Time until we can properly compete in the transfer market?

cjmgoodison · April 30, 2014

This is a bit of a strange one. Confusing myself with all the factors (money, success, competitions) but I've seen this morning that Edinson Cavani wants out of PSG.

This had me thinking, you will think where will he go next and the names will all be the same - Madrid(s), Barca, Chelsea, City, Munich dare I say even United. The European powerhouses.

How long do you think until our name is right up there with them? When Everton will be considered as a good home for the worlds elite, like it once was. It will take a big European trophy but I don't even think that is enough now, I think it will take 2 or 3 major trophies. Can we get there again?

Ashtonian · April 30, 2014

Never, sadly.

Wages alone we could not stump up what these types of players are asking for because it would cripple the club. We would need an entire overhaul of the infra structure to be able to support any transfers like this, and combined with having to be making money at the same time to pay for it, sadly it will be a long time coming before we can match them.

Our mission now is to sign edison Cavani quality players before anyone even knows who they are and build the team from there.

deipnosophist · April 30, 2014

Chris Ashton is correct. I was going to preface 'correct' with the adjective 'sadly', but I don't think that is necessarily correct. I genuinely believe that money has distorted the food chain, the pyramid. These sheiks and oligarchs will end up eating each other. The name of the game people is survival of the fittest, the leanest, the most adaptable, NOT survival of the richest.
Mind you, whilst money can't buy you happiness, it does allow you to choose your preferred form of misery.

witchdoc187 · April 30, 2014

the teams he is linked with have turnover so far in excess of us. Every time they qualify for the champions league year after year the gap continues to widen. Its really just how they planned it. We would need to do a man city which part of me really wouldnt want to happen

cjmgoodison · April 30, 2014

So the problem lies therefore within money? Should we make champions league next year - would this provide a starting platform to get there? Or is the gap just too far for us to make up?

efcfanwirral · April 30, 2014

cjmgoodison said:
So the problem lies therefore within money? Should we make champions league next year - would this provide a starting platform to get there? Or is the gap just too far for us to make up?

we'd need to qualify every year, and make progress beyond the qualifiers/groups for a few years to make it happen, not a one off 4th place finish.

GwladysStreetHero · April 30, 2014

Would need to do a City or Chelsea and attract top players with money rather than reputation.

Khalekan · April 30, 2014

chris ashton17 said:
Never, sadly.

Wages alone we could not stump up what these types of players are asking for because it would cripple the club. We would need an entire overhaul of the infra structure to be able to support any transfers like this, and combined with having to be making money at the same time to pay for it, sadly it will be a long time coming before we can match them.

Our mission now is to sign edison Cavani quality players before anyone even knows who they are and build the team from there.

I wouldn't say "never" for certain.

At the turn of the century Chelsea would never have been in the market for these players and as recently as seven or so years ago they would never even have known Citeh existed.

Who knows...maybe some day we will win the soccer lottery and our very own gazillionaire might make it possible

But until then...

Dithering Dougie · April 30, 2014

GwladysStreetHero said:
Would need to do a City or Chelsea and attract top players with money rather than reputation.

Yeah I agree. Even when you've got the newest rich kid in town it takes time to attract the elite, you're shopping a level below.

Best example is Robinho, not good enough at Madrid and told they'd accepted an offer from Chelsea. Off he goes to the airport and his agent gets a call from Manchester telling him they add another £30k to his weekly wages. Great thinks the agent, brilliant thinks Robinho, Manchester it is then. 3 hours later rocks up and finds it City not Utd who bid and he's stuck with £30k more a week playing with a bunch of journeymen.

There was a period when after both takeovers City and Chelsea were not attracting the very best but paying well over the odds for simply very good players (anyone remember a fella called Lescott!). It takes time to be taken seriously. If we got bought out tomorrow it would probably be 4-5 years of continued success before we could turn players heads away from the major clubs and have them consider us as an option.

Of course all this relies upon is us finding a extremely generous (or foolish) billionaire, so none of its likely.

Dozbik · April 30, 2014

Even qualifying for the CL year after year wouldn't allow us to afford players like Cavani. I know I always bring up Bayern Munich as an example (heck, I know them better than every other club), but even they don't spend the money (consciously!) as wastefully as PSG/City/Monaco. The only occasion they really overspent was for Javi Martínez (40 million euros) because they were 100% certain that he is the missing piece of the jigsaw. That year, they won the CL with Martínez bossing in midfield.Now, I'm not saying we have such resources as they do but a club like us needs to keep sustainable and we have to invest out money wisely. We shouldn't engage in pointless biding wars for fashionable players, we know better than that. As Roberto said it, we need to be creative in our transfers, if it is with loaning players that's fine. As we saw it this year, we didn't bit the cover pages and headers of the papers with any of out transfers, still, some of them turned out very well. That's the path we need to continue following!

Mikey_Fitzgerald · April 30, 2014

Only way Everton would be in for a guy like Cavani would be if the club was a Champions League regular and fighting for the league title

This will only happen with vast investment. It just isn't possible with the amount we currently spend

A new stadium is required, so that the club looks more attractive to potential investors, and then the club needs to be sold to someone who has the funds at hand to increase our squad depth. With a stronger squad, and the right management, we could then look at having a few runs in the UCL and maybe having a pop at the title one season.

A few 4th to 2nd place finishes and maybe a run to the Quarter's of the CL, increased exposure and maybe a win in a cup competition would then make us more attractive to big name players

All of this is a mere pipe dream though. Everton are just not big enough at the moment and we will stay at our level unless we get a new stadium or Elstone and the other millionaires on the board decide to put their hands in their pockets

Ashtonian · April 30, 2014

Khalekan said:
I wouldn't say "never" for certain.

At the turn of the century Chelsea would never have been in the market for these players and as recently as seven or so years ago they would never even have known Citeh existed.

Who knows...maybe some day we will win the soccer lottery and our very own gazillionaire might make it possible

But until then...

Yes but their infra structure was financed from top to bottom by a rich benefactor.

the difference with ourselves and Chelsea is that we are a small club in Liverpool and they are a rich club in the posh end of the capital. Chelsea were not exactly battling relegation when they were taken over also, which people seem to forget about them.

the new stadium would only be the start, we would need to regularly compete and do well in the champions league and the top end of the table for years to generate bigger income through all the means the rich clubs do and a little matter of liverpool, arsenal, united, spurs, chelsea and city all stand in our way of doing so.

The fact of the matter is this, Bill Gates could take us over tomorrow and we still wouldn't be able to sign Edison Cavani because the club would cripple under his demands, no matter how rich our owner was.

Ara · April 30, 2014

Looking at Arsenal is a good example, they have the stadium, they have constant champions league but they never won it nor got past the Q/F for years, they have the money but other them OZil they have no world class players because there not big enough, big players won't go there because Arsenal won't pay the wages, they havnt won the league for donkey's years. How far behind Arsenal are we?(in a non league sense) miles.

Also Arsenal if you compare them to City and Chelsea, both these clubs want success Arsenal just want 4th.

We need a new stadium, new owner and top 3 as well as CL glory