carlmc25

some people will no doubt call me a fool (and relish it!) for saying this, but if we signed Arshavin (and he is as good as made out) and Appiah then I think we can look above breaking into the top 4, we could look at challenging for the title! Maybe I'm just getting carried away but I love it when we sign some dude foreigner who I know very little about for big money! Fingers crossed.

Just about to quote the Echo myself, you beat me to it! This would be very exciting if we pulled this off, Moyes really is a genius. I'd have to wonder exactly what Moyes plans are though, we are still a CM short in the midfield so I still think 442 maybe unrealistic, but if we sign Arshavin we'd have Yak, AJ & Arshavin all vying for the same spot, with the VERY promising Vaughan as well. Seems at least one too many cook to me, especially with Anichebe in reserve. Unless Arshavin can also play like a demon on the wing then I would think that at the very least Anichebe will be farmed out on loan (although he gives us that physical presence and height off the bench) or AJ will be sold. Yakubu is our number 1, I suspect Moyes must know Vaughan is the better player/prospect than AJ and he wouldn't be signing Arshavin to play up front when we already have all these players unless he knows he's special. If Arshavin is as good as people are making out then I'd be absolutely ecstatic if we sold AJ, signed Arshavin and also used the left over money from McFadden etc to try and secure Fernandes in the Summer, then use our tv money to buy Appiah. Everton are on the up!

I agree as well, I like Stubbs but when I've heard him speak I've never thought that he seemed top class management material. He seems like a decent honest bloke rather than a masterminded tactician. I'd rather we got in someone with a real pedigree, maybe even someone from abroad who can inject some new ideas and increase the flair!

is Arshavin a lefty by the way? We definitely need someone to cover that left hand side, pity we can't get Downing on loan to take a look at him (I know there is physically no chance of that!). I assume Osman will be playing there when he's back, until Pienaar returns anyway. Wonder if Baines will be employed on the left wing on Sunday, give him a chance to ease himself back into the team in a less pressured area of the pitch where mistakes aren't as costly if he isn't quite match sharp...

I stand corrected - if you are indeed correct! From what I understood (my dad worked for a company who wanted to sponsor Tranmere or something so had access to the accounts) Everton paid very little up front for Simonsen and the rest was all based on appearances, bonuses etc - and as he hardly played for us I assumed that we paid very little of the reported fee. If I was misinformed then I apologise! Is it definite that we paid nearly full whack for Simonsen? If so I can bring that up next time my dad brings up Simonsen during one of his arguments!

it's good that you're finally starting to see sense...

if we sold AJ then yes if he's any good, I've only seen him play a couple of times. I know I could take a look on youtube but that can make anyone look good! I just wish we'd buy Appiah, just imagine our midfield with Appiah and Fernandes, Arteta and Pienaar, it would be an absolute beast - put that together with one of the best defences in the league and a serious goal threat up front and I think we could break that top 4 regularly...

I agree about Pienaar, we'll have to see about AJ - I'd still rather see Vaughan play up front with Yak than AJ. I'd love to see someone in the Berbatov mould coming in to replace AJ, give us that different option up front.

credit has to go to Kenwright, Wyness or whoever it is that sorts out our transfer dealings. Once again we've managed to get a fantastic price for a player, who let's face it, didn't really ever figure in our first team plans, has never started many matches for us and has never set the place alight. I like McFadden, but in reality he's been a bit of a flop at Everton and yet we get 5.5m for him - amazing deal imo. Well done! Now let's get someone in as a replacement.

it's a strange one, Shearer threw his name in the hat big time today (wouldn't surprise me to see him named as assistant, although that would put huge pressure on Keegan as soon as results start to slide) and as much as he's got no experience, I'd rather have him as manager than bring Keegan back after a few years out. I like Keegan so wish him well and he did an excellent job with Newcastle last time, but I can't see him repeating his success this time.

yeah obviously, but you don't take a chance on a 9m player to replace one of the best players in our team who is consistently performing when there's other areas that need strengthening. I'd rather spend the money on securing Pienaar and Fernandes. Blue4ever - yes I'd far rather we play a 451 as we still don't know what Fernandes can do consistently in a 442 and Carsley isn't good enough for 442. If we could get someone like Appiah then 442 could become a real possibility.

