thoward18

So if he gets denied a work permit, implying that he's not viewed as a good enough talent to be employed in England, then he'll have to return to Chelsea. In England. What a fucking stupid system.

I have to think this one gets sorted out. We just spent a shitload on Lukaku. Unless Anderlecht is just being totally unrealistic I doubt a million pounds in add-ons or whatever it is will make Everton walk away.

I don't think they mean like that. I mean, I don't think anyone is guaranteeing James McCarthy anything REGARDLESS of performance/fitness. That being said, the reasonable expectation is he will start the majority of games. I don't think Chelsea/Atsu are demanding something no matter what, but rather they're asking Martinez what role they envision he will have. Consistent first-team? Rotation? Backup? Nobody is going to guarantee him playing time no matter what, but a team like Leicester or Hull would probably use him more than, let's say, Real Madrid.

Does it say how long the loan is? Don't think that's out of the question. He's only 19 so first-team minutes with a pretty solid team is only a good thing. Maybe he'll be recalled in December or January and start earning some minutes.

I also think it's a bit unfair to the squad is literally the same because it totally undermines the progress of certain players. Sure, maybe John Stones was on the roster last year, but he's a totally different player now than he was then. A superior one. Same goes for Barkley, Lukaku, and McCarthy. Just because names haven't changed doesn't mean the team isn't improved. And also, I don't think it's fair to compare the entire body of work last season to what's happened right this second. We still have to see what happens at the deadline, and Roberto surely is going to make a move or two in January. You could count McGeady as an acquisition for this summer just as much as you could for last year.

What you see is what you get. He's like Naismith, only on the back end. He's not going to stand out but he's not going to fuck everything up, either. Cheap, experienced, and content with his role. Perfectly fine #4 CB.

Absolutely brilliant. What Roberto Martinez has done is amazing. New contracts for Baines, Coleman, Barkley, and Stones. Bringing in Lukaku and Besic. Getting Galloway and (eventually) Henen for the future. This club is in a very good state.

I'll trust that Roberto knows what he's doing, but my initial reaction to this is negative. Yes, it's nice that he'll get minutes there, but that club is an absolute trainwreck right now. Not sure I'd want a young kid in that environment.

Wish him the best, but holy crap that is an expensive transaction. Makes Besic look that much better.

Also need to account for increased minutes for Barkley and Stones. Then hopefully Kone and Alcaraz can stay at least sort of healthy. And then you figure one or two of Garbutt, Kennedy, Browning, etc. will earn some chances. And hopefully Martinez is leaving enough room in the budget for an addition or two in January. We haven't added many new faces, but we haven't lost any, either. The squad's improvement will hopefully come from internal progression, being a bit healthier, and the few moves that Martinez has either already made or will make.

I think this is the best thing to say right now. Not going to get myself overly excited about one half in a friendly, but he clear has ability. Looking forward to seeing more.

Yep, saw it after I posted. My bad for not looking in this thread first. Still, it's really a shame that they'd stream a match in Thailand against Leicester but not Ossie's testimonial. Hoping there's a stream somewhere.

Everton claim they are NOT streaming the game. Is there any way for us to view it otherwise or am I out of luck? Seems like a poor decision to not stream a testimonial against a good team.

This also explains why you were bitching and moaning because moves weren't made immediately. You seem to depend upon instant gratification. No patience.

Imagine meeting a girl at a bar and you talk and things go well. So you schedule a date. That goes well and so you schedule a few more. A month passes and eventually she invites you over to her parents' place for dinner, where you'll be meeting her parents for the first time. You go up to the front and knock on the door. Her dad opens and immediately says without ever pausing,"hi, I'm George. I don't want to sound too harsh and I am happy you chose my daughter but I don't understand how you can just meet someone at a bar and immediately just start dating her. Either you see a girl somewhere in public and get to know her over time before asking her on a date or you have a friend set up a blind date for you. Guys do really baffle me nowadays. When I was your age I met a girl at the bus stop and we talked for a few weeks before I even took her to lunch for the first time. And then I didn't even meet her parents until I was ready to propose to her. I could have just found some stripper and banged her but that girl who is now my wife chose me." How would you perceive the dad and the family? Would this make you eager to step right into the house and experience the night? Or would you be like, "uhhh... okay. What the fuck?" Because that's basically what you did, Brett. The poor guy just came here to say hi and dip his toes in and you went on some rant about how you don't understand him, as if he's an enigma and not a real person. Even in the best case scenario, where you claim that was a genuine welcome, you decided that this thread should be about you. This thread was for Ben. Not for you to offer your strong takes on supporters. It's incredibly narcissistic and I hope it didn't scare Ben off!

Holy shit does it feel good to have this opened up, and not even for a loan this time. He's ours. Not Chelsea's, not anyone else's. He's not here merely on a mission to improve himself. He's 100% Everton.

The good thing is that the Lukaku signing was really the only move left that ABSOLUTELY HAD TO be made ASAP. The squad is strong enough that Martinez can wait until the final days of the transfer window if he wants. I imagine we're going to add another winger and maybe a CB.

Everton just posted it on Facebook. My bad if they announced it earlier.

After what has gone on this summer with the Lukaku "news" I was not going to believe anything until someone who would undoubtedly know said something. We're finally here.

Press conference announced for 7pm, which I believe is in a half hour if my time conversions are right. It's happening!!!!

So many people freaked out over nothing. Unsurprising, really. Let's all learn from this and have a bit more faith in Martinez and even Kenwright, yes?

This is Barkley's Instagram account. If this transfer isn't completed then someone really fucked up.

I don't see how that isn't breaking news. Let's not pretend it was that they gave Joel Robles or Steven Naismith two more years. They gave a big extension the biggest u21 talent that England has produced in a long time, and one that was involved in heavy media speculation regarding a transfer. How is that NOT news? Should they have just not announced it?

I think that, in general, Everton does a poor job of marketing itself in the US. That being said, I think their lack of presence for this summer is largely just bad luck. Having Tim Howard touring around the US would be fantastic coming off the World Cup, but how many people predicted that he and the US would have the kind of impact that they did? Hell, there weren't many people outside the US that believed they'd even finish 3rd, above Ghana. And if they didn't make it out of the group and then put up a ballsy effort against Belgium then I'm not sure touring here would be as brilliant a move as it looks now. I think Everton were in the wrong place at the wrong time. With the perspective of hindsight, they should have toured Asia last year and the US this year instead of the other way around. I think we also have to be careful though with blindly bandwagoning the US. As great as Man U and Arsenal have been drawing here, a Fulham game in Florida - a growing soccer hotbed here in the US - drew MAYBE three-thousand people. It was a disaster. Everton are a bigger appeal than Fulham, but they're not Man U, either. Coming to the US is great but only in the right spots and with the right teams. I think an Everton-RBNY match would be brilliant for next season (though I'm obviously biased). You get the New York area, for starters, but then you have local boy Tim Howard facing the team he started with and Cahill facing Everton. But throwing Everton in the US just to say they're in the US would be the equivalent of the NFL sending a team to play a pre-season game in Norwich, only if Norwich was 5-6 hours away from London instead of 2-3.

I, for one, am SHOCKED that you of all people would find something negative to say about giving a new contract to the best talent Everton have pushed out in over a decade. Totally out of the ordinary for you!