Barry facing 'weeks' on the sidelines

In other words months, probably two.

That dirty bastard Gomez, why didn't McCarthy hobble him with a nasty one on Sunday, not only should he have been sent off for that odious sneaky tackle but he then tried being a cheat and tried conning the ref (not particularly hard to do when the ref is Lee Mason).

Barry will be a massive loss.
Besic could well be a good player but Barry's experience and seasoned know-how and knowledge will be greatly missed over such a difficult period of many games.

Typifies what an asshole of a season it's been so far, what next?

Naismith and McGeady ruled out for a month after passing eachother on Friday night?

Lets just hope that we have more luck in 2015 as our squad is beginning to look almost threadbare.

We now have Mirallas, Stones, Oviedo, Barry, Kone all out and question marks against McCarthy and Pienaar. Lukaku is still regaining full fitness and Coleman is also just back. Barkley does not look very sharp at present either.

Lets hope the International break does not cost us any more problems.

There was a time when he was in the team we could not be beaten ...

Opportunity and more incisive forward passing from Gibbo ...

Hope he stays fit and plays well. We are going to need him and Besic if Macca misses game time as well

Besic is a different package. And he's loaded with promise – a strong, technically good player (Colin Harvey anyone?) who needs a bit more awareness in the shifting sands of the Prem. And he should be part of the future.

Heaven knows we'll miss Barry, but it will be interesting to see how Roberto uses these two good players available to him.

It's time for Besic or Gibson to step up. We know what Gibson is capable of - can he stay fit? Besic was much hyped in pre-season, and I thought he had a cracking game at Anfield. Can he step up in Barry's absence?

Sometimes, a young player needs an opportunity. Coleman, Stones and Oviedo took theirs. I'd go with Besic, and keep easing Gibbo back...

Best prediction of the week came on ToffeeWeb, when good old Harold, called the referee 100%.

I prefer Besic to Gibson, purely on his energy levels, but it's anyone's guess on what the manager is thinking at present.

Gibson can pass, head and block. He is no longer able to track back at speed or tackle. Besic is fit, fast and tough but does not have Barry's positional expertise. With both of these lads there will be holes aplenty and Howard and his centre backs will be very busy. In other words.....Heaven help us.

Personally, I wouldn't have Gibbo and his dodgy knee anywhere near the first team and would put him behind Besic, Browning, Hibbert and Galloway for that particular spot. These lads are mobile. Gibbo isn't. Nothing against the lad. He's a decent footballer but his game is now severely limited.

It's all a matter of opinion. Many, including Martinez might see him as the ideal Barry replacement and they may be right. If he plays I will give him my support and hope he comes through with flying colours.

The reality is he's missed so much football over the last 18 months that he's unlikely to be the same player that excelled in his first three months, your talking about January to May 2012 the last time he was on a decent run of fitness and form, it's now nearly 2015.

The fact we could just about survive without Barry if McCarthy didn't miss any time but both out together would be costly.

Agree Jim. That was the real Gibson. Not sure we’ll see too much of him in that role again. These days it’s all about tracking back as quick as you go forward and only Besic, Naismith, Barkley, McGeady and McCarthy can manage it with true desire. Mourinho once dropped star player Hazard for not dropping back to cover the fullback at top speed and our boss needs to copy his example. It’s a 100mph jungle out there where skill, pace and heart rule the roost.

I don't think it's so much about attitudes changing but more about football changing.

The game moves on and while Gibson did a fine job when he first arrived, the whole scene has changed since he walked in the door in January 2012.

Let's not forget the impact Jelavic had during the same period yet fans wouldn't entertain him nowadays as being the leading striker at Everton.

Both Gibson and Jelavic came in at just the right time, we were struggling badly down the bottom half and our squad was threadbare, we were pinning our hopes on people like Stracqualursi, Drenthe, Magaye Gueye and Vellios.

The signings of Jelavic, Gibson and Pienaar were inspired back then, they brought a bit of stability but as we progressed the following season we started seeing the limitations.

I think Gibson is a fairly decent player, I'm not sure I massively subscribe to this "football brain" or world class passer that I have heard bandied, he's a competent solid midfielder when he's fit but I think we saw last season that out of he and Barry, for me Barry is the better player.

I know it's unfair to say that because Gibson missed last season but Barry showed really that we didn't miss the Irishman like some fans all thought we would.

I guess during this period now it's down to Gibson to do the same and show us that we won't miss Barry as much as we fear.

