GoodisonRoad

I think Fellaini although a very good player is wrong for Everton in exactly the same way Duncan was and Cahill was.
He is a shortcut to getting the ball in the opponents half without thinking too much about getting the ball down and playing.
 
Having a player like Felli, Cahill, Dunc - a target man if you will gives the likes of Jags the annoying option of hoofing long diagonal balls from defence.
If he was to be employed in the defensive midfield role then I would be fine, however he isn't. So for me, he is a very expensive Grant Holt. A technically gifted one. However there is no point in having a ferrari if all you are going to do is run it in first gear. He is much more of a player than he is being utilised so its a no brainer to sell i'm afraid.

Assassins Creed - Black Flag. Looks the shit.
 
3, alot of people weren't overly keen on, so lets hope this one makes amends.

Not quite what I was getting at, but please continue.
 
It's a debate, it was an option. At this present time we have an ever aging squad, with ever rising wages and we are forever rising up the table, right? Wrong. We are always going to be in and around the 5th/8th mark, especially with the squad we have. But we're not gaining anything from hovering underneath the perennial glass ceiling.
 
If we want to push on, or if you want EVerton to push on (which might be the more important of the two), we have to try something different.
 
It's not about the quick fix (i'm pretty sure I mentioned that) so it's certainly not a 'knee jerk' reaction to "a bad run of games" as you put it. This is a reaction to something 'better' than where we are now.
 
Everton are falling slowly and surely into more debt, racking up the red, until one day the financial infrastructure of the club buckles. How will we get out of this mess. Wait to find a Genius billion playboy philanthropist (courtesy of Tony Stark) to come in and spunk a load of money on has been's and 'egotistically, tiny willys' with little or no return on his investment, before pissing off to Asia or wherever, to shack up with some Lady Boy called Krystal and settling down on the island of Koh Hae with his pug and rediculous looking beachside mansion.
 
Or....(as we'll probably find out soon enough)
 
We start selling the big earners, those who don't warrant the giant paypackets (i.e. Heiting and Fellaini), pay off some of those debts and start raising the confidence and ability of our youngsters. So instead of sitting on the kids as a 'stop gap'...start a project. Start building a team. Start buying kids or youngsters who "fit the system". Who will eventually gel together and be something better than what we had before. Only then, can we really push on. We've seen in Europe over the last couple of years, footballing teams win games. They beat the 'big clubs'. They invest wisely and start creating winning ways.
 
With the money we save, on not burning, start investing in the club again. Into a stadium project? Into regenerating the local area. I know ArabMegaBucksBollox is loaded and yes, he's pretty much got unlimited funding but he's creating a project at City and there's no reason as to why we can't do it. Look for people who are actually capable of bringing in money through different revenues, not just reliant on future TV money all the time. Bigger and better sponsorship deals! Start investing a little in the worldwide market, start trying to infiltrate some of the nations that have more recently shown an interest in our club (Australia - Tim Cahill, USA - Howard, Donovan, Belgium - Fellaini, Mirallas). We can do it, if the people behind the scenes REALLY wanted it.
 
We will have to sell off our top players soon, it'll happen. It's not a case of 'if', it's a case of 'when'...and if its sooner, rather than later, I fucking hope it's the push the club needs to implement a bigger and better plan for the future.
 
I'm not being over the top and i'm not getting ahead of myself. It's a marathon, not a sprint. If we keep sprinting financially and continue to just 'tread water', there will come a time that we'll tire and drown. It's time to slow down, build up momentum and smash through that finish line which is the league's glass ceiling. It'll take tears and tantrums. It'll be frustrating but excited. It'll make you love and loathe Everton FC all at the same time but hopefully and I'm being hopeful...we'll get our rewards.

This had me howling -
 

The thing that annoys me about Vellios is you can see how good he is yet he's never played. I love the commitment Jelavic puts in but so does Vellios every time that he comes onto the field. Football is harsh business and poor performances should be punished, if you're not scoring goals which Jelavic isn't then he should be replaced with someone better.
 
Last season Vellios scored a goal every 86 minutes which shows what he can do from the bench. The lad needs to be played before someone realises just how good he is and takes him off us next season for free.

Sinus infections. What's that thing where you can't sleep, insomnia?? That too. The things that went through my head last night are verging on clinically insane... I swear for a while I thought I was Asian.

I know!
 
 
 

since busker pete died yeah...still got tranny eric though!

Do one you!!! ahaha
 
Right....GR only.
 

