Arsenal exploit Everton's biggest weakness

Neville Southall was a beast of a man. crosses into his 6-yard box would pose a serious risk to the health and well being of anybody in the vicinity. He would come out with such power and simply clear house. Nobody was getting in his way.

Howard could never have been a top Goalie – too much of a tart.

Look at all the goalkeepers in the league; at some point, you see the majority with a mashed hooter or cut head... you never see Howard with a facial injury because he goes for everything with his legs when strikers run clean through and on crosses or set-pieces. He doesn't want to know, staying rooted to his line or many a time even behind the line!!

It's okay people saying he's a good shot-stopper but a lot of the time it's poor finishing from strikers and if you're a professional goalkeeper, should you not be saving tame shots fired right at you!!

The World Cup performance against Belgium sparked a major overreaction American-style. Look again: it was timid finishing from the Belgians.

Not that I just blame that dozy gung-ho idiot in goal. I blame Martinez for for his blatant ignorance, his negligence on refusing to even try working on defending set-pieces and there's another stat that will shock no-one: we are the only Premier League team that has NOT scored from a set-piece.

We are going nowhere with this manager and for me there will be an air of despondency should we go out the League Cup on Tuesday night.

Our home form under Martinez has been poor, our defending rapidly deteriorated and our attack pretty stagnant. Questions will soon need asking if we start going on a poor run again.

Its okay saying we've had a hard start but a hard start hasn't stopped West Ham from doing well has it?? We look a jaded team short on ideas and in need of change, one way or another.

I do not believe Martinez is stubborn, he is simply indecisive, and lacks ideas; his inability within a game to change things is embarrassing. His ponderous build-up from the back that just causes chances for the opposition... nothing alters!

We can all see the folly of Howard to Stones, across to Jags, back to Howard, opposing striker chases down... then what? Anything can, and sometimes does happen.

Substitutions take forever, he replaces like for like with no change to formation or game plan. For me, he is bereft tactically, and completely lost.

He's just an average goalkeeper who costs us when it matters. A player that has to be replaced as soon as possible. He regularly gets beaten from distance and at his near post. His star jumps and going down far too early, are a joke. The guy is robbing a living.

We are a soft touch on and off the pitch, and will be perennial mid-table with this outlook. The club has to stop giving out such long deals to players in decline. He's under contract until June 2018, which is just ludicrous, as was the decision to sign Barry, Lennon, Pienaar etc to 3-year deals.

Little point in making decent profits on players and squandering it in this way. I am wise enough to know that we aren't going to win the league, but for crying out loud can we not cull the bottlers and look to youth, building to the future? If we need some old heads, let's get them on loan, and fire them off if they're past their sell-by date.

Rant over.

Last season, when he settled down after a good run of games, he looked a really good keeper – remember the West Ham FA Cup match? He was superb that night... but, as soon as Howard was fit, he was straight back in team.

What is that saying to the senior players? Basically you play as you want but you will always be in the team Martinez needs to grow a pair and start making the decisions he is paid for...

How has he got so much influence/standing? I'd go as far to say that Martinez seems scared to drop or even criticise him. Is Robles the answer? I have doubts...

Looks like we are stuck with them but will Martinez have the guts to make a change in January? Marshall from Cardiff would be a good affordable choice!

Short term, I think we have to go with Robles every week from now on; hopefully he will prove me wrong, but we have to get a goalie next transfer window as a must.

Regarding the manager, I wanted him gone last New Year. I see nothing so far this season with his crap tactics and formations that make me think I was wrong.

Jags would be a huge loss if he is out for a prolonged period.

Howard Kendall's death and the look back at our last period of prolonged success has really put in perspective the failures of the current Board.

Norwich on Tuesday is a huge game, if we win we are 2 stops from the Wembley.

I know Ken Buckley never predicts a final league posiion for us until we hit the half way mark but I think we will finish no better than 6th and no worse than 8th this season.

Why should we be hot favourites to beat Sunderland next week?
We have won just 5 home matches in 11 months in the league!!

If Sunderland come next week with a well drilled defence, can anyone see us breaking them down easily??

Easy games on paper mean nothing, we didn't beat Sunderland home or away last season or relegated Hull City!

Watching this Everton team and this management which seems to never want to learn from past mistakes just doesn't convince me that we can ever live up to the "favourites " tag.

I was saying we should go for Kasper Schmeichel. Same age as when his dad went to Man Utd. But why would he leave Leicester now?

This is his record in the last 18 months since the start of of last season (I have not counted his first season because it was still Moyes's team); Premier League only:

Played 48
Won 15
Drawn 15
Lost 18

Tim Sherwood, Sacked at Spurs

Played 25
Won 13
Drawn 5
Lost 7

Sam Allyardyce, Sacked from West Ham he finished with the same record as Martinez last season.

Martinez has been given more Money than at any other club he has been at and his record is only slightly better here.

Question for all Blues: how many Premier League games have we won at home since the start of the 2014-15 season??

