From My Seat: Chelsea (A)

Can we give our "present" back?

For instance, England centre-back Jagielka's failure to deal with an innocuous lob plus the lack of communication between himself and Howard was disgraceful. As he is usually glued to his goal line, Howard's rush to involve himself in that particular episode was lunacy.

When Hiddink made a few simple tactical changes the game swung in Chelseas favour. He moved Fabregas from supporting Costa to centre-midfield and brought on Oscar to play that role. Martinez could find no answer to Hiddink's change of tactics and that has been a weakness that will be to our cost as more managers cotton on.

Tim Howard saw two people coming towards him and how was he going to not get hurt. He is not brave enough to be an Everton Goalkeeper and he has cost us at least 10 points this season.

"It's heartbreaking for fans to witness such fine football that puts us in front being usurped by panic stricken defending when we know we have the class and strength to look after this side of things."

My feelings have dissipated somewhat this morning and it is just one of those decisions that the clubs with money to burn seem to get so often, think we will climb the table but not sure at what rate.

That said it's not solely down to those two.

Once Martinez has looked back he might reach the same verdict as Leighton Baines in knowing the game should have been managed better at 2-0. The shrewd move at 2-0 would have been to get Funes Mori on for Oviedo in my opinion and bolster the defence but Martinez just cannot grasp how you see a win out with 20-30 minutes remaining.

It's been like this all season, last season was the same. Remember being 2-0 up at home to Arsenal with 83 minutes on the clock only to throw it away and drop the two points! And Martinez wants us to believe we have learned lessons regarding this! Who's he trying to fool?

We have a shambolic win ratio, we have won once since November and that was with the last touch of the ball, we have endlessly frittered away winning positions and teams now know that Everton, whilst they play good attacking football, are a very very easy team to play against, as Peter Reid points out, we are "a soft touch ".

I'll say it again, Roberto Martinez wants us to continue playing this gung-ho football but exactly how many teams are we really outscoring? We are not exactly winning that many matches 3-2 or 4-3 now.

I'm not convinced this manager will ever truly learn to get the balance correct no matter what player's he has. Sure we will score goals, there will be lots more 3-3 draws that feel like defeats because we can't see out a lead but the few clean sheets we keep will only be in 0-0 draws when we totally neglect attack as we did at The Etihad.

I expect nothing to change under Martinez any time soon.

It has always been this way at Everton, whether it's gimme Cup Quarter Finals at home to Wigan or Semi Finals when the spotlight is on us, we just implode and push the self destruct button time and time again.

For this reason I have no faith going to Manchester City next week, that will be the game that truly defines not only this season but if we have the stomach, the bottle and mentality to succeed.

It's getting close to being the last hope of achieving something for the likes of Phil Jagielka, even Leighton Baines, guys who have been here years but in their careers won nothing.

Next Wednesday night for me will tell me everything I need to know once and for all about the strength of character.

Much like last year's abomination in Kiev, when we went there with a 2-1 first leg advantage, it will always tell me if we really are learning the lessons that Roberto Martinez wants us to believe.

If he actually NEEDS to tell his players to park the bus when we're up with minutes remaining then it's a pity. The players on the pitch need to manage their own decisions – they're not children.

Game changed all thanks to Tim's decision making and execution. Tim Howard is not good enough, he has cost us again and will continue to do so.

Has Martinez got the bottle to drop him?

To my mind he and we were all let down by two of our most experienced players and principally by the officials. The fault for their first goal to me lies squarely with Jagielka, not Howard, although if you are going to dash out like that you should be sure to take something.

Last year it was the senior players who underperformed in crucial games. I feel we are so close to something special but don't quite have the necessary cynicism or savoir faire to take the points when they are on offer.

I still think this season can be a success with a visit to Wembley or two and a top six finish and I don't think Martinez should be judged until the end of the season or possibly next season as I see the best football we have seen for a long time, without admittedly the results, at Goodison this season

Howard chickened out when he saw it was Diego Costa, if you watch it again Howard is actually leaning away from making impact with potentially the ball and Costa at the same time, most likely due to fear of injury, the man always does this, he gave away a penalty at home to Sunderland a few years ago again going in with his legs instead of standing his ground.

The man is what he is, but it's Martinez who is at fault for endlessly selecting him.

Jagielka too must shoulder some blame though, for a man that experienced to commit the sin of allowing the ball to bounce was frankly a disgraceful error of judgment, secondly getting outpaced by that lightening quick fleet footed Diego Costa (haha not).

That's us in a nutshell though, individual errors, failure on a collective scale, all letting down such great attacking play.

Jags seemed to loose the flight of the ball, it can happen, but should Howard charge out to edge of area and miss the ball?

Perhaps the fault is being to high up the field, we also defend to close to our goal, it needs sorting and down to manager to get it right.

