Everton vs Chelsea

I would prefer not to go 3 at the back because Chelsea have a way op finding space on the wings and unless we are desperate I would not play Barry LB because he is liable to be roasted for pace and is a liability in the penalty area.

I would go 4-3-3 in this one hoping that Galloway or Oviedo are fit and then play McCarthy Besic Barry with Lukaku flanked by Lennon and Mirallas.

Bring Delofeu and Barkley on second half when they are tired..

Come on blues make my weekend!

We need to WIN this to get ourselves going properly....not another draw....beat the b#st#rds !!!!

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Oviedo
Deulofeu Barkley McCarthy Mirallas
Naismith
Lukaku

This lot together & Everton can win with plenty attacking options all round the field & defending together as a team.

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Barry
McCarthy Besic
Lennon Barkley Mirallas
Lukaku

Barry isn't going to offer much offensively but he would be a steady option at LB and we will need his height against the Chelsea bullies. Not the game for a half fit Galloway or Oviedo.

Mirallas and Lennon will offer plenty of speed on the counter and Deulofeu can come on once either starts to tire.

Crystal Palace played it brilliant in their last game, they let Chelsea come into them and simply hit them on the counter, Mourinho must win at Goodison as they are falling way behind City already, they will have to attack, we should be patient and hit on the break like we did at Southampton. If we do all the pressing, they will pick through our defence with ease with the quality they have.

I'll take a snatch and grab 1 - 0 to the Toffee's !!

By the way, I don't know what the answer is. He is a cracking player but the refs in the game now are looking for him.

"TEAR THESE FUCKS A NEW ONE LADS!!!"

I'd seriously just show them all the soundbites that has come from Chelsea and it's deluded support base this past few months.

We need to WIN, our home form has been shite for too long!

We will fight them on the beaches etc etc.

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Galloway
McCarthy Barry
Deulofeu Barkley Lennon
Lukaku

And I'm still worried vs Chelsea's midfield, if we get overrun, I can't really see Deulofeu and Barkley getting a grip.

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Oviedo
Barry
Deulofeu Kone Barkley Mirallas
Lukaku

Barry to play just in front of the CBs, to provide cover and kick start the forwards. Kone because his first touch on the long the ball from Howard is the best in the club. He, not Dom, was the target man last game.

The above line-up should give us defensive cover and a bit spark up front.

Tough team to call but I think if Galloway is fit then his pace will give him the best shot at LB over Barry.

Depending on Lennon's fitness I think we may see him on right wing and Kone on left wing but I hope not as that would suit Ivanovic who I'd rather see Mirallas have a crack at.

That second goal we conceded against Man City should tell anyone McCarthy is not a top defensive midfielder. We were toothless against City and lacked pace and bite and the ability to take the game to them after half-time.

Darryl's selection is brave, Deulofeu would be very keen to impress and would inject pace as would KM whose goal stats are impressive. Kone has been playing really well of late as has RB, similarly Barry is in a good vein of form too (apart from not being great against Spurs).

We had a right go at Chelsea last year and played well in parts, it was only the form of Howard and McCarthy that lost us the game (along with the very late Besic error).

Coleman if he is to play a part must have Lennon in front of him. I am hoping we field a team that can play 4-4-2 reverting to 4-3-3 on the break so my team would be:

Howard,
Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Mori,
Lennon, McCarthy, Barry, Barkley
Mirallas, Lukaku.

I don't think anyone has mentioned it on this thread so far but it will be a real test of character for John Stones – which I think he will rise too.

I hope Goodison is on fire for this one – I have developed a very strong dislike for everything about our opposition this week – including their players.

Formation wise, it would be 4-3-3 for me.

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka (Oviedo/Galloway)
McCarthy, Barkley, Barry
Kone Lukaku Mirallas

Barkley has being playing very well so far from that deep position and should be suited to counter attack. Also, I think that Kone has done ok in recent games and would be good to start. I'd bring on Del Boy later on to shake things up.

For me, Mirallas has looked about as useful as dried pritt stick recently. He needs to earn his place back. Lennon will or should be raring to go, and he also tracks back.

As someone stated, it's a very similar scenario to the Lescott saga and that really riled David Moyes so much so that every time we played Manchester City it became almost a bigger game to him than the Merseyside derby!! I don't think City hardly beat us again under Moyes once that Lescott situation arose; obviously it's changed since Martinez has been here because the animosity isn't there anymore.

Let's hope Martinez really drives the fact home that we must rub Mourinho's nose into the mud whilst they are on their knees, they have had a bad start and frankly I think they are beatable... well, Crystal Palace proved that.

