Embarrassing Blues come gift-wrapped for lethal Spurs

What's with Lookman not even making the bench. If he's injured they kept it pretty quiet. What's the betting he chucked his toys out the pram again so he's been dropped.

There must be an explanation as to why Lookman isn't in the match day squad: injured, sick (Gomes and Richarlison also had a bug this week and missed some training days), or disciplinary (no leaks of that nature). I'm guessing he's got a knock or a bug that has ruled him out.

Better balanced line up than last week.

Give us a show, Blues.

Entertaining match. Dont think its over yet.

It's just not good enough.

I do have a problem when Everton gifts goals so cheaply, which is what we did with all 3 Spurs' goals.

We give ourselves a great foothold in the game with our excellent worked goal between Sigurdson, DC-L and Walcott...and then Pickford - I exempt Zouma totally - screws up big time. Cool finish by Son, but the situation doesn't happen without Pickford's brain fart.

Spurs look like scoring on every attack with their clever movement and swift passing. Does not the manager on the sidelines, or the players on the pitch (particularly the captain) not see pushing on our full-backs in allowing Spurs in behind our defence down the flanks?

That's where the second goal came from. Son in acres of space down the left with Seamus way out of position. Jordan makes an initial good save, but Dele Ali has been alert to the situation, whereas Gomes was not, and fires in the rebound. OK - Pickford was maybe unsighted, but could he have done better than allow the goal through his legs?

Then the free kick. Why don't we have a player standing over the ball, delaying the taking of it until the keeper has sent up the defence wall correctly? Why are we still arranging the wall with Spurs ready to take it? Digne slow to do what Pickford asked and so half and half in the wall. Son's feinted run pulls Digne further out of the wall, Trippier's free kick goes through the vacated space, Kane runs off the other side of the wall anticipating a rebound and duly scores.

I hope Spurs have declared at half-time, as they did in the corresponding fixture last season, or this could get very, very messy.

On that performance, Spurs is the best team we've played this season.

They are everything I want Everton to be. But we are sooooo far off them.

They are genuine title contenders.

Our organization, our shape, our style has totally collapsed since the last-minute loss in the derby.

The gap between us and the top 6 is huge. SIlva seems to have simply found a new way to be shit. Open, entertaining shit. Better than the shit served up by Koeman, Unsie and Sam, but I fear the outcome will be bottom half rather than top half.

By the way, good job he brought on Schneiderlin or we could've really been in trouble.

- Pickford is a disaster waiting to happen
- Keane, Mina, Zouma just aren't good enough, no matter what combination
- Davies will never make it as a Premier League player
- Richarlison is a con-man
- Out of the 11, there is only Sigurdsson a true top 6 player

Silva is a joke, stop taking teams on as though we will outscore them, we are nowhere near good enough. Get back McCarthy, Gana, and Baningme to give us some backbone – drop Bernard, Richarlison, Davies, Schneiderlin, Walcott. Start with 4-4-2 and learn how to defend.

That's up there with worst I've seen.

Make it stop, God. Please.

Keep the faith Evertonians. Show some character.

Ah well, look at the positives: Schneiderlin is back.

There was little pressure from midfield. Gomes shouldn't have played if we were to press them high up. Him and Davies did nothing all game in that regard.<> Everyone is blaming Pickford for the first one but I blame Zouma. Pickford clearly shouted to him but Zouma did nothing except knocking our keeper over.

Shocking defending today across the team. Only Sigurdsson was pressing. Awful. Just awful!

The players don't give a shit about the Blue shirt so why should we?

Embarrassing club to support that never gives anything back to the fans.

I've never seen a team so open in a top league game, ripped to shreds on both flanks and through the middle.

Okay let's accept Spurs man for man are superior to our squad and are in a better place.

I have never been embarrassed being an Evertonian, not even when Allardyce was signed, today I was embarrassed.

I thought Carey going under the circumstances he went was a disgrace but what I witnessed today was equal to that.

There's a thread about Premier League week 18 Paul Tran said we only needed strikers. I answered and agreed with Paul but added that we also needed a pragmatic management team that would pick a team and employ tactics to suit the opposition.

Today just proved my point.

Silva is 100% Martinez Mk.2.

I am all for this type of football and tactics he is trying to employ but for fucks sake wait until we've got the team to do it!!!!!!!!

A week or so ago a Watford supporter wrote an article praising Silva when he was winning but questioned him when things were going wrong. How right he was.

That disgrace of a result had nothing to do with individual players – though Pickford could be pulled up - that was purely a tactical fuck up from kick off until final whistle.

No doubt we'll get a few posters seeing positives like we competed after we went 6-2 down. Unbelievable.

I have got to agree with Merson, not one Everton player is good enough to break into the Spurs team. Never mind, if we finish in the top half of the table, we can all be happy.

It was a ridiculous decision by Pickford which set the ball rolling. I can't help but think we lost more than a point when we lost to the RS. The knock-on effect is there for everyone to see.

We missed Gana massively. Davies is not good enough and never will be.

Two big away games to come and we need to be getting 6 points or it's a bottom-half finish, I reckon.

In 'transition', we may be... but six conceded at home is a bit extreme. What was the defence doing?

We have certainly gone to pieces since the derby defensively and Silva needs to sort it out and quickly. How come Palace can win at Man City yet we get thrashed at home?

Here's your Silva Sycophants Bingo Card. Play along at home:

* First time we've been thrashed
* Disallowed Goal
* Pickford's fault
* We're in transition
* Rome wasn't built in a day
* Silva needs time
* What do you expect in 18 games?
* We're better than we were under Allardyce
* We're making clear progress
* He needs two more transfer windows
* Results aren't important this season
* Fatigue

...Nothing to do with Silva's shit tactics, of course! He clearly learned nothing from the 7-1 shellacking Pochettino's Spurs dealt his Hull City side a few years ago.

However, I will not be spitting out my dummy like many earlier posters, I do not hate Everton, I am not going to stop supporting Everton, and I am not going to look for another club to support instead of Everton.

Get a grip, you know you will be back for more on Wednesday at Burnley. We are having a bad spell, that is all.

Merry Christmas everyone, and a happy and healthy New Year to you all. COYB.

That derby goal looks increasingly like a turning point for both clubs.

Martinez Mk 2 today – same naivety.

Pickford is not a top 4 keeper. Not knee-jerk: vs Liverpool in the FA Cup, Turf Moor last season, Wolves this season etc.

Sigh.

Just coz you're pissed off at the club, but feel it's not good form to have a pop at it, don't come on here having a pop at other people!

It's a fan site ffs. We've just been hammered at home, 6 fucking 2!!

What sort of reaction would you consider proper??

Play in the final third is uncoached; players cannot complete a pass, often overhit or inaccurate.

Players are either wingers or have their back to goal, with no intention of beating their man.

Only the midfield trio of Sigurdsson, Gomes and Gueye are of the right standard; the rest for these positions are not.

Defence is poorly coached, though players do have ability.

Silva and his one-trick pony tactics, which he is struggling to implement, are beatable and Premier League teams all know they have nothing to fear from an inept Everton in the final third. They can push up their defensive line, flood midfield, and put pressure on a badly coached defence.

Silva has no alternative tactics.

To compete in the Premier League, a team needs to be able to adapt different tactics. They need to be able to be solid in the offensive, mobile in midfield, and clinical in attack. Everton are nowhere near this. How good of a coach is he really, when recurring problems occur, week-in & week-out?

The midfield as an efficient operating unit for us does not exist. Tottenham exposed us for what we are at the moment – a work in progress at best, bottom-half also-rans at worst.

I am in the 'work in progress' camp, but any more of today's shite and that line starts wearing a bit thin.

The coach and players lack any kind of edge and steel. They were weak and feeble. I believe we are the team the others like to play against. Nice guys who don't get too upset.

That was two fingers up to the supporters.

Fair point; on today's showing, we need a lot more than strikers. I've consistently said we need a real physical presence in midfield.

Big test for Silva right now. The wheels have come off in the last three weeks and he needs to turn it around quickly.

We piss away millions on players but the end result is the same. Go back to doing what Moyes used to do, sign hungry players from the Championship that will at least put a shift in.

