Cloak & Dagger

Of course, we've been here before. The phantom Alan Shearer bid that never was is only one example of Everton under successive chairmen attempting to appear ambitious with awe-inspiring transfers and fan-rousing behaviour.

With the current £10-12M "bid" for Luis "Lucho" Gonzalez, it is tempting to simply dismiss it as "same old" from a boardroom that seeming thrives on servicing its fans and pulling out at the last minute!

The difference here, however, encompasses many various factors that have not been evident in our "mega-bids" in years gone by. For the sake of ease, i'll list them:

A) The increased Sky/Setanta TV revenue.

No matter how Moyes and Bill try to swing it, every single club in the Premiership has been given what is in effect a whopping pay rise this year. The club must have some sort of transfer kitty available which is greater than the net loss of £1-2m that appears to be on the cards at present.

B) The sale/release of Beattie and Wright.

Both truly awful players, but they were - nevertheless - two of the highest paid players at the club. The wage bill has been eased for sure.

C) The worrying lack of squad depth.

This almost ensures Everton need to add new faces before the end of the transfer window at the very latest.

... And perhaps the most important factor.

D) The upcoming stadium vote.

I'm all for a move to Kirkby, so this might sound surprising - but it isn't hard to imagine a big money signing being made, a press conference unveiled with the new superstar stating that he's "happy to join a club with ambition that's looking at building a new stadium, investing in the squad year upon year" etc. etc.

In fact, considering how close the stadium vote is expected to be, it'd be almost foolhardy of Wyness and Kenwright not to at least consider this option. The refusal to take up the first option on Manuel Fernandes for the same sort of price range indicates that - although the money is there - Manny simply isn't a big enough name to throw at the Everton fans at such a big time for the board. Let's face it, a player who's been here on loan for half a year already isn't going to excite no matter what the transfer fee is compared to a mysterious world superstar appearing from nowhere.

With Wyness's job in particular hanging on a thread pending the result of this vote, and in all probability the security of Kenwright's position as chairman, the one sure-fire way to secure a favourable vote is to "bribe" the fans this way.

Therefore, despite how immeasurably unlikely a deal for Gonzalez is, it isn't easy to dismiss! Expect Leighton Baines to state something in his press conference about our plans for the future and - mark my words - perhaps he'll mention the fact that he is actually from Kirkby himself, along with Alan Stubbs!

The politics of spin are sure to get under way in the next few days or weeks and the question all Evertonian's must ask themselves is this.

In the boardroom's mind, is an outrageous multi-million pound one-off transfer fee worth doing simply to save your job?

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