Statement Signing

[barneygumble]

I genuinely can never see the point in people naming Westerveld or Baardsen as bad signings.

They were signed as stop gaps due to us having a GK crisis.

Bad signings are definitely like Mark Hughes, Straqualursi (even if he did have passion), Claus Thomsen.

I'd say Lukaku, Kanchelskis and to an extent Arteta were huge for us.

Certainly Lukaku got me excited most, so definitely that!

 

[Thomasc]

Yep Kanchelskis was massive at the time, nobody believed he would go to Everton. Bet he actually regretted leaving United.

 

[Eggs]

...Alan Ball. We signed him after a MoM performance in a World Cup Final.

 

[degsy]

We don't need a statement signing...we need effective ones
Walsh was brought in to spot 30-40M signings for 15-20M
Koeman was brought in to make all these potential 30-40M signings jell as a team where the sum is greater than the parts and these 30-40M end up playing like 45-55M signings...and it must be said, maybe the odd one sold for 45-55M .

 

[Khalekan]

which transfer in all your years as a blue felt like the most significant statement signing, for better of worse (or both)

boldest positive statement for me was Bob Latchford
most negative statement Davide Ginola

Disagree about the Latchford signing.

Signing players like Big Bob was what was expected from EFC in those days and we were linked with every big name that was around then.

Ditto when we signed Lineker.

Signing Kanchelskis was IMO a bigger statement signing than those two as we had fallen off the totem by the mid nineties and I was genuinely shocked, though obviously delighted, that he signed for us at that time.

I also think the Schneiderlin signing was a big statement of intent in this new, post buy out era.

As indeed was the signing of Samuel Eto'o a few years ago, even if it did go tits up in the end

Negative statement?

I was really depressed when Mike Walker brought in anyone whom seemed surplus to requirements at Ibrox in the fall of '94.

Ian Durrant, Big Dunc and I think one other arrived and I thought "how far have we fallen....fetching in job lots of reserves from Scotland".

But to be fair to Mr. Walker, little did I realise that we were bringing in a guy whom would go on to become a club legend

 

[Khalekan]

Lukaku - as far as I remember.

I'm 21 like

Guessing Lineker, Kanchelski etc were big at the time

Indeed, Toff.

Though as I said in another post, Lineker was signed when we were rich and were champions and any big player on the market was a potential Everton target and that was the way I had always known it to be since I was a small boy.

Kanchelskis though....completely out the blue and at a time when our status had fallen from well off its pre Heysel high.

That was massive.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I have to admit to being very excited when we signed Eto'o. In hindsight he goes down as one of those players who in a few years time you'll wonder if he really did play for us or whether we dreamt it all.

 

[brieverton]

Lukaku in recent imes most certainly, and Kanchelskis as well.

Before that, I would say Tony Cottee. Breaking the British transfer record was and is always significant, and in those pre-Sky days, I remember that being deemed newsworthy enough to make the 9'Clock News, it being reported that we had beaten Arsenal to sign him. I remember being pleased in a sort of smug way, because we were as good as, if not better than, any of the big boys then. It was Everton acting in a way I expected them to, no more no less.

Negative statement, that's very hard to say. I don't think clubs sign players to make a negative statement, certainly not intentionally so. There have been some leftfield signings certainly, but that's not the same thing. A depressing period was when we were signing players like Bobby Williamson and John O'Kane, no disrespect to them but looking back at teamsheets in that period in the 90s we were lucky to stay up.

 

[AdaBrummieblue]

Tony Cottee. I was still doing my paper round and all the talk on the back pages was either us or Arsenal. He chose us and I was delighted. Big signing, big fee for the time (British transfer record I think) and a prolific goalscorer, right at the end of our successful spell. Didn't really work out though because of the rubbish he had to play with but was a top striker really. Kanchelskis and Lukaku also two big signings.

 

[Amw79]

The Lineker season is the first season I really remember - he was my hero. Don't remember signing him though.

Kanchekskis was a proper coup. At the time I wondered how the hell we'd managed to pull it off - was immense for us as well.

Lukaku was the best statement after that. A new contract for him would be a fantastic statement of intent from us.

 

[bicycleheader]

Kanchelskis for me. Was completely wowed as a youngster. Seeing it confirmed on Teletext. Wonderful times.

 

[Gwladys Nights]

The statement that accompanied Kanchelskis signing was "Everton can only sign top players when there's obviously shady Russian mobsters involved."

The statement that accompanied Lukaku signing was "Everton are back, maybe."

Lukaku was a far bigger statement of intent.

 

[bluestevon]

Kanchelskis, Lineker

Gary Speed - one of the best players in the league when we got him from Leeds

 

[toffeeblue9]

We signed Kanchelskis, Speed and Barmby all within about 12 months - all were huge signings. Really felt like we were going somewhere back then

 

[Toast]

Getting Tony Cottee was a coup at the time.
Then watching him bang a hat trick in on debut.
Thought we would walk the league.