I want a passionate angry nasty performance from the boys tomorrow, I'll be hurt if I don't see it.

We have had two this season, lost our last two at the end of last season and have won just FOUR matches at the Old Lady since mid-December!!

That's not good enough, it's got to start improving.

This is an important game for us as well as them. At the moment five points from four tough games is OK, but after this home game we travel away twice to the Swans and Baggies. It's a bit like cricket, Boycott always says add two more lost wickets to the scoreline and things don't look so good.

We need to start winning at home, and Martinez needs to put some fire in the bellies of this team. I want them on toast and that ego-maniac/bully of a boss needs his ears perforating with Goodison's hatred.

Lennon can be depended on to work hard and break with pace, get it wrong and they will pick us off with thier extra class man for man.

So basically the exact opposite of what Martinez will do.

Howard
Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Funes Mori
Barkley, Besic
Lennon, Mirallas, Deulofeu
Lukaku

Tons of pace, solid back 4 with Besic adding bite in the DM role, Barkley a bit deeper with space to drive forward.

I found this section about Martinez and Lukaku to sound familiar despite a faint echo of bitterness:

For a manager renowned and respected as a famously and vocally progressive tactician, Martinez has, in this writer's opinion, usually looked more like a footballing version of Don Quixote than the future Guardiola he is touted as. His attacking ideals have almost always come at the notable expense of defensive solidity and for someone who apparently pores over hours and hours of video footage every day, his team selections make very little sense.

For example, his commitment to dominating possession and keeping the ball on the floor seems not to match up with his single-minded use of Lukaku as a lone striker. Lukaku is, lest we forget, a man whose first touch makes Wayne Rooney's look like Dimitar Berbatov's. It's been hard not to look at Everton's this season and wonder how they've ended up with a team in which each player seems to work best in different styles and systems.

Maybe Galloway and Lennon or Galloway and Mirallas or Barry and Besic or Barry and Mirallas or Mori and Lennon or Mori and Besic or .....

None of these options fill me with confidence. Maybe we should just keep the ball down our right side for the whole 90 minutes.

An automated acknowledgement but nothing else. Very surprising, don't you think?

And likewise, how anyone would prefer Lennon to Mirallas leaves me speechless.

If he starts ahead of him I would feel every sympathy for Mirallas packing his bags. He must be baffled as to why he signed a new contract only to be potentially undermined by such an unnecessary signing.

Give Lukaku those two and Barkley to rush forward with and I'd be happy.

However, I fear we will see the usual Gerrard/Lampard... sorry, Barry/McCarthy axis flogged to death again in the vain hope that if it is perpetually persisted with, it will work. Then Deulofeu and Mirallas on the bench in favour of Kone and Lennon.

If that is the case, I hope we get what we deserve.

Please prove me wrong Roberto.

Ditch your favourites and go for it. Define this season. Don't let it be a carbon copy of the last one.

Mirallas on his day is almost unplayable but was pretty ordinary at Spurs. He is a frustrating player and you never quite know what he will bring. Lennon is not as gifted but works much harder. We'll see what Roberto decides as it is his decision that counts.

The key to this game is playing on Ivanovic and deploying the counter-attack which we do so well. Let's give it too Jose and here's to Stones playing a blinder..

We are Everton. At home. Not Stoke scrapping for a point last Aston Villa.

This new-found focus of Roberto's on working hard, whilst admirable, is a worrying trend.

And marginalising TWO potential match-winners worries me greatly with the rest of the season stretching ahead of us...

But if he plays them both tomorrow, I will happily eat humble pie.

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Oviedo
McCarthy
Lennon Barkley Besic Mirallas
Lukaku

This game is there for the taking if we defend well as a team and break quickly on the counter attack. Deulofeu and Kone are good options for last 20 minutes or so. A victory tomorrow would really kick-start our season.

In both matches at Goodison, Jose had Chelsea pressing up high, trying to force our backline into mistakes. Two years ago, we got through it; last season they tore us apart. In fact, we could easily have been down 2:0 in the first five minutes of the 2013 match which we won 1:0. Whomever our left back is will be targeted relentlessly, and my only worry in playing Mirallas on the left side, is that I don't trust him to provide adequate defensive help for the left back. Lennon would definitely do that, but he's not a natural left-sided player. And I don't like KM on the right side either, because he and Seamus Coleman get into eachother's way, and we definitely need a threat on the right side.

