Big spending can only get Everton so far

It has been said at levels that make it more than believable that the wage bill is to be reduced, read playing staff numbers lowered, before any more will be hired.

So where are we at; Jagielka, Baines, Ashley Williams and Martina I believe are at the end of their contracts, Browning has already gone and I suppose one or two of those younger players on loan may be more easily moved on for the "undisclosed fee".

I don't know what we'll do with younger talent like Vlasic, Dowell, Joe Williams, Besic and Lookman and it must be getting near the time when the idea of a work permit for Onyekuru is seen for the improbability it has always been, we may have been better paying a smaller fee just for first refusal. I doubt that Anderlecht will cough up for Bolasie but hopefully Fiorentina will pay the rumoured pittance that will see Mirallas become one of their own.

So, assuming that the money saved is not immediately paid to any incoming as it seems reasonable that a ceiling on wages has been decided, then shall we see anymore than 2 or maybe 3 new players and it appears only one from anywhere near the top shelf.

We should remember also that the man splashing the cash, or more likely just standing guarantor, is an accountant of some standing who apparently has never considered an apprenticeship at lion-taming but has had a grounding at a properly run football club.

'Football is bust, in crisis': Accrington Stanley owner Andy Holt horrified by skewed finances and he says clubs have been coerced into gambling

Worth a read and puts some of what Sky have done to football into perspective.

Everton has also been run like a gambler on the verge of bankruptcy for years but we have been lucky and now have the chance of the financial stability needed to progress. Our top priority is to unload the dead wood that we've accumulated at virtually any price.

How a high turnover business like EFC allowed some of the signings we made is financial insanity. Buying is a really dangerous proposition now because the cost/benefit is insanely negative with talentless players going for obscene prices.

Buy infrequently but buy well and realise that our strength is our academy. Don't look at how to waste money on a new star but how to get Lookman and Davies into the first team. We have to become a well-run club first and then develop from there. Purchase of stars alone will never work.

Costs always have to be balanced against a conservative estimate of reward, and Champions League is the biggest differentiator between top clubs and the rest, also the most unpredictable, highest risk with not that much in prize money relatively speaking.

The key to success is financial stability and performing consistently above your paygrade.

Business builds the club, the club builds the business. Ignore what our opponents can do, they have earned their status over many years.

Make sure we are always getting the best results we can from year to year.

Although we are at the sharp end of all this (well, almost) it is basically by virtue of being the club we are, that we have been carried along on this Financial Tsunami, of which we had little say in.

I always think of those clubs in the lower leagues who, unless some miracle occurs, have little or no chance of getting a foot in the door. Yet they have support week after week, which is admirable, that supporters turn out to rally for their local team, when it would be much easier to plump for one the 'big clubs' and even if not attending in person, have a more than even chance of seeing them on the TV.

Thing is, while as you say it will get worse, where will it leave those smaller clubs? The worrying thing too is I can't see any solution, wages and transfer fees are not likely to become less, and there is a very real danger of it spiralling out of control, if it has not already done so for many clubs.

Nothing new here really. And the article doesn't point out that the net spend, up until Koeman arrived, was very low. The squad needed investment, just like your house does if you don't keep work on it up to scratch. Man City did it big time. They pumped millions in early in the new regime as they knew they had to make big strides fast. It didn't work out for them immediately.

There have been bad signings no doubt. Niasse and Tosun in particular are bad investments for me as they added nothing. At least Morgan Schneiderlin started well!! But, since Brands has come in, the signings have all looked decent, with maybe only Mina having a question mark for me. Even he played well at Chelsea and it will have been a big culture shift for him in particular, making the move from South America to Spain and then ending up in Merseyside!!