Report: Everton plan contract talks with Gibson

BUT...

He is sadly never fit long enough to be the player he should be. IÂ’m very happy for him to stay at EFC for as long as possible but we will be lucky to get 10 games a season out of him. In football terms, it's pretty tragic really.

IF we can maintain his fitness itÂ’s probably not bad but you just canÂ’t trust his fitness as James says.

WeÂ’re giving our most injury prone player a new contract but still dithering over McCarthyÂ’s new deal? Come on, sort your priorities out.

But heÂ’s never fit. Ever. As much as I like him, I think we should let him go and use his wages on someone who can actually contribute consistently.

Players who cannot play are overheads we cannot afford. It is an absolute joke to give injured players contract extensions while holding out against players who play regularly like McCarthy.

Yes, itÂ’s unlikely he will play as regularly as weÂ’d like, but itÂ’s worth keeping him on the roster for the games he is fit for.

That's the best post of the day. We once signed the biggest two crocks in English football, called Reid & Gray, and within 18 months were the best team in Europe.

Gibson is not even anywhere near their age. The only midfield player we have on the books who can boss the midfield and pick a FORWARD pass.

If this lad could just maintain some form of fitness, it would be like a new signing...

Good player but we can't carry too many passengers.

Are these guys going to get any better? Are they going to get any fitter?? Any younger?? No, no and no.

The trouble with Everton is we are too preoccupied with trying to recreate the past and hold onto players just through sentiment. How many other ambitious clubs would be dishing out new contracts to injury-prone players that only appear in 10 games???

We need to start acting like a big club and not a sentimental old boys reunion.

If DG could stay healthy, he might be the #10 weÂ’re looking for.

Â’You all realize there is no such thing as a "pay as you play" contract, right? It doesn't exist. Contracts can be built to include heavy incentives. Please, stop with this pay as you play crap.Â’

David Barks AND bites it seems.

What people are referring to as Â’pay as you playÂ’ is putting Gibbo on a base salary of maybe ٣-10k per week and then perhaps an appearance fee of 㿏k per game. That way we only really have to fork out when the player is fit and playing.

GibsonÂ’s a very good player and a decent lad too. IÂ’d hope heÂ’s agree to such a deal. I think he actually owes it to us.

Until BK and his cohorts let go of the club, we will always be a sentimental old boys reunion club with a 'small club' mentality.

We cannot afford to pay top money for players that will make a difference to us, players who do not see us an attractive proposition, therefore we are limited to offering injury prone or aging players contract extensions, or we get left with the dreggs which not many would touch.

Worth a contract?? – Yes (on our terms).

Will he sign a contract that is less than the 㿏 grand a week he is getting now??? No, I donÂ’t think so.

I for one am delighted Gibbo has been offered this because I believe he can still do a job and believe there must be a time when he can string a run of games together.

As for Jim Bennings's statement that it's tragic... well, sorry, I canÂ’t agree with that. For me, he's the best midfielder on our books.

Martinez... Sort your head out! Stop making such ludicrous decisions about certain players. Get rid, and bring through the young lads into the squad.

The assessment from the medial team and RMÂ’s own eyes will say that he looked very good when he came back, even though not up to full sharpness and fitness.

The broken foot was nothing to do with the previous knee ligament injury – so not an 'injury-prone' issue.

Hence the move says that we expect him to be back with a good pre-season and when he has lost a few more pounds and gets really fit then he will be the best CM we have.

Good move from RM!

If we get lucky and, more importantly, he does, we have a decent player. His last injury was bad luck.

BTW, Everton can play hard ball when they want. Cast your minds back to the alleged "cancer clause" in Alan Stubbs's contract.

WeÂ’re turning into a home for sicknotes and has-beens.

What we donÂ’t know are the contract details.

From the Everton management perspective, there is no need to sign a long-term deal. Even if heÂ’s healthy, big-money clubs wonÂ’t be calling because of all the past injuries.

Tying up young potential players (think John Stones) to a long-term deal is good business.

Like I said to start, this could be a good deal for Everton if the details are favorable.

