Moyes lets slip the Blues may have “other priorities” than right-back

I still don’t know why Dixon hasn’t been considered, it’s questionable to say he’s not Premier Leaguestandard, his one game last season against Spurs, he was our best player?

As a CB he seems to be anything between (a) Champions League quality and (b) your assessment of him as being awful. Personally, I think he's neither (yet).

As a long term RB though, he is a weird solution. I heard some commentators say he provided an unorthodox attacking outlet because we could hit a big diagonal to him and he'd obviously win the header against a winger / conventional full-back.

With the ball he's not bad either. But like I say, a weird solution as a "proper" RB.

He is certainly no Tarkowski nor Jarrad yet at centre-back but he does a solid job at right-back in the Kyle Walker mould, ie, quick and aggressive and gets up and down the pitch.

Having said that, I really like the look of the Norwich right-back, who I watched for 90 minutes the other day, and his passing and movement was top class.

I think the RB and RW choices need to be complimentary in the Baines-Pienaar way although right now I would settle for a body for the RW slot.

Jake has performed very well at right back. He also did well at centre-back. A few wobbles occasionally in both positions, but name me a player who doesn't have them.

I think describing his positional sense as horrific, although a personal view, is a bit harsh from what I've watched.

I don't feel right back is the priority several are making it out to be.

Just an opinion!

O'Brien did look good there, but is that really a sustainable plan? Our recognised RBs are Seamus and Patto... Plus O'Brien is surely a better option for covering Branthwaite (or Tark) than Keane?

I agree O'Brien didn't look wonderful at CB in those friendlies, but Keane's lack of pace makes it very easy to hurt us. And that's before you factor in how often he drops a clanger.

Keeper

Right back

Centre midfielder

Two righy wingers

He said bids have been made. There is money to spend, they'll push in the last 2 weeks. If not they'll be looking at the Christmas window for what they can't get now (assume right back).

Pay the Dibling Money! This will cost us league places and therefore millions of pounds. False economy as usual.

If Mykolenko is out too, would you go three at the back with Garner and McNeil on the sides?

Notice Liverpool have their first choice eleven out tonight - not a calf strain amongst them. Got to be sheer luck hasn't it? Must be great - and as we know, they know no other reality.

Bucket of shit = roses.

A steady run with a decent / proper right-back and I think he would have less compensating to do and so will be fine.

We need a right back and a right winger as a priority.

Beto is off and Chermiti is just not worthy of a place in the squad so an experienced striker is also needed.

Nico can play a bit. Argentine international, very quick. Would be a nice get if we could.

Romano also reports Wolves will beat Everton to right back Jackson Tchatchoua from Hellas Verona with a £10 million offer.

If anyone seriously thinks the signing of a back-up keeper has any impact at all on whether we sign a right winger or full back they really need to give their heads a wobble. It's not just one guy in an office only able to have one deal ongoing at a time! if you worked in an estate agent would you think that the £3m mansion was neglected because someone bought a bungalow that week?

Seriously, can we all grow up a little and show a little patience and understanding for the process?

The club is very clearly trying hard to get quality signings in key positions, like right wing, right back and forward, but it's not as easy as popping down to the spar to buy a snickers. The player has to want to come, the selling club needs to agree reasonable/affordable terms, and there needs to not be better funded/ higher ranked opposition waiting in the wings.

Just look at Newcastle! They've got tons of cash and CL football and they are struggling to retain existing players never mind secure top quality new talent!

We have made solid progress with KDH and Grealish, maybe Barry will turn out a good investment too, given time… and this was built on securing O'Brien, NDiaye, Alcaraz and Beto the previous year.

We also kept hold of Branthwaite and Gueye and got rid of a load of dead wood like Holgate, Young, Maupay etc.

Doucouré and DLC were both solid squad players we could have kept at the right price, but they were hardly world beaters and they rejected contacts offered, so they've moved on. Likewise, I didn't hate Harrison or Lindstrom, but nor could I argue they improved what we had and make a case to renew. Others like Broja and Mangala were injured so we had no choice but to cut ties.

