SpartyBlue

1 hour ago, Bailey said:

I was a bit disappointed by him. 

I didn't think he added a great deal to the performance and he scuffed his chances, including the one that Coady tucked away. 

I also thought he was slow. At one stage, he was sprinting and VVD jogged past him. 

I wasn't expecting to see that much from him yesterday though. Tough game and not one played to suit him so I think there will be a lot more to come. 

Important to remember that his fitness may not be fully there (looked gassed at the end) and more important to remember he was at one place for quite a while. It will take time to learn his teammates and that will allow him to play faster. He’s a solid premier league striker that provides some things DCL doesn’t. I think he will prove to be better cover than what we’ve had in a long time. 

Just now, Bailey said:

Yeh I do agree with that to some extent but this is an area of the pitch that we knew we would lose an important player. Gordon was also potentially off at the end too. 

Hopefully it all works out fine and doesnt cost us but it also might. History tells us if we have a weakness in an area, the starters will get injured! 

Another factor is that whilst the window might now be far off in terms of games, it might not be an easy window to buy in. The world cup, lots of games in the New Year, higher risk of injury and less of a push for players to change clubs to impress their international manager. 

It’s hard to know how many options we really liked there. Maybe just Pedro and Chuk. Once those didn’t go through we didn’t force it. I would have loved to get a winger as well but I appreciate that we didn’t sign someone for the sake of it. Def an area of focus next summer if not sooner. 

24 minutes ago, Bailey said:

This would be my worry as well.

Imagine Gordon gets injured, this leaves Gray and McNeil. There are no guarantees that Townsend will ever get back to the level he was, and even that wasn't really good enough.

I don't know if Maupay can play that role but it doesn't look like it from what I have seen of him.

Iwobi could go back to that role but we know he won't be at his best if we do.

I suppose that if nothing else, the players we have brought in to play in midfield and defence should make us much tougher to beat and give us a foothold in games so that scoring lots of goals is less important.

Given the next window isn’t that many games away I think it makes sense to find the player and the deal you want. We’ve had too many costly misses lately. 

9 minutes ago, Shukes said:

I’m not Garner lie, I haven’t taken much notice of him to this point…. So don’t know what we’re getting.

I suppose he hasn’t Garner’ed your attention.

1 hour ago, RuffRob said:

Finger crossed on Broja - that could would be the icing on the cake for deadline day.

 

Personally, I think a winger is more important now that we have Maupay. Need to be able to force Gray and McNeil to the bench, or at least into  a real competition. In any case def an attacking option would be the icing on the cake.

3 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

"There is no better feeling than coming back home, seeing some brothers here.

"I am very happy to be here, to help, to work hard and to give my soul for this team. I am in my home. I feel like home and I know everybody here. Seeing this team, following this team every week and how they play, I cannot feel in a better place than Everton so that is why I chose to come back here.

"There is a great atmosphere around the stadium and people around here are like a family. Even when I went to Paris I kept in contact with some players here and continued to support for the team.

"For me it is special and I said to the manager if I left PSG it will be for one team and that is Everton."

Very hopeful on this one. Hopefully he has the energy to be a heat seeking missile for a couple years and mentor the young midfielders.

1 hour ago, StevO said:

He wants us to be able to play 523, 433 and maybe even 442. We need to be adaptable to different situations. 
 

He wants high press. Maupay, DCL, Gordon, McNeil, Gray, Iwobi and Gana are all very capable of this. 
 

I’m sure he would like more possession too. Iwobi, Onana, Garner, Patterson, McNeil, DCL and Maupay can hopefully do a bit of this too. 
 

Expect high tempo and high work rate as the team settles. Then hopefully more football as the team grows. 
 

One way or another, Frank and Kevin definitely have a plan they are working towards. 

Excellent window regardless. Would have loved to get Kudus and I do think some attacking help on the wing completes the window but overall we did a lot of business both in and out and got both promising youth and reliable experience. Will take a while to mesh but, on paper, it’s a job well done. 

14 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

TBH, I was not his biggest fan when he was here before, but that was because he was usually paired with Schneiderlin, and that just didn't work. His style of play will be well-suited to our emerging approach, and a midfield three of Gana, Onana, and Iwobi will be impressive. I'm really looking forward to it.

A bench of Doucoure, Garner most likely,Davies is also much better. 

42 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

sounds like it is just a loan to the end of the season. will be much better him playing football and hopefully doing well in a slower French league - as more likely to be able to sell him this time next year. 

Obviously some quality there. Just wasn’t the same after his injury. Fine margins with the pace and physicality of the Premier League.

18 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

 

Let’s just sign his wife. Love the energy.

57 minutes ago, Hafnia said:

I read yesterday that despite being told he wasn’t needed, he wanted to stay. £100k a week for doing nowt….. ffs 

I mean If he’s being asked to take a pay cut to leave I don’t really blame him for saying no. It’s his “fault” we don’t play him but I can’t really get on a player who has likely been told you won’t play and please leave for less money. 

4 minutes ago, Hafnia said:

Lateral? They are in the championship. 

Apologies.  Brain aneurism. I guess even more reason for them to try to keep him. If he rips up the championship I’m sure he’d get that high level interest

1 minute ago, Bailey said:

Player himself says he is staying at Watford.

