Returning to the fold

Good point, and hopefully, will raise the profile and scale of the issue.

This is the season and all Evertonians know, this time we must deliver results.

If the team don't deliver something this season, it'll set the project back so far, I fear the club will stall into mid-table, if not worse.

We need significant signings this close season.

Returned late, why? Were they all on some gruelling 3-month lockdown endurance competition I missed somewhere?

Is Richarlison coming back from Brazil?

Is Davies suffering jet lag after the journey on the 78 bus from West Derby to Halewood?

Has Ramirez suddenly remembered he steals £125,000 a week from us and the shock is too much for him?

They've played 8 or 9 games since March and what with quarantine, 2nd spikes, local lockdowns etc. They should be on a couple of weeks UK R&R / 'staycation' then back hard at it.

Extensions my arse, typical of the whole half-arsed way the Club is run.

The club isn't going to be transformed with a number of new signings. Club finances across football have been hit due to Covid-19. Brands has already stated it would be a summer where spending would be low.

Being realistic, we will bring in one or two signings before the season kicks off with the majority of the deadwood still here another season. I don't see anyone buying these players on the wages they are on.

I expect results to improve, but marginally, finishing up a couple of places higher than last season. We all need to be realistic with expectations here.

Idle millionaires strolling around empty stadiums, overseen by VAR.

The cup of anticipation runneth over.

Extended leave for Ramirez? Really? WTF?

Derek (#8); Tongue-in-cheek, mate.

Despite the pandemic, aren't players still permitted a regulation 3-week break between seasons, if they so wish? It may also make sense if you have overseas players despite a 14-day isolation period on return – and especially if you want their mothers to know that you have looked after them properly.

In the absence of any quality signings, I'd suggest that Kenny and Gibson should be in contention as first choice starters as opposed to “fringe players”.

Starting Lossl as number one may give Pickford a jolt he needs. Besic would give the midfield a bite it simply doesn't have, and Bolasie may offer genuine wing play to help get crosses into the two front lads.

Not saying they are anywhere near a preferred answer, but if the market stays as shit as it is, at least they are options.

Ramirez isn't on £125k a week he's on £65k a week. Still a huge amount but let's try'n be reasonable!

In the case of Ramirez, could this be down to him quarantining on his return from Spain?

Also, didn't the Spanish season finish later than ours?

Andrew #17 - I think La Liga wound up a week before PL. Presumably Ramirez then "holidayed" in Spain before returning to UK for 14-day quarantine (aka another holiday!)

Gary (14), your post was like a breath of fresh air among the doom and gloom and pointless slagging off of players. If, as Kunal says, we are unable to do deals, and (hypothetically speaking), we start the season with the players that we have, the squad would look like this:

Goalkeepers: Pickford, Lössl, Virginia
Right-backs: Coleman, Kenny
Left-backs: Digne, Nkounkou
Centre-backs: Keane, Holgate, Mina, Branthwaite, Gibson
Wingers: Bernard, Gordon, Bolasie, Walcott, Iwobi
Midfielders: Gomes, Sigurdsson, Davies, Delph, Besic, (Gbamin)
Forwards: Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin, Kean, Sandro, (Tosun)

What would your choice of first XI and subs be for the season kick-off?

My choice would be a 4-2-3-1 formation:

Pickford
Kenny Keane Holgate Digne
Gomes Delph
Richarlison Iwobi Gordon
Calvert-Lewin

Subs: Lössl, Coleman, Mina, Davies, Sigurdsson, Walcott, Kean.

If Carlo can work on this squad and up their motivation levels and composure with the ball, we could still have a decent season.

Ajay @19; Very big 'IF' for our serial under performers if there are no new faces to stiffen their collective backbone.

I think you are right,Ajay. If it proves impossible to bring in meaningful additions, it is not unreasonable for a manager of Agelloti's fame to bring about some improvement in the performance of the existing squad.

I'm sure he was not hired just to oversee the signing of expensive new players but also to 'get the best' out of those we have. Whilst he has so far effected little or no improvement in technique and motivation, top eight ought to be the minimum requirement in return for he and his family's ridiculously high remuneration.

