Eto'o completes Sampdoria move

NEXT UP another loss then off to the big boys for a spanking. I do not believe for one moment that the vast majority of fans are behind this set up.

Martinez either had to dig his heels in and keep an unhappy (and disruptive?) player until the summer at least or at least give the impression that EFC had a say in this, which it doesnÂ’t look like they did.

EtoÂ’oÂ’s mind was made up and I get the feeling he is used to getting what he wants.

Still, I hope this deal concludes soon.

As a real I was bon a blue, IÂ’m really worried of this real threat of relegation. Our season has gone from bad to worse. We have become a embarrassment.

I like many others where taken in by our current manager. But sadly the fact is he is repeating his philosophy of WIGAN

On the playing side he still has something to offer. He won us the game at Burnley on his own and we donÂ’t have anyone to replace him.

Our bench is atrocious and relying on Kone is not an option. This season canÂ’t end soon enough. What if Lukaku gets injured?

So far he has held meetings with 5 deck chair attendants and a camel trainer.

Hope springs eternal.

IÂ’m just going by the impression I get that EtoÂ’oÂ’s people have been moving aggressively while Everton have been peddling the wait-and-see line. Roberto may have his reasons for doing that but if the two parties are both set on going their separate ways, I imagine player power will win out as to where he ends up.

So we would have had to add on another year to the year he still had to go? Incredible.

It appears RM is following the Lawrie McMenemy book of footie management. Fill your squad with relics and theyÂ’ll manage themselves. Wonder if Le Tissier wants to make a comeback?

There are people in the first team who are not good enough for the first team.

He must be laughing his skinny arse off at the gullibility of a once great football club.

My concern is that an already underweight squad will be even lighter still. We are in desperate need of a fresh face or two yet once again it will be the opposite in reality.

Perhaps we could throw Martinez into the deal.... Then IÂ’d be all for it!

As for EtoÂ’o going? Well we can only hope Lukaku stays fit because again, we are shit weak with Kone clearly lacking full sharpness and Naismith not a striker and as hard a worker he is, heÂ’s slightly limited.

Not the transfer window IÂ’d been hoping for so far.

To me he looks, too often, like a weak coach trying to flex muscles he sadly does not have.

In that respect, I think itÂ’s a no-win situation for Roberto.

What ever unfolds over the remaining season there is sure to be as big of a cliff hanger as who shot JR.

Pity he wasnÂ’t a playmaker creative midfielder with the killer pass, a game changer. Nah a has been superstar whose star is rapidly fading at this level. Fuck off and good riddance.

See no evil, hear no evil but, my gawd, the smell is atrocious!

The entire EtoÂ’o thing has stunk right from his signing for us. We are very well rid.

Last time I saw him play it was pretty clear he wasnÂ’t really up for the fight anymore.

Although, to be fair, that wasnÂ’t too obvious given the company he was in.

Best for both parties, imo. He only has a short time left before he hangs up his boots and if I were him IÂ’d rather be at a club thatÂ’ll play me where IÂ’m best rather than coming off the bench to play in a position IÂ’ve never played in before.

The fact that he’s very close to the 15-game mark, thereby triggering another year extension, presumably also plays a part here – or is that just being too cynical? Maybe he had a go at RM because he wasn’t being played to avoid the extension? Didn’t we have that with another player a few years back?

Personally I donÂ’t blame the guy, even if he had a go. RM probably painted him a great picture in order for him to sign and when he came he realised it was bullshit.

Just let him go; the longer he stays, the worse it looks for the club.

ItÂ’s very possible the man got pissed off with the shit around him, a lethal finisher throughout his career yet at the age of 33 his manager thinks heÂ’s a fucking right sided midfielder...

He was only a short-term fix, true; but heÂ’s another body gone with our hopes pinning on a semi-fit Kone whoÂ’s nowhere near his full sharpness and Lukaku who has not scored a Premier League goal since December 3rd against Hull. (ThatÂ’s piss poor really, and I have to agree with Neville Southall in stating the obvious, Lukaku is not doing the business enough yet.)

So, unless Roberto brings in a replacement for Eto’o, we are yet again one or two injuries away from scratching our heads for answers. Our goal scoring exploits since the end of October have been laughably poor – allowing a striker to go is a bad move right now.

