Bolasie's high-priced wizardry can bring 'x' factor to Everton

While our transfer fees for the summer are higher than they ever have been for us, we really have spent within our means so far. While it looks like we might be spending even more money, it may not be that much more overall than what we can afford.

As we have also released a number of senior players this summer, we have also freed up wages so we have also stayed within what has always been a very strict budget around the squad.

The second paragraph in the column rightly highlights years of austerity at the club as something that has been at the forefront of our business dealings and the fans' thoughts. I do think that there is still a very tight financial plan in place at the club and I would not be worried that we are digging a financial hole for ourselves by spending big on players.

If we (have to) sell Lukaku for the fee being quoted, we could buy a couple more true quality players... For example, Joe Hart and Alexandre Lacazatte, it would be another coup. OK, those players are just my personal choice!

If we bought 2 or 3 players of Mr Koeman's choice, that means we have brought in 5 or 6 players to replace 2 players. Considering the criticism levelled at the 2 players (out) in question, that's a sound piece of business and a real positive element for our Club.

Backup striker and a playmaker next please.

I think in Yannick Bolasie we have a player that will bring smiles to our faces again – can't wait to see him line up with Idrissa Gueye. They will create havoc.

Yala and Gana – there has to be a song in there somewhere.

The difference now between City and Sunderland is marginal as sides like Sunderland and as WHU did against Chelsea can compete with good defensive structure and a midfield packed with ball winners and play breakers (Rodwell was very good). In this respect Gueye was the perfect buy for us. What happens though is that sides surrender possession for long periods and you see 70:30 possession distributions. Tika-Taka is becoming king again as there is no way through the middle of the park which is now like the M25 at rush hour and teams have to try to find a way round and pull the defence out of shape. This comes to the other point which is that the key forwards are now wingers as they pull defences wide and get the ball into the box from the wings when the middle is crowded and chaotic. Hence the absolute sense in buying Bolasie.

Everton are going to struggle at Goodison Park unless we find out how to break down massed mid fields and well organised defensive lines. West Ham could have beaten Chelsea last night yet Chelsea were the better team by a mile. I see a sea change in football now with superstars being a waste of money. It is very difficult now to dribble or pass through a crowded midfield; Hazard was superb last night but he didn't score or get an assist and was taken off. He is possibly the best player in the EPL now.

What I also see is that other sides have improved since last year and we need to have improved to just stand still. I see 7th or 8th as a superb achievement this year, we're nowhere near the standard of the Sky 5 and we have massive peer pressure.

I have to say though, I really do not understand this obsession with micro-analysis to see whether we have spent big or not. Once the fee is paid, it really doesn't matter at all about the cost, only how the guy performs. The game is played on the football pitch not on the FTSE 100. We are the club who spent 65K on Seamus Coleman, and yeah, Gana Gueye looks an absolute steal at 7.1M, but some people seem to base their judgement on transfer fee rather than what a player does - which in itself is an entirely different thread. We all, me included, take an interest in the money side of the game, but I really want to judge a football club on playing football rather than chartered accountancy. I'd guess (without any basis in fact beyond gut feel) that about two thirds of the posts on this site are around finance related matters versus a third about actual footballing opinion. Football Manager anyone?

If the team dynamic is right and performing then that is all that matters. I'd much rather keep money in the bank for the opportunity of spending big when the right player becomes available (which may not be right this minute) rather than spunking it all away just because it may be burning a hole in your pocket. Some people here are in danger of turning us into a Newcastle United ("yeah we got beat 4-0, but at least we spent 37M on our totally ineffective centre forward").

Baffling.

Big grin on my face... hope it don't turn into egg!

With Gueye mopping everything up and then sending one of them free down the flank, I think we could be devastating on the counter.

Does it matter if we have a negative nett spend? or a positive nett spend? Must Moshiri blow the entire promised kitty of 100M before fans are happy?

Do the transfers that have happened improved the team? if Yes, then why should how much additional we spend matter? If No, then maybe we should look to spend a bit more and get that negative nett spend.

I feel the additions of Williams, Gueye, Stekelenburg, and now Bolasie has actually strengthened us by quite a bit. I would LOVE it if we could improve the team tremendously and still make a profit doing it. Isn't that what a prudent football club is all about?

The fact whoscored say his weaknesses are basically everything apart from dribbling is not encouraging but I thi he will entertain us!

Another striker (or strikers if Lukaku ends up moving, please resolve this situation one way or the other).

