The Regulator

Zing.

the evidence in the past has been there for all to see. I think it was the season before last, in the preseason, he was used against Weder Bremen and a continental side we played at home, I wanna say Villareal?
 
Barkley in both games was contstantly causing trouble when he played. These games typified why he is important. Yes in the everyday slog of the premier league his age and inexperience might show with clumsiness and nervousness, but if you play around what he can provide he has immeasurable worth. At different points in those games (the reaon these friendlies stick out incidentally is because whilst there was nothing riding on these games it was against strong opposition) Barkley took on players with consumate ease, dancing through 4 bremen players and making it look like he'd done it a thousand times. He has vision, something the squad recognises (and we all should) that doesn't come naturally to most players. Most players at the top end of the spectrum have great reactions, and great reflexes, meaning they can change their mind quickly, from one move to another, one pass to the next. Players with vision, like Barkley, predict where a player will be based on where he is at that moment.
 
Look at the likes of Scholes, at times in a match he would literally have the ball for a second, make a snap decision, and ping the ball 70 yards diagonally to the winger int he far corner of the pitch. He wasn't without his faults, but that was one of his greatest strengths. Even if teams new it was in his locker, they couldn't prevent it. We have the same case with Barkley. teams are aware of how good he is, but right now he's not at a level of confidence and experience that put him in the same class as a Scholes, until he is, he will be read by players, he will be tackled and he will have to get use to that.
 
I think since the injury he's been more tentative, I'm hoping martinez can draw him out of his shell and let him grow into the player we all know he could be. It's not just noise when different people in the footballing world, from the players he's played with, to the pundits who have seen him play, all say he has the potential to be a world beater. He still does, and building a team around him isn't the worst idea. However at this moment, we just need to see him have a good pre-season and see what RM thinks. He was willing to take his time with McCarthy and make him into a good player, I'm happy to wait to see what he can do with Ross.

Didn't The Yak get 21 in his first full season? I agree with you though, Moyes had a habit ruining goalscorers. Also, The Yak seems to me the last player we had that scored a hat trick? Is that true? If so, could we please sign someone who could score one? I miss hat tricks

We won't get Honda. But he's exactly the type of player I think we need. 3 players of Honda ability, the other two being a winger and a striker, and I think we could win the league.....no I am being serious. Whoever said Jelavic is a squad striker as well, is frankly, nuts lol Jelavic scored 11 in 16 in his first half season, and he'd scored 36 in 55 before that, one reason martinez has got me excited is because I think Jelavic can get back to that form. If he does, he's well above being a squad striker. Granted he didn't have a good season last year, but he I remember hitting the post more than a few times, and havign opportunities that he would normally bury go wide. All those sorts of opportunites get put away when he's in form. I have faith in the guy.

I highly doubt we will play 3-5-2, in fact I'd love to see us play 3-4-3:
 
Howard
Jagielka Heitinga Distin
Coleman Gibson Fellaini Baines
Mirallas Jelavic Pienaar
 
Bench: (Keeper????), Duffy, Stones, Oviedo, Anichebe, Barkley, Osman
 
The reason I doubt 3-5-2 is unless we sign 2 strikers we don't have any cover if both Anichebe and Jelavic play, and no one to change the game off the bench. At least with eitther of them in wait we can have an impact sub (as Vic proved he is best at).

The penny drops, should have got that really, it is Friday though, I'm half thinking about about sitting in a beer garden right now

Safe rubes, I've had computer trouble for a while but I can pop on at lunch times in work and make a contribution, plus I always show up around transfer time To be fair at one point there was nothing but bad blood on here so I just bounced, seems to have levelled out now, which is good, I always thought this was the best forum for Everton, everyone (normally) tried to quantify their points and at least try to debate properly, instead of some sites where it's just post after post of swearing and self righteousness.....or maybe there's no difference after all
 
Not sure what LTNS means tho?
 
Figueroa would give us a good option as well, didn't realise he was a free? If so, I think he'd be better back up as LB, and let Oveido have a crack at going forward.

The penny drops, should have got that really, it is Friday though, I'm half thinking about about sitting in a beer garden right now

Always enjoy your posts Reg, always well thought out, balanced and unbiased (except apparently for Sturridge, but we'll forgive you )
 
Sinclair i still think is a good shout and should be reasonably cheap. If we got him in, the AMC position could be take up by Pienaar/Barkley, I think they would be very useful behind the striker, with Sinclair and Mirallas either side and Jela in front (Id still play 4-2-3-1 - sounds better than 4-5-1 )
 
Who to sign for DMC, dunno. But reckon we need 2 due to Gibson being injury prone. Is Junior ready to step up?

Fellaini is the one player that I'd be happy if he stayed or went. If he stays, I can see martinez using him in the DM role he wants, if he goes, Martinez (according to Bill) will have all of the money which is at least £24mil if not £26m. As has already been stated, that would free us up in the transfer market to bulk up the squad.
 
