The Cull

Martin O'Connor 24/06/2018 33comments  |  Jump to last

The day after the joint press conference of Manager Marco Silva and Director of Football Marcel Brands, our new Director of Football confirmed that Everton were looking to move on 12 players. The new management duo wanted to cut down the bloated squad of 38 first team players. This was music to my ears as the squad we have at the moment is imbalanced, too big, and not fit for purpose. In my opinion, more than 12 players need to go and the sooner this process begins, the better.

Below, in alphabetical order, I give my take on who should be part of this cull. It contains more than 12 players, as we need a total fresh start at the Club. While it would be a hard task to get all the players I have listed out of the club in one Summer, I think that, if it was possible, all the below need to be shipped out.

Mo Besic

Loaned out to Championship side Middlesborough in January were he proved a success. With Gana and the emergence of Baningime there is no place for him at the Club. Hopefully a deal can be done with Boro to sign him permanently.

Yannick Bolasie

Bought from Crystal Palace for an extortionate £25 million rising to £28 million, a mistake from day one and a player I would never have touched. A hit-and-miss winger whose scoring record was appalling. A bad injury in December 2016 saw him out for a whole year and he has come back a shadow of the average player he was. Time to get shut.

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Tyias Browning

Browning played well in a few first team games in Martinez’s 2nd season, including a 1-1 draw at Anfield. But injury has blighted his career both at Everton and even when out on loan. Spent last season on loan at Sunderland, who were relegated to League One. Clearly not good enough for Everton he should be moved on as he can make a good career for himself probably at Championship level.

Callum Connolly

Like Antonee Robinson at Bolton Wanderers he went under the radar while on loan at Ipswich Town in the Championship, due to all the hype around the talented Kieran Dowell at Nottingham Forest.

Connolly stood out for a very average Ipswich team playing in a defensive midfield role and ended up with 35 appearances.He was part of the Everton crop of young talent that won the Under 21 World cup with England. He has also performed well for the England Under-21s at this years Toulon Tournament, scoring in the semi final win over Scotland. Connolly has even made one substitute appearance for the first team replacing Seamus Coleman against Southampton in April 2016.

Connolly can play anywhere along the back line, but I think he has missed his chance at Everton. He has been overtaken at both full-back spots in my eyes by Jonjo Kenney and Antonee Robinson. The emergence of Benni Baningimme means there is no spot for him as a defensive midfielder. Although not averse to Silva and Brands running the rule over him, I think the best option for both Connolly and the Club is to move him on.

Ramiro Funes Mori

Goes on walkabout too often and throws himself rashly into challenges. Maybe Silva could get something out of him, but he was making noises about moving to the Mexican League. If we got a good offer for him then it made sense to cash in; hopefully the undisclosed fee we got for selling him to Villarreal got us a little bit of profit.

Brendan Galloway

It all seemed so bright for Galloway when he got the nod over Luke Garbutt playing for us in the last game of the 2014-15 season at West Ham. He played a number of games the following season and seemed to be progressing well. Then came the disaster of a season-long loan to West Brom where he could not get into the team.

Since then, Galloway’s career has spiralled downwards. Shipped out last term on a season-long loan to Sunderland, who were relegated to League one, he could not even make the matchday squad for most of his time at the Stadium of Light. Clearly he has no future at the Club.

Luke Garbutt

Now 24 years old, left-back Garbutt could not get into the first team even when Cuco Martina was holding down the spot last season. With the evident emergence of Antonee Robinson (back from a season on loan at Bolton Wanderers and three caps for the USA), his chance of first-team football has fallen even further down the pecking order. It is never going to happen for Garbutt and time for him to move on.

Davy Klaassen

£23.6 million paid for a player whom the Premier League just seems too physical and fast for. Even in the debacle of the Europa League campaign, where one would think he would be more suited, when he played, he was still invisible. Yet many Evertonians have this nonsensical view that he should be persevered with. No one doubts his great attitude but the Premier League is not for him. A massive transfer mistake we should just admit it, take the hit and sell him for what we can get.

Cuco Martina

A right back who was nowhere near the Southampton team when he signed on a free as a Koeman crony. Martina is a not very good right-back, Championship level at best, who to give him his due did sterling work as a stand-in left back for most of last season. Clearly not up to Premier League standards.

