Familiar Failings Expose Blues' Deficiencies

My gripe is that Martinez has been shown up from the end of last season. Supporters have been commenting on his obvious failings since last season yet only now are the more established commentators questioning his decisions.

Martinez is unable to tactically change a game during the 90 minutes; yes, he can make substitutions but his tactics do not change. I hate to say it but even Brenda across the Park can alter things during the course of the game.

We will get the usual posters on here making up the usual excuses and calling for Martinez to be given more time; unfortunately, giving this incompetent more time will enable him to dig a bigger hole for our Club to slide in to. It is imperative that this guy goes if not now then at the end of the season. He should not be allowed any time here to spend one penny of our transfer budget. He is no doubt a nice guy but totally out of his depth at our Club.

ItÂ’s one of the many reasons why IÂ’ve got little faith in him. I donÂ’t think itÂ’s a good idea to be constantly changing managers but in this case I think he needs to go.

However, his confidence appears to be shot and when presented with a good chance yesterday he fluffed his lines with a powder puff shot straight at the keeper.

What is the issue? Great physical attributes, but no football intelligence? If only he had half of OssieÂ’s footballing nous.

If BK can’t see this, we are doomed to another relegation-threatened campaign, full of depressing possession football, dull and uninspiring results. Roberto’s dealing in the transfer market suggest he will further weaken the team in the summer – how can this be allowed to happen?

The supporters deserve better than this; even yesterday the ground was near full and our loyalty is unquestionable.

The whole football world can see that Ross Barkley is a red hot talent. Why is he playing so badly?

For me, there just aren’t enough signs that Martinez is going to make it work with us. We have been dreadful all season, even in games that we have won – apart from one or two – we just haven’t performed as a unit. I fear next season will be just the same.

Too often, Ross Barkley takes an extra touch, or looking for a shot, he delays, losing the chance. It all boils down to a lack of confidence, and perhaps too much expectation.

Also on MotD, Anichebe scored for the Baggies, and looked better than our expensive Belgian Behemoth. Although I liked Big Vic, I never thought he was good enough and to think we spent 㿈M on someone who is no better, is awful.

The last two games have clearly shown that Martinez can pick his best team (and I would have picked the same) but he canÂ’t motivate them. It reminds me of the Cup Quarterfinal at Arsenal, and the match in Kiev, not to mention a whole legion of normal league games. The trouble is that, no matter what the personnel, and various set-ups, the intensity just doesnÂ’t surface until we go behind, and then itÂ’s too late. Even when we have gone ahead, we have taken the foot off the throttle and allowed teams back in again.

At one stage this season, we were the team who had lost more points after being ahead than anyone else. It has to be down to the manager – all of the players can’t be letting him down so often. There must be disharmony backstage, and the players don’t believe in him, or he is just out of his depth.

For me I have seen enough, he should be shown the door or we will be having the same conversations in a years time.

What tactics should we have employed? Given the fact that we have consistently proved that we are incapable of getting round a parked bus, is there any other approach possible? I just think our players arenÂ’t skilful enough, and that includes Barkley, who has got worse as the season has progressed.

We have not had a striker of the quality of lukaku for years. Or a central midfield core, including Barkley, for years.

However, we have a manager who is unable to get the best from his players. This is the single most important skill needed by an Everton manager.

LetÂ’s face it, Moyes got more from Steve Watson as a striker than RM has got from lukaku! Relatively speaking!

The simple part to me is we cannot continue with this manager! HeÂ’s disgraceful!

ItÂ’s the first season, ever, where there is a clear reduction in my giving a shite!

I appreciate no one on here gives two hoots about my commitment to the cause! But it speaks volumes that my wife thought weÂ’d won yesterday, as usually my moods are very dark when we get beat! But lately, I couldnÂ’t give a shite!

I accept that he has been a big disappointment this season but think he hasnÂ’t been helped by the way the Spanish clown sets his team up and also the many times heÂ’s been played out of position. Jack Grealish has looked good but wonder if heÂ’d look so effective having to play in our side!

