Everton would sanction Allan return to Serie A

If true, unless there's a couple of decent experienced midfielders lined up, I think it's a bad move just now.

This is just complete nonsense. An integral part of our midfield, he'll be needed here to battle for us as we huff and puff to 40 points.

It says they want him on a six month loan as well, no hard cash up front for us, you couldn't make this steaming load of shite up.

Allan is a battler, something that can't be levelled at a lot of our serial bottlers. I can't see anything in this which would be of benefit to Everton, especially given our precarious position where we need players to turn up every match.

I see the Italian papers are naming a D Hind as the source of this rumour.

Get lost with these loan offers.

It's ok lads, we've got Delph and Gbamin to slot in as ready-made replacements.

He's not great but, with what we have to replace him, if he goes, we're fucked.

Are you sure it was D Hind and not B Hind, Stuart? :-)

Chris #6 Don't call up the devil, many a true word is said in jest.

Stuart #4, you are a funny man.

All things considered, however, this is idiocy. We're going to let our second-most-durable player leave a threadbare squad depleted by injuries? Allan has played more minutes than any outfield player on the club except Keane. At the moment, he's irreplaceable.

So, unless we have a new midfielder signed, sealed and delivered, we must keep him.

Benitez will have Seamus lined up to replace him (plus a back five).

This is appalling. Allan is not the world's number one in his position but, over the course of his career with us, he has proved to be effective and better by a mile than anyone else who can play his role in the club.

In case anyone needs reminding, we are in a relegation fight and loaning out our best players is insane. Maybe we should just play our Under-23 team for the rest of the campaign as there are fewer of them with whom Benitez has a grudge !?

When Benitez finally goes, what damage will have been done?

I like Allan but, if he's not part of the long term solution, he's part of a problem.

We need two dynamic midfielders in the centre; another two additions, under the age of 24, with a similar profile to Doucouré would be good business if Allan leaves this window.

Now, it could be argued, if Rafa were an agent, he couldn't do much more to dismantle our club… but the ‘strategic review', I'm sure, includes plans to maintain a much lower player wage budget, supportable within FFP (and Premier League equivalent) based on our meagre income revenue.

Anyone on big money is fair game and we might have to put up with some short-term pain on the pitch to get back on the right track.

Hopefully this is just media bullshit.

Allan is the nearest player we have to a Peter Reid type who gives his all and is demanding of his fellow players.

We have few leaders on the pitch but, without him and Coleman, it would leave a big void.

It doesn't make sense letting Allan go, considering the only other option we have is Gbamin, who did well when he came on against Hull. But he is severely lacking game time to know if he's up to it; we have no-one else because Delph is a disaster.

If he has someone earmarked to replace him, maybe Gueye, fine by me, but if Benitez is replacing him with Longstaff, it sounds like Allan is another player questioning and disagreeing with Benitez's tactics???

Hopefully just typical Italian media making of stuff up. They're notorious for it; more so than ours.

Silly season… I hope.

I've got no problem with Allan leaving actually, but, like Mike G mentioned, not without a more athletic and equally durable replacement already here.

So let's hope it's the former or the latter and not one of the crazy decisions we seem to enjoy making as a club and then backfiring wildly.

Allan's been linked with a return to Italy since the summer. It would be ridiculous to agree a simple 6-month loan after signing him for £21M but maybe some loan fee or guaranteed transfer fee. i think he's only on a 3-year contract.

Here comes Sean Longstaff. The excitement.

If he takes Iwobi with him, I could almost accept this move. If not, £30M upfront with add-ons.

Stuart,

Not guilty. I've been in bed all day.

Mind you, the other Premier League teams won't like the sound of this.

They'll have to create their own chances when they play us if this happens.

I don't think we can let him go this window. In the current squad, he is a regular in midfield and “does a job”. The reality is, this season, we have to avoid getting really drawn in to the relegation dogfight and if he goes we would be totally dependant on the replacement slotting in quickly.

Personally, I'd prefer to let Davies and Delph go and bring someone in then use Allan and Gomes as squad players. Hopefully the new player would show their ability to take the role; then Allan (and Gomes) could be replaced in the summer.

This is absurd. Loan moves are pointless, unless it's someone who barely plays and you want to get his salary off the books.

Until we bring in someone better, Allan is an indispensable part of our midfield and one of the first names on the team sheet.

Get shut and get someone mildly effective in.

A bit surprised at the response on here considering how poor of a signing Allan has been. No doubt the fact we are linked with Longstaff will further agitate his supporters.

