Two more points thrown away

Obviously missing young Ross.

(1) Distin after the shite performance last week;

(2) Why is Stones not playing?

(3) Why is Barry playing after the shite performance last week?

(4) Why is Besic not starting?

(5) Why is Atsu not starting and Pienaar is? Pienaar was shocking in the 2nd half last week although much better in the 1st half;

(6) Team lacks pace completely.

Utterly unbelievable!!!

It’s down to 2 Ds — Defence and Decisions.... And a third: Distin. Distin has to be – fourth D – dropped. Shite last week... to blame for both goals today.

But, boy oh boy, my real wrath is reserved for Martinez and his decisions this week and last week. Bringing on Osman was criminal; bringing on McGeady not Besic or Atsu was criminal; bringing on Atsu not Besic at 2-1 was criminal; not taking Osman off was criminal.

I’m sorry and my knee is not jerking, but Martinez’s decisions and subbing have left a lot to be desired these two games. In my opinion, his decisions and his defence – he picked Jags and Distin to start – have cost us 4 points.

Osman must never ever start for us or come on in the first half. We have to break up that central defence partnership. We must start Besic.

Gutted.

Thanks Bobby, thanks very feccking much. Talk your way out of that.

Said to my son prior to the first goal that we were out on our feet. Particularly McCarthy who had previously been everywhere. And then it was just a lazy tired effort by Seamus and McCarthy against Cazorla for the first. The second was almost inevitable.

Don't disagree with the initial selection at all. Some very good performances amongst it. The weakest probably coming from the one player we have little choice but to play. I guess the Pienaar injury kind of forced Martinez's hand a bit and maybe he wanted to hold a sub in case of injury... but we were crying out for some energy in that last 20. Really should have carried on the way we were going. Giving Arsenal so much possession killed us.

Gutted.

Martinez and his coaches need to tell our defenders to start defending again. There's no point in teaching them how to play out from the back if they can't fuckin' defend.

Atsu instead of Besic? See the game out, Bobby, and stop fucking about.

I'm starting to think RM believes he is untouchable

We failed to kill a game yet again and it's going to all add up and cost us.

Unless we learn how to defend and bring another forward in we are in for a rough old season.

I just cannot understand this terrible defensive mentality RM has suddenly got. The players are not fully fit and seem utterly clueless in possession.

We will be lucky to finish top 8 playing like this... ffs.

What a disappointing first two weeks. We have left four points out on the field.

Typical fucking Everton.

And what do we do? I can begin to see some serious flaws in the Martinez approach, philosophy or way of doing things here.

Going forward, I think we have to look at Stones at CB just because he helps us keep the ball so well to see games out from the central position.

What is the deal with Besic? Played a good deal of pre-season but nothing so far in the serious stuff.

Jags and Distin are questionable at the best of times and it doesn't surprise me one bit that we had out best run last year while stones was at the back. Jags is a great last ditch defender but lacks composure which is what we needed after that 1st goal. You just knew that the second was coming! Like somebody else posted, Distin only gets in simply because he is bigger and faster than the others.

It's same old Everton unfortunately. Poor second half performance to throw away yet another two points.

Oh and btw not that it had anything to do with the result but Tim Howard is the worst kicker of a ball I have ever and will ever see! Truly pathetic for a professional!

Does anyone remember the crap football we put with prior to Martinez taking over? Does anyone remember the embarrassing games against Arsenal we have had to put up with in previous years? Now we are unhappy that we could only manage a draw!

Don't get me wrong – I hate the fact we have dropped points and it does feel like a loss but we have a great manager and we will be challenging for top 4 again.

The best form of defence is attack. I heard some boos at the end of the game, and rightly so. I know it's only the 2nd game of the season, but it was the 2nd half performance that justified the fans response. Shafted my Bank Hol weekend. I'm fuming at the moment. Need to kick the cat, if I had one. Not holding out much hope for next weekend !!!!

But got to move on... it's a long season ahead!

