Everton vs Swansea City

a) We will be;

b) We let in a stupid goal from a defensive mix-up mid-way through the second half, then press relentlessly and get the equaliser in the 85th minute, while the RS win 4-0;

c) We lose 2-0, Mirallas is sent off, RM falls on his sword and Bill sells to the folk from Dallas.

Odds: (a) 4-1; (b) evens; (c) 50-1.

Carlisle... well, it's the FA Cup so we need to be at our best with a strong line up. How far away is Joe Williams from the first team squad? He looks like a good player?

I have a feeling that what it will be is us leading two-nil, conceding with five minutes to go from the first shot on target a turgid Swans side muster before descending into blind panic and defending like a set of divs for the remaining four minutes before yet again conceding the now obligatory last kick of the game equaliser.

7 points from the next 3 league games, a positive result at City and victory at Carlisle will set the rest of the season up for us quite nicely.

Enough guff from the manager and the players. We’re at home to a relegation candidate and we supposedly consider ourselves a contender for the European places. 3pts or some people can start packing bags.

Team wise, Mirallas is chomping so he’s got to start. I’d bench Stones and have Jagielka and Funes Mori in. Stones as back up in case Coleman needs a rest second half.

Barry, Besic, Ross and Cleverley making up the rest of the midfield. Deulofeu for a second half appearance.

We simply have to win.

To be fair, we do have strength in depth nowadays, so it will not be that radical a change! Bring on the mighty Kone and Pienaar!!

Tim ’the indestructible’ Howard
Oviedo, Funes Mori, Jagielka, Baines
Besic, Cleverley
Lennon, Mirallas, Pienaar
Kone

Btw Mark (#1), I phoned Ladbrokes for a price and they gave me 8/11!

Still I would be happy with the 3 points from Sunday!!!

It’s nearly half a week between the games and our squad is big enough to cope with any possible injuries. An injury to Lukaku would be the only one that would seriously affect our chances.

Somebody posted this week that the winners of this now de-valued trophy pick up a measly £100k. When each Premier League place is worth 15 times that amount and manager and players are rewarded accordingly, you don’t have to be a genius to know where priorities lie!

A word of caution: Swansea have a new manager – we never beat new managers!!

I’m shitting it about that game already having travelled to the first leg and with no chance getting to the second leg (unless anybody out there has a spare ticket floating about!) so will be enduring the Sky coverage in the sunny Sarf East.

Get a 2 (....no, 3 safer) goal cushion. Sub the key men, and play it out.

Swans with new manager is odds on he gets a result from the blue charity team.

Draw or a loss can’t see this team ever wining a game under this deluded excuse of a manager.

1. If we bench Stones for a period of time and Funes Mori becomes the regular partner for Jags, Stones’ value will likely tumble quite a bit. We need to play a longer game here. For those of you who think Funes Mori is better, I say we need to start Stones and get full crazy value for him in the summer. Funes Mori can start next year.

2. I don’t think Funes Mori is better than Stones. Remember, Funes Mori has been beaten in front of the net for goals as well. Don’t get me wrong. I like Funes Mori as a player and he will deservedly get his day. We’re lucky in a way to have both. Unfortunately they will make their share of youthful mistakes.

Where are the modern day Dave Watson's or Tony Adams?

There are few left in that mould like Shawcross and maybe a couple over 30, Colllins at West Ham but in the main it's because we no longer school our youth to actually DEFEND or want to DEFEND.

How many players now actually enjoy just DEFENDING!

Jim 48, welcome to the 21st century. You will never see the likes of Watson or Adams again. Is that a good thing? I don’t know. I tend to prefer the modern CB e.g. Stones, Maldini, Varane, Piqué, Thiago etc.....

If you want to learn how to head the ball true with conviction, them you want the ball in the air and meet it with your eyes wide open. Tim Cahill was an expert at it, Big Dunc too!

Heading a ball is a massive part of defending and takes bravery to correct and more important, perfect, and too many lads these days just don’t want to head the ball.

Re: Kinnear, if you say so, Colin.