I have very mixed feelings reading the ToffeeWeb comments; RM is not going anywhere soon, he, the team the coaches have to talk and sort the system out now. I do agree we panic, if we go ahead the team seem to be like me, waiting for the opposition to score; a solution has to be found and soon. The good times cannot be allowed to be around the corner, to find another corner and then another.

I think last season with our player unrest Howard must have been one of the senior pros who stood by his manager and in doing so earned himself a mega contract.

RM: 'when I see Tim Howard in our changing room I feel safe'.
Sweet as Roberto, now have the plums to leave him in there when the game starts.

Where he fucked up is when he did come out, he should have smashed everyone and everything 70 yards up the field. He didn't though, his arse went, he bottled it like he so often does.

It was that good, I think it should be sent to Finch Farm, and put on the changing room walls for everyone connected with our first team squad to read. It's how we all feel

How many times have we seen a two goal lead blown through sheer panic stricken incompetency? Not only that, but to once again go in front in the 90th minute and still allow a 98th minute leveller FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SEASON is SO infuriating!

We cannot expect to grant teams such an easy way back into games and still come away with a victory.

Two draws away to Chavski and Manc Shitty are positive results in that we didn't get beat but as far as points on the board go we're still languishing in the bottom half of the table which simply isn't good enough.

For the final goal with only about fifteen seconds left we had cleared the ball up to the halfway line where Deulofeu had the chance to hoof it towards the corner flag and give chase. Chelsea would not have been able to retrieve possession in time to mount another attack. I would have expected an eleven year old to understand that. The way he cheaply lost the ball was criminal. No wonder Jags and Lukaku expressed their frustration to him.

Baines was excellent as was Mirallas. This was a game we deserved to win by at least two clear goals. Instead it felt like a defeat.

By the way for the good football we have played this year as I said yesterday we have won more league game than Sunderland and Newcastle. Surely that tells you everything you need to know about RM.

Howard is good at instinctive saves but when he has time he invariably makes the wrong decision.

It was a very difficult ball for him to deal with and I think Howard coming towards him may have caught him in two minds. Howard was way too far off his line. Howard made a couple of great saves and I have always liked him but I believe his time is most definitely up.

Robles needs the half season to try and establish himself, before a concrete decision is made about a new keeper in the Summer. How many extra points would we have this season if Petr Cech was our keeper?

We need stronger characters on the pitch, simple as that.

Things cannot continue to be allowed to carry on like this, the whole group of players coaches and manager have to get together and sort this mess, because that is what it is, out, scream at each other and point out who is making these weekly cock ups and start being the professionals you are well paid to be.

This defeat was very, very hard to take for me, and I'm sure for every Evertonian who really cares about OUR club... yes our club, Mr Martinez, we are the ones who suffer for your philosophy, it's definitely NOT our philosophy.

Come on Blues and more importantly Mr Martinez the scoreline is whatever it is at the end of the match and we celebrate or moan accordingly but we have never before had a manager who claims that we won when we actually didn't and I don't remember anybody claiming we had beaten Liverpool in 1977 after Hamilton's disallowed goal.

If it says in the papers the day after the game that it is a draw, a victory or a loss that is what matters, all the rest is so much hot-air and the manager's job is to try and ensure it doesn't happen too often if at all.

We don't defend well as a line or as a team because we don't practice it. Watch Man Utd defend versus Liverpool, two lines, organized. Anything in the box, Fellaini and freaking Rooney are in there helping out. We are not organized and rely upon individual plays. This means we often are having to lunge or slide to block the ball, rather than being in a position to deny the opportunity for a shot altogether.

Until we practice team defending, and everyone knows what to do and how to stay connected, it is questionable tactics to even try to hold a lead by absorbing pressure, and parking the bus. It won't work without individual standout performances and luck (The Man City game even though it was scoreless). One note, on the third goal, our backs were holding a straight line and put Terry offside, so does Howard get credit for organizing the defense? No, probably not, so then who was organizing them and why didn't he do it all game long?

Watch how long it takes to set a wall on a free kick and there the ball is stopped until ready. You expect any one player to be able to continually organize the back during live action? idiotic or naive, take your pick. There needs to be a leader in the back four and there isn't. Goalkeepers are not the captains on the field generally, since they are too far removed from the largest part of the play and players. How is a goalkeeper supposed to communicate with Stones when he is freaking at midfield all the time?

It was notable from where I was in the ground that some of the Everton players just wanted to get back to the half way line to finish the game – including Deulofeu whose exquisite cross made the goal (it spun down like a tennis player's lob – a really fantastic piece of skill).

