carlmc25

Yeah I agree, the rumour is he's going to Arsenal for £4m and at certain times on Saturday it looked the case. Pienaar was clean through with a simple pass and Saha just dawdled on the ball and ended up blasting it straight at an Arsenal defender. We should have won this match and I'm annoyed that we left a massive space down the right hand side of our defence for their equaliser when we were into added on time, we should have had every man back behind the ball. Even more annoying was the fact that Howard probably had it covered but we were unlucky again. We really need to start getting some wins now but it's nice to see that our season is definitely turning around, ever since we totally outplayed Liverpool (another top 4 team Romey - or will be top 4 anyway) but lost our performances have really gone up a level and we're now playing like the Everton team we know and love. We just need Jags and Arteta back and we could have another glorious season. An excellent league finish may now be getting slightly unrealistic (although I can still see top 8 or so) but I can't see any reason why we can't win a cup this year. The league was wide open this year, it's just a pity we had so many injuries and such poor form early on. Next year I think we can have a very good season, I still think we're a match for anyone when everyone is fit.

What a shocker, Romey predicts yet another Everton defeat, I've never known any Everton fan quite as pessimistic! Anyway, Arsenal aren't that great, force them to get the ball out to the flanks and close up the middle of the defence, they have no height and are virtually no threat from out wide. Chelsea totally nullified their threat using these tactics. Sit back, let them pass pretty circles but totally shut up shop down the middle, then hit them on the break and try and put them under pressure from set pieces. I think Arsenal are beatable, particularly at the moment without the likes of Fabregas and Van Persie. IF we play well then we can get something from this, we don't need to fear them.

Top 5 for me has to be: Big Nev - best keeper ever imo and also a legendary cult figure Arteta - genius Trevor Steven - one of my earliest favourite players, a truly brilliant winger John Ebbrell - totally underrated player, much better than the totally overated Joe Parkinson imo, Ebbrell was my footballing hero when I was in school Amokachi - I don't think any other Everton player has made me smile as much as Amo, he wasn't obviously that great a player but I loved him. close mentions for Dave Watson, Peter Reid, Yobo, Lineker and Sharp.

We have been terrible this season and yet we're not too far behind the likes of City and Spurs etc, mainly because they're not very good. I don't think we can do any worse than we have, nearly all our best players have been out and the team set up has been wrong. Moyes seems to have fixed this recently and if we can get some players back and keep those we have fit, fit, then I think we'll easily be top 10 and with the likes of Arteta back we could get back into that top 6. Last year we were something like 8 points behind Villa with 8 games to go and we overtook them, we have a lot more time than that this time and I think we're a better team than virtually anyone in the league (Chelsea, Utd aside) when everyone is fit. I predict a good season with a decent league finish and a cup win. I fancy the Europa this year, we just need some players back and to keep the likes of Pienaar fit. If we have terrible injuries then we won't have a great season but it'll still be ok, you can't expect much more than that.

I give up, Evertonians really are never happy. I wouldn't swap Howard for anyone except possibly Reina and fluke master Given. Cech is a spent force, as is Schwarzer (Who was never very good anyway, except on crosses) and Friedel. Howard is an excellent keeper all round and a brilliant shot stopper. I honestly can't see how any Everton fans can complain about Howard but everyone has a right to an opinion, even if it is a terrible one.

I don't know how anyone can be critical of Howard, he's definitely in the top 3 or 4 keepers in the Premiership imo. He made an absolutely outstanding save from Crouch at 2-0 that kept us in the game, it was nearly as good as the save of the season that he made from Insua in the derby. He's our best keeper for years, since Big Nev imo. The only other keeper nearly as good was Martyn but he was terrible on crosses - he never came for them unless they were under his bar and when he did he invariably made a total hash of them. Everton definitely look back, our defence at the moment is always going to look a bit dodgy. I thought Neill (goal aside) looked pretty good, Coleman was awesome, Hibbert was out of position and dodgy but Baines was once again pretty damn poor. He needs a kick up the backside at the minute, hopefully setting up the goal will get his confidence back as at the moment his delivery is poor and his defending very suspect. Well played Everton, much more like it.

