Everton land Funes and Lennon

We all share the disappointment that we cannot buy at a higher level, let us hope that we can build from youth - that is an area where I do have some hopes.

I also agree that the manager is not getting the best from the team but that is another debate.

He had absolutely NO OPTION but to to refuse all offers for John Stones this time round otherwise all things Everton, him, the manager the supporters could never have been taken seriously again - supporters like you and me - it would have been crazy and things would have become even more difficult for the chairman, his and our credibility as a club would be worth nothing, he was very aware of this Ian.

I do not despise Bill Kenwright,in fact in general I have supported him over the years but I am leaning towards those who ask" where is the money going Bill".
Be careful what you wish for is what you are saying I think.

As chairman of Everton he has the responsibility to do the whole due diligence bit that involves any potential buyer, but it is taking too long and there has to be questions as to why this is the case.
Surely we as supporters deserve more Ian.

I waited.

My judgement : ABSOLUTE FUCKING DISGRACE!!!!!

I actually feel sorry for John Stones, being made to stay at this ambitionless joke of a club.

He has scored 40 goals in 86 games for us. That is a great return. He has scored more goals for his age then Messi did at his age. Sounds like you are one of these "fans" who will moan no matter what.

I've believed for ages we need a creative midfielder, but they are very expensive, poss beyond our means? Perhaps we could have swapped McCarthy for Eriksen at Spurs? Hang on, I think Spurs would laugh their socks off at that - and that's the problem.

Keep hoping that Ross will consistently deliver quality performances, but just don't see it happening - he's as inconsistent as his shooting.

Made up we've kept JS - hope he's here for at least 2 seasons - don't know anything about Fori, but think he may be seen as Jags' replacement?

Bad news re Oviedo again - hope the estimated time out is not under-estimated.

Mori is somewhat of an unknown quantity (being a fluent English speaker is certainly an advantage) but the other signings have improved the squad.

Rather than make signings for the sake of it I'd rather that Martinez waits for the right players that he wants and thinks will fit into the "group dynamic", "playing philosophy" or whatever the current buzzword is.

Overall I'm a glass half-full man, particularly as Bill told Chelsea to do one. This is the wrong site for positivity though so I apologise in advance for all of the above.

It takes two to tango though and you have to agree a price with the club and then the player has to want to play for you. Not that easy when they look at our record over the last 20 years.

A lack of a quality midfield playmaker is our main deficiency, but what ever happened to players that can play in numerous positions. All this 'oh we have too many right wingers' surely the likes of Mirallas, Lennon and Deleufu can fill other positions.

We still have Osman, Pienaar and Gibson who can play centrally when fit. If you look at our squad now it looks pretty strong to me, top 4 ambitions when we started the season seemed somewhat pie in the sky and I think its still beyond our reach.

We've a good mix of young players coming through that may develop into important squad members if were patient and their given a chance. Just a pity Baines and Cleverley have bad injuries.

I have it on very good authority (I know, I know...) that Norwich came in for Naismith some time ago. Everton were open to a deal but told Norwich it was dependant on someone coming into Everton first.

I took this at the time to be Lennon (deal agreed literally months ago but financing it...a different matter) and alluded to this weeks ago in an earlier thread (see post #88 above) and frankly am flabbergasted no media outlet appears to have got wind of it.

Anyway, now that the Lennon deal is done and we rejected the Naismith bid, my suspicion is now that the Yarmolenko bid was the one it was dependant upon.

So I ask you, and please let's not have the diplomatic bullshit, what do you really think of this disaster of a transfer window. Get it off your chest son, let it really go!

Regarding where the money is going it's staying in the club unless you can show differently. Over to you.

Hope it is the second option.

So it's all relative and whereas £20m would have been a very good summer window in years gone by. It's peanuts in a window that has seen United spend £36m on a 19-year-old who is a relatively unknown outside of France, and we've spent around £20m but are still near the bottom of the spending league.

Hope the heat gets turned up on the Board by all supporters concerned with the lack of ambition shown by the Board of our once great club. New club motto should be "sed mediocritatem nihil est satis"!

As far as I can remember, Lyndon, asked us not to be so negative as regards to our posts?

With both B&R's triumphant stance on Stones and even with Coleman, that praise has again covered up their deficiencies. We have strengthened this window, but we are still very weak. Without the creative skills of a playmaker and the reliance on basically one main striker, we are going to struggle yet again. If the dreaded hamstring curse hits especially in defense or up front, then we don't have the depth to cover it.

We've made all these noises about creating a golden generation, and bringing in players that will entice our brightest and best to stay. But not building on what we have, it's going to be more wooden spoon than golden.

We could field a team with 8 England internationals. Is this a record???

Personally, I don't think every youngster we buy or keep hold of after the age of 18 is really expected to make the grade. We are now obliged to field an under-21s team rather than a reserves and the number of over-age players is restricted.

I had hoped for 3 or 4 real upgrades to the squad, quality capable of reducing the likes of Ossie and Peanuts to emergency cover only. Don't think we got that, and at least three of our acquisitions are real gambles, so I'm not happy with what we did in this transfer window.

Darren Hind, called it right again. He said we wouldn't sign a number ten, this window, he was right.

I think the most underwhelming thing is, that the manager was saying at the end of last season, that we needed that real creative player. The fact that we haven't brought one in is very disappointing.

Have to agree with you, regarding the manager Martin, because whatever way you look at it, Everton have now got a decent squad. A little bit short in places, maybe? But we have some very good players, and it's up to the manager to use them all properly now.

If we had to pay 㿀M for Andriy Yarmolenko https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Yarmolenko) it would have shown serious effort to improve and the money would have been repaid 3 fold. Soon the prize money would be very much bigger and each place in the league would be worth a lot more than six months in the Europa league so we needed to go for broke and into the Champion league places.