He was played as a midfielder though, even though, at the peak of his powers, he was the best box player in the world. Figure that one out!

He may have lost pace but he still knows how to score goals.

The fee of course is not LukakuÂ’s fault and to be fair, maybe against Man City and West Ham he looked like the penny had dropped a little in whatÂ’s required, but the only thing that will save his season being about more questions than answers will be if he bangs in at the very least 8 more Premier League goals.

Eto’o is obviously different to Rom, he’s been there and done it and is at the opposite end of his career but one thing you’re losing is experience and an ability to turn a game on its head, such as against Burnley; those moments have become fewer because of some poor management by Martinez – at times Eto’o has been so deep he could have played right-back!

It looked like he was too strong a character for Roberto, because when he used to go and stand on the wing, he was never dragged off?

This lad – regardless of his age – could have been a 10-15 goal striker this season.

His influence has clearly become more and more destructive and (according to a youth team source) he shows no respect for Martinez in training. However, Martinez wants to save face and pretends all is well between them. Sadly, when all around you know that’s a farce, it will inevitably lead to more problems for Martinez – Mirallas’s penalty anyone? Don’t be surprised if some of our more coveted players start to make noises.

"The Cameroon international is expected to sign a 30-month contract with performance-related bonuses rather than a transfer fee given to Everton."

So we are not getting anything for him, just his wage bill removed. I hope weÂ’re not paying any of his contract up... that WOULD be silly.

The whole situation is a shambles and it isnÂ’t just going to magically change. The die is cast, a loosing culture is being built. We are following a blue print that has been proved a failure at Wigan. Relegation is now a real prospect and the best way to improve our chances of avoiding it is to bring in a much better manager.

Who would I bring in? I donÂ’t know, but I do know that I would look at the guyÂ’s track record to see if heÂ’s brought proven success to his previous teams. IÂ’d define success as consistently outperforming teams with similar resources (top 6 in league), has never relegated his team, and is canny in the transfer market, ie, finds gems for little money. ThatÂ’s what we need, not a dreamer with a philosophy.

A mess at the back, middle and front. That means weÂ’re a total mess.

Instead, we are looking at the bottom of the Premier League and frankly the likes of Crystal Palace and Leicester are not looking as poor as Everton at this present moment in time. I believe those two could finish above us and we are looking at Hull, Sunderland, Villa, QPR and Burnley plus ourselves – pick the three worst out of that bunch.

I have watched Palace and Leicester this season quite a bit and IÂ’d have to say both are better than us and the mentioned teams.

Wow: Chelsea 2-4 Bradford City!!!

Originally, he filled me with hope but IÂ’m rapidly losing faith in Martinez now.

ItÂ’s depressing seeing those FA Cup results today, we couldÂ’ve won it this year.

We half a semi half decent team, I know Martinez has carried on like a total circus act this season in everything heÂ’s done IÂ’m not even challenging that but I look at the team, itÂ’s full of old men or injury prone men, there are a handful of players that you can say are fairly good buteven they have been pretty shit this season, the likes of Coleman ect.

Just feel so pissed off that another fantastic opportunity to achieve something has gone again.

The money men canÂ’t be happy and wonÂ’t be happy during the close season when the season ticket sales are dramatically down and there is none of last summerÂ’s optimism over the Martinez "honeymoon from heaven first season"

I hope whilst they are all sunning themselves in Qatar that they are having some serious long hard discussionÂ’s over where this team and club is heading not just this season, but the summer and beyond.

And please donÂ’t give me the crap of heÂ’s 33, Barry gets a game week-in & week-out.

My acquaintance is convinced that now he is out of the way, Â’normal respect Â’ for the manager will be resumed and results will improve as a consequence.

IÂ’m none to sure that the solution is purely one of moving the player on but, in spite of my long stated view of our manager, it would be marvellous for our prospects if that proves to be the case.

We can but hope !

Well it would have been hoped Martinez had caught on back in August about EtoÂ’oÂ’s chatacter and not been full of the superlatives heÂ’s come out with all season.

The "festering sore" had no impact on Monday night in what was yet another drab dismal affair so I think we can keep hoping the clouds are made of marshmallow if we believe following EtoÂ’o leaving we are all of a sudden going to turn this ship wreck around.

