Solid if uninspiring win sends Baggies packing

Is Gueye injured?

We need energy and pace that Spurs showed last week, not statues that can't run!

Technically the talent in that team should be enough. But in most games, more so against West Brom, you have too earn the right to play.

The formation is a worry, no way the front three will stay that way.

Pragmatic, defensive, uninspired. Here's to hoping.

A much too defensive look about the team. We should be going for the jugular in games like this but this selection looks more set up to slow the game down and contain West Brom. Respect your opponent by all means, but I think he's gone too far with this team.

At this moment, Everton have too many defensive midfielders on the books. At least six at the last count. Three of them are going to have to go. That would be Barry, Besic, and because of his lack of action I suspect McCarthy.

Of the three that are left, only ONE should play in any game. We need to be more creative, with forward looking players so room has to be made to fit them in and stripping out some of the defensive midfielders is the way to go.

As for today, people have been agitating for Funes Mori to be dropped for weeks. Well he has. Now the fact that he's chosen Jagielka over Holgate is disappointing but Holgate is very young and time is on his side. Hopefully with Davies, Berkley, Mirallas and Lukaku we have enough attacking options to win this match.

Ciaràn, Gueye is fantastic at regaining possession, but I think Koeman feels that we will have loads of possession and need a player to distribute it. Barry is a decent passer.

Not a great asset for a defensive midfielder.

Davies has been poor, and so was Schneiderlin before his goal.. does anyone have a stat on how long it's been since an Everton #2 has scored a league goal??

Barkley ace, Mirallas decent. Rom scored, no biggie.

WBA choked just like we did at Spurs last week.

Barry did no more that Gana or JMac would have done, at least they'd have had more minutes in the team.

The back four give me shits, no giggles though. Truly ropey, thankfully not really tested.

In other news we might get our money back on Niasse!!! Two excellent finishes.

Dominant, controlled and with the potential for lots more goals, especially in the 2nd half.

We just twatted the team directly behind us in the league!

Seven points clear of 8th so 7th should almost be wrapped up and with it European football again next season. Hopefully some of the sides above slip up a bit.

Quite worrying that Gana came on in an advanced position again. That's both him and Davies potentially being shoe-horned into a Number 10 role. Davies is suffering with the demands of a role he cannot fulfill. Give the kid a break and some time off. We have naturals for that role.

We led 2-0 at halftime, we didn't have to, or need to, get out of second gear in the second half against a poor WBA side.

Very good professional performance. Barkley was excellent again, controlled the game and was my man of the match. Lukaku was very good too and deserved his goal towards the end.

Huge last ten games of the season. If we can tip over either one of the red teams away from home, we still have a healthy shot at top six.

West Brom made it the game it was, and we turned them over. Job done in all departments.

You can't ask for more.

I've been watching Everton for over three decades and counting now and for this lifelong fan, this current team is one of the best I've seen in blue in a very long time. If today's performance is meant to be shit, I'll settle for that level of incompetence every time.

It's a weird feeling really, winning like the way we did and then coming on here and reading some of the comments. I actually feel angry and I shouldn't, not after that performance.

Which, of course, is the complete opposite of Spurs away, hence why Barry struggled badly last week.

But yes, 3-0 win... fantastic stuff! 47 points is all Roberto managed in both of his last two dreadful seasons and that's where we are under Ronald Koeman with 10 games to play. It's not that I don't like him, Colin, but, as Darren so aggressively puts it game after game, the football is not inspiring,

I'm sorry but it's not. Ironic that so many should attack my using this term as we remember a player whose football was sublime beyond inspiring. This was turgid at best. You know it's true...

I think that QPR game, was a real turning point in the Martinez reign, because Everton, stopped trying to score more goals that night, whereas today we had much more forward movement during the second half?

It wasn't great today, and I'm sure most of us would have preferred more attacking players on the pitch, but until we can get better players into the club, then I think this is the style of play that we are going to have to watch?

Colin, a lot of us don't 'like' Ronald but what does that matter. Think what a miserable bugger was Catterick. I detested him but loved his teams!

The key issue will be to go to Anfield and OT and not shit ourselves before a ball is kicked and try and win rather than secure a 0-0 draw.

I thought Barkley and Mirallas were terrific. A bit worried about the left-back position. Let's hope Bainesy isn't too serious.

Also thought Rom worked very hard today but I do wish he would work on his heading.

Line up, left me and I think most people flat? Looking at Twitter and TW.

The first 40 minutes, that's almost half a game, were dull. I'd like to here the counter arguement to that.

The second half was sedate, we created little until just before we scored the third. Gana coming on just felt like settling.

Bright spots: Barkley was very good. Rom involved in all three goals.

Maybe regulation or comfortable. But stretching things to say it got exciting?!

I will wholeheartedly give Koeman credit for picking that side and winning 3-0 in the same way he got the blame last week for defeat at Spurs.

Pressure is well off us now. I expect to see Everton just go for it, who cares if we get twonked along the way? Cos if we don't we might be very close to 'inspired!'

But Koeman won't just not in his nature right?

I thought the game was another dull drab victory, some people are happy with that, but it is still a very boring uninspiring game to watch, you could hear a pin drop through large periods of the game.

We will have European football again next season.

Were the 6-3 and 4-0 wins over Bournemouth and Manchester City turgid??

Just a thought.

In previous seasons we would never have broken them down but we did with that team selection and Barry, Jags and Williams all did fine.

Koeman got his tactics and team selection spot on this week.

To be fair to Koeman he inherited a squad with fitness and attitude issues, many of whom downed tools last season. A squad of individuals playing for themselves with no spirit or cohesion.

Koeman has done well. He's ruthless and not afraid of upsetting people. All the best managers lack misplaced sentimentality and I doubt sentimentality had anything to do with his inclusion of Jagielka and Barry. He's not perfect and clearly got it wrong last week but, more often than not, he's spot on.

