Brands doesn”t envisage major overhaul

Where are all these young gems that Brands was supposed to unearth? Seems to me like Kenwright and Moshiri have found themselves another compliant Yes-man.

If he or the club are going to just pluck the usual suspects out the tabloids, well, there's over half of the city could do that. Innovation! Vision! Any of these words on his CV??

Thank god the days of over-priced over-age journeymen have gone. Colin, let's wait and see before making judgements.

Then run up against the abhorrent FFP rules (created by the elite TV clubs to ensure the status quo). Two World Wars and Heysel! Someone really doesn't like us.

2 centre-back (left-sided)

Are non-negotiable essential signings we have to get right. I don't want these critical ones to be a Deadline Day special. Not getting these players in will set us back another season.

Then the additional rebalancing and strengthening needs attention if possible...

If Sidibé isn't retained, then a right-back will come in.

If Walcott, Bolaise or Iwobi is sold then a right midfielder will come in.

Assuming Schneiderlin is already on his way out. If Sigurdsson, Delph or Besic can be sold or moved on, then a further quality young centre-midfielder with potential could come in.

I am reassured by Mr Brands saying he is focussed on two or three. It means we will be getting the basics right this time.

Let's not kid ourselves – we are miles off being a top team and making one or two additions is not going to make much difference.

With the squad we have, making 2 or 3 additions of the quality Brands has brought in so far, ie Mina, Iwobi and Bernard etc, may move us up 1 or 2 places but that's about it.

The only way 2 or 3 additions is going to dramatically improve us is if they are people like Grealish etc.

I know this will be an unpopular view on this site but I have been very underwhelmed by the impact Brands has had at the club.

Goalkeeper – we won't replace Pickford

Full-backs – can't see any movement with either, we have good first-team players and decent back-up in both areas.

Centre-back – I don't think we'll get a big-money centre-back unless one of Keane or Mina leaves. Neither will be happy being 4th choice. Therefore, if none leave, we'll either get an ageing centre-back on a short-term deal, or I think Ancelotti will gamble with Gibson and Branthwaite as 4th and 5th choice.

Centre-Midfield – we will have to see movement out before we bring someone else in. Hopefully this movement is Schneiderlin. Otherwise, we have 6 senior centre-mids (including Besic). We won't get a 7th.

Wide players – Iwobi, Walcott, Bernard... that's it (unless you count Gordon, or possibly Sidibé or Adeniran). We are desperately short of numbers here, which is why I think we will see another body here. This could be a wide player or a marquee who can drift in off the wing (Rodriguez, Coutinho???).

Strikers – if one of Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison is injured, we are down to the bare bones. Expect a young prospect as 4th choice, or a short-term ageing player in the Giroud mould.

In short, I don't think we'll see anyone other than a wide player and 4th choice striker unless it's a short-term deal or someone moves on.

Like most are saying, we've had enough of wholesale mediocre recruitment; quality will hopefully replace quantity, and any shortfalls supported by giving the promising youngsters at least a chance to show what they can do.

Brands wasn't responsible for most of the purchases that now form a chain around the club's neck and who make his job all of the more difficult now. That Kenwright is in charge of any transfers is absolute myth and the totally unsubstantiated concept should be treated with the contempt that it deserves.

The club is also correct in not pursuing marquee signings, the future of Everton FC is in making sensible buys and developing its own players. It has tried buying success and made an ass of itself.

People who have systematically bashed away at obvious talent like Calvert-Lewin now claiming Kean will be "a great purchase"... WTF are they watching???

I used to think Evertonians were good judges.

Brands is slowly but surely proving himself to be the latest Kelly Maloney. His purchases have been appalling. He isn't getting paid the big bucks to relay the problems. We already knew what they were before he got here.

Fuck this shyster off. Take final-pay-day "Don Carlo" with him. We are going backwards – again!

Everton needs to be in the hands of Evertonians. I'm heartily sick of foreign phonies.

David #9, if you were expecting Brands to bring in Grealish-type players when he first came to the club, it's no wonder you're underwhelmed. I think any expectations along those lines are/were unrealistic, because Everton is not currently a club likely to attract that kind of proven young talent.

