Lössl rejoins Huddersfield

Antonee Robinson likely to go to Italy for £11m... More brilliant work by Everton.

The club seems to be unable to display due diligence when buying players. And also seems to be unable to judge their own players.

I agree. I could get over it if it was 2 to 3 years ago but only 6 months ago – people in normal jobs would get fired for less.

Would have liked to get a midfielder on loan, although that may still happen, but they would have done a good job keeping it from the journos till this last hour or two.

Mike Gaynes will be even more gutted over Antonee Robinson, if the Italian £10-11M offer materialises, and as Jonathan above said we undervalue our own players too often.

Had hoped that Antony Evans would have made it through to the first-team squad but time will tell if that decision was right or wrong.

Glad to see that Lewis Gibson has signed an extension, before going on loan to Joey Barton's Fleetwood, alongside Calum Connolly, and Morgan Feeney to Tranmere too.

I always look to see how our lads do at these Clubs, as it can often be a good barometer, to see if they will cut it in playing regularly for a League side, although there are always the odd late developers. Realistically there will always be the odd one or two (John Lundstram, Gerard Deulofeu) that slip through the net, but we can't keep them all.

Pity we can't offload Martina and Niasse, but there is still time, for two players who should never have been bought in the first place. It's through the idiocy of previous Saboteurs that see us in the dangers of breaching FFP Rules, such a waste of Club money with these sort of purchases.

Agree on the Robinson deal – we should either have had first refusal or a serious sell-on percentage.

Hoping for a midfielder, Wanyama at Spurs available for £8M? Always thought he looked a good player.

Failing that, a centre-back, allowing Mason to play in midfield.

I am genuinely surprised that another centre-back hasn't been talked about. Only 3 senior centre-backs, Feeney going out on loan, Gibson likely to go on loan – we are one injury away from being in a really bad position at the back.

I am fine with no incomings in all other positions, but centre-back worries me. That said, our luck has held for the first half of the season (at centre-back anyway).

I think we all know what's happening today. Absolute zero. It's been on the cards since the announcement of record losses and no-one is contemplating taking our deadwood.

Iwobi back tomorrow and Gomes in a few weeks. They'll be like new signings.

Kunal, I'd rather save our money for a decent player than buy an average one because that's all FFP will let us buy. We ain't going down, we are too far from top 4, our squad is not good enough for Europa League, and that competition is not cost-effective for the big squads needed to be successful in domestic and European matches.

We can probably recall one of our two loanee centre backs in case of injury.

We've had very few successes in the January Window, so I'd be inclined to wait until the summer rather that bring in a squad player on big money that we'll struggle to offload in the future.

Wanyama is a good player but injury-prone and we've also had/have too many of them.

I agree with the comments above. The last time we bought in January, in a panic, we spent a fortune on Walcott and Tosun. I still think Tosun would score goals playing regularly but he's still a waste of money.

I trust Carlo to sort us out and fully expect a barrage of new sponsorship deals in the summer from Usmanov-related businesses to bring in some money to support his summer's spending.

Although, this being Everton, it wouldn't surprise me to find we have run out of money, not putting any more in, and selling Richarlison to stay afloat.

Whoever sanctioned the release of Robinson should face some stern questions. If people on here, Mike Gaynes et al, can see his potential, why can't the club???

One error after another in the transfer market.

I'd be truly amazed if we did not have a sell-on clause with Robinson. The standard is anywhere between 20-40% on profit.

Antonee Robinson would not have played in the first team. That was obvious as soon as it was decided to give Baines a new contract. Good luck to him at Milan and at least we get a slice of the fee. But I agree with others who suggest buy-back clauses need to be used more.

Good luck to Robinson; I hope it goes well. He left to get game time and to improve his game and it has paid off.

However, there is no guarantee that his good form for Wigan will continue in Italy. The two leagues are polar opposites so all the wailing may be a tad premature.

Mike - 12 he might not have played much this season, but next season we'll probably have to sign a replacement for Baines when we already had one here. Another loan would have been best.

We're snookered with FFP, then a player we let go for £1 million gets sold for £10 million. I remember a lot of us at the time being amazed that we let our promising reserves go for £1 million when Liverpool can fetch £10 to £20million for some of theirs.

Unfortunately, If this is Brands, then he's starting to rack up a few questionable decisions – such as Delph, Iwobi and now Robinson. (Although Iwobi has time to prove me wrong...)

Does anybody expect Brands to still be at the club this time next year?

I think Brands will see out his contract and then move on.

i can't see him staying beyond that, to be honest.

Please, all these experts who have probably never seen Robinson kick a ball but know for certain we made a mistake letting him go, just like we did with Lookman. AC Milan are the Italian Everton under Steve Walsh, with money burning a hole in his pocket.

Totallly agree Steve. My point was about bringing expectations in line today and for those not to be disappointed come 11pm.

Carl, you don't have to be an “expert” to see that selling a player for £2m six months before he's valued at £11m is pretty poor business. How many times have you seen Robinson?

Who mentioned Lookman? We did well getting rid for the amount we did.

I 100% hope we buy no-one; we're in no-man's land in the league out of both cups, there is no need to waste money or take a wild punt on someone.

Keep the powder dry and the funds in the bank for the summer.

Organise a proper preseason, get the players fit and let's get our transfer targets in early if possible, no last-minute Zaha and Zouma chases like last season, thank you.

No excuses for the 2020-21 season, we have to get it right and start the rebuild. Let's get the foundations right.

Only time will tell whether we undervalued Robinson or Milan have over-valued him but I was surprised we let him go given Baines' sage and the paucity of backup. I believe he was very keen to go and I'm not sure if he had much longer on his contract so that was maybe a factor.

In terms of this window, I think we have seen the combination of past misjudgements and FFP come back to haunt us. We are close to our limit in terms of spending and, as we mainly faffed a load of money on overpaid older players, we are struggling to recoup anything. Let this be a warning to the many on here who say "it doesn't matter what age they are" or "it's not our money".

Perhaps if we were pushing for top 4 or relegation then they would find a way to make it work but, ensconced firmly in mid-table, it seems we may be set for another 8th to 11th finish. A shame as I think there have been some really intersting and good value moves made in this window already:

Haaland to Dortmund for £19m is an absolute snip. Minamino to Liverpool for £7m will prove excellent value. Kulusevski to Juve for £30m is a very good player I believe. Diego Demme is a very able central midfielder who cost Napoli just £10m. Reinier Jesus was obviously a player we were linked with who could be a the next galactico at Madrid. Dani Olmo is an excellent playmaker that I think Leipzig have got a bargain for at £17m. Flamengo have also struck a bargain getting Jay Wood's favourite 'Gabigol' for only £14m. Bruno Guimaraes looks a very complete midfielder (the sort we badly lack) and has moved to Lyon for only £17m. I think Daniel Podence looks a very interesting winger and is decent value for Wolves at £17m and Sander Berge, who many think of being the one of the best young central midfielders around, has been something of a coup for Sheffield United at £22m. Maybe the deal I'm most jealous of is Bayer getting the talented young Exequiel Palacios for just £15m.

