Philinsuffolk

I would be reasonably satisfied if we get to end of tonight with exisitng squad all still in place. Any additional players in would simply be a bonus. Ensuring that Baines and Fellaini are still with us remains the key.

Nuneaton Bluenose - just make a quick call to the pubs concerned and make sure they are showing it. There is some strange bye-law that limits some of the pubs in the area from showing the game. The Bear on Wembley High Street is apparently showing it and the guy who runs it is a season ticket blue. If we win I will be hanging around afterwards in one or other pub and am sure many others will.

I just hope the team hold their nerve, don't pick up early yellow cards. We all know the stats about how many red cards there have been in these fixtures in recent history. If we go a man down, we're stuffed. If they keep their discipline and perform like thye have for most of 2012 we have a cracking chance. I will be in the Wetherspoons (JJ Moon) from 11 and Block 123, Row 17. COYB - this time Blues, this time....

Believe.

That's a relief - have never had cause to disagree with anything Mike has said. I can relax again and got off my soapbox!

If (and I stress IF) Everton fans were involved with this, then they bring embarressment to our club and the city. Sorry, but also have to disagree with the notion that its not a big deal - it is theft. Granted, it may not be the biggest crime of all time buts it is theft. And IF (that word again) our fans can afford the ticket cost then they can afford the cost of a bag of crisps or whatever bits were taken. A couple of quid difference to making a little damage to our reputation.

I know loads of Reds that are desperate to win it and most are honest enough to admit that, the song about our cup final is a good bait especially when we are losing the 'final'. I just think the time may have come for us to hide the importance of it from them a bit. I don't ask if we can beat those sides, I state that we are capable of it and I do believe we can get to the Final and maybe even win it....and that is precisely why I back the DM decision this week.

Guys, I take and see your points completely. I do of course stick with what I say. If we go out of the cup to Sunderland then his gamble would have failed. But I just think the reward was worth the risk. Whoever is right/wrong (nobody - just opinions) I just hope that tomorrow lunchtime is fervant support. Win together and lose together.

I acknowledge that I am in a minority here, but personally I think there has been an over-reaction to what was ultimately a horrible night for us all (regardless of whether we thought it right or wrong we all suffered the humiliation). My thinking.. 1) In the run up to this week I knew in my mind that if we had to have 1 win, 1 defeat then I would 100% have taken the win as being in the cup game. In fact I remember thinking to myself it may be a first time ever that I would take a Derby defeat in return for another win. I accept the argument that losing the Derby increases the pressure for the cup game and that this may make it harder to win the cup tie, but ultimately in the current fast paced game I am inclined to believe that the fitness/recovery of players is more important than this psychology of a winning run. 2) Even if we had played our best (?) 11, who knows what the outcome would have been. In general play there wasn't 3 goals between the sides, the real difference was how much more ruthless Liverpool were in their attacks. Gerrard, Suarez and Henderson gave us trouble all night. I thought Baines had a poor game by his standards, though he wasn't helped by moving Pienaar from LM. 3) We need to win something, we really do. Sure, winning the cup is going to be really difficult. IF we win the QF then the chances are we will have to beat 2 out of Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool to lift the cup but we are capable. What's more if we want European football, getting to the Final may be enough. 4) In the 2nd half we brought on Drenthe, Osman and Jelavic and frankly we were worse. In the first half between say 10th anh minute we were ok, or at least we were worse in the 2nd half. The 2nd half performance was dire. 5) Finally (and don't shoot me) - the Liverpool fans are right, we treat the Derby as our cup final. I'm as guilty of this as anybody, I feel sick to the stomach every Derby Day. Those all too rare Derby wins are fantastic. But, bottom line it is still 3 points. If we really are going to move on then lets move on by winning things, qualifying for Europe (yes, I know a win would have got us to 7th place etc). Very rarely do I keep away from press, websites, etc but I did this week as I knew things would be hysterical. Things will be worse if we lose against Sunderland. But maybe its not the manager that had a lack of ambition this week, maybe its us. Just a thought. I may well be wrong about this but I will say this - I am absolutely certain that Moyes and the players will put things right on Saturday. COYB.

I am really very grateful for the loyalty that Moyes has shown. I am sure there are times when he could have walked away and if he had done so a new manager may not have been able to save us from relegation given the limited resources. Outside of the 5-6 clubs with the most money no club is safe from the threat of relegation but if DM left soon then the next boss has a better foundation to work from. The DM article in today's Sunday Times was brilliant. Some laugh out loud lines and a paragraph about Duncan as captain for that first game against Fulham which makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. In terms of the immediate future, this week is one of the biggest weeks in the whole of David's tenure with us. A Derby win that takes us 7th (and with a fighting chance of european football) and a place in the FA Cup semi final would be huge. Let's hope for a special week. And thank you David. Thank you for getting us.

Good idea this - if we knew that someone like Baxter or McAleny were going to get first team action for Rangers. Probably can't afford to let Victor, Vellios or Gueye go out on loan though.

No chance of us getting him. If he is this close to being a free agent he will have a choice of clubs in the summer and some of those clubs will offer him more chance of success than us. He's going to be a really good player.

I agree with Blue Monday - that IF we were to finish top 8 then the manager and squad would deserve credit for that. That isn't to say that we would necessarily be happy with that, we wouldn't, but realistically it would be a good effort. Who knows, maybe a decent cup run to go with that too! The problem is we have some tough games coming up, form is dire and any more injuries and its a problem. The one thing that I don't think we have had yet this season, is a moment in the season that changes things - whether it be a lucky goal, a great fightback or just a crunching tackle like Neville on Ronaldo. We so need that moment and very soon. In the meantime we just have to hope that the squad is working very hard and that there is a good team spirit not a divided camp.