Ajay (19), Gary's post was a breath of fresh air but you brought us back to reality and depression just by listing lots of players we face starting the season with, obviously not your fault.

Besic et al, it's just depressing. Another season of negative goal difference, few goals and a plank in Goal. Does anyone in the know, see Kenny as first-choice right-back? I hope so as Seamus legs are going.

I just hope we can stay in the Premier League long enough for 2 seasons of complete squad clear out.

Is Delph injured yet??

I see Joe Hart just signed for Spurs. I think, if the wages were reasonable, he'd have been a decent shout for us. We aren't getting good money for Pickford; Stekelenburg has left, and the backup is now Lössl and Virginia.

Hart could have pushed Pickford a little more, maybe helped him with his own experiences, or maybe even rediscovered his own form and ousted Pickford.

To be honest, it's hard to get excited about a season where you will be watching a bang average bunch of players struggle to finish 10th.

I haven't been excited watching Everton since Roberto Martinez's first season... sad as it is to say, but that's the truth.

Steve (27), Joe Hart is a 'Big Time Charlie' whose presence in the dressing room would possibly be a corrosive influence, especially on the youngsters. So, 'thanks, but no thanks' from me.

On the other hand, I noted that Jack Butland is available for a cut-price. Now, he might not be a bad option.

Ajay, I fear that we'd expect pre-injury Butland, but that the reality is that he's not the same player. I haven't seen Stoke since they were relegated, but Butland has not had many good reviews since. It seems the England keepers, Pickford included, are cursed.

So depressing isn't it.

Same old, same old. Is there any point to all this.

Hard to believe they have so much dross still on the books.

I think Butland would be a useful addition. He is cheap, was a decent keeper two seasons ago but has been playing in a crap Stoke side that had Ashley Williams and Cuco Martina in it for half that time.

We have become a club that only rates a player if he is foreign and costs £40 million. We need to get back to the way Everton used to pick up players under Kendall and Moyes.

I can't understand this club – why are the players having a break at all? They have been in quarantine for months, FFS!

One of the main problems with this team is lack of fitness. Nearly every team run them off the park. Ferguson injected some pace into them but it didn't last as they were all fucked after 2 games.

I heard Leeds have been in training for a couple of weeks already. I would get them out of the cushy confines of Finch Farm also and run the bollocks off them in the sandhills at Ainsdale.

John #33
I'm afraid you've heard wrong, Leeds returned to Pre-Season training last Wednesday: Leeds Return.

For many of the posters on here today, who is our next manager going to be? I only ask because if our fortunes are as set in stone as so many seem to think they are, we may as well cut our losses right now, today, and forget about anything but a relegation battle.

Can we at least wait until the season begins before writing off any hopes for the new campaign?

I see Romero may be an option given Henderson is likely to return to Man Utd after his loan.

John (33), The Sandhills at Ainsdale is too easy, run the bollocks off them on the hills between Netherfield Road and St. Domingo Road, the less they train at Finch Farm, aka Butlins, the better.

Even better that Dave so long as they don't do a detour passed Anfield they will shit themselves!

I follow TW daily, but don't post very often.

Despite being linked with any player that's apparently available (media hype), I am concerned that any quality players don't want to sign for us!

I understand the silence from within, but that silence is becoming deafening.

I suspect that BK still has his fingers in the pie when it comes to negotiating transfers, that seemed to be at an advanced stage, only to come to nothing.

My biggest concern is that Carlo might use the lack of recruitment to walk away. I sincerely hope I'm wrong!

For anybody calling for Butland, can they tell us why a goalkeeper in his peak years, being touted around at £8-10M, is still at a very poor Championship team?

Something has clearly gone very wrong there and sounds like one to swerve.

Dave #36, as teenagers we used to ride up Havelock Street on our bikes. A killer! All built over now??

Brent (40), new estates round about but all built on the hills, lots of people use them for getting fit and endurance, boxers and amateur footballers. Tony has a go there and took his partners son there a few times in the last few weeks. He started an apprenticeship with Morecambe last week, so that helped him to get fit.

Cheers, Dave. Best of luck to Tony's lad. I bet he's brilliant... They say brilliance always skips a generation!

