Silly penalty squanders a fourth win

(Who knows, had we played some sort of striker today, we might have been three up with the possession we had before their penalty.)

Better luck with the National gents. (Come on Ballycasey!)

Oh well, at least we got the chance to blood some youngsters at the end of the season, now that we have that opportunity...oh...wait...

He played on when Kone fouled seconds before, so not surprising he played on when coleman got fouled. Kone should have been sent off.

We were lucky with the Shelvey disallowed goal and Kone was lucky not to be sent off. So all-in-all, a draw was a fair result.

The performance was so much better than last week’s victory against Southampton. Just a shame we didn’t get all 3 points.

Jags MotM again for me, Stones not too far behind him. Pienaar looked useful on his return and Barry’s best performance of the season by far. Coleman played well apart from giving away a silly penalty which ultimately cost us 2 points.

I thought the ref was pretty fair with no real contentious decisions either way. Kone was ineffective again; I can’t see how he’ll ever score goals in this team. Stones and Jagielka were pretty solid. Much more balanced when Pienaar came on.

A lack of quality from both sides. One more game down and closer to the end of this dreadful season.

The second half to me was typical of Everton’s performances this season,where they started to fade and let the other team back into the game (lack of fitness?). The manager to me should have replaced Kone with Mirallas early on and held back with his third substitute for around the 80th min.

The performance was so much better than last weeks victory against Southampton. Just a shame we didn’t get all 3 points.

Jags MOTM again for me, Stones not too far behind him. Pienaar looked useful on his return and Barry’s best performance of the season by far. Coleman played well apart from giving away a silly penalty which ultimately cost us 3 points.

As for Coleman, words fail me... as to why he just didn’t boot the thing out of the ground.

Pretty dismal end-of-season shite from a shite team with a shite manager. I would like to see Robles, Garbutt, Browning, McAleny, Long, Ledson Henen and why the fuck Green is at Tranmere is beyond imagination. Utter bollox, Martinez.

People were saying how great his decision was putting Pienaar on. No it wasn’t. He should be playing two wingers anyway. No manager in the league or even in Europe would try and successfully implement a 4-2-3-1 with just one winger.

He’s clueless and it’s not good enough.

Not much to play for of course but can’t complain with 10 points from the last 12. Too little too late.

We’re playing better than earlier in the year when we had that dreadful run but we still fail to turn possession into chances and then goals. It all feels fragile when we take a single goal lead.

I quite like Lennon – thought he took his goal well and generally contributed – his pace is an asset and he may yet be a good signing. Pienaar looked better than he has done during much of this woeful season and Howard made one great save early on. Shame Osman left.

Not a bad point in the context of the season as the slow crawl up the table continues, but that isn’t saying anything really positive as the season falls away. The 19 points supposedly given away from winning positions says more about the team and tactics.

He doesn’t deserve another season. If Moyes was in charge now, Colin, you’d be saying that he should be sacked.

Martinez should be sacked if we finish in the bottom half. All the arguments for him are always very vague and hopeful. ’He deserves another chance’ ’He’ll come good, Moyes did, etc’

Based on what I’ve seen this season, he doesn’t deserve another season. 3 lucky wins and a draw against an average side won’t change that.

Okay, we finished stronger but most of them took a breather for 25 minutes in the second half. You just can’t play at this level if you are so old. It doesn’t take more than one synapse to realise that.

Having said this, he could pick where he finished last season but we need quite a few players to add to the squad – and that assumes we hold on to our prize assets. Losing Lukaku and Mirallas would take a lot of goals out of the squad.

Our midfielder, take Lennon out the equation who has been a breath of fresh air, is totally shite.

Barkley again outshone by opposite numbers, this lad just does not take control of matches.

Nothing game really, 9 wins all season going to the end of April and hardly put in a truly swashbuckling performance all season either.

Be glad to see the back of this season, it won’t live long in the memory let’s put it that way.

Then why did it take so long to get Kone off when he was clearly a belch away from a red card?

Other than the manager, I thought we did well. Pienaar made a huge difference both with his own play and simply by balancing the midfield. Ross wasn’t as bad as some are making out and even Kone did his job in a "he’s shit but he’s our only centre forward" kind of way. Round pegs in round holes please, even if it means playing Kone until Lukaku is fit.

Not the bore fest of most of this season. Great to see Pienaar back... love how he plays the game. A really smart footballer.

Come on Colin, it was an improved performance but we hardly dominated. We were creaking and under the cosh for large parts of the first half and were very lucky not to fall behind when Baines went weak into the challenge preceding Shelvey’s shot. After recovering and taking the lead, the team looked to run out of steam in the second half and had very little to offer in an attacking sense.

I’ve said before, I fancy us to go on a little run and see individual performances improve from here on in, simply because there’s fuck all left to play for and such no pressure situations suit our squad of big game bottlers down to the ground.

I can’t handle Martinez’s interviews anymore but he’ll be happy with what he saw out there today, I bet.

A Zombie Club. What a depressingly succinct way to sum up Everton in 2014-15.

Pienaar played well considering he’s only back recently. If it wasn’t for Lennon we would have been well and truly fecked. I would like to see Baines moved onto the wing and Garbutt in at left-back but that won’t happen...

There was nothing wrong with Howards peformance, Coleman was excllent throughout the game and was let down really by the ref not giving him a foul. Garbut is a decent player, but he is not as good as Baines or Oviedo.

