Everton will not contest Mirallas suspension

We need to get him back to his best and feeling valued. Bringing him on in the 91st minute is certainly no way to go about that.

Stupid, petty foul that will always lead to a red if seen. Studs showing = Red card.

People thinking Mirallas was angry and lashed out on purpose are just making guesses. There's no evidence to support that. I believe he was told to play with high intensity and he did so. He just made a bad mistake. It looks like he lifted his foot up to block a pass and then, after the pass didn't come, he went after the ball and missed.

I do think Mirallas needs to get more playing time. Sitting on the bench can't be good for his confidence. He's a very valuable goal scorer for the team and I wouldn't say he is any worse defensively than Kone.

A definite red in my opinion, if Gerrard or Suarez had done that against us in a Derby, we'd be banging on about it for the next 20 years.

To not have Mirallas for the derby is a huge deal; he should appeal the card no matter what he thinks, we need every striker we can get.

I think Mirallas needs to change his attitude from last season; there's no room for another ego in the team.

He deserves his ban, he deserves proper kicking from Martinez too. Why the fuck would you offer the opposition a late opportunity cause havoc by loading up the penalty area and fizzing one in. That last gasp volley could just as easily flown into the net instead of over the bar.

Decent scoring record, but his attitude stinks.

What I always admired about Ferguson at Man Utd, he always rolled the dice: went for a win and always gave his subs plenty of time to change the course of the game. Maybe RM has had his fingers burnt when Wigan got relegated and his first thoughts are not to get beat?

The game on the weekend was crying for changes about the 60-minute mark when it was clear that Lukaku couldn't hit a barn door all day long. Take him off and push Naismith up front and have Deulofeu and Mirallas out wide! Simples...

Sorry, rant over!

Martinez is equally to blame for the player getting himself sent off, and he knows it which is why he is doing his best to deflect any blame from Mirallas.

Pointless and stupid substitution in injury time, bringing a player like Mirallas on for a couple of minutes — what was he thinking!

Currently Roberto seems to have got back the tremendous team spirit and togetherness that David Moyes built into the club and which Roberto seemed to carry over during his first season in charge but seemed to dissipate somewhat for the majority of his second season.

You only need one bad apple in the barrel to spoil the rest. Contrast Kev's attitude and demeanour on the bench to that of Deulofeu's.

While I agree that it's stupid putting on subs with minutes or seconds to go, all managers seem to do this, not just Roberto.

If push came to shove, I'd not be upset if we were to get rid of Kev but would prefer it if he were to get his head down and buy into the oneness that Roberto seems to have brought back to the club.

Saying that, I'd have never let him wear a blue shirt again after the penalty fiasco with Leighton.

Liverpool will be glad Mirallas will not be available. Martinez may well have just been wasting time and settling for the point.

KM will come good when he gets his chance and all will be forgiven. Such are fickle fans.

As for bringing him on earlier, maybe Martinez should have but then we may have ended up playing 15/20 mins with ten men. He needs to learn a lesson for once in his life.

The team played well and should have got more out of the game but it did not happen in front of goal and a point is better than nothing.

Also, any notions that his late appearance is somehow responsible for this incident is ludicrous. He is a very well paid player on a contract to play football for his team, and to be called on at any time even, if it's just for one second.

A great player on his day but I'm not convinced about his mental attitude and he may well be shipped out if he does not show what he is capable of this season.

I suppose you think he said to him... "Go out there and raise your studs, go over the ball and in to the opposing player's ankle/shin, do a job on him!"!?!

If KM was frustrated, then show it in a more controlled and professional way; after all, he is meant to be a professional, isn't he? And try to help the team (albeit in a very short space of time) try and win!

Agree - these fellers are supposed to be professionals and one of the things that label should guarantee is — no matter whether you're brought on after one minute, or with one minute to go, your attitude should be the same — ready to go, 100% concentration.

He was frustrated?

Aaaahhhh... poor him... He can get to fuck, what about our frustration at having a player needlessly sitting games out?

He's not 18 and should (by now) be setting an example — instead he sits on the bench with a gob on him (even as we're beating Chelsea).

Well if players in his position take advantage while he's out and turn in performances that don't let him walk back in, all the better for us and tough shit for him.

I know how talented he is (or rather can be) and about his goal ratio etc, but all of that means nothing if he continues to act like a 15-year-old girl who has just been dumped by some pimply-faced mouth-breather.

Bringing on Mirallas at that time of the game was just plain silly sub in my opinion. Who made that decision? The manager.