We may still get Dibley or we may not, either way it's not clear he's the finished article. I think he's still very much in the ‘rough diamond' category and certainly doesn't have the data under his belt to justify a fee of £50m, so I have no issue with us drawing a line below that.

Those who want to spend with abandon may want to remind themselves of how that worked out for us in the last decade… penniless, PSR fined and battling relegation!

Right now there are lots of reasons to be cheerful! We have a manager I trust who has once again returned some pride and hope, new owners who seem credible, and a fabulous new stadium.

Yes the team is light and def needs a few more bodies in key positions, but this stuff doesn't happen overnight. We have another 2 weeks before the window shuts, can we at least give the club the benefit of the doubt til then?

Seems like some posts are suggesting what my mrs regularly says "Blokes can only do one thing at a time!"

Moyes says we're looking at lots of players but the players we are allegedly interested in are all joining other clubs.

I think it will be a travesty if we don't sign at least a RB and RW in this window and hopefully soon.

Moyes used to like his players to have a value for money 'Utility' mode, if a RB proves impossible...how hard can it be ffs...he'll sign a centre half and push O'Brien out wide..

How hard?

Very, apparently.

Transfers to bring in a right winger and right back are not nice to have. They would address serious gaps in the balance and depth of the squad - and it is clear Moyes feels the same way.

I can understand that it might be challenging to sign a creative and pacey right winger - they are sought after in the market. The offer of European football is an attraction factor. But it is really poor that we have failed to sign a right back and will rely on a centre-back and a 36 year old to start the season.

My guess is that we were confident in doing the Dibling deal at our valuation and spent too long trying to get the deal done in that financial framework. Now we have pivoted away to other targets, we are finding that other clubs have progressed with deals for these players.

it is unfortunately more likely that we will need to compromise on the quality of the player to fill these positions. Or we try to manage with what we have until January.

We could of course bid more for Dibling - go big or go home given our transfer strategy for the summer seems to have been constructed around that deal.

We will play a minimum of 40 competitive games, going up to a maximum of 50 games if we enter the finals of both the cup competitions. Realistically, we might play about 45 games, and with no European competitions to trouble us, I just don't see why we would need such a big squad.

We should definitely fill the much needed RW and RB positions, but anything more should only be to replace the above mentioned youngsters if they were to go out on loan.

I'm concerned that Nottm Forest have signed/will sign the players we badly needed, Ndoye, McAtee and Hutchinson, all for reasonable money. Why did we not go for them?

Talk is they are going for Rico Lewis for £30M+. I can't believe Man City would let him go but, if he's available, we must get him. He's the answer to our full-back problem, both left and right, for the next 10 years.

Moyes said at the end of last season he wanted to emulate Forest… Come on then, this is your chance.

Rico Lewis would be a superb addition for us but Moyes said yesterday that he didn't think RB recruitment was a priority, which I imagine makes spending £30m on the position highly unlikely.

Whilst we have recruited decent players this summer I think the strategy has been somewhat baffling and cannot believe we are headed into the new season without a single naturally right sided player of PL standards.

Having watched the Reds last night, Pingpong ! at rightback is similar to Lewis, being played out of position. The top teams will have a field day playing the Reds, if they go down the wings.

Koneta had a game to forget, but probably not helped by the bad display of the fullback.

Is it true that Moyesy said in his presser yesterday that RB isn’t a priority for him right now?

Fourth Goalie?

We still only have 4 players for the ‘creative 3’ of the 4-2-3-1, so the RW is the clear priority. If we sign 2 RWs then we actually have a full squad in terms of having two natural players for every position. The issue then becomes about improving quality in weaker areas (likely RB).

Is this a sign that Moyes hasn’t written Patterson off completely the way we all assumed he had?

Moyes would appear to agree.

I know he's not your typical fullback given the size of him, but positionally in the middle he's absolutely shocking and I don't see anyone saying he's let us down at right back.