Swansea are a good team and beat Arsenal and Man Utd at home this season. Whereas Everton were the better team let down by Kone who led the front line very badly.

I think it was more poetic alliteration – "Shelvey sent Mr USA the wrong way" – but admittedly there was an element of annoyance at the boot-cleaning nonsense earning a card right on top of the astounding stupidity of the penalty itself.

Must try harder to keep it bland and "positive" for you next time...

Unlucky today... Coleman was fouled twice before handling – although stupid to do it!

Not forgetting that everyone was expecting us to finish mid table before Martinez took over. Not forgetting that Martinez was actually the manager who took us to 5th place and highest ever Prem points tally to begin with.

I admit that the enforced change helped balance the team and that Kone should’ve been taken off earlier but we are a vastly improved team since the December shambles. Surely the manager has had something, however tiny, to do with that?

Today was an improvement on what we have seen for most of the season but we are still lacking quite a bit and still have that brittle look. The real test will come when or if we go behind in a game; have the team got the wherewithal to retrieve that situation?

At least we’re not Sunderland!

And, as you said, Martinez will most likely still be our manager next season, so we need to start getting behind him rather than looking for ways to bring him down. Loyalty and giving managers time is so underrated in the modern game.

If someone had offered anyone on this forum 10 points from our last 4 games, we would have laughed and bitten their hand off. There’s been massive improvement. Get behind it.

Stevie Pienaar – if you’re reading, I apologize.

Have we scored 4 goals in any game this season? When’s the last time we scored 4 goals in a football match?

What a boring season for Everton it has been.

BT’s stat that this was only the 6th time this season we’ve played with our best back 5 (which, yes, includes Howard for all those against him) was particularly telling. Definitely explains our iffy (at best) defending.

Just to clarify, my first comment was addressing Colin Glassar, and this one Colin Malone...

"Have we scored 4 goals in any game this season? When’s the last time we scored 4 goals in a football match?"

Did you watch us in Europe this season?

Honestly, I think some fans on this page have short term memory loss.

Things have improved of late but we are still a million miles away from where we were last season - points wise and performance wise.

I enjoyed the game today (unlike others) but we did not dominate the game. It was very evenly contested.

It wasn’t a bad performance and we lost because of another individual error.

My biggest gripe is Kone. A liability in every sense. I’m convinced we could have won with Mirallas or Naismith on earlier or even better, from the start.

Get behind this manager ? Yes, certainly – with the toe of my shoe!

Oscar says a point at the Liberty is good, but others focus (quite rightly, methinks) on the two points so stupidly squandered. To call it an ’overreaction’ is an overstatement, don’t you think?

Colin believes we dominated the game (despite a dreadful lapse when we let them back into it) and tries yet again to convince us that Martinez somehow ’deserves’ another chance next season, while Andy cuts to the core of why he shouldn’t even be here anymore.

T’was ever thus on the forum...

Kone was rubbish. Should have been hooked well before he finally was. Soon as the season is finished so is he. Thanks for nothing.

McCarthy should have shot instead he chose a sideways pass and blew it. The guy is so defensively minded he won’t shoot even when he’s right in front of the goal.

Barkley did nothing again. Ridiculously puny efforts from outside the box. So what if he hardly ever scores, makes a decent pass or puts in a good tackle. But after all he’s only a six foot tall, fifteen stone, 21 year old baby. So lets go easy on him.

Lennon was good. took his goal well and if we had Lukaku up front instead of "what the team needs" Kone to pass to maybe we would have had more goals.

Jags and Stones looked solid but Coleman needs to buck his ideas up.

All in all a disappointing result considering with a little more belief and a better striker on the park we could have won.

It was a clever backheel/flick to set up Pienaar but the move by that point had been overplayed. Kone was in a great position to leather it goalward instead of making yet another pass.

What I am struggling with is those who saw it as two lost points and a bad performance. How exactly does that work?

I think some will see the negatives in anything when we’re in a lowly position, just as many took positives from anything last year.

Today’s performance would have been considered a positive last season. In a similar sense, Phil Walling didn’t even need to see the game to take the negatives out of today’s match.

He kept a squad that finished 5th last season up in the league. Well done Roberto. We might even finish 11th. What a brilliant manager he is.

We play shit football, but now we’re up in the heady heights of 11th. Proof that Martinez deserves a 3rd season.

This is Everton. Not some newly promoted side that’s here for the ride.

Could getting someone better at least be considered? Would it be disloyal to think he is poor? Do his post match musings not make your toes curl?

Most importantly, would you consider that a different coach with our current squad not have done better?

It doesn’t seem to matter which players are chosen or in what formation, we still suffer some of the same problems week after week. Some of it is down to the players being out of form for a large part of the campaign; some of it is down to the manager’s decisions and the way he sets the team up to play.

Confidence should have been at a high-point at the start of today’s game and even higher when we took the lead, but we fell back into the familiar trap of taking our foot off the gas and dropping deeper until the inevitable equaliser arrived.

This is the most frustrating issue about this Everton team, we can see it so you would hope that the manager and coaching staff would also recognise it and address it but everyone seems to be quite relaxed about it as we drift from game to game. The results in themselves are not the most serous issue, although they obviously matter and are reflected by the position of the club in the table, but I can’t hand on heart say that we have made much progress on the field in the past 12-18 months. If this manager doesn’t change things, we need to find somebody who can.

Kone was lucky not to get sent off and it was the fact he was on a yellow card that led to the goal. If Naismith was on, he could’ve chased the defender, pushed him over and perhaps got away without getting a booking.

