From My Seat: Burnley (A)

Ross is not scoring; Mirallas has gone right off, and Deulofeu can't hit the side of a barn. Roll on the January window.

At least when Kone partnered Lukaku in October last year, it was one of our few bright spots last season at home v Villa and Sunderland.

I don't think Ron fancies either of Mirallas or Deulofeu. Expect them to be gone before next season.

It appears that not losing has become more important than winning. A draw has become a good result. One proper forward on the pitch. What's next? No forwards at all?

The idea of removing a DM to put on another attacker has become an anathema to modern managers. They'd sooner watch their lone striker huffing and puffing against four/five defenders than risk putting a second attacker up front to give the defenders something to do.

More than half the clubs in the Premier League are happy to grind out bore draws or narrow one-nils just as long as it keeps them in the Premier League and the all that lovely money rolling in.

Until the offensive minded players start to outnumber the defensive minded players in the first eleven, these kind of results will continue to happen.

There are some exceptions (Wenger, despite his faults, has never succumbed to that style nor, I regret to say, does Klopp). But most games I watch now, domestic and (especially) international are mind-numbing.

Cue a 6-4 in one of today's games.

Craig @3; I'm not sure just what Koeman's 'favourite' formation is, or if the players he might need to play it are a) at the Club; b) available; or c) affordable.

It could be a radical, out-of-the-box, sea-change in formation is called for... one as radical as the move away from the 2-3-5 of the '50s.

I used to watch all football, but now it's all a bit boring and 'meh' sometimes it takes me all my time to watch us... well live with a 2 am finish... but that could just be me.

60-odd million in the Country and BT get 400k for their Champions League games...

Does Ron have the inclination to do something even mildly out of the box? Will he be given the time or money to follow it through.

Something needs doing, but he'll have a hard job in getting the gold Bentley mob out of their present lackadaisical attitudes.

Didn't one of those most improved teams very nearly win the title not too long ago – in fact a whole two and quarter seasons ago (2013-14) and didn't they very nearly win the Carling Cup and the Uefa Cup last season?

It's not like the current boss took them from mid-table obscurity to the higher echelons of the Premier League without investment, is it? I'll give you Leicester City, no problem.

Granted, the players Koeman has brought in have stood out from the rest and, with more financial backing, I think he can take us places; I just can't see him getting it.

I've set my sights on a new home and mediocrity on the field; why not both? It would be nice, but after 45 years of being a blue, any progress is a blessing.

There is simply an obvious lack of real goalscorers in that team, Lukaku apart, and we simply don't possess any quality in the final third of the pitch.

He must be as frustrated as we are, and I believe he has probably reached a decision already on the future of the following players: Mirallas, Lennon (who never gets a game, even as sub now), Cleverley, Deulofeu, Kone, Gibson and possibly McCarthy.

Seven players in all – and I might have been a little conservative there – is a lot to lose from a squad, but if he wants to be brutally honest, these players have all been given ample time to prove that they can take the team forward, and most flatter to deceive.

At the moment, he can only work with what he's got, and hope for an improvement in the players he picks on a regular basis. It's tough at the moment, especially with the 'other lot' steaming ahead in the league, but their manager has had a lot longer to develop his squad than Koeman has; let's judge his team in 12 months time.

It's good to know at least that we battered them, it sounds a very tough last-minute defeat to take. I've had a fine day walking in the hills, no angst... maybe I should spend matchdays that way.

Player power is more influential than ever. When Martinez took over, he had a problem convincing the old Moyes clique to change their ways (rightly or wrongly), and this current crop seemed to down tools and get Martinez the boot.

It was interesting to see Lukaku and Mirallas at the Euros laughing in disbelief at the breaking news of Roberto's appointment as Belgium boss. Guffawing like naughty schoolboys!

Koeman needs to get his own men in and quickly.

Everything and anybody is to blame when they are not winning. When Rom fails to get clean control, the attack usually breaks down. It would be nice if Bolasie could interact with him by being closer for the long passes and I suppose he is playing under instruction but it worked fine for the goal against Man City.

At the moment a big problem is the lack of incisiveness from any of the midfield players. This was a game Everton should have won easily but they blew it much like they did at Bournemouth and came away with nothing. Barkley is a problem, looking good on the ball but generally not having the confidence to do what he used to do when he first started in the first team.

As to the game I thought we played well without being able to make that final incisive pass or avoid shots being blocked. Burnley's 2 central defenders and goalkeeper won them the game. My worst moment came when the 89th minute shot came back off the bar and I was in a direct line with Arfield – as soon as he hit it I knew it was going in.

My Burnley supporting friend said that we deserved to win and, like myself, was very impressed by our aproach play. I thought that Bolassie had his best game so far and I was amused at how easily he shoved Lukaku off the ball before scoring. Just imagine the reaction from his pal if he had missed!

Gana, as usual, was very impressive. I thought that his substitution was very strange and it may have cost us the game, as it was a foul from a tiring Barry that led to the winner. If Gana had still been on the field, surely he would have been challenging for that ball.

Kenwright has given Moshiri a bill of 㾷M to get rid of Martinez, who in turn has left a player who nobody wants and we can't get rid of at a cost to the club of 㿆M.

Thanks for cheering me up. I'm clutching at straws this weekend but the memories of Crystanbul and Slippy's finest hour are still sweet. (Does anyone remember the 'Saturday Dilemma' thread on here ahead of our match with Citeh that season? What a time that was – but it turned out well in the end.)

Back to more important matters – the Mighty Blues. Regardless of minor blips like the Burnley result (sickening as it was and so typical of EFC down the years) as well as the re-building job required for the next season and a half, we're still moving in the right direction for me.

