thoward18

If I didn't know any better I'd think this is an Everton home game. So much support. Where are the Fulham fans?

The entire game changed once Jelavic, Naismith, and Osman came off in favor of Lukaku, McCarthy, and Oviedo. Hopefully Martinez doesn't try to outsmart himself going forward; play the guys who are making a difference.

This is the game that defines Leighton Baines' Everton career, I would think. Lukaku wins the award 9 times out of 10 with that performance, but Leighton was special today. Mirallas deserves a shout as well.

Eto'o is bound to have a bit of luck, but this was a stupid move from the very beginning. Eto'o is 32 and has been in Russia. He's, at best, marginally better than Demba Ba and Lukaku. Seems like he just signed him because he missed out on Rooney and wanted to make a splash, and had history with Eto'o at Inter.

Considering the fate of Moses and Lukaku so far any young player already on a quality team would be nuts to move to Chelsea. That's not a knock against Chelsea. Just reality. Barkley's a lock for first-team minutes here. Not much to gain from moving to a team where gaining first-team minutes would be an uphill battle and with no promise that you won't be undermined with a big signing of another player just like they did to Lukaku with Eto'o.

Naismith of all people was the one to finally fucking finish and Howard came up with some HUGE stops, but both made some glaring errors that could have been costly. Barry was a rock, so it's him. And you all thought I was an idiot for welcoming a loan move

We can possess and pass around all we want against lower-end teams, but we need to simplify against a team like Chelsea. Too many guys trying to do too much.

Osman, Jelavic, and Naismith combining for the go-ahead goal against Chelsea. Fuck me with a shovel.

Holy fuck, Timmy. Wake up.

I really hope McCarthy being on the bench is a result of him being new to the team and not because Martinez rates Osman as better right now.

So what exactly is the plan if Jelavic gets hurt/tired/red carded?

Don't think Deulofeu is matured enough for a full 90 against a team like Chelsea. His bag of tricks is somewhat limited right now and Chelsea will figure him out after 30 minutes. I'd rather bring him on around the 60-70 minute mark and let him run wild against a tired Ashley Cole.

Conspiracy time: what if Moyes knew he was probably going to end up at Man U and gave the captaincy to Jagielka instead of Baines in order to make Leighton less committed to staying? Anyway, keep it Jagielka because there's no good reason to strip it from him and make potential problems. If we'e pretending it's a fresh slate though then I'd probably give it to Baines.

What an opportunity that would be. There's going to be a large adjustment period for him right now, but he'd come into pre-season training next year fully acclimated and understanding what to expect. No adapting or learning, just playing. Would be a hell of an asset.

Don't think there's much doubt that he's in West Brom because he saw the writing on the wall here and not because he wanted a new opportunity. Feel bad for him but welcome to the business. Could do much worse than West Brom.

Don't see what this has to do with anything. Like I said, even when Kone is at his best he is not at the level of a Dzeko or Rooney or RVP or Giroud. And most of these teams have multiple of these caliber guys.

Pretty much every area of the squad could be improved, but the main hinderance has been striker. Look at the top teams in the EPL. Man U has Rooney and RVP and Welback and Chicharito. Chelsea has Torres, Demba Ba, and Eto'o. Tottenham have Soldado, Adebayor, and Defoe. Manchester City has Dzeko, Aguero, and Soldado. That's the quality of striker serious CL teams have. And even if one guy gets hurt or loses confidence they have a couple other capable guys. We've pinned all our hopes on Jelavic. Anichebe and Vellios are bottom of the table or Championship caliber strikers, I'm sorry to say. Kone not much better. And I'm not just saying that because he's sucked so far. Even at Kone's best he is not near any of those goes. Lukaku on loan gets us close to that caliber but, again, it's a loan. I'm afraid that until we find ourselves a capable, long-term striker we're not going anywhere.

It's about theater. The transfer deadline is about bold, flashy moves. About watching Sky Sports and seeing dramatic, unforeseen things happen. Big names being moved over the continent. Gareth Barry is a boring, aging player who moved on a loan deal. He's not going to make highlight reel plays. It's not sexy. How much Barry might actually help us is irrelevant in terms of how it's going to be perceived out of the gate. I'm sure, unless he shits the bed, the fanbase will grow an appreciation for him as a player and person in the locker room.

Let's run down your list of claims here. 1. Fellaini was rumored to move on as far back as last season. It's almost a wonder that they were able to keep him this long. None of us know 100% of the behind the scenes stuff or what Fellaini was thinking, but logic dictates that, with him hinting at a move for the last year or so, no start to the season was going to prevent the appeal of moving to the most prestigious club in England where his former boss is in charge and where he will realize his long-coveted chance at CL football. 2. I don't think you're understanding what was meant when it was said that a move for McCarthy wasn't dependent on Fellaini. Perhaps we could have added McCarthy while Fellaini was staying but Martinez simply didn't feel it was worth the price. And only when Fellaini was gone was the need to fill the void imperative. Nonetheless, this is all irrelevant. Let's say you're right and that it was all bullshit and the only way we could financially fit McCarthy was with a Fellaini departure; how in any way is this Martinez' fault? Since when did he become in charge of providing the cash and setting the budget?

I've displayed my share of criticism but anyone who thinks selling Fellaini is a blemish on Martinez' record hasn't been paying attention. It doesn't matter if we had Martinez or Moyes or Mourinho in charge. Fellaini leaving was a virtual inevitability. All we can grade him on his how the transfer itself was handled. He handled the media with class and did just about everything possible to calm the waters. He did enough to get Fellaini motivated to play games despite the transfer clearly on his mind. And considering Fellaini leaving was probable, we have to consider the fee we received a massive success. Although I give Kenwright bulk of the credit for that. So really I don't think Fellaini is a good evaluator of Martinez either way.

A lot of the usual clichés. Happy to be here, will let World Cup stuff sort itself out and he's just concentrating on solidifying himself in the 1st team here, etc. Only thing I can remember was him saying that he was open to staying with the team beyond this season.

We were about 45 minutes from Martinez being in a disastrous situation but ultimately he pulled it off and that's what matters. Definitely gained a bit of my trust. He promised we'd be in a better position after than deadline than before it and, although we still need to see how everything actually plays out, he did make moves that theoretically make this true. What will push this to a success is if we actually get to see the bulk of the money pocketed. But that's hardly Martinez' prerogative.

Why would he sign the loan if he didn't want to be here?

Wouldn't have been upset if he left but not upset that he's still here. We need depth for the cup games and in case one of our outside mids goes down. Always room for cheap, versatile players.

The thing about a guy like Lukaku is that he is similar to Fellaini. Even when he's having a shit game the simple fact that he exists creates problems for the opposition. He eats up a ton of space and you have to watch him at all times. That creates room for others. Even when he's not producing it will be an upgrade over the irrelevance of Kone/Jelavic so far this season.