Sheaf Saint

No, you're missing the point. Jankewitz obviously knew he wasn't in Ralph's plans and wanted out, but he was signed to a pro contract and was under obligations to fulfill that contract. So he did the right thing and put in a transfer request, and waited until the next transfer window. Aside from the morons who suggested he deliberately got himself sent off against Man U, who 'pelted' him for that? I certainly didn't, good on him. Thierry Small's situation was different in that he didn't have the same contractual obligations, and was within his rights to terminate his scholarship of his own volition. He didn't 'refuse' to turn up for training with Everton, he chose to make himself a free agent and was therefore not under any obligation to turn up for training with them. Why would he? If you quit your job without having another one lined up immediately, would you still be expected to turn up at your old place after your notice period had ended anyway? Of course not. You're comparing apples with pears, and making out like Small has acted like VVD did and gone on strike to engineer a move, but he's done nothing of the sort. It's only some sensationalised reporting from the Liverpool Echo that is making some people think that.

The difference being that Jankewitz was on a pro contract. Small was not.

I think this just stems from the false report of him 'refusing' to turn up for training. His attitude has always been good from what I know of him. None of their fans who follow the youth teams regularly have ever suggested otherwise. Remember, Saints did the same during the Les Reed years - generated negative press about the attitude of leaving players so us fans wouldn't be so upset they had gone. This is a classic example of that.

I've messaged my nephew to ask him, as they were team mates in the Everton academy and good mates from what I gather, but AFAIK it's not true at all. It's a sensationalised version of what happened written to generate clicks. He's alluded to this in an Instagram post (which I can't link to because I don't have an account, but my wife showed it to me). He decided to end his scholarship early, which he was within his rights to do, and he chose not to accept Everton's offer of a pro contract, so he was a free agent. He was under no obligation to report to them for pre-season training. The tribunal is only to determine an appropriate development fee.

You would hope that wasn't a full strength team that just got thrashed 6-0 by Norwich's reserves.

Watched Everton U23s a fair bit last season and this lad is very talented and clearly has a lot of potential. Certainly a big upgrade on Vokins anyway. This could turn out to be a fantastic signing. Reading the Everton forum, they're miffed that their brightest prospect in recent years has turned down a pro contract. His first team chances would have been severely limited there. Digne is their clear 1st choice LB (and one of their best players full stop) and when he was injured last season, Ancellotti preferred to play a senior CB there rather than rely on their other young LB. Given how Perraud hasn't been able to complete 90 mins yet, I wonder if he will go straight in against Newport tomorrow?

Just watched the highlights. People can make as many excuses as they like for McCarthy letting that goal in, and if it was a one-off then maybe it could be excused as unfortunate. But it's not a one-off is it. These kind of things seem to happen to him multiple times every season. Simply not good enough.

Well no, obviously not. But if Real/Barca/Bayern were after him then they would deal directly with his agent rather than going through Chelsea. Chelsea's buy back option is only valid if he agrees terms with them, which he doesn't have to do. The only way the buy back happens is if they want him for their first team and no bigger clubs are bidding for him. And with the resources Chelsea already have in that position, it's unlikely they will be looking to sign a first choice RB before the buy back clause expires. Of course he won't stay at Saints long, so let's just enjoy having him while we can, but I seriously doubt he will actually end up back at Chelsea.

Could that actually happen though? My understanding (which I'm sure MLG will be along shortly to correct) is that the buy back clause can only be activated if the player agrees to it. If Tino knows Chelsea are only buying him back to sell him on for a profit, could he not refuse?

Pathetic. Absolutely fucking pathetic second half again from Saints.

Any half-decent keeper saves that. It wasn't exactly a thunderbolt.

It's a mystery...

They are already going into meltdown on the GOT forum. My only worry is that we all know how other managers seem to be able to make some tweaks at HT and find a way back in, with Ralph unable to counter it. If that happens today, they still won't give Benitez credit for it. He's on a hiding to nothing with their fans.

That's only if Chelsea exercise their right to buy him back. They might not.

Insanely good, you could say.

Was that the 7-1 game?

The omens really aren't good are they.

On their forum they are feeling exactly the same about JWP being fit for us, and just praying they don't give away any stupid FKs near their box. I'll be very surprised if they both play the full 90 though.

The only one I remember is this one... I miss that team

6 wins in 40!? I knew our record was bad, but I didn't realise it was that bad 😬

Plenty of good suggestions for streaming sites, thanks everyone. However, what about VPNs? Anybody know of any decent free ones?

https://www.grandoldteam.com/2021/08/10/everton-v-southampton-preview-3/ "There’s a large element of Southampton’s travelling fans which resemble a rugby crowd, complete with Wranglers, official merchandise, footwear that even St John’s would reject in 1991 and just a general air of thick, mundane, SUV on finance driving suburban flotsam, which is alright as that’s the general default for most of the country now – but I don’t want Southampton’s head kicked in the dust for them. No it’s the other element of their fanbase, which is made up entirely of twenty something Stone Island tattooed hideous try hard banter teds. They’re as convincing as Harry Potter playing a football hooligan, which incidentally seems to be their bible for how to attend a football game. The trouble is that it fools no one and it causes a level of cringe so intense that it makes you even want a Rafa Benitez team to enrage them for your viewing pleasure. Make no mistake these Soccer AM adoring bad bad texans can’t wait to tell anyone about their “cheeky acca” that’s just been let down for a false amount by a shitter team in the lower leagues, nor can they return from the bogs in Wetherspoons with a shit eating grin on them and hocking to clean their throat so everyone in the vicinity is aware of baby’s first line of cocaine. Want to know who’s heading the UFC tonight? Fear not, they cant wait to tell you along with an encyclopaedic knowledge of how Brazilian Jujitsu matches up against orthodox kick boxing, and how they all paid for a brass that one time in Vegas when they went to see some goth boxer you’ve never heard of. Compelled to know more about these charismatic young fellows? Simply take a look at their right arm where you’ve got a fully documented life story (22 years and counting) expressed into their sleeve tattoo like some well marketed but terribly executed totem poll, with a little bicep creeping out after 100 curls a day with a can of Campbell’s Soup. What’s the significance of the clock face on your tattoo there, mate? Never seen that before. Well apart from that time John Stones’ bird caught him having some strange and he needed to show how sorry he was."

The difference is they are only signing him as a backup. As soon as Fofana is fit again he will drop to the bench and stay there. They aren't signing him to improve their starting 11.

It seems on the low side, but a combined £40-45m (depending on who you believe) for two ageing players each with only a year left on their contracts? Can't sniff at that. If all that allows us to sign a player or three that are more suited to Ralph's system then it could turn out to be good business.

I very much doubt we'll see them both bombing forward at the same time. It'll be a case of if KWP goes forward then Perraud stays back, and vice versa. I could be wrong, of course, because Ralph has surprised me many times in the past, but I really don't think he's that stupid.