What on earth was Mirallas going to achieve in two minutes?

Martinez would also know the temperament of one Kevin Mirallas; therefore, he is equally to blame for the player getting sent off.

Nowhere in my post did I say what you are suggesting "I suppose you think he said to him..." — so please don't try and write something and apply it to me when I didn't say anything of the sort.

I did say that Mirallas deserved to be sent off because he simply did for the tackle.

So I stand by my call that Martinez made a bad error on Saturday.

Mirallas is and should be a key player for us this season.
Unfortunately he isn't taking his stint on the bench too well.

This, for me, is not a problem. I too have been ''rested'' for a lesser quality player - only for that player to take his opportunity and rightfully retain his place. I found it hard sitting on the bench knowing that you cannot affect the game and help your teammates win.

We would be foolish to think that this is the end for Super Kev. I think in 6 months time we will all look back and see that he had a positive impact on our season and remained a key player for us.

Hey... at least he will be fresh when called upon!
Anyone willing to lay odds for me on Kev being our top-scoring midfielder despite Naismith's & Barkley's head start?

I think the obvious reasons have been covered above.

MIrallas is our best goalscoring midfielder... Fact! Not one of our others is likely to hit double figures. Mirallas does.

He should be starting but he has been the victim of Martinez shoe-horning one of his love children into the starting line-up. Kone is not a wide player and I don't care what anyone says to the contrary. No problem with him as a backup striker but that is the only position he should play.

Putting a player on for 2 minutes might make sense if you are trying to waste time because you've got the result you want. What RM was trying to achieve on Saturday seemed strange to me.

I've always sensed there is a little 'side' to KM's game. Like Cahill, who could look after himself, he's not always Johnny Innocent (although perhaps not as good at disguising it).

That said, I don't blame Martinez for his sending off one iota.

Martinez, made a mistake sending on a player who we all know (if honest) is highly strung and who chooses which games he decides to put the required effort into. How a player like Mirallas is supposed to be able to get into a game with two minutes left on the clock is beyond me.

The guy is clearly a sulker, and his manager would know this and a whole lot more you would think, so why he decided to give him two minutes at the end of a match were we drawing was a bad decision in my opinion. Wrong player at the wrong time.

I'm not anti-Martinez by the way, but the buck stops with him, and I'm sure he wouldn't want it any other way.

I might be wrong but it looked to me like Mirallas was trying to drag the ball back, which is why his studs were showing. You put your foot on the ball to drag it away from the opponent. When Fellaini did it to Bellamy, he got a standing ovation, but get it wrong and it looks like a stamp.

What gets me is the lack of discussion over Diego Costa's forearm smash on Coleman last week. He should have a 3 game ban for that, where Mirallas at worst would be a 1-game ban, as he had no force in the challenge.

The two incidents strike me as showing a slight contradiction. Referees sometimes want to be a star, but sometimes bottle out of making important decisions.

The top and bottom of it is Mirallas is almost as potent as Lukaku so to build him up, tell him how important he is to the squad, get him to renew his contract, and then treat him like shit is poor management.

It is obvious that Mirallas is more sensitive than most and although some argue that, for what he is paid, he should get over it, shows a lack of understanding motivation.

KM thrives on motivation... from the manager, from his fellow players, and from the supporters.

Let's get behind the lad and not destroy one of the best talents we have at the club.

No way you can blame that on Martinez.

Let's not forget the young lad who could have had his leg broken by that challenge.

I really rate Mirallas's footballing ability but, if he did that on purpose, and only he knows the answer to that question, it's not what I want to see from any footballer wearing the Royal Blue.

Your comments could easily apply to our other player from Belgium.

How many people picked up on Mirallas not even celebrating our goals against Chelsea? If this is the case then surely the manager would also be aware of this.

I thought it was a ridiculous sub that backfired on both player and manager, but it does seem to me that this was less of a football decision and more about a clash of personalities that went wrong.

Well firstly there are thousands of these added-time substitutions in football that may not make much sense to us, but are only really considered ridiculous if someone is injured or sent off. (For the most part, supporters seem to accept them as 'part of the game' and every team/manager uses the 'facility'.)

Plus If you're right and there is a clash of personalities, can't really see that much backfired for Martinez.

The player wasn't in the manager's plans (which is why he was on the bench to begin with) so him being suspended is (more or less) the status quo for Martinez.

What backfired on Mirallas was simply his own decision-making, which he will discover as he tries to get a first-team place back.

That is very good point; and yes, my opinion would be different to the one I hold now.