actually, that's all I ever ask and I think your post was excellent. The points you made about Cahill were very accurate and I agree with all of them, it's just - as you said - I don't want to buy some flavour of the month to replace Cahill when in reality he is already doing a great job. If we could get someone who is virtually guaranteed to do a better job than Cahill then I don't think anyone would have a problem with that, my point was that we shouldn't be actively looking to replace Cahill as he is one of our best players and finances are limited, so that means you replace the players that need replacing the most in the areas that will make the most difference. Cahill does such a good job for us that I personally don't think it would make a vast difference (positive impact I'm talking here) no matter who was brought in. The fact that Arshavin is being linked with Arsenal and Spurs means nothing at the moment, it's pure speculation. As for Pienaar, I don't mean any disservice to the guy and it was no reflection of his talent, the problem is - in a 442 he doesn't get much of the ball because Carlsey and Cahill get overrun and they don't have the passing range (neither do the defence) to get the ball to Arteta and Pienaar in good positions. Thus Pienaar (and most likely Arteta) will be much less effective. Lastly AJ, he's just not very good. He started off last season like a house on fire and he can still do a job - but you asked would I rather play Vaughan ahead of him and my answer is yes, he's similar to AJ but quicker, more aggressive, better in the air and a better finisher, so yes I'd rather play Vaughan. AJ is 9m sitting on the bench, his partnership with Yakubu has showed virtually no promise whatsoever and Yakubu has shown himself to be in a different league in terms of ability and genuine talent from AJ already. I hate having a dig at Everton players and I've stuck up for most of our players (Carsley, Neville, Lescott, Arteta etc etc) on numerous occasions, but AJ hasn't cut it so far.

Jagielka. Dunne's been brilliant for City for a couple of years now and would give Yobo and Lescott serious competition. I wouldn't go to 352 though, it sucks balls.

he's just a slightly worse version of Tim Cahill from what I've seen, I wouldn't want him particularly.

haha yeah. In saying that, he brings a real composure to the team, I think he has struck a nice balance of passing and hoofing at the moment. He's never going to be a pin point 50 yard passer of the ball, but he's so classy the way he brings the ball down, isn't afraid to cut back inside an attacker instead of hoofing the ball out of play, he really uses his pace to get himself out of trouble. A couple of wobbly games aside he's been fulfilling his potential over the last 18 months, which is good as he's my favourite player

Agreed. That goal against Kharkiv was, imo, definitely one of the turning points of this campaign. Everyone goes on about the Liverpool game and all that, but I think if we had've beaten Liverpool we could have gone on a long run unbeaten as well, especially as Cahill came back the next game. That McFadden goal was such a big moment this season, imagine the shame if we had've gone out at the first hurdle in Europe again - we would have been a laughing stock again and Moyes may have gone!

I don't think anyone would say that Cahill cannot be replaced, but to say Arhsavin would be better than him when he is totally unproven in this league is a massive disservice to Cahill imo. I don't think you'd hear any complaints if Everton did a swap deal Cahill for Ronaldo, but the point is Cahill is probably our most important player and is consistently performing week in week out and fits into our team spirit. We don't need to look to replace him, what we do need is another class left winger, (as Pienaar is still only on loan and we still only have 2 excellent wingers with no cover), another class forward to replace the disappointing AJ and another class DM most of all to give us the option to play 442 and to replace the ageing Carsley. Apart from someone like Ronaldo, I can't see many players being brought in who could do a better job than Cahill in that 451 role, certainly not in our price range. Let's just get Appiah and sign up Fernandes and Pienaar, that would turn us into a serious force. It's easy to say I don't see the point spending the McFadden money on a squad player, but buying a player to replace Cahill in the team basically means we then have Cahill as a squad player, and in today's market he is worth probably 3 times what McFadden is.

I think Dunne has won City's player of the year for the last couple of seasons. He's turned into a fantastic defender and I'd take him in a second if he was reasonably priced, I'd personally far rather have Dunne than Stubbs or Jags.