I'd like to see Fer here, he came off the bench against Germay U-21's and scored the late winner recently incedently, as he is the same sort of mold as Fellaini but obviously would be a lot cheaper. We could also afford a decent winger, as I've said I think Scott Sinclair would be a bargain for what he could give to us, and then the money left could get us a half decent striker for around £10-12m, which was enough for a player like Sturridge. Even though he's a red shite now I've always rated him, weird that now he plays for liverpool though I'm starting to dislike him more and more hehe
 
Saying that, I still think we need another midfielder, ideally a creative/playmaker type player. Diaby isn't a bad shout but he gets injured far too often, if we had the option, I'd prefer an attacking mid a la Cahill, someone comfortable playing off the striker. Has anyone kept an eye on Odjidja-Ofoe? He seemed like another powerful belgian midfielder? If he's still not too expensive he'd be a good addition.
 
In reality though, I'd much prefer Roberto to make 6-7 signings, a bit like countdown, two big ones, and 4-5 smaller ones for a few mil each. He's already said that he intends to use the youth here so I assume that at least Barkely Stones and Duffy will get games, here's hoping he can get the best out of Vellios as well.
 
As I've always felt, we're really not that far away from being a top side. Fellaini going would certainly give us the the finance to go out and get players that would make us into a top side, and I think fans of other teams and pundits oversell Felli's contribution.
 
Don't get me wrong, when he plays well, he's outstanding. But for £26m, I think we can get more bang for our buck. Fellaini could go to an Arsenal or Chelsea and give them that vital push towards a big trophy, but for us, we have a team full of players who work there socks off and can put in a tackle. I'd much ratehr see some pace and goals added in place of Fellaini, but he cans til score. Like I said, easy come easy go on this one, still really intersting though. No doubt it will be a massive summer for us if he goes.

We won't get Honda. But he's exactly the type of player I think we need. 3 players of Honda ability, the other two being a winger and a striker, and I think we could win the league.....no I am being serious. Whoever said Jelavic is a squad striker as well, is frankly, nuts lol Jelavic scored 11 in 16 in his first half season, and he'd scored 36 in 55 before that, one reason martinez has got me excited is because I think Jelavic can get back to that form. If he does, he's well above being a squad striker. Granted he didn't have a good season last year, but he I remember hitting the post more than a few times, and havign opportunities that he would normally bury go wide. All those sorts of opportunites get put away when he's in form. I have faith in the guy.

Fellaini is the one player that I'd be happy if he stayed or went. If he stays, I can see martinez using him in the DM role he wants, if he goes, Martinez (according to Bill) will have all of the money which is at least £24mil if not £26m. As has already been stated, that would free us up in the transfer market to bulk up the squad.
 
I'd like to see Fer here, he came off the bench against Germay U-21's and scored the late winner recently incedently, as he is the same sort of mold as Fellaini but obviously would be a lot cheaper. We could also afford a decent winger, as I've said I think Scott Sinclair would be a bargain for what he could give to us, and then the money left could get us a half decent striker for around £10-12m, which was enough for a player like Sturridge. Even though he's a red shite now I've always rated him, weird that now he plays for liverpool though I'm starting to dislike him more and more hehe
 
Saying that, I still think we need another midfielder, ideally a creative/playmaker type player. Diaby isn't a bad shout but he gets injured far too often, if we had the option, I'd prefer an attacking mid a la Cahill, someone comfortable playing off the striker. Has anyone kept an eye on Odjidja-Ofoe? He seemed like another powerful belgian midfielder? If he's still not too expensive he'd be a good addition.
 
In reality though, I'd much prefer Roberto to make 6-7 signings, a bit like countdown, two big ones, and 4-5 smaller ones for a few mil each. He's already said that he intends to use the youth here so I assume that at least Barkely Stones and Duffy will get games, here's hoping he can get the best out of Vellios as well.
 
As I've always felt, we're really not that far away from being a top side. Fellaini going would certainly give us the the finance to go out and get players that would make us into a top side, and I think fans of other teams and pundits oversell Felli's contribution.
 
Don't get me wrong, when he plays well, he's outstanding. But for £26m, I think we can get more bang for our buck. Fellaini could go to an Arsenal or Chelsea and give them that vital push towards a big trophy, but for us, we have a team full of players who work there socks off and can put in a tackle. I'd much ratehr see some pace and goals added in place of Fellaini, but he cans til score. Like I said, easy come easy go on this one, still really intersting though. No doubt it will be a massive summer for us if he goes.

In truth, Al Habsi was an after thought, Julio Cesar if he's leaving would be better. Truth be told, I think Fulham have got ahead of the pack with a £3m deal for Stekelenburg, I rate him and £3m is pretty cheap for a keeper of his ability. Begovic would be amazing but I doubt we'll go a for a player like him, the price tag alone will put us off.
 
 
I grant you he is not at Fellaini's level but let's be frank here, Fellaini was an elbowing, 15 yellow cards a season player until Moyes calmed him down and he got his head on straight. Every player has their downfall, and Mccarthy, although an overpriced youth, is arguably the best player at Wigan and I'd hate to see an Arsenal or Spurs get him and end up having a very good player, only for us to buy 3 or 4 to do the same job over the next 5 years and none of them stick. That being said, there are probably continental players who would be a lot cheaper and are at the same level. Thinking of QPR again, Granero and M'Bia would both probably want a move.
 