I think, if true, we will have to judge it by who comes through the door as his replacement. Due to Benitez playing him in the majority of the games, I feel the Spaniard will only want to sell him if he feels the right player (either a specialist holder or perhaps goal scoring midfielder, eg, Van de Beek) comes in depending on how the manager views what is lacking and preferred system going forward.

Allan offers nothing; he is a complete liability in the position he was bought for and not good enough anymore to play in his natural position. Posters will be glad to know that, should he leave he will be missed more by the 'goals against' column than any individual ToffeeWebber.

He arrived to the fanfare of Ancelotti as "the best defensive midfielder in the world". For me, he will leave as the worst defensive midfielder in our history.

Just another of one of many rumours that journalists write to sound like they are useful.

As I wrote on another article, Allan is in a position where we need strengthening, not by selling an experienced defensive midfielder but bringing in a more offensive midfielder to help the midfield problem. To me, I believe Allan, who is constantly shouting at other players, would make a stronger captain than Coleman. We are struggling against possible relegation and need experienced players in midfield to help.

Summer time is the time to make positive changes in positions we need. This period is to strengthen the areas to help the players in that area – not weaken it with someone who may not fit, despite their fee or reputation. We have had too many flops in the transfer market to risk selling another experienced player.

Colin #20, your buddy Alex barely got off the bench during his first game at AFCON. A 91st-minute sub in Nigeria's 1-0 win over Egypt and Salah.

Conor #25, hah. The Longstaff rumor has been a topic here for at least a week, and nobody has been "agitated" except those who think he's not good enough to improve the club. It's pretty much a consensus that we eventually need a better player in defensive midfield than Allan. Hopefully it's also a consensus that letting him go before we have one would be absolute fucking stupidity.

I posted on another thread that Doucouré did an interview with Adam Jones in the Echo; he was asked about playing with Allan and playing in a 3 or a 2 in midfield.

He said Allan was a class act and it allowed him to get forward; also he said he thought playing a 3 in midfield helped them more, but obviously remembered the Caldy clown probably reads the Echo so said he also thought having a 2 in midfield can work.

I also read Tom Davies saying that Allan had been a big help to him, also Seamus hinted that Allan would be his choice as the next captain.

Regarding the transfer of Digne to Villa, it seems that we are still interested in including El Ghazi in the mix, who Villa reckon is worth £15 million. Just what we need another winger to compete with Richarlison, Gray, Gordon, Townsend and not forgetting the irresistible Iwobi.

I don't see how we allow Allan to move.

We've got Delph, Sigurdsson leaving in the summer and possibly letting Gbamin go.

If we are bringing in reinforcements in the summer then perhaps. It would be absolute madness to let him go right now.

Conor:

"A bit surprised at the response on here considering how poor of a signing Allan has been."

Conor, I sense the feeling is (like mine) that, if we can get an upgrade on Allan, then fine, but that we currently have no alternative who we all think is as good as Allan, should he leave before we sign a replacement.

Allan out, Longstaff in?

Not impossible, I reckon.

Selling him would be one of the worst moves in our history and would ensure we got relegated.

We need Allan and we need to buy someone else for the midfield to support him in the battle ahead.

So, knowing Everton and the madness within the club, they will sell him.

I wouldn't be too fussed in getting rid of Allan. I think he's a good player as part of a midfield 3, but not so good as part of a midfield 2.

That said, a 6-month loan would be a terrible piece of business unless there was a significant guaranteed transfer at the end.

It sounds like we've already sold Digne on the cheap, Benitez didn't do us any favours there, we don't need to just give players away who play every week.

Well we'd best have more than one replacement lined up. Davies has had surgery on a hamstring injury on top of his initially reported knee injury.

Best I polish the Kaisers.

Conor @25. You've got a short memory or are too young to remember some really atrocious players. Alex Nyarko, anyone?!? Morgan Schneiderlein was also a lot worse than Allan.

For me he is a good player and a step above what we have in the squad. Play him in a 3 and we get the best out of him. Can't fault his commitment. One of those players where, if you put him alongside better teammates, he will stand out even more. Put him alongside our total shower… and no wonder people are critical of him!

Letting him go now without 2-3 decent replacements for our midfield would be disastrous. I'd love to see Idrissa Gana Gueye back on loan for 6 months with Allan and Doucouré. That would give a platform for our attacking players to really attack from!

