hallamblue
Player Valuation: £35m
If we had this team when I was 18 (1988) I would have been annoyed but in some ways I would have said yesterday would do us some good. We are a young developing team, and events like this can only help our education as a team.
However, we all know that if we don't get Top 4 this season we will lose Lukaku and Stones as well. Once that happens, it can well be a downward spiral.
Our team now reminds me of West Ham under Harry Redknapp. They had Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Paolo Di Canio. They played good football and I honestly thought they could challenge for the league.
They were relegated within 3 years. As soon as the board sold Rio Ferdinand to Leeds the whole club knew that they didn't have the money or ambition to build on the 1 golden chance (before being handed the Olympic Stadium for free) they had to build a team that could really challenge.
It makes me sick, not just for Everton, but for any team that isn't rich. When I was growing up, teams like Notts Forest, Ipswich, Villa, Norwich City were challenging for the league and sometimes winning it. They built good teams, and those teams stayed together for long enough to achieve something. Don't get me wrong they still lost their best players, but not after 1 good season.
The only chance we have is to be an English version of Villareal or Athletico Madrid. Constantly developing young players to replace the ones you will inevitably lose. No team in England has ever managed this, so excuse me if I doubt our ability to be the first.
However, we all know that if we don't get Top 4 this season we will lose Lukaku and Stones as well. Once that happens, it can well be a downward spiral.
Our team now reminds me of West Ham under Harry Redknapp. They had Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Paolo Di Canio. They played good football and I honestly thought they could challenge for the league.
They were relegated within 3 years. As soon as the board sold Rio Ferdinand to Leeds the whole club knew that they didn't have the money or ambition to build on the 1 golden chance (before being handed the Olympic Stadium for free) they had to build a team that could really challenge.
It makes me sick, not just for Everton, but for any team that isn't rich. When I was growing up, teams like Notts Forest, Ipswich, Villa, Norwich City were challenging for the league and sometimes winning it. They built good teams, and those teams stayed together for long enough to achieve something. Don't get me wrong they still lost their best players, but not after 1 good season.
The only chance we have is to be an English version of Villareal or Athletico Madrid. Constantly developing young players to replace the ones you will inevitably lose. No team in England has ever managed this, so excuse me if I doubt our ability to be the first.