The Window

Will we now bring in a decent centre back to sit on the bench? I doubt it. International or would-be internationals will want regular game time. In any case, we have Stones, Jags, Funes Mori, Pennington and Browning.

It's exactly the same for the other positions. Lennon is okay because his international days are behind him but that's where I come to a full stop. Martinez does not think the way we do. He's building his squad and incoming players must fit in with his philosophy and the players already here. No room for people who may rock the boat, no matter how good they may be.

Howard
Coleman
Stones
Jagielka
Baines
Barry/Cleverley
McCarthy
Deulofeu
Barkley
Mirallas
Lukaku

Rewind back to 2 Sept 2013 (just as the window closed), the strongest 11 on paper would be that of above. Granted the odd person here or there would have Osman or Pienaar in.

So, I would say in 2 years we have not changed and Martinez’s notion of end each window stronger than you started is bollocks, as proved above. He’s approaching the end of his 3rd window since 2 Sept 2013, so I’m expecting some big/bold moves in the next 3.5 days.

We should have internationals on the bench and there should be competition for places, that’s how we will get better and challenge the big boys.

COYB

Good summing up on the OP, I know I will have a different view of how good this transfer window has been at 6:00pm next Tuesday. I am hoping for the best but fear I am going to be disappointed; fingers crossed.

The window should stay open to address weak spots? — Then why not do it earlier!

The window should stay open to cover injuries? — You could say that all year; not an argument.

The window should stay open to bring in a big name? — As with the first point, do it earlier.

As for the point about everyone has a price for sale, I can assure you Messi is not for sale. Everyone has a value but clubs can contractually hold out if they see a player as important to their plans. Clearly, a player can sulk (Sterling?) but I, for one, would like to see some stance from clubs to take a firm line with such players and, more importantly, their agents.

I am quite sure John Stones will continue to act professionally and at some stage in the next 2 years Everton may have to sell if he still wants to move and his contract is nearing the end. Idealistically I know, you never know he may want to stay by then as our dreams of a team that can win things may have become reality. If we don’t have such dreams, what is the point of simply making up the numbers year after year???

As far as the OP goes I think we are already stronger. Cleverley and Deulofeu have strengthened us. Martinez has not brought in Rodriguez from South America for fun and Mori, assuming the work permit comes through, has got some left foot. They may surprise us.

We are 3.5 days away from the end of the window and fact is we have just TWO senior CBs in the whole squad! Even if we sign Fazio or whoever on a panic buy (which is exactly what it will be this close to TDD having known since Jan that we'd need at least another CB), they will need time to bed in and possibly get used to English football.

My cynical view is that if Chelsea had offered say 35m a few weeks ago, Stones would already be gone. The main reason he's still here is simply because we don't have enough time to get a decent replacement, which RM also stated. The whole 'building for the future' is bollocks as there is zero chance of him seeing out his contract. Likely he'll be gone next summer.

If Jags (now 33 I believe) gets injured, we are totally screwed at the back! So much for 'knowing exactly who we want to bring in'!

At least it looks like we dodged a bullet with Evans off to West Brom. Unfortunately it looks like Lescott is off to villa. Would have been a decent stop gap to allow Browning and Galloway an extra year to develop.

Defense has been our Achilles heel for a while, despite starting most games with 7 defensive players from the off. It seems we're still not giving this area the real attention it deserves...

Will be interesting to see how we do at Spurs, luckily for us Ericksen is not playing.

He almost cost us the game at Barnsley – how much proof of failure do you need?

"Supporters are just one important, but not primary income stream, being some way behind television income and usually not a significant consideration. Sorry, but it is just the way it is. We are all just consumers despite the massive emotional investment"

So are we sheep or the lifeblood of EFC?

Sorry, but you can consume all you like.

Our current squad is decent but at least two first team players short of achieving the sort of league position that might persuade the likes of Stones to stay.

I’m sure RM is pleased that he hasn’t had to sell but surely the Elephant in the room in every convo with those that matter, is the lack of investment.

Difficult to really believe you can kick on with one hand tied behind your back.

Light the touch paper...

Without those quality of additions we have no chance of keeping the likes of Stones, Lukaku, Barkley long term.

Good point, but don’t let the facts get in the way of your argument, eh?

Stones hadn’t even played a league game for us before the September 2013 window closed, and Barkley had only just rejoined us that summer from loan spells.

Similarly, Deulofeu had only just joined as a very raw reserve.

To say these three were first team regulars, therefore, is stretching it a bit. The fact that they are now, and are highly prized assets at that, is mostly credit to Martinez, for trusting them to play in the first team, and allowing them to make their mistakes.

I’m all for Martinez bashing, but choose your moments, eh?