We can top the table if games end after 45 minutes – which shows we have some old legs and no strength in depth. If we don't strengthen significantly by the end of the window, we can only dream of our last season position. IMO, we'll finish 8th. To get to the league of the big boys, we need an owner with much deeper pockets .

Just cast your minds back three seasons ago, just remember these guys were playing us off the park for fun. Our team is moving forward faster and improving more than any other in the Premier League. For me to be an Evertonian is an exciting time plus a managerial change... think how many times that's buggered teams up.

Let's enjoy the moment; we're playing well, creating chances, and Champions League — you can keep it!! At least for two more seasons — we just wouldn't cope at the moment...

I don’t put much blame on Distin because he was the wrong side of Giroud but Jagielka should’ve been able to get to that ball.

Wakey wakey, Phil, time to stop trying to be the joker of the pack along with Osman and sort your game out.

I didn’t think Mirallas had a good game, he tried to many tricks which mostly didin’t come off and although he scored a cracking goal, I don’t think Seamus was up to his usual standard.

It seems to me that Ossie, was really poor today, hardly any of his passes came of, he was easily knocked off the ball and was usually left floundering when Arsenal went forward around his watch.

For the last 20 minutes Arsenal were pressing forward and it looked like several of our players were knackered.

I don’t know if it’s Martinez’s philosophy so much as you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

Jagielka is extremely suspect at the back and his distribution is poor and both him and Distin are prone to make mistakes that quite often result in us giving a goal away.

I thought for the first hour we generally coped with poor clearances and soft passes but, as the game wore on, it looked a massive gap in midfield that I thought Ossie was supposed to fill but he didn’t. I’m not sure that he can, he’s been a good servant to the club but we ought not to be depending on him... even as a sub.

The trouble is in defence that we are likely to see Jagielka and Distin as the first picks. Duffy and Stones are not yet experienced enough to form a first selection defensive partnership.

It looked to me that James McCarthy was goosed with about twenty minutes to go and then their midfield had a free ride.

It was a shame really, as even though we didn’t all play well, we done Arsenal in the first half but, if we begin to panic when two goals up, then the quicker we bring Besic into the side to sub for Barry, then we’re going to continually face these last-20-minute sieges.

Frustrating? Bloody right it was... but to come away really disappointed means to me that we are progressing but we really need a couple of top quality centre backs...

Same excuse as last week, we ran out of legs, well what's pre-season for, absolute joke.

Hanging on for far too long, subs didn't help. Martinez got it badly wrong today and should admit so.

We'll get battered next week if we play like that again in the second half.

Poor tactics and that is down to RM.

Being disappointed is a sign of how far we have come; to now be satisfied with less than we could get is a betrayal of the effort that has been put in.

The manager has a big input and I think his main substitution should have been made with 20 minutes to go in an effort to improve our influence in the middle of the park.

If Buzz and Jags could be said to be solely to blame for either goal then I could understand why people are calling for Stones and Duffy (okay, no I don't understand why Duffy could be anyone's preference). As it was, no-one can say if Stones had started those goals wouldn't have been scored. Distin is about the last of our defenders you would expect to be out-muscled by Giroud.

But Osman is done. Great servant and all. No doubt of that. Hopefully the next 5-10 games will see him eased out.

Nearly all supporters writing about Osman will state that he is a good player but for only 50min at the most yet he left him on for practily the full game.We all complained about pre-season games yet Besic plays in the majority of them gets praised by the manager and only sits on the bench.

I hope that Mr Martinez starts to get a ruthless streak in him and starts to play players on their present performances and not their past..with 4 pts dropped and the present team struggling to play for 90+ min something has to change.

On the upside, for the second season running we've showed we can more than live with a good Arsenal side which beats getting spanked by them year on year. Probably a fair but ultimately very disappointing result from what was, bar a couple of sloppy goals, a solid performance.

As for Naismith, he might not be a pin-up star but he gives everything and comes up with the goods more often than he should, unlike Mirallas who is nowhere near as good as he looks.