This was a great year to do it Arsenal playing really poorly, LFC heading for disarray, MUFC can't seem to score for money and Chelsea have a colander for a defence. Well done Martinez missed the opportunity again maybe Lennon could train with that other great purchase McGeady (23 app 1 goal) who he bought for £1.5M

I hope he is the player Martinez is talking up cos it's going to bite him on the arse if Mori turns out to be his Kroldrup.

But no his team for the last 2 games have had Cleverley wide left and Kone wide right. I would love to know how Mirallas and Deulofeu feel about us signing Lennon. I mean despite RM getting Mirallas to sign a new contract, he seems reluctant to start him. RM said at the start of the window he wanted a Number 10, so what happened yet another change of mind.

Funny how last week the fee for Mori was £4- £5 million today when the deal is done the fee is reported to be £9.5 million. I can only assume that Everton have added his wages for the length of contract hence the leap in the fee.

All summer we've heard "judge us at the end of the window". Well I've effin well judged you and it's shit.

Fuming here...

We've all been saying for fecking ages that we're one or two players away from a top team. And I truly believed this year all we needed was a #10. I actually believed we would get one.

Really don't know why I bother, Everton will always let you down.

Unfortunately I suspect that the wishes of Coleman, Stones, Lukaku, Barkley, McCarthy to get another quality intake to underpin Martinez's Golden Generation have been totally letdown. As I suspect has the majority of Evertonians. I can't for the life of me believe Martinez didn' t have at least 2-3 options per position he wanted to supplement.

Poor poor show by all concerned.

Add to that a four first team players in Mori, Lennon, Cleverley and Deulofeu, plus the likes of Rodriguez, Henen and Holgate with the next few years in mind. If the likes of Ledson, Browning, Dowell, McAleny, Galloway, Pennington and Garbutt can progress then we will have a really strong squad. These youngsters can take the place of older pros like Osman, Jagielka, Barry, Hibbert and Pienaar as their contracts expire, freeing up more funds to invest.

When you look around the other clubs and analyse their acquisitions and departures there aren't many outside the top six teams that have left us behind in terms of quality signings. The average number of new first team players seems to be between 3 to 5. Arsenal only got in Petr Cech. Some teams got a lot of players in, but when you really look at them there's a lot of journeymen and completely unproven types in there.

I do think we missed out on creative, flair player along the lines of Shaqiri, Ayew, Payet, Yarmolenko or Roberto Firmino. However, we should not forget the signing of Deulofeu who is a real coup for the club and is just the kind of flair player who can open up defences.

I just hope we get everything set up to bring in Yarmolenko in January and don't miss out to the RS. It looks like we do have the funds to sign him and hopefully by then Kiev will be prepared to sell. May well be worth the wait.

You named the players who are already here, McCarthy, Barkley, Coleman, Stones and Lukaku. But what must they be thinking?

None of those players will take us to the next level. And because of those transfers the named players above will likely think, "Everton have no ambition, they are not going to help me fulfil my ambition" and they will likely look to leave to seek the trophies they desire.

Is it that hard to believe someone offered £8 million for Naismith? In the days of £35 million for Andy Carroll and£12 million for Stephen Fletcher, Naismith is worth £8 million.

Naismith gets it. He gets how limited he is in skill and flair. He knows he isn't that type of player so he makes up for it in other ways. He's a grafter and a fighter. I think he's great, but that's the type of player I like. He's a niggly little shite, he gets in peoples faces and winds the opposition up. We've already seen it this season. He also scores goals. If half of our other players gave as much as he does every time he plays, we'd be fantastic to watch.

I wouldn't have sold him for more than was offered.

We failed to address the creativity and goal threat as well documented by most blues.

Taking in Lennon to add to the other 3 right wingers is bonkers when we have no one for the left hand side.

Mori seems a complete gamble. Could be awesome, could be an expensive flop.

Overall the squad has reduced in age, but really lacked that type of ambition we are seeing at the likes of Stoke or West Ham in players coming in or letting some of the deadwood go.

If this was the case, then surely you wouldn't need so many wingers in the squad. Piquet, never really cut it in England, but is undoubtedly a good player. At least we can start concentrating on the football now.

Mr stones will go on to win trophies but not with Everton! The Chairman knew this was not the right time to sell for his own reputation!

Three (3) right wingers... Where is he going...

Oh I give up

Apparently not serious and should not effect McCarthy playing on Friday.

Obviously still frosty relations regards club and country, although O'Neill insists everything is fine this time round.

All he had to do was to get rid of McGeady, keep everyone else and he would have kept his promise.

And those defending billy bullshitter, you're what's wrong with this club.

Pathetic, let's srart a riot, I'll chuck the first brick.

I'm sorry, but a win away to Southampton and a draw against a very poor Spurs isn't fooling me just yet, I think Martinez could steer this club into some very choppy waters, not just on the pitch with his bizarre footballing ideas but also with his off pitch dealings and very limited transfer dealings. It must be about 75% of players that he brings in have played for him before !

Frustrated, very frustrated both on and off the pitch.

That digression aside, I have to say, what a revolting transfer window. Even the signature of Deulofeu is little more than a glorified loan. Are we to feel so grateful for the stance on Stones as to pass over the scandalous failure to sign the attacking quality we sorely need?

Sure, some of our younger fans with no experience of what it's like for us to be top dogs will be satisfied with what amounts to an assurance of yet more mediocrity. But for Evertonian forty-somethings (and over), this prolonging of the malaise is intolerable.

He failed. Now we're being told we've had a good window. Does he think we're stupid or what?

We did not bring in a # 10 that Martinez wanted, and that could be for a number of reasons, including out of our price range or, the player did not want to come or, there was no one out there he liked that was available. Regardless of the reason it is a little disappointing as we do not seemed to have strengthened one of the major areas that needed it.

The next few games will show if any of the new acquisitions are played or even on the bench, and hopefully the unknown players will spark the regulars into action.

From a 50 something Evertonian, well said! This week is BK's 70th; let's hope he keeps to the line he once said about not being chairman after his 70th birthday.
That would be my birthday wish.

