Change the Keeper. Simple!

I have always thought Howard a very, very below average keeper, I can't stand him and can't wait for him to be gone from our club.

He is an absolute joke of a keeper, and as somebody else already said on another thread, I can't believe its taken so long for people to realize this.

I also get the sense that a lot of our players don't really like him, and see him as the utter clown that he truly is.

However,
"I also get the sense that a lot of our players don't really like him, and see him as the utter clown that he truly is."

You supply absolutely no supporting evidence for this deep "insight" to explain how you have seen into the other players minds/opinions. For the benefit of the far less intuitively gifted (ie, the likes of me) could you please identify or explain what "signs and signals" or "vibrations" you are reading ?

The danger is that Martinez's insistence on selecting him - despite poor form throughout this season and in truth for a portion of last season - will tarnish his reputation with the fans and cause bad feeling. That would be a shame.

Second goal was all his.

How can a man who kept more clean sheets in a single season than the Great Neville Southall have always been useless?

The goals we conceded yesterday, well if your local pub team played like that it would still be poor, for professionals is was abysmal.

RM, like his predecessor, won't drop his favourites - even when woefully out of form. Howard has had his worst season in memory this season - either partly as a result of a ponderous defence, or possibly causing that nervousness. Brenda across the park had no hesitation dropping Mignolet earlier in the season.

If we meet any Premier teams in the last 16 we will of course bottle it. This season and this manager has turned me into a negitive thinking man when ii use to be optimistic. Fed up after watching the game for the 2nd time.

Beaten far too easily at Bern for their goal through poor positioning ( a sin for any top 'keeper) then he does his usual against Leicester for their second - completely misjudges the flight of the ball. How many times have we seen that?

Remember Gerrard's free-kick in the Merseyside derby? Poor again. Palace at home and Chelsea at home, another two stinkers.

Sorry Tim, you have decent at times and average for 90% of your time with us. Far too hesitant when coming off your line. Distribution and starting attacks - again, too hesitant.

For the money he is earning, we could do far better. Let's give Robles the rest of the season to prove he is worthy, if not, we need a new 'keeper.

Never like to see Besic brought off but Gibbo was a revelation. Coached from a boy at Man U to think in an attacking manner, he'll never be a great defender but he pushes us forward at a quicker tempo.

Baines was less effective than Oviedo because he continually refuses to use his right foot. When turning inside the fullback, instead of crossing the ball or getting it forward to a team-mate, he passed it 20 yards back to Jags. Left foot, left foot, left foot.

Unlike several others, I am delighted with Lennon and Atsu.

Felt very sorry for young Stones during the last 10 minutes when he looked absolutely knackered and was running on auto. The result of having to cover for too many team-mates too many times.

Not sure which is worse. A keeper conceding goals or a striker missing sitters. I guess they both make the difference between winning and losing. Lukaku drives me crackers but we're stuck with him and I have to believe he's working hard on his right foot technique. At least he is not afraid to use it. Always a goal threat and a handful, he has time on his side and will hopefully improve. After the Chelski, Leicester games I wanted to kick him out but he did get himself into scoring positions and caused much chaos in the opposition defence.

Not a good time to be a blue but if we find a decent keeper we'll be okay.

Atsu looked like he has something about him and if Mirallas stopped believing his own hype; he'd be a starter for me.

Don't understand the Barkley substitutions either. The last time we won was against QPR at home wher he played deeper (with Besic I think); so why not put him there again; as Gibson is not the future.

What game were you watching Paul?

He was awful, a couple of times bearing down on goal after a quick break away, not once did he try and have a dig at goal, just looked for a pass and ultimately ballsed it up.

I was one of the fans mystified by the Besic sub (he did acknowledge the groans) but to be fair, Gibson changed the game with his forward passes, won’t say accurate, as he hit quite a few straight into touch behind Baines.

Lukaku obviously had his "Premiership" boots on, maybe the kit man can replace them with his "European" boots and maybe he will actually start slotting again.

Robles
Coleman Jagielka Alcaraz Garbutt
Besic Gibson Barkley Barry
Atsu Lukaku

SUBS: Howard Browning McCarthy Baines Mirallas Kone Naismith

Based on his performances this year he is no longer viable as a goalie at this level. If the defenders do not trust their keeper then it leads to all sorts of problems, he effects more than what happens between the sticks

But this is a GK getting god knows how much a week and playing in what is supposed to be the best league in the world. So how many more times have we got to see him flap at crosses, get done at his near post, push a ball out back into open play, punch a ball(weakly) instead of catching it.

Harold Matthews(#16) posed the question what's worse "a keeper conceding goals or a striker missing sitters". No contest, the keeper wins by a country mile and mistake a game Howard or if we're in front 2 mistakes a game has costs us at least 15 points.

A fucking liability get shut. It's also a test of Martinez management skills, because the Mourinho's of the world correct their mistakes in double-quick time, rather than persisting with players or systems that need replacing. That could be the end of him

Leicester barely troubled us yesterday. Without Howard's mistakes, we would have won. Ditto for many occasions this season.

Martinez has made many poor decisions this season and we have suffered. He can't see what we all can see. He keeps dropping players in form for players out of form. A good keeper wins you points, gives confidence to the back four and can cause doubt in strikers. Howard does none of this. He shouldn't play for us again, he isn't good enough.

To be honest, the uncommitted TV-viewing neutral would've been hard put to say which team was actually bottom and, given this hypothetical neutral's limited knowledge, and shaky grasp of geography, he might've read somewhere Leicester were bottom and didn't he have half a dim memory harking back to Gordon Banks that they also played in blue... and there you have it

We have given them more that 10% of their total points 2 games 2 pts. the other 24 games gave them 16. This says much more about us than them.

I don't think we will get relegated, we will ( should ) be clear with plenty of games to go, if we maintain our average of fractionally just over 1 pt. per game.

I fear that Bill and Bob ( more like Bill and 'kin Ben at times ) aided and abetting each other, have put all their potential season saving kudos into CL entrance via the Thursday League.

I also fear that the first really decent technical foreign side... or heaven forbid, you know who or spurs if they get through...and the odds are on us drawing one or the other, will do us over to finish off that pipe dream.

At this stage in the proceedings I see no good reason to take the extra strong bike clips off my brown trousers.

If we stutter along doing our point-ish a game average by May and there ISN'T a trip to Warsaw. I will be very disappointed, but not too surprised if Martinez is still in the job by July.