Injury-prone of course, but heÂ’s worth keeping. His vision and ability is second to none at Everton.

I know it's only been a year or so since Osman's last one but what are the club meant to do? – Get rid of him (and all the others we’ve won nothing with) at the end of his contract and spend money on replacements? – Money most say we don’t have.

HeÂ’s actually the one player, along with ironically Gibson, who makes the team tick going forward.

We need new blood – players who can contribute regularly to the first team squad, and sadly, he is no longer able to offer us that option. We are basically paying him to lie on the treatment table when the money spent on his wages would be better spent on a new fit and able first team player. I’m sorry, but this makes no sense at all to me.

Investing in youth? Not with actions like this, IÂ’m afraid. As others have said already, the James McCarthy issue should be a priority, not handing out contracts to players who we will hardly see during the coming season. Get real, Roberto!

We will have five midfield slots in a 2-3 or 1-3-1 or 1-4 formations (assuming that the 4-4-2 is almost dead and Martinez will never use it as a starting formation). Out of five midfield slots, you will presumably have at least one out-and-out winger (Deulofeu, Mirallas, Pienaar, McGeady or Lennon) and one Number 10 or playmaker (Osman, Barkley or Kagawa).

So, that leaves you with at most three defensive/enforcer/deep-lying mid-fielders. And we have: Barry, Cleverly, Besic, McCarthy and Gibson (when fit) for that role. I just think we have too many midfielders at the club right now – two or three of them must be replaced by one high-quality playmaker (like Kagawa).

I think EvertonÂ’s future is with the likes of Besic, McCarthy, Barkley, Cleverly, Kagawa and we should slowly phase out players like Osman, Pienaar, Barry, Gibson. My preferred mid-field line-up would be (playing behind Lukaku):

Deulofeu Kagawa (or similar) Barkley
Cleverly McCarthy

with Besic, Osman, Pienaar, Barry, Gibson, Mirallas & McGeady as back-ups.

Vision.
Skill.
Passing ability.
Directs other players.
Problem-free off-field.
Positive influence on all around him.
Age very much on his side (27 – not 28 until October)

On the minus side, Gibbo has a hefty counterweight:
Plagued by injury/injuries.

And all logic says that it's time for the arm around the shoulder and warm handshake and "Darron, thanks mate, weÂ’re sorry it hasnÂ’t worked out for you here, look after yourself. Bye mate".

Then I recall Peter Reid. He was transferred to Everton for a cut-price fee of 㿨,000 in 1982 following a succession of injuries.... I say, ask Reidy.

Keep him on a "pay as a you play" contract surely.

Like many others, youÂ’ve omitted one of GibboÂ’s finest plus points. He is one of the strongest headers of a football in the Premier League. Perfect old-fashioned neck-muscle technique. No surprise really. Like John Terry, Charlie Adam, Lampard, Carrick, the Yak and others, heÂ’s real old-school. Properly coached in all the basics and able to make things look easy. You can sometimes see it with Osman and Pienaar and itÂ’s a joy to watch.

These guys love playing football. As kids, they probably practiced longer than the average Joe. This is why my heart goes out to the likes of Pienaar, Oviedo, Kone and Gibbo. They want to be on that pitch, showing us what they can do when fully fit. You can read it between the lines whenever they make a statement.

GibboÂ’s case, in particular, is a massive test of his mental resolve. I say this because his two main injuries over the last couple of years could have happened to anyone. The horrible twisted knee in Ireland and the broken foot were nothing to do with being physically faulty.

Also, and this is quite an important point, when faced with the task of finding a genuine, available, creative player with forward passing ability, I was left with the impression that they donÂ’t exactly grow on trees. There are very few about.

Anyway, for these reasons – plus the fact that he is the one genuine leader at the club and youngsters will learn a lot from him – I would take the gamble and give him a bit longer.

Yes, you are correct, I did omit that exceptional strength and furthermore the "proper schooling". Thanks for including theses plusses, because the do add further weight to the qualities which matter.