Lots of great deals being done and a lot of good central midfielders which is a position we surely need to strengthen in. Either Brands has set targets who are not available yet, or we are limited by FFP, or a combination of both.

I think everyone needs to just be realistic. We have tons of youngsters who sadly every year get released or sold to lower league teams. I can only think of around three that have made it to premier league level on a consistent basis. Duffy Lundestram and Nsiala who turned up at Reading. This happens to top clubs on a regular basis. If there is a sell on clause then job done for me. It's not an exact science one will make it every now and then

Robinson? Fast, athletic and six feet tall. Not our type of player at all.

More seriously I was a little surprised we let him go in the summer. Having seen him in the under 23s and in a couple of pre-season games he seemed to possess many of the qualities, such as pace and power, required of the modern fullback. There was a question mark about the quality of his crosses into the area but given his age and inexperience that was surely something which could have been worked on.

I drives me mad how no one seems to want us to try and get in the Europe Leageu. We're not on no-mas lands in the league at all, we're only 4 points from 5th in a piss-poor league.

Any little bit of form and we'll be ale to get into Europe.

Yet many people seem to believe we should avoid the Europe League so we can have a proper pop at top-4 next year.
Guess what, we've been saying that year after year after year and it is not happening.

Even if we do get 4th, then what?
We stand no chance in the Champions league quality wise and have no chance as we are not used at all to play extra games. We barely play more then 42 games a season nowadays.

Spurs did well in the Europe League for a few years and when they went into the Champions League, they were better ranked because of it and were already used to playing the extra games.

I am sick and tired of ' next season we'll do this and that....'.
I want to get back on those planes and travel the continent, asap.

It's the only "success" we've had for 25 years and if that is the best we can do for now, let's try to actually do it.

Why wait until the summer to rebuild and aim to qualify for Europe next season when we can actually do it now??
Make no mistake, rebuilding will be a lot easier if we can offer European football to a few potential signings.

Why is everybody assuming the Robinson story is bad business by Everton and not Milan?

Andrew, not everybody! Look @21.

Just because Milan are willing to pay £10m for a player from the Championship who has never played a top-flight football game doesn't mean us selling him for £2m is now all of a sudden bad business. Let's actually see how he does first.

Anyways this kind of thing happens all the time it's not like it's exclusive to us. It's impossible to know how a player will turn out and sometimes you have to make decisions at that moment that may come back to bite you.

What was the terms of the Robinson deal?

I’ve seen conflicting reports. Some say £1.3m and a % of sale, whilst others say £3m. No way have Wigan coughed up
£3m.

If we get a percentage, then the Robinson to Milan transfer is the best thing that could have happened for us, as opposed to him being crap and us never getting a penny.

No money, no players in. Going nowhere fast. Just the sound of chickens coming home to roost. What's another year.

Rob, I have to agree with that post mate. Rebuilding should have started when CA was appointed not waiting until summer.

A push for the Europa league is the first target, our last participation was an embarrasment. If we fluked the CL then we would be soundly thrashed every game. Imagine a mdifield of Siggi and Sideways against Barca.

Tomorrow is a big game and hopefully the break would have allowed Carlo some time to teach the players the differnce between the coccyx and the humerus.

What about these Ronaldo Vieira rumours? Anyone seen him for Leeds or Sampdoria. I’ve seen a couple of game but saw nothing that made him stand out or me take any real note. Is he any good? The price is good, but is he better than Tom Davies?

We can’t rebuild if we can’t spend the money we have because of FFP. What would you like us to do, spend all the cash then get breached and relegated like Saracens?

There are probs about 3 or 4 v good bits of business where I'm jealous - guimaraes and berge in particular. Monaco have bought 3 v promising youngsters as is there general strategy - all of whom would be worth a punt. Weve got Branthwaite which will hopefully pay dividends in a couple of years. That's dull if thats our lot - but seems sensible and restrained to see if Carlo can coach a tune out of some (on paper) good players. If so great, if not we know what we need to do in summer. A couple of truly top notch hungry young players could transform this squad.

James #30
IF, and it’s a massive IF, we were indeed to fluke our way into the CL there is no way Siggy and Schneids would be on the pitch at Barca. Getting in the CL would transform our buying power in an instant.
But it’s not going to happen this year. It’s a chicken and egg scenario. We can’t attract CL class players if we’re not in the CL and we can’t (likely) get into the CL without CL class players.
The big hope we have at the moment is Carlo Ancelloti.

Feeling a little better now that the BBC are reporting that the Robinson fee is closer to £6 million, of which we get 20%.

Steve@31, be amazed if there's anything in those rumours. Seen him and read about him once or twice. He's certainly more athletic than Davies (which we need) but not done much at Sampdoria to merit a place in our starting XI. Decent passer, decent tackler but not much more than that so far.

Are we really sending Gibson to be under Joey Barton’s wing? Hope he doesn’t take him to McDonalds. Should be able to look after himself on nights out when he returns.

Isn’t it interesting that according to some on here that when the value of a player has obviously increased, i.e Richarlison, that it was the manager who bought him not Brands yet is totally the responsibility of Brands when it doesn’t go so well. It may just be that Silva didn’t want Robinson or at least promise him some first team football. Surely the role of the DoF is to work with the manager to get players that he wants and get rid of those he doesn’t

Our biggest problem, is our toothless midfield, Gomes and Gbamin can't come back soon enough, because we are stuck with Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson who are on massive wages, and unfortunately good contracts, and sadly the injury prone Delph, who is 31 this year, is also on massive wages and a 3 year contract as well, definitely bad business.

Sam, sorry I missed that.

Newcastle are claiming they almost signed Soumare for around £40m. Should we swoop?

Steve, we can't sit on our hands either and contemplate the meaning of life, the universe and everything !
I don't think releagtion is punishemnt they can hand out but that is neither here nor there. There is more than one way to rebuild a squad other than ship everyone out and buy new.

I think Gibson to Fleetwood is a good move. Barton will toughen him up and teach him how to handle a rough striker.
Robinson is an unfortunate one but these things happen. Derek mentioned Delefeu but wasn’t he bought back by Barça under the terms of the deal through which we bought him and we had no choice in the matter?
The whole transfer window is very quiet and like others mention I’d prefer to sit tight for now unless there is a decent loan out there. We have been badly stung with Walcott, Tosun and Niasse in January windows and don’t want to create more problems for ourselves. Let Carlo get to work on Iwobi and Gomes and see how our midfield,looks by the end of the season.

Transfer deadline day is also when the UK leaves the EU and Boris Johnson telling northerners and scousers they have never had it so good as Nissan car workers in Sunderland and Honda workers in Swindon will soon be losing their jobs. And the single market will end at the end of the year putting the cost of British footballers up in value. So there is hope for Walcott remaining at Everton for at least another year.