Ross Barkley is another who is in sparkling form and should sign his new contract asap, as not to let the fans down. Tom Davies ran his heart out again. No matter where he plays he gives his 'all.'

WBA in spite of all the Everton heroics must be the worst team in the Premier League to watch away from home, even when 2-0 down they stuck to their defensive shape while parking the bus.

Solid, professional win.

Imagine if you were a WBA fan, they must be going berserk because their team wasn't ever in the game. But that's down to Everton. The Koeman influence is having a bigger and bigger effect with each month. I just hope he doesn't bugger off in the summer.

I thought West Brom would be more difficult than a pedestrian 3-0 win, so fair play to the team and manager.

Barkley genuinely hitting some form now, once he is consistent like this for half a season then I reckon he'll be able to express himself even more.

Genuinely I'm at a loss. He had a decent game with just one bad error before he was subbed after which we had three defensive midfielders on the park, two-nil up at home against a really uninspiring (see what I did there) Tony Pulis team who frankly were so not interested in being involved and wanted it all over asap.

It's not churlish to react to a 3-0 win like this. At times we must have made 20 passes to go 20 yards. Sometimes it was watchable but in the second half it was so Finch-Farm-training-session it was just, well, weird.

Ross did well. Morgan was solid and the Albion forwards, or at least people pretending to be forwards, seemed to get so sick of him picking up loose balls or stealing possession off them that they just stopped bothering to try and win anything. Rom showed us he can trap a ball and create for others. Davies ran like a he was worried he'd be fined if he was spotted standing still.

Hull will be harder next week but maybe Lookman will get a game unless Gareth plays just behind Rom which we shouldn't rule out.

Jolly good stuff by the standards one usually associated with tepid stale and uninspiring.

The game was boring in patches, but West Brom are so dull. They were out to stifle us so to win 3-0 is great stuff, not uninspiring as many others have said.

Good to see Jags back, I thought he did okay.

The goals were all very well taken. Thought Barkley had a good game.

Think we need more width though.

Beat Hull next week and see what happens against the RS.

COYB.

Ross was brilliant today he is so improved all around and inspiring. Inspiring to see Lukaku tracking back and making space for himself that bodes well for the future. Lets give a big pat on the back to Jags and Barry who in the twilight of their careers gave a solid display that inspired the entire team.

I will not be completely happy with Barkley until he scores a few goals.

What's not to like?

By calling it 'uninspiring' Michael, perhaps you mean the game was not brimming with fast-flowing, fluent and slick passing football. In that case, you are correct.

However, Tony Pullis and how he set up his side to play rather ensured it wouldn't be. It wasn't a failing of Everton's making. WBA continued to play exactly the same way deep into the 2nd half, even when trailing 2-0. It wasn't Everton's game to chase. As it was, we did what we needed to do. A 3rd goal was added and there could have been 1 or 2 more.

As for performances, Barkley continues to shine. Lukaku had a hand in all 3 goals. Mirallas worked tirelessly for the team and merited his goal. Barry again showed - against the right opposition - he still merits a game. Jags, after a wobbly start, settled down well. Williams - who wasn't at his best last week at Spurs - continued his own recent good form with another solid display. People are too quick to condemn and call for a player to be dropped on the back of a single below par performance. Robles back to looking solid also.

Not quite on it today, Coleman again neither solid in defence nor particularly effective in attack. Davies had some good moments, but was also a wee bit off-colour.

Very telling, IMO, that Koeman chose to sub in Calvert-Lewin rather than last week's scorer, Valencia. He evidently sees something in the boy (and he had a nice cameo today) to get him back on the pitch with the 1st team so soon after recovering from injury.

Plenty still to play for. I for one have not given up hope on reeling in 1 or 2 above us.

For us a regulation home win, rather like the Sunderland win; I'll take these anytime, mixed in with the Bournemouth and Man City wins, what's not to like?

Just need to get a couple of unexpected away wins under our belt – then, and only then, can we start to really look forward and dream.

We all know WBA are a pain at the best of times so a 3-0 swipe aside is magnificent and that result has surely secured European football for the Old Lady / Toffees on Tour which is Everton's Divine Right.

Seriously I thought our players delivered a professional, no-nonsense performance. Barry was superb alongside Schneiderlin in a midfield which controlled the game from start to finish. Up front Lukaku, Barkley and Mirallas linked up well against a packed defence. We have generally struggled to break down teams defending in depth so to win as comfortably as we did is an indication of the progress the team has made in the last couple of months.

According to a stat on the radio we have not lost a match in which we have held a 2-0 lead at halftime since April 1975 when we lost 3-2 to Sheffield United – a match which ended our hopes of winning the league.

'Uninspiring' is a bit harsh, we played much of the game in 3rd gear and won with complete and utter ease. Moving forward we are 3-4 players away from being able to challenge for a top four place but it's steady improvement under Ronald.

And, to put it mildly, who will give a flying feck as long as we don't get tonked by both of them?

If you found today uninspiring then you would have to feel sorry for West Brom supporters watching that anti-football every week.

Anyway job done, five home wins on the spin. Unfortunately my last home game of the season as I'm off Down Under with work for a bit.

Professional performance against anti-football. Job done.

Don't understand the complaining; perhaps folk would prefer the arse clenching end to games at 2-nil up under the previous regime.

3 goals were 3 moments of excitement.
Gana hitting the post late on was a moment of excitement
Coleman crossing the ball from the left wing in the first half with his left foot and it going across the box was a moment of excitement
Lukaku nearly scoring first half put drilling it wide after a great move was a moment of excitement.

Sorry – that's 6.