Kevin Mirallas

Throughout his Everton career, for every great game, there were then 5 or 6 were he would go missing. Then there is the question of his attitude. The alleged training ground bust-up along with Morgan Schneiderlin was the last straw, along with Olympiacos shin pads, taking the ball away from Baines and missing the penalty against West Brom to name just some.

Loaned to Olympiacos in January his time there was a total flop with Olympiacos washing their hands of him. The new contract he got at the end of last season was ludicrous. The quicker we can move him on, the better, but, with the money he is on, who will take him?

Oumar Niasse

With what he had to put up with under Koeman and the way he has knuckled down and become a bit of a cult hero at Goodison, it pains me to say it but Niasse is just not good enough. Sometimes my mind boggles at how bad his first touch is. At best, he can be good as an impact sub. Marco Silva actually got a tune out of him when he signed him on loan at Hull City.

So maybe he will have a reprieve and some sort of future at Goodison Park. But the ultimate question is, is he good enough? The answer is a big fat no. There would be a number of Clubs definitely interested in taking him, so let's get a deal done and say "Bye-bye, Oumar, and thanks for the memories."

Matthew Pennington

Sent out on loan to Leeds United last season. Pennington had some first-team appearances the year before but can anyone say he impressed when he has played for the first team? Morgan Feeney, in my opinion, looks a better prospect for first-team opportunities in the future. Penington can make a good career for himself at Championship level and should be sold.

Sandro Ramirez

Like Davy Klaassen, it has just never happened for Sandro and he found it hard to get to grips with the pace and physicality of the Premier League; but, at under £6 million, he was worth a punt. Shipped out to Seville on loan in January, he said he would like to stay there. But Seville have said they will not be taking up an option to buy. His wages and not stellar form probably making up Seville’s mind. Can Silva get a tune out of him? I doubt it; he just can’t hack it in the Premier League.

Wayne Rooney

Silva and Brands had the opportunity to say at their joint press conference that he still had a future at the Club. Thankfully, both swiftly dodged that bullet. He may have come on a free but with wages of £180k a week, not so free.

Rooney at 32 was essentially a United cast off which the club took in. When we look at his season, what did we get? An initial bounce from rejoining his hometown club with goals against Stoke City and Manchester City. But apart from this what else did he provide? One admittedly man of the match performance against a dreadful West Ham United and a penalty at Anfield.

Post-Christmas his form was awful, slow paced and on many occasions giving the ball away with a ridiculous “Hollywood pass”. Basically we paid ~£9M in wages just to sell a few shirts. A disaster from start to finish. The quicker his move to DC United happens, the better.

Morgan Schneiderlin

Schneiderlin came in from Manchester United in the 2017 January window for what I consider a very over-priced £27 million. Initially a hit, his form tailed off drastically at the end of the season. For the whole of last season his form was dreadful to put it lightly.

The alleged incident along with Kevin Mirallas at Finch Farm also did him no favours with the fan base. His form picked up markedly in the final few weeks of the season, mainly as his latest utterances show because he wants to get out of the Club. A player who is over-rated and with a bad attitude.

Maarten Stekelenburg

Stekelenburg is 35 years old and was out for most of last season with injury. Nowhere near good enough as a back up goalkeeper and a relic of the failed Koeman experiment.

Shani Tarshaj

Most Evertonians will have forgotten all about this little gem. Signed under Martinez as a supposed hot young prospect, his move has been a total failure. Contracted until 2020 but should be moved on as quickly as possible.

Theo Walcott

This may raise eyebrows, as most Evertonians seem to think he had a good season after being signed in January. Yes, he had a few good games and scored some goals; he also went missing on other occasions.

At 28, his game will never get any better. In essence, he really has not kicked on from when he first burst onto the scene as a teenager. His game intelligence is lacking and if he stays we will see him regress to his norm, just as Schneiderlin did after his bright start at the Club. He is not the future for Everton and should be sold.

Ashley Williams

Williams was bought for around £11million from Swansea City in the summer of 2016. Williams was a player beginning the twilight part of his career and was in decline, even with his good performances for Wales at Euro 2016. Since joining the Club, he had an average, at best, first season and was an absolute disgrace last season in both performances and attitude. Now 33, time to get rid as quickly as possible.

Joe Williams

Part of the title-winning Under-23s team in 2016-17. Last year had a good season on loan at relegated Barnsley in the Championship playing 34 games. But ultimatley I don’t think he has enough to make the grade at Eve,rton. Hopefully a deal can be done for a permanent move to Barnsley.

