Not Worth A Mill

It seems that David Moyes is sticking to his guns with this one. He is insisting that he is not worth £1m. I just hope that Li Tie will be an Everton player soon and it's already in the bag. He played 30 odd games in his 1st season in this country and he will be a better player this time around. Not a bad goal Li.

Moysey said:"That goal might help him in the eyes of the supporters, but I have said all along that Li Tie is too expensive."I will not pay £1m for him. That's not his value in my eyes in the current transfer market. I like him a lot. He is a terrific player and I would like to have him here, but I don't think that £1m is his value. That's what Scotsmen do, get value for their money!"(28/07/03)

Still No Go

As Gavin McCann looks like signing for Villa in a £2.5m move, we are still arguing the toss over a £500,000 fee for Li Tie. There is still a danger of Li (to his mates) going back to his Chinese club, Liaoning Badao before the season starts.

Moyesy says: "Li Tie is over here to work with us and benefit from the training facilities. We are quite happy to have him here but we would only do business if the price was right. I think the valuation is too high in the current market." (27/07/03)

Bellefield Bound

Li Tie will be back at Bellefield tomorrow training, but NOT as an Everton player.

Moyesy said: "We would be happy to have him back here and hopefully we might get something sorted out. He is a great boy, I just don't think the valuation on him is correct. But we would certainly extend our facilities to him if that is what he wanted."(10/07/03)

Option Not Taken

Has somebody dropped a cod's head with this. The fact that we are now allowing other teams the chance to speak to Li Tie seems to be stupid if we want to keep him.

Michael Dunford said "The option on Li Tie expired on Monday which means other clubs are free to show interest in him. But our negotiations will continue with the player and his club and we believe Li Tie still remains keen to come to Everton. The final decision will rest with David Moyes."(01/07/03)

Li Tie Confident Of Toffee Deal

Li Tie believes he will be at Goodison next season.

Li Tie said" I can safely say the negotiations are moving along quite smoothly. While I am not involved directly, I am confident my agent can iron out the details of the contract in due time"

Everton man Ian Ross said:"Talks between Li Tie's club and ourselves are continuing and we hope to be in a position to make an announcement shortly."(24/06/03)

Liaoning Bird Ready to Call Everton's Bluff

Everton want Li Tie, but don't want to pay the cash for him. Liaoning Bird want the cash, & no more loan deals. Stalemate! We're heard a Chinese Whisper that Everton will get him, but only if Keijan come in and sort it out. Liaoning general manager Cheng Peng Hui says "We are hoping that Li Tie will join Everton on a permanent basis, not another loan deal. Negotiations at this stage have been difficult, but I am confident we can reach an agreement. He (Li Tie) is worth a lot more than £500,000. I hope Everton understand this." We hope this isn't the start of another Andre Kanchelskis scarf in the air transfer. (31/05/03)

A Loan Again - Naturally!

Everton thought they would sign Li Tie for £1m. But Zhang Shuguang from his club, Liaoning Bird says: "He is totally comfortable playing in one of the top Leagues in Europe and his price should not be below 20 million yuan (about £1.5m)."

Everton do not want to pay that much, so Moyesy says: "Li Tie's club seem to want too much for him now, so we will try to get another year's loan." With the Keijan deal benefiting both sides, we think there won't be a problem. Everton have until 30th June to decide whether to exercise their option. (27/05/03)

Down To The Last Four

Li Tie is in the final four players in the vote for the award of Asian Footballer of the Year 2002. His only Premiership opponent is Fulham's Inamoto, the others are Feyenoord's Shinji Ono & Asian star Arn Yung-huan. With the population of China supporting the two Chinese votes then Tie must be a favourite! The result is announced on Wednesday. (19/05/03)

Wha you say

Li Tie is still coming to terms with the language, but he is getting there. The one he doesn't understand is Wayne and I don't think Wayne understands him too much. Reports have it the other week is that Wayne was going to sort Li Tie out because while playing in a five a side game Wayne thought Li Tie called him a Looney.

Li Tie said: "I can understand most of the players - apart from Wayne Rooney! He is from round here and has a local accent. The people of Liverpool have a different accent and sometimes it is difficult for me to understand. But when I am playing football with my team-mates I understand everybody okay!"(17/04/03)

Happy Holiday

Li Tie can't wait for the season to end so he can go on his jollies back to China. He is looking forward to representing Everton on the tour of China.

Li Tie said:"Many of my friends have talked about this tour with me and I can’t wait for it to take place. I know lots of Chinese fans are really excited about our visit and hopefully we can put on a good show for them. Going to China with Everton is fantastic.I’m sure it will be a very special experience for me."(19/03/03)

I Want Him

Moyesy wants Li Tie permantely after his loan deal is up.

Moyesy said:I think we would look at the possibility of keeping Tie here for longer. He is still a young midfielder, but he is also very experienced. We will see what we can do about taking him permanently. He has improved but I think that is down to continually playing in the Premiership which has given him a chance to develop. (08/02/03)

Happy Hang Over

I hope Li Tie wasn't in the same state as me on Sunday morning. As usual when the Toffeemen win you just can't go home until you fall over. The missus still doesn't understand wht a footie match takes nearly 12 hours to complete. Li Tie had every reason to celebrate after his impressive 2nd half performance. His ball for the Rad for our 2nd goal was a beauty.

