Defensive Frailties Leave Martinez Searching for Answers

What a pity they are too young to replace our ageing defence. :-)

I know Jags and Distin have been poor this season and probably deserve the stick they are getting. However, we had the 3rd best defensive record last season with the same players, so hopefully Roberto can get them and the defence back to the way they were or even better.

To say Roberto's bubble has burst, as some are saying, and that this is his true self, is utterly ridiculous, though these may possibly be just knee-jerk reactions to this defeat.

The criticism levelled at Distin and Jags in other posts misses the point. It is not simply that one of the best centre-back pairings in last season’s Premier League have suddenly deteriorated overnight.

Too often in the first half, the ball came back immediately from our attacks with pacey Chelsea players slicing through our midfield, putting constant pressure on our back four.

The mental attitude also has to be questioned. Goals were given away last season through lack of awareness and concentration. The same problem in the first 3 minutes cost us this game. We did not react to the Chelsea tactic of the instant harassment of our ball-playing back players. It threw us completely.

Maybe all the things that can go wrong in a football match have happened in this one game. We did produce some superb attacking moves and goals and Eto’o looked sharp.

We now have some time to sort out tactics, formations and minor injuries and, hopefully, draft in a couple of more players.

I'd have put one of Gibson or Besic in when Barry's legs had gone as it was the same issue in the previous 2 games. I don't understand how Martinez didn't see his defensive mids were dead on their feet and he had 3 central midfielders (albeit not like for like) on the bench.

This doesn't excuse Distin, Jags, Howard and Baines but as Others have alluded, if the defence has lost confidence AND hasn't got any protection then you're asking for trouble.

Double defensive drills for the defensive mids, full backs and centre backs, bring in Weir again if need be and praise Naismith, Eto'o, Mirallas and to a lesser extent McGeedy (threaded 2 fantastic through balls but does give the ball away) and go again in 2 weeks.

I'd also start Eto'o as Lukaku has seemed better at falling over, mis-controlling and generally being more of a cart horse than Anichebe so far this season so give him a rest, get his foot right, fitness up and hopefully come off the bench with a point to prove. Coybs

For me this was criminal as against the lesser sides you may get away with it but against teams with the likes of Fabregas in it you will be punished all day long. Pretty much every goal came from us not pressing the ball and allowing them to pick out one of their own within what should be the tight confines of the 18 yard box or thereabouts.

When we picked up the ball 40 yards from goal we were closed down on every occasion and had to work an opening to get our goals. I feel most of theirs yesterday were down to a mixture of showing the opposition too much respect, naivety and crucially poor decision making in not pressing the ball and man in the final third.

This has gone on all season (albeit only 3 games in) and during pre-season to and for me was the biggest disappointment of yesterday as I felt we were the major contributors to our own downfall. A defensive coach needs to be found to drill this back into not just the defenders but the team as a whole cos as the old sating goes you 'defend from the front'. Looking at Costa yesterday running down our defenders on most if not all occasions as well as the Chelsea team as a whole is something we should be doing and should be expected as a given otherwise when the Man City's and other free flowing teams play us they will punish us maybe not to the tune of yesterday but punish us to the point of nil points.

I was fuming yesterday with both our centre backs mainly Jags who for me needs dropping and replacing with Stones as he IMO has become a bit of a liability not just this season but the last 3rd of last season too. The main reason I was fuming yesterday though was the reluctance as I said previously to not close and press such gifted opponents. This has to change along with one or possibly both centre backs being rested/dropped to allow Stones and hopefully fingers crossed another quality CB to come in and shore up what was the 3rd best defence in the league last year as this cant go on.

I do hope RM has one last gem to spring on us before the transfer deadline is up and it HAS TO BE ANOTHER CENTRE BACK. Who that is god only knows but to date he hasnt let us down in the most when it has come to transfers so I will leave him to weave his magic and hope beyond hope we have a new CB at the club come Tuesday morning.

P.s Besic needs a slap for that flick yesterday and I hope he learns quickly from it ! I do know he will never forget it being his debut first touch in a blue shirt at Goodison and costing us a goal. Stick to the simple stuff lad and play your game as you aint Lionel Messi so don't try playing like him !!

First thing to say is that this was a nutty result; even more weird when you look at the stats; 62/38% possession 17/12 shots in our favour, doesnÂ’t make it the drubbing that it looks on paper, and IÂ’ve witnessed many a game at Goodison that if it would have been a boxing match it would have stopped in the first half-and this one doesnÂ’t even come close to that.

It reminded me of a game v Norwich some years ago which we lost 5-1 despite us have having all the possession with Efan Ekoku scoring 4 (I think), which prompted the headlines, Â’ItÂ’s Efan hell for EvertonÂ’

But back to yesterday; this is the same defence that have been together for some years and that kept 15 clean sheets last season, and Martinez needs to decide whether this is a temporary blip or major surgery or a re-think of tactics is needed.

IMO, the most important part of the 4-2-3-1 is the 2 DMs, they are the glue that holds the system together, which allows the full backs to play high up the field and fills in the holes that such an open system produces.

What has alarmed me is the fitness levels with players looking dead on their feet after the 45-50 minute mark-all the more baffling when you realise that because we dominate possession it should be the opposition that are running out of steam.

Martinez wonÂ’t change his philosophy but surely leaking 10 goals in the first 3 games he must get back to basis-Oh for four scrappy 1-0 wins in September.