I wonder if those castigating the club over the Robinson transfer are the same one's who were up in arms about the Lookman sale. The same one's up in arms about Deulofeu being allowed to leave when, as an earlier poster pointed out, Barca activated the buyback option which we had no say in.

Slag the club when they deserve it but some live to slag the club.

Don’t want to raise anybody’s hopes but I’ve just seen Beni McCarthy and Riquelme in Starbucks. They said they were somebody else and looked at me like I was an idiot when I asked, but I’m sure they were just annoyed because their cover was blown on deadline day

why are we scared of FFP?
Has anyone actually seen any calculations of what we can still spend, or of what we should recoup or are we assuming we're in trouble based on only this years loss? I must have missed that.

In that case I assume we'll ditch Sportpesa a year early, as indicated somwehat by the lady on our board. Megafon with megabucks to come in?

Steavey, very soon we will see the top clubs harvesting the best young British talent as it looks as the post Brexit overseas player rules will mean there has to be at least 12 British players in the 25 man PL squad.

Do Milan have a left back as good as Lucas Digne?

No.

That’s why they are buying one.

Is Robinson as good as Lucas Digne?

No.

Does Lucas Digne play for Everton?

Yes.

Would Robinson have started ahead of Lucas Digne this season?

No.

> Sell

Tommy, I don't think people are arguing the sale of Robinson, just maybe we let him go to cheaply. Personally, who knows? I just have a sneaky feeling he won't take Milan by storm and if it is £11m it will prove too steep.

I have to say that if West Ham sign Jarrod Bowen then Moyesie has done some excellent business.

Bowen and Soucek will be a success at West Ham. Bowen has been a stand out player in a relatively poor side for a couple of years.

Signings typical of Moyes and good value. Measured investments rather than blowing millions on players who’ve had a crack at the elite teams and never really convinced.

When Baines leaves do we have an understudy for Digne?

No

Will we have to spend money on an average squad player?

Probably

Did we have someone who could potentially have been’s understudy?

Yes

Did we get a decent amount of money for him considering his potential and international status?

No

Conclusion...

Should have sent him on loan again.

Paul the Esk put up a very good post in regards to the ffp, well worth a read.

To put it short our wage turnover is at around 85%, this year saw record losses of around £100 Million, the season before I think we were £30 Million up with a turnaround over 3 years of not exceeding £109 Million debt to keep us inline with ffp.

We may get Niasse off the wage bill today, if not then in the summer along with Martina and possibly Tosun.

We will struggle to bring in any big signings, maybe a loan.

However in the summer we should have a little more breathing space.

One thing is for sure, we must get whatever we can off the wage bill, the freeloaders, anything we manage in outgoings today is a bonus,but our wages on players are killing our ffp and outgoings on fringe players is a must.

Andrew #48 Even when the Everton under 23s were winning the PL2 none broke through to the first team even though many 1st team players were playing awful. Frank Lampard is bemoaning losing Eden Hazard and is looking for a replacement overseas even when he is giving the young English players playing opportunities.

we needed a centre half in last window(thankfully we have dodged rojo from man utd again) six months not to come up with a plan b?

I think that this window shows that very little business will be done and I have really enjoyed watching the Sky presenters trying to inject excitement about a player going to a Championship club. As for us I think when we published that we had lost in excess of £100 million in the last 12 months pretty much said there will be no big money buys arriving soon. Brands forewarned us some weeks ago before the accounts were published not to see us signing players for £60 million plus.

As far as FFP rules are concerned, the rules are fairly basic if you make losses of £105 million over a 3 year period you will fall foul of FFP rules. So it doesnt take an accountant to work out that unless we get some of our most expensive players out the door or either get ways to increase our income via sponsorship we will have very little money to spend now or in the summer.
This must be really concerning for Ancelotti, as he will know more than anyone this squad as it stands isn't good enough to challenge the top 4/6.

Although the club are saying that they are nowhere near breaching FFP rules, it seems the figures doesn't back up that statement. My worry is that if we do break the FFP rules as City have done in the past with only having to pay a fine. I could well see the Premier league using a different punishment if it was Everton who transgressed the FFP rules. I worry they would adopt a similar punishment to what the RFU handed to Saracens, which was originally a 35 point deduction, and because they were found to be in breach of rules again they have been relegated.

Now I am sure that the powers that be at Everton are well aware of the sanctions that could be imposed if they break the FFP rules. So I think the summer will be a very interesting period.

Tommy Carter @49, afraid you're wrong on that first one. Milan have Theo Hernandez who is one of the best left backs around and has been their player of the season. Great buy for them last summer

Robinson is being bought in, at best, as his understudy. Perhaps he could have been Digne's understudy as Baines is almost done. Imagine we may have to buy another LB this summer as don't see any of the youngsters making a strong claim currently.

We went from thinking we were getting Zouma and Zaha on the last deadline day to ending up with the hugely disappointing Iwobi instead. We've since had long-term injuries to key players, announced we've made a massive loss, got rid of another manager, hired a world-class manager, been linked with the likes of James Rodriguez but it ultimately looks like we aren't looking to do any business. Makes me wonder how we nearly got Zaha then and how we would have afforded that?

Never anything but frustrating being a Blue is it?

Kevin #54. Agree, we should not have sold Robinson, he still had 2 years left on his contact when he left. Obviously the management didn’t agree with us.

@57

A brilliant attacking full back, yes. But they are seeking to play him in a more advanced position given his defensive limitations. The same limitations that prevented any progress at Madrid.

Better than Digne?

No.

@52 Kevin. You can’t just keep loaning people out in the hope that they’ll come good. Petrified that they will come good elsewhere.

He wasn’t going to play for us this season. End of. £2m was the going rate at that time for him, obviously. Otherwise Milan would’ve paid £3m then and saved themselves £7m

We did that with another left back. Keeping him on our books for huge money too, Luke Garbutt.

Being reported we get 20% of Robinson’s fee

Brian@56, that sounds about right for the ffp, seems to match mine @53 and what Paul the esk posted in great detail a few weeks ago.

I am pretty sure though some will still be glued to sky transfer Day and expecting huge incomings which is not going to happen.

The best we can hope for is a loan signing and some outgoings, Niasse to Burnley will be the best bit of business for us, if it goes through.

Shaun#55. If we had bought a CH last summer would Holgate be where he is now? I would suggest not and would probably be out on loan now. With 13 games left we do no need to buy one now. In summer get one to probably replace Keane.

We do Chris, and the deal is £6m with the rest (up to £10m) only in addons, so may never get actually paid.
So if we got £2m was it for him (some say £3m), plus £1.2m from his sale from Wigan to Milan it doesn't seem too bad to my eyes.
Shame we can't look into the future and even more of a shame that we don't know all the ins and outs of his sale to Wigan in the first place.

