SpartyBlue

If somebody asked you about if you planned to leave your wife and you responded “it’s difficult for me to talk about leaving my wife” I expect we/and your wife could guess your intentions. He could have answered by saying he didn’t want to leave. He could have answered vaguely and said we will just see what happens this summer. He answered in a way that makes it pretty clear he’s spoken to management about leaving but finds it uncomfortable to talk about because he loves the fans. Any other reading , for me, is very wishful thinking. It’s also very possible, given our financial situation, that Richarlison being sold this window is best for everyone, much as we like him as a player.

I’m not sure how it works in the UK but I would imagine you’d lose in court pretty handily where I am trying to do that It’s a hard road to ban a company selling a legal product from promoting its businesses. You’d be doing billions of dollars of damage to major industries. Without getting into whether that would be good or bad for society, I think it’s unrealistic. Gambling in particular is deeply tied to the English game. The majority of the best 50 or so teams in the country have gambling sponsors, you can bet in stadiums, people play fantasy football etc.. It would also open the door for other things. Nike has had a problematic history with some of its practices for instance. What about owners from Russia, Saudi Arabia etc.. with connections to problematic regimes. I’m not sure how much you can ban alcohol or gambling companies without opening up that can of worms.

We desperately need a crosser of the ball. No Digne, an aging Seamus and two wingers who prefer to play more directly does no favors to DCL. Gordon is going to be potentially very frustrating as we move forward as he’s rapid and dangerous but can be headless as you’ve alluded to. He’s a bit of a Richarlison clone for good or for bad. Hopefully he can take that next step and spends the summer working on his crossing and his finishing every day. Of course then we will have to sell him to Man U but that’s an issue for a different day. I’m very curious what the preferred midfield will be. I strongly believe he’s going to give Ali his shot. Wasn’t the time to work him in much in a relegation fight but he’s our best current option for a guy who can pull the strings. But who does that leave. Doucoure one assumes..Iwobi has earned his look. I’m not high on Allan given his aging legs but removing him and Delph leaves us without a true defense mid in there. Davies could be in the mix if he comes back well. I’d also assume we bring at least one in. I just really don’t have a good handle on the ideal situation there other than to say if we lose Richie I think you have to give Dele a chance as we will need the creativity

Some of that will change on its own though. A healthy DCL helps improve us. Gordon maturing some. Gray as well. Ali and Iwobi with more time under Lampard. I’ll be curious if we see how Frank actually wants to play or if it is again “this is what we have” for now. My question was more about how specially would you look to improve our attack? It’s not obvious to me in a limited budget what we will try to do there other than a backup striker and I suppose a winger option. I actually like Townsend as a bench guy. Decent player to bring on chasing a goal or using his experience to see out a game.

So let’s say we sell Richie. I’ll be generous and say Ali gets his shot. Gray, DCL, Gordon, Ali/Iwobi. Which position would you prioritize bringing into our attack as a starting 11 player?

The journalists from around the world aren’t relevant though. I agree that most of that is just rumors not to be taken seriously. What is relevant is that Richarlison himself has talked about why it’s difficult for him to discuss leaving a club because he loves the fans etc.. The implication there is as clear as we are likely to get. He’s a good soldier and he’s not going to hurt the club by being publicly difficult about a move but he’s obviously told them he’d like to go. There is probably some chance we don’t get a great offer and we put him on 150k a week and he stays but I think it’s pretty obvious at this point he’d like a move. Also, even without the rumors and quotes, it makes all the sense in the world for a player of his age and ability to leave. Particularly as it would help our finances a lot. We had our window to become a club he might stay at and we couldn’t make it happen.

The overwhelming majority of people that gamble or drink are not addicts. I’m not sure where your statistics come from that a big % of addicts become addicted after their first bet but let’s assume that’s true. By your logic you would have to ban other things that can potentially lead to addiction. No drinking because many people become addicts soon after. No cigarettes for the same reason. No pornography of course because people can easily become addicted and it can ruin lives. You end up with quite a restrictive society. Personally, I don’t like my government that intrusive. If you’re going to have a free society there has to be a certain amount of allowing people to make bad decisions if they want to.

Read your own comments back. “He says it’s difficult to talk about leaving”. No player would ever say this if he wasn’t having conversations about leaving. If you need him to say outright “I want to leave Everton” it’s unlikely to happen. Would be bad for the club and likely bad for him personally.

Again, he says “when I talk about leaving a club…” There aren’t many lines to read between there. He makes the point that he doesn’t like to do that publicly because of the fans etc.. Which is classy but also a clear indication he’s talked about leaving the club. For what reason would a player ever say that if they hadn’t had those discussions? If he was planning to stay he would never say “when I talk about leaving”.

They have 1000 avenues already to make a bet though. Stake.com’s goal is more likely to want a bigger piece of the already existing pie. More exposure for them means more gambling minded people see their brand and perhaps give it a try. I’m sure somewhere there will be young people whose first bet is through stake.com but if they are that susceptible I imagine they’d have bet somewhere else if that didn’t exist. Given they have deals with the UFC, Drake, Aguero etc.. I think the goal is to just get their name out there as much as possible.

Dangerous road for a government to start imposing on the rights of its citizens to make choices for themselves. Fine line between public health concerns and oppression.