I think you'll find we only pay 3m for Gosling if he does make it, it'll be based on appearances and probably international caps or something. We're only paying something like 1m up front. It's like with Steve Simonsen, we only paid somewhere in the region of 500k up front and the rest was based on him winning player of the year etc, we never ended up paying anything like the amount that was quoted.

without Cahill we can't realistically play 451 with anything like the same success. We don't play 451 to accommodate Cahill, we play it when Cahill is fit because Cahill makes it work. Cahill basically accommodates our need to play 451, not the other way around. The reason Pienaar was getting better and better, the reason the defence started keeping clean sheets is because we went to 451 because Cahill makes it work. Without Cahill, we would still be playing 442 and ambling along in mid-table obscurity. It's true that other players play better in 451 (Carsley in particular) but it's no secret Cahill is the key to the fundamental success of 451. He also works very hard and wins a lot of flick ons which helps give us possession higher up the pitch.

100% agree with every word of that post. I'd rather sell AJ to fund Arshavin personally, as he's someone who hasn't contributed much to our season and isn't worth the money we paid for him. Cahill is probably our most feared player and the player our team is built around, yet some people say let's replace him. Some fans are so fickle, it's like with Arteta as soon as his form drops a little some say we should sign Bentley to replace him, as someone rightly pointed out - what happens when Bentley's form dips? it's ridiculous, our players are giving their all for this club and we are having one of the best seasons we've had in about 20 years, yet gratitude seems to be thin on the ground... Carsley on the other hand, as brilliant as he has been, is getting on a bit and I think it has to be the priority to get a younger, more athletic and physical replacement. Also, someone with more ability on the ball who can enable us to play 442 as well. Appiah looks to fit the bill from what I've seen of him. I don't mind Arshavin if he can play left wing/forward as then we have options and we can get AJ out, but to talk of dropping Cahill is scandalous imo - in a 451 anyway.

me too, I agree with Yorkshire as well. I'd rather bank the money from McFadden and pay whatever it takes to get Appiah, someone who genuinely would give us that driving force in the middle of the park - he and Fernandes could be awesome together. Cahill's goal record is phenomenal and he has more to his game than that, Arshavin is totally unproven in this league and most people on here have probably hardly seen him play. Cahill has proven time and time again how important he is to Everton and he has basically (with help) turned our season around, since he's come back into the team we've been absolutely flying and winning games left, right and centre. I can't believe the mentality of some fans, Cahill is brilliant for us, there's a lot more players in our team who need replacing before he does.

another totally unreliable source of football news, the Daily Mail is usually very accurate for Everton news in my experience. I'd be slightly sad to see McFadden go as well, but I think it's for the best. We need a replacement though who can play left side and has a bit of quality and vision.

Possibly, he has been excellent but has gone to sleep on a few set-pieces. I still think Yobo is our best defender, doesn't seem to get much credit as he's Nigerian and goes about his business quietly, he's had a couple of absolutely horrendous games (Metallist) and a total blunder against Arsenal, but he's been consistently brilliant for about 18 months now imo. He makes such a difference at the back, as well as Jags has defended (the old wild lunge, misjudgement and Arsenal aside) his distribution is embarrassing sometimes, whereas Yobo takes the ball down, isn't afraid to show some composure and although he is no Koeman he looks a class act. Very underrated defender who very rarely gets booked due to superb reading of the game and tackling ability, superb in the air and lightning fast, I wouldn't swap him for anyone. I doubt I'd swap Lescott either, we just need some top class coaches to up their game to even greater levels as they have all the attributes and class needed to be amongst the best in Europe. going back to Kroldrup, I don't think it was the 4-0 that sealed his fate, he was only played in that match out of desperation due to injuries. He looked ok in pre-season because the games weren't physical, it was well known very early on that Moyes didn't think he could hack the physical side and that he was a liability in the air. It all stemmed, so I believe, from putting him up against Big Dunc in training and Kroldrup didn't get even close to winning a header. Moyes then realised he'd made a mistake. big time. That was a bad Summer! VDM, Kroldrup and Davies - how times have changed.

I'd like to buy a classy left winger. I'd also like an RB but it's not exactly desperate at this stage as Neville is an excellent RB and Hibbert is an able deputy. I don't think we need to panic now, we have the players and once the African Nation ends we'll have an excellent squad. In the Summer (when we have extra finances), tie up Pienaar, Fernandes and then look for a replacement for Carsley (Appiah - imagine him with Fernandes) and if we get our man then sell AJ and get a top class striker to cover Yak/Vaughan, someone with a bit of height, a bit of vision and touch. A young up and coming RB would be nice as well. After that, I don't think there's much we need, the only thing we need fairly urgently (in this transfer window) is a winger to cover Pienaar's absence. We're getting close to a really fantastic team/squad.