Everton admit defeat to Spurs over Sissoko

Sissoko, Bolasie, and Mirallas (that we seen 2nd half at WBA) pressing high up the pitch, with Gana/Bary bossing the midfield, with 3 really solid CBs. Coleman and Baines on flanks - 2 really got lads, and model professionals, who know the games inside out. Lukaku.

Koeman's plan is becoming apparent, and I really like it. The team can easily be changed for other formations.

I'd like to see another quality playmaker/winger and Valencia.

5 2 3 1??

Gordon

I think 3 CBs with 2 wing backs. I believe Barry and Gana can sit in, with Sissoko, Bolasie and Mirallas interchanging in support of Lukaku - making it really difficult for defenders/midfielders to pick them up. (Mostly Sissoko in middle, with other 2 swapping flanks).

Nice balance to that team - looks very attacking and defensive.

We could also easily switch to a 4-3-3 which would look very strong, or a 4-4-2 if we could sign another striker!

Sissoko will not be playing as a number 10.

Subs:
GK
Funes Mori
Coleman
Barry
Valencia
Deulofeu
Lennon

I hope Spurs step in and buy him, not for me.

Stekelenburg
Coleman, Williams, Jagielka, Baines
Sissoko, Gueye
Deulofeu/Bolasie, Barkley, Mirallas/Bolasie
Lukaku

Bench:- Robles, Holgate, Funes Mori, Barry, Cleverley, Deulofeu, Valencia

Long term we need a top goalkeeper, a creative mid and a striker. Perhaps left back.

Also not agreed personal terms, are we really that desperate? The game's gone completely barmy.

Think we will do very well playing that team, but I reckon the opposition will get onto it

I'm really disappointed in our business this transfer window, can't help it, don't care what anyone says, heard all the reasoning, but fact is we have new ownership and again were still fucking around on the last day.

If we are lucky we get Sissoko, that's it, the lads been available all fucking summer for £30m an we scamper for him now, 1 fucking hour before the close of business.

Total joke.

In a 4-3-3, it's Barkley who is under pressure. Also in 3-4-3. And quite right too. He has much to prove yet, that he's worth a regular start.

The possibilities are many, particularly if we can get another forward/striker in. Really liking the solidity, pace, strength, power and experience in our defence/midfield at present.

If he doesn't make it, maybe Moyes will come knocking and that Kone deal could materialise in the not too distant future!

I agree with the comments re a class keeper, I suspect Walsh will be working hard in the next few months in the hope we can buy in January.

We're in danger of having a team of athletes and sod all footballers. (In Moshiri we trust, nobody wants to come to Everton... Blah, blah blah)

Phil 19

Sissoko is a lot better than Barkley and McCarthy, and I believe Bolasie will prove to be more effective than any winger we've had in a long time.

"Bench players" is just a ridiculous statement. Sissoko was the best player in the Euros final, and was a lot more effective than the £89m Pogba.

Maybe players don't want to come to Everton because most of the fans write them off and rip them to shreds before they've kicked a ball.

How did Gana look in a shite Villa team last season? Similar to Sissoko in a shite Newcastle team?

Well well, this will be interesting!

Behave yourself.

ps: Gana looked decent last season, Sissoko didn't.

As for Bolasie, I just can't see him doing anything more than Mirallas. Unless the game is being played specifically to Bolasie's strengths, he's just not effective.

I still think Bony was the deal we should've gone for, I really can't accept that Valencia is a better option.

Feels bad, man.

I had my doubts when Wijnaldum looked like he had signed for us only for him to jump ship to the Red Shite at the last minute. But the amount of deals we have fucked up this week shows we have a long way to go to shake off the 'little club' tag that the fat Spanish waiter labelled us.

This is the modern footballer. He accepts our offer whilst praying that a "bigger club" come in for him. When they do he doesn't even have the decency to say "thanks, but no thanks". Mercenary scumbags most of these players that why we should count our blessings when we have real Evertonians like Ross Barkley playing for us.

One final thought, if Moshiri is really serious about taking us forward can he now sack those two bumbling, incompetent fuckwits, Boys Pen Bill and Sideshow Bob? Once again they've shown themselves to be fucking useless getting transfers done in time. I suppose tomorrow Bill's mate, Mayor Joe, will post some more enigmatic tweets to keep the blue masses happy.

In my view the club is stronger all around now with a proper management structure but still short of players in CM and CF. As for the rumours we have seen so much of these last 2 months, I'd say give Steve Walsh some time, but I sense he is the master scout and not a deal architect which may be is role the club needs to fill?