If the answer is yes then it would be the players who need replacing, however, if the answer is no then it is the manager who needs replacing. None of this Â’give him ten gamesÂ’ to prove himself, heÂ’s had nearly two full seasons in charge and we are no further forward than when he first stepped into Goodison.

Any manager with experience of the Premier League would have done better with our squad, than Roberto has this season and at the moment I would take any manager who has Premier League experience to replace him.

If a team with 73% of possession canÂ’t score a goal and can concede two there is a major problem with that team. Somebody earlier in the week noted that last season EvertonÂ’s goal seemed to lead a charmed life and most of us will admit that to be true on many occasions. Remember Cardiff City, West Brom et al from the early part of last season, are we any further on? No - New manager and coaches required at Goodison ASAP.

As for Lukaku. CanÂ’t believe we paid a fortune for a main striker who canÂ’t control a ball or head a ball. I would much prefer he took his ego and lack of talent elsewhere. Until he is replaced by a mobile striker with a football brain weÂ’ll continue to struggle in the final third. This lack of the proper service doesnÂ’t wash with me any more. HeÂ’s just not good enough.

I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I now think that he is an awful player to play with. He never peels off to pull defenders out to make space for on-rushing (or chugging!) mid-fielders, and his technique lets him down consistently.

The man is built like a heavyweight boxer, but fancies himself as a tricksy striker, I wince as he tries to fool the defender with a sluggish step-over. He needs a lesson in the basics... hold it up, lay it off and even win a header now and again.

If players are stocks and commodities we are buying futures.

We paid 28 million (20 whatever + with some weird-ass agreement paid over installments lasting 234 years...) for a striker who at the time was 20 years old. It was, at the time, a good purchase. The majority of fans, upon RomÂ’s signing, were very happy weÂ’d tied down one of the worldÂ’s best prospects who had already shown great skill and talent. I also remember a comment or two about Everton making a statement of intent with his signing at the time.

ItÂ’s worth mentioning his foot injury which I believe hampered his performances the first half of the season. In 2015 his control has been much better as have been his effort and performances.

Insofar as Romelu is concerned I personally find it very prudent to give him more time.

I think patience will be rewarded.

The answer is no, none of those teams have better players.

They also werenÂ’t coming off a stellar season with high expectations and they didnÂ’t have a European competition to contend with.

We have a core of fantastic young players. McCarthy, Seamus, Romelu, Besic, Garbutt (pray he stays), Stones, Barkley...

Roberto took a team mired in 5th to 8th place and provided our largest points total ever by "fine-tuning" a great core that was in place due to his predecessorÂ’s efforts with the additions of Lukaku, Barry, and McCarthy.

His second season has been short of the mark.

IF he can reduce the age of the squad and make some intelligent signings this summer thereÂ’s no reason, with the core of excellent young talent we have, he canÂ’t duplicate his first season performance.

I think he deserves the opportunity to do so.

The form if these two goes a long way to explaining our striker and we badly need an alternative striker and AMC for when they arenÂ’t cutting it.

These players have been used to finishing in the top six the past few seasons, so I donÂ’t buy the idea that they could be suffering from expectations. Many of us expect this team to finish top six and failure to do so must lead to questions of the players and coaching staff. I think the directors, management and players were complacent about this season and have been badly found out

WeÂ’ve got some serious issues with our squad and set-up. Many of our players are frankly, too old and need replacing. Far too many people are defending/pining for the likes of Distin and Pienaar when the simple fact is that they will not be as good or fit as they were. Throw in the likes of Howard, Gibson, Hibbert, plus MartinezÂ’s purchases of Alcaraz and Kone; this increases the age issue.