A second year running and Spurs have their easiest away game of the season at Goodison Park.

Tottenham spent nothing in the summer. Nothing at all. However, that won't stop people coming on here saying we need to change this player, sign that one, get rid of X, splurge 𧴜m on Y and so on.

We used to finish above Spurs, despite them outspending us on transfers and wages. We did it through continuity and stability. We kept the same manager and we couldn't afford many new players. Now, they've become us and we've become them. The answer to our problems is stability, continuity and patience, not more change.

Having said that, it's a vital test of Silva's mettle now. A result like that should be a watershed, he should be using it, and in 6, 12 or 18 months we should look back at that game and recognise how that was the turning point. I worry that he is not a good enough manager to do that. However, we have no choice but to give him the chance to do so.

Pickford,
Kenny, Keane, Mina, Baines (back four)
McCarthy, Gomes (midfield)
Sigurdsson (attacking mid)
Tosun, Lookman, Calvert-Lewin (forwards)

Kenwright was applauding that super football from Spurs, and the rest of the crowd should have stayed and clapped them off the park. This is what it is all about... playing like them. Good for him and good for them – I hope they overhaul the Reds and win it.

You'd have Keane Sigurdsson Tosun and Calvert-Lewin in your team... really?

The mind boggles.

We are like a sieve with gaps all over the pitch.

This is starting to feel like Martinez Mk 2.

I thought Silva had more in his locker but he is being tactically naive lately.

It seems the more Everton fall flat on their faces, the more RS look like the best team in the World.

Okay that may be true to some degree and we all know why but what happened today is just totally unacceptable from Silva and Co. So, unless something is done soon after 1 January, then I'm afraid it has to be goodbye Marco.

He is looking more like his predecessors on the touchline (a deer in the headlights) so to speak. He may indeed be totally out of his depth in which case who the hell wanted to bring him in the first place?

However, fair is fair, maybe he has plans to turn this around with some new bodies in January but if not then what on earth can we expect with what he has here now. It's scary, to say the least.

It was much worse than embarrassing.

As soon as Pickford and Zouma gifted them the first goal, the heads dropped and it was one-way traffic. The 2nd and 3rd goals players are just ball watching, shocking defending. We played with no pride, no heart and to all intents, nobody looked like they cared.

I'm not going to single anybody out mainly due to I can't think of a single player who came away with any credit. I'd like to think there would be debris flying all over the dressing room and players having very harsh words with others as well as themselves but, after watching that shite today, I doubt it.

They just gave up and for me that is just unacceptable. I thought that we had turned a corner but I'm not so sure. How can a team play like we did in the first 20 minutes just cave in like we did? How can you be a top level athlete and have such a fragile mentality?

Very very poor and that's being kind. I hope that Silva comes up with solutions and quickly as the level of effort put in by the players collectively over the 90 minutes was quite frankly embarrassing.

Spurs are going to be lauded as being fantastic but they weren't. They were decent but we beat ourselves quite comfortably. Shocking performance that I hope never to see again. I'm ashamed after today.

Why not? Tosun can hold the ball up. Calvert-Lewin and Sigurdsson can score goals.

Keane was left badly exposed by those (not) around him today.

Then it's back to Moyes. You wait and see!

The club need to keep improving the squad or stand still. Spurs are excellent. The opposite of us. Ambitious size stadium and hold onto their young gems to build around them.

We sold all ours to buy from relegation sides. If that doesn't hit home for you, nothing will.

The midfield is simply woeful without Gana. Davies is NOT good enough for a midfield two, and Gomes is like having a Roller and not enough money to put any fuel in. Schneiderlin getting anywhere near the team tells you all you need to know.

We really need to move to a midfield 3 to stop teams running through us there. If Gylfi can't drop back in, then he moves to impact sub. Bring in two generals there to work alongside Gomes. Three if Gana goes to PSG. Perhaps Loftus-Cheek and Ramsey if they'd be mad enough to come.

I believe that, if a player is not good enough, it's not his fault, but if he doesn't try hard enough, it certainly is his fault.

Hi Mo [19], the best of luck with your new club. I don't think that you'll be missed; whoever we support, the magic word is 'support'.

We have won ONE game since November 3rd, what a pathetic return that is.

Anything less than two wins from the next two games will be deemed as a big disappointment.

It was bad. But Tottenham are showing the way on the pitch and off it (with their new ground). How have they stole ahead of us so much in the last decade?

Some are calling for Silva's head! Yes it was a shocker all round but we'll pick up. After a season of Koeman and Allardyce it will take quite some time to turn us in to a team to compete with the likes of Tottenham.

It's just too easy to say Spurs were better. Undoubtedly the final score suggests that but that lets Everton off the hook.

Your second statement about players, actually you could just say the team today, not trying hard enough is very applicable. They were embarrassing after Spurs equalised. They just fell apart and virtually gifted the game to Spurs. This is definitely Tottenham's Xmas present; I doubt they will have an easier game this season.

The ONLY way we can ever hope to achieve their level is for the manager to be offered the same patience.

Yes there was a gulf in class, for sure. However, as we have all seen over the years, sometimes this can be overcome with determination, commitment and most important, tactics.

Unfortunately, today we totally lacked determination and commitment. As regards to tactics, well there wasn't any. In fact, the tactics at the Friary infants school in the '50s, when we played SFX, were better.

His decision making is just awful. Every time he get a pass I get stressed out...sorry. The nervousness then spreads around the team. Only Gomes that can make a pass right... and he get's taken of... I miss the proper words to describe my feelings here.

Would you have sacked Martinez after 18 games?

Spurs are light-years ahead of us and yet we could've been 2-0 up. Should've kept it tight but gave them all the space in the world. The simplest ball over the top and we were done time and time again.

It's all about the reaction now.

I have said it many times, that Silva was not my choice, but I was prepared to back him, but I am afraid today was almost the final straw!

A few have accused him of being another BS Merchant, as were his previous counterparts, today and the last few games have exemplified those remarks.

Where do we go from here?

Because, after 18 games under Martinez, we were absolutely flying and had just beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford and drew at Arsenal.

Who is calling for Silva to be sacked? It is a common inference on ToffeeWeb that criticism = wanting the manager to be sacked. That is not the case... but Silva should not be exempt from criticism – especially after a 6-2 thrashing.

Silva has to be given more than six months. Sir Alex was close to the sack at Man Utd and then got it right. Klopp had RS fans calling for his head in his early days but suddenly he bought the right people to shore up his defence and look at them now. Even City with their wealth took a while to get going.

From what I have read Silva was naive to attack them today – surely we need to be solid at the back and hit on the break against a team which is clearly better than us – and one can only hope that he has learned more about his players in the last five games than he did in the previous six when the results were good.

I agree with many on here that we need a physically imposing defensive midfield who can win the ball and dominate – Davies and Gomes were never going to do that today.

Maybe Spurs will have done us a favour in exposing how badly we need a good transfer window.

Finally, I have supported us through thick and thin since 1963. I sat through the 5-0 hammering at RS in 1965, the 1-5 Keely derby, the 1986 and 1989 CF defeats, the semi in 2012, 16 against Man Utd as above and far too many more humbling and depressing defeats – but you NEVER stop supporting your club.

By all means save your hard earned cash til things get better and don't go but we are Evertonians not by choice and we don't give up – ever!!

Pickford: this boy is not good enough for Everton or England. No goalkeeping brain at all. Get shut. Total clown

Coleman, finished, looks backwards every time, lost pace and ability to read the game, and captaincy?

Keane, can't mark. Immobile, can't direct a header.

Walcott, luxury player, no defensive qualities and not strong or effective enough.

Davies, an average player at most, no vision, loses the ball, no fight to get it back, watches the game too much.

Richardson is not a wide player, needs to be involved all the time.

One decision by the ref fucked us up, the "push" by Calvert Lewin, never in a million years a free-kick. Just before half-time, he had exactly the same push on him,,, nothing.

These same gutless refs won't give a decision when the players have arms around each other or grabbing shirts in the area.

The game is fucked now. No slide tackles, because that is a "follow through" now. Next: no-contact football.

