05 Aug 2026 20:36:37
This post is not intended to cause controversy but get some opinions regarding the timing of recruiting players.
We and other clubs tend to wait until the last moment, presumable on the basis of getting a better deal. Of course it is also dependent on the selling club being ready to sell and who is available and when. The downside of that is for a few million you might lose your primary target, get a player who misses pre-season games and takes time to integrate into the squad.
If you jump in early and pay over the odds you might not be able to get as many players on a fixed budget but you could get better players and they could be ready for the first game of the season, possibly resulting in more wins and a higher position at the end of the season and possibly a better chance of a European place.
Of course you also have the added cost of wages and they might be busts (we have had a few of these) .
So yes, we have done a bit of the early recruiting but still have not filled the two top needs.
What do you think, should we be more proactive and just go and get who we need or wait and see who is available on the last day?
{Ed025's Note - i imagine the budget dictates that Mike..
06 Aug 2026 06:59:55
Hi Mike, unless you are the likes of City etc with a massive turnover you can’t just go out and splash the cash, as much as our fans would like us to. There are a multitude of factors impacting on the ability to buy a player, unless they’re a single lad with no ties, doesn't care where he lives, not got a greedy agent, and out of contract, then I would imagine it could be straight forward and i reckon I could count the number of them on the fingers of one thumb. I'm not saying we live off the scraps of the clubs with the massive turnovers, but they do start the chain reaction, and until BMD turnover comes into play we will have to manage within our limits and get who we can sensibly based on the multiple layered complications managing people takes.
So, while we may be desperate to get a new player, doing the deal when we want it to happen isn’t simple. Our choice or preference has a number of options, which is why we get linked to so many players in the same position, so we can get a player in that meets our needs and all of the other factors fall into place. If you remember we went after Giroud a few years ago and his wife didn't want to leave London so that didn't happen. It's not a job I would want working to get deals done, I would imagine it's a bit like the stock exchange. Ramble over, hope that makes sense but probably doesn't help or answer you question. ?
06 Aug 2026 09:20:04
If you offer a player 100k a week and a five year contract his agent will immediately shop around and see if he can get a better offer elsewhere.
It's all about the money people.
{Ed025's Note - absolutely..
06 Aug 2026 09:05:03
Yes thanks Big C. I realize how difficult it is to recruit. Just think that sometimes we just miss out on a good player because we refuse to pay what the selling club wants and try and haggle and miss out. For example Ed025 if our budget is 100M then maybe it would be better to get four 25m players than five 20M players and get them in early so they could get in games and be integrated into the squad before the season starts.
We are having a lot of rain in Florida so my golf is limited and I have too much time in my hands to think about Everton.
{Ed025's Note - the price is the price Mike and myself if we had £100m to spend i would rather 2 £50m players than 5 average ones mate...quality over quantity all day for me.
i am turkeying for a game of golf Mike but im riddled with Arthritis and have not played for a while mate..