Richarlison makes Spurs switch

He must be worried that they might come for him next, which is very, very concerning for Farhad, but also very worrying for Evertonians, because due-diligence needs to be done on whoever buys Everton, but it does appear that Moshiri hasn't got the time for this, just like he's never had real time for Everton.

It was left to others. I actually feel sorry for Bill Kenwright, having to sit across the table from Daniel Levy, knowing that nobody else was really interested in Richarlison, whilst also possibly panicking, knowing that Everton needed a deal done quickly. That is until I realize that we have had to put up with this lying, deceitful, incompetent man for years.

Chelsea made an attempt to hijack Richarlison deal before agreement between Everton and Tottenham, in place since this morning for £60m. 🚨⚪️ #THFC

Spurs have full agreement with both EFC and Richarlison on personal terms. Just waiting for medical in Brazil and player signature. pic.twitter.com/SxyGFqdWwN

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 30, 2022

We have only got rid of the players whose contracts were up so far which will help. But Tarkowski is coming in on a similar wage to Richie.

Also, it is beginning to look like Mina, Gomes, Allan and Alli are going to sit it out on high wages and then leave as free agents. Mina has apparently said as much and nobody seems to be after the others. Why would they?

Funny, I've reached the complete opposite conclusion.

Buying average players with zero resale value is the main reason we're in this FFP mess. The fall-out of overspending on dross at the start of Moshiri's regime is set to hamper us for 3+ years.

As Sam H points out earlier, buying young talent like Lookman, Vlasic, Onyekuru and Kean has resulted in pure profit despite their failures on the pitch. These are the players we need to be pursuing. We'll find the odd gem and make some money.

Richarlison has been a top servant, and it's sad that we're now in a position where Spurs of all teams is a genuine step up.

The Premier League clubs really need to work together to amend Financial Fairly Play - a misnomer if ever there was one, and a system that entrenches wealth and talent in the established elite and ensures the gap widens season by season.

Steady up, folks. He's a good, hardworking, passionate player. He is not irreplaceable. He scored a goal for us every 234 minutes, above average for a Premier League forward but by no means spectacular, and had only 14 assists in four seasons.

This move may also prove to be a major mistake for Richarlison himself. His positions are left forward, where he is not going to beat out Son, and striker, where he is not going to beat out Kane. Barring injuries to one of those two, his only hope of being a full-time starter is switching to the right side and beating out both Kulusevski and Perisic.

And if he doesn't, he'll be on the bench a lot -- which could cost him his cherished starting job with Brazil at the World Cup. Brazil manager Tite does not start players who aren't playing every available minute in their club sides. Richarlison is taking a great risk here.

Good luck to you, young man. You'll be missed.

Also, my concern is if Calvert-Lewin has another injury-hit season, we'll be lucky to stay in the Premier League. Lampard needs to take a look at the young lad at Hull City, Keane Lewis-Potter, and sharpish.

It feels to me like the rapport he has with Everton fans - at the game and via social media - is as good as we have or have had for quite a few years. In short, he's going to be missed hugely - and I fully understand the frustration and anger amongst what feels like most of our fans, but the pragmatist in me knows we are a club on its knees.

We have had four years to build a successful team around Richarlison, and we have failed dismally. He would deserve his chance to go elsewhere even if we weren't in financial meltdown. The fact that his departure has been hastened by our own ineptitude just makes me love him more. His departure is just him doing what he has always done - saving Everton football club.

I wish him nothing but the best, as I feel he is one of the best people to play for this club this century.

I agree entirely about Keane Lewis-Potter being a priority. Rumour has it he's close to Brentford for £16M, and he's worth a gamble at that all day. Apparently tho, we were quoted £30M from Hull owner, so either:

a) We are such a laughing stock now
b) The whole link was bullshit to begin with.

We also need to get Borja. If he's unattainable, Joel Piroe or Ben Brereton Diaz is an absolute must. We now need goals as well as midfielders who can win the ball and keep it.

I wouldn't mind Dennis at the price quoted of £15-20 million. He's very young, strong, fast, similar scoring stats to Richi but more of a pure striker who could theoretically partner with Dom up front -- something Richi was never able to do successfully.

To me, whether the fee is £50M or £65M doesn't really matter all that much, because it's all about how we reinvest and whether it sets us on a path forward. We need help on the wing, back-up for Calvert-Lewin and 1-2 players who can control the centre of the pitch. If that means Dennis, Zinchenko, Borja, Gallagher, or anyone else young, somewhat proven, and less than £30M, then we'll at least give ourselves a shot.

Gordon, Patterson, Mykolenko, Godfrey, Dobbin, maybe Simms take a step up, Calvert-Lewin stays healthy and starts banging them in, Gray is more consistent, Tarkowski keeps us organIzed and Mina either stays healthy or gets sold for £12M — if 80% of that happens and we're not in a relegation fight, I'll be happy enough this season. No small ask, right?

For weeks now, I have been saying we have screwed up on FFP and only a sale would balance the books for this year's accounts and the sale would have to be done, before close of play on 30 June.

If we were fine this season, then there was no need to get the sale to go through today, we could have sold after today, to give us more transfer funds along with the £105 Million FFP limit for next season.

We simply had to sell today and Levy knew that, which now leads me to the next thoughts on the amount: something does not sit right with me for Levy to offer £40M yesterday, then agree £50M plus £10M add-ons the very next day.

Apart from Chelsea with a late bid today, no other club was in for Richarlison, so why of all people would Levy suddenly offer another £20M?

Well, my thoughts are a bit of the old brown paper bag under the table: Everton get the amount they need to balance the books, our FFP is fine and allows the new investors to take over, without any FFP sanctions.

Moshiri gets to sell the club, and everyone is happy, outside of the supporters' circle.

Levy is the toughest guy to deal with, he held all the aces, so to go from £40M one day to £50M and a possible extra £10M sets alarm bells ringing for me.

Whatever else, and no matter how many wanted Richarlison to stay, we simply had to sell one of our top players. We could have held firm and faced possible FFP sanctions by doing so; that could have affected the sale of our club.

What simply has to happen now is Bill Kenwright and his crew have to go, get the right people in at the top, press the reset and kick on.

90 minutes reporting that we are interested to replace him with Stade Reims' El Bilal Toure.

