Moyes's persistence with that total waste of space Osman is driving me mad. When he wellied that free-kick into Row F, after countless pathetic attempts to do something in the game, I threw my laptop at the cat and started to weep, it was so pathetic. Summed up a dismal second-half display I'm afraid.

Yes, Michael, I do agree but was Pienaar any better? He infuriates me almost as much with a lack of end product.

We have enough problems with a lack of wide players as it is, as evidenced by having to play Osman out of position on the right... and yet people continuously want to take our only wide player in Pienaar and play him in the middle!

I think Osman was poor today but Pienaar was also poor when it came to the final ball. He did make an effort, which is more than can be said for some of the others today. I think some of the problem is that Osman and Pienaar are too similar in style and stature. Against teams that are up for it, as Portsmouth were today, we don?t have enough presence in the midfield.

Whilst I don?t rate Osman as low as many others who post here, I don?t think that he and Pienaar should be in the same team. Oh, and in response to Ricardo?s e-mail - I prefer him out wide. By the way, Ricardo, how many other Everton fans are there in Cape Town?

You?re right Ray ? Pienaar is industrious but often has no end product ? he was very frustrating to watch today, kept losing the ball and giving away possession. I think he needs to up his game to get back to the type of form he was in last season. When he is on form, he ups the intensity and energy levels of the whole team.

In Ossie's defence, he ain't a winger. He favours playing in the middle but Moyes prefers the big waste of space Fellaini.

Just got back from the game and it wasn't pretty. I agree with Micheal, Osman is a total waste of a shirt and always will be. I feel sick to the stomach every time I see him preside over yet another fuck-up. Leon is utter garbagge and wouldn't get a game for a decent Championship side.

Pienaar struggles because too much is asked of him. He has to drop deep to pick up the ball and is expected to run the length of the pitch to get crosses in. Our strikers always and I mean always get the ball with backs to goal and never when running forward on to it.

Something is wrong with the direction we are taking and it's not just because of today. It was Anfield in January when we last had a decent away performance and even that was backs to the wall stuff.

Moyes needs a new gameplan for the players he has who are fit. First part of the plan is fuck Osman right off. That free kick today sums the lad up for me.

When Osman starts on the right, it means we don't have a wide man on the right. All game he drifts inside offering no outlet. People claim Osman is one of our more creative players, to them I would ask where are the crosses or passes to create any chances?

He gets the ball, runs around in a circle, and invariably gets the ball taken off him by a stronger player. If Moyes has any plans to improve the team in the summer, he must be the first regular starter to be replaced.

You lads really ought to understand that this team is a work in progress and Moyes is still learning! (After 7 years...)

I so hope that the defeat hasn?t ended our hope of Champions League football next year. I would love to see Osman and Fellaini rampaging through Europe. Just imagine the two of them at Milan or Barca or Madrid.

Osman was poor today but the fact remains there was no one else who could have played instead of him.....and don?t say Gosling, he will be living off that Derby goal for a while but he is not as good as we think he is due to that goal.

I hope all the "lets play Jacobsen" fans are pleased..... doh!

Michael, you do not weep alone. Osman?s performance in the defeat at Portsmouth was so pathetic it brought a speedy end to my resolution not to even mention the useless sods name ever again on this board. Whatever his admirers claim are his strong points, they are far outweighed by his weaknesses.

It should be blindingly obvious to Moyes as it is to most folk (including other managers) that the little fellow has not the physique nor foot speed nor shooting power nor tackling ability nor on-field presence to do the job. With those, failings he is totally unsuited to the Premier League. I have long puzzled and mentioned it several times on this forum about the judgement of youth and senior coaches who ignored his obvious flaws yet continued to progress him through the ranks.

On another subject, is there not something to be done about the far too slow and predictable ritual of our throw-ins? Phil Neville trundles half the length of the pitch then waits until all our players are shut down before taking the throw. By then any hopes of catching opponents on the hop have long gone.

Our free kicks and corners need simplifying. Everton have five or six tall blokes in stationary positions in the six-yard box. The taker has a fine margin in which to reach them without drawing a foul on the keeper.
In Crouch's case, he is a moving swerving target coming from a deeper position that is almost impossible to mark. The taker needs little finesse to just bang over balls that are simple uncomplicated.

GIve AVDM a run

Cant be any worse than Osman

The lightweight is a disgrace

Hate to say it, but I have to agree with what has been said about Osman. The lad gives 100% whenever he plays but he is just too lightweight when playing some of the more physical teams such as Portsmouth, Bolton, Fulham etc. Same goes for Pienaar. The midfield was just non-existent yesterday. I think against such teams, we need to go back to 4-5-1 with someone like Rodwell in a holding role. Just my two cents.

