Resolute defence beaten at the death

But, flinging Howard straight into action again, after Robles has performed well sends some mixed signals.

I Wonder how Robles himself sees the situation and what it is that has Roberto confident in Howard when we have seen his performances earlier this season..

Hope it proves he knows best.

Why drop a keeper who has kept 3 clean sheets, I think the only game weÂ’ve lost since Howard got injured was the WHU game(may be wrong) and Robles had a blinder in that.

If Howard drops a clanger tonight and we lose I will go fucking mental.

looked solid kept 3 clean sheets. Then its thank you and back on the bench. He must be thinking whats the point.

If he had looked edgy and had a few poor games then fair enough but you cant justify this decision.

Utter shite decision and just when the defence were getting used to who was behind them, in terms of communication ect.

Clearly Martinez doesnÂ’t pick his team on performances anyway, we now know that much.

To make it worse we have to suffer either Naismith or Barkley occupying one of the flanks too..

Another predictable night of a non-event no doubt...yawn.

I think if you asked the defenders, theyÂ’d rather Howard behind them because he talks a little bit more than Robles. DonÂ’t get me wrong - I think Howard is pants, but there isnÂ’t much to choose between him and Robles.

Personally, I wouldnÂ’t have made the change tonight, but I can understand it from MartinezÂ’s point of view. LetÂ’s hope it works for once!

And as for bringing upside-down-head back in goal, itÂ’s complete madness. I feel sorry joel.

I think Robles has definitely shown in the last few games that heÂ’s a lot better than we feared, and has the potential for a long term future at the club. But itÂ’s not completely unreasonable to decide that thatÂ’s something to determine fully in the close season, not in February.

Still I hope he has a blinder !

Thanks mate, you posted my thoughts and feelings.

As for Howard coming straight back into the starting line-up, no surprise.

The point is though mate is you don't drop a player from a defensive unit that has just for the first time all season started to get it together.

Howard has also been rank shite this season and where Robles at least goes down for challenges with his hands, the incident blocking from Ibe on Saturday, shithouse Howard would have dived in with his feet and gave a pen away.

Its another decision from a manager that seems incapable of making bold decisions.

I think it would be good for Robles to march into Martinez's office and demand to know what he has to do and let Martinez know that he's not happy. But I get the impression he's not that type and in some ways is happy enough sitting on the bench for now. I get the impression that Howard would, on the other hand, bollock Martinez for keeping him on the bench. I know which personality I'd rather have in the team - especially as we have far too few players who get angry for the right reasons.

Howard is no longer our number 1 keeper. Can't believe he has walked straight back in.

Oviedo has no protection. Will be totally exposed again.

If Lennon manages to get a cross in we'll be lucky to have two in the box.

Looks like we're hoping Nais and Rom can cause a bit of chaos while Ross runs straight at them. He's done it to them before and they don't like it. Let's pray he's on top form.

On the plus side, Chelski have made a few changes, and we have Mirallas to bring on later in the game.

Like Andy said, it's the look of the midfield that has me worried. Barkley and Naismith tend to play in each others' space and one of our biggest problems has been the lack of balance.

I would have thought this selection to be due to injuries, but I would have been tempted to put Garbutt in with Oviedo ahead, rather than shoe horn in another attacker in a tough away fixture. Maybe RM thinks he's bought himself enough credit to gamble with with the last couple of results, and he's taking the risk in the hope of a win on the road.

Good news is Barry is now banned for 2 games, can we appeal this and ask for it to be increased?

Clearly lack of belief in final third, really don't understand passing to a player who is heavily marked? They do like falling over don't they!

Naismith - shouldn’t be out there.

Howard - shouldn’t be out there.

Conclusion? Martinez shouldn’t be manager.

Oviedo my man of the match.

The continuing concern is that we are not scoring, although tonight is no proper measure of that. Leicester is a must win now.

The Chelsea "Plan B" just starts to kick in when needed – bunch of diving, cheating southern tossers.

I reckon Howard should be doing better to save the shot and Lukaku should be scoring when he's one-on-one with their goalie.

Fuel on the fire.

I have had to come to terms with we are a poor side, I can’t see where the goals are going to come from. I just hope for survival and hope next seasons better. Perhaps we can beat Young Boys, we can’t beat grown men!

David Cromwell - Howard had a great game and was unlucky to be beaten by a deflection. Yes, I'd like us to bring in a replacement asap, but take nothing away from his performance - he was one of best players on pitch tonight, along with Stones, Cech and Matic.

