I'm sorry Tobes, but it has in no way been mirrored here. Half the media have the opposite agenda - they're talking about how Baines and Fellaini don't want to leave, Everton don't need to sell, the bid is insulting, Utd will have to offer much more etc etc. It in no way resembles the situation when City were prising Lescott away with public statements and encouraging him to submit a formal transfer request. If you remember Moyes' comments at the time: "We do not do our business in public, we would go to the right people to find out what is happening." Pretty much exactly what Utd have done here. We're interested in the players, we've made a private offer to the Everton manager and board. Still not sure why you and Martinez are so outraged by the whole thing. It's a low starting bid, but when is it ever not a low starting bid in football?! You are right that clubs use the media, but Everton have done that just as much as Utd in this case. Heck, I reckon Everton have gotten off pretty lightly in this one - if Martinez had made his comments about the way we do business when SAF was in charge, you can bet SAF would have made more than a few choice public comments by now, and probably managed to unsettle the Everton team. I can see a few "Martinez is impossible to deal with, I've decided to approach the real decision makers" comments from other managers looking to poach Everton players in the future.
Right so because there are rumours in the press linking Utd to the Everton players, it's all because Utd have been briefing the press all summer. God help us.
Could it be Martinez has got his big boy pants on now he has gone to a big club and is flexing his ego. I doubt very much he would be spouting off if Sir Alex was still in charge.
David Moyes questions Roberto MartÃnez stance on Everton pair David Moyes has claimed Everton's manager, Roberto MartÃnez, is holding back the careers of Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines by not allowing them to be sold to Manchester United. The club had a £28m joint bid for the duo rejected by Everton last week, with MartÃnez intent that neither player is for sale. Moyes, who left Goodison Park to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson this summer, made it clear that he would not have stood in the players' way had he been in his old job. However, the Scot conceded that during his own time in charge of Everton, Manchester City attempted to buy Joleon Lescott for an undervalued price, so he has some sympathy for MartÃnez. "I definitely do but I also know that if I'd been Everton manager and Sir Alex had come asking for Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini, I'd have found it very difficult to keep them because I always felt the right thing to do was what was right for the players," he said. Everton described their former manager's offer for the pair as "derisory and insulting" but Moyes said: "I signed every player at Everton, so I know a lot about them. They are a great club and they are both excellent players." He added: "The bid, from Manchester United's point of view, was a private thing and if and when we make a new offer we'd keep that offer private and confidential as well." Moyes would not be drawn on whether he was annoyed that Everton had gone public. http://www.theguardian.com/football/...nes?CMP=twt_gu He came across very well in this interview in my opinion.
He came across as a total **** to the Everton fanbase...the fans forums are raging over his comments here. "Holding them back"? & "I'd have let them go if Sir Alex came calling"? The sychophantic twat needs to have a look in the mirror, as Sir Alex isn't going to look back at him & never will.......
"Holding them back" was not a quote Tobes. It was the media putting words in his mouth. Ultimately, all he said is that he'd have found it very difficult to keep them if a bigger club came calling. Which is pretty much what happened when he was Everton manager - he found it hard to keep Arteta, Pienaar, Rodwell, Rooney, Gravesen and others. The only time he was pissed off about it was when City started pursuing Lescott in public. I'm sure the Everton fanbase now think he's a total ****. But to be honest that would have happened no matter what he said or did yesterday, or any other day. Fair enough, you guys have decided to hate him and will now see all his comments in that light.
That's not what he said though mate is it. He said that he'd have "done what was right for the players", which is utter bollocks, as his view on the Lescott saga proves. The others that you mentioned there all went with the clubs blessing, Arteta was way past his best post injury & was on £75k per week, Pienaar was entering the last 6 months of his contract so we took a small fee, Rodwell was massively overated & we stitched City up at £15m, Gravesen went to RM with 6 months of his contract left & the Rooney saga is known to all. You're doing the Everton fanbase a dis-service with the rest of that post, as we're a fair bunch in the main & most of us wished Moyes all the best (plenty wanted him gone anyway btw), but his actions over this clumsy transfer attempt has created a hell of a lot of bad feeling towards him & that's his doing Swarbs, he's created it, by his words & actions.
