OK.....let me float one possible scenario to make sense of Bobby saying he "didn't mean to" put a request in, which on the face if it makes little sense.
The agent was trying to persuade John to hand a TR in and John was wavering....unsure what to do. Not unhappy staying with us but excited at the prospects of joining Chelsea and playing in the CL and tripling his dough.
Agent had his secretary type a transfer request letter up, he gets John, a very young and probably naive young chap, to sign it but assures him it will not be delivered to Bobby unless they decide to go nuclear and with John's full knowledge.
John thinks no more about it and the agent starts to panic as the club's resolute stance hardens as the days go by and John himself is playing well and there is no sign of a split between Bobby and John.
The agent would no doubt have been involved in meetings between his client and the Everton manager and can see that things aren't going as he hoped.
So the agent leaks news of the letter's existence to the Sundays last week and then, unbeknownst to John, he sends the letter to Bob on the Tuesday.
Plausible?