Hafnia

Rumours of City coming in for Mikel are worrying, hopeful he will stay. If he were to go I would pipeline the move for Moutinho (£17m) and the sale of Arteta should be in region of £25m. Moutinho is a class act, at goodison he was played on left wing and was isolated, at their place he ran the midfield. Gifted player, very similar to Arteta in my opinion. I just want our squad to remain as it is barring sell Yobo, - buy another younger centre half as cover - Taylor? I would also sell Yak if we can get £7m then get a more mobile goalscoring centre forward to partner Saha. I think Yak has come to his usual "done a few years, i'm bored, want to move" Is Jose Baxter any closer to making a big step?

I would make him see contract out. Next season could be massive for us and he would be a big part in that. Let's face it, if old arry wanted him - we could play hard ball and say £20m now or we will hold him till end of contract and then you are up against Chelsea, Man Utd, and a host of other bigger names who would take him on a free and offer £80k+ a week - what is it to be?

Echo is out of order, don't assume the reasons he has left. A top man, well respected. During his tenure he ensured we didn't blow millions on crocked players - Forsell anyone. When the Yak scored his return goal he was the man he went straight up to and celebrated, look at our injury problems, Jags, Mikel, Tim, Yak, Victor, all came back from potential career enders. Prentice wants to take stock of what he has written, so much risk involved to assume what has happened, physios don't get much publicity, so when it is negative after such a long tenure then don't be surprised if Moyes vents his fury and the Echo lose out.

http://www.evertonfc.com//news/archive/2010/05/22/duffy-recovering-after-emergency-surgery?utm_source=rss_everton&utm_medium=rss_feed&utm_term=Duffy+Recovering+After+Emergency+Surgery Speedy recovery Shane, well done to the medical staff too.

Oh well they can all get lost. He has signed new contract, the manc loving red tops can find another english born wonderkid to tap up for sir alex.

Normally we advertise the fact so I guess not, but none the less - no proof as such.

Got to hope South Africa get beaten and Pienaar has poor games, just in order to keep the wolves from the door. Not an ideal situation, would have been nice to see him commit to a contract and then we could relax and enjoy and will him to take defenses apart the way we know he can. It's almost like watching Euro 2004 all over again, wanting Rooney to do well so you could say to all the arm chair supporters "Yes, that's what we have! Not United, not Cheslsea etc - but Everton" - but knowing that the contract was left unsigned left you feeling hollow. I'm disappointed that we never secured him over a year ago and put him on parity with the Yak, Cahill, Arteta etc, could he be forgiven for not showing loyalty? Did he dispair when Phil Neville was gifted a top dollar contract till he was 35? I know what I would have thought.

Arteta and Milner are very well matched to be honest, Mikel has more style and brains to his play and can play passes that milner can't, however milner appears to be a better athlete. Both very, very good players, Arteta would be the one who could fill the role of fabregas moreso IMO as he has a better understanding and more experience of tempo to play etc. Arteta is simply the best signing Moyes has made. The cost to replace a midfielder of his calibre would be £30m plus. Milner will be a top european midfielder within 2 years. Disappointed we didn't get him from Newcastle. He will go for nearer to £40m if city and Chelsea lock horns. Ready made replacement for Lampard.

Maybe we are in the position where we need the core leaders to state long term intentions to get the key players to stay, it certainly makes sense in the fact that Cahill and Arteta are best mates. Needs must I suppose...

Cahill has been a great signing for us, no doubt about that. However my thoughts are this...why offer someone a 4 year contract when they still have 2 years left??? I would say yes if it was Pienaar, however it looks like we missed that boat and we are at risk of losing him. Would we be at risk of losing Cahill in two years? Certainly not to a rival IMO. Criticising extending a good servants contract may attract some criticism but we are running a business, within the next two years I expect a midfield trio of fellaini, Arteta and Rodwell to dominate, that leaves and attacking midfield role for Cahill, but will we be happy to rely on him for goals? I expect us to move on and get an established goal getter. Cahill is still able to do a job, but I do think he is on the decline, which when you look at the likes of Gerrard means he isn't alone and is of no disgrace. I'm not unhappy about extending his contract, I am just cautious as to why - is it to satisfy the fans in readiness for some disappointment? Who knows, it's just a confusing one. The contract I want wrapped up is Pienaars, we wait with baited breathe.............

£2m, tidy left foot, maybe a good squad player and give us more options on left, that's about it really, can't see him being the missing link to turn our midfield into a top 4 team. But none the less he may make the step up and continue to improve, played champions league etc. At 6ft 2, he appears to be strong, so on a flat midfield 4 he could be the answer in certain games.