That's easy....it's Wallasey Athletic's ground.
 
(Glad for the "not a footballer" clue...was going to go for the Arsenal back four in 2003/4)

GR got that too quick.

Dortmund and Feyenoord are good examples of teams turning to their youth setups (because they had to due to financial trouble) to great success as well. Feyenoord just beat PSV this weekend with 6 players in their starting eleven being 21 or under and products of their academy. 10 of their starters were Dutch btw.

Hypothetically speaking, should David Moyes leave, who would be happy to 'Start Again'?
 
What I mean by that, is start building a 'team' ala Althetic Bilbao or Ajax? We've got some big earners now in our first team squad and some of them just don't seem "hungry" enough for me. They turn up, play, get paid. I understand that this is true for the majority of professional footballers but I'd rather see 'winners' and triers within the squad.
 
A lot has been made of David Moyes and his youth policy, some agree it works, others don't but i'm in a position now, where i'd like us to start afresh. I wouldn't care if we languished mid-table for a season or two, if it meant gelling a new breed of players togther. Ajax have proved it on a much larger scale. Yes, they're an incredibly big club. CL nearly every year, one of the best academies in Europe but so are Everton!! Ok, so we're not CL contenders every year but we've got a great youth set-up and we're always hearing about the great players and kids that we're bringing through, yet rarely get to see them play.
 
Ajax have created a team. A team where each man (or boy depending on how old they are aha) know their positions. They know they have to go out and wear the red and white proudly. They have to prove that they're good enough for the biggest club in Holland and so far, it's working. Positively creating a team combined with youth and experience is hard work, it takes time (look at Villa and Liverpool). They've taken a bashing from their supporters and pundits alike but they're slowly and surely going to create something 'better' than what they had. If Villa survive, they'll be twice the team next season, I have that feeling. The shite on the other hand, seem to slowly be pulling it back from a torrid opening half to the season, it'll only benefit them in the future. If they add some consistancy to their game, they'll be a good (not great (yet)) team again.
 
Marcelo Bielsa, did (or is doing) a similar thing at Athletic Bilboa. Only recruiting Basque players. It's a little inconsistent still but they play some of the best football i've ever seen. If we did "start again" and we were 10th/11th come the end of the season but playing some beautiful, hardworking football, not afraid to "have a go", I think i'd be quite content. It would be building for the future for sure and not a quick fix but I wouldn't mind?
 
This idea has come about from the frustrations of recent showings and last nights "substitutions". I felt like crying.
 
Some of you state that our younger players "aren't good enough yet"...if the comparison is made against our current first team squad, then only one name should really ring out, Steven Naismith. If we're using SN as a marker to judge how good our kids are, then they must be atrocious and we really do have to start again.
 
Some of our kids ARE good enough. I sense they are. The little time I've seen them play for Everton or reading the reports about how well they've done out on loan at their respective clubs, I genuinely believe they are good enough. Lundstrum is the latest youngster to get glowing reviews, yes it's League one but he's bossed their last two games...shown technical ability above and beyond anyone in that team/league. If someone would like to point out "but it's League one"...a League TWO team in Oldham Athletic knocked a nearly full strength Liverpool out of the FA cup and also forced our strongest 11 into a replay. A moto I stand by, "if you're good enough, you're old enough" and with enough opportunities I am genuinely, genuinely convinced that some of our lads would be.
 
5 Who ARE good enough (IMO)

Barkley - Has been a little inconsistent but had he been given the game time, I think it'd be ironed out and he'd grow consistency in his game. No reason he couldn't be used as a substitute at the end of games, when Ossie or Pienaar grow tired.


Duffy - Shown at Burnley and Scunthorpe respectively, he's a monster and got a great head on his shoulders. Our defense have been shakey at best, set-piece defending have been crying for a fearless defender to throw everything at the ball.


Lundstrum - See above.


Vellios - Not good enough to start but has shown in the times that he has been used as a substitute, he can be a threat. He can bully defenders and get them thinking about turning toward goal. I love Vellios. He's sexy as hell and i think more game time would truly benefit his game.


Oviedo - Ok, not technically a youngster but a decent outlay for seeing out games. Can run...and run. Got technical ability. Just needs to improve on his decision making but the signs are there. Pienaar has been looking very leggy of late, come the end of games and he needs relieving slightly earlier than the 88th minute.

 
So with those in mind, who would I release? By the way, this is my opinion and not influenced by others.

