blueblood

Why does it need to be either/ or... let's go crazy and sign two players Although Scharner was the lucky recipient of the much heralded uppercut from Everton "legend" (see other thread) Big Dunc so it would seem strange to then see him is a blue jersey. I'd like to see us sign someone... anyone at the moment We haven't even brought in the freebies or loans that we were promised

May as well link us with Ronaldo or Ribery as this is about as likely to happen. Or is it... Villa are linked with Sneider, so unless they sell Young to Spurs then I can't see them buying another £10m+ player. Spurs are after Young for £20m+ and just got Bassong for £10m, City can't have enough room left in their midfield for him, although money isn't an issue. Still, can't see it happening

From a football perspective, and to show these 2 bit billionaires that they can't just steam roll clubs into selling then I'd like to think that we'd keep hold of him. However, realistically the club clearly needs to cash to strengthen the squad in other areas and I'd like to get that cash in as early as possible as we hardly have a great track record in finalising deals quickly. It's inevitable that he'll leave, the money on offer in wages make it too good to refuse so I'd say accept anything above £22m The difference between us and Villa with Barry is that Villa have the cash to buy other players whereas we need to funds from this to bring players in (it seems) and £22m, although unlikely to all go on transfers, would enable us to bring 4 or 5 players in, maybe some freebies on decent wages which will strengthen the squad massively. I'd like to request that we got one of their CB's on loan until January as part of the deal but that seems unlikely now

I put it in the Lescott thread but will repeat it here. Fulham are linked with a £2m bid for Huth from Boro. Seeing as we need a CB whether Lescott goes or not, he has experience, and we've been linked with him in the past I think he would be a decent addition to the squad. The only problem I suppose is that another team is linked with him, which usually means even if we went in, they'd join the other interested team

bbc has linked Huth from Boro to Fulham for £2m... not so long ago we were linked with him and I think he could do a job at CB for that price. A decent squad player. Also says that Liverpool are after Turner from Hull so that will be another target preferring to sit on the bench and be 4th choice than stand a chance of first team action at GP

I'd definitely take Hunt at that price; £3-3.5m. However, isn't that about the same price as the "new Ibrahimovic" Rasmus Elm who Moyes apparently only wants to buy if he can't bring anyone else in??? I'd say snap Elm up if it's not too late (which I'd imagine it is with us not having bid for him 2 weeks after showing him around the training ground. How can you go from inviting someone to Finch Farm to then decide not to bid by the way?!?!) If we could get Hunt as well, maybe even Ledley (although this is based on heresay rather than me having any knowledge of him) then I think that would give the midfield adequate cover. Onouha (??) from City for RB and CB cover and another CB (Turner is linked but again I've no in-depth knowledge of his ability) if Lescott goes and although I wouldn't be jumping for joy I'd be a lot happier than I am just now.

Probably the wrong place to write this (feel free to move) but as we're discussing cover for Lescott and I can't find the Mancienne thread... bbc website says that Chelski are looking to bring Pirlo in with Mancienne and A N Other going in the opposite direction. Would a bid for Mancienne not be a shout? He is very talented and highly rated, young, English and surely he'd prefer to stay in England than go abroad (actually, upon re-reading that AC Milan or Everton...?!) Anyway, I think it would be a good move and if Chelski don't want to keep him then he may be tempted. He can play RB and CB too so would give us the cover we need...

For any team to improve and push on you have to buy new players that are better to what you currently have, that's just common sense. Chelski did it when Roman took over... that's just the way of the world. The thing is, Chelski where already the second best team in the league whereas City are mid table mediocrity, therefore they need to replace about 8 or 9 of their first XI. A new owner comes in with loads of money and he wants success; do you a) buy one or 2 starts a year to move up the league gradually, or buy as many as you can to try and get guaranteed instant success? As for players, unless they are playing for their boyhood club and already getting paid a wedge, i.e. at the top 4 already, then they will undoubtedly move when offered to double their money. Lescott has no ties to Everton, he is an employee first and foremost. Yes, there is a great comradery but does anyone really think that is worth £2million a year (estimate based on £40k/week salary increase)- no, is the answer I would suggest. I just hope that this isn't the start of bad times. Pienaar has rejected the initial contract offer, I'd very worried about what would happen to Arteta if Fabregas went back to Spain as he would certainly fill the gap for Wenger. Arteta has come out and said we need to buy new players, as has Lescott and to see another pre-season when we bring no-one in and anyone we are linked with moves elsewhere and the club releases statements to confirm we were never interested in them must make the players doubt the ambition of the club. Other clubs are in more debt than us and can buy players so although I accept that is a factor others manage it. Moyes dragged his feet over his contract and finally signed it, I'd have thought that would have included some assurances over transfer funds, so again if the club renage on this what does this mean? It's another frustrating pre-season as an Everton supporter. We see other clubs around us active and buying players, We have lost 3 or 4 squad players and brought no one in to replace them. We over achieve based on the number of players we have and sooner or later that will bite us on the ar5e. If Lescott wants to go, sell him for the best price, get the money in and use this (if Moyes is allowed) to bring a few more in and they are certainly needed. Hopefully I've not said anything there to upset anyone and receive a torrent of abuse