1. We had to sell a player for FFP.

2. Richarlison realised he wasn't going to achieve Champions League etc with Everton so pushed for a move. I'm surprised he went with Tottenham as they've won about as much as us!

3. Richarlison never loved us. At the end of the day, he enjoyed playing for Everton (I would if they were paying me money to do so!) and interacted with fans. I guarantee he does the same with Tottenham. His PR is good.

4. Is he irreplaceable? I personally don't think he is. I remember the season previous when Calvert-Lewin was leading goalscorer so he stopped passing the ball to him to try and catch him up!

I'm not hitting the panic button as I personally think we've already got (when fit) a pretty strong starting 11 without signings.

Whoever we bring in during the transfer window will get my full support and IMO I believe we'll be more than fine... (Hopefully!)

We're going to miss Richarlison and he deserves the move but, apart from Calvert-Lewin, nobody in our team can score goals now. We need a lot of players coming in. The midfield needs an overhaul and someone who can create is a must.

Richarlison signed by Spurs now: ">

When Marco Silva was sacked and Richarlison Tweeted, "Thank you, teacher", or something to that effect, I expected him to be off. A fellow Portuguese speaker, a long-term influence on his career, and all that.

Likewise, when Ancelotti scarpered, I thought the writing was on the wall.

It's testament to the lad that he stayed, fought, and is only leaving because (quite rightly) he wants the chance to play European football and [cough] actually compete for stuff.

He deserves a warm reception when he visits Goodison next season, although I hope, for our sake, he's waving from the bench.

(I expect us to re-sign him in 5-7 year's time, when his legs have gone.)

It's football. It happens. It always has done. It always will.

Owners, managers, players; they come and go.

There is only one consistent. That's us.

I do care but also don't care who takes to the pitch next season. I'll be there.

You're telling me Richarlison starts over Son, Kane or Kulusevski???

Whether it's £40, £50, £60 million plus add-ons, or no add-ons, I assume most of us don't know and probably never will know the full details of this transfer or others, so what's the point of criticising the club and the management etc?

Levy is supposed to be a tough negotiator. However, we got Alli for what appears to be an initial nothing. Again, not knowing the full details of the transfer, apart from what's reported, and if the real Alli turns up and does well, that could turn out to be a great deal.

If Alli does well, how many of us will be prepared to praise the management in terms of that transfer?

I personally expect Alli to do well for us... if he's not sold this transfer window.

Mike Gaynes @130 neatly sums up the reasons that Richarlison may find Spurs to be a poor choice.

Very disappointing to see him go there. Thankfully, no cast-offs coming as part of the deal, although still worrying that we may land Winks.

Paul the Esk (or someone else on one of Paul's threads) suggested even that might not be possible given our worrying financial position.

The takeover may change that but since the buyers are not like the Saudis, I suspect we'll spend to breakeven point as a maximum. Probably 2/3rds is more accurate, I expect (but again, all guesswork).

What I do know is that during a sale process, it would be extremely unusual for the seller / target to have the freedom to spend / borrow in a big way.

To put it another way, I don't think we will be able to buy players until the takeover is resolved sometime next month.

Back in the day, I went to watch Wales v Canada at Wrexham's ground, mainly because Tomasz Radzinski was playing. I'm not comparing him to Richarlison, but he had his moments for us and I was keen to see him play for a weaker side.

I got to speak with him afterwards and asked him about speculation that he might be leaving us. He told me that he was very happy at Everton and that it was the usual media rubbish.

We all know how the story ended, with the flat-headed prick fucking off to 'the promised land' – ie, Fulham.

Everton has been around for 144 years. Richarlison has been a great servant but we'll move on, hopefully to a new stadium, competent owners, and the sort of success he's leaving us for.

At this stage, the sooner the deal is done the better, we can then move on and focus on who can be acquired to improve the first eleven. In addition, if the FFP requirements have been met due to the sale, then maybe it will give a potential new owner more reason to buy in.

I feel a bit sorry for Richy; he is going from a real idol status to a tasty sub. Hopefully he'll do well there, just not against us!

One of the few players who put in a shift and was sending messages to fans saying "Help keep us up". No doubt we will now sign Andy Carroll.

But hey it's not Bill's fault, he only sat down and talked to Spurs...

I'm afraid you are spot on. Levy vs Kenwright at the negotiating table has always been a total mismatch.

We did well to get 4 years out of him but only Everton could pay top dollar for a very unpolished player only to them develop him into a regular for Brazil as a 9. To then sell him on the cheap and give some of the proceeds to Watford, even though he has 2 years left on his contract. Joke. I was holding back on my board criticism until I'd heard the details of the deal, I was expecting £50M plus add ons plus Winks. Unbelievable.

Now how to spend it and move forwards? Given how many players we have released and wages we have saved I am working on the principle that we will be allowed to break even on that £50M.

So for me it's all out for Keane Lewis-Potter £16M (come on you can't tell me Brentford are a better proposition)? Zinchenko £20M and Gilmour £14M. If we can sell Moise Kean, Rondon or anyone else then a punt on Brereton-Diaz as a back-up striker or that Argentinian lad Thelwell likes in the MLS.

It may be that the Spurs fans will learn to love him like we did, but I somehow doubt it – not when they have Son and Kane playing for them. The question is how Richarlison will cope with not getting the waves of love from the fans, like he gets for Brazil and he got from us.

Could be back to us on loan next summer?

We are all a bit down. We basically just can't adapt to modern-day football and how to run a business, so get a move on, Yankee boy.

My suspicion is that Daniel Levy told Kenwright that he would definitely do a deal today, and that's why the deal happened the way it did. We had to do a deal today, and I suspect no other club was willing to do such a deal by the end of today, but Spurs were.

Chelsea were the only other club mooted to be interested and, given the goings on at Stamford Bridge of late, my guess is that getting a deal done with them today was a no-go, so Spurs got the deal, at a reduced price, and everyone is 'happy' (note the quotes).

Whatever the reason for the FFP mess, the deal has been done purely off the back of it. Like it or not.

It's a reflection of our total fall from grace. Spurs were never historically bigger than Everton. They have been Champions of England twice to our 9 titles.

The fans kept the club up and this is how we are treated. The only player in the team with total heart and determination together with quality. Thanks for helping to keep us up, Richy. Don't blame him for wanting out of our basket case club.