If we are going to put teams to bed, Mirallas needs to step up and contribute but he continues to deliver far less than he promises, unlike Naismith who is the polar opposite.

I have said on many occasions that we need defenders before the window closes. It's no use scoring goals through hard graft and guile at one end, if you are going to easily concede them at the other.

A quickly thrown together pre-season hasn't prepared the players for fitness or tactics. Hopefully another few weeks training will remedy some of these issues; if not, we could be in for a long season.

Right now, everyone is focused on how leggy we look, but will we be complaining towards the end of season if we look stronger in the run in? Our manager and backroom staff are renowned for their expertise in fitness levels and programmes, so let's give them the benefit of doubt.

Long-term, this match will hurt Arsenal more than it hurt us. The extra effort they gave will bear fruit on Wednesday in Champions League. Giroud has already been ruled out since the game with possible long term injury.

I am an optimist and I make no apologies for that, so I will take the positives. We are unbeaten and haven't been behind so far this season. We've scored four good goals and have been unlucky with three of those conceded. Both Leicester ricochets and Ramsey's cross today staying in. We are going to be playing 60-odd games this season, so I'm not going to lose faith after two in our manager or team.

I agree with some other ToffeeWebbers that the substitutions were unusual. The main one for me being Mirallas for Atsu... At that stage of the game we had little upfront outlet once Lukaku went off. I felt the obvious one would have been to take Osman off and consolidate the play in midfield and hold the goal lead for the last 5 minutes or so with the introduction of Besic.

Didn't Bobby want to hurt Osman's feelings by subbing a sub? That was the only explanation I could think of for that decision.

It feels a little like a defeat but if we can get something from the Chelsea game and bring in a striker before transfer deadline. We'll be more or less where we were last season but having played a higher level of opposition in Arsenal and Chelsea. So I'll be happy enough with that.

Martinez will make errors, some very bad errors, along the way but he has the class and the calmness which have historically set us apart from the vulgarians and we must show our own patience as fans. He is constructing a proper team and I am afraid we are going to have to endure more days like this in the process.

Not bring lofty here, I stress, having embarrassed myself by nearly shattering a window when they equalised and having embarrassed my 11-year-old son with atrocious language in front of his mates. We are on the right track and we have two more points than after the first two games in August 84.

There were some plusses in that Barry showed some great passing and at times they had decent ball movement. Naismith had another decent showing as well.

Distan had another shocker and Jags seemed off the pace again as well. Defensively it was very Wigan-esque at times. Stones definitely deserves a run-out next game. Also, Lakaku, except for his set-up of the second goal had a second sluggish game.

Four points dropped so far. Just trying to convince myself its okay since we only had 2 points this time last season.

For me the worst performer was Tim Howard. Instead of cutting out either cross (which should have been easy) he stood off and waited for defenders to beat the attackers, and in both cases that was difficult.

1) fitness. Martinez and his philosophy has benefitted the club. There will be countless better days than this. Nevertheless the failure to do the basics, namely prepare players to be at a peak level of fitness for ninety minutes is not good enough. It is like me as a planning the best meal but forgetting to turn the oven on....

2) set pieces. I am fed up of not threatening. It may be untidy and not pretty but to disregard it is baffling

Moyes too defensive when we needed to attack. Roberto too cavalier when we need to bolster our defending.

I am so fucking mad at that.

Are we blaming pre season for throwing away four points for our poor showing in second half of first two games? Each time it has been a different team attitude wise that has come out for the second half and thrown the game away. It’s not been the subs to blame, it’s almost a different attitude that has caused our blues to sit back and invite them to attack. Why?

We had them going, we were in the ascendency, then we sit back and say "Come at us, see if you can score." and lo and behold they do.

I am not going to be clever and say that we should have had so and so come on in the 63 minute and that would have been it, I despair over the attitude.

Where is the fight? The fact that we are Everton, the fact that we are Scouse and proud, the fact that we don’t just roll over because its Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea etc. If we were beaten by a better team football wise so be it but to ’drop’ points against a more expensive less capable team really grates.

Flying fuck balls.