The cost of some of the documented chases must be significant and maybe Farhad & Bill may reflect and ponder after 10 Premier Lesague games. 12 months ago we were in the quick sand but we are moving in the right direction. Patience is a virtue, let's make the best of this season; tomorrow dawns and EFC will be on the up.

I think it is fair to say, in any event, that we need carefully to examine how we conduct our transfer business and who conducts it. This has not been a great day.

Nowhere to be seen when the going gets tough and showed what he's really made of when he chose not to stay with Newcastle and a tough season in the Championship. £30 million was clearly crazy!

I have said all along that I remain to be convinced by Moshri and – given he spent nothing bar the Stones money – my opinion of him has not changed.

So tonight, I read opinions on a couple of NUFC forums.

And given the general opinion, I'm not in the least concerned we didn't get this feller.

In short, many of them were doing (online) cartwheels at the thought of getting £30m for him.

According to those who have watched him week-in-week-out, not a lot to get worked up about and plenty to piss supporters off.

That said, this Sky TDD carry-on (for all clubs) is just...bollocks.

"We've got fuckin' weeks but let's leave it 'til the last couple of hours of the last day"

There might be something in this 'method' I'm missing, but if you applied that 'thinking' to anything else in life/business, you would quickly be accused of being a slack, idle, useless fuckwit.

My first reaction to glancing at the picture was did Tottenham come out with a new kit and how in the hell is a sweaty Sissoko wearing it and training already?

Then, I realized it is his French kit, but I am still angry at Spurs and have elevated them to just behind Liverpool and almost even with Chelsea for my two most hated teams in the EPL.

I guess Sissoko felt the last season with Newcastle was enough of a project and didn't want to be part of ours. Pity though as I can't see him playing very regularly barring some injury.

Sissoko was a panic buy at the death... we are not in Europe and we don't need egotistical sulky knobheads who score one goal a season from midfield. It's good we missed him, we have already signed a top player in Gana in that position. We also have a top young talent in Tom Davies waiting in the wings; Sissoko would just push the lad further down the cue.

We are way stronger than last season. We have a brilliant defensive coach and we have unearthed another gem in Mason Holgate and a leader in Ashley Williams. We also appear to have swapped King of the flappers, Tim Howard, with a quality keep who will catch crosses. Huge upgrade in my book.

The real disappointment has been letting Bony slip off to Stoke as we needed another reliable scorer in this league to play up front. Nevertheless, If Lukaku stays fit Everton could surprise a lot of people – especially if his mate Bolasie performs with any consistency.

Up the Toffees!

Koeman lost, virtually, two teams in consecutive seasons but was able to rebuild in record time and with excellent results thanks to a board, and CEO, who were agile and proactive in the transfer market.

Who do we have running things? Fucking Ben and Jerry or Bill and Ben the flowerpot men. Two fucking amateurs who think they are the greatest negotiators around. They are useless, clueless and need running out of the club.

I'm too angry to continue, over to you Ronald it's your call.

Frustrating as it is, Spurs were gazumped by Chelsea over the signing of Willian and we did something not dissimilar by snatching Lukaku from under the noses of WBA right on the deadline of deadline day. And now it's happened to us.

£30m did seem a lot for the player based on his Newcastle form but it showed at least that we're serious about competing, RK will have a lot more idea as to what he needs by January and I don't think the available funds will disappear under this new regime

Onwards and upwards!!

Gave Newcastle nothing. Had some strong drives in the Euros sure but it tells us much that he was then touting himself for Real Madrid ...and not a sniff of interest shown by them.

We all want to hear of good signings and I appreciate the disappointment shown in this and other threads but we have to be a little realistic. No European football to offer will go against us.

I don't give a rats backside who thinks " Everton are a small club" et al because it's my club and I'll continue to follow them. We are still in a much better place than this time last season and I'm confident that, with Mr Koeman and his team in charge, positive progress will follow.

Keep the faith.

And we end up with a West Ham reject, who are now laughing their heads off at us for signing. There is no other way of spinning this.

If Koeman feels he has been let down, he seems the type of guy who will let Moshiri know in no uncertain terms that he's not prepared to be messed about.

Yes you're right he did. But the players he is in for are several notches above what he went for at Southampton and the competition is much fiercer. Let's be clear, we were in for players and at fees that you would have got laughed at on here a couple of years ago. Now no-one's laughing, were just pissed off we didn't get them.