My main gripe is now with the goalkeeping position – I think Howard has been a good servant to the club and attracts a lot of unfair criticism. However, he also seems to be on his way out at the end of the season, isn't as good as he was and isn't a long time bet. Given that we're not going to get relegated and have no more than an outside chance of finishing in the top six, I think it is time to give Robles serious game time to (a) provide him with experience needed to see if he is good enough to succeed Howard and (b) bed the defence so we avoid conceding critical goals in cup ties where we may actually win something – noting that he plays in these games anyway.

We are so predictable, it is untrue... except that El Bob is the only person who doesn't seem to see that! I'm just glad the ref didn't add on any more time for the Terry celebration as we would probably have conceded again! People have said that the dodgy decisions are 'swings and roundabouts' but we would be better off points-wise if the City 'penalty' and Chelsea 'offside' had both been given correctly!

Someone mentioned us losing another 2-0 lead v Arsenal at home last season, well to go back a further season we lost a 3-2 home lead slip to the RS in the last minute too. This has been a longstanding malaise which is just getting worse and stems from Martinez's teams having no backbone.

At least Stones and Lukaku will be off in the summer and then I fully expect Martinez to take us down over the next 2 seasons, a la Wigan. We are like Wigan now only with better players but, once we lose a couple of players and continue playing kamikaze defence, we will become exactly like them. SORT IT OUT for the sake of all our blood pressures FFS!!!!

Such a talented group meandering along in the lower half of the table. Unacceptable! Where is the plan to address the obvious weaknesses? Where is the accountability?? Week-in and week-out, the same. I often have to check whether I am watching a DVRd match. Maddening!

Notwithstanding the cock-up between Jags and Howard leading to their first goal and the horrendous officiating enabling their final one, the match seemed to take a change for the worse with Barkley's substitution. Now our Ross is at times guilty of making bad decisions and tends to fade out of matches later on but he was physically bossing the midfield on Saturday. His penetrating runs and strength on the ball was causing them real issues and keeping their midfield at bay.

Ross will never provide much in the way of defensive support (not his game really) but opponents must respect and account for his attacking intent/threat, pace and strength. To my eyes (admittedly through a near blinding red mist) it appeared that following his withdrawal, the field tipped significantly towards our goal.

A fan saying such a thing is sort of understandable; our manager saying it is not acceptable on any level. Superiority over the opposition is worthless if the team don't clock up three points for whatever reason, be it ill-fortune or bad decisions from the officials.

This has been the most frustrating season that I can recall. We've thrown away at least 9 points – Bournemouth, Norwich, Stoke and Chelski. No doubt there are more – too depressing to scour the results!

Having watched the first goal in real time my initial assessment was that Jagielka made a mistake which Howard made into a calamity when he did not have to run out. He would have a good chance of jockeying Costa wide and letting other players come back on the goal line.

Having watched the replay since I have changed my view and I think there are only two problems with the two points you make.

The first is that when the ball bounced Howard was already committed to flying out and and was past the penalty spot. Christ alone knows why he made such a poor decision but nevertheless that leads to two likely consequences for Jagielka as he must have seen Howard's commitment to this.

Firstly, he can't head it back to him as the first best course of action as it is more likely to go past him and be an OG or certainly cause what actually transpired in any case, i.e. the ball past Howard with Costa running on.

Secondly, it must have spoiled Jagielka's concentration as he now has to wonder what Howard is doing rather than simply dealing with the ball as a defender..

On the second point, if Howard does a Neville Southall and takes all with him then he is red carded for sure with a possible penalty which would have surely been a worse scenario for us. He ended up yards outside of his area and gone to ground which is totally inexcusable for any keeper of any standard. Unbelievably bad decision making to come for that ball at that time.

From thinking it was a mix up and mistakes by both Jagielka and Howard in real time, the first goal is now entirely Howard's fault in my opinion.

"...and for some reason we went deeper." – This is the crux of your report. Why? Did the players do so,the manager decide so, or did Chelsea, as all home teams do, with nothing to lose, push up the field and deny us the space to play out of defence?

"...we are unable to handle high pressure moments." – We are talking here, Ken, of three current English Internationals in a back four and Funes Mori who was head and shoulders above any of them despite his short stint in the Premier League. Who is unable to handle pressure moments?

Finally, Ken, your continued usage of "our present manager" is unworthy of some excellent factual reports and indeed denigrating to Roberto Martinez but which is probably in line with a certain strain of opinion on this site.

Michael, I never mentioned the RedShite. I was just wondering why we only got 1 point.

There ref, the linesman would, if this was a problem in isolation, probaly rightly take full criticism for this result. But it isn't.

Martinez needs to accept the need to play the clock down when we need to. When we are 3-2 up and there's 7 minutes of extra time to play is one of those occasions.

To see the ball be pumped back out to the opposition time after time is disgraceful panic by professional footballers. We need to have a plan as to what we do when we are in this situation again.

Some simple rules, if in doubt put the ball in the stands and regroup; carry the ball and draw a foul; know where your outlet(s) are going to be