Over the past few years, our signings have been the unproven (Richarlison, Digne, Mina, Kean) or the known-but-flawed quantities (Sigurdsson, Iwobi, Keane, Delph) for a reason. We're a midtable club with midtable talent and an old park. That doesn't sell well to young stars who want to play in the Champions League.

But what folks here haven't grasped yet, in my opinion, is that we've already made a key signing that will dramatically improve us in the long term. Fella named Carlo. He's the guy who can attract the quality we want, develop what we already have, and configure it to create success.

". . . . sell some players from the past with less perspective for Everton.

You use a great one over there that we do not use here at all, "surplus to requirements". Love that one.

I've been an Evertonian since the days of Gordon Lee and like many have seen some shite upfront, I certainly don't put Moise in that category.

● We are (and have been for years) a mid-table club, with little realistic chance of breaking into the top 6

● We have no European football at all and therefore no chance of attracting top talent

● We are saddled with a finance situation which has us wasting monies paying countless duds, who won't leave, as they can't get anywhere near the salary elsewhere. This has taken us to the brink of breaching FFP and Premier League rules.

● A billionaire who, even though he's ploughed in 𧸖m already, cant give/isn't allowed to give more and is saving his cash to underpin the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium.

His one positive he can claim – Ancelotti is our manager and whilst he can keep that aura of being a top manager, we have a chance I think of attracting middle-of-the-road pros who have worked under him or those who have agents that Ancelotti has worked with in the past.

Forget the new stadium, its a good 4 years away and any ambitious new young player will be eyeing better things before then, maybe even the likes of Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin, Holgate being seduced away if we can't demonstrate success.

I don't take issue with you or anybody else. I take issue with poor judgement. It is destroying this club.

Also Joe; I noticed you criticising the next kid on the production line – you always do.

I will have you a charity bet to the amount of your choice that Tom Davies plays more Premier League games than Moise Kean.

It's frustrating times for us all... Liverpool winning another major trophy and we are in danger finishing below Burnley and Palace. How has it come to this?

● Leicester have done it (forget the title, that was a fluke, but they have bought very well by signing low-cost players on the up within a medium-term strategy).

● The players are always there for recruitment;

● We have a decent base and we saw it come together when Zouma and Gueye were in the side;

● With a circa 㿨M outlay, we can materially improve the side (the one or two significant signings Brands talks of);

● The transfer market this summer could be bizarre. We don't yet know what could be up for grabs.

More than happy to start from scratch. A standing start, No 100-game advantage.

The much-maligned (especially by you) Tom Davies – the local boy – vs Moise Kean the much-vaunted (especially by you) glamorous foreigner.

Who will play the most Premier League games? Where is your judgement?

I wonder if people who batter away at our academy boys have the courage of their convictions? Will they back the glamorous foreign signing against the local boy? ....

Na, not when the chips are down, of course they won't. Easy targets.

Brands out!

Like I said earlier, everyone has their own opinions. We have the derby tomorrow, let's all hope for a change in fortune.

Can we give someone, some time... please.

In two years time the decks will have been mostly cleared and we will see more clearly what sort of impact Brands has had. If we are still in 12th, it will be pretty clear that he has failed.

As you say, Ancelotti's value in the transfer window is making Everton look a good career move. Before his appointment, they weren't viewed as such, and Brands struggled as a result.

Ancelotti won't allow Kenwright or Moshiri to interfere in the transfer window, as they have done up to now, and he has brought the Under-23 intake under Brands's control, which should have always been the case.

Covid-19 is bound to have an impact and it will take another season for Ancelotti to get near his objectives.

Then perhaps you can apply logic.

Maybe if you stopped hammering the local boys – who you clearly don't know anything about – and stop handing out bouquets to foreigners who have done nothing to warrant it

Law and Best were half a century ago. They belonged to a different time. And Man City pay Aguero and Silva wages which are out of our postcode. We have to keep these conversations relative.

We have four players worth more than we paid for them. Richarlison is one... I wonder who other three are?

For example, I think we'd get more consistency from Gomes... I think we'd start seeing more output from the likes of Bernard and Iwobi (who some have already written off completely, but he's still young and versatile)... I think strength in midfield would take a lot of the pressure off the defense... and it would only help Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin up top.

Five players worth more than what we paid for them?

