veedublin

Ah, yes, I see it now. Sorry paddock for correcting you. +1 to the post count for me, though, so it's all good. Hmm... what to choose...?

Someday, I think. But I don't have enough posts yet. I'll just keep asking stupid questions until I do!

I could have said "Whoever plays, they're younger than I am." (HE is playing.) But I said "Who(m)ever he plays...." So it's the object. (Martinez is playing HIM.) If I'm wrong again, I'm doubly ashamed. Toffee Lady in emeritus.

I just spotted a typo, and I am ashamed. Should have been "whomever" sorry 'bout that.

I'm assuming after a certain number of posts, eh? And where does one edit it? "Favourite player"? I was "Toffee Lady" for a short time; recently graduated to "Reserve Player." Dreaming of the day I can conjure up something of my own choosing.

Everton plays Southampton on 20 Dec. Vikings play Dolphins the next day. At this point I hope the first game is more meaningful than the second.

whoever he plays, they're younger than I am.

The OP's question was "what would YOU rather see happen"... but do you think Martinez and the squad are starting to think the same thing? That they're resigned to a middling place in the PL, and have decided to put their energies into trying to win Europa? Maybe he'll tell the kids to just go out and relax and have fun against QPR and we'll thrash it 5-0. The mind games.

As an American, fresh to the EPL fan base, and to Everton, and to this forum... I hear ya. But some of us are good, well-meaning folks. For better or worse, I read this book: (rough guide to English football, if the link is bad) Yeah, it's a few years old, but it was entertaining as heck. From that, I narrowed it down to Everton and Liverpool. The Mother Noblett / Bushnell legend won me over. (And honestly, though it seems silly in retrospect, Tim Howard's presence didn't hurt.) I have a lot to learn.

Yes, Everton for life. I already submitted my organ donor card. Born and bred in Minnesota, so the hard-luck Vikings are my team. We're on year 17 of our rebuilding plan. The closest we'll get to the Super Bowl is 2018, when it just so happens to be hosted by our new stadium.

Heh, yeah, I know. Just kidding around. Tough crowd. Realistically, I could envision Everton bobbing around middle earth all the way through this campaign. But I hold out hope for a win each weekend, which is probably better than more a few teams in the PL can say. In American Football, we call it a "rebuilding year." Euphemism for "We're too old and tired (or young and inexperienced) to play effectively. But don't cash in your season tickets, because next year will be different, I'm sure of it!"

I will not allow my first season of Everton support to result in this kind of disaster. I'm already considering changing my username to "The Jinx".

What if this lineup crushes? (or any "out of the box" lineup, for that matter) Or will it be difficult to judge anything in a meaningful way, because Kras has nothing to play for?

My curiosity got the better of me, so in my feeble attempt to get the answer to this, it looks like only Naismith has 4. And after the City match booking, Barry became tied for the most in premier league history? 99 yellows? Nice. Wasn't that a song by Nina 30 years ago? 99 Gelbe Kartes?

This was how I saw it, too. Even if the first kick to Eto'o's spine didn't get a red, the second one to Barry's head certainly should have. (Simply in that it followed the first one.) A similar game to so many others this year, and I keep waiting for this discouraging trend to improve. But sometimes a trend is more than a trend, it's the way it is. Yes, we need to get healthy against QPR. Any significant players back from injury by then?

Accurate predictions are worth something, but if there's no hope, what's the point? Maybe fresh legs to start the second half are what's needed. Martinez plays Distin and Osman in the first half, Hibbert and Barkley after the intermission. Eto'o if Mirallas tires. Heh, what the hell do I know? Pond-crossed newbie. Carry on.

Hello all, Minnesota USA fan here. I've followed EPL only cursorily until recently, but I really always leaned toward Everton, and at the beginning of this season I decided they were the club I wanted to follow until I die. (Which now appears will be a slow, painful death.) But even though it's been a rough season, I cannot imagine following any other club. (I also follow the Minnesota Vikings, so you have an idea about my bent towards masochism. Although, I was born in Minnesota, and still live here, so I have little choice.) Shamefully, one reason for my interest involved Howard after the WC, which I now feel was a stupid, shallow, shortsighted thing. (I still think he could be a good goalkeeper, as he's had his moments, but he's also been inexplicably hideous and boneheaded at times.) Anyway, I've lurked here for a few months, joined a few weeks ago, first post now. Like most of you, I've been wincing watching the club play. Thankfully (or not), we get all the matches through our sat provider on NBCSN, and the coverage is superb. But each week, I'm less and less excited to watch. I streamed yesterday's match while at work. (Quickly clicking away if anyone came into my office needing anything.) I felt like it was such a monumental waste of time, but I had a big work task to undertake, so it was as good a procrastination tool as anything. My first worry yesterday was when we scored the first goal! Noooo! Too early! How many games have we done this? Seems like nearly every one but the Chelsea disaster. But, the first goal isn't the problem, it's that we think a one-goal lead is safe. But it never is. (And apparently, neither is a two-goal lead. Someone above said that we need a three-goal cushion. That's probably true.) My question, and reason for this post, is to ask: If the team was healthy all at once... having McCarthy, Stones, Naismith, Alcaraz healthy now, and not missing the time earlier from Barkley, Barry and Baines (and any others I'm forgetting), would we be having this dreadful conversation? Is part of the issue simply a lack of continuity, that we're just that thin, that we can't field a top-four team if anyone's injured? Forgive me for not researching thoroughly, but did we have major injuries last year, when we finished fifth in the table? I'm sure this is a naive question, but so be it. Gotta start somewhere, and this is the thread of the hour. Relegate me if you must. Cheers. - Chris