Leon Osman on the lessons that must be learnt by Everton's new leadership

We need to increase revenue to spend more on the playing squad, and we can do that by increasing our commercial income. So I'm pleased if that is Kinnear's key selling point.

I guess agents saw us coming with the kind of contracts we were handing out.

At the very least, the new guys will have the right boundaries between roles so that agents will have to convince not 1 but at least 3 of them, and all will be emotionless cold-blooded negotiators.

In TFG we have serious owners who are showing that already with the backroom signings, and that at last we have owners who know what they're doing.

Building from the bottom up with impressive CVs sitting in the important chairs for Everton.

It'll be a lot easier though if we get some signings to improve us over the next month, get a couple of wins at home and a bit of momentum.

The aim has to be making it a fortress and the next stage of recruitment is huge. We need to get it right.

I'm not going to list them, but there's one obvious omission that makes the final total significantly higher. Gylfi Sigurðsson, signed for £40M in 2017, left for nothing in 2022.

He would be collecting glasses if it wasn't for Everton. Everything that comes out of his mouth regarding Everton should be positive. We don't need ex-players sticking the boot in. Just wait for Calvert-Lewin to put his tuppenceworth in if he goes, handbags at dawn me thinks.

That they are worth nothing merely reflects that, after 5 years or so, most are worth a lot less.

There were just not good enough or injuries ruined their chances. They were actually not worth a transfer fee and we did not want to keep them.

It appears that Koeman's overwhelming desire for Gylfi caused us to pay so much for him and at the same time Kenwright's desire to bring back the prodigal son Rooney resulted in paying a huge wage by Everton standards.

The kicker was that they both played in the same position. Moshiri wanted Sam so badly that he bought Tosun and Walcott for him, both at inflated prices, but who the hell wanted Gbamin?

With so many fingers in the pie, there was no point in hiring Marcel Brands as other people went around him.

The TFG structure looks much better.

Gbamin - I think he was a Silva signing.

Yes, loads of money wasted - but really unlucky with injuries to Bolasie, Gbamin and Mina was forever in and out of the team injured - and what happened to Sigurdsson was borderline criminal - he was proven innocent I believe - or never charged!

Tosun was another - forever injured.

Wasn't he a Brands signing in reality when Gana left for PSG?

But things started looking weird when Delph was also bought to play in the same position. Delph didn't fit the profile of the direction we were going in under Silva with Bernard, Gylfi, Richie and Walcott forming a front four. Unless it was to over-compensate for the recently crocked Gomes?

I must admit, I think he makes a lot of sense — just my opinion.

If you are right, then our new structure, already has a split in it.

I hope you are wrong. Singing from the same hymn sheet is imperative.

That I could not answer mate, but the signings did start getting all a bit weird around this period. Very haphazard.

But I am pretty sure that Silva was the manager at the time, or whatever title he was given!

Those negative waves will keep coming.

Got badly injured in the first couple of games, then injured again before he could return and simply he lost whatever he had when we signed him. I think slagging him off as a bad signing is unfair as we do not know how good/bad he was because of a series of injuries for the first time in his career.

Maybe I got it wrong but I thought that he was ungrateful for everything that Everton had done for him and that he did not want to play. His contract was terminated at his request.

I think he knew he was nowhere near the level anymore.

Paul K - what's that about? I can't see anything wrong with what Ossie has said?

“Sky media get”?

He's our defender in that nest of vipers. Tells it how it is but I've never thought he dissed us.

Seriously... WTF?

The only hurling I do now at my age is down the toilet.

Wasn't having a go... just a not funny quip.

To be fair, I have previous.

Stopped playing cricket at 18 to shag myself around Spain and rediscovered it 10 years ago only to find I'm like a sextuagenarian Jimmy Anderson and actually still fucking decent and picking up awards.

I'd love to bowl an over at Rob Halligan! I'd make him fucking dance and duck!

Love it, but I miss eleven-a-side footy.

Yeah, and we're still here in the Premier League. Had we been relegated, and we came damn close on more than one occasion, there'd have been no TFG, the council would have been correct that the stadium likely wouldn't have been finished – not by us at least. Let's start there and build from now as Ossie says.

On another note, my recollection is that we paid closer to $50M for Siggi.

But I think their knowledge of what it takes to cut it in the Premier League so far is sadly lacking. They've thought:

"Great, now what do we do? We know next to nothing about the Premier League, we need a safe pair of hands to guide Everton back to the top end of the table. Let's get that chap from Leeds who's been in the Championship for the last decade. He can then make a host of appointments who all will owe their loyalty to him, and he can build up a little powerbase."

And here we are. With a new flatter structure he seems to have pulled from nowhere, and we are all going 'Wow, amazing!'

Moshiri's time can be described as chaotic. Top to bottom. He deserves credit for two things, getting the stadium underway and getting out of the club. He nearly managed to screw that up with the dalliance with 777 Partners.

