Why a striker is must for Everton if they want to be a Premier League forcePlus, Ratcliffe on why West Brom will be a different test for Everton and his surprise at Bolasie dealA new striker is a must for Everton.
I honestly think we need another class forward to come into the club. Especially if we want to be a force in the Premier League and we want to be challenging. I think a striker is the one area we need.
If you look through the team then we have quite a few midfielders battling for places, the defensive areas we have some good young kids pushing for places, but it might also be an area we might look to strengthen with an extra one.
I don’t know where we will see Yannick Bolasie playing, because under Ronald Koeman he has played Gerard Deulofeu as a striker, so perhaps Bolasie could become that striker.
Is he a 20-plus goal a year man? I’m not quite sure. But then again hopefully when he comes to a team like Everton, we’re going to create more chances for him.
Deulofeu has been playing as a striker, but I think he is a makeshift forward and in the hustle and the bustle of the Premier League I can’t see him doing it week in week out.
He has looked lively, to be fair, but I think he would be better playing off somebody, rather playing as the head of that little diamond, joining in with the striker. But not as a main class forward.
I’ll tell you what he does do, he does upset the defence a little bit because they have somebody little and quick to deal with. Then what you do have is the option of changing it with 20 minutes to go and put somebody on a little different, that can upset defenders more than anything.
I’ve seen it happen time and again, there’s a quick player up front and then all of a sudden somebody who is good in the air, big and strong is brought on, it upsets the defence. And vice-versa. It unsettles defenders because for 70 odd minutes they have been playing against somebody they are comfortable with.
But I’m a great believer that if you’re bringing people into the club than they have to be better than what you’ve got, and it’s very hard, depending on the money you have to spend, to get better.
That’s the difficult part, when you’re trying to replace players and looking at players who are better is proving an expensive business now.
It’s a different test for Everton. This is the Premier League and this is what it’s all about. I don’t think you get this type of football in any other league in the world.
Get the crash helmets out! You are playing against four centre-backs.
I watched West Brom quite a bit last season and they play with two full-backs that are six foot plus.
There isn’t a lot there that can hurt you when they get forward and try to play, but set-pieces are the one you have to be aware of.
It’s usually a long ball forward, a knock-down and getting on to things.
Tony Pulis is a well organised manager, he knows what he wants from his players and if they’re not giving it him then he brings somebody else in. It might be a little bit old school but it’s very effective.
I don’t think Pulis will change his ways for love nor money.
Bolasie tortured Everton for years - I can’t believe we’ve got him!
I think Yannick Bolasie is just what we’ve been missing
It’s nice to see we have a good addition to the squad, and he looks like a really powerful, strong, quick player.
From what I’ve seen of him, I thought at Goodison the last two years he tortured us! So I can’t believe we have got him. I thought he’d either stay or have a choice of three or four clubs, but it looks as though we are the only club that have made that offer. I honestly thought he might have gone before now and gone to another club.
The market is ridiculous so you can’t really judge people - but he will be judged by the fee. We know that.
But in this market you’re not quite sure what a decent fee is.
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