Michael Ball discusses the shock decision to hold talks to sell Harrison Armstrong and Everton's subsequent U-turn
Harrison Armstrong impressed again for Everton at Bournemouth despite the shock transfer news
Harrison Armstrong impressed again for Everton at Bournemouth despite the shock transfer news
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Back in 2001, I was one of the young Scousers sold by Everton in the same transfer window as Francis Jeffers while three years later, Wayne Rooney followed us out of the exit door.
I was lucky compared to Harrison Armstrong. It happened for me in the middle of the summer and I was injured, coming back from having a knee injection, so I didn’t have a football game to get my head around and worry about the next day.
The call came out of the blue, but I was told I wasn’t going to be part of the first team anymore and you have to look after yourself. I wanted to bide my time and see if I could outlast the manager or get him to change his mind about me, but those options get taken away from you.
We hoped those days were over now where Everton had to sell to protect the football club, especially after Angus Kinnear’s comments. That was the storyline behind when the likes of Franny, Wayne and myself were all moved on.
However, while it was 25 years ago now, I still question that to this day because they brought in two left-backs who were on more money than me! It seemed they were more interested in the transfer fee though.
If you’re trying to bring in the best youngsters in the area, or the way football is now, all around the world, and you progress through the academy only for them to sell you at the first opportunity, it’s not a good look.
With the new owners and the new stadium plus Angus Kinnear coming out with a message about how we’ve got wealthy backers, you think those days are gone.
I think waking up to the Armstrong news on Saturday shocked everyone – including myself.
Harrison was down on the south coast in a hotel. Those talks should be happening behind the scenes – you don’t accept an offer for it to come out on the morning of a Premier League football match.
The club’s hierarchy really piled pressure on Harrison. That won’t sit well with him.
Whoever leaked it, that kind of news breaking just hours before a game is bad enough for a senior professional, so imagine the kind of pressure that was on a teenager’s shoulders at Bournemouth? He wanted to put that Everton shirt on and play well but something could have gone bad for him and that was unfair.
I’ve therefore got to give huge credit to Harrison that he played and he also played well again. We’ve seen it with other players in the past where their heads go down or they don’t want to get injured.
I just feel for the boy himself. He was preparing to play and having been given an opportunity he’s been waiting for since he was five years old because others are injured and he’s taken it with both hands.
It was a bombshell on Saturday and if he picked up his phone that morning, he’d have seen it all happening and it wasn’t fair on him as he just wants to play football and express himself.
He’s still learning the game but at the moment he’s in-form and doing well, getting the minutes under his belt. With that increased experience and additional game time, who knows what he could grow into?
We don’t want to hear that another Scouse lad is leaving at the first opportunity. We want to grow this football club.
The Friedkin Group want to grow this business. You do that by improving the team, making them stronger and more competitive.
Whether you want to stay long-term or move on, that’s how you do it. Not by selling your prize assets at the first opportunity.
David Moyes is spot-on. At this moment in time, he doesn’t want anyone leaving the football club, he wants to add to his numbers.
You don’t want the board and your manager banging heads together constantly. Everyone needs to be on the same page, let’s stick together.
You’ve got to understand the football club. Harrison is a Scouse lad, he’s from Liverpool.
You don’t sell to your rivals. Nottingham Forest are splashing the cash and aiming for similar goals to ourselves.
Kinnear told us how we were very well-funded and were looking to bring more players in. He didn’t say we needed to sell, but since that interview, the first thing we see from a transfer point of view is that the club had accepted a bid for one of our young stars.
Then they change their minds because of the fans’ reaction. David Moyes should have been able to say no to them – tell them he’s not going – and that be the end of the matter.
The fans, both at the match and online, voiced their concerns and made their thoughts clear. It’s not just about the money, it doesn’t make sense.
We know you need business minded people at football clubs and it’s difficult to understand – we get it – but you also need football men. David Moyes has come out and stated how he needs to bring reinforcements in.
Leave the football decisions to football people and you’ve got to back your manager and give him the tools to do it. When the decisions go on upstairs, that will cause unrest.
Whoever decided that was a good idea for Everton to sell Armstrong, should know better. Then, to change their mind, it feels like they don’t know what they’re doing and instead they’re just trying to appease the supporters after a bad reaction.
We’ve got one of the smallest squads in the Premier League. It’s not rocket science over what David Moyes and the football clubs needs to stay competitive with the teams around us.
We’re letting games go by. If we’d have brought reinforcements in already, that result on Saturday might have changed from one points to three.
A lot of clubs are spending money, but we’ve known for a long time what positions we’ve needed. How we haven’t found a new full-back, I don’t know.
When the window closes, we can reassess everything. Hopefully the club can give us a bit more transparency over what has gone on because right now, it feels like we could be making some rash decisions because of what happened with the Harrison Armstrong and right-back situations and they’re panicking because we’ve all known what’s been needed for many months.
More ref justice for Blues with Kavanagh
I thought Everton performed well as a team at Bournemouth but we were let down by another refereeing decision. We were knocking the ball around nicely, putting Bournemouth under pressure and creating opportunities.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Thierno Barry – who had netted four times in his previous two games – tried to be too clever with his big chance as he tried to give the keeper the eyes, but in those situations, you’ve just got to be ruthless. Erling Haaland is on a totally different level, but when he gets those chances, it’s side-foot, boom, no messing about.
The disappointing part was Bournemouth’s goal. We’ve been guilty of moments like this many times in recent years.
My first thought was that James Tarkowski could have done better but the more I watch it back, it’s just a mixture of errors and a lack of determination as it looked like they didn’t realise the danger was as severe as it was. Midfielders were jogging back but Alex Scott goes from his box to our one unchallenged.
Tarkowski got pulled out wide but he got turned three times. As a defender, you get turned to try and bully the guy on the ball and force him down an avenue, one way or another.
James seemed to be too busy looking over his shoulder, to see if anyone was protecting him when he got have got a lot tighter to try and force his opponent wide. It was like he was too afraid to be taken on, so he just backed off and backed off and made it easy.
In the second half, we were okay in moments but the mentality of being easy to play against started creeping into our game, not winning challenges or set-pieces, allowing Bournemouth to dictate the tempo and they were cutting through us far too easily.
Once again, Everton have been on the receiving end of a refereeing controversy with Chris Kavanagh. From the replay, the referee’s vision appears to have been impaired by another player being in his way, along with his poor positioning. I’d like to hear the communication around it.
Did Kavanagh simply say: “no penalty”? Could he have been truthful and asked VAR for help by saying: “My vision was blocked – can you check whether Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was impeded?”
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When you watch it back, you can see the defender check at the last second and panic. For me, it’s a penalty.
The fact that Dewsbury-Hall was involved again too is frustrating given the poor luck he had early last season with decisions going against him.
We had one last push and while I don’t think it was the best corner, Tarkowski redeemed himself with a fantastic strike, he just kept it low and hit the target. But even after the goal, we were pushing to try and win the game, so that mentality late on was encouraging to see.