That period around Koeman was something else though. Spending money like crazy and a lot of it on unadulterated shite. Yes, there was bad luck with injuries but we signed some real tripe for big money when no-one else seemed to be chasing them.

And you rag on Friedkin for hiring him, again for no specific reason except what you imagine Friedkin was thinking.

If that ain't negative for negative's sake, I don't know what is.

I think most folks will wait and see how he and his hires do their jobs, but you've already decided.

Goodness know how we have managed to stay in the Premier League.

Moshiri deserves full credit for hiring Dan Meis, Colin Chong and Laing O'Rourke, and for getting the financing over the line when everything went to hell.

He may have been the worst club owner imaginable, but he built something inspirational that Evertonians will be able to cherish for generations to come, and he rates full honours for it.

I think Leon has always been reasonable about Everton and his words in this interview are just honest, in my opinion. Stating what a lot of us have done. When it sounds like he's been critical in the past, he is airing frustration, like we all do.

My only disappointment with Leon is that he didn't move into coaching.

How This White Lotus Star Became An Everton Fan

Can't believe Ped missed Dolph Lundgren and Michael B Jordan from his list of Evertonians.

Due to TFG's experience with Roma, they are not as green as Moshiri (though he was closely aligned with Usmanov of course, so who the main decision maker of those two was is open to question).

I suspect the murky situation with Usmanov is why the Premier League were so keen to relegate us with the exceptional points deductions. How good all that shite is now in the past.

What a massive summer this is. If Karma shines on our amazing base of passionate support, we should all be smiling on 1 September.

Why does nearly every thread have to have a 'dig' at Calvert-Lewin?

I have never heard him utter a bad word against Everton... not ever. Not even when he was booed off for having the temerity to get injured trying to score a goal. I would love nothing more than for him to make everyone eat their words next season, preferably with us.

The guy was a joke. Thank god he got the stadium done.

Most of these signings were more like even bet gambles than the dead cert losers people are now able to moan about.
The aim was obviously to spend big and hope the players had enough quality to bounce us into contention for European football. You can't really judge those who then suffered major debilitating injury.

Mark, you gave up cricket at 18 to shag around Spain and returned to the game at 60? So many questions…. Was it a solid 42 years of shagging in Spain?…. Do the senoritas have a particular aversion to cricket or cricketers?

I think we have a better chance of signing the right players with Moyes as manager but we will still be shopping in the next best category of players. The top of the league teams get first choice.

It's going to be tough, I want to be optimistic but I have reservations.

We definitely need a structure which doesn't allow players to run down their contracts and leave for free, Calvert-Lewin a prime case; when he refused the deal that was put in front of him, we should have sold him.

Mind, I accept that players these days hold all the cards. When nearing their final 2 years, they can stay put and advise their agent to get the best signing-on fee from another club.

Though where Calvert-Lewin might have a big problem is his injury record; while clubs may save a bit on transfer fees, they will have to consider how few games he has played in the last couple of seasons.

No, after a couple of years I was shagged out and stupidly married a Danish rep in 1986 (it lasted 18 months - they don't do monogamy, the Danes...) and then I grew up. I was back in UK by 1998, properly married this time with 3 kids on the way.

I just didn't get back into cricket until my Vets footy manager suggested I try cricket again. Probably due to my alarming deterioration of pace at left back...

On Moshiri - A+ for the stadium. D- for the footballing side. Dyche, Allardyce and especially Benitez are stains on our history.

Yes, he'd have been better off accepting the contract we put in front of him months ago, but he got greedy. So sad, never mind, off he jolly well pops.

Not the same, but as well as my rubbish marriage proposal, the day she went for routine injections (living in Cyprus at the time), I got a phone call asking her to meet outside work.

She broke the news that we were expecting.

Well, in my usual unorthodox style with women, the first thought and words that came out of my head?

"But you only went for injections. How did that happen?".

She walked off. I was in the sin bin.

I agree with you on Moshiri Mark. We've said it time and time over. He was naive and gave his money to the wrong people. Apart from the stadium. He delivered on that.

These new owners will be totally different. I don't think there will be much sentiment involved. They've got their foothold in the English Premier League and are probably aiming high. Well, I hope they are, because I am.

Not to the upper stand of the South Stand. That looks steeper than some of the ski slopes I navigate.

He is very likely to be gone soon. Then it won't matter.

One more week and then it'll all be over.

I won't be disappointed if he stays. I probably won't be if he moves on and will wish him well.

As you say, we'll know by the weekend. Next Monday at the latest.

I think he's a very good footballer and I'd rather we spent the money on other areas – especially right wing.

He's clearly leaving and I for one can't wait.

I'm sick of hearing about him. Hardly plays, terrible finisher in the whole

And before Colin Crooks pipes up, I couldn't care less about his off-field activities by the way.

I do care he can't hit a cow's arse with a banjo most of the time.