Martinez annoyed by Terry's 'illegal' tactics

Cant' wait for the day Abramovich's money dries up, and that little club crawls back to under the little stone from which they emerged.

Chelsea are doing exactly what clubs sometimes do. It's exactly what Barca did when trying to lure Fabregas from Arsenal. It's not on, and it's not acceptable. I would love it if we keep him, and if he has to go, then he should go on own terms and Chelsea should be made to pay over £30mil for a defender with clear defensive issues in his game.

They are a horrible club, and Mourinho is a massive prick, who attempts to irritate and troll his opponents at every turn. I'm hoping that Arsenal take their title this season.

No wonder the media love JT. He's teflon apparently.

The media came down like a ton of bricks on Raheem Sterling when he extricated himself from his club and moved to Manchester City – and with some justification. So why is there is no similar sense of outrage at the way Jose Mourinho, flashing cash like a Las Vegas pimp, is making unethical approaches to prise John Stones away from Everton? It is the mirror image of the same sordid process.

Chelsea has been told by Everton that Stones is not for sale but Chelsea continues to make approaches via the media. I happen to know, having worked in that business, that in some cases members of the media will have been given incentives to float stories about the degree of ChelseaÂ’s continued interest. I heard one radio pundit, claiming to have inside information, revealing how Stones should handle his assumed rivalry with Gary Cahill right down to the actual words he should use. I read a detailed story in one major newspaper about why a move to Chelsea would be exactly what Stones needs at this moment in his career. These are so obviously examples of Mourinho speaking to Stones by proxy that a blind man could see it. No wonder Martinez says Stones is being affected by it.

The underlying assumption in this episode – a very sorry episode if Chelsea succeeds in signing our biggest prospective star — is that the top four or five clubs in the Premier League have some kind of droit de seigneur over the other clubs and their players. It is going to lead to the inevitable widening of the gap between the Favoured Five and the remaining 15 because a club like Everton – or any of a half-a-dozen others – can never improve their standing when any real talent they develop can be readily poached.

The current situation is also bad for young, still developing players. Ask Jack Rodwell how his growth as a player was stunted by his transfer to Manchester City. He played something like 15 matches in two seasons and now is trying to pick up the remnants of what was once a promising career. Yes, injuries played a role but the reality is that he needed to be playing every week at that stage in his career and that was never going to happen.

We all know how corrupt and unethical the handling of the Wayne Rooney transfer was. The same thing could happen tomorrow with Ross Barkley – or any player who shows signs of promise.

There needs to be intelligent reform of the transfer system. As it stands, the ink isn’t dry on some players contracts before rival clubs begin plotting how to get the player away. A new rule, banning the transfer of players until they have completed two thirds or perhaps three quarters of their contracts, would offer stability to both players and clubs. Failing that, one club – perhaps Everton – has to stand up for itself and sue one of the predator clubs and its manager for interference with contract relations. A fat judgement by the High Court would put a stop to these shenanigans.

Mourinho and Chelsea are disrespectful of most clubs in the league and I also would love to see them struggle this season. I think it will be very tight up the top with any one of Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd or Man City winning it. Also, Terry's a prize wanker as well.

If the club sold Stones, then the other players will feel that he has sold them a lie. It's imperative that he stays. It's a statement of intent to the whole club, but most importantly to the other players. They need to believe that they are part of something special. Even after a dreadful season, I think they are still hanging onto that belief and it is our only chance of success.

RM has proved that he is a stubborn man. I believe him when he says that he won't sell Stones.

One idea I came across a few years ago was from Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton was at McLaren, and it was his first contract -- a 5-year deal worth 㿄m (!) Hamilton was tipped for the top, so how did McLaren protect their investment? They back-loaded the contract. Rather than 5 annual payments of a ٢.8m, his first year was barely over ٟm, then it went up until year 5 was worth 50% of the contract - 㾸m.

I'm not sure this would work in football -- and maybe it wouldn't be in the club's interests either, but maybe it could work for young prospects like Barkley, Stones and even McCarthy -- who was allegedly bleating about a promised pay rise not being fulfilled.

Maybe clubs need to get more creative with their contracts to incentivise younger players to stay. It probably won't work -- sharks like Chelsea could just offer signing on fees to off-set a player's "loss".