Sorry but I'm just going to go on about this.

If we the fans took more time off, we would be sacked. I can’t believe we could not see that game out cos our players were fatigued – they should be fresh up for the fight.

It was the first home game. We were the better team and I know the team will recover from this but Chelsea next and, if we lose to them then I feel that recovery time will take a lot longer as the so called smaller teams will say just stay in the game and later well score the goals.

The constant Arsenal pressure was down to McCarthy and Barry losing control of the midfield in the second half (as they did last week).

Martinez should have acted to reassert control early in second half.

Some players Martinez will never replace. They include McCarthy, Barry, Jagjelka, Baines and Coleman. This is not necessarily right.

Everton are the unfittest I have seen for many a long year, a lot more unfit than they ever were under Moyes or whoever was in charge of their fitness. This is Martinez' fault and he needs to sort it now.

Jagielka and Distin are not commanding enough, the amount of headers we concede and have conceded this last few years is nothing short of alarming.

Arsenal were shite today let's be honest, Howard hardly had a save to make yet as soon as we come under a slight bit of late pressure the defence just like last weekend, cracks.

We cannot deal with crosses into the box, all second half I found myself shouting, bawling "stop the crosses" yet what happens?
Two from the same side in the last six minutes, absolutely gutted to have thrown that away, almost as gutted as when Palace done us at Goodison in April to end our top four hopes.

That's now THREE AT home to Palace, THREE AT home to City and another few today, not to mention last weekend against a limited Leicester side.

We don't have a defender who actually goes to meet the ball from crosses, corners etc that's why it's so disappointing that the same problems that held us back last season will undo all of our good play again this season.

Failure to stamp out such schoolboy errors will mean no improvement this time around.

Liverpool knew lest season that their defence needed strengthening, and have acted.

We need to do the same.

The error of judgement most of us have seen today was the wrong substitution at the wrong time. Romelu Lukaku is supposed to have some sort of injury from before the game, so it was probably necessary for him to come off. It may have been a gamble not to have any subs left with 15-20 minutes to go, but I think it is one he should have taken.

Michael (67) - you obviously missed all the times he provided an outlet and often passed it on to a team-mate. Not impressed with him getting into the box when Barry lofted the ball in? Had the ball been a little less lofted he would have been the one heading for goal. Guess those things don't count.

Osman is good for 60 mins nowadays, tops. I think I saw him touch the ball once in the last half hour, he couldn't have been more out the game if he had been sitting next to me watching it.

We needed to bring on someone to stem the tide of Arsenal attacks and shut up shop. We have Besic and Stones on the bench and what do we get, McGeady and Atsu. Seamus is just back from injury and tired, needs some help, what does he get? The two least most defensive players in the squad!

We have learnt nothing from Leicester. The ability to 'Park The Bus' is something Champion's League teams take for granted, we need to learn it quickly or we are not going to trouble the top 4.

Fitness levels looked poor today, much worse than Arsenal and they played mid-week.

On a plus note, Naismith was awesome today.

With half an hour to go I lost count of how many times the defence hoofed the ball upfield instead of keeping possession. Sitting so deep and constantly giving the ball back to the oppo, it was just a matter of time before they scored and you always knew that if they got one they'd get another. Had there been another 5 mins we would have lost.

Jags and Distin have been great in the past but we have to drop one of them and get Stones in. We need a CB with composure who can keep posession instead of lumping it up the pitch. I'd probably drop Jags but given RM made him captain, it will likely be Distin (if any of them are dropped).

Disappointed but not surprised with the defending in the last half an hour. Besic should have come in to give fresh legs in the middle in the final 15 mins.

4 points dropped already and looking like max 3 points from the first 3 games. Thats relegation form not top 4!

Absolutely shocking result, even worse than last week. This team reminds me of Martinez's Wigan – good going forward and absolute shite defensively. I could possibly understand Arsenal getting the goals if they'd packed our penalty area but on both occasions we had more than enough bodies in the area while they only had one.

