Star signing Thierno Barry joins the squad at Finch Farm

Although still only pre-season games, and in many ways a marketing exercise, these are the games where tactics and partnerships should start to be developed in readiness for the new season.

Only time will tell but let's cross our fingers and hope to see the net bulge.

I hope he likes relegation battles.

Basically he is our only signing so far. So much for let's way until July! That's when we will get our business done.

I am still waiting!

Nothing changes. In his prior stint, every May we'd hear "We want to get in five or six early." Then it would be "We need four new signings before we go on tour."

Then crickets until 12 hours before deadline day ends: "We hope to bring in maybe one or two on loan."

Numerous posters have identified the challenges in this window, so it's fair to assume Moyes is as frustrated as anyone, and we just don't know the extent of his efforts to date.

I moan as much as the next guy, but I'm still hoping for a few good signings that make a difference, and fully anticipate some less glamorous signings to fill the ranks.

The delay (to the extent there even is one) is nothing to do with him and all down to market forces and money.

My intention wasn't to blame Moyes — more to illustrate the continuing saga he finds himself presented with when it comes to transfers, money, and Everton.

So to suggest Moyes has no input on our transfer dealings is wishful thinking at best. He will be involved in every step, save for the amount he can spend.

It's one of the reasons I would have kept Thelwell, at least for this year, with the big turnaround in numbers in the squad.

I am sure more will follow and even if they don't, I feel sure we'll have enough for the season with some enthusiastic but inexperienced youngsters.

Lots can still happen, plenty of motions still in progress on deals, varying dependencies, so lots can and will change.

We'll know and learn a lot more about TFG by the time the window closes. The next 6 weeks will be interesting either way.

Players say they want to play in Europe. Then we will see what's left.

Any under-21s are on holiday. We have emptied out, so it's about sliding them in. Only my view.

I'm 99% convinced we will be scrambling on transfer deadline day.

Barry is not a 'star player' until he proves himself over several seasons. Until then, I will continue to wish, dream and hope a couple more players in can transform us into a very good team.

Okay, we got Barry for £27½M but a couple of windows ago we got Beto for £25M.

There is a pattern where players do not want to come here. They leave it late to see if others come in but also to get better personal terms from a desperate Everton as the clock ticks towards closure.

As much of a greedy sod our beloved Bill was, he was a salesman to the point where he got maximum return – but the club didn't.

There was a joke there in case anyone missed it.

I don't think it's a case of Moyes not having input into transfers, I just don't think he will have overall control that he previously liked.

At the moment, it feels like not all of the pieces of the jigsaw are in place, so it's down to Kinnear and Moyes.

Those who know Moyes, which most of us do, know that he has a cautious and considered approach… often leaving it late. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few late arrivals, even on deadline day.

Maybe it's not all in his control. It could be players holding out for something else, the club not sanctioning a transfer, so I won't put it all down to him, but we are familiar with how he operates.

Seems to me, we may be haggling far too hard and allowing other teams to gazump us, when we finally agree on a price. Time to get real and get on with it.

We are not at the moment a club that players would see as a place to come to. We have spent the last few years fighting relegation and we are trying to attract players who could play in the Europa League, so trying to get better players in is difficult given our past history.

Having said all of that, Moyes will have wanted a couple more additions prior to playing in the tournament in The States, so will be more frustrated that this hasn't happened.

But we need quality and not just extra bodies, and I am sure Moyes and his team are working tirelessly to add some quality before the season starts.

These players have no reason to rush into a decision just so our fans can sleep better.

David #12, and the new recruiting team is not yet all aboard. Two of the five-man team named to identify and negotiate with potential signings are still contractually obligated to their current Manchester clubs -- one at United, one at City -- until late summer.

We've got Eccles Cakes and Bakewell Tarts, which describe some of our lot to a tee...

So I reckon it's Ma Beaton's Famous Bury Turnover! LMAO!

Did they have to both give their club, three months notice, once they decided to join Everton, or is it because of other reasons?

I don’t have a clue who we are going for, although if you believe some of the click bait websites, then we are apparently in for everyone.

I agree it’s better not rushing and making mistakes, but a part of me also feels that if we don’t get in a few players soon, then this might end up being an even bigger mistake?

