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deconstructed rep
It sounds important now, but in 10 years time most fans won't remember or care how much money was spent when, but we remember the footie.
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It sounds important now, but in 10 years time most fans won't remember or care how much money was spent when, but we remember the footie.
tim cahill
Player Valuation: £50m
He didn’t know what to do.
As I said, lack of a Striker cost him his job.
Ronald Koeman feared his days as Everton boss were numbered during the summer holiday spent at his villa in Portugal.
Two major problems appeared on his immediate horizon.
First came the Premier League fixtures for the new campaign.
Second was the Blues' inability to sign an adequate replacement for £90million striker Romelu Lukaku.
Manager Koeman, speaking for the first time since his Goodison Park sacking on Monday, revealed: “I had Olivier Giroud in the building. He would have fitted perfectly, but at the very last moment he decided that he’d rather live in London and stay at Arsenal.
“That was really hard to swallow. You tell me, where you can get a better striker?
“Lukaku was so important for us, not just because of his goals. He had a certain way of playing as a striker — strong. He could hold the ball, he always had an eye for the goal, he was fast. If things were not going well in a game, if we could not play the way we were used to, there was always the option to use the long ball towards him.
“All of a sudden (when Giroud did his U-turn), we were missing such a player.
“With Nikola Vlasic and Wayne Rooney, we had attackers who want the ball at their feet.
“When you are struggling as a team with the build-up from the back, and we no longer had the option to kick it long, you know you have a problem.’’
Turning to the foibles of the Premier League computer, he explained: “I was on holiday when I received the Premier League fixture list by e-mail.
“I looked at it and saw that five of our first nine games would be against clubs from last season’s top six: Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City, Man United and Arsenal.
“I looked at it again and I said to myself, 'Phew!'
“That is not going to be an easy run, in particular with a Europa League run at the same time and a really early start with all the players because of the European games. And most of all, because I had lost my striker Lukaku.’’
Koeman spent £140m on new players in the summer.
But he insists accusations that he blew the club’s biggest ever transfer budget should be tempered by the fact he brought in £75m, rising to a potential £90m, for Lukaku.
He said: “We sold Lukaku for £90m. Our most expensive signing, Gylfi Sigurdsson, cost half of that amount.
“That is not going to be an easy run, in particular with a Europa League run at the same time and a really early start with all the players because of the European games. And most of all, because I had lost my striker Lukaku.’’
Koeman spent £140m on new players in the summer.
But he insists accusations that he blew the club’s biggest ever transfer budget should be tempered by the fact he brought in £75m, rising to a potential £90m, for Lukaku.
He said: “We sold Lukaku for £90m. Our most expensive signing, Gylfi Sigurdsson, cost half of that amount.
“I have never shunned big challenges, even knowing that there are no guarantees that we would actually fulfill the expectations.
“When we had to face Burnley at home, after a poor start, everyone expected an Everton victory. But I knew that Burnley had beaten Chelsea away, I knew they had drawn against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. We lost 1-0. That is the Premier League for you,” he explained to Dutch football magazine VI .
“The strength of all the clubs in the Premier League makes it really difficult to climb out of a crisis, once you land in it.’’
At Southampton, and Benfica before that, Koeman was tactically astute.
This season, there were no tactical changes to boost his struggling Blues.
Koeman admitted: “I have been racking my brain. Sometimes in football you just can’t get a grip on something. I was not doing anything different from what I have been doing in all the years before as a coach.
“During my last season as a manager of Feyenoord, we had a similar awkward period, where we lost the chance to become champions.
“I woke the team up with a different tactical formation, I changed to 5-3-2 and we won seven of our last eight games and qualified for the Champions League. The tactical change woke-up the players
“That is what you need in tough times, players staying close with the manager. You must not lose them and I always make sure I keep the squad together and keep the right connection with them.
“If I look at the intensity of our training sessions (at Everton), I had no fear at all that I would lose my grip on the players. But at some stage you do need to get something in return from them on the pitch in the shape of a good victory.
“When that does not happen, you know as a manager that your job will depend on the verdict of those above you.’’
Two major problems appeared on his immediate horizon.
First came the Premier League fixtures for the new campaign.
Second was the Blues' inability to sign an adequate replacement for £90million striker Romelu Lukaku.
Manager Koeman, speaking for the first time since his Goodison Park sacking on Monday, revealed: “I had Olivier Giroud in the building. He would have fitted perfectly, but at the very last moment he decided that he’d rather live in London and stay at Arsenal.
“That was really hard to swallow. You tell me, where you can get a better striker?