But maybe we should just screw it and put the pace on the pitch. Figure that Jose will have Chelsea attack us because they are desperate for the win, and I could see Jose thinking he needs to put us in our place for not allowing him to have Stones on the cheap. Chelsea will probably feel more comfortable away from home, and believe they can dictate the pace of this game. Plus, by pressing the attack, Jose might figure he can hide his weaknesses in central midfield and central defense, not to mention they'll be missing Courtois now.

We set-up for a counter-attack like we did against Man Utd. Go with Barry and McCarthy at defensive mid, Barkley in an advanced central midfield position so that he can run at Chelsea, then have Lukaku up top, with Mirallas at left mid/wing, and Lennon on the right. Hopefully Lennon and Coleman can handle Hazard. We try to force turnovers at the top of our defensive third, and when we get the ball – we break like the Jamaican 4x100 relay. Bring on Deulofeu for Lennon if necessary, Kone if we need 2 forwards, or Naismith if we want some graft.

The keys for us winning is to protect our left side, limit Chelsea's looks on goal, maintain our defensive shape, and don't get lured into their diving, ref surrounding, "Eleven Babies" bullshit. Ultimately, I feel we will need big games from Lukaku and Barkley if we are to stand a chance.

I will have it with me tomorrow at the ground.

I would have him in from the start and clatter Hazard and stick on him being a right niggly little bastard, until it looks like he might be getting close to getting his marching orders, then change sides or take him off and the new fella do exactly the same.

I bet he will be chomping at the bit to make up for his fuckwittish start to the Premier League last season.

Kick them all over the pitch, but in a way that cards won't be shown.

Matic v Barkley should be a treat. Ross will be free of Hodgson's reins and will give the big fella plenty to think about. Let's hope the ref gives him more protection than the guy at White Heart Lane where Dier was allowed to murder him for 90 minutes.

The outcome of the game is hard to predict: a draw would suffice; three points would obviously be better but if we play as we did v City and they play as well as they can we will be in trouble, We can never trust 'officials' these days and Marriner is fond of handing out cards so I won't be surprised if a penalty is given, even a red, by him.

The game starts here (Canada) at 6:30 am so me and the lads will be out of our pits on time to scream for a win, COYB.

COYB!

Howerd

Coleman Stones Jags Oviedo (if fit)

McCarthy Barry (as always)

Kone Barkley Lennon

Lukaku.

Now it may well be that at some point we may see Mirallas, Delboy, even Runes Mori. but I'll be very surprised if they actually start. I'd still like to see Rodrigues on the bench though. Keep Lukaku on his toes.

Frank (#56) is right... no way Roberto sits Barry for a game like this, much as many of us would like to see it.

And just noting the irony... who would have guessed just a couple months ago that what looked like our deepest position would turn out to be our biggest worry? We had FOUR left backs... now having to contemplate the possibility of an "emergency" Barry there. Crazy.

I hope Barkley has another good game he has really stepped it up this season all credit to the lad.

Tactics will be interesting as Chelsea do look a bit more vulnerable this season and I'm sure Jose will want to steal the limelight from his team.

PS. Good to be debating football again instead of bloody Kenwright !

I have a feeling tomorrow will be a cagey, tight, potentially incendiary affair with chances at a premium. A one-goal-game or 1-1 I reckon.

Possibly a game decided on a penalty or free kick. I can't see it being anything like the 6-3 game.

We need a cracking atmosphere, poisonous as far as the visitors are concerned would be ideal. Make the Old Lady a bear-pit for the afternoon and give em hell from minute 1.

Really wish I could be there tomorrow, and despite feeling like shit with a cold I'll be shouting from 6000 miles away and I really would love to see us turn them over.

Yes, Besic is a sensational ballwinner, but "forward thinking"? Sorry, but Hibbo is a better passer and even Tim Howard has a better strike rate.

He can select a side to run them ragged and give it a go or, he can display the timid shite that is his hallmark. I expect us to be up for this more than any game in years. This is it for the coach, motivate, inspire, attack and get Goodison alight. This is it. We can't beat the money consistantly but we can do now and again, tomorrow we must.

Mind you a 1-0 boring win is a completely different kettle of fish.

As far as I'm concerned a win by any score will be great and a draw will be more than acceptable.

What is going on? Mirallas must be wondering why they wanted him to stay, and Deulofeu must be desperate to continue his Barnsley form. Now we have Lennon also contesting for the wing places, but of the three, Martinez is most likely to plumb for Lennon because of his ability to work hard and cover his full back.