(Call me paranoid but with Man City, Chelsea, Spurs and Southampton all losing, at home, to much lesser teams (two not even in the premiership!), either the top teams donÂ’t give a flyer about the FA Cup or there are some very happy Â’puntersÂ’ in the far east...)

Either way, half the Premier League are now out of the cup basically giving Man Utd and RS a clear run to the title. Sods law we choose to get knocked out at the first time of asking when it looks like this will be one of of the easiest years to win this trophy!

Didnt think so

He wouldnÂ’t have pulled this move at a Â’biggerÂ’ club who has the resources and depth to let him rot in reserve pergatory. Reality is this risk existed the day we signed him. It was always a gamble and at the beginning of the season, a reasonable one to take.

This is truly turning into a anus horriblis (Capt Ego being the biggest arse) for Evertonians.

We are stuck in desert heat for days and then come back to a cold winter and a bubbling Selhurst Park, you get the feeling they are going to have to hit the ground running at Palace otherwise there will be the inevitable mountain of questions afterwards.

ItÂ’s ok going off on jaunts like this when you are flying high and simply have free time with no game but it just looks like a cop out to me.

What I would have done is took the whole team to one of these FA Cup ties over the weekend and say to them, "This could have been you lot today, get your fucking hands on some silverware but, instead, we are twiddling our thumbs in the bloody Middle East, in January!"

My view is that the explanation is too simplistic/convenient although expect further suggestions along the same lines.

In any event, it says little for the Martinez management skills if he signed a Â’bad Â’unÂ’ and then allowed him to sour the dressing room. Or did he join us as a link in the Romelu deal?

Be all that as it may, it would still be lovely to see a complete turn round of form by ALL the lads EtoÂ’o has left behind, wouldnÂ’t it?

With the announcement that Everton are one of the Â’Â’richest clubsÂ’Â’ at present, why no moves to add to the squad considering the players who are mostly injured, such as Pienaar and Gibson? I know there are contractual issues with these players but keeping them on payroll seems a waste and now that EtoÂ’oÂ’s wages have gone, the question remains: why no signings?

ItÂ’s not the managers who listen to their players who lose the dressing room. ItÂ’s the clowns who claim the meeting never even took place... those who INSIST there will be no change of Filosofie!

His actions that day would suggest he had a lot to say, and that Jagielka is no more suited to being our captain than I am. Good riddance if he was undermining the rest of the shrinking violets. Naismith or McCarthy for captain.

No doubt we will pretend our time out in Qatar was some kind of pre-season and the next thing we will hear from Martinez when they return home is "it will take us three or four games to regain familiarity with the climate in England and you will see us catch fire in Spring"

Wait for it!

I hated when we were trailing with ten minutes to go and EtoÂ’o would spend eight of them bleating to the ref about a decision that was given 20 minutes earlier.

But what really annoys me about this saga is that it seems we havenÂ’t been able to get a single penny for a player moving from us while still in contract.

For me that shows incredibly poor negotiating skills.

All sad old buggers, really. But expensive.

It’s quite clear what Eto’o’s agent thought was best for Samuel, and it has been pursued relentlessly – despite the denials and then the shameless pouting (in the Echo) from Everton’s side. So they wanted him to stay? And the player wanted to go? Guess how this story ends...

Maybe by Tuesday, when he is Â’officially unveiledÂ’ in Genoa, the reality will finally sink in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30968778

IÂ’m just glad because Roberto was never going to play him as a Number 9 so his departure at least stops the dreaded prospect of the "three Number 10s" formation coming out again.

DonÂ’t worry about the cup results, if weÂ’dÂ’ve got through that penalty shootout, all the big boys would have convincingly won and it would have been Chelsea away in the next round.

Everton seem allergic to trophies. You would think a club our size would win one just by the law of averages but sadly not, they throw away the League Cup every single year and find a new way to disappoint you in the FA Cup every time.

Incredibly foolish thing to say in the circumstances.

The Echo are making out that Sampdoria were the bad guys in this because they wouldnÂ’t take "No" from Everton? Yet the idiotic local press ends with "If he does go then he will depart with no ill-feeling and only the thanks of Martinez and the club."

