Everton Pass Up Fourth Straight Win

McCarthy needs encouragement to shoot also. I thought Barry was OK but, as I said, I didnÂ’t see the whole game.

Okay, I can moan about the stupid Coleman handball and Kone fighting a losing battle against Williams and Taylor but, in general, I thought we were pretty good. Certainly a whole lot better than I had anticipated.

Lukaku would have made a difference and Naismith wasnÂ’t the answer when Kone went off. Most clubs have three or four main strikers. We have two and itÂ’s not enough.

I donÂ’t have a Man of the Match. They all played well and two or three intelligent additions would make us difficult to beat next season.

Lennon had another good game he has a winning mentality. Buy a few more like that Roberto and maybe youÂ’ll win back a few fans.

The season ended in Kiev and I cannot understand what RM thinks he will gain or learn by giving the likes of Mirallas 5 mins to run around at the end. I guess heÂ’s still focused on trying to get as many points this season to justify his job.

No Garbutt, Robles or Besic given any minutes and it doesnÂ’t look likely at this point, nor for any of the other youngsters. We can presume Garbutt wonÂ’t be around at GP come August, so thatÂ’s two defenders definitely leaving.

Nice to see that Pienaar is finally fit, although OsmanÂ’s now injured....

There was quite a heated debate about Macca last week. He was accused of being a coward and one or two took exception to it. Â’CowardÂ’ was always the wrong word; the guy is as hard as nails, but I felt there was a legitimate question mark about whether or not he has the courage to take responsibility. That question mark grew a little bigger and a little bolder for me yesterday.

McCarthy was clean through yesterday, he had a very clear sight of the whites of the goalkeeperÂ’s eyes, There was no defender blocking his way, IÂ’m sorry, but I was right behind that and his decision to move the ball on was a total abdication of responsibility.

IÂ’m not a "hater" and if I didnÂ’t think he had it in his locker, I would not criticise him, but I believe he does; without his drive and determination, we wouldnÂ’t have had a lead to defend, but he doesnÂ’t do it nearly enough. His goals return simply isnÂ’t good enough.

I don’t know if its courage or self-belief he lacks when he gets near the opposition goal (sometimes on a football pitch they amount to the same thing) but if he is to fulfill his enormous potential, the devil in his game needs to turn up – all game... every week.

Some will argue that we have gone four games unbeaten, had a good run in Europe, but I have not seen any signs that whatever the team works on behind closed doors is beginning to emerge. No signs at all — which is most alarming and does not inspire any confidence that we are on the up.

You always expect a team to go through a bad patch. We have been through one all season and that has to be down to the manager. A change has to be made or I fear an even worse season next term!

You wouldnÂ’t want the dross we have endured all season heaped upon any team, not even Liverpool!!

Darren. I wouldn't worry too much about McCarthy. He's a very good player who was under orders to try something new yesterday and we can't expect him to perform like Lampard overnight. The lad is definitely improving and, with the help of Barkley and Kone, he set up the Lennon goal and was involved in most attacking moves. Certainly a positive sign for the future.

McCarthy is a holding midfielder with terrific work-rate – that's all he is and there's nothing wrong with that. It's not his fault that there is very little creativity around him. I don't remember RS fans moaning about Javier Mascherano not scoring and creating any goals. They just appreciated he was a top holding midfielder who broke up opposition play and protected the back 4. The difference is, he had players like Alonso and Gerrard alongside him creating chances and scoring goals. McCarthy doesn't and for that reason people expect him to be something he isn't.

McCarthy is one of the best at what he does and these specialist players like McCarthy and Mascherano don't grow on trees. They usually cost a lot of money and are an important ingredient to their teams. Martinez needs to buy some creative players in the summer to add balance to our midfield.

Given the recent criticism of him from Ireland, there's clearly a perception that McCarthy could be taking the initiative a bit more and he's clearly got the ability to be more involved in the final third. He needs to flip a psychological switch, in my opinion.

