Lennon signs off with a win

There was six articles about Liverpool’s failings in the Mail Online and also one about Stones going to Chelsea for a miserly £20 million.

ThatÂ’s football.

We paid more than that for an untried Bilyaletdinov. We charged almost three times that for Lescott. More than that for an unproven, injury prone Rodwell, and God knows what price tag we’d put on Barkley. If we want someone with his ability and experience then £9 million isn’t a bad price.

If we don’t have that money then OK let’s shop around for a £5 million player but accept we may get damaged goods e.g. another Bilic or VDM. Or we take a gamble on a Jelavic or a Krøldrup.

Last season, we signed Lukaku and Barry permanently, but they werenÂ’t adding to the squad in the sense they were already here. Besic was the main addition. The reality of the loan system I guess.

Personally if he is under £7mil I would go for Lennon.

Would rather a younger player, possibly a certain mercurial spaniard who would probably cost 8m and could be worth twice as much in 2-3 years.

As you mentioned in the article, the sticking point will be the fee. Levy is notorious for hard bargaining when selling players.

I suppose a lot will depend on if other clubs come in for him. That will probably drive the fee higher. I would hope we bid at the lower end, £9 mil is too high in my opinion. Hopefully Mirallas does not come into equation.

The very fact that we don’t seem to have done so shows that whoever is sorting these things out needs firing.

Lennon may have tailed off in the last few games (possibly due to lack of football all season with Spurs) but his overall contribution very very satisfying and itÂ’s not a coincidence that our form changed when Lennon came into the side, his name on the team sheet meaning the opposition have pace to worry about on the counter-attack.

I’d love to see Lennon back here next season for whatever cost, anything under £9 million is a steel for a 28-year-old experienced Premier League player.

I disagree that there wonÂ’t be considerable money available. In this modern era, every Premier League club is awash with cash and if we donÂ’t sell one Barkley, Coleman, Lukaku or Mirallas then IÂ’d be quite shocked really. So your then going to have the cash from one of those.

I donÂ’t want to see a big player leave us just to add to the transfer kitty but being a realist, I can see one going this summer. Add to that the big wage Distin is on, other fringe players will surely go like Alcaraz and you might see the odd surprise departure of another one or two squad players.

I expect to see this one go on until the very last minute before next season starts – it’s the bargaining process, isn’t it? Other choices? Yes, there are a few. Del Boy needed to mature... has he played much at top level this year?

I loved Deulofeu myself but canÂ’t see it happening, if it didnÂ’t happen as a second loan deal last summer, then itÂ’s definitely not going to this summer.

Christ knows what price a 21-year-old Barcelona product would attract, but I doubt Martinez will pay £18-20 million on him, that’s even assuming Barcelona want to sell yet.

Re Barkley, can someone please tell me why he seems to have this huge price tag? As I think heÂ’s one of the most overrated players I've seen...

No idea quite why or how Barkley can justify any astronomical transfer value but if somebody does offer £40 or 50 million for him then we have misplaced media hype to thank for it.

Barkley has got talent, donÂ’t get me wrong... but so far heÂ’s done very little in his early career to suggest heÂ’s worth anything crazy.

He has skill and has shown last season if not this he can score great goals but then again so did the likes of James McFadden or Bilyaletdinov (the master of wonder goals) and nobody quoted them at £40 million.

Barkley should stay at Everton for the next year at least, next season is big for Barkley wherever he is, he simply has to start living up to this hype because heÂ’s been outperformed by too many midfielders this season across the league.

It might be a small part of it but if you have that much natural ability, it should show more often than not on the pitch.

Look at Rooney at 16 – He didn’t need people telling how to do it, he simply got on the pitch and he did it, he was strong, aggressive, you name it. Same to be said of Gerrard, at 19 and 20 – the fucker was a leader of men and dominated matches on his own.

WhenÂ’s the last time we could honestly say Barkley took the game by the scruff of the neck, put himself about, went up for headers and dominated a match, rained shots in on goal and looked the part??

McGeady, who I think is shocking at the best of times, had a bigger impact against West Ham. Okay, I can say he tracks back and helps out but isnÂ’t our problem in the final 3rd going forward?

HeÂ’s a very inconsistent player and although he started out well for us, in the last 3 games heÂ’s shown his inconsistencies with us already. DonÂ’t get me wrong, he works hard but personally I donÂ’t think he offers enough in final third where weÂ’re lacking that class and creativity. HeÂ’s got pace to burn but he struggles to take on and beat FBÂ’s. And when he does beat em his final ball isnÂ’t great.

I just think even spending £4-5m in fees for him, then a signing on fee, agents fees, wages over 3-4 years it would cost a fortune, and for a player that is 28 going on 29 by end of next season, who really isn’t that good and we can do better, it’s a lot of money to put out there for us imo.