On top of that, we have the set-up of the team. Barry gets a lot of stick, but he suffers for the lack of movement in the team. HeÂ’s been the chief fall-guy for Martinez this season. Have you noticed what happens when everyone gets what they want and heÂ’s taken off? Teams go through us like a dose of salts. Martinez doesnÂ’t trust his defence to defend - thatÂ’s why he needs a bank of two in front. Basic may please some because he Â’runs aroundÂ’, but while he does this he gives the ball away, gets caught out of position and is a rash tackler. HeÂ’s got time to improve, but I know why Barry gets in the team ahead of him.

As for Barkley and Lukaku, IÂ’d happily get rid of both if we need the money. Barkley will be here aged 30 and people will call him Â’promisingÂ’. If he was anywhere near as good as people say, heÂ’d be making an impact, regardless of your view of MartinezÂ’s tactics. Few goals, few assists and a habit of running in circles or into opponents doesnÂ’t do it for me. Lukaku will improve, but are we really paying 㿈m for someone who is promising? IÂ’ll accept weÂ’re not playing to his strengths. I wonÂ’t accept the build of Tyson and the strength of a goldfish, the touch of an elephant and his habit of disappearing from games. And the lack of goals. This is a man who genuinely thought he should walk into MourinhoÂ’s team. Really?

Plenty to think about in the summer. I think we need a new keeper, at least one decent centre back, at least one playmaker and at least one proper striker. But I also said that last year. How much will we get for all the over-30s? How much will Bill give Martinez? If he gives him any money, can we trust Martinez to spend wisely, keep them fit, organise and motivate them?

If we actually rebuilt the team and change itÂ’s mindset, IÂ’d settle for a mid-table season. Despite an excellent first season, Martinez hasnÂ’t shown the bottle to rebuild the team and this season appears unable to even maintain the mindset of the existing players. So as a result, weÂ’ve had a dull mid-table season, with the same and extra older players, no youngsters brought through and a lack of motivation or energy in the team.

Regardless of who is manager next season, weÂ’re stuck with a regime who wonÂ’t invest in the team. Moyes suffered for it and probably now thinks he left at a great time. Martinez is suffering for it and canÂ’t cope with what heÂ’s got. Nick EntwistleÂ’s point was spot-on. Ashley is doing what most other PL chairmen do; keep the club from relegation, dampen expectations, no need to invest, count the money.

Jesus, and IÂ’d say IÂ’m a positive person!

IÂ’m getting a little tired of the excuses getting trotted out for these two. TheyÂ’re not delivering and weÂ’re entitled to ask why. I canÂ’t believe itÂ’s just down to the catch-all reason of MartinezÂ’s management. I suspect theyÂ’re not as good as they/we think they are and we canÂ’t afford to wait a few years for them to play consistently well.

I think they are both good, very good players in fact. A few weeks away from non-stop football will do them a world of good.

Mirallas came on and participated for a few minutes and then went AWOL. Lukaku was half asleep at key moments but then he didnÂ’t get good service as usual. Barkley is a microcosm of everything we do wrong. He is combative without being creative, as is Everton as a team.

Getting this right is a process. Next season I hope to quote some of these ludicrously negative remarks about Martinez back to those who made them.

Colin, thatÂ’s a fair point, though I canÂ’t remember the last time Barkley had a good game and I canÂ’t explain LukakuÂ’s lack of energy, strength and ball control. Again, I hope youÂ’re right.

It is all about expecting a high standard of play at all times and not tolerating or accepting failure. Everton do not look motivated and they certainly do not consistently play to a high standard. You can count on one hand the amount of times we have played to a high level this season.

This fact together with MartinezÂ’s performance in the transfer market only means one thing to me, he is not good enough for Everton Football Club.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

"After a good rest, and a proper pre-season, both of them will be back to their best."

"A few weeks away from non-stop football will do them a world of good."

YouÂ’re starting to sound like the manager! I wish I could believe you; sadly, I have no reason to as recent history would suggest the opposite if their problems are indeed due to coaching / training / management / selection / tactics issues, as seems to be the case.

Sorry but IÂ’m not at all convinced I can take much from what are essentially meaningless platitudes!