Huge fail for Moshiri in particular and I'm pretty sure Koeman, Walsh and Moshiri will learn a lot from this, exactly like Man City had to a few short years ago – and don't forget what a joke of a club they have been for pretty much their entire history.

Oliver, I hope he has that conversation. Our last three managers have all, publicly, asked for a certain amount of players each window and every time these two have failed them.

Koeman took a chance on us. I imagine he was promised certain things and I don't see him as being the type of manager who will sacrifice his reputation for a big cheque. Steve Bruce showed everyone that he wasn't prepared to be a patsy for no owner.

I'm not happy with the last day of the window. I was really hoping we would sign Kone from Sunderland and a top class forward. However, I would rather wait for the right player than make the same terrible mistake that Martinez made buying Niasse at the last minute. Apparently there were no takers for the muppet.

I'm not saying he's innocent in our misgivings, but come on, Moshiri is the major shareholder, if the man isn't clever enough to employ competent people to conduct his business affairs, then he's an arsehole himself.

We've had months to do our business, and again we have all been conned into thinking top class players would be joining us.

Mata, Sisoko, Witzel, Hart, Forster, Slimani, Bony, Kone, Winjaldum and so on were all branded about, plus many many others, then it boils down to the last day and we bring in a kid from Sheffield Utd, and a loanee who's deemed not good enough for West Ham.

This has put it into perspective were we are at, and imo we have been shit on again by con men.

㿊m – utterly insane.

He took last season off, only started playing under Benitez late season when they were in deep trouble. I believe he was actually Captain during many awful performances, both on a personal and team level. Rep amongst Mags fans of only turning it on for the cameras. Terrible attitude as evidenced by his last-minute switch when Spurs finally fronted the cash.

I was disappointed we went for him in the first place.

I'm glad we've got Moshiri's millions to pay our Director of Football, he's really luring them in. BTW, Steve, how did Leicester manage to get Slimani without you there? You've a lot to prove, my man.

Er..yeah, that's what's happening (raises eyes, tuts, shakes head).

Tell you what, 'everyone' would be laughing a lot harder if we'd spent 㿊m, give him 𧴜k+ a week and he'd turned out to give as much of a fuck-about us as he did for Newcastle.

Honestly couldn't give a fuck about this feller.

(I would have liked a big 6' 5" grock of a centre-half who could out-jump Carroll, but other than that, not unhappy with what we have now.)

While disappointing that we did not get much in, this may not be such bad news. It says to me that there were a list of potential targets and we were not going to be pushed around just to make a signing. The caliber of player we are being linked with is a big step up from previous Windows and in nearly all cases we lost out to clubs who could offer European Football this season. There is no getting way from the fact that we cannot offer that at the moment and the only other way to compete is by paying over the odds, which I can't see Moshiri willingly agreeing to.

As long a RK does not feel that he was let down, I say let's give him a chance to show what he can do with what he has.

Or am I just seeing a half-full glass?

Standout French player in the Euros final against Portugal... missing in action for the vast bulk of the Barcodes relegation season last time out.

I know which I'd choose as the form guide for his true worth. 㿊 million even in this inflated market was well over the odds.

Bullet dodged, as others have said.

Not worth getting yourself upset about it. I honestly think we have dodged a bullet here.

No doubt he looked good as the French water carrier, but Box to box in the Stevie G mould? my arse, he does not have a creative bone in his body. Having paid 㿊m for him, Koeman would have been compelled to play him, but where? Instead of Gana or Barry? Na... and don't forget Besic is still to come back.

That 㿔m (including wages) can be spent far more wisely down the dock road. Perhaps we an call it "The Dodged a bullet stadium".

I get your point about the gruesome twosome, but Mr Moshiri will be a little wiser about those two after tonight and it hasn't cost him a huge chunk of his fortune to find out.

I think you need to calm down. Clearly BK is a bungling fool but everyone's struggled in this market. The Echo ran a piece earlier this summer saying we were at risk of being used by agents because of our money and diminished status. It proved to be true.

There was never any indication RK wanted Bony. So we didn't miss out per se. Someone else posted "I though RK had a plan for Lukaku leaving so where is our striker?" To which I say, Lukaku didn't leave. Steve Walsh detractors, he's not the negotiator he's the talent finder. He's been here five minutes. Give him a chance.

Yes, the window was disappointing but we could have been QPRed and paid over the odds for Sissiko and a bunch of mercenaries which would have been worse.