What complete bullshit. Do they think we are all totally stupid? How else are transfers supposed to happen, in the transfer window???

How can we believe what anyone at this club says anymore? Last week Martinez said he was staying. Now heÂ’s gone.

No one knows whatÂ’s happening. The fans donÂ’t know, and that Sampdoria presidentÂ’s comment was interesting. Â’We donÂ’t know whoÂ’s in charge at Everton. They say one thing and do another.Â’

Lie after lie after lie. No wonder no-one knows what the hell is going on.

Is this a case of media blackmail in order to get a quicker decision from whoever is in charge at Everton? And/or a sly dig at Martinez by publically showing he wasnÂ’t the one in charge after his press conference?

Either way, it is showing the club in a very poor light, too indecisive to offload an uninterested player and not enough balls to give our side to the story and tell Sampdoria and EtoÂ’o to be professional. I wonder if Samuel has been asked to sign an "loose lips" agreement to keep scthum?

To me, it seems clear that with the spectacular levels of nonsense coming out of El Pied Piper of Gwladys Street, we fans are getting highly frustrated. So, imagine how it must be for our players.

A small and distracting minority point to the West Ham games as Â’proofÂ’ of Martinez having what it takes. Happily, their shrieks are now whimpers that are nowz highly irrelevant and ignored by the vast majority of fans. Instead, a more sensible reading of those West Ham and Man City games is emerging, showing our players are desperately trying get out of the MartinezÂ’s fantasy land.

As I said at the time, I think RomÂ’s post-Man City comments about the players forcing changes were highly instructive. Similar was seen with the Besic and Mirallas issues, GarbuttÂ’s post-Newcastle interview, and the constant rumours about disquiet in the dressing room that Jags had to address. Martinez lost the squad a long time ago, and the evidence grows that it is getting worse by the day.

All is not happy in the camp. If the managerÂ’s duplicity and obfuscation is annoying us, every day brings further evidence that it is driving the dressing room apart too.

IÂ’d sooner Bill pulled the plug now, before Palace. The last five days have been wasted, allowing El Pied Piper to play his flute. That is only making a bad situation worse. We are now a united front, save the couple who still bang the pitiful Â’but heÂ’s my Bobby and heÂ’s amazingÂ’ drum.

As a united base, we must now see action. Time for BK to pull the trigger – he has our support.

We need leadership and transparency on all fronts in order to try and make sense of whatÂ’s going on at the club we all love so dear.

On a more realistic note, could it be Billy Boy has let MartineZs fly off to the sun while he looks for a new manager?

I cannot see us getting a result in our next four games. IÂ’m not a betting man but I would put money on us going down.

Villa are on just a bad run as us and the likes of Hull, QPR and Leicester are awful. ItÂ’s going to be nervous hoping that none of these teams suddenly get their act together but this is the only reason IÂ’m confident we wonÂ’t go down.

ThatÂ’s not exactly a great endorsement of our current management!

I beg to differ your view that Leicester are awful.

They won at Hull on Boxing Day, battered Liverpool at Anfield and were unlucky not to win in that 2-2 draw, they put Newcastle out of the FA Cup and then yesterday won at Spurs. Could you have seriously seen Everton going on a run of results like that?

I have watched Palace and Leicester quite a bit and I think at present they are better than us, Villa, Sunderland and Hull. IÂ’m not sure about Burnley and QPR but even those two have shown some glimpses of fight recently.

I think West Brom will be okay with Pulis who knows how to keep sides up.

I believe itÂ’s out of Everton, Villa, Sunderland, QPR, Burnley and Hull. I wonÂ’t totally discount Leicester or West Brom but I think theyÂ’ll be okay.

For those of us who always believe the bookies donÂ’t get much wrong, take solace from the fact that they have Everton from 22-1 (Bet365) to 25-1 (Betfred) whilst the odds on the rest are Newcastle (25-1) WBA (9-2) Crystal Palace (9/2) Sunderland (11/4) Aston Villa (5/2) Hull (11/8) QPR (8/11) Leicester (4/6) and Burnley (8/13).

So with three teams odds-on, the moneymen are staying with the three who came up to go back in the opposite direction whilst Everton hardly figure in their calculations.

