Bailey

Greedy

I dont think a CB should be getting tired if Im honest and I dont like idea of switching a settled defence mid game (providing they are doing well of course!). I doubt we will see much of a performance dip from Distin tbh until he loses that half a yard of pace.

If this lad is as good as people are saying then I would love that to be our starting line-up! Could you imagine the quality of the link up play between Baines, Pienaar, Mirallas and Kone!

No thanks. Powerful yes but not the brightest spark. I remember once he came of the bench for Wigan when they were in the middle of their resurgence two seasons ago either against Liverpool or one of the Utds. He came on did feck all, looked lazy but then in injury time he did well to run the ball into the opposition half by the corner flag, only to put a cross in with only one person in the box. I was screaming at the TV, God knows what Martinez was thinking.

He has to pick the players that fit the system though. Jags and Distin have never been the solidest partnership and whilst Distin has pace and power on his side, he is panicky on the ball and is more reactive than proactive (compared to other defenders at the top level). Jags isn't the greatest of passers either but he is a superior defender to Distin. I think it will be Jags & Distin to start but I wouldn't be surprised if Alcaraz plays a large chunk of the season.

Yeh I don't think too many people would be complaining if you left out the fact that he was on loan at Wigan last season. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts our first game ahead of Howard in all honesty because Howard trying to play possession football is a recipe for disaster!

Its hard to see why there wouldnt be interest in him but I thought the same about Yakubu. I think it will depend on how Martinez wants us to play. If he goes 3 at the back then we will need that extra defender but if we play 4-4-2 then I dont see why we couldn't start with two of Distin, Jags & Alcaraz and then put Duffy on a well placed loan with a recall clause. I just dont fancy paying big wages for a player that doesnt want to be here. Yeh he is a good player and he fits in with Martinez' philosophy of being good on the ball, being able to read the game and also being pretty quick. I think he will be 3rd choice but it will depend on how Distin gets on because he isnt the greatest reader of the game or on the ball.

I thought he was pretty decent tbh and the perfect type of back up to puch Howard. His distribution is a big plus, especially in comparison to Howard!

I think Heitinga's contract runs out next season so we either have to sell him or get him to sign an extension.

He is a bit before my time but from all the stories I have read these last 24hours he sounds like he was a great bloke who loved the club. RIP.

How is that a shite arguement? If strikers cant keep hold of possession then you constantly give the ball away which has pretty much been second nature for strikers at our club! Lol We dont have the luxury of being able to afford a striker to goal hang and very few teams can afford that. All the best strikers in the world have to be good at keeping possession because it means that their team mates can make runs and trust that they are going to lose the ball and get caught out of position. Being able to hold onto the ball is miles different from running channels btw. I dont think it would matter tbh. After all when we aigned Jela for around a million more (supposedly anyway) there was still a fair amount of optimism for him despite being completely unproven in this league.

I have watched quite a lot of both players and Kone's contribution to the Wigan team far outweighed Jelavic's contribution to ours. Jela is a predator. His movement is first class, and normally his finishing is accurate. He needs a few chances to score generally & thats even when he was banging them in when he had just signed. However, he doesnt really bring others into the game, he doesnt have the best close control, and his vision and passing range are average. Kone is pretty even in all departments. He is a good finisher, his movement and work rate are excellent, his close control and ability to read situations and bring others into play are pretty good as well. Physically he ia much stronger and quicker than Jela. Dont get me wrong though, I like Jelavic and Im sure he will start scoring again shortly but his overall contribution to our team is very little if he isnt taking his chances.

Surely that is the whole arguement? 5mil buys you feck all in todays game unless you are taking a big risk. Im all for bringing through young talent and taking that chance but Kone can come in right away and hopefully hit the ground running have been used to the league and Martinez. I dont see Jelavic being a Martinez type striker because he doesnt keep possession well enough, and having an experienced player like Kone who we know can do that job gives us a platform to then look at bringing younger & more inexperienced players through.

Out of interest would you still think its a bad deal if he scores 12-15 goals next year? Obviously this is prophesising but, what about if we Jela for 5-6mil? Giving us a better striker for no outgoings and probably less wages? Plus I would hardly say Kone is being labelled as the saviour! Lol

Maybe because the unhappy lot keep making out like he is shite! From a business POV it might not be the greatest but its a sound footballing decision from Martinez based on what I have seen of him.

Who else are you going to buy then out of interest to play up front for £5mil? Its not a big market, especially not in our wage structure.

I would guess because we would still need another main striker, unless one of the young lads are ready to step up?