But you’ll never have a great defence with a lad walking the ball out but being unable to bully opponents or head the ball with hunger.

Christ ...I’m delusional. Wonder how many minutes will go by before Swansea score.

My team would be: Robles, Coleman, Jagielka, Funes Mori, Baines, Barry, Besic, Deulofeu, Mirallas, Barkley and Lukaku.

You don’t pick your team based on how it affects a player’s value, but on who your best eleven are based on current form and on that basis I would start Funes Mori ahead of Stones for sure at present. Apart from anything else, we lose a potent goal threat without Ramiro.

Talking of goals, nice to see Steven Naismith reminding us what we’ve lost with a goal on his debut for Norwich – a goal Kone would never have scored, Roberto.

Back to us, and we need defenders who actually defend. How many times in recent weeks has Funes Mori been left as the last man in defence and has coped admirably, while Stones has been trying to regain his ground? I’m glad most people seem to agree with me, but of course it’s not us who picks the team, but I hope Roberto reads this, and listens to the fans for once.

It is starting to look like the league is quickly becoming a predictable mid-table finish, four points behind 10th now and clubs like Watford having won three more games.

I’d be having all my eggs in the League Cup basket now.

I’d rather finish 11th or 12th and lift a trophy, at least that can be deemed a success and we see something at the end of it. For those who say finishing lower in the league costs us money, forget money this summer. Bill Kenwright and the board know full well they are sitting on a £90 million gold mine in Lukaku and Stones if they want to cash in.

League positions this season are irrelevant for Everton’s summer coffers, unless we finish 4th, which has long vanished over the mountains.

So to me no discussion, best possible side out and a win is a must.

So no point in knocking ourselves out trying to get into the top six. The cash we get for the two I’ve mentioned will more than make up for any money we lose in a mid-table finish. Would like to be above the RS though.

Just gives more experience for the squad kids/players.

No Europa League has hardly benefited us this season anyway, yet it’s not exactly damaged Spurs, has it?

Defeat is unthinkable, it would leave Swansea only 4 points behind us, and they have had a disastrous season, so it’s become an important game all of a sudden.

Stones losing value costs EFC about £40M (most here argue more). That’s two very good players, difference-makers, even...

This is not FIFA Football. A club has to balance today with how the club is set up for tomorrow. That is why teams do not play all 29-year-olds.

Besides, even if Funes Mori is better than Stones, he’s not that much better. Have we all forgotten the goals scored because of him? Again, I like Funes Mori.

Your "best 11" is not better than having Stones in and even if it was, it’s not worth the price of a couple of quality players next year. Especially with Funes Mori ready to play.

BTW – Funes Mori was a Martinez signing.

And yes, I want Everton to win a cup. Believe me. But I also want Everton to be challenging in the league. Not a choice between one or the other. Can Martinez deliver on both? I’m not really sure that he can. Does Martinez really rotate his squad? Or does he simply drop form players, for his favourites? If he really did understand the concept of rotating, then we might actually be in a healthier position. But when he tinkers. Everton tend to struggle. Note that I said "tinkers". Because I don’t think Martinez knows how to "rotate". He just "tinkers".

Whereas we are all under pressure, the players, the manager and us poor buggers for a much needed win. We don’t want another draw, that’s for sure.

Then you can throw in the Man City game Wednesday, that’s maybe another distraction for tomorrow's game in the back of the players' minds.

Just win please, no effing wonder strikes from 30 yards out and no lucky deflections from Swansea, and let's hope the officials remember their glasses.

I wonder which half we play well in tomorrow and which one will be dire?

It’s all about the semi v Man City now. Hopefully we’ll do well in the FA Cup.

Unless there’s a miracle, don’t get your hopes up for the league. Not this season anyway.

It hasn’t ’yet’ been a good season but it’s certainly pretty far from being the worst season we’ve ever had.

After last week's result and the very poor defending, you would hope they would go all out to make amends. Will they? Don’t bank on it.

Thanks for the calendar update. I will adjust mine accordingly. However, in this new century did they change the way goals are scored? If not, then I. Will take a Shawcross or Distin over Stones in this league.