Keane at CB worries me though. Him and Tarky would have to be the slowest CB pairing ever to grace the Premier League. We need a body in the door, fast!

The whole situation is farcical anyway. No way were we going to replace 10 players, with 'elite' players, on a fairly moderate budget.

Where would you play Rico Lewis if we had him.

James 16

O'Brien hasn't played many games for us at cb. Him and Keane had a great game away at champions league chasing Newcastle at the end of last season. CB is where he will end up playing for us probably alongside Branthwaite, both are quick for big lads and could help us play higher up the pitch.

By the end of the transfer window I am hopeful.of having more trust in both the process and the manager.

But, as things stand, I don't see much to.make me enthuse about the new season. Happy with the Grealish signing and Dewsbury-Hall. But we are woefully unprepared on the right side of the team.

I sincerely hope I can look back at my posts after the first few weeks of the season though and laugh at how wrong I was

How does that make any sense? It came out of David Moyes mouth. He literally said the same thing you're all saying.

You realise it's been the same for a lot of other clubs. Just because you have money to spend doesn't mean you can spend it. The market dictates.

The real issue here is the fact the transfer window shuts after the season has started - that's the reason we're in this position. Agents and clubs will all wait till the very end of the window because then prices and fees go up based on desperation.

It's not rocket science.

Short term v long term?

Jake O'Brien is a centre back and that is where he will settle. He can cover at right back. Although on the left, similarities to Lescott.

I would have thought at £30M McAtee from City may have been a decent alternative or Hutchinson from Ipswich. The additions of Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall are a couple of quality players but we need one or two more to help us get into the Top 10.

Let's hope that Kinnear and his team get into action quickly and either get the Dibling deal done or move on and get the next on the list.

Many are delighted with KDH but for me he wasn't a necessity. I don't think he can be relied on as an 8 in tough away games as the likes of Mangala or Onana could. I think he will flit between an 8 and a 10. Grealish will flit between a 10 and a back up to Ndiaye.

Therefore we will need a midfielder as a'priority'. Tim the ironman was played more advanced in his last game so he is not fancied. Garner was played as a 6 because Gana hasn't the discipline to do so. Moyes will therefore want ideally a very negative midfielder to complement KDH or Gana hence the links to Lopy.

Right wing is also a priority where we need 2. I suspect the majority of funds will be aimed at these 2 positions for players to go straight into the team then whatever funds or loans we have left will be aimed at right back, right wing and centre forward.

There will be a huge number of players that will be on the bench this weekend, that think they should be starting. And even more sat in the stands. A world cup year is an uncomfortable time not to be playing football.

The links to central midfielders, wingers and right backs are all there. With some of our best buys coming from players that we hadn't heard of, players down the list or times when we've bought a player for later.

John Stones was bought when Moyes was looking for an attacker. None of us had heard of Jarrod Branthwaite, and id imagine Arteta wasn't the obvious signing back in the day.

£70M left to spend and only one loan spot used. Cheer up.

If he had stayed fit, Mangala is likely to have been signed this summer. Maybe Lindstrøm as well? Alcaraz was signed. Farther back Gomes came on loan and Chelsea took Zouma back and of course Gareth Barry and Lukaku were loan signings.

But as others keep saying, there is still time and I'll try to be patient. If Keane rather than O'Brien covering for Branthwaite doesn't cost us points, I may even believe that not buying a RB for the sake of it was sensible...

He could transform our ability to retain possession, beat the press and transition the ball up the pitch - i.e. play the game like big clubs play the game.

Santos at Chelsea, hell I'd take Zinchenko.

Fans of a certain age don't buy into the Sky bullshit. I don't have the volume on when I watch our away games for the exact reason you mention.

Commentary has gone backwards over the years. We used to have silence between passages of play, now we have talking heads trying to justify a living and making excuses for poor decisions and cheating.

Turn the sound off, it's a better experience.

The reporter set it up. He said we have Patterson, Coleman, O'Brien, and Garner... does that mean RB isn't first priority?

