Think we will still be looking at buying players. The squad is a good one, needing maybe three more quality acts to propel us to true top 4 potential.

I wouldn't be too surprised if we cashed in on Richarlison and reinvested the whole amount. I can't see Barca being able to offer £85M again though.

One thing stands out – we haven't half wasted a lot of money in the last 4 years!

Sorry, but this shouldn't be a phrase to congratulate Brands with. A great deal of players either left because their contracts expired or had their contracts cancelled.

It might have been more interesting to quote a percentage of players that Brands has actually managed to get rid of before their contracts expired.

Also, Walcott and Kean have been omitted from the second list (still contracted) while the second list contains U23s in italics whilst the first list doesn't. Heavily skewed to make Brands seem better than he is.

• Was Duke-McKenna ever actually part of the first team?
• Will Brands's job of getting rid of players finally be complete in 2 years time when everyone's contract has expired?
• Are we to ignore the ridiculous increase in wage costs?
• What about the 7 senior pros signed by Brands, each for big money or substantial wages, who are not considered first-team regulars? (I've even excluded Mina from that list.)

Until this season (decent fees for Allan, Rodriguez, Doucouré and the signings of Nkounkou and Branthwaite), I would say that Brands has not been a success.

Yet another great and informative piece I have no idea how long it takes you to put these articles together but they are in my opinion the best articles that appear on T/W.

I think that you have highlighted for months now that our present approach to buying players is unsustainable, unless we can offload a number of players. This is undoubtedly true, but the players we would like to sell don't seem to be in any hurry to move on, which is quite understandable as no other club will meet their present salary level. That's why the only players we have moved out are those on loan deals, which requires Everton to still pay the lion's share of the player's wages. The players we did eventually move out permanently were sold for little or no fee at all.

Although that FFP hasn't been mentioned much during the pandemic, I think that it will be under more scrutiny when this season finishes. Now we must be very close to falling foul of the FFP rules, and we may have to make some unpalatable decisions come the next summer window.

The problem that Ancelotti and Brands will be faced with is a very small finite amount of money they will be allowed to spend, and will only be allowed to sell before they buy. Which will make the job of improving the squad so much harder.

We are fortunate that we have enough back-four players to help us compete at the top end of the league, but we badly need more attacking players and we know they are the most expensive to buy.

So I just wonder how Moshiri gives Ancelotti and Brands the funds that they need to improve the squad, but still stays inside the FFP rules? As, apart from Kean, I don't see anyone who is not a first-team regular who would bring in the sort of money needed to improve this squad.

If it wasn't for the job Ancelotti has done, we would be an example to global football in how to get things catastrophically wrong by spending obscene amounts of money to no real effect.

Notwithstanding the fact that a greater buffoon stands behind him in the shape of the current manager of Barcelona. If it was me, his feet wouldn't touch the floor.

Sorry if it is just nitpicking without affecting the overall picture.

Players who should have been quietly released at the end of their contract but we given a new contract in the vain hope that they would come good or some other desperate team would come in and buy them. We gave them new contracts. Garbutt never even pulled on an Everton shirt in those 5 years. Mirallas signed new contracts in 2015 and 2017 and played 44 games in total over those 5 years.

Perhaps his ability to not offer stupid contracts is something for which he needs our thanks that being condemned for letting others run out to move them on.

As Paul the Esk says, he is only half-way through the job. There have been a lot of changes happening at the academy which are not reported, but are happening according to ToffeeWebbers who following the youth teams and watch them play when they can.

I expect Brands to sign a new contract.

Call me naive or fanciful but shouldn't he already be prepared for getting his targets in place? Not just the obvious well-documented ones like the Norwich lad!