Cornish Steve

Plus, she's known for enjoying different positions and likes to experiment. Some of her positions are rather unusual, but they lead to a really enjoyable form of play.

And I hear that pigs have been spotted flying over the icebergs of hell. I'm just loving this. I really hope Moses joins.

Sign him up for Spanish lessons.

Let me ask others who live in the US: Are the games viewable from here? The BBC is the only company in the world that I'm aware of that blocks content from being viewed overseas, which is very frustrating. Hopefully evertonTV has no such restriction.

I have no concern at all. First off, the goal-keeping coach is Spanish, so that helps Robles. Second, those who speak scouse can understand English. Most importantly, the team trains together every day, so communication is learned quickly on the field. Players speaking different languages is par for the course for most EPL teams.

Love the monikers!

I've never understood why managers dawdle in the summer transfer window. Surely you want new players to join the team as they train and experiment in pre-season games. To bring in new players with the season about to start seems stupid: It's putting emphasis on individuals instead of on the team as a whole. What if the style of the new player is completely at odds with the style of the team? While I'd love to see Moses and/or Honda join, I'm guessing that most moves for the summer have now been made (no more players with no new funds). The only thing that could change that would be the departure of Fellaini and/or Baines.

What I like about this transfer is that it brings some relief to a defensive team that, from what I understand, was stretched to the limit last season. With effective players on the bench, it's possible to rest some of the key players for a half or even for an occasional game. The season can be very demanding, and now the strain can be shared across more players. Personally, I like Alcaraz and think he brings a lot to the team. The stats quoted above (goals against when he is and is not playing) are very telling.

Is this a taste of what's to come?

Come on, Arsene: Time to put up or shut up!

Reading the various reports out there, it seems that £15m is the magic number. This is the number that Sir Alex would not pay last year, and it appears to be the maximum the ManU powers-that-be have established for this year's negotiation. Much as I'd really hate to see Baines leave, and there's such an emotional attachment between him and the fan base, you have to wonder whether Everton could resist such a bid for a 28-year-old. If Moyes is as obsessed as everyone says about bringing Baines to the Reds, and if ManU want to make a point of backing their new manager, maybe RM can use these facts to his advantage to bring in one of the hot young ManU prospects as part of the deal. What about Jesse Lingard or Jack Barmby as a CM, or Tom Thorpe as a DM? If Baines really wants to go (not a given at this point) and if Moyes really wants to splash out on him (which seems to be the case), why not demand £14m plus one or two of these young players? Take advantage of Moyes' desperation to build a strong young Everton for the future. Once the initial disappointment is over, Everton would be in an enviable position.

Now I'm salivating over the prospect of Moses joining on a loan. How smart is that? He's still young, and he's proved himself in the Premier. Going from limited attacking options to many attacking options would transform the team.

I'm excited about this transfer as well. Robles is one of the best young Spanish goalies, and we have him for five years. What more could you ask for a realistic alternative and challenger to Tim Howard? The competition will keep them both on their toes and potentially bring out their best. I'm not sure who will be the lead starter this season, or whether they'll alternative, but this move takes away any concern that might have existed with this position.

I've been trying to keep with this story while traveling around on business. When my plane took off from San Francisco earlier today, there was still no definite news. Then I had to wait an agonizing 4+ hours before I could check again after landing in Atlanta. Whoohoo! This is a fantastic deal. Just think: Barcelona feels sufficiently comfortable with a Catalan coach in England, whose style of play is sufficiently similar to their own, that they are willing to entrust the development of their brightest young stars. Yes, it's only a loan, but it could be the first in an ongoing revolving door of young Barcelona players. How cool is that?

I'm a bit of a broken record, I know, but we should be thinking of the team and squad as a whole, not individual players. Think Notts Forest under Clough (no big names but a brilliant team that twice won the European cup) and Oakland A's with Billy Beane (the Moneyball story with no big names and several supposed has-beens). It's too easy to focus on individuals and their transfer cost instead of the bigger picture. From the latter perspective, Kone has the potential to increase the value of the team considerably. An £11m player could actually detract from a team's total value, and a player at half that price may add £20m in net value to the team. It's tempting to be wow'ed by the big numbers bandied around by the press, but we've seen with ManC just how little correlation there can be between the price of individual players and the performance of the team of which they are a part.

Let's just hope it's an electric oven and your area has a power cut.

I read a report today that implied the deal with Milan is not yet done and Everton are still in it. Not sure whether it's true, but maybe there's still a grain of hope.

The golfer's opponent hit his ball into the same bunker. Unfortunately, both golfers use the same brand of ball and neither marked their ball to identify it as theirs. In other words, it was impossible to distinguish which ball in the bunker was which. In this case, both balls are ruled as lost, a stroke is forfeited, and both golfers must return to the tee.

Are you serious?

Altidore looks to be joining Sunderland.

Maybe a bit of a clue is in order: The ball is very visible to the golfer and those playing with him.

Let's hope it will be a case of "Sunni days are here again..."

If it's down to Everton vs. Spurs, I'd hope the Catalan connection will bring him to Goodison.

so a little birdie told me

Thinking about this more, and assuming the article is accurate with the numbers, there's not so big a gap now between asking and selling price. Now might be just the time to bring in some younger payers from the Arsenal youth system as well as cash. Instead of £17m plus Ramsey, what about £17m plus Thomas Eisfeld and Ignasi Miquel?