We struggle to score goals and we still seem unable to beat the top teams. People will point to the fact that we beat Man Utd but, given the season they are having, that accolade is looking less impressive each week.

A lack of goals and defeats to teams like Liverpool and Spurs really sum up Everton's last few seasons. Roberto has done some good work but so far I don't think he's found a way to fix the fundamental problems that Moyes left him with.

Traore straight swap for Naismith, Barkley straight swap for Osman & Delofeu for Pienaar with Mirallas coming left would have made more sense to me.

Had we have been given yesterdays award and the one at Cardiff City, and of course converted them, it would have added three points to our total and we would have been 2 points behind the other lot rather than the five point gap.

Decisions even themselves out over a season? No chance – the officials know which side their bread is buttered and would have had no hesitation in awarding the Coleman penalty at the other end of the pitch if it had been a Spurs player.

I don't think it should have been a free-kick that led to their goal, I haven't watched it again but at the time I thought it was a cracking tackle by Naismith.

I think another striker would have been a good move for sure during January but I'm glad RM is not playing all his cards on Champions League in his first season here. Sometimes you play well and lose – we do need to address the lack of cutting edge, but I hope RM and the players don't give up as easily as some on here.

We are a selling club and as long as the present Board are in place the Zero number will continue to be prevalent. Zero trophies won since Rideout put the ball in the United net in the 90s.

Money in on transfers this season, net of payouts to other clubs £35m approx, money spent on players £17M approx? Now if someone tells me that the club has a £18M fund available to buy some players next summer then I can buy into the policy. However, if the amount available depends on player sales then the size of the task facing the manager is just getting greater...

It's hard to see us finishing above the team across the park given the respective run in's. What is more worrying if one takes the long term view, is who among the loanees will be wearing the blue jersey come August.

I can accept the long term path to the top of the mountain but am not sure if the club will get their with a transfer policy which makes the club look like a training / prep school for the bigger clubs.

If was never the way in the 60s, School of Science, and again in the mid-80s, anyone who knows their history knows that!

I have been saying for a while now that we haven't got enough goals in the team and ultimately that's what will cost us. The likes of Pienaar, Barkley, Osman, McCarthy should all be contributing more goals and getting into the box more.

We are becoming more like Arsenal in that we have to score a perfect team goal or an individual piece of brilliance to score. We play as good football as anyone else in this league but lack the killer instinct of the front 3 from over the park and, until we rectify that, will always be trailing in the top teams' wake.

They are not overly concerned with how many ticka-tackas we have in the midfield but, when the ball is within shooting distance of their goal, it is a different story. It is then we find our path to goal blocked by a mass of bodies.

The ease by which we pass our way through a deserted midfield gives a false idea of which team is controlling the game. As we pile ever forward, our two-man backline also pushes forward and thus leaving an entire half of the field for quick opponents to feed on long-ball counter attacks.

Roberto has made it clear he will not change his style... and that makes me concerned for the future.

Naismith is hopeless out wide, no pace whatsoever, it also upset our rhythm thereafter.

No matter what style you employ, and no matter what level you play at, you still have the opposing team trying to stop you. But I'd much rather it was the opposition working hard at 'maintaining their shape' and trying to stop us – and yeah, occasionally succeeding – than the other way around.

Liverpool play similar ticka-tackas but the difference between us and them is they have players like Suarez & Sturridge (and Stirling) who can finish things and score goals.

Ticka-tackas is fine but our forward players (Naismith, Mirallas, Osman, Barkley, Pienaar & McGeady) need to be more clinical with their finishing.

What's depressing is if you take all the goals that Naismith (2), Mirallas (5), Osman (2), Barkley (3), Pienaar (1), Deulofeu (2) and McGeady (0) have scored in the Premier League it comes to just 13.

That's just 15 goals from our front 7 players. That's the same as Daniel Sturridge has scored alone. Basically our 7 most forward players have scored on average 2 goals each this season.

That has to change. Roberto has to find somebody who can score goals regulary. Lukaku started out well but things seemed to have dried up with only 1 goal in his last 10 games.

Goals win games. It doesn't matter if you play ticka-tacka football or old fashioned hoofball. Goals win games.

I actually think it's a plus that we're getting goals from all quarters, including others you haven't mentioned.

But agree about McGeady - 0 goals after all these games!

It's not the system that's at fault because whatever system the team plays they are simply not good enough compared to the richer teams and that is where we are at this present moment in time.

