tadpole
Player Valuation: £20m
There's a danger of over-dramatising the situation we're in. We're coming off the back of a 7th place finish. We're in a stable situation, we've got a good manager, we've held on to our key players, and in Ross Barkley we've got an exciting new prospect. I think most outside observers would expect Everton to at least get anther top 10 finish.
But the lack of movement in the transfer market has highlighted Everton's financial woes for all to see. The lack of big money sales has done nothing to help confidence. At least if we'd had the money to bring two or three players in there would have been some sense of movement, and anticipation. The lack of movement creates a sense of malaise and stagnation.
It's depressing that nothing is being done to address any of the weaknesses in the squad with which we're all familiar. The aging squad profile. The lack of pace. The need for another striker. The need for wingers. The thinness of the squad generally. And so on. None of these problems is critical in themselves. After all it's less than 3 months since we beat Man City and Chelsea, and that was without the likes of Fellaini and Saha. So why did we do so well again in the second half of last season ? A lot of it's down to the intangibles : Moyes's leadership, and the spirited attitude of the players, who shrugged off one injury after another as they pulled together as a team.
Those players now are looking and hoping that Moyes will bring in a couple of new faces, if only on loan, before the end of the month (see the latest Cahill interview). But what if that doesn't happen ? They wouldn't be human if they didn't question where the club is going, and whether the team can move forward without money or new players. In this situation, we then get a run of 3 or 4 bad results, and instead of another spirited fightback we could see shoulders drop as players lose confidence in themselves and in the team. Fans patience has already been stretched to breaking point, and especially in the absence of signings, loss of form by the team is likely to trigger widespread discontent and pressure will inevitably mount on the board and also on Moyes.
My conclusion ? We're not in crisis now, but the ingredients are there. At some point in the new season - it could be 6 weeks, it could be 4 months - we may all be talking about Everton as a club in crisis. And those at the top may be forced to accept that big changes are needed at the club.
But the lack of movement in the transfer market has highlighted Everton's financial woes for all to see. The lack of big money sales has done nothing to help confidence. At least if we'd had the money to bring two or three players in there would have been some sense of movement, and anticipation. The lack of movement creates a sense of malaise and stagnation.
It's depressing that nothing is being done to address any of the weaknesses in the squad with which we're all familiar. The aging squad profile. The lack of pace. The need for another striker. The need for wingers. The thinness of the squad generally. And so on. None of these problems is critical in themselves. After all it's less than 3 months since we beat Man City and Chelsea, and that was without the likes of Fellaini and Saha. So why did we do so well again in the second half of last season ? A lot of it's down to the intangibles : Moyes's leadership, and the spirited attitude of the players, who shrugged off one injury after another as they pulled together as a team.
Those players now are looking and hoping that Moyes will bring in a couple of new faces, if only on loan, before the end of the month (see the latest Cahill interview). But what if that doesn't happen ? They wouldn't be human if they didn't question where the club is going, and whether the team can move forward without money or new players. In this situation, we then get a run of 3 or 4 bad results, and instead of another spirited fightback we could see shoulders drop as players lose confidence in themselves and in the team. Fans patience has already been stretched to breaking point, and especially in the absence of signings, loss of form by the team is likely to trigger widespread discontent and pressure will inevitably mount on the board and also on Moyes.
My conclusion ? We're not in crisis now, but the ingredients are there. At some point in the new season - it could be 6 weeks, it could be 4 months - we may all be talking about Everton as a club in crisis. And those at the top may be forced to accept that big changes are needed at the club.