We sold Jelavic who was far better than Kone, who makes Anichebe look like a decent striker. McCarthy was useless yet again, his decision not to shoot in the last few minutes was ludicrous.

Personally I won’t be renewing my season ticket because I’ve never seen an Everton side in recent years who are so content on giving the opposition goals. Swansea were there for the taking, yet instead we did what we did last week and just messed about with it – this time, it cost us.

And my comment was that if they "relaxed" (as you stated), then the manager should have been yelling at them – not standing with his arms folded. I never said it was his fault that players committed schoolboy mistakes.

Similar to a few posts on here I won’t be renewing my 3 season tickets that I’ve had in the family for several years; Martinez is a fucking phoney and I’ll consider renewing once this man has been shown the door.

I give you that results have improved over the last month or so (not since Christmas), but could they have been any worse? If you think performances have got better, then I have to totally disagree.

We have been dead lucky over the last month, Palace and QPR, culminating in a performance with ONE shot on target last week against Southampton.

Our football has been woeful. If you believe otherwise, obviously it’s your opinion; however, your support of Martinez, regardless, is as bad as his post-match garbage. You are now fixated in supporting him regardless of what everyone else actually sees.

This is an honest question not only for you but for the rest of the anti-Martinez camp, ie, will you ever give the man a chance if in fact he does turn our fortunes around?

By the way, I stick by my prediction last week that we will go on an unbeaten run until the end of the season finishing on 50+ points and top 10.

If we don’t and we’re still playing badly with no evidence of him learning from past mistakes, then he has to go.

I think we have been lucky to avoid relegation and Martinez has turned a good squad into the worst team in the division. This is, considering investment, expectation and aspiration, the worst season I have ever experienced in 50 years as an Evertonian. I actually cannot bear listening to or even looking at our coach, and that is just crap.

I know Billy Liar won't sack him but that doesn't mean it isn’t the right thing to do. If we are near the bottom after 10 games, he will have to go... so why not do it now and spare us further pain?

I would take almost any eligible coach ahead of him, that’s how totally shit I think he is. He will relegate us and desert us, like he did at Wigan.

Thankfully our central defence got us this point today because going forward we are what we have been all season – lacking.

I know people will say we need to give Martinez time next season, but if we start badly then he needs shipping out before Halloween otherwise it could turn out to be one long horror story yet again.

In my opinion I just can’t see this team, the way Martinez wants to play, and the way he sets his team up to produce any better end results or performances next season. Optimism can be very positive if there are concrete grounds for it but it will take something special that we haven’t seen all season to convince me again.

Then we did what we do best: dominate the game, get the lead, and sit back on it – instead of going for the jugular.

I have now seen enough of Kone – and I mean 'enough'. No wonder Naismith is talking of going back to Rangers if he can't get in ahead of him.

Special mention for the much maligned Gareth Barry who I thought had a great game.

On the subject of our corners only Jags shows any interest in the ball so it is no wonder that 8+ corners did not produce a goalworthy effort. Must be another one of the Manager’s footballing philosophies.

Frank de Boer could be available at the end of the season. We can only hope and pray.

This season has been awful but I saw enough last season (and recently) to give him another go. If we are crap by say November then yes, by all means he will have to go.

I’m not in the anti-Martinez brigade. I’ve been disillusioned at times but he’s not going anywhere so I don’t see the point in keep slagging the guy off when we’re now on a run and showing the green shoots of recovery.

Manure had 1 bad season and had to spend £100m to compete again. We have neither the luxury of time or the funds to put it right next Xmas.

I am well aware OFM suffered a terrible second season and my question to all Toffee-webbers is:- How does the football in that season compare to what we have endured this season? That may be a good place to vouch yay or nay for a 3rd season for Roberto...

Seamus was fouled prior. Crap PK call 17 yards away from goal. You don't give a PK. It was a foul on Seamus in my opinion.

Last season we had the best of both worlds; Ginger's fitness levels and defensive organisation combined with Martinez's quick tempo passing game and exuberant style of play. Hopefully, we can get that combo back in the next few games and starting next season. As Gavin J said, there are green shoots appearing.

Getting bottom half is a sackable offence in my view but as BK is in charge and RM has done the minimum requirement of maintaining our Premier League status, he won't be going any time soon.

Was that by some bizarre twist of fate? Something that Martinez had nothing to do with? An act of God?

Now that we are safe from relegation I see every point in slagging the guy off. In my opinion we are incredibly lucky not to have been relegated and talking of "green shoots" in mid April is an indictment of the limp dick we have in charge. I do not normally use pejorative terms to describe any Everton player or coach but it's the way I feel right now.

Colin, if I'm not mistaken, you were wavering not so long ago; these last four games have made you get back on Bobby's side, but they have not altered a lot of fans' opinion that he should go.

I am in a quandary about renewing my season ticket, I wouldn't know what to do on a Saturday if I didn't go to see Everton at Goodison, but there is just no fun or, at the moment, any incentive to watch them. I like your standing by him but you are a lot more easily pleased than a lot of us on here. I wish you well, and our team.

When some fans say Ossie is not a left winger then I ask what is he? As far as I can see he contributes very little no matter where he plays. Five yard passes sideways and no tackling. End of story.

Have a look for the highlights on YouTube of a match at Roker Park in March 1983, a match we lost but you can clearly see how the team was beginning to shape up, that's the thing that all of our managers in the Premier League era have failed to reproduce – a group of players who have a planned way of playing and the discipline and ability to carry out that play.