Sorry if posting in wrong place but thought people may want to know.. TV Channel ESPN Classic today showed a 2-part programme - Best FA Cup moments for Everton. I missed it but they are repeating it at 4am and 5am on Tuesday morning. Got to be worth taping if you have this channel. It is 2 parts remember. In a couple of years they will update it to show our 2012 Cup Final win! :-)

For me, this analysis by Tricky Trev is one of the best pieces of analysis I have read anywhere on the whole Moyes debate. It hits the nail on the head. Just like our original Tricky Trev - great balance.

1) As far as I can see, he hasn't gone anywhere yet; 2) None of us certainly know what the fee is - speculating; 3) If Billy had been with another Premier League club instead of us, what would you want Everton to spend on buying him? Frankly I wouldn't want us to spend more than £2.5m, albeit maybe some add-ons for appearances etc. 4) If he is on say £30k a week then that is more than £1.5m off the annual wage bill for someone who has given us minimal payback. I wish him well, but for the good of our club, I will be glad if/when he goes.

There are rumours all over Twitter tonight that Rodwell has submitted a transfer request.

As said above, we really do need to be keeping hold of the ball and to be comfortable on it and LOOKING to create. I don't know if they have done it recently (maybe they do it regularly to no effect at present) but they need to get together as a team and have this out. Big credit to Duffy who is getting on with his game - I really hope he stays grounded and keeps working hard as for me he is a long term regular in the making - and not in 3 years but straight away. And whilst we're at it, give Baxter a chance. It seems to me that we may as well play those that want a chance rather than those that have now had too many chances.

Sadly Meg passed away. Which is a shame, especially as none of us saw it coming :-) I am sticking with my flogging a dead horse prediction - Saha scores in 2-0 win. Hoping Duffy and Gibson play.

We will win tomorrow. 2-0 Saha will play and score.

I have long looked forward to Duffy getting his chance in the first team. As someone who places emphasis on building a team from the back I put great store in having good quality and stability at CB - and I honestly think that Shane has a very bright future. I do hope he gets to play in the next couple of games and maybe at least 5 or 6 games before end of the season (at least). Hopefully he then becomes a regular from next season. With the likes of Gibson, Barkley, Coleman and Vellios too, the future is bright.

Suffice to say that there is plenty of doom/gloom at the moment in relation to our beloved club - and mostly with some justification. And personally I don't think a new owner is going to arrive soon - or if there is one it will be someone that is able to make minimal impact (ie like at Aston Villa for example) as opposed to say a Man City - part of the reason why I am not someone pushing for Kenwright out as I just think we will get someone with similar available funds! The world economic crisis is huge, leaving the world's richest people concentrating on protecting what they have got not throwing it into football of all things. I took a look at the current squad and looked forwards 3 years to see how that squad would look in the 2014/15 season. I ignored the GK's and loan players. I also am assuming that any player 31 or over (at end of this season) should be seen as 'past it'. With these criteria we say goodbye to Distin, Neville, Saha and Cahill (indeed its hard to see getting any more than 1 more season out of these 4). Osman (31 by end of this season) should also be excluded but maybe we get 1 or 2 more seasons from Ossie and likewise Hibbert (30) - even if as squad players offering experience. 3 years form now those that will be aged 28 or under are: Coleman, Duffy, Gibson, Gueye, Fellaini, Barkley, Rodwell, Vellios, Anichebe and McAleny. Add to these young James Wallace and in particular Hallam Hope who both have good potential. If his potential is realised then young George Green would also be emerging. The likes of Jags, Baines, Heitinga and Billy would be reaching the latter part of their career at the top of their game - as I see it the club either need to cash in very soon on Jags and Baines before their value drops through the floor or we take the view that we can't easily replace them and so keep them as key players for 3-4 years knowing we won't then get any meaningful fee for them but we would have had good service. Any offer in excess of x (you decide the figure!) for Billy should be taken. The club must continue to give increasing first team experience to the likes of Barkley, Duffy and Vellios - because if nothing else these will be the lads that are key to us at least getting our regular top half finish. As a huge cynic of Anichebe I would be glad to eat humble pie on that one. I know that we are likely to sell one or more of Fellaini, Rodwell and Barkley in the seasons ahead but if so for significant sums. Of course if we could keep 2 out of those 3 for a couple of years then that would be great news. Everyone is entitled to their own view and maybe I am just too much of a pragmatist as well as optimist, but I certainly think that 3 years from now we will still be a top 7/8 club albeit maybe continually frustrated at it being nothing more than that. Ok, things are not great just now. Personally I think that the negative/dire football is a bigger problem than the lack of investment. I come to that partly on the basis that for us to become a top 4 club would need at least £80m of signings which is simply not going to happen. But you know what I'd still rather be a Blue than anything else..and I KNOW that you'll at least agree with me on that! Sod the money, I'm a Blue and we do it the hard way.

I agree! We have no money, an ageing squad and some talented young players that I am sure would work their butts off if given a chance. Fair enough to introduce them gradually but at present it is too gradual. Need to be 10% more bold.

I am not taking anything for granted today at all. Confidence low, the team likely to be disjointed which leads to mix-ups and the noises from Tamworth sounds to me like they have a quiet confidence about them. I tell you something the team needs at the moment - we need to go into games leading at half time. The fans are on their backs so the team need to win t hem back over so we are all pulling together. Genuinely believe that Duffy should play at CB today, but suspect he won't. It would be good to think we could build some confidence, but ultimately just win and lets take small steps to better things..

Cheers Romey - apologies for absence!