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.

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.....

Just to be clear....I agree with SNAKE here:

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:

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!!!!

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TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA!!

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.

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I don’t mind this year’s kits but I like where a few of these are going.

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What’s that??

Papa Marcel is taking care of it?

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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:

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.

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TOFFEE TUNES

Foo Fighters

The Colour and the Shape