We have 2 wins and 1 draw racked up and Rom is just warming up, it's not all bad.

I am now feeling a bit underwhelmed.

This is what happens when you play chess badly and are ill prepared.

It comes as no surprise to find Bill is in charge of proceedings and the sooner that changes the better.

I felt underwhelmed a couple of weeks ago and you gave me the proverbial kick up the rear. It was appreciated.

Truthfully I don't care about Sissoko, I'm pissed about Brahimi et al.

We were seen by Porto and Sissoko as a poor man's Liverpool and as a result we got bullied, played and left on the shelf.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail should replace NSNO because, again we have a board of incompetents who have again shown that they have not learnt a thing.

On the up side we do have a strong squad of players in awe of the manager. We should get behind them.

If we had paid £30 million for Sissoko, I would have been more pissed off, Porto tried to screw us for more as well.

It's ok paying over the odds for outstanding players, but not for players that are no better than we have.

Barkley is a Blue, he loves playing for Everton, then you have a player who's agent contacted Everton, had everything set up, then avoided Evertons phone calls so he could screw Spurs to pay double what they offered, we don't want players like that at Everton.

Kev M is looking a new player this season, we've got a very good squad, if Rom can get his goal scoring back, we have plenty of amo on the wings, defence sorted and tighter, decent goalkeeper between the sticks.

A lot of teams tried to screw Everton over, Everton had a price and stood their ground, it wasn't peanuts, we offered decent money, others thought they had us by the balls and tried to screw us, I for one are glad we didn't panic buy.

Relative to our expectations (we have a new owner + tv money), we were entitled to believe that key areas of the squad would be addressed eg recognised 1st team goalkeeper, some cover for the full backs, 1 dominant centre half (I do see Williams as an upgrade on Stones but we don't have a single centre back that is dominant), creative midfielder and 2 forward

I accept we have signed some decent players. I also accept we set our sights high in this transfer window. But when they looked like not working out, where were the reserve plans? Why were they left to literally the last minutes allowing us to be gazumped?

I don't care if most ToffeeWebers think we dodged a bullet not getting Sissoko: at the end of the day, the new regime wanted him so they should have made it happen. Don't leave it to the very last minute. Get your other deals with an earlier walk away date

I understand trying to be positive and all that BUT we still don't have a

- an aerial presence at centre back
- experienced cover in defence (Holgate is young and Oviedo is not great + injured a lot)
- a creative brain in midfield
- reliable or prolific goal scorers behind Rom (have any of them got 12 in a season consistently).

I see this window as neglectful to leave Koeman so bereft of tools. He's proven he can work well with players but we've shafted him through being poorly organised.

This could have been a top 6 season. Instead it may be top half disappointed and upset and angry.

Valencia is a bit of a no risk investment so that's fair enough.

We should have insisted we give Villa 㿊M for Gana – that would have kept some fans happy. And Bolasie should have been announced at the eleventh hour by some twat in a yellow tie. Transfer Deadline Delirium. Thank fuck it's over!

Two players who it seemed would come did not get released by their club; another the club upped the fee to silly money; others went to Champions League clubs; and many others we were not even in for.

We did get in three before the start of the window closing and I do not know anything about our last-minute signing but before he is written off without kicking a ball, the cheap Villa relagated purchase hasn't turned out to bad, has he?

The money not spent will be there for January if required and just because we have money should not make it be spent because we have it.

Looking forward to an exciting season with continued progress.

Come January we could be in a better position to bring in players if needed, with our league position.

Jesus, let's not forget the Bakayoko, McDonald, Barlow, Angel, Simonson, Gerrard, Nyarko, the list is endless.

Stekelenburg, Holgate, Williams, Jagielka, Baines, Coleman, Barry, McCarthy, Gaye, Besic, Lennon, Bolasie, Barkley, Deulofeu, Mirallas, Lukaku, Davies, Dowell, also Kone, Gibson, Oviedo, Cleverley, Valencia, the list goes on.

I was a dreamist thinking the likes of Barlow, Angel, Milligan and them were the dogs bollocks at the time.

What we have now at Everton is a top class manager, who has inherited one hell of a squad of players and youngsters, he will get these players fitter, better tactics, and change from the bench when needed. You only have to look at Mirallas to see the difference.

Yes I was hoping for certain players coming in, Moshiri playing his flute and our targets following behind him, it did not happen, but I have no doubt we will succeed with this squad we have.

That means we have to pay over the odds - or be "screwed over" - until such times as we catch up.

