Martinez hails second-half 'reset'

If he wasn't on silly wages I'd still be happy to keep him for just the 45-120 minutes of fitness he's got, because it's sheer quality.

Ross I’m afraid is overrated, that last attack when he even failed to get a pass away was criminal and he’s the worst corner taker I’ve ever seen.

Indeed, the Daily Mail's Midlands correspondent thought Everton so poor that his Everton 'team average' performance point was only 5.91 as against Albion's 6.27 with Funes Mori marked as low as 4 with four other players on 5!

At least he saw fit to grant Romelu the MotM epithet with a 'sparkling' 8. What is it with these so called 'experts'?

If Gibson didn't possess a physique better suited to a pub league, could run with or without the ball, could score a few goals and could stay fit for more than five minutes then he'd be worth the new contract he was supposedly going to be offered. That last drive when he didn't bother to wait for the piss haze to pass and ploughed into a petrol pump was criminal. He is however the best cyclist clipper I've ever seen.

Barkley has easily been one of our best and (surprisingly) most consistent performers this season. Very, very few players are going to possess everything and be the total package at his age. To continue to criticise him when he's been performing admirably is simply churlish. To compare him unfavourably to Darron Gibson is ridicolous when only one of those players is ever going to have had an Everton career even worth reminiscing about when they retire.

In fairness to Deulofeu, as awful as failing to get that pass off was, it appeared to me that the failure was largely up to exhaustion and not selfishness. On review, it looks like he just started running, and struggled to get the right foot in the right place, and then just ran out of gas.

Martinez made the right substitutions at the right time, so all credit to him for that. Kone made a real difference to the attack and Gibson helped us to keep the ball and make good use of it.

Great win for the blues.

Kone somehow makes Rom look like a £30M striker every time he’s around him. He closes the gap between the midfield and Lukaku which in turn almost knits us all together as an attacking unit.

Also, for yous who want to slate Barkley, I can’t see were you are coming from. I will grant you that Ross didn’t have his best game; also, I will admit he is frustrating at times but he keeps the ball well and is sheer quality. He is wasteful at times but can you tell me any footballer who is not.

Outside of the top 10/20 players in world football almost every player is wasteful at times. We need to get behind Ross and Rom as even when they are not at their best, they can still win us a game, as Rom did only last night.

Back to Gibson, yes he is assured on the ball... and yes, he has quality, but you can buy a Darren Gibson for £10-15M anywhere; you can’t buy a Ross Barkley for that money.

I’ll hail your words, Martinez, if we’re cantering away at the weekend after three first-half goals.

Gibson. Two goals in three seasons for a midfielder who the commentators are still convinced has a hammer of a long range shot! (Which will break for half as season if used...) The sooner he is moved on, the better, but as Sir Alex found out, only a mug would pay his wages for such little reward. Too many wages are being wasted on part time players.

Well done, Kone mind you,; he was written off even more than Gibson, but somehow manages to transformed the team. Naisy is a worker and a nark, but his season highlight reel has been played already and is not suitable to all opposition as a shoo-in forward.

Galloway. Seizing his chance just like Baines did way back when, he's going to be a Goodison hero.

Baggies Fans. Showed some class giving the fella who sank them an ovation off the pitch.

However, better not try it again on Sunday. The back line is still finding its feet and it showed. Hopefully Stones is back Sunday.

One of my favourite players, Jags looked tired throughout. Half a yard off his normal pace and not mentally sharp. Hopefully he is not carrying an injury. Reverting back to his old right centre-back position should have helped but it didn’t. Young Browning was often left without proper support.

Deulofeu has a right foot like a magic wand. Legless at the final whistle, he was my MotM, closely followed by Lukaku and Galloway.

Many people knock Barry but from my point of view he is absolutely vital to the way we operate. Take him away and we’re like a ship without a rudder. Gibson can’t replace him. He’s too attack-minded and even slower.

I’m dreading the derby game. I dread every derby game. The suffering is beyond description. Would you know it. Dancing Boy is back. If I had a dog I’d take it for a walk.