New stadium for 52,000? We will be lucky to have the last 4 digits watching soon.

If you remember when Martinez came in, the first few games were crazy. Nobody, players nor supporters, could understand what we were doing and why.

By the 18th game, things were such that teams couldn't suss us out and we were doing good. By the end of the season, if you remember, teams had well worked us out and the signs were there. What did we do? Long-term contract. That cost us.

So no, after 18 games we were riding high. The rest is history.

Koeman comes, long-term contract, didn't learn our lesson. Koeman goes. Allardyce in, 18-month contract. Happy days, Sam.

Silva comes in. 3-year contract. Still haven't learned. Especially when you consider a more prominent manager like Emery gets a 2-year deal at Arsenal.

I appreciate we have to give Silva time. But everyone has to learn by their mistakes. Has Silva?? If not, then another expensive golden handshake.

I seriously wonder why I should devote my time to watch this. I could have spent 23 December in a much better way.

The high line was suicide, when you pick midfielders who either can't or were instructed not to pressure the ball then Spurs were allowed time to pick their passes.

It was clear even before our goal, Kane lobbing wide. Remember Kane isn't quick, a well-timed run and no pressure on the pass.

So why no adjustment? The back four spent the game with their hands up!

Not one player was worth praising today, because no one stepped up in-game and decided the tactics were killing us. Really good players are brave enough to do so.

The most scary bit was the way we just became completely disorganized. Running around like 7-year-olds following the ball.

Silva's post-match interview ignoring his part in the debacle. Time for a rethink Marco.

It was bringing a lot more pain than pleasure watching them – so I stopped watching them. Only good decision I've made in years to be honest.

I still look for the score – hurts a lot less reading "Everton embarrassed 6-2 by rampant Spurs" than by actually watching it unfold in front of you.

Putting things in perspective, we hadn't spent large amounts on players who were supposed to be the future of the Club.

Jordan Pickford is a liability. The last club Pickford played for are in the 3rd tier of English Football which sums it all up really. I said last season, Pickford was too small and made poor decisions. This season is worse than ever and Pickford needs moving on. Coleman I feel sorry for but he just doesn't have it anymore. Some fans are still waiting for the Seamus of 5 or 6 years ago to return but he won't return; this is it.

Davies is still dining out on the City goal a few years ago, Walcott isn't good enough neither is most of the squad. The only decent players we have are the Marco Silva signings. The rest of our players are a useless group of desperate buys and a few veterans. It's simply not good enough yet a large proportion of Evertonians remain delusional to the very last. There is no point blaming the manager, he has only had one transfer window. God knows where we would be with one of the Old Guard in here. Moyes, Hughes, Allardyce, Bruce, Pardew etc.

Time to buckle up, guys. Bumpy roads ahead. This will get much worse until at least Pickford, Coleman and Walcott are removed from the starting 11. We need a keeper as badly as we need a proper striker.

How do we climb out of this hole we find ourselves in? Answers on a postcard, please. I know one thing: sacking every manager we employ is not the solution.

As a side issue, didn't the floodlights fail for a while against United? I seem to remember the United fans chanting they wanted their money back.

Would you sack Silva after 18 games?

I'm not after a ding-dong, Dermot. Just tired of hearing the same of old excuses week-after-week. I thought the 'Bingo Card' was quite a humorous way of presenting my opinion. Obviously not!

Maybe it's time for a break from Toffeeweb. I'm becoming too cynical.

Of course I will go and see Everton again, been a supporter since 1976, but not this season when we are just the same old same and Liverpool win the title.

Those at the top need to be knocking on Brands's door first chance and he should be asked What The Fuck is going on here?

Marcel then needs to do the same with Silva. They both then should get the players together and have a good chat because it just ain't good enough at the moment!

We need a reaction in the next game big time.

The most disappointing part for me was the lack of fight, pride and any sort of unity in the team; it certainly looks like the Derby game has completely affected the form of the team and the spirit within the club since that game.

No real purpose in having a go at any single player because hardly any of them could look back on that game with any credit.

Brands and Silva need to assemble the squad and watch that game together, discuss it and see if the sense of shame they should feel brings the reaction it should.

What I expect is for a quality manager to understand our limitations and adapt our play to compensate. We lost because of the lack of quality in the team, lack of commitment from those same players, and the tactical absurdity of a manager who did not or could not change when we could all see it going wrong.

Everton hardly had anyone showing for the bal; they had two or three. We kept trying cross pitch passes; they kept it short, sharp and on the ground .

Why do we keep having to pass it back to the 'keeper?

Was young Tom on the pitch?

Step forward, Mr Kenwright and take a bow. Sigh. Again, and again, and again.

I'm on record as saying that two fans could sit together to watch a match and see a different game, thus the diverse opinions. I think that reading the views of fans who either attended the game or watched on TV can be misleading, the bottom line, however, is that the result was horrendous, but I can recall the day that Spurs beat us 10-4 at White Hart Lane and that result wasn't terminal, and if losing 6-2 to Spurs is the worst thing to happen to you this year, you've had a good year.

Hi John [80], Not having seen the game (I failed a late fitness test) and as you will have observed from my reply to Dave, I have no definitive view on the happenings of this afternoon's disaster.

I'm not big on tactics, I only know that if you keep the ball out of the net at one end of the pitch, and put it into the net at the other end, you've every chance of winning the game. Football is a simple game, isn't it?

Dave if you think about it this effort is not just since the derby. Go right back to the opener at Wolves. Couldn't finish it off. Same at Bournemouth. Look at Huddersfield at home, Southampton. Cardiff all really disappointing performances.

Also, nearly, unlucky, if only, at Arsenal, Chelsea, United. We've had numerous excuses. The most pathetic one I heard was that we looked tired!!! Unbelievable.

We can't win every game and nobody – except one or two on here – thinks we can. But we have to compete. The management have to give the players the tactics and belief that we can compete and so far this season I see not a sign of that. Lots of talk but no substance.

As our neighbours have shown, winning becomes a habit hard to break. Losing becomes the same.

That fact is somewhat misleading since the only other all time present teams have been the top – barring Man City. Swindon played fewer so lost fewer. The Hammers, Newcastle even Man City have been relegated. That said, Yes, Kenwright is a disgrace.

With yet another manager who fails to know the basics, where do we go from here?

The amount of money spent for no improvement is remarkable.

So, for all those poor souls who are about to give up everything, for ever Evertonian, just hang in, even if you have to donate your brand new Everton Christmas shirt to the poor. Being a life-long Evertonian is difficult. Just when things are going right, they go absurdly wrong.

I have to laugh rather than cry because I have my six Blue Grandchildren coming over for Christmas Dinner. Sometimes I even feel guilty because I am the one mainly responsible for them becoming Blues. One of them was around during today's game and he told me that Granddads don't cry. That was after the Pickford - Zouma Charlie Chaplin collision when I stated, 'That' was enough to make you cry!!! Even after that disaster, I still did not think that it would get even more ludicrous. How wrong I was....

If he is not better than this we have a problem.

Why the hell cant Baines get a chance to play? Last game he played, he was good.

Today felt different: there was no real fight or togetherness within the team, just an attitude of let's get the game over and get off the pitch, No player seemed to care, it was like a lost cause and the manager is just as culpable as the players, even more so since it's his job to sort it out and getting them playing to a proper plan and system; there was just chaos today, totally not good enough.

Let's hope for a reaction at Burnley, we certainly can't have a repeat of today's horror show.

Apart from Gomes, our midfield is too lightweight; without Gana, we're easily beaten to the ball, out-muscled and out-played. Passing and composure are non-existent.

The whole team suffers when the midfield engine room is incoherent. There is no shape or organisation, no class to make time and grab a modicum of control over the game and nearly always exposed.

Tottenham had the freedom of Goodison park going forward and our midfield was nowhere to be seen, it needs sorting out. Tactically, using the right personnel for the right games in the right formation.

Today was a disorganised joke of a performance, in our ''bear pit'', Mike Kenrick's got it right, it is fucking Embarrassing.

