Bailey

Great play Lukaku.

17 attempts 2 on target... Says it all!

Oh distin... How did you miss!

Strangely I dont think he has done too badly in his time as manager so far. I agree with your comments regarding certain players but lets face it, every England manager that has gone before him has done exactly the same thing! Hodgson has brought some new blood into the squad with players such as Barkley, Caulker, Lallana and Townsend not to mention some of the older players like Lambert and Osman. In terms of the football itself, I have seen a fair bit of improvement. Nothing mind blowing but we have been structured and disciplined and at times played some decent football. He has been a little unlucky in that he has inherited one of the worst England defences for almost as long as I can remember and I think our ability to be competitive in the WC will be determined by how strong that back 4 are.

I think he must have been pushed in some way given his comments. Something seems to be up?

Maybe Naismith was effectively Jelly's replacement and Traore was Kone's cover.

Everton 1 - 1 West Ham Lukaku

Winning ugly isnt about suddenly hoofing the ball forward and hoping for the best. Its when the players find a way to win despite not being at their best and we have shown that we can do that. Unfortunately we have shown that we can drop points despite being the better team too. Tbh I think its a redundant argument because we always have a level of grit to our performances and its when we drop our standards and players lose their concentration levels that we concede goals or don't create enough opportunities.

Sounds like something has been going on behind the scenes then.

Not for me, doesnt contribute enough to the teams performance. I wouldnt say no for a much lower fee but not as our main striker.

I dunno 1 appearance and 1 goal... certainly been worse!

Hallellujaahhh!

Weirdly if you went back 12 months ago or so I would agree with you (about Jelly and Naismith) but Naismith has really surprised me with how well he can link up the play with his back to goal, playing cute little passes and nice touches. Judging him on his performances out wide, especially last season, I really didnt think he had it in him. Ultimately I think the difference between the two is that Naismith just has that little bit of extra movement that means he can give himself half a yard of space before a challenge comes in from a defender, whereas Jelly quite often seemed to have his defender touch tight and under pressure he kept turning the ball over.

Based on his last appearance I wouldn't put Barkley in the squad. If he isnt right, which he clearly wasnt last weekend, then its better for all concerned if he is given time to get himself right. We have Pienaar and Osman who can play that role in a similar way with McGeady or Deulofeu to come in if needs be.

Nope Dunc I have never said that...

I havent read anyone comparing us to Stoke.

Finished 2-0 to Olympiacos. I could easily see them being turned over at Old Trafford. Utd wont be that poor again and the Greeks werent much better.

Rooney has been an absolute disgrace in this game. Players arent machines but if you pay someone £300k you should at least expect them to give a toss and do the basics. Its also odd to see him playing in midfield considering that was one of the main reasons he handed in a transfer request last season.

Im not sure they have had a shot on target yet. I thought they would come out in the second half firing but they have been worse. Olympiacos have been poor but they have shown desire and commitment. Just shows how a team can overcome individuals.

To be fair we were excellent that night, really good effort. Shame it was our best performance of the season. Plus I did say in my OP about away games.

The couple of passes I mentioned somewhere on here. The 40 yard run he made that ended up in us scoring from a free kick. Far more than Gibson anyway which is the point.

One occasion... what about the other 18 league games and cup games?

I didnt see anything last season that made him fantastic at all. Decent yes and he has his moments but no more than that.

Anyone who thinks we havent progressed this year under Martinez should watch that first half Utd performance. Very reminiscent of us last year away from home. No intensity, no real organisation and whats worse is that they dont seem to care.

I dont think he is a bad player but he isnt someone you would want to spend a lot of money on!