Yes, all players listed in your team from September 2013 are two years older, some to their playing detriment (Barry, Howard) but we now have a core of potentially very good youngsters, and as much as it might irk some people, there is a clear philosophy in place.

Once again the bored have failed to provide cash... Stoke, Palace, Newcastle, Leicester all spent far more than us and will eventually catch us

Cheers, Bill.

Lukaku and Kone do not go together despite the fact that Kone is playing better these days now he is fully fit.

The signing of Rodriguez may be a big plus as he is a proven goalscorer in Uruguay, however we are not sure of the league quality. RM says he is ready for first team action because of this but does he mean it ?

Kone may be starting because of his extra aerial help especially on defence but I still think Deulofeu should have started yesterday as Everton were just too slow moving forward. Mirallas doesn’t do enough for me these days

Cannot see the point of signing Lennon unless other players are to be let go such as McGeady and Pienaar.

If our only money signings turn out to be Deulofeu and Funes Mori, then we will no doubt be bottom of the spending league once again. It's OK though, Bill loves the club.

The fact his name has come up tells us all what kind of transfer window this has been. We're all used to crap windows, but jeez this one takes the biscuit. Surely there's a reason. Surely this is stadium related.

Walters certainly doesn’t fit the profile. We are already carrying enough experienced players, which this transfer window has positively addressed - Alcaraz and Distin out, and hungry youngsters in.

Rodriguez going straight into the reserves? Well yes, of course he is! If he’s good enough though, I’m certain that Martinez will throw him in and give him a try, along the lines of Stones, Barkley, Deulofeu, Galloway, and Browning.

Re: Yarmalenko, if the stories are true that he's in talks with Arsenal, well we've been given a yarn, because apparently the deal was agreed and the owner didn't want to sell (bit like our Bill & Stones), or is it a case that our offer was of the 20 Rothmans, 4 cans of Special Brew, 6 lucky dips for the Euro and a couple of bob when the Sky money comes in.

The only conclusion you can possibly draw is we are once again, skint...

Being outspent by everyone above League 1 is just fucking risible.

The plethora of midfielders and wingers include:

Gibson (never fit and facing possible jail).
Pienaar (never fit).
Osman (past his best).
Barry (past his best and continually picked for whatever reason).
McGeady (utter shite).

Also probably costing £250k per week or £13M per year... That’s where the money is going.

Good point about all the excess midfielders. Thing is, if a player's on a contract, you can't sack him (could we sack Gibson for gross misconduct?). So unless we get buyers for the people you mentioned, were stuck with them until their contracts run out. That's why only Distin and Alcaraz have departed.

Phil's point is spot on. We've got a squad with lots of pretty good players, who would be great with just a couple of genuine quality acquisitions. How will we attract such players? Hmmmm. Hence Roberto's search for cheap 'hidden gems'. The probability suggests some will be poor, but if a couple of them come good, we're in business. Big if, but that's where we are. The previous manager's best buys were the unheralded ones bought after loans. The good ones made us forget some of the duds, sometimes. He was a genius for doing this, wasn't he? So what's wrong with Martinez trying it?

I can't agree with Barry though. He does do the things you mention, just not very well. McCarthy and Barkley would, Imo, result in a better balanced midfield. Barry is too slow. It's a sad state when we can't live without his forward passing. Surely, McCarthy can do the donkey work whilst Barkley moves the ball forward?

If we had shown that kind of ambition for a change, Stones wouldn't be handing in a transfer request in the first place. If the aim is a top 4 spot, which it should be, then we need to add two players of that class.

"Lukaku and Kone do not go together."

You might want to look at our PL goals this season since Kone came on v Watford and reconsider that statement.

He has already shown he has a good eye for both goals and an assists and, with Pineear constantly injured and out of contract in a year, why oh why did we overlook this gem?

We’ve also picked up our share of "gems" in the last few years, and probably more than virtually every other Premier League team (Pienaar, Arteta, Lescott, Cahill, Coleman, Jagielka, and Stones, just off the top of my head), and all for relative peanuts.

We can’t get it right every time, and there have been a few duds too, but when you’re shopping in Aldi, you can’t get a tin of caviar rather than beans every time you buy a can with no label!!

They will likely make less than 30 appearances this season, combined! We have a lot of dead wood in the squad and I still don’t understand why we give players in their 30s long term contracts and then say we don’t have the funds to sign new (quality) players.

Nevermind players like McGeady and Naismith not really being good enough (yes I know Naismith is a trier and good bloke but he’s limited, let’s be honest).

So that’s 6 senior players who will basically contribute very little this season but cost us nearly £13-15M in wages!