I sometimes wonder if it was Everton who had won the league last year and we have fallen from grace - but only once in 20 years have we managed to finish in the top four, yet this season we are below the standard set in previous years. Everybody has a view on where it is all going wrong, perhaps someone can e-mail Roberto and give him the solutions to the problem. I suppose we could revert to a big guy up front and Naismith or whoever feeding off the knock-downs, it's so simple I wonder why Roberto refuses to play that way.

I always try to put myself in the shoes of the opposition and ask myself would we feel hard done by if the penalty had been awarded against us. I have to be honest and say we would have been if that incident with Coleman had been given had it happened at the other end.

It's clever but, to my eyes, he clearly extends his foot to make contact with the defender's foot and it seemed to me that Clattenburg was wise to it.

The one at Cardiff was a nailed-on penalty though and I was astounded it wasn't given. We were robbed off two deserved points in that game so, yes, it would have been a fitting redress of the balance had we got one yesterday but for me, the incident in isolation wasn't a penalty... as much as I wanted it to be!

The bigger issue was the scandalous positioning of the free kick that led to the goal. Referees will be anally-retentive about the ball being 2cm outside the quadrant at corners but Clattenburg allows Walker to kick the ball from 10 yards away from the site of the foul.

While you're right that Naismith and Mirallas haven't shown they can be a long term striking solution, neither really would anyone else who'd cost money have done so. *Not* taking into account injuries, we have Lukaku, Traore, Mirallas and Naismith as striking options to take us through to the end of the season; which given our financial situation doesn't actually read as that terrible.

With a fit Lukaku or Traore I'd have to assume that we'd be more likely to come away from that Spurs game with something; and we're really talking about a three game period where the timing between injury and fitness has left us without either of what are presumably our top two front men from now until the end of the season.

Yes, we played well in the first half and created chances but much of it was down to Spurs not bothering to close down and other opponents will not be so obliging. That said, there were some wonderful interchanges between Osman, Pienaar, Baines and Naismith and the workrate was tremendous. Little wonder we tired before the hour mark.

I didn't include Mirallis because he had one of those games where he shows brilliant ability but wants to do it all on his own. Del boy and Barkley followed the same trait . When they came on the team ethic went even further out the window and we started giving the ball away all over the place.

God knows when Traore will be allowed to play. Even Ronnie Goodlass on Radio Merseyside is mystified as to the reason the lad is sitting around twiddling his thumbs. We need someone up front who can convert chances and time is running out. Even if both our big strikers were declared fit tomorrow they would still need a number of games to get them up to scratch. The same also applies to Coleman, McGeady, Deulofeu and Barkley. Right now we are the walking wounded and Martinez will have to be a very canny nursemaid over the next few weeks. He will continue to give out his usual stuff to the media but he is also feeling wounded and will be taking no prisoners behind closed doors. Tough but interesting times ahead.

Robin: "He brought in Traore; and that was presumably on the basis that he'd have a couple of weeks to get fit without Lukaku getting crocked immediately."

That was my assessment of it at the time, too, even though Lukaku was injured on the 28th which meant he had three days before the deadline in the knowledge that he was short up front. All of his targets on deadline day were midfielders from what I can gather.

Now, it's quite possible that he couldn't find anyone suitable that was available in that time and that he thought Mirallas and Naismith could do a job in the interim which they were able to do against Villa but not against Spurs.

I just think that having gone to such lengths to invest so well in the summer and with us having this rare opportunity with United floundering he would have done something add some more firepower as insurance, particularly as Lukaku himself was struggling for goals. Nothing is guaranteed in football but January additions can become crucial... see Arteta and Jelavic.

My assumption was that Traore was there to take pressure off Lukaku; to provide some more opportunities for rotation and rest. That's still practical through most of the rest of the season (dependent on Lukaku's injury).

That still makes sense. And, really, assuming Traore has some availability by Wednesday, it's really only one game that's been heavily impacted. I don't imagine a fully fit Lukaku or Traore would have made much difference at Anfield, we beat Aston Villa anyway, so it's yesterday's game that's the one match that's been heavily influenced.

While certainly this stage of the season is important, making a short term signing that might undermine our long term transfer strategy is exactly the kind of approach that RM has talked about *not* taking.

Take your point about January additions being important; though both Jelavic and Arteta were signings that had reasonable advance planning (one to address a known weakness, the other to replace a player we knew with plenty of notice was leaving). Panic January signings are generally less successful.