We now have 2 weeks to fume ourselves into a howling mob to welcome Maureen, so not all a waste then.

Or is he lying now when he says he's happy?

Can't believe we spent £9.5M on a sub CB. Surely that and the £4M for Lennon could have gone towards the game-changer we can all see we need.

Leandro has no chance. And Lennon will not look any better to us in a year than McGeady does now. How we could do with a Moyes capture - a Coleman, Pienaar, Jagielka, Distin, Cahill.

As for yarmolenko, the more I hear about him, and his owner, the more I'm put off. He doesn't want to play for us and if he does eventually come he will just use us as a stepping stone to go to a richer club.

Sorry, a pitiful window.

The tv broadcasters usually refers him as Funes Mori

I love the guy and always feel he could make something happen when he comes on, unlike Kone for example who I still think is a flop and will soon burn out after his short burst of actually looking like a footballer. It can't last.

Naisy is just what we need when things are tough, and who was it scored the equaliser when we were under the cosh at Barnsley... Naismith, almost inevitably!

Those labeling this window a disgrace lack realism. We have been disgraceful over an extended period of time. But over the past two summers we've spent over 50million. We've brought in brilliant young talent, and held onto Stones. Those stating Kenwright could not have sold Stones clearly do not understand football (173 and 175). He could have sold Stones, just as chairmen have sold top players integral to their teams at terrible moments. Just as they even sold them to rivals. I'm sure plenty of Arsenal fans would have lined up to state that RVP would never have been sold to United, before the fact, because it would have signaled the end. Or Nasri to City. Or Adebayor etc. Or Spurs wouldn't have let Berbatov go on deadline day. Or us Arteta. But it could have happened and would have been accepted by the fans, and we would have moved on just as we will move on when he eventually leaves.

Kenwright should not be our chairmen, and our financial situation has been mismanaged for years. But not everything has to be unequivocally negative. Kenwright deserves credit for keeping Stones, as does our management team. We have also invested in players. As I said before, it's not fantastic, but you can hardly describe our window as a disgrace either. We've lost no one essential, and have added a fantastic young winger in Deulofeu, another good hard working winger in Lennon, a good CM in Cleverley and a young CB who we all have high hopes for (Along with some youths). Our squad is strong, and arguably too big for a team without European football, even if it is unbalanced. The failure for me is the lack of a creative midfielder. We need more creativity, especially at home, because Pienaar and Osman are too old/injured to provide it. I would have liked to have seen a creative midfielder rather than Lennon, and expect that Barkley's early season form may have wrongly stopped us from buying one. I also think we should have had a CB in weeks ago. A striker would have been nice, but Kone's return to some fitness, as well as two very viable out of position options and Mcaleny, hardly leave us in a terrible position. United and Arsenal both have UCL football to handle, and are both in a similar position to us.

As I said before, our net spend will put us into the top half of the spending table this summer. We all wanted more, but many expected less too. I believe our purchase of Lukaku and our desire to hold onto Stone demonstrate that we are a club with ambition. We've got a great young spine and will have a good and exciting season if Martinez plays the right tactics. Fingers crossed that our lack of creativity does not hurt us, and that that issue can be addressed in January.

Swansea only got in one player of note: Ayew. Southampton strengthened at the back with Caulker and Van Dijk but lost Clyne and Schneiderlin. Palace did well with Sako and Cabaye in. Villa got in a few decent looking players but lost Benteke. Arsenal only brought in Cech. Spurs fans are far from happy, though I think Alderweireld & Son Heung-min are decent. Newcastle got in Wijnaldum who looks promising and the red card magnet Mitrovic. West Brom, Watford, Sunderland, Norwich, Leicester and Bournemouth brought in nobody who's going to set the PL on fire. As far as I can see only Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool can really say they have spent big money and I'm not convinced with all of their dealings, especially Chelsea having missed out on Stones.

I do think we missed a trick not bringing in a playmaker, but we could still remedy that in January if the funds are available (they better be!). We got our big money striker in last summer and I believe he will easily improve on his league tally from last season as long as the team plays well and creates chances for him.

Of course we are focused on our own team but it is easy to underestimate the value of keeping our talented core of players together. Cleverly has slotted right in. Deulofeu and Lennon already know how we play and I would expect Mori to come in at left back to cover the Baines shaped gap and get used to the pace of the Premier League before he has to move into the centre. If Barkley can continue to improve on his decision making and passing then the immediate need for a number 10 is reduced.

Things could have gone better, but they could also have gone a lot, lot worse!

I literally got off my seat and applauded your post.

Well said sir!

£9.5 mil on a back up CB?

Unless we finish top four that back up CB will be starting next season.

Solid investment...

Jamie, that is my opinion of how things are headed, unless Mori and Leandro turn up the heat and style of our beloved team.

We bought 7 players. Some excellent talent at real bargains and some fantastic up-and-comers.

We sold no one.

We spent approximately £25 million.

But the window was shit because we didn't get that elusive #10 creative world-beater...

You're fuckin kidding me, right?

As for physicality, the lads 6'2 and looks in great shape. From what I have seen of him on You Tube he looks strong in the air and seems to have a decent amount of pace. He's a left sided centre back which will add to the cover for Baines when he gets forward. He's been part of a River Plate team that won the Copa Libertadores and is part of the Argentinian national team.

I'm willing to ignore Vickery and give the lad a fair chance before passing judgement. I don't get the 'Martinez is blind-sided by South Americans' just because he had one flop with Boselli. On the other hand he did rate Alcaraz so I do still have a bit of scepticism about his ability to pick out defenders, but I hope he has learned from his past mistakes.

To be fair I don't know he will be a hit. I remember bigging up Kone when he arrived and thinking McGeady & Bilyaletdinov would be great, but I do believe in giving new players my full support.