But one thing I'd love to see all clubs do. If a player wants to leave, put a fucking transfer request in and get rid of these absurd "loyalty" bonuses -- they're a relic from a bygone era when players weren't paid a lottery win each month.

And Chelsea can fuck off too!

Anyone know how long his contract has remaining?

Has anyone at our club been stressing the fact that one sure fire way for Jags,Stones and Bainsey to be in France next June is to have a great season as a defensive unit. There is no certainty he will get the chance to play week in week out at any club, but as sure as day follows night he has a much better chance staying at Everton this season. No-one knows how they will deal with pressure until it's exerted and with a high profile signing on fee and the expectations that come with it this could really be a huge risk to John's Euro inclusion.

Play him show the fans and players the vision you have for the future and if after hopefully a good season the inevitable re-evaluation process will begin again. This time however with luck it is with a further seasons experience, a seat on a plane to France and the club in an extremely strong bargaining position.

Please RM/BK refuse any short term gain for long term loss and keep the football pariahs in place.

Loved your post so much I copied and pasted on to the comments section in one of the Scumbags daily rags!

Well said -- pigs they are indeed

If he was asked a question, fine, I just think he would have been better saying nothing.

June 2019

I still haven't forgotten in February that scumbag Ivanovic strangling McCarthy yet not even getting booked whilst Barry was sent off by a conned referee.

Yes they are a classless club that is basically a fur coat with no knickers, I remember sitting at a ramshackle stadium that made Goodison look like the Stade De France before the Russian mafia took over.

An achievement of sorts -- given he embraces so much Stones is a wonderful prospect and I don't want him to leave Everton. If he does go, there is no doubt that Man Utd is a better place for him -- and his departure does seem a likely outcome.

"I happen to know, having worked in that business, that in some cases members of the media will have been given incentives to float stories about the degree of Chelsea's continued interest. I heard one radio pundit, claiming to have inside information, revealing how Stones should handle his assumed rivalry with Gary Cahill right down to the actual words he should use. I read a detailed story in one major newspaper about why a move to Chelsea would be exactly what Stones needs at this moment in his career. These are so obviously examples of Mourinho speaking to Stones by proxy that a blind man could see it."

From your experience, do you really think there is a direct link? That Chelsea are instructing certain writers/papers to write particular stories, making untrue claims about Stones and about Everton?

There are avenues for legal recourse here, as Peter Howard suggests. There is no contract between Chelsea and Everton, so no contractual terms to breach. But there are common law torts that Everton could try to use to bring a claim here, as well as the PL rules.

Defamation (slander/libel)? Tenuous but possible... has a false claim been made to a third party? We can't know, but if Chelsea have maliciously and falsely claimed something in a published statement in the press that is untrue, Everton could at least being a claim. The onus would then be on Chelsea to prove that the statement was true, which (as Peter suggests) could open up a can of worms.

Other torts that could be used are Expectiation of Privacy (very tenuous); Breach of Confidence (very possible if the "he's not for sale" letter was confidential, and Chelsea deliberately leaked it to the press); Conspiracy (possible, if it can be shown that Chelsea and certain journalists have colluded illegally to induce Stones to breach his contract). The slam dunk could be the tort of Tortious Interference (intentional interference inducing breach of contract). If Martinez is right that Stones has been detrimentally affected by Chelsea's behaviour, there might just be a claim that Chelsea have disrupted Stones' ability to perform his contract.

If Everton are determined to keep Stones, and if Stones actually wants to stay, then it might be worth the club speaking to their lawyers and making some noises about legal action. There could certainly be grounds for a claim, and even just mentioning that they are considering legal action could stop Chelsea in their tracks. It would be a very interesting turn of events - and is not a tactic we've often seen used in the world of football transfers - but a high profile case like this, whatever the outcome, could just be the jolt the FA needs to sort out the murky, underhand and often-illegal practices that have infected modern football.

Into the media claiming illegal activity is just posturing to me. If it's illegal then do something about it.

Not dissimilar to people who go to the media to tell the world how they were humiliated by some company or other. If you were humiliated then why go to the press and have it in the news? They do it because they want publicity and they're chasing the money.

Sadly, I think that comparison stands.

