Profit over promise for Everton as Stones gets his move

Fewer Evertonians will shed a tear as John Stones leaves for the “greener pastures” of the Eithad Stadium than would have a year ago. It will still gnaw at the gut, however, that fans won’t get to see if Stones could blossom into the Everton defensive legend many believe he could have become.

Lyndon Lloyd 09/08/2016 99comments  |  Jump to last

So, it turns out Money Can Buy You Stones.

Well, of course it can… you just need enough of it at the right time and Chelsea’s offers which, if you believe the papers, went as high as £38m last August, failed on both counts. Neither Everton nor Roberto Martinez were prepared to sell John Stones so close to the end of the transfer window — and certainly not for anything under £40m.

On the one hand, Bill Kenwright and the Board were surely confident that, with the European Championships on the horizon and the defender still being so comparatively young (particularly for a defender), his value would only continue to rise.

On the other, Martinez was surely convinced that, with Everton's 2014-15 season being, in his eyes, an aberration, a successful 2015-16 season and the prospect of qualification for the Champions League would leave Stones feeling that he made the right decision to stay at Goodison Park.

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The majority of the fans, meanwhile, were eager to shrug off the fact that he had submitted a transfer request, believing that the pressure of the spotlight and from his advisors had got to him and that he could settle back in and become the bedrock of the Blues’ defence for years to come.

The reality for Martinez and Everton looks as though it will end up being entirely different. The Catalan oversaw a disastrous campaign that ended with his sacking in May and Stones struggled in a failing team while fissures reformed in his relationship with some of the club’s fans.

That was illustrated by his infamous “calm down” gesture to the Gwladys Street after he had extricated himself from a tight spot with a series of Cruyff turns in his own six-yard box when “Row Z” would have been the preferred option so late in a game against title-chasing Tottenham.

While demonstrative of Stones’s confidence in his own abilities — perhaps his manager’s encouragement to “express himself” was also ringing in his ears — the incident also seemed to reveal a disconnect between the young player’s apparent lack of urgency and supporters’ unease at unnecessary risk-taking at a time when Everton were conceding late goals and throwing away points at Goodison Park on a frustratingly regular basis.

It’s for all of those reasons — the transfer request, the apparent lack of empathy with a nervy Goodison, his faltering form and, this summer, another request to leave — that fewer Evertonians will shed a tear as Stones leaves for the “greener pastures” of the Eithad Stadium.

It will still gnaw at the gut, however, that fans won’t get to see if Stones could blossom into the Everton defensive legend many believe he could have become. Certainly, there were high hopes that Koeman could have transformed him into a world-class, versatile, ball-playing centre-half in his own image.

The inflation of the domestic transfer market may have reached new levels of insanity this summer but, even allowing for Barnsley’s reported 15% sell-on clause, a guaranteed £47.5m fee still represents an enormous amount of money for a player who didn’t play a minute at Euro2016. Manchester City will be paying that premium, however, knowing that they are investing in potential and that, should he realise it, it will be money well-spent in the long run.

Everton will have the means to shop not only for his replacement but for reinforcements elsewhere to a defence that was severely depleted by the time Muhamed Besic had to be called into emergency service as a right- and centre-back back in April.

The frustration, as ever though, is that, while a player whose heart is not 100% Blue has been ushered out for a massive profit, the club they have lost a key player at a highly inconvenient juncture — five days before the start of the new season does not make for ideal preparation. Koeman will have had his targets in mind, and moves are already afoot to fill the void left by Stones... but it’s an unwanted distraction on the eve of the new campaign.

The dust will settle, of course; a talented young defender will be replaced and Koeman’s side may even be stronger for it defensively in the short-term but the saga is still an uncomfortable echo of Wayne Rooney 12 years ago. While the Moshiri era is still rich in its own promise, Everton are still not able to prevent their top talent from being lured away by their richer rivals. The hope is, of course, that that will not be the case for much longer.

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Jack Convery
1 Posted 09/08/2016 at 17:31:32
Lyndon – well thought out piece.. Though I thought our days of selling the silver were over now and not in the future. Man City have bought a gem and they know it.

Due to the Pogba deal, this will go under the radar somewhat but it will be the deal of this summer and will be seen as a snip of a price in the future.

A sad day.

Brian Williams
2 Posted 09/08/2016 at 17:34:11
He didn't want to be here, and at times played that way. No choice but to let him go, IMHO.
Colin Williams
3 Posted 09/08/2016 at 17:41:07
Sell the very best young talent around ... and buy a 32-year-old who at best has two good years left at top level! What a load of bollocks!

What is happening to our great club!? A short term option, you say! What a load of crap that is too! Great ambition... NOT!
Geoffrey Hall
4 Posted 09/08/2016 at 17:47:52
Same old Everton have to sell before they buy, nothing new. I think Stones was overrated myself. I hope we get Williams and Kone but we still need a number 10 and another striker.

If Bony wasn't in the deal with Stones it means we don't have the money people are saying we do.
James Watts
6 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:11:53
Geoffrey (#4), in my opinion, we DEFINITELY don't have the money available that's been reported. We know this from our transfer dealings thus far.

Sure Koeman and Walsh needed time to look at the squad, which I buy into. But a blind squirrel could see what we needed BEFORE letting any of our players leave, and certainly after a session or two of training we should have been buying targets. But there is the problem, we simply don't have the money to buy until we sell.

We sell Stones, we buy Williams, maybe Kone and maybe Bolaise. Nothing seems to have changed.

Maybe Moshiri is putting all his money into the stadium. Maybe he's not even doing that. Who knows. I certainly don't. But I have certainly not been too impressed to date after all the hope of early summer and the 'new era' bollocks that I for one previously believed.

Martin Mason
7 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:22:05
I'm shocked and stunned that we are again defining ourselves as a club some way below Man City in the pecking order by selling possibly our best player to them and buying a £12M 32-year-old as a replacement. Don't get me wrong, in Holgate and Galloway I believe we have replacements but why are we selling unless it is only to get rid of dead wood?

It is possible that Everton are looking at every player as a potential business opportunity and everybody has a price. They may well have seen that he is never going to be a £50M+ player and they may also be looking for exception deals that will help finance the ground move.

How did we let Shkodran Mustafi leave when he may fetch a similar price to Stones to move to Arsenal.

I see the Stone's sale though as a massive backward step by Everton. I hope that Koeman and Walsh show me to be just a typical TWebber though.