Now nobody wants rid of this manager more that me but for what itÂ’s worth my money (partly for value) will go on QPR, Hull and the mighty Villa. If a bet is available, I would plump for our club to finish 16th.

We must pick up a win or two soon. MustnÂ’t we???

I am sure the management have full knowledge of the EtoÂ’o situation and will make a statement when the time is right rather than being pushed.

However, I also mentioned the Gosling affair in an earlier thread when I donÂ’t think there was an official statement made... so I have argued against myself!

Meanwhile.... 16 games to go. Nearly half a season. So plenty of time to climb up the table.

Need to be optimistic...

We can all agree EtoÂ’o will be nowhere near Finch Farm or Goodison ever again, so his disruptive influence will be gone, and we can just fine him the next two weeks wages if we didnÂ’t agree to him going over for a medical, refuse to pay the rest of his contract and see how he gets on at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

If Sampdoria have just got ahead of themselves hoping to give their fans some good news, then we can all just chill out and be glad an apparent disruptive influence has gone. Has anyone ever seen an Everton team so lacking in spirit and togetherness as over the last six or seven weeks? Even if it wasnÂ’t EtoÂ’oÂ’s fault, we can happily pretend it was as long as the fight and togetherness returns for the rest of the season.

WeÂ’ll find out what actually went on behind closed doors in time, but not yet. Somebody will write a tell-all book. ItÂ’s sad that that the fans, who live and breathe Everton, are in the dark, most of the time.

1) Re EtoÂ’o, god knows whatÂ’s gone on there. He looked ace against Burnley but has not been given the chances as a Number 9 that maybe he needed to score more. I can understand RM betting on his big signing to score the goals and in many ways Lukaku has been let down by tactics misusing his skills or a lack of decent service as much as his own indifferent form. Whether EtoÂ’o has been disruptive behind the scenes I donÂ’t know, but the lack of a fee suggests heÂ’s not gone just because of lack of game time.

2) Is it possible for a TW thread to exist without some tedious reference to Wigan? IÂ’m sick to death of people going on about RMÂ’s Wigan old boys as an excuse for our current predicament.

LetÂ’s be clear: RM signed 4 players from Wigan: McCarthy was stellar last season, Alcaraz hardly played, Kone likewise and Robles, a barely used keeper, can hardly be reflective of a playing style. I also donÂ’t believe Wigan played the same kind of passing-heavy style RM has persisted with here so can we please dispense with the Wigan obsession everyone? As for Wigan being relegated, Martinez was largely credited for keeping them up in the first instance despite the likes of Rodellega, Moses et al being sold from under him.

Having said all that, IÂ’m fast losing patience with a defensively brittle side who carry little attacking threat and criminally under-used pace in key areas. I genuinely wonder where the next win is coming from. But, if we go down, it WILL not be anything to do with MartinezÂ’s relegation past or his signing of Wigan players. It will be down to individual errors, missed chances, refereeing decisions (to a lesser extent) and his tactics of laboured build-up.

People in the football world surely know who the pricks are, and Martinez has gone on record stating that we would only sign players of the right kind, who will fit in properly with his precious "group".

Why didnÂ’t he know what the guy was like?

The Good – clearly the glimpse of the instinctive world class striker he once was that we saw against Burnley. Yes, it was Burnley, but what a pleasure to have seen his display then. A privilege to seen a footballer of his calibre performing for Everton;

The Bad – well more indifferent than bad, was the way our chump manager used him as a right winger or a second striker/ No 10?? Had he never seen him play? Even against Burnley;

The Ugly – sadly his apparently true to form behaviour in being, allegedly, a poisonous dressing room influence, and certainly a prize prick in this whole sorry saga with Sampdoria. Hopefully whatever wages he has due will be withheld as fines and a formal complaint around Sampdoria’s conduct with a player registered to another team should be made, because this episode is disgraceful. However poorly Everton comes out of this there are rules to be followed and the Sampdoria chairman’s statements that "he did not know who was in charge at Everton" – which were taken out of context because he said he was new to football and did not understand the process – are no excuse.

For me the ugly certainly outweighs everything else and all I can say is good riddance to the prick and now we can hopefully resume some sort of normality.

Judging by an article I read, EtoÂ’o is a disruptive influence and does try to challenge the authority of his manager. Roberto Carlos said that while he was at Anzhi "EtoÂ’o did everything but play well."