I also feel that I must agree with your recommendation that we retain him; and I had my own (unstated) reason why.

Should Gibbo finally shrug off his injury nightmares we will have exactly the player that we are lacking. In other words, we own the template now of the player that RM must be continually seeking.

On our books he can school a youngster into a future hero. Gibson isnÂ’t an "Andy van der Shandy" style layabout.....

Even if he proved himself fully-fit, heÂ’s never going to get in front of Barry or McCarthy and now heÂ’s got Besic AND Cleverley to compete with too for a centre midfield berth, not forgetting Osman, Pienaar and Barkley.

Like Distin and Alcaraz, he ought to be given the chance to rebuild his career elsewhere.

Sentimentality and fingers-crossed-he-doesnÂ’t-get-injured-again hopes are not going to improve our team.

HeÂ’s the nearest weÂ’ve got to a creative midfielder and we simply have no choice but to stick by him. Some of the comments on here are just mad. Believe it our not, like it our not, footballers are protected by employment law. We cannot put them down like race horses.

2011-12 — 11 appearances
2012-13 — 23 appearances
2013-14 — 01 appearance
2014-15 — 09 appearances
Four seasons — 44 Premier Leagues matches.

What is the point of considering a new contact?

Excellent suggestion, John Raferty (#37) – he must give up international football.

In other words heÂ’s averaging just over 16 appearances a year (in all competitions), 1-2 assists and maybe a goal.

(For Man Utd before us, he played 60 games, scored 10 goals and 8 assists in around the same length of time at the club. Granted thereÂ’s more competition for places at Man Utd so it might not all be down to injuries.)

According to Opta stats (via WhoScored), in the last seasonÂ’s games he was 9th in average pass-per-game stats and 13th in average pass completion rates and 22nd in key pass completion rates. The only one metric he does excel at is through passes per game where heÂ’s our top ranked player alongside EtoÂ’o and ahead of Barkley, Osman, Atsu and Baines.

Obviously stats donÂ’t tell the whole story and I agree heÂ’s looked pretty good when heÂ’s been in the team, but these figures compounded by his injury record which surely is unlikely to change now means for me that Gibson is more liability than asset. I certainly donÂ’t wish him ill and if we had boundless cash I think heÂ’d be useful to have around, as we donÂ’t I think we need to focus on players that can play most weeks and make more of an impact.

We struggled last year to break down teams that "parked the bus" and these are the games Gibson can run from deep. Then away from home, his range of passing to turn defence into attack with Deulofeu, Lukaku and Barkley up ahead of him gives opposition defences something to think about. I doubt heÂ’s on huge money, or likely to be; so, for me, itÂ’s a no-brainer to extend his contract.

Another who can do what Gibson can is outside our price range.

Definitely worth the risk.

This is one fellow who does not have the luck of the Irish. Shame.

ItÂ’s a disgrace then that this type of player "who can do what Gibson does" should be out of our price range.

We are being made a show of by the likes of Stoke and Leicester bidding for players we need.

Keeping a player who has barely kicked a ball in 4 seasonÂ’s is totally pointless. We have won nothing with tried and tested players like Gibson, Osman, Hibbert, Howard etc but we, well Martinez seems to want to try and recreate Moyes squad.

Due mainly to his injuries (I think) he is painfully slow and gives too many fouls away because he is late in the tackle. I think his whole career has been spoiled by his constant stop-start playing history; he canÂ’t be blamed for this but unfortunately for him and Everton, he should be let go of.

I think theyÂ’re wrong, Peter Reid was defo younger than Gibson is now and Gray may have been too. Anyone verify?

ItÂ’s what we do at Everton and have done for years.

We are a club now that doesnÂ’t think with ambition and every time we do have a good season itÂ’s always because we have "punched above our weight" and worked miracles with little or no finances, I for one though want to know why we are forever financially held back when the Premier League is swimming in riches.

It's always a patch up job with yesterdayÂ’s leftovers.

Combine that with the fact that two of the primary owners are rich men to begin with, it sucks supporting a Club with money all around, but so little spent.