Just 8... That's right... 8! We have won 8 games out of 21 at home.

For me, Martinez has to go... he is just not good enough.

Like many players, " on his day" he is good, but his days are getting less frequent and his "off days" or games when his errors are highlighted are becoming more frequent.

I am not a professional in Football, obviously, and I doubt any on here are either, but enough people on here have observed the deficiencies of Tim over a long enough period to make me wonder why the club cannot see what to me is blindingly obvious. He needs replacing... who by? Well I leave that to those whose job it is to sort it.

Goodison has fallen apart in the last 18 months. It might be a case where we need to sit back, soak the pressure and hit the lesser teams on the break. Fat Sam will look for a point and nick one on the break, Hammers are rejuvenated under Bilic and will break their hoodoo against us very soon. Villa could well have a new manager in place by the end of November.

I just cannot see any improvment under Martinez and that's why, in my opinion, I would like him to leave at the end of the season IF we finish outside the top 7.

We have given far too many goals of this kind away, especially at set pieces. Stones is particularly vulnerable to these kinds of crosses. And, unless it's changed, we know that the team doesn't practice defending (or attacking) set-pieces.

So, let's be clearer where the blame lies and stop thinking replacing a goalkeeper is enough, particularly because Robles does not fill me with any more confidence.

First, there is the 'unavailability' of the chairman to make such a decision; second, there is the very considerable cost of 'early termination'; and third – and most importantly – whether the team is in such crisis that it is the only way seen to avoid relegation.

Clearly we are still a long way from worrying about our league status and, indeed, at the season's outcome many of us would have settled for 13 points from the opening 10 games.

Obviously, we could have hoped for a more dynamic start but no alarm bells will ring about being in 10th position in the table. We probably have to go back to John Moores's days for the board to see that as a crisis. So let's get real.

My thoughts/ fears about such a crisis coming about this season is that, god forbid that the crisis happens, this board would be on the plane to Real Sociedad post haste – and who wants that to happen?

I wouldn't have settled for 13 points from 10 games, it's that kind of "anything will do" attitude that is the sole reason why we never ever achieve anything.

We have lets be honest played well in just 2 of our 10 matches, we did not turn up for the best part of the West Brom match and did our best to throw away our Cup hopes in a woeful first half at Barnsley!

We are being totally outperformed by teams like West Ham, Leicester and even Crystal Palace, and last season we were left behind by Southampton and Swansea.

I'd like to be proven wrong but I believe Martinez is destined to be a manager that will only ever flaunt with relegation, at least at Premier League level.

All of the high hopes we had in his first season, building on Moyes's team which finished 6th, have completely evaporated in my opinion and you can even sense by the general atmosphere from the crowd at league matches that nobody is convinced we are on the cusp of something special, or even something a little bit different to a lesser extent.

Give clubs like West Ham, Leicester their due at least, there's a bit of enthusiasm there and they are having a right old go each game.

Let's get things in perspective though; a 2-1 loss is 'better' than I expected... okay, it's still a loss but I thought it would be probably be by a greater margin.

I see there's calls for the manager to be sacked again, but he's only as good as his players. I agree, a manager can make a difference with how he sets a team up and you can agree or disagree on Martinez's tactics, I broadly agree with how he's attempting shape our play.

Take this game and compare the two midfields, there was a gulf in class and it's there in the engine room where we are sadly lacking. Until we can attract and afford a Cazorla or Ozil class player, nothing will change. They also had Flamini, and out injured, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky and Arteta!

Howard has been a liability for years and I do feel amazed that more clubs don't exploit his tentative and frenetic attitude to crosses. I can't understand why we aren't looking for a keeper; we could have had Butland a couple of years ago.

Stopping shots is, in my opinion, probably Number 1 on the list of Key Performance Indicators for any goalkeeper. Number 2 would be command of the penalty area – which is a huge fail because he doesn't even command the 6-yard box, let alone anything larger.

And his kicking is risible too...

Three defeats against the likely top three sides isn't a disaster. What concerns me is the lack of strength, guile and nous needed to beat the teams around and below us.

I'd make Funes Mori a mainstay of that defence and buy a proper keeper in January. I think a decent keeper will move everyone slightly up the park and let them get on with their jobs. I'm sure he could have got one with the Naismith/Lennon money!

Good keepers make a difference. Ask anyone who watched our nearly teams in 1975, 1978 and 1986.

Neville Southall and Nigel Martyn we were lucky to have, Martyn was a solid backbone of that team that finished 4th of course but we also had old school defenders like Stubbs, Weir and Tony Hibbert!

Goalkeepers should be brave, and the best over the years, like Southall, Schmeichel, Seaman, they would take out anything in front of them if need be, Joe Hart also is a man not afraid to get hurt.

I agree with everything you say, the atmosphere in the ground is one of apprehension rather than expectation.

As John Jones posted, 15 wins in our last 48 league matches says this is a club under RM going backward. He spent 㿖 million on Lukaku and McCarthy so he has hardly been starved of cash.