Whats more, our good form came in matches where we did not dominate possession and counter attacked. We sat no deeper but instead the more direct style of play meant there was more space between the players to exploit the pace in the team. Why is this being ignored? Why are we back to the losing brand of football, which preserves energy but breeds lethargy? Why does our manager insist on imposing a style of football which the fans made clear in the Kiev home game they would not stand for?

One final point. Our record of over turning deficits in league matches is shameful. Given the law of averages, we will find ourselves in a few games next season. The chances of winning those games will be remote if Martinez current record is anything to go by. He needs to depart. I personally would not have him in the summer wasting our meagre transfer resources.

"But donÂ’t whatever you do, kill these young lads."

Who exactly is out to "Kill them"?

Certainly not the fan base, as every Evertonian who draws breath will want them to be a success and play brilliant football.

The only person "Killing" them is RM with his shite tactics and inane idiotic ramblings.

He has become a caricature of a football manager, a bit like Ron Manager the Paul Whitehouse character.

"Marvellous isnÂ’t it, young boys kicking a football, coats for goal posts."

Colin I agree they are young and it takes time to develop, but where is their desire? Especially LukakuÂ’s whoÂ’s only aggression is to moan.

Surely Besic should have featured in some of these games, but at 22 years of age the manager says he has already played enough this season. The next stage of his development can wait till next season.

"Young players struggle to find consistency....unless you're a Pele, Maradonna or Messi."

Is that really what you think? Under this assertion, probably the 3 most talented players in history are the only young footballers to perform at a consistent level? Or is this just a conveniently fabricated statement to excuse more dreadful performances?

Lukaku has been playing in the Premier League for 3 years. For 2 years he showed promise whilst being on loan. YesterdayÂ’s performance was devoid of desire, guile, or any form of clinical finishing. The lad has gone backwards under the current management, and shamefully nothing is being done to rectify this.

Quite frankly he needs to pull his finger out and start justifying why his agent believes he is too good for Everton. He looked like a poor version of Anichebe when he was being bullied by an ageing, error prone Brown and a player who the Kopites couldnÂ’t wait to see the back of in Coates.

Barkley is being woefully under coached. ItÂ’s all very well for the manager to tell him to go out and express himself, but if that expression has zero end product then what is the point? The lad continues to make poor decisions when on the ball, after 3 years of league football where he hasnÂ’t developed this aspect of his game one iota. He rarely gets his head up, rarely offers a goal threat, and regularly gives the ball away needlessly. HeÂ’s showing no signs that he is developing as a player despite the unwarranted hype around him.

I struggle to understand why you think that continuing to sweep these glaring short comings under the carpet will help them to develop and mature towards the supposed world class talents the manager believes they will become?

Despite the fact that we are destined for an 11th place finish having been subjected to watching dreadful performances, terrible results and numerous tactical and selection errors from Roberto, Colin is still blindly confident that next season Â’weÂ’ll be back to our bestÂ’.

I hope heÂ’s right and IÂ’d love him to be right, but based on this season I think weÂ’ll never see a repeat of last season while RM is in charge.

I canÂ’t help recalling an interview with the great Viv Richards; when asked by a reporter about his approach to batting, he thought for a moment, and then said:

"See it, man; Hit it, man"!

HereÂ’s my nickel theory...

You English folk... you have one sport. Just one. Footy. Ergo... you have one team.

Having one team, one sport for your outlet, you live and die with Everton.

I admire that beyond what you can imagine.

But it comes with ramifications.

Here in America we have our hockey, our baseball, our American football, our basketball. So if things arenÂ’t going "right" with one team, we can fall back on that "other" favorite team.

You donÂ’t have that. So when Everton lose thereÂ’s nothing else. You have the abyss... the despair, the dark pit.

Here in the good ol USA, we take things more moderately because we have other outlets.

Everton are experiencing a "sophomore slump". A dip in form. A lag...

We have the makings of a great, great team. So much young talent. So much hope.

