I find with the issue with Everton journalists is that they currently don't want to ask questions of the club, or at least, not tough enough ones. Then you get Myers writing what he's been told (which he will have been told, btw, I have no doubt, not saying he's lying) by whichever person he still knows at the club, and you get sycophantic weirdos who are obsessed with every word he says.
Then when someone like Joyce etc writes an opinion piece, he got slated last year/the year before. Now, he did start coming across as a bit bitter, and I believe he was cut at least partially out of the loop, as were a few others who have, magically, come back very much into the loop this summer.
The one thing that really has ruined me this summer has been James' wages going up and up every week. Reputable journalists, and ones I thought would have more about them, have shown themselves up by contradicting their own reporting. Bascombe, O'Keefe, Kirkbride – they've all done this. And that has been from the club. No surprise at all that every time James was set to move or the club were looking for another avenue, his wage just miraculously went up. The 250k story from Bascombe the other day was so predictable.
As for Brands, I don't think anyone knows what he does now. He wasn't getting the final say on any transfers this summer, that's for sure, and the deals that did get done, well it looks very much like Benitez was the driving force to the extent that I don't even think we can be certain if Brands was involved in anything more than some salary negotiations.
Interesting stuff mate, thanks for the insight of your experience.
If I’m honest mate and this is no comment on the work you do, I don’t trust any Everton Journalist. To my mind it works like this, the club, DOF, Players, Manager all have pet journos they will leak some begnin info to in exchange for powder puff peices about them, their work and generally framing them in a positive light and creating a positive media frame. The Journo gets copy, exclusives and keeping their paper or TV gig going, they are coub plants really - that’s Kirkbride and Myers for me cosy cartel with the club/individuals and pet journos, not objective, essentially plants. Example the Exho has been running pro “The manager“ peices for a month, today Kirkbride does one of his ITK Q&A bits, a few bits thrown to him by the club.
I look at Joyce at bit differently, I think he has sources, but he won’t compromise on objectivity, however because of that the club will feed him as he has a more credible reputation, thus we see a falling in and out. Others like King go in and out with the tide, depending. King is obviously in with the Rafael camp so he will get bits now. It’s all very murky and I find myself looking at the self serving motivation of anything I read.
The Jamo deal we never got a full accounting, it went from initially spending 12 mill on him, to getting him for free, then when we wanted him out as you say it went from taking over his Madrid contract 140 to 250k.
the thing that annoys me most is when the club turn face on a player, they instruct their pets to paint them in a bad light, e.g. They are greedy, aren’t committed, home sick, don’t want to be at the club — they did it with Vlasic, Lookman, Kean and now Jamo, the pattern is so obvious and it amazes people fall for it and don’t see the trend.
On Brands, I find his media management incredible, I think he has an incredible media manager or agent, his image was cultivated, promoted and stage managed to fine detail - problem is substance, hes gaffed his role here and is being found out, with that hes disappeared, last seen on a junket to the States to celebrate Coleman’s new deal. He’s like the lad that sells the monorail to the Springfield in the Simpsons.
The Brands thread love in this time last year:
