Martinez plots January moves

"Bill Kenwright, for me, has been a real surprise. I don't think many people know how important he has been over the years."

And I really didn't realise!

Now then, here's a test. Do you trust Roberto?

Martinez' only mistake as manager so far has been signing Kone. What a waste of cash. I'll forgive him though as everything else he's done has been spot on.

Let's get over this Kenwright bashing once and for all. I will say it - "I've been an Everton fan for 40 years now, and I am happy and proud that Bill Kenwright is our Chairman".

Yes, he has made mistakes. Who hasn't! But he wears his Everton heart on his sleeve and bleeds Blue like the rest of us. I dread the day when Bill decides to sell off his shares to some monied conglomerate from Asia, Middle East, America or East Europe and we become known as Red Bull Everton playing in our new lucky 'red' strip.

Long may we have a true Blue Toffee heading our fantastic Club.

Red bull Everton?
Scare tactics from the pro Billy Liar gang.

Be careful what you wish for ....etc etc

If we sincerely think we can get into Europe next season we need to start looking at increasing the squad size. Playing two games a week can have a big effect on a team, see Newcastle last season.

Of course we need to strive for quality and I'm not suggesting we just buy to make up the numbers as if they can't make it into our first eleven they will be a waste of wages and will spend most of their time warming the bench. Assuming Barry stays but we lose Lukaku, Deulofeu, Heitinga and Jelavic in the summer we are going to be pretty light. Perhaps a few reinforcements in January would be sensible so they can bed in ready for the following season and can also cover any injuries that crop up during the season.

On the other hand we need to look for a quality striker to take over from Lukaku if we can't find a way to keep him and a large chunk of our budget will need to be invested there. An interesting challenge for Martinez.

Being a bit melodramatic aren't you Tim? A bit in the billy liar mode.

Paul Andrews (141), looks like Roberto is the new president of the Pro Billy Liar gang.

Identifying targets? That's usually as far as it goes. I don't think Roberto quite gets transfer windows at Everton, bless him.

He needs to know that he will have to sell Baines for £15 million, in order to receive £7.5 million to reinvest. Simple!

Red bull have released blue bull now, so no issues there.

Dan, Billy Liar will be on the phone to his brief with that news, he's been pumping Blue Bull(shit) out for years

Wise up Mike.

Cover for Kone, hummmmm, I hope we will be able to cope without him, I wonder how many years his contract is for.

Timothy 139

For fuck's sake — all the bullshit over the years and you still think he only has the best interests of OUR club?

By the way I have supported OUR GREAT CLUB for 50 years! Sir John Moores will be turning in his grave at the opportunities Blue Bill has "missed".

Also, this articulate moron reckoned he was "raped" in the conversation he had with his opponents — that is a repulsive comment. The guy is a disgrace and I for one can't wait for the day he is no longer in charge of OUR CLUB!!!

Bill will be sat in his nightgown wishing to be taken back to Christmases past when the dour one wouldn't talk about the January transfer window until Burns Night.

RM is very savvy and an unbelievably optimistic man, he even convinced me that England would escape from their World Cup group with Italy and Uruguay and I'm not even an England supporter.

It is a big disappointment that Kone and Gibson will miss the rest of the season and we now need cover in both those areas. Standby for quite a bit of movement in January and not all of it due to BK's nervous bowels.

I think Robbie might go out and get two completely unknown Latin players on the cheap who will become gems. A bit like Laudrup did with Michu.

Should be an interesting window. Apparently the McCarthy fee wasn't dependent on the sale of Fellaini (I did say apparently!). If this is true then a big chunk of the £27m will still be available. If we add to this the potential fee we get for Baines, Heitinga and Jelavic (minus whatever fees we paid for Lukaku, Deulofeu and Barry loans) then Martinez should have a bit more than usual to spend.

I may be being too optimistic and I'm sure a fair bit of the incoming cash has disappeared on servicing the debts, but for once we should be in a position to strengthen the squad in January. If Martinez spends it wisely he could reinforce a team in a strong position to fight for a European place and that achievement could convince players that Everton are a team worth joining. This is a real opportunity to move up a level and I sincerely hope Kenwright sees this and backs his excellent new manager!