Given thatÂ’s our form, I say take the risk on Gibson and keep fingers crossed. What else is there to do?

I do see what you mean, what else can we do as supporters exactly!

We know, or should we say we are told by the club, that finances are under control but the lack of overall investment in players suggests we have little cash available to spend.

Its a sad time when we canÂ’t go out there and bring in a midfielder who can make things happen creatively and someone that will make the big difference between a top 7 finish or a 12th or 13th finish.

Get rid.

Let the contract expire.

Reid is not the rule, heÂ’s a very rare exception. The fact that you need to go back 35 years for this exception should tell you all you need to know.

For every Peter Reid, there is 50 Paul BracewellÂ’s. Given the demands placed upon the body of the modern player, the chances of a player with Gibson's record suddenly becoming injury free, are slim to non-existent.

Fergie saw the writing on the wall and cut him adrift; seems Roberto hasn't even seen the wall yet...

ThereÂ’s still some time left so I just hope IÂ’m wrong. Time will tell.

If it was up to me, IÂ’d let his contract run down. If weÂ’re relying on Gibson with any significance, that reflects very badly on the manager, the squad and the ambition of those running the club.

We have others who clearly arenÂ’t fit enough or good enough, like Mcgeady and Kone. They must be costing the club lots of money and should be discarded. We need a squad of fully fit top class players in order to compete for Europe.

Howard is another who just isnÂ’t up to the right standard that should be released. I am still perplexed as to why it is apparent to all and sundry that these players need to be moved on apart from the manager unless it all happens this summer and they go.

Last year, Martinez said he was looking for seven players, which suggested he knew what most of us know. Either he blew the lot on Lukaku, or he had his budgetary wings clipped.

IÂ’d love us to get rid and replace the deadwood; the way our club is run, coupled with MartinezÂ’s caution, tells me that this will be a slow, piecemeal process.

Out of loyalty, I suspect the club will offer some kind of contract knowing nobody will pay good money for Â’Â’crocksÂ’Â’ and so maybe it is better to keep them on the periphery. However, some may want to leave especially as one or two new faces have arrived.

Averaging barely 10 games a season over 4 years!

100% pay as you play but again, whatÂ’s the point? CanÂ’t really plan with someone like this.

Hope not. We could be in trouble with the current squad – not enough creativity and goalscorers. If Lukaku doesn’t deliver or gets injured, we’ve had it, and he hardly scored after November. Also, we are carrying too many crocks and geriatrics who will hardly play.

Reid was 26 when he signed in 1982, while Gray was 27 (28 in the November) when he signed in 1983.

You canÂ’t buy a player with his ability for the pittance we paid without there being something in the background. With Gibson, it as obviously that he would break down.

I had this argument with friends and on here a few seasons back when the lad had played less (I think) than 50% of games (suggested he should be moved on) and his appearance record ainÂ’t got any better since. ItÂ’s a shame, but no room for sentimentality.

HereÂ’s why I believe the contrary:

1. Martinez has publicly said we need a central defender and a creative midfielder and weÂ’ve been linked with tons of those plus a number of strikers too.

2. ItÂ’s the 5th July, weÂ’re only just really into the summer window that will be open for another 8 weeks, so thereÂ’s a LOT of time left to go.

3. Martinez has made late moves in every transfer window so far and although they have been largely loans they have been theoretically significant signings (Lukaku, Barry, Alcaraz, McGeady)

4. We all know there is definitely money there to spend on the back of the TV deal, maybe not the sort weÂ’ve spent in previous windows, but surely more than has been spent on Cleverley, Deulofeu and Henen and a couple of new contracts.

Obviously we should be sorting out issues with older players and tying up some new prospects too, but IÂ’d personally expect two more signings plus a last-minute loan or two.

YouÂ’ve stuck your neck out on this. YouÂ’ll become the new Glasstradamus of ToffeeWeb, or alternatively, the whipping boy for those of us tired of the cynics. Time will tell.

