From My Seat: Watford (H)

No the description of Lukaku's miss is exactly right and he mistimes his jumps very often which is why he seems to lose out often too.

Sitting at Goodison yesterday, was for large parts, same as, same as, nothing really has been done to address the 'pedestrian' type of football from last season.

The next three weeks of the transfer window will decide Martinez's future, and growing frustration at Goodison about the sort of football he's serving up.

But if you put it at the start, at the end or shuffled it up anywhere in last season, you could see the joins or spot the odd one out if you looked all day.

How many will it take before;

a ) An Improvement.

b ) The Taxi.

I'm starting my own count, as of now it stand at:

ONE

We can't seriously expect a better season when you keep the same manager, the same players roughly and the same rigid negative formation, all you get is more or less the same failings as you saw on show last season.

Lack of closing down when the opponents have it, annoying inability to stop crosses coming in, defenders being kamikaze diving in and too often turning their backs.

A lack of leadership and big characters, throughout that entire first half I never once saw any of our players barking orders or pointing, Jagielka was as per usual quiet as a lamb.

And the annoying trait which we developed last season of whenever we score, we concedes more or less within minutes, after Barkley's goal we should have took the gameon and won but we keep shooting ourselves in the foot with shocking defending.

Martinez says we "started in pre-season mode".

Why Roberto???

You had enough time to sort out last season's mess with the pre-season we had and yet the same excuses of not being ready are still bandied about, well Leicester were ready, Palace were ready mate, why not Everton??

All in all the only positives were our goals and Kone saved us scrambling a draw in a match we had to win looking at the fixture list we have on the horizon, somehow I doubt we'll be spoilt with wins.

Finally anyone who thinks Lukaku is going to get 20 league goals in this team playing as the lone striker is simply in cloud cuckoo land, he will do well to reach 10 again.

We can reassess the situation at the closing of the transfer window, but I won't be holding my breath on anything spectacular changing here.

After a couple of pints at our own room of nonsense in The Stuart, where the atmosphere was muted, I strolled up to County Road and spotted the huge crane looming beyond Goodison, a symbol of how that other stadium has changed from the midden it was when I started watching football.

Turning into Goodison Road for the first glimpse of The Old Lady it was sad to see plastic sheeting and temporary scaffolding on the roof of the Main Stand. Bizarrely I then passed a royal blue hearse, which struck me as all too symbolic.

Then that first half. It was a truly turgid display, with our team having no idea whatsoever of breaking through opponents who were merely competent, strong and organised. The anger amongst the faithful was constantly bubbling below the surface, and the booing at half time was sad to hear but very, very understandable.

Our manager, having seen that his own "philosophy" was not working, changed things and told the players to be more direct. He had to, because had we continued to play in his preferred style the crowd would have turned on him, and sadly that would have been deserved. He has brought it on himself.

A new season, should bring a bit of freshness, instead of the same old tactics, which hamper us offensively, and leave us way too open at the back.

The whole club needs a lift, and this can only happen if we go and sign some players, urgently.

Yesterday just felt all too familiar of last season, one new face in Cleverley who was tidy but unspectacular through no fault of his own but sadly he's not dynamic enough to truly get the fans excited quite like a marquee signing would.

We just saw the same failings and disappointments as last season, 4.40pm and we are trailing at home AGAIN to a side we really needed to be putting to the sword.

I want to be proved wrong but I just cant see anything changing.

If Stones is sold and all of a sudden we start spending money, everyone will be fooled by it and think we are actually spending money but all it is proving again is we have to sell to buy.

Selling Stones will be another nail in the coffin because like with Rooney, the chance to build a quality side around a future captain will be gone.

You could argue that you don't even trust Martinez to get it right with 25/30 million to spend, realistically though if we sell Stones we should have far more than that to spend, more like 40 million because we've spelt next to nothing so far.

We MUST get a striker, a quality striker to not to play backup to Lukaku but to partner or overtake him.

TWO central defender if Stones leaves, one to go straight in the team and an experienced squad member.

