Everton vs Burnley

Burnley need the points big time and have proven they can mix it with better sides than ourselves so it wouldn’t really shock me in the least if they came and got all three points tomorrow.

Let's face it, we have had a mini-revival but it’s been nowhere near convincing; we were poor last week, pretty poor at home to Southampton but possibly caught them on a day they were equally poor, we were hardly convincing at QPR... and, fair enough, the 3-0 win over the Geordies was good but they have been on the beach for weeks now.

I still don’t think we put in one single performance this season when we have really battered the opposition into submission, a match when we have loads of chances and at the end you actually catch breath and admire the team’s performance.

We just haven’t had one like that all season. It’s been a weird season in that aspect: even when we have had bad seasons in the past, there’s always been the odd match where we have played totally outstanding in and it’s had you looking back in regret that you couldn’t do it more often.

This season though it just simply hasn’t happened. No big wins against the top sides... no real great performance... it feels like the season is ending before its even started.

It will be a tough match. Burnley have got the right psychology from their manager, even if they don't have the level of ability our squad has.

I always feel a bit funny when we play the "smaller" teams as I really want them to do well and stick two fingers up to the "big" teams but naturally hope we batter them.

I would much rather have a Burnley in the Prem than a Chelsea or Man City!

I get what you mean, I quite hope Burnley stay up really but I want them to lose tomorrow – if only because our next home game is probably unwinnable at this moment given the form Manchester United are in.

We could still finish 13th or 14th if we start slacking off again – we have seen it too often with Everton this season: Leicester and Hull at home, even last week, we slackened off and yet another individual error cost us the win.

I truly hope next term we cure ourselves of these individual mistakes, it’s been a woeful symptom that has destroyed our entire season on an almost weekly basis.

We need to use two wingers in support of Rom and I’d go with Lennon and Pienaar with Naismith starting and Mirallas as an impact sub, (but not just for the last five minutes, Roberto). But then after 56 years watching my team, what do I know when compared with the ’phenomenal’ manager we have in charge of team affairs?

It’s going to be scrappy, as Colin says, so there’s no room for any more mistakes. 2-1 I hope.

Plus, Lennon has proved he can score goals, with two in the last three games. How many has McGeady got since he joined us? One, I think.

You are correct: McGeady has scored just the one, on the opening say at Leicester – a peach it was too and who’d have thought we’d be saying in April that’s still his only goal?

I actually thought when we signed McGeady he had the look of a player who might have contributed more with goals, didn’t he hit the post with a cracking effort against Aston Villa on his home debut? He really has been a big flop after reasonable expectations when signing him.

It’s no coincidence, with Lennon coming into the side more since playing for Everton, he has looked like scoring goals. I think it was Jermaine Jenas who said that he didn’t get as many goals as he’d like at Spurs because he very rarely ventured off hugging the wing.

I said when we signed Lennon there is a player there with quality and I think so far we are seeing it. Certainly since February, along with Phil Jagielka, he has been our best player.

Worth a try – especially at this end of the season

We still haven’t got to 40 points incidentally. Check the table rather than what the bookies think, that’s my advice. 12th, below Palace, Swansea, West Ham and Stoke.

Isn’t Roberto wonderful? He kept a side that got European football last season up in the league. Hats off to him.

Personally, I can’t stand the tedium of another year in the Spaniard’s care so shall not be renewing my club tickets although I shall buy ’a cheapo’ seat in case the spirit moves me and I feel the need to see the lads in action.

Keep in mind that Hull have games against 3 of the top 5 still to play and Burnley would have to win at least 4 of their last 6 games to have any chance of catching us up. Nevermind the fact a lot of the last games will be between teams below us (i.e. they all can’t get 3 points..)

Personally I think QPR and Hull are down (Hull have a nightmare run in). Then it’s one out or Sunderland, Burnley and Leicester. Too close to call between them, especially as they’re all scheduled to play each other in the run in.

Kind of exactly like David Moyes this year at Sociedad! Or last season when he took the Premier League Champions and guided them to a stout 7th place finish. Oh, if only we had dour Davey back.

And you’re spot on about McGeady. Enjoy the game.

Despite him not being the best owner in our history, I reiterate Brazil’s get well soon message to Bill.

Almost choked on my coffee!! I wish you hadn’t told me... I think I’d best go to the bookies and get my cash on it... an absolute cert!

How about a double with ’Stevie Me’s FA Cup dream’ (all national newspapers and Sky) being ’on’ thanks to debatable penalty win?