Any money should be going towards a down payment for Romelu in preparation for next season's assault on the Champions League — such is my optimism right now!

Hopefully we can have a very busy January transfer window, a striker, central midfielder and a winger would be very welcome. I can't see Baines moving to Man Utd now, Moyes has had so much criticism over signing Fellaini from the Manure fans, I can't see him coming back in for Baines. Lets just hope Baines signs a new contract and Martinez will rotate more often with both our LBs. Lets not forget how good Baines is just because Oviedo has played a couple of blinders. Competition for places is always healthy and we might need a bigger squad next season if we're paying in Europe. CL hopefully, the Europa Cup is a nonsense competition with very little financial rewards - which puts a massive strain on your squad

Patrick 164 - leave Burns night out of this thread, I am trying to enjoy my gin.

If Mandela can forgive, so can we blues as long as RM gets BK backing in January.

RM knows what he is doing - I don't take him for a fool in any way whatsoever and if BK doesn't back him then we have cause for complaint. But until then my fellow EFC supporters, think positive, sin miedo.

Now where's that fecking bottle.

Clint Dempsey and Jack Rodwell on loan would be great supplements for the Everton squad. Rodwell (who knows Everton very well) needs games to get match fit with teams such as Everton to help prevent other teams stealing a march on City's ambition to win the league; while Dempsey (1 goal in every 3 games) has expressed his need to be match for the World Cup with USA.

But if the Everton Under-21s were doing their job properly, there should be a seamless transition to the Everton squad when need be. But as usual in the winter transfer window, the club has to look outside rather than the Everton Under-21s.

I wouldn't have Rodwell or Dempsey given.

Wouldn't the sale of Anichebe have covered the cost of the loans? I doubt we will see any of the Fellaini money. That has ended up in the same black hole as the Arteta transfer, nothing available f or re investment and surprisingly no reduction in the overdraft. He will have o sell to have any chance of funds. Kenwright will let him down just as he did so often with Moyes.

Every team with ambition attempts to assemble 22 really good players to make up the first team squad. We need decent cover for EVERY position not let three go and bring three in. We should endeavour to keep ALL our useful players and let Heitinger and Magueye go asap. Jelavic will be needed as cover for whoever we play as a first line striker.

We need a squad like Howard and Robles for GK and Coleman and Stones for RB and Baines and Oviedo for LB Jagielka, Distin and Alcaraz covering the centre back positions. In midfield we need Naismith, Barry, McCarthy, Osman, Pienaar, Mirallas, Barkley and at least two more top class midfielders. Up front we need a replacement for Lukaku and maybe Jelavic.

These are minimum requirements. Personally I would try for Ba as a replacement for Lukaku if he returns to Chelsea as Ba will score goals with our style of play. If Jelavic regained his confidence in front of goal he could solve one problem.

Chelsea and Man City have a surplus of good players who cannot get regular football and they could be willing to lend a few out. Perhaps Mata or Jenkinson for midfield would be worth a try .I don't want Rodwell back or Dempsey on loan. Neither are worth a first team place.

Phil Sammon it is hard bringing and finding the right loan signings in the winter transfer window.

And harder still finding players who are available with premier league experience who can fit in straight away.

I cant see how Dempsey would fit into our side and Rodwell just isn't going to cut it in my opinion. If we are bringing players in we should look to get a decent striker who can deputise for Lukaku. If he gets injured we look awfully impotent.

I won't even start speculating on who we will get in during the January window - mainly because I have total faith in "Sir" Roberto Martinez bringing in the right players that he believes we will need to strengthen the squad. Would I have said that 12 months ago?

Re Rodwell & Dempsey on loan. How many loan players is a club allowed?

Section 6. 52.2.1 A maximum of 5 loan Players (Standard, International, Emergency or Youth) can be named in the Players listed on a team sheet for any individual match played under the auspices of The League. This figure shall include any additional loan of a goalkeeper approved by the Executive under the provisions of Regulation 54.

