Sibdane

Awesome to hear... er... read!

Just based on recent rumors and sprinkled with some personal favorites. LW -- Bruma or Johnson CAM/CDM -- Firmino/Junior Malanda ST -- Lukaku/Drmic/Jóhannson/Batshuayi CB(preferred lefty) -- John Brooks/Kouyate

Jóhannson looks like he's going to be a great player. He has a great trap/touch -- he can stop the ball dead. He also seems to get in great positions. I'm very happy we managed to snag him for the US. I do think Altidore has gotten more stick than he's deserved, but i definitely wouldn't put our hopes on him if we signed him. He still has a lot to prove, but I really believe next season he'll prove a lot of others wrong. A striker thrives on confidence, and you can tell he's a different player for the US. His body language is completely different.

I would be ecstatic to get him. Blazing pace and technical ability. He would be my favorite signing in a loooong time.

Definitely like his determination on the third goal.

He would be a great replacement for Pienaar. We need a LW, and I would not be too disappointed if it were him.

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but no thanks.

I agree. Say what you want about Altidore, but he's had no service at Sunderland. When he gets service for the USA, he scores. He wrongly had a goal chalked off against Arsenal, and it would've been a good goal. Plus, he's still only 25. That said, he did miss a couple of sitters (none worse than Kone's), but I believe he'll have a good season. Poyet seems to rate him highly, which is a good sign.

Agreed. I don't understand the hate when a young player chooses a different club than Everton. Yeah, I'd like to believe that every young talent wants to play for us, but there are so many variables such as pay, training facilities, city, club reputation, manager, etc.

Anyone get to watch him play?

As long as they work hard, I'm okay with any player who has his sights set on "higher" goals. If they can help us reach a higher goal, then I'll always accept them. 5 million for 15 goals? We paid 6M for Kone and so far we have zero goals to show for it. Yes, he was injured, but that doesn't change the fact we dished out money for him and still haven't received a return on investment yet.

I'd pay 10 mil (two loaned seasons with Lukaku) to have a striker in the team that produces 30-40 goals in that time. If we're worried about him playing for the badge, why loan any players in the first place? I highly doubt Deulofeu was working hard because he loved Everton so much. He was more concerned about being at Barca the next season.

Likewise.

If we can beat Ghana and draw Portugal, then I see us getting out fit sure.

Rumor is Giggs was holding onto them for him.

Saw that... have to give him some credit: he has some balls to look for that type of position now.

Thanks for this, johnh. Being an American, I hear/receive a lot of stick about politics, and it often feels like the world hates us. Back then it seems like we weren't just out for ourselves. It's nice to hear something positive.

I hope that rumor is true. We need to play as many top teams as possible.

The fallacy in your argument is that Martinez has never come out and said that he rates Welbeck, so I'm not using his "expert knowledge" as a basis for my judgment of Welbeck. Jelavic was poor before Martinez (as evident in his last season and a half at Everton), as was Anichebe (all of his seasons here). Vellios apparently just didn't give a damn. I said I would trust Martinez IF he acquired Welbeck, because so far his signings have worked for us (bar the injured). I took issue with the fact that you think Everton would "drop like a stone" because of one player. I think that is ridiculous statement, and when you claim to that you don't want to stoop to our level (but do anyway), that is extremely condescending. The funny thing is, is that if a highly-rated manager came out and agreed with YOU on Welbeck, then I could assume that you would be appealing to authority... or would you not, since you're apparently an expert, too? There's some fallacy for you.

I think you need to go back and read that Wikipedia page again. No one's claiming to be an expert. I'll accept being a prick as long as you accept that you love to put people in groups who disagree with you.

No, please, whatever you do, don't lower yourself to our level.

Jelavic's link-up play was atrocious. He is the very definition of "found out." He's a poacher and nothing more -- a poor man's Chicharito. I loved his spirit and wanted him to do well, but he petered out.

Completely disagree with this statement. Now you're not giving Everton or Martinez enough credit. Even if he is average, he is still better than the likes of Jelavic, Anichebe, Vellios, etc... strikers that Martinez shipped out. If ole Bobby thinks he is good enough then I'll believe him. My faith lies with Martinez and his tactical nous. Under Moyes, we consistently finished in the top 8, and Martinez is obviously the better manager of the two.

You do make a good point -- Barry isn't known for his ability to run up and down the field, but if he gets any slower...

I agree with a one year contract around those wages. Players start running out of gas around Barry's age, with Distin being an exception to the rule.