Distin needs to fight for his place

Stones was a huge loss of course but Alcaraz filled in on Saturday like heÂ’d been playing 30 games on the spin. We all know that fitness is AlcarazÂ’s greatest nemesis and it debatable whether he can play in a run of matches but whenever I have seen him play I have been quite content.

We canÂ’t judge him on the Anfield Derby in January, the lad was nowhere near fit physically and frankly the Redshite were blowing everyone away at the time; to put that down to Alcaraz is foolish and shortsighted. Fitness permitted he is a solid competent and experienced defender.

I feel sorry for Distin because he has been the one to suffer for our horrendous start defensively but I suppose somebody had to. HeÂ’s been a really good player for Everton this past 5 years, perhaps not valued enough sometimes, but I appreciate what heÂ’s given to the club and I hope we see a bit more of him before his time is up.

ItÂ’s a long season and we are going to need all the players at some point, so do what supports are supposed to do and back every one 100 percent.

Having said that, I think Martinez will target one more good defender in next summerÂ’s transfer window.

"We canÂ’t judge him on the Anfield Derby in January, the lad was nowhere near fit physically and frankly the Redshite were blowing everyone away at the time, to put that down to Alcaraz is foolish and shortsighted."

Although I agree that Alcaraz looked solid against Villa on Saturday, he’s hardly proved the doubters wrong. Liverpool were not ’blowing everyone away’ at that point – it was that victory that started their winning run. I have honestly never seen a poorer defensive performance by an Everton player than Alcaraz’s in that game.

I really do hope heÂ’s turned a corner, but turning on the Â’I told you soÂ’s ("whenever I have seen him play I have been quite content"... seriously?!) after keeping a clean sheet against arguably the worst attacking side of the season so far (Villa havenÂ’t scored since August) is rich to say the least.

Time will tell whether heÂ’s finally managed to adjust to our setup, and you never know, he could become a solid regular in StonesÂ’s absence. But that doesnÂ’t put right some of the piss-poor performances heÂ’s turned in since he signed.

As negative as this post seems, I’m actually very optimistic at the moment. A run of good performances against inferior teams could really get our season going – we’re only four points off 4th and, as OFM used to say, you should never judge a start until November!

COYB!

Alcaraz never won one first ball Saturday shoulder to shoulder against anyone, all his cleared headers were unchallenged. He is decent on the deck but nowhere near as good in the air or in a sprint.

I just hope with whateverÂ’s gone on between Martinez and Distin he does whatÂ’s best for the team and puts egos aside; both Lille and Burnley have pacy, physical forwards and Alcaraz will struggle one-on-one.

Still, competition will do him good. I expect him to prevail.

"Has-been" is not a positive way to finish; after his career magnifique he should retire gracefully with his pride intact.

Everton may need to look to buy a central defender, but IÂ’m hoping the young Everton center-backs are given the chance to develop and make buying a central defender "Plan B".

IÂ’m more concerned about our goalkeeping. Tim Howard isnÂ’t getting any younger and he needs better competition for his place.

Maybe not, but Jagielka was in the worst form of his Everton career. Distin has had previous error-prone spells. The manager had to act to change it up and (it looks like) he made his choice. The correct choice in my opinion.

Distin has been monumental for us since he signed and is one of the best signings we have made in recent years. Unfortunately he is now 36 years old and that alone will be a reason for challengers to his position.

I do not think that Alcaraz will be the answer except in the short term. I honestly believe that Alcaraz would be perfect in defensive midfield as a rotation player with Barry. McCarthy will really benefit from having the likes of Barry and Alcaraz around to help his development.

Alcaraz has comfortable ball control, positional sense and distribution which is better than most. He also adds strength in the air against big sides.

Distin is also great in the air and still has pace against quick strikers. Jagielka when on form is excellent at tackling, blocking and marshalling the middle of the defence. I do not see Cahill as superior to him by any means. Jags and Distin have gone season after season providing excellent defensive stats without disciplinary cautions that abound for players in their positions.I believe that Stones and Browning may well be the centre backs of the future but both need older heads around for quite a while to teach them positional sense.

Garbutt will eventually be another Baines as he reminds me so much of him. The lad has great pace and a fantastic left foot. He needs to master the defensive side of his game and then he will be a future star.

I do not know where we stand on Henen as the lad has bags of ability and pace. He could develop into a second Henry!!!

He has been a very good player for us overall so I donÂ’t want to see him get scrap-heaped. But he has oddly shown nerves of French lace in some bigger moments......

Not sure what has been going on but I feel the fact that we had no real cover on the bench at centre-back spoke volumes about the way Martinez feels about Distin.

All this "Antolin was sharp in training, so I picked him" may have been true, but it didnÂ’t explain why Distin wasnÂ’t even on the bench.

Things were getting harder for him and pre-season training was more difficult than usual. Nothing to do with the new regime. Everything was still the same apart from the new playing style which he didnÂ’t seem too excited about.

"Everton have nothing to worry about. With the talent already here and the youngsters coming in, the future looks very bright."