It's not that Kone is that much better really, just having Vic score half a dozen goals again for a season, all against teams below us, isn't enough. Kone may not be a 20 goal a season but I'd warrant at least 10, and that's what I think we need, stability. A new manager should give us renewed drive and enthusiasm, but players like Vic have had too many second chances and I just can't see him becoming an important player for us. Mirallas, Jelavic, Baines and Fellaini are our main goal threats, behind that Ossie/Pienaar/Gibson can probably get 10 between them, so we need someone to come in and give us those extra goals that make the difference. Looking at the games we drew last season, if you add a few goals suddenly we would have had champions league. I don't want to make the same assessment next season, because we're not the same now. A new manager means a new direction, a different style of football, but most of all ambition. We have to believe that we're only 1 or 2 good players from having a Chamions League level squad. In which case, I would take a Kone for the right money, but you're right, players, strikers especially, can get hyped up far too quickly when it's usually the case that they were playing beyond their ability in the first place.

Position wise I've had a look at it, I think a new keeper should actually be high on the list, does anyone know how old Al Habsi is? I know he's made some howlers in the past but from what I've seen overall he's a solid keeper, and he certainly wasn't helped out any in defense!!!
 
Looking at our squad, the vunerable points highlight themselves:
 
GK: Howard, Mucha, Springthorpe
RB: Coleman, Hibbert, Stones
CB: Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Duffy
LB: Baines, Oveido
RM: Mirallas, Naismith
CM: Fellaini, Gibson, Osman, Barkley, Hitzlsperger
LM: Pienaar, Gueye
ST: Jelavic, Anichebe, Vellios
 
Players that could leave - Johnny has a year to run on his contract, and said if Everton want to make money off him he is happy with that as much as he is happy with staying. However if we could recoup £2.5-3m for him he will go. Fellaini is a possibility but I think after everything that has happened in his career at Everton and the way he's grown, I can see him staying one more season. If he doesn't, his release clause is in the mid 20's (£26mil??) so we'll definitely get a wedge for him, plus probable bonuses based on appearances and trophies/titles won. Baines is the one I'm most worried about. Without him at left back, we will not only need someone good as a replacement, we will probably need a first team player from someone else, anyone else would be filler compared to what he has done. I also think if Baines were to leave Pienaar would probably end up abroad as well. But if it was just Baines, I don't imagine we'd sell for less than £15m.
 
So in total, from players that could leave, we'd hopefully have somewhere in the region of £40m from transfers, giving us probably £25-30m to spend on new players to address the players in red. However, if we keep all our players, we still have the problem of what's behind our first 11, and as we've known for some time, it's not a lot...
 
Positions to re-inforce:
 
Goalkeeper
Centre Back
Right Back
Right Midfield
Left Midfield
Central (playmaker) Midfield
Striker
 
Goalkeeper - As stated, Howard isn't going to get better, he'll just gradually slip down the mountain, heels dug in trying to stop his fall. With a new manager usually come new players and I would hope that we would get a new 1st choice keeper in and get shot of Mucha and loan out Springthorpe. Howard may have been good for a number of years but just like Neville, (one game he could have Bale in his pocket, another he could spray a terrible back pass that leads to a goal) he should be moving to the bench and providing cover and pressure for a new, younger keeper. Begovic is touted, and since Stoke have signed Jack Butland I think we could get a better deal than £15m. Like I said though Al Habsi might not be a bad shout, but I could be alone in this.
 
Defense - Hibbert won't be good enough anymore, he's too slow and too old, and I'm not sure if Stones can provide cover for Coleman who after this season has established himself as our de facto right back. Saying that though, I don't really want another right back, so I'd prefer a defender who can cover at that position but mainly play centre back. Since Azpillicueta has done okay at Chelsea, and I can see Mourinho buying a defender, it would be pragmatic to make a bid for Ivanovic, the type of player that could help get us into that top eschelon of football. However that is incredibly unlikely, but exactly the player I think we need. The jury's out on Duffy, whether the new manager would take a risk on him I'm not sure. Again, regardless of who goes I think we should be looking at another centre back. Alcaraz is on a free, and would be a good squad player. Left back I feel Oveido has more to offer than we've seen and I'd be happy to give him some games at left back so I'm not overconcerened, however if we did sell baines, the ever touted Luke Shaw would be ideal, but will be very overpriced.
 