And forgive me for this but Lennon will offer our side nothing. I never rated him for Spurs and don’t think he’d bring more to the party than McGeady. Yes, you could argue he’s rusty but still he’s not the answer.

All-in-all, I’m not too unhappy tonight because we were just as good as them. I’m more sick that, once again, we’ve lost at The Bridge to a late goal and to a goal we didn’t deserve to. The worrying thing is, we don’t look like scoring too many...

We defended very solidly, looked intermittently threatening on the counter (when we didn't slow the play), created the best chance of the game, which was stopped by a great save, and lost to a last minute deflected winner, at the home of the league leaders who've only dropped two points at Stamford Bridge all season. Yeah... fucking disgraceful. :rolleyes:

Personally, I feel pretty positive about that performance, as well as pissed about the final outcome. We'd have been well worth a 0-0.

Its not tonight where the problems started but all season.

Horrible horrible negative manager far far worse than anything witnessed under Moyes.

That fucking Leicester match will be tepid.

Gutted, team performed well and for the most part disciplined. Howard gave the performance he needed to after deposing Robles.

Good teams draw games they should lose and win games they should draw. Does that sound like us right now?

Gutted again - what a season !

That was a very solid, hard working performance that didn't deserve a defeat. Not many teams come to the bridge and defend as well as that and we also offered a bit going forward.

Best chance of the match created by Oviedo for Lukaku who was much better tonight. Howard did well but still scares the life out of me on crosses.

Barry missing three games the best thing that we could have wished for.

Chelsea time-wasting for the 4 minutes of injury time tells they were in a game.

Really happy to see a different partnership in the middle of the park, Barry is and has been a massive liability all season.

This slavish loyalty to Barry (who's probably got the negatives of the office party) will be the death of Martinez. Gutted at the result but we need to keep the ball better.

Disappointing result, encouraging performance. Massive improvement from the 4 points picked up against Palace and the shite.

Few days rest then big game against the wee boys

That said, barring a miracle in the Europa League, this season is looking like one of the most disappointing I can remember. Started with so much optimism and now just 'mer'. Can't finish quick enough.

Hope I'm wrong!

Clueless again.

Also, it was mentioned that Besic was carrying a knock, but I can't shed any light on that.

I invite you to watch both again. This time ask yourself why, with the entire goal to aim at in both cases, he plays each shot close enough for Cech to save?

Two brilliant chances squandered.

Two perfect examples of service on a plate to the Big Man's feet, as requested. End result? Nada. Simply far from good enough, sad to say. Confirmation bias? Only it wouldn't be if he had scored, would it? ... Which is the whole point, if you think about it.

I'm proud of the performance though, we gave a very good Chelsea team a good game on their own patch.

The tactics were spot on. You're not going to beat Chelsea at home playing an expansive game taking risks on the back of our form.

In the case of Howard, I was gutted to see his name on the team sheet, but you've got to give him some credit tonight. Hopefully this time out has given him some time to reflect and seeing Joel as a capable replacement means he'll be playing like tonight for the remainder of the season.

We were, almost, tactically perfect and could've even won that if it wasn't for Cech and his legs.

ps: I think Besic is playing with a knock hence the substitution.

We can’t pat ourselves on the back tonight because we lost and yet again it’s another game without scoring.

How many games have we failed to score in since the start of December now?

We are horrible to watch under Martinez and he’s more negative than Moyes with just the same favourites (is he shagging Barry?)

Horrible negative manager.

Generally, we are very, very limited going forward, creating one chance per game...

We just have no-one between attack and defense. It seems RM has tried to coach the mistakes out of Barkley and now he is just a slow carthorse who is frightened to run at the defence.

FFS can Michael Owen POSSIBLY get any more fucking boring?
He is a fuckin PhD in stating the entirely obvious, repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly and repeatedly.

That's the big ongoing worry; how are the goals going to arrive? Tonight proved, albeit against the champions elect, that if you don't score then you are always vulnerable to an unlucky 1-0.

The fact that the goal was so late makes it so much harder to take.

The Chelsea players got Barry the 2nd yellow and we lost concentration for a vital minute.

Rom's misses weren't good watching... those saying he needs better service have their answers now.

Naismith is not even a Championship player. Never got a tackle in all night. Can somebody tell me when he last had a shot that the GK had to save.

Lennon very disappointing.

The season we are having, 1-0 is a decent result. Taken that at the start. I just knew they would score! I'd rather lose 3-0 than lose like that. Still, that's what a billionaire owner and the best manager in the world gets you!

Besic the scapegoat again instead of Barry.

Okay, Howard made some good saves but it was still his error again.