If he does retire at the end of the season, weÂ’ll certainly miss his lightning pace and physical strength. Young lightweight CBs will be too easily bullied by the likes of Van Persie, Costa, Dzeko and Aguero..... even Jelavic. Alan Shearer dwelt on this point the other night and he was an expert.

I hope he gets a run in the team before the end of the season and can redeem himself. He has been a great servant to the club and I would like to see him go out on a high rather than fizzle out as a boo-boy. He deserves to be fondly remembered.

I have said all season that it was not our centre-backs that were the problem it was the structure of the side with too many forwards and not enough midfield players.

I therefore credit Saturday's result and performance in the light of beefing up midfield with Barkley and Ossie (although I would prefer Besic against tougher sides than Villa) at the expense of luxury players such as McGeady and Eto'o (when played with Nais and Lukaku).

I also credit Naismith who must have covered every blade of grass on Saturday.

Distin is far from finished IMO but I don't know what went on with Roberto Martinez.

Roberto needs to be careful. Distin's contract is up this summer and by what he has said he is telling us all he won't get another. If Alcaraz gets injured again then we will need Distin and a Distin who feels part of the team. Whatever happened between him and the manager until recently all the team were very poor. It took players coming back from injury and a poor Villa side to get the win.

We will need Distin for the next 2 games, his power in the air especially. I hope he plays on Thursday; if not, it seems to be a very poor way for a good servant to the club to be treated. Almost made a scapegoat.

Distin's going to have to play again with the number of games we've got coming up, starting with Lille (where I expect him to play). That being said, I think Stones absence could be an opportunity to finally give Alcaraz a run in the side. It might also be the making of Browning like it was for Stones last season if he's given a chance to make the shirt his.

I think both of them are preferable to Distin. I've got no time for players spitting their dummy's out and risking disharmony in the dressing room. He's been a good servant but I think he should only be played as a last resort now.

Some fans are quick to dismiss older players and totally forget that Distin and Jags carried us defensively for season after season. Those two are STILL our best defenders.

Stones and Browning may make the grade but they will need Jags, Distin and Alcaraz to show them the ropes. Browning has played less than two games so get real.

Distin's going to have to play again with the number of games we've got coming up, starting with Lille (where I expect him to play). That being said, I think Stones's absence could be an opportunity to finally give Alcaraz a run in the side. It might also be the making of Browning like it was for Stones last season if he's given a chance to make the shirt his.

I think both of them are preferable to Distin. I've got no time for players spitting their dummies out and risking disharmony in the dressing room. He's been a good servant but I think he should only be played as a last resort now.

Gavin, we shall see Barry at centre- half before Browning gets a game - unless its at Brentford !

Brian : Agree. 'Opportunity' would have been a better chosen word than 'excuse'.

As another poster said he's been a brilliant player for us I wouldn't want to see him turned into a hate figure.

He's done a great job for us, and lasted longer than anyone would realistically have thought. So he's been a great servant, but it's time to move on.

I read an article some months ago where Distin said that a couple of weeks before pre-season training he takes himself away with a fitness trainer and spends two weeks with him. Now does that sound like a player who would not be keeping himself in the best possible shape?

Maybe Distin questioned RM over his overpassing at the back, although I notice in the last couple of games that has happened a lot less than in the previous games. But when a player falls out with a manager there is usually only one winner.

As for Alcaraz I thought he had an excellent game against Villa but the true test of any player is how they perform away from home.

When a 37-year-old is playing poorly, he is 'finished'.

I think, considering Distin's incredible physical attributes, that's a bit out of order. The fact is I saw him in pre-season last year and thought his legs might have gone. I was proven completely wrong in a season where he not only played well, but physically looked in his prime.

Something may have happened between the player and manager but I think he will be back in the team as the fixtures pile up.

For the record, I really like Alcaraz. The guy can pass well, read the game well and he can also win a header when we have a corner... which seemingly nobody else can do.

John Stones has been head and shoulders our best defender this season and I'm not talking about his distribution but in the air, positionally and in being solid. Against Crystal Palace for example they were basically just punting the ball forward and the two centre halves were all over the place and looked like scoring each time it crossed the half way line. I don't know why you mock at the suggestion of Browning as should he force his way into the team it will be alongside someone with experience in Alcaraz or Jags and certainly he has the physicality to play the role. He certainly couldn't be any worse than Distin was this season so to tell someone to "get real" for that suggestion while saying Distin is our best defender — I'd love to know what you base that assertion on.

Sylvain's been a great servant for our club but I think time has caught up with him. Perhaps you should heed your own advice.

What on earth are you basing that assertion on? Apart from your own prejudice?

I don't think a manager who happily gave Stones his head last season, and unexpectedly threw the untried Browning on in the heat of a Merseyside derby this season, can be accused of being someone who would never dare hand a youngster a prominent part to play.

So with the benefit of hindsight wouldn't you agree that giving Stones his debut was one of Roberto's best decisions? Or would you have preferred to stick with the tried and trusted.. and kept Johnny Heitinga to play alongside Alcaraz? (This is a rhetorical question, of course.)

