Everton Banter Archive September 02 2016

02 Sep 2016 18:21:52
Can we give it a rest now about deadline day it's getting boring now, instead of getting wound up because of one day, stop and and look at what's been done over the last few months we have a stronger team on and off the field and stadium is picking up momentum, this transfer window was always going to be hard to attract the players we want, I'm still looking forward to a great season and hopefully be in position to make us a more attractive club for players.

02 Sep 2016 19:59:51
What's exactly been done over the few months.

02 Sep 2016 20:12:09
Agree let's move on. Now about that stadium.

02 Sep 2016 20:14:03
Good point about over-reacting and I accept I am one of the culprits. Perhaps a more pragmatic view might be that if we progress along the lines that we already have done in the first three games, then come January, we may be a more attractive proposition for any prospective Koeman player targets.

02 Sep 2016 20:53:00
shakey30 are you serious when you say 'What's exactly been done over the last few months? '

02 Sep 2016 21:42:56
Shakey's been having a long sleep by the sounds of it, I wonder if he knows Martinez is no longer manager and we have a new DOF and New billionaire as majority shareholder, there you go shakey I have covered a few basics for you.

03 Sep 2016 00:45:40
On the note of a stronger team. I'd have to say we do have more quality. including Valencia. he made a strong start when he first joined west ham. the lad has ability and RK will get the best from him.

however 4 new first team additions BUT besic out, OsMAN, hibbert, pienaar, stones gone, Galloway on loan, Swiss lad out on loan, garbutt on loan, mcaleny on loan, niasse apparently not worth a punt, mcgeady pretty much useless.

so the only point for me is that we lack a little depth. for me it's not about spending huge bucks. but adding as much quality to squad as possible. was hoping for more BUT FM has made a good start and that's encouraging. COYB.

03 Sep 2016 06:26:15
I disagree about the squad depth. Koeman has said that he wants two players for every position:

GK- Stekelenburg, Robles
RB- Coleman, Holgate
CB- Jagielka, Funes Mori, Williams, Holgate
LB- Baines, Oviedo
CM- Barry, Gueye, McCarthy, Cleverly, Davies
CAM- Barkley
RW- Mirallas, Deulofeu, Lennon
LW- Bolasie, Dowell
ST- Lukaku, Kone, Valencia

I've deliberately excluded Gibson, Besic,   Browning and Niasse due to a lack of fitness, injury or quality. I've included Davies and Dowell, as Davies is Premiership ready in my opinion, and Dowell doesn't represent a huge risk if required due to the position he plays in.

I've also included Holgate in two sections as he deputises for both positions. It's also worth noting that McCarthy can deputise at RB and Barry has deputised as a CB before. Mori can play LB in an emergency.

All of the wingers in the team can play on either side if necessary, and they can also play in Barkley's CAM role if needed.

With that in mind, I think the only real problem is if Lukaku gets injured for a long period of time.

Ideally, we would ship out Niasse, Kone and Gibson, and buy a back up RB, a new GK and a good ST. But I think we have enough players to make do until January.

03 Sep 2016 07:23:55
Fantastic post Blue Tommy. I'll even add another positive to that. Koeman as said before has a plan a, b, c etc. He will be very able to mix and match different players to different positions as you have highlighted so well there.

That will no doubt benefit the results we get compared to last year when there was just plan a and that was it.

03 Sep 2016 07:59:55
Blue Tommy, or if Lukaku gets moody again and throws his toys out of the pram like happened a couple of seasons ago. That was always my point about the poor quality of signings by Martinez. none of which contributed goals.

03 Sep 2016 09:59:42
Degsy please give it a rest. I never liked Martinez and never wanted him at the club. But I don't think everything he done was bad. You have posted numerous times that we have had a good start to the season. Most would agree a lot if not all of this is down to Koeman.

Here's my real point on the matter, there are plenty of Martinez signings heavily involved in that great start you posted about. Yes a twinkle here and there by Koeman has made a difference with players.

But mainly I would put it down to his management of the same players and change of tactics. Give the players a chance under a different manager. From the games so far the vast majority of the players are the same as last year. Aside from those who Koeman has signed.

The main problem this last 2 years was conceding goals NOT scoring them. We scored plenty of goals in the past 2 seasons. As much as we ever did if not more.

Mirallas looks like a new player, Barry is very much rated by Koeman. As is McCarthy even though the media would have you think he's not wanted and is leaving. Doesn't matter that he played every game so far along with league cup. Yes he was took off in one game for the sacrifice of winning the game. Now heading for surgery. Personally I think he was suffering last season with injury while playing but I cannot be sure or prove it.