I'm utterly gutted at the limp end to this thoroughly revolting transfer window that promised so much, yet delivered so little.

There is absolutely no positive spin to this.

We plainly did not strengthen enough, while our rivals did at our expense (Arsenal taking Perez, Spurs taking Sissoko).

If anything, we've fallen even further behind and have even more catching up to do.

A kick up the backside for Moshiri, one hopes.

But yet another bitter pill for Toffeemen to swallow.

I was wrong, because when it comes to the transfer window we have not progressed from the Moyes era, of sell before we buy. Even with the trademark signing of a unknown teenager for a million pounds.

It is more than a coincidence to suggest Kenwright is still running the show.

However, it's also a fallacy that you have to pay over the top for the top players – there's gems out there, Gana is an example and last year the best players in the league were the 3 Leicester lads, Kane and Payet.

We need great scouts and hopefully Walsh, Koeman and the team can come up trumps in the future. I do agree that the window was mismanaged but hopefully this will be a lesson learned for the new regime, particularly Moshiri and not same old Everton.

The new owner certainly has not made the same impact in his first window as the owners at Man City and Chelsea did when they first arrived.

If Sissoko refused to take RK's calls then that's as true a measure of the man as you can get, so waste of space for us but a natural fit at Spurs.

But the fact remains that this has been a disastrous transfer window when set against the expectation levels of both the club and the fans.

I think it has been a good window despite the loss of Stones – a good goalie, a good CB and two very good midfielders. RK always said it would take four windows to build the team he wants. I am just sorry we didn't get more deadwood off the payroll.

No great loss over Sissoko. Didn't rate him and not worth the money. Valencia – well we'll have to see, maybe Koeman can get the best out of him. Think the Hammers are more happier than us in losing him.

Anyway, if he proves to be shite we can turf him back to London. Overall, I think we have a strong team and if Lukaku can get his scoring boots on we will be okay.

Attracting players is tough for us, but it's good to see we won't be fleeced with over-inflated price tags. Next season, we should be in a better position to bring in players. Koeman will push the team upwards, but this season will be work in progress.

The players we have bought in look good. Fortress Goodison will return and our counter-attacking options look good. COYB

Sorry but that's just rubbish. City could not buy a player for love nor money until they splashed out a then fortune for Robinho who supposedly signed on false pretences according to legend. Only after several attempts of spending big did players come.

I actually called the "stalking horse" ploy on the live forum when Everton were in for Sissoko. In the cold light of day it is a good thing he hasn't signed. All the physical tools in his box but clearly a poor character. Alex Nyarko had everything too.

We haven't had a disastrous transfer window at all, we had a bad last day. The problem is that the bar of our expectations has finally been raised and we are looking to buy £30M+ players which is a huge step up even in an inflated market when previously £5M+ was a big deal for us. We are finally starting to play in at least he same ballpark as the big boys but unfortunately we are not seen as the same draw at the moment. Good management pushing us up the league after the joke we became under Martinez will gradually get us noticed, and the fact we have refused to be stung over the odds for ridiculous fees is an important message to send as well, even though it is not what we as fans want right now.

I don't see Spurs' signings strengthening their first team to any great degree, it is solely the case that they have to increase their squad for the CL, which is notoriously a distraction for the PL. We are sitting above Spurs right now. If we keep that going I have no doubt we will strengthen with big players in the January window. The turnaround is unfortunately more of a marathon than a sprint.

I feel we have had a lucky escape that would make Niasse look like we had only lost a fiver!! COYB.

He's a talented player no doubt, but Nyarko was talented. So are McGeady and Balotelli!

Valencia may be a good deal, he was not too shabby for West Ham last year, the young kid.. Hope he comes good, but we've seen so many bright young men vanish through the doors at finch farm to be released 2 years later. A good start to the window spoiled by a sour end for me

Sheedy and Unsworth have done a great job coaching players through the system – what do we do? Send them out on loan while the tried and trusted failures warm the bench or get 10/20 minutes every week. Most of the lads that have come through have not let us down, have the guts to give them a run in the positions that we think need strengthening... take a chance on finding a gem rather than gambling in the media-hyped transfer market.

Look at the big money super stars being off-loaded for big losses all round... I hope we are not going down the same road.

Happy we missed out on Sissoko. IMO he was worth about £10mil in January and then played well for 6 months under Rafa and in the Euro's and he's now worth 㿊mil? Sorry no. If he was half decent Juventus would have invested a third of their Pogba money on him.

