Ratcliffe fears sticky Toffees future BE A TOP SHOPPER
FOOTBALL Goodison legend tells Silva: Spend well or lose touch
KEVIN RATCLIFFE has warned Everton they will never crack the Premier League’s Big Six if they keep making mistakes in the transfer market.
And the former Goodison titlewinning skipper has challenged new boss Marco Silva and director of football Marcel Brands to get their recruitment right now – or risk more time in the wilderness.
Ratcliffe lapped up the good times on Merseyside, winning two league titles, the FA Cup and European Cup Winners Cup in a three-year golden era in the mid-80s.
Everton later finished fourth and twice grabbed fifth place before David Moyes left in 2013.
But the one-time Welsh international won’t be holding his breath on the Toffees recovering the ground they have since lost.
Ratcliffe said: “A couple of years ago I thought we weren’t that far off Tottenham, but they’re out of sight now.
“The recruitment has been really poor in recent times and the club can’t keep wasting huge amounts of money and getting no return at all.
“The scary thing is the prices are higher now. Once managers would make a £1million mistake, now they make mistakes costing £15m-£20m and still keep their jobs.
“The new manager and football director have got to get that part of the job right, especially when you are buying players from abroad who need to adapt to English football.
“Turning Everton into a force to compete for a place in Europe will be a big test for Silva and Brands because the team needs a major overhaul – especially down the spine.
“We have an ageing squad that needs a lot of work.
“It looks like Wayne Rooney is going to America and other than Wayne, the players who have been performing have tended to be the older ones.
“We need a rethink right through the centre of the team because apart from Jordan Pickford, who looks really good, from front to back down the middle it’s a problem.
“Phil Jagielka, Ashley Williams and Leighton Baines are all the wrong side of 30 and in central midfield we need a playmaker to really sparkle.
“In attack I’m not 100 per cent convinced by Cenk Tosun, either.
“OK, he scored some important goals but there were times when he went missing too.”
SUMMARY
Overhaul
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71) L Slattery 66 69 62, F Molinari (Ita) 66 66 66, T Olesen (Den) 65 68 65, M Kaymer (Ger) 68 63 68, D Willett 65 67 67. 23, Wigan 0. Warrington
Batley 18, Halifax 32. Hunslet 39, Whitehaven 32.
(18) F Fognini (Ita) bt (16) K Edmund (Gbr) 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-4 6-4; (1) R Nadal (Spa) bt (27) R Gasquet (Fra) 6-3 6-2 6-2; (3) M Cilic (Cro) bt S Johnson (USA) 6-3 6-2 6-4, (5) J Martin Del Potro (Arg) bt (31) A Ramos-vinolas (Spa) 7-5 6-4 6-1, (8) D Goffin (Bel) bt (32) G Monfils (Fra) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 4-6 7-5 6-3. M Gonzalez (Arg) & N Jarry (Chi) bt (4) J Murray (Gbr) & B Soares (Bra) 6-4 5-7 6-4.
S Williams (USA) bt J Goerges (Ger) 6-3 6-4, (1) S Halep (Rom) bt A Petkovic (Ger) 7-5 6-0; (7) C Garcia (Fra) bt I Begu (Rom) 6-1 6-3, (3) G Muguruza (Spa) bt S Stosur (Aus) 6-0 6-2; (28) M Sharapova (Rus) bt (6) K Pliskova (Cze) 6-2 6-1.
(6) B Krejcikova (Cze) & K Siniakova (Cze) bt T Maria (Ger) & H Watson (Gbr) 6-1 2-6 7-5. ROSS BARKLEY must be the last top-class youngster to leave Everton if they’re going to be a success, according to Kevin Ratcliffe. He has called on new boss Marco Silva to ensure young stars filtering into Everton’s first team aren’t allowed to slip the net. The Toffees have a talented crop of youngsters led by Tom Davies, Dominic Calvertlewin, RB Leipzig loanee Ademola Lookman and defender Mason Holgate. But having seen Barkley sink without a trace at Chelsea after leaving in January, Ratcliffe said: “Leaving Everton was the wrong thing for Ross Barkley to do. We have had too many who have peaked early and then left. It can’t go on.”