Steven Pienaar could be on his way out at Everton after rejecting a new contract. He has attracted interest from Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina. (Daily Mail) Maybe the start of the players revolt against the lack of ambition the club is showing in the transfer market? It's possible that the "big ticket" players at the club have seen another pre-season of inactivity in the transfer market and decided that they need to move elsewhere to progress. Both Arteta and Lescott have been quoted recently that the club needs to be signing big name players and pushing on and nothing comes from it. Hopefully this is just the start of the negotiations and not an out right rejection of a new contract, however it does make you wonder how long the big name stars will stick around when it is apparent that players seem to prefer to go to other clubs (any other clubs in some circumstances) than come to GP...

It's all well and good "giving the club time" but why do they do this every year? Don't they learn from the mistakes? Take last season, we started off pretty poorly for the first 10 or so games and then got into our stride. Is that coincidence or due to the fact that all the big signings (well, Feillani!) came in after the season had started. IMO all of your signings should be done and players in during the pre-season, not 2 games into the season on deadline day which is all we ever seem to do. The window may only be open in Jan and July but you should know who you're after before then. It's just massively frustrating that players we are linked with, truth or otherwise, seem to prefer to go to far inferior clubs. Yes, the reason for this is money, and yes we don't have as much as other clubs. But if the market dictates a player is worth £40k per week, we're wasting our time offering £25k as they won't join. This does seem to have been a bit of a policy of Everton's over the years though to try and make it look like they're trying to sign players... I recall several "offers" for players lower than what had been accepted by other clubs and then the club coming out and saying "well, we tried". Defensive midfield, for me is a definite position we need to purchase for with a recognised international player. We've lost out of M'Bia (which may be no bad thing as he seemed like a knob head) and looks as though we have no interest in Cana. We are now left with no other linked players to fill the position. I don't think Rodwell is ready to play 30+ games this season and not having someone for him to cover will mean he may have to

I can't understand Moyes' stance on this if the Swedish news item proves to be correct. By all accounts this lad is very good, we need players who are capable of pushing for a starting place, we're about to start a season that could see us playing over 50 games, possibly no Arteta to start the season and this lad is £3 million!!!! Half of what is asked for Ledley from Cardiff! It just doesn't make any sense to me. If Moyes is umming and arring like this then we must have no money whatsoever, which is a disgrace. We've lost Castillo, Valente, VDM (thankfully), no Jags, will possibly lose Joleon yet haven't brought anything in that will challenge for a starting place. We need 4 players just to get us back to the bare bones we had last season, let alone bolster squad numbers. Same every season, always hang around in the market, waste a pre-season and the friendlies which is the time for new recruits to get to know their team mates and sign players in the last week (day!!) of the window

returning to the topic of the thread absolutely no chance would I take Ball back. There have been other players linked that have been deemed a "step backwards" who are far superior to Ball so I wouldn't even take him on to clean the boots and make the tea.

I can see the possibility of this being true if he's a country mate of Yobo and made his debut alongside him. Maybe JoYo recommended him? However, as a Nigerian he'd be away for ACN (along with Yak, Yobo) and the fact that he only has 1 cap could be an issue. If he's good enough, he certainly is the right age, however I'd also like to see players brought in that we won't lose in the middle of the season every time the African Nations is on.

"The more I hear about Mbia the more Im against us going for him. Even if he did sign he would probably upset the harmony in the squad and end up trying to engineer a move to a bigger club by January" I said that last year when we were linked. M'Bia has made it plain from the start that he has no interest in joining EFC, thinks he's too big for us (Stada Rennes are good aren't they?!?!?) and is only interested in who will pay him the most (which to be fair is the same as all footballers) I'd rather use the cash to go for Cana or Moutinho and let this one die a death.

Owen will score a bag full of goals at United next season if he signs, it's a simple as that. I was unsure over us signing him due to his injury record- it says on the bbc that in 4 years at Newcastle he started 65 games!!! However, he did also score 30 goals so, as mentioned by others, I don't think his ability to put the ball in the onion bag can be questioned. Newcastle are sh!t, he'd have got 1 or 2 chances a game for them and will get 5 or 6 at United. Probably won't start every game, they don't need him to but he's not just there for "shirts and the Carling Cup". This move lifts his profile massively comong into World Cup year, SAF has always been a fan and he will score goals for them. Macheda and Wellbeck are prospects but rumours are that Macheda is a billy big time and already things he's the finished article and Wellbeck may benefit from a year on loan, especially if Owen is finalised. I'd try and get Wellbeck on loan myself