The squad is abysmal. Pickford can pull off some wonder saves but is now error prone too often. Coleman, unfortunately, is finished as a dependable full back and we miss his attacking wing play which is gone forever. Davies is out of his depth in the Premer League and will never make it there. Bernard is worth every penny we paid for him, enough said.

Richarlison is turning out to be a poor investment and Silva doesn't know where to play him. Walcott is a bit part player. Our strikers would give the three stooges a run for their money but no one else. Schneiderlin, why is he still here? Lookman, if Leipzig want him good luck to them.

It's just as well Bramley-Moore Dock won't be ready for four years, if at all, because it'll take that long to build a team that would fill it.

Silva may well be a great manager at Finch Farm and getting all the info on the opposition but is he a motivator? Can he make game changing decisions during a game when we are toiling? Can he get the best out of lesser players? Put a game plan together to beat a better opponent?

In my opinion, and so far, from what I have seen, the answer is no. Hopefully he proves me wrong but the sign of a good manager is the ability to do some, if not all, the above.

It is early days and he will get longer for sure but he has to show the players supporters and management improvements sooner rather than later or he will be forever marked down as Martinez Mk 2.

I still feel certain that we have better players than last season and are capable of better football but that counts for little if the results and performances don't cut it.

We really missed Gueye today and had very little bite. Even though Spurs had loads more possession they still made more tackles than us. Davies and Gomes made only 3 tackles between them all day while Sissoko made 4 by himself.

Richarlison also had a very poor game with pass completion of 62%.

Today's top 4 are a million miles away from us now. We will never break into that now, especially when you see how bad we were today. Even though they were good, we were pathetic. No excuse for that display.

Many more performances of that standard and Silva can do one and take half of them useless fuckers with him. We are a bloody laughing stock.

Davies and Gomes were utter shit today and it was like watching little boys getting swatted aside by big men compared to their midfielders that just walked (not ran) past ours.

The only player that adds the bite and energy to our midfield when Gana Gueye is injured is James McCarthy, but he's never fit sadly.

Spurs, like us, were also-rans in the Premier League for many years; now, they are genuine Premier League and Champions League contenders, I don't know how they got so far in such a short space of time but I guess it starts at the top.

Silva needs to weed out the players not able to run through a brick wall for the team. Furthermore, he needs to get the team super fit, like our noisy neighbours. Too many times, they gave Spurs too much space and time.

Pickford's mistake was so unnecessary, he is too rash in his thinking; however, I don't think it would've made a difference to the overall result.

Poor performances all over the pitch today. Sílva needs to make changes earlier when things are clearly not working. I thought Baines should've come on for either Digne or Richarlison at half-time; both of them were so out of sorts!!

So that brings me again to my point about Spurs: How did they do it? Because, on today's evidence, they are streets ahead of us on and off the field!

And for fuck's sake, I just read Kenwright take a bow. What the fuck? If Gana is still injured, I'd give Schneiderlin a go. Enough of our "whipping boy" mentality. He was not the problem last season and he isn't this.

We need a striker. But we also need a manager that the players can look to for inspiration and not someone that looks like a frightened rabbit.

Sooner or later there must come a point when you can no longer blame Kenwright for everything that has gone wrong over the past 30 years. One reason why we have lost the most games is because we have maintained our top-flight status, which – given the gross mismanagement we have seen over the past few seasons – may be something we can no longer take for granted.

If there was mismanagement before 2016 we have certainly reached a new level under Farhad whose money has been poured down the drain in a fruitless pursuit of what used to be known as the top four, then the top six and now the top ten! Bill has been described as a mere figurehead in the current regime. I think that is right; in which case, Farhad must accept responsibility for the errors of the past three years.

We can only hope that one of Farhad's appointments, Brands, proves to be the astute technical director he was reputed to have been in the Netherlands. Without question, we have fallen further behind the top clubs in the past three years despite changing managers three times and throwing millions away on players not wanted by the top six.

Now is certainly not the time for another change of manager, but today's defeat and more particularly the manner of it really puts the pressure on Silva, a coach who has yet to complete a full season in the Premier League. At the start of the season, I said I would be happy to match last season's points total and finishing position. That seemed a little optimistic at the time, but it looks even more so now after collecting two points from the last fifteen available.

But let's see how we perform at relegation threatened Burnley and happy to be in mid-table Brighton before we seriously question the manager's future. He has yet to prove he has it within him to drag a struggling team out of a trough. Now is the time for him to prove he has what it takes to be the manager many hoped he would be when he was appointed.

His injuries are more down to Martinez overusing him than him being prone to injury. His last injury was brought about by his attempting to recover a mistake by Schneiderlin. The lay-off will hopefully have allowed all the small niggly injuries clear. Time will tell!

It's just that, other than Kenwright, I'm at a total loss to identify any other consistent link as to why we've been so weak and ineffectual for so long DESPITE appointing numerous managers, signing and selling loads of players, but still getting mullered on an all too regular basis.

Stuffing Finch Farm with ex Everton players doesn't help, that's for sure. The only two who ever experienced success at the club, Joe and Sheeds, left in very strange circumstances after all, leaving the Kenwright worshipping nobodies to rule the roost there.

I don't believe in karma, luck or demons. I believe in making the people at the top answerable for the club they've bestowed on us – weak, prevaricating and bloody expensive as that is.

Why is it that Liverpool and Tottenham seem twice as fit, twice as fresh, faster to the loose ball, faster closing down, faster on the press and they play twice a week?

Is it our regime? psychology? Are we not giving them the same vitamins?

Liverpool look like men possessed, I've never seen a team so eager and burning with energy from the word Go?

Why are we miles away?

Coleman, as much as I love him, is finished. Davies is never going to make it in the Premier League – he just hasn't got it. Walcott is way off form and needs to buck up or pack up. Sigurdsson is a joke at the moment. Richarlison is struggling; when you look at the squad, who can we replace them with?

No depth and realistically who would want any of them? We are still suffering the consequences of paying over the odds for tripe who just don't get it.

Where we go from here, I don't know... as, if we don't get 6 points from next 3 games, we'll be staring down the barrel because the teams in the bottom half will at least know how to fight — and that word doesn't exist with our bunch of overpaid overrated prima donnas.

Oh God, I could go on but what is the point? Silva's team selection is suspect but his choice of substitutes compounds matters.

He totally skullshagged our midfield today and the amount of times he walked past three men unreal.

Davies tries but the lad is just too weak for the Premier League to have any real impact, he's not got the speed or strength against top athletes.

Gomes is a luxury player when there's movement in the team and things are going well he's a sound passer but he's not really going to dominate opponents, we've seen today the level required to a top top player or just a very good player.

Schneiderlin, I've no words for why he was brought on, he offers zero.

The most urgent signings should be 2 quality central midfielders, one quality striker and one goalkeeper.

And my god I am so tired of the 4-2-3-1 formation. It clearly does not work so please adapt. We need more power and ability in the central midfield.

However, can anyone explain why we were trying to play out from virtually the goal line allowing Spurs to stand on the halfway line and condensing the play into our half?

I never leave early but I left 15 minutes from the end today.

For a few seasons now, Everton have had midfielders who are just not up to Premier League standard in man-marking or tackling mainly because the people in question have been too slow.

Yes, there was a gulf in class; after some of the home games this season against teams outside the top six, one shouldn't have been surprised today.

We were not good.

Evertonians believe we are something special, don't we? Our history is important to us but frankly at times it stifles us. We haven't been special for 25 years or more and despite the various managerial changes since Moyes left and Bramley-Moore Dock on the four year horizon and Mr Moshiri's millions we remain the club that constantly raises hopes then smashes them into pieces on a regular basis. Yes we are in a bad spell as they say. Personally I think the bad spell started in August and continued with a only a short four game break.

Harsh? Even the games we've won have mostly had a tinge of good fortune about them and all have been against teams not expected to challenge for anything much. We dismissed the League Cup as if it were beneath us and everything from our accounts to our new senior management team show a massive focus on the new stadium whilst frankly the team shows no sign of progress. I really mean this. Where is the progress?

We have a decent new left back. Great. The keeper is proving to be a bit hit and miss for me. Short on consistency and a tiny bit too arrogant. He will come out of it I hope but honestly I'm never going to think he hasn't got a huge mess in him after that derby disaster.