Del boy is still playing and Lukaku. Barkley wasn't signed by Martinez but may as well have been. Lennon will be a good back up to have along with Cleverly. That's 7 players signed by Martinez along with Barkley. 8 in total which has 7 midfielders. Not good enough you say? Well its good enough for Koeman.

As I said defense was the problem the last few seasons so I expect Koeman to concentrate on that. I also expect low scoring games this season. Teams I'd imagine will be set up to limit the amount of goals conceded to eradicate the bad habits of non existent defending under Martinez.

Yes Lukaku scored the majority of goals. That was the whole set up under Martinez. Everything was geared towards supplying Lukaku to score goals. That doesn't mean the midfielders can't score. With a change of tactics under Koeman I have no doubt the midfielders you seem to think incapable of scoring will score more this season.

No doubt in my mind between Mirallas, Barkley and Del boy there is at least 30 goals a season there. Throw in Bolasie and Lennon and prob another 10. That would be a fantastic amount of goals from midfield. Which imho is very possible of happening.

I remember you posting about how this season was going to be bad and that we were going to struggle. I along with many other posters were convinced it was going to be good. Since then you have acknowledged the fine start we have had.

Why was I sure things would be much better this season? The same reason I'm convinced that goals will come from midfield. The change of manager. The difference in the team is unbelievable. The last 2 seasons with Southampton as the season went on the better they got and climbed the table.

I have no doubt the influence of Koeman there will also be felt at Everton. After predicting a good season this year and with early signs of that happening I will also predict that it won't be easy. Imo there will be teething problems. Up until Christmas I expect quite a few glitches but after that the lead up to the end of the season will be very good.

Top 8 at least with goals galore from midfield. Just give them a chance Degsy because I think you'll be eating more humble pie again. You had your fill of that after the bright start. Try stay positive and realise Martinez is gone and in the past along with his tactics.

The players don't play for him anymore they play for Koeman.

In Koeman and Walsh I do trust. The good times are here. Its never going to be perfect but it will be the next best thing under this new regime. The future is very bright, why question it? Revel in its existence and enjoy it because god knows we certainly do deserve it.

COYB.

03 Sep 2016 11:38:59
Did you just repeat yourself and basically say "I told you so" Degsy? lol. I can't see Lukaku throwing his toys out of the pram, as he needs to score to either a) try and get us top 4 or b) get his move to a bigger club. He knows our price tag, and knows he needs to live up to it to get what he wants. We all know his goals would be a big miss.

However I agree with NBTB. Top form, playing all season I think Barkley and Mirallas could get up to 15 apiece. We all know Bolasie has a poor goal record. But at Palace he often got the ball in his own half, he will get more chances to score here. There are others who will chip in with a few here and there.

We have shown in the last few games that with Lukaku off form we can grind out results. If we can do that without Rom, imagine how good we will be when he's banging them in again!

03 Sep 2016 14:00:37
Tommy just saw your reply. some good observations. I still think that Upton we need a top draw striker. if Valencia can recoup the initial form he showed at West Ham then great. Tbh. cleverly does not add much for me tbh. rarely beats a man and rarely scores, Davies and do well are kids. good players but a lot to expect but if they step up great. I should point out that I'm optimistic regarding the team and the club. I was just expecting more given the media circus that's ensued since FM and RK came onboard (I get it it's early days etc)

02 Sep 2016 17:08:42
Don't know why any Everton fan would have been disappointed on missing out on sissoko. Average player and nowere near that price.
Also I expect Everton to finish ahead of spurs this season. Spurs are ordinary. Kanes top class when everythings clicking for him. Again spurs will rely on him for a decent season.

02 Sep 2016 17:49:17
I have to disagree mate. I wanted him. As a footballer he is awesome. Although he had a poor season under a very poor manager for 80% of last season. I amsure under the Spurs manager we will see a different player. and would have seen the same under Koeman. which is why Koeman wanted him. Spurs are my tip for winning the title too. Very young side that almost did it last season.

02 Sep 2016 19:12:47
Degs
Poch isn't doing anything special there. He's limited. Spurs have an average side. Title winners? Now chance mate nor top 4.

02 Sep 2016 20:28:25
Best part of deadline day was hearing Sissoko had done a u turn and gone to spurs. Delighted he's not an Everton player. Athlete yes, footballer no. Few good games for france and suddenly he's a world beater, average.

02 Sep 2016 22:13:43
Sissoko had 3 poor years at Newcastle and all in the premiership. i would hope he steps up to playing for tottenham and he will have to, as they have plenty of quality in their midfield already. If he doesn't he could find himself being quite an expensive bench warmer.

02 Sep 2016 22:34:11
I wasn't fussed on Sissoko but he wouldvhave made a good addition. I'd take Koeman getting the best out of him. However, Brahimi was the one I wanted. The lad is quality and would have goals and a real attacking threat. He's got great hunger as well to be at the top.

