STM

Marian fucking pahars, still gives me sleepless nights.

I think Howe will make sure the players that he picks have the most hunger to their games. He will want to keep players on their toes and not allow complacency to set in.

Now we are mint, I'm starting to take a bigger interest in other clubs. Give me this raw, emotional view from genuine Everton fans, over the self serving arrogance of Jennings, McKola and Buvey, who have very little knowledge of the life of a real football fan.

I'd recomend you all to watch this. It's a very fair post match account by this Everton channel and it was like watching our fans talk about us for years. It makes you so grateful for everything we now have. Regardless of what I think about Everton, it's hard not to have empathy for what they are going through.

I'll be honest, if we aren't interested in Maddison I'd be really keen to see who we are after.

Reckon Spurs would give us 30/40m, maybe a West Ham. Although I could see a loan to Milan.

What's annoying for them clubs is that when they cooked up the "fair market value" bullshit, they hadn't envisaged us finishing in the top 4 so quick. Ironically, when we finish 3rd... we should be scrutinising Spurs and Chelseas next commercial deals. "Hold on, Spurs and Chelsea finished in 7th and 10th, there's no way they should be getting so much money." Could backfire rather quickly.

The likelihood is that we will be in for those top end players but we will only move for them if other clubs are dithering. Arsenal didn't move on Bruno, so we nipped in. We knew Milan couldn't afford Botman, so we nipped in. Isak had been courted by most sides in Europe but alot of clubs either decided against him, had other priorities or didn't need a CF... so we struck, knowing that we wouldn't get another chance. I suspect we will stay in the background on a few of these deals and wait for other clubs who will pay higher wages to play their hand. We won't get in bidding wars because that's how you end up with financial waste. Let's remember, City signed Haaland, Arsenal signed Jesus, Chelsea signed Sterling, Liverpool signed Nunez, Spurs signed Richarlison... all of those sides could have signed Isak and didn't. More fool them. We will be patient again. Wait for who HASNT been plucked in the early flurry and then take the bargains when we are the only horse in the race. We also have the luxury of being a significantly more attractive prospect than we were 12 months ago. Don't rule out big money moves for the likes of Declan Rice, but only after the likes of Liverpool turn their noses up and cast their gaze elsewhere.

Imagine we get an extra 1m for every extra CL game we play or 500k for every extra cup game.... I don't know if how these things work but you would imagine our bosses know their onions.

Realistically, our next sponsorship following that will take over Spurs.

Seems a big upgrade but also modest. As much as I want us to be loaded. I also don't want us to flout the rules. Give nobody an excuse. It's a good starting point.

For comparison.

What's the average?

I also think its entirely possible that he's improved since he's been with us, despite it being a short time and despite being injured. Our squad culture seems to be an environment to thrive and improve, in equal measure. Even thinking back to Southampton when he rinsed their left back... I think he's come on a level since then. He's nowhere near his best yet... which quite frankly is frightning.

How about... we sign Maddison, he gets the summer to get up to speed on what is required of a midfielder in our set up, Howe can start him on the bench until he's confident he understands what his responsibilities are? We assume that mid-twenties players can't adapt to new systems and roles. There's a reason why Pep Guardiola often refuses to immediately start new signings when the arrive. Grealish being an example. Maddison would be an absolute elite signing. I'd be more worried about City or Liverpool stepping in, as to whether he's good enough FFS. He does seem to pick up a few injuries but then leave that to the experts. He won't choose Spurs over us. Trippier and Wilson will be on the blower.

Do you mean, you don't see anyone forking 30m for him?

I love that Howe is working with him. Great career move for him.

Haaland, Mbappe and Isak. The future of European strikers. There, I've said it. He's class, he's ours and with him, we win stuff.

One thing I will say is, I see no way in which ASM stays at the club. I can't put my finger on why exactly, call it a hunch. I just think the chemistry isn't right. Howe needs reliability and workrate. He's sellable too. If we get a 30m offer for him, I reckon he's gone... and if we end up signing Diaby for 45m, it will be seen as great business.

Also, Trippier is going to need rested. Therefore having one fullback with quality on the pitch would be a nice option.

I've said this previously but what i would be looking at is "who would we miss the most if they were injured for a lengthy period?". Top 3 priorities: For me the obvious answer is Bruno. We need someone in the middle who can retain possession at least somewhere near Brunos level. Without him, a huge part of our game collapses. Secondly, I'd say Schar because its a huge step down to Lascelles. Schar is 31 and we have a huge workload next year. Burn is an able deputy to Botman. Third, yep LB, not because I don't like Targett but because Burn is going to be needed in the middle more and more. Let's get someone who has some technical ability/pace going forward. It does seem odd that I've highlighted 3 defensive areas but it's a strength of ours and we need depth to continue our high standards.

Blaming West Hams shite season on Europe is doing Moyes a massive favour, by the way. In the summer they recruited players that didn't suit his system whatsoever and continued to play dullard football. He's been saved by the quality they have in their squad but ultimately their failures have been down to his management as much as the extra workload in Europe. Emery won't make the same mistakes, he knows the pitfalls like the back of his hand and will recruit the correct players. They will finish top 8 again next year and have a good run in Europe.

Gray and Tyler

We shouldn't be complacent. Southampton did draw against Arsenal last week. You have to say, if we come out the traps like against Spurs. The game could be over by half time. Right now, you can't see us not getting a couple of goals. Can Southampton score a couple?