I think Damien Duff would fit quite nicely into the void left by Van Der Meyde... probably expect even higher wages and play as few times

If Spurs and Liverpool are reported to be chasing him then I'm not so sure we'll be able to pull this off. Spurs will offer him daft wages or Liverpool can offer champs league. If he doesn't come to us I hope he goes the same way as the last Turkish player we targetted but ended up going to Newcastle instead and was sh!te!!! (name escapes me)

Injury caused Moyes to give Baines a shirt and push Joleon into the middle proper. Baines was a revelation, Joleon and Jags were great as a CB pairing and Yobo takes the bench when he's fit again. With Baines' emergence there's no room for Yobo, Jags and Joleon in the starting XI and of the 3 Yobo loses out. If he wants guaranteed first team football then he'll leave as he won't get it at GP. Will be a shame as we need the numbers but that's football. We won't get £7m for him, that's decent money for a defender with years on a contract, £4m max I'd say (unfortunately)

He won't sign a new deal knowing that as soon as Jags is fit he'll be back on the bench. Add to that he'd probably get a starting place in Arsenal's XI and that guarantees Champions League football so I'd imagine that he's on his way in the summer. We'll likely get no more than £3-4m for him. That will then leave us very lightweight at the back as no Jags to start the season, Rodwell isn't ready for central defence as yet and if City come sniffing for Joleon with big bucks we could quickly find ourselves without any centre backs. I'd hope to get Mancienne on loan stitched up sharpish. Sorry to present a negative slant on things but the reality of the situation is we sohlun't have let him get down to the last year of his contract, and now we have we can't let him run it down completely and lose him for nothing.

He only turned 17 last month... he'll not figure in the first team (league anyway) for a season at least, maybe 2. He's an out an out central defender, so couldn't be pushed into midfield like Rodwell is. Good signs for the future, however I don't see this lad as getting any number of games anytime soon.

According to BBC website rumours from papers: "Toffees boss David Moyes is also keen on bringing in Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne on a season-long loan next term. (Daily Mirror)" Why would we be after another central defender unless we were planning to get rid of one of our three main guys? From what I've seen/ heard Mancienne is a good player with bags of potential so if we got him on loan and he player he might want a permanent deal (if we could afford it?) Makes me wonder if we'll see another case of 1 out and 1 in during the summer. Was hoping that we'd add to the squad personally, although CB wasn't a position I'd have taken on first of all...

Scores goals wherver he plays, his England record is quality, I'd take him over Jo any day of the week. My only concern is the formation, 4-5-1, I don't see Crouch as a lone striker, he needs someone behind him, not a Cahill type player but an Arshavin type player, which would mean us buying another player (which we probably can't afford) and risks taking Cahill's place in the team (which I wouldn't want to do) Can't argue with Crouch's goals though, and his bird is from the City which could add fuel to the speculation

A great shame. Jags has been the player of the season by a country mile, we get to a Cup Final for the first time in nearly a generation and our stand out performer misses it due to injury. A great pity.

If he's so injured that he's not match fit then he shouldn't play and I don't think the club would risk him. I think he's a lot more match fit than is being posted on here. As for his silly fouls, they're annoying. What is more annoying is him elbowing the oppostion every week. The refs will pick up on this and he will start to get his card even more marked than it is right now. Exchange yellow for straight red's if he ever get's spotted elbowing, which he has done in at least the last 3 games he has played. Struggled at first, got better, now has taken a massive step backwards. Has a poor forst touch, terribly slow, passing can be improved, struggles to direct free headers some of the time. The price tag is not his fault but will always be raised unless he is playing like you'd expect a £15million player to play. Potential- yes undoubtedly, is he at a club that has the time to watch this potential blossom... I'm not so sure. Personally, I think we need someone to hit the ground running if we pay £BIG, and Fellainin hasn't done that (so far).

I hear the excuses being made based on age, language, culture etc, but I have to agree with Bill, the basics are the basics and he simly does not do them properly. If I was palying alongside him I'd do my nut whenever you see him at a corner throwing elbows at the opposition. I'm all for a bit of rough and tumble, and our midfield needs it more than most but does he not realise that this is shown on Sky/ MOTD every week, refs watch this and will start to look for him, then the yellows stop and get replaced by reds. He needs a talking to, as that is not good enough. As for his injury, we may be struggling but if he was really not match fit would Moyes/ the club risk their £15m investment?? I'd say he is fitter then most give him credit for, maybe not 100% but he cannot be far off. His touch is not good a la other Europeans as stated earlier, far from it. At times it is awful and he loses possession frequently based on heavy touches. He needs to learn and fast, I wish we had the squad to accommodate the nurturing of him, but unfortunately we bought him to play now, be influential now and he is failing to meet these expectations quite a lot of the time. I hope he will come good next season, I really do. He just needs to stop the foulling and then start to sort his game out.