I thought Distin did little wrong, Yobo was at fault for both goals imo. I love Yobo but he hasn't been good enough this year, he needs to get his act together. What a difference Pienaar makes, finally with some creativity in our team we showed that we are a decent team. It's been very difficult without Arteta, Pienaar, Billy and even Osman in our team, no wonder we have struggled to score goals. Once again though, Liverpool were absolutely terrible yet we still let in two goals, says it all about our defending at present - it's the defence that is really letting us down this season. We played really well today and hopefully our season will kick off now, I still think we'll have a decent season and maybe win something, we just need Jags and Arteta back. Oh and what a save by Howard from that header, best save of the season in my opinion. Glad to see Cahill back where he belongs, playing off the front man. Fellaini isn't a bad passer of the ball and Cahill is far more dangerous going forward, finally Moyes seemed to get the right balance with those two.

As if, he played 442 due to our poor form and fan pressure calling him negative all the time. He probably thought, 'right, it's only Hull and everyone is moaning about me being negative so I'll play 442 and try and score a few goals, I can probably risk the formation in this match' and guess what, we lost. We could have played Gosling or Neill on the right wing. The fact is playing more players up front doesn't automatically make you a more attacking team, it doesn't automatically make a team more dangerous - what it does mean is that you have less players in midfield to win the ball and protect the defence. We've been rubbish for weeks even in a 451 due to the amount of injuries we have (not Moyes fault) and some players poor form but the fact is, at least in a 451 we are usually competitive and give someone a match, if we play 442 we're likely to be thrashed as our midfield is weak in a 4, it has been for the last 4/5 years which is why all Moyes success has been built on 451. If we had Gerrard and Mascherano I'd be happy with a 442, instead we have Rodwell (learning his trade) Cahill (totally useless in a 4) Heitinga (jury still out) or Fellaini (useless in a 5 never mind a 4) to play in there and they aren't up to it. Until Arteta and/or Pienaar are back fit we are going to struggle to win games and score goals, FACT. We need to accept it and stop moaning about performances and negative tactics, Moyes has no creative players fit so how the hell is he supposed to help us play attacking football? We need to get back to basics, defend and try and pinch a goal until our players return to fitness. It may not be pretty but I'd take grinding out results over losing any day. oh and Distin and Yobo just can't play together, we must have kept about one clean sheet this season, if Hull can put 3 past us I am genuinely scared about what Liverpool may do. We need to drop Distin and try maybe Heitinga with Yobo. Oh and how bad has Baines been this season, he needs a real kick up the backside, he's offered nothing going forward and been poor defensively. Can't wait for Arteta to be back, not least for his set-pieces (which some people used to have the audacity to moan about).

442, that's how it can happen. Everton fans never learn, finally they pressure Moyes into playing it and guess what, we can't defend to save our lives. We just don't have good enough players in midield (without Arteta - and even possibly with Arteta) to play 442. We don't have the right balance, we don't have the class and players with authority. Rodwell is a little boy lost in midfield, Cahill is useless in a 442 (I know he's been useless all season but he's been out of position) and with only 4 in midfield our already shaky defence is even more isolated and nervy. We cannot play 442, there is no point having two quality strikers up front if you can't get the ball to them. We have only one creative player - Pienaar - who is half fit, so we are always going to struggle to score goals no matter who we play. Due to relative inability to score we need to keep it tight and try and fluke a goal from somewhere, even a set piece. We need to concentrate on defending and keeping clean sheets. Moyes tried to be positive but we just don't have the players, Moyes already knew it but pandered to the moaning of the fans who think having more players up front suddenly makes you a better team when in reality it just gives us even less of the ball.