There may be some inevitability that he will eventually leave for Champions League football, but I see no reason why we should be bullied into selling him on the cheap at a time when we are short in that crucial position.

His value is only likely to increase as more teams come in for him and he's only 21 so it's not like his last chance for a big move. The kind of money Chelsea have offered so far is insulting and by next summer I would expect his market value to have doubled.

Everton have taken the right stance as far as I'm concerned. We can't say he's not for sale at any price as if a Raheem Sterling size bid came in from City or United we would be hard pressed to turn it down and the board would be accused of going back on their word. £50m would do it. £20-26-30m is just a joke as everyone knows this lad will soon be worth much more. Stand your ground BK!

Also are we really naive enough to think that players from different clubs don't talk to each other? Every England camp where Stones is picked, he'll be talking to players from all the other clubs, including Chelsea.

Would be better to just ignore the comments and focus on the next game -- if and when another bid comes, then by all means reject it... and then get on with things.

All the club have to do is publicly say he's not for sale (which they have done) and leave it at that. All the other stuff is just unnecessary and makes us look like a whiny little kid. We have more important stuff to focus on, like beating Watford with half our team injured.

It's quite blatant but I suppose with the decline in sales of the printed press they feel the need to guarantee their future income somehow.

A journo was in a reception room afterwards for the Chelsea players, and Terry's wife Toni was in floods of tears. Journo remarks how it's refreshing to see the disappointment of the players reflected in the WAGs, to which a Chelsea suit told him that she was crying because the players missed out on a 7-figure bonus...

Everton seem to be making all the right noises on this now, and given that McCarthy has just signed a new contract and Mirallas about to do the same, I get the feeling Stones won't leave this year.

Getting players to sign new contracts the day before the season starts is also a smart move. Make's a change.

That sounds encouraging.

He showed his class by parking his Bentley in a disabled car space amongst other well publicised misdemeanors. He and Chelsea are a marriage made in heaven, nothing surprises me about their behaviour over this whole affair.

I know there is the chance that we would want any of their players, but we can go elsewhere.

A similar thing happened two seasons ago with Manchester United, Ross Barkley and Leighton Baines. Out of a clear blue sky newspapers, television and radio were full of reasons why why Barkley and Baines should choose to go to United. It is the club communicating with the player.

Mike,

How can a manager defending his clubs interests ever be deemed a disgrace by the fans of that same club?

What would you rather he do ["I'd rather he just fuck off", they cry]. He's tried saying that interest in your players from other clubs is part and parcel of the game and nothing to be concerned about, but nobody was listening. He's tried saying Stones is an Everton player, he wants him to remain an Everton player and they don't want to sell him, but the press stories of his imminent departure still persist.

It's the relentless rolling out of 'potential' team mates, former players and media experts in an attempt to unsettle the player that has rattled Martinez's cage and he has a right...I would even go so far as to say a duty to Everton fans...to reply. It's not 'whining' to point out when someone is acting like a total wanker (Judy Finnigan probably spends half her fucking day doing it, but when Richard calls her 'whiny' it's for a totally different reason).

I would deem it a bigger disgrace if he just sat back with his gob stitched shut and let Chelsea, Man Utd or whoever, just steamroller all over us, reverse, get out, wipe their shoes on our crushed corpse and carp on about our player like it's a privilege they're even looking to put some money in our coffers in the first place.

And furthermore the relationship he's had with his dad is defo not to be sniffed at!

but his mentor Arthur D has just died (George Cole R.I.P.) and it's been "revealed from sources" that his sons best friend Anton is under heavy negotiations with a major burger flipping firm, that he'll be in supervisor (Captain) of the spatula Dept.

Yes.

We need him to "blow a fart in Mourihehores general direction"

Well he would if he was French on the battlements of Arsenals ground (El Cid de stad)

Chelsea remind me of John Arlott's comment that there are decent and honest men in football but unfortunately they are outnumbered twenty to one.

Just hope we don't bow to player and media pressure to sell, plus we have to give Barnsley a decent slice so it just makes no sense to sell now.

For the good of Everton, for the good of football, for the good of morality and principles, for the good of western civilisation, I hope to god that we tell Chelsea, and their media skivvies, to fuck off once and for all!!