We really need to sort it out fast or all the good work of last season will be worth nothing.

Can't believe I'm watching Film 4's Frightfest season in an attempt to lighten up.

All very disappointing and not using Besic is very strange. Have to echo Brent – what a smashing player Naismith has become for us – well done lad!

I think our manager got the tactics spot on for 45 mins but, for two games running, when the midfield needed bolstering, nothing happened. To make matters worse, he has been too slow and waited for the horse to bolt. 30 mins left and we looked seriously in need of changes.

If the central defenders are a liability then maybe more help in midfield is a must when our backs are against the wall.

Someone was asking on another thread why Kevin Mirallas doesn't score as many goals as he should and I guess you saw why today. I hope bobby learns quickly.

To blame Jags for the 2nd goal is ridiculous, it was unlucky in that the mishit cross went straight to their player and the cross put in was perfect. As Glen Hoddle said, you can't be in the right place every time and if the cross is perfect there's nothing you can do about it.

What does worry me is Roberto's comments that we aren't fully fit yet. Isn't that what pre-season is all about? — ie, bringing the players up to fitness when the league starts.

Anyway I'm not to worried as there were some promising signs today and, if we beat Chelsea next week, I think it will be a decent start to the season.

I also agree with those who point to Jags as an ongoing problem; he just doesn't have the mental hardness and confidence that a successful Premier League captain must have. I wonder about Besic playing in defence for the shortish term, he must be a better option. That's the missing ingredient though: self-belief, and it's the hardest thing of all to create.

RM will in the end be judged on that. I believe he is a less pleasant and more ruthless man than he appears, and will deliver.

Look at the quality of players Wenger could put on as subs. They were always going to up the tempo, they had nothing to lose but to press for all they were worth.

Of course its disappointing to draw after being 2-0 in front for most of the game. Pienaar had to be subbed early, turns out Lukaku was injured, Barkley's crocked.

All the players gave their all, we were getting the better of it when Baines and Coleman were getting forward and Naismith was doing the running of 2 men, his own + Lukaku's. But, as soon as the full backs tired, the game turned in their favour.

What Martinez is short of is about 㿔m so he can replace some of our ageing players: that's the problem. We have 3 or 4 in the squad that are fast approaching the end of their careers and can't be trusted to see out 90 mins.

We just haven't the strength in depth that 'the money clubs' can afford, it's a serious disadvantage so which way you look at it.

Come on, a draw at Leicester and a draw today against a top club like Arsenal isn't a crisis, we're battling against the odds and always will be unless more serious money can be spent.

Utterly shocking. Barkley (Mr wrong decision) is not the answer. And neither is 㿈 million on a piss poor "striker" .

Martinez sounds good, even better than Moyes, but sounding good is not the answer, results are.

They will get better but very frustrating at the moment.

For long periods in the first half we made them look ordinary but we ran out of steam. This is not the first Everton team to suffer second half lapses. Nor is it the first Everton team to experience a slow start to the season. A scoreline from August 2009, EFC 1 Arsenal 6, helps to put tonight's result in its true perspective. We are two games into the new season and unbeaten.

IMO Lukaku suits a quick ball up to him in such a way that he can muscle his way past the last defender for one on one with the goalkeeper or to set up a fellow attacker like he did against USA in the World Cup. That is not Martinez's let's keep ball football. Let's hope Martinez can become more flexible and introduce more incisive play or Lukaku's impact on games will be less significant.

Had it been successful, he would have been hailed as a genius. Instead, it failed miserably and should rightfully be described as an act of football lunacy.

I used to wonder how was it that Wigan, one of the best football playing sides in the PL, was relegated. Last night's debacle provided a clue.

My take for what it’s worth is the squad is not yet at 100% fitness. Before the doom mongers start berating the manager for this, I actually believe it to be deliberate. On the back of a summer World Cup and a season that will include European games, they are not yet peaking. That’s the downside of a smaller squad where you haven’t got two players for every position.

Now the old school will say they only play a game or two every week, players used to play 60+ games a year. Well the game has moved on.