With the increase in fixtures and the pitches deteriorating this is the time for injuries and fatigue and this it seems what happened to Everton. As there is no guaranties against injuries happening waiting for injured players to return is not a reliable policy.

Going back looking at Everton,past number of seasons it seems that in January it seems a common thread by supporters that they have needed either one or two players brought in to raise them to the next level.

The next level seems to only interest the Manager and the supporters as the people who are able to help (The Chairman and the Board) seem either unable or reluctant to do anything.

With 13 games left we have to get behind the team to finish as high as possible. I don't know the amounts that differ in each position in the league but I hope that the people in charge make sure that money is made available in summer.

There is a saying in Business that you have to speculate to accumulate; this chairman and board just seem to want to accumulate.

I don't actually get the feeling that this was the case this window, though. Seems more like Martinez identified the players he wanted, got them, and was reasonably satisfied with his business.

Victor, Jelavic and Heitinga were not part of his future strategy so they had to go, whether it weakened us or not. Unwanted players hinder training sessions and dampen the dressing room spirit.

Of course, with Kone already sidelined, the injury to Lukaku was a massive blow. Mirallis would see little of the ball in the number 9 slot so it had to be Naismith. Not the perfect scenario but he works like hell for the team.

Then we have the cloak and dagger Traore affair. Martinez says he is personally indoctrinating him into the great history of Everton and the new football principles. You don't do that with someone who is only here for five minutes. Ranieri doesn't have room for him and has admitted having difficulty selling players. The lad, his agent and both clubs have obviously discussed the various loopholes and it now remains to be seen how he copes with the Premier League.

I am perplexed at Martinez for bringing Traore and the fact that he knew he was not fit to play is just insane.

For all his positive talk his action to sell Jelavic and not replace him directly with a fit striker makes no sense.

On top of that he had the chance to bring Vellios and perhaps even starting him against Spurs.

He also had the option to bring McAleny, but chose not to.

If Vellios had been given a chance against Spurs we would have been better off then having Naismith as a striker.

Vellios perhaps needs game time, but that pales when you compare that to bringing a known injured striker on the bench.

In short Martinez has shot himself in the foot.

He had the chance to take us further up the table but chose not to!

He chose not to spend any money on a direct replacement for Jelavic and I for one will not forgive him for it.

We are all human and make mistakes, but at this stage in the season we can not afford any.

The question now becomes:"Who is our striker going to be against Crystal Palace?"

As you can probably understand I am fed up and angry.

I pray that the loss of points will not come back to haunt us, but it already has I feel.

How do you feel?

The defender in no way contacted the ball. The defender put his outstretched leg across Coleman. There was contact between them and, in this day and age, that is a penalty. Going away from goal is immaterial.

Some have said he was going down... well, look at Suarez the other week. You said Coleman’s foot was looking for the defenders – we see that happening every week and they’re given.

If you try to look at it from the opposition’s point of view and still don’t see it as a penalty, well, that’s your opinion and I think you’re very wrong.

The less said about the free kick the better. Clattenburg – a disgrace.

Because we lose against big spending Spurs by schoolboy defending, the usual suspects are complaining that we'd sold Jelavic. They had one shot on goal! Jelavic couldn't hit a barn door all season, he had enough chances, all of a sudden everybody wants him!

By the way, who says Traore was not fit to come on? Have you had inside information?

As far as buying another striker is concerned, good ones don't grow on trees. Sign one in January that you don't rate much and you're saddled for the contract length with extra wages!

No sweat: just 9 wins from our last 13 games and Champions League here we come..

Also, don't agree with the sucker-punch line. The defenders were just as aware to the kick as Adebayor was. Quick free kick or not, he did what he is good at. It made no difference.

Harold #288 I agree with your statement that Mr Martinez may be looking at the future but after you get rid of the deadwood they have to be replaced. Bringing in a higher grade younger player is great for the future but past experience has proven that only 1 youth player out of 8 usually make the first team and you know who, sells them.

To plan for the future, you still must protect the present. The number of occasions I have commented on here I have always said I am willing to give the manager a chance but after one defeat on Sunday reading a number of comments there are a growing number that will not.

My only understanding of Everton's financial position is what I read so, even though I may be one of the Chairman's critics, I may be completely wrong in blaming him for the lack of financial support in January – but I have my doubts.