The premier league is not like it was twenty years ago, when everyone considered it to be a marathon rather than a sprint.

It’s obviously still the same marathon, but people think differently nowadays and anyone who doesn’t get off to a decent start suddenly find themselves under a lot more pressure.

Hopefully Moyes, gets his players otherwise he might be under a lot of pressure before the two fella’s from Manchester arrive?

Things will move quickly once the ball is rolling. There isn’t loads of business being done right at this moment in time. By the end of the window we will have 4 more players, 3 of whom will walk into our first team. I feel confident.

McAtee was a target, well, when the price was around £20m but now City want £35m we're out of that now.

Tete did a U turn after agreeing personal terms & Walker Peters wanted to stay close to London for his own personal reasons.

Personally I was hoping for Ndidi & Kubo but it's stone cold now.

"trivial complaints and annoyances should not dominate conversations, promoting a more positive and purposeful atmosphere"

but as much as ToffeeWeb can be enjoyed, Mrs Beeton's it can be a cruel place too, indeed I read that some eggs are beaten and cream is whipped, utterly disgraceful. At least on ToffeeWeb you are only verbally lashed, ridiculed or brow beaten into obscurity, hardly compatible.

If "Manners make the man" then surely we have a surplus of plum puddings on ToffeeWeb?

Too many eggs-perts on TW for sure.

The club needs to balance the benefit of getting players in early with the fact that it might mean paying a premium and signing players who aren't on the shopping list for the currently successful clubs. Or they can wait. Or they can pay more. Or they can lower their standards further.

We've got a new team driving this. I think we owe them a period to do their job before judging the success or otherwise of the summer window.

We've signed Alcaraz and we've managed to keep Branthwaite which I also assume were priorities.

We are in my opinion still lacking pace tremendously in wide area's and I include the fullbacks here, our fullback position bugs me and it has for a while because as much as we have solid defensive players in the position, neither are what you'd call modern day fullbacks.

And again the wide midfield position has zero pace, another problem area.

My only hope is we don't wait all summer just to wheel out Jack Harrison.

I expect there will have to be many moves once August arrives, we'll probably end up getting two or three loans in and in some cases we'll pay over the odds I dare say but that's football.

We must also hope that Barry hits the ground running, we've paid decent money for him but we can't afford another Moise Kean or Cenk Tosun scenario, we need him to acclimatize and develop as soon as possible.

You make some good points that will resonate with many on here.

Mykolenko improved his forward play in the second half of the season, when that half-way line force field, seemed to have been switched off. He's become steady and mostly reliable. Not spectacular, but other than back up, it takes any priority off that position for now.

As for Barry, I expect him to be introduced gradually in the early games.

He does occasionally get done by the reverse pass and caught outside the attacking player. So does Patterson. But one-one, he is a decent defender.

It does give the manager an option to go with two up front, even if that is a switch of formation half way through a game or into the second half.

But with the players we have, that might mean adopting the formation used by the Manchester United manager (3-4-2-1).

With the players we currently have, the centre backs when fit, pick themselves. Likewise, Beto and Barry, with probably Alcaraz and Ndiaye behind them. The two centre midfielders likewise.

Which leaves the width. McNeill offers something, although I'd rather see him on his natural left side. The glaringly obvious is the well-documented right.

Forget "mind the gap" as they say on the London Underground. "Mind the right" is Everton's elephant in the room.

You are probably in line with what is happening..

Jim is about right on the hoe it may play out, bit I agree with you that Barry will be introduced gradually .Moyes said, about three months ago, that a young player with no Premier League experience would not automatically be in the first team.

I sincerely hope the club are actively searching for real quality, though I have not seen, or read, anything that suggests this is the case.

It’s looking more and more likely we will be scrambling for players on the final day of the transfer window. Something we are well used to

Let's look back at when Moyes signed Marouane Fellaini on the midnight hour of the closing window in August 2008.

Here was a lad that was even less experienced at the time that Barry, but Moyes threw him in straight from the word go and in fairness I actually think it made Fellaini the player he became, tougher mentally and physically.

I'm not sure any player develops or progresses from the kid glove approach.

I've always believed if you are good enough, then you just be ready to go and learn as you go.