Everton sign Felipe Mattioni

This lad sounds quite promising. Two cruciates to his name already. 21 games in two years is a little on the high side. But with RMs training we can probably knock that down to 4 or 5 with a couple of hamstring injuries. I'd like to have seen us fill this spot with Kieran Dyer who's got a few long term injuries left in him but we will see how this lad does.

If he is out to prove his fitness, when he returns, is he ahead or behind young Browning for the right back slot?

If he is behind, then I really don't see much point in signing the 27-year-old.

Seems our club now has money to burn - or owed an agent mate a favour!

Some kind of brinksmanship, surely.

I'll be impressed if he recognises a ball.

Hibbert was finished three years ago so we can't really class him as back-up either. One person I'd have liked to have seen us take is another Brazilian right-back from Man Utd during last summer in Raphael. That's all history now so not to dwell on it, so best of luck to this lad I suppose.

OTOH, maybe a long-term backup for the European games? Who knows.

One of the young patients commented: "It's worth it just to see the smiles on their faces... They're an inspiration to us all when you bear in mind that many of them will never kick a ball again."

Why do we keep wasting money on such injury-prone players. We have enough deadwood, without adding more. Browning is fine as cover.

We'd be better off turning this list of deadwood into genuine first XI starters instead of filling the stands. At an average of £30k a week, and some will be on more, we are paying £17M-20M+ a season. I know we need squad cover, but the below list needs to be halved with, two or three class players coming in.

1. Oviedo
2. Gibson
3. Kone
4. Naismith
5. Pienaar
6. McGeady
7. Hibbert
8. Howard
9. Lennon
10. Osman
11. Barry

Why has nobody suggested this before???

For a start, Browning is a better centre-half than right-back.

And we just lost Jagielka. And Stones might get his head turned.

This guy might ultimately be a good-value back-up for right-back.

I'll assume the money involved isn't huge. And he'll certainly break down at Doncaster if he's made of glass.

Good luck to the lad; if he survives Doncaster (which makes Widnes look posh, and warm) he might have something about him!

Whether or not he turns out to be bargain of the year, only time will tell... but at whose expense? I chant the same mantra: Martinez and his staff of crock finders need to go as soon as... before we nose-dive even further.

How anybody can liken this guy to Peter Ried's situation when Howard signed him is beyond belief. By the time he got to us, Reidy was one of the most talented midfielders in the game and, in spite of injury, was renowned for just gritting his teeth and giving MotM performances!

And he did.

We've got Coleman, Browning and Pennington... all capable of first team football and next season Holtgate might be pushing for a place... so who of the above does Martinez think is shit?

Duncan #25 ... Love it!

A great goal indeed but on a serious note, I think we're trying to help this lad out. Left Brazil when he was 21, suffered severe injuries to both knees and is stoney broke. His last club stopped his wages and, despite no injury problems for three years, no other club would take him on.

After training with us for 5 or 6 weeks, he looked very useful in a recent U21 game and we have sent him to Doncaster for a month. His wage will not be much more than academy buttons or the League One club would not have taken him on.

With most of our squad on £2 or 3 million a year, a few coppers to help a young professional footballer regain his honour and get back on his feet is something which pleases me very much. It also makes me proud to be an Evertonian.

Munir El Haddadi excites me a lot more tbh.

If Harold's seen him play, and rates him as a decent player, then the only question will be about his ability to stay fit. Seems a good risk to me.

Do you reckon Munir might cost a lot Colin?!

I'd certainly settle for Duncan Watmore, the Sunderland kid who came on and ran rings round Coleman and Stones. The way he destroyed Browning and our U21s last season will live long in the memory. He was also voted the best player in the Euro U20s tournament. A great prospect indeed.

Jim, I think we could get him for around the same amount we got Geri for (£4.5M). He will definitely have a buy-back clause as these kids have so much potential but little hope of first team action for the foreseeable future. I still haven't given up hope that we might still get Sergi Roberto though.

Hope we get in before them.

On a serious note, I think we have established now how much Lukaku benefits from having another forward next to him with the strength and technique to hold it up and the nous to make some good runs (ie, Kone not Naismith). If Kone gets crocked again, we have no-one else of that ilk and I think maybe we should.

Nothing to be ashamed of in that we can't simply go out and buy success like the Man Utd, Man City, RedShite way of doing things. We have one of, if not the best youth development strategies in the country. I am immensely proud of that. Our business model is different, through necessity perhaps or part choice.

I fully support the commercial caution that goes with the territory, in fact it's one of the reasons I am proud to be an Evertonian. The Club has heart, gentlemen, real heart...