Of course he could have responded by saying that Seamus is done and Patterson is crap... but that would have been a bigger headline wouldn't it?

I'm sure we're looking at right backs. We know for a fact that we were in for Tete early in the season.

I'm at the stage where I'll be glad when the window closes and we know what we've got.

Hopefully, Kinnear will be true to his recent word in judging them at the end of the window.

Ernie the point is we won't be signing a Dibling equivalent as many posters wanted a right back signed who would sort out the position for the next ten years. It's obvious that Moyes will bring a right back in either on loan, a free or similar to the fee Sunderland are getting Mukiele for.

However it is clear the major outlays were designated for a striker to replace Dominic, for the midfield and for the wing... positions where Moyes identified quality was necessary to go straight into the starting eleven. At right back even had we signed Tete I don't think he is as good as OBrien there and was a cheap option to complete for the spot who has a different skill set.

Moyes himself used the words that while he wanted a right back he had other pressing priorities and the players linked would substantiate this claim.

That is the benefit of a high-performance regime where resilience is the priority rather than rest. Though I do think Slot will struggle this season when his luck eventually turns.

The priority is balance in the squad by getting the midfield supported and functioning as playmakers for the attack. After that, it is a trade-off of errors against good play or good and not-so-good players. Minimising player errors is the key to building relentlessness in team play.

Quickly caveating "Im not saying what clubs, what players" (or indeed how many) when stating that the club had put in numerous bids and how difficult it is.
That line or excuse has been wheeled out for decades originally by the dead one, but more recently managers and before that mosh pits.

When not one leaked story over these numerous bids appears, yet every step of Dibling's and Grealish's etc are. And who our leavers have gone to, or their progress ie DCL. So I am sorry. Dont quite believe ya Davey.

We deffo need a left-back pronto. That kid we got ain't any use - yet. No way injury Mykolenko is gonna string in a load of games together.

And then all the other well known positions we have failed to fill relentlessly year after year that every man and his dog has identified. Still.
COYB

You say ‘ We deffo need a left back pronto. That kid we got ain't any use – yet'

Can I ask how you reached that conclusion?

I'm mean surely you're not saying that after a pre-season friendly?

I'm at the stage where I'll be glad when the window closes and we know what we've got.

I totally agree. Bored to death of it.

Ryan #46, why did Thierno Barry leave Champions League Villarreal to play for perennial relegation strugglers Everton? What did we have to offer this player?

More money than Villarreal could offer?

If Carra is co-commentating, I turn off the volume. His voice is even more annoying than John Bishop.

Trippier for RB anyone? He can still do the job

Price now with 3 from 2. 6ft 4, I didnt realise he was such a unit. He looks very good for that level.

Yes to Trippier.

As for Carragher, the fact that this vile and inarticulate human earns a living for commentating is symbolic of how distasteful modern football can be.

Unorthodox solution? Yes. But it has worked for the team so far. We have an attacking left back (Aznou - when he's ready). Both full-backs don't have to necessarily mirror each other in their jobs.

It’s a bit different for champions league regulars like Man Utd who pay big wages. But none of these players give much of shit about a Euro cup run with Forest. It’s nice but they’ll all pick the money first and foremost.

Our recruitment makes no sense to me.

Spent 90m and not improved the team that much.

He's got no future at United under Amorim, who wants athletic runners in there.

and he always comes at things from some tasteless angle 'he really should have pulled him down there'.

Also, it's not the first time David Moyes has pulled this one out the hat, anyone remember Joleon Lescott & Leighton Baines arrival?

DM wasn't entirely satisfied that either were fully ready to assume their roles immediately. Hence he had Lescott at left back, while Bainesy found his feet, and I think he got it spot on. In those early days Lescott performed better at LB than CB and was in fact better than Bainsey.

But this allowed the pair the time to gain the essential experience and confidence necessary to become accomplished in their assigned positions. Credit where it's due.