Last night, I was talking to an ex-RAF mate of mine, a rampant Celtic fan for as long as I’ve been a Blue, some 56 years. He told me that we were ’bloody stupid’ to sign McGeady:

"If he’d been any use, do you think we’d have let the boy go? You’ve signed two ex Old Firm players: ex Rangers’ Naismith, who I hate to admit will run his heart out for club and country, and ex-Celt McGeady who just... well... runs, and does fuck all at the end of it."

Coming from a hardened Celtic fan that’s quite an admission, but quite true when you assess McGeady’s performances. Pretty work down the wing then runs out of space and can’t pick out a pass to save his life. Lennon should be a ’must start’ for us, then sign him and offload McGeady in the summer. They could virtually balance each other out, fee-wise.

Surely that’s an improvement not a failure?

Keeping players who are either too old, injury prone or simply don’t want to play for us should be done quickly and without any fuss. It’s not looking good so far with the statements about Mirallas and Gibson from Roberto.

It’s looking like he wants to keep the squad together when it obviously needs new faces after this season’s fortunes.

Except Moyes didn’t have La Real last season and has improved their position this season. Can’t say the same for Martinez. Also, three of Man Utd’s best players are Rooney, Mata, and Fellaini, who coincidentally were Moyes’s signings (one re-signing). Given time, he likely would have gotten it right, most likely after weeding out the rest of the rats there including Giggs the backstabber.

However, we have Martinez now and Moyes is gone so why are you continuing to take shots at him? Did he not say 'Hello' to you once or something?

I listened to Tim Sherwood in the week and he was saying that, when he took over at Spurs, Harry Kane was nowhere near the first team as he was behind Soldado and Adebayor. He said that the kid was scoring for the Under-21s so he gave him a chance. I guess if AVB had stayed in charge, Kane would have been on loan or sold to a Championship team.

So, RM, you never know if a young player is up to it unless you play them, mind when Browning came on in the derby, he did well; haven't seen the lad since. So, for me, it's about what RM does not what he says that matters. Surely practically being safe this is the ideal opportunity to give some of the youngsters a go.

Plus, if they go, we could maybe get Pantillion from them to compete for the gloves. Mr USA has to go.

There has also been much talk about winning/losing matches and I’m not sure which is the most important in the view of our modern day supporters.

Would we prefer a large crowd and a bad result or the other way round? What would be the best thing for the club? I suppose the answer lies in who the bad defeat was against or how poor the attendance was.

Let me explain, if we were playing against say Burnley or Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal would we be happy with a big crowd and a bad loss or a small crowd and a win? What would we remember? The crowd or the result?

As we all know we have suffered humiliating defeats against the shite, Man U, Chelsea and the Arse in the Premier League era and there were usually quite sizeable crowds to witness these forgettable moments.

What made me an Evertonian was in fact a sizeable defeat and at the hands of no other than the now lowly Burnley.

Evertonians have been fortunate to have retained their top flight status despite some dodgy times, Burnley however suffered and fell from the zenith of European Cup football and have struggled ever since.

So what was that match that made me an Evertonian or one of the tribe, it was a hefty 0 - 3 defeat at home to a then high riding Burnley on the 27th December 1960 with what turned out to be the highest crowd attendance that has seen since that day.

What a day, what a team we had, what an absolute marvellous honour to be at a jam-packed Goodison Park, shaking to the rafters with surging crowds of supporters all willing their team on and young kids circling the pitch on the touch line where they had been passed down by their fathers for safety and to see a truly memorable occasion.

Everton lost 0 - 3 but boy I would pay to see that all over again, time after time. Ou est le ’lost tribe’?

Mind you, great days weren’t far away, with great players coming and some wonderful performances awaiting.

I did listen to the TalkSport show between 09:30am - 10:00am this morning. John Parrot was on talking about Snooker and Everton. Just before the show ended, Brazil gave out his get well soon message, but he didn’t elaborate on what was the issue with Bill Kenwright.

My name’s Paul and I’m an alcoholic... no I mean I’ve renewed my season ticket.... (cue shuffling, coughs and embarrassed silence)

As for the headless chicken (Lennon), he should be on the bench. The other players just need to follow his example of working hard for the team – not too much to ask for is it!

I would like to see Garbutt more involved in the remaining games, but I can’t see him being selected unless Baines is moved into midfield.

The interest in this season ended in Kiev, but the higher up the table we finish means more money for the transfer kitty. And it would be nice to see a big improvement in performances between now and the end of the season to at least show we might be heading in the right direction. Like it or not, Martinez will be here next season, so we just have to hope he’s learned some harsh lessons and can display in these last few games that he’s capable of getting more out of the players. At least then, with some good signings in the summer, we might have some fresh hope for next season.