Some of the blame lies at the door of the managers and some of it lies with the players but most of the blame lies with the ownership for accepting mediocrity regardless of Everton's finishing position in the League.

The trouble is... we have no-one else; Naismith came on to relief from the Everton end, but was ineffective and get Swansea started with a real centre-forward in Gomis, he is quick, strong and good in the air. Then they brought on a lad who was also a lot better than Kone. So in the summer, we need another proper striker.

On the positive note, it was a fantastic save from Howard to deny Gomis, and I thought that Barkley was good as was Barry and Stones. It was a good performance but a shame that Coleman did his panto act. I do hate the modern penchant for defenders obstructing strikers in this way, and I don't know why it isn't called obstruction anymore. Did the rules change?

Also, watching that twat Savage on BT this morning slagging us off as a step backward for anyone playing at Swansea has not improved my opinion of him (even if it was the twat Savage).

We have a good squad, that they haven’t perform this year IMO is the manager’s fault, we have taken a massive step backwards this season and taking survival as a KPI is not good enough. As I said, you are a rational man and hard to argue with any of that post. Cheers.

James, ignore Savage. He's a moron that gobshyte and he despises us because OFM refused to go back for him after he turned us down. He's also a self-confessed Redshite.

Kone is not, and never will be, good enough for Everton. He is possibly the worst signing ever if you factor in the amount we paid for him. A black Brett Angell, but without the skill level.

Baines has finally found out how to beat the first man. But the second man is the keeper who just plucks it out of the air. Why is there no variation with free kicks and corners? Maybe we should practice them...

Please Roberto, no more lop-sided formations.

McCarthy should have buried his chance.

Kevin or Naisy MUST start against Burnley.

Kone might well be the worst signing ever. But it's a close run race. Per Krøldrup (for similar money) must come close for that accolade. And Richard Wright, James Beattie, Danny Williamson ...

I could go on but it would get depressing.

Stones does have the potential to be a great player, and Jags is about as good a centre half as any – although I think he would struggle to get into any other national team (or any top 4 Premier League club)... Coleman is quite good... and well, I think that's about it.

Garbutt and Browning may make the grade, but probably won't be allowed to do so as Everton players. Baines is slowly beginning to lose it (we had 6 corners today and not one of them posed a threat); Mirallas blows hot and cold (more cold than hot though) and his loyalty is now in question; Lukaku will rarely get the opportunity to shine; Barkley is all hype – a player of his fabled skill should have scored way more than a pathetic 2 goals this season; Kone is a true liability; Pienaar was brilliant today, but I think that's because after so long out, he has forgotten the Don't Pass The Ball Forwards mantra – he won't be able to/allowed to maintain that form for long.

Lennon shows the odd flash, but is apt to lose possession, like Naismith. I like McCarthy, but, like most of the team, he lacks composure on the ball; Barry is past it...

All-in-all, we're just not that good, and I won't be having high expectations any time soon, unless a sheikh comes along and buys the club. I think that's our only hope of repeating or improving on last season's flash in the pan.

Anyway, enough negativity! COYB and prove me wrong by thrashing Burnley next Saturday!

Reverse it. Had a striker gone down like Coleman did for a little nudge in the back, we'd all be going apeshit on here about a blatant dive. Coleman went down far to easily and then stupidly tried to scoop the ball away blatantly. An easy decision for Oliver.

I thought we played well in patches today. We just lacked a decent striker. Probably would have been a different game had Lukaku played instead of Kone.

MotM – Barry for the second week running.

As for the match, it was there for the taking but we came out for the second half thinking we could stroll it. But all that was needed was a mistake, a mix up, and sure enough it happened. Poor again.

And again, I can't avoid it, would Oliver have given that decision against say Phil Jones for instance? I know he wouldn't, you know it, Michael Oliver knows it, Scudamore knows it.

When Fabianski got the foul after Naismith's challenge I saw a Swansea player blatantly push one of ours in the back, stopping him leaping, and sending him sprawling face first. When I heard the whistle, I honestly thought we had a pen.

And Aman 115, you are spot-on, mate: McCarthy really should be putting that chance in the onion bag.

We need more shots from the midfield, especially as we have no strikers.

Our own Aaron Lennon,

West Ham's Aaron Cresswell, and, of course,

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey

They all found the net. I bet the odds were good for those three to open the scoring in their respective matches.

'Everton have a habit of surprising you?' Again, really? They do not mate. The day they stop imploding and just plain letting you down is day I'm gonna be surprised by Everton.

Last time I was fuckin surprised by us was the '95 Cup Final and then I spent 75 minutes watching the game from behind the sofa... waiting for the inevitable.

'Surprised'? – seldom; 'Wound-the-fuck-up'? – regularly.

The squad is pretty concerning though, even trying to be generous about it. Distin will be off and Alcaraz should be. Mirallas will be off and Kone should be.

Barry, Osman, Pienaar, Hibbert and Howard are coming to the end of their careers.

Atsu will go back and maybe Lennon will stay.

That's about 10 roles to be considering and Martinez is talking about 2 or 3.

That's likely to be Cleverley, Lennon and Januzaj (loan), isn't it?

We can't survive without another Centre-Back, surely?

I then thought we played well once Pienaar came on for the next 30 minutes or so – the balance was much better with Pienaar on one side, and Lennon on the other.