Three other players who would have been on this list are Connor Grant but he has moved to Plymouth Argyle at the time of writing plus Joel Robles and David Henen. Robles and Henan’s contracts are up at the end of June and both are being released by the Club.

And Maybe... Michael Keane

To think we were considering making a bid for either Harry Maguire or Michael Keane last summer. In the end, Leicester City paid Hull City £17 million for Maguire while we bought Keane from Burnley for £25 rising to £30 million. Easy to see who got the bargain there. England international Keane (well out of the international picture now, Maguire has that spot), had a very indifferent season and has not looked anywhere near the player he was at Burnley, and nowhere near a £25-£30 million player.

Incredibly slow on the turn, Lukaku showed that at Goodison before we signed him. It was best shown up again ironically away at Burnley last season. Without the well-drilled structure of the Burnley defence he was a fish out of water in the appalling car crash which was our defence last season. At 24, there is time for him and I am not averse to giving him another season under Silva, but, if we sell him, I don’t think it would be a great loss.

With a few new additions, and if all the above are sold or at least loaned from the Club, we would have a much leaner and manageable squad. All this of course won’t happen especially in one Summer but the overwhelming cry must be “Let The Cull begin!”

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Reader Comments (33)

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Amit Vithlani
1 Posted 25/06/2018 at 14:51:32
A few comments, Martin.

1. Not sure when you actually wrote this article, it is dated 24 June. Funes has of course been sold already, so in that respect you can whittle down your list abit..

2. Your inclusion of Theo Walcott did raise my eyebrows, but a well reasoned argument to let him go might have been interesting to read. Unfortunately, on this particular name, yours is not it. These lines in particular: "At 28 his game will never get any better" and "He is not the future for Everton and should be sold." Those arguments would also apply to Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Idrissa Gueye. Why should 28 be the cut-off for determining who or who is not the future of the club – why not 29, or 26?

Suddenly it looks like we should be selling our whole first team squad!

Generally, I agree with your sentiment that the squad needs to be culled. Listing the names makes for a partially interesting read. The other thing I would be interested to see is how we go about it. We have a lot of players to shift, and selling them across 2 windows at least would make a lot of sense.

Does that mean we limit the number coming in? Do we farm players out on loan as a means of reducing the wage bill? Is it better to strive for permanent transfers out instead?

What is clear is that colossal cock-up by Walsh and Koeman, in particular, has loaded the club with a squad which might weigh us down in the short term.

Perhaps part of the answer might lie in Silva actually trying to coach at least some of the players we have to play better. Michael Keane would certainly fit into that category, whilst Sandro and Klaassen may just surprise us if Silva can mould them.


Sam Hoare
2 Posted 25/06/2018 at 15:04:59
We've certainly built up more than our fair share of deadwood but Walcott certainly does not fall under that category. I was rather against signing him and would have preferred someone younger but he is here now and is one of our best players with a good few years ahead of him still.

Niasse is one of the best impact subs in the league. If we get a big offer for him or the chance to buy a great striker, then fine... but at the moment he deserves to stay for his goals last season alone.

I'd also like to keep Connolly around a little longer and I'm curious to see what Silva could do with Sandro and Klaassen. Keane will almost certainly be staying though I'd happily take £20m for him tomorrow – he's a very mediocre defender as I see it.

Christopher Timmins
3 Posted 25/06/2018 at 15:18:45
Very harsh to include Walcott in a listing of players to depart; he was one of the few success of an otherwise dreadful season.
Steve Pugh
4 Posted 25/06/2018 at 15:41:55
For Callum Connolly, think Alan Harper. A good, versatile player who can fill a number of positions coming off the bench. May not be a starter but vital to the success of a team.

Theo shouldn't be part of a cull because we have no-one good enough to replace him. If we buy a replacement, then that's fine... but only a fool would make the first team weaker just to save wages.

Jamie Evans
5 Posted 25/06/2018 at 15:51:41
Sorry, Martin, I'm sure your heart was in the right place but this is a really poor piece.

The Joe Williams and Callum Connolly shouts are bad enough but sell Walcott !?!

Oh dear.

And are you just keeping your options with Michael Keane?

A cull is needed for sure but let's keep it measured.

Chris Pitchford
6 Posted 25/06/2018 at 15:57:13
An extremely fine read this, Martin. You are as blunt as you are vicious.

I would also add Tom Davies to your list. Mainly because I can't bloody stand watching him touch his hair every few seconds.