They've promised a lot, but on the surface delivered little. I say 'surface' because I'm happy with most of the signings and the fees paid. Although, to me, we've seemed to have taken an almost opportunist approach where we've gone for ex-loanee's and players Martinez knows who have become available on attractive deals - Cleverley, Deulofeu and Lennon. And whilst I think all three are very good deals, did we need to buy 2 wingers when there's more obvious deficiencies in other areas of the team.

I think it's actually a big deal that we didn't buy the elusive No.10 and a striker. They they were the positions we desperately needed to fill. We managed to buy the CB but there's polarising opinion on whether he'll make the grade so 9.5m which seems a lot of money for someone who has no experience of playing in a European league. Some have moaned that we've let 2 CB's go and only brought in 1, but people are forgetting that Galloway has been promoted to the first team squad and Browning will also get more game time.

So while we've done good business on what we've paid - apart from Mori where the juries still out (I'm trying to warm to this signing but I just have a bad feeling about it) I can't believe we've not bought in a proven player in at least of the other 2 positions.

I'm a Naismith fan and think he's the model pro and a valid squad member. But I can't believe he wasn't sacrificed to buy a goalscorer. He's not a player who should be in the first 11 and we haven't got enough goals in the team.

I wanted Austin and while there's the doubt over long term fitness, he seems to have put his injury problems behind him and he would have got us goals. He has done wherever he's played. I don't want to keep carping on about Austin in case of offending the Austin haters ;) So equally we could have gone for someone like Jordan Rhodes. I'm not sure Rhodes can do it in a team unless he has another striker to play off, but the point is we needed a goalscorer and a bit more creativity which is where my own disappointment lies.

Ultimately, we have not added genuine strength in probably the two most vital areas where one or two injuries would leave us woefully exposed so I'm sorry, I can't see how this could possibly be viewed as a success.

Roberto really should keep his mouth shut regarding his transfer plans as he has either been guilty of some pretty terrible forward planning, or been royally stitched up by the money men.

We haven't seen any of Mori or Rodriguez yet people are bitching about them. One too expensive and the other too cheap!

We kept our best players, got in some good ones, and yet people still complain.

Sure, would loved to have got Yarmolenko in, but it's not like he went elsewhere either. Maybe we can go in again in the next window and try.

Overall, we are definitely in better shape after the window and that's the main objective.

I don't know why so many of you are always so negative. Be positive once in a while, you feel better, trust me.

Funes Mori - a defender

Deulofeu - attacker

Cleverley - midfielder with versatility

Holgate - young defender

OK we need a striker, but RM likes Lukaku, Kone and Naismith as our forward players, as well as Mirallas who can do a job so it ain't all doom & gloom.

I reckon our squad will be OK this year.

I think the only question mark is over the deal £9.5M fee which is a lot of money to spend on a player who is unproven.Generally in the past, we've tended to spend the bigger money on players who could be deemed as sure things in players like Yakubu.

At least in the Moyes era. Apart from Bilyaletdinov and Kroldrup, who both proved to be costly mistakes. I really hope Mori makes the grade.

I'm not gonna judge a guy one way or the other based on a Youtube video. I mean, Distin and Yobo could easily have their own bloopers videos too. It doesn't make them bad defenders.

We have to hope the manager's got this one right. In essence, every transfer is a gamble so only time will tell.

Seriously disappointed we never got the no.10 we needed. Maybe we could offer Gourcuff a pay as you play deal as he's available on a free. Forget Yarmolenko. We missed the boat there. Time to look to Holland, Spain or Portugal for that technical midfielder. Really surprised there was no back-up.

I would rather Ross, Gerry and Conor McAleny were given a chance to stake a claim at number 10 personally. We've added players and while Mori may have cost more than we wanted to pay, swap the figures around for him and Deulofeu, and it's pretty good.

Every window "could" be better, but let's give these players a chance. I wasn't wowed by Cleverly's signing but he slotted in well.

He would actually have had three more goals that were eventually deemed own goals with deflections from his shots which proves how good he is at getting into those goalscoring positions. Add those three and he'd have probably scored more in open play in the league than Lukaku, who of course had penalties in his collection and scored most of his goals in the Europa League.

Apart from Lukaku, Mirallas and Naismith we don't exactly have many free scoring players and certainly few of our midfielders contributed much in goals last season. So, let's give credit where it's due. Naismith is an important squad player, one of the few 'fighters' in the team who is prepared to get in the opposition's faces and make things happen.

Who pulled us level at Barnsley? Who won us three free kicks within minutes of coming on at Spurs when Lukaku hadn't managed to win one all the time he was on the pitch? We need that kind of tenacity in the team, but some people would be happy to see him go and be replaced by who?

Another powder puff midfielder with no goals or ambition in him? Just look at Naisy's face whenever we concede a goal. You can see the anger and frustration in his eyes, and feel his determination to pull it back as quickly as possible. Is that not the kind of spirit some on here are asking for?

Still some good freebies available now the window's closed. Maybe we'll get one more in.

Just like last year and the year before, IF everyone is fit we have a decent first XI. But should the likes of Coleman, Lukaku or Jagielka get injured, we'll be exposed. We again lack real squad depth at GK, defense or up front. We have tons of midfielders but how many are actually good enough? Unless Barkley continues to improve, we're going to struggle for goals from midfield again.

Time will tell whether the new CB was worth it or not. Lennon was a waste, totally not needed. Will be interesting to see if he even starts.

We should also have trimmed the squad by letting McGeady go (even for free!) and I am totally dumbfounded that we didn't accept £8M for Naismith. I still cannot believe how such a limited player is getting into our side. The likes of Pienaar, Gibson, Hibbert also all still here, getting their wages and doing not much else....

All in all nothing to get excited about. It's also too early to see if the manager has really changed his tactics. Four games played and the Southampton game is the only one where we played well so far.

I just hope all the money we've saved will go towards a new stadium or getting rid of the ridiculous loan from one of our directors.

Lennon will be useful and time will tell on Funes and Leandro.

Overall it's hard not to feel that we have been outdone by the likes of RS, Spurs, Palace and West Ham.