So Steavey, there's a limit of five loan players that can be named for a match, but no particular limit on the number you can actually have at the club? Is that correct?

If memory serves me correctly, Watford fell foul of this ruling last year??

Steavey #235, are you quoting The League rules, or the Premier League rules?

It's OK Steavey, I found the answer myself

The Premier League rules
The Premier League rules relating to temporary loan transfers are contained in Section 5, Rule V5 to V10 of the Premier League Handbook. They restrict the number of loan players a Premier League team can have in one season to four and no more than one player can be loaned from a particular club. No more than two players can be registered at one time by a club (unless that player becomes permanent or is an emergency goalkeeper).

http://www.lawinsport.com/blog/joshua-kaye/item/the-international-loan-loophole-should-and-could-it-be-closed

We have pretty much hammered our loans for this season, and I think it is sad times when we are talking about the upcoming transfer window, and fans start speculating who we could possibly bring in on loan! I already fear for the squad come the summer once Barry, Del and Lukaku go home (2 of the definites), without making it worse by adding more in January. Bill only has the best interests of the club in mind though...hmm.

We have space for one more loan. If pushed, we could try to convert Barry's loan to a permanent deal (even if it were only till the end of season, with an option) however I suspect that Man City are paying a portion of his £125k/week basic, as we paid a loan fee, and we would therefore expect Barry to agree to drop to a lower wage straight away, rather than in the summer (which he expects).

So clearly the best solution is to just toss Chelsea £25m now for Lukaku and be done with it!

Dan McKie 280
Think possitive mate. It loks very likely Barry will sign for us on a permanent basis and evn if we have to pay him a higher wage this would be offset by the fact that no fee has to be paid (if you work on the basis that for every £18k in wages equates to £1m in transfer money).

If we manage to get into Europe and Delboy continues to have a run in the team and improve as a player it would make sense that Barcelona would extend his loan deal for another season. I don't think he is ready for a starting spot for them yet and they will be keen to see him continue to develop whilst playing competative football, especially if that includes European competition.

Lukaku is the hardest call to make. He is clearly enjoying life at Goodison (scoring twice in a derby, being on the winning side at old Trafford etc...) and it looks like his relationship with Mourinho is souring. Chelsea are also likely to bring in a marquee signing in January in his position which will leave him in the same position. Lukaku has talked about the possibility of signing for us if we managed to qualify for the CL. Out of the three players its the longest shot, but I wouldn't say it was impossible we could sign him next summer. The odds will be long but you never know.

As for further loan signings, Dempsey could come in and give us the kind of boost Donovan has in the past as a time of the season where fatigue and injuries can start taking a toll. A short term loan could allow us to rest some players without dropping the quality of our starting eleven. Rodwell I'm not so sure about, but I could see a scenario where Man City would be willing to loan him to get first team action, so he could be useful for the same reasons.

It's fortunate for Kenwright that OFM has taken over the mantle of 'The man we love to hate.' Of course, when the time comes when we lose a few games - and we will - the blame will all be piled on the Chairman and not our new hero. And rightly so.

Roberto has earned an extended honeymoon period and, like his predecessor, has soon developed 'a close working relationship' with the man who appointed him. No doubt come January, we shall again be hearing that 'the Chairman has pushed the envelope as far as he can' to get in a couple of low cost benchwarmers or even more loanees.

And, of course, so long as the Club's ambition remains in 'the best of the rest category', that will do fine. But only a fool can believe that Everton is any longer 'a big club' so long as it relies on borrowing players and shopping in Poundland - and we can't blame Roberto for that, can we?

It now seems fashionable to live in a dream. A dream that indicates that because we are in fifth going towards Christmas - and won at OT - we are nailed on for a Champions League finish. The reality, of course, is that we shall, as ever, finish sixth or seventhish which is precisely where Old Miseryguts left us. Now I wonder who will get blamed for that - the manager or 'the man who backed him all the way'?

Nothing really changes does it?

Matt Traynor, if Lukaku carries on like he has so far for us, then firstly, £25 million won't buy his big toe, and secondly, we would be far from the only team in the running for him.