Moyesy said:""I thought Li Tie had an excellent game. I know it's the Chinese new year and I just hope he doesn't go out and get bevvied up to celebrate!"

The Rad said:"As for my goal, Li Tie’s ball was great – all the credit must go to him. He’s supplied me a couple of times, as all our midfielders have done this season.”(03/02/03)

China Bound

Everton will now allow Li Tie to face Brazil in Beijing on February 12. Only because he will not miss a Toffee match. Because we are out of the FA Cup we have no game between 8th and 22nd Feb. This will allow Li Tie enough time to recover for the match against Southampton at Goodisonon on 22ndFeb .(22/01/03)

1st Goal

Li Tie won't be very happy that he has scored his 1st goal in an Everton shirt. He has been credited with an oggie for Newcastle's last minute winner.(09/12/02)

Stronger

Li Tie is getting stronger all the time and it is David Moyes who is helping him to finish more games. He has put two tremendous performances against WBA and Newcastle. Li Ti was especially pleased with his recent WBA game.

Li Tie said: "I played very hard in that game and I showed my best. It was good to do that, because I haven't been happy with all of my performances since I came here. I know playing football in England is the most difficult task I've ever had to do, so if I keep demanding of myself that I do my best, it is because I have to do my best if I want to be successful here."

"I've learned a lot from David Moyes. He's a very good coach. After every training session he had a talk with me, and I find him very easy to discuss things with. Most of all he wants me to improve my strength, because you use your body a lot in English football." (02/12/02)

Tired

Moyesy has agreed with most of us that Li Tie had his poorest performance of the season on Saturday and he wants to protect him from burn out.

Moyesy said:"I am having to be careful with him because of the amount of football he has played in the last 12 months.He played the Chinese League season, went to the World Cup, went straight back to carry on with the Chinese League and then came over here.

"He hasn't had a significant break for a long time and with some of our games being tight you need stamina to play in them week in, week out. Tie has done really well for us, but we are just trying to take care of him by not over-playing him." (19/11/02)

Thank You Lads

Li Tie has been a revelation this season so much so that he has played a part in all of Everton's 12 games so far. He thinks that great team spirit has helped him settle down to life as a Toffeeman.

Li Ti said: "I'm feeling very, very good and I am enjoying it a lot more than when I first arrived. I am enjoying it even more at the moment because the team spirit is fantastic now, especially after the win at West Ham. I would like to thank David Moyes and all my team-mates who have helped me settle in. They trust me and they have helped me a lot. Every professional team needs the kind of spirit that we have if they are to do well"

"In the past two months I have given my best and I think that I have played well, so I am very happy. It is extremely different to playing football in China,- but I feel that I have improved a lot since I arrived. The manager only picks the best players so I think that everyone gets in the team on merit. Everyone here is working very hard to be in the team and to be involved. Every game is a new beginning for me. After every game the slate is wiped clean and we have to start working hard again. I have to keep working hard to stay in the team."(02/11/02)

Li Boys Give China A Miss

We have all been pleasantly the way our two Chinese Internationals have settled in, especially Li Tie who has made really made an impact in the middle of the park with Tommy Grav. And to add to that Moyesy can have them both all season without them going to play for their country. They have both decided to give up playing for China for a year so they can settle down to playing for Everton. Good news for us then.

Moysey said:"The distances involved in representing their country are so great that it was a worry.I have spoken to both of them and they have told me thay will not play for China for a year, which is good for us."

" Li Tie has surprised me.I saw him as more of a squad player when he first arrived, but I always hoped he would pick it up quickly.He is a really determined boy and he has done a lot of gym work to improve his strength. He is adjusting to the pace now, is getting stronger and has done really well.

"Both players are also picking up the language as well, which is important too, because communication was a problem at first."(13/10/02)

Moysey Delighted with Li Tie

David Moyse is made up with Chinese International Li Tie. He is surprised how quickly he has settled down.

Moysey said:"Li Tie has played very well, he can see a pass and is controlled in possession. It has taken him a while to get up to the speed of the games and towards the end he has faded away a little, but that's because of the pace and speed of the game in the Premiership.

"At the moment his communication is not good because of the language problem, but he's doing well with the ball when he gets it."

"He was the one in the Chinese side who I felt could make an impact. I didn't know how quickly it would happen or even if it would happen. But he has come in, settled, and done very well. He's done better than I expected and he's competing in an area where I have a lot of options."

I Want To Stay

Li Tie has made an impressive start to his Everton career with his display against Spurs. He would like to make his loan deal into a permanent one.

Li said:"After the match my performance gave me more confidence to stay a long time, not just for one year. I can stay here a long, long time."My first game in England was exciting, although I never felt nervous. I was happy with the way I played but it was not my best.

"I found the game totally different to China. The extra speed of the game I can handle, but you realise that everyone is much tougher. I have watched many English games on TV back home, but nothing can really prepare you for what it's like out on the pitch."

"The game is faster and tough, but I like such football. At the moment I need time to learn to communicate with my team-mates because I only have a few words of English.I hope Everton fans will give me time to settle and learn."

Moysey said: "I thought he did very well. I thought it took him about 20 minutes to get settled into the game, to get to the pace of it. But then did very well for the period up until 10 minutes after the break when I just felt he wilted a little bit." (20/08/02)