As for Robles vs Howard, are you kidding? Not even sure at this point that Robles should play midweek games. Robles's poor play had a definite negative effect on the Spurs game as some of our players looked a little tired from the extra time he made them play. Don’t tell me our other players could have scored another goal in regulation etc because that excuse is not allowed for Howard.

No player over 30 should get more than a one year deal. End of. Basic, basic football policy.

Always get a laugh when people say "Serious questions need to be asked"... it does my head in. The writing’s been on the wall for a decade now, probably more. Most Championship clubs have spent more than us.

I can’t believe anyone defends these guys.

We cannot continue to carry older players on expensive contracts, and as much as I’ve admired the talent of likes of Gibson, Osman and Pienaar, their continued presence is now a bit of a liability for a club like ours.

Southampton and Swansea have demonstrated that what’s important is a balanced squad, skilfully refreshed by new blood at the right times.

I would also imagine that leaving it so late will make their purchases more expensive. I can well imagine the wage demands of the players being bought also would increase.

I read of one player who was signing for a club and asked for his own personal beach, and a helicopter made available whenever he wanted.

It would be totally irresponsible on the part of the owners... Even they wouldn’t cross some lines.

"Habit is the ballast that chains the dog to its vomit." (Samuel Beckett).

And so there I will be on Tuesday on the live feed, periodically dipping in and out. As always, more in hope than anticipation.

And also periodically dipping in and out of Sky Sports. As they turn every ounce of "knowledge" into a pound of unadulterated sludge.

Tuesday. I should be doing some work. Instead, it's normally vomit and sludge day.

I think this was the same line we got in January. Our transfer window opens on Deadline Day.

When is a door not a door?
When it is ajar.

When is a window not a window?
When it is Everton's 2015 transfer window.

I confidently expect to see Yarmolenko, Blascowicz (Kuba), Iturbe, Hernandez and Munoz all showing off their Everton shirts.

I also agree with you about Joel Robles, but how will the lad ever improve without games? Why can’t we send him out on loan?

The only time Everton make a big signing is when we sell one of our top players. Its the same every time!...

So maybe Lennon and a couple of Straquilersi type signings (eg unknown loanees) by Wednesday. Forget a Bernard or Yarmolenko unless there is a change of heart re Stones or Coleman.

It’s not Christmas Eve... it’s the end of EVERTON’S. transfer window, but I hope you are right... or even half-right.

There do not seem to be any positives from the club and that is what frustrates me, it is all speculation.

Watching Norwich, I noticed van Wolfswinkel sitting on the bench for a poor team. He was one that Evertonians were looking at and saying "How come Norwich can even outspend us?" I’m hoping their scouts buy from a different pool from us...

I’m sure we could go and get held to ransom for some unproven player. I’d prefer us to buy our unproven types from the cheap end of the market – we can still attract the young players.

These are talented players. However, I just don’t think our coach has it in him to be bold, confident or imaginative.

Who will our new signings replace? The obsession with Barry and McCarthy limits our options.

Whose place will our new Number 10 take. No matter who in the world we sign, the coach will not consider them ready for Chelsea.

I actually think Moyes was a transfer genius. Three signings in particular highlight his brilliance:

Coleman - £60k
Pienaar - £2M
Jagielka - £4.5M

To contrast, who has RM signed that you think has been as good as those three? McGeady, Besic, Barry, Alcaraz, Kone?

My point is that money isn’t critical. Having the right manager is. We currently have the wrong manager!

Even Glasstrodamus can't figure out what the management are up to.

Agree entirely. I feel like it doesn't matter who we sign, the back 4 and two holding mids are set in stone. I like both McCarthy and Barry, but we really need to have more up our sleeve than these two offer offensively. To play them both EVERY game, almost always for 90 mins makes us so one-dimensional.

We have been better this year so far but I feel we are still failing to address longstanding problems and persevering with tried, tested and failed formulas.

As an aside, what does Conor McAleny have to do to get a game? He couldn't have done any more in pre-season. Surely he is a better option than Naismith. Really annoys me to see good players overlooked in favour of the managers favourites. It's one of Martinez biggest flaws.

Deulofeu's aparently not match fit yet (preseason hamstring), and I suspect Mirallas is still less than 100% from his ankle injury in week one.

Imagine the side if one of those two goes out for a month or two. We struggled last year when we didn't have enough wingers and we paid Barkley and Naismith out wide.

If we go through this window without signing a proper number 10, RM has a lot to explain after 2 or 3 very good ones went to clubs we would hope to beat every day of the week! He'll have to sprout some nonsense about our quality being better and it's hard to upscale etc...

Every manager who is given 11 years is 100% going to sign some decent players. However, they will also sign some shite too; Bilyaletdinov £9M, Beattie £6M, Kroldrup £5M, Davies £3M to name just a few. Also £4.5M for a CB 9 years ago was not a small amount of money - even though Jags turned out well, as did Baines (£6M), Distin (£6M) and Lescott (£5m). Heitinga not so..