ItÂ’s embarrassing that Naismith, Barry and Tim canÂ’t be touched... it stinks.

Nais is having a nightmare at the moment. I'm sure we have a big lad with bleached blonde hair on the bench. Might as well give him a go.

A great effort from the lads tonight (except Barkley)

Chelsea are a fuckin disgrace. The reaction to Barry's foul was embarrassing.

We set out to not get battered – and we weren’t – so credit is due?

Hmmm. Nil Satis Nisi....let’s just change it to Not getting battered is enough – in Latin.

We are so boring to watch now. So much for Sin Miedo. More like Snore Merda.

Either way, we'll get a few games to see if, as we suspect, we are better off without him.

Generally, you couldn't really fault the performance. Chelsea have some incredible players and we largelty restricted them to looking incredible in the middle of the park... as soon as they hit dangerous areas we had then shut down.

We looked fairly dangerous on the break too. In fact, as likely as Chelsea to get a goal. Lukaku will always favour playing against teams that push high and send men forward. I thought Lennon was a bit of a disappointment - would have liked to have seen him getting a bit closer to Lukaku when we did get forward. He did put his shift in though, as they all did.

And Ivanovic will no doubt get retrospective action. If there was a league table for players and referees punished/demoted as a result of bad decisions then we would be champions with three months to go.

I was going to Naismith MOM before he toe ended past Howard he was everywhere in defence and attack. Jagielka and Stones look the real deal together, also Oviedo deserves a mention the more I watch him the more I think he is a better defender than Baines.

The man is inept.

If it was Moyes with the same negative non entity football with no goal threat whatsoever he would be getting totally destroyed now by everyone.

There are many problems with Everton begin with Kenwright and Martinez is one of them.

I did think that Rom had a very good second half. Plenty of movement and strength – unlucky with the chance.

We don't have much option but to play Barkley and just hope that he shows some spark. Lennon did okay, but perhaps give Atsu a run out after his AFC exploits. Still difficult to see where goals are going to come from.

What about Robles who you've been calling the worst goalkeeper on the planet. You were right again!

Barry should have gone. That was the action of a dickhead already carrying a yellow.

They took off Cuadrado, and he cost 㿀 odd million.... not even their most expensive player.

That was a far better all round gutsy, scrapping performance by everyone which will bring decent returns for the rest of the season.

Chelsea fans are saying that the Cech "save" was the difference... and I agree.

We needed to get back to basics, then build from there. I am happy our defence looks solid once more, but we really need to move the ball more quickly in opposition half – a confidence thing.

We have the players, now Martinez needs to get them playing like last season. The next few games will give him a chance to show what he can do. Some want him gone, that's fair enough. I think there is a chance he can turn it around – so my personal preference is to give him some more time. No problem with those who want him gone.

Plenty of positives but the negatives to me:

- Barry should have been off for McCarthy, not Besic
- Naismith played awfully

The game changer was Cech's amazing reaction save against Romelu for me. If that goes in surely we walk with at least a point. Lukaku did nothing wrong there - it was just a brilliant save from point blank range.

UGH! When we will start seeing this season's dark cloud finally break?

Keep the faith as he's obviously learnt his lesson and we will become a lot stronger after this season.

We've looked better defensively last few games, I think you can point that out without being accused of getting over-excited. I'll get over-excited when I see the Everton captain lifting a trophy. Nowhere near that right now.

I'm feeling confident that this team gets back to playing some decent stuff after this.

Bizarre selections that donÂ’t seem to support the astute tactics Colin Glassar and others have alluded to mean itÂ’s DDSS. No goals, no points, and this slow motion car crash of a season rolls on.

If it was Moyes with the same negative non entity football with no goal threat whatsoever he would be getting totally destroyed now by everyone.

I agree 100%.

I think the difference is some (myself included) are giving Roberto a ton of rope because of last season’s playing style and results. David Moyes never, ever had us playing the way Roberto did last year. And I think because of that prospect / hope, he should remain in charge and we’ll see if he can right the ship.

I thought we deserved a draw and there were some good solid performances from Jagielka, Stones,Oviedo, Howard and McCarthy in the second half.

Naismith works hard but produces very little; why did the manager bring Gibson on? His best days are long gone.

It was so frustrating to lose at the death. I still think we are not out of trouble and, like a lot of supporters, I worry where the goals are going to come from.

- Roberto has got the team defending but we don't look like we're going to nick a game
- We seem to lose our nerve as soon as the ball passes forward across the half way line
- Barkley doesn't know what he's supposed to be doing
- The link up between Coleman and Lennon isn't there yet
- Impressed by the way Lennon chases every lost ball. Need a bit more of that, especially by the forwards.