Real shame he didn't go abroad and even more alarming how we haven't even made much of a profit. Shame on the likes of Kenwright and Moshiri. The same way Peter Johnson was ushered out after Duncan's sale, I hope the same happens here.

All a waste of time though if skill and creativity is not introduced into the middle of the park.

I would like us to get our business done quickly with no rash spends on deadline day.

It's hard to overstate the gamble Richarlison is taking with regards to his Brazil position. He's going to be directly competing for minutes with two of the best players in the Premier League. And if they both stay healthy, he's going to find league starts very rare.

So when the World Cup rolls around in November, let's say Gabriel Jesus has 8 in 15 for Arsenal (pretty likely) and Vinicius Junior is Real Madrid's newest superstar (extremely likely) and Cunha is starting every game for Atletico (very possible) and that fella Neymar is doing his thing (guaranteed).

And Richarlison has two starts and a dozen sub appearances for Spurs, with maybe 2-3 goals.

If that happens, his ass will be glued to the Brazil bench in Qatar. Because Tite only starts starters.

And Richarlison will look back on his guaranteed 90 minutes with Everton and be very sorry he left.

If Lampard can land Ericksen, then we should be able to hold our own in mid-table. It would be nice to have a player who can take a good free-kick now that Sigurdsson, James and Digne have departed.

I'd love a good defensive midfielder, maybe another winger (Richarlison played a lot in the left, I believe although hard to admit, his departure's left a void over there as well) and a good centre-forward.

Interesting to see how Calvert-Lewin will react now because he'll be the main one to score goals and, without Richarlison, pressure will arise on him, and he probably knows it.

So, it is enormously important for Lampard to bring in the right people and let go the bad ones in order to get the right blend and ease pressure.

Steve 156, that's a decent list but we'd have to drop one to pay the man, so Gilmour is out for me. I think we could land on our feet with this move; just getting the business done so that we are in a position to negotiate is of considerable value.

Those clubs can now have 5 world-class subs to break down stubborn defences. The gap will be bigger than ever between the top and bottom next season.

Anyway I don't begrudge him a move because he's been fantastic... but to Spurs, seriously?

This is Everton we are talking about here. You watch this money disappear into the same hole as the Rooney, Lescott and Arteta money went into.

Lampard could quite possibly walk away if he doesn't get funds in this window. Getting Dennis would be 1 in and 5 out.

I can only think of QPR and Leeds that have recruited as badly as us. How the fuck are our board still in place???

Moshiri can't wash any more Russian money and needs to sell his smokescreen before his assets get frozen. Kenwright is clinging on like Mugabe or Sep Blatter. Nobody wants either of them at the club. Just go.

Richarlison is a massive loss given his unrelenting commitment and talent.

Funding over football could well prove to be a false economy given the year ahead.

And by all accounts his time at the club will end in a couple of weeks. So let it go.

It should make a difference of around £35M in terms of FFP and, if we can add two central midfielders, we will be well set.

He's 20, now settled and used to our game and we clearly have a decent working relationship with Watford. Literally the same type of player. Forget the stats, it's not always about that. To me he literally fills Richarlison's position instantly.

Offer Watford £20-25M will add on. When they say no, leak it to the media like everyone does to us. Turn the player's head and get him here.

I had Mobutu Sese Seko on my dictator bingo card but I think a Mugabe reference is close enough, well played. And yes let's take it easy on him so he doesn't get pissy and sell to some psychopath crypto criminal just to stick one in. We all know how much he loves this club.

Anyway, he's Spurs' problem now and personally I think he'll be found out but it matters not a jot – we need Frank to swing a few impact deals like Gray and Townsend from last season. 3 or 4 of that ilk and we'll be miles better and the Brazilian will be a footnote in our recent history.

Importance to Everton. 2020-21.
Goals 10. 1st
Points won 7. 1st
Most shots. 72. 1st
Goal involvement 35%.1st.

Source. Opta.

Absolutely gutting to lose Richarllison. And even more gutting is that he's joined a Premier League rival who just a few years ago were our peers.

How we have fallen.

It's a disgrace that we lose him, that the club has lost him, and just think, if it wasn't for Qatar, he'd currently be playing for Brazil in the World Cup and his value would be 20-50% higher.

But the story of Everton's mediocrity in the Premier League continues.

Hopefully we use the money to improve. Hopefully we stabilise ourselves to enable us to actually build and improve.

But part of me just thinks, we're screwed. we'll probably waste the money plus an extra £20 million on 3 wastes of space.

If we had 5 or 6 "problems" like Richarlison we would be challenging for the league. See Mal @178 to see how problematic he was.

He scored at least 13 league goals last season also. 2 taken away as the ball kissed Calvert-Lewin and Gordon on the way in. And the VAR against Arsenal because his eyelash was offside.

Are you sure you want to "guarantee" that Richarlison cracks that front 3?

I know what Don Alexander would like to say. Further proof of what an utter blight Kenwright has been on our club. A stain on our history.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching Richarlison. He, Pickford and the supporters are the trinity that saved the club. Sad day.

Richarlison gets a pay rise and a run at Champions League football.

However, we get to squander the money (whatever is left over from FFP) on some shite that is several levels below the outgoing player. As we did with the Lukaku, Gueye funds.

Where my dog is in the morning when I can't see him and he's avoiding me. But I know he's coming back, so I relax in the knowledge.

The fact the BBC news presenters have started calling Kiev "Keeeev" to sound sophisticated. Are they going to start pronouncing Munich "Muenchen", Cologne "Koln", Berlin "Berleen", Vienna "Wien" or Paris "Paree"?

Where am I going with this? Lots of things bother, irritate and concern me. None more so than Everton. They literally give me sleepless nights at certain times of the year.

This transfer disappoints me. But we move on.

We fight yet another day. We're on our way to new ownership, a new board and a fantastic new stadium. We are a club. An institution. Not one player, as much as I like and respect him. In 2 years time, we are going to take over the City and paint it blue whoever is playing for us.

Get those figures in before the deadline, then in a week or so, in the new FFP period, there is a gentleman's agreement in place, over an expensive meal maybe, to take Harry Winks for an inflated £20M?

Thanks for the endeavour and the goals Richie, and the spirit. Keep on trolling our common enemies. Godspeed.

When Kenwright sold Everton, he got the best deal for himself, and now it's Moshiri's turn/ Although he's doing well with regards to stipulating that the stadium must get built, I just hope proper due diligence is done on whoever buys Everton, because things just feel “rushed” and it's imperative we get hardworking people who want to spend a lot of their time trying to make Everton great again, into our club.