Stay true... itÂ’ll come good. We have an upward trending group of young kids that will perform and give us great excitement and results.

You just have to be patient.

FFS I hope IÂ’m right. I hope I can say, "I told you so you silly, knee-jerk reactionary Brits!"

I think thereÂ’s a base here for success. Time will tell. In the meantime get behind your Club and stop with the "thereÂ’s no light at the end of this tunnel" bollocks.

ThereÂ’s a making a a great team. WeÂ’ve had a shit season. It happens. But the shoots of success and happiness are there.

Just be patient and get behind your team and your Gaffer. All the pieces are there.

Jamie - I suppose it is much easier to have Â’perspectiveÂ’ when Â’soccerÂ’ is your 5th, 6th, 7th sporting priority behind the Harlem Globetrotters and LA Hamburgerlars. Unfortunately, when you turn up and pay your money at Goodison Park, you donÂ’t get the luxury of an ice cold Bud with a side of nachos and cheese at your seat. We donÂ’t have cheerleaders and T-shirt bazookas at half time. Thankfully there is no KissCam.

We expect to see effort, heart, and hopefully a bit of skill. To keep using a players age as an excuse for a lack of these, with the redundant caveat of Â’theyÂ’ll come good in the endÂ’, is the main reason why theyÂ’ll continue to disappoint. These are not lads plucked from obscurity. They are full internationals whoÂ’ve played at World Cups. I expect a lot more, even if you donÂ’t.

His inability to change or try different tactics over Christmas should have got him sacked.

LetÂ’s face it, any manager who signs Kone and Alcaraz twice canÂ’t or wonÂ’t learn from his mistakes.

itÂ’s not the fact that weÂ’re having a bit of an off day. Unfortunately, the warnings signs are big and loud and have been there since the end of last season. Some things are not just down to an Â’off dayÂ’... some things are glaringly obvious to anyone with any sense: Martinez is out of his depth.

Either we have to change manager or Martinez has to have a Road to Jerusalem moment at the end of the season. He cannot continue the way he has been going.

I really admire Colin – in a strange way – for making a million excuses for Martinez’s incompetence this season; however, the facts are there right in front of him and he refuses to see them – a bit like the skipper of the Titanic, and we know the result there!

20 years of no trophies and not even a sniff of one, coupled with numerous flirts with relegation, is no knee-jerk reaction, my friend.

Jamie, I enjoy your posts. You talk a lot of sense for a relative newcomer mate, but one thing worries me about Roberto.
Look at Fabregas the Spaniard who plays for Chelsea, what a player. Would you recognize that he combines Spanish skill, with English heart and a great desire?

Look at Martinez, heÂ’s played in the tough lower leagues of England, and managed in the top league, but do you see a mixture of the two cultures in his teams play?

Pass the ball itÂ’s great. But, not enough forward movement., not enough shots, and nowhere near enough pragmatism is Everton at the minute for me and thousands more.

If he can find the mix, I agree we have a very good young core. But if he doesnÂ’t then IÂ’m afraid we canÂ’t be bored with this style of play for to much longer. ItÂ’s a bit like your air forces friendly fire, watching The Toffees Jamie, itÂ’s fucking crucifying!

We like the fight, the passion... we go back hundreds of years of hard working fighters who donÂ’t flop out infront of an oversized TV chopping away at oversized burgers and buckets of popcorn.

We expect any player who pulls on the famous blue shirt of Everton to play with passion, give 100% and expect the manager to instill these ingredients into them.

Please don’t insult our rationale from the good ol USA – you do not know or feel the passion of being a scouse blue.

As many of said on here over the months, and I have been critical of him (especially his first touch), there could be many reasons/excuses for his performances, he is still young so still learning the game, tiredness from World Cups, poor pre-season, injuries at the start and throughout the season, the way the team is set up to play, maybe not to his liking or strengths (or perhaps plays contrary to the way it is set-up in the first place), which may lead to lack of confidence. We hear players, especially strikers, thrive on confidence, and he doesnÂ’t seem to have much.....