I think we came into this season liking the smell of own shit.

Let's get a couple of results in the PM and EL and get the 'fuck off' factor back.

Agree about Nais though. Had another shocker. Nothing went right for him. Surely time to try Kone and Lukaku together.

The Coleman - Lennon partnership / link up is at its infancy. I think there's warm, fuzzy, loving light at the end of that tunnel.

Coleman got forward a ton in the first half - because Lennon was able to cover for him and give him some support. Coleman hasn't gotten forward almost all year...

I think the two of them will get it right very soon.

However, what really bothers me is that I have always moaned when players get into a side on work rate alone; I thought this was a problem under Moyes. It saddens me that this is still the case with Martinez’s Everton.

We are improving but alarmingly slowly. Also, is it just me or does Coleman seem to be on bad terms with the rest of the team? Yet again he made so many overlaps and no-one found him. Any passing move involving him and a team mate seems to break down – it’s like he has literally no understanding with any of them. And he always seems to be waving his arms and shouting in frustration, which is usually good to see but he also looks like he blames others when he’s made the error!

As bad as it seems I still think a settled defence protected by Besic and McCarthy with Lennon and Mirallas on the wings will reap rewards in our upcoming fixtures. The big thing then would be if Ross can play like we know we can or if we have to still rely on Naismith for at least working hard.

You can criticise virtually any shot that doesn't hit the back of the net if you assume each is an opportunity to pick your spot. Ultimately it was two decent efforts and at least one outstanding save with the rebound that could have gone anywhere going safe.

To liken that game to Rorke's Drift is ridiculous. How else do you compete with a team like Chelsea at Stamford Bridge? Anything other than trying to soak up the pressure and hit them on the break would have been disastrous. Bar the result we did okay. Ultimately a disappointment but with something to build on, especially compared to how we were playing a matter of weeks ago.

Thought Barry had his best game for a long time tonight barring the two yellows. I remember plenty were ecstatic when we signed him in the summer. I said he would struggle to match last season and wanted another younger defensive midfielder in August, and was told by many that it wasn't necessary.

I do think we could have played two quick wide players instead of having both Naismith and Barkley, to give us more opportunities on the break, but that said I don't think anyone really let us down overall tonight.

Your comment reads like we led, and gave up two in 60 seconds to lose mate. We didnÂ’t. Backs-to-the-wall stuff, and the kicker is how late the goal went in because they always looked more likely. And they were always going to keep coming.

If theyÂ’d scored in the 74th minute or something, the score and result would have been exactly the same. Chelsea sitting on a lead and us unable to play from behind.

This doesn’t bother you – fine. But that doesn’t mean I agree with you.

I see your point, and that clearly was the thinking for Roberto but...

It's frankly about time Besic – by far and away our best player lately – isn't pulled out of a game(!).

In the end hindsight is 20/20. Barry got a really stupid foul and was sent off.

I personally would have kept Besic on. I see the logic in keeping Barry on. I just would have taken the road less travelled.

I'm never happy with us losing, will never be happy with us being mid-table. I can recognise a slight improvement and still regard this as a very poor season.

Everyone keeps saying that it's Besic who would more likely pick up a second yellow.

The man plays an extremely highly aggressive game and I understand the thinking.

Here it comes... BUT...

How the hell would we know if he's going to pick up a second yellow? Poor kid gets pulled every damn game! Let him finish one out and let's actually see if he gets out of control and picks up another yellow.

We don't know because the kid's never afforded the opportunity to finish a game.

Still far and away our best option in that position despite not being at his best, but mixed displays and frustration have been par for the course in too many games for it not to have limited our overall effectiveness.

If those two are firing and we have Baines and Pienaar doing their thing... with anyone of Naismith, Lukaku or Mirallas putting them in... But we're huffin' and puffin' right now.

We need the results. Performances will follow.

We're coming out of a horrible hole and its a long road to recovery, but we're getting there; let's hope that a Barry-less midfield will bring energy and even invention. The back four is back to its imperious best, the only way is up.

On the one hand that's great, because too many of our players like to quietly shrug their shoulders and accept mediocrity at times. Yet the way Coleman does it isn't like a captain or leader on the pitch but seems more like you or I or any other fan might do from the stands - "this is a fucking joke, why do I bother" kind of vibe, if you know what I mean?!

Palace are level with us, WBA one behind and we are 5 points off 18th. Hull have brought in Phelan who will make a difference, QPR have perked up without Harry, Villa will almost certainly get a bounce post-Lambert and I would back Poyet at Sunderland. The last relegation place (assuming Burnley and Leicester are likely to go) is going to be horribly tight and I am afraid our limp attack means we're going to be right in it.