Not sure if you've noticed, but Notts Forest play in the same league as us. They receive the same TV money. Same level of hype and exposure. A rising tide lifts all ships.

If a young player in Spain/Italy/France etc wanted to move to the Prem to quadruple their wage, and money was their sole motivation, please explain why that player would nearly always choose Everton over Notts Forest if identical terms were offered.

Provided the assist for the first goal after 20 minutes but was largely anonymous 'cos WBA played down the left.

He had a couple of decent runs passing players and putting in crosses which were close blocked. One time he cut into the left and tried a cross/ shot with his left foot, close blocked again.

Came off after 73 minutes and looked out of breath.

Overall I guess has promise but can't really judge on the one game when WBA were playing on the other wing.

Another wonder boy, hyped up by agents and the media as the next big thing, straight in the England squad just like Mainoo at United, another who does virtually fk all but is still billed as world class.

The ability to play 50-60 games a season is unique. And expensive.

Our right side was looking shocking before last week. I don't think it's that bad now.

Not McNeil please, as he's so one-footed, every step he makes can be read 5 seconds before he does it.

I think all of his goals for Everton have come from his right foot, including his penalties!

I saw a shite team struggling to stay in the Premier League for the last few seasons. Now I see a side that will definitely compete and actually scare a fair few sides. That's a big change to me.

But hey, the transfer window's been shit.

Dave, already you forgot that left foot cracker at the end of the season??

I was trying to remember the goals Ndiaye had scored for us before I posted so which goal with his left foot did he score against Southampton the first or the second?

Strange I can remember goals from seventy years ago or more but can't remember one from three months ago.

Dave @86, the goal against Tottenham and both against Southampton were with his left.

He's looked a classy player whenever I've seen them and might be a decent option for a deep midfielder.

I think Ndiaye scored with his left v Spurs?

My point is that players will join us if we offer a better financial package than our competitors - unless we're talking about the 8 Champions League regulars. And in any case those clubs happen to pay the biggest wages anyway so the player tends to get money and glory we can't yet offer.

With Hutchinson, it looks like we weren't willing to meet Ipswich's valuation so the player didn't have a choice to make.

With McAtee, I assume we withdrew any interest in signing Grealish, Alcaraz and KDH who operate in similar areas of the pitch.

But that solo run against Spurs and the lefty blast into the roof of the net is one I will remember for a long, long time.

Dave, I can remember the names of most of the kids in my first grade class... and maybe a quarter of my current barbershop chorus. If they're not wearing their name tags, I'm screwed.

The Toffees boss said. “We see a lot of good things in him, technically very good, athletic, might need just a little bit to get himself built up and ready for the Premier League, so we won't be putting him under any pressure.”

I'm basing it on what the manager said and the friendly v Roma when he came on as a sub, failed to impress, and got subbed.

As stated, I'm not saying he won't improve… but right now, no.

Fair enough looking at what Moyes has said about him but ‘failed to impress' seems a bit harsh considering the lad was signed on 29 July, must have immediately flown out to the States to begin settling in with his new squad mates, then back to his presumably brand new (though likely temporary) digs, before a mere week later being thrust on to the pitch much earlier than planned in a game of hyped-up significance.

After that chaotic couple of weeks, I'm impressed the lad was able to remember what colour shirt and which of the strangers to pass to!

He has played a few times for Bayern and has something like 3 caps for Morocco. I'm pretty sure there is a very decent player in there and so far he has done remarkably well as far as I am concerned.

The formation we play on Monday may decide if he starts or plays at all. He is attack-minded and likes to dribble. Seems in the Ait-Nouri mould to me.

If Mykolenko is unfit, we could play the three fit centre-backs with wing-backs. Garner on the right and Aznou on the left. Rayan Ait-Nouri was as young when he became a regular at Wolves.

Other new players gave also had that shortened timeline to adjust. So you could say that about them all. As I stated, Moyes believes him to have potential.

In view of Mykolenko's injury status, we need another experienced left-back. A loan would do.