Coleman would still fetch more than we paid for him. Greatest buy ever. Thank You, Davey Moyes. About the only thing I'll thank Moyes for!

Life is tough, for everyone, and with Everton, it's a case of literally let's see, but always hoping.

The Covid-19 impact on the global economy will impact the next 30 years at least, so some of the finance people on TV are saying.

Everton have to cut their trading book to suit. Let's judge more at the end of this window.

Let's see what this year impacts on next football season, in terms of rules and regulations.

But as Evertonians, we live in hope.

The likes of Iwobi are shit. I know people don't want to hear it but sadly it's the truth. If anyone thinks Bernard, Iwobi etc are suddenly going to look top 4 or 5 players, then your kidding yourself.

Look at the quality Chelsea are bringing in this summer and they will still not be guaranteed top 4. If we bring in 2 or 3 quality players this summer that Brands has brought in so far, then at best next year, we will be mid-table.

Somehow, the golden honey (in football terms, the best there is) fate and finances cost Everton, back in the early 70s, and fate conspired, and we are where we are.

How, after nearly 50 years, we are so worse off than we were then, in matters football? In terms of success?

Later today, let's hope we can stop the RS, and start Everton's and our own road to success.

All stay safe and well.

I actually like what Brands is saying here. People think our squad is poor because we have so many average players and so much deadwood. However, if we have now stopped buying the likes of the Delph and Iwobi and concentrate on two or three key strategic signings, then this could make a big difference to us.

Some of the squad depth in teams challenging for the top six are no better than ours. What most of those teams have is a higher degree of quality in their first eleven and especially a better balance to them. The work of Marcel Brands last summer was really poor and contributed to destroying our spine, though some may feel he was also a little unfortunate with his two first-choice midfielders unable to form a partnership.

For most of this season, we have had three non-complimentary central defenders, despite being individually decent, and in central midfield we have had no athleticism, thereby making the individuals look more incompetent. Just by signing a strong quick left-sided centre-half and a dynamic box-to-box midfielder, the spine of the team will become a strength, like last season, rather than the weakness it was this. We have lacked cohesion and pace at the back, and in midfield, we have had no bite or protection for them, so no wonder we have been so generous to our opponents.

I think we are also missing a goal-scoring wideman and a top right-back, which would improve us further, so I think one of those will be targeted also.

Sam #28, Jerome #30, agree.

Bill #32, off-topic but I keep forgetting to ask you... are you any relation to William Gienapp, famous historian and Lincoln biographer?

One exception probably is in the case of silly contracts, the human merchandise just wants to suck the last drop of blood from the contract with the seller cos he knows he's not good enough. Self-esteem, none... but they probably couldn't give a rat's arse!

How many of these fringe players can we count?

Fabian Delph transfer perfectly illustrates Everton transformation and why Bill Kenwright influence is still crucial.

When Walsh exited, Kenwright was quickly brought back into the fold.

The team of scouts led by Marcel Brands and Marco Silva identify the players who could improve the Everton squad, then Brands and Kenwright set about securing them. It's a role Everton's Chairman has been fulfilling for years. 

Myth? Unsubstantiated? Contempt??

I'd say Pickford, for all his faults, would be worth more, being the England goalie.

I don't sit in the Everton boardroom so I don't know for a fact what goes on.

Do you?

1) Get rid of Ancelotti – really?! After 12 games and without signing a single player, we plan to get rid of the only quality manager we've had for 25 years.

2) Replace him with Evertonians – yep, let's replace him with Big Dunc. Even Duncan would say that is a stupid idea.

3) Brands is useless – cue meltdown, simply because he states the obvious truth that no club will spend big this summer due to the impact of Covid-19.

4) All Brands's signings are a waste of money – Richarlison, Digne, Bernard, Gomes, Kean, Mina and (yes) Iwobi all have good resale value. We can't give away Walsh's wallies.

5) Calvert-Lewin vs Kean – why does Calvert-Lewin have to be proven to be good and Kean bad? They play for Everton and I want them both to succeed. It's not a binary choice, buying talent and developing talent. Top teams do both.

Let's all have a beer and enjoy the game – we'll probably get beat but you never know. COYBs!

