EvertonianFL

I think we have got a gem in Besic. Young, talented midfielder who is good with the ball at his feet and can pick out a pass spot-on. Can't wait to see him and McCarthy playing alongside each other. Both are box-to-box young lads with immense potential. Love Gareth Barry, but he has womanly hips and is unable to move side-to-side with any pace (hence his 9 yellow cards on the season).

YESSSSSS!!! Exactly what we needed to get the confidence up again. Feels like a win...gotta keep pushing

And he doesn't call that shove on Naismith....

Besic and Lukaku looking best for us right now. Everyone else pretty poor. Referee certainly isn't helping

Ahh fantastic, thank you! Why are we playing so much later than other games?

Does anyone know where I can stream this game? I'm in the U.S., and we only have 1 channel that shows the FA Cup. Go figure, they are airing the Kopites vs Wimbledon. This isn't 1988, no one cares. I appreciate the help lads

Bullshit. We do have a keeper of that quality...just not in form at the moment. If Chris Wondolowski could hit a sitter, US would've beaten Belgium in that World Cup match. SINGLEHANDEDLY because of Tim Howard. He just needs to find his form again...hopefully this nonsense with Brad Friedel will fire him up and get him in top shape once more

I agree with you that Hibbert has looked a better defender than Coleman as of late, but how can you play him against such a pacey side like City? It forces us to sit back and let the likes of Clichy, Silva, Aguero and Nasri swap ripping us to shreds down our right flank. Need to play Coleman and get him pushing forward to force Clichy to stay back and defend. Can't match the pace City has all over the pitch, so we have to do our best to counter and negate it. Press them high up the pitch and give them a short field to work with. Timmy Howard is going to have to be at his absolute best in order for us to get a chance at even 1 point. You know they're gonna fire off at least 10 quality shots on goal

Aston Villa (trying really hard not to laugh here): Ron Vlaar (captain of Villa, played outstanding for Netherlands in WC) Andreas Weimann - looks good every time I watch Villa play. Youthful winger with pace and power. 6'2" is tall for a wide player Struggling for a third here...either Gabby Agbonlahor (proven finisher and love that he clattered through that kid from One Direction) or Leandro Bacuna - can play both out wide and at right back...plays similar to Seamus Coleman, so would be a good second option at that position

Where are you lads watching these U-21 matches? Definitely not being broadcast in the US. Any good streams? Luckily, NBC Sports shows every single Premier League game (just gotta stream it on their website since most Everton games aren't considered "premium" unless we're matched up against the usual Top 4 and Liverpool). Which is some bull in my opinion...as I now personally know many soccer fans in the US who support Everton strictly because of Tim Howard (and you can't forget Brian McBride and of course Lando's loan stints). Love that Everton is slowly becoming America's premier league team to support. At least I think it is. Was deathly afraid that it was going to be Liverpool, because John Henry owns both them and the Boston Red Sox. But then they axed Suarez, and most Americans can't name a single Red other than maybe Gerrard and now Balotelli

I disagree with you about Valencia. Look at how well West Ham is placed in the table right now. Sitting pretty in 5th with 24 points from 14 games. Can't put it all on Valencia (only 3 goals in 11 appearances), but from the little I've seen of him in the Prem he's playing pretty well. He's a striker who moved from the Mexican league to the Premiership. Gonna definitely take some adjustment before he starts banging in goals. I'm a big fan of Joel Campbell. I thought he played lights out in the home leg against Man Utd in the Champions Leage knockout stage last season...fully deserved the goal he got. For the price being tossed around here, I'd go for him. Hope BK and RM agree. Incredible pace and an eye for goal with a lot of potential. Be nice to see him get a couple games for Arsenal to see how he handles the big boys in the Prem League.

Definitely not going to happen. Not for a schilling less than the price we paid for Lukaku. RM loves this kid and brought him over to Everton...and not for the sake of making a hefty profit by selling him after 2 seasons with the club. Look how we can't control the midfield with McCarthy out. Even with a stalwart like Gareth Barry in center midfield, we looked weak against Hull. McCarthy is a hardworking bull dog in the midfield...something we missed this weekend. Here's to hoping he can pass on his knowledge to Mo Besic if he does end up leaving though. Besic has the potential to be a great player for us...so long as he avoids the referee's book. Almost too feisty at times, but it has the added bonus of instilling fear/nervousness into our opponents

The potential is all that matters. If the attitude was indeed as bad as you claim, there is no way we would ever be in for him. Same reason we never moved on Ben Arfa. Loads of talent, but a downright lazy son of a gun with the attitude of a mean old Frenchman. RM and the Everton mentality can resolve attitude issues in my opinion, but not with a hothead like Balotelli. There's no saving him...