John Crook
8 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:23:08
I've said it before and I'll say it again, could somebody please show me any evidence-written or otherwise - that even hints that Moshiri is prepared to spend without selling. Even the sports writers of the Echo have taken it upon themselves to state that we are finally a rich club with £Millions to spend. Why? Ultimately time will tell, but my guess is that this man intends to make as much money as possible (to be fair who can blame him).

There are clues of course, our new DOF for a start. This man was "purchased" to select players who have the potential to be sold at a profit. We can only hope that this strategy may bring us silverware, if not players remaining for the long haul. The only realistic chance of turning this club into a spend first, sell second enterprise is by moving to a new stadium and we know how long we've been contemplating that!

Dont mean to sound gloomy, in fact, I'm confident we'll have an infinitely better season than the last one. COYB.

Phil Walling
9 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:26:04
Whilst some of us believe that the Club's cash flow still requires the TV money to be in the kitty before transfer business can be done, it seems City felt a similar need as they waited until today to cough up for Stones. Perhaps they hoped Everton would run short before now and HAVE to accept a smaller offer.

Whilst our club may have cashed in on Stones PROMISE, if it takes as long as Barkley's has to be fulfilled, we could well have found the team at the wrong end of the table rather than midway.

Unlike his predecessor, Koeman strikes me as a pragmatist and the signing of a warrior such as Williams should make for a much safer defence in the quest to get us back to the top third of the Premier.

Jay Harris
10 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:29:00
Martin
Stones did not want to be here and made that clear.

He was under contract but thats worth nothing these days especially if Stones was going to carry on going through the motions instead of defending as if his life depended on it.

Williams is twice the player right now and a proper leader. Just what we need.

You heard Baines go on about the lack of chemistry this is one source gone now lets get rid of the other one and get players in who take some pride in wearing the shirt instead of dreaming about other clubs.

Lyndon Lloyd
11 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:31:26
It's misleading to draw a straight line from Stones's sale to the purchase of Williams. The latter might replace the former in the short term but we were going to sign at least one central defender this window anyway, regardless of whether Stones went.

If Lamine Kone is the new target rather than Koulibaly (who was always a very optimistic shot anyway) then that's a more realistic swap fro Stones if that's the way you want to look at the deals.

It's over-simplifying matters, though. Stones's actual replacement might not come for a couple of years – i.e. once we're in a better position to really attract top talent. In the meantime, we have Mason Holgate to bring through.

John (8), it seems as though we had to get the profit from the sale of Stones before we could really start spending to satisfy FFP rules.

Brent Stephens
12 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:37:56
Lyndon #11 - do you always have to be so sensible!

Brian Williams
13 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:39:46
Looking at this logically and without emotion (if that's possible for us Evertonians) you would think that Koeman had been "sold" Moshiri's vision/project/dream in order for him to make the move from Soton.
Now, taking it that Koeman was happy for Stones to go (as he surely must have been) would lead me to think that he has some sort of plan himself or has he turned from being a shrewd and talented manager into a Moshiri/Kenwright yes man? I doubt that very much.
So, as disappointed as we may be at letting go someone who has been described as the best British centre back since Ferdinand, but also described (by some Evertonians) as a poor defender with no aerial competence whatsoever, maybe Koeman sees things differently from us?
I can't honestly see Stones having been sold against Koeman's wishes, just can't see it, and if Koeman's happy to let him go to fulfil his own plan for the club them I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I believe that if we get two good"defenders" in, in place of Stones, that will be progress.
In an ideal world we'd have kept him and bought the two defenders as well, but only City live in an ideal world.
Thomas Kelvin Jones
14 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:41:07
Thats an intersting fact Lyndon;

''it seems as though we had to get the profit from the sale of Stones before we could really start spending to satisfy FFP rules.''

Promise or not, Everton as a defensive unit and as a back five were utter shambles last season. A sulking John Stones was not the answer to that. Ashley Williams and Lamine Kone will go a long way to improving the team.
How long should we hang on to promise. We need a team for this weekend and this season!

Jay Harris
15 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:42:51
We have to remeber Koeman was a world class CB himself so I am sure he knows a good one when he sees them. Just look at Van Dijk and Fonte at Southampton.

Lets get behind the new regime and stop carping about not going for Messi or Ronaldo.

Stephen Scofield
16 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:43:16
I find it highly suspect that other transfers are now nearing completion after stones was moved on. Makes me wonder if the £100m war chest had an asterisk *when stones and or Lukaku are sold.
Brian Williams
17 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:45:28
Who, connected with the club, ever stated that there would be a £100m transfer kitty?

As far as I know that figure was one that the red tops and rumour sites came up with

and was something "some" Evertonians chose to believe!

Patrick Murphy
18 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:49:40
Brian (17) I and a few others have tried to find an article that shows a person in a position of power at Goodison stating such a thing as a £100m war-chest at any time during the last six months. It's looking like a made up figure by some journalist in order to sensationalise Everton related stories.
Brian Williams
19 Posted 09/08/2016 at 18:52:18
Patrick#18.
Exactly. Just like the reports of us being linked with every man and his dog.
Some of the reports some of us chose to believe, and some of them we chose to consider a pile of shite because they didn't fit in with our own dreams or wishes. Although I DO hope Niasse going to Palace on loan as part of the deal to bring Bolasie to us isn't just a dream!!
Brian Williams
20 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:11:27
Just seen Stones' interview after signing for City and have to say I've never seen a player so happy and relieved to have made a move.
Pretty obvious he was desperate to leave us.
Phil Walling
21 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:13:49
FFP, Lyndon ? Perhaps that's why Manu waited until today to finalise the Pogba purchase. Cough, cough !
Colin Glassar
22 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:15:40
My head is spinning. After weeks of sweet FA now all this happens. I can't keep up!!
Jim Burns
23 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:16:49
I've said it before on here - Koeman 's arrival at our club was one season too late for Stonesy - he'd already been confused and derailed by Martinez' coaching ineptitude.

A real shame as I'm firmly in the camp that believes Stones has the potential to be a top class international defender - but - timing is everything and we were never going to keep him.

I genuinely hope the lad realises his full potential - and like Lyndon, I know it will gnaw away over the coming years if he does .

Onwards and upwards etc etc

Brent Stephens
24 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:16:56
Phil, don't Man U have a far bigger income than we do? And isn't the Pogba fee amortised over several years?
Ian Hollingworth
25 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:20:53
Get a grip guys he wanted out badly.