His style is dire; we lack ambition in the way we play... how some can say they believe his style is the right way is beyond me.

I have said on here repeatedly, he is the most negative manager I have seen. Now, he might talk positively but sets his team up to play negative football.

I never feel as if we are going to get at teams right from the off; instead, we play a pedestrian build-up that usually takes us 10 passes to get anywhere near the opponents' half.

I think I will scream if I see Barkley demand the ball off the back 4 for him to play it back to them or square to the full back then pass it back to one of the back 4. When Reid or Bracewell demanded the ball off the back 4, it was to get the attack moving, not to give it back to the defenders.

Maybe our "if you know your history" is all we have to cling onto because the present and near future don't seem to offer anything positive.

Let's see how we go from here but I am worried that we look so slow and disjointed and lacking in confidence, even taking account of the difficult games we've had.

Another concern is that if Lukaku gets injured we have very few options.

Sorry to be gloomy but the last few games have made me nervous.

I'm all for wanting the team to be pro-active and for Martinez to send out his team on the front foot... but, in case some people have forgotten, this league is highly competitive and other teams have their aims to fulfil too. Martinez tried a bit of a gung-ho approach in the early part of last season and many people thought he was being rash and too attacking because we were losing matches, so it's little wonder that most Premier League managers err on the side of caution with their team selections and tactics.

I'm not saying that Roberto couldn't send his team out to be more attack-minded, just reminding some that it isn't quite as easy as they seem to believe it to be. The one thing that Roberto should do is to be more ruthless with his players, if they make errors in consecutive matches, drop the player or players, because keeping them in the team sends out the wrong message.

I think that Martinez is all too ready to excuse mistakes, and that's OK for the younger players on occasion, but not very good when it's the experienced players making the same errors time and time again. Contrary to what Roberto believes there is no good way to lose, but there are many different ways of winning.

To replace Howard is going to cost serious money, both in transfer fee's and telling Howard and Robles to fuck off and look for work elsewhere. Robles is not the answer, he is equally shite regarding crosses into the box and ... fuck it, he is just fucking shite. Everton Football has got to take the financial hit and replace these two no-marks, who call themselves goal keepers, with a respectable keeper.

Both halves we played the same as we played against West Brom, Utd and Liverpool at the very least. Badly. I'm talking about the basics of football. Players unable to complete a pass, not picking up runners into the box, not marking, inability to defend corners, inability to deliver corners, inability to claim any ball into the box (Howard), not making runs, not offering options. This was the case before the thrashing from Utd and is still the case. It makes me cringe to hear the media relate it in any way to the death of Howard Kendall, that is a total cop out.

That we are getting anything from games is a testament to the players ability. I don't believe for a minute it is the coaching.

Of course, neither will happen. Not just yet anyway

Martinez's obsession of playing the ball out from the back also cost us the 2nd goal. We got caught in possession, and gave away a free kick just outside our penalty area. FFS, play the ball forward!!!

On a positive note, we did get back into the game, and should've got an equaliser. Deulofeu caused them all sorts of problems... although Barkley was once again frustrating to watch.

The next 2 games are vitally important, and winnable. These will be the games that we will be judged on, but they will not be easy, but let's start a winning streak.

Interesting to see if Robles plays against Norwich.

As virtually everyone on here has pointed out, Howard is crap with anything in the air and worse still, he looks scared. If a goalkeeper cannot command his 6-yard box, especially on poor crosses, then he has to go.

I thought Funes Mori looked very solid when he came on. I am impressed with what I have seen from him so far.

Still the same attitude to set pieces: they are not important, so we neither defend them adequately nor score from them.

Lukaku still gets no support up front or balls played into his strong areas. He has looked a better player when Kone plays alongside him.

Still dithering in the final third and not shooting, we play football not rugby... we don't need to walk it into the goal.

Still Howard rooted to his line like the tree, American Redwood... or, in his case, deadwood.

Groundhog Day. But I am sure we were 'phenomenal'...

With Sunderland on deck next in the Premier League, one might think Robles may get his chance again apart from the Capital One Cup game this week.

Unfortunately, with time to think, the judgement part of his brain goes flying out of the window. It's not a new trait. He's always been that way.

For me, the goalkeeper is the main man. Clough broke the world record for Shilton. Ditto Juventus for Buffon. They wanted to win things and they did.

I don't know where the power lies within our club but the present goalkeeping situation has a slight smell about it. Howard has been the hero on many occasions but his form is no longer of Premier League standard. Martinez, Mr Jones, Mr Lawrence, Big Dunc, Joe Royle, Unsy, Sheedy and BK will all be aware of this but, like it or not, he has to be selected. I wonder why.

My view that this fella will relegate Everton has not changed. We may not want Mr Moyes back, but this team is in decline since he left. No discipline or team ethic – Martinez has seen to that. Take a few moments to watch other sides in the Premier League and their desire to compete.