I would play:

Robles
Coleman Jagielka Stones Garbutt
McCarthy Baines
Mirallas Barkley Pienaar
Lukaku

South Africa - Goodison

Yes, they should beat Burnley on paper but, if they do, it won’t be pretty as the Clarets will be fighting like hell and have proved they can be a handful in many games just like Leicester.

There are no easy games where Everton are concerned and I would hope some of the players will be playing for their jobs next season. Very few of the Everton squad could claim form consistency this season and in fact I would say almost all of them have been consistently inconsistent, hence the poor season.

A win is all I want, Burnley don’t keep many clean sheets so I expect us to score a few goals.

I still hope that Martinez will get it right again. He hasn’t gone too far down the road of no return to extinguish the potential I believe he has with Everton. But I believe that to scrutinize him on this season’s performance only and bizarrely judge him against himself from last season – and a lot are – then do not forget the impact that two games a week have had on the team due to the Europa League.

You play Thursday. Travel back/rest on Friday. Light training Saturday. Match Sunday. Rest/"recover" Monday. Training Tuesday. Light training or fly out to another country Wednesday. Match Thursday.

You tell me on that schedule when the manager and his staff can get stuck into drills; methods; some actual coaching on plays?

Maybe we could judge Martinez better from next season – after a pre-season not disrupted by a World Cup and no Europa League. Don’t forget, the Europa League has a more significant impact on one's domestic league performance than the Champions League. The Europa League clearly involves more games than the Champions League. But it also includes a more significant amount of travelling. In the Champions League you’re playing teams from Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy etc. In the Europa you’re travelling additionally to more teams in Russia, Ukraine, Turkey.

Since that competition has ended for us, we have achieved seven points from nine. Let’s just see how we get on between now and Autumn. If we’re struggling, then yes maybe it’s time to question the Manager’s appointment. But maybe with no European football hindrance, Martinez may thrive with Everton, given the same circumstances as his peers.

I have seen nothing to suggest that next season will be any better. As we are relatively safe. Martinez should be looking for more energy. He should be looking to try something different. He might just be surprised by a Garbutt - Baines combination. But we all know that he will try nothing. We all know that he will plod on with the old tried and tested plodders in midfield. We might win tomorrow. But I fear for Everton next week. I would have a go at Man Utd, with a few youngsters in the team.

A few wins, and some Everton supporters reckon that Martinez has turned things around. If it wasn’t for his efforts all season, nothing would have needed turned around. Short memories from some supporters. The defeats at Christmas should never be allowed to happen, ever again. This season has been dire.

We need to start next season on the front foot. We need to show more energy. We need to show more passion. We need to be higher in the league. We need to be winning football matches. I give Martinez to October. If he has not got things right, then he goes. No more chances. But I do hope that he gets everything right. I hope he gets this team playing. Because this is all about Everton. Nothing else.

One of my earliest memories of watching Everton, was also a game against Burnley. It was a win for Everton, around 1969-70. Burnley had a good team then. And TBH I have always had a soft spot for them. They had some very good players, back then. We all remember Martin Dobson.

Never mind about Ings scoring tomorrow. If Frank Casper is still knocking about. He would also score. As usual, I do not trust that Everton will keep a clean sheet. I expect Burnley to give Everton a tough game. But I believe that we have better players. I believe that we will turn over a team before the end of the season. It could be tomorrow. This is now egg on face time, I am going for a 3-1 or a 4-1 win for Everton. Why not?

What would we all give, for the days when we knew that Everton only needed to turn up against teams like Burnley, and the win was guaranteed. I think that was maybe 30 years ago. Those were the days.

Get well soon, Mr. Kenwright (should he really be ill). For all his faults, he is still an Evertonian. COYBs

I believe that my old grandad saw some games back then. And I remember reading that Dean scored 4 goals in a 5-3 win over Burnley that season. (I am a self-confessed nerd, when it comes to all things Everton.)

Okay, that’s the history lesson over. Let's beat Burnley tomorrow. And try to get some momentum going into the Man Utd game. Try and finish the season on a high.

Villa to get nobbed by a late own goal, then the final kick in the nuts, losing a couple of players who will be assessed before the Man Utd game, none coming through and ending up playing Man Utd with no fit forwards.

That's the life and times of us Evertonians: up one minute down the next.

The older generation need replacing at some stage. They’ve had their opportunities. Henen, Galloway, Browning, Dowell, etc. playing with Oviedo, Besic, Stones, Lukaku. I’d like to see that... At least for one game!