I didn't realize when I started supporting Everton in 2007 that the fans are so negative. I agree that we are not playing up to the standards set by RM last season. We also weren't playing midweek matches in Europe, and our tactics worked against most teams. Problem, is we haven't evolved much since last season. Same tiki taka style of play, but good teams (and even some poor ones) have countered by pressing high up the pitch and forcing the long ball over the top. I love Mirallas, but if he could ever make a run behind the center backs without going offside, we would have another tactical strategy. That being said, we traveled to Tottenham on Sunday, then off to Germany for a Thursday game, then back home against Hull 3 days later. In the United States, we refer to the Hull match as a "trap game". A much better team in a good run of form (until Tottenham loss) losing (or in our case drawing...which felt like a loss) to a weaker team in a poor run of form. I think having Ross Barkley get somewhat seriously injured on the eve of the 1st game of the season really threw the entire squad off mentally, and it showed with those 2 horrendous draws to Leicester and Arsenal. All-in-all, we won the Europa League "Group of Death" with one game to spare. At the start of the season, if someone told you that would be the case, who would believe it....honestly? That ought to be a massive achievement for a club that bombed out last time we were in a European competition. I agree though about playing the wrong players/those not in form...why hasn't RM played Atsu more. Kid is lightning quick down the wing, and showed off his skills during the World Cup. Surely he could be a boost for us...most certainly better than playing Pienaar, or Osman out wide. We arguably have a top 5 goalkeeper in the world, some were saying even Top 3 after the World Cup, but maybe he should focus on stopping shots instead of writing his autobiography...because he hasn't been in good form (other than Europa League). Lastly, I understand the need for urgency, especially when the League table is basically up for grabs (not the title...Chelsea should have that bagged by now). This would be the season to try and qualify for the Champions League. BUT, we are going to do it via the Europa League clearly, because short of signing a couple more squad players in January, we are not going to be anywhere near the Top 4 come May. Injuries have certainly hampered the first half of our season, but theres a long way to go. SO FOR ONCE...try to be positive you Blues. At least we don't support the Kop shite or a perennial loser like Sunderland or Birmingham. Let's come back to this discussion at the end of the season...none of it means a damn at this point.

If we are taking straight from United, who would you want? I'd go with Welbeck or Chicharito, but I think we will be priced out of Hernandez unfortunately. Reminds me a little bit of Tim Cahill, with his in the box finishing ability.

How about Eric Diers? Or Mustafi who just won a WC with Germany.

With Barkley out for an unidentified yet extended period of time, it seems we must sign another attacking midfielder as cover. Saw we were linked with Morgan Amalfitano today, but i think we need a player more like Remy Cabella. Watched his debut yesterday for Newcastle and he looked great (minus the haircut). A good combination between Santi Cazorla and David Silva. We need an incisive player who can pick out a great pass to Big Rom. Technically sound, and quick in the fret as well. We shall see what RM and BK do with the remaining 2 weeks of the transfer window.

Fantastic! Much better quality...thanks

Anyone found a good stream for this game? Im on RojaDirecta but the quality is shite and its in spanish

Anyone know where I can watch this one? I'm in the US...keep in mind

Good point. He just wants to get out on the pitch

Is it just me, or does Rom look a little dazed and confused?

From a fellow American, welcome! I too live in miserable heat and humidity (Florida). Been a supporter for 8 years now...no looking back. Once a toffee, always a toffee. All of the EPL games are on NBC Sports here in the US, and if the Everton game isn't televised, you can watch it live streaming on NBCsports.com if you have the channel with your cable company!

Besic played rather well for Bosnia at this World Cup IMO. Granted his team didn't progress out of the group stage, but Besic had a team-high 91% pass completion over the course of the 3 games. He was second on his team with 3 tackles per game (average) and 2.3 interceptions per game (average). He also was tasked to man-mark Lionel Messi in the game vs Argentina. Though they lost to a Messi assist and a classic Messi goal, he performed more than admirably. Great signing, seems a done deal with him going to Thailand to train with the squad.

Good signing for me...especially at that price. I'm glad Roberto wants to add some more youth to the midfield