Steven Pienaar for example has 1 goal this season. 1 goal from 23 games. And the others aren’t much better. Ross Barkley (4), Gerard Deulofeu (3), Leon Osman (2), James McCarthy (0), Gareth Barry (3) and even Kevin Mirallas only has 6 goals.

The midfielders need to start scoring more goals.

Next Saturday morning at 12.45 is crunch time. Yes, we have 5th place to play for but we are a club who has a history of winning things. If we are still in the FA Cup this day week we will go on to win it!

West Ham parked the bus and hoped for goals from set plays, particularly from the ever-dangerous Nolan. It almost worked a few times, but the defence (and defensive midfield players) generally did a good job. Stones made a few mistakes (as he tends to), but he's learning and it's a sign of the confidence the manager has in him to start ahead of other alternatives.

So is it the players or the style of play that is to blame, despite camping out for large parts of the game we created very few chances and 2 fell to Pienaar and 1 to Naismith and apart from the goal I think that was it. We seem to be great up to the penalty area then seem to run out of ideas, our main threat is Baines and Pienaar combing on the left for Baines to try and slide in a pass for someone to score which he did brilliantly for the goal. But we seem to lack players who want to get in the box and score they all seem to want to play outside the box for some reason.

I think you have to give credit though to opposing managers in games. Put yourselves in their shoes, nowadays they can watch tapes of our past performances all day long if they want to.

If they get everyone behind the ball + specifically target your playmakers, you're going to struggle!

The only club ahead of us that has kept this formation is Arsenal who are now beginning to struggle with it too...

there is too much emphasise on possession and over passing and not enough on direct attacking.

I would like to see them play 4312.

My theory, is that Martinez was badly stung by suggestions that he was a cavalry charge merchant whose teams couldn't defend after his Wigan side were relegated and he is now resolutely determined to prove otherwise. But at what cost? Nobody leaves their post, we don't get players into advanced positions – not in numbers anyway... we are losing sight of the objective of the game. It's about trying to score goals, entertaining the crowd.

Martinez needs to rediscover the adventurous spirit which landed him the job in the first place. This negative possession may please the statos, but it's no substitute for entertainment.

Previously we just wanted to win now we want to win in style, however, that was hardly the case in the recent past when winning was all that mattered. I want Everton to win with style but first and foremost win, as it by winning matches that confidence is built and then the players can express themselves fully. Ever thought that the reason that the team is a little apprehensive is due to the over-reaction by some fans to the derby debacle and they have gone into their shell a little like they were in the early part of the season?

Patience was needed at the beginning of the season and it is even more important now; fans have to find a way of supporting the team in every game rather than sitting tight-lipped waiting for something to happen out on the pitch. It's really easy to support the team when they are winning 2 and 3 goals without reply, even easier to do so when they are scoring 4 and 5, but the real supporters get behind the team when the game is tight and the players need a lift. We used to have that sort of fan in abundance at Goodison, we seem to have a few less this season.

Of the fine squad he inherited, some will suit him, some will not. They each play the game in their own particular way and he has been forced to utilise their talents as best he can. Some areas are strong, some need improvement. Gradually, with much coaching and one or two more windows, he will strengthen weak areas and eventually field a side which will challenge for honours.

That has always been my belief and, despite the lack of funds, I'm sticking with it.

Chelsea may not play entertaining football but, despite their manager clearly not fancying some of the expensive strikers he has inherited, they have still scored considerably more goals than we have. That's because they would rather win games than boast about their possession stats; they create more chances than we do and when they do attack they get forward in far greater numbers than we do.

The atmosphere at a football stadium is a two-way responsibility, The Goodison faithful will always make the first move by turning up but, if the players want a noisey crowd, they have to give them something to shout about. For a large part of the season, Everton have simply failed to do that and that is the reason why The Old Lady has been about as intimidating as a trip to the library.

In my time, I have seen Goodison react angrily to many things – Catterick selling Bally, Bingham and Lee getting rained upon by cushions for serving up uninspiring shite, The leaflets telling Kendall 30,000 stay-away fans can't be all wrong... THAT night when Moyes sent defenders on against Spurs. Evertonians simply don't do happy clapping and when it's wrong they will say so.

Goodison can be the most intimidating ground in the country, It doesn't take much to rouse it's inhabitants, a driving run into the box, a well crafted attack which leads to a great chance, Hell even a big tackle... but the sight of Jagielka, Distin and Howard racking up stats by nervously sending bobbling passes to each other will not do it, nor will the knowledge that two of our midfield players are unlikely to venture into the opponents final third for most of the match.

It costs an arm and a leg to follow a Premier League team these days... Expecting a little risk and excitement in return does not make any of Saturday's crowd bad supporters. Nor does making the players aware that their performance against our closest rivals was totally unacceptable. The team and the manager are not the victims here.

But, as we've been saying for the past 30 years.... "There's always next season.....''

People seem to forget how incredibly hard it is being a Premier League footballer. The OTT salaries they get justify continuous insult it seems. They don't deserve our pity and they are not "victims" but if we want our team to be successful then they need our encouragement, support and tolerance.