If Evertonians are up in arms over this how must Chelsea fans have felt when we sold Lukaku for £76m (plus addons) after only paying £28m for him?

Keep hearing it's a quiet window, yet Sheffield Utd, West Ham, Wolves, Spurs all strengthened. We should have at least brought one midfielder in. Who cares about Niasse and Martina! Let them rot in the reserves if they don't want to play, we aren't going to get a fee for them at this stage anyway.

Are there any previous clubs who have fallen foul of FFP rules.

It's seems that rules are there to be broken by the so called big clubs. PSG, Madrid,Barca, Chelsea, City and the shite seem to do ok by challenging or testing the system.

I just wonder what the punishments are.

Tommy@60 He's certainly attacking and this season he has been at least as good as Digne. The stats suggest better.

He has played exclusively as full back/wing back so far so I see no indication that Robinson will be starting for Milan anytime soon. Guess he'd rather warm the bench in Italy than Liverpool, can't blame him!

@51 Soucek is a great buy for them, he was impressive in the CL against some top sides. Strange no one else was in for him. Interested to see how Berge gets on at Sheff Utd as well.

Are there any previous clubs who have fallen foul of FFP rules.

It's seems that rules are there to be broken by the so called big clubs. PSG, Madrid,Barca, Chelsea, City and the shite seem to do ok by challenging or testing the system.

I just wonder what the punishments are.

Craig Walker @58, Iwobi has been one of our stand out players and Zaha and Zouma have been shite. Stop belly aching we don’t need to do any business in this window, we are not going to get top 4 or relegated so let’s use our youngsters

I've heard Speedo Mick is on his way to Watford.

Well there doesn't seem to be much other news...?

Anyone wanting 'straight from the horse's mouth' comments on transfer deadline day, Carlo's Watford presser is just starting:

Link

Rob 69

Regarding the punishments that the Premier league could impose for transgressing FFP rules are either a fine or a points deduction.

Rob some minor leagues teams hit with bans or promised bans, But Milan handed a one year ban

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jun/28/milan-banned-from-europa-league-for-one-year-after-ffp-breach

Speaking very positively about Gomes being available for Arsenal away after the Palace game!

I hope not Jay...…..I'd wrap him in cotton wool till next season.

No need to rush him back

Bobby @70. You must have been watching a different Iwobi to me. The guy has been awful.

I wasn't saying we should get Zaha and Zouma or that they're worth it. I was making the point that it sounded like the money was there to get them. Now, we're not expecting anything. We must have known the financial situation in August.

Daniel, he was quite adamant and very clear on the question of Gomes.

His recovery has amazed the medics. He twice repeated there is 'a plan' to have him on the pitch against Arsenal. It has been discussed in depth with the player himself and the medical staff and 'the plan' agreed upon.

There appears to be agreement from all this is feasible. A truly astonishing recovery if it proves to be the case.

Some will hate to hear this, but Carlo used the much-scorned phrase: 'Having Andre back will be like having a new player in the transfer window. There is no need to buy someone for his position now.'

Carlo was in good form. Laughing off many questions. A man very sure of what he wants to do.

No bids for Oumar or Martina. Nothing likely to be incoming, although he joked, when a journo asked will it be worth his time to hang around Finch Farm until midnight: 'The Newcastle game taught us anything can happen in football right up until the last minute.'

With Feeney and Gibson going out on loan, he was asked about cover at centre back for the first team but he is comfortable to go with what he has.

On the question of having 10 days between games to prepare, he said we have prepared well both tactically and physically, but honestly 'I prefer to play games every 3 days. It is what I am used to.'

Acknowledged Watford's improvement and how we have to be wary of their counter-attacking capabilities, but that we are capable of the same ourselves.

Only Gbamin remains unavailable for selection from those previously listed as injured.

It's not sounding good for Gbamin though, more surgery required.

If Milan got banned for 1 year for breaching ffp why can't we just bend the rules in order to keep spending. We aren't getting European football next year anyhow.

I honestly don't see why we have Ancelotti in charge if we can't or won't go out and buy players. He is used to dealing with top players, not used to trying to get a tune out of average mercenaries.

Keeper imminent along with Riquelme, Dries Mertens and Bob down the road.

Wait till the summer bullshit?! IF he knows the sort of players needed then go get them, fuck FFP bullshit, it didn't bother RS,chavs,Citeh,PSG,etc so go ahead and stop fucking around, you know,(or should do) the shite that needs offing, and the needed players. a few months won't make the prices drop only inflate, I don't buy into Brands whatsoever. BS.

The reason we don’t get many youngsters into the 1st team is because our couches think it’s more about them and winning things rather than developing the lads. They are also fans and fans want ready made players

It shouldn't be any surprise to any of us that nobody was bought especially after the financial statement was released and also what unfavorable deals were made in recent years.

Add to this what it has cost to fire Silva and hire Ancellotti.

It's a case of go with what you've got for the remainder of the season and then when you've sorted out what you don't want then look to buy in the Summer.

Results have somewhat gone better under the new man if we forget about last week which felt like a defeat so we may as well sit tight for a couple of months longer.

@80 Andrew, if i'm honest he definitely isn't a Gana replacement, nor without injury would be, nowhere near man.

Rob 81

Originally the FFP was introduced by UEFA but then the Premier league introduced their own FFP. So if we transgress the FFP rules then the Premier league will fine us or deduct points. And it being Everton you would bet money they would use us as an example to every other club.

Gbamin you get the feeling is going the same way as another Darron Gibson.

Injury that just seems to require endless time to heal then there’s the dreaded setbacks which are common with such a injury.

It always seems to be players we sign doesn’t it?

@84, Bobby, do you want to win now or wait 3000 years and do feck all? We had Rooney for example and IF we had money and built a team around him we'd be talking a whole different story.

I understand the kids thing because i'd love if we bled in certain lads more considering the shite we've all seen. Ellis Simms, Gordon etc should of been brought in sooner/now.

Buy now and feck the January window, there's soo many shit players needing offing which I understand, but CA knows the type he wants and apparently has financial backing so? Get the fuck on with it.

Darren, I think the plan was to develop a different system. Gbamin is more of a natural defender than Gana, virtually a 3rd CB and I reckon Silva wanted to play a 433 with him shielding the CBs and Gomes+1 being the box to box runners.

The irony is now Ancelotti has come in and implemented a system that is crying out for Gana.

There are a load of british clubs being investigated for breach of FFP. A number of championship clubs have “sold” their grounds to their owner who then uses this as a way to inject cash into the club. Sheff Weds one such example. There is talk of stopping them being promoted.

How can you be so sure that if we “went for broke” and spent £200m this month and got 5th that it would just be us banned from EL for a year and that’s that? Maybe the PL might want to make an example of us and relegate us. They have a habit of making examples of us (Niasse etc).