Tony Marsh. I cannot understand why Ossie your whipping boy.

In a 5-man midfield, Osman, Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar, Neville ? he's comfortable; no hoofball, quick feet... but he aint a winger in a four-man midfield, with two up front.

Remember Davey Thomas, Andrei Kanchelskis... out and out wingers, which he is not. Remember Sheedy, Bracewell, Reid, Steven with the rest of the team. ON THE GROUND, ON THE GROUND.

If we play football as it should be played, little Ossie is a cracking player. Better than that lump of shit that we bought for £15 mill.

Slagging Ossie off doesn?t hide the fact that our midfield didn?t work today. Portsmouth were up for it today we weren?t. I don't think any player did themselves any justice today, possibly Baines with his free-kick but Johnson looked bigger, stronger, faster and I worried everytime there was a 1-on-1. Overall, a bad day at the office.

Ossie always seems to ge stick irrespective of his performance. Make?s me think that some on here have an agenda against him. Sure, he may not be playing that well at the moment, but you could argue that of the whole midfield. Unfortunately, as we don?t have a pot to piss in, we have to rely on players of his calibre. Mind you, we are 6th and in the FA Cup semis, so they can?t be that bad.

For me Ossie typifies the whole midfield, Arteta included. One good game in 4 or 5. People seem to forget some of his goals and displays in the past. Not even fit for the Championship? That seems a bit harsh. Why he continuously gets singled out is beyond me. At least he tries to play football instead of hoofing everything long.

If Moyes feels Ossie is not performing then he should be dropped. And if Gosling is a better option, then he should be playing. But Moyes obviously thinks Osman is a better option. Don?t blame Ossie for that.

I agree that anyone who?s not up to scratch should be replaced. I get fucked off as much as the next person when we lose the ball or make a mistake. I just don?t feel it should be blamed solely on one person, especially when we lose.

On another note, the defence looked as shaky as it was at the start of this season.

"For me Ossie typifies the whole midfield, Arteta included. One good game in 4 or 5. People seem to forget some of his goals and displays in the past."

I have two questions about this, Denver. Which was the game in the last 4 or 5 in which Ossie played well? In fact, which was the last game in 10 or 15 in which he played well? How does his so-called past displays and goals help us now, today?

I have watched Ossie closely for a long time ? since I became suspicious that he was a weak link, in fact. I didn?t want to castigate a true blue, which Ossie is, someone who is heart and soul an Evertonian without having some basis for it. I counted, and you should too. Lost possession, missed tackles, missed passes, chasing back behind the player, missing opportunities (read ?sitters?), it has all been said here before and it is growing, a trend that is running in par with our poor midfield performances.

I cringe when I see him on the ball ? I?ve seen players opt NOT to pass to him where they would ordinarily pass to another player. I?ve seen simple tactics applied by other managers to break down our attacks by putting pressure on Ossie ? and it works 95% of the time!

I?m not on his case and that?s because I want him to be all of those things his supporters say that he is (and which I don?t!): quick feet, intelligent, good crosser, good passer, good dribbler, good covering back, goal scorer, and more. He just simply doesn?t live up to the promise!

Ossie is a liability to us when he is on the pitch! Prove otherwise and I?ll eat my hat!!

Why even single Ossie out, they were all shit. It’s our strikers that pissed me off the most. That Jo fella is absolute fucking shite. what does he offer? His touch is shit, his passing is shit, his shooting is shit, he can’t head the ball.

Moyes can only play 1 system - 4-5-1. We always play badly when he plays 4-4-2. Jo should be dropped and Rodwell or Gosling played in midfield.

Tony Williams, I think Jacobsen had a solid debut. He definitely looked more accomplished than Jags in that right back position. In my opinion, he was one of our better players yesterday which probably ain?t saying much as pretty much everyone had a shocker.

His running off the ball was impressive and positioning was fine too. I can?t remember him being skinned too many times. Looking forward to our Dane getting some games under his belt, and we can then hit the ground running next season.

Michael Kidd, I’ve lived in Cape Town on and off for over 10 years and I don’t know any other Everton fans (apart from Ricardo on here). I can live with that at the moment because it’s great fun to ask every Liverpool shirt wearing passer-by: "Excuse me, I have a terrible memory, who knocked you out of the FA Cup this season?"

If the result was the same, and Ossie hadn?t even played, I?m sure he?d have still copped it on here. I have watched all the recent games we?ve played and singling him out for continuous abuse is unjustified to me. Most of the time they are all shit.

