Foulds to sign in January

I hope Stones isn't off in the Summer,,, but we don't want to be left short.

This lad will do well to get ahead of that lot but best of luck to him.

So is it okay for us to do it?!?

Bury are happy for the lad and it would seem that there was no criticism of Everton whatsoever in how they approached the Club, only complimentary comments.

If John Stones ever goes to Barcelona, then I would think that Barca would approach us properly. That club's always got on and always will...

I would not like to see us have the lack of class that Chelsea showed in trying to buy John Stones.

But, and it is a big but.... There are some in this forum that slate the mere notion of a player wanting to play for a Champions League club.... and it's just a stark reminder that actually we are not much different from these clubs just with more class and more professionalism.

I was just throwing it out there!

Anyone fancy meeting for a pint before the game Saturday!?

Very wisely put mate, these deals seem to be wrapped up without the press pushing them through.

This shows integrity on our behalf and will make other lower league clubs look at us as a club to do a deal with.

Brilliant news.

I applaud Martinez's transfer policy of buying young exciting British prospects. It's just a shame he didn't buy Dele Alli when he signed Galloway from MK Dons.

I wanted Martines sacked last season but give him some credit he seems to be building for the future. Only hope his long term plan can come to fruition.

It would be nice to witness the good times again.

Other clubs may well be looking at Everton's transfer dealing in the future with envy, as we could have a superb young team, we just need a little patience.

As for the way we approach other clubs, it is always with the utmost respect – we are Everton!

Whilst it's good news for Everton to get this kid in early, how on earth are Bury ever expected to achieve anything if even their 'potential' talents are cherry-picked?

I suspect any kids who support Bury are not as ecstatic as the club's custodians.

If there's one thing Roberto has done excellently on so far, it's identifying gems and young defenders. Stones (he was the first in for him when at Wigan), Galloway, Holgate, Funes Mori even whilst not young (24 isn't old though) and an international arriving, has been impressive so far.

On previous form for finding quality young defenders, one can only hope we have another on our hands.

The only thing I would say is, it's another defender. Could we keep up the good work but maybe concentrate on strikers or a creative midfielder?

As for us... am I the only one who thinks it's great to sign up young talent... but why are they all central defenders? Where's the next No 10?? Or even central defensive midfielder... or even a proper right back?

Looks a quality player and is exactly the kind of box-to-box midfielder we need: athletic, energetic, nice range of passing, gets stuck in...

I previously said we need to drop one of Barry or McCarthy and the other just sits in front of the back four and protects it, breaks up play and gives it simple. Somebody like Ali, box-to-box, replaces the dropped one, giving us far more all around and going forward.

As has been said previously, we have two very limited players that are not playing as defensive midfielders with any discipline, but are playing as normal midfielders, yet very much restricting us from an attacking standpoint.

A player like Alli is would be perfect for redressing the balance, we missed a trick not going for him at the same time for only £5M.

Luckily so did the Reds, with their transfer committee somehow fucking that one up (even though he wanted to go there as a fan), so off he's gone to Spurs.

Do you not think that, long term, Tom Cleverley is that box-to-box player? I think that, against certain teams, RM may use Cleverley in that role with McCarthy behind him as a DM. That way, Cleverley is supporting Barkley.

I don't see it being TWO out-and-out attacking midfielders. I would see it as 1 DM, 1 AM, and Ross played just behind Big Rom. Then two wingers. I don't think that would leave us short at all.

However, against some of the top teams we may have to go back to 2 DMs. But it is good to have a variety and different approaches for different teams.

We could experiment with this in the FA Cup. I don't think that is taking too much of a risk. If we faced any lower division teams, we would surely have enough with a team of say:

Howard
Coleman, Stones, Funes Mori, Baines
McCarthy
Cleverley
Deulofeu, Barkley, Mirallas
Lukaku

I think Cleverley was bought to fill the void you were alluding to earlier. I do think at times we are too defensive-minded and we need to be more attacking-minded. I think, by leaving either McCarthy or Barry on the bench, we would be a greater threat going forward.

Whether Cleverley turns out to be the engine we are looking for remains to be seen. But I think that's what RM saw in him. So far this season, Cleverley has been playing in different positions just to get a game; longer term, that's where I think he plays.

I'd probably loan him back to Bury for the rest of the season if he's already getting games for them.

Great surname by the way!

I like Cleverley... he's a very neat and tidy player, nice touch always, excellent passing range; he's a player you rarely worry about losing possession.

Personally, I think he's more of a link-up player, links the play, keeps possession flowing and breaks the play up. I like him and think he's been a worthy addition... but I don't see him myself as a box-to-box midfielder.

Roberto seems to have him on the right- or left-side of midfield.