That wouldn't be right for the player. He's already a whiny ****. Imagine how bad he'd be if was mixing with the likes of Terry and Mourinho on a daily basis. They'd have to invent a new **** like word to describe him. He's better off being RVP's understudy for another couple of years. Chelsea can have him on a free when his contract expires, although he'll look like Big Daddy by then.
But the Lescott saga wasn't so much the player wanting to move to a bigger club that was already established, but the player wanting to move to a club that was, at the time, behind Everton and wanted to spend their way past Everton. It was essentially selling to a rival to put them in a stronger position, and for all the contingencies over Arteta, Gravesen etc, I doubt Moyes would have been so accommodating had they wanted to go to Liverpool. When you combine that with the very public way City went about unsettling the player and belittling Everton as a club, I still don't think you can compare the Lescott saga to the current situation with Fellaini and Baines. I can appreciate the bad feeling that comes from this transfer and how it's happened, but I still think you are too quick to put it all on Moyes. The low opening bid is almost certainly the decision of the board rather than the manager, and Utd haven't leaked anything to the media to try and unsettle the players or back Everton into a corner, and Moyes hasn't made any comments about this transfer prior to yesterday. Moyes' recent comments about doing what's right for the players are a bit harsh, but then so were Everton's and Martinez' comments about Utd and their decision to publicise the bid. There's no evidence we've 'briefed the media' any more than any other club would do in the same situation, and ultimately our decision to negotiate in private and not put pressure on the players or club by publicising salaries or making public statements has meant that Everton are still very much in the driving seat with regards to setting the price they are willing to sell at. I'm sure you'd all be much happier if we'd never bid for your players. But ultimately we'd all be much happier if we'd managed to work out a deal with Barca for Fabregas or any other high profile target, and didn't have to go after Fellaini at all. It's football, with all the competition, uncertainty and tribalism that entails.
At the minute we are, but the players themselves could change that balance by their actions here. If either choose to refuse to play or request not to, then the balance of power shifts & we could end up on the back foot, which is precisely what Moyes & United have tried to engineer. I hope both have more integrity than that, but we'll see if both names are on the teamsheet this afternoon. If I was having money on it, I'd say Baines will be & Fellaini won't.
There seems to be a big difference between the top rich clubs and others as far as player power is concerned. The rich clubs like Real, City, Barca, United (hopefully) can dictate to the player whether they are staying or not. The team (in general ) can function without them or a new player can be recruited. The club can afford to take a risk with a depreciating asset. Medium sized clubs like Everton can hardly afford to lose these millions and everybody not least kenwright Martinez and United know that. Fellaini has not exactly been flooded with offers nor Baines. Fellaini and baines will end up at United unless Moyes and Woodward are a pair of useless pussies.
Everton are a selling club. Once Utd make an offer they can't refuse, Fellaini and Baines will be off. Hell Martinez has already identified his replacement in that midfielder at Wigan, but with Wigan wanting £15million he has to sell Fellaini as Everton don't have that sort of cash at their disposal
calm down its just football. Hopefully you keep them, we should be looking at better players like ozil or modric.
Not sure how Moyes and Utd have tried to engineer them refusing to play? Utd are obviously hoping that the players will request a move, but then that's what any club does when they bid for a player. And as I said before, Moyes' most recent comments appear to be trying to counter the impression that Everton and Martinez are trying to create through their media machinations that Utd are somehow not worthy of wanting to sign Everton's players. Either way, you lose your bet
Martinez on #MUFC making new bid: '"Not as far as I know, no. Asked whether they will "I don't know. It's been a bit of a farce really" #EFC