He is a great talent but will never achieve the greatness he maybe could because I think he lacks the mental strength required and that will hold him back in the big moments that define the true greats.
Phil Walling
26 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:28:47
Brent, in truth only little Bournemouth get really punished under FFP. The 'biggies' find all kinds of self-owned companies to swell the gross income figure !
Brent Stephens
27 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:31:39
Yes, I know, Phil. It did sound as if FFP was always going to be a dud. Doesn't bother us, anyway, as we're not looking to European football - are we?
Rob Dolby
28 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:34:45
I am sorry to see him go as I do believe that he will be one of the best defenders around for years to come. He will no doubt shine under Guardiola.
The whole thing reminds me of the Lescot saga and the arrival of Distan a player who served us brilliantly, Lets hope that Williams brings the same passion to the blues that he has for Wales.
Not ideal preparation for the new season though at least we have cover at centre back whereas if Lukaku goes we don't have anyone who I rate who can play up top.
Craig Walker
29 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:47:04
Another superb article Lyndon. Being pedantic, the 'calm down' gesture was to the Park End.

Glad to see the back of him. I saw his stats today. Something like the 37th best defender in the league at interceptions and tackles. He is only marginally better at ball distribution than Williams and how many passes were to Howard? Do we really need a Beckenbauer whilst having palpitations at every incoming free kick and corner? He doesn't get tight enough. I lost count of the goals he was at fault for last season and please don't say that's Martinez's fault. The performance at Anfield was beyond embarrassing and he's already been influential for City with that performance in the semi final. Away at Watford when he hits a pass to Robles just after we'd taken the lead. Result: corner then 1:1. He was also fortunate not to give away a penalty at the Etihad in the league for over stretching after not being tight enough. A few times he made Sterling look class and that didn't happen much last season! The under hit pass against Swansea, being skinned by Defou, out jumped by Sakho was it? etc. He won't be a regular under Allerdyce and I think we've sold at the right time.

Bobby Thomas
30 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:49:27
I waved him off a year ago or more. He was never staying, he was always going.

At the moment we can't compete with the set up at City. I don't know why anyone is upset or suprised. We did well to hold off for a year but there was no way we were holding out again, especially after last season.

Our revolution starts now, hopefully.

Rick Tarleton
31 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:52:50
I'm still not sure how the Moshiri/Koeman era differs from the Kenwright/Moyes/Martinez eras. We still are a selling club and we are over-paying for a thirty-two year old. Jagielka, Baines, Barry and Williams, there's a quartet for the future.
Peter Carpenter
32 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:55:42
Holgate will prove to be better.
Brent Stephens
33 Posted 09/08/2016 at 19:57:16
Rick, we haven't had a Moshiri/Koeman era yet. They've only just arrived. What did we say about the Spanish manager - got to give him one year, two years before you can judge. Do we really have to have "success" on day 1?
Frank Crewe
35 Posted 09/08/2016 at 20:40:07
Is this the same promise as the promise of Barkley? How much longer will we have to wait for that to arrive.

I'm tired of promise. I want to see proven ability. Williams and Kone (if we can get him) have it. RK and Walsh have obviously seen Everton's future and Stones isn't in it.

Let City put up with his cock ups. £50 million for a second rate CB that cost £3 million doesn't bother me at all. RK wanted more aggression and the players he has bought so far, Gana, Williams, and hopefully Bolasie and Kone are exactly that. Aggressive. We still need more but it's a start.

Colin Glassar
36 Posted 09/08/2016 at 20:48:14
Why bother having an academy, eh, Frank? Let's be like Chelsea.
Martin Mason
37 Posted 09/08/2016 at 20:52:37
I've calmed down a bit now. Stones has gone and long term we are well covered in his position. Williams is to cover the next year or two as Holgate and Galloway develop and that is sensible.

We have a few phases to go through, one is initial stabilisation and that is what we are doing now. Medium term is to improve our position and get into Europe and long term is to challenge the very top clubs but this is a 5-year aim, not this week's. We have no divine right to get to phase 3 and we are competing with clubs that financially out muscle us.

We are approximately at day one, Stones wanted success now and we can't deliver it so good luck to him and the same with Lukaku. If he insists on going then he's best gone as soon as possible.

Remember in all this we have to finance a ground move and having Moshiri as a backer will make this happen. If we have to supplement it by making money on player sales, then so be it. Arsenal did the same to make the Emirates happen.

The people running Everton aren't fans, they are businessmen that have vastly more expertise than us and it isn't necessarily a simplistic case of profit over promise which is meaningless. It is about meeting long-term targets that we didn't have under the last board.

Colin Glassar
38 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:22:27
Good post, Martin, that's helped me calm down a bit as well. I'm more than prepared to be patient but it's always sad to lose such a great, young talent.
David Chait
39 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:23:36
Pretty sure we were tracking Williams and I regret not seeing Williams and Stones pairing... Moving on... I'm sure we will need 2 central defensive signings. Seems Galloway isn't rates for first team yet and I don't know too many managers that walk in and give the defense to a newbie. So Holgate will have to wait his turn..
Mike Galley
40 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:24:35
Agree 100% with Lyndon's opening piece. Whilst I believe that the parts of young Johns game that are lacking can be taught, I've had doubts about his mental strength (bottle?) since last seasons Anfield Derby.

Admittedly, it was a horrific night for everyone connected to our club, but Stones's actions that night stank of a lack backbone. I wish the lad all the best for the future, but if I'm right about his character, than it might the one thing that stops him going all the way to the top.

Keith Monaghan
41 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:28:54
A lot of our fans need to get in the real world. Sadly, our record for the last 20 years says our prospect of winning trophies are poor – top players (who are not EFC fans) want to join clubs with proven current track records of winning trophies – that's why we can't currently sign "big name stars".

John Stones is potentially a top class player, who struggled in the 2nd half of last season owing to playing in a poor defence and victimisation by some of our fans. How many teams really progress quickly after selling a top player?

Our biggest need is for a creative midfield player – sadly, Ross will never be that - how many big bids are coming in for him? He's not really worth a place in our team – already given a goal away against lower league opposition this season and missed a pen!