Phil you are probably correct about our finishing position and your reasons are valid, however there are many ways to reach a destination and I prefer RM's scenic route. We should not be afraid to dream and it's important that the players strive to finish as high as possible and who knows what they might achieve.

Not sure why people are criticising the loan approach.
It's served us incredibly well over the last 10 years, allowing us to try out the likes of Pienaar and Arteta before we buy and filter out a few others without being tied to a 3 year contract.
Our trio of loanees this year are having a huge impact on the team that more than justifies their fees and there's no way we'd have had all 3 if we had to buy them outright (even if they were available the costs would be prohibitive in transfers, fees and wages).

Whilst there is the obvious fact that a player bought is an asset on one hand with (hopefully) some resale value, the full economics aren't always so clearcut - for every profitable Baines, Fellaini, Jags, etc there's the spectre of a loss-making Billy, Kolrdrup, Yakubu et al waiting in the wings.

It's not like 'owning' a player buys any extra loyalty or application either, if anything it seems increasingly to be quite the opposite with players often resenting the 'shackles' of a contract when they fancy a payday elsewhere (see the shenanigans with the likes of Rooney, Suarez, Tevez and Balotelli elsewhere and on a lesser extent our own Fellaini and, dare I say it, even possibly Baines?)

Obviously there needs to be a mix, clubs in our financial position who want to try and better themselves need to bring through saleable assets that can bolster incomes from elsewhere. Rightly or wrongly I think selling a £10-20M player at least every 2 seasons is a pretty essential part of the plan - fortunately we seem to be able to have produced/nurtured them so far in the shape of Jeffers, Rooney, Johnson, Lescott, Arteta, Rodwell and Fellaini and have Baines, Jags, Barkley, McCarthy and Mirallas in that level currently (plus the likes of Coleman, Oviedo and Stones looking capable of achieving similar value and further promise in the ranks with the likes of McAleney, Green, Lundstram, Garbutt and Hope).

Ultimately however, I think the most telling question is are you happier to have more affordable players like injury prone Gibson and Akone and off-form Jelavic and Heitinga sat in the reserves seeing out contracts or Barry, Delboy and Yakubu playing out of their skins on loan?

Chris, spot on with your last paragraph.

Then why not scrap contracts altogether, Chris? We could then become like some Northern League clubs who seem to field a new team every other week!

I don't underrate the loan system's value to clubs in our straits but BIG clubs don't use loanees to keep them in the Top Four, do they?

But we knows our place!

One other aspect not to be under-estimated, is that with the big clubs "stockpiling" players, and then loaning them out at substantial fees, it's possible for them to offset a substantial portion of the acquisition costs by loaning them for 1-2 years.

Years ago, clubs like Real Madrid used to "park" players - sign them on free transfers, and then look to move them on for a big fee after 1-2 seasons. They tried it with McManaman, who refused to move. In this day and age of huge contracts, and players willing to get paid for doing nothing, that trick has gone.

Diame, De Bruyne, Lumumbu, Rodwell, and er... a striker.

Diame is a good shout, realistic too, a natural successor to Osman and coud be attracted in Jan.
With the form Lukaku is in, it will be difficult to attract a classy striker who may spend the majority of the remainder of the season on the bench. Waiting until June could be better.

(Tin hat on!) I think Milner might be a decent shout? WC year and all that.

If we can only loan one player from any one club then Rodwell and Milner are automatic non starters.

We only need a couple of players, too many and it may upset the balance of the squad. I can see Heitinga going out and a central defender, may Martins Indi coming in and a striker to cover Kone.

Two players you say - it's got to be Rooney and RVP. They'll want CL next season....

Phil Walling 300
Looking at things dispassionately Everton is not a BIG club any-more in that we don't have the financial clout and recent record of success to justify such a label. Sure we have a fantastic history and a decent record over the last decade as well as a fanatical fan base and we have the many reasons to dream of becoming a big team once again.