That could have been a more comfortable win and a boost to our goal difference, but instead it was laboured and at times sluggish. I just hope Koeman isn't returning to his earlier reliance on the old guard; makes a mockery of his alleged 'pressing, intensity and energetic' philosophy.

This guy was inspired though

Of course managers make mistakes but he will make less than others as time progresses. The guy's stature in the game is massive and he will take us to a level higher than the lightweight previous manager.

Let's all pull in the same direction as positivity breeds success, negativity is a self fulfilling prophecy!

Personally I did find it inspiring. Not the greatest match in the world but the perfect antidote to the Spurs game and a great way to get us back on our winning ways.

Uninspiring really is a mean-spirited headline.

We had to win today to ensure that West Brom didn't catch us up. We won and won comfortably. Job done. I'll take his pragmatism in ensuring the result over the idealist naivety of the previous regime.

Your view of Barry in that 'all he adds is yellow cards' is a little unfair too. He had an excellent game today breaking up West Brom whenever they ventured forward. His booking was 'taking one for team' and showed his experience.

Everton have already equalled their Premier League points tally from each of the last two full seasons.

Chris (#95), has even gone as far as to compile a little list, including such unforgettable moments as 'Coleman crossing the ball from the left wing in the first half with his left foot'. Hope that one makes Match of the Day tonight, myself. I'll feel cheated if it doesn't. :P

Good article by Greg Okefe re today's match in the above link

Damned if you do damned if you don't.

Every time we got the ball they were quickly back with 11 behind the ball. They were very well organised and we just couldn't get the ball through their lines fast enough. Some of the crowd got a bit tetchy, but I thought we were doing well and as WBA tired their Grocks would get exposed. It happened sooner than I thought.

After 1-0, it was game over. We could have played for a year and they wouldn't have scored. They offered nothing in attack.Barkley had a very good game. He was easily man of the match. However, Lukaku was fantastic as well. He didn't touch the ball as much as he would like, but he was clearly up for it, and made things happen. He thoroughly deserved his goal. Davies wasn't at his best. I was surprised that he was central and Ross was left. We were better when Ross came central after Mirallas went off, but then again, that was probably just because the Grocks were beaten and tired and had stopped getting back into position.

Bottom line is 7th is ours now. £6m a year, this is the minimum Ron should deliver, but the signs are good. Hopefully we can produce some good results and get close to 72 points tally Martinez got in his first season.

The key thing is how we can go into next season. My main worry is Barkley's deal nearing it's end (in June 2018) so he needs to sign or leave this summer, and Lukaku's contract, what on earth is taking so long to get that extra 0.000001%? I suspect a dodgy clause allowing him to leave if a champions league club bats their eyes at him.

Anyway, where you actually at the game? Because when Coleman crossed it with his left foot most people got out of their seats and clapped as it was a great move. Still, as you are the clearly the official arbiter of excitement, you can remove it, leaving five other moments on the list. Please feel free to discount any of the 3 goals if they didn't officiallly meet the ' Everton FC Grant Excitement Threshold' .

Anyway, tiresome semantics to one side, clearly we disagree.

After being thoroughly outplayed last week I'm pleased to see:

(1) A win
(2) Us keep a clean sheet
(3) Our top goalscorer become joint top scorer in the Premier League (4) Two other players score
(5) Us beat the team nearest to us (it's a 6-pointer)
(6) Our manager happy because the team clearly played to plan
(7) Pulis's negative football punished etc etc.

The negativity of some blues is astounding!

Both players were fabulous today and were a pleasure to watch. Koeman must take a lot of credit for this. I still cannot understand the negativity from some TW'ers about Koeman. We need to hold onto him as he will take us places that we have not been for some time.

So, no it wasn't a repeat of the thrill-a-minute Man City game, but it was a highly efficient performance. The sort we'll have to get used to as teams come to Goodison hoping to get away with not getting hammered.

Excellent performance today and they should only receive credit for this. Think people are still frustrated from last week and unwilling to forgive just yet.

Also, I heard from a good source today that the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium is a done deal!!! Just waiting for the red tape to clear before it's announcment!!! Now that will be some moment!!

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum!

I didn't see the game today so unfortunately couldn't fairly add to the debate...

Was Bellew being there not slightly inspiring?

If we lose, the manager the players the club cat, uncle Tom Cobley and all, are shite. Now if we win, we have to dazzle like Barcelona, or its not good enough!

Talk about there's no pleasing some folk.

Ross, I thought was superb!

Professional job done against a team who didn't try to win, even when 2-0 down at half-time. Barkley, Lukaku and Williams impressed as well.

That's Pulis, a crap big 'un will always be better than pretty well anything else with two legs, a brain, sentient.

Skill and pace, that's optional.

Onwards and upwards.

The headline is spot on. The game was without any shadow uninspiring. In fact, 88 of those 92 minutes fell some way short of being uninspiring – it was predictable, tedious and totally devoid of imagination. The crowd were close to being asleep.

Be pleased with the result, be pleased about the performances of Barkley and Lukaku, be pleased that we got a clean sheet... but be bleedin' honest: this was dull as ditch water... again.

Koeman should be down on his hands and knees offering up thanks for Lukaku (the striker he inherited). Once again, his irresistible power has masked another insipid performance. Ask yourself where Koeman and his defensive midfield and gormless centre-backs would be without him?

Ask yourselves how a defence that wasn't even attacked managed to look so fucking ropey... despite having most of our midfield protecting them.

Yeah, we won... but how long do we put up with this unadventurous crap? How long do we suffer KITAHLPO?

Celebrate the win, but have the good grace to acknowledge that, once again, the Goodison faithful had very good reason to fall into almost total silence for the vast majority of this game.

Michael

That's not aggression. It's frustration. Twenty odd times this season we have been disjointed, laboured and completely devoid of imagination and still we have people pointing to a freak match against Bournemouth in an attempt to deny the truth.

