The Regulator

I think the reason I'm not a fan of Big Vic is because he doesn't score a lot of goals for a striker I'm sure there is a lot of potential there, he's certainly good on Fifa, I'm not a doubter in the respect that I know he is capable of being a very good player for us, I just want to have strikers who score lots of goals in the team. That's what Striekrs do. yakubu has dropped off since the injury, Saha has been our most consistent, and out of Beckford, Vaughan, Baxter, Gueye and Anichebe, I would have thought Beckford has the better track record, albeit in the lower leagues. I just hope this season we get the strikers pushinge ach otehr for starting berths and goals come from all directions. The one thing we have lacked in our squad is the ability to be clinical and finish teams off when we are in strong positions. I hope that changes next season and we are a force to be reckoned with. hopefully Anichebe can be part of that.

"Normally a youth side will yield one first-team player, two if the club is lucky, but of the XI who started for United on May 15 1992, four became England internationals - Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt - while the two substitutes, Keith Gillespie (now Blackburn) and Robbie Savage (Leicester), have been capped by Northern Ireland and Wales respectively." As a welshman I thought I would remember Giggsy playing for England but it doesn't spring to mind????? When did that happen?

I was actually referring to the above post by adz09 that there's an 8million price tag on Sessegnon now, that was posted today, according to the times? But the times website charges a subscription for viewing online so I can't see it...

any links? its not on the bbc gossip column?

I doubt it, but then again kids probably like them, and would you really want to see a loud of louts booing kids for having em because there ruining the game?

I think song has come on leaps and bounds as a DM, but I agree with letting Flamini go being a mistake....If Ben Arfa does join I'll be disappointed but not surprised, wages are all players seem to care about these days, I'd much prefer to sign younger players with no egos and develop them for cheap, the players we have that are experienced will be with us hopefully for a few more years which means our younger talent has a few years to develop before we start to us them fully.

Thanks for the info, but I guess I should have asked how much of that will be free to spend? Does that simply get reinvested into the club? Is it used towards debts, players wages etc....or could Moyes tap into say 10 or 12 of that to buy 1 or 2 decent signings? He seems to always go quiet this time of year and then suddenly make a random bid (like Fellaini) near the transfer close...

I'd do it for a straigh swap, but given we don't have a transfer kitty, then I would be hesitant to spend any money we don't have on a player that won't break our first team. Good prospect though, woudl liek to get hold of him at some point.

How much will that be roughly?

Fair enough, but if he doesn't go he'll sign a new deal. It's not the same as lescott who was already on a long term contract, pienaar will either go or he'll stay. there's no inbetween, no shit performances...

i don't think that justifies tarring peinaar with the same brush though does it? He didn't cop out at the end of the season, he played brilliantly up until the end. Granted he now wants more but he's in his late 20's and he can't play in europe this year, he was openly disappointed in that as i'm sure the whole squad were, and he's at a point in his career when he feels he should be reaching those heights. we can't guaruntee him Champions league or even europa league at this stage so he has a right to be anxious, but it doesn't mean he's a money grubbing whore like Lescott, he just wants to play at the highest level when he's in the best form of his career. I don't blame him for that one bit. Hopefully though, he'll realise if he stays we have a real shot at the champions league and he'll re sign. If not, Moyes will take the 15 mil and get Elia or someone like this for cheaper, in fact he'll probably get 2 players. So no big loss.

I don't see how he got burnt? We got £24 million for one player, with which we bought 3, and if lescott had been injured with us we would have been in even more trouble with injuries than we originally were...

Fair enough, but would you be happy to play a player out of position for a full season if Baines gets a serious injury? I know we have players capable fo playing that position, and well, for a short time, but for a full season I can see plenty of problems arising from it, especially with playing teams with good wingers, like Lennon, Johnson, Nani, Milner, Walcott etc

I don't agree to this, Coleman and Rodwell 2 young upcoming talents in british football, have pledged their futures to us. Why arteta, who has played for us for years and is happy here, and pienaar, someone who only this year had his best season with us after we helped him develop as a player, won't sign because we can't progress is rubbish. We need money for a bigger better squad, granted, but so does everyone. We have a starting 11 capable of beating anyone in the league, that's a fact. What we need are younger, enthusiastic players to give competition for places, if arteta gets complacemnt fine, stick rodwell in because he'll play his best every second. Pienaar acting up, that's fine, put magaye gueye on and let him run his arse off for us because he wants to play for us. We have the tools to win the league if we really go for it, and lest we forget peinaar and arteta were worth a combined £4mil when we bought them, the same as a player who decided to move to greener pastures and is now with the barcodes who will finish what, 15th or 16th? Cahill pledged his future immediately, that's a player with ambition. He wants to succeed with us, if peinaar and arteta don't fine, but us not having money does not mean we can't succeed. After all, if we loan Donovan in January again I don't think there's a team in the league on our day who wouldn't be afraid of us.