I then thought we were just about okay for the last 30 minutes. A point away at Swansea is not a bad result these days.

I thought we defended well generally. Coleman needs to learn from that today though. Play to the whistle is one of the basic rules of football. The ref didn't give a foul, so just kick the ball out.

I thought Barry had a good game in midfield. The other two, McCarthy & Barkley, struggled to get involved though. McCarthy seems to be playing slightly further forward, but it doesn't suit his qualities. As for Barkley, I'm scratching my head. I don't think he has got the athleticism to play in midfield. I honestly think he needs reinventing as a striker who can come deep, because he struggles to join in from midfield currently. His goals & assists record show that he is not producing, yet he has all the talent in the world. I really want him to succeed, but I think he needs to become more of a Teddy Sheringham than a Yaya Toure.

I thought Pienaar and Lennon did well. Koné is not up to scratch though. We need another striker. There might be some good strikers going down this year – Danny Ings, Charlie Austin. We might be able to get one of them in. It was obvious that we had very little in the final 3rd. Story of our season.

Look at the midfield of today – it's awful, totally bereft of creativity... I'm surprised Lukaku has managed to knock in nearly 20 goals this season. Sorry this is not the best squad. The plus side has been both Stones and Barkley in the first team, but there is way too much expectation on both players at such a young age.

As for going forward, I wouldn't get too excited by the summer, I highly doubt we will bring in the type of players to push for the Champions League births so better not to get hopes up from now. That said, if we are in the bottom half with 10-12 games played next season then Martinez's position as manager cannot be accepted any longer.

I actually found myself nodding off at one point, it was that boring, and I see someone in a earlier post mentioned my old mate Tom Cleverley. If he and Januzaj are actually realistic targets, you've got to fear for the future of our club.

None and I mean none of his signings have been any good – and I include McCarthy in that – who, last season, I thought was going to turn out like some sort of Graeme Sourness type figure. He's gone so far backwards, it's untrue.

I see a couple on here said Barry was outstanding today. Sorry but I just didn't think so. Howard with a couple of decent saves and Coleman who had a good game and that was it.

It's so predictable watching Martinez's team this season. Obviously I'm one of the ones who wants him gone ASAP but know it's never going to happen. These last few weeks have bought him some time and Kenwright must be rubbing his hands.

Unfortunately, come next October or November, he won't be so lucky because we will be well and truly up a certain creek...

You say we don't have great players yet this squad (bar Besic, Atsu and Deulofeu, who left) is the same squad that finished 5th last season.

You'd think judging by the defence for RM that he'd got us promoted and kept us up or took over à la Pulis and worked miracles.

Gavin says that 'considering where we've been for most of the season' Martinez has done well to get us out of it.

Unless I'm mistaken, Martinez was the one who led a top 6 squad last season to this situation, no-one else.

Kone was an embarrassment.

Martinez is just not getting it. Tactics poor as was defending. We got away with it. Not two points dropped bit one point gained.

I feel guilty but it's just so boring.

I think that the squad was ill-equipped for the Europa campaign. Martinez said we needed 7 players in the summer then back-tracked. So to me, that looks as though BK didn't come up with the necessary funds.

This is a very similar situation to the season Newcastle played in the Europa after finishing 5th and then sank like a stone the following season - they spent their money in the January window they finished 5th and then got Remy on loan as their only summer signing. We in turn only bought the players that got us to 5th (for continuity) and lost Deulofeu and added only Besic and Atsu. Added to that the old Moyes brigade - Howard, Distin and Pienaar got another year older. So in footballing terms we stood still so why did we kid delude ourselves that wed be contending for Champions League again?!?

For me the failings lie a lot with the board for the reasons above. I know some will say that we all know BK's failings with significant financial backing, so why did Martinez spend nearly all the budget on Lukaku, if there wasn't the money to make 7 signings and point to Moyes having bigger transfer restrictions.

I would say that the gulf is bigger than ever between the 'have's and have nots', Martinez wanted continuity from the team that finished 5th. I was made up we signed Rom, and we've got a player we'll make money on. We can all criticise Martinez because we all bought into his dream, but if you break it down into the post mortem of the season it's not that surprising if you only look at history (Newcastle as the example) if you don't build on the team that got you there.

I think we will continue to win games until the end of the season and Martinez should have his chance to build his own team and replace the ageing players of the previous regime, up until Xmas, at least.

BK and his cohorts can continue in the same vein for as long as they wish but we all know one season it will bite them on the bum, fortunately for the supporters it wasn't this season more by luck than by design. BK sits back in silence and lets the manager take the flak it is also the reason why Roberto will continue in his position and why he will more than likely be here for the full term of his contract, unless we find ourselves truly threatened with relegation.

That player is Yannick Bolasie.

I first thought this when I saw Crystal Palace destroy us at Goodison last April, Seamus Coleman has a "phenomenal" season last year but he couldn't get near Bolasie that night.

Bolasie is everything I'd love to see in an Everton player, pace, power, direct. Contrast that to the man we paid the £28 million on who has essentially flopped on terms of Premier League goals and performances.

Once Aaron Lennon leaves back to Spurs and Mirallas goes we haven't a single direct attack minded player in my opinion, I'm sorry but Barkley needs to START DOING IT. I'm seeing too many players who are not getting the hype that Barkley gets but they are quite simply performing better than him.