I think our best defenders of corners have been Naismith, Kone and Lukaku when dealing with headers. I don't remember seeing either Jags or Stones winning very much in the air.

When Stones was injured, the inclusion of Funes Mori certainly helped and our record and defensive performances definitely improved. Our recent 2 defeats came with him out of the starting XI.

Now, with Jags injured, Funes Mori will get another chance to show what a difference a centre-back who can win headers can make.

No. He needs to be more ruthless. He said last season that the No 1 spot was Howard's 'to lose'. Well surely with his form over the last year, he has definitely lost it and has to be dropped ASAP.

He goes on about competition for places all the time, there clearly isn't any. If Robles plays against Norwich on Tuesday and keeps a clean sheet, you can guarantee that he'll be making way for Howard against Sunderland.

Galloway, I bet when Baines is back, he'll be back on the bench and won't be seen for the rest of the season.

Howard's position is so secure and he knows it. Well it's time for Martinez to show some balls and drop him. He needs to show players that their place in the side is far from secure and that they have to fight for their place and earn it on merit and performances.

Too many of those players are under performing and know full well that they won't be dropped, Howard and McCarthy the main two.

But this is rapidly turning into déjà vu all over again, because what TWebbers forget is that, in the first 10 games of last season, we played some great football only to be undone by stupid mistakes, and the majority down to our Tim; you could see the confidence being sucked out of the team.

Last season, I posted that the difference between us & Man Utd was the GK, because De Gea won them 16 pts, which was roughly what Howard lost us. And so far this season, Howard has been at fault for Man City's first (beaten at the near post for the xxxth time) the RS and yesterday's goals.

I was watching Goals on Sunday and they pointed out that Stones (who didn't cover himself in glory for the 1st goal) screaming at Howard for not commanding his area, so if the CBs are of the same opinion as the rest of us, what's that doing for the confidence of the back 4???

Also, as Lyndon pointed out, we saw the players not being closed down. and you've got to question why we're playing with 2 holders in midfield and their job is to patrol in front of the back 4 and double up and snuff out danger.

Last-but-one moan: The thing I hate about the media, apart from everything, is that, if we beat any of the Sky 4, it's because they played badly; I remember listening to TalkShite the day after we tonked them 3-0, it was all about how poor they played, whereas today it was the quality of the deliveries and the movement of the players (which admittedly was top notch) and nothing about Howard's blunders. I fuckin' hate them.

Finally, what made me even more pissed was Mike Corcoran posted a link

http://youtu.be/AS45UkyfQl8

Watch it and weep; to think I sat in the main stand watching this and thinking it would last forever.

We leave Lukaku isolated, any half decent results we've had this season have been with having Kone help him out.

Set pieces are a disaster for us, both attacking and defending. Wenger played Giroud yesterday not because Walcott was injured but that he knew he would get more joy against our defence from set pieces.

I have no doubt that, as teams have well sussed us out about playing out from the back, more and more we will see balls lobbed in to the 6-yard box to show up that clown Howard.

Zonal marking is not working for us defensively and we have to go man-on-man with someone on the posts, unless of course we get a decent commanding keeper.

Sorry but I do not see any significant improvement from last season and expect us to finish middle to bottom half by season's end.

The last few games we've set up to sit deep and invite teams on, hoping to win the ball in our own half when the opposition have committed men forward and look to counter. But, whilst we set up that way, and if/when we do win the ball, we're so slow and pedestrian on the ball. We don't do any damage going forward and sometimes don't even get near the opposition's penalty area.

We don't close down and look lethargic off the ball. On it, we look energyless and our play is purposeless with a lot of sideways balls and no zip or crispness to our play, no incisive forward play. Our play at times is so slow it allows the opposition to get back in numbers and become hard to break down.

Only against Southampton & Chelsea have I seen us play with pace and purpose this season and both times we've battered the opposition!

Now for me we need to pick the right team and players for Martinez's favoured formation. We need to start playing with two more-natural wide men and sack off playing the likes of Naismith, Kone or Cleverley on the left. Let's look to give Mirallas a run there and use either Deulofeu or Lennon down the right.

With Barry suspended for Norwich midweek, I'd like to see Cleverley given a run out in central midfield alongside McCarthy and add some more energy to midfield.

But I'd like to see us start games more on the front foot and get on the ball, play with more purpose and get at teams. When we haven't got it, I want to see us get in teams' faces and press.

If in the next round of fixtures, we just go about them in the same manner as the last few, then we're not going to win many games and things are going to start looking a lot like last season; that will be unacceptable for me and questions will have to start and be asked of Martinez. Anther possible bottom-half finish just won't be good enough, especially with the money he's had and the players he has got.

As for Howard, any keeper of any level should command his 6-yard box and take everything and clean out whatever's necessary. A keeper should've been bought either in January or in the summer at least, as Tim is past it.

But come the summer, players like Howard & Barry, even though up until recently he'd been much improved, need taking out of the team and replacing.