Ross Barkley was very good again and he is now the player we all hoped he could become. We mustn't allow him to leave for any money. Like Lukaku he'd be very difficult to replace.

My prediction is that he will go right to the top. His problem has been slow development and a terrible injury but he has become a gem and could be as significant as Ball and Harvey were.

Although some say we're 'best of the rest', I believe it's better than that, and it would be unsurprising if we displaced the likes of Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal, the way things are currently going.

Because it is how modern football is and has to be played.

That was a good professional performance against our closest challengers in the league. We won 3-0 and were never in trouble. Uninspiring? Well that result has inspired me, as it pretty much guarantees a top 7 finish. We are also right on the tails of Man Utd, so we may yet end up in the top 6.

Lots to be positive about tonight...

I guess you think we should have scored more than 18 goals in the last five home games.

Based on your maths that's 432 dull minutes in the last 450.

Seriously you need to get over this thing.

I thought the best player on the pitch was Barkley, but for sheer willingness to run, willingness to keep doing the dirty work, and willingness to keep on trying to get involved when he really wasn't doing much with the ball, then the 18-year-old stood out for me.

Football's easy when everything is going your way but it becomes hard when things aren't going quite like you want them to, so for me today, this side of the kid's character stood out because he never once stopped trying, and I think you can learn a lot about a player when you watch them playing far away from there best level. This kid will definitely do for me!

Be a little more greatful that Koeman is managing Everton unless you want him to move on to manage either Barcelona or Arsenal next season and be reduced to someone managing the club like those who bring a knife to a gun fight or are 'phenonmenal' and not focussed on the defensive side of the game.

I thought Rom was very good, I took a little to watch because it was not the greatest feast, was it?

He played off centre on the right, was not isolated and actually surprised me with the result.

His feet were moving today, less cumbersome more foxtrot. Showed for the ball often and kept it. Major improvements there. Created both first-half goals by sucking players out of the centre towards him and deserves credit for the through-ball on the second.

Quieter in the second half but mobile, which is not always the case. Did his case for goalscorer supreme and gobbled up the only chance presented to him with a run-of-the-mill finish.

For good measure, Rom, even said thank you to Ross as normally he's a moody spiritual shit when he scores.

Good day for Rom, means a solid and uninspired day for the Toffees.

I'll happily take these performances until the end of the season if we can break into the top 6. My worry is that Koeman will be gone at the end of the season. We need at least another season out of him.

Barkley was Man of the Match for me and West Brom's tactics were just bizzare. I expected them to make changes at half-time and have a right go at us in the second half but they continued to sit-in.

Perhaps a compliment to us that they feared a battering had they come out?

We should at least finish 7th now and that will be good enough for Europe.

Albion were awful. They barely tried to get back into the game.Hull we be a different proposition but I still expect us to win comfortably.

I know where you are coming from, don't worry about it mate. If they are right in their judgement of where we stand as a team, disjointed, boring, devoid of imagination etc and have got European football playing to that standard, imagine how good we will be when Koeman has his own squad in place.

Apart from our resident anti-Koeman fundamentalist, anyone who has been to Goodison on a fairly regular basis in the last several decades and can see such workmanlike winning performances, must be quite happy to see the result and 3 points in the bag, as we secure seventh position and a crack at sixth.

Transition, consolidation first. Then the next step next season, with a better squad.

Happened in the sixties a couple of time and in the eighties too. Success takes time and building.

Some proper whoppers on here.

Before the match, my mate looked on in disbelief when Barry's name was read out by his son. I wasn't that bothered as I thought that Pulis would have a very strict, solid defensively minded side, that was going to be difficult to breach.

I had no illusion that this would be anything other than a hard, grinding, battle that we could easily lose, as we have in the past, by falling for the Baggies' sucker punch tactic.

I at no time felt we were in danger of that and today we disposed of a very gritty side in a professional, solid and remorseless performance.

That in itself inspired me of better things undoubtedly coming our way.

TGV will be happy this day. Now for the same again next week.

The derby game is vital. I expect to see Koeman's plan come to fruition. Valencia supporting Lukaku, intent, attack, passion.

Also, the team selection today was, in my view, jaw-dropping. Utterly bewildering. We must pick our best eleven every time. That wasn't it.

Thanks to Koeman and our lads for trying to get a win. Pity we didn't get more than a single goal and a single point! What's that you say?

Lukaku joint leading scorer again. Barkley impressed (back in the England squad, perhaps?). How Davies has settled in. Jags back to something like his best. Mirallas putting a shift in. Barry effective.

Sorry, I'm meant to be pissed off.

Yes, the starting eleven for Everton did appear a little odd but I'm not going to castigate Koeman for it when his side cantered to a 3-0 win against a team that habitually makes it hard for the opposition.

I simply cannot take statements seriously from fundamentalists (someone else's term, not mine - but a particularly apt one) who use every opportunity to reinforce their pre-conceived and unbendable opinion of a manager. I will make my own mind up on Koeman and, while he does seem quite a difficult man to take to, he's doing a very good job, in my opinion.

If Moyes was manager, we'd have grafted a 1-0 victory and everyone would've lauded Moyes as a great manager. Ha, what a joke!

Well done, Koeman and Everton. I'll take a 3-0 win all day long...

I'm pleased we beat a park the bus team that played for 0-0,
0-1, 0-2 and 0-3 throughout the game.

I'm hoping and longing for the next stage where we win games and excite and entertain.

In the meantime, it's a results business and he's getting them.

If your team wins 3-0 then you have got it right. West Brom are dead-ball specialists and didn't once threaten from a corner or free-kick. The team selection and tactics were spot on.

What are some people on here looking for? Some of the criticism is getting beyond daft.

