I think Baines will play on Sunday and I fully expect 3 points

However, I am now over it, time to move on, but I am pleased to hear that the crowd warmly applauded Oz off despite the horror that unfolded before them. I am glad I heard that.

I also hope that Leon doesn't come on TW as the minority with their vitriolic bile hurled towards him is shocking and unbelievable.

In the 50-odd years of following this team, boy am I glad we never had TW when I think of one or two players that have had the gall to even pull on a blue shirt and not give their all - believe me there have been more embarrassing situations than what happened yesterday.

Let the "Oz hater" knives be sharpened and begin their venomous way towards me :)

Thank god you are not in charge.

Goalkeepers aside, Oviedo would quite literally be the last First Team player I'd want to see fill in for Gareth Barry. Talk about square pegs in round holes.

Would you rather see Heitinga there?

Actually I'm more concerned about the lousy form of our Belgian strikers and how to fix that- certainly wouldn't have had Lukaku on the same rating as Pienaar and Barkley.

We should be very wary of Southampton's high pressing game. If we fart about with the ball too much at the back we could be made to pay. Its not a tragedy if we just hoof the ball out of defence now and again.

Blaming Martinez ???????
Really ?
Blaming Howard
Blaming Osman
Well sadly there is validity there 'cos they cocked up and it proved costly

Please take a long look at y'sselves some of you !
You got far more for Xmas overall than you could have dreamed of and 'cos one last prezzie wasn't delivered you've spat your dummies and thrown your toys on the nursery floor

And we still battered them mercilessly with 10 men

I think the teams performance was great, proper swashbuckling "give it a go" effort without abandoning style
Some supporters here need a bloody long look at how their own tantrum filled performance stacked up over the last 24hrs

Firstly 'two good feet' is a bit much. He is very left sided but can swing his right foot at the ball. This is not a cultured two-footed player we are talking about here.

Secondly, he is not 'defensive minded'. He has been very good for us defensively this season - don't get me wrong - but it is not his forte and he is not a player you want screening your back 4.

If Oviedo starts in defensive midfield then I will eat the woolly jumper Dixie Dean is currently sporting outside Goodison.

The obvious option is to play Osman instead. A curveball might be Stones to come in and 3 at the back negating the need for 2 DM's.

Saints are fit, quick and clever in the final third. We'll have to be wide awake.

Unlike Saints, we don't look for one another up front and why nothing has been done about it remains a mystery. I know Martinez favours the Bielsa method of players taking on opponents one on one but everything seems so speculative.

As for Lukaku and Jelavic. Neither do it for me. Jelli has the know-how and determination but is very ponderous. Lukaku is never sure where or when to run but has a bit more pace. Both have a poor first touch.

They are either a far better side than their league position suggests or our chances of finishing in the top 6 have been a mere pipe-dream. I'm all for sober caution prior to any game and much prefer it to the we'll stick six past this lot mentality. Now I may end up with egg on my face come Sunday evening, but come on boys we are at home albeit with a couple of key players missing - we have to believe we can win don't we?

Harold this mini moan isn't aimed at your post in particular but I have read a few posts where I had to check to make sure it wasn't Barca we were up against on Sunday.

The fact is we are now a completely different outfit with bigger goals than the team/club Moyes left behind. Even the fans dare to believe again and the truth is Osman isn't good enough for Everton FC any more. Add Mirallas and Pienaar to the list also.

Saturday's loss occurred because a player way past his sell-by date does his normal comedy falling down routine but this time we pay the price because it's on the edge of our own box. The edge of the box the other end of the pitch and Leon gets away with it.

There is no hiding place any more in this current Everton side. We have come so far in 6 months it's frightening. We can't have lightweights throwing all the good work away and then keeping their place like they did under Moyes.

It's not about hatred, Gerry, it's all about progress — and progress being halted for no good reason. Martinez, who I love, fucked up with Osman's selection but surely now time is up for Leon; time to step aside. I mean, even Deadly Dave dropped Pip in the end, didn't he?