It's not a matter of how much we spent, who we didn't sell or how many players we brought in. It's the fact that we still don't have anyone in our midfield who can replace Osman and Pienaar in terms of creativity. All Summer we had Roberto harping on about how that was the position we needed to fill and we haven't.

So we can look forward to more games where we fail to unlock defences and give fuck all service to Lukaku.

Interesting that journalists have taken a pounding on here all summer regarding Stones. One journalist doesn't like Funes Mori and that is now proof that he's rubbish. Really? We've never heard of Leandro, so he's obviously rubbish, isn't he? Let's see what they're like before slagging them off. All foreign signings are a risk and gamble, regardless of price and whether we 'know them'.

Interesting that there are comments about Martinez not finding a cheap and cheerful 'Moyes signing' like Coleman or Lescott. First of all, its now more difficult to buy any English/Irish based player for £60k these days. Second, I don't remember Coleman being a world beater from day one. I don't recall people coming on here and rejoicing at the £60k signing from Ireland.

If Martinez came on here and said we went for a few creative players, but couldn't get them because we wouldn't pay for them or they didn't want to come to Everton, what would you say? That's what I think happened, doesn't make him a liar.

We never know how good a transfer window has been until a few months later, when the players have bedded in. I'm not excited by this window, but its success will depend on how much Martinez gets out of the players he has. This squad is good enough for top six. It's better than the other 6-14 clubs, who had to spend mad money on unproven players to try and reach our squad's quality.

The season starts here. Its down to Martinez to shape and motivate the team. It's also down to the players to show some leadership and bottle for a whole season, rather than the odd game.

I'm disappointed not to get another attacker like we were promised. Hope RM changes his tactics around so we do look like a contender for Europe.

People have posted maybe Roberto will bring one in in January but he's indicated on several occasions previously he doesn't like signing players in the January window. Hope he goes against his inclinations this January if someone suitable is available.

A lot of the signings being made have been 'one for the future' or young, initially fringe players who are hoped to grow into first team challengers

I'm hearing different rumours as to why the extra money needed to be paid, two being, a tax that we had to pay and the other being that the player was entitled to around 50% of the transfer fee.

With the fee already agreed it meant it then had to rise significantly for it to go through.

Anyone able to shed light on the situation?

If you go to TW home page,then Rumour mill. There is an article "Everton land Uruguayan striker"

If you scroll to post #99 it is a very interesting read .

I'd like to see Barkley deployed deep next to McCarthy, two out-and-out forwards (Lukaku and Kone) and two box-to-box wide players (probably Lennon and Mirallas).

The players we have at the moment are more aligned to soaking it up, breaking play down and breaking fast. This is used on occasion by RM and always seems to pay dividends.

Sometime you've got to play to your strengths but I can't see RM dropping the philosophy any time soon...

Barkley is the only player that can play No 10 with any sort of merit. So is McAleny going to get a chance in his most natural position? Is Dowell going to make the breakthrough?

If you look at the squad, we look really unbalanced again; I think we have about 4 left-footed players in the entire squad.

If there is a "Golden Generation" play them and let's see it instead of talking shit.

An extra £3.5M for Funes Mori to get the deal done as we didn't have anyone else lined up.

We could have gotten £8M for a 28-year-old Naismith (to Norwich) plus McGeady (to Sunderland) could have been gotten off the books. But as we didn't have time to replace them, we couldn't.

Shambolic!!!!!!

My sense has always been with that one is that we were playing the role of stalking horse both in the eyes of the player and his club, and if I'm correct in my view, this amply demonstrates a handicap we (and many others by the way) must live with and try to overcome. We are in no position, unlike Chelsea and the Mancs clubs, to conduct wholesale summer 'drafts' of incoming marquee signings. We have to juggle with the limitations of lack of financial clout with the constant threat of having our better players taken off us.

That's why I think the retention of Stones is the biggest achievement of this window as far as we are concerned. It sends not only a clear message to the player himself, but also to the likes of Lukaku, Barkley, Coleman and McCarthy that, when the club gives you a big pay rise and a 5-year deal, we need and expect something in return. I know there is the flip side of us having a Berahino on our hands, but with the player we have, I think not.

The huge bubble in TV money that flows through this season and next gives clubs like ours at least the breathing space to try and develop internally a competitive team to take us forward, rather than having to bow to the inevitable and wave them goodbye just as they hit their peak. I firmly believe that had we been bringing Rooney through today, we would have kept him for 5 years at least.

I think we have a new window, not a transfer window, but a retention window. It's fuelled by the new TV deal. I think we have about 5 years before the players and their agents restore parity and get their share of the new TV money back in their hands rather than the clubs. Let's use the window to it's full effect!

Really interesting

The problem is, despite our individual hypotheses of where the new boys will fit in, they are likely to be put into the present unchanged and unbalanced system Martinez employs.

We overpaid for some unknown South American CB when we could have got a known quantity in for an extra £2 million in Van Dijk. But yet again we arse around and let another club steal the initiative.

No Number 10 coming in when we've had all summer to sort it out and everyone (even the manager) knowing it was absolutely imperative is a disgrace.

And then to just sign midfielders in the main but not actually any of them filling a gap (ie, a left-footer who could play on the left wing) really rubs salt into it.

I blame them all – the board for waiting until the last minute to make moves and spend money & then the manager for making poor signings with the money he was given.

The last thing our club needs is to panic buy. We are not Chelsea or Man City, we simply don't have there financial clout to be able to spend £20M on a punt. For some clubs, they can afford to spend that just to put them on the bench. I would prefer us to wait and get the right player, than to rush in and buy an unsuitable player.

For all we know, RM may well have inquired about about the right player and got told "Not at the moment; come back at a later date." Look at Chelsea and Stones for example; Chelsea got told he's going nowhere for now, and they went out and brought a load of garbage for silly money.

The same can be said for Man Utd, who just spent £36M on an unproven teenager just because they're having a problem scoring. These are players who will probably be back on the market or sent out on loan next season.