It shows the progress that we have made under Koeman that we got an easy 3-0 win against a West Brom side that are much better than the one we laboured against last season.

I was shocked at the team sheet and concerned about the lack of cover for Bainesy but you can't argue with the results Koeman's team are delivering up and the improvement in individual performances that he is engendering.

People demanded an emphatic response after the Spurs defeat. They got it. If the match was dull for long stretches, it's because West Brom barely showed any fight. Should we have gifted them an own-goal for the sake of a nervier finish?

On the negative side, the number of potentially attacking situations that ended up with a back pass to Robles drove me insane.

WBA were not the usual nasty, limpet one-shot one goal wonders they normally are. They were supine, in much the same we were at Spurs last week.

I for one expect to win this type game and, as a minimum given most modern indicators such as wage bill, stadium size etc, I also expect to be 7th or higher. Anything else is failure.

Koeman has returned Everton to base camp, with the promise of European football again a staple if we expect to to climb higher next season.

I cast doubt on the opinion that it's progress; I guess it depends from were you measure?

A leopard cannot change its spots, they say, whilst the quality of player may improve under Koeman (an undoubted plus), will his tactics? So far, it's enough to see off teams below us with less resources, as expected... but yet to yield anything other than the win over Man City as a portent we can cut it with the big cats?

I hope Koeman is cutting his 'tactical' cloth accordingly to the playing staff he has available to him. I expect to see a more attacking, inspired way of playing next season.

Today was the first number 2 to score for EFC since Steve Watson .

Koeman isn't perfect but he's done a pretty good job so far and I would wager is more likely to take Everton FC back to where we want it to be than any manager we've had in nearly 20 years.

The proverbial curate's egg.

Let's get a grip on here. Koeman is a top manager and yes I thought, "Oh crap, Barry is playing "pre match. Actually Barry was Man of the Match for me. What do I know?

All I know is our home form is great, youngsters coming through, Lukaku on fire and hopefully more to come. Another three or four players in the summer and we push on again. Keep going lads!!

Koeman called it wrong last week and right this.

Yes it was a dull, uninspiring game, which I didn't stay up to watch – good job, as It would've sent me to sleep, thus missing what little excitement there was – but it takes 2 to tango –- even on a replay I was sorely tempted to FFW it.

WBA came with their Plan A, but our new-found solidity was enough to contain that. In fact, we made their Plan A, which worked before, look distinctly average. We've lost the last 3 against them.

Next week, Hull, complete with a potential Niasse-shaped banana skin, turn up, They haven't got 40 points; will they play Pulis's Plan A?... I think their version might be a little bit more flexible and could cause us problems – but only if we let them.

And I would say that you are dug deep in a tiny minority.

Ten games to go and we have hit our points tally from last season.

I can't see any progress or development anywhere. I blame Koeman for selecting more players aged under 20 than any other gaffer in the league to date. Shame on, you Koeman. How dare you let Davies and Bookman develop? The temerity of bringing Dominic on today!

Shocking. Uninspiring (sorry MK). Curate's egg is right. As much bad as good this season so far.

Can I ask you a question, Ciaran, please? You always get on the matchday thread early doors, barking and criticizing predicting doom and gloom. You pop on at half-time if we are not ahead. You then disappear in the main. Why?

By the way, it looks like 7th is enough for Europe; it will be confirmed if Spurs beat Milwall in the FA Cup.

The Goodison tribute and farewell to Alex Young were inspiring, as was the iconic commemorative matchday programme. It was magnificent to see two local lads trying their hearts out for the blues, including one who – while much more physically robust than the Golden Vision – carries a reminder of Alex's grace and balance in the effortless way he moves with a football at his feet. Well done Everton!

There were opportunities though. The transition and passing game had to be quicker in order to inflict more damage. We dribbled into a defender too many times and this would have been prevented with a quick pass going forward. The problem was that nobody but Lukaku was making the runs. Lookman or Valencia instead of Barry would have been a better choice as we didn't need to be so conservative.

You can't really nitpick though. We are playing very well since January. With that said, we need to beat Hull without a doubt next weekend. A few slip ups by Man Utd, who will be tired from Cups and Europa League, and further struggles from Arsenal could open the door for us to quietly creep in. I'm not ready to settle for 7th.

Credit where credit is due, that was a good performance yesterday against a big strong team that are difficult to break down. Lukaku was excellent, often taking 3-4 players with him, and the rest of the team played really well too. Make no mistake, this was a hard game, we just made it look comfortable, and despite my reservations and expert opinion, Koeman got it spot on today!

3 goals a game and a slew of clean sheets is a damn good indication that that is what we now have. Moytinez. Or Martoyes. In Dutch, it is spelt Koeman. We are in safe hands.

Personally I'd love to see Sigurdsson added in the summer, he's a class act and would combine well with Barkley. The Burnley centre-half, Keane, would be an excellent addition as well, to our ageing back four.

Are you suggesting I do not stand over what I say? Other than that, I'm struggling to see a real question.

You've been on here long enough to know I'll defend my position.

And your implication that I'm saying there's been no progress from last year's shambles, is entirely fabricated.

You are taking a lot of stick here mate, I know you are strong enough to stick to your guns, I agree with almost all of your post, you described the game as I saw it, people reading your post, if they left out the paragraph concerning Koeman, might agree with it as well.

I think Koeman will eventually get us into The Champions League but I understand your concerns about him, you are still entitled to your opinion.

Going back to the game today, it was better than Horlicks, and again I understand that a lot of fans are happy with the result; so am I. But I expect to see a more adventurous plan that, the noise of the crowd showed what they thought of it – it was quiet for long periods of the game, I was bored stiff with it.