Wasn’t Brazil involved with Andy Gray in the Dubai owner takeover bollocks exactly this time last season??

Looks like the shyster is going for a ’sympathy’ vote for this season's ticket renewal deadline.

Anyway, I’m totally amazed at how many of ye have caught the Martinez BLIND positivity bug. One of the most important attributes of a football manager I think is being able to see what’s happening fast and be able to change it. Having the balls to change it. Yes, it's important sometimes to be stubborn and stick to your guns but also be man enough to admit you got it wrong.

At the start of this year I loved Roberto’s positive outlook. I was optimistic for McGeady but as the season went on, I could see Roberto was not the man I thought he was. His inability to say we were rubbish, we can’t play this style, to see Lukaku needed early balls into him. The two best full backs in the league have been poor this year.

In my humble opinion RM hasn’t got the know how to get the best out of the players we have. Yes, he's got lots of ideas of how the game can be played but doesn’t see the facts in front of him.

I think he’s learnt nothing this year and his obvious stubbornness to keep playing players like Barry, Howard, McGeady has proven to me he is not ruthless, honest and can’t see where we are going wrong.

McCarthy has so much potential and if he played for Man Utd or Chelsea he’d be driving forward much more and be the new Roy Keane.

I hope I’m wrong Roberto

Subs: Robles, Galloway, Barry, Naismith, Pienaar, Osman, Kone.

Robles
Coleman Jagielka Stones Garbutt
Mirallas McCarthy Barry Pienaar
Barkley
Lukaku

4 across the midfield for a change

Like a few other lads, you failed to notice that, in the Swansea game, Martinez had lined up McCarthy directly in front of Barkley which allowed him to get involved in the much improved passing movements in the final third, including the goal assist. (Lukaku and Naismith were missing, which lessened our goal threat but helped us keep the ball.)

Of course, there were times when he did chase back, especially after attacking dead-ball situations when Jags, Baines and Stones moved upfield. His defensive mentality will always drag him back but I was thrilled to bits with his attacking link-up play.

I don’t buy into this "responsibility" thing. They’re doing their best for the team out there and, as far as I’m concerned, they’re doing okay. For a million and one reasons, we’ve had a season to forget and I confidently look forward to more successful times. As the boss, Martinez has taken a hammering but certain recent events have caused me to see him in a better light.

The Adelphi abuse would’ve been kept in due to the right (wrong) production staff on the film being RS. Sad but true. Same ilk as the non-entity at ITV that cut to a Tic-Tac ad when Gosling knocked them out of the cup.

Here in London, Liverpool fans are like rats, you’re always within 10 feet of one.

I'll never ever forget running up those flight of stairs in the Boys Pen and gazing at the wonder of Goodison Park. Even though we lost 2-0 I was captured by the magic of Everton. Lovely pictures, Patrick, took me back all those years ago. Thank you.

I see a few of us are beating the Robles drum again. He lacks match practice and Howard (Mr "You're talking bollocks") has been reasonably reliable lately even if his Swansea penalty dive was a bit humiliating. I expect to see Pienaar continue the great come back he showed those of us that made the trip to Swansea. You couldn’t see it on MotD but if you were on BT no doubt you know to what I refer. Just a month coming back from a hamstring seems a bit hasty, but we hope to see Lukaku. Two-nil at least please, With a clean sheet!

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Garbutt
Barkley McCarthy
Lennon Mirallas Pienaar
Lukaku

That is a team that will create chances and sacrifices a modicum of solidity for enterprise. I’d like to watch that team.

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Baines
McCarthy Barkley
Lennon Mirallas Pienaar
Lukaku

Howard
Coleman Stones Jagielka Garbutt
Lennon Barkley Besic Pienaar
Mirallas Lukaku

I want Burnley to stay up. But I’d like to see a 7-0 thrashing today! Gotta win this one to save me from the bevy of snide comments my wife will lob my way!

4-4-2 please.

Ross @86, what makes you think we ’should win at least 3-0’ today? Burnley have given lots of teams a good game this season, despite their league position, and they’ve beaten Man City, drawn with Chelsea and narrowly lost 1-0 to Arsenal. I see no reason to think we’ll roll them over.

Sean Dyche has them right at it, and to think we’ll simply brush them off seems a little blue-tinted if you ask me. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see us lose today, although I think a draw is more likely.

As far as Martinez is concerned, I was one of the ones giving him a hammering. My confidence in him is very low but we will see what the future brings. If he turns it around, great.