A creative midfielder is imperative also.

Q ) who were the 2 draws against.

A ) Well who do you think...Us.

I will be amazed if Stones is not sold by 31 August. It's been a long summer and we have nothing to show for it other than a free transfer and another winger.

There will be 4 in and 1 out (Stones) before the window closes. The only number I have some doubt about is the "4".

The club is not in a good place and it is unacceptable that so much of the business needed to make the team competitive will be done after the first ball is kicked in anger.

Very disappointed with my boy Jimmy Mac who wasn't exactly his usual self.

In some ways, without Lennon we've almost stepped backwards - although without Baines and Deulofeu.

Was encouraged by Galloway first half and Barkley second-half + hopefully Kone offering a little bit more power than Naismith.

Mirallas and Lukaku didn't have great games and it's difficult to compensate for that.

We could certainly do with a playmaker, but we still need better movement from everyone else in and around the box.

Like everybody else, I don't really understand why we didn't do much more than the minimum transfers during the pre-season.

If Stones continues his development I expect he'll be gone eventually but it would be good to keep him this season - otherwise we have to incorporate a new CB partnership. If we do end up with £30 million in the bank then that's only really two key players nowadays - 3 or 4 less proven.

I really can't see us finishing above an awful lot of teams this season.

For the first goal it was worked from right to left. Barry got one blocking tackle in on the edge of the box. It broke left, where Coleman allowed the cross to come in and both centre backs made a dog's dinner of a routine clearance. Barry was back in the box helping out, but the way the ball broke he could in no way be held responsible. If you want to point the finger of blame at one of our defensive midfielders, look at the dawdling McCarthy who early in the play sees two players in front of him - including the goal scorer - and is still stood off him outside the area when he scores.

For the second ball, yes - the play starts down the middle with no one closing down. But by then Barry was playing left back, not defensive midfield. The play went to our right field of play and once again our centre backs and Coleman stuffed it up defensively. Barry is correctly positioned in the penalty area in his left back position, marking the man he is responsible for.

Poor call by you, Harold.

If you are going to expect people to go by the facts instead of misinterpreting the game to support their preconceived opinion of the player then you are not playing by the TW rules. That is why Barry (the only player yesterday who was trying to pass through the midfield instead of over it or around it) is always crap. Del Boy is always great. Lukaku is lazy. Mirallas is arrogant and not trying. Besic is the next 8th wonder of the world in midifeld. Howard is crap. Stones never is too blame for goals scored against us. Finally, all of them are just collecting a paycheck. Remember those rules and bend your facts accordingly.

The second was down to various kamikaze defending errors, first Stones throwing himself a million miles away and Jagielka again doing the same throwing himself into no man's land.

It's always the same with Barry and McCarthy. They are two of my favourite players but it takes them several games to get fully fit after a break. That was one of the reasons Martinez took off Galloway and moved Barry to LB. He wanted to get 90 minutes into him. In an early interview, Barry games is the only thing that does it for him.

Nice one Jim! Thanks for the heads up!

I'll take note of the TW ground rules and keep a crib sheet by my side so I'll know better next time not to infringe preconceived prejudices with those inconvenient details such as video evidence and factual data!

This is a major fault that has gone on under Martinez since the tail end of his first season when we started seeping goals at home to the likes of Palace or two insane own goals at Southampton.

Frankly you question whether Martinez can ever get Everton back to the strengths they had for the majority of Moyes tenure which was a solid defensive foundation plus a canny knack of seeking out 1-0 wins in winnable games.

Don't even get me started again on the fitness side of this Everton team, we did not look fit yesterday, people suggest we finished strongly but that's because we didn't bother turning up in the first 45 minutes, I'd just love to see the day this Everton team plays a full match without any schoolboy concentration lapses or periods of "can't be arsed running let's just stand still and pass it "

I really would love to see the day.

Another point to make is to play 2 up front. Lukaku needs support, as soon as Kone came on the whole dynamic of our game changed.
Martinez could be gone by November id thimgs don't change.
You will replace him - God knows !!!