Also, if we went for broke and got 4th or 5th and we’re banned from Europe then what was the point of going for broke?

Why not be clever and sign the right players in the summer? There’s a better selection then and FFP will ease off a little to allow us more to spend and give Brands time to offload more players like Bolasie that you’ve forgotten all about.

Andrew, I thought Gbamin was the one to link defence and attack by winning the ball deep and using his pace and technical ability to dribble up the pitch himself and his passing to create opportunities for others. He didn’t seem a schneiderlin type for sitting deep and hitting longer passes (not that schneiderlin has had the courage to do this for the last season or so)

Steve, I haven't seen much of Gbamin but what I have seen hitting longer passes from deep is what he does very well. But you're right he is also quite dynamic and mobile.

My theory about him being the midfield shield as it were is also down to Silva bigging him up as possible cover at CB.

Andrew, no totally agree because he certainly isn't strong, big or anywhere near Gana's engine, Gana wasn't huge but that engine is second to none, couldn't score for toffee, passes where somewhat shite BUT he broke up play,tackled everything and imo was second to Kante if not better if you use stats.

I guess if you play one up top which I hate, you assume your midfield will score/contribute, alas Gana's job tbf wasn't that. I like the lad and wonder WTF some of the soft lads that played and trained with him do/think? because him on a shite day he was harder and gave his all to protect the back line and actually give two fucks and get stuck in.

Sorry lost my way here. Who isn't big or strong?

Jim#88.
He's got to have another operation so it's doubtful we'll see him this season.

Fernsy are you telling me CA shouldn't sign anyone lol...till the summer, yeah imagine us in the bottom 3 and mathematically we could be,(doubt it) so wait till the summer? what for? the fucking weather...smfh

Brian #95

Tiny Tim I think.

I fear Gbamin will never be the player we hoped he could be. His injury is a career destroyer. He most likely won't recover the strength and power he once had. This latest set back is not a surprise. Feel terrible for the lad.

I keep hearing about FFP and the risk of a breach so I decided to look at a little detail.

Total losses over 3 years must not exceed £105 mil

The actual figure from our accounts looks like it is currently £94 mil less - and we are allowed to deduct any money we have spent on youth development and infrastructure payments.

These include stadia (£20 mil over only the last 2 years alone) and the rest seem to be hidden in the 'Other Operating costs' section of the accounts which (again only over the last 2 years) are circa £80 mil. Let us suppose only half of that figure is offset against FFP then we are still looking at 20 + 40 = approx £30 mill a year.

If my (admittedly pretty ignorant) figures make any sense then we are certainly nowhere near losing £105mil over the last 3 years - more like £15mil?

I don't think we see Gbamin again. A big job for Brands in the summer will be rebuilding that midfield with box to box players who can create chances and score a few. No pressure, but I here that De Bruyne chap can do a job.

If Gbamin never plays again, does insurance come into play? Or do we just effectively lose the value of the player?

Gbamin started as a centre half at lens and was moved into midfield because he has good technical skills and physique. Similar to Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht / Hamburg. He's reputed to be likely to flourish best at centre half, again as per Kompany. But we signed him as defensive screen midfield - more mobile than schneiderlin and a good passer but by no means a busquets type playing lots of quality passes from deep. And he can break forward too as he's big and fast. Funnily enough could actually now use the same description for holgate. He was the signing I was most excited about last summer and his injury is what spelled doom for Silva in my opinion. Gutted if he's finished

Terrible news about Gbamin, so sorry for the lad, I hope our luck gets better for the rest of the season with no new signings, the central midfield is very weak and I don’tbexpect It to be really strengthened with the return of Gomes, one good game every three, silly fouls given away in key area’s and the risk of booking/ sending off,Owobi coming back does make me jump for joy either, the quicker we get another four victories the better for every ones nerves, we’ve already wasted four points versus WHU and Newcastle plus the centre back position doesn’t fill me with confidence, I hope those in charge know what they are doing, mind you we’ve got Denise and Bill to help us !!!

The one player we have on our books that I think is closest to Gbamin in style, physique and role is Beni Baningime. If he can be given consistent run of games, we may see him become the player we want.

Gutted about Gbamin! Would rather it was him returning to fitness than Gomes. We are crying out loud for someone in the middle with a turn of pace and some natural athleticism. Just watch Doucore dominate us there this weekend.

Terrible luck for him and us. Don’t know why Brands has not seen fit to buy or loan some athletic central midfield cover. Delph, Siggy, Davies, Gomes and Schneiderlin must be one of the slowest midfield quintets in the league. I miss Gana Gueye.

To lift the gloom a bit, a very positive piece on the club site on Lewis Gibson. It includes:

* how David Unsworth has improved him and taught him things he wouldn't have learnt at other clubs
* his reassuring chats with Marcel Brands in recent months and the career path mapped out for him
* plus 'exciting' plans for the club, all of which he agrees with, thus signing his contract extension.

Link

Just tying a couple of things together, in today's presser Carlo was asked if he was concerned at centre back cover with both Gibson and Feeney going out on loan. He said he is happy with what he has.

Looking at the photo of Gibson alongside Brands they are of a similar height. I recall when we signed Jarrad Branthwaite from Carlisle earlier this month how the 17-year-old - two years younger than Gibson - towered over Brands.

Now I'm not implying that Brands and Ancelotti see the teenager as 4th choice centre back from those still at Finch Farm, but it's telling that he has jumped right into the U-23 set up as described in this piece from the Echo.

Link

This also makes interesting reading - both articles all the more so given the diverse views expressed on Brands, Unsworth and the academy in Martin O'Connor's post 'Blocked Pathways for U23s'.

Bobby @84 maybe our couches realise it’s futon to chase longue players that don’t three piece suite our team and think our squad is fine as it is, sofa? Also some players we chase longue for may not settle for a place in the bench?

Rob@69, hope this helps in regards to Everton breaking the ffp rules.

I will get to the point along with others on the stance with Everton daring to break the ffp.

If any player is found of conning the ref we will bring into force a Niasse rule banning any player from outside of the top six with a 2 game ban.

If you field an eligible player in a cup competition the team shall be removed from the Competition, except for any side in the top 6, this also applies for playing a weakened side in the cup again unless you are a top 6 club.

Finally you can name your stadium, have your club shirts with same sponsors and spend as much as you like and be handed a small fine.

However if you are outside the top 6 and spend over the ffp, then expect a huge points deduction, possible relegation and banned from signing players for the next two windows.

Do you really think it is worth taking the chance Rob with it being Everton.

Let’s not forget we spoiled the transfer window, when we signed Richarlison.

Am I bitter, too right I am, because I know they would hang Everton out to dry.

I think our squad is good enough to push for a Europa place this season. Our injured players are coming back now, and the likes of Arsenal and Spurs are as shite as we are, so everything except the top 3 is up for grabs. There's no need for panic buys just to get us through til summer.