The likes of McGeady and Alcaraz didn’t work out but they were cheap so low risk. Too early to judge the rest properly imo.

Oh, and getting shot of McGeady would be the icing on the cake. Alan Stubbs... Please take him!

Not Cheery picking then.... buy if can name the following as Moyes transfers who cost next to nothing and were brilliant:

Cahill
Gravesen
Carsley
Mirallis
Stones
Phil Neville
Oviedo

My point is that RM seems to go for players who are tremendously similar to the types of players he bought at Wigan who ultimately took that club down. My only criticism of Moyes is that he never got it right with strikers. But then he never had £28m to play with!

WHY DO WE APPEAR NOT TO BE BOTHERING IN THIS WINDOW!!!

I can hear the press conference after the window closes, citing the "not" selling of Stones and the contact extensions of McCarthy and Mirallas as the best business Everton could wish for. How depressing is this........

Oh sorry, I just got news that the Faroe Islands League window is open until tomorrow night also, happy days.

As the commentator said, as soon as Man Utd went ahead he never waited but made changes that brought the result.

Could it be this was all setup from the very beginning by BK to say we have managed to keep the squad and, more importantly, John Stones.

1. Our targets are unavailable or have chosen to move elsewhere and we don’t want to spend for the sake of it.

2. We really haven’t much money.

3. We will pull off a major deal tomorrow.

If our targets have moved elsewhere or they are unavailable, then I would sooner that we don’t spend for the sake of it. I’m still hoping we pull off Yarmolenko though.

My money is on Lennon becoming an Everton player.

Yarmolenko would be a nice surprise, but I doubt it will materialise.

Ask the opposition about Barkley this season. Against Spurs he looked a cut above everyone and gave them a hard time all afternoon. Okay, he played quite deep at times but he was under orders.

Some people think a player of this type needs experience yet the sensational No 10 of Leverkusen is a 21-year-old Turkish international.

I like our squad, especially with Cleverley. I like the window. Would like a bit more muscle but feel we’re getting there.

One moan. Coleman backing off, backing off, backing off and letting Chadli do whatever he wanted, whether it be crosses or runs across the edge of the box. A nightmare to watch.

He’s also being linked with Barca, the RS and Arsenal so anyone who thinks we have a cat-in-hell’s chance are off their rockers!

In all honesty he’ll probably stay with Kiev now anyway.

I see Perisic just signed for Inter for £14M......another pie in the sky signing for many people. It feels like a sad fact that we’re just not an attractive proposition to any top-class European players these days.

The best we can hope for is players like Lennon, or youngsters looking to build a reputation. Man Utd have just spent £36M on a 19-year-old from France that most people have never heard of... what chance to we have?

Madness.

Chelsea currently have 26 players out on loan. It's a scandal.

What planet is he on?

If that is so, and we are never going to be buying anyone, then it would have been nice to know and it is difficult to see what would have been lost by a statement from the board to that effect. It would have saved a lot of unnecessary hope over the last 3 months.

I am still, pitifully, clinging to the possibility that we are about to execute a brilliant coup. Otherwise, it is simply the case that we will have left ourselves horribly weak in three obvious areas: central defence, advanced midfield and attack. Imagine if any of Stones, Jagielka, Barkley or Lukaku is seriously injured this season.

I don’t know if we were ever actually in for him, but Januzaj would have been a nice addition to push Mirallas on the left and Barkley in the center.

James, I got "17" from the Sky website, if it's 26 then it is, as you say, a scandal. Hoovering up all the young talent and then loaning them out to see if anyone will make the grade, and then, like Lukaku, selling them on.

I think they are holding back Mori so that he can be our big deadline day signing along with Lennon on loan or for a few mill and they will try to spin that as a good day. I hope I'm wrong but there's not even a sniff of any other rumours...fingers crossed there's still something none of us have seen coming.

Martinez is an idiot. He must know that for years most of our signings have been after the start of the season.

He may be stating his personal opinion but for sure he can’t be speaking on behalf of the Club.

Nigel. Colin's shout, Sergi Roberto, would be interesting but someone said he is now one of the Barca 1st team group.

Sometimes as much as I love this club I’m left wondering as fans how many brain cells do we have to rub together and come up with the real reason this club is suffering. Sickening.

To say there was no money when he has spent £9.5 million on our most expensive defender ever, and £28 million on Rom last year, is a stretch. I cannot believe there wasn’t a better option at CB out there for £9.5 million if he had looked properly. Instead, we have what could well be the new Antolin Alcaraz.

Also, there have been good free signings moving around so why wasn’t he snapping them up if there was no money for big signings?