I hope Martinez is proactive and tries to win the game from the off. I don't want us fiddling about as the game drifts away, with one of the fliers getting 6 mins at the end, after Naismith replaces Kone!

If we develop into a team where Naismith, Lennon, Kone and Barry/McCarthy are the first names on the teamsheet, it's time for Robertotogogo.

You are welcome at my house FOC. If you've never seen EFC then let me help.

I love geezers from other countries that have never seen EFC live and i'll do anything to adress
that balance. Breakfast of course is Sausage Toast, poached egg (and don't forget black pudding)

3-1 if that guy called our manager has his head right, i.e. he goes for wingers... But then,

I love fairytales......

COYB....

If he goes with Galloway, then Lennon in front to help provide cover. Ditto Barry at left back.

Eddie, I hope Roberto buried that locker key. In concrete. I assume he got tired of seeing the counterattacks that resulted from Besic trying penetrating passes that he simply lacks the skill to pull off. I think the lad has a great future with us if he sticks to simply winning the ball and then giving it off to someone who knows what to do with it.

Get that early goal, we have a chance, Everton need the fans to be in full voice.

Joses teamtalk will be, be patient, force Everton into mistakes, silence the Everton fans, frustrate them, then take control of the game,

If our fans are in top voice and get right behind the team, I fancy every Everton player to raise their game and come away with three points.

If he plays like he cares, he's very good; too often he plays like he couldn't be bothered.

Got to beat these no-mark come-latelys....COYB.

Not a disastrous start to the season. Chelsea are struggling to gain form. Stones plays against the team he was prevented from joining. Can't you feel the excitement? The exhiliration? The tension? No, neither can I...

The atmosphere's flat throughout the club: owners(?), management, squad, match-going fans, internet warriors. We're a club in the doldrums.

Then again, sometimes the ball bounces off him and we concede possession. More than any other player in the team Lukaku is the one we need on form today. Chelsea will not be shit all season and the international break has taken the pressure off slightly. My team would be:

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Oviedo
McCarthy Barkley Barry
Deulofeu Lukaku Mirallas

The advantages I see in this formation are that we are playing with two defensive midfielders to offer protection to the back four, with Ross sat deep in between them. Ross seems to perform better with space to drive in to in front of him. We have two wide players who should be instructed to stick to the touch line and make space for Lukaku in the middle. Best of all, if we can break, and there should be opportunities to do so against Chelsea, then we can have Barkley and the front 3 tearing forward at their defence.

The other thing I think will be key to this game is pressing. It's something we don't really employ to good effect. Chelsea must neve be allowed to settle. The atmosphere will hopefully help in this. For me that's why we need Deulofeu and Mirallas on because I don't think high energy pressing is part of Kone's game, despite his other decent qualities which have become apparent this season.

Oh well here goes....

Please Do it today boys.

3DMs

If his plan is keeping it right for 60 minutes and then bringing them on with 30 to go, I can live with that.

What angers me is seeing Deulofeu waiting to come on at 83 minutes.... Pointless

Bit like how we beat Arsenal last year when Naismith was the central striker.

If so, I like the look of the team, I'll be less convinced if Barkley is playing on one of the wings.

Worry

No Mirallas, who must regard re-signing as THE biggest mistake of his professional career.

No Deulofeu. What does he have to do after Barnsley?

THREE defensive midfielders.

And now the new Barry/McCarthy try, try and try again principle... and keep on trying until it works again with Kone alongside Lukaku. That, in itself, is fine - but where the fuck is the supply coming from???

Not normally prone to swearing, but this is TOO much.

And if he brings Lennon and Naismith on, I will fervently join those who have had enough of him.

Never mind, I'll push Kone and Barkley out wide...

Brilliant Martinez.

Clearly, last season WAS the indicator of what sort of manager you really are.

Clueless, cautious, shithouse team today, from a clueless, cautious, shithouse manager.

One of our defensive centre mids will at least get a yellow card or worse trying to contain their pace

Mr Brown shoes lost again, dick he has.

Mirallas should be starting this game. Koine can t play on the right.

Moyes would've been crucified for this sort of approach, but he at least earned the right and had a team that could defend.

This is just absolute nonsense.

He must figure that Chelsea are going to come at us like a bat out of hell, because this looks almost too defensive. I don't like it when there is no natural width or pace. It's almost like he is over-correcting for the 6:3 match from last season.

Welcome to Wigan Lite.

Only one way with this manager and one in which he is well-versed. DOWN!

David Booth – sort your head out.

Go on, Naismith!

So sick of all the rabid roumor mill nonsense about players we need but have missed out on...