If I am perfectly honest I can remember entirely but I do know that he got injured in what I think was his 2nd and 3rd season and missed the whole back end, at which point I think he had been moved deeper in 10/11 and he was starting to play his best football for the club. I am about 75% confident that he has played the majority of those early games off the striker. Anyway, that misses the point somewhat I know what you're saying and I wouldnt disagree that the bigger clubs who are looking for a marque signing may not think that Fellaini is as technical as they would want for the money, especially for a European team. I think he has always looked a far better player when he is deeper but you are definitely right when you say that he will look to involve the flanks instead of moving the ball forward but he is capable of doing it and I think its something Moyes looked at him to do. Under Martinez he may be a bit more direct, and if he stays I definitely think that side of his (and probably the other midfielders) game will improve. Also having the movement of Kone and Barkley would give him that opportunity, because the likes of Gibson and Osman dont really move far or fast! I have attached a clip of Fellaini below, which highlights his play against Arsenal in a very combative game where they pressed us high up the pitch. The stats show that he had a success rate of 84% and whilst that is only one game, it would be along the lines of what I would expect of him, at least around the 80-85% range. As you will see (if you can access it that is!), he did pretty well under pressure and whilst the way he turns and dribbles out of trouble isnt exactly pretty, it is effective. He does use the fullbacks and CB's for a large amount of his passes but that isnt unusual for any DM, however he still makes enough passes forward and into the striker or into space that would give me hope and its worth noting that he is looking forward for a pass a lot of the time but obviously isnt getting much assistance! Here he was playing alongside another DM, but I think that he would excel in the 4-1-2-3 type role where he has two more attacking minded central midfielders to help create some space and the gaps so that Felli can get us moving forward a bit quicker. I wouldnt necessarily disagree with you in that respect. I would prefer him to stay because I think he is better than we have seen so far and someone like Martinez could help eek out that extra performance. At the same time, if he was sold for whatever million and we used it wisely to invest in three of four solid alternatives then I wouldnt be disappointed. With regards to Ki Sung Yueng I thought he was a very tidy player whenever I have seen him. He doesnt have the defensive power of Fellaini but he has a far superior passing range and vision. I would say that those stats will look better because he is at Swansea (same with Joe Allen & Leon Brittain) as they have several players ready and willing to accept the ball, where as we basically had Coleman and Baines as out balls or the hoof forwards. He certainly wouldnt have got 92%+ playing for Moyes!

I dont believe for one minute that Martinez would be looking to keep hold of Naismith tbh. Using the Sunday People as a source is about as reliable as using Stevie Wonder for directions.

it may not be the purchase of the season but in my eyes at least it is definite progression from what we had and whilst I think the supposed fee is on the steep side I still think he will be worth every penny come the end of his spell here. Unfortunately Ten world class players like Honda arent going to come here unless he can offer them a real carrot. We cant compete on wages and we arent in Europe so apart from the heritage of the club I dont really know what makes you think we can compete at that table. I actually think that we will see one of Jelavic or Vic leave this summer and I expect the fee to be very similar to what we paid for Kone. If that happens, and we use those additional funds to bring some younger, potential world class players then it will be a brilliant bit of business IMO. Same applies to the Heitinga/Alcaraz situation. I think this is Martinez maneuvering his funds whilst improving the first 11 at the same time. If we dont sign anyone else then I will also be pissed off at the lack of ambition but we still have a long way to go.

Yeh I was thinking Sigurdson too but when I checked on Wiki he only signed for them last year for £8.8mil and I cant see him being let go as he will cover injuries. You're right though that is a very strong midfield, Sandro was in the form of his Spurs career before he got injured last season and they will have a very good balance of creativity and steel.

I don think he has played more than 10 or so games a season in the role I have mentioned, and in each of them season he will have played plenty more games behind the striker where I would imagine his passing percentages are probably closer to 60% so in that sense the stats are skewed. I havent seen him play for Belgium to be fair so I dont know what he is like for them and I do agree that he isnt technically as sound as the players mentioned, but I would expect his passing percentage in that role to be in the low 80's and I think he brings more with his physicality than any of them would (based on the odd times I have seen them play anyway!). When I say drive it forward, I mean when the ball breaks free or an interception is made around the edge of our box. Felli will shrug off the challenge and bring the ball forward a good 20-30 yards trying to start an attack or at lease release pressure. Osman is a better dribbler but he doesnt have that strength to shrug off a challenge and normally his legs give way after 10 yards Haha thats a shame as I was just about send Mr Wenger the link to my new Youtube video entitled 'Steven Naismith - The Destroyer'

Any player that can let his team and club down on the last day of such an important season like Barton did with QPR should be nowhere near Everton.

I think you can find that in every league in all honesty. A lot of time the success of a player completely depends on the style of the league and the style the manager wants him to play and its the ability of the scout/manager to work out if the player will fit the culture at the club.

I dont agree with you on this. I see where your coming from regarding the distribution but when he plays in that role he very rarely gives the ball away and in that position I think he is the best midfielder at driving forward getting the ball to our attacking players. He doesn't have the passing range of Gibson and players like that but he doesn't need to be that expansive IMO. Defensively I think he is by far the best player we have in midfield. His strength and anticipation (with the ball in front of him) are very good, he is probably one of the best in the league at stealing the ball from under the opposition player and whilst he isnt perfect at tracking runners, when it is his job then he is also very good at it. That last bit sounds a bit odd, but if you watch these parts of our overall performance (which I do quite closely) pretty much all of our central midfielders let their runners go and tbh it frustrates the crap out of me. When Fellaini played deep, he was the only one the tracked runners back into the box consistently. I get the feeling that if Martinez gave him the specific to play that defensive role, then I am very confident that he would easily be one of the best in the league and his value would increase as a result. I think that type of role would actually be much more suited to the Premier League than your traditional deep lying playmaker type.