For heaven's sake, if a 14-year-old (who doesn't even play football – he's a rugby player) can see it as plain as anything... Why, Why, oh Why, can't Martinez!?!

We haven't really played well for a run of games at any time this season and the backward step we've taken is beyond huge when you consider that Utd are about to reclaim their regular top four finishing place after the Moyes blip, and brilliantly managed Southampton will add to their squad in the close season......making it even harder to finish above 8th next time around.

I watched the Swansea game and couldn't see us doing much to improve under Martinez. He rarely reacts quickly to some obvious patterns in a game and SWANSEA was no different.....the whole thing screamed for Mirallas to replace Kone after about 55 minutes but no, we plodded on risking a red card and seeing zero threat up front.

There isn't any money, as usual, unless we sell Lukaku at a loss and that won't be allowed to happen. We seem to be about to lose Garbutt who will be better than Baines in six mths but probably playing for Liverpool or Spurs. We need to replace Howard but won't. Barklay is, well, I just don't know what he is after this season but he can't carry the team. I realise this is depressing but honestly it's how I feel, the team has just totally collapsed from a point where we might have genuinely kicked on. We now have to totally start again and rebuild when it shouldn't have been necessary.

Whose fault is that ? The players...or at least seven or eight of them, have under performed and been guilty of more glaring personal errors than those in any other prem outfit. But I cannot get past the manager.....he lost the plot and his stubborn refusal to change approach immediately after Christmas...hell during that aweful set of defeats.....has cost us dear. But then so has spending 㿈m on one player when we badly needed three, and worse the failure to see the desperate need for centre back cover in the summer window.

Can't wait for this miserable season to end and all that's left is to hope for a miracle in the summer transfer window coming up. I say miracle because Martinez has got us dumped out of Europe and that WILL impact some signing prospects and we won't have money for anything special, so he's going to be under intense pressure to wheel and deal and pull off some extraordinary transfer successes if he's to put this crap campaign behind him and us.....he will not be sacked so lets pray for a "phenominal" close season......

Sometimes I think we're a bit unfair when we judge a performance. There's a tendency to accept a poor performance in a great season, while slamming a decent performance in a poor season.

The reality is that, in a poor season the most likely way to improve is through a gradual upturn in form rather than a complete reversal. Teams don't suddenly become great when they've been shit all season.

I thought Saturday was a good performance. Doesn't allay all my concerns and it even reinforced some about Martinez. But it was progress, and that's about the best we can expect right now until this ordeal is put to bed for the summer.

Times may change but most Evertonians have seen most things before, given what happened to Gordon Lee at the end of that campaign, the fans were ultimately proved correct -–I wonder if those who have criticised our current manager will be proved correct.

The team in those days was very similar to today's in that it was mostly made up of experienced players and had a young starlet by the name of McMahon who was only 19 years of age.

What has happened to Baines's shooting prowess? Barkley does not shoot enough. Coleman is the same. Kone is useless. Even Lukaku can scuff shots. Do Everton not practice shooting? Do they not practice corners and Free kicks? Do they practice anything? I thought that all this talk about not practicing was just that. A load of talk from disgruntled supporters. Now I think that it is true.

We should try and sign Adams from Stoke, and get him to show this Everton team how to shoot. Cause Martinez has not got a clue. Still far too much tippy nonsense. It was evident again on Saturday until a few defenders decided to boot the ball up field. Playing the passing game is great, with the right players. We don't have those players.

So we are now playing out one of the most pointless and awful seasons that I can remember. I have lost interest a long time ago. But at least we are safe. And still Martinez cannot bring himself to play a few youngsters. Maybe bring some much needed energy to the team. Instead, let's see what Howard and Barry and Kone all bring to the team. I really do despair for how the summer will pan out. And next season could be scary. Batten down the hatches. We ain't seen nothing yet. FOREVER EVERTON.