I'm with you there Peter.

Could one of the keepers be on their way out or maybe just injured?

You just never know with Everton and this manager and the way he runs them, we’ll see, I’m hoping for a win same as yourself.

If fans or Martinez want entertainment go to one of Mr kenwright's shows. I want wins and don't care how they come!!

Besic to score.

Your theory of making a couple of extra places up the league at the expense of the value of a player like Stones also raises another question: What if the difference in those two hypothetical places is 9th to 7th, or 8th to 6th or so on. It may not seem like it, but 7th is a hell of a lot better than 9th, and players of Lukaku’s ilk may see 7th as encouraging enough to stick it out one more season.

It’s what he’s famous for folks, together with an "engaging" attitude to all things "media".

3-0... move on to the big game Wednesday.

I believe that RM is a well known quantity now. I don't rate him at all but he's going nowhere.

This season, the results for us and the whole league are not what most expected; you can plan but who says it will work? If we leave some out today for rest or value and still lose on Wednesday, then we will all be up in arms, again!

The saying is "one game at a time" and that game is Swansea today; play the best team we can, that’s fair on the paying supporters, and hopefully will give us a win to boost confidence for all up-and-coming games.

Lose and the end of the world is near, or it will just feel like it. No team in this league is a cert for us to win against, so you have to play the strongest team you can; that surely is going to give us the best chance of moving in the right direction.

On today’s game, a win is a must. I am really getting sick of all of the excuses for our poor game-management. Also, the talk on here about Europa League etc reminds me how, last season, it was used again and again as the reason for our poor league form. There is no such excuse this term, and to see Spurs riding high despite their involvement proves that it is a lame excuse anyway.

We are playing the Swans at the wrong time, as they have had a good result under their belt and today their new boss takes the reins for the first time. They will be determined to put on a show, so we will have to play well to get the points.

Luckily their attack isn’t the most mobile, so our statuesque centre-back should have an easier game than he can expect at Man City against a rejuvenated Aguero.

Mirallas must start today, he was class last week and also worked his backside off to win the ball back and close down – has the penny finally dropped?

3-1 to the blues today, will be watching from behind the sofa though!

I have no doubt if we had Pochettino instead of RM we would be inside the top 4 this season. I believe our squad is better than Spurs, yet we are massively under achieving. I see some of the press are starting to question why with such a talented squad we are in the bottom half . Even Merson was saying yesterday that with our defenders he couldn’t understand why we are conceding so many goals.

Maybe people are now seeing past RM's media spin, and as one of the press commented last week you cant keep saying how wonderful each player when the results are not backing up those claims. So you can only draw one conclusion either the manager is over hyping his players or he is lacking in the managerial department.

To other posters Everton FC cannot buy every player on the market, indeed, we struggle to add people to the squad in January on most occasions. Ross Barkley is Ross Barkley, he's not Aaron Ramsey, Alli or any other likely lad, he's plain old Ross Barkley.

I wanted Eamonn O'Keefe to be more like Bryan Robson but unfortunately he proved incapable of reaching such standards as a player. When Eamonn played for Everton he received brick brats on the odd occasion but the team more often than not got the support of the crowd, such as during the cup run in 1981 and particularly against Southampton at Goodison. Perhaps as supporters we were too easily pleased during that period, but it was certainly a lot more fun than it has become these days.

Ali is a better player than Barkley. He's got more focus, purpose and a proper eye for goal, nothing to do with Martinez or Pochettino, who to me is a better version of Moyes with a much bigger budget.

We'll probably play well today, take the lead and find a way of not winning. So I'll carry on with my standard bet of a draw, hoping that one day it will be a losing bet ....

You carry on in your own fashion, I won't be arguing the pros and cons of Kenwright and the board it's all been done to infinity, I'm getting off here.

When you talk about football I'll listen all day, even if I disagree with some of your views.

Are Jags and Coleman been kept for Wednesday or is Mori first choice at this stage?

In the race for 5th the 3 points are vital, in the race for 4th they are irrelevant!