Personally I will be disappointed if we don't have to wait until deadline day to get Ricky Villa on loan.

I agree it's a peculiar move for player and club. I can only assume that Spurs are genuinely going for the title or Champions League and want 4 attackers to compete for 3 places.

They may also have concerns about Kane. Probably more for England than Spurs but he looks leaden-footed and exhausted sometimes. He looks like someone who is playing more football than he can cope with.

Anyway, while I wish Richarlison all the best, I couldn't really give a shit about Spurs now.

I am looking forward to seeing what our incoming transfers look like now – although that may have to wait until the takeover is resolved.

Also very irritated at the ridiculous mess our owner has got us into with his meddling and Bill's continued influence on our pretend Board. It is incredible that so much money has been squandered on poor players and coaches.

To see our talisman go to Spurs is a kick in the guts. I don't care whether he is a success there or not. Everyone knows we are in a desperate situation regarding FFP and a change of owner looming. Trust our old friend Levy to pull our pants down again.

Perhaps we will feel better once we do some business to bring a few rays of hope rather than more clouds of despair.

My only solace is that Richarlison was something of a lone wolf and didn't find it easy making a partnership with Calvert-Lewin. Maybe Gordon, Gray, Townsend, Mykolenko and Patterson can put some crosses on Dom's nut.

That must have been a great liquid lunch.

He might shock by tearing it up at Totters but I just can't see it. He has average technique but is a mainstay in his national side – further evidence of the collapse of the erstwhile kings of world togger – Brazil.

I repeat, a few more like Gray and Townsend and overall we will be stronger.

Pack in whinging, ya gang of tarts!

I'm going to try to keep the faith that we will manage to find the players we need to give us a mid-table finish. I will be happy with that this season.

Richarlison going is a blow… but it is what it is.

An eternal optimistic fool.

But on a serious note, I do share the concern. I do hope this take-over is a break from the last 30 years. Clear out the old guard and make real change.

We will keep the traditions going, but change how the club is run, managed and governed. Give this management team a fighting chance.

It's par for the course though, isn't it? We have a player that one of the Top 6 clubs want and off they go.

We are going to have to get very lucky if want to seriously challenge the best teams when we can't keep our best players or sign the very best players.

That in a nutshell is our problem. You can forget blaming managers, owners, whoever – if we can't match quality-wise the Top 6 teams' players, we are stuck where we are.

To tie this to football and Everton, I'm quite sure our Mykolenko would prefer Kyiv.

Geev us a break, Danny!

Spurs held us to ransom, offering £40M for a start. They knew today was D-Day; could we not get a better offer from another club before today?

I guarantee you, the Spurs deal is £50M now, rising to £60M, if and when we win the Premier League and Champions League.

I don't know who Frank wants to bring in, but we're a total shambles. I hope Kenyon and his consortium buy the club and say "Goodbye" to Moshiri and boot out Kenwright.

I wish Richarlison all the best. I'm gonna miss him, he always gave 100%. I can't blame him for wanting to play Champions League football but, in my opinion, he could have gone to a better club.

That's what we bought last summer and almost got relegated.

But let's go for the same again.

Richarlison get's to a better club and probably get's a big pay increase and Everton do the financial dealing before midnight as required.

From a fan's standpoint and also Lampard's, it's potentially a disaster with no adequate replacement lined up.

That may change but, given the dross that has been recruited over the years, we cannot be optimistic.

We all have opinions about Richarlison but overall he did well with little support.

I would love to know who Lampard has in mind, if anyone, but what we have left to do the scoring is next to nothing at present, so the future looks bleak.

Richarlison had better have his shit together or he's gonna find his minutes are limited to subbing on late for Kane in the league games and a few starts in the cups.

Mad mad mad to think under Carlo and ‘lockdown' football we had James Rodrigues, Richarlison, Digne, Pickford, Mina, Sigurdsson. The spine of that team was great. Now, we are left with just Pickford and Mina. It's scary.

If the season started tomorrow, our team would be:

Pickford
Coleman Mina Tarkowski Mykolenko
Doucouré Allan Iwobi
Gray Calvert-Lewin Gordon

Subs: Begovic, Godfrey, Keane, Patterson, Holgate, Davies, Dobbin, Simms, Townsend, Dele Alli, Rondon

The depth just isn't good enough. It also depends what formation Frank is thinking for next season. Surely we can't be the only team in the league playing 5-4-1? Surely we have to go 4-3-3 and actually have a go at teams.

Scary times as a Blue.

I've seen reports suggesting that Chelsea tried to hijack the deal this morning. Shame they couldn't have gotten their act together earlier in the week!

You never leave Everton but, my goodness, they test us!

"We should remember Richarlison for what he was – not just his goals. Incredible workrate. Defends and attacks. Wins balls and creates chances he has no right to and leads by example. We will miss his heart and soul."

You just listed why Conte wanted him and Levy went after him.

And so, despite the “turn in fortune" in 2016, in terms of finance, yet again in 2022, in some ways to meet FFP, Everton sell one of the few players in the squad who gives a dam about EFC.

Hopefully this will see better days ahead of time for Goodison Park.

Now to see if any players come in, and if and whom may take over Everton.

The tides of fortune must turn soon for EFC.

Also, there wasn't anyone else interested in buying him. Plus Spurs are not exactly in the same league for paying big money for players as the likes of Man City, Man Utd, and Chelsea.

But this is all down to that incompetent idiot, Moshiri. It wasn't that long ago that Everton would finish 4th, 5th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 6th as well as finishing back-to-back above Liverpool for the first time since 1937. And all with no money.

Moshiri also told us he would get us into the Champions League, but we're now closer to the Championship than the Champions League. How did that happen?

Moshiri, you have nearly destroyed and bankrupted our great club. You've been the biggest disaster since we last got relegated in the '50s.

Filling our squad with Townsends and Grays who have a few good games in 20 is a sure-fire way to the Championship.

Gamble on as many young lads with potential as possible. As proven with Richarlison, at the very least you get your money back (laughable, I know).

£60m is a little on the low side for my liking but beggars can't be choosers and at least it looks like an all-cash deal. Those Winks rumours still give me the shivers.

All the best Richie, you deserve to have better players around you.