HeÂ’s a great player but a bit of an arsehole. Also, he almost stopped the Cameroon players going to the World Cup.

Cheeky sam should have Corky on the back of his shirt as payback.

Treating us like dirt on the end of his shoe.

If I was Bobby, I would be looking to bring Barry Horne out for one last swansong, may need him come May.

Fighting off relegation, you just know Stevie G is going to grab the headlines in the derby, FA Cup opening up nicely for his swansong... FFS – why does everything have to go pearshaped at Everton?

Which is why it will be too late for us to get the Marquee signing Bob and Bill (and probably Ben) would definitely have got.

What I do find hugely amusing though is these beauts who have been questioning the manager all season for his bizzare team selections and tactics, yet EtoÂ’o is a "bad apple" who needs to be "fucked off" for doing the same.

IÂ’d rather have someone who is arsed enough to do that than just collect their wages and say nothing like most of our current squad.

Some want him gone? He has more medals by himself than the rest of the team and coaching staff combined. May just be me but I think we need winners on the team, not a pile of losers who havenÂ’t ever won shit.

I thought the early suggestions were that Lukaku would learn from EtoÂ’o. LetÂ’s hope heÂ’s not picked up on EtoÂ’oÂ’s dysfunctional character. The player was welcomed but proved unfit to wear our badge. LetÂ’s not forget, medals earned elsewhere donÂ’t figure on our Honours Board.

He was never replaced and we miss his pace and directness on the counter especially at home where teams defend against us (see WBA).

You could argue maybe some of the Lukaku money should have been diverted to keeping him.

Is Moutinho still around?

Regarding EtoÂ’oÂ’s time at the club. Yes as supporters we thought that we were getting a top quality performer who, nearing the end of his career still showed flashes of his abilities.

What we are now hearing are the supposed disruptive negativity side of him that I.M.O. with all the information that can be recieved, means that the club did not do a very responsible background check on him, as if they did, he should not have been signed.

With the information coming in now that the club did not send some documents over, it is about time someone got on to the lack of professionalism being shown at the club that reflects on Everton F.C.

What we need now is for the rest of the lads to knuckle down and work hard to get us out of the hole weÂ’re in. COYB

In terms of him being a disruptive figure IÂ’d say due to past episodes people are putting 2 & 2 together and making 5. ThereÂ’s been no indication of this being fact in till news of SampdoriaÂ’s interest became public.

As for how he performed for us IÂ’d say heÂ’s shown the occasional flashes of brilliance. I canÂ’t think of a game heÂ’s been involved in where heÂ’s had a stinker. Will we miss him though? Probably not.

He didnÂ’t play in 2 of the other games, and in the others contributed nothing other than setting up the 4th goal against Wolfsburg. I for one am glad to see the back of someone who we should never have gone near in the first place.

Â’HipÂ’ springs to mind

I, for one, would NOT criticise a senior player, trying to inject some life into a demoralised, dispirited group of players via his often criticised on-field pep talk.

Anyway he has gone now, so that is that. Unfortunately that leaves us with a Mr Â’Facing All WaysÂ’ manager and I have ceased to believe one phenomenal word he says.

To me, it is now Palace or bust! The wrong result means he should be history, but it probably wonÂ’t. We may have to wait for a humiliation at the hands of the worst RS side in many a year.

Hopefully Roberto can prove me wrong with a spanking victory at Palace, and an equally impressive Derby win.

If both those things occur, I would be more than happy to eat my words.

COYB!

So fecking ace that the ones not here look like playing in League One next season!

Surely, even BKÂ’s not daft enough to drop any more money in Cup Final DaveÂ’s pocket! Is he?

One of the worst Everton Â’displaysÂ’ I have ever had the misfortune to watch and thereÂ’s been some bad ones over the years!

Now will the real Roberto Martinez please stand up! Is it the one that got his team to play us off the park that day with some wonderful attacking football, or is it the one we have seen this season that has to play 4-2-3-1 that has to pass the ball around the 18 yard box 10 times and the one that turned out such shite performances in the last 13 or so games.

Maybe there is truth in the rumours that EtoÂ’o was disruptive so why not piss him and his agent off a little by slowing down the transfer?