Dave Ganley
42 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:31:10
Lyndon after the train wreck our former, I hesitate to say manager due to his complete incompetence, left us with is it any surprise some players wish to go elsewhere? We are on a downward spiral, the dressing room is obviously quite caustic if the on field demeanour is anything to go by and certain players think they are far better than they are. Allied to the fact that players like Stones Barkley et al have gone backwards in their development and established players like Baines Jags Coleman etc are made to look like novices.

To be honest, the state of the playing side of the club is in as much need of attention as when Moyes came, albeit with slightly better players. Martinez has single handedly and in such a short space of time destroyed any teamspirit that existed and fostered a.slovenly poisonous environment that now exists at GP. It's hardly a place where any player worth his salt and in his prime is likely to come at present. I think people don't realise how much of a mess it is. We need stability and unity before the stars appear. Having a team that actually tries and runs their heart out for 90 minutes for the club and fans would be a start.

There was a reason the atmosphere at GP was the worst in an age last season. If Stones didn't want to be there then fair enough, same goes for Lukaku. Both can be decent players on their day but we're very selective when that day was. They may turn out to be bastions of the game in future years but not with us. They have made that perfectly clear and as such I don't want them here either if that's the case. I only want players who are 100% committed to Everton.

And as for somebody trying to compare Stones to Alan Ball ffs get a grip. Stones has potential which he may or may not fulfill. Alan Ball was a superstar and a World Cup winner. To be mentioned in the same breath is just ridiculous.

Martin Mason
43 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:33:44
Stones played exactly as he was coached to by Everton. To say that this lad is anything but a superb footballer with massive potential is worse than ridiculous. He has a risk downside but if he didn't then the price would have doubled.

Good luck to the lad but I have a feeling that Everton have done superb business with his purchase, development and sale. Remember that buying and selling is Everton's business model. We aren't located in SW London.

Eugene Ruane
44 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:35:13
Just an aside (and/or 'for your consideration') - those peeved at Stones leaving us, but thrilled each time one of our young players is selected to play for England, might consider the following

Link

Paul Smith
45 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:38:37
Kind of ironic Eugene in that Stones will still be at City next season and Hart and Raheem will be jogged on.
Dave Ganley
46 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:42:08
Yeah well I've never been thrilled at any Everton involvement with England. My first distaste of it came Mexico 86 when Lineker used it as a platform to get his move to Barca. That and the ridiculous misuse of the rest of our players only used when injuries came well it was a piss take.

Since then I have never been bothered with England and if Stones only changed his.mind at the mithering of Sterling and Hart then good riddance to him.

Anthony Lamb
47 Posted 09/08/2016 at 21:42:31
Interesting points raised by Martin. The issues surrounding players moving are usually beyond the insights of the average supporter. The John Stones case was obviously simplified by his actual request to leave the club. We can guess forever as to the reasons but whatever they may be money will be in the top three! Now he has gone to mega rich City with no doubt an obscene salary to accompany his move enabling him to work under a coaching regime with a status second to none.

However, this then has to be set against an Everton manager who has to unravel the shambles left by the idiocies of the last regime in a relative very short space of time. What is obviously needed as an immediate replacement in a proven professional centre back who knows the demands of the position and the nature of the division in which he is playing.

As for his age, did the European championships show him as a geriatric? Have his last campaigns at Swansea given rise to "an aged struggler"? What Koemen needs is a good pro who can stabilise the core of his back line and give him time to construct that aspect of the side in the immediate future either with younger players coming through or by additions.

Talk all we like about Everton being a selling club etc, well of course we are. All clubs are when it suits them or when they have no options. Suarez left Liverpool; Ronaldo left Man Utd; Bale left Spurs etc. I am 71 years of age remembering the days when we were the ones buying players when we needed. Sadly now we are at present no more than a club trying to vie with others as the "best of the rest". Facing reality is a first step.

Rebuilding the team as a force will take time, rebuilding the sorry mess that the club has become in many ways, the squad (Gibson, McGeady, Niasse etc) stadium, business acumen, professional operations etc will take a lot longer. John Stones will be one of any number who will come and go, hopefully with a profit to the club and aid its attempts to strengthen the squad of players! Let us hope that Mr Koeman and the current regime are around long enough to establish it.

Nicholas Ryan
48 Posted 09/08/2016 at 22:30:07
It seems fairly clear now, that both Stones and Lukaku have been leaving, since the day they arrived !
Geoff Evans
49 Posted 09/08/2016 at 23:28:59
Bloody good business for a player who couldn't get a game for a piss poor England team.
Ian Jones
50 Posted 09/08/2016 at 23:52:33
I find it interesting that Mourinho, who seemingly spent so much time last season trying to buy John Stones for Chelsea, appears to have shown no interest in him this time round. Perhaps he has just changed his mind!
Anthony Dwyer
51 Posted 09/08/2016 at 23:58:44
Yes I thought that was strange too Ian.

All in all though, we have again lost a super star to a team 30 miles away.

Sad state of affairs, I could take him joining Madrid or Barca, but to lose our prize asset to another Manchester club is a hard swallow.

Ian Jones
52 Posted 09/08/2016 at 00:05:32
Anthony. It is odd. I would have thought losing a player like Stones to City and Pep Guardiola would have annoyed Jose.

I am not worried about losing him to any club. Whilst it would have been great to keep him, I am not sure if he is the type of defender we need at present. If we can have him back at 27 or 28 when he has matured into the top class defender, that will be fine. :)

I also see him in a defensive midfield role. So who knows what will happen.

Jamie Sweet
53 Posted 10/08/2016 at 03:00:08
So essentially it looks like we are getting Williams, Kone, Gueye and £10m in our pocket, all for an inexperienced lad who didn't really want to play for us!

Cracking young footballer. Great defender? I'm not entirely convinced.

Good luck to him though. Which ever way you look at it, we are far better off for having had him at our club.

Colin Metcalfe
54 Posted 10/08/2016 at 03:19:35
Yep it's like trading in your Rolls Royce and buying a Ford Fiesta, a Mini Clubman and a second-hand Beamer!! FFS!
Paul Kossoff
55 Posted 10/08/2016 at 04:16:16
Stones wasn't the finished article by a long way as a centre half, possibility he would have improved greatly under Koeman's training but we will never know. Hopefully we will be stronger in defence this season with Williams.

Man City have got a gem in the making, but City's owners want success now, they won't wait for improvements.