Midfield - Our starting midfield is good enough for me for next season, however if players lose form there's so little behind them it's terrifying. Behind Mirallas-Fellaini-Gibson-Pienaar is Naismith-Barkley-Hitzlsperger-Gueye. Perosnally, I want to see Barkley in the first team as much as possible next season. We'll never see him fly if we keep him in a cage, and going on loan won't motivate him like playing for Everton will. He needs to be allowed to make mistakes, and if he doesn't get games now he's development could stagnate, after what seems like many years ago since Tim Cahill said he was the "best footballer he's ever played with", it would be a crying shame for him, a financial loss for us, and a sign that we aren't developing the youth like we should. Back to the squad though, we obviously need a winger. Naismith, although I tried to give him a chance, is a bog standard scottish player, with little invention and a very one track mind. Mirallas is his polar opposite, and we need another player like Mirallas to add speed and tenacity to our wings. Atsu has been mentioned, but it always irks me when players try to angle for moves, it always feels like it's for money and not for the challenge, but if he's cheap he'd be a solid little buy. On the left, well, did anyonew atch Gueye out on loan? is he the new Pienaar? Or should we be looking for a left midfielder as well? Man City look to be tying up a deal for Navas, which is a very good buy for them, so even though he's a jack, I think Scott Sinclair would be a good addtion on loan for a season.
 
As far as the central playmaking role is concerned, I'd love to see McCarthy here, but not for the wrong price. £12m to me plus add ons up to around £15m would be fair, but anything higher and we should look elsewhere. McCarthy would add another young fresh approach to our mdifield, and the thought of he and Barkley tearing through teams is exciting to say the least.
 
Attack - Jelavic on form means we don't need anyone. However, givent hat he wasn't in form for most of last season means we are tragically short up front. Anichebe's contsant promise to be a top striker simply never materialises, and although Vellios made a good impact when we first saw him, that'll be 2 seasons ago come September, and I've heard nothing on his development since. So another striker is a must if we are serious about pushing, but if we don't sell it will be a tall order to get a nailed on 20 goal a season striker. Kone however could provide a middle ground, another Wigan raid and admittedly would probably cost us a fair few mil, he did well in his first season of British football and I imagine would jump at the chance toget back in the top flight. Striekrs I'll admit though, are my weakest subject, in terms of who we could afford and would be value for money....not that it isn't hard enought to think fo that in the first place
 
So my picks as things stand would be:
 
GK - Begovic (Sell Mucha, loan Springthorpe)
CB - Alcaraz (Free)
LB - Luke Shaw (If we sell Baines)
RM - Atsu (Sell Naismith?? Pretty please??)
LM - Scott Sinclair (loan)
CM - McCarthy (if we sell fellaini, otherwise I don't think we have the money
ST - Kone
 
but the picks we make, as is every year, are always subject to rapid and unpredictable change (Charles Nzogbia was the only player we needed at one point!!) so for now I'm hoping we simply keep everyone and maybe sign one or two. I'm really interested to see how much the tv money is though, surely we should have a morsel to spend this summer without selling. here's hoping...

Position wise I've had a look at it, I think a new keeper should actually be high on the list, does anyone know how old Al Habsi is? I know he's made some howlers in the past but from what I've seen overall he's a solid keeper, and he certainly wasn't helped out any in defense!!!
 
Looking at our squad, the vunerable points highlight themselves:
 
GK: Howard, Mucha, Springthorpe
RB: Coleman, Hibbert, Stones
CB: Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Duffy
LB: Baines, Oveido
RM: Mirallas, Naismith
CM: Fellaini, Gibson, Osman, Barkley, Hitzlsperger
LM: Pienaar, Gueye
ST: Jelavic, Anichebe, Vellios
 
Players that could leave - Johnny has a year to run on his contract, and said if Everton want to make money off him he is happy with that as much as he is happy with staying. However if we could recoup £2.5-3m for him he will go. Fellaini is a possibility but I think after everything that has happened in his career at Everton and the way he's grown, I can see him staying one more season. If he doesn't, his release clause is in the mid 20's (£26mil??) so we'll definitely get a wedge for him, plus probable bonuses based on appearances and trophies/titles won. Baines is the one I'm most worried about. Without him at left back, we will not only need someone good as a replacement, we will probably need a first team player from someone else, anyone else would be filler compared to what he has done. I also think if Baines were to leave Pienaar would probably end up abroad as well. But if it was just Baines, I don't imagine we'd sell for less than £15m.
 
So in total, from players that could leave, we'd hopefully have somewhere in the region of £40m from transfers, giving us probably £25-30m to spend on new players to address the players in red. However, if we keep all our players, we still have the problem of what's behind our first 11, and as we've known for some time, it's not a lot...
 
Positions to re-inforce:
 
Goalkeeper
Centre Back
Right Back
Right Midfield
Left Midfield
Central (playmaker) Midfield
Striker
 
Goalkeeper - As stated, Howard isn't going to get better, he'll just gradually slip down the mountain, heels dug in trying to stop his fall. With a new manager usually come new players and I would hope that we would get a new 1st choice keeper in and get shot of Mucha and loan out Springthorpe. Howard may have been good for a number of years but just like Neville, (one game he could have Bale in his pocket, another he could spray a terrible back pass that leads to a goal) he should be moving to the bench and providing cover and pressure for a new, younger keeper. Begovic is touted, and since Stoke have signed Jack Butland I think we could get a better deal than £15m. Like I said though Al Habsi might not be a bad shout, but I could be alone in this.
 
