Hafnia

OK here's my 2 cents. While I feel sorry for Baines, talking about homesickness when not pencilled as a defo squad member may have had an impact on Capello not picking him. It wasn't the wisest move, at international level you do not want players unsettling the camp with any negative energy, and home sickness (symptoms) would definately do that - unable to join in with banter, quietness, poor perfromances. I do not take such things as a crticism of Everton and I am 100% behind Capello. Got to agree that Carraghers inclusion is a strange one - Jags is a FAR better player. In my honest opinion if they had included Jags in the preliminary squad he may have hit top form just in time, and at that level he is more than cappable of standing in for John Terry who I rate him as better than. Carragher has turned into a bitter aging bully boy sunday league footballer who targets the young quick lads with a hefty OTT challenge whilst protesting innocence (pienaar, aguero anyone) I think Baines performance against Mexico highlighted some defensive concerns that would not have been evident had Mr Gerrard not gone walkies. None the less I think Capello has gone for the slightly better defensive security of Warnock. Added all in it makes no odds, Ashley Cole will be playing all the time barring injury. Enjoy a nice holiday Leighton and chin up, don't go too far or for too long!!!

Given the situation he would have been wise to indicate that a bigger squad may have seen us challenge for top 4, instead using the word failure indicates he has greater ambition than the club is able to satisfy... Time to take this one on the chin I think, would be nice if he signs however I think it's taxi for Pienaar (no pun intended), he isn't exactly giving the impression he wants to be here. Last contract, wants mega bucks, part of me wishes him well, part of me thinks he's another greedy mercenary. If we can get Ben Arfa cheaper and he sorts his head out we could have a seriously talented replacement

Cheers mike, it was yeah. Not good using mobile for posts!

Funny isn't it how things turn out for some players - tipped for stardom http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/2779947.stm Have a problematic time at a club and eventually approx 5-6 years later start realising it.

Sometimes players need to move away from their known environment to become 100% focused, our squad is geared to helping players settle in, no ego's etc. He may well have an attitude problem, but attitudes only flourish or become prominent in an environment where they are allowed to. It's well known that problems occur when there are ego clashes. Look at Eric Cantona, was a problem at many clubs but when given the right environment was a leader and led by example in training. He is the type of player that could get the fans chanting his name in the hope of some much needed flair, sometimes that is all they need - the platform and reward that they crave. Stifle or criticise them and they revert to derailing behaviours which is what gives them the bad name. To move forward we need to be able to house and deal with some element of ego, all the great players have it, from Torres to Rooney, they have their own needs. Our fans are well known for being fair but encouraging, even Pienaar in his difficult talks has commented on how well he has been treated by us. Missing out on the final squad is exactly what could work in our favour, gives Moyesy that platform to put his arm round him and say "work with me, you will be a regular for your country in no time" Must say, I am surprised we are linked with him, I have always had Moyes down as the type to run a mile from problematic players. He must have 100% faith in the strength and unity of the players that he knows they can not be unsettled by the occasional ego. Look at Drogba the other week, kicked off about the penalty as he wanted golden boot, player unity led by Lampard put him in his place and he soon realised the error of his ways - a weaker spirited squad would have been affected by that and had split camps etc.

Playmaker sitting behind pacey striker/s is a great option, age not really an issue if we have the legs behind him, someone who could link up well with areta (given the ability to bomb on with Rodwell and Felli holding)- could allow us to play 4-3-3 rodwell - Felli areta Aimar Saha - Beckford / Anichebe

I've been a massive fan of the yak, he knows where the net is and he has a great ability to hold up the ball and pick a pass. My concern with him is that his only weakness is his attitude, i don't think he can stay at one club too long. His limited work rate has dropped and he looks like a player who has done his time for us. In an ideal world we would keep him and rotate him, the fact is we need a goal hungry striker to come in. Who that is? I do not know. I would say 9 million is about right for yak.

We are in a win win situation: he signs new contract = great. He says he wants to move to Spurs, then tell Spurs it's £15m or more or we hold off till after world cup where he will be on every form of TV replay as he is the most likleist players from South Africa to have an impact moment in a game. The TV stations will act as the biggest agent in world football, will Spurs fancy going up against bigger powers in the world game if Pienaar does what we know he is capable of. £15m is alot of money for a player out of contract and with about 3 years of peak performance left. If it turns out that we do not agree a fee then keep him for the last year, we paid in region of £2m for him and he could enable us to make the push for top 4. Time to play hardball. I would prefer to sign him on a 4 year deal though.

Bellamy has not got long left in his legs by his own admission, plus his wages would be top bracket. Get Petrov and don't even let those lot have any of our players, we would get 2 good years out of Petrov.

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.