Mina is scheduled to be a hero. Needs to quickly show why and tho he's hardly played I just have this feeling there's a reason he ended up here and not a Champions League team. Gomes is lovely to watch, his sideways passes are brilliant and okay I know he's good but in the really big games I wonder... he really needs a very strong partner because the gaps he leaves as he wanders forward are huge which is why Gana needs to get back ASAP.

Richarlison at 㿘m? Loved him early doors as did most. Not so much right now. AWOL a fair bit this last few games, regardless of position. That doesn't bode well for season-long quality performances. Bernard an instant hero then zero for most games after that. It's a recruitment policy that we thought, hoped, was inciteful and bold, but honestly, it doesn't look it so far and when added to to the over-hyped Davies and Calvert-Lewin and Holgate we've got so many average performers that will never get into a top six side. Tosun? One decent showing and then utter dross. This is what happens the second we seem to get a “player”. Why?

We all want it to be different but the positivity police have got to stop shouting down anyone who speaks up after shite like this Spurs hammering. You are just hiding behind this transition thing like it's a shield. We are NOT going in the right direction. We are drifting in a bad spell that has its roots in most of the season's inability to keep clean sheets and be less pretty and more solid. But then the Allardyce haters jump all over this cos they apparently love our football now.

Me? I appreciate nice football. I love winning. I applaud the cross-field pass that leads to a many dribble and a goal, beautiful football. I love being ahead at the final whistle even if we've been shite.

Winning is the only progress. Get that mentality back into the bones of every player and we will be going in the right direction. It needs to be joined by a further clear out and investment in January and I don't care how horrid that sounds for all the experts who say don't buy in the January window.

We are on fewer points than last season and I really don't care if, occasionally, it's prettier. We need to toughen up, get a couple of no-nonsense ball winners in and a bloody centre-forward worthy of the name. I know it's hard but Brands must be seeing what we are, he has to be. Surely?

I'm not a knee-jerk merchant, but today has alarm bells going off for me. It's early days still for Silva, but his previous record at other clubs is a concern.

I wonder about his mental strength when the going gets tough. Is he a "chuck the towel in" type? Is he a bit like Mourinho in the way he sulks if things aren't how he wants them? Is he like Martinez in terms of being stubborn re style of play?

On Wednesday, we face a side who are desperate for a win and have started to play better than results show. If we beat Burnley, I'll be confident Silva can learn and get players responding in the right way. I hope today proves to be a turning point.

If you were to go back 200 years to pirate or commercial ships of those eras, Kenwright would've been heaved overboard, or made to walk the plank, the Fuckin' Jonah that he is.

I swear that as long as he is with us in any capacity, he will remain a curse on this club.

What I sat through today was totally unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue. The writing has been on the wall for several weeks now with inept performances against several of the poorer teams against whom we should have achieved full points.

For goodness sake, before we find ourselves sucked into the relegation mire, Silva, along with his ludicrous zonal marking ideas, needs to be sent packing .

It is absolutely Imperative now for David Moyes to be brought back as manager and given full control over transfers, without the hindrance of a Director of Football. Moyes's record, with the minimal financial resources which he had at his disposal, had us punching well above our weight. Give him the resources and he'll do the job.

Excellent post, Mark. You've expressed my thoughts exactly. And articulated them far more succinctly than I managed to do earlier.

Yes, there have been spells of good play during the season but nothing prolonged. The odd good half here and there, nothing more. The fact is that we've played 8 of the bottom 9 teams at Goodison plus Watford and I've constantly read fans bemoaning the fact that those teams put men behind the ball and played defensively... and that we'd look much better against teams that came to Goodison and played an open, expansive game.

Well, Spurs did that today and absolutely murdered us. There is no way to sugarcoat that.

Regardless of the individual mistakes (Pickford especially), the coach must take the major responsibility for this debacle.

Pickford is believing all the hype of 'England's No 1' and needs to be brought back to earth. Too many rash decisions and he can't command the 6-yard box.

But what was more worrying for me today was Silva. I sit in the lower main stand and have a good view of him in the technical area. His body language today was very telling. He looked how I felt. Totally dejected and helpless. There was no motivation or signs that he knew what to do or how to change things. It's too early for me to make a judgement about him but after the last three home games, doubts are beginning to grow. I hope I'm wrong.

Today was as if we played our U23s... out-classed in every aspect.

A massive few days... and Turf Moor is the game to win. Sadly, we can't hit a barn door, and even Stuart Barlow might do better than we have now.

In my view, we don't have the key players in centre-forward, right-back, or strength in depth. Our subs bench, weeps, compared to other teams.

We live in hope and miracles happen, but we need one soon.

Do you seriously want to go back to just being plucky little Everton, occasionally punching above their weight? Because that's the limit of Moyes's managerial skills.

I for one (and I'm sure there are others here too) have ambitions of being more than that.

That was footballing suicide today. We set up to take our chances at the back and to attack a team that has more than 11 players who would get in our first 11. How is that ever going to work?

I like Silva, but he won't be permitted too many todays. I'm afraid the truth about this team is we have three players who are good enough – Digne, Gomes (who's on loan) and Sigurdsson; and we have another few who might be good enough – Pickford, Davies, Calvert-Lewin, Bernard and Richarlison. The rest are sub-standard.

Finch Farm has seen a clutch of new arrivals on the staff in support of each new manager appointed from Martínez onwards. None of them were ex-Everton players.

Our Under 23s have enjoyed success under the direction of Unsworth while the Under 18s are performing well under Paul Tait. Both teams are currently top of their respective leagues. Therefore, we appear to be doing something right at Finch Farm.

Love and affection for Davies, but the difference between him and Gana was glowing today in block capitals.

Spurs players play some lovely one-touch passing within triangle and square shapes. Passes are perfectly weighted making the next one-touch pass that much easier. Whereas Tom Davies, Walcott, Schneiderlin, even Gomes found it difficult to control the ball today, often down to poorly weighted passes they received.

For me, as many have said, Spurs as a team are light-years ahead of us. We need better players and better coaching which gets them playing together with quick passing. A few midfield runners would be welcome as well.

I'm not going to pick out our failures as, let's face it, we could all be dead wrong. But I worry about Pickford – he seems a bit mentally unstable. I used to laugh at Grobbelaar in the old days and now we have our own version. Even with 4 or 5 better players, I think Spurs would still be a better TEAM than us. Much work to be done.

I don't know anything about Paul Tait beyond the fact that he scored just more than one in three games as a forward for the famed Northwich Victoria when he was a player. Does that spell "winner"? That said, I hope he develops just one regular first-teamer though, eventually. It'd be an improvement on Unsworth.

In the meantime, Kenwright has appointed the likes of Ferguson, Jeffers and Ebbrell (dickhead, dickhead, and non-entity) to his coaching team whilst also overseeing the departures of Joe Royle and Kevin Sheedy (winner, winner).

Hmm.

You know what you'd have to do to find someone with an innovative approach to football management? Look outside of the top division in the top leagues. Because managers don't take risks. No-one tries anything. As soon as form drops you get sacked and paid off.

So live with it. And hope we can bring in better players to make our very basic management look like sound footballing strategy.

We'll be better against Burnley. Because we're playing Burnley. We'll be shit against the top 6, because they have better players than us.

No-one is attempting to break that mould, so we'll get the same outcome.

Sniffs of teary-eyed sentiment again.

I'm looking forward to the day when we beat these pricks very game over several years. It's just been taking a long time for the worm to turn.

Everton are back at square one. What manager would want the job? And there is still deadwood to get rid of, that no-one wants. What suitable player would want to risk their career by joining Everton?

To think they let Aaron Lennon go and leave us with the right flank we have now got.

It's obvious that Everton is full of chancers who are hoping for the best, Brands must realise something has to be done after this last three games.

Yesterday, without Gueye's defensive attributes, the defence was constantly exposed by Spurs' attacking trio, orchestrated by the superb Eriksen.

I'm beginning to see Silva as a Martinez clone, except he's more lugubrious during interviews.