This is our club, they are our players and we are their supporters and fans. Working together for a mutual 'goal' is the only way we will succeed. Negative criticism will only ever achieve a negative outcome.

Trusting the achievements of point 1 and getting men forward was going well but as injuries took hold (not unlucky – inevitable) that has dropped off. Then the derby showed is a great hole in our defences that the Chelsea match may have hinted have been improved, and that is going to be important next week.

Now, teams that sit back and just defend is always going to be a problem with our current squad. We have three players back who will improve that but if we want to improve on suffering the last 2 months over again we need more creative goalscorers. I don't get why we can't reach the byeline/corner and cross for headers when nothing else is working but I understand that one problem with that approach is that there is a high chance we will lose possession, knacker our players chasing back, catch players out of position and concede goals (a regular event last season).

Perhaps, when we have the players to cope, that will change... but perhaps not. Working out how to do it is probably as important as getting exceptional players who can shoot from 20-30 yards. Some (most?) of our competitors (despite their enormously expensive squads) resort to getting fouls within shooting distance by fair means or foul – we need to get better at that!

If we don't win, people scream that we need to win... and when we do grab a result other critics come out and give us 4-3-1-2 formations and compare us to other clubs. Go back to coaching the under fives and leave the game to the professionals, ie, the manager and backroom staff.

WE WON. Get on with it.. You can't have it all every week.. WIN WITH STYLE or nothing!

ps: Ref / Linesmen were useless and ruined the game.

Come on you blues... Beat the Goooners!!!

• I enjoy watching us pass it about, it's pleasing on the eye and we are have achieved some good results playing that way;
• We struggle without having someone like Lukaku who can dominate the box;
• I could easily stop the way we play by pushing up on our two centre halves and the central midfielder, normally Barry, to stop Howard rolling the ball out. When he kicks it out it is easy for the opposition to win the header and reduce our threat. Even Allardyce spotted that.

COYB

We hear references to Martinez saying he doesn't want to rely on set pieces as they risk losing possession, but this seems to be a statement of wanting to play 'no risk' football, something no fans want.

You have to take risks, and you have to risk losing possession in order to create things on a regular basis, otherwise football would be really easy.

We've become a team that is fairly one dimensional and easy to prepare for, Martinez needs to evolve his style so that our team can react to different situations. For example, if the opposition push up on our centre backs and Barry, they must have left space in behind them, so we have to go more direct (even though it means playing a higher risk pass - that's where the skill and technique of the players comes in). In general we should try to score more 'transition' goals (ie in two or three passes from winning possession) so that the opposition have to think more about how to play against us.

We're quite good at winning the ball back, and most teams give it away fairly cheaply still in the Premiership, so I don't see why we are so negative and risk-averse.

Our players are better than that lot – different class, some of them – but failure to adapt one's principles on how the game should be played so as to allow for the shortcomings of your own players and the strengths/ style of the opposition can only lead to disappointment.

We play pretty but are no more effective than in previous seasons and the end result will be no better. SEVENTHISH!

We beat the current form team of the Premier League and yet we're still bleating on how predictable we are.

Enjoy the win and hopefully it will give us a lift for Arsenal, especially as we didn't have to use Mirallas.

One point that annoyed me on Saturday was when Carroll went down and the ref stopped the game just as we were near their box... for a leg injury. Everyone knew it wasn't a leg injury but he still pulled it back. I did like the fact that Osman had a go at him about it.

Football is and always will be a mixture and compromise of styles that best suit the individuals in the team - there's no one right way of playing it. But I do agree that patient build-ups are not always conducive to a vibrant atmosphere and that that is one of the reasons why Goodison can be oh so quiet these days. On it's day though, there is no more intimidating ground in the country. We probably just need a slight tweak in the playing style to see that re-appear regularly.

Darren # 478 you make some valid points but for me,a real fan will turn up and encourage his team for the whole game and not sit in his seat as though he were at the theatre waiting to be entertained. I too have come through the Catterick era onwards and have seen some rubbish in my time but I guess it's the chicken and egg thing again- do the players have to inspire the crowd to be noisy or vice versa? Bearing in mind that the players will inevitably struggle to play well in a number of games whilst the crowd has a completely free choice every game and aid say its down to the crowd to get behind our great club and support the team regardless.

Funny game Saturday for me in that we struggled in parts through a lack of craft in the final third but, once we went in front, the team started playing like they knew they would win, so maybe for Everton, scoring the first goal is crucial?

How many games have we won over the years where we've been battered but clung on for dear life and seen out the onslaught? And, how many times this season have we dominated games but not crafted a winner? I know which system I prefer: the one in which we win because we deserve to, and we know why we won. That's the only way a club can become successful – by design rather than luck – and these first tentative steps with players who Roberto would want to replace, have shown me the future of our beloved club.

The correct way is the Everton way, not sitting back and hoping to nick it and, given time and a bit more readies, I'm convinced the club is on the cusp of a new golden era.