However, what I cannot forgive is the apparent lack of effort or interest in whatÂ’s happening in the game.

I am sure most Evertonians would give him the benefit of the doubt if he appeared to make some effort or showed some desire. We have had many centre forwards/strikers over the years, some good, some not-so-good, some awful, but at least you generally thought they were making an effort.

Pointing to where he wants the ball and then not making any considered effort to bother running into the space when the ball is played (eventually), is not useful, neither is pointing to where it should have been played to him when another player takes a shot.

In the past, he has created space and opportunities to score by taking defenders with him. That doesnÂ’t appear to happen these days or as much.

He is obviously a talented player, and no doubt he will leave Everton and go on to become one of the best strikers in the world for another team, which will be a shame for us, but great for someone else!

To me, he doesnÂ’t seem very happy. He doesnÂ’t seem to celebrate with team-mates when they have scored probably as he thinks he was in a better position to score.

He mentioned earlier in the season how hard it was playing through the pain of injury, his fatherÂ’s illness and the death of Junior Malanda.

It could be that he has been affected more than we know by his friendÂ’s death and also by the more recent one of Gregory Mertens, and is still grieving. I am sure we have all lost friends and still think about them etc. Talking from experience, I have lost a few friends over the years, and I remember being affected for months, and my work performance went down for a while.

If you are not particularly playing well or the team is not performing as a whole, and other things happen outside your control, then itÂ’s quite easy to feel down and perhaps not be up for it.

Also appreciate that this is also when your fellow players or management step in to help (thought I would add that for those that want Martinez out!), and perhaps take him out of a game or two...

IÂ’m a big horse racing fan and IÂ’ve also ridden the odd racehorse. For what itÂ’s worth, that gives me an alternative insight into fitness, form, selection, tactics and consistency. This season, Martinez has failed in all five areas, particularly poor when you consider heÂ’s seemed to ignore his good work of last season.

Somethings can be even more frustrating than following Everton...

In post match interviews, he provides a litany of excuses for the team's woeful performances. Analysis of his words clearly show who or what is responsible?

If, in his own words, everyone is 'phenomenal', the problems must lie elsewhere. Training? Fitness? Tactics? Motivation? Philosophy?

Is, therefore, Lukaku the laziest player ever to grace our hallowed turf? At least Barry does try, at least Barkley raises a sweat but Lukaku is the absolute pits when it comes to effort. And that has nothing to do with the service to him. Run around, you lazy fuckwit... or go somewhere else.

Shame about Barkley... but, if we get the spondoolies, weÂ’ll get over it.

There was a player in the same game who came on, with a Crown Court case and maybe prison hanging over him; he got on with it and created the second goal, but as I say everyone is not the same.

I live in Canada but I suppose the difference between me and you is, before emigrating, I was a faithful follower of Everton both home and away for over 20 years. I watch other sports here and in the States and have my favorites but none of them stirs the emotion in me as watching Everton even if it is on TV. I am nervous before it starts and at times I get so excited or upset that the wife is yelling at me to calm down as my blood pressure is rocketing. This what happens when you are born to be an Everton supporter.

As far as American sports go the only one I enjoy it is the NFL and that is watching the New England Patriots and if Everton were to get American owners my wish is it would be the Kraft family who know how to run a sports organization, plus they would have the incentive going against LiverpoolÂ’s owners.

Everton had:
The highest percentage of possession
The highest amount of shots
17 corners, which is indicative of our approach.

The main stat is nil goals of course.
It was just one of them days; on another day with a similar performance we score 3 or 4.

Positives:

The full backs looked back to their normal high standard. McCarthy had a very good game. Barkley, despite the fans in the crowd groaning, tried to play the killer ball on several occasions. It is a disgrace the way this kid is being treated by our fans. Would they like to see him play percentage football, passing safe every time? He would never give the ball away if he passed 10 yards square every time.If you try to open up todayÂ’s well drilled defences by taking a chance you are bound to lose possession. Give the kid a chance to develop.