He truly is awful these days. He will make tough saves, the reflex type. But crosses seem to just lock his feet to the ground. And then there is the turtle-like form he chooses where instead of diving to one side or another he just flops onto his back with his arms and legs outstretched, as if he's a turtle that has been flipped on its back.

I actually feel that even Moyes knew that a keeper needed to be found. He would sign young keepers, but then we would let them go since they apparently didn't prove good enough. But a replacement is most definitely needed.

However, that will do nothing to solve the issue of our defenders failing to close down the ball, allowing these crosses to be sent in with ease. And it will do nothing to solve the issue around certain defenders losing their man every time a cross is sent into the box. In short, we are a defensive liability all over the pitch.

Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea spend more in one season than our overall spend in 5-10 years. Put the Reds in the large spending group also. Arsenal, even though they lashed out 㿖m on Ozil, thanks to Wenger's mostly shrewd buys, don't spew cash so much.

Understandably we're not top 4 class and can't hope to be unless we spend big bucks. We need a large clear-out of aging players for starters. Even though it won't be popular short-term, I'd sell Stones and spend the money on a goalkeeper and a top quality playmaker.

Our ball possession is poor and defending at times is frightening. Our goalkeeper, well time to say goodbye. Five-year contracts to players in their thirties is not a good idea.

The next five games will tell us all about the manager and season ahead. Our home form is my biggest worry as we play a formation and style that allows teams to close us down. Slow tippy-tappy football is boring and predictable. Nine points from the next five games is a must!

Interesting that Howard is blamed. Could he have come for the first cross in the rain and through his own defender? Maybe. Would he have been able to do anything versus Giroud? Maybe or maybe not. Bayern's GK came out for a floated cross and muffed it earlier in the week versus Arsenal so always coming is not the answer. The second one he had to stay on the line initially because it was a free kick from two yards outside the box (not a corner) at a high angle, making his first responsibility guarding the back corner and front corner and then coming out. There simply is little time to gauge where the ball is going and then react to it.

Howard's stats this year suggest that you all are wrong, or are using subjective analysis if you say he is not EPL standard or is past it. He has faced the third most shots on target and has the fewest goals conceded from that number. What does that say about the defense that this stat is so high? He is ranked second in GK by Barclays, 7th by Fox soccer stats, and Squawka has him 6th. BTW, his distribution percentage of kicks completed and length is still top four in the league.

He has been called a coward on here by people who never played between the sticks. If that were true, he wouldn't have been involved in the one-v-ones he saved yesterday. He did go head-first one time and feet-first the next. He does get involved in collisions so how is that cowardly? Interesting that he pulled off two excellent saves (one called for offside) but these efforts are not even mentioned or it is claimed he went feet-first instead of looking at the save. So when does subjectivity come into your analysis?

He makes the saves with the feet-first technique. BTW it is a technique being taught over here in the States by younger and more free-thinking keeper trainers because it reduces head injuries and actually puts you in a better position to get back to goal if a scramble or second save is needed versus the head first cobra method. It works for him even if the ToffeeWeb experts don't like it.

Tim Howard will need replacing in the upcoming seasons because age will affect his reaction and speed. A new keeper must be found to work in on a rotation similar to what Spurs did with Friedel so Howard can retire in a few seasons.

Until the defenders, who rightfully should receive the coward label, step up like Distin and put their bodies on the line, a la Shawcross, Everton will concede goals from crosses, even if RM signs an octopus. Stones is more interested in making little slip steps and playing the ball out of the back and getting forward. Fine, make him a holding mid or an attacking one, otherwise teach him to stand his ground, track a run, and make a freaking play.

Yesterday, it was employing Lennon for defensive cover. It didn't come off thanks to Jags really screwing up in my opinion. And Howard. More on that in a second.

Roberto may not always get it right, and he didn't yesterday. But he's not running us out there a la Moyes with the same approach every game. I'd guarantee that he won't employ the same set-up and approach against Sunderland in our next PL game.

The next point may be controversial – Stones will never be a centre-half in the Premier League but could be an excellent centre defensive midfielder. He shirks away from any physical contact particularly with crosses. He lost both Giroud and Koschelny for the goals – both were his men and he ducked out of both challenges. He would be world class in La Liga, Bundesliga... but not the Premier League.

His class at breaking up play, building up play would be a huge asset; he should be groomed to take over from Barry.

I've been a long-time backer of our keeper. His shortcoming is commanding his box. His strength is shot-stopping. The latter he is sublime at – he's a fantastic shot-stopper, full stop. The former he lacks – the last two years it's been extremely poor – his command of his box.

Yesterday, I actually saw two things for the first goal which is more or less the macro issue with Tim. Firstly, it was a sublime ball played by Ozil. Sublime. Secondly, I thought, even though Stones left Giroud for Jags to pick up, Jags did a terrible job defending. No excuse for not getting a head on that ball in my opinion.

BUT...

Even the harshest of critics have it right with Howard on this occasion, and it's a damning analysis for Tim as it occurs time and time again.

