dramaticaly and wealth disparity rose to the highest level seen in modern times; the same happened in the Wilson years when, as always, the left destroyed the UK economy. You cannot tax your way to prosperity but tax cuts benefit everybody.

I'd very much like to put you right on the facts of climate change but here isn't the right forum, suffice to say that the consensus view has no basis in science. As Steve said though, you follow a very simplistic left wing agenda but there's hope, you normally lose it when you grow up and get into the real world.

This course of action could end up of course hovering around midnight on the 31st!

Love Everton... Love Déjà Vu!

If others are wanting to leave due to progressive tax, please do.

The lower classes in Russia are screwed and have no chance of climbing the social ladder and are rightly pissed off about it. The education system for the lower classes (a large percentage of their society) is very poor. They are rightly angry about it, but unfortunately their anger has been guided towards people of different races and sexual orientations, rather than those who oppress them.

If he wants to go any play in stadiums where he is going to be racially abused most weeks, against opposition whose fans have petitioned to have no none Russian players who aren't straight, that's his choice.

Me, I'd rather pay my fair share in tax and live in a more balanced society.

Pay footballers £149,999, per year, £1 below the current UK 50% tax bracket.

They will then 'dodge' the higher rate of tax and be quids in!!

Everyones happy, players pay less tax! clubs pay players less! fans pay less for their 90 mins entertainment!

B-E-A-utiful!

Lets be honest who on here wouldn't love to earn a whopping £149,999 a year to play football till their 35, fuck me I would, then I could (as someone earlier stated) become a normal person and get a normal job for a normal wage like most of the rest of the country, that is unless I get a job in the media and continue to earn a shit load more than the average Joe. Or can ex-footballers not gain employment when retired?

Steavey unless your simply trying to point out facts re the tax situation for ridiculous earners then what are you trying to say? we should charge footballers less tax, fuck it lets make em exempt just so they can play for English football teams! that would show those Bastards at madrid and Barca trying to pay more than us!

I believe we have probably got it right with the tax situation in the UK, if footballers on mad wages are paying less than 50% tax elsewhere in the world then I would as a resident of these countries in what is a prolonged global financial crises where nearly every normal person is suffering (I can only guess even you Steavey) and feeling the pinch, then I would be properly pissed off!

What's wrong with an ex-Everton footballer stacking shelves after his football career? Respect to him for 'lowering himself' to the level of a lot of the paying fans to take care of himself and/or his family after football. Not sure who you mean by the way?

I'm sure his outrageously taxed wages from his playing days helped greatly with his shelf stacking efforts.

It is a tragedy now that most decent players are outside of Everton's ability to pay. It may be that the future for us is what we have now, our only chance of assembling a squad of players to match the best is via our own academy or by developing cheap buys. It may well be that unless the fair play rules actually do anything this is the best that we will see Everton because we have unfunded future liabilities.

All they have is an owner who is prepared to spend some of his own money because he is a fan.

We have a fan (BK) and a boardroom of millionnaires who are NOT prepared to loan money to everton.

Until the start of this accursed premier league we were equal with Man Utd for title wins.

The daily media is based in Manchester and they as a club are much better at merchandising than we have ever been.

We are a bigger club than the north east clubs put together and have won more titles than them all put together

Although from YouTube footage alone the other french lad was it Capoue or something I think looks a better prospect although a bit more expensive.

Steavey peace brother, agree to disagree.

Steavey is entitled to his opinion as is M'Villa. If he wants live in Russia and be racially abused by the fans (The Ahnzi team can't even live in the city of their club as it is too dangerous, they get flown into each game) that is his right. Unlike M'Villa and Depardieu, I would rather live in a society that supports it's underclass.

No more economics from me.

The amount of money generated locally is effected by local political attitudes. And there is no coincidence that Merseyside has strong left wing views, which has had a negative effect on businesses wanting to invest on Merseyside. That's why Merseyside has a lower level of salaries, so ticket prices have to be lower. Less income for the club. At a time when Everton supporters are looking for more investment in the club and shareholders are reluctant to spend their money on new acquisitions.

The idea that individual footballers should be considered as wealth creators rather than wealth accumulators is blown out of the water by the number of clubs that are sinking under the weight of the wages they have to pay. Once their careers are over those players are then free to take their pots of money anywhere else in the world they wish so it can all be lost to the British economy anyway. If all the very top players chased the moolah on offer elsewhere we would still turn-up to cheer on the slightly lower rated ones who were happy to be slightly less incredibly wealthy and the whole gravy train would still carry on.

Our neighbours across the park on average receive an extra £100 million more than Everton every year and they are not close to winning the Premier League.

Slashing footballers income tax still won't change anything for EFC in terms of becoming attractive domestically or in the international regions we are losing players to. It may give us a competitive advantage over SOME foreign clubs but it won't get us anywhere near the Russians, Chinese and Qataris.

We are going after French players and losing them to.... richer EPL clubs, top European clubs, the Russians, the Chinese, etc..... all those that wouldn't be significantly affected by a reduction in the top rate of income tax in this country.

You need to take a deep breath and look at what other people are writing rather than posting stuff that has already been effectively countered.