Defense - Hibbert won't be good enough anymore, he's too slow and too old, and I'm not sure if Stones can provide cover for Coleman who after this season has established himself as our de facto right back. Saying that though, I don't really want another right back, so I'd prefer a defender who can cover at that position but mainly play centre back. Since Azpillicueta has done okay at Chelsea, and I can see Mourinho buying a defender, it would be pragmatic to make a bid for Ivanovic, the type of player that could help get us into that top eschelon of football. However that is incredibly unlikely, but exactly the player I think we need. The jury's out on Duffy, whether the new manager would take a risk on him I'm not sure. Again, regardless of who goes I think we should be looking at another centre back. Alcaraz is on a free, and would be a good squad player. Left back I feel Oveido has more to offer than we've seen and I'd be happy to give him some games at left back so I'm not overconcerened, however if we did sell baines, the ever touted Luke Shaw would be ideal, but will be very overpriced.
 
Midfield - Our starting midfield is good enough for me for next season, however if players lose form there's so little behind them it's terrifying. Behind Mirallas-Fellaini-Gibson-Pienaar is Naismith-Barkley-Hitzlsperger-Gueye. Perosnally, I want to see Barkley in the first team as much as possible next season. We'll never see him fly if we keep him in a cage, and going on loan won't motivate him like playing for Everton will. He needs to be allowed to make mistakes, and if he doesn't get games now he's development could stagnate, after what seems like many years ago since Tim Cahill said he was the "best footballer he's ever played with", it would be a crying shame for him, a financial loss for us, and a sign that we aren't developing the youth like we should. Back to the squad though, we obviously need a winger. Naismith, although I tried to give him a chance, is a bog standard scottish player, with little invention and a very one track mind. Mirallas is his polar opposite, and we need another player like Mirallas to add speed and tenacity to our wings. Atsu has been mentioned, but it always irks me when players try to angle for moves, it always feels like it's for money and not for the challenge, but if he's cheap he'd be a solid little buy. On the left, well, did anyonew atch Gueye out on loan? is he the new Pienaar? Or should we be looking for a left midfielder as well? Man City look to be tying up a deal for Navas, which is a very good buy for them, so even though he's a jack, I think Scott Sinclair would be a good addtion on loan for a season.
 
As far as the central playmaking role is concerned, I'd love to see McCarthy here, but not for the wrong price. £12m to me plus add ons up to around £15m would be fair, but anything higher and we should look elsewhere. McCarthy would add another young fresh approach to our mdifield, and the thought of he and Barkley tearing through teams is exciting to say the least.
 
Attack - Jelavic on form means we don't need anyone. However, givent hat he wasn't in form for most of last season means we are tragically short up front. Anichebe's contsant promise to be a top striker simply never materialises, and although Vellios made a good impact when we first saw him, that'll be 2 seasons ago come September, and I've heard nothing on his development since. So another striker is a must if we are serious about pushing, but if we don't sell it will be a tall order to get a nailed on 20 goal a season striker. Kone however could provide a middle ground, another Wigan raid and admittedly would probably cost us a fair few mil, he did well in his first season of British football and I imagine would jump at the chance toget back in the top flight. Striekrs I'll admit though, are my weakest subject, in terms of who we could afford and would be value for money....not that it isn't hard enought to think fo that in the first place
 
So my picks as things stand would be:
 
GK - Begovic (Sell Mucha, loan Springthorpe)
CB - Alcaraz (Free)
LB - Luke Shaw (If we sell Baines)
RM - Atsu (Sell Naismith?? Pretty please??)
LM - Scott Sinclair (loan)
CM - McCarthy (if we sell fellaini, otherwise I don't think we have the money
ST - Kone
 
but the picks we make, as is every year, are always subject to rapid and unpredictable change (Charles Nzogbia was the only player we needed at one point!!) so for now I'm hoping we simply keep everyone and maybe sign one or two. I'm really interested to see how much the tv money is though, surely we should have a morsel to spend this summer without selling. here's hoping...

Position wise I've had a look at it, I think a new keeper should actually be high on the list, does anyone know how old Al Habsi is? I know he's made some howlers in the past but from what I've seen overall he's a solid keeper, and he certainly wasn't helped out any in defense!!!
 
Looking at our squad, the vunerable points highlight themselves:
 
GK: Howard, Mucha, Springthorpe
RB: Coleman, Hibbert, Stones
CB: Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Duffy
LB: Baines, Oveido
RM: Mirallas, Naismith
CM: Fellaini, Gibson, Osman, Barkley, Hitzlsperger
LM: Pienaar, Gueye
ST: Jelavic, Anichebe, Vellios
 
Players that could leave - Johnny has a year to run on his contract, and said if Everton want to make money off him he is happy with that as much as he is happy with staying. However if we could recoup £2.5-3m for him he will go. Fellaini is a possibility but I think after everything that has happened in his career at Everton and the way he's grown, I can see him staying one more season. If he doesn't, his release clause is in the mid 20's (£26mil??) so we'll definitely get a wedge for him, plus probable bonuses based on appearances and trophies/titles won. Baines is the one I'm most worried about. Without him at left back, we will not only need someone good as a replacement, we will probably need a first team player from someone else, anyone else would be filler compared to what he has done. I also think if Baines were to leave Pienaar would probably end up abroad as well. But if it was just Baines, I don't imagine we'd sell for less than £15m.
 
