Isaiah

What a bizarre thing to bulllshit about.

I agree with the above. 12 million up front max, plus another 2 or 3 further down the line based on appearances. A new offer of 15 million (50% higher than the first one!) is madness from a business perspective.

That's a freakishly pointy tongue he's got.

^^ I was shot down on here for suggesting it earlier, but I'd love to see a Zouma/Mangala centre back pairing. I think together, with the right coaching (which Koeman could give them) they would be a formidable centre back pair for a decade at least.

No he isn't, he is and has been a very good chairman and a rare example of an 'owner' who is very passionate about the club.

"We have turned down the offer currently on the table" - carefully chosen words. They're willing to sell him but are looking for more cash. Williams should make it happen in my opinion, he's a defender with a chance to play under one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game. He will want this move, I'm sure of it, and after 8 years at Swansea - who, with respect, are going nowhere - he will want to take this chance.

Not any more. Zenit have huge financial problems now because Gazprom are no longer bank-rolling the club. That's why they just shipped Hulk off to China and are looking to off-load Witsel. Added to this, following Russia's piss-poor showing in the Euros, the government has issued a kind of 'directive' to the 4 main clubs (CSKA, Spartak, Zenit and Locomotive) to bring through more young Russian players and ship out the expensive foreigners. CSKA are havng a similar 'cull' of their own foreigners right now.

For the first time in a long time we have absolutely no need to sell from a money point of view (if John really wants out then that needs to be taken into consideration, but I'm talking here only about our financial situation). We already have cash to spend, as does every other Prem club, and there isn't enough talent to go around. So fleece the fuckers!!! 50 million from City? That's an absolute joke in today's market. City paid more than that for Raheem Sterling, a player with nowhere near the future Stones will have (simply because of the position he plays - wingers don't last long at the top level, Giggs was an anomaly). Push them up to the 80 million mark, or 50 plus Mangala.

His surname means 'little cabbage' for what that's worth.

He's a very good player who hasn't been given any kind of chance.

Jesus Christ, there is not a single quote anywhere in that Echo article, not even the most basic attempt by the 'journalist' to explain why he's written that headline. You know a journalist is desperately making things up when he says ridiculously unverifiable shit like "Stones is determined to start pre-season at City". Like, how the fuck can he possibly know this? He can't even provide the slightest shred of evidence that Stones even wants away but he compensates for this by writing bollocks like that so people will think "Shit, he must know something if he's being so exact!" All through the weekend this Forum was awash with "Slow news day at the Echo, yet more unsubstantiated shite they've written today" and yet time after time some of you fall for their crap, to the extent that now in this thread we have sentiments like 'bye John, fuck off if you want away so much'. You whine and whine and whine about gutter journalism and then fall for it every damn time. MAYBE he will end up leaving, I'm not saying he won't, but why do you react so impulsively to badly-written and totally uncorroborated tabloid articles?

I have no idea where questions about his attitude are coming from. Zenit have a terrible record with player discipline (look what just happened with Kokorin, and there have been many other problems over the years with players behaving like spoilt brats), but Witzel has always given everything in every game. He is already a legend here for being the one player who fought for every ball and left everything on the pitch, no matter the state of the game or (it matters here) the weather. Does anyone have any links to information which explains why some are doubting his attitude, because I've genuinely never heard a single complaint about that. .

Nope, you're not the only one. I've lived in St Petersburg since 2001, season ticket holder at Petrovskiy Stadium (or rather the company I work for has a box) and I've seen him play many times. His attitude is good, he's skillful and he's powerful in the middle of the pitch. Sure the Russian league isn't the strongest, but his performances in the Champions League were always excellent. He'll be a good signing. And with talk of Gazprom to soon stop bank-rolling the club (hence Hulk being quickly sold to China), he shouldn't be crazy expensive either.

This may have been brought up already, but I've just been reading the United forum Redcafe (about the players set to be shipped out from there following the signings of Ibrahimovic, the unspellable Armenian guy, and a few others that are due to come in) and it got me thinking - over the years Everton have had a good relationship with United and it's seen us pick up some great buys, from Kanchelskis up to (dare I say it?) Cleverley. How do you think, will that relationship now go to shit with Mourinho in charge? He seems like the kind of person who holds a grudge. Will the John Stones shenanigans mean he'll be a prick if and when we decide to make a bid for any of their players, for example Mata (who looks certain to be off-loaded according to their fans)?