Fabian Delph transfer perfectly illustrates Everton transformation and why Bill Kenwright influence is still crucial

Kenwright, who has stayed on as chairman after selling half his 26% stake to Moshiri, is continuing to negotiate the deals to sign players

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright is still heavily involved in the club's transfer dealings despite the change of ownership last season

Reports of Kenwright blocking transfers, Moshiri taking over?

I reckon he will bring in two, or maybe three, fierce competitors. One of them will be a midfielder. The footballing talent is already there.

If you want examples of the type of player I mean, here a three from the past: Andy Gray, Nigel Martyn, Lee Carsley.

I've never read your father's Lincoln bio, but he's recurrently quoted in the Lincoln book I'm reading now, Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals. And I recall reading one of his Harvard essays on early baseball history, which was a lot of fun.

We share the experience of having lost our dads too young.

BTW, if you're half as passionate about baseball as you are about football/soccer, you would have loved his undergrad baseball course. Here's a good article on it, if you're interested:

https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2001/05/an-historian-plays-ball.html

Is Tommy Cockles on tour?

The thread is about Brands. You are bringing players into the debate who were here years before most people had even heard of him. Coleman and Baines have been magnificent servants of this club. Love them both, but the fact that they are still, for many, the best full-backs at the club, would suggest Brands (and Koeman) have been unmitigated disasters. When these two players eventually leave this club, it will be done with a thank-you-very-much hand-shake. Not a transfer fee.

As for Digne and Benard being worth more, I would like to know the name of the club who would take them and pay them the wages they get here?

Brands is just the latest in a line of slippery foreign snake-oil salesmen to seduce desperate-to-be-loved Evertonians and when, like the others, he has broken their hearts, you can be very certain they will be desperate for another one to come along.

Everton Football Club has lost its identity; that is why we never challenge for honours.

I think that Kenwright was messing about during Walsh's time as well.

Walsh was quite good at his job, but working between Kenwright and Koeman was a tough call, with Moshiri thinking he knew something about football. Was Rooney not brought back within Walsh's time? That was pure Kenwright.

I'm absolutely convinced that the Saha saga was pure Kenwright as well, after it was muted Moshiri was making money available for a big money signing, which cocked up last Summer's transfer window on Brands. Delph's 3-year contract has a familiar smell and lucky we weren't Rojoed or Smallinged.

Kenwright was always a soft touch for Man Utd. I just hope Kenwright isn't the contact with Barca. . .

To finish contracts this year are:

Stekelenburg, Martina & Niasse. All will leave.
Feeney, Tarashaj and Garbutt are out on loan and will not come back.
Baines has been offered a new contract
Sidibé we will have to wait to see if purchased

Next year, the following 12 players are out of contract:

Joao Virginia, Schneiderlin (unless off to Nice this week), Walcott, Bolasie, Sandro, Besic, Dowell, Pennington, Bowler, Broadhead, Connolly and Hornby (although he looks to be off this summer).

One of the jobs this summer is that, of the 12, two may leave, one is in the first-team squad but he will need to find other clubs to loan these players – otherwise we have to pay all their wages for the next 12 months. So Marcel Brands will be quite busy managing the club's wage bill for those who will not be here in a year.

As it was clear in the article, his job is both selling and buying and managing the resources, not just buying.

Personally, I would be happy with Coutinho (loan) and Fraser (free), now that sounds like good business.

Moshiri hasn't the football brains to see through this and no-one dares to point it out obviously. Even after failure after failure of whatever he's involved with.

You are wasting your time, guys.

Dazza will not trust anybody to run this club unless Moshiri calls him personally and offers him the job.

Anybody who does not have Nil Satis Nisi Optimum engraved on their heart at birth is met with deep, deep suspicion by my old mate. They all have "ulterior motives".

illogical? Of course... but you will not convince him otherwise. I stopped trying years ago.

Dazza, you grumpy old git. Relax. Brands is not an undercover kopite. Try not to have a heart attack tonight, lad!

Jess and the boys send their love.

I wasn't saying I want Brands or Ancelotti out, I was merely pointing out that some on here are already making noises about the current regime before they've had a proper go at putting things right.

The merry-go-round needs to stop.

Players worth more than we paid for them: Digne, Calvert-Lewin, Coleman, Holgate, Gomes, Bernard, Davies, Richarlison, Pickford.

