Fans Comment
Gary Willock

Transfer Market, You're havin' a laff
11 July 2005

Parker, Forrsell, Bellamy (although on here for point only), Emre, and now Sissoko.  It is now beyond the point of no return, five potentially excellent signings (not including Arteta) and every one of them rejects our advances. OK, so what does that say about our club?  Certainly doesn’t give out the image of a positive club. Of a club on the verge of getting another 3-4 good signings to at least keep us close to the level we enjoyed so much last season.  After all, don’t they say that “when you don’t move forward, you only move backwards?”

Well, we are most definitely moving backwards.  Squad is thinner than last year; we have more games this year; we don’t have Shrek anymore; we have no money, and we definitely continue to outdo ourselves on the Business Management Front every year.  Now as far as I’m concerned, David Moyes is still the messiah.  He has proven himself on the pitch. He has proven himself capable of finding the diamonds in the transfer field.  That should be the end of it.

In an ideal world David identifies the players, we identify that David is obviously a manager we can put trust in. We get on with MAKING it happen - by hook or by crook!  David Moyes should be left to get on with doing simply what he is good at – making the current players better, and identifying the players who can make the squad as a whole better still.  Now we don’t know the ins and outs of it, it could very well be that Moyes wants control, and it is actually down to ‘Dithering Davey’ that we are allowing ourselves to again become a laughing stock.  I believe there is something much more rotten afoot.

Indeed, dare I mention it? It's something that everyone on here, and every other message board / Fanzine seems to be completely overlooking, and I’m an avid web fan... 1 YEAR AGO WE WERE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.  £20M so far in Rooney payments, plus £6M extra for the league finish = £26M up. However, Beattie (£6M), Krøldrup (£5M), Davies (£4M), the money we still had 'outstanding' on previous transfers (£6M by conservative recollection) leaves MINUS £1M. Furthermore, that’s not taking into account the fact that there have been decent contracts handed out, loan fees, pitch redevelopment etc.

So, there can only be one conclusion. There is no more money. Quite simply, we are trying to look ambitious to attract a few players before the ruse is sussed (3 transfers ago guys!), or worse still we are doing another Alan Smith bid and simply pulling the wool over the fans eyes long enough to deflect the fact that once again the club has its back against the wall. At least 12 months ago we had the incentive of a potential £30M investment coming into the club. Where’s that? Why aren’t people falling over themselves to get a piece of a Champions' League club with the best young manager in a generation?

The answer is simple. The people who are running my beloved blues are quite simply not up to the job.  By the fluke of a £30M 19-year-old miracle coming through, and a further Moyes-inspired miracle of coming fourth, we are currently a going concern.  Kenwright and Gregg know that, but they also know that it has bought them an extra 12 months or so to hope and pray for another Moyes inspired miracle to occur.  Well I’ve got news for you fellas; it’s unlikely with your current attitude. We can’t take any more ‘what-ifs’.  We can’t take any more if ‘only’s’.  It’s about time you started looking out for the long-term interests of Everton Football Club, and if that means standing aside for new owners... DO IT!!

Gary Willock

What is it with the sudden activity from the "glass is half empty" brigade? All of those potential signings have good reasons why they were not signed:

Parker: Went to Newcastle for £65k a week. W ould anyone have sanctioned that amount of money, given the affect on the rest of the squad and the finances?

Forsell: Failed a medical, and the club he has signed for is one that he has been on loan at for the best part of the last two years. Do we want to be signing crocks again?

Bellamy: Again, money talks - Blackburn having increased his money - and the bloke is an arsehole in any case, as was proved when he demanded to know what big name players we were going to sign. He would also have taken Marcus Bent's place.... in fact, why were we in the hunt to sign him anyway? He isn't fit to lace Bent's shoes.  Yes, Bent couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo but I would rather have his effort than Bellamy's alleged talent any day.

Emre: overrated foreign signing of the kind who will fit right in at Newcastle and would have fitted in when Smith was here.

Sissoko: went to the European Champions for the same manager who signed him for Valencia.  Yes, it's annoying that Liverpool nabbed him from under our noses, but its hardly Kenwright's fault, is it?

Then you come to Arteta. Granted, when he was on loan last season he was class in patches, but we never looked as good as when Gravesen was there, and lets not forget he was playing for his career and to get out of Sociedad; never mind his four or five clubs at still an early stage of his career.

Now he is asking for one of the larger wage packets at the club - a wage packet that I would have said Cahill or even Carsley deserved more than him.  Is resurrecting his career, providing Champions League football (hopefully) and playing for one of the best managers in the league not enough?

I am probably in a minority here, but I would much rather have us pass on the avaricious scum like Parker and Bellamy and sign more honest, less well-known players who have something to prove, like Cahill and Bent who actually want to be at the club, and want it to succeed.  In that respect, Moyes should pay attention to Wigan and the failure of Nathan Ellington to sign a new contract. — Jonathan Bradley, London (11/7/05)

We have defintely gone backwards? I really don`t understand that comment. We have lost three players in total and have gained three players. I`m pretty sure in terms of quality we have improved and there will be more to come. But just to underline what a misguided piece of work this is let's take an example

"£20M so far in Rooney payments, plus £6M extra for the league finish = £26M up.  However, Beattie (£6M), Krøldrup (£5M), Davies (£4M), the money we still had 'outstanding' on previous transfers (£6M by conservative recollection) leaves MINUS £1M."

From what I know of maths 26-21=5. Yes PLUS 5 not minus 1. How can we take Mr Wilock seriously when he can`t even perform primary school maths. — Michael Reynolds, Hull (11/7/05)



Let's all get a grip
I wish everyone would get a grip. I firmly believe Moyes will get it right in the transfer market. Is he prudent most definitely, is this a bad thing no. I would rather have a manager who takes his time and finds out all he can about a player, attitude, skill and desire rather than go out and spend a shed load of cash on a player who 6 months down the line Is going to through his dummy out of the pram, start whingeing about being homesick or try and hold the club over a barrel about an increase in his wages. People like Bellamy and Parker show what type of personalities they have in the clubs they have chosen to sign for. Good riddance.

We will not and should not pay extortionate wages, we don’t want to destroy the team spirit (if someone starts in your work place doing the same job but on a vastly better wage everyone would be up in arms) and I also don’t think we can afford to pay substantial wages.

If you look at what the rest of teams in the premiership are doing they are not exactly making signings on a daily basis. Just have a look at what our rivals are doing Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, Charlton, Bolton, Man City and Spurs who have spent mostly on younger players with potential and even Newcastle have let around 7 players go only bringing in “am here for the money” Parker.

We have strengthened in area’s we needed, a centre half an attacking righted sided midfield player and hopefully 2 more established players to come. An who have we released an aging centre half a left back who’s had one good season in five and utility player who hardly kicked a ball all season.

Is there money available for a couple of more players’ yes I believe there is. Where’s the fortress fund money? Well last time I looked the beloved Gregg had said no to that, saying that with us now in the Champions League they had undervalued the club.

So lets not panic, only fools rush in, by the time the new season comes around am sure we’ll have a team capable of finishing in the top eight and hopefully in the group stages of the Champions League. That my friends, after all these desperate years is progress.

The futures bright the futures orange (hair). — Ste Summers, Liverpool (11/07/05)

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