Happy Friday!

Let me start off by joining the legion of Everton, England, and soccer fans worldwide in congratulating our own Jordan Pickford on an amazing World Cup.

In fact, Pickford has earned his own (back-from-the-pile-of-dead-gigs) haiku!

Pickford made the saves

The Three Lions fell just short

Everton will not

Let me also say that this World Cup was an absolute joy.

No matter what happens in Sunday’s final (as far as I am concerned there is no match on Saturday) the entire spectrum of matches have provided drama, upsets, and memorable moments.

While Fox may have failed to properly capture the spirit of the fans and matches whilst subjugating their tactical analysis show (their best feature by a mile) to odd hours, the on-the-field action provided continuous story lines and juuuuuuust when you thought things would start getting predictable:

You realize Croatia is only 90 minutes from joining the elite group of teams who have ever won the World Cup.

As for the Toffees, the lack of incoming transfers has left Everton plans with nothing, and everything, to talk about.

As it were, there are plenty of questions to answer so let’s let into the mailbag.

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I think Ryan is feeling the same way we all are....as in....

Do something Everton!

Now, one astute reader had an inkling as to why Everton have yet to wrap up any deals:

More on his targets later, but his point is both on one hand incredibly sensible, while on the other hand somewhow being completely ridiculous.

Are we as Everton fans to truly believe that our club is working methodically behind the scenes to get thing exactly right while at the same time appearing to be doing nothing at all?

History wants us to scoff at that notion, especially with Bill Kenwright in the ‘picture’, but there is new management in town, and have you seen these guys dos?

Talk about pulling it off looking effortless.

Wayne Rooney on the other hand is ALL effort NO results

Anyways...........

There are a couple of reasons why the dynamic duo may be taking their time:

• Keeping the scent of desperation off your club after multiple transfer windows trying to take home whoever would get in the car with us is probably a good idea. (Keeps the prices down. )
• The Toffees had 38 players on their roster when these guys inherited it, and trying to trim those numbers while trying to appear not to be having a fire sale is also probably a good idea. (Keeps the prices up.)
• On that same note, Everton is not without a number of talented players and Silva needs some time to assess whether or not a player will fit into his system. We are sure to be surprised by some of his favorites, and equally as puzzled by those he may leave out, but he appears to be giving himself plenty of time to assess the physical and mental makeup of the team and I would think that after this weekend’s scrimmage he will have an even better idea on many players, and will probably make a final call on some. I would expect to see the numbers continued to be trimmed with increasing speed, which will hopefully immediately be followed up by some incoming players.

As for Kevin Mirallas, I am a bit perplexed.

It seemed quite clear last season that the Belgian winger was on his way out when the Toffees loaned him back to Olympiakos in Greece.

By the time his loan was terminated due to......well whatever Mirallas does to piss everyone he works with off so easily..... it appeared not only were his Toffees days over, but his professional career appeared to be in serious limbo.

Now, he finds himself at camp with a new manager, and possibly a new lease on life.

While I highly doubt Mirallas will be part of the regular rotation, he may be spared in this window in order to give him a cup appearance or two to establish some semblance of worth before shipping him out in the winter.

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“Kicking” and “passing” are cool, but when do the piggy back rides start???

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Yes, because otherwise our management team is absolutely out of their minds.

Lookman can play any of the three positions behind the striker, and his ability to beat defenders off the dribble and get past a line of defense on his own is something the Toffees are in desperate need more of in addition to Theo Walcott.

I can only assume Marco Silva is as high on Lookman as we all are and therefor will feature him prominently from the get-go.

Having had the young winger from day one of camp I would assume the Portugese manager has been building a relationship that will give him the confidence the club holds him in as high of esteem as we all do.

It will be crucial that Lookman feels wanted, which he obviously did in Germany.

As I have stated already (because I have nothing else to work with so bear with me) I have to have confidence that the new people in charge are better at recognizing and fostering talent.

If Silva and Co. can properly harness Lookman’s talents while simultaneously building his confidence he can be just the player to spearhead a younger, new look Everton squad.

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As a coach of young women this story is as heartbreaking as it is important to read. What a courageous woman.

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Can he?

YES!!!

Will he??

NO!!!

While I do think Silva is savvy enough to play two such talented (and versatile) forwards together, I just don’t see the club pulling the trigger on another big time striker like Michi Batshhuayi especially because a two-striker pairing isn’t Silva preferred system.

I would love to see another striker at Tosun’s level, the Toffees just have too many other areas to address.

Speaking of Cenk......

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Another reason I don’t think Everton will bring in a top level striker this window is that I believe they think as highly of Cenk Tosun as I do.

The Turkish striker burst onto the scene after joining in January and only enhanced his reputation with each start.

Now working with a manager who has an much clearer attacking plan in Marco Silva, Tosun is only going to have more opportunities to show off his finishing prowess.

Lookman, Walcott, Gylfi and the rest of the gang will surely provide much more consistent service to the Turkish striker than when they were operating in Big Sam’s “system” and I think he will catch fire early.

Whether with his left foot, right foot or his head, Cenk Tosun knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.

My prediction: 22 goals overall (16 in the league)

Then again....

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TOFFEE TUNES

I mean come on... it’s the Kooks.