I think some of the transfer extensions have been questionable. We did well tying up Barkley and Coleman on long term deals but there's been other more questionable deals. We have Howard on easy street, place seemingly assured in the team up until the age of 40 and there's talk today of Gibson getting another deal. The only way that makes sense is if he'll be on lower terms because at the age of 27 the lads not going to become a fit regular starter.

He's looking a very good player, Jim. I still think a large contingent of our support would have had a good moan at us signing such an unknown quantity, who is approaching is mid-20s and played lower league until recently if he'd have been one of last summers main signings. Perhaps this is the route we need to go down and look at unpolished lower league diamonds, rather than relying on loans.

Well said. The ridiculous defence of this fraud from some is unbelievable especially in the context of the vitriol dished out on this site to OFM for finishing seventhish without a fraction of the funds made available to this deluded clown we now have.

Blue Bill, who claims to have been a fellow denizen of the Boys Pen, must surely remember those days and the wonderful affect of having a good manager. Sadly I reckon that our current one could not lead a pack of hungry wolves to dinner making the words of Henry Rose even more desperate where we are concerned. Please, Please Bill learn from history by seeking a decent manager asap.

The price he paid for them is worth a moan though – hardly bargains!

I don't think even Moyes sunk to such negative depths. We're 1-0 up, and our manager says that going forward trying to score a 2nd goal is a mistake?

Come on. I don't need to say anymore. No-one does. Look at that.

This should be it.

The quote in full is 'Trying to get the second goal was our mistake because something can happen at 1-0 and unfortunately it did'.

Now, I'm sorry, but surely if you're 1-0 up, correct me if I'm wrong, the 2nd goal is the most important because it wraps the game up and provides a suitable buffer to defend in case something goes wrong, like a stupid handball.

I did not make that up.

Don't understand how people can blame the referee. Blatant penalty. Whether you think it's a foul or not, you can't just scoop up the ball with your hands. Footballers taking the rules into their own hands is never right, and it got what it deserved. Really foolish from Coleman, who had played well up until then.

McCarthy failing to shoot when clean through on goal and into the penalty area had me pulling my hair out. Astounding negativity. Hate to say it, but Jonjo Shelvey looked twice the player today.

Stones will very soon be the best centre-back in the league.

Pienaar is still a very good little player, and should start when fit. He sees things that our other wingers don't, and brings balance to the side.

"But we were disciplined, scored a very good goal but in the first 25 minutes of the second-half it was almost too easy with the way we moved the ball and we never carried the threat we should have. Trying to get the second goal was our mistake because something can happen at 1-0 and unfortunately it did."

It still could have been mistakenly reported because I can't believe that Roberto could make such an utterance.

I must have got into a rage over nothing.

'Shelvy scores in to the exact same place as his previous penalty this season... does Taliban Tim not do any homework?'

I've heard plenty of completely justified criticism of Howard but that, Steve, is ridiculous.

Kone, as I said last week, should never wear an Everton shirt again. He's worse than useless. Naismith should have been sent on to replace him much earlier... maybe just after the warm up? And, just what did Martinez expect Mirallas to do in five minutes? Inept and ill-thought out substitutions yet again from our 'phenomenal' coach.

So pleased to see a fit Stevie Pienaar back though. What a difference he made to the team, which for a while, looked like a balanced unit again. Perhaps his long lay-off has helped return him to full fitness and also renewed his hunger for the game, it looked like it.

Aaron was another positive. It looks like he and Everton could be good for each other, let's hope we can sign him at the end of the season, but knowing how our manager thinks, he may be considered too much of a forward playing player for his style... haha.

All-in-all, a not bad team performance, but why, oh why, didn't McCarthy shoot when it was easier to score than to pass? We really lost a golden opportunity to close the gap on the top ten, and results around us didn't help either.

Oh yes, and Roberto, going for a second goal didn't do Palace any harm did it?

Lennon – has he shown enough to buy? Not in my opinion – his final ball is the same as McGeady's and he will cost around £6 mill.

Martinez still coming out after the game with drivel, should we get rid? YES! YES!! YES!!!

Is it too much to hope for that Roberto will come to his senses and abandon his plans to sign Cleverley and show Kone and Alcaraz the exit door? If he did this and signed three quality replacements, it might just buy him some much-needed credibility. I can't see it happening.

Of course he got the handball decision right but he shouldn’t have had to make that call as it was a clear push on Coleman. Going down easy or not, in this day and age, hands on the back is a foul all day long.

Also Brian Porter (#169). Exactly, what is Mirallas going to produce in 5 mins?

We should have gone 4-4-2 as soon as they scored. Kept Kone on (even though he wasn't very effective solo) and pushed either Mirallas or Naismith up with him. He is no lone striker, that's for sure. Or he could have amazed us by taking off Barry or Mac and gone 4-3-3 for 15 mins.

However, he is coming to the end of his career in the Premier League and will need replacing, he has been a great servant and deserves some respect. Unlike a few of Roberto's signings whom he looks like giving extended contracts to.

Just because Shelvey put his last penalty to the keeper's left, doesn't mean he's going to put the next one in the same spot. If he'd stuck the last seven there then you may have had a point.

Oh for a manager that looks at what players he has available then lines up accordingly. That's management – look at the resources and have a strategy that gets the best out of those resources.

The six 'P's apply: proper preparation prevents piss poor performance.

Relexes: Well, at his age, they are slowing a bit, but if he'd been as slow as a glacier, he would not have got as far up the tree as he did.