So I love it, I just love it when the players we actaully have on the roster shove it right back up faithless fans who come out with utter crap like this.

All the players you finger, Mr Booth played splendid roles in a fantastic win today. Where would you like your humble pie delivered?

What a shameful, disgusting post, Milos. I don't understand how any Evertonian could come out with such utter garbage.

If you were half the fans you think you are, you'd be on here now holding your hands up and shovelling humble pie down your miserable throats quicker than you can swallow it.

Somehow I can't see it happening, and that's to your eternal shame.

Then I thought I'd check out TW to see what's being said.

All the bile and negativity is coming from those who don't go the game. I guess that's a blessing of sorts.

Unbelievable comments before a ball had been kicked.

RM got it spot on today. The attitude was good the formation was robust and we didn't buckle under pressure.

Also, can we have a fly by every week. 2 so far, 6 goals and 6 points.

I have said it before and will do so again, if most of our team had the same attitude that Naismith brings when he plays we would win more than we lose, let's put it like that.

John Stones showed today he is pure class and is going to get better which means Everton are in a win win situation. Overall, the team played really well against a side packed with very talented footballers.

There are some idiots (sorry editors) on here who know sweet FA, slagging off the team when the match had hardly begun, slagging off the manager for bringing on Naismith. People saying I hope we are three-nil down at half time, really stupid comments. The same people now trying to make fun of it now, how can you judge anything in 10 minutes? Fucking disgrace you all are.

And to those who thought we were mad not to take 8 million quid from Norwich for Naismith, he rammed that where the sun don't shine didn't he! Well done Naismith, over the moon for you with your hat-trick, good footballer and one decent guy.

Mourinho was classless in defeat and everyone knows it, Jose!

However, despite my (lack of), surprise at you being double quick to be at the head of the queue to serve it up Mr Kenrick, I defy you to honestly say you would have picked Besic, Kone and then Naismith and Lennon before one or both of Deulofeu or Mirallas.

Ironically, two overhead banner flights have co-incided with our two most impressive performances of the season, so long may that apparently inspiring airborne criticism continue.

Perhaps, as a long-standing critic of the 'Kenright regime' then Mr Kenrick, you might care to have a go at those who paid for them too? Hmmmmm, maybe not...

Football is all about opinions and one only has to look at the numerous suggested teams proposed on here before every game to see that a consensus is rarely achieved.

However, I do believe there is a consensus on Martinez' tactics and selection - with his worrying propensity to begin playing favourites under any circumstances and a trend towards 'workaholic' players such as Barry AND McCarthy (counting them as a single entity here), Lennon, Cleverley, Kone (who he employs 'grafting' on the wing) and today's man-of-the-moment, Naismith.

So please allow me to expand and clarify.

First and foremost I am most certainly NOT one of the many habitual whingers, moaners & pessimists on here. Quite the reverse in fact. But please don't go to the trouble of spending hours going back and extracting odd sentences to prove me wrong. We all have a go at times and I have had a few constructive observations on team selection and our apparent psychology this season.

Neither do I want to get into a slanging match with any fellow Evertonian.

I expressed my opinion today and I was proven wrong by the result. It is, and was, nothing personal.

I am, and always have been, an optimist. But I like to think I am a realist too and believe that we currently have the most gifted squad we have had for 30 years, with talent and depth in every single position.

What concerns me, latterly, is that despite all this fabulous raw material at his fingertips, our manager seems to become more cautious and deferential to the opposition with every passing game. Favourites on the team sheet no matter what. A dogged, almost 'damn you' attitude about playing two (or today, three), defensive midfielders. No width. Square pegs consistently in round holes, especially on the flanks. And an increasing preference for graft rather than gift.

If that's the Everton you want, then I do not share your enthusiasm.

I thought we'd get rolled over today and I was wrong. And to compound that, Naismith scored a great hat-trick.

But to some extent, that illustrates my point about playing players in their right positions.

Naismith is a consumate finisher and his enthusiasm, energy, movement, aggression (which clearly unsettles defences) and instinctive goal-scoring ability merits him a place in certain games.

What worries me about him and the others I have also mentioned, is that they are being drafted into the team to be jacks of all trades: scurrying from box to box and with almost a greater focus on defending than attacking. That's not the Everton way is it?

How much more effective would they - and the team - be if they were played strictly in the positions in which they excel?

This season has shown that Lukaku needs more support and Naismith can sometimes provide it - if he's played as an inside forward, not a wing back!