A new keeper was a cert' until big Mart put on a show last Saturday. Is he the answer? But would happily welcome Joe Hart if there's any substance to the speculation.

For me we desperately need a creative central midfielder who can run the show and provide a supply line to the wingers & strikers. Who is the new Pirlo? The new Iniesta?

Good times to be a Blue.

Big K obviously is moulding his own squad and strategy which we all hope will be a big improvement on what went before. Motivation is the key for many players so one hopes the boss and his staff can get the squad into the winning frame of mind.

The best measure of spend, if that's what floats your boat would be as a percentage of turnover. You will see that in reality this is not outside the norm.

If we have 100m and the stones money then we can realistically expect several more high quality signings but if the numbers are fictional then maybe we bank the money from the potential Lukaku sale and make do with Kone upfront for the season.

Honestly, if Rom stays, we desperately need another forward. If he goes we need at least 2 new big guns up top. The question is, is there more money to add up top or not. Perfectly reasonable calculations if you ask me.

Oh, and Hazard opened the scoring last night, btw.

I think we've reached the point in the Premier League now where the difference between a 㾶m and 㿞m player is not that great. Stars don't guarantee you success. Look at Man Utd over the past couple of years. I think Moshiri/Koeman/Walsh subscribe to this view – it's all about getting the right balance not just splashing cash. I think we will surprise a lot of pundits this year.

I have a simplistic view on Bolasie – I never liked seeing his name on the Palace teamsheet when they played us. That's good enough for me!

However I am very happy that for once we are heading in the right direction with a professional team.

There are a couple of distinct points coming out in the discussions over transfers on this site. One of which is the one you pick up, the "is he worth it" question and it is a fair one from an interest point for debate on a website. Ultimately, if I was Koeman, I wouldn't give a toss over fees, having identified the player he wants. The DoF model means he works with the DoF and between them they identify targets but the manager leaves the finances to others. Which is what we should do as fans I think.

But the other one which comes out is the "why are we only buying £7.1M players, he must be shit" which is closely coupled with "where's the Arteta money Bill" and "why aren't we spending every penny we get in instantly". On another thread here, someone who posts a lot has asked "are we only spending what we can afford??". Hello?? Excuse me?? Isn't spending what you can afford a good thing?

I am convinced that, on a football site, there are people here whose judgement of a player is purely based on price tag and have little or no clue how that really translates onto performance on the pitch. I think some would be far happier if we had offered Aston Villa £18M more than we paid them for Idrissa Gueye (by triggering a release clause set before he had even played in the Premier League mind), cos, err, obviously if he cost £25M he'd be a much better player wouldn't he?

Hence my bafflement.

Then judge the financial side of things after the creating and building has had, at least a season to show it's true worth. Even then it still shouldn't really matter to us what it cost. Oh yes, loving all the signings... can't wait to see how the Boss is gonna make us so dangerous and truly competitive. Loving it! COYB

To your point, the Arteta money isn't sitting in a bank account marked 'Arteta' (!), it most likely went to pay interest on debt, ground upkeep, employee wages etc.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong, maybe the Arteta money finally got spent buying Oumar Niasse...

The whole point of Walsh is that he can spot a good player who might not yet have fulfilled his potential so we pick up the likes of Gueye cheaply and he turns into a great player for us.

The big-money players can tend to believe their hype (our current centre-forward??) and therefore give less to the team. I like what I have heard from Bolasie as he sounds made up to be here and he is proven in the Premier League to a certain level but has yet to become one of the really top players.

Koeman seems to know what he is doing.

We know he will put bums on seats and get them off seats because he will be exciting to watch. We have complained for years that we have been unable to compete with the rich clubs for the top players. Now that we can there are still people griping. If we had stumped up 䀆 million for Pogba would people be happy then?

The customer queries the amount, pointing out the 𨀼 price tag. The assistant clarifies that it was a mistake, and confirms the actual price as 䀆. The customer looks miffed, looks at the dress again, turns to her friend, and says "I don't think I'll bother".

The other major problem comes when you try and fit all the pieces together at the same time. We have seen this with LFC and Spurs when they squandered the monies from Suarez and Bale buying players because they were 'amazing' when they should have bought players they needed. Then they played them all at the same time to poor effect.

So top marks to Koeman and Walsh they have changed the team slowly building confidence by changing the goalkeeper and midfield and keeping the rest fairly stable. Against WBA we will see the backline and attack change, slow changes allowing players to settle in. People have forgotten that in 2nd half of last season our confidence fell and our performance would have landed us in 19th position had we played like that all season.