I do see it, I just don't agree with it. It's childish to want someone else to love something in the same way you do. And the "we pay our hard earned money..." reasoning which always gets rolled out - this is irrelevant. Your money pays him to play football and nothing else, just as money paid to a hooker is for her to fuck someone, not love or respect them in any way. And as for that mythical 'respect' which fans love to demand from players, go to any of the match day threads in this forum, go see how much 'respect' fans give to 'Evertonian' players like Leon Osman or Ross Barkley whenever fans are dissatisfied with their performances. I've been in the stands when obscene abuse has been hurled at both of them (and it's happened on here too), where's this 'level of respect' then? Now, of course I'm not saying most fans behave that way. They don't. But enough do, and very often it's the exact same fans who are most vocal in demanding impeccable levels of 'respect' from 'Evertonian' players.

If no 2 songs from the same band, then... 1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd 2. Telegraph Road - Dire Straits 3. Storm - Godspeed You Black Emperor 4. Driving The Last Spike - Genesis 5. A Change of Seasons - Dream Theater 6. Lonely in the Night - Eric Johnson 7. Right In Two - Tool 8. And Justice For All - Metallica 9. When The Water Breaks - Liquid Tension Experiment 10. Between The Bars - Elliott Smith

He's a 23 year old guy from Antwerp, why on earth would he be an 'Evertonian' in the romanticized, misty-eyed sense being used here? Guys like Cahill and Howard are extraordinarily rare. For most foreign players Everton - and in fact any club - is just a career step. And there's nothing wrong with that. Fans always demand 'loyalty' from players, but Christ almighty wait until a player or manager goes through a bad spell and see just how 'loyal' these same fans are to them. Lukaku's a young man who, right or wrong, is in a bizarre part of the business world which pushes enormous 'ambition' on players, primarily from hawkish agents. He was bought for a fee which many at the time felt was too high, and because of his goals and performances he will (probably) leave the club for about two times what we paid for him. That's great business for Everton and it's been made possible by his performances and goals. Yes, he's wrong to talk so much to the press about wanting away, no doubt, but at the same time some perspective from certain fans wouldn't go amiss either.

Were his side 3-0 down at the time?

Genuine question (because the older I get, the less I understand the madness that is modern football) - if he's currently in the process of applying for the biggest job of his management career so far, why is he on holiday?? For Christ's sake, take your holiday a little later when it's sorted out.

A bit off-topic but if we do nab Koeman, David Moyes would be a decent fit for Southampton. Good mid-to-top table team, stable board, patient fanbase with realistic expectations, and the whole thing run on a tight budget. Plus he'll have a chance to compete in Europe next season, which he clearly feels is his level.

I'm impressed with his decisiveness too, but I wish I knew what it is he sees in Koeman that made him so determined to get him at seemingly all costs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Koeman is a bad choice, but there has never been - and maybe never will be again I don't think - a better time for Everton to be looking for a new manager. So much new money has come into the club, making us a very attractive prospect, and at the same time, there is an unusual amount of very promising and exciting managers currently up for grabs and looking to move to England, to get a piece of the TV cash pie. Why Moshiri has decided Koeman is the one to pursue (if indeed he is, I should add that nothing is confirmed) is something I can't really figure out.

Slightly disappointed if it's Koeman, but still not a bad choice. I just think I remember him telling Saints fans 2 weeks ago he was going nowhere and now it looks like he is. I know it's all a business, but I don't like that kind of thing. Anyway, I'm too lazy to do my own research so I'll ask here - how is his defensive record? That's the most important thing for me next season, I want to see a proper defense again.

So at what point will you fellas start to get worried/pissed off if we still haven't got a manager in? What's your threshold for starting to be concerned? Before the Euros? Immediately after them? The week before the new season starts?

Yes, they wanted rid of the man who a year earlier had won them the Premier League title during an actually competitive season (i.e before Chelsea were crap). This says more about City fans than it does about Pellegrini. I'd love him here, and frankly it's madness to say that a man who managed Real Madrid not long ago, and won the Premier League 2 seasons ago, would be a "shite appointment" for Everton. Forget what entitled fans say on Bluemoon, listen to what world class players who have played for him say instead. They all praise him.

Not able to watch the match - how was the reception/lap of 'honour' at the end of the game? Good atmosphere?