We absolutely have to beat Leicester because I don't fancy us away at Arsenal and Stoke and I don't want us below 30 points with 10 games to play.

Sorry if this sounds miserable but we must not assume it's a matter of mid-table obscurity this season. That would be a very welcome outcome indeed.

Shit manager though....

We are very fortunate in a definably bad season to have 6 gawd-awful teams below us.

We will not be relegated.

Knock on wood.

For starters our defence was superb, their goal was from outside the box with a huge deflection. Howard's performance was also superb. I know he will be quite fresh after quite a substantial rest but I think he knows he now has a challenge on his hands regarding the "No1" jersey.

I would also like to add Barry's 2nd yellow was harsh but it will now give Besic and McCarthy an opportunity to create a partnership and understanding between them, every cloud and all that? And Cech's save in the 2nd half was unbelievable.

Naismith lost it for me. Barkley still don't show me anything. Back 4 looked good today but we've relyed on a young kid to come back to get it good.

I liked Lennon's work rate, he ran he socks off tonight. One time he ran from right mid to cover left back in a counter attack. There's no final 3rd and Lukaku's got no touch. I see a bit of ball over the top and a Lukaku flick-on hoping Lennon runs on to it. Please don't go back to those days.

It wasn't the last available option and neither was it a noble "one for the team". I won't even suggest that the disruption which it caused benefitted CFC more than us, thereby costing us the point which we'd earned.

Recently Ross Barkley has made numerous poor decisions, many indecisions and some lack of applications; Ross is 22, Gareth is 34.

I'm accepting Ross's flawed "impulsive decisions", not Gareth's costly fuck-ups... 12 years of top flight experience is a world of difference when it comes to explaining/excusing.

RM kept faith with GB tonight. GB let everyone down with that cretinous, pointless "backheel trip". Not the action of a seasoned, wiser, coolheaded, "awl arse".......!

Would Peter Reid have done that?

The reality is that a combination of overly-purist tactics, the negative motivation that results from extreme caution, and perhaps some complacent and technically (and physically?) weak players has delivered bad, but to be expected, results. Think of it like a business - we don't have the resources, either manager or players, to deliver the vision... So, you don't have to change the vision AND the resources, but you do need to change one of them...

I hope and believe that the European adventure presents a fantastic chance for experimentation - and Barry's suspension should be exploited. Let's see Besic, McCarthy and Barkley given their head, Lennon and Mirallas on the touch line, and Lukaku stop apologising for being big - but, most of all, Phil Jagielka, throw off the chains, AND LEAD! There's nothing to be afraid of – and there's no need to hold back – make us, and yourselves, proud. This is a Real turning point...

What I don’t understand: they score on 86 mins – why are we still shutting up shop for 10 minutes? Why are we playing a Moyes game? Why aren’t we throwing Kone on for the last 10 minutes? Life’s a gamble about points not goals.

Just as a contextual question.

Does your missus sister or friends have bigger or more exciting tits ?
'Cos whatever the answer, unless you get your hands on 'em, it's not gunna change fuckall now is it ?

All in all taken in the context of the game. The league leaders and probable champions. Only 4 goals conceded at home, and 1 defeat in 90 games at home under the special one. Yet we pushed them all the way.

Buy yourself a reasonable portion of reality and eat it.
We held out bloody well but it didn't pay off.

Petr Cech's deflection saved Rom's shot.
Naismith's deflection beat TH.

This is called "tough shit", I don't like it, but it happens, now man up, uncurl your lip, wipe your eyes and get ready for the immense challenge ahead !

So logically we take Besic off?

I have also gone on about not playing Nais and Ross in the same team.

On recent performances I would leave Lukaku on the bench and play Nais up front with Mirallas and Lennon either side.

As I have said many times, the game is all about taking your chances when they come and once again we failed. Rom should have had the ball in the net at least once! Mirallas also should have played Coleman in when how was unmarked other than going for glory.

Jose knows his team got out of jail tonight, and we let them which is very disappointing. If the club can fine Barry for "stupidly" it should.

The thing that stands out and is not a lot of difference than a few weeks back when roughly 70% of supporters on here wanted RM out, and that is our LEAGUE position.

No one should forget that the phrase "They are to good to go down" or "there are worse teams below us" were used by teams that are still in the Championship.

This squad are either (a) not as good as we first thought or (b) not being coached or used correctly. The Chelsea game is over and we cannot be in denial, that all remaining games are going to be must win games.

