SpartyBlue

I think we have been a bit spoiled by Digne. Coming to a new team, climate, culture and hitting the ground running like he did was remarkable...and unusual. I’ll give Mina a pass for last year. He also came late in the window if I recall. I would think that both he and Gomes should be markedly improved with a much more stable situation and an idea of what the premier league is about. 

As an American, I'm always struck by this notion that every team needs to be constantly adding to their squad or falling behind. While there is certainly excitement over free agency in American sports the urgency isn't the same. Often just having the same team back and healthy with another year for the younger players to progress is just fine. There is so much turnover in football that I wonder if teams might sometimes be better off getting the guys they have to work better as a unit and develop together rather then bringing in 3,4,5,10 new players each window. We were a top 4 side or so the second half of the season. If you  told me that we had all the same 1st team players back again with one or two additions and some deadwood cleared out I'd be thrilled. I don't always see the need for an arms race, particularly when we are competing against teams with more bullets than us. Just my take, I'm curious what others think.

As an American, I'm always struck by this notion that every team needs to be constantly adding to their squad or falling behind. While there is certainly excitement over free agency in American sports the urgency isn't the same. Often just having the same team back and healthy with another year for the younger players to progress is just fine. There is so much turnover in football that I wonder if teams might sometimes be better off getting the guys they have to work better as a unit and develop together rather then bringing in 3,4,5,10 new players each window. We were a top 4 side or so the second half of the season. If you  told me that we had all the same 1st team players back again with one or two additions and some deadwood cleared out I'd be thrilled. I don't always see the need for an arms race, particularly when we are competing against teams with more bullets than us. Just my take, I'm curious what others think.

I'm a little surprised there isn'tt more mention of Digne's performance. He was a problem for them all day. Of course hes been so good consistently that maybe we are just coming to expect it.

I'm a little surprised there isn'tt more mention of Digne's performance. He was a problem for them all day. Of course hes been so good consistently that maybe we are just coming to expect it.

It isn't plausible though. You're admitting as much by saying its probably not likely. It would be pretty stupid to lie about something like this when it could be easily disproven by Chelsea, Ross, his agent etc... and I think we can all agree that, in addition to being upfront with Everton supporters so far, Moshiri isn't stupid. Beyond that, I'm not sure how this would be effective as a deflection even if it was his goal. Those who are upset about the lack of a big name striker and a defender aren't going to forget about it because of this stuff with Ross.

I think that he'd be quite a smart buy at this point. He's a serious physical presence (6'5") and scored 15 in 28 starts and 5 sub appearances in the league. Most of his goals were converting crosses with his head which is what we need and he obviously has a repoire with Siggy. I'm not sure how his hold up play is but I think he'd be really solid for what we need for a year or two (as has been mentioned) while we find the perfect longterm option. His physicality alone will force defenses to account for him and open up space for others.

I may be in the minority here but I don't want Costa regardless of what help he might provide on the pitch. He's one of the worst characters in world football and I'd be embarrassed to see him wearing an Everton shirt. He's stomped, spit on and headbutted opponents. On top of that he's an egregious diver and managed to find himself out of favor at Chelsea despite contributing to a title. There's a difference between being scrappy and difficult to play against and simply being a dirty player. He is very clearly the latter.

What's that? Only up 2-1 on aggregate? Hostile environment? Playing awful? Gylfi- "Hold my beer"

What's that? Only up 2-1 on aggregate? Hostile environment? Playing awful? Gylfi- "Hold my beer"

It's an approach that has worked for a certain politician here in America.

It's an approach that has worked for a certain politician here in America.

It's an approach that has worked for a certain politician here in America.

I'd rather replace Davies with GS. Schneiderlein is a more important player for us, particularly with the lead and I'd trust Gylfi's experience and workrate over Klassen in his second PL game in a high pressure spot.

Perhaps I'm missing something obvious but how can he be offsides on a corner....unless he's standing inside the goal he'll be behind the ball when it's played 
Watching it back again, I misunderstood how the play developed. I issue a full and heartfelt retraction

I get why they don't show it on TV but I think it's different with their manager. He's in a position to influence supporters and send a positive message about what sort of club they want to be. If he really was taking the position that he wasn't going to address the incident because he didn't want to give them any air time he could simply say that and be done. Claiming to not have even seen what happened is an obvious lie and combined with his comment that "It's not his job" suggests to me his hesitancy is due to a lack of courage rather than a tactical decision. Sometimes silence (or a lack of condemnation) is complicity and, to me, this is one of those times.

Absolutely not. The type of players Koeman has brought in are all high character guys. Many of them are captains for either their clubs or their countries or both. Costa is an incredible player when his head's in it but he's one of the worst characters on a pitch in world football, we all know this. Let's not sell our souls as fans so we can have one season of this manbaby representing Everton. For every class goal there would be an incident that would make us ashamed he was wearing the shirt.

Absolutely not. The type of players Koeman has brought in are all high character guys. Many of them are captains for either their clubs or their countries or both. Costa is an incredible player when his head's in it but he's one of the worst characters on a pitch in world football, we all know this. Let's not sell our souls as fans so we can have one season of this manbaby representing Everton. For every class goal there would be an incident that would make us ashamed he was wearing the shirt.

I'll probably go with Sig.

Respectfully, I strongly disagree with your assessment. For one, we have bid 40m+ which is considerably more than Everton have ever bid for any player. This alone should prove we are willing to splash the cash. The idea that because we have significantly more money we should just pay whatever clubs want is a bit misguided in my opinion. If we get a reputation for being a club who is weak in negotiation we would regularly be taken advantage of. It can be frustrating to not get a player because of a few million but those millions we save are going to add up and help improve the club in the long run. Almost everyone agrees that Sig is being priced too high so I don't quite get the criticism when our management agrees and tries to get a better deal.

Respectfully, I strongly disagree with your assessment. For one, we have bid 40m+ which is considerably more than Everton have ever bid for any player. This alone should prove we are willing to splash the cash. The idea that because we have significantly more money we should just pay whatever clubs want is a bit misguided in my opinion. If we get a reputation for being a club who is weak in negotiation we would regularly be taken advantage of. It can be frustrating to not get a player because of a few million but those millions we save are going to add up and help improve the club in the long run. Almost everyone agrees that Sig is being priced too high so I don't quite get the criticism when our management agrees and tries to get a better deal.

I have followed this forum ever since I have followed Everton (5 years or so). Since this post speaks to me I think now is a good time to emerge from the shadows .On a whim, a friend and I decided to choose Premier League teams to support and we both independently selected Everton. I can't speak for him but having a prominent American on the squad was a key factor in my case. We have since encouraged a couple more friends to follow the club. Additionally, we've both spent a decent amount on club gear, watched every game and will be taking a trip overseas in the next year or two (my friend has already been once). I've said all that to say this; the impact of a globally recognized player like Rooney is hard to overstate.I truly think we could pay him 500k a week and he'd still be a good investment for what he brings off the pitch. The Kyle Walker example is a good one. Rooney is going to draw attention and create interest regardless of how he performs and that has tremendous value for the club.