Then there's Kone. He helped us grab a vital equaliser against Watford and was instrumental in our great win at Southampton, but was subsequently dire against Man City and Spurs, when we played him as a winger. Dare I suggest he wasn't any more eye-catching or influential today either?

If we need a winger, then for god's sake, play a winger. We have plenty of them on the books after all? And if we're playing someone else like Cleverley on the other wing too, then play two wingers instead. Stop selecting favourite players just to get them in the team somehow. That is the nub of what I am saying.

So please keep my earlier frustration (and swearing... sorry ladies and children), completely in the context it was intended.

My contention is with the overall strategy Mr Martinez seems to be settling on nowadays, not with my team, or any of my fellow contributors on here and their perfectly entitled opinions.

We got a handsome win today, against a very off-colour Chelsea team.

However, if you think that starting line-up will both sustain and improve us for the next 33 fixtures, I don't agree.

Before anyone hangs, draws and quarters me though, please bear in mind that, like investments, your opinions can go right or wrong on here too.

And that is just mine...

David, I think Roberto picked a side today that was intended to match what Chelsea would bring. Another opposition, another selection perhaps – and perhaps other tactics. And I don't think we saw enough of Besic today to decide how his role was going to pan out today (although in his last few minutes on the pitch he seemed to play the Nais role).

Also thought Kone played much better than you gave credit for. His hold up play was again very good; just what we've been needing.

He was playing largely where Naismith did, where Cleverley would have. More legs to aid our tactic of pressing higher up the pitch. Tactics were not significantly changed by the substitution.

You say you've 'supported' the team for 20 years well I've supported them for a lot longer than you pal and i've never ever wanted them to fucking lose just so some manager gets the boot!! This, as Michael said, is a fucking moronic statement of the highest (or lowest) order and you sir, should be ashamed of yourself.

Successful managers choose teams, and tactics, to match and overcome the team in front of them. Chelsea are reigning champions and last season their midfield overran almost all of their opponents. Last season at home we went at them and conceded six goals!! Is this what you wanted to see?

You are not alone as other people share the same point of view I.e. it's ok if we lose as long as the fraud/charlatan is sacked. Lose and the snake oil salesman will be out etc.... You are entitled to your opinion(s) but I honestly believe you are in a tiny minority on here and amongst the majority of Evertonians.

I may be in tiny minority, but I am 100 % sure that defensive set up will never bring us success and if any manager or his lovers thinks that playing with 3 def. midfielders (after we tried that several times last season with result of 0 goals and 0 points) will bring us trophy, that is "fucking moronic of highest order" as you said, but you can of course express your opinion.

Don't give us all the other supposedly mitigating crap, as if we don't all want that. But it's a very poor Evertonian who wishes a losing position on the team, in such a vital game, on such a significant day, as Colin says, purely for your own personal agenda.

Before you reply, please consider Lyndon's recent request for less gratuitous negativity on here and see how well the cap fits.

I don't have any personal agenda, actually I find Martinez as a fine person, but I do have "personal agenda" with negative tactics. It doesn't matter who the manager is. I was and always will be big opponent of that.

His replacement of Besic with Naismith was to ensure the team shape didn't get lost; Mirallas or Deulofeu would not have defended as well as Naismith – both reasons they were not in the team at the start.

All positive tactical decisions for a game against the Champions where we won easily. Criticism is due when it doesn't work but some people on this thread need to get their heads out of their arses and give credit where it's due and not spout of shite like "Wigan lite".

Anyone's opinion that we go 0-3 down is not from an Evertonian as far as I'm concerned; you support the fucking team whenever and wherever we play.

"I was wrong... completely wrong as it turned out in my calls re bringing on Lennon and Naismith. Maybe I'll actually watch the match next time and see how it develops before foolishly prejudging such outcomes."

Nah... give us 15 more paragraphs instead...

What Martinez is doing differently this season is playing a balanced team with players who look like they know what they're meant to be doing.

What the players are doing differently is pressing the opposition, defending better, moving better and making themselves available for a pass.

Like two seasons ago, the 'negative' tactics are producing chances and goals, unlike last season's carousel of peripheral wingers doing nothing in particular.

Now, I'm not convinced that we have the quality of players able to play consistently like yesterday, but if Martinez keeps sending out a committed, energetic and balanced team, he'll get back my enthusiastic support from two seasons ago.

I have to eat humble pie myself as I called for Barry to be dropped following his shocking performance at WHL, but Roberto stuck with him and rightly so... He was absolutely brilliant (as he was at Southampton).