Thanks Ajay! I think Kunal's point is spot on too. there is a dark cloud hanging over everything right now, and there will be very few clubs who can afford to just go on a 'spree'. Other than usual spenders of Man City and Chelsea, I can't see any one else splashing out right now.

Sure, Spurs and the Dark Side have added 1 or 2 players too, but they are hardly breaking the bank, and – as last years Champions League finalists – they'll find it a little easier for the player to push for it too.

Selling clubs are being tentative too. They have assets who they previously thought they would get £60-70M for, who may only be worth a fraction of that once Covid-19 impact is felt fully. Do they sell now just in case, or do they hold on and hope someone desperate comes in?

Personally, I think the best hope is we can get a decent midfielder in from somewhere quickly and then we'll need to step back and see what the market does. I think as the window draws towards a close, we'll see a very different market as clubs across europe panic about balancing books.

Assuming though that it was none before the season starts, my starting team would be (4-4-2):

Lössl
Kenny Keane Holgate Digne
Richarlison Gomes Delph Gordon
Kean Calvert-Lewin

Subs: Pickford, Coleman, Gibson, Iwobi, Bolasie, Bernard, Simms
(Send young Jarrad out on a loan, and let Gibson have a go.)

Brent (43), yes I was absolutely brilliant but, like Yosser Hughes from the “Blackstuff”, my paper round fucked my career up.

I definitely could have been a contender like Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront”. Ah well, that”s life!!

Andrew Ellams, because he dropped at least 5 clangers, according to reports, and Stoke fans say his distribution is woeful, so he would be a liability with Carlo's tendency to play out from the back.

His low price also reflects that he's in the last year of his contract, that Stoke can not afford to renew it, and that they are keen to get some money for him.

Note, I've not seen him play over the last two seasons and can only go off reports. There's clips of his errors on YouTube.

Clive @26.

When is Delph not injured?? But I'd rather him be on the treatment table than the pitch!! As for him being a great leader & influence in the dressing room, coz he won so much at Man City?

As a player, I'd rather someone lead by example than shoot their mouth off on the pitch & not be able to do it themselves. He may have been on the books at ManCity when they won trophies but, let's face it, he was rarely on the pitch either through injury or, more likely, not being selected!!

What waste of money he was, at any price.

I wonder how it looks like at other clubs with their players' extended leave?

Steve Ferns. If anybody thought the lad had any chance of finding his old promise he wouldn't have spent 2 years in the Championship.

Another English goalkeeper going into decline before his time. All very odd.

4-3-2-1 for me:

Lössl
Kenny Holgate Mina Digne
Delph Gomes Iwobi
Richarlison Gordon
Calvert-Lewin

Subs: Pickford, Kean, Coleman, Walcott, Keane, Sigurdsson, Nkounkou (or Branthwaite).

Has anybody calling for Lössl actually seen him play?

Steve (27),

If you cannot see that Joe Hart is completely gone at the game then I don't know what to say. In his final season with Burnley he was conceding an average of 2+ goals a game (across half a season).

His career was built on a few decent performances for a Man City team that was suddenly transformed by an influx of world-class players. I cannot believe Spurs have got him in, but I'd be very surprised to see Hart start any Premier League this season.

Ben Foster is a far superior goalkeeper, but unlike Hart he still wants to play regular first-team football. I suspect that Hart knows that he no longer has it in him to be first choice at a Premier League club, and would rather be on the bench at a big club by choice than suffer another demotion to the bench at a smaller club. If we'd brought him in I'd have been livid.

Wouldn't it be great for Bolasie to show us that fully fit he still has something to offer?

Before his injury, I actually considered him one of our better players. I know age is not on his side, but it would be nice to see him given a chance.

Not Zaha please!!!!!

Everton are being tipped to make a club record bid for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha this summer although they won't match last year's offer.

Simon #53, it would be great indeed, but Bolasie managed only two goals and five assists in 25 games at Sporting CP last season, mostly as a starter. He's now 31.

I too considered him a pretty good player before his injury (not the majority view here on TW), but he's been back from that injury for 32 months now, and he hasn't regained his previous form.

I assume Carlo will give him a chance in training. I don't expect anything to come of it. It would be nice to be proven wrong.

