veedublin

RM looks like he's going to throw up, walking off the field

howard saved something. wow.

Come on Lukaku, fight for it, dammit.

Perhaps the only way to get Barry off the pitch is to play him. Life is full of paradoxes.

When Lennon stands next to Crouch it looks like something from Guinness Book Of World Records.

Lukaku showing hustle

Crouch is starting. Hopefully that means he won't sub in and get a quick goal, which seems to be his modus operandi.

If it's any consolation, the three bottom-feeders play Arsenal, Man U and Liverpool tonight. Even if we lose, I gotta believe the floor won't be rising to suck us in, at least for one more day. But with a win against Stoke, we move up two spots to 12th. COYB, please. It would be ever so nice.

If we get relegated, yeah, it will suck being in the US, as we won't get the TV coverage, or the streaming, etc... But I can only imagine how it might be among the Reds. Yeah, you'll still be able to go to the games, but Liverpool could be an inhospitable place for Toffees. It's too dire to even think about. So, I suggest we don't even go there.

This is the big question. We win in Europe with the same squad and manager. So, are we playing a different game or employing a different plan? Are we making fewer mistakes, playing with less fear? Are we just luckier in Europe, and the ball happens to bounce our way? Or are the Euro teams simply not wise to us?

Howard Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Barry Lukaku (We'll start with 10 men as Barry will be given a red card as he emerges from the tunnel for tripping one of the children.)

A new goalkeeper could save the season. It's happening right now with our NHL hockey team, the Minnesota Wild. We were on a stretch of something like 10 losses in 12 games, nowhere near a chance to make the playoffs, and we would have been better off with a dust broom protecting the goal. We acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk from another team in the league for a future draft pick. We've been 15-3-1 since, we're in the playoff hunt, and Dubnyk was named the league's Star of the month for February. I'm not sayin; I'm just sayin.

It's easy to say "sack him" as a fan, because we're fed up and tired and embarrassed and scared of being relegated. But as a fan, it's meaningless. If I was the chairman (I really don't know Bill Kenwright at all, so let's just say a generic chairman), I would be working on a backup plan for his replacement. I would also have to gamble on whether we'd be relegated or not with RM still in place. I don't think we'll be relegated. I don't think we'll be top 10 at all, though. I think we'll wind up just where we are currently, in 14th. So, my feeling is to keep him in place until the end of the season, and see where we go with Europa. If we show improvement, then he stays. If we stay where we are, treading water, I would sack him at the end of the season. I really wonder how the players feel about RM. Are they putting the blame on themselves, or do they feel he's the cause. I'd sack Tim Howard before RM. (I really think he's lost us probably a dozen points.)

Our three upcoming matches are Stoke Newcastle QPR I would love to be salivating like a junkyard dog at these, but at this point, I don't know if we'll win any of them. If we come away with four points after this trio, I'd consider it a positive result. I keep waiting for things to turn around. But maybe if I stop hoping, the pain will subside. My Minnesota Wild hockey team is on fire, so I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

Just grabbing this one. I think I agree. I love to watch him dribble around, and he's massively talented but it's not a positive element. Gibson is, however, and if we had another striker with some energy and creativity that he could get the ball to, I think things would be much different. Lukaku, as much as I love to see him find a cross and put it in the goal, has cement for feet. Every time he touched the ball, it seemed it bounced wildly and he was dispossessed.

With more good passes by Gibson, and with more good crosses by Coleman, and with Lukaku connecting, we could really be that something else.

Everton host the first leg on 12 March

In the article, when they say the match might be played "behind closed doors" does that mean no fans at all? Empty stadium (or whatever facility)?

Looks like a good side, but if I owned the zoo, I'd start Garbutt instead of Baines, and Barkley instead of Barry

Watching the two recent commanding performances against Young Boys (or any match in Europe, for that matter), I think this thread probably needs to be retitled: "Has Martinez got it wrong in the Premier League?" I know it's not a question for which there is an easy, conclusive, obvious answer, but how can we say Martinez doesn't know what he's doing, when it seems to really come down to the performance of the players. When they play well, pass cleanly, make smart decisions, we are a completely different team. We look like bosses in Europe, but shite in the League. So, why the devil is that? Is it Martinez? Is it that the League has us spooked? Do we employ a different style in Europe? Why the Jekyll-Hyde thing?

great to see a solid effort here, but it just adds to the false hopes for the weekend's PL matches. Tired of the "we'll build on this victory; it will give us a lift moving forward" platitudes. Man, Gibson can thread a needle with his passing. He's awesome.

We were looking out-classed out there until the Penalty. Then it was like a switch got turned on. Crazy this game.

Agreed. We look like major studs here.

with Spurs out as well, we might have a chance.

YB's looking dejected after that.