We have no one to adequately replace Barry. Gibson could have but Osman or Heitinga are downward steps.

Mirallas is in poor form but without Deulofeu we only really have Naismith who can play in the same position.

Lukaku looks to me like he could use a rest but Jelavic cannot buy a goal.

Hopefully RM can bring in some players in early January as I think we need two more players at least able to add to the first team.

I know he's had a few assists, but you couldn't fail to add to that stat with the freedom he has up front. His general play has seemed off since the opening game, and I can't recall a MOTM performance from one of our supposedly best players.

I just don't see any improvement as the season has progressed, or am I judging him too harshly?

The Sky 4 always kick off with their recognised first teamers and any changes depend on the state of the game... OFM having learned from earlier mistakes would not dream of using a policy of squad rotation at OT. When he ran the show at Goodison his mistakes were excused because he was an upcoming manager on a 'learning curve'.

More people came to the same viewpoint as me to the point that most were unmoved at his departure. Roberto has been a breath of fresh air but I hope that in future he will start games with his best available team.

If you don't rate Pienaar then I cant even bring myself to give your views the time of day.

Maybe he believes that he should be up front on his own, but whatever his problem, he certainly hasn't delivered for most of this season. I don't mind a luxury player or two in the team but if they don't produce moments of magic and score or create chances then we can't afford to have them in the side.

Having said that we are hardly blessed with replacements for him are we? That age old Everton problem of having insufficient players to choose from.

I think Mirallas has huge potential and often looks like our most likely scorer, even when playing below par, but I agree he has not contributed enough. I think we play him out of position and I'd be tempted to try him as the main striker, given Lukaku is not exactly setting the place alight.

If that doesn't coax a good run of form out of him, then maybe we'll have to write him off as a talented but ineffective prima donna.

It's especially worrying when we are playing with a front 4, so you can't even say he has been stranded in a lone striker role, there is support all over the park for him to produce the goods.

Such a shame Deulofeu has got injured, I don't think Mirallas has produced even half the good moments that lad has in a few cameo performances, which is another worrying trend.

Don't forget, he is playing in a team which the full backs are getting more chances on goal than he is!

Mirallas has been off for a while. Also, did I mention jelly feet? I've seen him squirm a tame shot far too often. RM needs to single him out for conditioning and finishing practice. Also crossing, because he's too 1 dimensional right now. That kid has potential but his performances are well below expectations.

Also, no one is getting the ball in the air for Lukaku to win. Lukaku has been ok on the ground but his biggest goal scoring asset is in the air. Big guys can tie him down on the ground in our passing game, but not in the air, since its going to be a foul. I see where people are frustrated with Lukaku but remember that we pretty much went fully on the ground past few games.

Deulofeu is exceptional. I wish we can sign him long term. I rate him as highly as RB, in a different manner of course. We are probably going to get him for another season loan at least.

Also, RB needs to calm down and shoot a little less. Just a little. I feel a few times he can play others, most particularly Lukaku, if he passed instead of shoot. But I attribute that to experience, since its the first time he's the star of the siege.

All in all, I think we'll do fine, but I hope to see a response against Soton to confirm that.

A full back is a full back no more... and especially in this system where they basically push up to midfield. If we want to keep Oviedo in the team it would more likely be in front of Baines or Coleman where he can use his pace. I think the only thing letting Oviedo baby down is his crossing.

Mirallas is just one greedy bastard who has the ability to both create and score but seems only interested in himself. Looking forward the the game vs Saints. I want to see a confident Robles and Lukaku/Jelavic getting a hattrick. COYB

Joel
Coleman Jagielka Distin Baines
Mirallas McCarthy Barkley Pienaar
Lukaku Jelavic

As someone who is consistently mystified by your rankings, this seems a little more odder than usual.

This probably sounds ungrateful – sorry.

And can you stay away from Goodison on Sunday please, you're bad luck.

Nasri on the right, Fernandinho and Toure in the middle and Silva on the left, with Aguero and Negredo upfront in most games.