So in total, from players that could leave, we'd hopefully have somewhere in the region of £40m from transfers, giving us probably £25-30m to spend on new players to address the players in red. However, if we keep all our players, we still have the problem of what's behind our first 11, and as we've known for some time, it's not a lot...
 
Positions to re-inforce:
 
Goalkeeper
Centre Back
Right Back
Right Midfield
Left Midfield
Central (playmaker) Midfield
Striker
 
Goalkeeper - As stated, Howard isn't going to get better, he'll just gradually slip down the mountain, heels dug in trying to stop his fall. With a new manager usually come new players and I would hope that we would get a new 1st choice keeper in and get shot of Mucha and loan out Springthorpe. Howard may have been good for a number of years but just like Neville, (one game he could have Bale in his pocket, another he could spray a terrible back pass that leads to a goal) he should be moving to the bench and providing cover and pressure for a new, younger keeper. Begovic is touted, and since Stoke have signed Jack Butland I think we could get a better deal than £15m. Like I said though Al Habsi might not be a bad shout, but I could be alone in this.
 
Defense - Hibbert won't be good enough anymore, he's too slow and too old, and I'm not sure if Stones can provide cover for Coleman who after this season has established himself as our de facto right back. Saying that though, I don't really want another right back, so I'd prefer a defender who can cover at that position but mainly play centre back. Since Azpillicueta has done okay at Chelsea, and I can see Mourinho buying a defender, it would be pragmatic to make a bid for Ivanovic, the type of player that could help get us into that top eschelon of football. However that is incredibly unlikely, but exactly the player I think we need. The jury's out on Duffy, whether the new manager would take a risk on him I'm not sure. Again, regardless of who goes I think we should be looking at another centre back. Alcaraz is on a free, and would be a good squad player. Left back I feel Oveido has more to offer than we've seen and I'd be happy to give him some games at left back so I'm not overconcerened, however if we did sell baines, the ever touted Luke Shaw would be ideal, but will be very overpriced.
 
Midfield - Our starting midfield is good enough for me for next season, however if players lose form there's so little behind them it's terrifying. Behind Mirallas-Fellaini-Gibson-Pienaar is Naismith-Barkley-Hitzlsperger-Gueye. Perosnally, I want to see Barkley in the first team as much as possible next season. We'll never see him fly if we keep him in a cage, and going on loan won't motivate him like playing for Everton will. He needs to be allowed to make mistakes, and if he doesn't get games now he's development could stagnate, after what seems like many years ago since Tim Cahill said he was the "best footballer he's ever played with", it would be a crying shame for him, a financial loss for us, and a sign that we aren't developing the youth like we should. Back to the squad though, we obviously need a winger. Naismith, although I tried to give him a chance, is a bog standard scottish player, with little invention and a very one track mind. Mirallas is his polar opposite, and we need another player like Mirallas to add speed and tenacity to our wings. Atsu has been mentioned, but it always irks me when players try to angle for moves, it always feels like it's for money and not for the challenge, but if he's cheap he'd be a solid little buy. On the left, well, did anyonew atch Gueye out on loan? is he the new Pienaar? Or should we be looking for a left midfielder as well? Man City look to be tying up a deal for Navas, which is a very good buy for them, so even though he's a jack, I think Scott Sinclair would be a good addtion on loan for a season.
 
As far as the central playmaking role is concerned, I'd love to see McCarthy here, but not for the wrong price. £12m to me plus add ons up to around £15m would be fair, but anything higher and we should look elsewhere. McCarthy would add another young fresh approach to our mdifield, and the thought of he and Barkley tearing through teams is exciting to say the least.
 
Attack - Jelavic on form means we don't need anyone. However, givent hat he wasn't in form for most of last season means we are tragically short up front. Anichebe's contsant promise to be a top striker simply never materialises, and although Vellios made a good impact when we first saw him, that'll be 2 seasons ago come September, and I've heard nothing on his development since. So another striker is a must if we are serious about pushing, but if we don't sell it will be a tall order to get a nailed on 20 goal a season striker. Kone however could provide a middle ground, another Wigan raid and admittedly would probably cost us a fair few mil, he did well in his first season of British football and I imagine would jump at the chance toget back in the top flight. Striekrs I'll admit though, are my weakest subject, in terms of who we could afford and would be value for money....not that it isn't hard enought to think fo that in the first place
 
So my picks as things stand would be:
 
GK - Begovic (Sell Mucha, loan Springthorpe)
CB - Alcaraz (Free)
LB - Luke Shaw (If we sell Baines)
RM - Atsu (Sell Naismith?? Pretty please??)
LM - Scott Sinclair (loan)
CM - McCarthy (if we sell fellaini, otherwise I don't think we have the money
ST - Kone
 
but the picks we make, as is every year, are always subject to rapid and unpredictable change (Charles Nzogbia was the only player we needed at one point!!) so for now I'm hoping we simply keep everyone and maybe sign one or two. I'm really interested to see how much the tv money is though, surely we should have a morsel to spend this summer without selling. here's hoping...

