More links in the press today for Pogba.

If we can get him, it would change the complexion of this team.

a pogba & matic midfield would be tremendous and instantly be the best in the league.

It's not that long ago you were relying on Torres for goals. If Costa is missing for regular chunks of the season I imagine you will be reliant on goals from your midfield.

There aren't a large number of quality strikers out there at the moment.

You know full well that Football is one of those sports where most people (pro and non pro) pack up playing by their early 30's. Very different from sports like Golf and Tennis, where you can carry on playing into old age.

But you are saying that these players play for fun, and messi would turn out for the dog and duck if there was no money in pro football.

Suddenly, you are saying that these pro footballers who would play for free, simply quit never playing again when they are 34.

They may not be able to cut it at PL level, but surely they have more fitness at 35 than an amateur at 25?

They CAN play until an old age, just not at the top level. perhaps its because they do not love football, but see it as a job?

Based on what?

He like everyone else would more then likely be doing a normal job just like everyone else.

Pro sport is there to entertain the paying public.
It doesn't have a captive audiance forever.If you don't give them value for money people will stop going!
Huge numbers stopped going in the 80's during the hideous, unwatchable longball and offside at the halfway line era. Even the worst of today's teams are more attractive to watch than some of the better teams back then.

Yes, clubs buy and sell players, but the end game of that is to always try and make the team/squad better, it is not down to simply making money.

Based on the fact that around the world millions of people play sport for fun.

Back of the net

And just as many (maybe more) don't.

Messi is no different.

He started his "career" pretty early in life and if you look at his career progression it was always the more then likely outcome that his profession was going to be a professional footballer.

Football is his job, Yes he enjoys his job but you will find that is the case in many cases and they might not be in sport or art.

Again, you know full well about the tremendous stress and strain put on the body over many years of a physical pro sport like football. Many of them will pay for it later on in life, especially players like JT, who's been playing on pain killers for years.

No, it wasn't a cert he'd make it as a top pro.
If it wasn't for some clever doctor issuing advanced growth hormones he'd never have made it!

Not a cert no. But there are no certs in life. What you can do is look at all the options and factors and get experts to advise (like a clever Doctor) and make a educated guess.

There is always a risk but you can reduce the risk

Don't put him on ignore mate, you would miss the comedy.
He hates Jose, loves Rafa and wants Brendan as our manager. Go figure that
A few wins and decent performances will make the doom merchant dissapear again...

Everton reject Stones' Transfer request. Haven't seen it, but apparently Stones 'let' Barnsley score last night? (If true, he can f**k off. But I doubt it is)

I hate to tell Everton this, but as was suggested in yesterdays media they are a stepping-stone club.

Players will only sign for them, with the hope of getting PL experience and playing well enough to go up to a better tier club. Stones is a perfect example. When signed, not good enough to get top 4 or even top 10 clubs, but he has played his way into being wanted by them.

Now when they come knocking with a HUGE (And quite frankly ridiculous offer) Everton think that it is in their best interests not to sell, and to force the player to stay.

What young player say from the championship would now sign for Everton? If United or City come calling, you will be stuck at Everton!

Everton should just take the money and invest it wisely. This is what everton do. They have no hope of winning anything and have poor finances - all they need to do is consolidate their position by buying cheap and selling big. Martinez is as thick as a brick.

No they should not.

They have a requirement to get the best possible deal for their business and at a time where it give them the required time to bring in a replacement.

We tried to do it on the cheap by going backward and forwards with offers. We should have placed a value on him gone to Everton with that offer.

Instead what we have done is started at a offer that they was never going to accept and then keep going back with a couple of million added on each time and its resulted with Everton not having much time to bring in a replacement so will only sell for a massive amount and his first game for us maybe being Everton at their own ground.

We went in acting the big i am and its cost us

Theres still a few days left!

Of course and it still could go though BUT the problem is when leaving it this late, It hands more power to Everton plus means its less likely they will find a decent replacment and means we have to offer more incentive to sell him.

With the new TV deal the pressure is not so great for clubs like Everton to sell players to balance the books.

Unless a deal like Pedro suddenly comes up we should have all our business in this window down BEFORE the season starts.

We have the money and the drawing power for players like Stones and to do business with clubs like Everton to get the deal done ASAP. On this one we have draged our feet somewhat and are now allowing Everton to drag our feet.

I cannot agree.

Everton have had months to find a replacement, and we went into the deal with a sensible bid of over £20 million - probably stones' real value. However it is Everton that have forgotten their place. They have a player who wants to move and better himself, and they are holding him up for ransom.

They know they are going to have to sell him, and they received an astronomical bid of £30m for him. Why didnt they say "yes" to that deal?

I hope that the deal falls through and Everton are left with a disgruntled player who sits his contract out.

Of course you cannot you are in "Chelsea" mode and not actually looking at it from a real world POV

If you think a bid of over 20m will get a young ENGLISH defender then you really have no understanding of the actual market.

There is no such thing as a "real" value. The market is not goverend by logical and set prices. More so with the new TV deal, The transfer market changed when Sky first started showing football, The transfer market changed when rich owners started buying clubs and guess what? The transfer market has changed again due to the new tv deal. You can either operate under the prevous market or you can operate in the actual current market

Why did they not say yes to the 30m+ deal? Because they knew that more then likely Chelsea would come back with another offer. Why did thet think this? Because it was a logical decsion after we had come back with bids after our 1st bid.

They are not handing him to randsom, He signed a contract and they expect him to keep to that contract, While you might be someone who keeps to his word when it no longer suits you that should not mean that a company with a contract should not expect other people to.

They have "no place" to forget.

Superiority complex much?

Shame on Everton for trying to get the best deal for their club, they should know their place!

A shame a rich Russian didn't decide to invest his money in Everton instead of some club in London.

Fine margins.

Why would a player from the championship not sign for Everton?

You honestly believe that every player that signs for Everton simply do so with the intention to move on to a bigger club?

I think every player in the championship would sign for Everton as guess what it’s a huge step up from where they currently play.

Your logic is simply lord of the Animal Kingdom stuff. The big takes from the small and the small have no choice but to accept. How dare they refuse to sell an asset.

Considering Real Madrid dwarf Chelsea I assume if they wanted to buy Courtios you would expect Chelsea to ‘know there place’ and let him go?

Wahhhhhhhhhhhh, why won't Everton give me what I want? Wahhhhhhhhhhhh, they should know their place. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I hate them. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh, they're all thick.

This from a 41 year old woman. Embarrassing.