To get back to this status we need several things to happen. 1) Success on the pitch, either a champions league finish or a cup, both of which are still a possibility this season. 2) Investment and a new stadium. This is the more difficult part to achieve,

In the meantime we have to work with the resources we have and getting fantastic loan signings in is a good way to do a lot with a little. If it helps us achieve our goals then I can't see any reason to turn our noses up at the option based on a misplaced sense of our clubs standing. Nowadays many players hop from team to team every season or two, so I see no reason why having a player on loan for a season or two is a negative thing. We get the benefits without the risks of a massive fee.

I'm going to wait and see what happens in the January window before I make any judgements on the clubs ambition.

1: It has taught us that once a defender, always a defender and that's not how Man Utd play.
2: He had an abundance of attacking options here at Everton like Oviedo and Barkley but wasn't able to get the best out of them.
3: His football tactics look very outdated now that Managers such as Martinez, Rodgers, Laudrup and Pochettino have moved our game up a few notches. Football under Moyes was always organised but nothing like the attacking and attractive football these new Managers are coaching.
4: Moyes will never come away from playing one up front which sets the tone for a drab game whilst shutting up defence and trying to nick 1-nil wins. Yet again not what Man Utd fans are used to watching.
5: Your Manager is the biggest link between the club and its fans. Whenever Moyes was interviewed he looked hacked off all the time and interviews rarely went beyond 3 minutes, but look at the pre-Arsenal interview and its over 17 minutes long. Martinez loves talking to the fans and media and it genuinely feels as though we now have that club-fans connection back.
6: Moyes used to take forever to sign a player and often left it to the very last minute which I know is something that frustrated us all and is something that he is now thankfully doing at Man Utd. Martinez has brought in 7 players and built a fuller squad that I am sure Moyes should have done in his time.
7: With a Moyes Everton team, whether we be playing Norwich or Man Utd, I felt edgy from the first minute through to the last. We rarely had more possession than the opposition and always seemed to have shaky last 10 minutes. With a Martinez Everton team I always feel confident that we can beat anybody as the core aspect of a winning team is the retention of possession and everything else builds from this.
8: Moyes has taken away the aura that has for so long been the bedrock of so many wins for Man Utd under Ferguson and now teams will look at what Everton and Newcastle have done and really go at them.
9: I think its a fact that we will now see Baines soon sign a contract to end his career with Everton. Its no secret that his head was turned by Man Utd but it is in my opinion that Moyes wont even make the Champions League, and the only reason Baines would have wanted to jump ship was because he wanted to taste Champions League football. So if Man Utd miss out on it this year it will mean their players will have to wait at least two years to get back in it and Baines will be 31 by then. So I think its a safe bet that he wont be going anywhere. Well done Moyes.
10: For the same reason as fact 9, the top top players out there will be looking at Man Utd and thinking they wont want to wait at least two years to play in the Champions League and decline the chance to play for Man Utd.
In a nutshell, I was gutted when Moyes left after we gave him his big break. Yes he did stabilise us, and yes he gave us 11 years. But it just goes to show what we have all been missing and I am loving my club once more.

Mr Ellams: Rodwell? Rodwell?? Rodwell back at Everton??? I cant believe I just read that.

Dan 150 had this one right very early in this thread.

Only I'm not sure we'll even get £15m for Baines now that it looks very unlikely OFM will, for any number of reasons, be in for him.

Best case is RM can pick up another quality loan (rather than a benchwarmer)

Worst case is we have to sell Barkley in order to trade.

Rodwell?

Dearie me.

Seems to be a train of thought on here that Baines could well be going to the Mancs in January. I personally just can't see it myself. I think it'd be folly for him to leave.

Martinez has got us playing a style of football that he certainly won't get under OFM.

The lure could possibly be this seasons Champions League but there's no way they'll be in that competition next year not a prayer. They need six quality players and OFM won't attract two.

And he's always said January isn't the time to do business... so, for me, he's only got the League Cup and FA Cup to go for no I think Leighton will stay but if he does £20 mil + would seal the deal, freeing some funds for Bobby to sign a striker or two...

But, as someone pointed out earlier, a quality striker isn't going to be happy playing second fiddle to Rom.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of the windows, you've got to admit they are exciting. And I can't wait for the next one because of only to see who we'll get.