Peter Barry
57 Posted 10/08/2016 at 04:56:20
I hope the City supporters like his Prima Donna attitude and showboating in his own box .
George Stuart
59 Posted 10/08/2016 at 05:46:42
On his triumphant ride through Manchester they should have a slave whisper in his ear "remember Jolene Lescott". (Was it Jolene? I forget. Says it all really)
Nigel Gregson
60 Posted 10/08/2016 at 06:23:59
This new Everton revolution sounds a lot like the old Everton revolution. Flog high potential young talent to high paying Manchester Club, replace with old battling pros. Not spend a penny more than what the transfer fees brought in.

Just waiting for Lukaku to be flogged and replaced by Bony and the circle will be complete. Thank god I've moved to Asia where the time zone makes it tough to watch games.

Paul Andrews
61 Posted 10/08/2016 at 06:29:11
Brian Williams @13.

Precisely.

Koeman if he didn't want Stones to leave could have just said "No, Sorry, he is under contract and he is staying".

He has assessed Stones and made the decision to sell him.

Paul Hay
62 Posted 10/08/2016 at 06:48:19
Good article.

Firmly hold to the view that if Mr Koeman had wanted John Stones to stay then the deal would have not gone through. He's his own man and would not have been pressured by Mosh or Bill.

The entire issue would have been discussed prior to his arrival and we would have heard directly from the manager if an 'agreed understanding' had been broken. Koeman is not one to keep his mouth shut if he feels he has been let down.

The player wanted to leave – keep tempering any regrets about his departure with that fact. We move on.

Keep the faith.

Mike Green
63 Posted 10/08/2016 at 06:51:48
Don't take the Joe Hart / Sterling business too seriously, it's not a schoolyard game of 'Pick me! Pick me! I want to pway wiv my fweeeends!!!!!'

This lad knows / has been told enough times that he could eventually be the best defender on the planet. He's ambitious and wants to be that player and that means playing with the best players, in the top tournaments, under the best manager. City tick those boxes more than any other in the league and thats why he's made up - because he's going to be training with Kompany to try and stop Aguerro and Silva in the build up to a game against Madrid, all under the watchful eye of Pep Guardiola - not so he can share a smoothy with Raheem down at Dunkin Donuts in the Trafford Centre, which he could do with him anyway. Him Sterling and Hart could set up a love nest in Warrington and have the best of both worlds if they really wanted.

Cahill would've been saying 'Come to us', Rooney and Smalling would've been saying 'Come to us', as probably would Wilshere, Kane, and the training camp cat. Barkley would've simply stayed quiet in the corner playing his Nintendo, knowing he left the club 12 months ago really, the rest is just a beauty contest. Which City have won.

Stones wanted to go for professional reasons. That's why he left Barnsley for us - a step up. We can't offer him the same without consistent Champions League football / challenging for the title so just thank your lucky stars we are the ones picking up the £40m profit on the way.

Maybe in a few years time we've lifted ourselves up the pecking order but were not there yet, that's Moshiri and Koemans job and its a bitter pill to swallow but at this point we can only do that by getting up the league, putting our money on the table and in the greater scheme of things building a new stadium.

Keeping Stones was not an option. We've got the second highest transfer fee in history for a defender in return - for potential he may never realise.

At this point in time, given how the merry-go-round works, we've got a good deal; the key now is how we use the money - and the proof will be in the pudding on that one.

Kieran Fitzgerald
64 Posted 10/08/2016 at 07:14:32
Mike, keeping Stones was not an option is the exact phrase.

1.He didn't want to be here, 2. we needed to sort out Martinez' mess of a defence, 3. we needed the money for a stadium.

Pick any one or all three of those reasons to highlight the state of the club. It is a sad reflection of where the club is at right now but it is a reality, whether we like it or not.

The one positive was that in so far as we could, given the three reasons above, we sold Stones on our terms. We didn't just cave in at the first offer but held out for a very decent fee.

Paul Kelly
65 Posted 10/08/2016 at 07:15:15
Fuck John Stones, roll on Saturday.
Ian Cowhig
66 Posted 10/08/2016 at 07:31:42
Every player has a net worth. Just imagine how Juventus fans feel about losing Pogba. And he has realised his promise (hence the £90 million). What we need to look at, is did we get the better end of this deal; or get shafted. And personally think we got an excellent deal for a want away player.

Personally do not believe he will become an excellent defender. But I do see him excelling in a similar role to what Dier is in at Spurs. I will watch his progress with Man City, and wish him well, but hope he has a poor game against us every time. A performance like his first half at Anfield would do nicely.

Ron Sear
67 Posted 10/08/2016 at 07:35:29
I can't see a problem with Stones moving on. it makes Everton's job a hell of a lot easier when we play Man City.

I never really rated the lad, he always seemed strangely detached and divorced from what the rest of the team were doing when he started performing pretty tricks in the wrong place.

I watched an interview with him on Bay TV, I have rarely seen a football player who seemed so aloof from reality, not at all a team player.

Tony Abrahams
68 Posted 10/08/2016 at 07:43:11
Actually made me look at Stones in a different light that comment to be honest.

Ordinary England players, saying come and play with us? Makes you sick really, because if these players would have been born in Iceland, they would now be playing for a team in France, or Bundesliga 2, instead of being paid an absolute fortune to be playing for City. Players on a hundred grand a week, finding time to make adverts for head & shoulders, but are never on their toes.

Stones has a lot of natural ability, and can be an absolute pleasure to watch but he didn't want to stay at Everton, and only the future will tell us who ended up getting the better deal. I personally think the kid might have made a big mistake. (Impossible really, when he's probably on about £600,000 per month!)


Henrik Lyngsie
69 Posted 10/08/2016 at 08:26:41
Good point, Martin (#37).

Crazy days these. £47.5 million for Stones looks like a good prize for us at first sight. But realizing it gives you Williams and Bolasie in return (if they are going through) the I am not convinced it is a good deal. I actually like both Williams and Bolasie I just think Stones potentially would be more valuable than these two. We will have Williams for the next two years, while Stones could have been our leader for the next ten years.

My worry is that by loosing our players with star quality, Stones and Lukaku, we will not attract players with star quality. It is already difficult with an 11th place, no European football and no sugar-daddy.

Laurie Hartley
70 Posted 10/08/2016 at 08:37:15
I have always been a Stones fan but he wanted away and he got what he wanted. I can live with that and will get over it very quickly – in fact I already have. For me, the reality is that at this stage of his career Stones is still a boy and what we were sadly lacking last year were men.

