Cornish Steve

I would do the same, but I wouldn't announce it to the press.

The body language was interesting when the questions were asked about Baines and Fellaini, and it was clear that RM was conveying an agreed party line. The impression I came away with is "we are a close-knit team and plan to stay that way" - but, I still think he's expecting to lose B&F to ManU.

I have a question about the TV money. It's usually presented as something that's a nice windfall with no consequences - but nothing in this life comes for free. What are the negatives about this deal? Does it in any way prevent Everton from generating new revenue streams of its own?

If I were looking at Everton as a business, I'd be looking to see how to generate more revenue from supporters: bigger stadium, increased fan base, greater fan involvement, .... The TV deal is all well and good, but it's a change in the business environment and not in the 'company' per se. Forgive my ignorance on this, but what hope is there to increase revenue by increasing seats - either by increasing stadium capacity or moving to a bigger stadium? What about increasing seats virtually? Can Everton reach out to international supporters without undermining the TV deal? For example, could they expand evertonTV to make it a real channel accessible via the Internet to many thousands of supporters overseas? (I'm thinking of how, in the US, the Boston Red Sox make significant sums of money in this way.) Player salaries make up a big part of the costs, so cost-cutting is important. Companies thrive, though, by growing revenues rather than by cutting costs. How can Everton do this?

He earned more than any of his players.

You will have a better understanding than I about what has happened in the past. What I'm suggesting is that there should be a clear strategy behind the youth program in order to squeeze every pound from it - both in terms of players joining the senior team and in terms of making money. In effect, that's what you've defined - knowing when to release a player and for how much, etc. Right now, RM is suggesting that there's something of a hole in the process whereby there's insufficient follow-through to help transition players from youth to first team. Another way to put it is that we invest when they are young but don't see the financial return that we could. The youth program could become a nice source of revenue - the reason why companies invest in anything.

No idea. I'm just trying to bail them out of this mess!

I wish I could believe in such altruism, but we're talking about businesses here. You can't make decisions like this without considering the financial implications. If a smaller team cannot afford the fee, maybe a loan deal is more appropriate. Sell-on fees, of course, are another option. A good youth program, for a club like Everton, could become a solid form of revenue as players are sold elsewhere. To give that up in the name of "doing the right thing", while laudable, would be unsustainable.

That's not a given. Edward VIII was forced to abdicate because parliament would not allow the head of the Church of England to marry a divorcee. Several decades have passed, but I don't see why Charles should get a free pass. Either parliament must change the law so the king/queen us not the head of the C of E, or Charles should decline the throne in favour of his son.

For me, it's a bit personal. Descended from the ancient kings of Cornwall, I have a strong attachment to my Celtic homeland. It's really irritating to know that Prince Charles gets most of his income off the backs of Cornish workers. Annually, as Duke of Cornwall, he claims about £10m from our land - tax-free at that. If Charles ever becomes king, then William will claim that money as his own. If he becomes king, then this new royal baby will claim it. So, the royals (especially the lesser royals and their descendants) are not just an anachronism; they are a drain on the financial resources of everyday people.

The press messed up by calling this a mistake. Deufoleu is an African player (look more closely at the picture) currently trialing with the youth team, whereas Deulofeu is the new kid from Barcelona.

This transfer window is becoming a bit of a disaster for ManU: Thiago, Fabregas, Bale - all gone elsewhere. Rooney - soon to be at Chelsea, it seems. Now their fans are crying for Modric.

While I'm not suggesting we would accept it, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that £40m bid come in soon for Baines and Fellaini. Most of the Reds' fans comments after today's defeat refer to shambolic defending and a gaping hole in midfield. Admittedly ManU didn't play many starters, but that's beside the point: these are two areas where the Reds are lacking.

But the pressure continues to build on DM. They lost again today, even with RVP playing, and the fans are becoming more and more impatient.

I believed every word until you wrote this. Now I know it can't be true.

Because they don't have one. The grass always looks greener, as they say.

Now that's a bit unfair. Harford was also offered the role of assistant coach at Millwall. Who could turn that down? Newcastle didn't stand a chance.

Could you take him, please? Are there any spare rooms in Kensington Palace? Perhaps Liz might be prepared to let him stay in return for an updated iPod preloaded with his latest speeches.

All has been quiet for a few days, but I can't help but think ManU will be back with an offer soon. Given his failure (again) to sign Fabregas, you can sense the pressure building on DM to bring in someone - anyone. About ManU from the BBC website: But none of those moves have materialised as yet and when asked if he appreciated why some United fans were becoming anxious, Moyes replied: "I can understand that feeling. But there have been quite a few changes. Other managers have changed their clubs, too, and everybody thought this might be the summer when transfers are done later in the month. That was always the thought I had when I came into the club. You have to remember I only started on 1 July, so in truth I have only been in the job three weeks at this present time." But RM started on 1 July as well, and Everton have already signed four players. It may not be fair to blame DM for ManU's lack of transfers to date, but he's beginning to take the flak. Matching Fellaini's release clause might do some way to reduce fan pressure.

Rumours are back that Everton want to sign Sinclair from City.

If I hadn't chosen to leave the country, I would have been asked to leave over this issue! While one or two of the royals seem decent and hard-working folks, the majority are simply an embarrassing drain on the taxpayer. As for the title "Duchess of Cornwall", none of us Celts want her, thank you very much. Personally, I would never wish anyone ill; however, I get sick to the teeth of listening to all the drivel on the news about this royal baby.

- Jelavic gets upset when Kone is brought in - Jelavic wants to see RM to understand where he fits - Agent smells money and tells the media "Jelavic demands to know why he's not #1" - Agent calls one of two clubs previously interested - Hamburg duly oblige by returning his call and expressing interest - Agent tells Hamburg team that Everton is shopping around for buyers (whether true or not is immaterial) - Hamburg team repeat this story to the media, hoping to unsettle Jelavic and improve their chances of a good deal - Agent laughs all the way to the bank until Everton either do business or stomp on the suggestion

It's like our education system, right? We do a good job educating students until they are 18. We even do a good job educating them until they are 21. But does that mean we've prepared them to be productive workers? Not at all! We have to start with the end goal (productive workers) and then make sure the 'system' is consistent with that goal. In this case, we're educating players until they are 18, maybe until they are 21, but do we have the end goal in mind? Is there a well-defined and effective process for converting top-class youngsters into regular first-team players? Since Everton has lost so many over the years, it would seem not - although I don't think other clubs do much better. It's clear that one of RM's primary goals is to get more out of our investment in youth development.

The Daily Mail claims the deal is worth £6 million. That would mean we've effectively swapped Jelavic for Kone.

There's been plenty of discussion about players potentially joining this summer but less about players leaving. Given the financial constraints within which the team must operate, considerable funds could be freed up by getting rid of 'dead wood'. Putting emotion aside, which players does it make most sense to transfer out during the current window - and how much could we get for each player?