Great post Stewart!!

After about his fourth or fifth season I began to see what Moyes was really all about. As most were pissed to see him depart, I had been waiting for 5 years for this moment.

It is truly pivotal season for the club. Hopefully soon we can attract a new owner as well. I'm glad that RM is putting pressure on the owners. It's about time they get taken to task.

And for the record, Rodwell is NOT good enough for us anymore!! He'll end up at Stoke or Sunderland next season.

Cripes Steavey Rodwell and at best a decent yank who now follows his trade in one of the lowest quality footie leagues on either side of the Atlantic? NO, NO, and thrice NO. Dempsey is nowhere near our healthy new standards. Rodwell? I know I'm not the only blue who thought so what is it exactly you do for us. He would have developed if he had stayed put but now no thanks. And think of poor Jack and how he would look if he came crawling back.

We need this window and next a centre-back, a wide fella, a creative midfield fella and probably 2 strikers. I trust Bobby to get it spectacularly right.

Out of the club by this time next year - Hibbs, Osman, Duffy, Johnny, et al .........

Brent Stephens - 130 - "Bill Kenwright, for me, has been a real surprise. I don't think many people know how important he has been over the years."

And I really didn't realise!

Now then, here's a test. Do you trust Roberto?

STOP BEING NAUGHTY

Well I'd like to see Rodwell back. I think under Roberto we might see a player showing what he showed at the beginning of his career. Personally I felt Moyes stifled his natural game as he was just beginning to do with Barkley... notice how Barkley shoots far more from positions outside the box this season, and isn't being played out on the wing?!

If you haven't seen it yet have a look at the MotD analysis of RvP against Newcastle... they didn't refer back to Moyes doing this at Everton, but needless to say forcing one of the best strikers in the world to drop so far back he's picking the ball up from his back four deep in their half isn't conducive to scoring goals.

Chad 530, Rodwell is injury-prone. He hardly played for us and he has seldom played for Man C. In the last couple of years, we've taken a risk in players with bad injury records - Kone, Gibson. Surprise, surprise they are our long-term injuries right now.

Sure Steve... but a loan move might work. Wasn't RVP (again) an injury prone waste of time. Ramsey was thought of as on last chance saloon. Saha's pay-when-play worked out pretty good. Finally, Barry seldom played for Shiteh... so 22 year old Jack Rodwell might be a shrewd move.

Chad Schofield 530
Good point about Rodwell potentially developing into a beter player under Martinez. He can also play in several positions so would be very useful cover. He didn't leave us under bad terms and if we had him back on loan and he doesn't perform we just send him back! If I was Martinez and I was interested in Jack I would agree a fee now, something like £3-4m and if the loan goes well we have ourselves a bargain and make City look stupid for paying £12m. We would have nothing to lose from such a deal.

Drew

Please list these 'several positions' Rodwell can play.

Every so often we have some sort of midfield shortfall / crisis and all of a sudden the usual type of suspect turn up, these flavours of the month, the, his dad was a blue, he's known to be a blue, he's said good things about us. Which mostly means his agent can scent a good pay day.

File Rodwell, with the Lily Savages, Bartons of this world... in the not as long as my arse points to the ground, sub section B for Bin, sub sub section has-been's / never will be's.

Steve, lets get it right, Kone hasn't a bad injury record, he played 36 matches for Wigan + Internationals last season.

He's had a couple of injuries for other clubs,
but very few players are totally injury free though out their careers.

Lady luck plays a big part especially if you go in where it hurts!

No-one appears to have touched on Baines' England ambitions, which strike me as being very strong. Cole isn't playing so Baines would appear to have the advantage of regular football here. However, were Oviedo continue to play out of his skin thro the Xmas periode, would it be fair for RM (who strikes me as a fair bloke) to automatically drop him for Baines? Would Baines's England ambition then be better served by Moyes promising him the first team berth with Evra on his way out?

The latest news on Evra, is that he wants to stay at Utd.
He's consistently one of their better performers every time I watch Utd play!

You could argue that Baines is better, but if he is, its not by much in my opinion.