Vaughan and VDM are irrelevant as they are obviously just injury prone, but as you said - Arteta, Jags AND Yakubu all picked up 'freak' injuries within the space of roughly 12 months since Round has been coach, how many 'freak' serious injuries did we have when Irvine was in charge? we must have had more injuries in the last 15 months than the previous 4 or so years under Irvine's training regimes and none can really be blamed on the new boots and metatarsals. Injuries like Anichebes are unavoidable, some of the others seemed to be picked up far too easily. As you think, it may be coincidence but you can't blame me for seeing a pattern emerging and looking for possible answers.

freak accidents seem to be occurring with alarming regularity, maybe if our players knees (whatever) were stronger they wouldn't be so prone to freak injuries when they jump for a header. It's just a thought and maybe it is purely bad luck, but questions should be asked imo. Liverpool had a lot of injuries when Phil Boersma was in charge of training, I doubt he went around actually injuring players himself. Sometimes the training can be to blame.

I think Spurs are supposedly playing a load of fringe players. I'm not bothered if we go out as it may be for the best, although I do think we have a big enough squad to cope this year. We have a lot of injuries at the moment but those players will return in the not too distant future. At the moment we'll struggle to beat anyone and I mean anyone, we have virtually nil creativity so we'd struggle to break down Blackpool never mind Spurs, that being said Everton - under Moyes - nearly always give 100% and I expect no different tonight. We'll give Spurs a game and with a bit of luck and the odd lucky set-piece we could win. No one could ask for any more than that with our current injuries, any team would struggle missing nearly all of their best players.

I don't know if it's bad luck or something more sinister but since Steve Round has come in our injury problems have been unbelievable (plus our defending of basic set pieces this season is inept). When we had Irvine we seemed to have little problem with injuries but last season and this it's getting silly.

Arteta, Pienaar and Cahill will provide/score the goals - Rodwell/Neville will be there to provide defensive cover as their primary function, Rodwell still can't cut it so he'll be dropped unless he improves as Neville does that job much better.

I'm still awaiting the proof that Lerner wanted to buy us? Actually I'm not really as there isn't any, only rumour and gossip.

I think Jo is hit and miss, I don't particularly rate him and would rather play Anichebe who I still think could come good if he can get some consistency, fitness and a run of games.

I disagree about Neville. Rodwell may be more assured on the ball but he gives nothing like the protection to the back 4 and the general involvement in the game that Neville does, Rodwell goes missing in virtually every game whereas Neville was superb last season. Rodwell still has a lot to prove for me, he has the ability and potential and that may be good enough for the future but it's not enough for the here and now, he needs to contribute more otherwise I'd drop him as soon as Neville is fit.

I thought Distin had his best game, he was really solid imo. As for Gosling, considering he's a youngster with little experience playing in an unfamiliar position I thought he did well. They targeted the right hand side because both Gosling and Hibbert were out of position, very little got past Gosling from memory, the only problem was he liked to go forward a lot which did leave some holes defensively. I thought he did well and he should get some credit considering he is not meant to be a right back. Jo was a total waste of space, as was Yakubu. Baines has been one of the biggest disappointments so far this season for me, again last night his general passing was abysmal, in the first half he played about 7 easy passes in a row straight to the opposition. His attacking play is virtually non existent and he isn't the world's greatest defender, he needs to up his game but unfortunately he has no competition now Lescott has moved on. A gritty performance last night, horrendous conditions, the squad was stretched to breaking point yet guess what - we win again. You can rely on Moyes' Everton teams to do the business, they very rarely let us down. We just need to keep going until Arteta is back.

me too, I was adamant we should sell him in the summer as he was a waste of space, he has been excellent this year and looks a different, fitter, stronger player.