If Kenwright is still involved in transfers, and it could just be papers paying lip service to stay in with an Everton old boy, it will be no more than an ambassadorial role promoting how amazing a club we are and telling old stories to potential signings. One article even says the signings are identified by the manager and Brands and then Kenwright becomes involved in the negotiations – it will be to gush about how amazing we are and, to be fair, he is very enthusiastic and lyrical about us.

3 good signings, and they don't have to be big-name, big-money, marquee. A full season with Carlo in charge will see us challenge top 6, I have little doubt in that. There are bargain signings to be had and loan signings – let's have a bit of positivity.

With the current financial situation that clubs are in, there won't be many looking to purchase players. More likely, they will want to offload theirs to raise much-needed cash.

As has already been said, we are a decent mid-table club, we need to sign 3 or 4 world-class players to get us up there with the top 4-6 teams.

But as we have found over many years, that happening is pie in the sky, I'm afraid.

We have a world-class manager, which is great, but unless he has players with the required talent, he will struggle, like many before him; how long will he want to stay?

As far as Brands is concerned, all the hero worship he received was out of all proportion to what he actually achieved; he's been strictly average in my opinion. I should add, though, to be fair to him, we don't know what the restrictions he has to operate under.

I think pretty much all of Brands's signings would still retain most of their value (Covid-19 notwithstanding) with the only one we really overpaid for being Iwobi.

The competition is fiercer than ever before with Chelsea returning to the transfer table and Wolves and Leicester both building excellent squads. The sad truth is we had some big spending sprees and somehow contrived to make ourselves worse. That damage is still being undone and it's a long road ahead.

Our short term future will rely more on Ancelotti's skills than Brands's, I suspect; hopefully the Italian can begin to get the best out of a youngish squad and, if the likes of Gordon, Gibson and Kean can bring something to the party, that would be good.

We've accumulated more Fools Gold, in context of players, past or whom were never, that good, than any other Premier League team.

In football terms, in view of Covid-19, as it stands until the medical scientists find a vaccine, life won't be the same.

If we do have some transfers incoming, let's hope that we buy some proven and still viable good players.

It's become predictable, and a lifetime is passing by, whereby, the mediocrity tags still hang in terms of Everton's transfer deals, bar a handful in recent times.

I'd love to debate all things Blue with you over a few bevvies. Unfortunately, that won't be happening soon. Let's hope for an upset tonight so we can all raise a virtual glass.

Casho

Of course I'm suspicious. Ancelotti has taken a gig where he simply can't lose. He knows nobody expects him to win anything with these players and he knows it won't change because we will not beat the big boys to the signature of top payers.

I don't care if he's world class. Bringing him in was like signing a world class window cleaner with no ladder.

Steve Brown @ 45, You seem to have a real issue with anyone criticising Brands or Ancelotti, no matter how valid those criticisms may be, and the majority of your posts are seemingly spent defending them.

On a previous thread, I questioned buying so many players with chequered fitness records – which you took exception to and within days all four were back on the treatment table.

Again, your defence of Marcel is poor by talking about players' increased value primarily due to their age and not performance-related advancement (Iwobi's and Bernard's names were particularly amusing) and you present the stereotypical retort of Brands lovers to speak of the most incompetent negotiator in Everton's history as some sort of successful yardstick. Basically, it's like portraying Stalin as quite a nice chap because he was less ruthless than Gengis Khan.

Under Marcel Brands, we have been a big-time operator with a small-time output, outspending even the top teams in the division. Our reward is that only Richarlison, the previous manager's choice, is an unparalleled triumph. He has overseen the sale of our best player and, despite close to a 𧶀million outlay, only Holgate, Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin could be currently described as genuine top-six quality players despite our frivolity.

Strategically, Brands has also been negligent. Pre-Brands, we had dynamic midfielders like McCarthy and Gueye whose endeavour has not been replaced, leaving a lopsided, unbalanced, pedestrian midfield where neither replacements Gbamin nor Delph bring those qualities to the team. His penchant for purchasing injured players in the same areas and the lack of pursuit of unfurnished diamonds with only Gbamin requiring any hint of a talent-spotting eye is also worrying to me.