I would expect plenty of business in the next window.

My only hope is that Niasse is never picked for us again, not even as an unused sub. Nothing against the guy, just that unfortunately he's one of the most useless footballers I've ever seen in the blue shirt.

Brian@109 - your comments are spot on and are a succinct reminder that the football authorities would like nothing better than to use Everton as a punch bag upon which to enforce their rules and regulations when at the same time letting the top six get away with murder.

Gutted for Gbamin, hopefully he'll make a full recovery, but he's the one player we totally miss, because he was brought in to replace Gueye. We have no one at the club, to fill that void, Delph and Schneiderlin are definitely not up to it. We badly need to bring in a defensive midfielder with a physicality on loan, Nzonzi or Wanyama could do a job.

Thomas Lennon. The 3-year period rolls over every season. So we are under the threshold and I won't argue with your figures. But you need to understand that the year that is about to be deleted is one that saw us make a £30m profit. So, without making a £30m profit and adding this on top of your figures, we are in breach of FFP in 1 year's time.

We need the stadium to go to the next level and we can divert a chunk of the losses into that and have breathing room on FFP. Everything should be much, much better for us in the summer.

There's less that 15 games left. Why sign a player for 15 games unless he's on loan?

Darren, we won't be in the bottom three and we don't need any extra players just to stay up. We'll finish 8th or 9th without much more effort.

Brian #109 – you forgot severe penalties for making illegal approaches for players – unless you're a top-six side in which case you are let off and allowed to sign the player in question because you admitted your misdemeanour and said sorry!

Steve @91,

Get paid.

Get paid, Darren?

Steve, Darren said the same to me the other week and I genuinely have no idea what it means either!

Come on lads use your imagination. "Get paid" " Give that guy a coconut." "Take a bow", etc, etc...

Brian, I thought he meant if we finished 4th we'd get the prize money, I was wondering how that would work if we got a big fine!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Actually, I’m quite happy not to sign anyone. Stick with what we’ve got until the summer.

Martin @114, nice one forgot about that one.

Mourinho can advertise a certain betting firm but, if your name is Mina, you will feel the full wrath.

Brian #121.

I've been wondering about that one myself.

How CAN Mourinho do that without punishment?

You can all stop crying now because the Robinson deal is off.

Probably Everton/Marcel Brands fault according to people on here

One or two will be happy to blame Brands for that, Ryan.

Laughable the stick he gets.

I hope they don't buy anyone. This deadline day is just another Sky farce.

January window not being a good time to buy players is a myth! See how we wasted so much money on Sigurdsson, Iwobi and a few more during summer windows.

Keep our powder dry for the summer. Injuries coming back. Carlo can properly assess the squad and add quality.

Probably only about 5 or so transfers over January that involve a player who would seem like a really good fit. Possibly only one or two that would have improved the first 11. I'm not counting the likes of Odriozola and Fernandes in this, by the way, as we're not (yet) attractive enough to compete if Bayern and Man Utd come knocking.

So it's been a bit dull but I don't think any immediate rivals have stolen much of a march on us. Quite like the fact that Carlo hasn't panicked – it's almost as though there is now a proper plan. But I still wouldn't mind a late twist.

I’d rather break the FFP and have decent players playing for us than put up with the lot we have now, we might as well be banned.

Just got back from a long day's work, foolishly excited to see if we have made a late move for someone, what a non event this window has been! I understand it however, let's wait for the refurb in the summer.

I really don't care what people say about the mentalities of Niasse and Martina "always giving their all on the pitch" etc; to me they are a disgrace, to turn their noses up at regular football (presumably at no cost to themselves financially as Everton would at least pay part of the wages) in order to sit around Finch Farm stinking the place out, it's a disgrace.

Niasse has played this club for the fools they are! I really feel very cross about that. In regards to earlier talk of the new lad Braithwaite, my father-in-law is a diehard Carlisle fan, he told me that the coach stated he would play for England one day. He also felt from what he has seen that the boy is class.

Good post, Steve. Respect to your father-in-law, by the way.

I know I've said a few times on here already, but I truly believe we will regret not going for Jarrod Bowen. West Ham have got a little gem of a player who has only cost £18m. He is young, hungry, skillful, quick and has a nasty streak.

I've seen him play a lot and he will be a great addition to the Premier League!

I'm optimistic we'll get a left-footed forward / winger this summer who is a notch or two above Bowen. Failing that, use Gordon in the same sort of position. I do like the player too, though, and good value.

Lössl on the way back to Huddersfield on loan.

@132 Agreed great signing for West Ham. Could easily go on to become another Maddison if he can make the step up. Great skill, maybe lacks a yard of pace but that didn’t seem to hold him back in the championship. Would take him over Walcott any day.

A truly woeful window in my opinion we should have added at least one. Those who think we will suddenly come to life in summer, based on what? More likely we will still have the likes of Walcott and schneiderlin stinking the place out next season.

Nzonzi gone to Rennes on loan, is he not a lot better than Delph and Schneiderlin??

I'm glad the Club have finally demonstrated prudence and sensibility. Over the past 5 years, our transfer strategy has been by and large diabolical. The January buys have proven to be the worst and in that sense Brands has ensured that much-needed restraint has happened at this window.

Massive clear out needed in the Summer - Ancelotti can then hopefully have his targets lined up. Good day all around.

Honestly, since Martinez was hired, I'd say the only good move we made in January was the loan deal for Lennon, who genuinely sparked our floundering Premier League campaign.

Schneiderlin and Walcott were good for half-a-season upon arrival, then their impact quickly waned. I guess you could say Lookman was a good signing, since we ended up doubling our investment.

Otherwise it's been a lot of turkeys like Niasse and McGeady, and guys like Mangala and Traore who immediately got hurt and were never seen again.

Sky reporting that the Robinson deal to Milan is off as he couldn't get the medicals etc done in time. Maybe Milan had second thoughts.

Clear out in the summer with the addition of one or two quality signings. The impact of Holgate and Calvert-Lewin has saved us a few quid. I reckon we will be quite frugal in the years to come with the new stadium our financial priority.

Not sure how you can see this window as a positive when the 3 big issues that this team face have not been addressed again. The striker situation I can forgive as the finance situation we are all aware of means options are limited until we get rid of some of the dead wood.

But centre midfield we are worse now than the start of the season, we only have Delph (injury liability), Davies (who isn’t good enough) and Schneiderlin (no comment!) as fit options. I don’t include Siggy as he’s not a CM and has never been. Gbamin we will be lucky to see him play this season and if anyone thinks that Gomes is going to back at the end of Feb at the same level before his injury then think again.

As for CB, as much as Holgate has done well this year, if you go back to last season where we had Zouma and Keane playing together then you can see we don’t have a top quality partnership in defence. Again, a dereliction of duties to not at least try in this window. We don’t inspire confidence in defence at all.