Gana whatever his name is, also makes my blood boil and Calvert-Lewin should never be allowed back inside the training ground. I hate Pennington as well.

On the plus side, Rooney looks like he is leaving (another one who shouldn't have been allowed back anywhere near the club) and Funes Mori didn't even wait around to be asked.

James Stewart
7 Posted 25/06/2018 at 16:02:35
No way you can shift that many in one window. Maybe in Football Manager fantasy land but not in reality.

Walcott being included in that list is comical.

John Roberts
8 Posted 25/06/2018 at 16:12:04
I find it very interesting to remember that, this time last year, we hit the transfer window running, with most posters on this site thinking we finally had a squad that would challenge for the top four.

Here we are, 12 months and two coaches later, looking to get rid of a large portion of that squad. Whatever happened to the coach getting the best out of players and squad? Or has that aspect of the game disappeared in favour of just buying in more "talent"?

Raymond Fox
9 Posted 25/06/2018 at 16:19:56
Culls are all very well Martin, but we have to find and then sign better players. Going off our past record we wont find that easy to do!

Niasse should be retained, he makes things happen in a positive way when he gets a chance.

I would also persevere with Bolasie as it takes time to get over a injury like he suffered.

I still have a soft spot for Galloway, I thought he was certain to make a first team player. Maybe he has off-field issues... who knows?

I don't agree with you on Walcott either – we can't afford to ditch players as good as him.

As far as your other picks to sell are concerned, I largely agree.

Steve Ferns
10 Posted 25/06/2018 at 16:31:56
The problem with these culls is people assume we will get a £100M for them, and then another £100M war chest and suddenly were signing all these great players on loan and on the cheap. It ain't happening.

Sure in an ideal world we'd get rid of all of them because right now only Coleman is good enough for the top 6.

The reality is the players you want rid of the most are the ones hardest to sell and the players you think can do a job are the ones we actually can sell and, in trying to flog everyone, we end up with a squad even more imbalanced than Koeman left behind.

The key is surely to sell the ones we really want rid of, when we can, without he haste that will see us pay for them to leave, and that might mean keeping the likes of Connolly, Pennington and those other youngsters you'd get rid of. Sure, they're unlikely to really make the grade, but they are cheap and they can fill the bench until their contracts expire and we have the next batch of youngsters to fill their place.

Patience is key to ridding ourselves of these players and it will take 2-3 years. That's not to say we can't make a go of things in the interim and, if we play well, then maybe some of the guys you listed will play themselves into a move.

Alan J Thompson
11 Posted 25/06/2018 at 16:41:47
What have we got, 6 or 7 weeks until the season starts? Even assuming two new players and, say, one of Dowell or Williams from the U-23s, Silva would have to be quite some coach to knock them into a vastly improved team in that time.

And allowance has to be made for the three at the World Cup even if they are there for only another week as they must be entitled to some sort of break. Perhaps any cull might be a lot shorter list, at least for the time being.

Mark Taylor
12 Posted 25/06/2018 at 17:31:29
The starting point here has to be about wages, rather than a wish list of who to cull and what we may or may not get for them.

We have some very highly paid players. Many, including Schneiderlin, Klaassen and even Ramirez are on £5m or more a year. Even Bolaisie is on £4m plus. And Williams has another year collecting £75k per week because who is going to pay that salary for him?

However we got here doesn't help much. The problem, as Brands himself has pointed out, is that once you are signed by a decent-sized Premier League club, you are very difficult to move on if it doesn't work out simply because there are only a handful of clubs that can afford these wages.

We could probably shift Niasse and especially Besic because their wages are affordable – the latter even to Championship teams – and their transfer cost is mostly written down and negligible. But most of the others

Unless these guys are willing to take a wage cut in order to play, I can't see us offloading them unless we also pay part of their wages, which kind of defeats the point. It certainly means that people like Walcott – and probably even Klaassen – have to be given a chance to see if they can improve under Silva.

It's ironic that Seamus Coleman is one of our lowest-paid players, he's on less than half the wage of most of the wasters above yet, injury notwithstanding, it is hard to see how that can be an accurate reflection of his value to the club.

