Rodriguez on comeback trail after injury

I have very high hopes for Leandro because I believe he is a natural finisher and poacher of goals. Whoever gets him on loan is going to win the lottery as I think he will knock goals in for fun!

He is probably our 5th choice striker at best. (Unless Henen is ahead of him?)

Our bench is strong now. Even with Pienaar, Jags, McCarthy out injured we still have no place for a fit again Besic.

Everton is a proper football club and I hope you do well here.

Quite slim when he arrived, I hope the physios have been trying to strengthen him up without bulking him up. Barkley has pumped so much iron, he has gained bulk and strength but lost so much speed and stamina I doubt Klipperty Klopp would even have him on his bench of non-stop whippets. Browning appears to be going the same way. Looked like Mr Universe when last sighted and no longer had the pace which once enabled him to outrun and dispossess Sterling.

Martinez has often raved about Barkley's magnificent physique so when he talks about Leandro not yet having the body to cope I worry. This lad could move quickly and leap like a salmon back in Uruguay. Let's hope he stays that way. Being skinny doesn't seem to bother Jamie Vardy.

If we don't make Champions League, players are off.

Sell for a profit, new peg goes in hole. Repeat.

Martinez's plan. It's a good one. Anyone who can't see this needs to visit SpecSavers.

How different its now looking. Well done, Blues.

Courtney Duffus is the closest thing we have to Rom from the youths but he's on the way back from a serious knee injury picked up on the evening or soon after his first appearance on our bench vs Young Boys away last season.

I can understand you saying Rodriguez is not a kid in some degree but, in terms of him being from South America, he is a novice in Europe.

As for comparisons to Adam Lallana, Lallana is 27 whereas Rodriguez is only a month into his 23rd year. Huge difference.

Brewster is another young forward we have who seems to regularly find the net along with Duffus; I thought he was worth a mention too.

And as for your observations about Barkley losing so much pace, that's the first time I've heard any Evertonian mention that.

When we break with pace as we have done on so many occasions this season, Barkley has been instrumental. Then again, you're probably the type who'd have a team full of Besics and McCarthys.

Harold, you make a good point about Ross – he looks like he's bulking out way too much this season. His runs from deep have been slow and ponderous lately and maybe he's carrying too much timber.

That said, he's naturally a big guy and always has been, in the same way Rooney has always been a man amongst boys – you only have to look at the photos of Ross playing kids his own age when he was literally twice their size. I think this is another reason his development is slow, and the reason he struggles with the physical elements of the game – up until he played first team football, Ross was always bigger and stronger than anyone he played against so it was always easy for him. Now he's playing against people the same size, strength and bigger than him, he doesn't have the physicality or aggression required to cope.

Just a theory but I reckon it might hold some weight (pun entirely intended).

I think Martinez's way of doing things re strengthening does seem to work, maybe some people will never be happy though!!

His first two in the first two weeks of the season were quality strikes of course.

So maybe Ross is getting in the box a bit more this season is great but I think it's best to judge his overall performance on just that, his overall performance.

I'm delighted he's getting goals but best to have a rounded view.

Cue the usual "you're never happy" remarks.

Sorry Harold, you are usually spot on but on this you are wide off the mark IMO. Ross is still leaving players for dead with his turn of speed and he's certainly not running out of steam during games. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea but some of the criticism aimed at the lad is simply silly and unfounded.

Andy 14, Sturridge is a good example and like Harold, I am just making a point, no obsession. To play the new mega-pressing high tempo game, that Dortmund used to play under their former manager, you need Mo Farah like endurance and speed plus the sharpness of someone like Jessica Ennis. Actually, we could do worse than appoint Jess as a fitness coach.

Mark 16, I thought Ross looked a bit heavy legged on Tuesday night. I think his willingness to get into towards the 6 yard box more is the major factor in his goals this season, rather than taking up position around the edge of the penalty area, waiting for a break.

3 matches ago, against Villa, I gave him rave reviews on TW, telling everyone we were looking at the new Barkley. Playing in his England style, he chased back, closed down, passed the ball on quickly, kept things moving forward, got himself into the box and scored two goals.

Unfortunately, against Bournemouth and 'Boro he started dawdling on the ball again and looked a bit tired late on. Okay, even at half-pace, we know he can score goals and provide assists but he looks so much sharper playing for England under the critical eye of Hodgson and I keep wishing he would do the same for Everton. He managed it in the Villa game but my joy was short-lived.

As James points out, he may be a naturally heavy set lad but he seems to be increasing in size and the extra weight will definitely slow him down.

Finally Andy, this is TW. Please don't tell me what to post and what not to post. And yes... I like Besic, McCarthy, Oviedo and Galloway. They may never be stars but they are natural-born fighters who always put a shift in.

We've moved on a bit, I feel, from the football of the 'Moyes' days when players of lesser ability just ran their socks off and guaranteed them a first-team berth.

I've criticised Martinez on this site on many occasions but at least I like what he's trying to achieve football wise, even if he goes about it in strange and frustrating ways at times.

As Colin said, Olympic sprinters are more muscular than Ross. Muscles build speed, they don't slow you down.

He has started to really grow into this season, and I for one am really happy for us as fans as we have a core of players who have the potential to be very very good. I am happy for the club, as it's my club, our club, and I bloody love Everton. And I am happy for Ross, who incidentally had a huge injury and, since he has hit the gym, looks more confident.

Perhaps it may just be possible that Ross feels more comfortable and less worry regarding injury, enabling him to just get on with his football. Whatever it is, it's fine by me. Keep up the good work, Ross.

I see Chris Froome's numbers in cycling show that a big weight loss meant he was able to generate more power-to-weight going uphill but somewhat less of an increase on the flat. This all down to the reduced weight he has to move.

Maybe we should build a massive slope into our pitch and have a home team of Osmans. I can hear it now "it's Osman's fault"; "no it isn't it's Osman's fault"; etc.

Ross is in the form of his life, end of; let's enjoy it.

As for his speed and size issue, trying to keep up with Kone and Deulofeu is enough to make anyone look slow!! Maybe he's just quicker-looking around Naismith and Osman! ;-)

As for stamina, David Pocock at 115 kg would cover more ground than most outfield Premier League players in a match (that is in addition to the small thing of contributing at the breakdown).

Putting a shift in is the absolute minimum required. A team is, after all, more than the sum of its parts. Do you think Leicester are one of most talented sides in the land? Do you think Vardy is world class? He has set a record precisely because he puts a shift in and then some, not because he is anything special footballing-wise.

We were frequently told than Mr Antolin Alcaraz was a classy operator but he wouldn't know how to put a shift in if his life depended upon it. Aren't you glad to have seen the back of him?

Whilst the likes of the peerless Alan Ball would take delight in ridiculing those types on the pitch, Ross seems a shy and introverted lad and he has to work out a change to his style which I think he is managing by starting to link possession play and time his bursts forward for when there is the space in which to run as he can't expect to barge players out of the way now.

Gerry has done something similar in that he has learned that he can't dribble all the time and that an early cross can be more effective (although he showed against Boro that he can do both).

Oh, and hands off Harold – he always talks sense and long may that continue!!