On the Everton front, at least the sale puts the financial hounds to bed for now. Just hope we can spend it wisely to balance the squad and get some solid decent pros in to make sure we're nowhere near the bottom next year.

Gambling on young lads, as per Richarlison???

His purchase price was £35M to £50,M depending on who you believe, so in the real world, that's right out the window.

We need players for virtually nothing who can contribute and only the Benitez haters deny Gray and Townsend made a positive impact. One clown blames them for the relegation scrap – unbelievable, Jeff.

The season doesn't start tomorrow, though, does it? So really, what's your point? And Tarkowski isn't officially an Everton player yet. Of course we know he's signing but, as of the time of this post, he isn't.

My god, we've sold a player who really only turned up at the latter end of the season. Admittedly, him the keeper and us saved us. Other than that, he leaves with no real legacy.

Frank will have his targets, of that I'm sure, he's too clever not to have. We will move on.

Having USM all over the club. Bidding 30m in naming right to a stadium without a spade in the ground.

Remind me how Moshiri earned his fortune?

Is it just coincidence that Usmanov has had his assets frozen and Moshiri now wants to sell up?

It is only my opinion. I'm sure that if it was fact the club would be in a far more perilous position. Maybe Moshiri was the school hide and seek champ, who knows.

Thomas brothers, #211 and #223, I'm sorry but you guys are friggin' nuts. Gray and Townsend were two of the bright spots.

They cost pocket change.

Gray: 6 goals, five assists, three gamewinners, spectacular gamewinner over Arsenal, the perfect free kick that kept us up.

Townsend: 3 goals, all spectacular, gamewinner over Burnley and equalizer at OT.

If it weren't for those two guys, we'd have missed out on a dozen points and you'd be planning trips this fall to Millwall, Preston and QPR.

But hey, screw those guys and let's gamble on a bunch of the kids, right? That's how you stay up?

Whatever.

I repeat, not once in his professional life has Moshiri been accused of doing anything illegal for Usmanov. Not even when the sanctions were dropping like cluster bombs on anybody and everybody connected with Putin. There was never even a whisper of an allegation against Moshiri.

There is ample evidence that he's a failed owner who found out that running a football club was way different than running a mining conglomerate.

There is zero evidence that he's a crook.

But... we move on. Invest whatever money we do have wisely, and we should hopefully be in okay shape this season. Dennis and Zinchenko would be a good place to start.

That was a tarnished silver lining. I'm only suggesting it could have been worse had Bill taken some unwanted off of Levy's books.

He is obviously a very astute businessman. The bit that doesn't add up is him buying a football club then having little or nothing to do with it besides getting Usmanov to waste multi millions with nothing to show for it.

Maybe he has just had enough and will go back into running Usmanov's business interests...

The guy is 67 and has $2 billion in cash -- $3 billion after the Everton sale -- and a yacht in Monaco. He can do anything he wants.

Agreed 100% about those 2 signings, much as Richie's late season goals kept us up - so did their earlier contributions (and Gray's brilliant free kick v Palace).

But you left out Townsend's goal celebration v Utd, Ronaldo was so pissed he wouldn't even shake his hand after the match!

We didn't have many bright spots last season, let's milk them eh?

I like Townsend as a player and I look forward to his midseason return.

Yes, he often played well for us but lauding him for effort just shows the paucity of the rest of the squad. Effort and commitment should be the minimum requirement not something we edify and worship.

He's chosen to leave us and he's not exactly gone to one of the genuine big clubs. He's not our concern anymore and I for one wont be fawning over him when we play Spurs next season. I'm hoping he has a stinker and gets kicked all over the park!

The problem is far too many blues think we are a big club. We aren't. Modern day Spurs dwarf us. We are akin to Southampton, Newcastle, Aston Villa etc in the minds of other fans and these delusions of grandeur do not help.

It all gets Kenwright off the hook as the man has run us atrociously for the best part of 30 years, getting to just one final and one 4th-place finish.

Until him and his mediocre ambitions and the insistence of fans that we are a big club (rich history, yes; actual modern-day big club; no) change, then we'll never ever win another trophy, never put a side together that can consistently challenge, like Spurs actually do.

The select few who played against Chelsea did themselves proud, I think Lewis Warrington will be taking one of the midfield slots.

Simms, Dobbin I think will be ready and so will Tyler Onyango. Charlie Whitaker I think will another one to watch for and will train with the first team.

A squad full of players of the level of Gray and Townsend will have us struggling next season.

We need better if we are going to improve as a club.

Hopefully the club can be clever in the market this summer and bring in some much needed quality. I won't hold my breath though.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10972287/Leeds-Burnley-drop-complaint-Evertons-spending-threatened-legal-action.html

My point is written in the post mate.

Our squad depth right now is awful. It concerns me that we only got 60m for Richy. That will not go a long way at all when clubs are asking for silly money for their players. Maybe get one or two players with that. When we need about 6/7.

Hope we learn from the £500m pissed up the wall, and then having to sacrifice a player like this.

Hope we get some quality into a side that is heading for a relegation scrap - and without a talisman.

Another dark day of giving up a quality player.

His constant diving and play acting was very off putting imo. Attacks would constantly break down because Richarlison would prefer to hit the ground in dramatic fashion, usually to no avail as refs cottoned on to him - unlike the rs players.

So good luck to the lad. I wish him all the best and hope to see him strop at Goodison when we beat spurs the next time we play them.

If Erling Haaland was sold for under £60 mil isn't this a good deal for us? Or was Haaland a release clause fee?

I think £60 mil is good value. Sad day for us, though, to have to sell.

I couldn't agree more with everything you said. I actually think £60 million is a good price for him.

As you say, a great effort from him to keep us up but I remember a few games he was poor or just falling to the floor consistently.

I am more struggling to see how he fits in the Spurs team; I really do think Conte will not put up with the strops and I think he will be benched a lot.

Hopefully now that 'year' is closed and our books are marginally more balanced, we'll work out a wheeze to spend some more cash on arrivals.

I'm looking forward to seeing the press and pundits changing their tunes on his antics now that he's one of "them" – "definitely a touch", "he had to go down" and "he's being kicked to bits, what do you expect him to do" etc etc.

All my Spurs mates are like "meh" and "he's a sulky bastard– he won't last long with us".

As an aside to the important news above, we sold him for a minimum £55m which seems like decent business given our dire financial straits and immediate need to sell yesterday.