They weren't meant to be and for me I just can't wait for Sunderland now a week on Monday. I've not gone to away matches over the last 18 months due to Martinez but I'm back in the groove again will probably get to most this season. What a difference a new manager makes.

03 Sep 2016 08:48:03
Ffs Sissoko has done nothing for years and because he has shown flashes of maybe being OK for his country, he gets a price tag of £30m 😲 you couldn't make this 💩 up!

02 Sep 2016 15:01:29
The Transfer Window should really in my opinion run from previous season end to new season start date. However, that will never happen as long as the Leagues are dependent on TV money.

02 Sep 2016 10:40:57
Fans complain about the lateness of transfer activity - and the eventual lack of "big (marquee? ) signings" - at Everton, but there are several, issues to consider.
Just because we have a wealthy owner doesn't mean he would be allowed under FFP (even if he actually wanted to invest his personal fortune other than in buying shares) to pump money into the club. We have to finance our spending from the club's actual income and stay within debt level boundaries. If otherwise, Chelsea's or ManCity's owners would pay outrageous fees and wages from their personal fortunes for the worlds' best players - and even Real Madrid (Ronaldo) or Barcelona (Messi) would sell!
As for the television money, there are rules about how much of that can be spent on players (fees, wages, etc. ) rather than infrastructure and non-playing (e. g. community) projects. Besides, every Premier League club has the increased television money and all that's led to is inflated transfer fees, massive wages for even the bang-average players, and huge commissions for agents.
There are also rules about how much we can increase our player wage bill year-on-year. We may have transferred Stones, sent McGeady, Garbutt and some youngsters on loan, and released Hibbert, Howard, Osman and Pienaar, but we've brought in players like Bolaisie, Gueye, Williams, etc., who will be on good money. I wonder how our wage bill actually compares with last season.
Perhaps the FFP rules might have made the £30M fee for Sissoko (and the suggested fees for Brahimi, Gabbiadini, Koné L., etc. ) unachievable for us without big-money departures (perhaps Jagielka, Lukaku, McCarthy, etc. - which RK might have been reluctant to do) . Perhaps the instalment payments (five lots of £6M) for Sissoko only came up very late and that's when we (and others! ) became genuinely interested, as we could finance the deal under FFP rules.
Besides, our lack of Champions League (let alone Europa League) football, our recent (but far too long! ) trophy-less domestic history, and the fact that the bright lights of London are attractive to foreign players, means that we don't yet draw in many top players.
I don't recall the club actually saying that we'd be spending £100M on players. It was all speculation in the media and amongst fans. I do recall the club stating that any money generated by outgoing transfers would be available for re-investment in the squad - which has clearly happened with the Stones money.
RK has said he'll need two seasons (and the corresponding transfer windows) to build the team/ squad he wants at Everton. Part of that timeframe is also surely to allow us to start getting the commercial income (new stadium? ) to fund increased expenditure and give us time to fully use the permitted annual increase in the player wage bill to then pay top players. Be thankful that we are also producing good talent from within the academy.
The idea that we can suddenly spend hundreds of millions on transfer fees and wages is just not realistic. GIve the club the time to get the off-field issues sorted out and give RK, SW, etc., the time to get on-field matters improved.

02 Sep 2016 12:27:47
Any success you have is based on good planning. The board, DOF and manager had no chance of doing this. I'm sure in the coming windows it will be much smoother with targets in place and discussed way before it even opens.

So when all that is taken into account it's been a good window. Some really good points there Sid.

02 Sep 2016 17:40:53
it was a good window I would have been happy with the three main signings and a couple of promising youngsters (which has been successful development in recent years.
However deadline day made us look unprofessional, I'm sure the club worked hard to bring players in but the Sissoko incident soured the day for me, by both the player and the club, I understand the Gabbiadini problem and to an extent the Kone deal, but still have no real insight as to what happened with Brahimi, perhaps someone can enlighten me?
All in all given the international break it highlights the frustration as I'm sure we would all rather have had the team back out playing this weekend!

02 Sep 2016 08:12:19
Duncan had a pigeon, a pigeon, a pigeon,
I suggest we all forget about transfers and start focussing on the blue boys staying at the top end of the table! Beginning with boro.
I for one, am glad to be breaking the awful summer addiction of constantly checking potential signings
COYB
Thanks for your reply NCTB I could find the thread to reply but I agree - IRKWT.

02 Sep 2016 10:01:46
Don't you mean Sunderland Parky Monday night game against Moyes I'm looking forward to this.

02 Sep 2016 11:32:21
Yes Parky the obsession is over for another few months :-)