Brian Abbsey
13 Posted 25/06/2018 at 17:49:04
Steve at 10. A bit surprised you only include Coleman as a top six player. Don't tell me our pals across the park wouldn't have appreciated Pickford in Kiev.
Simon Smith
14 Posted 25/06/2018 at 17:54:27
Get rid of Walcott??? I thought he was our best player and Sam's best bit of business.
Steve Ferns
15 Posted 25/06/2018 at 18:04:48
He'd get in the Arsenal and Liverpool sides at the moment, Brian. He's got a big chance to show just how good he is on the world stage too. I think he has the potential to be very, very good, maybe even better than that. We just need to wait and see.

If we were signing a side to compete for Champions League this season, I just think he's a little bit less than what you need. Sure, he can get there over the next couple of seasons.

Danny Broderick
16 Posted 25/06/2018 at 18:17:55
Sorry Martin but this article is a bit over the top. What the squad needs is a trim. What you are proposing is effectively just getting the clippers out and shaving all the hair off!

Walcott and Michael Keane do not belong on this list, and neither do Niasse and Stekelenburg in my opinion, as they are decent back-up for the striker and goalkeeper positions. Without Walcott, we are a slow team – we need his pace to help us attack at pace if nothing else.

And I personally am backing Michael Keane to come good. He's not the first defender to struggle at Everton initially – Dave Watson, Phil Jagielka are good examples of that. But he has the ability to become a success at Everton if he steps up next season.

Let's shift the deadwood, but I feel we need more evolution than revolution.

Mike Allison
17 Posted 25/06/2018 at 18:27:47
The Walcott thing is just crazy. Hard to argue with much of the rest, but Connolly has to be given a chance to impress, and frankly, I’d actually apply the same to anyone under 25.
John Cartwright
18 Posted 25/06/2018 at 19:11:50
I agree on Martin's assessment with the exception of Connolly, and possibly Walcott... and Niasse – as an impact sub
Jackie Barry
19 Posted 25/06/2018 at 19:31:58
Bloody hell we are trying to sell Bolasie not give him away, you need to talk him up. Tell Newcastle he’s amazing!
Andy Crooks
20 Posted 25/06/2018 at 22:41:18
I guess those players due to be "culled", will happily accept their culling. No doubt they will accept that their futures lie in the Championship.

They are perhaps already planning their futures with less pay; those with kids are probably looking for new schools, doubtless happy to be culled.

"Get rid, ship them out, cull them"; utterly redundant phrases that ignore the fact that, like it or not, we are talking about people here. Some of them and their families might just like, say, where they live, even like their team mates. They might not want to be part of Football Manager fantasy.

Ludicrous contracts were negligently handed out and they won't be torn up because someone on ToffeeWeb wants a cull. Why on earth would any club want to pay big money and wages for anyone deemed not good enough to play for what was, last season, an utterly woeful side?

Who the fuck is going to think: "Everton are going to cull Schneiderlin, Mirallas, Klaassen etc – let's get in touch and match their wages before the top six find out about this fire sale"?

Just utter pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. This "cull" will cost more than our club will pay. Expect some of your wish list to be here next season.

Seb Niemand
21 Posted 26/06/2018 at 01:11:17
Maybe it's cockeyed optimism, maybe it is hoping against hope or maybe it is just sheer bloody mindedness but I still feel, somewhere deep down inside, there's a very good player in Davy Klaassen.

There's precious little evidence to back it up, I grant you, but if Silva took the time with him that Koeman was too shellshocked for, The Fat Controller was too busy stuffing pies in his face to take, he may find the player I believe Klaassen can be.

A stay of execution may be warranted here.

Mark Taylor
22 Posted 26/06/2018 at 11:13:48
Seb, I don't think we have much choice. He's another on a wage that I doubt anyone else would pay and certainly not in addition to coughing up a transfer fee that would see most if not all of our original investment returned.

It's often said that your biggest assets are your employees, or in this case, your players.

Problem is, they can also be your biggest financial liability, and boy do we have a lot of liabilities right now.

Tony Everan
23 Posted 26/06/2018 at 11:27:14
Walcott's pace was one of the reasons we finished 8th and not 15th.

That pace makes poor defences very jittery. It affects the commitment to attack and offensive play by their teams.

All season, we were crying out for some pace and some threat. When we got it we got better results despite the awful Sam Allardyce set up.

If he can stay fit, he will be a welcome and valuable member of the first team for the next couple of seasons.

Dale Rose
24 Posted 26/06/2018 at 13:08:24
Martin, were you thrown out of the SS for cruelty?

Nice piece; however, I disagree about Walcott, the only bright spot in a dark season. The other one I would keep is Galloway, he needs to be under a better manager than the last muppets; I think he would flourish.

