bluenosetoffee

If it wasn't for Howard we would have conceded more than 1 goal. Could do nothing about the free kick though. McCarthy second for me, ran the show yesterday and put in some important slide tackles.

Eto'o will start in front of Lukaku. Atsu will also play and maybe Besic or Gibson. I would go with the following: Howard Coleman Jags Distin Baines Besic Barry Atsu Naismith Mirallas Eto'o I don't think that is experimenting, proven back four. I dropped McCarthy because if Besic plays I would want Barry's experience in there with him. Atsu and Mirallas could hurt their defence. There is rumours that Joel might play in front of Howard. I really do hope not though!!

I like Oviedo and think he is a decent player. Came in when Baines was injured and he fitted into the team straight away. Only problem I have is that he can give away possession too easily at times, bit weak on the ball too. I do think he is a good player but that to me is his only downfall.

I know what you mean but Besic needs game time and what better way than the Europa league? Maybe not start with Gibson then and have McCarthy instead but Gibson to come on in the second half. We need him to be fit as well. I agree Atsu is more than likely going to play in this game. He hasn't played since the Arsenal game.

I can see Garbutt starting at LB instead of Baines and Besic and maybe Gibson starting.

I think Moyes also played him out wide because he is such a hard worker. He seemed to play him in big games as well as he would track back. I always thought Naismith was a good player even playing out wide but everyone can see he is much more comfortable in the middle behind the striker. What will we do when Barkley is fit again though!? I wouldn't want to drop him completely but only other option is to put him back on the wings isn't it? Mirallas on the left with him in the right or squad rotation player between Barkley, Lukaku and Eto'o ?

We haven't had the best starts to the season and either have Wolfsburg. I would go with the below. Howard Coleman Stones Distin Baines Gibson Besic Atsu Naismith McGeady Eto'o

Yeah exactly, wasn't it the same season that they spent 32 on Robinho? Anyway, I would love to have James Milner at Everton, think he is a model professional and such a hard worker and he always tracks back as well which I like!!

I would drop Jags before Distin. He only played 15 minutes on Monday against Switzerland and that's when they were already running out of options. Stones looked okay in defence albeit he was playing RB. This is a must win game, draw will not do for me. We have dropped 4 points so far this season with conceding late goals to Leicester and Arsenal. We didn't look great against Chelsea so we need to win! Howard Coleman Stones Distin Baines McCarthy Barry Mirallas Nasmith McGeady Lukaku

Personally I think Bruma is better than Atsu but yeah I agree, get the player in!

People are comparing McGeady to Naismith saying nobody gave him a chance either, but, the difference between them is that when I watched Naismith play he always impressed me, his ball control, his passing, his work rate. This was from a player who was playing out of position. Now he has come into his own by playing behind the striker OR alongside. He is showing his worth. I always believed in Naismith's ability as a player. The difference with McGeady is I haven't seen anything from him that has made me think otherwise. Like I said with Naismith there was glimmers of a player coming out but needed the right guidance and Martinez has done well with him. McGeady is playing in his favoured position but like I said he doesn't seem to track back, tries to take on defenders instead of passing and 80% of the time loses the ball. He is a good passer off the ball though. Anyway, Naismith and McGeady are totally different situations. One player was playing out of position and is now playing in a more favourable one. The other is playing in his position. Don't get me wrong I don't think McGeady is a bad player not at all, but I don't think he is as good as people are making out.

I always rated Naismith when everybody was slating him, his work rate was brilliant but he was played out of position. Now he is in his preferred position and is doing great but I have always rated him and believed in him as a player. With McGeady though I am not to sure. Is he cut out for the premier league? I don't know. His touch can be poor at times, he tries to take on defenders but doesn't really have the speed to do it unlike Coleman and Gerry last year. He doesn't seem to track back that much which is needed as we are a counter attacking team and leave ourselves open at the back. Pienaar always tracks back and gives cover for Baines. Mirallas for Coleman. Maybe this is what Martinez wants him to do to get teams on the counter attack and maybe he is still getting used to the premier league but I don't really get excited when I see him play. He has played a lot better in recent weeks, like against Chelsea good ball to Naismith. Maybe I am being a bit cynical and hope he proves me wrong but at the moment I'm just not sure, he scored a good goal against Leicester and Georgia in qualifiers though.

Yeah but at the same time you have to look at the passes that Matic, Ramires, Fabregas, Hazard make for Chelsea. They might not have as much on the passing statistic but how many are key passes? Creating chances?