Besic, for me, would be the one player in our squad currently that is capable of genuinely playing a box-to-box role; he's athletic enough, has pace, lovely touch, range of passing and gets stuck in.

Shame he's been injured of late; however, I think it academic; injuries/suspensions aside, I can't see anyone regularly shifting the Barry - McCarthy partnership that Roberto loves for a season or two...

I agree. But surely RM can see that there is no need for the Barry – McCarthy midfield if we are playing, say Scunthorpe at home in the FA Cup? Two DMs is too negative IMHO.

Besic doesn't have the eye for goal that I believe Cleverley could offer. When fit, I think probably Cleverley would get in the team ahead of Besic?

For me, Cleverley can't keep being picked to play left or right midfield. That's not his position. If someone is injured then, yes he can fill the void. But, from the start, it's not fair to the player or the player that is being left on the bench whose natural position is playing left or right MF!!

I'm quite excited to see how this season develops over the next couple of months. We have options through the team. We have wingers that can change a game. For me, we have a forward with pace and power. One of the things I really like is that we can go a goal down but it not be the end of the world, we still believe we can win. That's a good trait to have.

I'm a fan of Martinez but can't understand (and never will) the negativity of the Barry - McCarthy partnership, especially as neither does the job they're supposed to do, ie, protect the back four.

The other bugbear of mine is standing off and giving too much space and time to let the opposition play.

That said, I, like you, am optimistic about the direction we're heading in, and as far as the squad were assembling.

We have quality wingers as you pointed out, and good, skilfully, pacy, a the ticket youngsters yet to break through – Henen, Dowell, Rodriguez etc.

I think, in another season or two, the squad should have a more dynamic, attacking look about it and strength in depth with options.

Like this thread we are buying a young talented player from Bury, who have coached this kid along. Now we come along and pick him up with the hope to coach him to get into our first team. The progression from there (like it or not!) is that the player goes on to play for his country and then Man Utd or Man City come along and show us the money?!?!

We need to win something. If RM does that, we will no longer have a jury out or a split in the fan base. Every single fan will buy into the masterplan.

By the way, when are we going to unearth an attacking player like say, Kane or young Watmore of Sunderland? We can certainly churn out defenders but the main point of the game is scoring goals and apart from our Belgians where are the British players?

If our signing of all these promising defenders is a future way to make money then so be it.

It'll take time to do it this way, but it's the only option available to us: identify youngsters and develop them, it's a long-term plan.

We just have to hope we can keep the majority of the squad together as we develop... thus get stronger and improve strength in depth.

That is unless we get taken over in the near future – and Roberto's given some decent cash to spend to expedite things.

Dowell especially seems to have a something but he's been injured of late sadly.

And some of that youth will be sold to more successful or monied teams – which is fine – but we could all do without the dirty / bullying tricks.

I think Foulds must have a lot of potential if we've beaten the likes of Spurs for his signature. Martinez seems to have an eye for young defenders, with Stones (who he wanted to sign for Wigan) and Galloway. Which is kinda ironic too given how shaky we can be from defending set-pieces.

This all said, it must be remembered that it is just potential at this age. We saw the cautionary proof of George Green, to show that talent is not enough to make it in the game.

But going back to Peter Clarke. It doesn't worry me that he's keeping this young lad out of the Bury starting 11. I'd expect a seasoned pro who's played much of his career in the Championship to keep most 17-year-olds out in such a physical league.

I know we are all worried about our lack of CF back -up - but do we need to be?

The epitome of the rounded footballer has to be John Charles, who could play in either position with equal effect.

Perhaps, Roberto can see amongst all the seemingly outstanding centre-halves we currently have, or may acquire, some with the potential capability for making the switch to centre-forward?

I appreciate that the game has moved on since the 1950s – but, nonetheless, a footballer who is 6-ft plus and good with both feet is a threat anywhere on the field of play and so cannot, at the age of 17 or thereabouts, be pigeonholed and classified as a CH or a CF until tried in those positions.

Ultimately it was down to Bury to decide whether to accept our offer. They've decided it made sense.

Similarly, I don't really buy into the Stones pantomime. It was always our choice and we chose not to accept their offer.

Premier League deals involving clubs such as Chelsea will always turn into big media stories. Was our pursuit of Foulds any better? Who knows, there were rumors of bids about 6 weeks ago. Maybe it just didn't register with the media quite so much.

At the end of the day, we've done exactly what Chelsea wanted to do. Buy a less wealthy club's young player. If we had chosen to sell Stones then I'm sure that deal would have appeared amicable too.

Keepers were only awarded a free kick if he had both feet in the air while making a save. Apart from that, they were fair game.

Shame that Chris Long left. He serves as a good example of Martinez not trusting youth quite as much as he makes out and should really have been given an opportunity when Lukaku was struggling and Kone was out at start of last season after starring in pre-season.