McCarthy wants 'massive' cup result to be a catalyst for Everton's league form

We'll no doubt get the worst draw tonorrow. Always do.

I would like to avoid West Ham Utd but rest are well beatable.

Harry – I disagree that we 'always do'. In 1980 the semi-finalists were us, Shite, Arse and 2nd Division West Ham. We drew the 2nd Division club. Hurrah!

But being Everton.....

Don't fear anyone, let's face it Ged (#2) we 'beat' West Ham with 10 men last week. It would be interesting what odds Betfair was offering on a WHU win with 15 mins to go.

I really don't give a shit what McCarthy says. We've had players and the manager (in particular) talking the talk but not walking the walk all season.

The League campaign was blown along time ago. We are now just playing for pride and a bit of extra dosh for finishing that little bit higher. We've suffered due to bad tactics and the players being a bunch of characterless weaklings for the most part.

Winning the FA Cup is the only way for redemption.

Don't care who we face, I fancy us now to win it.

All the remaining teams will fear us more than us them.

Harry Wallace.

We are the worst draw mate, none of the remaining teams will want to meet Everton in a Wembley semi-final.

BTW Mike (#7) the bookies have made us 5/2 fav.

I know Bobby has media obligations by contract, and maybe Jags does too but like Mark Frere I have heard/read several players this season and last banging on about "must use this a catalyst to do better". It's worn well thin with me too Mark.

That said, they know that if they don't comply with the idiotic tactics that Martinez resorts to time and again, then they pay the penalty. Eto'o and Distin, at their age, had little to lose by speaking up. The rest of the squad have a future in the game and many, like McCarthy, may have realised that their own career is likely going downwards as and when Martinez marks their card, requiring them to seek pastures new at lesser clubs.

If McCarthy, Jags, Seamus, Bainsey, Rom and Gazza all spoke en masse at Finch Farm, in the way all of them have done this season on the above "catalyst" mantra, then maybe we wouldn't be in the bottom half of the league. Just maybe we'd have been battling for a CL place.

The buck stops with our man with a newly tightened arsehole. Si senor?

I'd prefer Man United, I think we would be too strong for them,

Palace and Watford will play with a happy-to-be-here abandonment and represent huge Banana skins.

Well getting to two finals and winning one didn't stop FSG sacking Dalglish. They were also asked if he had won both cups would he have survived and their answer was no.

I don't think you can gloss over the poor performances over the past 18 months, just because we have progressed to a cup semi final. While there was a lot of effort expanded the other night, there was very little between the teams.

Lukaku's brilliant solo effort also begs the question who will score the goals if he gets injured for the semi? I wouldn't fancy us with Kone or Niasse up front, so we will have to hope that Lukaku doesn't pick up an injury that would keep him out of the semi.

1966, we never conceded a goal until the final....., we haven't yet this year, '66 my first ever final and the dream is starting again.

Made up we're in the semis, would be awesome if we win the whole thing. My fear is this will paper over the cracks that is Martinez, last season the Europa League did it while we were woeful in the league.

We've been woeful in the league this season but cup runs divert attention away from the fact Martinez is not the man to take this club where we want it to be.

I wish the players would just do their talking on the pitch. Every time they come out with these statements of intent, we seem to suffer even more.

Without sounding cocky or overconfident, we will not ever get a better chance to win a trophy than this.

The thing about football though, Jim, is I expect most Arsenal fans were saying exactly the same thing at about 1pm today. The draw will be intriguing.....

Absolutely desperate for us to win it. But it still won't gloss over whats been a desperately disappointing season especially this shocking home record.

I'll never go into any game confident under this manager because we've threw too many games away in calamitous fashion. That said, if we approach the rest of the games this season the way we approached last night, pressing high up and harrying the ball, we won't go far wrong.

It will. But I'm not sure there's any draw I'll prefer over any other.

We know full well that this side is capable of beating what is left in the comp. The bookies know it too. Feels like it will now be our approach that decides it, rather than the opposition.

Which Everton side turns up in the semis? Can we show the same intensity when we know we're the better footballing team? The answer to that this season has been a mixed bag.

FFS, sick of hearing about these catalyst for league form, the league is done an dusted.

Sorry for the negative talk but come on.

To win the Cup you have to beat one good team at least. We just beat the Champions.

I am perfectly happy for WHU to remain favourites because the pressure will build on them and I don't think that they're all that. They're too reliant on a couple of tricks (set pieces).

WE CAN DO THIS!

We have the best striker, the best defence (when they don't mess about) and the best creative midfielder in the shape of Barkley.

I've waited 24 hours before commenting to allow my euphoria to settle after last night's dramatic finish. Like others, I too am a little fed up with players and our manager saying such things. No matter how many times it's been said, our league form simply hasn't improved has it? The league is virtually over for us, we're not going to qualify for Europe and even if we manage to scrape into the lower reaches of the top ten it can't be taken as any form of success in what has been a second successive abysmal league campaign.