Players come & go and like Colin, while we owe him for keeping us up, the way he played is in fact the bare minimum for a footballer - it's a shame the rest of them didn't show up all season (bar maybe Iwobi towards the end).

I'm fairly philosophical about footballers as I approach my half century - the days of getting upset about players are long gone for me. It's probably the only good thing about getting old!

I like the look of Dennis, quick, clever and can score goals.

Richarlison is not universally liked or rated very highly by our rivals. Most fans of other clubs haven't seen his defensive game, his superb heading ability. They do recall his rolling around on the turf and sulky mush.

Probably why we couldn't get top dollar for him.

I'll add Richarlison came back from two tournaments with Brazil a few days before the start of the season, he scored three goals from then until the start of the New Year; he then scored seven league goals during the rest of the season.

Being honest, I'll give him the two goals against Brighton and Brentford which were rightly his, both losing games by the way, as were three of the six goals he scored at the end of the season.

One of the goals he scored earned a point against Leicester City when he could have gone home with the match ball if he had converted the other chances he missed in that game to go along with the many good chances he missed in quite a few games between January and the end of the season.

His work rate is good but losing the ball very easily to the opposition and putting them on the attack negates much of this work rate. He was a decent player but any fan who thinks him going makes them as upset as when other real star performers left the Blues are over-reacting.

Yes, he might have been one of our better players but just look at the rest of this very poor squad.

He's gone; let's just get on with it.

But the last couple of days have got me looking at the stats, and his really aren't spectacular, even in a poor team. Emmanuel Dennis has contributed at least as much as Richarlison, in an even worse team, and he's valued at about a third of the price of our Richie.

It's been great having him – a real character in a pretty anonymous squad – but we should be looking to replace him with someone who can match the effort with output.

And I fear even worse ruination is on the way if the new owners are as shady as is being reported. Even more good times to look forward to…

Spot on, Michael.

Sad to see him go, so enjoy your one season in the Champions League, Richie, and we just hope your place in the Brazil starting eleven at the World Cup is not threatened.

Kenwright Out!!

On that basis, spending £20 million for Emmanuel Dennis or £30 million for Armando Broja is not the way to go. We have to look for real value in the transfer market.

It's a well-trodden path that one.

Honestly I don't think he's going to find what he had at Everton. I just don't quite see it.

Anyway he's gone now. Good luck to him but we move on.

It's 1 July. Time to start doing our own business.

A single player shouldn't be the only person to make the team tick but he so often did due to his athleticism in closing down opposition players.

He'll do well at Spurs under Conte and has many good years ahead. Son and Perisic are no spring chickens.

We know all to well how injuries have often robbed us of being able to play our strongest or a settled team. Richarlison missed very few games.

Mina can not be relied on and sadly needs moving on. Gbamin the same.

Big season for Dom. Less competition for the striker position and he needs to prove he's over his own injuries and is good enough to help us become a strong Premier league team.

New kit deflection announcement made several weeks late.

Stadium update to follow?

He doesn't play for Everton anymore, so I don't care about him except when we play Spurs and he's an opponent.

Hope we're signing a couple of fast, tough midfielders and the injury Gods give us a break this next season.

In a team that doesn't score many goals we have sold one of the few that CAN score a few.

So over to the board again now to find a hardworking player that scores 10 goals from a wide area.

My point on Richarlison still stands. I know we can't afford £35m this time around but there's plenty of young lads out there who we can go and get (on a budget) and develop into very good premier league performers.

Where we're at right now, the Southampton model looks pretty good to me.

Nice one Kenwright.

Gordon has taken a good few seasons to come to the fore and even he is far from the finished article.

Branthwaite needs a loan despite making his debut two years ago now.

We need players around the age of 23-26 that can do it for us NOW.

For me this feels, short of relegation, like rock bottom. Your biggest player wants out to join a club we aspire to compete with. The Moshiri reign is in ruins. But there is only one way up from rock bottom. Hopefully we will have new owners who can financially re-set us and give Frank a bit of wriggle room. But please, let's steer clear of any more Spurs rejects. Winks is just an English Gomes. I'd sooner roll the dice with some relative unknowns, desperate to break through.

Why would we want to replace him?

We don't need like for like. We need a vision of the reinvestment and to build something different.

The same existed with Gana leaving and Lukaku. The obsession within the media of trying to replace a 25-30 goal a season striker - this wasn't what was needed.

Sensible reinvestment of that fee was what was required.

Rather than being reliant on such a striker, we should've redeveloped our attacking options and adjusted the system.

Just like now. We don't need to find a player to replace a battling forward who gets 10-15 a season.

We need to replace the qualities of what he brought. And even augment the squad with such qualities.

So first and foremost - he was up for a battle and a fight. Invest in players with those qualities.

He was rarely injured - invest in players with that quality

He was a good age when we had him, with room to get better and develop. Sign players with these qualities

He was international standard and generally a talented player. This is the most difficult part - identifying the talent. But for me, don't buy the talent if the first qualities I've mentioned are absent.

We need Cahills not Van der Meydes.

We need Naismiths, not Sandros.

I.e Forego supposed talent in favour of effort, attitude, commitment and age.

Get the fundamentals right and then add quality to a hard working and cohesive team.

Hopefully this money is invested wisely but who can trust Moshiri/Kenwright to do such a thing? So what to do? Keep our powder dry until the yanks takeover or see what rejects Man U have to offer?

Hopefully this money is invested wisely but who can trust Moshiri/Kenwright to do such a thing? So what to do? Keep our powder dry until the yanks takeover or see what rejects Man U have to offer?

Since 1970, I think it's Big Joe? Latchford, Lineker, Lukaku. The Yak nearly got there as did Cottee, but surprisingly Graeme Sharp didn't either.

Apparently during the medical, the doctor tested his knee reflexes and he went down holding his face...

I just wish he had gone to almost any other club, but Spurs! I wish him well as a person but hope Spurs are fighting relegation next season end and exit Europe at first sniff!

As the squad stands, I fear relegation next season.

Richarlison.

I know he probably had assistance writing it, but from the heart. I'm sure that had we provided the circumstances and it was his choice, he would have stayed.

I'm sorry but I just don't buy that as a strategy. Investing in youth and letting them develop with us is the only way out of this mess. Lukaku was 21 when he joined on loan, Richarlison was 21, Stones was 20, Calvert-Lewin was 19, Vlasic was 19, Lookman was 19.