Again, there is this continued insistence from you that Carlo is still a world-class manager. Now you may be right, he may well still be, and we all hope so, but as a club, we can't compete with Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd and our neighbours in terms of wages etc. So, to progress, it's not just about attracting players but it's essential we improve the ones we have here. It could be argued that only Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison and perhaps Schneiderlin have made significant strides under the new regime and these are largely tactical improvements and ineptitude from the previous incumbent rather than a clear advancement in the coaching of the squad. In addition, the likes of Mina, Sidibé and Davies have taken a major backwards step in my opinion.

It's early days but the optimism his appointment generated has yet to yield a marked improvement on the pitch, which is more relevant than past glories.

I agree that Darren's calls for both to be replaced now are unmerited and both men clearly need time to develop their particular aspects to the team but what we have seen up to this point has been very underwhelming given the fanfare surrounding both. Criticism is inevitable when there is underperformance. Today would be a great time to start the ball rolling.

I'm not expecting Brands to be a miracle worker but, when I look through who he has signed since he has been at the club, ie, Mina, Iwobi, Bernard, Sidibé and Delph etc, they, in my opinion, are all at best bang average.

I was hoping he was going to be the man who would find us hidden gems around Europe but, as of yet, he's been very unimpressive in my opinion.

I live in a bungalow, mate, so I'd be happy with that. 🤣

I know a top window cleaner who has developed a fear of heights. I'll pass your details on to him.

Be warned though. Being world-class, he doesn't come cheap!

From playing staff (the list is fucking endless) to seriously incompetent managers, all with their own fuck-witted visions and philosophies (all of which proved ill-informed expensive dog-shit), along with Walsh lavishing huge amounts on dross like Klaassen – a shockingly poor player that Brands managed to offload for actual cash: even the most deluded amongst us couldn't really have expected change to come quickly.

I was surprised and impressed with the appointment of Ancelotti, as I thought we would end up with Sean Dyche or Eddie Howe: to go from the horror show of Allardyce and Sammy Lee to landing a truly world-class manager is the kind competence that has been a stranger to these parts for decades and must be applauded.

Brands has the monumental task of finding and seducing a number of suitors to peruse and purchase merchandise as tempting as Schneiderlin, Besic, Sandro and Walcott: who in their right mind would pay out for that lot?

The ‘total overhaul' that people seem to want is wrong on so many levels. For a start, we're 3 years on from the last one and still suffering from it. Buying too many players in one go is fraught with risk. Even if they're all good enough (and that's quite a big ‘if'), they may not settle, may not gel, or may not care about the club and move on as soon as there's interest from someone more glamorous.

Secondly, writing off some of the underperforming players is lazy and too easy. For example, Iwobi has been completely written off already after less than a season where he's had two managers, played three different positions, and missed games due to injury. A good coach focuses on getting the best out of what he's got; a bad coach moans about signing players.

Thirdly, surely the Moyes era taught us how to recruit players? We can sign highly able, talented players, good characters and players with a strong team ethic and give them time to work together as a unit. You spot bargains, pick up players who've ‘bounced off' the biggest clubs and, above all, you keep the team settled and build continuity. Moyes's Everton only ever seemed two players away from the next step, but we'd spent all our money and could never buy them.

We now have a richer owner but seem determined to throw away all the strengths we had and it's taken us backwards. I can't blame Brands for that. It seems to me that he wants to do the things I've talked about, but the bloated, overpaid squad he inherited is taking time to reorganise. Some people seem to want to make the same mistake again.

Continuity, character, gradualism and a team ethic will get us moving forward, not constantly overhauling the squad.

Maybe if we qualify for Europe and Ancelotti intends to rotate heavily, it would be worth signing a fourth, but it's definitely below centre-midfield and right-wing as a priority.

One of the advantages of being a rare matchgoer is that I notice our identity in bucketloads in the pub, on the walk to the ground, the siren and Z-Cars. It seems to disappear once the game starts. We don't really know the manager, the players, the combinations, the tactics.

I first went to the match in 1971. We were Champions, but what I watched on the pitch was an incoherent mess, made worse by the fact that it was the start of 'five great years for Everton'.

My first Everton identity was the Lee years. We knew the team, knew how they'd play, the team built up momentum as a half-decent side.