Tim should have been a middle linebacker in the NFL and cleared out everyone for the cross into the box. He's timid with the prospective collision.

And that is where I'm starting to believe it is indeed time for Tim to assume the veteran backup keeper / positive influence / mentor to a new, young, aggressive keeper.

He simply has to start being entirely more physical and "confrontational" with balls into the box. And really it's not "start being", it's been a long time coming.

I think it's a bit short-sighted and lacks memory to simply say Tim is shit. He's made some amazing saves for us. He's been a model Blue in my opinion and has been an outstanding servant to Everton.

But, and this pains me to say, it's time for him to take a back seat. He either has to start to clear the box – men and ball – aggressively and with impunity, or he has to take a seat.

His entire career demonstrates that this isn't gong to come to pass. It's time to turn the page.

I have called Howard a coward because of what he doesn't do as a goalkeeper – catch or punch the ball and make sure you let whoever is challenging you will think twice next time! Andy Carroll will have a field day against Howard.

As for John Stones being soft, he is 21 and is brilliant for his age for a defender in the Premier League. He will make mistakes, and I would say some of his errors come from the clown of a keeper he has behind him.

Howard is 36 and should have nothing to learn. I'm no goalkeeping coach but I guarantee you that you show Howard clips to a coach and they would probably use them to show THE NEGATIVES. And no, I have never played between the sticks... but I have been flattened by people who have!

Yes, you can analyse a goal and, to coin the old cliche, when a goal's scored, it's the whole team's fault. BUT there are fundamentals to football, and when you see a player consistently getting done on crosses and his near post because of... well God knows why, it's time to call it a day.

Yes the CBs didn't cover themselves in glory yesterday or in the Derby in which if you remember a 5-foot nothing Danny Ings outjumped the defence and put it past static Howard who obviously lost the flight of the ball... again and again and again.

Jim, these are fundamentals that you teach to 10-year-olds: what comes in the 6-yard area is yours. FFS he's 6'-4" and a cage fighter with more than 20+ years as a GK at the highest level, and he obviously keeps losing the flight of the ball. If only we could fire up the DeLorean and get Nev to see how he would have dealt with Ings and Giroud. Oh and Stones and Jags as well, but he would've come out with the ball.

Yes, it's tough being a GK; a striker misses 5 sitters then scores 1 wins the game and is a hero. whereas a goalie makes 5 world class stops and let's a howler in and he's a tosser. But that's the nature of the beast and IMO Old Father Time has caught up with him – the concentration levels aren't there, the reactions are slowing, so he's off his game and he probably knows it, which makes him more anxious etc etc. Take it from me; I've been there.

RM must know that a GK is now the No 1 priority. My choice would Jack Butland – young, hungry and English. He would cost the earth but worth every penny.

It is wrong to blame Stones for not picking up his man because we don't man-mark; we mark space and it was Jags that failed to cover both headers yesterday. I also think Tim Howard failed miserably to organize his defence and to clear crosses that were within his space. IMO, this is only a symptom of the confusion within the team.

We seem to start every game with no sense of purpose and organization. Despite saying we can give any team a game, we always seem to be incapable of raising our game sufficiently to win those games.

We defend like pussies and do not attack in strength. The number of times we trouble opposition goalkeepers is laughable. Our midfield is like a jumble sale; you make of it what you can.

What on paper looked like our toughest game of the season proved to be winnable apart from two appalling defensive lapses. Get it sorted, Roberto, before another season is over for the fans.

It was also deeply worrying at the sudden collapse of our once-impregnable defence in our last three games when they went AWOL leaving huge gaps costing us the points.

Against the Gunners in the first half, we were just holding our own until Howard's gifts. In the second half, we upped the tempo as they understandably started to tire after their midweek efforts, and brought on Mirallas to cause mayhem as well as Kone, they, along with Deulofeu, could have won it for us. Funes Mori did an excellent job also.

Lastly, I think that Robles should be given his chance again after doing extremely well when he filled in after RM's favourite number one was injured, starting from Tuesday night.

Good to see the penny dropping brother.

Howard's been taken liberties for long enough.

Swiss cheese? When you're right, you're right... don't start going all soft on us now, son.

If he speaks to the players like he speaks to the media, then it is no wonder they look confused. He appears tactically inept and indecisive. Look at the stats; our form is not good. I fear for us whilst he remains in charge.

I just do not know what to expect from our team. Also, I think that the view that Martinez is versatile and tactically astute is plain wrong. Frankly, when we pass it around the back, I have a knot in my stomach.

Martinez is not in the Sherwood position because he has better players. I certainly do not think that Villa will be thinking "Let's get Martinez".

More of a worry is: Does Stones have a positional weakness under that veneer of class? Were we better defensively with him out of the side? Is his problem the tactics he's asked to play under?

Deulofeu I think must be kept in the side as he has genuine class and can get crosses into the good areas that nobody else can, even when he can't get past the opposition defenders, a real gift.

