If someone winds a contract down in this day and age they're likely doing it to either maximize their bargaining position with their current club or for the signing on fee they can expect from a new club, not out of any sense of propriety.
Overall I think you're right about the direction Martinez is headed now. The past few days worth of business (added to the introduction of Galloway in the season) underlines that this summer he's getting his teeth into the rebuilding job he should have started last summer - although I'm still wary of him handing out new contracts (Jagielka) and assurances (Howard) to older players who really should be allowed to go at the end of their (pre)existing contracts.
But that can all take place without Garbutt. To me it sounds very unlikely that a club in Everton's position are in the business of farming out players to fellow PL clubs. We are not in that financial elite bracket to do that and we dont have the orbital pull to bring them back in again if they do well at their other club. What we're seeing here is a bureaucratic stunt to allow all parties to walk away with something. I can live with that, because it means Martinez will be able to count on a decent fee in the near future and we have excellent cover to an excellent player in this LB position. In any case my take on Garbutt as a player is that he's a good athlete but not much more than that. He's very rough still defensively and I dont see a character in that shirt if I'm honest, he's a bit like Shaw at United: a national academy drone type. Maybe they acquire flair at a later stage, but I honestly think he's a bit one dimensional, and that's not to be admired in a player.
Aye you are probably correct on that score. I suppose I am old fashioned in that regard and quite out of touch with the modern game.
The business we have done with Martinez, and the people we are subsequently linked with have been very good from Martinez. We never used to loan players out to premier league sides, but this is something that I think Martinez would look at. We are in a situation now where we just have too many good left backs.
For what it's worth I think it depends on two things, firstly the deterioration physically of Baines. He's quite a fit lad, but 18 months down the line will Martinez still see his running as a strength. Full backs in Martinez set up are always going to be to be very fit.
Secondly how well Garbutt does. If he goes and holds down a place for Bournemouth and continues to improve then I think you will see Martinez fast track him in. If he looks as if he's a squad man at Bournemouth and they stay up he will move to them I suspect.
Our readings of him are quite different. I agree he reminds me a lot of Shaw (possibly even ahead of Shaw as Kendall suggested). I worry about his athleticism though, he can look a bit sluggish. I think his strengths are his left peg, delivery into the box but also that he is quite composed on the ball and tall enough to hold his own defensively.
He may just be another Shaw, but that lad went for 30 million to United so he can't be half bad if he's in his bracket!
I think the key issue is going to be how Martinez tries to faze out older players, whether he thinks Baines is ready to be fazed out and whether Garbutt can step up. At this stage it's very hard to see 12 months down the line. Martinez has been very positive about him, but he does tend to be very positive about everyone, he has the rare ability to make Osman sound like Zidane sometimes!
The key point to remember here is the phrase "fazed" out, not "bombed" out. That's why keeping some experience like Howard/Jagielka for a season or 2 is preferable. We don't want to do a Liverpool and get rid of all of their leaders and be left with Henderson as captain.