The mid-80s was wonderful. The team picked itself, willed itself to win games it had no right to win. We'd go to the match knowing we'd find a way to win. Our identity was a cup between Ratcliffe's raised arms.

Under Moyes, we had an identity I didn't like. It was limiting; an admission that we were an unachieving irritant, rather than actually succeeding.

We've all got our own idea of our identity. We'll only forge one again when we're competent. That's got to come first.

Today would be a good start.

The reason fans want some players sold, is to help the club cut its expenditure on players wages. We have quite a few players who are surplus to requirements: obviously Sandro, Bolasie and Besic, who haven't kicked a ball for the club this season.

I think the reason fans want another centre-back is because Mina seems to be fit for a few games then injured for a few, and Michael Keane just isn't good enough. I think, if we could get Zouma back, we could sell Mina or Keane or both.

I think most of us know we can't attract top players, but I think we need to set our sights a little higher than what we have brought in under Walsh and Brands.

As for Iwobi, I don't know why we bought him. He couldn't hold down a regular spot in a poor Arsenal side, a bit like his former teammate Walcott. We aren't asking for world class players, but 100% effort in every game should be a given and some of our latest signings for me don't even put a shift in over 90 minutes.

Still trying to get my head around that one. 🤪 !!!

No-one is expecting us to attract the elite players but, with a supposed transfer guru in Brands and a billionaire owner, I am expecting more than the likes of Mina and Iwobi.

I must be watching a different Everton to others if people don't think we need at least one central defender urgently.

If we start next season with Holgate, Keane, Mina and a couple of kids, then we won't be improving at all.

Schneiderlin: 𧴜k p/w
Sigurdsson: 𧴜k p/w
Walcott: 𧴜k p/w
Delph: 㿼k p/w
Bolasie: 㿷k p/w
Sandro: 㿭k p/w
Niasse: 㿣k p/w
Martina: 㿏k p/w
Besic: 㿊k p/w

That's nearly 𧽂k p/w or 㿍million per year.

That's why we need to get rid of players off the wage bill. We could get shut of all these and get 5 quality additions – and probably decrease the wage bill.

Having said that, Gareth Barry at 38 would still have been a better bet than the rubbish we've seen in midfield lately!

Also, I wasn't saying we shouldn't sell players we don't use; I was saying we shouldn't be constantly shipping loads out and loads in. I've been on ToffeeWeb a long time and every season there seems to be a call to sell half the squad who actually play and replace them all.

Brian, your last line is exactly what I'm talking about. We need to buy players with character who will combine to become more than the sum of their parts. To do that means giving them time to build their own team spirit and identity. This requires continuity, not constant replacements.

Maybe why the last article implies that he was told to butt out and let the Director of Football do his job?

Which ties in with the first Echo article.

By the way, Terry #44, 'unsubstantiated' was Martin's word in #13, not mine.

Good coaching, tactics, belief, team spirit, a sense of identity, confidence, form, inspiration, motivation, commitment, responsibility... there are many, many things that affect how ‘good' a player is and very few of them are fixed.

I'll point to Salah, Lukaku and De Bruyne as ‘average' players that Chelsea got rid of. Handled well, they became slightly above average.

Then I had the realisation that this is what it must be like for other teams watching us. And then that is amplified by the fact that Sheffield Utd are miles ahead of us. I just want us to be better.

If we fail to improve, it'll be because we failed to develop those things sufficiently, not because we failed to sell 12 and buy 9. We need to buy 2 or 3 players, but having a constantly rotating door and the attitude that success can be bought in is a barrier to improvement, not a method of achieving it.

Sidibé
Mina
Delph
Gomes
Iwobi
Kean

The only success Brands has bought are:
Richarlison (bought by Silva really)
Digne.

Brands is supposed to be a transfer *guru* but alls he's done is sign bigger clubs' rejects.

You moaned when we had no money, then you moan when we buy a load of players that, for whatever reason, never worked out.

Now you're moaning when we are going to sign two or three good additions. Let's see who we get and how it pans out.

Sidibé, World Cup winner
Mina, Barcelona won La Liga
Delph, won the Premier League
Gomes, Barcelona
Iwobi, I'll give you that one
Kean, the most sort-after young striker in Europe at the time.

