The Machine

I loved what Tim Cahill told Sky -- that the best way for us to keep Gueye isn't with money, but with big-money signings around him that would convince him we're on a CL path next season.

One thing I'm convinced of: If we lose this player, that CL path will be more of a fantasy than Dorothy's Yellow Brick Road. He's the closest thing to irreplaceable we have. Gana's tackling stats don't even tell the whole story -- he's also joint 7th in the Prem in interceptions. Very simply, he's one of the best ballwinners on the planet. And this club has nobody else who can even come close to filling that role.

Should that not be happening, I see no reason why he still won't be with us next season, he is truly the one player who would be sorely missed should he move on.

Having said that we should be looking to the future, and Gana won't be getting any younger, should he stay with us, we hopefully can get a younger player in his mould in, which won't be easy.

I recall Mike Gaynes and myself defending Gueye to the hilt.

To Silva's credit, I think he changed his system a bit to let Gueye "wander" more and do what he does best - win the damn ball.

I have so enjoyed watching him play. He's a freak of nature.

To his immense (immense!) credit, when he didn't get his move, he just buckled down and played even better. You just don't see that nowadays with most athletes. He's a good egg and a gem.

I don't know if he'll be here next year, but no matter how that pans out, I've loved watching him play. He's just a joy to behold.

We can't and shouldn't lose him. But if we do, and he is getting to an age where sooner or later his energy and pace will wane, I think we'll be okay.

Silva adapted, eventually, through a few bumps this season. He let Gueye be Gueye and adapted his "system" to fit that player. Silva also tried to put Richarlison up top to fit his vision and system, and that didn't work and moved him back out wide. In short, I've seen Silva adapt his preferred idea of a system to the players he has at his disposal. And that gives me hope.

Silva will do the same if we lose Gueye. And it will be with another player I and a few others laud, but a player who gets a hell of a lot of flack from a lot of TWers. It's similar to objections about Gueye not but a year ago, these objections to this player I will name in just a minute. All superficial malarkey, in my opinion.

If Gana leaves, we will enter the era of one Tom Davies. And people will rip young Tom to shreds for having this shortcoming, or that deficiency. But Silva will adapt his approach slightly enough to play to his strengths. And Tom Davies, although an entirely different type of player to Gueye, will adapt and grow and be near irreplaceable in the end.

I hope we don't lose Gueye. If we do, we have a kid behind him who will fill his shoes. The growing pains will be real, and there will be bad days. Hell, Everton might lose a year barnstorming the big boys waiting for this "replacement" in Tom Davies, to flower and grow.

But he will. Tom Davies is the future of the Everton midfield, post Gana Gueye.

If Gueye goes, trust in Brands and Silva to eventually get it right. And my guess is the Plan B to get it right, is with Tom Davies anchoring midfield.

We'll see.

Save this post to beat me with if Tom Davies goes south. But I'm of the mind Gana is off this summer, and Tom Davies will step up and develop into one of England's finest midfielders.

Yes, Tom Davies generally plays in a more advanced position than Gana. But that's where Silva comes in. I'm not intelligent or "football knowledgeable" enough to know how you rework midfield to make it tick with Davies in and Gana out, but I think Marco Silva is intelligent enough to solve that puzzle.

Prepare for life without Gana, and with Tom Davies. And if that doesn't come to pass and my crystal ball is shit, fine.

I'll watch Gana ply his trade in a Blue jersey all day long.

Gana is a gem.

Let's pray he stays, he's the heart beat of this team and if we lose him, plus say we don't get Zouma, and Gomes, that's a big chunk of the spine of the team gone.

He's essential to this squad and we must do all possible to keep him.

Those words worry me a bit. I hope he isn't signalling to the board (or the money part of it), who should know all of that very well.

Gana is excellent and has another 3 years at the top at least. But the key word is “top”.

Gueye isn't a foil for our high pressing game. He's the number one cog making it work.

In any case, i've always been a fan, but he has improved even more than anyone could have imagined. Hopefully he can see that we are perhaps a striker away from having a really decent team. If we can buy Zouma, Gomes and a 20 goal a season striker (ok i'm being greedy!), and sell off some deadwood, we can have a good crack at the top 6 next season. Gueye is integral to any plans we have for next season.

What a player btw. Awesome now his passing has improved.

In the form he has been in we cannot replace him, I like Man U's Herrera and even more Arsenal's Torriera, but that wont happen. Doucoure is far from a direct replacement, but maybe the one that could be achievable.

Other than that we have to trust Mr B to come up with the goods.

I hope he cleans up at the awards.

Just have to hope nobody wants him that badly then!

Nonsense I'm sure we all agree. I found it inspiring that he chose to give his all to the club that offered him a lifeline from Villa and wanted the fans to know he was not sulking. The improvement in quality came from that desire but also from his own self-confidence, and Silva must take some credit for this.

At his age, however, there is a steep drop coming in the near future. It is foolhardy and emotionally naive to think otherwise. The likes of PSG can afford a 'peaked' player. I don't believe we can - at the moment.

I said at the time that he should be allowed to leave if our valuation is met and I stand by that. He will go with my blessing and I am confident that Brands will invest that money wisely and Silva will protect that asset.

Looking purely at next season, the club would surely prefer to keep him. A like for like replacement would cost at least as much as we would receive for Gueye. If however we are building for the longer term, say two to three years, and hence aiming to reduce the average age of the squad, it would make sense to take the money and bring in a younger player with the potential to develop into the next Gueye.

Of course there is no certainty PSG or a comparable Champions League club will be prepared to meet our asking price or the player's salary expectations.