This is just more bullshit by second-rate sport-hack reporters.

I really like Allan, but he isn't disciplined enough to sit in front of the defenders.

I know people will hate this, but I'd be willing to send him out on loan and then bring in Gana on loan, who I think is a much better holding player.

Just a thought.

Mike, perhaps you haven't read my post properly; I would suggest reading it again. That is exactly what I believe will happen and, for the record, I agree about Longstaff.

With regards to the "hopefully it's a consensus that we have one in before letting Allan go would be absolute fucking stupidity". Well, of course, that would be the ideal but, personally, I wouldn't be too bothered.

We win less games when he plays; we concede significantly more goals per game when he plays – and when the likes of Davies and Delph have been called on, they did his job better than him.

With Gbamin another option now that I could live with it. The fact he is consistently available just means we are likely to cough up more goals.

Morgan Schneiderlin is a much inferior all round footballer than Allan but he was a much more effective defensive midfielder.

Andrew @35,

I agree, he is a solid player and one we cannot currently afford to lose.

Brent (30) - that's exactly it. If we bring in a player who's a clear upgrade, great. But if the plan is to run Allan out of town and then just slap Gomes or Delph in his place... yeah, no.

What was the name of the little fellow who used to play there – then left for PSG and now can't get a game?

I wonder if he might be coming back in place of Allan?

Darren #21 - touché!

I quite like Allan, certainly his work rate, but he's not turned out to be quite the player I'd hoped we were getting. That said, he's a key part of what little we have, so this would only make sense if an upgrade was waiting in the wings... and I don't think Longstaff counts. Still, probably just bull.

If we aren't going to upgrade, we at least need to play him as part of a 3, not a 2.

Out of contract:-

1. Sigurdsson
2. Tosun
3. Delph
4. Kenny
5. Lonergan

Offers considered and won't be renewed:-

6. Kean
7. Virginia
8. Mina
9. Digne
10. Holgate
11. Gomes
12. Gbamin
13. Iwobi

That's 13 players we really don't want, plus the likes of Coleman, Rondon, Allan, Begovic, and Keane that are either coming to an end, aren't good enough, or here just because of the current or prior manager. 18 players that are surplus to requirements as they can't cut it regularly.

And we wonder why it goes to shit after a couple of injuries.

The man might well get stuck in and work as hard as he can but, in a year, he will be even slower. He can't do it in a two. Do people actually enjoy seeing him jog behind anyone under 40?

Keep him till the summer and then get him off the books to free up some wages for Gallagher, Bissouma or Gilmour.

I reckon he must be Nigerian, he supposedly turned 31 last week, he looks and runs like a healthy 50-year-old.

Allan is a much better player when he has Doucoure and Gomes in a 3 man midfield.

Allan allows Doucouré to get further up the pitch;, having just Doucoure in midfield with him is unfairly putting pressure on those two players.

Get rid of the 5 at the back to 4, and get an extra body in midfield and watch his performance improve; we certainly need him til the Summer – whatever happens after that is down to who we can bring in.

I would certainly not let him go out on loan.

Andrew, Nick and Hugh, you guys really need to let go of the Gana dream already.

Gueye is a regular starter for one of the top five clubs in the world. (Sorry to let the air out of your "can't get a game" bullshit, Hugh, but he has started 12 of 20 league games and 5 of 6 in the Champions League.) He's going to win his second league title in three years, and maybe another Cup. He is living his dream.

He is never coming back to Everton. Never. Ever.

In the present situation, how so many want rid of Allan is unbelievable. Gbamin is our only other defensive midfielder, about 90 minutes under his belt, and fans would be happy to see him go.

Conor #38 says he doesn't care if he's replaced, and Davies and Delph have been better when called upon... utter nonsense, how many games has Delph played, one full game? He's a leader and would we have beaten Hull without him?

If Gueye, Bissouma, or even Gilmour came in, fair enough, but Longstaff hasn't played enough. If these rumours are true, as I said earlier, another player who has a disagreement with Benitez.

Many are just answering the question "Would you like to see the back of him?" rather than evaluating whether the club should get rid and whether they have a decent replacement.

Others are just sticking it in – not unlike Shearer.

Christy Ring - absolutely spot on.

Allan at the moment is essential. If Allan has also fallen out with Benitez, then Benitez must go, not Allan.

We don't need Benitez but we need Allan in a 3-man midfield.

Why loan? I'd understand if it was selling, but how does a loan help us? He's a first-teamer.

This club is a joke.