There was enough of encouragement both last week and this to suggest we are going to be just as formidable this year as last.

Keep your nerve, the outlook is positive.

Apologies as your post is one of many today, but I must take umbridge with your condescending and self righteous post. This website acts as a forum for fans to air their views. Many of the critical posts make valid observations about player selection, tactics, and fitness that should be borne in mind when assessing how well we have done versus our potential come the end of the season. It is very early days but us fans should hold Everton managers, players, and directors to account. Nobody else will.

I'm not sure if it's physical or mental fitness that's the problem. Chelsea could overrun us if we continue to be flag in the second half. Like everyone else, I couldn't understand why Besic wasn't bought on to make a midfield wall with McCarthy and Barry as soon as it went 2-1. Sort it out Bobby.

Now you’ve taken your umbridge (sic) enjoy it. As you say it is a forum for expressing opinions. I’ve expressed mine, I don’t see you expressing very much except criticising my post.

And if you truly believe the manager, players and directors are held to account on TW you are truly deluded. Stop knee jerking and give it a month, believe me you will feel a lot better.

Also, I'm sorry to say it, but Jags is past it.

The 2nd goal apart, Lukaku was very poor again and if Mirallas was braver he would surely of scored. The other thing is, don't get me started on McGeady and he surely is not good enough for us and should be shipped off anywhere where they will pay a fee.

Sorry you’ve lost me. I’ve read it a few times, I don’t see the point you are making.

Do you have an opinion on my post or are you just upset I don’t agree with all the negativity that abounds?

It's ok you coming on here and telling us to 'keep our nerve' but it is just a pity that Martinez and his players can't do exactly that from winning positions.

A below average, newly-promoted team managed to come back against us twice last week, thanks to our panicky, comedy defending... and a mediocre Arsenal clawed back a 2-goal deficit thanks to our inability to deal with crosses.

And as for Martinez's substitutions in both games, they have been quite frankly clueless and bereft of any tactical sense whatsoever. In both games it was clear that we were being overrun in midfield as the game drew to a close yet, despite signing Besic, Roberto refuses to bring him on in either game and instead brings on wingers.

For me we are regressing not progressing. You may be happy with the way things have gone but I'm certainly not.

Isn't it true to say; that most of us were expecting a 2 to 3 year transition period and that taken as a whole, we would have settled in advance for last season?

So 14 or so months into a 30-36 month task, we maybe getting part of that transition we only partially got last season.

And that Roberto is making mistakes (who doesn't) and he isn't the best funded Manager in the game (no change there then)

The fact is, well to my mind, that Jags and Distin have been iffy for about 3 seasons and It is only OFM's more defensive mind set (and it's inherited remnants) that have been hiding the fact, this plus time and Injury are now leaving them increasingly exposed. Unless one or hopefully two step up or otherwise materialize, these defensive lapses will not go away cheaply or quickly.

Now I am not advocating, given I still have my MOB uniform all pressed and clean in the back of the wardrobe, a return to KITAP1, all I ever thought we needed, to get the best out of Moyes's self proclaimed best squad for 20+ years, was a slight change in emphasis from playing not to lose... you've got your best squad, well let them play a bit ffs

We have a dodgy pair of CBs, so give em a bit more help... you may want to play it out from the back, but sometimes you have to defend from the front...

Yeah, I know Pienaar got injured and Lukaku was not 100%... for whatever reason we did it, last week and this. If there is one team you don't give up space and the ball against it is Arsenal, who for all their failings north of the Watford Gap WILL pas you to death... but only if you let them.

Subs Bobby, Subs, Besic Bobby, Besic, what's he got to do to get on and have a go? Stop being 'kin naive bordering on inflexible, I can't be arsed with Inflexible, I had 11 years of that with the last one.

There I am ranting on like any other knee-jerk wallah when my point was transition, but that's what happens when you support Everton, it really does your crust in to see how near we are, yet still manage to snatch another draw from the teeth of victory.

It's the hope that kills you... but if you can't take a joke then you shouldn't've joined.

