Baines close to new Everton deal

Where does that leave Ovideo? He has performed better than Baines this season in my opinion and I would hate to see him leave.

I know Deloufe is very good, but I would not want him to stay for another season unless it is on a permanent basis. It's best to get our own players for the team.

This is brilliant news though I understand from the Guardian that Barkley and Coleman are next plus Disitn.

I don't think the decision is linked to MU, but more that he can see a better chance of winning something with Everton now. and the team is more together again..

Onwards and upwards

Good news if Baines does sign as it's a clear signal once and for all for Man U and more importantly our own fans that we want to and more importantly can keep players.

I just think this will give everyone a great life at a time when all that was getting talked about was Barkley's toe and how will we cope at the Derby.I'll be very surprised if Oviedo doesn't play somewhere in the Derby. Disitin is back for the next game so matters are easing a little

It is a great time to be a blue at last.
After all we only have to wait 5 years now for some more news on a new ground!

When you think of it Baines is a home boy with 4 young kids. he is a quiet lad and maybe the thought of going to MU with all the turmoil around their new manager was something he didn't need.
On £75,000 per week he will have financial security and a good chance of being first choice in his position for England.

All is well, I'm happy even though we seem to be pissing about over replacing jelly who I thought wasn't going anywhere till we got a replacement.

We have all the makings of a top 4 side, those players are valued at around £100m alone!

We can do something special if we add a bit of depth.

Echo the thoughts above though on Oveido. He's been excellent and I hope RM can find a way to keep them both happy.

Of course, this is still positive in the sense of being a vote of confidence from a top class player. However, perhaps unlike some, I would have at least been open to the idea of selling Baines. It's the last chance to get some money for him plus his form has fallen off somewhat and we seem to have a decent replacement in Oviedo, who I'd be loath to lose on current performance.

Of course, I would also have expected the money to be added to the £15m or so from the last window, and the tens of millions unspent from previous windows to give RM a massive fighting fund to turn us into a CL side.

And that, I realise, is the flaw in the plan and why I'm pleased he has signed the deal.

I worte on another thread that if we are serious and want to be taken seriously, we need to be landing deals with the likes of Holtby- a very good player and eminently within reach if we are serious.

Keeping a great player and the message it sends externally and internally.

An end to the Man U feeder humiliation and the two fingers it raises to Moyes.

Bolsters our faith in Martinez after many thought he was playing us over Baines' future and lax approach to a new contract.

LB is an Everton legend,and I would love to see him pick up a winners medal of some sort at the club.

As for this constant sniping at our chairman, could anyone on here run this out of time club, that was left behind in the 80's, any better? Everton were annual relegation candidates before he took over and turned the club around. If we expect him to bankroll the squad at the expense of our future like Hicks/Gillete or the Glaziers, then your at the wrong club. Kenwright can be a pain at times, but in reality, as with any business, you can't expect him to come out and tell the world what position the club is in financially: I think he's been doing a juggling act for years and I don't believe he would do anything to jeopardise the club he, and we all love. If you read his article on the OS today, the passion for Everton FC shines out.

On a lighter note, Max Wilson, while your in Tenerife, how about dropping in on RM and the squad and let us know the score on this transfer window. The rumours are driving me mad

Ok, what you wrote is possible. But he's said, he has taken the club as far as he can but can't find a buyer. You can always find a buyer if the price is right. So what % return do you think BK is wanting on his original cash investment?

Some of his critics do not criticise out of a dislike for the person or question his love of the club - rather they criticise him for the mistakes that he and his board have made - very expensive mistakes that we as a club may never recover from.

Now Bill may still end up getting us a new ground - sometime this century - and prove people like me wrong, but I won't hold my breath on that one. Every top club in the country has had tough times out on the pitch but just because we were once struggling against relegation doesn't mean we should lose sight of what the game is about - it's about glory and challenging for honours.

Hopefully Roberto can weave some magic and make it happen but he is hamstrung by a board that seems to have forgotten that this is Everton FC an institution of the English game and it is the board of directors who have made the glass ceiling thicker than it ought to have been.

In an interview with Roger Bennett of ESPN (Sept 11/12), Martinez said money was not important. It just accelerated the process. Given time he could put together a team at reasonable cost to compete with the mega rich. Blending youth with experience and bringing in reasonably priced players who would perform above their market value.

He admires the Barcelona philosophy and is a fan of the way Bielsa encouraged his players to open things up by taking on opponents one on one. He has also made a study of the way John Toshack operated the youth policy at Real Sociedad.

This has been repeated on Toffee Web many times and I think Martinez would like everyone to take it in and try to understand what he is trying to do. When Mr Kenwright embarrassed him with his "Champions League" speech Martinez quietly muttered 2 years and this is what we ought to keep in mind. We are ahead of schedule but the long term plan is still a long term plan, and I believe he will eventually build a team to be really proud of.

Patrick, certainly understand the mistrust there. In fact, if I had known he was there since 89, I would count my fingers after every handshake. I would think that even the worst can have good moments and certainly RM and OFM had brought him 10+ years of good news. I want to see what he does here, this window and this season. While RM said money only accelerates the process, I feel he is so near to the goal that accelerating it would mean we can start UCL this year. Doesn't have to be 50m, or 25m. 10m would certainly help.

Karl, no doubt the ones happier than us is MU. They are getting their checkbook ready!

Drew and Stuart, I hope it is a ploy to lower the asking price on one of our targets. Only alternative would be to force a bidding war, which is unlikely given the Soton debacle.

(Roger Bennett.--True Blue--ESPN.)

Much as I admire Martinez, I am basing what I've been saying on evidence of what has actually happened, rather than what someone says might, could or will happen.

The fact is that budget and outcome in the EPL correlate almost exactly. God knows how many managers have tried to break that reality in the last decade or two and failed. I don't entirely rule out Martinez being able to do so, but taking a rational rather than a faith based approach to the question, I suggest the odds are strongly against.

PS Barcelona's net transfer spend in the last decade was EUR 423m.

No, we can't sign the likes of Aguero or Silva but our philosophy is not about the quality of the players. It's about the quality of play. Everyone comfortable on the ball with a clear idea of their role within the team. It's still early days with adjustments in progress and, from what we've seen so far, the future holds much promise.

I hope the feelgood factor continues to rise with news like this coming out of the club. I also believe that Coleman's game (by his own admittance) under Bainesy's advice will continue to develop into a commanding full-back.

Going off on a tangent here, but with the brewing dark cloud hovering over Southampton at the moment, how about a cheeky bid for Morgan Schneiderlin?

Personally, if the choice in the summer is that we keep Baines but let Oviedo leave for £3-4 million, then given the respective ages I would let Baines leave.

Personally I think just buying success, à la Man City, is utterly tedious, but I'd prefer the revenue gap to be somewhat smaller than the current chasm, for a better sporting chance.