Look, giving the young ones their new contacts and (if believed) Gibson his extension is all business that could wait. They where not going anywhere, it all feels like filler. It's more believable than getting your hopes up with some of the rumoured players coming in.

If the intention is to give Gibson more opportunity to get fit, it ties him down; no-one on here seems to doubt his ability, just his fitness. If he improves this and has good gametime this season, he would be able to command a greater wage or walk away to a better offer, leaving many a fan infuriated at our handling of the situation (see GarbuttÂ’s near miss). If we tie him down now, we can likely offer him a lower package.

If he doesnÂ’t cut it, we can sell him next year for a fee rather than loosing a player for nothing again.

Both of these suggest he IS offered the contract and signs; the alternate is that if we are preparing to sell him. This news highlights he is still rated but with a dwindling contract, may be available at the right price, thus enticing potential suitors to approach us now, before he Â’signsÂ’. Either way, the Â’chatterÂ’ is positive... now, how about McCarthy, eh Bobby?

To get these young, hungry players in so early is good news, as I think it will also send signals to other young, talented players that EFC is worth considering. I think it would be daft to leave what has already been achieved, to sometime in the future. It has sent a signal to all our young players, and others, that we are intent on bringing the age of our squad down.

We can only do this, though, within the financial limits imposed by this bad joke of a board. Roberto Martinez is now cleared the decks to try and bring in the schemer, playmaker he wants, as I hope most of us do.

Giving Darron Gibson an extension on his contract is, in my view, good news for us; because, if we so manage to get a top class playmaker, heÂ’s going to cost most/all of our transfer pot. (If weÂ’ve got one!) We canÂ’t spend 㿆 million on a player like the other lot have just done, plus massive wages, as we still need a centre-half and possibly a winger.

To have someone with Darron GibsonÂ’s skill and vision available as back-up to the playmaker, is more good news for us. Should that playmaker get injured, where would we get a replacement from?

Hopefully, Darron has now recovered from that awful injury he received and heÂ’s probably the most intelligent midfielder we have. It would be daft to not keep him with us. Yes. itÂ’s a gamble but weÂ’re not in a position to just go out and buy top class talent as and when we want.

Geri is still learning his trade, skill though heÂ’s got. The same with Ross. I looked at the YouTube post on David Henen and heÂ’s another with bucket loads of skill but in my view he is not ready for the first team. In fact, heÂ’s just like Ross and Gerry. Bags of talent, excellent athlete... but still plays like heÂ’s in the schoolyard, beating players for fun but not yet got the awareness to bring other players into play as often as his skill allows him to do.

IÂ’m glad weÂ’ve got Geri and, to me, thatÂ’s much better than spending ٦M on Lennon.

So far, so good. Roberto said he wanted to do some business rapidly, and heÂ’s done so. WeÂ’ve got another month and a half to get the other players he wants.

I donÂ’t think listening to rumours is the best way of getting through the summer without having a nervous breakdown. If we get the playmaker he wants and maybe the centre-half, then Roberto will have achieved a lot in this window.

IÂ’m willing to wait and see.

So far would I say this has been a good window? No, but thereÂ’s a long way to go. I donÂ’t count Deulofeu as a new signing because he was here last year.

WeÂ’ve only added 2 Â’newÂ’ signings to the squad that finished 5th in 13/14, Cleverley and Besic. We still have poor squad depth.

Forget signing 4 players and thatÂ’s it, we need 7 or 8. The transfer windows coming up over the coming months are going to be crucial.

Incidentally, I read an article by Giggs last week regarding the importance of players representing their country... and this, from a player who was always injured when Wales needed him for friendlies. Probably too busy shagging his brother's wife,,,

CanÂ’t imagine the contract being too big and who says that it isnÂ’t a basic salary and pay-as-you-play sort of contract?

I know we think the worst of Everton all the time, but I imagine the penny-pinching knobs in charge would not just offer him a great contract out of sentimentality.

Just to make it clear to those who think thereÂ’s no smoke without fire though: It is a statement of fact that Mr Foster does NOT have a faeces fetish (as far as IÂ’m aware).