Position wise I've had a look at it, I think a new keeper should actually be high on the list, does anyone know how old Al Habsi is? I know he's made some howlers in the past but from what I've seen overall he's a solid keeper, and he certainly wasn't helped out any in defense!!!
 
Looking at our squad, the vunerable points highlight themselves:
 
GK: Howard, Mucha, Springthorpe
RB: Coleman, Hibbert, Stones
CB: Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Duffy
LB: Baines, Oveido
RM: Mirallas, Naismith
CM: Fellaini, Gibson, Osman, Barkley, Hitzlsperger
LM: Pienaar, Gueye
ST: Jelavic, Anichebe, Vellios
 
Players that could leave - Johnny has a year to run on his contract, and said if Everton want to make money off him he is happy with that as much as he is happy with staying. However if we could recoup £2.5-3m for him he will go. Fellaini is a possibility but I think after everything that has happened in his career at Everton and the way he's grown, I can see him staying one more season. If he doesn't, his release clause is in the mid 20's (£26mil??) so we'll definitely get a wedge for him, plus probable bonuses based on appearances and trophies/titles won. Baines is the one I'm most worried about. Without him at left back, we will not only need someone good as a replacement, we will probably need a first team player from someone else, anyone else would be filler compared to what he has done. I also think if Baines were to leave Pienaar would probably end up abroad as well. But if it was just Baines, I don't imagine we'd sell for less than £15m.
 
So in total, from players that could leave, we'd hopefully have somewhere in the region of £40m from transfers, giving us probably £25-30m to spend on new players to address the players in red. However, if we keep all our players, we still have the problem of what's behind our first 11, and as we've known for some time, it's not a lot...
 
Positions to re-inforce:
 
Goalkeeper
Centre Back
Right Back
Right Midfield
Left Midfield
Central (playmaker) Midfield
Striker
 
Goalkeeper - As stated, Howard isn't going to get better, he'll just gradually slip down the mountain, heels dug in trying to stop his fall. With a new manager usually come new players and I would hope that we would get a new 1st choice keeper in and get shot of Mucha and loan out Springthorpe. Howard may have been good for a number of years but just like Neville, (one game he could have Bale in his pocket, another he could spray a terrible back pass that leads to a goal) he should be moving to the bench and providing cover and pressure for a new, younger keeper. Begovic is touted, and since Stoke have signed Jack Butland I think we could get a better deal than £15m. Like I said though Al Habsi might not be a bad shout, but I could be alone in this.
 
Defense - Hibbert won't be good enough anymore, he's too slow and too old, and I'm not sure if Stones can provide cover for Coleman who after this season has established himself as our de facto right back. Saying that though, I don't really want another right back, so I'd prefer a defender who can cover at that position but mainly play centre back. Since Azpillicueta has done okay at Chelsea, and I can see Mourinho buying a defender, it would be pragmatic to make a bid for Ivanovic, the type of player that could help get us into that top eschelon of football. However that is incredibly unlikely, but exactly the player I think we need. The jury's out on Duffy, whether the new manager would take a risk on him I'm not sure. Again, regardless of who goes I think we should be looking at another centre back. Alcaraz is on a free, and would be a good squad player. Left back I feel Oveido has more to offer than we've seen and I'd be happy to give him some games at left back so I'm not overconcerened, however if we did sell baines, the ever touted Luke Shaw would be ideal, but will be very overpriced.
 
Midfield - Our starting midfield is good enough for me for next season, however if players lose form there's so little behind them it's terrifying. Behind Mirallas-Fellaini-Gibson-Pienaar is Naismith-Barkley-Hitzlsperger-Gueye. Perosnally, I want to see Barkley in the first team as much as possible next season. We'll never see him fly if we keep him in a cage, and going on loan won't motivate him like playing for Everton will. He needs to be allowed to make mistakes, and if he doesn't get games now he's development could stagnate, after what seems like many years ago since Tim Cahill said he was the "best footballer he's ever played with", it would be a crying shame for him, a financial loss for us, and a sign that we aren't developing the youth like we should. Back to the squad though, we obviously need a winger. Naismith, although I tried to give him a chance, is a bog standard scottish player, with little invention and a very one track mind. Mirallas is his polar opposite, and we need another player like Mirallas to add speed and tenacity to our wings. Atsu has been mentioned, but it always irks me when players try to angle for moves, it always feels like it's for money and not for the challenge, but if he's cheap he'd be a solid little buy. On the left, well, did anyonew atch Gueye out on loan? is he the new Pienaar? Or should we be looking for a left midfielder as well? Man City look to be tying up a deal for Navas, which is a very good buy for them, so even though he's a jack, I think Scott Sinclair would be a good addtion on loan for a season.
 
As far as the central playmaking role is concerned, I'd love to see McCarthy here, but not for the wrong price. £12m to me plus add ons up to around £15m would be fair, but anything higher and we should look elsewhere. McCarthy would add another young fresh approach to our mdifield, and the thought of he and Barkley tearing through teams is exciting to say the least.
 