So maybe we should look at it from a business point of view. That is to get the best deal for the best players and not to get second best just for the sake of it.

Yes, it's fantastic to keep Stones and all our other young stars.

Yes, I'm disappointed not to get a great playmaker – Yarmomenko would have been such an exciting acquisition.

Yes, Cleverley and Deulofeu were great bargain buys.

I'm actually a little disappointed at our late business: £9.5 million seems a lot of money for what we're getting, and why are we paying £4.5 million for a 29-year-old winger (when we've already got two great wingers)?

I don't care when we do the business but normally we get great value for our money (and waiting till the last minute is part of that) but I'm not sure we have in this case.

We've seen how Southampton (who have some similarities to us in youth set-up) have been decimated by failure to retain or replace. We've also seen past examples of mass influx of players who have failed to gel (Sunderland, QPR). This time Watford, Stoke and Villa are trying to repeat the trick.

In recent years, Everton have had to fight hard to retain Baines, Coleman and now, Stones. It's bullshit to call us a 'selling club' and Kenwright and Co deserve some credit for this. Fans have to accept that if we don't sell for our marketable assets then it will restrict funds available for reverse big money signings.

However, on the buying side, I do believe that the club's strategy has been much less successful. Where it is best is buying cheap and young to develop or sell on (Stones, Coleman, Henen, Holgate). Buying established players in the mid-market has often been erratic and timid. We identify target needs (No 10; striker) and then fail to follow through or wait until it is too late to do good business. If, for example, Cabaye and Payet were available, why didn't we go for them?

Taken one by one, many of the signings in this window have been good (Deulofeu, Cleverley, Holgate), but in aggregate they have left key needs unaddressed. I am baffled why we have stockpiled so many right wingers when the need in the left, and am unconvinced that spending £9.5M on an Argentinian centre-back when proven alternatives where available for a little more.

In sum – a mixed window, but certainly no 'disaster'.

Seems we were unable to land the big fish this time but plenty of little codling about.

At least Stoke (and the other teams mentioned) have bought with balance in mind and not gone out and bought several wingers. We have started reasonably well, let's see how we are doing at Christmas.

You may well be right about this, but I had to listen to everyone in the media, work colleagues and a good proportion of posters on ToffeeWeb saying that he was 100% gone in this window, yet he's still here.

Lets see how this season plays out and worry about it then. As for now, we can forget about transfers and concentrate on what really matters.

In the article, it says that Chelsea will make another attempt to sign Stones in January after Eveton turned down bids of £20M, £26M, £30M and £38M.

So before the window had 'slammed shut' last night the London Press were already saying that Chelsea will try and sign JS in the next window... And so it starts again...

The cheap replacement striker with no top flight experience, free signing of Cleverley, ultimately development option of Deulofeu, and no number 10 or additional proven striker to challenge Lukaku, confirms there was no money again to improve the squad in vital areas to take us to the next level.

This tells me that the board were willing to cash in on Stones until something changed their minds. People can point to £20 mill being spent but that was on seven players, on some positions that needed to be covered and prospects for the future. To bring in that playmaker (no 10) would probably cost roughly the same amount and similarly with another proven goalscorer (No 9).

Yet again, the manager will have to make do until the club get the highest price for Stones after a good season and Euros.

In that case, I'd say 3/10. Also, I have to give 'dithering Dave' some credit here. He was obviously waiting for loans to land in August as well. Sorry, Mr Moyes.

Too many wingers – no Number 10 and the new Daniel Passarella or possibly Per Kroldrup to sit on the bench.

It's a bit of a mystery who is going to play where.

You are probably right, indeed I wouldn't give you odds beyond next summer. Certainly, Stones should NOT be rewarded with even more money, as I see some have argued, without in return a couple of years at least being tagged onto the contract.

The Euros feels like the point to me, but I think the risks of us getting less than Chelsea were prepared to go to are small, and worth taking, if only for the message it sends to our other coveted players.

The ideal would be for Stones to sign for one of the big continental players, Bayern Munich perhaps. Anyone rather than those rats in West London. They have behaved appallingly towards EFC, in my opinion.

Lennon, Deulofeu and Cleverley could be sold in the next window for more than twice what we've paid and they all improve the team. Holgate, Rodriguez and Henen are ones for the future and if only one of them pays off we'll be in profit or have a gem on the cheap.

Clearly, Yarmolenko was the one that got away, and something clearly stinks about the deal, whether it is how we wanted to pay or some dodgy dealing from abroad.

Big teams missed out on marquee signings this year. (Chelsea - Stones, Madrid - De Gea, Spurs - Berahino) and if you're telling me that Chelsea wanted that lad from France, Man Utd wanted to pay 㿐M for an 18-year-old, Arsenal only wanted a goalie, and Man City wanted to spend 𧴜M+ on 2 players just to hit their release clauses.

I think this window as a whole has been hit and miss.

As all the South American correspondents are saying that he isn't worth the money and is prone to making mistakes, I hope he hasn't been bought on the basis of his YouTube clips and would be interested to know when RM has seen him play live.

He is young, he will learn from them, but groaning and slating the guy is just going to shoot his confidence to pieces. We need to get behind him, support him. Once the barrackers get off his back, then you will see the real Ross.

He will learn to get his head up, look to play the simple pass, dribble past players, do what hes best at. Until then, we need to get behind him.

In this position, you have to be very savvy and see everything that is going on around you in order to make quick decisions. Ross is great at running at people and his ball striking is phenomenal but good Number 10s spot things quickly and release the ball at the right time. This is where Ross needs work.

Marquee is another word for big tent... ie, circus.

Balotelli, Llamela, Soldado, De Maria... just a few marquee signings.

"It seems to me that Roberto Martinez has a blind spot when it comes to bringing players straight in from South America. I would love to be wrong about Ramiro Funes Mori. But the only really good thing I can say about him is that language is not going to be a problem. I don't think he has the quality, the physicality or the pace to survive in the Premier League."