Alan J Thompson
25 Posted 26/06/2018 at 16:05:56
Just as an aside, somebody said that Silva was taking a break in Portugal. Anybody notice if he had his golf clubs with him?
Tommy Surgenor
26 Posted 26/06/2018 at 16:18:18
Alan, perhaps! We are for the Algarve later in the summer after all. Get a bit of practise in.
Bobby Mallon
27 Posted 26/06/2018 at 19:20:46
Oh god, Martin O'Connor, I am glad you are not in charge of recruitment!
Peter Gorman
28 Posted 26/06/2018 at 20:17:54
'Culling' the highly promising Connolly was a somewhat odd decision but I agree with others that you topped it with Walcott.

As for the rest, excepting the youngsters who I doubt you've ever seen play – I wouldn't quite shed a tear if they never made it to next season.

Peter Thistle
29 Posted 26/06/2018 at 22:22:18
I loathe Keane but no chance of getting rid of him when we hardly have any defenders left. Williams for sure, Bolasie definately. Walcott, nah.
Rob Dolby
30 Posted 27/06/2018 at 08:28:16
If you were playing fantasy football manager, then I agree with wholesale changes. In reality, clubs have to want our players.

Rooney looks like he is going. Who would want to spend a £100k a week on wages for Ashley Williams, Mirallas, Bolasie, Klaassen, Sandro, or Schneiderlin?

The 5-year contract that we gave to Garbutt making him a multi-millionaire is probably the reason why lower league clubs aren't interested.

We will be lucky to move 4 out of the 6 above and bring 2 quality players in.

Martin O'Connor
31 Posted 27/06/2018 at 14:16:31
First off, I do say at the beginning it would be hard to move all the players in one window. Loans will come into the equation, one would think, for some players. The quicker the better for me but it will take longer than one summer

Players are all about opinions that's why we have a number of shouts for keeping different players in the comments. Connolly gets quite a few shouts and I do say I'm not averse to Silva & Brands running the rule over him. Other names mentioned: Bolasie, Joe Williams, Klaassen, Niasse, Galloway, and of course Walcott — all about opinions and this is my frank opinion of the squad.

Steve at 10: I don't mention how much I assume we would get for these players. I don't even think we would get £100 million if we did off-load most of them. For me, it's going forward — do I see the players listed as the future? The answer is No.

Rob at 30 makes a good point about the contracts given out, which is one of the reasons why we have ended up with the mess of a squad we have. So that makes it harder to move on players.

As for Walcott, let's wait and see next season. Most comments seem to rate him; I never have. Like Schneiderlin, a half-good start following a January move... but, just like Morgan, the real Theo will show himself as an average Premier League footballer next season.

Pete at 28; I've seen them play plenty of times.

Jay Harris
32 Posted 27/06/2018 at 15:41:38
I don't think its fair to judge some players while playing in an unbalanced and demotivated team. However some are regular standout performers (in a negative way).

It is painfully obvious that Sandro and Klaassen will not make it in the Premier League so we need to cut our losses in the best way possible which may involve just covering wages until their contract runs out.

Rooney was a disastrous decision. To even think he could replace Lukaku shows how poor the decision-making was over the last few years with too much influence from you-know-who.

Bolasie is totally inconsistent, even in the same game, but may not be that difficult to shift if Palace are interested – but again, we will take a hit on that.

Ashley Williams (suffered from being the boo-boy) and Michael Keane were not good value but both can play a lot better than they have shown and might be worth another season if Silva can get a tune and/or if they are difficult to move on.

Schneiderlin may be going back to France if the media are to be believed but again we will take a big hit on that one.

I haven't mentioned any of the youngsters because their costs are relatively insignificant and the ones we want to move on will be easier to accommodate.

I also haven't mentioned Walcott because even having him in the conversation is ridiculous.

Culling is only part of the equation, however, because we desperately need a new left-back, centre-back and goalkeeper and our midfield needs beefing up with strength and goalscoring ability.

Phil (Kelsall) Roberts
33 Posted 30/06/2018 at 14:22:21
Steve Pugh #4

The game has moved on from the days of Alan Harper. Back then you had one sub per game. Alan Harper was a brilliant sub because he could play anywhere. Also you had much smaller sqauds and less player rotation.

Today there are 2 (Specialist) players for each position (just read the posts on here about back-ups) and 7 subs per game. The need for Alan Harper type players has gone. Look at Martina!


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