Proper Preparation; All the research has been done, by some RS as it happens, who (sad bastard) sat and watched 1500 penno's and in 95% of then the non-kicking foot pointed where the ball went... it's simple anatomy, your legs are separated by the hips.

Try this, say for argument you are right-footed (the middle of the goal is 12 o'clock.) Try aiming / planting your non-kicking left foot at '9:30am' – as if you are putting the ball inside that post... the left hand post as you see it (keeper's right)... then try and put the imaginary ball inside the other (right hand post as you see it).

So we have Shelvey who takes a right-footed penalty, running in from left to right, who plants his none kicking left foot right at the right hand (2:30pm on the imaginary clock, as Shelvey looks at it)... where is the ball going as Shelvey looks at it??? All together now, children: "TOO THE KEEPER'S LEFT"... Oh yes it is.

Which way does Taliban - Terrible nice but dim - Tim go??? To his 'kin right.

"Yeah, but it all happens in a split second" and such shite.

Experience – Proper preparation – Reflexes

Goalkeepers, Goalkeeping coaches, the out-field coaches, the head coach... Uncle Tom Cobbley and 'kin all.

As my old Granny would say... "I wouldn't pay them in washers."

Taxi!

Does anyone know of any links online to watch extended highlights of the match, like a Football First style?

Pienaar made a difference when he came on; whether he can stay fit for the foreseeable and rekindle some kind of his partnership with Baines is doubtful but he showed what we've been missing in terms of creativity going forward.

Coleman was definitely fouled but it was unprofessional to handball.

It feels like 2 points thrown away rather than a good draw. But the most annoying thing was to waste good forward positions in sight of goal by making an extra pass. Interesting to hear Martinez say the same thing but I'm afraid he must take some responsibility for that. Players don't just develop this desire to always pass instead shooting.

This is not a new phenomenon. He should be drilling it in to players that, when you can see the whites of the goalies eyes, it's time to smack the bloody thing. The worst example of this was McCarthy but there were and have been plenty of other examples. I wish I had a quid for everytime the crowd shout "Shoot!" only to see players make another pass.

Is the joy in passing or scoring? Answers on a postcard please.

Passers will always try to pass, Shooters will always try a shot, Dribblers will always dribble, guys with their head down will never look up.

If they could break this conditioning and do more (better?) – we couldn't afford them.

You may well be right. But a Manager worth his salt should be more than capable of teaching players new tricks – always supposing that he knows them himself, of course!

It wasn't though.

I watched MotD last night and was amazed at just how many players were actually shooting at goal. I'm just not used to this strange reaction to being within 25 yards of the goal.

Stoke City were shooting for fun at West Ham. Imagine if we had Arnautovic, who had to score three goals before the ref would let him have one of them. I wonder what he would cost?

Just a pile of shite I'm afraid. Are you seriously suggesting a goalkeeper waits until he sees where the penalty takers foot is planted before he makes a decision.

By the time he's done that he ain't going to save it anyway. A well taken penalty more often than not beats a keeper.

Just feels like another desperate attempt to get on the anti Howard bandwagon when in fact he has been excellent in the last four games.

And as for that fucking beard.........

It’s been mentioned further up the thread, look at the freekick given to their goalie about 5 mins later, no contact but because he goes down its deemed a foul... oh for some consistency in decisions no matter what position the player plays or where on the pitch it happens!

He certainly fits the bill for me....can Everton ruin another centre-forward?

Seriously, I would love to see him playing for us.

We are knee-deep in wingers, but he won't play 'em, he'd rather play a midfielder or a centre-forward out of position.

If you go the wrong way ON PURPOSE, the taker can slip ala Beckham, shank it, be out with his placement, under hit the pace of it...and it sill goes in.

Give yourself a chance any chance however small, by going the right way and you are at least in the right half of the goal and have some chance of taking advantage, which you can't do sprawled on your beard at the bottom of the other post. That Sir, is NOT shite, It's knowing your trade.

Lukaku has missed loads of easy chances but also scored some important goals.

If a half-chance fell in the box, give me Naismith any day for it to fall to.

Stick Kone back in the stiffs and for Christ's sake stick Naismith in attack and not out wide.

Knowing your trade as a goalkeeper and always diving the right way? Have you ever played in goal? Sorry, but that's a complete nonsense – when facing a penalty, your chances of saving it even when you guess the right way are only around 25%-30%.

Your statement that Tim Howard should be diving the right way when facing a penalty makes no sense at all and appears to be based on the fact he should work it our from the direction Shelvey's standing foot is pointing? Where have you got this miraculous revelation regarding the art of penalty saving from? Maybe you're a sports scientist about to publish a paper to improve goalkeeping standards the world over?

Seriously though – it does make me wonder when fans come out with this stuff, and claim them as facts.

As an ex-keeper myself, I can assure you that staring at a players standing foot at the moment they take a penalty at you does not give you an indication of where the ball will end up. Also, it's worth noting that the average ball speed is 70 mph when it goes past you as a keeper. I think that's worth noting.

When a keeper dives, he covers about 1/9th of the goal at best. The odds are not stacked in the keeper's favour as you can tell....

Still, any excuse to lay into one of the Premier League's best goalkeepers in recent years, eh? He may not be as good as he once was, and yes he's made errors this season – all keepers make errors, all players make errors – goalkeeping errors are highlighted hugely, and the art of keeping goal is not an easy existence as a footballer, I can tell you. It's a lonely place when things go wrong, and as supporters we should back him up, not call him out all the time.