I said to my son before the game that we were going to get murdered today and would be out of it by half-time. Spurs were so much more professional, well set up and above all, so much more up for this game than we were. They were warming up 5-10 minutes practicing one-touch give-and-go drills completely prepared for the game even before our lot of losers even came out. Pickford and the other goalkeepers seemed to be pissing about going through the motions practicing his long hoofs into the crowd.

Cut to half-time, their subs were all taken through organised high-intensity drills. Ours did not even step onto the field. We were poorly organised and motivated for this game. The first ten minutes flattered to deceive and all the warning signs were there to see.

Step up Pickford for his usual increasingly more frequent cock-up and the rest was history. We just crumbled the body language of several of the players when the second goal went in told you everything you needed to know – we were there for the taking and Spurs could see it and were prepared for it.

This had better improve and fast. This guy is showing alarming signs of tactical naively where he can't break down stubborn teams and sets us up to be wide open against teams who want to play.

I was out yesterday so unable to watch (thankfully). However, I recorded the game, avoided the score and started watching at about 8:00. Got to 3-1, checked the final score and deleted the rest of the match.

What seemed to me a perfectly good goal disallowed to stop us going 2-0 up; Pickford has a total brain freeze; useless defending of the free kick (I saw from 240 miles away where that kick was going); and we capitulate.

So what's new, boys? At least I didn't sit through it in real time.

Pissed off ain't the half of it. Dreading Wednesday.

Basically we are a team of piss-weak characters that fall apart like a pack of shit cards and none of our players talk, none have got a voice, we need a Stubbsy, Weir or Dave Watson in there.

Zouma should have barked Pickford's head off after that equaliser because, as you say, Bob, what the hell was Pickford thinking?

He doesn't seem to be thinking at all lately – that's just it, and I do feel the World Cup went to his head a bit much in the way it did Tim Howard in 2014.

Any goalkeeper can save a penalty; yes, it looks good, but a true top keeper is defined by his decision-making and how many mistakes he makes with regularity; with Pickford, they are creeping in too often this season.

Calls for Moyes to return are desperate though I can understand where that comes from but Silva now has to show us all whether he really has got something or not.

The memories of how Watford imploded last season are all to clear and we are showing the same signs. Silva on Sunday reminded me of Keegan against Germany when, as manager, he openly admitted to being at a loss as to how to counter them during the game and he quit straight after. Silva looked like he was completely helpless and when players see that they will do exactly what ours did and give up.

I was never in favour of him (preferring a punt on Arteta supported by Royle – that's another debate) and we look no fitter, no stronger and to have no more fight/guts than we have since Martinez took over.

We need a big, strong physical presence in midfield and a centre-forward with a mean streak who defenders will fear. A new right-back would help and let's get rid of Theo, who will never be a consistent performer.

I am picking on players now so must get back to work!

We are trying to win things with nearly men and, on the occasion we produce a top quality player, they are soon tempted away.

Players seem less fit than at the beginning of the season and we look disorganized.

We look mentally weak. Okay, Gomes looks better than in Barca but what the fuck has happened with, for example, Pickford?

Does he have a trainer to help him develop? He looks fragile and shows no signs of development; rather the opposite.

Kinda says it all when the tackling machine is missed so badly. He wouldn't get near any of the top teams yet we are fucked without him.

The good news is in football, an appointment or a signing can narrow a gulf in class overnight. Will we make the appointments and signings needed to catch Spurs?

At the moment, it looks as if the only way we can get on terms with them is to hope Pochettino leaves, they replace him with a dud, and they come back to us.

He would get in the Liverpool team before Henderson. Far better player at the role they both play. He would definitely get in Man Utd's team.

Spurs looked a class act and had everything we didn't. Great movement excellent first touch from all their players, pace and goals up front and defenders who knew their job inside out.

I begin to wonder what Moshiri is thinking this morning, he has pumped in 𧶲 million which is a colossal amount of money, and has seen no improvement in where we are in the league since he took over. I just wonder when does he reach the point and decide "I am just throwing money away trying to turn this club around."

He must look at the likes of Watford and Bournemouth, who have spent a fraction of what he has yet are better placed in the league. Then there is Wolves a newly promoted team who are doing better again with a lower net spend than Everton. He has sacked 3 managers and paid a fortune to do it, and he must be wondering has he made another mistake in appointing Silva?

I will admit of all the options to replace Allardyce I thought Silva was the best option, mind I didn't realize at the time that Bielsa was thinking of joining Leeds.

The next 5 or 6 matches are going to be crucial for Silva, as players quickly lose confidence in a manager when results start to go the wrong way. We only have to see what happened at Man Utd when it seemed the players had lost confidence in the manager.

I am not advocating getting rid of Silva, he has been here a very short amount of time and, up to the Liverpool game, we could see some progression in the team. But there are for me some worries regarding our inability to keep a clean sheet, something he struggled to do with Hull and Watford. I just thought the reason his former teams couldn't keep clean sheets was because of the quality of the players he had at those clubs.

Burnley are desperate for points and they will fancy playing us after the mauling Spurs gave us, as confidence amongst our players must be very low. So this is now a big test for Silva: two away games before playing Leicester at home.

People raised eyebrows when Klopp brought in a throw-in coach, but what if that leads to a few extra points? Spurs are sharper, fitter and more organised – that is before tactics are discussed.

For starters, I would track down and employ the world's best coach at set-pieces as we simply cannot attack or defend both.

"It wasn't a crap decision by the referee, Bob, it was two hands in the back by Calvert-Lewin,"

Sorry, Jim but that, along with the same sort of rubbish spouted by "pundits", is the reason that football is becoming a non-contact sport. The effect that the "two hands in the back" by Calvert-Lewin had on the defender was minimal and he made the most of it.

Football is a shadow of what it was only 10 years ago, when tackling was, correctly, regarded as just as much a skill as dribbling past a defender. Shite referees and play-acting, cheating, diving players are ruining the game.

Poor decisions by a weak and (I think) inexperienced referee.

As I heard it, Sheedy did leave of his own accord but only because he was not allowed to implement his coaching ideas.

None of the people you mention is bursting with innovation or ambition. Get Neville Southall in to coach Pickford and Kevin Ratcliffe to coach a defence how to defend.

To be honest, I don't think we will manage to get to 7th this year. Sorry, sad to say but I have lost confidece in Silva.

He was talking this week over why his wings don't score more goals. Does he not see that the problems start in the midfield? When our team do not function well with good combination and passes the wings will be kind of isolated, having to do everything by themselves. That I think has happened to us. The wings do not get proper support and quality passes as for example the Spurs wings. How can they then score so many goals?

We have been banging on defensive minded teams or we have been outplayed.

The main problem as I see is in the midfield and Pickford. We seem to have lost our confidence in playing the ball out from the keeper. First, it seems that neither Pickford himself and his teammates trust his passing ability, resulting in Pickford hoofing the ball away and we lose possession.

If Pickford and the back four manage to pass the ball into the midfield we run into immediate problems of possession due to a lack of ability and passing alternatives. When this happens over and over, we lose our self-esteem and the result is that we try more long balls and lose possession. It is a downward spiral.

Who is to solve this problem? It is Silva's responsibility! However, it seems that he does not recognise this problem at all, continuing with the same flawed strategy. He needs to change formation and adapt the midfield. Yesterday, the midfield looked empty. Did Spurs ever get stressed out in the midfield? No, the midfield was given away to Spurs.

Get the shit together fast, because this will end in a farce if not. I sniff a relegation battle rather than 7th place

Ray #165, do you think we would have got a penalty if Sanchez had done the same to Calvert-Lewin?

I don't think I've seen a decent team of officials at Goodison Park all season.

I have for a time claimed that football is becoming a non-contact sport, regarding the disallowed goal, I can't decide whether it was a deliberate push or a coming together, accidentally.

On reading various posts, some claiming a lack of effort, others of the opinion that the difference of class, was the deciding factor. I would like to learn your view of events, because although I've known you for a very short time. I have found you to be fair-minded person.

I would like to wish all ToffeeWebbers – especially 'Sensitive old souls' – Seasons Greetings, and a change of fortune on the field of play for the Everton players.

