The day of the transfer deadline finished with little incoming movement for Everton. On the final day of the summer transfer market, the Blues were effectively rejected by pretty much every club they approached, despite the possibility of a number of players maybe coming in.
For the players we are aware of, late offers for Wilfried Gnonto, Harrison Reed, Kamaldeen Sulemana, and Maxwell Cornet were rejected. While clubs with half the Toffees’ fan base celebrated signing big players from all over the continent, there may have been twice that many people contacted for urgent loans that were also unceremoniously rejected.
During Thursday’s pre-game news conference, manager Sean Dyche made an effort to prepare the Blues for this by declaring that the team
This was a disappointing conclusion to the summer transfer season in many ways. In one sense, Everton is in a worse situation than they were in the previous campaign due to their mediocre start to the current campaign and several serious inadequacies at crucial positions that were not fixed over the summer.
I can, however, see a sliver of light in the darkness that gives me a vision of a comfortable midtable finish during a season with little disturbance of the old cardiac unit if I lean the other way, tilt my head at this specific angle, and squint very hard. Sean Dyche might still be able to coax a song out of the team once the five new players get settled in and find their rhythm.
The issue is that those teams in the relegation zone are acting more proactively than we are to avoid controversy this season. Our tremendously incompetent — and, let’s face it, ruthlessly self-destructive — ownership has prioritized paying for the new stadium and repaying debt over acquiring excellent players to strengthen Everton Football Club.
It is a failing of our fanbase that the Board continues to act in this way with such impunity and blatant disrespect. Only roughly seven months later than necessary, majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri kept his word and procured a striker for us. Is he hoping for recognition for that? How about our venerable actor-president Bill Kenwright hanging onto the dwindling
The supporters’ worries could have been allayed with even a small amount of responsibility and transparency, but instead, there is still a pressing need to keep any information about the club’s operations under tight control.
Also, Kevin Thelwell isn’t getting a get out of jail free card in this situation. When it became evident that he was not being allowed to perform the duties of his position, his predecessor in the Director of Football position resigned from his Board seat and left the position. The former Wolves scouting icon accepted the position with full knowledge of the duties involved and the people he needed to bow down to. He has always followed the party line and taken care to avoid upsetting anyone.
Back to the topic at hand, which was to rant and rave about how the Toffees did little to address the key issues in the squad: Are we really entrusting our survival to an unproven Joao Virginia behind Jordan Pickford in goal? Dyche didn’t even trust him between the sticks against the bottom side in the entire Football League, and yet we are one Pickers injury away from watching Virginia try to keep us afloat.
Last year, the center defense was an issue, forcing us to rely on the constantly injured Yerry Mina to save us. This year, we’re counting on a raw Jarrad Branthwaite to keep an elderly but still attractive James Tarkowski company in a porous defense. Behind them come Michael Keane, who is “a year older and therefore a year slower,” and The Artist Defender Formerly Known as Prince Ben Godfrey, although we are unsure of this person’s identity.
But hey, we’re doing great with succession planning at fullback aren’t we? In the meantime, we’ll soon be the only team in the northern hemisphere to deploy two pensioners in one of the most demanding positions in the contemporary game.
But hey, we’re doing great with succession planning at fullback aren’t we? In the meantime, we’ll soon be the only team in the northern hemisphere to deploy two pensioners in one of the most demanding positions in the contemporary game.
Yes, Everton didn’t make any signings on deadline day and will now enter a third straight relegation battle clutching their prayer beads in the hopes that the injury gods will look favorably upon the Toffees so that we can continue to call ourselves a Premier League team next summer. You could have saved yourself some time and heartache by scrolling straight down all the way here.
EVERTON SUMMER TRANSFERS ARE CONFIRMED Exiting
Moise Kean, Ellis Simms, Niels Nkounkou, Tom Cannon, and Alex Iwobi were all transferred.
Mason Holgate and Neal Maupay were on loan.
Yerry Mina, Tom Davies, Asmir Begovic, and Andros Townsend have been freed.
Conor Coady and Ruben Vinagre’s loans are ending.
Incoming
Beto and Youssef Chermiti were transferred.
Arnaut Danjuma and Jack Harrison were on loan.
Ashley Young is a free agent.