1. We appeared to have all our eggs in one basket; and
2. We left it very late to try sign him.

We should have known in July that Yarmolenko would not come and be able move for the many other quality #10s that moved for much less.

To watch Newcastle, Swansea, Stoke and especially West Ham with Payet all get a #10 that would have fitted us very well smacks of very poor planning and execution.

Journalists' opinions on footballers means no more than mine or yours. They have zero qualifications to make judgements, merely opinions, like us. Ignore it all. The proof of the pudding...

To the people upset about not buying a marquee player or a Number 10 – just because you have the money, doesn't mean you can buy who you want or simply conjure the right player out of thin air. Have you ever considered things like squad harmony, or dressing room spirit, or whatever you want to call it?

You can pick names like Ayew, or Yarmolenko all you like, but what do you know about them bar a couple of games you may have seen, or a few YouTube clips? There's an awful lot more to investing in a player than what you see once or twice.

This is the same guy who said Anderson would be an absolute star at Manchester United and possessed "lots of pace of his own...acceleration like the Millenium Falcon, strength on the ball, and a wonderful left foot".

The fact is, Vickery set his stall out regards Mori early doors and there's no way he can deviate from the 'he's a dud' mantra now without looking like a bit of a dick. Hence him banging on about it all the time. If the player proves him wrong and goes on to have a storming season I'm sure he won't be so quick to keep dragging the guy's name up every sodding chance he gets.

I wouldn't read too much into his assessment of Mori, pace is one of his biggest assets. He is quick! Pace is the last thing you would call him out on.

Vickery, like many journalists, gets it right some of the time but a broken clock is right twice a day; so let's just wait and see.

We were crying out for width at Tottenham – but, instead of playing Mirallas (whose spectacular half-volley sparked our revival at Barnsley) and Deulofeu (who gave one of the most inspiring performances I have ever seen in an Everton shirt), he plays Kone out of position on the right and Cleverley out of position on the left. Then brings Naismith on!

And as for his obstinate persistence with the now wholly ineffective Barry - McCarthy axis... words not only fail me, but every other Evertonian. Is there ANYONE out there who thinks it works any more?

I think we are close to having what can be regarded as a ’People’s Choice’ first XI:

Howard
Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines
McCarthy, Barkley, Cleverley (preferably Pienaar when fit?)
Mirallas, Lukaku, Deulofeu

However, in front of our keeper and back four I am sure Martinez gets a fattie on fantasing about the day when he can play Lennon, Naismith, Barry, McCarthy, Cleverley and Kone and grab a hard-earned point at West Brom.

After a wonderful debut season, he has gone worryingly backwards and it is now safety first and being more concerned about the opposition, than focusing on making them concerned about us.

One final thing that occurs to me too, when we play a more marauding style, with Mirallas, Lukaku and Deulofeu all going direct to goal as soon as they they get the ball, Barkley becomes twice the player.

All hard work and no play however, alongside the likes of Barry, Naismith and now that failed headless chicken, Lennon, makes him a very dull boy!

Crossroads looming large on the horizon, Roberto. Make sure you choose the right direction...

I go as far to say that those claiming Kenwright could have sold Stones don't even begin to understand Everton.

All summer, Kenwright could have put this sorry saga to bed but he lurked in the background as his manager faced a continued and concerted media frenzy.

Martinez managed the situation and he managed it alone; if Kenwright got the faintest whiff that his resolve was wavering, Stones would already be wearing the blue of Chelsea.

Let's be clear here: Kenwright has previous for selling our better players, but Martinez manipulated the situation quite superbly. Anyone who thinks Kenwright could/would possibly have flogged Stones after Martinez had rounded on Chelsea and the media alike needs their head examined. He had won the total support of even long time critics like me. To over rule him would have been a catastrophic move... and Kenwright knew it.

It's worth noting that it wasn't until the 11th hour when Billy rode in on his white charger... where'd he been all summer?

This transfer window HAS been a disgrace, despite the staggering amount of Sky money falling into the laps of our board. The manager still did not get anywhere near the support he was expecting.

Every Evertonian should be deeply disturbed that we finished comfortably below Stoke last season. I feel very sad that we now have fans who are examining their window in an attempt to justify our own.

If Bill Kenwright is reading TW tonight, he will be sitting very comfortably on his non-contributing arse

I believe that Bill Kenwright is either utterly out of his depth or is cynically manipulating Evertonians.

What they wanted - Roberto Martinez said he wanted a striker, a number ten and more defenders. He also made it clear how keen he was to secure Tom Cleverley, but - most important – he was determined to retain the youthful core of his squad and resist bids for John Stones and Ross Barkley.

What they got - Cleverley and Gerard Deulofeu's arrival delighted Roberto Martinez but the fans never got the major name they wanted. Keeping John Stones from Chelsea was probably the most significant piece of business. Striker Leandro Rodriguez and defender Ramiro Funes Mori are unknown quantities, but Aaron Lennon still has time in his career to flourish.

Verdict - There is enough here to keep Goodison optimists – of which Martinez is the biggest - looking forward. The cynics insist there is a lack of dynamism in the transfer market. A number ten never did arrive but the potential is in the squad to challenge for the top six and perhaps the top four.

Ins: Gerard Deulofeu (Barcelona), Tom Cleverley (Man United), David Henen (Olympiakos), Mason Holgate (Barnsley), Ramiro Funes Mori (River Plate).

Selected outs: Sylvain Distin (Bournemouth), Luke Garbutt (Fulham, loan), Chris Long (Burnley), Antolin Alcaraz (released).

Also I'd of liked a more proven striker brought in to give competition to Lukaku but it seems as though Martinez is going to show some faith in Leandro.

But when you put the disappointments aside, we have done some decent business. We got Deulofeu back like a lot wanted. We know his quality and what he can bring to the table and he's going to be a big asset for us this season. Cleverley as come in on and free and leading up to his injury he was showing up really well. We've brought Lennon back and although personally I don't think we really need him, he will add much needed pace to the side and work rate. Then both Mori & Leandro bring that surprise factor, that unknown quantity to the team and hopefully they turn out to be shrewd signings but they will need time, maybe the whole season to adjust to the pace of the league?!