Digne is and has been our best and most consistent defender for the last 3 seasons. Allan is our best and most consistent midfielder for the last few.

The rest of our midfielders are inconsistent apart from when it comes to injuries. Gbamin, Delph, Davies are frequent long-term injury concerns. Gomes and Doucouré not shy of the treatment table either.

I understand they may not be world class, they may only have a few seasons left and currently valued at their highest selling value but what are we honestly trying to do?

Is Calvert-Lewin next? Is Moshiri cashing in?

We should be improving or at least reinforcing the first team before selling unused squad players. Must we do everything wrong? Madness!

Let's replace Allan with Longstaff and see how that improves us.

How anyone can believe this nonsense is beyond me. Not even worth discussing how ridiculous this is.

Letting Allan go would be utter madness. He is made of the stuff that we are going to desperately need for the next few months.

If this happens then I will have to conclude that everyone, including Benitez, have completely lost the plot.

Justin @51,

"Digne is and has been our best and most consistent defender for the last 3 seasons."

Really? He has been defensively terrible for a year or so. Granted he did get plenty of assists and could do so again but his contribution has been more in attack than defence.

Allan is a very decent midfielder who has lost a bit of the mobility that would facilitate him excelling as part of a 2-man midfield. Like Gana Gueye, he is happiest when hunting for the ball but probably needs a screening midfielder or better centre backs to mop up on the (increasingly frequent) occasions that he is bypassed.

If we could get a younger, faster player to do a similar job, I'd not be too displeased... but loaning out one of our first-team regulars seems unlikely to me.

Obviously a quiet news day.

Sam has Danny with head in hands.

Screening midfielder / better centre backs.

If I still had a record player, I'd have my scratched ones playing loudly!

Head in hands here too Danny.

On the centre-back and midfielder issue. If you want something to ponder we have been linked with two very interesting young players who are performing very well in the Championship.

Bournemouth's left-sided 6ft-3in centre-back Lloyd Kelly, and Nottm Forest's midfielder James Garner (on loan from Man Utd).

Be good to get some insights from any poster who knows more about them.

Whilst I understand both Digne and Allan our not great world class players, I'm only comparing them to our own alternative players.

I can't think of two better or more consistent Everton players over the last few seasons with the exception of Calvert-Lewin who has improved immeasurably.

Allan may be past his peak but what does that tell you about the rest of our midfielders? He can do a bit of everything and does it well, from reading the game to tackling, passing, closing down, getting forward etc. The only thing he lacks is height and real athleticism.

Doucouré is athletic, big, strong and average at everything else.

Gbamin was the hope, then injuries wrecked the hope. The rest try but are one dimensional or simply average Premier League squad fillers.

I'm encouraged by the new recruits; Gray may prove to be our best buy since Colemen, and Townsend on a free likewise, but their Everton careers are just starting.

Lloyd Kelly is linked with several clubs but Bournemouth have slapped a £50M price tag on him.

I've only seen snippets but he seems to be a good prospect, got all the basics, ie, size, strength, a bit of pace and decent passing. All against Championship team's and his play reminds me of Maguire.

I'll happily stick with Branthwaite.

Laurie Hartley,

Just quoting you because you are spot on mate!

"Letting Allan go would be utter madness. He is made of the stuff that we are going to desperately need for the next few months.

If this happens, then I will have to conclude that everyone, including Benitez, have completely lost the plot."

Danny,

I do love the way you always point at Allan's Team mates as an reason for his ineffectiveness.

"If only he had better forwards"..."If only he had better players beside him"..."If only he had defenders to push up behind him".

Allan has played with about seventeen different players. When is X going to mark the spot?

Have you considered that the forwards would like someone who can pass better than him? ../ or that the players around him would prefer a player who can keep up with the game? ... Or that the defenders would like somebody who offers a little better protection?

If I was picking a world 5-a-side, I would love Allan in my team. He is absolutely tailor-made But we have to give up on this comparison to Peter Reid.

This guy has a smashing attitude and I agree with those who think he is a leader, it would be total madness to let him go at this moment in time... But he has had his limitations exposed since the day and hour he signed.

Let's keep him for his qualities, but let's understand and accept his limitations. Both will be in evidence every time he pulls on a blue shirt.

Darren,

Despite my enthusiasm about the player, I know his limitations. Every player has them; that's why we need better players all around the team to plug the obvious gaps we have.

Every team does to compliment the players and those around them. No player does everything on their own unless you're Maradona or Messi. You know that probably better than me.