To be honest, the only thing I feel we really need is cover for left back. A loan or bosman at left back for back up would be brilliant, not essential, but should anything happen to Baines like it did to Jags or arteta, I would dread palyign distin or coleman at left back for a full season. Other than that, I think we should just aim to keep peanuts and tets and we should be fine, I don't see a problem in not having money to spend. Besides Moyes is shrewd, there probably is a few mil kicking around but he's probably told them what he needs not what he wants and he's got that, a decent shot stopper for back up and a few forwards to get some competition and more importantly goals. As well as we play when we play well, we're nowhere near clinical. How many 2-2 draws did we have towards the end of last season? Wolves, Brimingham, West Ham? I'm sure if the perfect player at the perfect price came up Moyes would swoop, other than that, I don't think any current players or fans are really worried about the impression it gives off. We've always been skint and Moyes ahas always worked wonders. He always will too.

1) Man City 2) Chelsea 3) Everton 4) Man Utd 5) Arsenal 6) Tottenham Hotspurs 7) Liverpool 8) Aston Villa

Surely a compromise can be made though, for example, in a perfect world, come january we loan Donovan and this is our starting 11: ---------------Howard------------------- Neville----Jagielka----Heitinga----Baines --------------Fellaini------------------ Donovan----Arteta----Bilyaletdinov----Pienaar ----------------Saha-------------------- That to me is a team without Cahill that could finish 4th. Bily and Arteta in the Centre, Fellaini behind moving up for attacks, Donovan and Pienaar cutting in with Neville and Baines down the flanks.

Isn't that where Pienaar would be best as well? the best I've seen him play is in a free creative role, linking up play, creating attacking options. Playing wide left he has to constantly cut in on his right because he is not naturally left footed, and cuts inside a lot. Playing in a team is about compromise, it didn't work for england, but they weren't playing for each toher. It works for Everton, and while I agree in priniciple that linking up play is what Bily will eventually become best at for us, at this point a lot of players could do that, and I would rather Cahill to stay where he is while he can still do what he does. I think Bily would work better a bit deeper, next to arteta in the middle, but that's my opinion.

I wouldn't recommend Arteta on the wide again at all, because it's become obvious his forte is in the middle of the park, but we clearly lack a winger with pace for the right hand side, and it needs to be addressed. As for where Bily should play, personally I think behind the striker is the wrong position. I've seen no evidence of him being a poacher like Cahill, nor has he the heading ability to deal with long balls heaped forward in desperation. I would think he looks more like a Lampard sort of player, left central midfield, able to pass well and tackle, capable of long shots and good crosses, not much pace but good composure. In fact, I could see him being proficient in that sort of position, but it would push Fellaini out of the squad, and leave us with cover needed on right and left midfield. To me though, that is where his ability would be put to best use.

Didn't arteta play on the wide for us? To be honest Bily should play where he's needed like every other everton player. It'll make him a better player, and when the chance arises he can play in his preferred position. If pienaar stays and we get a right winger we won't start him anyway....

Nice one guys, had a mad one, took a few years off my lifespan, but it was worth it. 23 and suddenly the world is a much colder place....

I'm probably the only one here completely indifferent to the whole thing, originally i was pissed because we could have lost up to 4mil, but really what have we lost? An average player at best, was never going to set the world alight, and nowhere near in the class level of rodwell. Yes it's annoying, yes he's a dick, but end of the day, we should be looking to someone like donovan on the right, with osman as back up, instead of osman with gosling as back up. Maybe this will provoke Moyes into a more aggressive stance with positions that are weak in depth, like left back and right midfield? Only time will tell. I'm sour over the manner with which Gosling has left but I'm not vindictive, I hope getting relegated will be a positive experience for him, and who knows, Cardiff may end up getting him and he could score a cup wonder goal all over again for them, in which case in my eyes at least he'll be absolved his previous transgressions. For now, I really couldn't care less. Plymouth have lost out on a little bit of cash; don't care. Everton have lost out on a little bit of cash; don't care. You've got to think, if we don't get any more players by January we could easily loan Donovan again or go in for another player, and that's around the time gosling would have been fit, and he may not be anywhere near the mid-table standard he reached with us beforehand. Yes he could have been a good player had he stuck with us, yes he still might, but once again, no, no i do not care. Not one bit.

My mum's best mates' auntie's cousin's sister's hairdressers' gay best mate's niece's american pen pal said that Donovan would be signing for us.....next year. he could sign this summer, though I don't see it happening unless we get about 8-10mil available, if we sold Vaughan and the Yak we could well do, and I think we should. Keep pienaar, keep arteta, sign donovan and we're lethal.

we've lost 4 mil thats the reality

Like I said I see your point, but realistically we don't need them anyway, back-up is as back-up does. they realised that when they signed the contract..