Teams are now wary of Barkley and Lukaku again, Schneiderlin, Gana and Davies can make a dynamic midfield. It's a shame that Bolasie got injured because then we'd also have some width – but he's found a way to win without it.

It's defence where we can be pretty ordinary – but even then we've had plenty of clean sheets to go with the collapses. It's going to take more to get us into the top six, but he acknowledges that and definitely gets another season from me.

The crowd only get excited if they see a competition; yesterday, there wasn't any competition. Our boys put in a very competent performance, West Brom didn't bother to. That's all there is to it.

Koeman knows the bottom line, whether it be good, bad or ugly – the priority is winning matches. He's going about that the best way he can with what he's got and making a pretty good fist of it.

He is two thirds of the way through his first season with us and looks like he's secured European football having swatted away our main threat on that front yesterday with a comfortable 3-0 win.

On the whole, I'd say he's improved most positions where he's made a signing and in Bolasie has missed someone who must have been a major part of his plans.

He's made some hard decisions quickly (dropping Barkley, sending Deulofeu on loan, getting rid of the deadwood etc.) and I think has now built a platform to build on. That platform might not be setting the world alight but it is getting results.

Our home form is right up there, we just need to develop a similar standard away from home now. He's got some important away games coming up which will hopefully help him decide what we need to achieve that for next season.

Keep hold of Rom, fill in some of the blanks with quality in the window and I expect us to have a really strong season next year.

Give the bloke a chance and some time before we start moaning about results all of the teams below us would give their eye teeth for and wouldn't be sniffed at by most of those above – most notably that the oppositions tally is now more often than not '0'.

That a cross produced such a response from the crowd says more about the general quality of the game than it does about the cross itself. For 'moments of excitement' read moments that punctuated the prevailing sleep-inducing mediocrity that constituted the vast majority of the contest.

Glad some people found it 'exciting'. I just saw it as a professional if far from exhilarating display.

I am sure that a lot of us would not have bet on the outcome, a comfortable 3-0. I would say even Koeman was surprised.

However, I still feel we are a long way off the top six and there is still a lot of work to do in progress... It's not a 'beam me up, Ronald' affair, as many people would like.

I agree that our boys put up a competent performance, but totally disagree with people only getting excited when they see a competition.

Football is in our blood, but it is also an entertainment business, and although Everton, were competent they were never really exciting, and although most of this was down to "The Baggies", and I can also see a lot of progress with much more solidity, it's just not very exciting to watch, because of a distinct lack of fluidity at the minute.

I think Patrick's posts make a lot of sense to me, and Paul Tran, also usually makes a lot of sense, so I'm with Paul (#158), because I think this post is on the mark.

Niasse isn't eligible to play against us. Hull are no threat. Onwards and upwards... 😀

I think I go along with Jay Wood (#83). Before the game, heaps were sorting off about losing or maybe a draw and here we are with a 3 -0 win and dozens on here are complaining.

FFS, we won. The team played well. Koeman picked the team that executed the job. WTF is up with everybody? Is it too much time under Moyes and Martinez?

Let's get on with it and push on to a place in Europe 2017-18 FFS.

Ron is building and it won't happen overnight but we are making progress. He doesn't inspire me, to be honest, but I can see the progress he is making and am happy with that.

Better we win 3-0 in that manner than play exciting football and lose because the exciting stuff will come once he gets the team he wants (hopefully).

They tried to entertain the crowd and succeeded by playing open football. That's all I 'm asking for... I don't think it is too much – and I stress I understand that Koeman has one eye on the future...

We beat our nearest rivals 3-0 and all we do is argue about performance. Our last home game we were arguing about whether Davies's through ball for the first goal was lucky or not! Give me 3-0 uninspired performances and "lucky" assists every time we play, please?

On another note, how is Baines? May be a blessing in disguise as he been poor defensively recently (was targeted last week at Spurs). Anyone for the young Sessegnon at Fulham?

I would agree with you about Spurs. I think Koeman got it wrong in both selection and tactics. Barry hasn't got the legs to play against high-quality high-tempo midfields any longer. Playing against the likes of Darren Fletcher and Livermore he can still do a job. However, the biggest thing we got wrong was isolating Rom, who is undoubtedly our biggest weapon.

Having been to all the home games, I don't find our football this year to be unentertaining or uninspiring. We have won five on the bounce scoring 18 goals, that's top 4 form. I guess we all see it differently but I will certainly miss matchdays.

When we lose, we are shite (which is understandable). When we draw, we are shite (whatever the circumstances). When we win, unless it's by a 5 goal margin and playing samba football, it is still disappointing, uninspiring, turgid shit etc .

Now I know I will be shot down but show me, please, where else on gods earth is a win met with such derision and disappointment?

We are currently somewhere in-between these two sides, and we will need at least one huge transfer window this summer if we are to have any hope of mounting a challenge for the Champions League places. We are at least 5 class players short.

As far as yesterday's performance, it was professional, workmanlike and job done. Same as the Sunderland game, who were set up exactly the same as West Brom. It's extremely difficult to break these sides down.

Second half was more diappointing – we never got out of 2nd gear. Luckily West Brom were very flat throughout.

I think 7th is the least we can expect now, with their fixture list. I don't see anyone else catching us.

In terms of catching 6th – it comes down to how we do in the tough away games – we were poor at Chelsea and Tottenham, so we have to compete more at Anfield and Old Trafford.

I would hope that in our next 2 away games, we show a lot more ambition than West Brom did yesterday and that we showed against Spurs. The only way we will know if we can challenge for a top 4 place next year is to play like a team who believe they are as good as any of the top 4. So no sitting back, no extra defensive midfield players, lets have a real go lets see if we can compete. Yes of course there will be times when we have to defend but I want to see us throwing men into their box when we are attacking, not just Lukaku stuck up there on his own.