I'm with Brian #11 and,Gary #13. Even if we win the cup and I hope we do, it doesn't change my opinion that RM is not the man to take us forward into another season of poor league performances, lots of promise, but no final delivery. It would be too easy to get carried away and say all is forgiven after last night but one good result does not excuse all the poor ones that have gone before, the inept in game management, totally stupid substitutions, sometimes no subs at all, and the constant rhetoric about us being far better than we are.

The one thing RM has failed to deliver is consistency, and he has shown his inability to mould a set of talented players into a TEAM in the real sense of the word. I'm sorry Roberto, but to use an old phrase, one swallow doesn't make a summer and even if we win the cup, recall you did that with Wigan and look where they ended up. I'm not being negative, but I think I'm beng realistic. If we are to challenge for a top four or even a top six of lace next season we need a new, strong manager who will help our players become the team they should be, rather than an extension of Roberto's experimental philosophy, which has failed dismally over not one, but two consecutive seasons of frustrating under-achievement.

Alan Bodell #12, I too was at the 66 final, my first too. Be nice to see history repeat itself.

Watford in the Final and get Southall and Gray to come out of retirement.

Wouldn't you love Watford in the final... Beat Palace in the semi and face Watford again. Maybe today we wouldn't get away with singing a certain song about Sir Elton as we did then: 'He's bald he's bent' .... Best not continue... Happy times hopefully.

I think it will come down to the Ref we get...

If we get one of the Atkinson, Clattenburg, Mason, Moss or Marriner, then we are as likely to go out to a string of poor decisions...

Jakob, our younger viewers would not appreciate the second line of that couplet for sure!

Anthony #20, exactly.

I know I don't need to read these articles but it seems after every defeat "there's a determination to turn things around" and after every victory the players "hope that they can kick on".

It's real page filler stuff.

Now that Gareth Barry is suspended for the Arsenal game, I want to see Jimmy Mac step up to the plate and take charge the way Barry does. McCarthy is adept at breaking up play, but he still has a tendency to drift out of games, which Barry never does, he is always in the opposition's face, playing well or badly.

Hopefully, Mo Besic will be in on Saturday for Barry, it should be interesting. I don't have any problem with these soundbytes, the players are obliged to communicate through the media. All clubs do it, I can just to without some of the more nonsensical stuff the manager comes out with.

Alan (#12) and Brian (#22) your – first final was in 1966? So was mine, but to be honest is there any one on here who went to the 1933 final, that was the one before 1966.

Dave 29, doing the math as our US cousins would say, I think it extremely unlikely. Even assuming a *lad as young as 10 would be allowed to go, *he would now be 92/93 years old.

*Okay, for political correctness' sake 'girl' and 'she'

Brian (30) true, it would be great to hear from some one who did go, but very unlikely as you say.

This comment by McCarthy really drives me mad.

We shouldn't need to win a cup game in March to kickstart our league form. Shouldn't the kickstart be at the beginning of the season or early on after some poor form??? We have heard this all season long from players and the manager. Every time win a game or two in a row then suddenly we are ready to kick on and climb the table.

The problem is that it never happens and hasn't all season long. The league season is over apart from us trying to climb a couple of places for prize money and for Roberto to possibly save his job with a slightly higher league finish.

They say that if you don't know who the mug is at the poker table, it's you.

The FA Cup appears to be the other way round this year. I can't see anyone to fear.

And Everton is way ahead in the Betfair FA Cup market.

I see Diego Costa has been charged with improper conduct for the Barry incident and also gesturing to our fans on Saturday. Poor lamb.

I agree that we have heard this type of comment before. What exactly would those criticising McCarthy here suggest he say when responding to journalist questions in an interview. He admits we haven't been good enough, dressing room is disappointed and focused on trying to put things right. What else should he say?

At least we can understand the points that James is making without reading the content over and over.

I have just heard FSW commenting on how impressed he was with the quality on display at the Newcastle training sessions. What else would one expect him to say, apart from preface quote with FACT?

How many times this season after a good performance, have we been told that we are kicking on? Cup result or cup defeat, the time for change has come, even before the end of the season.

I know this is going to sound mercenary, but anyway, let's hope Martinez wins the cup for us; after all, he owes it to us, to compensate for his (up until now), questionble management.

Let's hope our success in the cup (if any!), can attract other big managers with the knowledge and knowhow to lead us into Champions League positions. We are a great club and we deserve it! COYB

A huge stroke of luck that Mr Moshiri and the real McCarthy both decided to turn up on the same day.

As far as I'm concerned McCarthy can do one. An old school midfield bruiser who never scores, barely gets over the halfway line, and never passes forward when sideways is easier.

He's one of the reasons we're not getting anywhere. A skilless. guileless, clodhopper who keeps getting picked because apparently he runs a lot. Well I think we can do a lot better than him.

£13,000,000 waste of space.