Who would you have got, eh?

Who out of our current quad is going to bDe Bruyne, Salah or Lukaku? I know people want to be "glass half-full" but we have to have some realism as well.

That's going to be a minimum of £20M each unless we can get a few freebies ie Fraser is one of them, Cavani another?

The best thing about the restart is the ability to use 5 subs which I thoroughly expect us to do and test the fringe players. Really happy at Gordon starting.

Hope he has a good game. He seems big, fast and strong and an assist or goal would give him confidence.

I want 3 points, not expecting but every player needs to give their all. No walking around, pointing fingers and blaming others. A strong team spirit and belief has hopefully started to gather with Carlo in charge. I want to see evidence of that on the pitch.

I don't think there's a single player in our squad who you could say has been playing at their full potential and can't get any better.

Wrt the appointment of Brands, it was an attempt by the club to professionalise its operation and have a focal point, a director of football, who took over responsibility of recruitment from the Head Coach and other directors to allow them to be better at their key jobs. Brands has so far failed but he can't start to succeed without getting rid of the dead wood that was accumulated by others. Will it work long term? The jury's out on that really but the Manager of a top club cannot be responsible for coaching and recruitment; it's far too big a job.

I hear what your saying but our current players aren't going to get much better unfortunately. They are what they are mostly average plodders that we've spent far too much on. With the best will in the world your not going to suddenly transform the likes of Mina, Delph and Iwobi etc.

The only way this club is going to compete again is by bringing in genuine quality.

Carlo may improve our current squad by 1 or 2% on the training pitch but your not going to improve them 20-30% which is the minimum level that would be needed for us to even begin to compete for the top 4 etc.

Sidibé is terrible, played one sub appearance for France at the World Cup
Mina played two games for Barca
Delph is always injured
Iwobi is terrible
Kean can't get any games and looks a slightly better Niasse.

Yes, but that's very, very hard to do, and our only chance of doing it is gradually, 2-3 players at a time. And as we do it, the players who currently look average (or ‘shit' if you prefer) will look better, especially if we build team spirit, identity etc.

It doesn't really matter what quality you bring in if they don't give a shit and won't work together as a team.

I will wait and see what happens during the next transfer window and hope that we make the right decisions; however, if Brands's signings so far are any indication of the quality we are going for this summer, then I can only see another season of frustration and mediocrity.

As far as his involvement with signings is concerned, I seem to remember that Moshiri 'persuaded' him to put his oar in when Walsh was banished.

He wouldn't need asking twice although I can't see Ancelotti showing much more than respect for his old age!

To claim he is not, and has never had, a key role in transfers is laughable.

Perhaps you can even accept these are old media stories to be taken with some degree of sceptisism? I don't think Derek is saying at #105 that Mr. Kenwright has never been involved in transfer negotiations although you appear to be suggesting just that.

Instead of relying upon old news why not come up with something more recent and which can be "substantiated"? Perhaps a first hand account of how you were sitting in the boardoom when transfer discussions are going going on?

As has been said, it is highly unlikely, but not "substantiated", that with Messrs. Moshiri and Brands in place that Mr. Kenwright has any major role in transfer negotiations now.

*Expert reviewing silver, pottery or glass...talks about this piece and that piece, then pulls out a tea cup from the general pile...'Tell me about this one.'

Brands; 'I was over in Spain and I saw it in the market place, It caught my eye, I just liked the look of it, it reminded me of something' *...faltering.

Expert; 'Yes I can see what you mean, Clarice Cliff comes to mind'...Brands eyes light up...'what did you pay?'

Brands (lying though his teeth) ; 'Only £45.'

Expert; 'If it was Clarice Cliff you could maybe look at £300. Let me tell you though...you weren't robbed, its a nice looking cup and will hold your tea in grand style and at the right auction you'll get your money back and enough for a packet of hobnobs...say £50.'
'They are though, notorious for cracking, yours is OK now but getting a chip or crack in it could seriously effect the value.'

Brands;*indicating the other 10 or12 on the table...'what about these?'

Expert;* trying to be up-beat...'about a fiver each on a good day, say £50 the lot.'

Doubt we've got any hidden gems in our squad like that though (to bring it back on-topic)