At least if you spend that kind of money all round on a player like Deulofeu, heÂ’s young and talented and in time weÂ’d make more than our money back on him if he progressed like he should. WeÂ’d put a lot out on Lennon and make nothing back and I donÂ’t think heÂ’d improve us enough over his time at us, where as I think someone like Deulofeu would get better and better and improve as a player and improve us as a team as well.

CanÂ’t remember Barkley ever dominating a game. He doesnÂ’t like the physical side of the game enough to be anywhere near a Rooney or a Reidy for that matter. Time for him to step up, having potential and fulfilling it are very different.

IÂ’ve lost count of the number of times he received the ball, did a little drag-back and passed it back to the same player he got it from. Pointless. ItÂ’s a shame because if he can find the confidence again he does have it in him to be, if not the greatest English player ever, then a very good Premier League midfielder.

He is an established International and is young enough to command a high (not really) fee, especially when dealing with Levy.

As stated though, I would be surprised if an amount wasnÂ’t agreed beforehand.

Prices have gone up due to the sky money but our transfer kitty hasnÂ’t. It will get harder and harder to buy the players we need at a price we can afford. With Chelsea getting another installment of the Lukaku money, 7-9m I think, our kitty will be even smaller than ever.

I think Jim @13 has nailed it. A big name player will be sold this season and I think the club will breathe a huge sigh of relief that big earners like Hibbert, Distain and Alcaraz will leave.

Give Mcgreedy another 6 months to prove himself, if that doesnÂ’t happen let him go in the same window to break even on the deals/possibly make a bit of profit.

Barkley has not lived up to expectations this season but neither has the rest of the team as a whole. Martinez has had 2 seasons and the team is no better off. The prognosis for next season is not good and I suspect like many Martinez may get 10 or 12 games to turn things around but then BK may just be happy with a club that finishes mid-table and makes a profit which after all is what business is about.

LetÂ’s face it, many of the teamÂ’s performances this season were woeful, particularly at Goodison against what we would normally consider Â’lesserÂ’ teams.

Hmmm... IÂ’m not sure IÂ’d go that far.

I liked Landycakes but was he that much better than Lennon? I don't know.

Sell-on value has to be part of Everton’s thinking when paying out £5m plus in my opinion.

I’d give £5m with maybe some add-ons for appearances or whatever but not £9m.

Oh...

Landon didnÂ’t bring as many as he might have because Everton didnÂ’t capitalize on it and LA Galaxy werenÂ’t too keen on it either as Landon and Becks and then Keane were their poster boys. Howard has brought more fans to Everton than Landon has but still not nearly as many as an astute marketing plan might have.

Remember when the new TV money is added every Premier League club will automatically be in the top 40 richest clubs in the world.

One has to ask what happened at Spurs? Lennon may be at that age whereby his speed may be in decline and without it he would be very ordinary ala Walcott,Sterling etc. Perhaps at the right price he would be worth signing.

Everton need to clean house and get some much needed cash to upgrade the offence and midfield. They suffered a lot this season because for some reason the potency built on the raiding of Baines and Coleman was somewhat missing and this may have been by design by RM to tighten the defence but it really didnÂ’t help as I thought the defense was all over the place on many occasions.

They have to get Barry out and Besic in for the warm-up games in the Summer so that he can slot right in as a starter next season.

Pros

Pace
Seems to be hard working
Not too expensive as last year of contract and not wanted by club
Has already spent half a season with us

Cons:

Obviously tried hard to impress on his loan spell as heÂ’s in the shop window - no guarantee that will be the same next season with a cushy 3- or 4-year contract.

HeÂ’s not 30 yet but if he came would be into his 30s when his contract expires, no/very little sell on value.

Pace is his main asset, heÂ’s 28 so still has a couple of seasons before he loses it. However once his pace has gone he wonÂ’t be of much - i.e. at the end of his contract, if he comes.

People going on about him being an international, he’s only made 2 England appearances is the last 5 years (one in 2012 and one in 2013 – both as sub). Would say he’s a former international. Seems his prime was between 2007-2012 according to his stats.

He doesnÂ’t score many goals (33 in 421 games according to the web). Averages 2-3 goals a season.

He used to get loads of assists for spurs, however thatÂ’s going back a few years (again between 2007-2012). During the 2013-14 season he played 31 games but only managed 1 goal and 3 assists. Maybe gives an indication why spurs are happy for him to go?

Personally IÂ’d prefer us to sign someone younger whoÂ’ll give us more than just a couple of seasons and will have some sell on value and potential to improve. As much as Lennon runs around and provides more defensive cover than say Mirallas, his scoring record is poor and he doesnÂ’t seem to provide many assists any more, going by the last couple of years anyway. HeÂ’s also as good as heÂ’s going to ever get.

I guess I would not be too disappointed if he signed but wouldn’t be gutted if he didn’t either. He’s an ok buy as long as the price is right, again I think max £4-5M is fair, otherwise take a punt on someone else. There are loads of players available on a free, surely there’s a pacey winger amongst them.