I thought Heitinga had an absolute nightmare, I had my doubts when we signed him as Van Bronckhurst used to play for the Dutch defence and he couldn't defend for toffee. He reminded me of Gravesen, without the talent and class on the ball. He constantly dives in, charges at people and commits himself and he looked slow and isn't particularly big, I'm worried if he's supposed to be the answer in defence. Our defence looks a bit shaky, we need Jags organisation and brick wall attitude alongside Yobo's pace and aerial ability, Distin has been ok so far but doesn't look overly brilliant alongside Yobo - who was our best defender today by some distance. I actually thought Osman did ok today, he did more defensively than Heitinga and showed good feet on occasions. Saha and Howard excellent and Cahill unlucky not to score a couple, everyone else pretty poor, how we miss Arteta's set pieces as Baines isn't in the same league. Once we have Arteta back we'll be a lot better. How Fellaini didn't score that header I'll never know. Lucky win but it's still 3 points.

Man Utd have sold Beckham, Ronaldo, Ince, Van Nistelrooy etc. No one player is bigger than the club, would you rather we had Rooney and were playing in the Championship? We all want more money, we all know that with a little more investment we could potentially be serious challengers for the top 2 or 3 but we don't all want just any old millionaire taking over the club as some of them don't actually put any of their money into the club they just put the club further into debt and then leave them high and dry when they walk away. Peter Johnson was a rich man, what did he do for Everton? I believe that Kenwright is waiting for the right investor and at the moment, with the ground the way it is etc it may just be that the right investor is not interested in us. We're moving forward every season, I for one am happy with that.

Portsmouth, Notts County, QPR and Southampton? not exactly clubs I'm hoping to emulate, maybe Kenwright is waiting for the 'right' buyer rather than just anyone who apparently has some cash (look at Pompey post Gaydamak era).

This quite frankly is rubbish. Liverpool finished in the top 4, have a huge worldwide fanbase and only had a net spend of about 5 million and they only have one decent recognised striker - Torres. If he gets injured they're in big trouble. They have virtually no depth anywhere, they have a brilliant first eleven but a rubbish squad, hence why they most likely won't win the league again. United have definitely weakened however you look at it, Villa didn't spend much and lost their best player etc. You mention about selling Rodwell in the future, we all hope this won't happen but if it's for the good of the club (like Lescott and Rooney) then what is the problem? Selling Lescott and Rooney has not weakened our club, it isn't making us go backwards, it's giving us the finances to help Moyes take us that next step into the top 4 and has had substantial benefits for the club already. I genuinely believe (for the first time in a long time) that we would win something this season. We have an excellent squad, easily our best in the last 20 years which has cover in every position on the pitch, we can now cope with cup runs and still achieve a high finish in the league. Finishing in the top 6 is going to be difficult this year, I think we can do it (even top 4) but at the same time I wouldn't be overly devastated if we finished 7th and won the Europa Cup. I think this year is going to be a great year for Everton fans, we've done some great transfer business and performances and results are now picking up, once Arteta is back we'll explode and start winning virtually every match. We have a very good team, as long as Moyes gets the right balance. I don't understand why Everton fans are so pessimistic, we don't have Mike Walker or Walter Smith anymore, we have one of the world's best managers and some fantastic players.

I thought Rodwell was totally anonymous at the weekend against a very limited Fulham side. He's got to do a lot better than that before he can be seen as the answer in our midfield. We had two defensive midfielders in front of our back four and we still looked dodgy at the back. Distin lost some headers he was easily favourite to win as well, the second goal he should have won the ball in the air and then awful defending from Baines (who has started the season quite slowly imo) who should never have shown Duff onto his favoured left foot and directly in on goal, basic stuff really. We need to compete again, the second half we didn't look interested until we went 2-1 down.

I don't agree that it's a fact at all. Selling Jagielka for anything in excess of £20m would have to be excellent business but selling Arteta would make absolutely no sense as we'd have to pay a fortune to replace him. The only way I can see us selling Arteta would be for a fee in excess of £35m+, certainly £30m+ as he is the most important player in our team and getting a replacement of his quality will be very difficult and risky. Most players in our team are replaceable, Arteta isn't.