Where Everton are concerned, I'm always glad to be proved wrong by players / managers I'd previously criticised.

I hold my hand up and admit that I thought Naismith should move on earlier this season because I didn't see how he would fit anymore. The Tottenham match reminded me why he was important to us. SN is the only one who will mix it up with defenders; give them a kick, get in their face; not be the nice guy. Plus he's the only one that actually makes those nice little runs in the defensive gaps that drive defenders crazy. Steven played his game yesterday, was full of energy and pissed off that he didn't start, and Chelsea felt his wrath. I'm actually worried now that if he doesn't get more games in that he will want to move elsewhere. Never thought I would say that. My humble apologize to you Mr. Naismith. Thank you.

However, I know you have a particular grudge against me, so not surprising to see you coming back rather gratuitously when I went to great length to qualify, mitigate and explain my anger and frustration.

I was also unaware that there was a word count you would have preferred me to adhere to? Still, kick a man when he's down eh, and then quote Lyndon's request for more sporting behaviour to all and sundry...

Perhaps, instead of returning to have another dig, it would have been tacit to answer my two specific questions posed directly to you, namely:

i) Can you to honestly say you would have picked Besic, Kone and then Naismith and Lennon before one or both of Deulofeu or Mirallas?

ii) As a long-standing critic of the 'Kenright regime', will you also be wiping the saliva from your lips as you chastise the paymasters of the banner flight for being out of order too? They picked the wrong game too, after all!

Oh, and please be assured that, when you are in any way critical of the manager, team or board before a game and the result inverts your opinion in a similar manner, I will sent a message to addressed to pot, with love from kettle!

To re-iterate therefore, I was wrong in that Naismith scored three goals in a great win against a very poor Chelsea team. I will also add the riders though that I was far from alone in being initially condemnatory about Roberto's team selection.

I might also add that, despite it all clicking against a team who are completely out of sorts, it failed miserably against better teams in City and Spurs. So yesterday is not a panacea.

They were dreadful. We were fortunate and determined. Naismith was fantastic.

Oh, and just in case you missed it again: I was wrong. But play the same team from now and until the end of the season and I wager I will be right just as many times, if not more...

I'll just remind you of a few of the more tasty ones:

Clueless, cautious, shithouse team today, from a clueless, cautious, shithouse manager. Nice!

Deulofeu and Mirallas on the bench in favour of Kone and Lennon. If that is the case, I hope we get what we deserve. – Nearly as bad as Milos, surely???

How anyone would prefer Lennon to Mirallas leaves me speechless. (I wish!)

What sort of fucking team is that?????? – a winning team, apparently.

And here comes Naismith. Welcome to Wigan Lite. That would be the bloke wot scored the perfect hat-trick – against the Premier League Champions....

Football is all about opinions — perhaps the biggest myth of them all... because, as you surely know already, Football is played on the pitch. It may help you not to forget that, Mr Booth.

Regarding your 'questions', I rarely feel I can prejudge the game based on the line-up Martinez picks. Watching our games has convinced me that predicting the outcome is foolhardy. I find it's best to watch the game and see how things pan out before I start mouthing off.

And the plane... yes, I think the sad thing is the impact probably gets attenuated by the win. I felt that after Southampton; I feel the same after Saturday. It's a lot of money, and it is effective in that the TV cameras make sure it doesn't go unnoticed.

But play the same team from now and until the end of the season... — wow! More incredible predictions! Guess I've never understood the need for this, but it does seem pretty important for quite a few. Me? I'd much rather watch what actually happens on the field, on the day, with the Everton players who are wearing the shirt, rather than getting wrapped up in this FM Fantasy Football prediction crap.

A good dollop of humor in there too. If anything this thread should serve as a warning to all those who fire off cynical comments on ToffeeWeb pre-game. We all like to play fantasy football manager in our heads but the simple fact is we aren't the ones who see the players in training, or sit down with analysts leading up to a match who look at the opposition and the way they play.

Simply put, we're not in the know. We have our favourite players, and our preferred starting XI's which is fair enough, but ultimately team selection is the manager's choice, so let's save ourselves please the worst of the vehement, emotional tirades which always seem to spew forth an hour before kick-off when the playing XI's are announced.

If you vent pre-match, you'll run the risk of either eating some serious humble pie if you are wrong, or you may look like a bit of a smug bastard if you then come on post-match wailing that you were proved right.

Either way really you probably won't win yourself friends.

So enough now from you and Mr Kenrick please. I am not a pariah, I am a loyal and long-standing supporter. And I am not going to get any further involved in this increasingly personal point proving.