Regarding loan players, and it seems we are going to have to use them, but we are still going to have to go into the transfer market, and, at the moment it is impossible to predict what or if any money is available in summer.

My belief was, at the beginning of January, Everton were at the crossroads with a new manager who had got the club in a great position and with support was able to break through the mythical glass ceiling. This may still be possible but, without improving the squad, it may be more difficult.

Mirallas Lukaku Deulofeu
Barkley
Barry McCarthy
Baines Distin Jagielka Coleman
Howard

Love it - "I am fed up and angry".

I've over 40 years of supporting the blues so all I can say to you is soak it up. But fuck me, Jimmy, you have got to get with it, your shouting for Vellios when everyone on the terraces was gagging to see Traore.

Just when players like Barkley and Deulofeu were really finding some good form, they got injured. It's been really frustrating because it's been so hard to keep momentum going due to injuries. We must be the unluckiest team in the PL.

I do feel though, Pienaar is a vital cog in our side and should always start if fit. I never once remember Mirallas and Deulofeu starting a game together – it would be interesting to see though.

Can't agree with you there, Nick. Both Distin and Jagielka had their backs to the ball when it was struck and Jagielka, in particular, lost a valuable second or two's reaction time – the difference between possibly putting in a crucial block and not, perhaps:

But it's only a multi-billion pound industry with nothing riding on such trivialities, right?

I was complaining long and loud after we beat Villa, weren't you? We were dreadful in that match and incredibly dull to watch, the fact that we won obviously saves the worst of the negativity but it didn't mask a really poor performance for me.

Why won't we try to score off corners? Or when we dispossess the opposition? These are two of the key times for scoring goals in English football, but Martinez doesn't seem to want to utilise them.

But you are right, Lyndon, Jags had his back turned, in my minds eye from my one watching on MotD, he was closer when Adebayor took it under control.

Still a 'No' on the penalty though.

Certainly, on the basis of these things evening up over the course of a season, had we got that pen, no one could have complained but I know that I would have been livid had it been given to Spurs.

I shouted at the TV in annoyance when we didn't get the penalty, but I'd have been screaming "dive" or something similar if it had been at the other end.

It's the kind of penalty that I hope to get as a fan, no more.

Same thing with the free-kick. Sure, after a bunch of analysis we can say that it's technically against the letter of the law. But if we'd taken a smart quick free-kick like that and had a goal disallowed, we'd have been screaming about it.

Wrong. Before the guys who were injured got injured, we had spent a time building what is known as momentum. Momentum takes a while; you could say it’s akin to "gathering steam".

Once that is lost, through injuries, it then takes time to get to where you where before the injuries. I hope that puts that one to bed.

So, what that means is that, once the said players are back to fitness, there will be a period of time till the "momentum" is back to what it was before the injuries.

Guys – and I mean brilliant gals included on this site – once we have our fantastic players not only match fit, but more importantly "match sharp", then the last 6-7 games of this season will be the real Hollywood Movie of this year’s Premier League.

I believe it’s a movie, sorry film, that we will star in when it comes to the credits rolling at the end.

COYB

Opponents are aware that we will ticka-teck our way into goalscoring positions so they fall back en masse to block every avenue to goal. That is what used to be called a retreating defence and about 30 years ago it was used with success by Spain in a World Cup held in that country.

Sheer weight of defenders numbers make it extremely difficult for ticka-tacky to penetrate while Baines and Coleman do not have the space to round their opponents without being offside. We might expect weaker teams to employ a retreating defence against us, which they did with success, and it was only Lukaku's strength more than his ball skills that decided those games. Without that kind of brutal old-fashioned centre-forward play, our ticka-tacka has no cutting edge.

The other half of my argument speaks for itself with the number of goals conceded to precisely the opposite problem faced by our attackers: long balls, known in these quarters as hoofs, that lead to one-on-ones in our wide-open defence.

The problem is that top sides, viz a viz the RS and Spurs, have latched on to these flaws and now employ retreating defences against us.

What concerns me most of all is Roberto has stated that, come hell or high water, he will not alter his game plan. He stuck to the same philosophy at Wigan and was praised by pundits as being the best football playing side ever to be relegated.

It has been proved that ticka--tacka alone is not the answer... perhaps Lukaku's return or an occasional hoof to Traore's head will make the difference.

I think Clattenburg thought Capoue got some of the ball (it was really hard to judge from the angle of the ball at full speed) as otherwise he should have booked Seamus for diving.