Surely we need to start with Deulofeu, Barkley and Kone behind Lukaku. I have a worry though that Gibson will play as a third centre-mid almost inviting the reds on.

They are poor, out of form, and destined for a kicking, they have no back bone an no left-back, Del Boy is the key to this derby, leave him wide, feed him an reap the rewards.

We need to put in a full 90 minutes of quality football. When we’re firing on all cylinders, we can beat anyone....including the RedShite! Especially the RedShite!!

COYB

I have watched it again and it was Deulofeu. Mistake probably due to beer and having my head in my hands effing and jeffing at the telly.

• Meaner defence, even with a number of absentees.

• More incisive midfield and forward play.

• Greater potency in attack.

• Many players woefully off their game last season back close to their best.

• Younger players being blooded and acquitting themselves more than well.

• A variety of strategies and game plays by the manager.

Add to that, a greater resilience in adversity. Between February 2014, when we came from behind to beat Villa at home in the PL, to May 2015, when we recovered from a 1-0 deficit to WHU away to win 2-1 - a run of 52 PL games over 15 months - not ONCE did we recover from losing the first goal to win. (Although we did manage it in two Europa League games.)

This season, we have drawn level with Watford after going behind twice in the game, recovered from a losing position in both our LC ties, and now won from 2-0 down to the Baggies, as we did away to Barnsley in the LC. That’s salvaging something from 4 of our 9 games to date.

Ross is a player reborn. Gerry is going to wreak havoc if he continues delivering killer curling crosses as he has this second time around. Stones oozes class. Our bench looks stronger. Kone liberates Romelu in ways that greatly enhances the team.

Rom needs just 4 more PL goals this season to join an elite group of 4 who scored 50 PL goals before the age of 23. Interestingly, 3 of the 4 are scousers: Fowler, Owen and Rooney, with Cristiano Ronaldo making up the 4th.

Inconvenient stats for those given to being hyper-critical of Lukaku.

Now... let’s bring that all together and ... don’t freeze on Sunday!

I think you are right to be point out a positive side to our start to the season.

Just in terms of results we had six points last year compared to 12 this year. If you add to the fact our start is pretty tough then it’s probably a lot better than many imagined.

I thought 15 points from the first ten games would represent a good start. We could potentially get there by Sunday.

I think it also shows that our plan last year to not go too hard preseason when you could see we were half-baked was a misguided one.

In some ways the tough first ten games may have played to our advantage as the squad is noticeably better conditioned.

Last season, especially early doors, we were blowing out of our arses around the 70-minute mark. This season, apparently, we have a league high for scoring 45% (5) of our PL goals in the final 15 minutes of games. That’s a hark back to Roberto’s first season when again my recall is that we finished games strongly.

I should know better, but there is well-founded grounds for optimism around the club right now. But then I look at the next game in the fixture list...

Nothing like a derby game to torpedo such hopes!

Surely not this time...? Surely...?

I know what you mean; it’s the game I least enjoy of the season. I'm putting my lucky pants on, and even considering funding a banner plane flyover, which seems to have worked this season.

Hopefully he will be up for the derby but we need to stop this "relaxed" football and be right on it from the start.

He has gotten serious stick on this site and being honest it’s fair to say the lad is a bit injury prone but, when he is fit, he has got to be starting... I mean Barry ffs!

It’s time Gibbo steps up and becomes the player we know he can. It’s interesting now that Gibbo isn’t even getting game time when he’s fit with Ireland so I get the sense he wants first team action again.

I must say I’m a very happy Evertonian at the moment we seem a far better team then last season and it seems mistakes from last season may have been learned. We have an excellent team and people are fighting for positions; it’s eye-pleasing to see and hopefully Roberto can actually start doing what he did today and play the correct subs at the appropriate time.

He more or less mocked the fans last season with his sheer arrogance for change from fans and the team itself. That shows me he has balls... and big ones. So, if he can fix his tactical side and perhaps play one DM against weaker opposition, then absolutely why can’t we aim for Champions League?