Certainly looks like him, if i'm not mistaken isn't he contracted to our club? Could it be that he was given a ticket by the good kind hearted people who run Real Madrid - never being the club to try and snare a player before talking to other clubs? Either way I would rather he be courted by them than anyone else, purely for the reason that we would get more money if the intention is to sell him. I would guess that given our financial status any significant signings next year will rely on us selling. To be honest, if it means we keep Rodwell, I would sell Fellaini. Preferably we shouldn't be selling any one our young assets. I for one would not like him to go and I have been one of his biggest critics, however the spell of games he had before being injured went some way to proving me wrong - I could not see a one paced player dominating a premier league match. Although the money spent on him is significant in itslf, you would be looking at £30m plus for him which is outrageous considering I would have let him go for £10m before the start of the season. I think we are in a strong position with Felli, his style of play and stature make him without comparison, if Real want him, the chances are he will want to go - there would be a sizable fee involved and you can bet your bottom dollar Chelsea and Man City would join an auction.

The squad is than at a minimum now. The bare minimum for a squad is having a fully fit "first eleven", we have operated on a far less than fully fit first eleven for over a year now! Comments by Neville are starting to get on my nerves to be honest, like his brother, he needs to remember that he is a player first and foremost - take care of what happens on the pitch, never mind squad strength when your starting place is questionable. If he was setting the world alight with his performances then maybe his comments would not annoy as much. His rally cries really are irritating. We do not have a strong squad, because on the basis of his recent perfromances he should not be playing. When we have the type of bench strength that means the likes of Yak, Billy and to an extent Saha know that sulking and hiding would result in having to fight for their place then we will have a squad. Your average squad can have anywhere from 0 - 5 players missing at any one time, most teams have a contingency for that in terms of quality, we do not. We have to play people out of position constantly which results in sub standard performances = dropped points = mid table. I think it is really another calculated communication by the club to set our expectations for another £0.00 net spend. It's a pity because never mind Torres saying Liverpool need 4 more world class players - we need 3 more quality (not world class) players to mount a serious challenge to the top four. That would be 1. An out and out goalscorer, 2. A left/right winger to balance with Pienaar 3. Cover for left back. Coleman should be ready next season to take right back - I honestly think this spell at Blackpool will be great for him. Neville can do his coaching badges and take up the role as number 2 to Moyes.

My guess is that next year is a big big year for the lad. He has come in early season and to an extent carried us when we had terrible injuries, he has then had an expected slump in form but then has played well when back in with the likes of Arteta. A good pre season will see him stronger and more dominant, he could become an all round do everything midfielder in the way Gerrard is for Liverpool when he is on form. People like Arnesen at Chelsea would have had all the info on Rodwell from years back, and all they will see now is that the reports were correct, he is heading for world class status it's a matter of time - and we shouldn't let him go for anything less than world class prices. We need to ensure that we continue to build the squad while we have him, it is our best chance of keeping him. In my opinion, with a bit of strengthening - Coleman playing wing back (Baines like wise) with a combative and skillfull midfield we have a chance of breaking the top 4, that will see us reach a whole new level. The future is looking very bright, we just need to hold onto our top talent to help us realise it.

I'm only guessing but any agent worth his salt would make sure that there were caveats within the deal that meant any progress made by Rodwell would be rewarded. £25k a week would be just the start, an England call up etc would probably see him in the Arteta, Cahill, Yak bracket. The lad seems to be level headed and at this moment I would imagine his main goal is getting more first team games, developing and becoming the player we know he can be. Van der meyde was put on mega bucks because he was a dutch international who had played for Ajax and Inter. In terms of pay structure at the club things do need to improve, that all comes from increasing our revenue = stadium improvements and champs league footy. These are the players that can make that happen.

They should not be considered for sale unless an amazing to good to be true offer is made (£50m Rodwell, £20m Pienaar - seriously), the reason being in usual circumstances we do not yet possess the ability to attract players of their quality when pursued by other top 4 clubs, so why would that change if we were to sell them. To look at this you properly we need to look at who is in their class. Pienaar for me is up there with the best attacking widemen in the business from an all round point of view. He is not up there with Riberry, Ronaldo, Di Maria from an all out attack point of view, but he more than makes up for this with his work rate for the team, let's just say I wouldn't swap him for Valencia and he went for £16m - nor would we have got Valencia when Utd's interest became apparent. So in effect it is unlikely we could replace him. Rodwell is almost without comparison, put bluntly he is going to be a mainstay in the England midfield for year to come, Gerrard, Lampard - if a club had the opportunity to go back in time and buy them at 19 years old, how mnuch would they pay? £60m would be a snip given the return over the years. The two aforementioned names will be on the decline fromk now on in, the likes of Rodwell and Milner will be the main men in the middle for their country. We should not even contemplate selling them, the money we would get in would be likely spent on lesser quality players, which means we will still be plodding along trying to get in the sky 4. Imagine if we still had a certain Man United player mixing it with Arteta, Pienaar, Rodwell, Fellaini, Jags, alongside the Yak or Louis - you would be looking at league contenders - alas we needed to sell him. We do not need to sell Rodwell or Pienaar so therefore we shouldn't.