Like many of you, I saw that goal coming the second Giroud had his first touch. We're utterly abysmal in thee air, but at least we can outpass them right?

Fuck no!! We stopped playing football at the 60th minute, and it's not because we ran out of gas, it's because we don't have a leader within our ranks! <>P>What exactly does Jags bring into our team? Forget about Ossie, we all know it's his last season... Oh wait, no, I said that least season. Ossie and Pienaar, both, can't last a full game, let alone a whole half, without making us look feeble.

Tim Howard, evidently, had no control of his defenders. He needs to be more vocal and demanding. Scratch that, he needs to fucking grow a pair and stop camping inside his goal-line. If he had any anticipation whatsoever, he would have been able to come out and collect both those crosses. What does he do instead? Hide behind his impotent defenders.

Lukaku, in the first half, passed back to our defenders every single time he got the ball at his feet (except for that goal which was offside). 2nd half, he was gagging for oxygen, and he was the only player who didn't come back and defend. Didn't do much with the ball in the 2nd half either as he was too busy gasping for air. The goal Coleman scored would have been his if he had shown a little more determination.

Barry was instrumental in everything we did in the first half, did he change his boots at half-time? McCarthy and Baines put in a good 90-minute shift. Mirallas was crap, missed a 1 v 1, had no confidence in him at all.

Going back to what I said earlier, we don't have a leader in our starting XI. Having one of our worst performers as captain just dampens the situation. We need someone who gets the best out of our players on that pitch, someone who leads by example, someone who's vocal and confident, someone who yells at our players for getting lazy or complacent, like what Coleman did to Lukaku when he didn't track back. Is Ron Vlaar for sale??!!

This paragraph is dedicated to Naismith, as he was the only player with that gung ho attitude who wanted those 3 points. He may not be the quickest or the most skilled, but he's got that drive that most of our other players are lacking!

There was a whole discussion about 110% and 100% this past week. Some of our players didn't even give that 60% while Naismith gave that 110%, in the sense that he over-achieved for his standards. Two games running now, and he has hit the deck hard. Hats off to you, lad, you keep leaving me awe-struck by your performances compared to your comrades.

Oh Martinez, Martinez, Martinez... where do I begin? Your shrewdness is vanishing all so quickly. Were you not watching the Leicester game last week? Is that why it took you forever to make subs in today's game and that game? You were completely ignorant to the fact that you thought you could sit back and protect a lead by bringing on not-so-effective subs.

Yes, I like the philosophy of football that you've brought and that's why we're better at chasing games. The defending, however, is just dreadful. This season, It seems like you shit your pants every time you have to hold on to a lead. It's not even the defending that's unbearable, it's the fact that our whole team (except for one or two) just switches off when we have a "protectable lead".

One last thing, if you're going to park the bus for 45 minutes, at least know how to do it right. If you can't, and we all have figured out that you really cant, don't sit back and beg for them to score on us. Change your captain too, a leader leads the team, and Jagielka doesn't fit that title. Get someone who has authority of himself and others, Jagielka lacks both.

Firstly, last week, Roberto left his subs too late which give our opponents the hope they could turn a defeat into a draw as we were clearly tiring. Now, this week, Roberto got his subs completely wrong. Seamus was being left to deal with two or even three Arsenal players all 2nd half and decided to bring on the Premier LeagueÂ’s laziest player in front of him. Instead of bringing on McGeady, we should have brought on Stones at right-back and left Seamus in front of him as a right midfielder.

Also, instead of Atsu (who didnÂ’t touch the ball) we should have brought on Besic to see out the game. This is so frustrating as Roberto had clearly won the tactical battle hands down before giving it away.

We can look at individual faults leading to the goals but, for me, Roberto clearly made the wrong choices in the last 15 mins.

Also, I do not like to slate our players but can anybody tell me why McGeady is so lazy and lacks the simplest ability that can be asked of a pro footballer of passing a few yards to a team mate? He has had a decent pre-season and no international commitments; itÂ’s becoming clear he does not have what it takes to cut the mustard in this league.

