A Busy Summer

I think if Lescotts wage demands were reasonable he would be a good CB/LB cover though he has never looked as comfortable for City as he did for us. Perhaps if made first choice he could rediscover his confidence and form though I don’t often enjoy resigning old players who failed to make the grade and Lescotts departure was particularly acrimonious.

25 mill to the board means 10 mill fee for player A PLUS 70k wages per week over 4 years =14.5 mill added to the 10 mill fee leaving 500k remaining.

I think that Bony would be a cracking signing and I would be happy to pay circa 15m for him. He’s hit twenty plus goals this season. Barring injury, there’s no reason he can’t do at least as well for us this season. I think that he would be a better signing for us at the moment over Lukaku.

Signing a defensive midfielder outside of what we had on the books last season may well depend on what Barry decides to do and on how Gibson holds up in pre-season. With a player like Holtby he is going to be very much in demand. The vultures may well already be circling the relegated clubs. If we wait to see how Gibson stands up to the riguours of pre-season, a player like Holtby, who may be within our reach right now, may well be long gone come late July.

The thing is though, for us to get any of our transfer business completed early, firstly we will need to navigate the timing of the World Cup. Secondly, and more importantly, we will need to have a lump or cash available before the prize/Sky money cheque arrives in August.

Distin won’t go on forever but a striker is by far the most important position to sort out – even if it means spending a large part of the transfer kitty. Quite simply you only finish nearer the top of the table by scoring goals, regardless of how good the defence is. The guy needs to also be able to hold the ball up and bring the AMs into play – not many of those around at our budget.....

After this, I would say the CM needs to be sorted out re the Barry position. Baines will need time to adjust to this role (if he does it) and Gibbo can’t be relied upon to stay fit as you say. McCarthy looked knackered in the last couple of games.

Third, I think we need cover for Coleman, he also needs to be given a break now and then and am not sure Stones is the answer.

After the above, just need to add bodies to make sure we have enough for European football, another AM would be good as Osman and Pienaar are fast approaching their use by dates. Summer should not be too busy as we don’t have any players to off load - for once!

Going by previous seasons, I really wouldn’t get hopes up on the possibility of an array of signings; we get let down time after time by this board. Whatever the rumoured amount is that will get tied in with wages/loan fees.

The worry is we need to buy players of our own so we don’t get left in limbo at the end of the season knowing which players aren’t here and which players are when it comes to loan players. I hope RM gets in three good quality players (striker, midfielder and defender) but you just never be too certain with BK and his pals.

Also, given Saldado’s season and Adebayor’s attitude, I’d imagine that the Spurs will be in the market too. I bow to the knowledge of the rest of you... what about someone like Fraizer Campbell at Cardiff?

Let’s presume Gibson, Kone and Oviedo all return to the standards they are capable of. That means we would still need cover at right back, centre back, midfield, a left winger and another forward. We would need someone approaching the calibre of McCarthy, Pienaar, Coleman and a better forward than Kone.

I would love Everton to be that little more adventurous and accommodate two strikers. Obviously I would love Bony and Remy. I know, highly unlikely! But the thought of Martinez hanging on in hope for Lukaku does not inspire me.

I really hope he has a lot more than £20+ million to spend. Considering he has £20 million from player sales and an extra £30 million from TV revenue, I would hope he has £40 million. That would still leave 10 million for Finch Farm. Here’s hoping.

We have Duffy to come back too so I think that’s one place we’re okay.

My guess is that we’ll get Deulofeu for another season as I see no chance of him getting in Barca’s team. That will leave us with plenty of options in the attacking three positions behind the striker.

We’ve just bought a new young keeper in Jan so I’d say it’s unlikely we’ll go for another.

It’s central midfield and up front for me. I think we’ll get Traore back for another season as keeping him this time around doesn’t make any sense otherwise.

Any cash to be splashed to go on a central midfielder and striker permanently even if we get Barry back.

One last player I’m wondering about is Francisco Junior. Any reports on how he’s gotten on?

I think we’re going to have to rely on loans again to keep the standard of the team up. Its going to take an exceptional effort to even equal, never mind surpass this season’s performances.

Obviously very hard to get to grips with a team for next season when we have little idea who will stay and who’s off, I’d be delighted to accept all of the loans back for another season though.

No doubt Roberto will have had his eyes open for talent from all corners of the world, while at Wigan he recruited several players from South America, who were then sold onto bigger clubs for a substantial profit. Watch this space!

One position where we lacked this season was a top class creative midfielder to open the opposition up, problem is they don’t come cheap. Gibson is back again, but for how long and Ross is not a creative player as such yet, he does create opportunities for himself and scores some spectacular goals nevertheless. I would leave the defence as it is, the’ll all do for me for at least next season. I would not want Remy, my impression of him is that he’s a stirrer.