I was getting concerned about the apparent lack of transfer activity but if by the end of the transfer window we have managed to sign Gueye, Williams, Kone, and Bolasie, I will be a very happy Evertonian.

As far as the new hierarchy is concerned, Moshiri, Ryazantsev, and Koeman are light years ahead of Kenwright, Elstone, and Martinez.

Eddie Dunn
71 Posted 10/08/2016 at 08:55:58
Although Stones was tempted by his City based England teammates we should thank Hodgson for not playing him in the Euros, as I am sure his price would have dropped. Even in the Man Utd friendly the commentator and that tit Hargreaves were focusing on his every minor mistake. The growing feeling in the media reports I have read over the last months has been that he has great potential but is still making too many mistakes.

I suppose that it is normal for a lad still learning his trade in the glare of the Premier League, as opposed to the relative obscurity of one of the lower leagues or the Under-21s.

As for the courting done on England duty, it has always happened, but perhaps Hart and Sterling should have been concentrating on improving there international form rather than chatting-up potential teammates.

In my opinion he will not fulfill his promise, and it will prove to be good business. I recall how Alan Green enthused about how Rodwell would one day move back into the defence to become a ball playing centre-half. Maybe Stones will move into midfield and become the new Gareth Barry?

John Hammond
72 Posted 10/08/2016 at 09:05:32
Laurie #70 totally agree. The kid didn't want to be here so we sold him for a hefty profit and now we move on. Looks like we've got more than an adequate replacement in Williams and no doubt more signings before the window shuts. It's been a tough window but shit happens. COYB!
Ian Cowhig
73 Posted 10/08/2016 at 09:14:13
The irony of Stones being tapped up by Hart and Sterling will be that both will probably be sold by Pep in the next 12 to 24 months.

Citeh fans believe they were sold a pup with Sterling. And the performances I have watched from him over the last year have been awful. Very much like Shaqiri in that we know that Pep lost faith in his inconsistency. And Stirling has inconsistency as one of his main characteristics.

Hart is another one under pressure. As both front line keeper with both City and England. Pep won't take the persistent mistakes that he makes. Can make brilliant save after save. But then gift sides a goal.

Eric Myles
74 Posted 10/08/2016 at 09:24:12
Eddie #71, now he's a City player, nobody will notice Stones's mistakes.
Ray Robinson
75 Posted 10/08/2016 at 09:41:45
Rarely has a player's talent divided opinion as much as Stones. Personally, I'll nail my colours to the mast and state that he is a fantastic footballer but only a slightly above average defender. Has he got potential? Obviously, it depends on whether you can teach the lad positional play, awareness of what's going on around you, correct decision making (possibly all down to experience?) and crucially how to compete effectively in aerial challenges (not sure that this can be taught if you are relatively slightly built).

People say how can a manager such as Guardiola be wrong in his assessment of the player? Well I'm not saying that I and other fellow Blues who can witness his limitations week on week know better but top managers can and do make mistakes (Kevin de Bruyne anyone?) - they sometimes take risks with promising players in the knowledge that they can just sell on and replace if they don't work out. Mourinho is a prime example of this approach. Who knows, Guardiola might be adopting this strategy with City's billions backing him? In other words, because the financial risks are so negligible, it's worth taking a punt on potential - it doesn't mean that they're absolutely certain that it'll work out. Stockpile a few ugly ducklings in case some of them turn into beautiful swans.

For what it's worth, I think that Stones will turn out to be a decent player for City in the League as they tend to have high possession rates and in that environment he will shine. However, let's see what he's like when under pressure from top European sides who take the game to City. Then I'm not so sure.

He could turn out to be an imperious defender or a Raheem Sterling - now he showed potential once.

But if it doesn't work out at City, do you think Guardiola will lose any sleep over £47.5m?

Phil Walling
76 Posted 10/08/2016 at 09:57:08
George@59, any check through the record books will show you that Joleon Lescott did pretty well out of his move to Man City– both in respect of honours at club and international level and cash terms.

How one player develops and takes his opportunities has absolutely no bearing on another under different management.

I wish John Stones well and am glad the whole frolic has ended!

Lee Preston
77 Posted 10/08/2016 at 11:12:53
A player that doesn't want to be at the club is never really a big loss as far as I'm concerned. For all of his potential, he was a poor defender. Very pretty in possession, when he wasn't losing the ball in key areas, but at pure defending, he was poor. Maybe this is because his mind was elsewhere, maybe not, time will tell.

The key point is, if he didn't want to be at Everton, he was never going to realise any potential with us. So £47.5m for someone who wanted to leave is fine by me.

I'm interested to see how pundits and City fans react to his goal and game-costing mistakes. When it was little old Everton it was a case of 'let him make mistakes and learn, get off his back'. I very much doubt it will still be the case at City.

The irony of Hart telling Stones to go and play at City with him, when it looks like Guardiola will be replacing him and he potentially could be an Everton target... Unlucky Joe.

Joe Clitherow
79 Posted 10/08/2016 at 11:37:26
Who are you at Post 37?

Why are you talking so much sense and what have you done with Martin Mason?

Denis Richardson
80 Posted 10/08/2016 at 11:47:21
Personally very happy to see the back of him, grinning like a Cheshire cat in his new Man City kit.

a) He didn't want to be here (too many people ignore the fact he asked to leave a year ago, never mind now);
b) £47.5m IS a shit load of money, especially for a player who has not played well for two seasons and still has a lot to learn;
c) He showed in the derby he has no bottle and was a coward running off the pitch at half-time crying, bad stomach my arse;
d) We need defenders who can defend now and not in 2, 3, 4, 5 years' time;
e) His being around was no positive for team moral

Good riddance for me – now we can move on with a squad of players who actually want to pull on the Everton shirt.

Next to ship out, Lukaku. Faster the better.

Kevin Gillen
81 Posted 10/08/2016 at 12:04:13
I don't want to contradict the above posters who say, "He didn't want to be here" but there is a wider question of the appeal of our club.

Everton simply have to change the image of their club. Unfortunately you can only do that by winning more football matches than other teams and for that you need the best players, therefore you don't sell them.

It appears to me that as soon as we have anyone show any real promise, and this will no doubt apply to Davies, Connolly, Kenny, Ledson and Holgate, they want a move to a bigger club. My stories are wearing thin of us being a big club.