I think if you compare our team now vs last season we have got stronger this window:

2015-16
Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; Deulofeu, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku. Subs: Robles, Funes Mori, Oviedo, Besic, Cleverley, Lennon, Niasse.

2016-17
Stekelenburg; Coleman, Jagielka, Williams, Baines; Gana Gueye, Barry; Bolasie, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku. Subs: Robles, Funes Mori, Holgate, Besic, Lennon, Deulofeu, Valencia.

That's an improvement surely AND for near-enough a zero nett spend.

In reverse order - Sissoko, £30m, chose Spurs as they have London and CL football. Brahimi, Stayed at Porto who raised their valuation to £50m. Lucas Perez, £17m, chose Arsenal for CL football and finally, Kone who stayed at Sunderland for much the same reasons Stones stayed with us when Chelsea came calling.

I fail to see how the club can be blamed for these events. Everton's lack of CL football is not something that can be overlooked when you're paying £30m for a player. Some people it seems want us to just spend money for the sake of it. Clearly that is not what the club is going to do.

As for leaving business until the last minute, firstly, we did a fair bit of early business, Koeman and Walsh included, and secondly, nearly all clubs do last minute business. Everton are not unique in this.

It only takes a sentence to jolt my memory. One, an astute, articulate observer. The other, a hysterical halfwit.

Of course he played well at Euro 2016, he was in the shop window. I for one am happy that Levy paid £30 mill for this moron!! (And I think 70,000 Geordies agree.)

Although not the window I hoped for I believe we've come out of it stronger overall and hopefully RK can get existing players firing on all cylinders! I mean how the hell was Mirallas allowed to put a stone on!!!

Anyway onwards and upwards, glad the windows closed and back to the football, let move in and reassess in Jan!

COYB

Sissoko looks an arrogant type to me and the way he has behaved has shown why he went missing at Newcastle and why we are best off without him.

Every so often my wife has an urge to buy a new handbag.She will trawl the shops desperate to buy a bag and if none jump out at her she buys one anyway to satisfy the need! After a week the new bag is never seen again because she didn't really want it anyway!

This is where I sense we were at last night. All manner of names in the hat but either a bit of a punt or way over priced. I like our squad now and we must give Valencia a chance but I really believe we may have dodged a bad one with Sissoko.

Most the players we've been associated with by the media over the last couple of months are no better than the players we've got already, indeed quite a few are not as good. I certainly wouldn't be pining after the likes of Sissoko or Witsel, hardly star ratings in my book. On TW there's been too much focus on money and transfer activity, and insufficient focus on real needs and quality.

Keep calm and carry on as they say, the future's bright, and we're going to do well, including this season, under RK.

They say what goes round comes round. It leaves a nasty taste. Sissoko has proved during his time with Newcastle that he can't always be bothered and I don't think at the price quoted he was worth it anyhow.

One up to the lure of the capital and Spur's deviousness.

I personally think we are in a good place. Sissoko would certainly not expect to be sat on the bench, so who would've been dropped? Don't see where he would have played unless he was stuck out on the wing. would have liked to have seen Kone come in, but I think we will do just fine as we are and can reassess come January.

Once Lukaku decided he would stay then we were no longer looking for a top class striker as anyone we brought in would be playing second fiddle to Lukaku. We won't play with 2 up front. So we needed someone who would be happy to be an impact sub and play the odd cup game. Not that easy.

We've done well in the market, stop moaning – it's not the price tag that counts, it's the knowledge of finding the right player, not the most expensive player!... for a bargain if possible!

Feck all about high spending, we don't want to spend our way into the top four. I would like to earn it by being brave, giving players the opportunity to show they can perform at the top level (Holgate)... stop wasting money on shite like that useless prick!

A Newcastle journalist has said they're relieved he's gone and for the sum of money too. He said it's a disgrace the way he went missing last night when he was supposed to be on his way to Everton. But also said he wasn't too surprised as he had gone missing for Newcastle all last season.

An over rated player, who my geordie friends are glad to see the back of.
Apparently he was a bad apple in the dressing room.

We've had a decent transfer window, and a poor transfer deadline day, but all in all we've made improvements to the squad. Save the money now for January, and feel relieved that we didn't get this arrogant overvalued muppet.

Dodged a bullet there alright.