Getting rid of the previous clown was even worth the 㾶m pay-off because we were heading the way of Villa, Newcastle and the Sheffield clubs under him. Let's not forget how bad things were before we get too down-hearted.

I still think we'll finish top 6/7. Under Mr Snake Oil, Man City would have smacked us for 6 and we'd have had justifiably very low expectations of anything against Burnley (not to mention enduring the drivel that came out of the Spaniard's mouth every week).

When Koeman and Walsh have had another year together, that's when we can hopefully start to see things take shape – ie, teams filling their kecks at the mere mention of our name. (In the meantime, for now, I continue to wish the current Barcelona manager well.)

Having said all that, we need a couple of quick wins to maintain momentum.

Great report as usual, Ken.

I agree with all your players listed, Steve (#16). They all seem to be in trouble. Surprised and disappointed with Kev and Del, I thought they would have showed what they could do, but they only seem to get lazier.

Unlucky yesterday but I'm getting well tired feeling this way. Will be at Goodison next Sunday praying for 3 points.

If Kenwright had had his way, we would be bottom 3 at the moment facing a long hard winter. As it is, we are top 6 and looking quite solid defensively; a couple of tweaks in midfield and attack and a top half finish would be a massive improvement on what was likely to happen, ie, sacking Martinez in November and scrambling around for a new man to save our season.

And I think we all know who Kenwright would now be turning to, given his current predicament... (Clue: Kendall Mk 2 all over again.)

The new players brought in have improved the squad but we are still a middle-of-the-table team, that need 2 or 3 'star' players to make us serious contenders.

Same old story, how do we attract 'star' players???

Certain players are showing their age: Jagielka, Baines, Barry... while others have lost form: Barkley, Mirallas, Deulofeu. Coleman has been average this season.

Martinez only really made one decent signing in Lukaku, the rest added nothing to the squad except numbers. Niasse is an embarrassment while McCarthy, Lennon, Kone, Cleverley etc are just not good enough.

Moshiri and Koeman must have now realised the size of the mess they inherited. We need a big clear-out and some quality signings. As you say, they are difficult to attract.

I confess to being a little disappointed that Koeman doesn't seem to be trying anything new, or rotating the squad as he was known for at Southampton. Okay, we don't have great strength in depth but Funes Mori should be getting game time, as Jags is well off the pace recently and Lennon surely has more to offer than the current alternatives. Tom Davies too looked at first as though he was on the brink of at least occasionally getting on the field but is now being ignored.

I'm not overly impressed with Koeman's apparent inflexibility, a fault often exhibited by OFM. I hope it's not a case of history repeating itself.

Of course, I always thought Martinez to be a football idiot (I suspect he now has as the job of Pep's scriptwriter – they spout the same shite) and he took the club for c 㿆M!

Of course GIVEN TIME and Moshiri's hidden money, Koeman MAY be able to restore almost forgotten glory to Goodison but he's a long way from the magical manager we welcomed back in June. Idrissa Gueye apart, it's the same old, same old. But, given time and fill his pockets and, who knows, we might make top eight... given time....

I will always think that the manager should do this or that, buy x and y, and shift out a and b, and until I get the job myself, I will be pissed off at times. I would like to see more of Davies, who Unsworth was happy to play, and like Brian above, can't understand why Lennon has been underused. Lennon was treated the same at Spurs, and we don't see them in training so who knows what Koeman is seeing that we don't?

I am hopeful that he will get it right,and I for one like the look of Bolasie; I would like to see us play 4-4-2 with Bolasie up there with Lukaku. It was a better performance on Saturday but a win against the Hammers is essential to keep the spirits of the fans and the players up.

Someone has got to get in where it hurts and score a few and I'm sick of people on ToffeeWeb giving excuses for players who plainly are not performing. That said it was criminal we came away from there with nothing.

The honeymoon is over for Koeman, though. I expect changes for the next game and youth to be given a chance at least.

I agree with you to an extent about players reinventing themselves. But, these are rare cases. Plus, those players probably had a decent team to carry them.

The situation with us is we have far too many average players, all playing at the same time. There's no chance of carrying them. We would need a Dr Frankenstein type on the coaching staff, to do some brain and limb transplanting!

Much of the anger and frustration expressed here comes from the perception that some players are not trying hard enough and there is a sense of lethargy again about us. People would be more patient, and perhaps take a somewhat longer view, if the basic commitment and cohesion were more obvious.

But to do that, Koeman would have to bring a player like Drinkwater or Shelvey into the squad. A vocal, physical, player with a passing range and ability to tackle is what we are lacking at the moment.

Phil, unfortunate to refer to Ginger and the 11 years in trying to make your point against "giving manager and players more time". Koeman's few months doesn't equate to Ginger's 11 years. Give him more time!

Our teams of 1970 & 1985 had it in bucketloads. Gueye, Barry and Williams have nous. The rest of them haven't.

More nous, asap, please, Ronald.

I'm home to serve my 'ninety days' next week but with no great longing to see this dreary lot up close, I can tell you!

Lennon hasn't been on the magic roundabout, he has hardly had a sniff of a game to try and impress the manager. He will certainly do a lot more than the other three you mention, who have quite a few chances to show what they can do, but have failed miserably to prove they can do a job consistently.

Lennon certainly deserved a run of games, he can't be written off without a chance, that's for sure.

I saw Barkley reluctant to put a foot in and Lukaku watch the ball harmlessly passed around him at times on Saturday: it appears to me Lukaku already has his sights set on another club.

I don't know what you do with Barkley, I would dearly love him to succeed at Everton but at the moment there is no end product from him.