Prob smart not to make a lateral move-ish anyhow. With a strong season he might be able to get Top 6 offers.

5 minutes ago, Formby said:

I'm sure they will. Frank has shown what he can do with players like Iwobi. I have great faith in him.

Here is a question. Let’s say we get chuk-wagon and these others. More options now. How does Frank actually want to play? So much has been done out of necessity. What is his vision? What type of Everton does he want?

22 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

 

We do need another attacking option. Pedro woulda been a good one but seems to be smartly kept. Maybe this is option 2.

5 minutes ago, Btay said:

I think Iwobi and Onana will benefit greatly from Gueye winning the ball so much and laying a simple pass off for them to drive at defences.

We have to be going to a 3 man midfield with everyone coming in, yes?

1 minute ago, Matt said:

It's a big if considering the history though, and only time will tell if its the case (and if the footballing people actually know what they're doing!)

True but given that I think they’ve mostly hit these last few windows on a limited budget I’m willing to be hopeful 

9 minutes ago, Matt said:

Not sure he can take any more credit than usual. His saving grace has been his willingness to put his hand in his pocket. The question for me is are these his signings or not. But I'm quietly optimistic that they're not and he may have finally learnt. Maybe. 

If they aren’t it’s because he’s allowed the football people to make these decisions. That should have always been the case but it’s still learning from one’s mistakes which should be acknowledged.

27 minutes ago, Goodison Glory said:

The club does have first refusal though. The players can then refuse, but that's still not first...it's second. 
 

For me it's about hedging and with hedging there are no guarantees just limiting risk.

lets Use Garner as the example:

You may ask, Why don't Man Utd loan him so they can guarantee he comes back - well there may not be a market for just a loan or man utd might want the money now while his stock is high. They might be betting that he does not yield the potential that we see, however they are hedging that if he does they have a chance to buy him back before any other club can AND Everton can't do anything about it / yes they still have to get the player to agree to come back, but they are taking two risks out of the equation - an escalated fee, Everton wouldn't want to sell.

so the buy back is a way of complying with labour laws but limiting risk.

Well, if the player can decide to not come back to the selling club I guess I don’t see how the club has the first option. They lock in a price and have an advantage negotiations but it’s up to player whether he returns.

15 minutes ago, StevO said:

Looks like Moshiri is doing what people have asked of him for quite some time. 
Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. 

Plenty of criticism for Moshiri but when we’ve been able to spend he has spent. Some would say too much and too recklessly. This window seems much more thoughtful with a clear idea of what we need.

4 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

 

Big number for the permanent. Someone educate me on him please.

5 minutes ago, Goodison Glory said:

I don't see it as a pointless clause. the selling club don't know yet that the player won't want to come back and the clause at least gives them first refusal. The reason the player was willing to leave in the first place was more than likely playing time. if he proves his quality it would stand to reason that he can get back into the selling clubs plans. 

none of the parties are forced into anything but all the parties are protecting their interests as best they can. That woild include us.

Well, the player has first refusal. The original club’s only advantage is having a set price with the new club. A player could still just test the open market as he wishes. I’m not saying there is no point in the clause, just that it’s far from a sure thing. I suppose if you’re Barca you could always say hey let’s sign you to more money when you come back and then if we sell you’ll still be on higher wages. 

20 minutes ago, StevO said:

Put yourself in the players shoes though. Your family is settled in California, your kids are in school and have friends. You get transferred to Chicago without any say in the matter whatsoever. Aren’t those players held hostage just as much as our football clubs are? 
 

(all of the hostages in both scenarios are well paid, apart from lower leagues)

That’s the system they knowingly signed up for. As you point out they are obscenely paid for the privilege. I get that it’s difficult for them and their families to move like that but it’s their choice to play these sports. Go be an accountant if you don’t like it. The difference is these are leagues with 32 teams or less. If players could just decide they will never be traded to certain markets the parity gal would grow hugely and you’d get something like the Premier League where half the league or more has realistically no chance at ever winning a title. We also have drafts here that try to balance things a bit more. Pros and Cons to both systems but having a league worth more parity where every team has a chance to build themselves  into a perennial winner is preferable to me. 

12 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

If, as looks likely, he's still here when the window closes I think he comes out of all of this looking good.

Much like when United came calling for Baines I'm sure he'd have jumped at the opportunity if we had agreed to the move, but he's not rocked the boat or even said a word about it all. It also shows him (and us) that he's a highly rated player.

Yea he handled it fine. I do think, objectively, it’s best he stays and really establishes himself. Playing 10 min at a time couldn’t have been great for his development. He’s a year or two away, if he progresses, from being in the starting lineup regularly for a top side.

1 minute ago, StevO said:

It’s not like it can be in the NBA or NFL when the team decides to transfer a player they have to go. They can never force a player to move here, or most of football really. Not sure if MLS follow the NBA or NFL model though. 

One reason more parity exists in those leagues I would say. You sometimes get holdouts in the NFL or NBA but they aren’t held hostage by players nearly as often as occurs in football. As an American it is always wild to me that a player under contract can just easily force a move in most cases, effectively disregarding his agreement. I expect it comes from there just being so many different leagues and options whereas the NFL is only that one league really and can better regulate those things.