Not seen anything yet other than crisis management from the Moshiri regime. Williams and Kone a replacement for Stones? We needed another centre half last year and you can't have two men on the pitch by taking one off. I'm heading to Goodison on Saturday more in hope than expectation.

I at least thought we were trying harder in the Old Trafford warm up but we can't afford to get off to a slow start and in truth this pre-season has been pretty much a disaster on the recruitment and PR front as much as it has been on the performance/results front.

Alex Wilson
82 Posted 10/08/2016 at 12:06:36
It was the right time to have sold him. Whilst he may be talented, there was no improvement in his game at all throughout last season. If anything, he was a liability. That is not a sign of an outstanding talent. Like many English players heading to Man City, he will eventually spend more time on the bench and be sold off for a much smaller fee to another Premier League side.

His replacement, Williams, however, does have form and is playing out of his skin at the moment. And that is what we need – impact players. Regardless of age or low value, form is better than reputation and or promise. Look at Leicester's team last year – squad value was £23 million. I don't care who we sign as long as they bring success to the club.

Pete Edwards
83 Posted 10/08/2016 at 12:11:37
Is FFP actually enforcable though!? I seem to remember teams being looked into but not a great deal done to them in terms of penalties or fines?

I might be wrong but any examples of when FFP has been breached and a team/club heavily fined etc, I would be interested in hearing.

Carl Sanderson
84 Posted 10/08/2016 at 12:22:41
"Fuck John Stones, roll on Saturday"

I like this post.

Tom Bowers
85 Posted 10/08/2016 at 12:47:45
Stones has gone and he should have gone last season. He really wasn't all there in many games last season and it was one reason he didn't get a game at the Euros.

Sure he is a class act but not irreplaceable and he does have faults which in his position can be costly. Everton got big money for him and the main thing is that it makes Everton stronger.

Charles Barrow
86 Posted 10/08/2016 at 16:26:26
Personally I'm disappointed he's gone. We have to accept that he didn't want to stay, but like some others here I think he'll become a top class centre-half and a 100-cap England player. Shame it's not with Everton.
Andrew Keatley
87 Posted 10/08/2016 at 21:02:16
Think that Lyndon has written a terrific piece here responding to the departure of John Stones.

The fact that Stones has left for City is another sad indictment of the Martinez reign; I'm sometimes surprised we still have players who might actively want to play for us.

Money, the allure of the Champions League, the desire for England caps, the whispers in his ear from other City players with England – it's probably safe to assume that all of these things made a contribution. But the fact we have gone backwards as a team over the last two years is also not going to have made staying all that tempting.

I also think that "nervy Goodison" must have made the idea of staying here all the less palatable. Hope he goes on to achieve great things with the fantastic talent that I 100% believe he has.

Oliver Molloy
88 Posted 10/08/2016 at 21:22:47
Eugene @ 44,

Imagine how poor Ross Barkley must have been feeling then in the England camp!

Dave Williams
89 Posted 10/08/2016 at 21:32:11
He isn't a scouser so had no affinity with the club and just wanted to move up the ladder asap.

It doesn't make us a selling club- if a player wants to leave then we have to sell him. RS had to sell Suarez, Spurs had to sell Bale, MU had to sell Ronaldo - it applies to all clubs so let's move on. For my money Williams in the back four gives it a far more solid look!

Chris Williams
90 Posted 10/08/2016 at 21:33:40
Players move on or are moved on every season. That is football. Why the dismay. It is the way of the world and always has been.

Over the years I have seen Hickson, Collins, Vernon, Young, Royle, Ball, Kendall, Pickering, Gabriel etc and on to Lineker, Kanchelskis, and so on ,move on or be moved on, so I'm not about to be wringing my hands over John Stones.

Get over yourselves ffs.

Dave Ganley
91 Posted 10/08/2016 at 22:13:35
Andrew Keatley, let's have a think about who made Goodison nervy shall we .erm I would guess John Stones and pals did that with piss poor defending, shocking attitudes and a complete disregard to the people who go week after week to support these highly paid prima donnas.

You can fawn over the fantastic talent of John Stones (pity he neglected to show us this talent too often) that's your prerogative but don't start using the Goodison crowd as one of the reasons why he didn't stay. He has wanted to go for over 12 months and if he and the team had put in any kind of consistent effort in then the crowd wouldn't have turned. We can take rubbish football so long as the players show effort and pride in the shirt but this lot deserve everything they got last season with their pitiful efforts and you insult every Evertonian with that last paragraph. I'm sick and tired of so called fans trying to use the crowd as an excuse for players leaving .absolutely nonsense

Andrew Keatley
92 Posted 11/08/2016 at 01:20:18
Hello Dave (91). Not sure my last paragraph really does insult every Evertonian, but good to know you've been elected as our spokesperson. I was really just trying to see things from the player's perspective - and when fans turn against players then it probably doesn't make for a fun day's work (which is what it is to players - work).

And the phrase "so called fans" to describe anyone who criticises the Everton support is a bit unhelpful; some might say that sticking up for the players (and sometimes ex-players) is quite a good quality in a fan.

Ernie Baywood
93 Posted 11/08/2016 at 01:33:12
I think your last paragraph is entirely reasonable. It wasn't exactly a tough decision for Stones to make anyway but...

Champions League - tick
Chance to win the league - tick
Greater chance of national team place - tick
Right style of play for him - tick
More money - tick
But the Evertonians really appreciate the way I... Oh. Yeah, tick.

It probably wouldn't have made a difference but there was absolutely no reason for him to want to stay. I can't think of a departing player's transfer that has made more sense.

Nick Armitage
94 Posted 11/08/2016 at 08:13:19
Normally I'm gutted when we sell our best players but he hasn't done anything to make me feel gutted. Average defender, poor in the air, woeful positionally and he switches off more than Yobo.

You'd think he could play like Zico the way the media are banging on about him. The fact is, is that he couldn't displace Smalling or Cahill from the England team says a lot about the best centre half we've produced since Bobby Moore. City have paid way over the odds again.