We?ve been lucky in recent games to get the wins and I wasn?t too surpised to see us losing yesterday. It was bound to happen, we haven?t exactly been setting the world on fire. Hopefully this will kick start another good run.

Michael Kidd, Brian Hill. I?m from Cape Town and have been a blue since we lost the ?85 cup final aginst Utd. As far as I can remember, other than the odd random blue you run into at the pub to watch a game, there?s no great support for us over there.

Now I havn?t lived in Cape Town since 2001, so things might be different now, but while I was still there, we where definitely in the minority as far as support was concerned. Most people either support Man U or the Shite, but these are people who I would class as fair weather fans and apart from the score on the weekend, know hardly anything about the teams they supposedly follow.

The last time I was there I watched the derby at a pub and besides myself and another guy I didn?t know, everyone else was a red. Since Chelski started winning, they seemed to have picked up a following, but now that things have gone to shit for them, I?m sure their following has dwindled as well. I know for sure that in the heady days of Newcastle Utd blowing league titles, they had a decent following too, but you could at least argue that they where great to watch. Spurs has a good following too, I think this stems from their record in the FA Cup, especially in the ?80?s. Arsenal also have a following, but they only appeared on the scene since Wenger took over, funny that.

I have lived in London for about 5 years and been to watch the blues both home and away on several occasions. Unfortunately for me, most of those games where under the Walter Smith regime. I now live in that footballing hotbed of Wellington, NZ and have seen a few people wearing the Everton jersey so I think there must be a few of us here, certainly more than in Cape Town.

Who knows, with Stevie P on our books, there may be a few more blues supporters down Cape Town way. Maybe Ricardo can show them the way.

Michael Kidd & Brian Hill, there is a huge following in Cape Town, especially on the Cape Flats (coloured areas).

When I was about 7, I played for a team called Everton, never knowing at the time is was named after a English team. When English games was aired on Mnet, I noticed the Toffees and asked our team owner about our name. This guy was the biggest Toffee supporter and ever since I?ve supported them (that?s more than 20 years ago).

Yes, Pienaar changed the clubs profile locally, cause all Everton games are showed on DSTV, this is due to all the African players currently playing in the squad.

About Pienaar, he?s being played wide, but he is really not a wide player. Just watch him against Norway later this month and see what I mean: the center is where he is most suited.

Shit all round, bit unfair singling out any one player. On the ever-so-slightly-clutching-at-straws side, Jacobsen looked like he can provide more in an attacking sense than any of the other right-backs on our books. Is that a positive? Not really is it.

Anyone with half a brain can tell, Pienaar isn't a wide player, nor is Osman. Simple fact is weve looked good playing a ball player / carrier in the middle so why not go for similar type such as the above two to try keep things ticking over? Might not be as good but maybe a decent second option. Whoever thinks Rodwell, Castillo, Cahill, Fellaini have any chance of replacing Arteta must be mad.

Another simple fact is that Moyes has no imagination. He gets half a result, like filling a wide position with Pienaar and Osman (a long time ago tho in his case, he really isn't worth the shirt anymore) thats it, almost for life.

The whole team were dire v Pompey, including the manager. Did anyone see what our game plan was? How were we going to win the game? It?s up to the manager to think of ways around the problems. "We knew about Crouch." ? But then we let him nod two dollies in from crosses. OK, a bad day but it seems if the players aren't quite on blob, we're fucked, cos there?s no masterstroke from Moyes.

If we move Pienaar to a central role, who replaces him out wide?

Osman and Pienaar are too small for the PL. Get rid and get some steel in there next season.

Osman is a useful squad player at best. He’d be the 1st person that needs replacing in my eyes during the summer. In a 5 man midfield we can get away with him against a lot of teams but playing in a 4 4 2 he’s a passenger. the best football is now played by fast physical teams Osman is neither. Yesterday i was frustrated by Pienaar who saw a lot of the ball but created nothing and i thought i have not moaned about Osman once i then realised it was because he had been annonymous during the game.

Peanuts is not good enough to be our #10. He looks busy, runs a lot with the ball, but it’s always at the same tempo, no variety, and usually ends up with a hospital ball, ball ending behind the player (he does not know where his teammates run to) or losing possession. Arteta is more mature and cultured on the ball. Fuck me I hope he comes back 100% if not more.

Speaking of get rid - Osman and Anichebe. Just not good enough for opposite reasons.

Um, MK I feel it is my duty as a cat lover to inquire whether your cat was unduly harmed by said flying notebook. Leave the felines out of it, thanks.