However, I would like to see the club offload him if he insists on cheating. He is the worst in the division and he must stop it because the refs have him tagged already. If the defending team pulled out a gun and shot him the ref would wave play on now as a result.

Mirallas? He needs to leave Everton; he isn't good enough and he has mental problems. Kone I see as a solution, not a problem, and can see him being a key member of the side as an essential support for Lukaku.

There is a very good team somewhere in that squad but it needs the goalkeeper, best defensive/central midfield and connection to Lukaku sorting out and the current manager is worse than clueless; another problem rather than the solution we need. I accept that he isn't vulnerable though because we can't afford to sack him.

Negative territory for me still, we aren't nearly there yet despite a lot of often false promise. We carry a lot of deadwood and I'd like to see maybe 6 or 7 pieces unloaded and opportunities given to younger players who cannot possible do worse.

Jagielka, Stones, Howard, Coleman and Baines when playing are all seasoned International players with the exception of Stones. You mean to tell me Martinez should have to tell them how to effing defend every match? Give over.

Which managerial genius could make us a top 4 side without enough players of sufficient quality to challenge for the top? If you want to kid yourself that all it would take is to change the manager, carry on; I'm sure you will find you're disappointed.

As for the squad needing a major overhaul, I think many of us accept that to be the case but could you tell me where we are going to find the money to carry out this wholesale change? And given that RM doesn't have your or many others full confidence, perhaps a change of manager would be best.

As for the squad having a good team in there somewhere I would tend to agree but it seems that RM is no nearer to finding it than when he first walked in the door, whether that is down to him or the attitude and or ability of the players is open to question.

At what point is change necessary? Will it be as far down the line as "Roberto is the right man to get us promoted"?

We have too many good players to be bottom half but surely that is not good enough.

The sending off comes at the right time for us, when we have the likes of Sunderland and Villa next in line. We can only hope (knowing Bobby Brown) that we can get load some offensive options in his place.

If our current manager is worse than clueless, then who is the candidate to replace him? It is now that he has a full squad (well, almost) available for the first time in 18 months, so I'll be looking at what the performances are like form now on.

Especially (hopefully) Steven Pienaar is fit enough to be considered for the first team with Baines not far away. Besic and Gibson there or thereabouts, he has his squad.

It might be a useful time with Jags getting injured, to see how Ramiro Funes Mori shapes up with Stonesy. They are both good passers of the ball and Ramiro is looking like a proper centre half who gets to the ball, whoever's in the way, as well.

About Mirallas? A bit of an enigma. A good player but he nearly got booked again on Saturday. I wonder why it is thought that he has mental problems. That's a fairly serious observation to make. Whatever it is, he is a player we could do with when he is in the right frame of mind.

I'm looking at the rest of this season to see how the team play and, for me, this is the period when a fair assessment of our team and manager can be made.

McCarthy is the weak link in that midfield who seems even to have lost his work ethic which was his main strength.

"You mean to tell me Martinez should have to tell them how to effing defend every match?"

So, what you're saying is that we don't need a manager at all, don't need someone to come up with a tactical solution to any problems we have?

It's the manager's job to do that, just as it's his job to get a defensive coach to sort out a poor defence, and that's what those International defenders look like for much of the time, very poor. Look at the goals we concede from set-pieces, set-pieces that, according to Roberto, we don't need to practice. While you're at it, have a look at our home record for last season and this: 8 wins, 9 draws and 7 defeats.

Maybe Martinez can come up with some tactics to combat the teams that defend when we're at home. We all thought that after the Chelsea result we'd start doing something in the League but, let's be honest, Tranmere would beat Chelsea now, it was no big thing with hindsight.

He can also look at getting a new keeper, something we ALL knew was needed two years ago.

Under what circumstance did we concede both Arsenal goals, indeed most goals usually...? Up in the air – that's where.

It's Howard's judgement what crosses he comes for, that's basic play for an experienced 'keeper; what's Martinez supposed to do, stand behind the goal and tell him when to come out to meet the ball?

Same with the central defenders when a cross comes in, you're saying any manager has to tell them to jump and meet the cross before the opposing player? It's schoolboy stuff. They're both examples of poor play by individuals – not the system.

As an attacking force, Arsenal are one of the very best and we did okay apart from the 2 goals which were poor/bad play by individuals.

This doesn't apply to Howard of course. A keeper of his experience should deal with crosses with his eyes shut.

I don't know who Fabianski plays for these days but I wish we had him. He can make the odd mistake but commands his area and catches every cross with ease.

Raymond, Sorry, I just copied your name in full.
(not sure of your full title...Mr?Sir? Dame?;-) )

I think we may be singing from the same hymn sheet here, I said that we should be concentrating more on set pieces, something anathema to Martinez who doesn't believe in that sort of thing, and most set pieces are balls hit into the box, invariably in the air. Or in our case, to the head of the first man. Obviously I'm not saying that a "manager has to tell them to jump". But a manager has to set up a system and talk tactics to counter these situations and a defensive coach still needs to coach the players different strategies for different set pieces. That's what they do. That's why different managers have different styles. Wenger's sides play football, Allardyce sides play a bit more...direct. And Pulis sides used to play a lot of hoofball.