Yesterday, a very workmanlike performance and didnt have to get out of second gear. I thought Jagielka did okay considering he hasnt played for weeks. I think Barkley has now understood what Koeman wants from him and is starting to deliver on a regular basis.

Anybody who watches boxing has seen this kind of thing: where one fighter is totally defensive and acts as a "spoiler". Could be up against the most attacking fighter going, chances are the match will be not be an inspiring spectacle.

We scored 3 and in reality had some other good chances (Rom alone had 2 gilt-edged ones) in addition to Gueye hitting the post. They had a couple of half-chances. Koeman read the game right – they were standing off so control the ball with a low-tempo passing game and go one-touch in attacking areas. Worked a treat and they looked demoralised after the second went in.

More impressive stuff from Rom and Ross.

'Uninspiring' is bit harsh when only one team came to play football. Koeman got his tactics spot on.

Yesterday, though Graham, I thought it was a very slow and tedious game to watch. Yes, I know WBA didn't make a game of it but I honestly thought we could have upped our game a bit more.

Anyway, good luck and good health to you on your travels, make sure you take your blue and white scarf to Brisbane and I'm sure you will still be posting your thoughts on ToffeeWeb, and I might agree with one or two of them. Adious for now.

Mike Green (#185), you said, "The difference between Koeman and Martinez for me is one is focused on substance, the other was focused on style".

I would substitute bullshit for style. The guy is vacuous.

TWers, lets try to be a happier, more positive bunch.

Water off a ducks back, mate. I'm staggered that sensitivity of some on here.

The editor didn't complain about the result (he was happy with that). He did not say the performances was poor or unacceptable. He didn't call for anybody's head.

What he did was told what is a clearly (for some) an unpalatable truth – the performance WAS uninspiring. The three young lads in front of me missed the first goal, they were all fucking about on their phones because they had been bored shitless for 40 minutes – as had the dozens of people who disappeared for a half-time pint.

This is Martinez's first season all over again... It's like you can't say anything against the manager. Even the mildest of criticism is met with outrage – hardly ever challenged, just met with outrage... By calling the performances "uninspiring", he was hardly lambasting them.

I can understand the views of people who say "Who gives a fuck? We won, didn't we?" I get that. What I don't get is why people would get so angry about what was, let's face it, a perfect description of the game.

The report couldn't have been THAT far wide of the mark. 200+ posts and I don't see many claims to the contrary: people claiming that it WAS exciting and entertaining... and inspirational.

Claims that some people are "never satisfied" neither counter nor refute the point. They certainly don't make it untrue.

Surely it should be what Koeman has already served up to date? Compare like with like, no? It's a reflection on him not between previous managers.

I will say Everton have served up better under Koeman against better opponents, Man City & Arsenal perhaps? Played more wholeheartedly against Liverpool, Spurs home, Man City away, despite not winning.

Everton played a poor poor team yesterday and were not much better. Why? Because they didn't need to be? That's not cool if that's the case. Sometimes it'smore important to take away shortcomings when you win, rather than be distracted by the scoreline and the comfort in which we prevailed.

5 premier league home wins on the trot, 18 goals scored!

The league's top scorer.

Plus 17 in goal difference

A long way from what we were at the end of the last 2 seasons!

If that is pragmatism, sign me up!

Short form: Solid if uninspiring – headline... bang on!!!

That's not too shabby.

If he scores against Liverpool I will apologise but the lad does not score near enough goals for an attacking player.

He does lots of good things but mainly in midfield.I really would love to see Ross hit double figures.That is the difference between us and Spurs.They have four or five players who have scored more goals.Kane gets lots more space than Lukaku as Rom is seen as our only real goal threat.

If Ross is going to hit the heights then he must add goals to his game.

This is our chance now, over the next couple of seasons at most, and if we blow it then I think it will be too late because the ladder is getting pulled up, notwithstanding Leicester last year.

Kevin Tully is also correct that we are 5 players short. Yesterday was a good result against a surprisingly weedy WBA, but it was very much a mid-table contest in terms of quality.

Our league used to be a two-horse race (Everton - Liverpool), then it was Liverpool - Man Utd, then Man Utd - Arsenal. Then it included Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea. Now you can include Man City and Spurs.

So if anything, the upper echelons of the league has been steadily growing over the last 15-20 years. We can make it a top 7.

We've invested in a good manager, brought some decent players in, got rid of some deadwood, and were nipping at their heels... so, for the first time in years, I think it's probably more open than it has been in years. And as Leicester proved last season, even now, you can still do it, no matter who you are.

While I admire your Everton patriotism (or whatever word you use!) I have to say that is taking it a tad too far.

In other words, seeking success through intelligence and force of will rather than simple buying power. No evidence of that for a long period with Everton which is why I sometimes despair to see us flop so predictably when there is something more than a win against mediocre (or worse) opposition at stake.

However, over the last couple of weeks I have been a little surprised at some of the team selections. Last week was the first time I was really disappointed in Koeman. The Chavs away was, I suppose a reflection of where we were at the time. A 5-0 thrashing just showed us how much deadwood we had and how much attitudes had to change. We have learnt and showed much better attitudes as a 9-game unbeaten run showed. But going to Spurds and just looking to avoid defeat was a real step backwards. There is no need to go gung-ho but at least we could have given them a game.

Fast forward to yesterday, whether there as a bit of a hangover from last week or not, we were slow and ponderous. As Darren Hind stated, the first 40 minutes were as dull as dishwater. The guy next to me missed the first goal as he went to the tea bar as did dozens like him. This is not to criticise the team in general as we won 3-0 and deservedly so. But the team had little or no spark.

I personally thought Barry was okay, no more than that. Gana and Schneiderlin had been playing well together, why change that? Barry has had his day for most part. Not his fault, just that he is no spring chicken anymore. That so called "taking one for the team" booking was just because he was too slow, end of, like a lot of his bookings now.