It is difficult to exonerate or defend almost every player against Spurs, but there may be other mitigating circumstances as to why some of them underperformed yesterday, other than the trite opinion 'he's a con-man and poor investment' levelled against our leading goalscorer offered by some in this thread.

Personally, I thought his energy levels looked way down all game, and that's not Richarlison. If anything, he needs to rein in his chasing back across the entire park.

Anyone on here ever played footy with the 'flu? The head and the heart is willing, but the body can't deliver on your commands. That's how Richarlison played yesterday. And possibly Gomes, too.

I'm guessing, as reported in the week, the bug that both went down with and caused them to miss the bulk of training days was still lingering and impacted on their ability to play at full throttle.

They are on 𧴜 grand a week, they should be able to play with a virus.

Or pneumonia, bubonic plague etc etc.

Being beaten by Spurs is not a disaster but at home and 2-6 is a relegation scenario and thank God there is quite a gap (at the moment).

Okay, that may be thinking really extreme but the last few performances smack of warning bells and Silva doesn't seem to know what to do. Sure he is not going to name individuals and put it down to ''mistakes'' but a team that cannot at least work as a defensive unit when it matters has some real serious problems.

If you take away the 3 games against Man City, Liverpool and Spurs you still have a load of games whereby they were less than convincing against lesser clubs.

Seamus this season has been a disaster both as a player and captain. Between Mina, Keane, Zouma, Holgate and the ageing Jagielka, Silva doesn't seem to know who the central defenders should be but one thing is for sure: the three who have played recently just don't cut it.

Was Gomes injured as he seemed to be one player doing well?

Tom Davies has not stepped up his game and looks slow; dare I say, if Gana had played, they still wouldn't have won the midfield against Spurs.

A game against an honest, working team like Burnley (due for a win) looks like another banana skin so one can only hope the powers that be are working on a solution to rectify the situation.

We are going to be torn apart by decent sides and a few shite sides, but at least it won't be Allardyce style football. Hopefully, in a few years time, we'll be where Spurs are but, in the meantime, it's either/or:- either accept mid-table and the odd thumping, or get a Moyes/Allardyce style manager in and play the percentage game.

We have been off for the last few games but nowhere near to the extent of yesterday's performance, which even the most biased Blue couldn't defend.

Although I've got to say, if Calvert-Lewin's goal was allowed, it might, just might have got us something out of the game. But most definitely not if we had carried on playing the way we did, no way.

1) We kept them to just the one corner
2) We were mentioned on TV & Radio worldwide.

The first probably because we couldn't get between them and the ball and the second for no better reason.

I keep hearing “it's better than Allardyce.“ But is it?

We scored three at home to Crystal Palace under Allardyce with decent football that day in February and won 2-0 at Huddersfield, the 2-1 win at home to Leicester we played good football for a while.

I'm listening all the time to this fantastic new style of play that we have but I don't see any real substance, other than some tippy-happy stuff and no Plan B.

If we wanted that kind of football, maybe we should have just kept Martinez here for a decade.

To be honest, in my opinion, we haven't been great shakes since the season's opener. I can't recall one half of a game where we've been totally in control and played open attacking football.

Yesterday was a total embarrassment for Everton Football Club; however, I don't think it will be the last we see this season.

Recent threads have included how we can get kids to support us and how a 52k stadium is too small. Based on yesterday pathetic effort – and numerous other crap performances we've witnessed this season – we've no chance of any youngsters half filling a 52k stadium.

The club is an amateur mess. Every club above us is run more professionally. The tough questions are not asked at Everton because nobody has a clue how to integrate the business of playing into a business that pays with results.

Happy Christmas, Dave, Tony, John Mc, and all TW'ers!

Merry Christmas, Gerard and a happy, healthy New Year. I wish the same to ToffeeWebbers all over the world.

A bit of research would have shown that Spurs have not thrived against teams which defended effectively and in numbers (Watford, experts at the "two lines of four" setup – actually beat them).

Something like the first four Spurs goals were due to lack of organised defence with Everton players so slow to react that Spurs had no pressure in putting the ball in the net. My view is that a goalkeeper's first job is to stop the ball going in the net and, only if he can, should he deflect it somewhere safe. It is the responsibility of the defenders to sort out getting the ball clear afterwards.

Gary "Shithouse" Lineker was successful because he was marginally faster than defenders, once age slowed him down he retired to become the least interesting sports commentator the world has ever seen. Defenders need to react at least as quickly as attackers, and yesterday ours failed dismally in that department.

One thing I did like yesterday (and there wasn't much) was that Calvert-Lewin no longer looked like a stick of spaghetti who was brushed off the ball at every challenge. He was much more physically impressive than I remembered.

Of course, he did have a foul given against him every time he went near a defender. (Sanchez knew he'd been comprehensively beaten so he took a dive hoping the ref would be stupid – it was a good bet, the ref was stupid.)

Many want "no fear football" "better play open exciting football than defensive dross" "better this than negative football" — You get the gist. Remarks like the above are many.

Great if you have the team and players and tactics. Unfortunately we have none.

The days of pragmatic football and tactics to suit appear, to some, to be a thing of the past. Be prepared, my friend, for similar days ahead with he who can do no wrong.

We had Samways who never scored, didn't tackle too well, but was supposedly "stylish". Pretty much how Gomes is described. We also had Parkinson who was young, kind of a headless chicken kind of like Davies.

The defence had no coordination, no leadership. We played "nice football" which meant lots of short passing in the middle third but we had nothing to offer in attack and no one ever thought about tackling. We also looked decidedly unfit. It is almost identical to the current situation.

Mike Walker, like Silva, got the job on the back of an all too brief, albeit successful spell at Norwich. He was horribly exposed when he took on the Everton job. Silva's record shows a few brief spells of success at Estoril and Olympiakos and that is it.

His supporters say "Oh well he didn't have long enough at Hull, Watford, etc to make a difference." But, if you are saying 6 to 18 months isn't long enough for him to make his mark, then how can you also give him credit for his 6- to 18-month stints at the clubs that did well? You cannot have it both ways.

Defensively we are non-existent, that is to say poor as a unit, poor individually, and poor overall with closing down and tackling.
It was so apparent from the beginning and scary to see Spurs walk through so easily but I thought perhaps Silva would do something maybe even before half-time and he failed.

I am beginning to think he just doesn't have what it takes, never mind some of the players.

Some have suggested that things haven't been right since the beginning and I am inclined to agree somewhat.

They could have and should have beaten Wolves and Bournemouth even with ten men and some of the earlier home games, especially against West Ham, threw up a lot of doubts.

Whilst we know it won't happen overnight and Silva needs more time it is disconcerting to see them have two poor results after the derby match when better teams would have bounced back.

January will be an indication of what Silva is really made of because I am sure money will be available to spend. We hope this will strengthen the starting eleven, as one cannot see what he currently has improving the situation.

Without Gueye, there is no energy in midfield. Surely, loaning out McCarthy would be a big mistake while there is uncertainty in midfield. Gomes, yesterday, allowed Dele Alli to score because he could not be bothered tracking him back.

Coleman's best days are gone. And what Everton need is not the Coleman of now but the one in the past. So Everton need another right-back, especially, as Kenny has disappeared from the squad on match days.

I hope there is a mini-clearout next month, because Everton have too many players that are not needed anymore; hopefully, to make way for others.

I think your memory maybe playing tricks on you in describing Joe Parkinson as 'a young headless chicken like Davies', he was twice the player Tom Davies is and was a great tackler and reader of the game.

He was on the verge of being selected for the full England squad before a serious injury curtailed his career.

We are talking about the same Parkinson, aren't we?

I well remember Joe becoming a key dog of war under Joe Royle but, under Walker, he floundered – as did everyone – I think in his case due to inexperience and lack of tactics from the boss. That being said, I liked his grit and we never seemed to lose when he played. But, on a technical level he was terrible.

I remember watching the warm-up one time when we were away at Wimbledon. It was pretty simple, a handful of players in a circle kicking the ball to one another.

I remember Parkinson couldn't seem to kick it properly. He kept scuffing it sending it skyward so it kept drifting off towards the spectators, much to the annoyance of his kick-around partners who included Ferguson and Southall.

