Quality is the key to future, not quantity

Jul 16 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

ALAN STUBBS has backed David Moyes to make the right moves in the transfer market as he strives to bolster Everton’s squad for the forthcoming season.

The Goodison manager has so far made just one significant summer signing in bringing Phil Jagielka from Sheffield United for £4million.

Moyes last week hit out at the “irresponsible” buying of some Premier League clubs that is hampering his attempts to capture affordable talent.

It has led to some frustration from supporters at the lack of transfer activity compared to a number of rival clubs who finished beneath Everton in the table last season. But Stubbs reckons the fans should keep faith in Moyes and believes the club are right to avoid overspending.

“The fans have seen the transition we’ve had over the last few years, we’re making strides in the right direction and a lot of them are happy about that,” said the centre-back.

“But when you see clubs who you could say are not as big as Everton spending money, they are looking at that and wondering where the money is. Maybe the greater sense of expectation from the fans for this season is making them even more frustrated that we haven’t made many new signings.

“But we’ve seen a lot of clubs spend a lot of money in recent years, and lot of them have come unstuck. Teams try and buy their way to a position in the league.

“Personally, I would rather we bring in one quality player than four okay players. You run the risk of bringing in players you aren’t 100% sure about and you aren’t too sure about whether to put them in the team as you might not think they are up to it. The manager has to weigh that up, and I’m sure if the prices were right and the money was there, he’d be buying players.

“But it’s up to the manager. He’s not soft, he knows what he is doing.”

Stubbs added: “I’d rather have the squad that we have now than go out and spend £15-20m trying to have a similar squad. We’ve got the nucleus of a very, very good team, and it’s just a matter of adding to that carefully.

“There’s still plenty of time. We’ve got another six weeks, you can bring in three signings in a day so there’s plenty of time.”

In terms of numbers, Everton had one of the smallest squads in the Premier League last season and, with a UEFA Cup campaign to contend with this time around, their resources will be stretched even further.

However, Stubbs has reiterated that quality and not quantity should be the watchword for any move in the transfer market.

“We need players who are going to strengthen the squad and push the lads who are in the team now,” he added. “Competition for places can push us on to the next level, and we need that.

“We do need numbers, but we have to be careful not to simply do that. You can easily get caught in the trap of bringing in four or five players that makes the numbers better but not the quality. From a personal point of view, I think we need two or three quality signings and maybe a couple of more people who will make the squad stronger.”

Stubbs was the senior member of a young Everton team that won 1-0 at Bury on Saturday in their first pre-season friendly. With Phil Jagielka, Mikel Arteta, Leon Osman and James Beattie not risked after picking up minor strains during the training camp in Italy, it gave an opening to centre-back Darren Dennehy, midfielders Bjarni Vidarsson, Steven Morrison and John Paul Kissock, and new striker Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Jutkiewicz, making his first appearance in an Everton shirt since arriving from Swindon Town in the summer, netted the only goal on 56 minutes.

And Stubbs said: “It’s good for the youngsters to get a chance. Sometimes you have got to let them find their own way, you can’t always cajole them through. This is the level they are striving to play at and they have to find their own way to help them through the game. I thought some of them did really well, and it’s good for them to know that they will be fine when they are thrown in at the deep end.

“But they have a long way to go, I don’t think any are quite ready yet. There’s a lot of hard work to step up from reserve team football to the Football League, and then there’s a bigger step to the Premier League. Only a few will come through, and we’ve been lucky to have a few come through in recent years.”

A more senior team beat a Northern Ireland XI 2-0 in Coleraine on Saturday, with James Vaughan and Kieran Agard scoring.