The incident was no different than a fair few we have seen recently and there is actually no requirement for a player to try to ride a challenge, though it is the sporting thing to do.

I thought we made one of the better sides in the league look decidedly ordinary for most of the game (and battered Villa in the second half last week) so I don’t see why people are complaining about anything other than our lack of a cutting edge. Their goal was due to multiple lapses in concentration but also required a pinpoint pass, excellent control, and a top-class strike. Adebayor may be on a hot streak but couldn’t repeat what he did more than once in every ten attempts.

...but when you see it in motion, it's probably not a penalty. As has been said, Coleman's on his way down and from the second angle, I think Capoue gets a toe to the ball first anyway.

On a side note, looks like Chicarito has finally lost patience with OFM after he was overlooked for a starting role again at Fulham and might be looking to leave.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1710784/chicharito-hints-manchester-united-unrest?cc=3436

Hope we we put our hat in the ring for him. The guy is a gem, works hard and I think he would fit in wonderfully with our attacking game.

He'd definitely be getting regular game time here, especially once Lukaku leaves in the summer.

Jimmy Sorheim, you have absolutely no idea of the relative significance of the different forces/influences that went into the decision-making and circumstances that shaped the last window at The Old Lady. Let me reiterate: none. You, therefore, cannot heap blame on Bobby as your uninformed mind does here. He was an important voice in exchanges involving other important voices and perspectives and priorities.

I personally suspect you actually know the same as the rest of us (fuck all) about the reason we didn't spend cash in this window, but you have the option to explain why anybody should think any differently. I cannot for the life of me understand why money was not spent, in what was I personally believe our best chance to finish 4th. You can be certain that the Shite, Manure and Spurs will be stronger next season, only making it more difficult. This season looks as though it will fizzle out into a scrap for 6th, meaning we have spent around £25 million and achieved... the same as last season. I am personally disappointed with that.

Despite this, people continue to post all this rubbish about knowing the reasons why we didn’t buy etc.

Do you think Roberto’s just a liar?

Get real and give Roberto and the team some support instead of bitching and moaning all the time.

Okay... now that you have read #350 again, you might actually notice that I do not claim to know more than anyone else. That is not written, it's not assumed, it's neither implicit or explicit. I tell people what to think in exactly the same manner that you do in post-after-post-after-post-after-post: this is how I see it, this is what I imagine to be the case, I disagree with you (funny how in the hands of those in Brierly/Entwhistle land and Walling-world that becomes 'you won't let us speak', 'stop telling us what to think' etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum ....... yawn.

I had the sheer naked bossy temerity to point out that Sorheim is incorrect to blame Bobby alone for the last window – if indeed blame needs to be apportioned – for the simple reason as I wrote 'He was an important voice in exchanges involving other important voices and perspectives and priorities'.

Burn me! Throw the book at the dictatorial bastard! String Ferry up by his jackboots!

You seriously think that there is something wrong in pointing that out, Mr Brierly? Is Bobby really on his tod when it comes to these window wheelings and dealings? A chairman, whoever on the board wants to pipe up, the gaffer, (the bank!), perhaps even one or two senior players, and I'm sure there maybe more but I can't be arsed quite frankly to count 'em off as the point is so blind bleedingly obvious.

I personally do not believe that the only option available in January was to loan an injured player, and I think we have suffered results wise on the gamble of letting Jelavic go. Vellios has also not had a chance to develop this season as Martinez clearly doesn't fancy him. Of course it would be pointless just throwing him in now, but had he had some game time this season he could be doing a job for us, but instead we are playing Naismith upfront. I don't see how a few Vellios cameos when we are in front and comfortable could harm?

That does not mean we have to go to extremes here, I still think RM is the best option for our club and in general has done a decent job in his first season, but I don't think it is detrimental to also point out the things that have not worked out so well.

Ask Okle Gunnar Solskjaer and the Cardiff board how hard it is. They frantically searched the football world without success and ended up with Kenwyne Jones. Right up to the last minute, they tried to get McCormack away from Leeds but to no avail. They were on Mission Impossible and it will cost them dearly.

And I think the other major reason was that, come the summer, he may have to replace all of his loan players, and he will need all the money that's in the kitty to do that. Either in securing Barry's service for next year, which won't be cheap and there may be other clubs interested in him, plus looks like Lukaku will be off and trying to buy quality strikers will be an expensive job. So any money spent in January would diminish his pot for the summer.

Brian. Yes, you could be right.