My comments (the uncharacteristic swearing within which I have apologised for), were nothing more than what you would hear in the pub before a game. And I am sure, not very different to views you yourself will have expressed numerous times as an Evertonian.

We won, which is all that matters. That does not change my opinion that Martinez is sacrificing his wonderful, initial verve in favour of caution and stopping the opposition playing in every game.

As it happens, we got the breaks and beat a VERY under par Chelsea side.

But I stick unswervingly by my view that, if he opts for containment instead of expansion throughout the season, we will end up in a position which befits such tactics, ie: out of contention in mid-table.

Is that the type of reputation and football you wish Everton to be associated with?

I would prefer a starting line-up with match winners in it, such as Mirallas and Deulofeu in particular. Maverick they may be, but that is the essential essence of what they are. And what I think Everton aspire to.

Right now we seem to be obsessed with players who track back. I would rather have players who instinctively push forward.

You and Mr Kenrick, apparently, would not?

However, I would not come back and perpetuate an argument for you having your opinion, so please refrain from doing so when I express mine? I am entitled to it as perfectly as you are. One match does not prove you right or me wrong.

Indeed, as I said earlier, I could cite the games against better teams in Man City and Spurs as examples where it failed miserably. So does that mean I have been right twice and wrong only once? I could justifiably claim so.

I also re-iterate my main question to Mr Kenrick and one which he has now avoided twice: can you to honestly say you would have picked Besic, Kone and then Naismith and Lennon before one or both of Deulofeu or Mirallas?

The fact you have singled me out for repeated returns proves that is one point I am absolutely right on!

Your assertion that it is nothing personal is wholly disingenuous, as we both well know.

"I just saw a few astounding posts on this thread and you happened to be the source of quite a few of them," you claim.

Wel here's the facts... the vast majority of the 30-odd posts between the team being named and kick-off were critical of the line-up.

Only ONE, Ben (106) was in favour.

At least 20 were, like me, openly critical. So perhaps might wish to also individual replies to each of the following to demonstrate your alleged impartiality:

James (94)
No wingers! Martinez has shit his pants. What a wuss.

Neil (97)
Swop Kone for Del surely!!! FFS.

Kunai (98)
Three defensive midfielders?! Fuck me.

Paul (107)
Very negative team which looks like we're playing for a draw; very disappointing.

David (108)
So between Barkley, Kone and Lukaku, they have to beat Chelsea. The rest of the team are there to defend.

Dean (110)
Prepare to win Bobby, not this crappy 'stop them playing' shit that you seem to be fixated on. Bullshit lineup again, no width and no attacking intent.

Karl (111)
No width despite having four wingers. What's that all about?

Alan (112)
I would have expected this away not at Goodison. A side to concede possession as far as I am concerned.

David (116)
Obviously we ain't going for all out attack. Worry.

Anthony (118)
Wingers all on the bench. We have no width whatsoever. Cowardly line up. Gutted.

Nick (119)
A Cleverley away from a Walter Smith line-up.

Anish (122)
What kind of pathetic line up is that!

Milos (123)
We haven't scored in last two games, created almost zero chances and new plan is to play with three defensive midfielders.

Liam (124)
How many fucking wingers in our squad and None of them start. Mirallas should be starting this game. Kone can't play on the right.

Neil (126)
Team selection doesn't make sense.

Santosh (127)
Just when I thought that Roberto couldn't get worse with his team selection, he proves me wrong.

Chris (129)
Besic, Barry and McCarthy + no wingers in the starting line up = Martinez out for me. Moyes would've been crucified for this sort of approach, but he at least earned the right and had a team that could defend. This is just absolute nonsense.

Victor (130)
Our very own brand of ‘wingless wonders' today.

Jackie (131)
…why is it that we have to have spineless managers.

Chris (132)
I'm surprised and disappointed. I am not a fan of this team.

Then leave it or be worried it all becomes some silly conspiracy nonsense.

And when you sort it - new start and the rest of us leave it too.

Gx

And Ged, I quite agree, I should not have to defend my opinion so comprehensively. But am not going to sit back and be singled-out either for having it!

Oh, and in case you missed it, the answer to your question: I'm not the manager, so I don't pick the team. And I rarely feel I can prejudge the game based on the line-up Martinez picks. The outcome of each game is hugely uncertain. Watching our games has convinced me that predicting the outcome is foolhardy. I find it's best to watch the game and see how things pan out before I start mouthing off. Sorry if that's not the answer you want, but that's how I feel about this silliness.

Can we stop now?