Attack - Jelavic on form means we don't need anyone. However, givent hat he wasn't in form for most of last season means we are tragically short up front. Anichebe's contsant promise to be a top striker simply never materialises, and although Vellios made a good impact when we first saw him, that'll be 2 seasons ago come September, and I've heard nothing on his development since. So another striker is a must if we are serious about pushing, but if we don't sell it will be a tall order to get a nailed on 20 goal a season striker. Kone however could provide a middle ground, another Wigan raid and admittedly would probably cost us a fair few mil, he did well in his first season of British football and I imagine would jump at the chance toget back in the top flight. Striekrs I'll admit though, are my weakest subject, in terms of who we could afford and would be value for money....not that it isn't hard enought to think fo that in the first place
 
So my picks as things stand would be:
 
GK - Begovic (Sell Mucha, loan Springthorpe)
CB - Alcaraz (Free)
LB - Luke Shaw (If we sell Baines)
RM - Atsu (Sell Naismith?? Pretty please??)
LM - Scott Sinclair (loan)
CM - McCarthy (if we sell fellaini, otherwise I don't think we have the money
ST - Kone
 
but the picks we make, as is every year, are always subject to rapid and unpredictable change (Charles Nzogbia was the only player we needed at one point!!) so for now I'm hoping we simply keep everyone and maybe sign one or two. I'm really interested to see how much the tv money is though, surely we should have a morsel to spend this summer without selling. here's hoping...

Like the new kits. The new badge thing though, I'm just gonna throw two pennies (coated in petrol) in by saying I really, truly couldn't care in the slightest.
 
is it just me, or do I see Everton as a football club, and not a badge?
 
I mean take a brief look at our badge history, I don't think NSNO made an appearance until the 70's...being from Cardiff I saw the effect the red kit had on the fans, first it was "No way" then it was "I'm still not happy" and now it's "Well we got promoted"....same as i can see for us this season, no one wants to buy the gear with the new badge on, but trust me, it won't matter in the slightest if we get champs league or win a cup....I'm trying to care about it, but I just can't :/ besides, there'll redo it to your hearts content next season, and it'll be exactly what you want it to be, and I'll still support the club regardless....even if they didn't have a badge at all
 
back to the kits though, I like the design on the away. The home is pretty plain but I prefer plain blue to the white added in, my favourite kit of the last decade or so was the semi-final all blue from when we beat Man U on penalties, we always seem to do well in all blue, or maybe that's just me as well I like the black and blue design as well, might spring for the away kit this year...no idea on dates then?

I think Naismith could wind up being a good striker for us, but he is not a wide player in the slightest. most players when they've been here under moyes have had to fill in because other players have nailed down positions. Both Mirallas and Naismith are strikers, and I think Naismith has proved on a few occasions he can be in the right place at the right time to put the ball away. But he needs to play in the right position. I think we'd see him be more comfortable and a bit more consistent either playing alongside, or in behind Jelaivc.
 
When Kevin is back he will start on the right for us whenever he is available, and that suits me. Naismith definitely lacks a few yards on the premier league boys though, and he will need to up his fitness. He has had two major injuries as well, and like Essien showed before he went to real Madrid, you can be a world class player, and in my opinion, at one point Essien was one of the best midfielders around, but if you're out for too long or the injury is that bad, you may never get that level back again. Real Madrid can afford to carry a player like Essien because they have so much quality, they can play him when they want. We don't have the option, so Moyes will need to strengthen that right hand side at some point.
 
Naismith is not the answer on the right but neither do I think it's his fault when being played there. He's "doing a job" as the Moyes catchphrase goes, which at the moment isn't having too bad an effect overall. Hopefully, in the cup perhaps, he'll get the chance up front. If he does like i said, I can see him being a 10 goal a season kind of player, someone who doesn't play every game but does have an impact. If however the switch never comes, he's not going to be good enough for us on the right and we should look to make some money out of him rather than keep him when there are other options.

My view on this is that we wanted as much cash as possible up front for Rodwell. In the midst of trying to do that (look how long it took to get the Lescott deal finished) if you add in "Oh yeah, by the way, that player Johnson, any chance of throwing him in to sweeten the pot?" we ould have probably looked at a lower cash payment up front (maybe 6 or 7 mil) lower further payments, the deal may have totalled 12m isntead of starting on it, and all for a player who hasn't really been important to City.
 
Doing it seperately gives us a modicum of power to play with, the first refusal i agree is bullshit nowadays, along with gentlemans agreements. They just don't exist anymore (see Saha playing against us for Tottenham). However, Johnson on the right would be a very good signing on loan, hence why so many teams have been rumoured with it.
 
Man City lack wingers though. When you think about it, Johnson is there ONLY winger. Silva, Nasri, Barry have all played wide but all are central players. In fact I'm surprised at Man City's lack of wingers, when you compare them to the teams around them, all the other top teams have 3/4. If we sign Mirallas, we'll have Pienaar, Naismith, Gueye, Coleman and Mirallas and possibly Niang. Osman can also play out wide, though it's a bit of a waste of time for him. But still, I can see why Johnson would have created an unneccasary stumbling block in the rodwell transfer.