Speaking to none other than John Ebbrell week before last and he said he sees a revolution of smaller midfielders coming back into the reckoning after the days of patrick viera type players ruling the roost for years. There is some credit to this, look at Barca, yes they have a big man in toure to break up play, but ultimately the team needs clever and quick feet to make things happen. It is no surprise that with Pienaar and Arteta back in the team together, Ossie is looking more at home if anything looking like he is about to play some of the best football of his career. To answer the thread, the player/s that should come in would be a pure pace outlet either on the flanks or up front as an option - plus maybe a right wing back - someone with 2 years left to allow coleman to mature mentor him. Players to leave.... none, there is a good unit and togetherness in that team and if we had the squad size we need we would be higher up the table. We have a good blend of youth and experience. p.s Senderos can finish his loan.

Against a physical team like Bolton he came on and jinked his way in box and layed up for Pienaar - saleable asset? depends on how much other teams value our unfashionable Ossie - He is to us what Benayoun is to Liverpool but Ossie is better IMO. Would they class Benayoun as a saleable asset? No, he is someone who gives them another option, lack of options is shortsighted, well worth keeping as a one club player. Tremendous blue - keep proving them wrong Ossie Sorry folks, clicked into tab 2 not realising this episode was over!!!!

1. Arteta (by a country mile)in terms of cost, talent, worth to team)- better player than Rooney was for us, would have been great to see them together. 2. Pienaar 3. Jagielka 4. Lescott 5. Cahill

Looks to have all the attributes physically which is a great start, there have been many players who have had these attributes who just never made what they should have done, with players up to and including the likes of adriano. We have Anichebe who let's face it is a tremendous athlete, as is Joseph Yobo. I'm sure if you looked at Nyarko you would say the same. Beckford at Leeds is a strong pacey player, but by all accounts needs a few chances to score. The biggest test is mentality, to be a Drogba you need to be a winner, someone with ice in their veins who can finish when only getting one or two chances a game - or when the pressure is high. This I think is when they reach the 'will they, won't they' stage - to spend £15m before then is a gamble. Drogba was a very late developer in terms of reaching his potential - Chelsea spent £25m plus on a proven european goalscorer. Got to say though, seeing someone of this type of promise is what keeps the game great, I hope we can get some sort of deal arranged where payments are based on achievements, certainly having an iconic Belgian playing for us will mean that he knows who we are. The only way we are going to have a true world class under 25 striker playing for us is if we bring them through the ranks or we take a gamble on someone like him.

Moyes has been a great manager in the fact he has given us stability without being majorly funded. How many managers would achieve what he has done with the funding he has. He is praised readily and criticised readily, which I don't subscribe to. One day he will be a top class manager, and yes that means that he does make mistakes and will continue to do so, he is a defensive manager which many seem to be frustrated with, I think he is learning all the time. Has Moyes taken us as far as we can go? You need to look higher up the chain.

He isn't worth £3m. If he had a brain he would be worth £20m. All the attributes are there physically, mentally i'm afraid not. That's the art of defending, reading the game.

Get rodwell on in place of billy. He can mark moutinho. Osman on right donovan on left. I would take jags on in place of senderos just to organise.

Does anyone really think that Jack would want to go at the moment??? Everything is right for him to stay for at least 4 years - by then who knows where we will be - champs league regulars? Why leave when: 1. He has seen what has happened to Rooney's status among fans for wanting to go when the fans are clearly intent on him staying a blue. 2. He has a better chance of regular first team action. 3. We are in a better position than we were when Rooney was here. I would be very very suspect if by some reason Jack is sold, he has made it clear he is happy - the only way a sale will happen is if the board see fit to sell for the money that would be offered. Then we will have to hope we can develop another potential England Captain - cos we sure as well ain't gonna be in the financial position to buy or lure one! Everything the lad does at the moment is under the microscope and magnified, his bad pass against sporting, his goal against utd. Just gotta take the rough with the smooth, not get disheartened when a mistake is made and not too carried away when something great is done. He is coming along at the rate everyone had hoped for from when he was playing above his years in the academy, therefore there is no reason he can't reach his touted potential of the new Steven Gerrard - so therefore I ask - what price would make you sell? - if Liverpool sold Gerrard for todays equivalent of £30m when he was 18 would you say that was good business given what he has done for them? You need to keep the best players if you want your team to do well, simple as that.

Yep seen that pass lat night, get rid I thought he was meant to be a future great. Up for £6m, in fact first one in can get Pienaar for £6m too. That's £12m to spend on hhhhmmmm let's see...... John O'shea? Well we got them both for a combined cost of £2.5m so it's good business. OK just being arsey. Strange title to a thread IMO - he's 18 and looked the most mature early season, let him learn. I want to see him make a few more mistakes, you don't become great without learning from mistakes. Personally I see him as a ball winning/playing centre mid, we can buy a centre half who can win ball, pass to Jack to build up play from the back. Less we talk about him the better, just let him develop and hope we keep him, a two footed classy midfielder, English, aged 18, other clubs would go mad for him if we were looking to sell.