I just can’t believe we’ve not got any loans in (which is all I was expecting/hoping for) to bolster the squad and get some freshness & competition going.

This is one of the worst premiership seasons in terms of quality outside of Liverpool and City, and we could easily have finished a lot higher if we had done something in CM and CB. Big chance missed for me.

It only takes a couple of losses and suddenly we’ll be sucked back into relegation issues again. I do fear for the rest of the season now as our defence and MF is frankly shit.

Would love it if I am proved wrong and that we now go on a run and smash it.

Lössl deal doesn't reflect well on Brands.

For me, it is good that most clubs have realised that a lot of money can be wasted at this point in the season. From our own angle, with a new coach still getting acquainted with his players, and many short term injuries clearing-up, we an afford (esp with FFP!) to hold fire until the summer.

Sky and TalkShite are completely gutted. Not much to report and the stupid anchormen have been at a loss all day, as transfer news defects them from talking about anything else in depth.

Anthony Murphy

Summer clear out is easier said than done. Aside from Schneiderlin, Sigurdsson etc, we have Sandro, Besic, Bolasie, Hornby, Dowell, Connolly, Bowler, Lössl and Pennington coming back with another year left on their deals.

Hopefully Ancelotti can use this non activity similar to what Spurs did last season.

Kean may become our Kane
Davies could become our Winks
Sigurdsson our Erikson

Who am I kidding.

The worst midfield we have had for years apparently doesn't need new additions. Bowen and Wanjama would have improved us. In fact, the shop front dummy from John Lewis would improve it.

Lössl leaving kind of sums up our transfer activity. Brought in as a 2nd goalie, deemed not good enough to replace the 37-year-old Stekelenburg and back to Huddersfield in which we have probably doubled his wages and are paying for him to play for the club who he left for us!

I think this confirms my fear that Ancelotti has come here for the doh and not for the challenge of improving a team with a rich owner.

A top manager wouldn't arrive at our place without assurances about budget and players. If he is happy playing Tom Davies and Delph or Schneiderlin as centre mids, we may as well have Sean Dyche in charge.

To be honest, Besic is better than what we have get him in.

Lössl going back to Huddersfield albeit only on loan seems to suggest that it may be for personal reasons, anyone know his family's background?

If I remember correctly, one of Nigel Martyn's reasons for both efforts to join Everton was because his wife had family in the area.

All this talk of Besic - how long a contract have we given this charlatan? Seems like he’s been contracted for 15 years.

Hopefully the summer will see four or five of these bludgers shifted out.

Bobby Mallon #146. I would have sooner we had Besic (£4 - £6M) pulling on a blue shirt in Midfield for us this season than had Schneiderlin (£24M) and Sigurdsson (£45M) who have cost the club a fortune in transfer fees and wages that dwarf the corresponding amounts paid for and to Besic.

Whatever his limitations, Mo played with heart and desire which is greatly lacking in the current Everton side. Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson are not the answer going forward, I wish we had not spent the £69M we did on these two players. And Brands says we cannot afford £60M players!! Horseshit. We could if we hadn't wasted money on all the players that we have.

Chris 148,

How is Besic a charlatan? He was offered a great contract and signed it. He's always given his all and has been unlucky with injuries. Blame the club if you must but I think it's unfair to have a pop at the player.

Chris @ 148.

I do not agree with you calling Besic a charlatan. Bang out of order in my opinion. As Phil Sammon rightly said, he was offered a contract and signed it, a contract much less lucrative than the one given to Schneiderlin, Sigurdsson and Delph who broadly speaking all play in the same position as Mo.

He has been out to Middlesbrough for a successful loan spell there and they obviously picked up the majority if not all of his wag tab.

Besic was taken down and held back by a very serious injury at Everton just prior to the season starting a few years back but I credit the lad for his subsequent hard work at Boro to make a success of that loan and also for his determination and attitude to force his way into a Sheffield United side that beat us at Goodison and remain above us in the table.

Sorry Chris, but whatever Besic is and whatever his attributes and limitations, he is not a charlatan. I wish all the current Everton lads had his spirit, determination and desire.

Steve #113,

In terms of accounts, next year is this year. We are running at £35M loss on player trading but have a £30M deal coming in. The removal of a £31M profit in 2017-18 puts us at £45M loss overall assuming we make no further changes until end of June, but we probably will. After that, three well-paid players see their contracts expire saving £10M, if Baines goes another £5M.

We improved our shirt deal, but we sacked a manager. There is room for deals.

Of course I am guessing but, in principle, you can see why the club are saying we are nowhere near an FFP breach.

I agree with those supporting Besic. Okay, so he didn't live up to his promise after he'd had that good World Cup. However, he only cost £6M and I would imagine we will get our initial outlay back, even with 1 year left on his contract. He has heart, he has tenacity and he wants to play; those are not characteristics of a "charlatan". By all means use the same term for Schneiderlin, Niasse etc.

I am gutted for numerous reasons that Sheffield Utd brought Sander Berge. He's going to be a real player and very likely to displace Besic; this will take him out of the shop window.

I agree with a comment earlier on here about the £60M outlay for Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson, it has crippled us, both in terms of what we can do as a team and financially. I am still annoyed at that transfer splurge by that muppet Walsh and the mercenary golfer.

The 2nd best player we had at the time was Barkley, we fucked that and then brought in 3 No 10s which was the position of Barkley! 1 past it, 1 utter shite (who we sold for half the dosh a year later) and Sigurdsson... who, despite a few moments of brilliance, has hamstrung our formation and selection options ever since.

I think I'm a little traumatised to be honest, everytime I see us hiding on the pitch and having one of our days where we can't string two passes together – I flashback to that picture of Walsh arriving in Milan, looking like the cat got the cream with his little suitcase... sigh.

Jeez, I bet Moshiri deeply regrets those early decisions he made, I sometimes feel sorry for him.

Tommy @49, unless you can see into the future, I fail to see how you can make a statement claiming West Ham's signings will definitely turn out as good buys?

I have read where you claim several of our youngsters are only Championship level at best, well isn't Bowen from the Championship?

In time, you may well be proved right and both Bowen and Soucek may prove themselves to be top players. They could both also be flops! Let's see them perform in the Premier League before claiming how well Moyes has purchased

Not a great window by Brands. Even if we didn't bring anyone in, it's a shame we failed to shift much deadwood.

Niasse and Martina will see out their contracts, Stekelenburg, Tarashaj and presumably Baines will also depart this summer. That still leaves the likes of Sandro, Bolasie, Tosun and Besic. Hopefully some of the latter might earn permanent moves but the wages they are on will be hard to match. Whoever negotiated our wages over the last 3 years was in a generous mood!

Getting rid of either Schneiderlin or Sigurdsson, both who are on huge contracts, will only get harder over time and surely January where less good players are available would have been a good time? I would have been doing my utmost to find a French club for Schneiderlin and a loan/cheap player to replace him.