As for Gana himself, he's been my favourite since he arrived and it is obviously not lost on Evertonians that he has been an absolute pro since the end of the transfer window.

Want him to stay and help implement this aggressive Silva style, or if he goes then it should break their bank.

Gueye's problem was he was in an Everton squad of slow learners, but thankfully they are showing signs of being up to speed. His other problem was the right flank occupied by a below-par Coleman and Walcott avoiding injury. Coleman is up to speed now and Walcott is a bit-part player. This resulted in Gueye being stretched and resorting to inaccurate long passes.

Silva and Brands will do everything to keep him. He is, as Lyndon says, central to the Silva system. Silva does know this and it was rumoured that he would have resigned if Gueye was sold in the January transfer window.

I think that Gueye knows that Brands and Siva are determined to keep him, To his credit, he decided to knuckle down after the PSG who-hah had died down.

Peter #19, Beni is 20. Bit soon to write him off, I think. And while it may seem like "a few years", it's actually only been 17 months since his last appearance in blue. So as Dennis says it's one "lost season" and I believe he has a chance to bounce back from that.

I stand corrected on the 17 months though, but that is still a bad slice of development time lost through no fault of his own.

His limitations were exposed when playing for Koeman and Allardyce. There was no press in front of him and he was often the lone guard dog going for balls that were not his; when he did get the ball, his teammates were static, which exaggerated his poor passing.

He is playing in a different system now. He isn't the first line of defence. He spends far more time on his feet. The movement is better and he is able to play simple balls to more creative players. He has also developed the wonderful habit of winning the ball and surging forward himself.

Those who said he barely offers anything going forward were right. His passing and his shooting are nowhere near where they should be for an experienced international, but fuck me, you've gorra love this guy.

Inspirational!

Tom Davies I'm not so sure about. I don't see what his strengths are other than enthusiasm and energy (see Paul Dickov). He's still very young but not seen a lot of progress from him in last 18 months.

If Gueye does go he will be very, very hard to replace. But I trust Silva and Brands.

I can't see many like him in world football in what he offers. Completely gutted if he leaves, but a massive thank you and respect if it comes to pass. Here's hoping he stays. What's more, his attitude and demeanour put him in the same category as Seamus. Class acts indeed.

Players like him, tackling machines with a massive engine, are rare and critical in enabling the rest of the team to play to potential. I agree with what was said about the game having changed massively in recent years and Keane being a dinosaur with his outdated views. Unbelievable that it is English teams that have bought about this step change and that we provide all of the teams in the European cup finals.

Everton have also done very well in the transition to the modern realities. Koeman failed; Allardyce the dinosaur obviously failed; Sylva, the young upcoming man, knew what was needed. Get rid of him? You have got to be joking.

All hypothetical at the moment though.

Seriously we have a full cargo of hangovers to try and dispose this summer, and I'll be amazed and very impressed if we get takers for these players, KM, Sandro, and the rest, but I think we'll get some money for Besic.

Perhaps Jags and Baines, may join one of the promoted teams, or go for a few seasons at Celtic or Rangers?

But we must try and keep Gana at all costs, I'd make him Captain, as no one drives the team more and works harder than Gana.

Let's hope so.

So tomorrow and the new Spurs stadium. Can we put a win together, relying on Theo and maybe Mola, or Cenk?

Maybe we do have a shot at keeping him. If you're at the Spurs game tomorrow, you and the rest of the traveling boys show him some extra love, OK? Work up a chant or a song.

In front of them, Barry was again supported by the imperious Idrissa Gueye who turned in another man-of-the-match display of stunning effectiveness. The Senegalese seemed to cover every blade of grass, tackled anything that moved, and again weighed in with an assist, all of which added to his burgeoning reputation as the undisputed signing of the summer.

Since January, his performances have gone up a notch, taking the ball on more with a new found confidence. Player of the season for me.

Thanks for flagging that article Lyndon. I read it when published last week and saved the paper for a second read. Tactics have moved on at the higher levels with the clever team pressing leaving options for opposition players that may look inviting, but are in essence, a carefully laid trap. Needs the involvement of every player.

Gueye is the ultimate round peg for modern football and there are round holes that he would fill in most top sides in Europe. When I say most valuable I don't mean in money terms because he's just a little bit old but most valuable in playing terms given the criticality of that holding role in the modern game. Strictly speaking he doesn't need to be a great passer or scorer. He needs only to get the ball from the back to the midfielders without losing it. He does this very well.

We need goals. The RS rely on that front 3 but they are supported by two of the best wing backs. While Digne has supplied more crosses than anyone, our forwards can't get into the right areas to get on the end of them. I think that will come, Calvert-Lewin will get better, most of them will... Davies included. And I'm sure he's picked up things from Gana.

Tim Cahill is correct in saying we need to show the Premier League we mean business — and, to some extent, we already have. Gana is one of the best at what he does. The team are growing together. Not the end of the world if he leaves but it would put us back a bit when we should be concentrating more on getting the goals — that is the big difference between us and them.

Silva said that he had a lot of one on one conversations with Gueye, when he wouldn't let him leave, and I personally think that whatever was said, has definitely made this little player, a much better all round footballer.

He's running more with the ball, he's turning more with the ball, he's still working his socks off, he still gives the ball away through a lack of concentration, (understandable when you consider his work rate) but he definitely looks a lot more of a complete midfielder, and one that I really don't want Everton to lose.

Why on earth would we want to part exchange Digne for Danny Rose, a player who is 29 years old in a couple of months, and has recently said he cannot wait to retire? No chance of this happening.