I don't give a fuck who is in charge from today till the end of the season, but they better get their heads out of the sand and get this club back on track upwards.

So why drop Joel when he was growing into the role?

Sadly we are now one step nearer to a relegation battle, so RM must go, and sooner, rather than later

Barry did let us down, despite a better performance.

But Howard did not command the penalty area when it was crucial.

Should not have started, I was amazed, and not in a good way.

The Chelsea players' responses later on in the game toward the Ref for every decision against the Everton players was despicable. If those are the kind of antics that are needed to win the league then have the fucking title.

The referee was an utter disgrace and he set his benchmark for the entire game after giving Besic a yellow after 4 minutes. What a shithouse and no doubt Jonathan Moss will be one of the PL's so called "Men in Black" who will be lining up at the end of the season to lick Jose's balls when congratulating the prick after they win the league!

I expect that thug Ivanovic (on McCarthy) to serve a 3 match ban once the league police watch the replays!

Our Tim played well, but still I feel more comfortable with Robles in goal now. That would have been a very bold statement not so long back.

Gibson's appearance was a strange one for me... what was that all about?!

I always agree with your logical, considered, highly intelligent postings.

But I shudder to think what would happen if he is allowed to bring his own players in.

If he is allowed to stay, Championship football will beckon next season, if we are lucky enough to stay up this time.

I loved him last season, till our season tailed off, and we tamely surrendered our drive for the Champions League.

Everton cannot afford to keep him on as our manager.

If tackles like that are deemed yellow cards, then we'll be reduced to playing 3 and in with the remaining 2 players on the field.

BUT that doesn't get Martinez off the hook, because he's obviously aware of the Sky 4 bias and he should have been subbed instead of Barkley.

On the write up that accompanies the clip of Jose Mourinho walking out of his interview, it says "Gareth Barry's red card sparked a melee, during which Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic pushed his head into James McCarthy's back."

Is that really what happened? When I was watching on NBC it looked like his face to me? They are just so disingenuous towards us!!

Chelsea should be deducted points for their shameless gamesmanship tonight and Ivanovich should face, at least, a three-game ban for attempted murder.

It was a narrow defeat against the most exciting Chelsea side in years, who will run away with the title this year. Just imagine the vitriol from some on here if we had drawn.

Howard made relatively simple saves look better than they were, he was average, but he never bails us out like Cech did for them.

I agree with the posters who think we are still in deep trouble. We are a very unlucky team at the best of times, but this season is ridiculous.

Bad luck and bad form are a dangerous combination. The Leicester game is a must-win for both teams. If they shock us, we'll be on one very slippery slope.

I like Lukaku but he missed a sitter. It wasn't' so much a great save as a lamentable strike. Also, I thought that Howard was poor at the goal and the saves he made were no more than should be expected.

It was a solid backs-to-the-wall defensive effort. I think, though, that we have sacrificed attacking options to achieve it.

Frankly, it is disappointing that this is what we are reduced to. We went to Chelsea like relegation fodder trying to grab a point. That is where the Roberto project has brought us. This man has everything needed to relegate our club.

That is the thought I am taking to bed.

Stop worrying.

"Matic had a late goal ruled out because Ivanovic was in an offside position"

Jeez, that sounds unlucky. Except it was Ivanovic who had a goal ruled out because HE was offside.

Has anyone yet figured out why McCarthy was booked in that little melee? The Beeb certainly doesn't want to touch that question.

Presumably Hazard will be out injured for a few weeks. He was apparently crippled in the second half (until Chelsea won the ball back).

Run me through that logic again... if he saves, then it wasn't a goal, so his contribution wasn't needed?

When they score, it's a goal, so his contribution was needed?

That one's going to mess with my head.

We've been calling out for most of the season for Martinez to get back to basics and fix the sieve-like defence. We've clearly done the defensive part of that effectively; a minute away from four clean sheets in a row and, really, no glaring misses or chances from Chelsea – it's not like we were making miraculous escapes throughout the course of the game.

Of course, that defensive solidity seems to have come at the further expense of attacking threat. A lot of that is a confidence thing, some of it's tactics (Why not play two wingers rather than one actual winger and an out of position central player?), a little of it is luck.

The question now is whether Martinez has the capacity to start bringing together the defensive solidity of recent weeks with the attacking threat he managed to instill last season (and, to be fair, at the start of this). That's a manager who can potentially learn, evolve, and develop both himself and the team in a positive way. Assuming we don't go belly up in the last ten games or so of the league; and I'm fairly confident we'll be comfortably clear of the relegation places come May, then that's something we won't truly find out until the first half of next season.