Let's see what happens.

The season that we signed Gibson and Jelavic who won our Player of the Year??

One very much derided John Heitinga..

Unbelievable really isn't it.

We really need young replacements very soon for the likes of Barry, Distin, Gibson, Osman, Hibbert and even Pienaar. Kone is another who may never fully recover from his seemingly eternal injury.

Roberto has said that he wants to lower the age of the side and after this season we will have to use a few youngsters even if it means a transitional stage. We should be bringing in the odd youngster or two sooner rather than later.

The current injury crisis should see the likes of Besic given a run rather than Gibson as he is the future of the club. Browning, Galloway and Garbutt all seem likely lads too, but I don't see any attacking players knocking at the manager's door from the youngsters we have.

Very valid points you make about Jelavic and Heitinga, the only addition I would make regarding Gibson is that he will benefit from having McCarthy alongside him, something he didn't have when he was a regular.

I agree that given a straight choice now I would pick Barry, but I think Gibson can be a very good understudy while Barry is injured. I know some have suggested Besic and the boy looks to have promise but whether you could play him and McCarthy together, I am not sure.

We'll miss Barry but am not too concerned, as long as Gibson can manage to stay fit till at least the busy Xmas period we should be fine. How Barry hasn't been sent off this season is beyond me.

These are times when the strength of the squad is tested and hopefully it is stronger than some may think. I believe they have to start getting more points at home to climb the table and hopefully that will start against a resurgent West Ham.

Naysmith hunts down McGeady and crocks him, McCarthy comes on as a late sub and pulls his Hammy Mirallas style. Then in the next game Jags wellies Naysmith and takes out Bainsy in the same movement, meanwhile, Tim Howard finishes off Gibson !

I know every team gets injuries but this season so far has been a nightmare,. To make matters worse Everton players do things in style and are out for months. I'll be very surprised if we see Barry before 2015.

I was trying to understand why they can be such a Jekyll and Hyde team. I think at times they look nervous and stilted, and it's always when " if they win this" they'll finish above LFC or MU etc

They play well when relaxed and there is no need for them to try too hard. Just play to their talents

I still expect us to be top 4/5.
But I expect Labour to be in number 10 with a majority May 2015

As far as the player who should replace Barry I believe Besic should be given the opportunity. Gibson has experience and good at passing to other players but is not as strong in the tackle as Besic and not quite at match fitness and is not for the future.Besic is also a good passer of the ball but not yet as experienced he has youth and stamina and his tackling is strong and wins the ball.

A number of supporters are going to say that they are nervous about Besic,s challenges as they seem borderline bookings but hey this is a physical contact sport and if you are not going to play a player because you are afraid he may get booked you might as well sell him. How do you think oppossition players think when a player like him is coming in on 50-50 tackles. All teams have a hard player so there is no reason why Everton should not use what we have.

As other people have said this is an ideal opportunity to establish Barkley in a role that he will be able to produce his outstanding talents.

As for that complete twat Gomez, he should have had a red card. I just looked up his record, and in 2012 Howard Webb gave him a straight red for a studs-up tackle on Danny Rose. Gomez was playing for Martinez's Wigan at Sunderland. Roberto defended the player afterwards, claiming it was a 50-50 tackle and only worthy of a yellow!

He doesn't get many yellows but perhaps he is rash when frustrated or riled?

Meanwhile we will be picking the bones of whatever remains. Southampton have really impressed me this season as I thought they would really struggle after unloading so many of their stars. They have bought very astutely and are playing as well as ever.

I think that we may need to go back into the market in January and I hope that we seriously try for Delph as he will be available on a free transfer then. He is as good as anyone about IMO.

Barkley in that role is interesting. I don't think he is actually well suited to an AMC role as his passing and vision are not his best traits. Equally he's not really a defensive midfielder either....he very much belongs between the two in the centre of the park. I would not be averse to seeing this quite attacking team given a few games:

Howard
Coleman Jagielka Distin Baines
Barkley Besic
McGeady Eto'o Pienaar
Naismith

With Lukaku coming off the bench.

I think that team have it in them to play Roberto's passing game and has players playing in their most useful positions (apart from Ross perhaps but his best position is debateable anyway). I think Eto'o has the best touch/vision in the team and is capable of spotting and utilising Naismith's movement in the box. Pienaar is a weak link potentially but we don't have any other natural wingers till Mirallas gets back or Atsu proves himself.