We might have to sell to buy as per usual, but who? Don’t all jump on me at once but if we have to, I would be tempted to sell Seamus we would get a substantial sum that might be put to better use for players in the midfield. I only said if we have to!

Whatever, I have every confidence in Roberto putting together another exciting team that will do us proud. I’m sure he’ll pull a few surprise rabbits out of hat for us.

Happy days.

What is the fascination with Bony? His name cropped up a while ago and now it seems like it’s snowballed into a consensus that he is a brilliant and we desperately need him. He might be decent but I certainly don’t rate him at the prices quoted by some.

Not a fan of these type of things... just gets people excited over nothing and then they get let down. I doubt many had Lukaku, Barry and McCarthy on their wishlist last summer.

Leave the pure speculation to the rags.

Next season, with the extra games, it is quite likely we will see the following team line up for a few games:

Tim Howard 35
Leighton Baines 29
Phil Jagielka 31
Sylvain Distin 36
Tony Hibbert 33
Gareth Barry 33
Leon Osman 32
Steven Pienaar 32
Aiden McGeady 28
Around Koné 30
Steven Naismith 27

This would surely be the oldest team in the Premier League.

On the other hand, we could see:

Joel Robles 23
Seamus Coleman 25
John Stones 19
Phil Jagielka 31
Leighton Baines 29
James McCarthy 23
Ross Barkley 20
Bryan Oviedo 24
Gerard Deulofeu 20
Romelu Lukaku 20
Lacina Traoré 23

Which would surely be one of the youngest teams in the Premier League.

Whilst I think we have a good mix of age and experience, the defense seems to be where average age is quite high.

So maybe I shouldn’t be thinking Lescott would be a good addition, maybe we should be looking at younger players. I live overseas now, so I am not very familiar with our youth players, and which of them are likely to make the grade in the first team. Should RM be buying young players to replace our ageing stars, or can he add older experienced players, because we have a load coming through our youth system?

I would trust Roberto 100% to get the player to show the massive potential he had when he first broke in to the team. Playing without the shackles of Moyes on him he could develop into the top player we all thought he would.

It’s just not a top league. Of course there are good players there but if a player can’t get a game in it then he’s unlikely to be making inroads in a teams placed fifth in the English Premier League.

In any case, I think Sam got the wrong league.

I had always assumed a ’transfer pot’ was something that would cover the transfer fees only, with the wages being accounted for in the general planning for overheads.

For instance, when we sell a player we receive a fee but also his wages are removed from our debits so (theoretically at least) the whole of his transfer fee is available to use as the existing wages (if broadly similar) would simply be diverted to a new recipient.

Obviously, when adding numbers to a squad or investing in higher quality players with higher wage demands then that is a factor to be taken into account when determining how much of the gross can be used for transfer fees alone, but generally I am going to assume that when it is made known that someone has £x million pounds to spend on transfers then that is how much they have to spend on the transfer fees alone.

Why do so many people believe Bony will be available this summer, and why do people think Tom Ince will improve our first team (given his loyalties I very much doubt he’d sign with us to be a squad player / bench warmer)? I expect RM to find some most of us have never even heard of, though Stephen M’Bia is an old ’target’ who really interests me.

A "transfer pot", to me, sounds like a media term thrown about.

I’d assume that a meeting takes place between manager and chairman that begins with cash currently available for player dealings and it goes from there.

If the transfer pot did exist then I think it would have to include wages but, as you point out, this would rise and fall with players leaving, signing on fees, wages for incoming players, new deals for current players etc.

Also, I think M’Bia has too much to say for himself despite doing well with Sevilla.

I love the Eric Dier choice. I recall fans gushing over this kid when he was here, we just couldn’t afford him. I worry that he’s gone back to Sporting Lisbon and nobody made a move to bring him back to England. But from all accounts, he’s considered to be one of the new breed of English central defenders like Stones, where he has good possession abilities and distribution skills. He’s also apparently versatile enough to play right back and defensive mid.

I think Rodwell would do very well in our new system. I don’t think he ever settled at Man City and I think he was even a little hurt to leave Everton to be honest. I think with us, he would be much more positive in his passing and he’s a good athlete who could cover a lot of ground like McCarthy, so he might be someone who could step in for him.

A player that I watched this year whom I thought would be a really interesting addition to our team was Ki Sung-Yueng of Sunderland. I think he’s on loan from Swansea, but I thought he brought a lot of energy and creativity to a Sunderland team that had nothing going for it-in fact, if it wasn’t for him and Adam Johnson; Sunderland would have been relegated in February.