Yeah if he was a 10% better finisher and decision maker in the final third he’d be very special. As is he’s still a good well rounded winger who works very hard but not quite at that world class level

We do though. Nevermind the general feeling before he said anything that he’d look for a move this summer . He was directly quoted as saying “when I talk about leaving a club..” etc.. which means he has talked about leaving our club. I suppose you could say they made up a direct quote but, barring that, he’s had those discussions.

I would argue that nicotine or heroin is inherently toxic, even in moderation. Of course people can find a way to live with it but it’s always damaging to some degree. A few beers or glasses of wine a week doesn’t have any real negative health consequences.

Haha. Right and at least in the states most gambling companies have warnings/hotlines etc.. dealing with addiction. I just think if you’re allowing gambling in stadiums or on fantasy football etc.. it’s a bit rich to say that a shirt sponsor is too far. It’s also slightly insulting in my view to say that someone with a serious addiction is so easily swayed by “stake.com” or a picture of a beer. It diminishes what’s really at play there. I don’t mean to diminish the seriousness of these addictions, I know many people affected, as do we all. I just believe a free country is the right to have personal responsibility and make choices/even destructive ones as long as what you’re doing is not inherently dangerous. * In the U.S. in New York State they tried banning “Big Gulp” drinks that are 72 or 144 Oz. You should have seen the backlash. You’d have thought they took away the vote.

Of course gambling companies advertise to encourage people to gambling. The point was that if you have such a relationship with gambling that “Stake.com” on a shirt sends you over the edge then you already have a serious issue. You can bet on games within stadiums. You’ll see advertisements everywhere on social media and television and in print. You’ll hear it on the radio. I don’t particularly think a shirt sponsor is going to move the needle given like 60% of Championship and EPL teams have them. High cholesterol kills a lot more people than gambling and many people have food addictions but you don’t hear a lot of folks saying we should ban fast food restaurants from being able to promote their businesses.

You’ve not read my response properly here. When you ABUSE alcohol or fatty foods or many other things it’s an issue. A couple of pints or a glass of wine is not inherently problematic. There is no safe amount of nicotine. It’s worse if you smoke a lot, of course, but it’s always poison. Most drinking alcohol is only toxic in large quantities.

It depends what you’re drinking I guess. Some types of alcohol not meant for ingestion obviously are toxic. The alcohol we drink is generally not in moderation. If you drink a dangerous amount it can be which is why we get alcohol poisoning or damage our livers. In small quantities some alcohol can actually be a benefit to circulation etc.. I’m sure we’ve all heard about the benefits of a glass of wine a day.

I agree alcohol is about as a destructive a thing to our society as exists. My point was simply that it isn’t inherently dangerous. It is dangerous in excess. Heroin or nicotine or various other substances are inherently harmful.

The reality there is if Spurs make the best offer to us then it’s not really Richie being undervalued. It would just be some of us overvaluing what the market will pay, given our situation. I think anything 50+ is pretty good business for us given everyone knows he wants to leave and we could use the funds. Very good player but He’s a bit short of being the world class guy that could demand 80m.

They are dangerous when abused. They are dangerous to addicts. The significant majority of people can have a beer or a cheeseburger or place a sports bet and be just fine. The distinction between those things and something like nicotine is that nicotine is inherently damaging. There is no safe way ingest nicotine. It’s a poison. Having a glass of wine doesn’t have that same effect. Again, I’m sympathetic to those that battle addiction but it is not a substance that is destructive in moderation any more than an occasional cheeseburger is. It becomes an issue when it is abused or for those who have an addiction. If we are comparing these things to gambling specifically I certainly think alcohol abuse and addiction is far more destructive to society than gambling.

You’re equating things that aren’t quite the same here. Smoking is inherently dangerous. Nicotine is a poison. Gambling, alcohol or cheeseburgers are not inherently dangerous. The vast majority of people who deal with those things are perfectly fine. It’s about personal responsibility. You can hurt yourself if you drink too much water or eat too many carrots. People huff paint or put on unhealthy weight eating ice cream. It is not incumbent on these industries to protect the world from abusing their products. Should we ban McDonald’s because they might contribute to someone’s high cholesterol? If somebody has a destructive relationship with gambling it’s a hard sell to say the word “Stake” on a shirt is what is going to send them the over the edge. If you’re an alcoholic and the image of a pint pushes you off the wagon then you were already in desperate need of help. Aside from that can’t you already bet on games from within English football stadiums? Your personal thoughts on these things is your own business but it seems the ship has sailed on these issues long ago both as a club and as a league. I’m sympathetic to those who struggle with addiction issues but it’s not realistic to shutter yourself away from the world or expect society to cater itself to your sensibilities.

Obviously they aren’t going to spend money on something that won’t help them. It’s just less about appealing to addicts and children than it is getting wider exposure for their brand in general. They want people to know who they are. Being on our shirt increases the likelihood of that and exposes them to people already predisposed to gamble.

Yes I think he’s certainly got a high ceiling. The issue, of course, is that he’s 20 and making a big step up in competition. The plan was likely to have Kenny (an OK option) as insurance as Seamus winds down his career and Patterson develops. Now I’d imagine you might see some of Holgate or Godfrey over there If need be.

I don’t think it’s a matter of dropping him for performance. The plan has to be for Patterson to take over. He just has to show he’s good enough to do that at some point. Probably gonna get his chance sooner than expected if we don’t bring in another RB.