[Wykey]

Yeah, those fees aren't far off, but they are an approximation - Gibson was 500 grand and Jelavic was 4 (rising to 6 depending on appearances for a start) - we also did sell Kroldrup rather than give him away, so I know it's not 100% - but it's ok for ball park figures.

[chrysostom]

Just to confuse things even more, transfermarkt.co.uk puts it at a £31.7m spend.

Basically (considering the wage bill won't be that high), he's done a damn good job financially!

It's always confused me as to how Everton seem to perpetually be in financial trouble.

[Yudster]

In the context of the Premiership, I'm not exactly sure how to define "financial trouble". The criteria are unique to say the least.

[Wykey]

I've seen -£5m mentioned as the total player purchase and sale balance while Kenwright has been in charge, which means Moyes won't be far off that .

Well, our wage bill is probably more than you might think (I think we're 10th or 11th in the Premier League) our season tickets are priced towards the low end of the scale, and we also have a higher than usual number of childrens tickets (I did read a while ago that our gate receipt per fan was the lowest in the league, but I'm not sure of the figures). We have minimal corporate facilities, our commercial department is pitiful and we're not a fashionable club - our shirt sponsorship deal is half that of Fulham and we don't usually feature in many of the 'extra' games that sky pick and choose (over and above the minimum number all clubs have).

We've mortgaged off our future season tickets sales (up to 20,000) for the next 18 years (it was a 25 year mortgage 7 years ago), we sold the rights to our merchandise sales for 10 years to Kitbag for £10 million so we can't capitalise there, and we haven't won anything for a long time.

There's a good bit more detail to it, but essentially we don't generate a lot of money other than transfers and our business plan is non existent. We're not in imminent trouble of going bankrupt (selling Wayne staved off that particular problem), but at the same time we're not in a position to turn down offers for our players, so we're pretty much treading water.

That's why keeping Moyes is of prime importance to the future of the club.

[Bonanzoid]

Blackburn Rovers are a * joke.

Venky's are a joke more so than the actual club. I remember being slightly amused by their plight as the plummeted down the Premier League, but to see just how far they've sunk is quite sad. I just pity their fans now.

Plus Jordan Rhodes is a bright Scottish talent and I hope Blackburn don't ruin him.

[The Deadly]

Yep. Should have said have been turned into a joke. It's crazy what has happened at that club and I hope the fans stand up for themselves.

[Bonanzoid]

They've made their opinion clear quite a lot, most obviously during the cringeworthy Kean era. It's criminal what Venky's have been able to do to such a prominent club. It's even more preposterous to think they won the Premier League 18 years ago.

Michael Appleton's season rivals Blackburn's for insanity too. Started at Portsmouth, went to Blackpool, went to Blackburn then got sacked, all since August.

Who's gonna snap up Nigel Adkins? Surely he'll be top of the chicken men's list. Brian McDermott's out a job too, so perhaps Venky's eyes lit up at the chance of getting one of them.

[The Deadly]

Nobody with any sense would go to that club. As a Reading fan I hope Brian McDermott doesn't go to that club as he deserves better than what he'd get there. They are likely to go for someone desperate for work, possibly Gary Megson or Owen Coyle.

[Bonanzoid]

I really hope Owen Coyle's not as desperate as Gary Megson. I've got a lot of time for Coyle since his time at St. Johnstone. He provided the platform for McInnes to take us back in to the SPL. Two promising managers taken from St. Johnstone down to England, now both out of work. Funny how things work out.

[The Deadly]

Gus Poyet has been given permission to speak to Reading. I like the idea of it but it pretty much means the board have given up on survival and are thinking about rebuilding in the summer for next season.

[Wykey]

Jesus, not living up to the "bitter" tag much are you?

While we're on the subject of gnawing all consuming bitterness, will you be turning against Suarez now he's said he wants to leave and burning shirts / sending him bullets in the post like you did to Torres when he wanted to better himself?

[The Deadly]

Nigel Adkins is the new manager at Reading. I'm very disappointed with this news but not because I think he is a bad manager, clearly he is decent but because his managerial style is similar to Brian McDermott. I wanted someone to come in who cracked the whip a bit more. I wanted Di Canio.

[The Deadly]

Sunderland have sacked Martin O'Neill. Football has gone from mad to completely mental.

[Bonanzoid]

I definitely didn't see that one coming. What a perplexing decision.

[Wykey]

It's only perplexing if you think Martin O'Neill is any good.

I don't, I think he's been living off a false reputation for years.

Di Canio though, is an inspired choice. Gutted he won't become Everton's manager when Moyes jacks it in now.

[chrysostom]

I think his stint at Sunderland was underwhelming, and having been backed heavily in the transfer market (around £40m?) he's not really done much special with the team.

[The Deadly]

David Moyes has spent probably 3 times that amount and won nothing in 10 years. Does that make him a bad manager?

[chrysostom]

Actually, Moyes has only spent a net total of ~£17m over the 11 years he's been at Everton (less if you ask Wykey). O'Neill has been in charge for around 18 months, spent a net total of around £18m - with a not too dissimilar wage bill to Everton's ~£62m, but Everton finished 6 places higher in the league.

Also, during Martin O'Neill's tenure at Sunderland, Everton have made a profit of £14.5m in the transfer market. I'd say Moyes is a good manager, as he has turned Everton into a team that consistently finishes in the top half of the league with the potential to do much more on a small budget.

[Wykey]

I just think he's a dreadfully ordinary one-time media darling who's never really done anything, but got a huge amount of credit for it.


David Moyes may have bought players worth 3 times that much, but he has had to entirely finance that transfer spending by selling players. So one might say he hasn't actually spent any money at all.

If he had been given the cash money to spend that O'Neill has in the last ten years we'd have won the league by now.

[chrysostom]

Worth noting that O'Neill spent around £70m (net) during his 4 years at the club, but that they did finish 6th 3 years in a row.

[Wykey]

Which could be compared with Everton not having had to sell Wayne, Lescott and Arteta - maybe signing Manuel Fernandes, Landon Donovan and Matteo Ferrari permanently and still having money to spend.

Those players added to the current squad would certainly be challenging for the league.

[DevilsDuck]

hahaha

I love Everton fans

[Wykey]

Well that's nice.

[DevilsDuck]

Sorry

[Bonanzoid]

It's only perplexing if you think Martin O'Neill is any good.

I don't, I think he's been living off a false reputation for years.

Di Canio though, is an inspired choice. Gutted he won't become Everton's manager when Moyes jacks it in now.

The timing of it was perhaps more confusing than the actual decision. O'Neill did pretty well at Celtic to be fair to him, and probably should've been given til at least the end of the season at Sunderland.

I'm quite looking forward to the next few months at Sunderland though. I'm not arsed how well Di Canio does, but I think it's going to be bloody entertaining.