We've signed players up to new deals, kept Stones and now we need to give our all this season and make it successful!

I'm not daft enough to know though that next summer, Stones could end up leaving. I'm not so sure Chelsea will come back in, so it could leave a door open for United, but he was being watched by Barca a season or 2 a go but they felt he was too inexperienced and went for Vermaelen instead, so who knows, has a great season for us, goes and plays well for England at the Euros and puts himself right on the map, with their transfer ban well and truly up aswell, they could come calling again with a massive bid?!

But I think we need to let him get back from international duty, let the dust settle after all that went on in the window, and sit him down and try and show to him first that we really do value him and offer him new terms before he makes any decision on what he wants to do with his future!

On other issues, people need to stop listening to that Tim Vickery! Thinks he knows absolutely everything about Sth. American football and even tries to have a dig at Martinez about him signing Boseli but if your after a striker at Wigan and see someone who scores over 30 goals in just over 50 games then why wouldn't you take a risk on him? Man Utd were watching him at some stage and took a fancy so he can't of done that bad before England.

But that Vickery is slating Mori yet this lad as broke into the Argentine national side and is back up to Garay & Otamendi and keeping the likes of Musacchio & Fede Fernandez of Swansea out of the squad and for me, their no mugs either! So he must have something about him!

And as for Leandro, I don't believe for one second he knows more about this lad than our scouts do! He's just judged the league and just made an assumption that he'll be shite. You go and look at the stats of both Suarez & Cavani who started out in that league before moving to Europe and there goal scoring stats aren't as great as they are now! But they've come to Europe, improved over the years and are world class players! I'm not for one minute saying Leandro will end up so, but to write him off for playing in a shite league is just stupid! You need to watch these lads after a prolonged period, let them settle and then take judgement!

But hey, this Tim Vickery, the "expert" on Sth. American football, once said Paulinho & Lamela are world class talents and those 2 would make Spurs instant title contenders upon signing them and they've not got close and one is now in China and the other can't get a move out of Spurs! So yeah, he's a great judge of player over there...

But I for one wish em the best and hope they do great and contribute greatly to the cause!

Very relaxed about the Leandro signing. In modern terms he's costing next to nothing and who knows what he could be.

Higher expectations from Mori with the fee but let's see him in the pitch before we make a judgement.

I liked what I saw of Lennon last season, he has to be a plus.

We need to give the South American players some time to get acclimatised so to speak, both with the football and the culture.

Can't be easy.

How's that then?

Villarreal, Martin... do you remember, Yellow Submarines, iffy Italian Ref, lost both legs and we haven't been near the CL places since.

Oh yeah ,we nearly got there in Roberto's first season with that record points total I mentioned. Back the board at all costs Martin and blame everybody else: the manager, the players, the supporters...

I like his choice of young players too.

However, his tactics and style of play, for the large parts, bore and frustrate me.

The thing I liked about Moyes' teams was they closed down their opponents. If Martinez can instil that intensity to his team (and employ a bloody specialised defensive coach) I'd be happier.

I'm not sure whether he meant "This guy's great!," or "Why the hell did you buy him?"

However...

I heard his interview regarding our acquisition on 5Live and the silly twat plumbed new depths even for him.

I'll paraphrase...

"Basically Boselli was shit, Martinez hasn't learnt his lesson and now he's got Mori, who is worse than shit."

That's right. If one South American fails, they all must be shit.

Now an actual quote...

"A Premier a League manager rang me and asked me what I thought of Boselli and I told him to stay well away."

And finally,

"Mori doesn't have what it takes...but I'll be presently surprised if I'm wrong."

Talk about having your cake and eating it! Did anyone ask Vickery his opinion on Forlan before signing him?! How's Lamela doing? It's all very well cherry picking the ones you got right, Tim. I thought Adel Taraabt was going to be the next Zidane!

I'm tempted to jack my job in and go live in some far flung corner of the world masquerading as a 'soccer journalist'. If that mug can craft out a career then so can I.

So many managers in the past like Kendall, had humble beginnings but bought the right players and used them to their full potential. Martinez uses players to fit in to his obsessive plan that he will not change.

Lukaku will score as many goals as a "Giroud" who plays for a club that will make Champions League (most likely).

Everton had the chance this summer to add true playmakers and attacking players that SCORE GOALS, but Everton sat on their hands, didn't spend and it's going to cost us a chance to really push for a top 4 position in the league.

All you have to do is compare the Blues squad to the likely top 4 teams and see we are well short on talent and also laking goal scorers.

I'm a Yank and in Yank jargon, "This Sucks Big-time"!!!

Stones has stayed, Barkley is a year older and more mature, Lukaku is getting better and he score 10+ goals every year and will do it again if he stays healthy. Why Everton can'r recognize they need to take a chance this season and make it a truly special one is beyond me.

Cleverley is a very good addition but he doesn't score goals.

Lennon is a decent option but he's only going to score around 6 times.

Where are the goals going to come from?

Kone is a good option and I like the fact he plays and balls are now snt his direction instead of Lukaku. Kone's 1st touch is better than Lukaku's so it's been positive, but the Lukaku/Kone tandem can't play all 38 games.

I like Naismith and he might score 6-8 times, but it's not enough.

Oh well, I'll still root for the Blues and hope a miracle happens cause that's what it's going to take this season!

I would've hoped Jags stayed fit all season and brought in a youth player to fill in at left back until Oviedo, Galloway or Baines are fit. Browning would be my cover for Stones and I would give Pennington more games when Coleman needed a rest.

I would've used the Mori money and the Naismith money to bring in Austin and I would partner them up front in most games, I wouldn't've bothered with Lennon but I might've if there was no-one else better for the £7 mill I would have left.