Delete Allan, insert Davies. Same problem and Davies would be the one exposed. We have gaps; we need better players and ridding of one of our best ones right now would be a mistake.

Unless we have a replacement lined up, but that has its risks and doesn't do away with the need for someone else in addition, unless Gbamin is miraculously going to remain injury-free and show us what we thought we'd bought.

I've accepted and acknowledged and said I wish we'd had him (Allan), or a player like him, younger in his career.

So, forgetting it's Allan, we need another sweeper style midfielder (I prefer that term to 'holding') and we need a better centre back(s). And that would better support and help the players we have with the qualities they have and don't have.

Me stating the obvious before I take the dog out for his morning walk and subject him to my ramblings about all things Everton. Poor lad.

Unless Iwobi has shown a bit of natural flair in training for a central midfield role?

Christy,

By my reckoning Delph has had two excellent Premier League games this season while Allan has had one against Brighton. One has played a handful of games the other has been a virtual ever present.

Against mediocre opposition like Hull, where players aren't as clever or talented enough to punish us, he wasn't exposed as much. In the first half he was almost playing like a number ten he pressed that high, got passed around and left Gomes isolated who struggles in a two-man midfield let alone on his own at times. The next 75 minutes I agree with you he had an excellent contribution.

Go back and watch the Liverpool goals, then go back and watch Odegaard consistently popping up between the lines and scoring once when he should have had three.

Sorry but since he has been here we have been destroyed in those pockets where he has been defending. Even in the game where Gbamin was pilloried by ToffeeWebbers the problems were occurring down Allan's side yet Keane got the brunt of the blame.

The guy is indisciplined, irresponsible, unathletic, kamikaze and wouldn't sense danger if there was an evacuation alarm going on above his head. He is totally inadequate for the job he is tasked with enforcing.

Danny,

I am reporting you to the RSPCA. How dare you inflict such suffering on innocent animals. An animal deserves a choice.

On TW there has never been one single player that has been exempt from criticism – apoplectic rage from some – no matter their nationality, age, transfer fee or academy developed.

There are also certain players who attract more criticism than most. Then there are certain posters who you know, with absolute certainty, will only speak ill of a player.

Conor McCourt and Darren Hind are two such posters when it comes to Allan.

In this thread, Conor repeats a claim he made following the Wolves game when we got overran in midfield and trailed 2-0 at the interval. Namely, that in the 45 minutes that Delph played when he came on at half-time for the forlorn Gbamin, his performance was far superior to every game Allan had ever played for Everton, other than his debut game away to Spurs a year earlier.

At the time, Darren praised Conor for being 'an astute football observer.' By contrast, of course, anyone who waivers just a smidgen on Darren's own world view of football hasn't a clue.

Conor describes Allan as: 'indisciplined, irresponsible, unathletic, kamikaze and wouldn't sense danger if there was an evacuation alarm going on above his head. He is totally inadequate for the job he is tasked with enforcing.'

I'll also add here rather than duplicate things, from the Holgate transfer rumour thread, both are full of praise for Holgate. Conor (joining Kevin Prytherch) considers Mason has been our best defender this season.

Now some may give credence and gravitas to Conor's bold claims: that Delph's 45 minutes v Wolves was far superior to anything Allan has ever produced in an Everton shirt; that Mason Holgate is our best defender this season.

I don't. I won't.

He just ran off, Eddie. I think he was using the cover of darkness to escape.

Danny @69, how many other dogs in your dog's Whatsapp group have to be ready to go out at 5:30 am andare expected to understand the complicated spectrum that is Everton FC?

Who needs Allan when we can have the tenacious Ross Barkley?

Absolutely no.

For fuck's sake, has this club gone mad.

To be fair, I don't think I'd be too upset at many of the players in this current squad leaving. I'd be more concerned with who they would be getting in to replace them.

Allan to Lazio apparently. We need to add to the midfield, not subtract.

We're being dismantled.

Sheesh... I give up.

Allan to Lazio on loan seems very solid. Good job we're overloaded with great midfielders and this should have no effect. Ross must be on his way from Chelsea?

What a smart unit our manager is; where would we be without him? In the Premier League maybe?

He would have to be the worst manager in football history if he takes Everton down when our U23s would probably stay up under the next worse… but old Rafa could just do it?

Hang on – offload Allan for the season and insist on hanging onto Holgate? The cunning plan to restore Everton FC's place in the higher echelons continues on track.

