Keith B

There's a twitter rumor that Howard is not in the squad today.It's twitter...

I missed the Hull game, but at this point I'm pessimistic about the rest of this season. Hull, Swansea, CP....2 points.

Do the U-21s have someone more promising? As an American I'm partial to Howard, but yeah, he's fucked up too much this season. The problem for me is, what's the solution? Do we have someone in the pipeline? Would everyone be happier with the backup? And why does Howard play so well against Europa competition but not against PL competition?

A forward looking American sponsor would be fantastic. Everton has a significant following in the States and the TV contracts here are going to get more lucrative.

We have the same general problem in the US. The leftists are not represented by the "left" party, the Democrats. To my knowledge, there is no real leftish movement in the US, despite the general popularity of leftish positions. Thanks for the responses. Makes me think that supporting Everton was a great decision.

I personally would, but I'm not the manager. To me that's trading proven for potential at essentially the same age.

I wish it were possible. Du Bruyne is a couple of years older, but more accomplished in my opinion. It isn't so simple. Roberto has his vision. Does Barkley fit in that vision? (I personally hope so.) If he does, how does he plan to get the best out of him? If not, who is available that does? It's a tough freaking job, and I respect that. Given the quality of players though, I can't help but feel Everton is underperforming at this point.

Not necessarily, I'm just saying if the style's don't match, who's to blame? And I'm not really defending Barkley, who I agree has looked selfish. What I am saying is that it is the manager's job to get these guys playing to the best of their abilities. If management thinks that the manager isn't getting the best out of the players, I would say the manger needs to go, not the players. There's a long way to go in this season, and although I'm pessimistic, it would be stupid to sell Barkley or sack Martinez at this point. Rash, emotional decisions are not smart business.

TBF, this is true. Lukaku has been heavily complained about here, but has Barkley made the difference we all hoped he would? I would argue not yet. There's a number any sane side would accept for Barkley. I don't think 40M is it, but if it goes much higher than that, maybe we could flip that money for my personal football crush, Kevin De Bruyne, who is already the player we hope that Barkley can become.

It might be true that Barkley doesn't fit Roberto's style, but why put Roberto over Barkley?

Are Liverpool politics generally left leaning? Seems like many of the Evertonians I follow on twitter are labour-left, wondering if that is indicative of the city itself. I'm a lefty myself, but not the type that wants to debate it here...just wanted ask the question and not debate the politics themselves.

I agree with this. A couple of other points: I think I was wrong about Lukaku. I can't blame the guy when he gets no service, and when he does, it is a pass with his back to the goal with four opposing shirts standing around him. This team needs some creativity going forward to open some space for him. Eto'o and Barkley step on each other's toes. Would like to see Eto'o come on as a sub for either Barkley or Lukaku with about 30 minutes left. I think he plays best that way. As far as Roberto goes, I'm starting to think there is a gap between his preferred style and the styles of the players he has. We didn't even threaten the keeper until we had to be more direct in the last 5 to 8 minutes of the game. This side to side stuff is pretty but it hasn't resulted in enough chances in my opinion. Players play, so they deserve blame too. I thought we were outworked today and that's unusual for us. It didn't look like a cohesive side.

Spurs remain the luckiest team in the PL this season. MIssed handball call there.

There's not enough whiskey in the world to wash away this performance today. Even with an equalizer in the last five, I won't feel good about it.

Lukaku is so surprised to see the ball, he just automatically shoots.

We can't even generate a shot from inside the box. Everything is coming from distance. Why isn't anyone in the box for us?

Distin doesn't even look like he wants to be there. And probably shouldn't be.

Also our attack is not threatening in the least. We pass the ball side to side but the defense is never threatened. It's like dry humping a super model for 90 minutes.

That last Spurs goal was garbage. Barry's got to know there were only 15 seconds left in the half. Kick the fucking ball down the pitch. I did think he was fouled there though. Gonna take a massive effort in the second half.

Strongest attacking side I've seen this season. It's a little awkward having Barkley in a wide position, but I think these are our best players.

Welcome Nick. I lived in Hermosa Beach for three years but I'm in DC now.

Going to be a patched together squad with all of the injuries. Mirallas seemed to recapture his form Thursday so I hope he's impactful again. I haven't heard if Naisy's injury will keep him out Sunday. In any case, Spurs have gotten very lucky in recent matches. Been against ten men for a long period of time, so our side needs to watch their fouls and make sure this one finishes 11 on 11.

If he's outside of the budget then so be it. Seen him a couple of times and he just looks very good everytime. But you have to give tons of credit to our guys. That's a team that is #2 in the Bundesliga and we beat them with a combined score of 6-1. Looking forward to Sunday and hoping we maintain form. Also, we could use some health. (Credit to the backups who have filled in admirably.)

What would it take to get De Bruyne? He is quality.

Lukaku! So strong!