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If Marco Silva and Marcel Brands make one more intelligent move I won’t be able to stop myself.
I’m ready to do it.
I swear I will.
I know it won’t be smart, but I’ll still do it.
I can’t help myself.
I’ll HAVE to.
I’ll no other other choice.....
...but to be......
OPTIMISTIC.
I know...why.....
I know....I know.....
The reality is though is that the new leadership wasn’t sitting around for the first month plus of the transfer window missing signing after signing.
No, rather Silva (and Brands to a lesser extent), have systematically studied the bloated roster of almost 40 players and have cut it down to a much more manageable number while Brands’ main focus has been SLASHING the payroll numbers.
Everton's wage bill came in at £77.2m last year according to Spotrac. It's now down to £63.7m (not accounting for Tosun, Digne or Richarlison as yet) with Bolasie (75k) and Williams (70k) still both likely to leave.
— Sean Lunt (@Sean_Lunt) August 1, 2018
Shows the real work Marcel Brands has been doing.
While I am sure most fans would have expected to have seen a few more nifty intro videos by this point in the window, there is no doubting the immediate and seismic impact the signings that HAVE been made will have and again the exits.....
Not just that mate, the work they’re doing to get players out also good
— David (@DBrisco72) August 1, 2018
Just to be clear....I agree with SNAKE here:
2 signings. Both will improve 1st team. Great start. Still think it will take several windows to sort Koeman and Walsh mess.
— Snake Plissken (@Mark_mdluk) August 1, 2018
Players like Wayne Rooney and Ramiro Funes Mori have already left Finch Farm, and it appears there is a conga line of players about to follow.
and the BIGGEST news:
CONFIRMED: Ashley Williams has joined Stoke City on loan until the end of the season. pic.twitter.com/uWqYOJTNxs
— Toffee TV (@ToffeeTVEFC) August 2, 2018
IF
(and as you can tell that’s a BIG if)
the Toffees are able to sign at least one quality center back in this window (it’s obviously #1 on the priority list based on rumors) the team will be transformed drastically from the one that walked off the pitch at the end of last campaign.
There are plenty of areas to be concerned about, I will certainly cede that.
However, unless you are one of those fans who won’t crack a smile until Everton win the treble, there is no way to not be excited about the job being done by the new leadership.
It’s obvious that Silva and Brands have a plan and if the early returns are any indication then Everton fans everywhere are going to be happy campers for the foreseeable future.
Now, without further hesitation...
...TO YOUR QUESTIONS!!!!
Who do you think will get the #10 now that Rooney is gone?
— Cory Bildfell (@Cory_Bildfell) August 1, 2018
TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA!!
absolutely dying pic.twitter.com/0zOijP2vNG
— Royal Blue Mersey (@RBMersey) August 2, 2018
The revelation in the video, besides the fact that Holgate, Schneiderlin and Bolasie are a bunch of grumps for people who are getting paid to have pictures taken of them, is that there have been some roster number adjustments:
Mason Holgate has switched to #2
Morgan Schneiderlin has flipped to #18
and the weighty #10 jersey has gone to......
Gylfi Sigurdsson
While there are certainly short-comings in the Icelander’s ability to be a world-class #10, he is by far the closest thing the Toffees have to a complete player at that position.
(Until Kieran Dowell finishes maturing at least).
Here’s to hoping Gylfi can get back to his best form and play provider for the likes of Cenk Tosun, Richarlison and the rest of the Toffees attackers.
Everton Under Armour home and away concepts
— L9 Design (@L9_Design) August 2, 2018
Could the blues be looking like this next season?
RT, like and let me know what you think#Everton #EFC #COYB pic.twitter.com/685MCdkVuJ
I don’t mind this year’s kits but I like where a few of these are going.
It will be good if we can sign one more young Center Defender
— Janson (@janson101) August 1, 2018
What’s that??
Papa Marcel is taking care of it?
Do you think Everton waited until the morning to announce Digne so they could get the lighting 'just right' for the welcome/signing video?
— Miami Toffees (@MiamiToffees) August 1, 2018
To be fair, it was pretty cool, but your point is not missed.
The hysterically stretched out saga that is each and every Everton signing is a story that has given Toffees Twitterdom plenty of fodder.
However, this drawn out process has had one effect:
Do you find that in today’s day and age how we know who is coming in before they are announced that it kind of takes away the excitement of the announcement? I mean, I kind of feel like “Digne is old news. Who’s next” and EFC just announced him.
— Jon Hein (@jdhein13) August 1, 2018
While I took on the role of consummate optimist, I will admit that these not-so-secret dealings do take a lot of the fun out of the announcement process.
Can you imagine waking up and just finding out that Everton has signed Digne with no warning?
How PUMPED would you have been for days?
You wouldn’t have had time to read about all of his failings, fret over how he might fit in, or get into arguments over his sale price.
No, every Everton fans immediate reaction would have been one of pure hope and joy.
But the reality is that while Digne put a pen to paper in late July, his transfer was two weeks if not months in the making.
Regardless of the manager, it has been evident for years that Everton have been in dire need of a left back, which means that the rumor mill has had plenty of time to churn up every possible option the Toffees could (or should) sign over that period, including Digne.
Fans knew when the team was negotiating with Barcelona, then once the teams had agreed to a fee, when Digne left the Barcelona tour, when he got his medical, and when he arrived at Finch Farm.
When it took an extra day for Everton to announce him. fans were annoyed
EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW IT WAS A DONE DEAL!!!
Oh, and once the official announcement DID arrive, it felt such a long forgone conclusion that “Digne felt like old news”, a sentiment I struggle to argue against.
HOWEVER, I will end with this.
Go back to that scenario where you just woke up to the news of Digne signing, except instead of thinking of how you would feel AFTER you found out, think about what you would have been doing BEFORE you found out.
You would have been wishing and hoping that you had any news about the team.
The reality is that this endless news cycle full of frustrations and annoyances is EXACTLY what we asked for.
It has it’s drawbacks, but it does let us indulge ourselves in everything Everton all the time.
I am not so hypocritical as to spend my time feeding into the beast writing articles and putting them into the Toffee supporters world to then turn around and bemoan that world, but it certainly has it’s drawbacks.
However, for all of the faults I must say it is this world that has introduced me to so many other AMAZING Everton supporters to help me cope with the flood of (usually) disappointing news.
Hang in there though Jon because deadline day, one of the two days a year when true surprises DO seem to happen, is fast approaching.
Maybe we will find ourselves waking up to some good news we have haven’t had a chance to spoil.
TOFFEE TUNES
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Foo Fighters
The Colour and the Shape