This from Jay Wood:

"Then there are certain posters who you know with absolute certainty will only speak ill of a player. Conor McCourt and Darren Hind are two such posters when it comes to Allan."

Five posts earlier:

"This guy has a smashing attitude and I agree with those who think he is a leader. It would be total madness to let him go at this moment in time."

The funniest thing about this is we all know with a certain knowledge that he will still keep digging despite having his "certain knowledge" exposed.

Conor

Sorry, mate, it's clear to me you are merely offering opinion. Okay, it wasn't countered with an alternative name, but you get no "credence" from me.

I mean... Where are your fanboy stats and your snapshots to substantiate your certain knowledge?

You haven't even offered somebody else's opinion!

This repeatedly from Darren in recent weeks having discovered a new label he likes to trot out, referring to the two Ancelotti signings he continues to denigrate, even though that manager and one of the players have long gone:

'Can't play (Allan). Won't play (James).'

Carry on.

It is no coincidence that Doucouré plays better with two other midfielders, with Allan trying to cover behind him.

When you are playing 5 at the back, and having one less in midfield, then the midfield will rightly get steamed over.

Allan gets a lot of stick but, unless we have some strong midfielder lined up, we have to keep hold of Allan, until at the very least end of the season.

One of the few players we have, with a bit of metal in him. If we allow Allan to leave now it's sheer madness.

We know his age and yes agree in time we need to bring someone else in, but not now while we are in a real scrap.

I'm all for moving Allan on if we can get good money for him. I don't rate him all that highly. If he's going to specialise in a defensive midfield role, then I expect him to be outstanding. Which he isn't.

However, as the only player of his type in our entire squad, getting shut of him now without a replacement ready, in the midst of a relegation battle, is suicide.

I don't think this would be as big a loss as people are making out. He's also 31. I wouldn't want to see any loan moves though.

Jay Wood,

Wow... You've caught me red-handed! What a comeback that was, finding an example of me criticising Allan... I mean... What are the chances?

Only you've still made a bit of a mug out of yourself really, haven't you? You could have come on and just given your opinion, but you? No. Not you. You wanted to score points.

I would not have bought Allan with somebody else's money, but that doesn't mean I don't see any qualities in him. I mention them just five posts before you did your Rowdy Roddy Piper routine.

"Will know with absolute certainty will only speak ill of the player" you said. "Absolute certainty".

You were not just wrong... Statistically speaking, your statement has been proven to be 100% wrong.

Another spade down here for Jay Wood, please!

Why would Lazio want Allan? My guess would be – to bolster their defence.

Lazio sit 8th in Serie A. Only three teams have scored more goals than them. Only Inter have scored 2 more than them.

But they have conceded at least 10 more goals than any of the teams above them.

Serie A Table

Darren,

See posts 21 and 63 in this thread alone. Add to that the countless posts you have made, full of disdain and criticism of Allan since the day he joined us.

You think cherry-picking a single positive sentence from the thousands of negative words you have posted about the player some how exonerates and absolves you and shows you as 'fair and balanced' with regard to the player?

Sure.

Carry on. Again.

On the contrary Jay.

Your last claim is as false as your first one... and you know it.

On these very pages in current threads I makes statements like "We are in the 4th round because of him" and "It's difficult not to like someone who works as hard as he does."

90% (at least) of what I post about Allan is critical. There is a simple reason for that. I think he costs us goals. Lots of them... and I will support that by giving examples... And just because I think his shortcomings easily outweigh his qualities, it doesn't mean I will deny his qualities.

Here`s another stat for you as I know how fond of them you are...... 9 out of 10 cats who come on footy websites looking to score a point rather than make one, prove themselves to be of the Cheshire variety.

Yet another spade for Mr Wood please..... Better make that two!

Darren,

The funny thing is that it wasn't even my opinion he was arguing with even though he attributed it to me.

Our resident bullshitter has been arguing with himself saying that I championed Holgate as our best defender this season. Where did I say that? Bullshit.

This is the guy who brings Holgate into the equation on this thread to play to the gallery, the same poster who initially began the myth that Mason began prospering under Ancelotti even though he was our best player by a country mile from October under Silva when he came into the side. More bullshit.

And he is commenting on these rumour threads which he has claimed he doesn't read or comment on because they are beneath him. Further bullshit.

And finally he is annoyed that people are giving views on Allan on the "Allan possibly leaving" thread as this was the poster who suggests he is having "a fine season". I think you can guess what the next word is in my view though at least this one is subjective.