David Hallwood (I think) made a good analogy with BBC's bargain hunt on the LF yesterday. This Sissoko deal was like the team with five minutes to go, who grab at anything. Spurs have paid 㿊,000,000 FFS... (looks mental when written like that) for a player who they will probably offload in 2 years for about 㾶 - 㾻m when he turns out to be everything the barcodes fans think about him.

Thank fuck the Spuds came in for him. I do believe that RK could probably have got something out of him (and ideally at 㾼-㿀m max) but he is demonstrably a very dodgy and self centred individual and he is absolutely no great loss to Everton.

Our new team has barely been in place for the blink of an eye, have done pretty damn well in the time and for crying out loud - It is actually only a few weeks until January. I think we will find ourselves consolidated in a good position in the league by then and with more time under their respective belts RK, SW and the Mosh will have had a good period to build their strategy. There is, at the end of the day, no instant fix.

Onwards and upwards Blues. As they say - "As one door closes...."

Let's hope the 㿊m + inflated wages get invested in the Academy and we grow our own Rooneys and Barkleys. Way too many foreign mercenaries and agents with greed stamped on their foreheads being paid stupid money to play for clubs they don't give a flying fuck about.

It would have been nice to add a decent striker, additional midfielder etc but this Toffee will settle for an on pitch improvement on last season, and the new home being signed and sealed and supported by the majority of Blues. Securing the future of the club is the number one priority, not signing some overpaid and overrated fuckwit with a track record of mediocrity.

Glad we missed out on Sissoko, but there were loan signings around that would have fit the bill.

Bony for one.

Glad the window is now closed and a proper assessment of players in positions we need strengthening in is put off till January.

Trust in Koeman and Walsh they are good judges.

I wish some people on this site would stop knocking everything we try to do and get behind this great new manager we've got, at what I must say considerable fortune and great expense. Forget the fact that we failed to land some overpaid arsehole from Newcastle yesterday. Just believe. Remember we'll still be here in another hundred or so years.

Enjoy it while your here.

Be nice when we can fill the new ground with 60,000 every week

The leverage that is being applied by some clubs and players on the back of the money washing around the Premier League in full glare of the media circus, is not a show we should be taking part in, and as I've said on another thread, recent history is littered with clubs who have pissed newly acquired wealth against the wall on players who have been offloaded within a year.

We may be financially better off under Moshiri, but he's rich for a reason – and one of them wasn't spending for the sake of it.

The new set up has only been in place five minutes and already is attracting the sort of irrational bile which simply isn't justified at this early stage.

We should concentrate one game at a time this season – and if we do no more than hang onto the points that we squandered so often and easily last season, then we'll be in the top 6/7 – as a first foundation stage – a very good place to be.

I don't know if anyone else has seen anything yet and it's probably a whole other debate?

It could be a good reason to not sign someone but I prefer the one where the fact that Sissoko is just a waif and flaky excuse for a footballer and be happy it didn't happen.

I get that he wanted a fall back option but it transpired that he publicly screwed over the club's transfer plans.

If they did, who'd bombard us with meaningless stats and stupid fucking clichés?

where have all the heroes gone? No heroes and no respect. Yes, we'll all be their next week and the weeks after that, etc..

I would have preferred to let sleeping dogs lie (literally).

It would be interesting to hear exactly what went on.

Why would Moshiri lie? To save face? I'm not too sure either way. If he is lying then I find it a bit strange, he'd of been better just saying nothing and letting the saga just blow over.

If he's telling the truth then, all this talk of Koeman calling him and getting no answer, and the private plane on standby must all be media bullshit.

Why not a comment on EFC website instead of all this?

What shocks me Everton was willing to pay so easy that much for an average player instead of risking the package for an exceptional player like Brahimi... It hurts a lot.

he took French leave. Quel Connard! Quel classe!

I will now make it my quiet pass time to see this 'Trou de cul' failing miserably in his quest for silverware.

Let's hope it's a Kopite windup otherwise we can brace ourselves for a statement on the re-cladding of Goodison in preference to a new home on the dock 'to protect our heritage'.

But I must say, seeing these threads towards the end of this window has really underlined that old trope about the British and their gloomy outlooks and predictions of failure.

I understand the disappointment, but given where the club has been in my 10 years or so of following, I must disagree. We managed to land a real winner in Gueye, a good attacking option in Bolasie and a starting Keeper. Plus Williams is exactly what we needed in defense. While I'd have liked to land a striker as much as anyone, try to keep some perspective, folks. The last two seasons we managed to bring in a slacker from Russia who never even really played, a back up center half, the corpses of Lennon and Cleverly, Rom and two long shots in Del boy and Besic. By any measure, this period was a big improvement from the last two (especially considering Chelsea wanted to offload Rom, and we were in the drivers seat after his loan).