Gary 54. Me too, unless we can send say Bolaise and Sigurdsson the other way as a straight swap deal, then it could make sense and benefit the club.

Transfers like this, the club have to be creative with swap deals or don't get involved.

Here's a thought to throw into the thread, I'm guessing Carlo not starting training as early as other managers who've won a lot less, is because he knows this works when it comes to winning trophies – from past experience?

I guess that's why he may do many things we'll notices as time goes on that's different from others who are not serial winners.

In a way, he's won so many top trophies – he's an outlier. So may have some outlier methods too. Good for us, hey?

Fully agree, Tony (56).

However, we never do 'easy', 'simple' or 'quickly' – always 'last minute'.

Slightly off topic but its being reported by Journalists in the know like Graham Hunter, that Barcelona are about to appoint Koeman on a 2-year contract with the 2nd year being optional to both parties.

But Barcelona have presidential elections next year and the favourite for the job, seems very keen on appointing Xavi as manager. But seems as though Koeman will accept the job, well it was what he has wanted all along, but he would have to do remarkably well for Xavi not to be appointed when the new president is elected.

Hopefully for Barca he will spend more time on the training ground and less on the golf course like he did when he was here.

Brian, they might have a palace coup before then. Could be the only way to keep Messi from walking away to Man City.

I wouldn't mind a few of the Inter Milan team, including the "lazy, can't control a ball" Romelu Lukaku.

Talking of needing goalscorers, Romelu Lukaku has just scored two great goals for Inter Milan, currently 5-0. Lukaku has now scored in 10 consecutive Europa League games, admittedly some were with us.

Lukaku is exactly the type of striker we need, fast, powerful and knows where the onion bag is. Of course, though, some on here wouldn't dream of having him back (not that I think he'd come back) because he's a lazy bastard.

Messi in exchange for Sigurdsson? We can dream. Surely Goodison is exactly the challenge that someone like Messi would jump at?

Then again, some on here would moan at getting a past-it mercenary who can't even win a World Cup and think Tom Davies would do just as good a job (mentioning no names).

Come on Fran, Messi is too old, what is he now, 30? Good job we didn't show an interest in Willian, who is, after all, well past it at 32.

Fair enough, Rob, better off getting Ryan Fraser... at least he'll have sell-on value!

Rob #66,

I agree that we could really do with a player like Lukaku this season. However, I wonder how even he would do with the service provided by last season's apology for a midfield?

Frankly, a midfield quartet of you, Mike Gaynes and a couple of ‘conquests' from The Grafton would provide greater tenacity and a higher level of “service” to the strikers than we saw last season.

I wonder how long the likes of Delph would last on the dance floor on ‘grab a granny' night before limping off?

Rob #66, yeah, and he can't trap a bag of cement.

Fran #67, another Barcelona reject? Nah, he's 33, lazy, just strolls about, doesn't defend. And he's too small to stand up to the Premier League.

Mike #70, thanks for the endorsement, but my agent Mino won't let me sign. The guy really nurses a grudge, y'know?

Fran,

Messi has a low tolerance for crap teammates. Can you imagine: “Forget about Arturo Vidal, we've got Andre Gomes, remember him? The one who was afraid to leave the dressing room.”

Rob,

I thought that game summed up Lukaku.

He was dreadful for 60 or 70 minutes and then, as soon as Shakta folded, he bagged 2 and missed a sitter.

He has got what Calvert-Lewin needs – a striker's instinct. Calvert-Lewin runs his balls off but, when you need him there to stick one in the net....???

I would be more excited about next season if they announced a clear-out in midfield and a rebuild. If we start next season the way we ended the last one, we are in big trouble.

If EFC was a dog, the Vet would be advising a needle to put it to sleep. That's how pissed off I feel about our once great club.

Why not just get rid of the dross and accept the court case costs to compensate the knuckleheads? Clean start. Can't cost more than the losses from crap performances.

Pees me off when a company can't get rid of a useless employee without 'dire consequences'. Puts the rest of us in danger of business failure.

Ajay @19,

My starting 11 would be Digne, Gomes and Richarlison.

If anyone else leaves then my poker face remains unchanged.

Dominic Calvert-Lukaku would be some player...