Thing is, I don't see Mirallas as a winger, he was a very successful striker at Olympiakos and it was that form that persuaded us to buy him. We've turned him into a winger (remember, under our system, the other options used to be Seamus, Osman or, god help us, Vic) but I'm not convinced he can play there- maybe as the right or left in an attacking front 3 but not wide midfield which is essentially where he plays now. He's had to be taught how to defend for a start and is still rubbish at it, with no real sense of where and how to cover, hence our right flank is always the more vulberable.

I think he is a bit of a prima donna too, but I'd at least give him a run out in the position he actually plays in, before deciding whether he's good enough for us.

However, at one stage recently there was a comment that someone made hoping that Osman suffered a serious injury – sorry that is beyond my comprehension. On Sunday, and not for the first time, before a ball was even kicked, the bile and hatred boiled up against Osman – WTF? I bet Hibbo was wondering when he would be back in the firing line...

And it is also fact that they are also put there, and for obvious reasons, by a quite smart and savvy Manager who certainly has more idea of how good they perform – more than we will ever be able to.

My comments regarding the applause for Osman were honest and true and it is good to see that the VAST majority of Evertonians in the Old Lady understood the quality and effort that Leon continually puts in for this team. Yes, he is getting older, and, yes, he may be getting that little bit slower, but he has helped carry this team through quite a few years now.

Yes, by all means let's complain, but we should not take it to the witch-hunt levels as these boys are giving their all for our team, and for us the fans. I am sure that there are players you thought were good – and I am sure that you and I would certainly differ – over a beer, that is. :)

Nevertheless, I get a sense of how much the club means to you - same as me. I can understand where your coming from with Leon Osman - his days may be numbered in the top flight - but like many others love him for what he is - a great servant of EFC. Kevin Mirallas is being played out of position - he is an out and out striker. We have yet to see the best of him.

That brings us to Steven Pienaar. I really rate this lad - he is one of the cleverest and most skilfull players I have seen in an Everton shirt. He has been hugely instrumental in the development of Leighton Baines.

He may be small in stature but he is no "lightweight".

That said, we are also a smart outfit. Very smart. Especially at Goodison Park in front of a full house. The old maestro, Gus Hiddink, always demanded a positive reaction to a stroke of misfortune and Martinez will be no different. He and the boys will want to put things right and I look forward to what should be one hell of a match.

HA glad to be of help in the 7/8 crisis

I had been saying all week - and this isn't just hindsight - that it could be the freak result of the day. Good runs such as ours usually come to an end against the most unlikely of opposition.

Mannone had one of those games and you knew it just wasn't going to be our day.

The only consolation, albeit a very important one, is that we stuck to what's got us to where we are this season and took the game to them. That was some performance against a very well-disciplined and tactically well-prepared side, who were a goal and a man up.

If that belief and momentum carries on against Southampton, then we'll be fine.

As for who to replace Barry with, I'm not for all this defensive talk. We're at home, against a team who are ninth in the table and we already have one defensive midfielder in place with McCarthy.

I know he and Barry have been instrumental in keeping the whole team together, but the likes of Heitinga, Naismith, Osman (heaven forbid) or even Oviedo or Stones are not Gareth Barry - so the team will have to re-shape without him. There is no like-for-like replacement.

So what's wrong with simply playing Mirallas, McCarthy, Barkley and Pienaar as the midfield four and giving Jelavic a run out up front with Lukaku as a bit of a regenerative change?

Or, bring back Leighton Baines and push the hugely impressive Oviedo in front of him in a five-man midfield with Mirallas, McCarthy, Barkley and Pienaar? That would counter Southampton's style very well and should give plenty of runners through to spread the attack either side of Lukaku.

If Osman is brought back in anywhere and/or Naismith, I am sure I will not be alone in feeling a depressing sense of deja-vu.

Go for it Roberto. We like your work so far!

Having fish and chips from George and Angelas tonight mate

Kevin Tully - 330 - Regardless of the Sunderland game, am I the only one who thinks Mirallas has been well below average all season?