“Lukaku was so important for us, not just because of his goals. He had a certain way of playing as a striker — strong. He could hold the ball, he always had an eye for the goal, he was fast. If things were not going well in a game, if we could not play the way we were used to, there was always the option to use the long ball towards him.
“All of a sudden (when Giroud did his U-turn), we were missing such a player.
“With Nikola Vlasic and Wayne Rooney, we had attackers who want the ball at their feet.
“When you are struggling as a team with the build-up from the back, and we no longer had the option to kick it long, you know you have a problem.’’
Turning to the foibles of the Premier League computer, he explained: “I was on holiday when I received the Premier League fixture list by e-mail.
“I looked at it and saw that five of our first nine games would be against clubs from last season’s top six: Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City, Man United and Arsenal.
“I looked at it again and I said to myself, 'Phew!'
“That is not going to be an easy run, in particular with a Europa League run at the same time and a really early start with all the players because of the European games. And most of all, because I had lost my striker Lukaku.’’
Koeman spent £140m on new players in the summer.
But he insists accusations that he blew the club’s biggest ever transfer budget should be tempered by the fact he brought in £75m, rising to a potential £90m, for Lukaku.
He said: “We sold Lukaku for £90m. Our most expensive signing, Gylfi Sigurdsson, cost half of that amount.
“That is not going to be an easy run, in particular with a Europa League run at the same time and a really early start with all the players because of the European games. And most of all, because I had lost my striker Lukaku.’’
Koeman spent £140m on new players in the summer.
But he insists accusations that he blew the club’s biggest ever transfer budget should be tempered by the fact he brought in £75m, rising to a potential £90m, for Lukaku.
He said: “We sold Lukaku for £90m. Our most expensive signing, Gylfi Sigurdsson, cost half of that amount.
“I have never shunned big challenges, even knowing that there are no guarantees that we would actually fulfill the expectations.
“When we had to face Burnley at home, after a poor start, everyone expected an Everton victory. But I knew that Burnley had beaten Chelsea away, I knew they had drawn against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. We lost 1-0. That is the Premier League for you,” he explained to Dutch football magazine VI .
“The strength of all the clubs in the Premier League makes it really difficult to climb out of a crisis, once you land in it.’’
At Southampton, and Benfica before that, Koeman was tactically astute.
This season, there were no tactical changes to boost his struggling Blues.
Koeman admitted: “I have been racking my brain. Sometimes in football you just can’t get a grip on something. I was not doing anything different from what I have been doing in all the years before as a coach.
“During my last season as a manager of Feyenoord, we had a similar awkward period, where we lost the chance to become champions.
“I woke the team up with a different tactical formation, I changed to 5-3-2 and we won seven of our last eight games and qualified for the Champions League. The tactical change woke-up the players
“That is what you need in tough times, players staying close with the manager. You must not lose them and I always make sure I keep the squad together and keep the right connection with them.
“If I look at the intensity of our training sessions (at Everton), I had no fear at all that I would lose my grip on the players. But at some stage you do need to get something in return from them on the pitch in the shape of a good victory.
“When that does not happen, you know as a manager that your job will depend on the verdict of those above you.’’
And he apparently blames Walsh......
Blaming everything and everybody except himself.
Obsolutely shocking he didn't realise no width and pace is the biggest problem we face.
Cork Evertonian
Player Valuation: £50m
He has every right to be aggrieved at Steve Walsh.Of course he didn't help himself either.But not replacing Lukaku was fatal to Ronald Koemans reign as Everton manager.Steve Walsh should have been booted firmly out of Finch Farm on his ass, as well after Koeman.
Forget the taxi someone get Ronnie a whaaaaaaamublance...what a cry baby.
TheBigIguana
Player Valuation: £100m
Might have been for the best though as a goalscorer would have papered over the fact that he wasn't very good at managing like Lukaku did
royvernon39
Player Valuation: £10m
Did ever occur to RK to pick a team like's Unsworth's last night? Genuine wide players and a mix of midfielders.
Why did Walsh not have an alternative centre forward lined up? The more I hear on the situation, the more inept it appears he was.
Gwladysstreetlad
Player Valuation: £50m
Wise words Oumar lad......
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
Koeman: utterly laughable. Giroud didn't sign...so there was no one else in the whole wide world of football to come in and do a job as an attacker who could hold the ball up and lead the line.
No mate. You wasted all sorts of time and money on trying to get ANOTHER number 10 in and you thought that your idea for a pop gun attack in the end would suffice until January.
There ^^^^ it is.
No mate. You wasted all sorts of time and money on trying to get ANOTHER number 10 in and you thought that your idea for a pop gun attack in the end would suffice until January.
There ^^^^ it is.
MikeH72
Player Valuation: £100m
And the lack of an entire defence.
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