Is it Really That Bad?

I really didn't want Benitez, but he's got the team playing well and the squad look stronger than before. We've kept Richarlison and we strengthened in a few areas. More work to be done but given it's a net spend of -5,000,000 with the wage bill probably down as well this is I think an excellent window.

A good counterpoint to Lyndon's (as usual ) also excellent but sombre piece.
I agree with nearly all your points especially the criticism of Moshiri.
I'm not sure Rodriguez has been mismanaged as such by Benitez though? I think he envisaged him leaving so basically left him out of his planning and set up of the team.
We will now find out wether Rodriguez is to be given a chance, and takes his chance to leave his mark this season.

Ancelotti did start well , but teams did cop on to his tactics and he did have to resort to a defensive mode right out of the Big Sam playbook. On top of that there where few leaders on the pitch to rally play. A walk through midfield play hopefully is a thing of the past.

I expect that Benitez will be able to adjust as teams probe Evertons perceived weaknesses and his teams will play for the full game. Ok we still have Rodriguez , but is that all that bad , with his ability to give the attack that extra edge.

As I said in Lyndon's thread, we have cover in the relevant positions. Just not the cover punters want, dependent on opinion.

I believe Rafa is the right guy at the right time. Time will tell but my hope is that this group of players finds a way to finish top ten and we build from there while continuing to unload the dead wood.

On another note it seems that the Colombian James could still leave Everton as there are other nations where the transfer window is still open, including Portugal, Russia and Turkey.

Moshiri's Players

I think we've got a pretty good team. DCL, Richy, Digne, Godfrey, Doucs, Pickford, etc plus our new signings and other squad players from last season like Davies, Gomes, etc.

Yes, we lack cover in certain areas but, apart from the very top clubs, who doesn't? Every manager in the league wants more players to select from.

I'm encouraged because I think we've got a real coach to actually manage the players better. Form an understanding, instill work ethic and all those kinds of things. Look at how we've played already this season, very enjoyable to watch.

I'd much prefer to stick with our squad and see if Rafa could coach them properly rather than panic and splurge another fortune on last minute deals for players who don't really improve our team. I know it's early days and there will be bumps in the road, but I'm feeling quite confident we'll do well this year.

This period of 'austerity' might actually help us learn some valuable lessons.

Agree with almost everything you say, except your last sentence, where you seem to assume that everything will be hunky dory once we move into the new stadium. I fear that the financial hangover of the costs of building BMD will spill well over for a few years at least, maybe until 2026/27. Who knows where the others will be relative to us by that time? As fans we can just pray that lady luck smiles on EFC and something like a ‘Leicester' happens to us!

Is all true, up to a point.

What I now believe (and fervently hope for) is that somewhere, out of the back issues of "Roy of the Rovers", a management / playing personnel team is gelling, made up of mainly "misfits", that somehow come together to be a sum greater then the parts.

Who would beleive that a former RS manager, coupled with some rejects from Leicester/Crystal Palace/ etc. etc. might ( and I emphasise "might") be able to gel with the remnants of the catastrophic recruitment drives of the past five managers, to actually put out a combatative and winning team in the EPL.
Eary days, I know, but I think that Rafa's attitude and influence has already opened quite a few eyes in the blue half of Merseyside and long may it continue.
As I said on another fan site earlier this week, for the first time in a very long time, I am looking forward to our next game and going into it believing we will win.
There will, no doubt, be potholes and ruts in the roadway, but, so far, so good!

It is amazing what a kind set of fixtures can do for you.
We finished 2019/20 with 49 points.

We improved by 5 points in the first 5 games, dropped 7 in the next 3 and 12 games in we had one fewer point than we gained in the same fixtures in 2019/20. By that stage we were 7th in the table. By the time we played Chelsea again we were still 6th, but had now improved by a further 10 points compared to the previous season. It was the last 11 games that stuffed us as we only improved by 1 point compared to 2019/20.

So we improved by 1 point in the 1st half and by 9 points in the 2nd half compared to the previous season. Weird isn't it. Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics, eh! Because we all believe the second half was bad. Was that because the tough games were in the 2nd half (as well as the goal drought - 18 v 29 as Ancelotti went Catenaccio)?

But good piece. However surprised you were enjoyed the 2004-5 football under Moyes as that was KITAP1, a host of 1-0 wins (9 of them) and boring football and which has been widely condemned here on TW.

And just in case anyone is getting excited - last season we got 7 points from the 3 fixtures we have played so far. Roll on Burnley - a chance to take us to 60 or 62 points for the last 38 fixtures - but still 8th.