You would imagine pride alone would have made him snatch at the chance of regular first team football but he looked as if he couldnÂ’t stand breathe north of Watford. I hope I never see his face again.

I wonder what Del would cost? £10M? More? And he’s not exactly proven. (I’d still love him at Goodison though).

A bit unproven with a reputation for attitude - I can see why some would give him a swerve. But he was exciting and IÂ’ve been craving that this year.

Lots of good posts and views with the majority saying a fee of £4-5 million would be fair. This is Everton so anything can happen, and it’s usually on the last day.

Big season ahead for Roberto.

I know he canÂ’t play against Spurs, but maybe he could come on at half time and we could all theatrically weep and throw rose-petals in front of him as he walks around the pitch.

Come on Everton, I thought we had more class!

IÂ’m starting a petition at change.org etc. etc.

For me signing Lennon wouldnÂ’t be wrong at the correct price and pay level, but wouldnÂ’t be exciting either.

My genuine fear with Lennon is that the one we might sign wouldnÂ’t be the one we had on loan, because he wouldnÂ’t be so keen to impress every week.

And much of the same applies to Deulofeu for me, albeit heÂ’s a younger player with more potential. Though the hints of the "princess" attitude could just sway me away from making further enquiries.

Levy is stuck with a number of high priced, high wage players that the manager doesn’t want and I think we’d be daft to give Spurs £9 million towards their war chest for a player who they don’t value enough to have in their team.

When he doesn’t trip over it, McGeady can send over a pretty decent cross and he can also score some real beaut goals. So I’d start the season with him and watch how the situation develops at Spurs. Each month that goes by in the next season will see Levy get more desperate to sell. By Christmas/New Year, he would only get £2 mill if he was lucky. It’s a gamble but I think, in this instance the odds are on our side.If someone else comes in and offers £9 mill, I’d be extremely surprised but, well, that’s how it goes.

If Lennon ends up somewhere else, IÂ’d be a bit disappointed but thatÂ’s about it.IÂ’d much rather we kept that amount of funds to put towards the best schemer we can afford.

If we donÂ’t get a player who can get hold of that midfield and drive us forward, as well as pick out a killing pass, or take a shot at goal from outside the box, then weÂ’re going to continually start stuttering as we are now, when we come up against a defence in depth.

I hoped that Ross Barkley would develop into that player, and he may well do so, but I think he has a long way to go yet.

We’ve paid nearly £30 million for a goal scorer but we aren’t playing to his strengths. I would see him being much more effective if we have a player who can pick out the passes that allow him to run at the opposition, rather than him waiting for a pass when he’s surrounde, which is happening too often currently.

I hope we plough most of our available funds (which are ample, allegedly) on the best player of that type that we can afford.

We only have Ossie who comes anywhere near that role, and though heÂ’s been a good player for the club, he needs replacing.

I hope we get the very best that we can afford to become the "beating heart" of the team; and I wouldnÂ’t mind us spending every penny of our funds this season on him...if we can find one!

I can’t buy into the theory that he will stop trying if he gets a permanent deal – he doesn’t strike me as that sort of player.

Also he would be competing for the right wing spot with McGeady. That would make sense to me – two very different options for the same position.

Seriously though, I think he surprised many of us just how quickly he got match fit after so long out of the picture at Spurs, and his battling back was an unexpected bonus wasnÂ’t it, and helped Seamus a lot in those remaining games?

I expect the usual Daniel Levy hardball tactics over the Lennon fee but with the uplift from the Sky money, and the loss of some big wage earners off the bill, £6 million would, in my view, be a reasonable fee. I also think there is potential to use Lennon centrally when the occasion demands, playing off Lukaku, perhaps alternating with the likes of Mirallas and Barkley? He scares the shit out of defenders with his pace and he has a pass and a finish in him. Sign him up.

When you have a small transfer pot, you cannot afford to make mistakes. OK, Lennon is not super-exciting... but you know exactly what youÂ’re getting; thereÂ’ll never be any lack of effort; and Jesus, is he quick!!

The [uplifting] effect he had on the players around him, should not be underestimated either.

If Lennon is adamant that Everton is his destination and he has no intention of listening to other offers, then Spurs may be inclined to sell him at a lower valuation, just to get something for him. Also, we would need our camp to be a bit tougher than they were in the Lukaku negotiations, where they just threw money at Chelsea.

I think that 5M pounds would be a good deal for everyone and I feel he definitely brings something that we need.

Lennon has to be a decent addition to the squad, so for 4-7 million, I would buy him.
People say his form might drop-off once he’s signed, but I would suggest, that, at his age 28, he would hope to win something, or even force his way back into the England scene.

When we have had McGeady on one wing and Kev on the other, we have often been overrun in midfield, and the only game it has happened since Lennon arrived, was at Villa.