Darren, you are speaking about someone who gets his football 'knowledge' from tables, fanboy sites and transfer market stats reminds me of something which brought a tear to my eye.

I don't post as much as before for personal reasons so I rarely respond to him who I can learn nothing from and I often feel bad for not responding to the many posters on here who offer such great insight.

Anyway, there was a strong argument that no one out there could do a better job than Benitez from a baying majority.

I put forward the case for Potter saying how well he got out of a bunch of journeymen stating my belief that in his first season he changed the philosophy while still looking like a relegation outfit.

The second season, I argued that he transformed them as anyone who watched them regularly last season will understand. It is my belief that despite them finishing lowish in the table that they were better than Leeds, Us and Villa except they didn't have the likes of Bamford/Raphina, Calvert Lewin/Richarlison and Grealish/Watkins up top to score the goals.

This season they are beginning to get the fruits of their labour with where they are in the table though will be hard to maintain without a goalscorer. I was essentially making the point that he is getting the best of the resources at his disposal (unlike Benitez) and trying to proffer what I viewed as their journey.

Anyways Rainman (completely missing the point and in full point-scoring mode) gets out the tables trying to argue they were in a relegation battle that second season and showing their points tallies and suggesting they stayed up because there were only three teams worse.

Had I been aiming my post at him all I would have said was Potter had taken a team from 17th and 36 points when he joined to 9th currently. That's lingo he understands.

A few weeks later Chelsea, are playing Brighton and he actually sat down to watch a game of football. He couldn't get over how well Brighton played, what a joy they were, and was a like child having his first Christmas such was his excitement at discovering something new. It was hilarious. He mentioned it on numerous threads, he was so blown away.

There seems to be a lot more gambling on the transfer market this January than I'd expected; was that always the plan or are we seeing sudden changes in the plan?

Townsend and Gray have been very good acquisitions, perhaps Mykolenko, Patterson and El Ghazi will also earn that accolade. However, El Ghazi seems unnecessary if we retain all of our similar players, and Allan's departure leaves the midfield absolutely reliant on the unreliable Davies, Delph and Gbamin unless a replacement is imminent.

Some of the OTT unpleasant disdain for leaving players appears to have inspired some OTT personal insults for other posters.

In Darren Hind's own words:

"90% (at least) of what I post about Allan is critical."

I rest my case, m'lud.

Conor. Bless.

I feel your pain. Big hugs.

M'lud???

If this is not a court of law, you'd have long since been laughed out of it. Having lied through your teeth to the jury and taken them for complete fools, you now want to..."Rest your case"?

"There are certain posters who you know with absolute certainty will only ever speak ill of a player."

Let me explain what "absolute certainty" means Actually, I won't bother. I did that back in post #77 when I told you that the only "absolute certainty" about this thread would be that you would keep digging until you ran out of spades.

For fuck's sake, don't go and tell your Mrs you have been a really good boy because you have been faithful 90% of the time.

You must be the most innumerate statto I ever met!

You're fond of binary, aren't you Darren?

You know...
0, or 1.
Yes, or no.
Black, or white.
Right, or wrong.

Let's play a game of binary choices based on your TW posting history in relation to Allan with a 'yes' or 'no' answer.

Do you post frequently on Allan's performances for Everton? Yes.

Are you always critical of Allan in such posts? Yes.

Based on your posts, is it fair to conclude you do not rate Allan very highly? Yes.

Have you been complimentary about Allan in one post in this thread in which you again were being critical of Allan? Yes.

Have you ever written a post that was only complimentary about Allan? No.

Do a couple of complimentary lines from the scores of negative posts you have put up about Allan somehow bring balance and fairness to your predisposed view of the player? No.

Have you yourself acknowledged that '90% at least' of your posts on Allan are critical of the player? Yes.

Don't be coy, Darren. Embrace your contempt for Allan. After all, it's just the reverse coin of how incandescent with rage you get when people have the termerity to criticize players you always seek to defend.

But don't try and pass it off as you are attempting that you are just, balanced and fair in your evaluation of the player when you are clearly as predisposed to seek fault in the player, even when he plays well, as those folk you take issue with who criticize players you like, no matter how they perform.

You have yourself a nice day, Jay.

Aye, Darren, but after these sorts of things, I always finds the ale tastes better.

If there's a better way to get pissed on a hot Friday afternoon and evening than fermented ginger beer, then please let me know.

