Overall thoughts on the Everton transfer window

Ins:

Alcaraz – A little bit Meh. I think he is a better defender than people give him credit for. I thought he would replace Heitinga, but seems a bit of overkill with the emergence of Stones. Still a good player and I think if he can stay fit he will do well after a run of games.

Joel – The first time we have had a decent back up keeper. I think he will come good and in a few years challenge for the number 1 slot. For an initial fee of £600k its decent.

Kone – Despite the whinging and poor debut, I think Kone will come good. He may need a few games and probably more time on the pitch away from home where the Goodison grumble can’t affect his performance, but he will come good. I think he will surprise a few of the doubters. He is a good option. He needs time to settle in though.

Deulofeu – Great option to have and a bit of a coup. Im not going to go overboard and say he is the bees knees, but he is an exciting player and im looking forward to seeing what he can do. A Martinez masterstroke.

Barry – I think Barry will be this years Gibson. Not rated by any team except his own, I think he will be a quality addition. I personally don’t think we are paying all his wages, but it’s being reported that we are on sky. (Probably an excuse for money to disappear). World cup year means we should see the best of Gaz Baz.

Lukaku – The striker we have needed for years. TOP TOP addition and a really exciting signing. We now have a front 4/5 that can worry the opposition. Can’t wait til he has settled in. Could be our Benteke. I hope we have an option to sign permanently included.

McCarthy – Everyone has said he is a good player, they were just worried about the fee. £13m is alot of money, but the lad is 22 and can learn. I think it’s time to forget the money now and just look at the player. I think he could be a very good player for us, people just need to make sure they don’t compare him to Felli.

Outs –

Fellaini – Gutted to see the big man go, BUT £27.5m a few weeks after a £23.5m release clause is a masterstroke by the board and credit where its due. Its a good fee and a profit of between £10 – £12.5 million. I personally think about things in the right way. We all knew he was leaving and we got good money.

Anichebe – I like Anichebe, his attitude over the last 18 months – 2 years has seen him dramatically improve. That said, £6m is a good price and again the board have done well. He probably suits a West Brom type club. Will never score loads, but is strong and a handful. He is no Lukaku though!!!!!

Manager:

Martinez has bought reasonably well and I think in January we will see more unknown (i.e. not British) type players come in. He came in, bought players he knew and didn’t gamble alot. I think he will settle down and look abroad in Jan. Seemed to confirm to those at Finch Farm that we have money to spend in Jan and he would look to Fernando again and Tom Ince. Overall I believe we have a much strong, quicker and more attacking squad now.

Board:

I never thought I would say this, but they have done really well in certain things (but still shocking in others) To get £33.5m from the sale orFellaini and Anichebe is brilliant and to keep hold of Leighton Baines and stand firm in the face of an onslaught by Manchester United is amazing. Again worried that they leaked that the McCarthy signing wasn’t dependant on Felli going – If that was the case, why didn’t we sign him in pre season.

We spent just over £18.5m on transfer fees (not including loans) and raised over £33m. We should have been spending alot more than that considering the wages saved and the fact we only spent £3m in January. So providing the manager sees a decent wedge in January will be great – I have a feeling he won’t see more than £10m though.

Conclusion:

Very positive on the whole. We have improved the first 11, made a few shrewd signings and have a much more attacking feel about us. We now need to turn this tide of enthusiasm into wins and push on. I would say 7/10 in terms of signings alone.