Chelsea when he had that powerful header and it hit the crossbar.

It isn't just about scoring though, for a 28mil player you expect him to score at least but 10+ goals a season. It is only 3 games in and two of those were against Arsenal and Chelsea. Leicester he didn't look match fit. What he has contributed to the team though I have been pleased with. He isn't afraid to take on defenders, he has strength and speed. He bullied the Arsenal defence at times. The downside is his passing though, he isn't a good passer off the ball at all but he is young and has years to get used to it. I am happy he is at Everton and lets hope cheer him on against WBA. Also at one point a lot of people wanted to get rid of Naismith saying he isn't premier league quality. That was because Moyes was playing him on the right but Martinez plays him behind the striker and tends to get the best out of his players so let's hope he can get the best out of Lukaku as well.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11671/9453045? Why would we sign a player on loan to join the U21 side!? He now plays for Olympiakos so why would we waste one of our loan signings on an U21 reserve player....Does not make sense.

I'm not complaining, I think we did good business in the transfer window. Evertons attack now looks strong! Naismith looks good behind the striker or alongside. He has come into his own under Martinez. Lukaku and Eto'o both great signings. What worries me though is our defence. Since coming back from the WC Jags hasn't looked the part. Maybe he is just in a pickle at the moment and will snap out of it but what I was hoping for today was a young defender to be alongside Stones for the future. Would have been good to go for Dier at 4mil. That way as well Jags and Distin could have mentored them. Also if Distin gets injured who do we have who can come in? I know everyone will say stones. Which will be the obvious answer but he doesn't have a lot of pace. We need a CB with pace who can track back whilst stones or jags are catching up. This is what Distin is good at, that is why I wanted us to get Nastasic as well, he is young and from what I have seen he has pace as well. Would have been good for the future.

Little bit disappointed that we didn't get anyone in. I thought we would have signed someone, a defender would have been nice. I think we will get Cleverley in January for 3-4 million or on a pre-contract. Martinez and Cleverley have both made it clear they want to work together again and Everton is his preferred choice. Only way we wouldn't get him is if QPR came in with a ridiculous amount of wage for him. Overall I think Everton have done well in the summer transfer window. We look good in attack, central midfield is sorted and have a good winger who has pace. Only problem I have is defence, Jags hasn't looked up to it in the 3 games so far. He looks tired and no pace. Distin looks okay but even he hasn't has the best I'd starts. It would have been nice to get one defender in. Anyway the transfer window has passed and the international break is coming up. Let's get our players back, nice and refreshed and ready for the WBA game. COYB

I think Lukaku has looked sharp. He will score goals. He played well in each game, only problem with him is his passing. Welbeck on the other hand is such a good passer off the ball.

I think what Martinez did was right though. We showed interest with Cleverley, he knew we wanted him. We agreed terms. Martinez knows that he has a year left on his contract and doesn't want to pay a ridiculous amount of money. We will get him for either 3/4 mil in January or on a pre-contract.

Yeah but I doubt we have got him. There would have been details about it. He wouldn't of gone to Villa or Everton as he hasn't completed a medical either. He will go in January for 3-4 mil.

Supposedly we would need to pay a higher asking price for Cleverley than Hull, QPR and Villa would. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2739869/Tom-Cleverley-race-hots-QPR-Everton-target-Manchester-United-misfit.html Would this be because they paid 27.5 million for Fellaini if it is true?

I would say Tim Howard. The way he got in Costa face is what you need from your captain. Costa was mocking Coleman for scoring an OG and you could see Howard fuming. That is what you need from your captain someone vocal. That and he lets his defence know if they are playing cr@p and gives them praise when playing well. Has all the qualities to be a good captain in my eyes. Jagielka can get the defence organized as well and I do think he is a good captain but if he wasn't there then Howard.

I think we should have snapped up Dier under Spurs noses. 4 million could be a bargain. Looked strong in defence against Liverpool yesterday. (I know they conceded 3 and could have been more but was one of their better players). Anyway back on topic - I would love us to go for Nastasic on loan for the season with a view to buy. Would be a great addition to the squad. Coleman, him, Distin and Baines would be a quality. Plus Jags could mentor him as well. Can't see it happening though to be honest. Would be surprised if we pull this one off. Saying that who would have thought we could sign Lukaku and Eto'o.

How has he become some sort of Richard Wright? He is still a great keeper but it doesn't help that our defence is letting the opposition have shooting practice against our keeper. There is only so much a keeper can do if his defence has been shocking.