Phil Sammon 560

Rodwell can play defensive midfield, central midfield and centre-back. I make that three, hence he can play in several positions. ;-)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's a world beater or that we should break the bank to bring him back, but if we could get him in on loan and if Martinez can being out the best in him he could be a handy loan signing.

If we agree a fee when we loan him whilst his stock is low and he turns it around we can then get him in permanently at a fraction of what we sold him for. If he doesn't do anything he goes back to City's bench / reserve team. It would be a low risk option to reinforce the team for the second half of the season.

It's not a case of talent Drew, it's a case of can he remain injury free for more than three successive games.

Mark at 192 said "the Europa Cup is a nonsense competition with very little financial rewards - which puts a massive strain on your squad "

But don't forget that from next season the winners of the Europa Cup qualify for the Champions League.

Drew. I only ever liked Rodwell when he was brought on to drive forward and try to score. This is where he impressed for England. Played at DM with orders not to lose possession, he goes sideways and back and looks a bag of nerves. Apart from the fact that he talks to the press too much, he seems a nice lad and I wish him well.

With all this talk of loan signings, we're beginning to sound like Watford supporters. This is Everton we're talking about!

The most important signing we must make is getting Gareth Barry signed up permanently.

Harold Matthews 591
Robwell's sideways passing could be coached out of him by the right manager. He is at the wrong team now if he wants to be developed as a player. Man City are only interested in the finished article and I think they only brought Rodwell and Sinclair to make up their numbers of English players. Barry may only have another two or three seasons left in his legs and it might be good to have a young English understudy to learn from him and act as cover. I know Rodwell didn't fulfil his potential with us under Moyes, but that's not to say he wont come good. He is still young and I think it is too early to write him off. He is an England international after all.

Whatever we speculate here its all up to Martinez. For all I know he may have no interest in Rodwell or Man City may have no interest in loaning out another midfielder to us.

Not Rodwell. Why should we bring back Moyes rejects? Roberto has his own targets and he should be allowed to get them.

While we're on about Rodwell, shall we bring Jo, Kroldrup, Yakubu, Bilyaletdinov and Castillo back?

Thought not.

I want Bilyaletdinov back

Paul that's because your one of the few of us who can spell it!!

Got to be Riquelme

Ok then, dream on signings for January - Rooney (come home all is forgiven), Yaya Toure, Alderwerald. Title Sorted!

Best signing this club can make is to get Martinez on a lengthy contract. . . And let's leave the transfer business in his capable hands

Hear! Hear! Mick #232 - If Martinez can maintain the momentum we've picked up through to the end of the season I hope the Board tie him to a ten year deal.

I honestly believe we are Wayne Rooney away from challenging for the title, obviously not going to happen, if we do bring in two in January my choices would be Will Hughes and Berbatov(he wants out of Fulham) with Heitinga and Jelavic gone.

No Rodwell and definitely no Evra. He's one of the biggest problems at Man U. That's also why they are so desparate to get Baines.

Dempsey is not good enough and neither is Rodwell. My God soon there will be fans asking for Gosling!

We need to move on and not look back. If loan signings are limited then we must get top class loan players from the best clubs.

All the top clubs are struggling with big squads and they cannot keep every player happy, that is why we managed to get Deulofeu and Lukaku. They are the type of players we should be looking to borrow.

Personally I would be looking to loan Ba, Mata and maybe Oxlade Chamberlain. They are positive targets and the likes of Dempsey and Rodwell are just bench fillers. We have had too many free signings and has beens taking up valuable bench space which should have been used by Barkley and Stones. How many jobs for the boys went on with McFadden, Weir and co. maybe they were members of some secret society ?

So far Martinez has brought ambition and excitement to the club and I was often disappointed at the loan players we took in the recent past. Many were getting paid for sitting on the bench and possibly from time to ti ten minute cameo's.

I want to see more of our non productive players emptied out and room made for young, promising players who will give us something. Players like Heitinger, Magueye and Junior are just taking the money and have no chance of making our first choice eleven.

Just read McFadden is going on loan to Manure