If you read my post you will also see that I would have expected Martinez to have brought in a new keeper by now. He did bring in Robles but doesn't seem to fancy him any more or else he'd have been playing long before now.

Do you not think that Martinez should be able to set his team up to win more home games than he does? I do. And that is not the players job, players will always make individual errors, but the manager is responsible for how a team is set up and the team will respond to his instructions.

Addressing two other issues:
I think that Mirallas is just frustrated at his treatment and that is translating into some rash tackles. Why did Martinez bring him on and then stick him at right back after Kone came on? Mirallas is still a very potent attacking threat, more so that Kone in my opinion. His turned the Arsenal defence in the box sublimely a few minutes earlier.

Lukaku has to be one of the laziest forwards I have ever seen. If the ball is a yard or so away from him, he makes no effort to get it or to close down a defender in possession. This cannot happen. ALL players have a defensive function of some kind. His irresponsible and lazy actions just causes a domino effect and the mids have to press the central defenders running at them. It was really evident once again on the weekend. I was watching Fletcher playing for Sunderland earlier. He is nowhere near as talented as Rom, but his energy in closing down and pressing was admirable.

If Martinez had a Cazorla or Silva in midfield, a Aquero up front and Hart in goal he'd be seen as a better manager overnight.

Martinez seems a thorough and intelligent guy I'm sure the players are aware what the game plan is when they take the field, the hard part is carrying it out well!

He (listen carefully Raymond) picks him every time. The way he handled the Robles situation was a disgrace. To tell a guy who has come in and done well that the clanger merchant he replaced, is, and will be his number one, was as bad a piece of management as I have seen.

I don't mind people defending Martinez, but you are embarrassing your self. You cant keep absolving him of everything.
Every Manager has his own way of defending set pieces, whether it be zonal Marking, a man on the post, Man for Man, whatever . . and they are all responsible for the practice and drill that goes towards making it work. Not one of our defenders knows what expected of him because the manager doesn't think they are worth practising .

We keep conceding from free kicks and you'd rather blame the tea lady than accept the fact that your sweet heart might just be responsible

The giant Lukaku should defend corners and freekicks and our other giant, Barkley, should not be sending over corner kicks to his smaller mates in the middle.

Ronald Koeman likes to play everything forward. He says he hates back passes to the keeper or anyone else. It slows things up. I hope Martinez was listening.

The lads on the pitch are his choice and they are trying to play to his instructions. It's the same with every team and every coach. Big Sam and Klopp will say they need time but they will both know that they will have to do it now.

Martinez is safer than most but ran very close to the edge last season and will not want a repeat. Unfortunately, we appear to be going backwards and I can't put my finger on the problem. We seem to be playing the same system with the same players with too many goals conceded at one end and too few goals scored at the other.

Jags will be a massive loss. He doesn't have the class of Stones but he's twice as tough and doesn't dilly dally with his blocks and emergency clearances. Get well soon, lad.

The major shock is the massive improvement in teams which normally finish below us. New managers, fresh ideas and quality signings. Easy fixtures are now hard fixtures but, that said, none of them will fancy playing us. We do have decent players and, on our day, we're pretty good. Bring 'em on. We're ready to roll.

Personally, I believe he is being instructed that way. He is erratic in other aspects of his game so as he is consistent in not going for crosses I conclude it is because of his orders.

Regards defending corners, I do believe that RM has no idea, this is based on my observations of what happens in the technical area each time we conced a corner. The Laws of the Game say there can only be one person standing in that area at one time and when we defend corners it is normally his assistant conducting the orchestra. Or not!!

That said, why why why can we not get the ball over the first man when we have attacking corners, or am I missing something??

True, we don't have a Cazorla or Silva in midfield, we don't even have the Aldi version, nor do we have a decent keeper and that is all down to Martinez. For heaven's sake, if we can see what's missing, how come he can't?

Harold, you, me and the rest of us may not be able to put our finger on exactly what's wrong but we can pick up on some of the problems right away. As you say, Koemann likes to play things forward. We don't or can't. But what we can do is fart about with the ball along the back line and then pass back 30 yards to Howard who then waits an age until the forward has closed him down before hoofing the ball forward in desperation so that we lose possession. Either that or some poor sod in Row Z gets hit in the face.

We are poor at corners, both defending and attacking, in fact we are dreadful at all set pieces. It's almost as if we don't practice them... We have no variation with free kicks. It's Barkley, Baines or Lukaku lining the ball up and having a shot on goal. No thought about what we might be able to do with a bit of invention.

None of it is rocket science, just common sense. No need to be seen as ultra clever or a new Messiah. Clarke said at the weekend that football is a simple game made difficult by coaches, echoing Shankly from years ago. "Football is an easy game, just give the ball to a man wearing the same-coloured shirt".