Oh, and a couple of final notes.

This is about the first time in recent weeks that I've thought Martinez was overall correct about subbing Besic rather than Barry. Going into the second half away at Chelsea with both defensive midfielders on yellow cards was risky. And, accepting that, better to remove the one who's not already suspended for the next two games, rather than the one that is.

And, while he wasn't massively involved in the play, I actually thought Barkley looked better than in recent appearances. He was quicker to turn and get his head up, gave the ball away less, and looked a little more confident. Not great, by any means, but not terrible.

Roberto Martinez is only bothered in his interpretation of his CV, and he'll happily progress in the Europa League, whilst getting us relegated, then move on to another club, and destroy that like he has at Everton!

We need to get rid of him now, and just have somebody who can guide us to safety as a priority, not the Europa League! Who? I'd be prepared to put Big Joe in charge, huge risk, but needs to be somebody who's already at the club, then get a new manager very early on, so we can have a proper pre-season next season!

I fully agree with your comment that we have been calling out for most of the season for Martinez to go back to basics and fix the sieve-like defence as I am one of the people that has been saying it.

My question to you is: Why did it take till even he considered that we were in a relegation battle to do something about it?

And if you watch the game again, the back four were starting to play tippy tapping again with Howard.

We'll probably never know. Likely took so long because it's difficult to accept that your approach isn't work, and there's got to be a temptation to believe that things will start to click at some point. I think most of us had similar feelings for much of the first third of the season, that things would turn around relatively organically.

Reaching that realization was probably instigated by a couple of outright batterings we took at the hands of Southampton and Hull, an that we were being drawn too close to the relegation zones (I still don't think we're in a relegation "battle"; we're at risk of being drawn into one but haven't been drawn in yet).

What we need is a couple of wins to pull us away seriously, so even that risk is removed and confidence grows. Doesn't matter how those wins come. And then maybe see if we can start getting back to some better attacking performances given the increased confidence in the defence. That will give me optimism that Martinez can evolve, and could see us reaching a good balance next season.

1) Howard was at fault for their goal. The punch was weak with no distance plus being beaten on his front post AGAIN! (He didnÂ’t reach quick enough to shot also didnÂ’t move his feet.) Same old...! (Robles should have played.)

2) John Stones is up there with the best young defenders in Europe.

3) I thought our two full-backs struggled at times (especially Oveido baby).

4) Naismith, Lennon and Barry... very poor.

5) I thought we missed Ross in retaining the ball after he was taken of for Gibson! Ross wasnÂ’t at his best but we really missed someone being available to receive the ball in last third for us. (That link) DonÂ’t get that Gibson sub! Why? What was his role? How did he improve our team shape/ performance? (For feckÂ’s sake!) What a shocking substitution! I get Kev for Lennon; IMO, right move.

6) Not being his "greatest fan", I thought Rom did okay (still nowhere near the level he should be.)

Considering the shite performances of recent times (all season), things can only get better? RIGHT! (DonÂ’t hold your breath with Robbie at the helm.

Last but not least... All this Plan B business! (load of bollocks). All plan B is... Stones, Besic and Macca playing in the team together. Combined with a couple of better performances from certain players.... But still carrying too many passengers!

Last 10Â’, I was sitting there waiting for the ref to give a penalty or make decision that influenced the game. He did and we are slagging the team off after they deserved to not draw but win.

We played well. A woeful referee and a lucky deflection cost us a game we were never expected to get anything from anyway. A more attacking line-up for Leicester could be the catalyst for a strong end to the season.

Last night I wish we had had a finisher like Saha upfront. He would have finished that chance off from 5 yards out. I think going forward if we are to pick up points at the bigger grounds we are going to need a finisher. Lukaku is for the future but he certainly won't get you the big goals at the bigger grounds just yet. For 㿈 million that ball shouldn't be anywhere near Cech but the back of the net.

Perhaps taking it a step back would taken in Oviedo's attempt to block (at least I think it was him) turning away slightly as Willian was taking aim rather than throwing himself in the general direction like Jags would do.

Then perhaps if Barry hadn't given away a free kick and got himself sent off, Chelsea wouldn't have scored at that precise moment etc. Of course, had Barry not made the foul Chelsea may have gone on to score from their attack anyway. That's the beauty of the game. All ifs and buts. Had Lukaku scored earlier whilst it would have been 1-0, we may have lost 2-1.

Interesting that Barry only seems to get a one match ban as he got sent off rather than 2 matches when he only had the one yellow. That rule can't be a good one as players could wait til the last minute or two of a game then get sent off, reducing the ban. Can't believe players would even think of doing that.