I have to query EFC Statto's numbers. Brands joined Everton in 2018. According to transfer markets figures (these are in dollars not pounds just FYI. Our Incomings and Outgoings have been as follows:

2018: Spent 109 Million (Rich, Digne, Mina etc
Received 31 Million (Klaasen, Fumes etc

2019 Spent 133 Million (Iwobi, Kean, Gomez etc
Received 96 Million (Gueye, Vlasic, Lookman

2020 Spent 82 Million (Godfrey, Docoure etc
Received 4.8 Million (Scneid, Dowell

2021 Spent 2 Million (Gray
Received 8.8 Million (loan fee for Kean, Bernard

So by those numbers under Brands we've spent $326 Million
and received $140 Million. So Brands has a net spend of 185 Million. That's a huge difference from an 800k profit. So are his states factoring in not just players sales but other income? Otherwise I must be missing something?

Looking forward, I am optimistic that we have a squad that will take us to Top 10 at least. Top 8 possible.

I am also looking forward to the end of the profligacy and a leaner/meaner squad under the stewardship of some one who can wring a tune out of them and – probably most importantly – a more responsibly run and fiscally savvy club.

Like you, I'm always confused by different accounts of spending and receiving. This £500 million or the even more sensational "half a billion" keeps getting used like a wet fish to slap silly old Moshiri over the head with.

I believe he has been let down by the managers he has given free reign to spend but that's another conversation altogether.

What I'd like to know – categorically would be nice – is how much has been spent and how much has been recouped under Moshiri's time. I know it's not going to be pretty but I would also like to know how it stands with let's say the average Top 8 positioned teams.

If anyone could clarify this, I would be grateful as I haven't a clue myself how to gauge the mess we have undoubtedly got ourselves into. To be basically handcuffed by FFP isn't an illusion obviously. Much like the tone of Richard's piece, I don't think it's as bad as it seems.

Or maybe I'm just kidding myself.

Throw in James's recurring calf problems and Ancelotti was reduced to relying on the team which failed so miserably the previous season. Hence it was no surprise there was a drop-off, especially at Goodison, where teams were able too easily to play through our midfield.

Although we have again started well and have better attacking options, it is almost inevitable we will struggle when key players become unavailable. That will be the cue for the ‘Rafa Out' brigade to mobilise in yet another round of blaming the manager.

Though times are different, Rafa's being tasked to develop Everton in the way Clough & Taylor assembled Nottingham Forest into being English & European Champions using and finding roles for the likes of Kenny Burns and Larry Lloyd alongside the talents of Peter Shilton & Trevor Francis. Dare we dream?

How can Theo be a loss? He was bought for X, amount, went to Southampton in his last year on loan, and then signed for them as a free agent. That's just how it goes.

I didn't compile the table, I only put it up to show what EFC Statto had deduced from the figures; any questions should therefore be addressed to EFC Statto.

EFC Statto is simply comparing what we paid and what we sold players for. We paid £20 million for Walcott and let him go for free a few years later... are you suggesting we made money or broke even on Theo?

When Walcott was on loan at Southampton, who do you think was still paying half his wages?

It's like paying half of someone's mortgage for them to live in their house (although his wages would have been a lot more than a mortgage).

I think he has a lot more talent on paper than Mancini did when he took over Leicester although some may say it was a one-off fluke when they won the title.

Being an ever-optimistic lifelong fan, as are many of us, I would like to think that right now the glass is half-full and not half-empty. He has brought in some players he is familiar with and so far they haven't let the team down.

These players have settled in quickly and Rondon may just be what we need to keep the offence on its toes and is a better option than Tosun when he is ever fit again.

We know that Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison will not play every game for varying reasons and hopefully some of the younger players coming through can only help the cause.

Iwobi, Allan, Doucouré and Gomes already look different players under Rafa. I, like some fans, would have liked something extra at full-back, especially with Nkounkou going out on loan, but Rafa must be confident in the guys he has for the back three (or four).

I am sure that, if they had been able to free up some money, either in wages or transfer fees, they would have gotten some other players but Delph, Rodriguez, Tosun and Sigurdsson are still drawing big wages even though they are basically unavailable so far this season.

Everywhere else, I'm fine with certainly a better squad than last year.

I hope if James stays that Benitez utilises him when he feels appropriate. Surely James will get his heart out to either get us to extend his option or put him in the shop window. Unfortunately, throughout 2021 he looked about 50% or less fit. If that's the case, Benitez is right to fuck him off, whether or not he's on £200k a week!

Again the bigger picture is the new stadium. Bigger gates receipts to sustain the salaries we are paying out. Fees and salaries will only increase. Our squad has quality and will improve with performances.

The doom and gloom of not buying that player or this player is pointless. It is what it is. Get behind Rafa and the team. It really isn't that bad!!

Sorry, I didn't notice you had directed your post to me earlier. Anyhow, I think EFCStatto has only looked at what a player cost and what fee Everton received when he joined another club.

As per usual, stats and financial information can be interpreted many ways in order to prove a point, but I do think that the compiler of the table has attempted to simplify (perhaps wrongly) the profits and losses made on each player and assigned the sums paid and received to the incumbent DoF when they purchased the individual player.

For example, Davy Klaassen was signed under Walsh's watch for a fee of £23.6M and sold for £12M making a loss of £11.6M which the compiler has assigned to Steve Walsh's balance, even though it was Brands who was DoF when Klaassen was sold.