Happy Christmas to all, even Gerard.

Those who have described the team in this way, surely can't expect such a team to outplay Spurs? As I 've stated in previous posts, if players are not good enough it's not their fault, but not to give their all for the cause is unforgivable. Seasons greetings to you and yours.

Hi Gerard [192], I must admit that I have no knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes and (possibly to my shame) I concentrate on the on-field activities. I don't get into team selection, tactics, man-management, stadium designs, and the multitude of other things that are factored into the running of a football club.

I'm quite capable of making a fool of myself discussing subjects I claim to have a little knowledge of. Seasons greetings to you and yours.

Who are these people? Everton were 7th or 8th when Moshiri came along. Why spend all that money if he is happy with the status quo?

One would assume his appointees at the club would also be expecting more, as Rayazantsev said last week when he declared "4th place and last knockout stage of the Europa League" as where we should be in 12 months.

Marcel Brands may be satisfied with 7th or 8th if he feels the club are on track to hit their longer-term goals in 3 or 4 years. I say "may" because he said he told Moshiri upon arrival that he is not here to make a quick fix but a long plan change.

Them apart, who else is there to be happy with 8th? Barrett-Baxendale? Surely not since she is driving the new stadium bid. Keith Harris? Money man... surely he is eyeing the revenue that comes with top four.

So that just leaves Kenwright. Now he is one person who would probably be quite happy to see us finish 18th as it would support his whisper campaign against Moshiri and Co for marginalizing him.

What whispering campaign against Kenwright? What's your source?

No manager will change the miserable excuse for a team these two assembled between them in just a few months.

Silva gets more time from me by virtue of the fact he isn't either of these two cowards.

Most of this 'Team' is not good enough. Where do you start? Even Gomes was at fault for 2 goals. Basic tracking back. Shambles. The bottom line is effort. Not even that was evident.

Silva was never the man. Not hindsight. I said that from the start.

How did Allardyce "assemble a miserable excuse of a team"? On his watch, we signed Tosun who had apparently been targeted by Moshiri and Walsh before Sam even came on board. The only other signing was Walcott. He gets some stick but he has more goals and assists than Bernard or Gomes.

Not saying I want Sam back by any stretch but I don't understand why people blame him for our failings. Everyone knew the kind of industrial football he produces. He came in with a mandate to pull us away from the relegation zone and finish as high as he could. He did that, we finished 8th. Mission accomplished.

We then fired him. If we want to play the blame game, we have numerous people to blame who have been involved in the club for long periods of time over the last three decades.

We've been awful for years and as I pointed out yesterday a Moyes team conceded 6 at home to Arsenal also. We've had dreadful managers since Royle was sacked, every single one of them.

I think we actually need better fitness trainers of the Sergeant Major type we have had in the past, so that we are able to come out of the traps lightening fast, and sustain it over the 90 minutes, like the top 6 seem to do. Also strength needs to improve, as we are knocked off the ball too easy, or lose out in 50-50 challenges. Also, the players need to train with the ball even more that they do now, as we seem incapable of hitting passes accurately, and with somewhere near the correct weight. We don't seem to be able to do this, even when we (sometimes) have time on the ball. More work also needs to be done on correct movement, as our players don't seem to know how to find space to receive a pass. We always seem to be outnumbered, whether we are attacking or defending, or moving the ball through midfield.

That would leave Silva to work on systems and tactics, knowing that the players have at least the basic skills to carry them out.

Wishful thinking I know. To all, Merry Christmas (not at the moment) and a Happy New Year (I hope and pray).

I would also point out that among the many strikers we were seriously connected with last summer, very few are blowing the doors off this season. Only Wilson has really made me wistfully wish we had gotten him.

And finally it's worth noting that amidst yesterday's wreckage DCL had his best game as a Blue in my opinion. Great assist, sweet finish on the header and some effective passing.

We may have gained some style but the evidence of the past month points to a loss of substance. Once again we are a soft touch with the only thing missing being a few thousand fans singing ‘We hate Sam Allardyce' or something similar but more profane.

We cannot however keep changing our manager every six months in the forlorn hope we will eventually happen upon the right appointment. That is the road to relegation.

It's no coincidence that we have had very little success against the money clubs; if you play better teams the way they want to play, you're going to get burned.

By all means play a free-flowing open game against the lesser teams in the league but I don't care if it has to be ugly to get results when playing Spurs, Chelsea etc – it's a case of 85% results and 15% style for me.

Winning football is lovely football.

Just got a contribution in that (inadvertently) called him:

Demonic Calvert-Lewin

Well, it made me smile. He scored a good goal with a bit of agro... so perhaps the requisite pair of horns would be a step too far in making him any more aggressive!

Martinez took over a talented, disciplined Team and wrecked it with his "training" and signings after the Barry-Lukaku coup that propelled his first season.

Silva has taken over that wreck (Yes, we just don't suffer from Koeman. We still suffer from Roberto's signings) and we have to give him time.

What happened yesterday was bad, no question. I am in the camp that says he and Brands need time to prove incapable. No more chop and change for this and the next 2 seasons.

If we're still floundering, they go. But we need to sit still and see what happens.

I don't like Henderson because he is a red.
I like Ghana because he is a blue.

The thing is though we do not have one single player in our squad who is liable to get “in your face” or sort an opposition player out if they are taking liberties. Mina May become that individual but at the moment we are too nice.

The 60's teams were full of hard men. Roy Vernon was about 10st ringing wet but a fearsome opponent, and the golden vision was not averse to putting his foot in (if George Best was still alive God Bless him, he would agree). Not to mention Morrissey, Kay, Gabriel, Pickering and co.

The 80's team was the same - Reid, Van Den Howe, Gray etc.

Then there was Joe Royle's dogs of war - nobody liked them (except us).

Moyes for all his faults, came up with some real fighters in his teams - Cahill and Carsley immediately come to mind.

Players like Bernard, Lookman, Walcott, and Richarlison, need a couple of characters like that on the pitch taking care of the other business. I have a memory of Tim Cahil lying on the ground with Gerrard in a choke hold. Who have we got who could that now?

We are not horrible enough and we, the fans, know it and that is why the club is loosing its soul.

My fix - find a couple of hard cases - the school of science team was full of such characters.

Up the Blues and a Peaceful and Merry Christmas to ToffeeWebbers one and all.

Correct we have been toothless compared to Robertoes first season and spent far more cash.

Pressing high up the pitch and zonal marking against a superior counteracting side exposed us. He has to adapt his tactics to suit the opposition.

We also need a striker with pace and skill to counter the opposition as we died out after midfield. Also 2 central defenders with leadership qualities.

We were easy to read and punished due to the lack of direction.

I remember Martinez being hit for 5 by average teams a couple of times. Moyes 0-7 against Arsenal. Holding on to the faith. It has to come good at some point.

Koeman had 10 games last season, Unsworth 4 and Allardyce the rest (somebody said 26) but when it comes to the present incumbent it seems the goalposts have been moved and has to be given more time despite only winning, drawing and losing in equal numbers. The entertainment value of the football may have improved but not the results.

Having said that I don't think it would be right to move him on at this time of the season but surely we have to have some criteria that demand somebody in a senior position have a chat with the Manager, if it is not already part of the weekly timetable.

Of course the league table will tell a different tale but we all believe in Father Christmas so why shouldn't we suspend reality just for a day or so ?

Happy Christmas, fellow Evertonians !

Koeman's first summer of spending resulted in abject failure and there seems to have been a toxic atmosphere around the club. I bet he wonders how different things might have turned out had he been working with Brands rather than Walsh?

Allardyce was clearly a stop gap. His idea of forward-planning never went beyond the next game. We'd have stood still at 8th/9th.

Silva is the first manager in The Project 2.0, working closely with Brands. He'll get time to sort things out, but I think/hope he'll be accountable to Brands. The whole point of a Director of Football is to make things easier for the manager; the flip side is that, if he doesn't get results, it's easier to sack him without destabilising the club.

Big test tomorrow. Good managers turn around poor periods of form; will Silva?