Browning is in exactly the same position as Stones was last season and has the physicality and speed to cope. (Rhino has already said he's the best 1-on-1 defender in the squad) What he needs to improve is his reading of the game and this won't be done until he plays Trevor (alongside Jags or Alcaraz) Distin can jog on..

Sylvain's been a great servant to the club but I'm of the opinion he's burnt his bridges in a lot of ways. We've had enough to contend with this season without him appearing to be arrogant enough to think he should still be in the team ahead of John Stones, and then sulk after being dropped.

It is still unknown whether Browning or even Stones will develop into top class players. Rodwell was similarly touted as the next star but he has not improved and is going through a barren period in his career. Some players reach their levels early and then hit a brick wall.

I played with lots of players who either did not progress or lost confidence after errors. I never recovered from a double fracture for instance but others do!! I just will not go over board on over praising youngsters at the expense of older more experienced players.

Coleman and Baines both waited for quite some time before cementing their positions in the first team. Even Rooney was played very sparingly at Everton compared to Barkley who I believe will surpass Rooney if he remains focussed.

We appear to have a few young players who could well make the grade at the top level. I actually think that Garbutt has terrific potential, but I am still careful about Stones and Browning. LetÂ’s just temper the praise and hope for the best!!

Everton is the best club for giving young British players their chance and perhaps we can loan in a few other top youngsters who can help us achieve our goals without needing big money to succeed.

Distin, Jagielka and Alcaraz are still needed in defence and so are Barry and Osman in midfield. All these players will bring on our kids and provide stability until the young players gain the experience and consistency to compete and take their places in the first team.

I think Stones, Galloway and Browning will be our long-term central defenders. All very pacy, strong and composed players and I’m excited by their potential.

We’ll obviously need to add more in the coming couple of years but I still think we’ll have at least another season maybe two out of Antolin and Distin and another three out of Jags – although after this season I think he will be more sparingly used.

We may lose one of Distin or Alcaraz in the summer and I see at least one more centre-back coming in.

We only have 3 senior centre-backs and for those calling on Browning, I understand where you're coming from but the kid has played one league game – he's hardly ready to step in and play a few months on the spin.

I am glad Distin is still fit as we'll definitely need him before Stones comes back. No one can predict how long Alcaraz can go before getting another injury.

I can assume what you mean but can’t certain?

Browning, Galloway & Stones being 1st choice before others I can see within 2 seasons, especially given the age of all the other CB’s we have, I really don’t see that as VERY long-term.

On what basis are you so certain, can you at least provide reasons why you believe this?

There is no room for sentiment in this game; you're either good enough or you're not. I have given him some stick this season but, as I've said, you can only go on what you see and he just hasn't been good enough. But hey – he is 36.

I take your point on board. I just don't agree with it. That's why I used the example of Stones last season when the 'safe' option would have been to keep Johnny Heitinga in the January window to play alongside Alcaraz, when Jags and Distin were both injured.

I wouldn't expect Browning to be thrown in and play week-in, week-out until Stones returns and never suggested that. I just think he'd be a better understudy to play in rotation with Jags and Alcaraz rather than Distin because on his form this season Browning could hardly do any worse.

Alcaraz is a good player but not good enough for Everton. Actually a waste of wages in my view. Only a matter of time before Distin returns to the line-up.

Stones is still very inexperienced and that has shown to be true in a couple of games.

He does have the potential to reach the top but I do not agree with your view that he is better than Jagielka and Distin at this time.

You are obviously seeing things that are not apparent to me and I expect you wrote similar things about Vaughan and Rodwell at the start of their careers.

Distin has been immense for Everton. Notwithstanding the occasional mishap, he has been one of our best buys over the past decade.

Stones is indeed excellent, particularly going forward, but can certainly improve defensively. Browning looks an equally good prospect from the few glimpses I've seen of him so far.

They will both benefit considerably from the experience and influences they will get from practicing and playing with the likes of Jags and Distin.

Beware we don't end up with a great blend of youth and inexperience!

COYBs

if Stones wasn't injured he would have been playing in the England squad for the recent qualifiers and I'm sure he'd have got some minutes on the field. He's the best English defender to emerge since Rio Ferdinand for his ability to pass and take the ball up the field. I've not seen seen many players his age with that kind of confidence and composure. I know I have more confidence in the defence when he is playing ahead of Distin, that's for sure!

I don't think it's fair to use the examples of Rodwell and Vaughan. The reasons primarily being that injuries have blighted and curtailed their development and careers. It didn't help matters in Rodwells case that he was often played out of position by OFM (he certainly wasn't a winger, that's a fact) Had he been played as an out-&-out midfielder and got a run without injuries he would probably be in the first 11 of a top four side and an England regular. Of course this is conjecture as we will never know.

So we can agree to disagree on this Trevor. I just think that you're being extremely cautious. With your kind of mindset you'll be saying that Ossie should be playing ahead of Ross next.

Both fit, push to shove? Distin til he shows different.