Why do people seem to thank Swansea would even consider selling Bony unless they were to receive a ridiculously inflated bid for his ’Black Dynamite’ styled bonce?  They bought him, only last summer, for £13m. Why, after the success he’s had this  season, would they be prepared to let their star player sod off to pastures new for a piddling couple of million profit. Are they in financial difficulty? Is the player himself desperate to leave and proving to be a disruptive presence in the dressing room? None of the above as far as I can see. 

As for this suggestion: "I agree with using Alcaraz and Vellios for Bony."
Yeah, that will seal the deal. Their manager, whose name I can’t remember but whose face I recognise as belonging to the guy out of Homeland, must be salivating at the prospect of getting his hands on the snazzily named A-Team of Antolin and Apostolos. 

At the moment, those two couldn’t attract a bite if they were stripped bollocks naked, bound by the wrists and ankles, seasoned with salt and pepper, slung into a big fuck off cooking pot full of boiling water with a fistful of fava beans stuffed  in their gobs and a sign round their necks saying ’Free Lunch Mr Lector. Complimentary Chianti (well, Chang) at the bar’. 

Alcaraz has spent almost the entire season sat on his arse through constant  injury.  Velios has spent almost his entire Everton ’career’ sat on his arse because....well...his gaming chair is just TOO comfortable, has a handily placed cup holder for his cider and, if he stands up, the virtual reality headset that allows him to live in a world where he actually makes  it as a Premier League striker might fall off and get smashed. 

It does not include their weekly wage, for which the club always need to try to keep at a manageable amount.

Also you forgot agent fees in transfer dealings.

Why do people seem to think Swansea would even consider selling Bony unless they were to receive a ridiculously inflated bid for his ’Black Dynamite’ styled bonce? They bought him, only last summer, for £13m. Why, after the success he’s had this season, would they be prepared to let their star player sod off to pastures new for a piddling couple of million profit. Are they in financial difficulty? Is the player himself desperate to leave and proving to be a disruptive presence in the dressing room? None of the above as far as I can see.

As for this suggestion: "I agree with using Alcaraz and Vellios for Bony."
Yeah, that will seal the deal. Their manager, whose name I can’t remember but whose face I recognise as belonging to the guy out of Homeland, must be salivating at the prospect of getting his hands on the snazzily named A-Team of Antolin and Apostolos.

At the moment, those two couldn’t attract a bite if they were stripped bollocks naked, bound by the wrists and ankles, seasoned with salt and pepper, slung into a big fuck off cooking pot full of boiling water with a fistful of fava beans stuffed in their gobs and a sign round their necks saying ’Free Lunch Mr Lector. Complimentary Chianti (well, Chang) at the bar’.

Alcaraz has spent almost the entire season sat on his arse through constant injury. Velios has spent almost his entire Everton ’career’ sat on his arse because....well...his gaming chair is just TOO comfortable, has a handily placed cup holder for his cider and, if he stands up, the virtual reality headset that allows him to live in a world where he actually makes it as a Premier League striker might fall off and get smashed.

I thought he was only on loan at Fulham? We all know how Spurs ring every last penny out of transfers!!

Literally just walked in. Is that you over the road peeking out the curtains like an arl busybody again?

Therefore, when it is ’revealed’ that a club has X amount to spend it doesn’t seem too much of a stretch to assume that it is for the transfer fees only. If you are trying to calculate how much may be available from published figures, then extra players wages will certainly have to be factored in, but replacement players could be transfer fee only.

What has M’Bia been saying?

Si, I just think it’s too complex for it to be anything but X amount for RM to deal in all things related to players.

He might feel it best to offer new deals to half a dozen players at the expense of a signing but with the "Player Fund" being effected in the same way.

One thing I have just thought of is that clubs will often try to keep their salaries as a certain percentage of turnover. Not sure whose theory that backs up but it must be one of us.

Nothing recent from M’Bia. I just recall the season we were meant to be in for him that he was telling(allegedly) anyone that would listen about how there was no limit to what he could do.

None whatsoever since 2012.

And your point is........

However, maybe we can give them a deal like the one we mugged Birmingham for when we got Latchford.

I suppose, these kind of threads, at this stage of the year are just for fun. It's nice to speculate, it's nice to mention a name, and then three months down the line claim credit for the idea when we actually sign that player. In the spirit of fun, please don't shout at me, why not talk to Sharpy and Big Dunc, and get them out of retirement for a year. Might lower the average age of the team a bit!!!

Moves in the plausible category that I'd like to see are Lescott and Holtby. Other away players who've impressed me this season - Ki (Sunderland), Bolasie (Palace).