What they've all got in common is that we made or could make (Calvert-Lewin) significant profit on them. I know, I know, we should want success on the pitch and not success on the P&L, but we've had neither for years now.

I take your point that you need to blend this with some shrewd experience in the squad to help the younger players but, in my opinion, I'd rather we invest any and every penny we have in lads with potential & sell on value, and make up the rest with the ‘seasoned pros' we've already got.

As an example, Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko are a great start! Those two signings had me dancing. More of the same please!

Haaland had a release clause which Man City (and probably only Man City) activated because he wanted silly money in wages.

How City get away with FFP, I will never know. They have a squad full of players who must all be on over £100k a week. Yet nothing changes. It's laughable to me.

Richarlison to me was worth more than we sold him for. If I was Kenwright, I would've said to him “I'm really sorry but we haven't received an offer over £75M and that's what we value you at. You still have 2 years left so let's see what happens in January after the World Cup or next summer.”

However, because of FFP, we have had to sell – a football club has had to sell their best asset – because of a rule put in place which simply put isn't fair. Everton should take the Premier League to court over it and claim unfair treatment.

I'm sick of it being one rule for teams like us, yet Aston Villa, Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd (who are defo the worst for this), Spurs, Chelsea, even Wolves to an extent – they all seem to spend whatever they want and nobody bats an eyelid. Everton though…. Ohhhh, we can't have that!

It's all gone to pot this Premier League. I almost wished the Super League went ahead. At least the ‘new FA' could've sorted out what FFP really meant.

When Moyes was here, he would fire off lines like "Everton don't sell players cheap." He'd say players weren't going anywhere, even when it was obvious they were going, and we invariably sold better. Where was any of that this time?

Why didn't we put out statements saying "We've had a lot of interest and we'll only sell him for the right price," or something along those lines?

It looks to me like we've been done over a bit by Levy here. We've only made a modest profit on a proven Premier League and international talent.

I can only hope we reinvest the money wisely. For a change.

What a Chairman.

The guy wanted to leave last summer. He was persuaded to stay another year – despite Carlo then abandoning him and us.

Although I agree completely with Dave Abrahams's less than effusive assessments of him. Perhaps that's why I'm not so bothered really.

What could go wrong?

Simply answered by Marcel Brands this morning who claims the hierarchy would not stop interfering in the philosophy and transfers.

Resulting in a financial mess and a dogs dinner of a squad.

The sooner we get Moshiri and Kenwright out of the club the sooner things will start to change for the better.

That''ll be the most important transfer of the summer for us.

Richie's gone so now eyes on who we bring in. CM is an absolute priority and a RB wouldn't go amiss either. Hope Patterson comes through but who knows after his injury.

Only risk is if Kenwright or Moshiri have anything to do with how the money is then spent…..

Just a matter of weeks now before we finally remove the white elephant in the room.

Press the reset button, start the rebuild and we will be alright. Let's face it, we certainly cannot be any worse than the last 27 years of having the club run by the most incompetent Chairman in our entire history.

Richarlison had to go, simple as, due to clowns messing up our FFP, he gave us a year longer than I expected.

Once these new owners come in and replace those at the top, I see a brighter future at our club.

I'm hoping this is the beginning of the Thelwell era. Sell at peak value for a profit, reinforce with young, relatively inexpensive talent that has eventual sell-on value.

As the other article mentions regarding Brands, management has to stay out of the way of the DOF. Do not meddle, let the man do his job.

Okay, Mr Thelwell, weave your magic. Use the £60 million to find a CM young gem around £10 million. It's the way forward.

Oh, and also, it's time for Anthony Gordon to really step up. Richie gone means Anthony needs to turn into the major threat from out wide for Everton. Work on your finishing, son.

Reports suggesting that it's £50M up front then £10M in add-ons. From that, we owe Watford a few £millions as the sell-on fee.

So from what I've read, the "cash" which will be available to Lampard is somewhere around £35M!

Still, he was close to being one of the few Everton actual Fighters during the past few seasons, so even if he just warms a very expensive near-pitch seat for the chance to play in the Champions League, that will be his choice, and I won't slate him for it.

Oh, but I'm a very bad person, so I hope Tottingham (that's the right spelling, right? ;P ) I may have read too many '60s-'80s British football cartoons in my youth (...), but may Tottingham never succeed to win whatever they've failed to win so far in the real world!

Sorry, Richie! I wish you the best for moving on, but hopefully your new club will still continue to be a runner-up! For anything! ;D

That would allow us to see a grown-up Gordon, instead of the hit-and-miss, but never too worried, player that we had at times last season!

Yes, he tried to always run at whatever, but this is where I hope Frank can prove that he'll know to use what he's got for the right occasions, and then rest those who may not be right for the occasion...

With the right management, I truly think Gordon might be a shining beacon for the future! If I'm wrong, well, I know who'll tell me that I was wrong! And I won't mind! That's why I'm still at ToffeeWeb 20+ years later. ;P

Richarlison was the talisman of our recovery at the end of this last wretched season. The emotion he showed on the touchline and his positive antics on the pitch inspired me as a fan who had begun to lose all hope. He drove us forward as Pickford defended our goal heroically. And yet now he's gone.

The apparent lure of the Champions League triumphs once more. While understanding the attraction of playing at the Bernebau or Nou Camp, I fail to see how Richarlison will enjoy life more at Tottenham. How will he replace the adrenaline of that golden night against Crystal Palace under the lights at Goodison, with fans and players who love him?

What also annoys me more than saddens me is this alleged need to sell a player before 30 June as a result of this FFP. Ridiculous. To even be in that position, if true, is testimony once again to disastrous management at boardroom level. Did we let him go too easily because of this? Who knows?

At the end of the day, it sticks in my throat to see the likes of Tottenham coming to our club to pinch our players because they have money, because they are in the Champions League, because they are in London and because they are a beloved member of the Sky 6.

Glad you've said that as I've had doubts too about Gordon's end product. We could also do with him beefing up a bit more. Richarlison was a tall strong lad and will be missed.

Are finances that bad at Everton? With not enough money for transfers and players' salaries, the new stadium will open in 2024 and could be with Everton in financial doldrums.

Yes, the finances are that bad. I suspect the BBC report reflects the timescale over which the Richarlison fee will be paid.