If you want him out, take a pop at the guy who picks the team, not the team he picks. Think about it.

It's all about opinions after all. Tell you what, just to humour me or prove yourself right, next time there is a penalty on TV, pause it at the moment of contact, apply the theory and either you buy me a virtual pint or I buy you one.

And this season's stats also show that Howard is NOT one of the league's top keepers.

Honestly, that is just embarrassing. Kone could very very easily have been sent off 10 minutes before the pen was given, and Swansea would then have been claiming the ref had cost them the game. They also had a goal disallowed for a borderline foul.

I think it was a push on Coleman but it was also borderline, you see plenty of them not given. I'm not sure why people are talking about playing to the whistle either. It's not like he awarded himself a free kick and picked the ball up, he realised the man had got past him and panicked, making a desperate attempt to stop him getting away. It was a stupid thing to do but nothing to do with playing to the whistle.

Finally, Derek, the idea that your Sunday league team won 3 penalty shoot outs in a season due to your incredible knowledge of penalty saving is fantastic. Not much can make me laugh on a Monday morning but that did the trick. They should make a film out of it.

The standing foot thing may be true... but you're completely missing the point. If the 'keeper leaves it that late, the ball will be in the back of the net before he's even moved.

I don't know what standard of football you played/managed. Your theory may be of some use if you were facing a penalty taken by a kid who couldn't generate much power, thus giving the 'keeper more time. But in professional football you simply cannot wait that length of time before shifting your bodyweight in a chosen direction.

But hey, maybe you know more than every professional 'keeper ever to have played the game.

Oliver's intentions were clear in the first 15 minutes when he failed to penalsie for a blatant push on Coleman when we were in a very good position in their half and then gave them a foul for every fifty-fifty. And for the red that Kone didn't get, I'll raise you Williams's studs first challenge into McCarthy's midriff.

I'm not saying Oliver had a fantastic game or that we were lucky with the decisions in the main, just that thinking 'his intentions were clear' is plain ridiculous. He made poor decisions for both sides, like all referees do. He allowed us to play in while they had players injured, didn't send Kone off for a blatant bookable offence, didn't even give a foul for another after that which many refs would have, and ignored a couple of penalty shouts from the Swansea players and fans (they weren't pens but, if he was just looking for an excuse to screw us over, he could have).

Regarding the goal, maybe calling it 'disallowed' is a bit much, but no outfield player could have prevented that shot going in. Only Howard could have influenced whether it went in or not, and I'm not entirely convinced he'd have saved it.

Looks like I'm in a minority of one... No change there, so will retire bloodied but unrepentant.

For the Coleman challenge, I agree he wasn't fouled but you see that same scenario every week and they're always given. It's a serious pet hate of mine how defenders can obstruct and then dive once the ball is rolling towards the line. For years I've been complaining about it and saying I'd like to see a statement that it won't be tolerated anymore.

So you can imagine how thrilled I am that someone finally upheld the rules of the game. Just as I was when a ref decided to suddenly penalise shirt pulling in the box (was it away to City last year?).

I've read plenty of the studies and stats on penalties in the professional game, and I'm not convinced by the argument about the standing foot. As someone else mentioned above, if you wait till the foot is planted, the ball will be in the onion bag before you've even moved.

You can plant your foot any way you like, and still change the direction of the ball when you strike it, simply by using the striking foot and angling your hips a little bit in the other direction. The standing foot does not dictate the angle or direction of the striker's other foot, and therefore the ball.

Anyway, I'll happily buy you a pint, virtual or otherwise. :)

The main point about penalties, is they're heavily loaded in favour of the taker, and goalkeepers cannot, and should not ever be criticised for not saving them.

What happens when the keeper dives to his left/penalty takers right and it is rolled in?

Do we start calling Howard the biggest tosser in the world because he went the wrong way again?

For Heaven's sake, don't get me started on some of the STUPID things that have infiltrated the game over recent years!

● The "shepherding" of the ball out for a goal kick is blatant obstruction but refs allow it.

● Goalies wandering from one side to the other to waste time when taking a goal kick. Who's bright idea was that?

● The WWF wrestling that goes on at corners, usually by some retard like Skirtl. Or any one from Stoke. (Even the tea lady)

● Linesmen with the eyesight of Stevie Wonder, who are incapable of giving a decision without the consent of Ray Charles (the ref) first. (Some younger readers might need to ask their dad...)

● Injured players having to go off the pitch after the trainer has come on. OK, I can see how and why that came in at first but when a defender gets floored and has to go off while a corner is taken but the perpetrator stays on...

● Not having a "bounce up" these days when play has been stopped.

● And WTF is this all about, a player pretends to get hurt, rolls around holding his head, so one team is obliged to put the ball out and cease an attacking move, at which point the injured player gets up and runs around like a young stag? Take the twat out and shoot him against the Park End stand!

Or maybe we could start that business.

Derek@225.
Correct. You're not.

I need to lie down..

The only time you would need to stop the game would be if the Referee has given a penalty and the 'injured' player is in the 18-yard area.

Kone was totally shite! A waste of space. Naismith should've started.

Another below-par performance from Barkley.

Ah well... at least we are are unbeaten in 4 games.

Realistically, how many of these players actually require treatment?

Actually, now I think of it, do we see the stretcher as much as we did a few years ago?

Rugby players tend not to kick each other very much, and are all hard bastards. Footballers are mostly a bunch of big girl's blouses.