I want us to play a passing game but that doesnt mean I want to see Jagielka and Distin making 6/7 passes between each other. Seems that players are more worried about their pass completion stats on opta than actually trying to move the ball forward quickly. I didnt see Chelsea constantly passing along their backline, looked to me that they tried to get the ball forward and into our half as quickly as possible.

I think spending practically all our budget on Lukaku was a huge risk and when you compare him to Costa who only cost ٢ million more the gulf in class is enormous. Yes I know Lukaku is only young and hopefully will improve but his first touch is shocking and I have seen milk turn quicker. Eto at 33 looks a steal and while I don't think he will play many 90 minutes he will give us a threat for maybe 40-60 minutes.
Just a mention for Naismith I think he has been our standout performer in all 3 games and to think the stick the lad got when he first came despite him not being fully fit speaks volumes for the lad.
Obviously 10 goals in 3 games tells you were the problem lies, I also think McCarthy has been woeful in all the games this season, funny that we are playing 2 supposedly defensive midfield players who rarely venture into the opponents half yet are so porous in defense.

Naismith is turning out to be a gem up top, a real finisher and almost an automatic choice at this stage.

Still early days and if the fault lines can be ironed out we can be a match for most if not all the teams in the top half of the league. Chelsea look well placed to win the league this season.

No I just can't see anything in those goals that could be blamed on how Jags and Distin are arguably inept at passing the ball out from defence. It might be a personal preference for some that the CB's hump the ball forward at the earliest opportunity but playing it around at the back shouldn't be given as a reason for conceding six goals when it was purely poor defending by individuals or the team as a whole that was responsible for it.

I wasnt saying that any of the goals conceded was a result of Jags and Distins inter passing, what I was trying to point out was neither seems comfortable on the ball and there seems to be a reluctance from either to move the ball quickly out of defence. And no I don't mean hoof it up field I mean move it quickly to the more natural footballers in midfield.

Also seems like a 25-30 yard pass from the back has become redundant in the players minds since RM has taken charge. There are many ways to score a goal and sometimes it need not entail making 30 passes before you score.

I'll get slated for this, maybe, but despite Besic's boob y'day, a threesome of him along with By and My might have given us a stronger defensive mid, but / and with the potential to springboard into attack - Besic has very quick feet and an eye for a long pass with the ability to execute it.

Jamie @19, I feel your pain. & maybe just to give a view on setting up defense; have a look at our very high defensive line for the first Chelski goal...an argument for excusing Jags' playing Costa onside could be made...

We've scored 7 goals, 5 of them in the first half.

We've conceded 10 goals, 7 of them in the second half, of which 6 have come in the last quarter of an hour.

I suppose this may be too simplistic as an analysis or maybe a coincidence, but it doesn't look or feel that way, when you see players seemingly running out of steam after about 70 minutes, which looks a bit like sitting back like the old days.

Maybe it's deliberate, with RM aiming to reach a peak to coincide with the heavy workload about to hit us over the next few months. I suppose time will tell but it's bloody frustrating so far, that's for sure.

Crucially at the back it seems that both Jags (due to his injury) and Distin (due to age) have lost a yard or two of pace and as such just look a little slow to react. I think Lyndon is right that Mccarthy and Barry in particular have to take a share of the blame in terms of not providing enough protection.

Howard as well looks out of sorts, slow and ponderous, and clearly mentally not right, no matter what Costa said he shouldn't have tried to throttle and head butt their players, what the hell does he think he's doing.

The negatives done , the positives - what a great attacking performance, Mirallas, Naismith, McGeady, Coleman all firing on all cylinders and for first 75 mins McCarthy was in the same bracket till he ran out of gas. Baines needs Pienaar, he's only half the player without him, its the combination of the two of them which makes Baines stands out as something special.

Besic was doing drag backs, back heels all through pre-season and you cant get away with that at the top level. For the guy to shine fully which he can he needs to cut out the tricks.

The failure to close down quickly was very costly. Stand off top players and they murder you.

A few other observations - Howard made some good saves and shoreline could have been at least two more. One from Costa when he saved with his feet was excellent and a second when he dropped sharply into a shot that was close to him was also from the top drawer. A few other player has good games - Naismith, Mirallas and Coleman in the first half when he looked very dangerous and defended well. Besic made a horrendous error but then tried hard to atone in the final few minutes - he didn’t hide which he could easily have done. Finally, Eto’o looked a class act (and I write as a sceptic when he signed) and hopefully he’ll help Lukaku who seems to be carrying the price tag heavily.

All in all. An entertaining game for a neutral but one of the most depressing matches I’ve seen at Goodison for a considerable time - the first two goals were really pathetic, the fourth which was directly below our line of vision allowed us to watch a line of unmarked Chelski players about 2 metres behind the Everton line leave before the last player took a shot. Like something from Subbuteo.

Though some on here have inexplicably described him as a "shitehouse", there is little doubting that he is very much a big game player. Sure, he can be found wanting on occasion but we are so much the stronger for having him in the team than not.

The 3rd goal was a case of three lads without a clue. Coleman, McCarthy and McGready. With the quick Hazard hemmed in on the touchline, the quick Coleman withdrew. The very quick McGready stood still three yards away with his hands in his pockets. This left the slow McCarthy with the quick Hazard. No contest.