Amazing how much damage was done under Walsh, Koeman and Allardyce! And Brands has also handed out some big contracts to the likes of Bernard, Mina and Gomes; I believe them to be a higher calibre of player but not by that much. Got to get recruitment right over next year or two if we are to push forward.

“Mina, Bernard and Gomes are not that much better than Sandro, Bolasie and Besic and it's Brands's fault no-one wants to buy (or those players don't want to leave on less) players he never signed.”

Kin'ell, Sam. whilst you're right to moan about recruitment issues in the past, you need to keep things in perspective.

Same, hopefully Gomes makes a full return. I consider him our best player. He's not on more than Sigurdsson, so his wages are not excessive for being a leading player at the club. It's not Brands fault that Walsh set the bar that high and Brands cannot put the genie back in the bottle.

Bernard's wages reflect that there was no transfer fee and therefore you cannot moan at that. Mina is on the same as Keane isn't he? If we want Barca players then we have to accept that they're already on Barca wages and won't accept being on less than the dross we already have in their position.

Glad to see Lössl gone. It was a strange one for me. When Stekelenburg leaves in the summer, then having Lössl back makes sense. It never made sense having 4 keepers and it was disastrous loaning Virginia out. I'm glad Carlo can work with him. He's seen some of the best keepers in his time at Bayern, Real, Chelsea, and Milan. I hope he can carefully assess Pickford and Virginia and whether the latter is capable of supplanting the former.

I wouldn't write Pickford off, but he's cost us a lot of points this season by conceding poor goals at the wrong time and creating negative effect on our momentum in games or in a series of games. I wonder if he's really any better than a mid-table Premier League player?

On the subject of West Ham, wasn't it last season when they signed all those quality forward players and we were wishing we'd got those players? Most have been poor or injured. Their defence is and remains an issue and has not been addressed. Very un-Moyes like for me.

Thomas, the £30M deal is for the stadium side of things and does not help with FFP.

Steve, indeed many people, including the media, were predicting a top 6 finish for them with Yarmolenko, Anderson, not to mention Lanzini and the highly regarded Rice in midfield.

An experienced manager who had won things in Pelligrini couldn't get a song out of them, and Moyes is going to struggle to save their bacon.

Rob Dolby, #145,

I would argue a top manager doesn't need to spend zillions – they turn average players into good players and good players into great ones. About time they started earning their cash and actually coached the players, improving them in the process.

Or am I mad?

The £30M does help with FFP as it's still counted as income into the accounts.

Some hilarious takes on here. Jeez

If I remember correctly, when Huddersfield were relegated, he was deemed surplus to requirements and was out of work. Everton then employed him at double his previous wage. Why?

Surely somebody must have said pay him the same, not insubstantial money?

When Robinson was sold was anyone else interested in buying him at £2m, or was it only Wigan. Good luck to him and Wigan - they put there money where their mouth was.

Sam 155 I have to disagree also, Bernard, Mina and Gomes are all decent signings and will thrive under consistency and a team playing together. Agree with Steve Ferns, Gomes our best footballer. We have to find a way to move Siggi and Schneiderlin on in the summer, Schneids for a lowish fee probably to subsidize reduced wages no doubt, as for Siggi I honestly think our only real hope is some sort of part exchange deal e.g. Siggi plus £20M for someone like Zielinski (only an example but you get my point. Siggi would probably be fantastic in Italy.

Steve #153 excellent post. Siggy was a crazy signing. Didn’t do it at Spurs and has completely buggered our formation ever since he was signed with various managers trying to fit a team around him but without the players to do so. The problem is he is a luxury player capable of moments of great skill but he doesn’t contribute much overall. We needed Morgan to dominate midfield to get the best out of Siggy and he has retreated into his shell. It will be interesting to see whether Carlo gets the pair of them playing again or discards them ASAP.
Koeman and Walsh were a total disaster and poor old Brands is taking stick from uninformed people for that!

Steve #157. Very good post. Gomes has been badly missed the last couple of months. Quite agree he is one of our best. I hope the early return will not affect his performance.

Steve@157, I think Gomes is on more (or similar) to Sigurdsson and I cannot agree that he our best player on a consistent basis. For what it’s worth Whoscored has him ranked 17th in the Everton squad for positive contributions; he probably deserves better than that but doesn’t make my top 10 this year. He has some excellent days and may be capable of better but I think you’re still dreaming of his Benfica/Valencia days. He’s not shown it enough on the pitch this season and Lord knows how the injury will affect him. For me our best players this year have been Richarlison, Digne, Calvert-Lewin, Sidibe and possibly Holgate on recent form.

Mina is on considerably higher wages (120k) than Keane. I like him as a player but he needs to do more to deserve that salary in my mind.

Bernard was a free so that mitigates those wages to a degree.

I like all these players but I do feel some are earning more with us than they’d get at most other clubs and I’m concerned at how easy they would be to sell should the need arise. Not sure we have our recruitment model right yet and maybe going for Barca rejects on high wedge is part of the issue. Digne is on 90k which seems a more sensible amount.

We stuck in the transfer window with a very poor hand, to use a cardschool phrase. I hope it works out. It doesn't give me much confidence, to be honest, but I am a worrier where Everton are concerned.

@164 Jack

Exactly pal. £2m was the going rate for him at that time. And therefore good business.

You couldn't make some of this up but quite obviously have; Pickford has cost us a lot of points this season? I suppose that means he is responsible for all the points we do have! Heaven help us that it should be the fault of any of our previous managers who have all gone on to manage what, the best club sides in the world while still getting paid by or living on their compensation from Everton.

To he honest, I'm glad we didnt panic and I'm not reading complaints about who we bought.

We're going to end up mid-table, so I think it's best for Carlo to assess what he has and trade in the summer.

Sam 168, I normally tend to agree with your posts, but can you honestly say that Digne has been one of our better players this season??? He was excellent last season but has been a liability at times this season... I actually think Baines was better when he played.

Simon, he’d be in my top 5. The competition isn’t that fierce is it?

Digne certainly hasn’t been as good as last year but he still has the most assists in the team and makes amongst the most tackles and interceptions. Stats suggest he’s in the 3 or 4 most creative full backs in the league.

Which 5 players would you have instead of him?

You have a good point there mate. I would struggle to name 5 to be fair.
I only really think Holgate, DCL and Richarlison can hold their head up high this season.
I’m disappointed by Digne as he was my favourite player last season. This season he just seems to be very easily brushed aside and doesn’t have that confidence he had before.
Favourite player this season would have to be DCL. I love a good championship player.

Yeah, DCL has really come to fruition of late. Him and Richie would be my picks. Think we are all disappointed in Digne’s drop in form though I think he’s been better than we think; actually has more assists than last season, just needs a few cracking goals like last year!

Hopefully today he will prove me wrong and hit one of those free kicks he was so good at last year.