We haven't been the worst and Financial Unfair Play is ridiculous. We can't afford to be the Niasse-scapegoat though, especially when there's no appetite by the FA, Uefa or Fifa to punish their besties.

Moshiri needs to keep out of it, focus on Bramley-Moore Dock and getting a strong team off-field. For all the Brands bashing, I don't think the board are that bad.

Anyway, Rafa has been brilliant... I really disliked the idea of him, but he is hopefully the man we need now.

Seems like statto has a big flaw. He's basing it on what we paid versus what we received. But most of Brands's signings were too shit to sell so they're not included. I guess Bernard is his success story. Give it some time and, once Gomes, Delph, Iwobi, Mina etc retire or expire, we will really see the sum of his work.

It will be interesting to see how Benitez manages without them if they get injured or tired etc.

Calvert-Lewin will be off sooner rather than later unless he gets a mega pay rise.

I suppose it depends upon the definition of top-class, look at the wages being given to players at the rich clubs. However, it would be nice to know what wages are being paid out by Villa and West Ham following their recent arrivals.

Everyday economics at Everton may restrict the wages on incoming players in the next few years; however, imposing an artificial ceiling could be detrimental to the club in the long-term.

Bobby – I refuse to believe that a player signs an extended contract in 2020 but remains on the same salary – I think something is amiss with the information that is provided via your link.

It's quite conceivable that, if we could have gotten rid of Rodriguez, that financial gain alone might have been nearly enough to pay the wages of all our new players.

I would be an advocate of Everton adopting a RB Leipzig style approach to their transfer strategy in terms of a spending cap. They have rarely spent over €20M on players.

We, on the other hand, have been caught between spanking huge amounts to appease Sky Sports and look like a big club or, as is the case now, paying the price for that and shopping in the bargain basement.

Liverpool and Leicester are the best English club examples I can think of in terms of that type of transfer strategy over recent years, regardless as to whether they are buying or selling. Within reason; Liverpool have obviously spent big on the likes of Van Dijk, but have also always got good money for players they sell. So relative.

If any player, whoever they are, is performing above and beyond, I for one would have no problem in increasing their salary,

It's cheaper than finding a replacement.

Anything similar for the Premier League would surely need to be across all teams but I couldn't imagine clubs in European competitions voting for it unless it was being introduced by Uefa across all Euro leagues.

There's also the massive difference in club revenues; I couldn't see the likes of Man City agreeing to be capped at the level of, say, Burnley. We could introduce our own upper limit without publishing it but that would require budgetary common sense which we have completely lacked. Having said that, it's now being forced on us.

Yes, of course Everton can impose their own salary cap, but all that would do is make it impossible for a manager to build a side, because he wouldn't be able to hold on to his better players.

The money in the Premier League is staggering and if we imposed your £50,000 per week salary cap, then most, if not all of our squad would get more than that at most other Premier League sides.

Also, once you bring in a cap, how do you reward a player who has had a brilliant season? You can't... because it would mean breaking your own salary cap. In this day and age, it would be suicide to impose a club salary cap and would be completely unworkable.

Certainly picked me up after reading Paul the Esk.

Billy @3 – I feel James was mismanaged in as much as we are now stuck with a fantastically talented, highly expensive player who will probably contribute zero to the season because he was effectively shut-out before a ball was kicked. Poor management of an asset. If he was easy to sell, we probably wouldn't have had a look in last season.

Ajay @11 – first one for some years now. Had twins and 7 years of my life disappeared :) 2 more blues at least... :D

I don't think Bramley-Moore Dock is a magic bullet for our woes, but if we've oiled the machine and got a leaner, more sensible playing staff by then, hopefully we can realise the benefits quicker rather than find ourselves still rebuilding at that point. Again, I feel that now is time to build with that horizon in mind.

Phil @15 – performances were chalk and cheese from the first 10 games to the 2nd half of the season, the creativity gone, struggling to find a goal from anywhere... interesting stats tho.

John@19 - injuries certainly played a big part, I think Carlo's tactics were understood by then. I was amazed that he had no response tho... not what I hoped for for £11.5M a year!!

For the first time in a long time, it looks nice and lean with very little deadwood. It is a nice mixture of youth, pace, good professionalism and experience.

The only deadwood I can see are Tosun and Delph, of which both contracts run out in 2022, along with Gomes. Brands needs to take credit for this.

Surely this is a perfect clean slate to begin the Benitez era to build on; based on the start he's made, I believe he's the best man out there to do so.

No-one shedding a tear for not seeing him play. Well, I'm not. He's just another what might've been. Join the queue, mate we have loads.

The first things that Rafa demands are pull your tripes out and play your part to the maximum benefit of the team, and use your skills to improve the chances of winning.

If he doesn't think Rodriguez will provide the former, then I don't blame him one bit for not playing him. If Rodriguez proves himself in training, he would be in the squad and would be used.

I hope he does, as he's extremely skilful. but history shows there's been doubts all along.