Bolasie is needed he is a good player who uses the full width of the pitch he will stretch opposition defences creating spaces for Rom to run into. One last thing Niasse and Bolasie look similar players when you check them out on youtube with Bolasie standing out as more skillful but it could explain why Palace were interested in taking Niasse on loan.

Well, that 㾶M per man will likely produce a major positive effect, i.e. never mind the price, feel the effect, the most important thing. What Koeman & Walsh are doing looks like real team building, as opposed to the crude splashing out of dosh that the likes of Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool have been guilty of.

I don't know if we've had a more skilful dribbler in my time of supporting Everton

Can't wait to see him!!

£2m or £22m, what does it matter so long as all our signings improve our team.

Let's splash the cash and kick on, Bolasie done, not xt up Hart and a good striker.

The market has gone up and we will have to get used to a new order of things, but it has not gone up that much. The issue is with buying Premier League talents who are valued within their club.

Let's take Bundesliga for example. This summer, Mario Gotze went back to Dortmund for under 㾿million. Gotze, a highly rated German international who is a far superior and younger talent than Bolasie. Dortmund also brought Ousmane Dembele, one of the big talents in French football, for just under £13 million (he is quick, a fantastic dribbler and managed 12 goals in 26 games for Rennes last season at 18-19 years of age). This is not just a result of Dortmund's pull and scouting network. Other Bundesliga buys represent a similar story. Blaszczykowski went for £4 mil, Bartra for £6 mil, Guerreiro for £10 mil, Coke went for only £3.4 mil and Max Kruse for £6.5 mil! All these deals are happening in the Bundesliga, and many more besides, and they testify to the amount of players available for well below EPL market value.

I do not understand why we are being so limited in our approach. There are deals to be had, and exciting players across Europe. The Premier League has changed drastically in the last few years, and we cannot cry as strongly about adaptation issues as we once did. There are players like Mane, Tadic, Van Djik, Eriksen, Payet, Kante, Mahrez and Coutinho around, and we should not limit ourselves by spending silly money on a player with clear limitations.

I think Bolasie is a decent player, and on his day he can destroy any defence. But his days are few and far between. I think he will do well for us, and I think he will do better than at Palace, but we cannot ignore the significant transfer fee we paid. If we have £100 mil, then we should use that carefully and aim to attract players who can become top 4 players. I do not think we've done bad business so far, and Williams and Gueye in particular look astute signings. But the next ones in will define our season, and I'd like us to show more than mere financial ambition. If we want to become a top four team then we need to be cleverly than the opposition, and we wont do that by spending over-the-odds on inconsistent talent. I trust utterly in Koeman but I am not happy with the summer business so far.

Dead simple question.

Before anyone contemplates missing out on sleep, stress-related illness, tearing clumps of their hair out, wandering about shaking their heads and generally carrying on like Private Fraser, what specifically would this worrying achieve?

(My guess would be 'absolutely fuck-all' but I'm prepared to listen.)

Bolasie
Lukaku
Deulofeu
Barkley

Them lot at the sharp end of a 4-3-3 formation at the Hawthorns...

Moshiri turning up hasn't suddenly increased all of our other revenue streams tenfold. We are not suddenly Arsenal with tens of millions just lying around in a bank account from sponsorship, merchandising, sky high matchday ticket prices and repeated Champions League qualification. We are not suddenly Man Utd with hundreds of millions coming in from a myriad of sponsorship deals and merchandising rights.

I think that being concerned about whether or not we are trying to survive within our means is still an important topic of conversation for fans.

Eugene @40, worrying about it may not get us anywhere but fans burying their heads in the sand and going 'fuck it, it will be grand' isn't the way to go either.

Anthony @38, spending big on players without thinking about it might improve our squad but for a club like Everton al it does is create an all fur coat and no knickers situation. Wonderful players on big wages but behind the scenes, we end up not being solvent enough to pay the match day bills and the loan repayments to the banks without requesting further lines of credit. We simply don't have the revenue streams to splurge on players without having the money in place in advance.

Why worry about anything then? Why worry about results? Why worry about our manager? How cares where we finish?

We worry because we are football fans and we care. Last time I checked it was not possible to turn off feelings and concerns with the flick of a switch. 90% of the posts on here contradict the essence of your point.

What does any post on here 'specifically' achieve? Why do you post, if that is your philosophy? What have you achieved? What is the point of this forum?

I'm sorry but your comment is either ill-thought out or/and willfully contrarian, but if any post achieved nothing in this thread, then it was yours.