Heitinga - Sell, for whatever we can get. Massive earner, needs to get off the books.
Neville - From playing, assistant coaching, fine. No more playing please.
Fellaini - Get the money for other youngsters, good ones!

 
Who would I drop?

Howard - Great back up keeper, I shit myself every time a ball goes into the area.
Distin - Just not showing enough for me, reliable yes but seeming less and less like his former self.
Pienaar - Controversial I know but as a 'Winger' or Wide player, he's just not been the same player as last year. Could it be fatigue? Possibly. I just don't get him atm.
Jelavic - Yes, it might be a 'blip' but Mirallas looks far more dangerous as a striker, his finishing it clinical. I want to see Super Kev upfront...get back to Olympiakos goal scoring.

 
What do we need?

A wide man. A proper one. Not a striker playing on the wing. Or a CM playing on the wing. A proper winger. Someone with pace and tekkers, would be delightful.
Striker. Still need one, not sure who we could get but someone dangerous, like Wolfswinkel or Lukaku.

 
I've forgotten what else I wanted to say and even if I could, I've forgotten how to structure sentences, so this is a problem. But to summarise I'm willing to start again, take two years to mount a serious push at the "glass ceiling" which is the top 4. Take time to encourage our youth, to get them playing football and give our team a 'driving spirit' to succeed. I want Everton to be dangerous, to not just 'look for a point' ever, I want to approach matches to win...ruthlessly. I'd rather we went all out for a win and lost 5-4....just go out for blood. I want hunger and desire to be bought back into the team, i'm missing the grit and determination. When we were in Europe, we had it, we wanted to win because we hadn't experienced it before (that team)...I want that again. I want to win.

I've always said what we needed was a Richie Wellens type player .

He's the missing link.

When thinking of our performances lately though these words come to mind: slow, old, negative, defensive, direct, tired

Moyes can fuck off, all this bolox about "oh we got him for free" and "he's had a serious injury", FUCK OFF Naismith isnt good enough, simple as that. Defending a 1-0 lead against fucking Norwich...yeah champions league my arse. Moyes says he's ambitious in his interviews, i'd like to see him pull that shit with Schalke or chelsea or wherever he fucks off too.
 
Fuming.

Put his books down and pick up a laptop. The man's a dinosaur. With the constant no cash barrier the man should be a great tactician but as it stands he goes with what he knows that has already been tried and tested. He's a rich man's Sam Aladyce. Lacks the balls to be creative and do something innovate to take us to the next level.

Moyes can fuck off, all this bolox about "oh we got him for free" and "he's had a serious injury", FUCK OFF Naismith isnt good enough, simple as that. Defending a 1-0 lead against fucking Norwich...yeah champions league my arse. Moyes says he's ambitious in his interviews, i'd like to see him pull that shit with Schalke or chelsea or wherever he fucks off too.
 
Fuming.

Moyes can fuck off, all this bolox about "oh we got him for free" and "he's had a serious injury", FUCK OFF Naismith isnt good enough, simple as that. Defending a 1-0 lead against fucking Norwich...yeah champions league my arse. Moyes says he's ambitious in his interviews, i'd like to see him pull that shit with Schalke or chelsea or wherever he fucks off too.
 
Fuming.

Moyes can fuck off, all this bolox about "oh we got him for free" and "he's had a serious injury", FUCK OFF Naismith isnt good enough, simple as that. Defending a 1-0 lead against fucking Norwich...yeah champions league my arse. Moyes says he's ambitious in his interviews, i'd like to see him pull that shit with Schalke or chelsea or wherever he fucks off too.
 
Fuming.

I dont think that is really a rocket though is it? That basically says 'Its all up to Jela and if we dont win every game from now on and finish higher up the table its all your fault!'. Maybe Jela should release a statement back and ask his manager to start playing football to his strengths instead of getting it lumped up to him.
 
Its also a little different to the Mirallas comments, because he has constantly praised him and saying he needs to add goals to his otherwise good game isnt a put down and is actually a good motivational comment.
 
Having said that I dont think Jela is lacking in confidence, he doesnt strike me as someone that will hide away and sulk so and with some decent service I would expect to see him back on the score sheet.

Probably nearly as much of a knob as this guy does .
 
http://www.toffeetalk.com/index.php?/topic/21835-longest-thread-for-sport-talk/page__st__1920#entry329274

Still not a reason. You would be great in politics.

Dont you mean
 
500k extra for a cash strapped club and its also great for Oldham ?