He’s gone so maybe we should concentrate on the players who are still here – and by that, I mean support them.

Lucky, lucky Everton !

He should sign Bristol Rovers on-loan front man Matt Smith because:

1) Smith holds the ball up and distributes it far better than our own Big Rom.

2) He wins most of the high balls unlike our Big Rom.

3) Furthermore , he is the kind of front man who roughs defenders up – again unlike our £28 million man.

But if we were to sign him, he should play up-front with Lukaku, who might then have a much better chance of scoring goals, once someone with fire in his belly actually helps out where he is needed.

It might all be a return to Route One footie, but, if we win, who cares? I would rather we became the PLÂ’s 1-0 specialists than what is happening this season.

Anyway I will jump back into my trench now – still sheltered by fond memories of how Mr Smith dumped the RS out of the FA Cup in the not too distant past!

HereÂ’s a thought, maybe he wouldnÂ’t have been such a prick if we a) played with proper tactics and b) played him in the position heÂ’s played his ENTIRE CAREER.

We are a laughing stock already, would Smith make us worse? At least he has some fighting spirit, sadly lacking in our lads in the past few matches.

Look at his performance against West Ham, when Carroll, who elbowed us out of our Cup Tie, was on the receiving end.

YouÂ’re probably right, and I am probably wrong. Maybe itÂ’s just desperation on my part, but I am clutching at straws!!!

This is a crazy suggestion.

Thanks for correction re Bristol City, just a slip.

Anyway I watched the game, and far from being out of his depth, it took two top class clearances from WHU to deny him goals.

At this present time, Smith would have scored them against us!

Good Night all, hope we can buck the trend and beat Palace this Saturday.

I assumed you meant the one just released by ITV Sport and not some cart horse from League One!

Have we sunk that low?

He is essentially happy to go through the season relying on just Lukaku and Kone. He's like a phenomenal new signing isn't he? I forgot.

Bill's bullshitting mouthpiece. My support for Martinez is slowly ebbing further away. Honestly, if we wanted, we could all make up our own version of a Martinez press conference, make up all sorts of incredibly, phenomenally amazing rubbish and no one would tell the difference.

He spouts so much shite it's unreal. The fans are seeing past the bullshit. Surely the players have by now as well. How can anyone, fan, player, journo, possibly take this man seriously anymore?

I can't. I cannot listen or watch any of his interviews anymore because it's full of positivity propaganda crap all the time.

If we are indeed really dependent on just 2 strikers, if we lose one of them we're fucked. The squad is already meagre enough now Eto'o has left.

A guy, Eto'o, Mourinho brought into Chelsea last season four years after he bought him into Inter, is now a disruptive force at Finch Farm? Food for thought.

As far as Eto'o talking to players about moving on? What does anyone think players talk about? Money. Income. Multi-millions of it. We've seen, right in here, TWers worrying about Barkley playing for the England side and getting his ear filled by teammates earning his income times 10.

Sorry, if Mourinho signed him on years after managing him in Italy, that does it for me.

Here's another. How come there's not a peep negative about the guy until the club understands he wants to go? All of a sudden, things from nowhere appear about how negative an influence the player is? Huh?

And another, since I've come this far. Eto'o bangs in 30 goals for a manager who wants him gone and Messi himself on the same team. Disruptive how? Oh, disruptive meaning Pep cleansing Barcelona of negroes, Eto'o not the only one? Fair enough. Carry on.

Also settles if Pep will ever manage in the Prem, doesn't it.

Dunno if anyone else remembers him saying this, it may have been lost in all the other crap he's spouted.

He should pick the best team to play in his 'phenomenal philosophy' rather than getting 11 players and just throwing them into random places.

It's not difficult is it? If Barkley is a CM, play him there. Don't play him out on the wing where he hardly does anything. If you have Eto'o on the bench, don't play him out on the wing or whatever position he stuck him.

It's simple management. It's literally one of the first things you do on Football Manager. Get a spine, play them in their favoured positions etc. Football is a simple game. Don't complicate it by sticking players in any old players and try and look clever.

I know we've had injuries to most of our key players but some of his decisions tactically have been shocking.

Well that didn't last long. Pity we didn't get a fee now. Especially after Kanchelskis.