From what I have read about him Farhad Moshiri doesn't strike me as someone who will allow the club to be run aground. On the contrary it looks like he has installed Sasha Ryazantsev to ensure that doesn't happen.

Therefore, as I see it our only concerns should be about how we are performing on the pitch and maintaining our Premier League status.

In sacking Roberto Martinez and appointing Ronald Koeman as our new coach Farhad Moshiri has removed any fear I had of us being relegated this season.

It also appears to me that Farhad Moshiri in appointing Steve Walsh as DoF, has ensured that players are signed to meet Koeman's technical requirements and Ryazantsev's budget.

In other words Moshiri has surrounded himself with good people he can trust to look after his investment.

If they reckon that Yala is worth £25m to "the project" and bring in similar signings before the window ends, then I will trust their judgement and enjoy the ride.

After two seasons of gloom I would be mad not to.

Everything the manager has said so far seems sensible and honest. He knows what he wants and will certainly get things done his way. He wouldn't have joined us if he hadn't had that assurance.

Keep the faith.

I posted what follows on the relevant thread, but I'm guessing that doesn't get visited too often these days:

I am after 2 spares sat together for the West Brom match on Sat, for me and my little boy (both STHs). Can anyone help? If so, please call me on 07966 213 753.

Cheers,

James.

I can completely understand your point, but we have no control over the cost of players, and you slightly contradict yourself.

I agree our money is not bottomless, I agree that there are much better deals to be had in other countries, and I agree that Bolasie is overpriced.

But you go on to say you completely trust RK, and surely Bolasie at £25m was given the ok by him !

I also agree that I'm not yet satisfied with our business, I've stated this before on ToffeeWeb, we have probably only broken even after the Stones sale, and covered the new players wages with Howard, Hibbert and Ossie's wages.

I also feel we may well lose Rom, which will provide us with £60m plus, if that's the case I very much doubt that we will spend much more than we have brought in. With the new TV deals etc in place, we should easily be spending plus £30-40m, so again I'm not overly convinced as of yet.

My point about not worrying about the fees was more based on two factors, one was my trust in the management of RK and Walsh, the second was based on the fact we never have the money to over pay to get the managers target, so while we seem to then maybe we should enjoy it.

A last point of note from me is with Bolasie, I'm not convinced, he's in for big money, when we did this for Rom I was like a big kid smiling all day, Bolasie hasn't had this affect on me, hopefully he's a grower. 🙏

Time for another striker and a left back and to get rid of the deadweight that remains.

#COYB!!

I think it's fair to say we did pay over what you would expect for the Bolaise when you look at Nolito signing for 㾺M, however he is well used to the PL and you would hope that he will improve even more when playing with better players around him and hopefully a good striker to supply balls to. You could see how Geri's confidence grew when Rom was finishing off his good passes and crosses. Is the reason Yani doesn't have so many assists is because his strikers were poor?

Add Joe Hart, Kone, Sissoko and a striker... I'm beginning to believe.

See anything wrong in that statement.

Without playing Championship Manager, I'd love to see us get a world class goalkeeper (we have only had two in my time of supporting Everton - Southall and Martyn). We need a goal poacher and that's even if Lukaku stays. We also need creativity in midfield because we have too many players who just keep it simple and don't get goals e.g. Cleverley, Besic, McCarthy. I'd also like to see another centre half because I think Jagielka is past it and Funes Mori is always liable to make a mistake. I thought he was lucky to get a free kick against Kane on Saturday.

I don't like to rubbish RM but he didn't make too many good transfers really when you look back. Barry has probably been his best signing. I think McCarthy, like his passing has gone backwards with each season. Lukaku's goal ratio has been good but we did pay a lot for him. Funes Mori was doing okay with the odd clanger until the Anfield derby when I thought he was an absolute clown. Besic has never really got going. One of those players where the promise is greater than the performances. Deulofeu frustrates the hell out of me. He can do the hard things but not the easy things. I have no confidence whatsoever when he's one-on-one. Lennon was a decent signing but I'm not sure he's good enough. I don't rate Cleverley and never have. He offers nothing. McGeady, Alcaraz, Kone and Niasse were disastrous along with Lacina Traore and Eto'o.

I think Bolasie will do well for us, but not as well as a 23-28mil should do. We should be aiming for top top talent, not an average performer from a bottom half Premier League team.

Totally spot on! This is exactly what my mates at Palace @ 47 were referring to. A total blag merchant who kids himself that he cons the fans there. They all want Pullis back.

Keep the faith.