We gotta hope to hell Gordon really, really steps up.

Julian, mate -

Don't be down. This is business. It happens. Richie is a great player and was undoubtedly a rock in our recent "Troubles".

Let me try to bring some hope to you - Kevin Thelwell. This fella is bonafide. He can rotate a club out of heavy earners and fill them with energetic kids looking to make their mark. I have a ton of confidence in the man.

Richarlison is being sold at the right time. For once, Everton are selling at top value, and they'll look to fill with young talent.

We have to start to buy early and cheap, and sell at top value at the player peak. Thelwell will do this. Couple that with a manager who wants to play the right way, and does well with younger players, and there is a recipe for exciting footy and success.

Keep the faith, Julian. We've sold Richarlison at the right time, and a good price, and we've just executed good business for the first time in like 6-7 years! He'll be missed, but look to the future my friend. We need to pivot, this is just the beginning.

I agree with your optimism on Thelwell and I look forward to seeing who he brings in under the current strapped circumstances.

I'm hoping this sale of Richarlison is the beginning of a competent transfer policy.

Sell a peak value, reinvest in younger players with potential.

That hope blinded my memory to some decent business you're correct, namely Calvert-Lewin and Gueye – but man, I loved Gueye and didn't want to see him go!

But I did like the way we kept our word to him. The club promised to make his Paris dream come true if he stayed with us through the end of that season, and he played his ass off for us in those final months. Keeping that promise was the right thing to do.

I also remember poor old misguided Steve Ferns arguing Gana was holding us back and we'd see the best of Silva's strategy and Gomes once he left …. Nice guy, Steve, but I can see why he stopped posting.

ps: Based on today's news, I assume you've wisely decided to skip the Minnesota game due to air chaos? I found some blues on Twitter so luckily it won't just be myself and Adrian Heath there.

I'm praying that Thelwell and Lampard are allowed to do their jobs with minimal interference.

Yes, I'm skipping the trip to Minnesota... it's flip-a-coin whether the flights take off, and my buddy the United season ticket holder will be away on business anyway.

Thought for a while Adrian would be gone before you got there. The Loons have won just six in 17 this season and the fans are restive. But last week United signed him to a new contract extension, so he can afford to buy for you and the other Blues who show up.

Have fun, mate... sorry to miss meeting you.

I have been mentioning Grillitsch for some time now on here. He is a good age (26 I think?) a CDM, just off the back of an excellent season where his stock is high. He is a tough-tackling No 6 who has an excellent eye for a forward pass (similar to Winks) though he also offers a bit more going forwards.

He would be a terrific signing and just the sort of player we need; more importantly he is available on a free as you mentioned. There hasn't been any obvious interest from the Premier League so I can only assume he doesn't fancy it.

Belotti is an interesting one, I really like this player and, although Italians don't always fair well here, he has all the attributes to make it. I would definitely take him, I want to keep Calvert-Lewin and I don't think they could play together as a front 2 (similar players, both No 9s); he would provide excellent cover and competition for places.

It was only a year or two ago, figures of £80M were being discussed for him. If we could get him and Dennis as Richarlison's replacements, I would be absolutely delighted. Rondon shifted onto the UAE or MLS for buttons. I want to see Simms or Dobbin given minutes this season.

Much seems to depend on the system we are going to play, the evidence appears to point towards 3-5-2 with marauding wing backs. It's Thelwell's preferred system; with everyone fit we could play this.

My concern is that we can't cover the left-wingback slot if Mykolenko is not available. For this reason, I would spend money on Zinchenko, he could play well for us as part of a midfield 3 and cover left-wingback if needed. This has to be Patterson's breakthrough season.

I simply don't understand the interest in Lingard – decent player, yes, but unless Dele is leaving (that would represent excellent business if we could get anything north of £10M for him in MLS), there is no room for him, Iwobi and Lingard in a side short of money and short of a decent No 6 and mediocre No 8s.

So, with the above-mentioned system, we could play with 3 in the middle and chose from Allan (I would keep), Doucouré, Iwobi, Grillitsch, Zinchenko (or my dream loan, Gallagher), Dele, Davies, and Gbamin (as cover?). This is why I like the idea of signing Dennis – he can play as part of a front 2 or further wide if we shift to 4-3-3.

Lots of ifs, buts and maybes but, as mentioned above, Thelwell has been brought on board for this sort of problem.

For Brands haters, I say just watch him go. His transfer record pre Everton was exceptional, his transfer record post Everton will again be exceptional. All he needed was to be allowed to do his bloody job. Something our egotistical, moronic board simply wouldn't allow. Instead, we buy his silence by making him a member of the board. So screwed up, a basket case of a club.

I wonder how Patterson will do next season. I'm not sure we can expect him to hit the ground running. He's played very little first-team football over the last few years and, though he seems to possess some raw ability, he's had rare opportunity to develop defensive know-how.

I expect that (somehow!) Coleman will be starting the season as first-choice right-back. Again!! Though perhaps playing 3-5-2 gives Patterson more chance to play and express his attacking capabilities.

I know it means something different in your neck of the woods but could you refrain on TW from using expressions like, "planning trips this fall" as it evokes still sensitive emotions.

All the very best of luck, Richie. In my opinion, you never let us down and always played for the shirt. Be lucky, apart from when you play against us.

Diiiiisgraaaaaceful. Shoulda been at least ten!! ;-)

I think the one more year bit from Ancelotti came from this background:

Carlo Ancelotti issues update on Richarlison's future after making promise to Brazilian

And comments from Ancelotti that he would stay for one more year, or as long as he was manager!

Water under bridge, he is gone... Great flare photo, though, it will be on my Screensaver for a while!

Shocking indifference. Whatever happened to "Once a Blue, Always a Blue"?

It's about time the fans start questioning decisions, club policy and those responsible for it with more scrutiny because we don't move on, we move backwards constantly and it continues to be swept under the carpet.

Have we forgotten the disgrace of last season and the near-calamity already?

May I just add that Everton football club has been badly run / managed for decades, first with little or no investment, recently with wasted investment.

The one constant in all of this has been Bill Kenwright, he of the rose-tinted spectacles, reminiscing about Everton's glorious past or speculating about an uncertain future whilst club assets are sold and the inexorable decline continues. I really do think it is time for Everton's own P T Barnum to depart.