Better go read the other comments now...

Defensively we played well but, in order to relieve the pressure on the defence, the forward players have to hold the ball up better. How many times did Barkley receive the ball with sufficient space to control it, turn and run with it? Quite a few but he almost inevitably played it quickly and in almost every instance backwards. This is a confidence issue, but until he starts holding onto the ball and running at defences, he will look a shadow of the player he can be, and he will not help to relieve pressure on the defence.

Naismith is a great worker and gives his all every game but many of our forward movements peter out when he plays a poor ball into nobody or is dispossessed because he is not quick enough to get away from defenders. Hard work alone will not get us goals which if we are to start winning games we desperately need. Surely it is time to give Kone a run ahead of Naismith.

Now Barry is banned, do not be surprised to see Gibson being played as the deepest lying DM with Besic and McCarthy in front of him. Martinez is in my opinion getting the basics right by getting the defensive part of our game solid but he desperately needs his one attacking midfielder, Barkley or whoever else he picks, to turn and carry the ball forward and draw defenders out of position, thus making space for Lukaku and Mirallas, Lennon or Atsu to move into.

I agree on Oviedo for the goal though. Pathetic. Gibson too with his legs akimbo.

We can afford to lose away against the league leaders, but we can't against Leicester. That performance will only mean something if we go on and beat Leicester, and comfortably too. We need an aspect of consistency in our play now.

Put Mirallas and Lennon in both wings and see what we can do.

We just donÂ’t learn, same things happen at the same places every season and, as usual, weÂ’re moaning about players influencing referees as if itÂ’s new like the gullible innocents we are.

If we canÂ’t beat Leicester then we have to get rid of Martinez because itÂ’s far too close for comfort at the bottom and this naive fool seems incapable of doing anything about it.

It's too close for comfort in the bottom half of the table to get complacent about saying which teams we should and should not beat. RM has got us where we are he needs to dig us out.

It was good to see RM having a go in the media conference about Chelsea and the referee, he must really have been angry at the behaviour of Chelsea players and the intimidation of a poor referee.

There is no doubt Barry committed a stupid foul, but there is also no doubt Chelsea players harangued the referee into booking and sending him off. It was also Chelsea players who decided to aggravate the situation by provoking responses ( how does a head lock and a threatening push of the head into a players face not constitute provocation??) The pictures clearly show the referee looking at the incident from two feet away and doing nothing. Appalling. He should be reported to the FA for negligence and made responsible for the lack of control.

As for the comments of many.. I agree there are too many passengers at the club, Barry for me, is the most ineffective player who is clearly too slow. He has, I think I am right in saying, the most yellow cards in the premiership. He isn’t dirty, he is always arriving late. Off the pace and a liability.

Barkley needs someone behind him to clear up when he loses the ball.. too often we are left exposed. By coaching the mistakes out of him we have ended up with a frightened player who no longer has the confidence to run at the opposition. His output is poor at best at the moment, but when he does lift it he can be a joy to watch.

Coleman played poorly again, Oviedo was out of his depth, Lennon looks lost.. Lukaku fought but should have converted at least one of his gilt edge chances. Naismith needs a rest. Surprised to see Howard walk in, but he did ok and was unlucky with the goal.

The tippy tappy football has gone, anybody notice?

Lukaku , 㿈m for the potential? Just the basics would do for a start, like heading, shooting, holding the ball, all of which seem too much for the 21 yr old with the build of Mike Tyson.

Duncan needs to up his game and sort this lad out fast because the training ground is obviously not getting through to the big lad.

I still wonder why Besic was subbed at HT. Having said that I think GB is being singled out for some unfair criticism.

Overall I thought we showed determination and resilience but nobody can be in any doubt who bossed the game.

If only Ross could be a Hazard or Willan.

If only Nais could add technical ability to his energy.

If only Lukaku could show he is worth 28 million by learning how to control and head the ball.

If only Roberto could go back to Wigan.

If only is the difference between a top side and the also rans

Good points in a very good letter.

Aside from that I heard that Besic has been carrying a knock and isn't 100%.

So this is RM's plan "B" try and 0-0 our way to safety? Well it's original. We appear to have a surfeit of defensive midfielders to chuck on and our only decent young players are a CH and LB. Our homegrown wonder boy is as limp as a wet lettuce and our 㿈 million quid striker can't score from 2 yards out.

So its back to pouring over the fixtures trying to figure out where we can pick up a point or three and praying no hopers "A" can beat no hopers "B".

I thought we had put these kinds of seasons behind us. Looks like I was wrong.