I see you're a horse-racing fan, and you said you have ridden some racehorses; were you at a local racing stables?

Patrick, about 10 years back, I knew a guy who worked for the Kraft organisation, and they were very close to a deal with Liverpool. I have to say I donÂ’t understand your reticence to them buying Everton; I would welcome them with open arms. They have a good track record with their NFL franchise. I know that things went pear-shaped at Cadburys but in sport they have been successful.

I concur with your thoughts re another successful season from the manager, relatively speaking of course. Although it depends on what is regarded as a successful season.

If it is Premier League record points total like last season, all well and good. I regard this season as a one-off, the manager deserves another go next season.

If it is a trophy, we have to go back 20 years for our last successful manager.

You say: "Please don't insult our rationale from the good ol USA – you do not know or feel the passion of being a scouse blue."

I assure you sir, that whereas you rightly point out I can never possibly feel your passion as a scouse blue, I feel passion nonetheless. In fact, IÂ’d argue it consumes me.

IÂ’ve always said, and always will, that anyone like myself "adopted" into this Blue World must show a respect to any "craddle-born" blue. I am admittedly an outsider at my core when it comes to Everton Football Club.

But IÂ’d offer this as well. If you want our Club to grow surely that means a growth in the fanbase? Therefore, I think pitting a "scouse Blue" against a "non-scouse Blue" is counter-productive.

Were I a scouse Blue IÂ’d welcome with open arms those pledging allegiance to the Blue cause as it means greater reach and growth for the Club.

Alas, IÂ’m not a scouse Blue. So IÂ’ll leave it to you how you treat my viewpoints, opinions, and those of every other "adopted" Blue.

Thank you for pointing out I’m not a scouser – I honestly had no idea!

I think itÂ’s great that we have a growing base in the States (I love the Mr DennehyÂ’s Twitter stuff from NYC, for example) and in many other countries and I love to see it and we need to do much more as a club to nurture it.

That YouTube film that, I think, Patrick Murphy linked to recently of the South African man who came over for the Newcastle game and that other man from Indonesia, was it, who came over for the abandoned Palace game last season. Serious, serious supporters and very moving to watch.

Everton is a passion for us all and I hope it will be lifelong for everyone who discovers it from outside Liverpool.

I also know what you are saying about the team and, though I donÂ’t share your optimism, itÂ’s refreshing to hear it.

For me, he is playing like a guy who really doesn’t give a damn; there’s no effort, no energy and certainly no end product. I think I read he has scored 1 goal from open play since Christmas, and that was the 2-yard rebound away at Palace – he's hardly terrorising teams since he changed his agent???

In my view, a competent coach can improve players and deal severely with laziness.

CanÂ’t believe the piss-poor comments about the lad... People need to look further within the team to see our failings!!!

Defensive formations are so good now that it can be almost impossible to score if the other side doesnÂ’t want you to and in 90 minutes the risk of giving a goal away as you huff and puff is high. The classical answer is to keep possession and pass the ball around until the defending side has to come out for it? We canÂ’t do that though.

Games like tonightÂ’s at Arsenal and ours last Saturday could kill the EPL.

I now live in Australia and my best friend who is from Newcastle is a true Blue. Then again he is a intelligent man who knew from a early age that following Newcastle would only end in tears and like me witnessed the glory years.

So apologies to you, good to know that we do have Yanki Blues who are passionate.

He took over WBA this year and kept them up and Palace last year and did the same. So I assume BK is lining him up for 2015-16 at Everton.

BK is a business man and he will have a Plan B, unlike Osbourne. I note that Moyes is staying in his present post.

I reckon, if Martinez is not at least in the top half of the league by November, he will be in a taxi!

And as the saying goes, once weÂ’re Blues weÂ’re always Blues!

Now to the important stuff. The street in which you live. Do all your neighbors support Everton?

If not, why not? ;-)