I agree fully with both of you, these high priests views (aka get some fucking perspective; keep the faith) does nothing but aggravate the frustration of many on here who had to witness that last 30 minutes yesterday.

Many are pissed for sure, I say let them express that frustration on this wonderful site which is TW.

ps: Zahir, nice post....

For the second game in a row, we wilted after the hour and Martinez didn't notice or act until they had gathered momentum.

Watching Everton is like watching Andy Murray a few years ago; sublime, all-conquering followed by an alarming lack of energy.

Martinez got the tactics spot-on yesterday. His tactical skill was nullified by his team's lack of fitness and preparation.

I hope someone at the club kicks his arse next summer and makes sure the pre-season doesn't start with the first league game.

We'll be fine when we're fit, but whenever that is, it'll be late.

I would normally make it a point of principle not to reply to any post containing ’lol’ but given you want to make it personal.

I certainly would not wish to stifle debate. You or anyone who wants to think the wheels are falling off after two draws are completely entitled to vent frustration. In the same way, I can say there is a huge over-reaction going on. If you find that aggravating, well so be it.

I am disappointed we dropped four points as much as anyone, but my view (not based on anything other than observation and gut feel) is that the team are still not fully at peak fitness but that Roberto is playing the longer game. I may be wrong, I’m no high priest... although I was head altar boy for a while.

Besic for Pienaar... easily could have backfired had Besic been sent off. Osman was the right call really at that time in the match, but ultimately would come back and bite us.

Besic needs an opportunity to show what he can do... Mirallas for me looked off the pace.

Coleman looked rusty first half but scored an excellent goal. Distin and Jags made all the right moves for 80 minutes and we looked sure to get 3 points before then.

Would changing shape at 80 mins have been better, shoring things up with Besic or adding Stones instead of Atsu? Perhaps... but we'd have not had the outlet shown by Lukaku and then McGeady. It had worked, but then think back to the frustration of Moyes's 'job done' with a goal advantage at 80 minutes.

Very, very disappointed but I don't think it's the fault of individual players. We perhaps could look at not going toe-to-toe all the way when we could tie things up, slow it down and do all the things Naismith did in the second half... he was excellent (other than the blazing over).

Solution: get a new defence! Distin, Jags, and Baines are all rubbish (Baines proved it at the World Cup).

Just one more very small point: Why have a proven goalscorer and NOT pass the ball to him? Finally, Lukaku should be in the centre most of the game. Arsenal had Giroud in the box seven or eight times – he scored!!!! Do you get it, Bobby? Centre Forward in the CENTER.

Mirallas is a shithouse, pure and simple.

Ossie was the right call at the time, as I imagine the way the ref was acting, Martinez would have been worried about a red card for Besic.

Where was all this 'possession' football?? We couldn't keep hold of it!!!

Thanks, Tahir.

Mirallas a shithouse? Please explain as I fail to see how that is either pure or simple.

We need leaders on and off the pitch. I wish Robbie could take some of the passion used by TW blues, and feed it into himself! and some of our "so-called" better players.

Difficult to take! People who stay on the fence about the result (the way we just bottled the last 30 mins) – you could have never played the game!

But than I see Coleman, Baines and Naismith, these boys really put their all in, 110% and are completely gutted. As a supporter, we should be proud. All the players that have signed long term contracts have done so because they love the club and what it stands for. We may have had a couple of rusty games but how many clubs have a more united front with fans, players and staff in it together? None.

We are Everton FC and we are the best football club the world has ever seen! Just remember who does Rooney's son support?

Also you forgot to have a go at Chris @120; and for the record the reactions that I refer to are not kneejerk actually; systemic and all that...read between the lines mate.

Looking at Man Utd yesterday, if they are favourites for the 4th position, we should be encouraged. Us, Spurs and our neighbours for the battle for 4th.

Welcome aboard. Please don't feel like you've been ignored. You just picked a bad time to say hello. Hopefully the mood will improve from now on.