A bottle of French wine any day helps...

Beat me to it, Christine, but I would go Italian.

I recommend a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

We all see it different on individual players, the team, the manager and each match. That's football.

Allan is one of our best midfielders and a leader. Unless we have someone lined up who fits that bill, our midfield looks even more paper-thin than now.

Danny,

For a few years before coming back here (NZ) we lived close by a town in France called Saumur, on the Loire river. It has fabulous wines, and we frequently went to the caves where wines were made.

The best one we went to was a family cave called Ackermans, a bottle or two sitting in the evening shouting at Alexa to play favourite songs it could never find (must be the scouse accent)!

Happy nights... why on earth did I leave? Bloody Brexit... great wines though.

With regards to Allan, he has the turning circle of the Titanic but the tenacity of a bull terrier. Like others have said, playing two midfielders does him (or Doucouré) no favours and both are prone to be over-run. But he doesn't go missing... and I think, with the right combination in midfield, he is a definite asset.

However it dependers on Benitez and how he wants to play. If he continues with 5 at the back and 2 in the middle, both midfielders are going to look like crap because that's not their game. (Sounds like Digne, doesn't it?) That would be a shame but not unsurprising with such a manager.

I genuinely wonder about some of the people criticising Allan, the guy is the only one who keeps us in games this season. His work rate is unbelievable and he does the simple things extremely well.

He's played for Brazil 10 times since 2018, but he isn't good enough for Everton. Jesus wept. If Peter Reid was playing for Everton now he'd be lambasted by the same idiots.

Allan is struggling because Everton are struggling. Because Benitez has no idea what he's doing.

It really would be farcical if we were to let Allan leave at the moment. He's currently one of the best midfielders at the club, albeit it's not a particularly high bar.

We are currently in very real trouble in the league and no replacement signing, if one were lined up, would be guaranteed to succeed. Holding onto Allan is vital. If, at the end of the season, he wants to go then let him. For now, we simply cannot afford the risk of further weakening the team.

Christine, love the Loire. I think Saumur is where they train those impressive horses – the military riding academy?

Jay, I think that's a fair summary.

Christine, I used to love going to the local farm on a Sunday morning when I spent 2 years in Italy. A bit of tasting with the owner (good enough for Jesus and Priests right?) and then take home a case of his locally produced grape juice!

I agree with you on the formation. Many of us have been seeing the obvious; with this squad, play with 3 in the middle.

Sadly Brian, Peter Reid was lambasted by Evertonians towards the end. I always remember a pretty unpleasant encounter between him and the Everton fans in the Bullens Road Paddock when we played QPR at home.

Brent, yes it is, wonderfully impressive place fabulous Chateau overlooking the town, great vides, markets and food! The military academy had been training horses since Napoleon's days... learning French was nothing like school.

We went to Angers a few times to watch football, but it always felt like you were in the 17th Century... haven't had as good a hangover since we left!

After a while Danny, getting up every morning to go and get fresh bread became ingrained..

Replacing Allan with Longstaff is dreadful, it feels like Benitez is looking at the players' salary list and working his way down.

This will probably be Allan's last season. At his age, a move back to Italy in the Summer would be practical. I doubt he will be loaned out till then.

Amazing how someone can keep back on the same point after making a mug of themselves with their initial point-scoring claim.

But back to Allan. I see this as him not fitting into Benitez's preferred two-man centre-midfield. If that's the case, then getting a high earner off the wage bill, who is the wrong side of 30 and whose limitations are not going to improve, does make sense.

Yes Conor, Tommy, Derek and Jim.

I was going to respond, but I thought it was much easier to let him do the damage himself.
Even when we are all out of spades and he is digging with his finger nails he just cant seem to stop himself.

Entertaining thread. Often bizarre and infinitely predictable The appearance of the Southport cheer leader made my day.

FFS. NO. Just NO. We need him. He's not perfect (who is? - certainly no-one we have or are likely to get). But he never gives up, he wins far more than he loses. There are plenty we need to get rid of but he's not one of them!

Agree with you totally, Trevor. If we were selling him for big bucks I could at least see some kind of logic. But to discard him on a loan when we have such a thin squad. why, for God's sake ?

Alan, he might be unsettled. An unhappy camp would be one explanation as to why we've been performing so poorly.

Who exactly would sanction this move? No manager, no director of football...

Just who is in charge of the playing staff and transfers? Bill or Moshiri, or just toss a coin or stick a pin in the team sheet.