Dave Ganley
95 Posted 11/08/2016 at 08:18:24
Andrew, yes sticking up for the players is definitely helpful which is what we have done as Evertonians for decades through mainly thin times. We have seen some awful sides in that period but never have I seen an atmosphere as poisonous as it had been last season and that is down entirely to the players and their attitude. In the likes of the Walter years we knew the team was rubbish but at least they tried. This lot last season didn't look as though they cared less. Doesn't matter whether this was transmitted through the manager or not, on the pitch the players went through the motions or occasionally to further their own aims (see Lukaku fa cup)

As for Stones, maybe if he hadn't shown such disdain to the fans when attempting to dribble out of the area in the last minute against Spurs then he wouldn't have got the stick he did. To not get why we were so anxious given our shocking record of gifting goals away in the last minute again just shows contempt for the fans. Can you imagine any of the old successful players complaining about the atmosphere at Goodison? The likes of Ball Harvey, Kendall Southall Sharp Gray et al would have turned round to their teammates, lambasted them for pathetic performances and told them in no uncertain terms to get the crowd back onside.

So fine I accept I don't speak for every Evertonian, you obviously thought it was completely unreasonable to show our frustration and disappointment at yet another season when we vastly underachiever and the players only played as and when they felt like. Maybe that's one of the reasons why we don't actually win anything anymore, acceptance of mediocrity. When the Man Utd fans turned on their players in the last couple of years the perception was that the team weren't good enough and they weren't doing justice to the Man Utd way. Us? Well we're just plucky old Everton who will accept any old shite and we are just lucky to have someone of Stones ability in the squad. It's no wonder we don't win anything. Stones didn't even want to be here and showed that with his showboat football. Fine if you have superstar players alongside you, not so good when getting skinned in semi finals and giving penalties away by being so lax.

I am sick and tired of putting up with less than maximum effort from players as is most of the match going support. Fine if you think its OK but not for me.

Douglas McClenaghan
96 Posted 11/08/2016 at 09:51:28
Stones's career has 'crash and burn' written all over it.
Daniel Lim
97 Posted 11/08/2016 at 11:50:44
I just watched on YouTube, Paul Merson going ballistic on a football show "Soccer Saturday" fucking John Stones and OFM left right and centre. So hilarious. If I didn't know he never played for us, I would think that he's a blue blood like us.

And after watching the clip what kind of mistakes JS made, and his arrogant gesture to the park end after those Cryuff turn, "Thank you very much Pep!" from the bottom of my heart!
Andrew Clare
98 Posted 11/08/2016 at 12:27:55
Dave (#95).

Well said. I'm with you all the way. The way those players played in the latter part of last season was a disgrace to the shirt.

Glad Stones has gone and hope Lukaku goes too.

Matt Butlin
99 Posted 11/08/2016 at 12:48:09
For me, the only reason to keep John Stones in the face of inflated bids for him was the message it sent. That we could hang on to the most coveted defender in the world. I can't think of any other reason. The lad wasn't an Evertonian, he wasn't a presence on or off the pitch, he wasn't particularly marketable... It may well be that Pep can turn him into a super star. In that case they can come close to saying that the fee was justified but even if that happens, I can't see how he was going to turn into a £50 million for us. I've got a sneaky feeling that we'll see him and Rodwell as team mates in a few years.
Tony Draper
100 Posted 12/08/2016 at 06:48:07
Mark Higgins, I've always felt gutted for him. He was stylish, strong, read the game well but then he got injured at the wrong time and it was serious. Poor lad, missed out.

We could have clung on to Stones like some gin soaked, mascara splattered ex. Begging for another chance, and just please don't leave!

Then next week, in training he gets an injury, never the same player.
Or, he noodles along, but continues fannying around in the 6 yard box gesturing "calm down" and conceding entirely unnecessary corners, free kicks and goals.
And, he still can't work out how to mark effectively every week.

He's gone, and frankly when we paid £3M for him if anyone had said "we'll make around £40M profit on that lad". Well my bollocks would have bounced across God's Acre to my resounding laughter.

Everton have done beyond excellent business here. The biggest profiteering to be had on this classy but flawed centre half has been done and dusted. For his entire career.

He is:
Not a devout.
Not an Everton title winning manager poached.
Not an entire winning team sold.
A chess piece.

Sold for a clear £40M profit, and Barnsley get a piece of the action that probably keeps them solvent for a season maybe two.

Loyalty?
Modern day football doesn't even have the classy settings or happy endings of "Indecent Proposal".

It's pimps poncing willing prozzies.
Their talent may be as footballers, but cash is their drug of choice.

How many of them break into the first team at an EPL side, have a decent season with a standout performance or two, then get a contract offering 3 or 4 or 5 times their parents working lifetime earnings for just one year?

Ambition?
Financially secure at 20!
OK, 22.

If you can't accept this then consider that back in the day that Man Utd's Bobby Charlton was the national hero.
Reputedly paid £500 a week.

Team mate George Best was on £5,000 !

Bobby had a comb over slap head and a Ford Cortina.
George shagged Miss World.

Bog average EPL players have "cribs" that even 80's Hollywood Stars would dream of. They have wives/girls that never in their wildest 14 year old fantasies they would ever get into the same room.

Ambition?
Get real, once they can buy ANYTHING THAT THEY WANT and then buy another one next week, well just what do think happens to their kitten like attention?

Hmmmmmmmm football or tits?
OK boss, I'm listening.
A Bentley!
NO way! I can have TWINS !
Yeah Yeah I mark whoever!
FOUR IDENTICAL NIPPLES ! !

Brin Williams
101 Posted 12/08/2016 at 08:35:53
I read that Barkley is gutted that Stones has left. He'd better realise that, unless he ups his game, he will be out the door as well, come next season.

Make or break time for Ross – our unpolished diamond!

Ian Riley
102 Posted 13/08/2016 at 01:31:12
I wish stones well. Let's be honest he has gone to a club with potentially the best manager out there. Sadly he has not developed like we would have liked under Martinez. To get nearly 50 million is remarkable. As for Everton fc, young talented players will always be sold for big money.

How the club achieves anything will be down to buying players for now not tomorrow. Our transfer policy and league positions over thee past 13 years is pretty good. Our preparation for the start of the season with bringing players in so late will always hinder us.

Tony Draper
103 Posted 13/08/2016 at 02:52:21
Ian @102.
Who?
Nothing to do with Everton mate.
We have almost £50M, stride on my friend.
That was then, this is a new season.
I think that the young Everton defender you are referring to is Mason Holgate.
Ian Riley
104 Posted 13/08/2016 at 12:54:56
Tony you are right. New season. Past is the past. Let's hope mason develops into a top defender and we can keep him for a few years. Might get 70 million for him.

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