I firmly believe there is a lot of talent in this side already, before transfers. And Koeman is just the manager to bring it out. Barkley really is a diamond and now we have better depth throughout the squad. Don't let your inflated expectations get the better of you; we got better and we were already pretty good. I placed my bet that we land a Europa spot this year, and things will only improve from there.

I don't have the birthright and history that many of you have with this club, but I love it just the same, and I'd suggest that if you look at the last 20 years or so we are currently the best off we've been at near any time, save for a fluke season under Moyes.

COYB!

I will remain positive. Overall we have had a good window where we have definitely strengthened. We lost out to Champions League teams. The fact that we are shopping in the same area's as these teams means we have moved on.

We have a very good manager and now, more than ever, we will need to get fully behind him and the team.

We didn't even want Sissoko or Valencia. We wanted Brahimi and Gabbiadini. But we waited too long for those players and their clubs to make up their minds and ended up running around on the last day trying to get substitutes. This is what happens when you leave your business until the last day.

Everton and every other PL club do this constantly but they are basically putting the whole process into the hands of agents because they leave themselves with no time to bring in other players.

Since the end of last season we have been linked with a never ending line of players, Witsel, Mata, Kone, Brahimi, Gabbiadini, uncle Tom Cobbley and all. Yet each time all they did was faff us about while they waited for a better offers from the club they are at or some club other than us.

We have to stop this. We should just make our offer, give them a couple of days to mull it over and then get our answer. Yes or no. If they want more time take it as a no, blow them out and move on. We can't let the players or their agents control the transfer system. If we do we'll just end up with egg on our faces like last night.

ps: I'd have loved to have been a fly on RK's wall when he discovered the club had been led up the garden path. I'll bet the air was blue.

At the same time, clubs like West Ham, with their taxpayer-funded money-printing machine that is 'The London Stadium' have possibly leap-frogged us in their attractiveness to players. Spurs are digging out the footings of their new stadium now, whereas ours remains a dream.

Add to that the draw of the capital city, where inevitably foreign players (and their women!) head for, means we now potentially have Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, and Spurs proving a more attractive draw than us to players and their agents.

Then, on top of this add Manchester United, with all of their world wide 'lustre', Manchester City with their Arab oil money and another 'free' stadium, and lastly, our illustrious neighbours – is it any wonder Everton get pissed around and used as bait to draw in one of the above?

I believe that the only prospect we have of surmounting these obstacles is to turn ourselves into regular winners, and to do that, we need the draw of a marquee manager (which we have), and build a new stadium, where the atmosphere scares the shit out of the opposition, gives us a goal start, and at the same time transforms the P&L account.

I believe the ingredients are there. They have to be carefully combined and nurtured to turn Everton FC back into Premier League royalty. I don't believe we'll ever get one of these despicable agents telling their player to "Get yourself off to Formby lad, the air is bracing and the natives friendly, and they've even got a Waitrose", but, for the first time since the formation of the Premier League, I think that all of the basic ingredients are there to give our club the chance to get in amongst this elite group and fight them on a reasonably level playing field.

Sissoko, and Lopez, can do one. Our time is nigh. Bring it on.

Hard, isn't it? Know why?

Yes, I think you do... it's because it never happened – not once. You've all been led along by the media bullcrap; same as all these top players we've bid for – it never happened.

I for one don't think Moshiri actually has that kind of money to throw around, especially on a pondering, unstable mid-table team such as ourselves.

We're in a far better place than we were under that fantasy fanboy Martinez; we're not contenders, we're not aiming high, and I suspect the owners/board are happy with mid-table security, and so they should especially considering how we got off lightly last season, a real threat for a relegation battle narrowly avoided.

I for one will be happy to finish top ten this season. I also suspect not one of this forum's members will be.

NSNO my arse.

I for one am concerned, particularly since we only started spending after John Stones was sold and in fact made a profit on sales.

We have heard nothing at all from the club on the stadium (Joe Anderson has been the only person blabbing) and the evidence so far is that Moshiri has changed nothing at EFC.

Anyone who saw Sissoko play last season and noticed the lack of respect he and his fellow players showed towards NUFC and their fans will realise that THFC are very welcome to waste 㿊million as they have done. Don't anybody ever think that good teams are built by wasting millions on rubbish players just for the sake of signing anybody.