Koeman needs to start trusting his players more. Going for the safe option in Barry at the expense of Gana, who is far more dynamic now, just doesn't work for most part. If he adopts the same kind of move at the khazi across the park and at the Mancs a few days later, we will get stuffed.

Lack of dynamism was a key factor in yesterday's tedious game. Jags was okay, but Holgate would have done just as good a job if not better. We nend to start looking to the future. It's a nice place to be though when we are arguing over the merits and pitfalls of a 3-0 win.

It is hypocritical of anyone to deride WBA this week for being negative a week after we found new heights in negative team selection just a week ago ourselves. The fact that we kept effectively 3 defensive midfield players into this week against a team not intent to "play" I didn't understand. Davies played further forward I admit but did not look nearly as comfortable and wasn't nearly as effective as running from deep.

Arguing they won is not the point. Who says we wouldnt win with a more offensive side? The key issue is we have seen this slip to negativity before. Moyes (there, I've said it) would play outstanding footie but for some reason or other always slid back to a defensive pattern and the results eventually dried up along with the style.

Conservative football might work for Mourinho with megastar players but it has never led to sustainable success for Everton. At the beginning of the season, we were winning all those games without appearing to play well. It dried up until Koeman set up the 3-5-2 and we saw a more joined cohesive unit with some attacking intent.

What we put out today might well beat WBA but I fear it wouldn't work against a team with pace and ambition to score. Why have we gone backwards? Is Koeman trying to fit Morgan, Davies plus 1 into the side when it should be only 2.

I just thought there was no need to break up that partnership last week and this to accommodate Gareth Barry. Nothing against Barry as he has been a stellar player but time waits for no man etc. IMO, Schneiderlin and Gana are the future and we're playing well up until last week when Gana was played out of position.

But I guess Koeman lives or dies by his decisions and we won I guess so he has been proved right ultimately. I just didn't think it was necessary to upset the partnership in the first place that's all.

We also have McCarthy and Besic as defensive midfield options and I believe that with the limitations of the current squad, Koeman will use one of them alongside Gana and push Schneiderlin further forward from time to time (Koeman has hinted at this already).

If this is good for the game I'm not sure but we have to stay in touch with them before they break away completely.

I remember Spurs starting to improve 4-5 years ago and it's taken them this long to reach top 4. There is no reason to suppose it will be a shorter wait for us.

The top 4 were a world apart at home and in Europe for many years. More recently, the power has shifted and the premium is more competitive for it, arguably Champions League less so. We are improving at the right time to take advantage.

I have to agree with Michael though, that the game, from an entertainment perspective, was uninspiring.

In my opinion that was largely down to the way Tony Pulis set his team up and instructed them to play. For example, when our right back put a beautiful cross into the box from the left wing position? West Brom had 7 men in the box.

I'm not complaining about West Brom's approach, just pointing out that they are a well organised defensive unit and therefore very difficult to break down.

Last season, the opposition, after soaking up everything we could throw at them, would in all probability have nicked a goal on 39 minutes and sent us into the break with our heads down.

The difference this season is we nicked the goal on 39 minutes and ruined their game plan. This was was because we kept plugging away.

I reckon Pulis thought that even at 2-0 down he could still nick one and get his team up for a draw. Last season, that was always a possibility but it's not going to happen too often with our current outfit.

The Spurs game was a big disappointment but I can even find some consolation in the fact that we put two more goals past them than Chelsea.

Koeman has got Barkley playing and also Mirallas but I have to say the biggest difference I see in a player is Lukaku.

I have been one of his most vocal critics but the lad is playing really well. His ground work and work rate has improved out of sight – if I was a centre-half I wouldn't fancy playing against him.

So, for me, all-in-all a good day at the office, and signs of progress in the team's mentality.

The gap between the top and 7th has narrowed not widened. (Why do so many people always think things are getting worse despite evidence to the contrary!! – a general peeve I have with the English).

Clubs like Everton can now hang on to players like Lukaku and Barkley – this was not the case 10 years ago. The reason is we are now in the top 20 in the world money-wise so we can buy "good enough" players (like Lukaku and Barkley) which makes us competitive against the top sides, even though the top clubs still have a multiple of our revenue.

They won't want anything upsetting their separate League of Six.

All assuming we beat Hull, of course.

We just look bang average at best on the road, we couldn't even beat Boro (who were worse than West Brom) a few weeks back.

I was inspired by several individual performances: Ross, back to form (and praised by all and sundry in the medja); Schneiderlin, continuing his impressive start with us; Davies's energy, versatility and quick touch; Lukaku with (yawn) yet another goal; Koeman confounding the pre-match scepticism about selection with Barry and Jags selected for what was needed against this particular opposition.

The football under Moyes was often pragmatic, but there were mitigating circumstances such as having to manage on zero net spend. He did however produce teams which played far better football than today's current team. Players like Cahill, Arteta, Pienaar, Baines and Osman all inspired.

Anyone who was inspired by Saturday's performance would have been besides themselves watching those players

Still, this is Koeman's first season and, like Davey, he has been drafted in to stop the rot; he is trying to lay solid foundations, let's give him time to finish the job.

I'd say both views have genuine validity – we all know West Brom are a difficult side to beat, are very solid and well organised, therefore, playing freeflowing, expansive or 'inspired' football is always difficult – whoever you are.

I thought the way Everton were set up, and then patiently worked through the few spaces that were left to us, was in one sense inspiring. Not many teams this season will have the patience and dexterity to unlock this team's defence and put three good goals past them unanswered.

The maturity and patience on display on Saturday was inspiring – it just wasn't pacy. This, in many ways, was our most important game of the season – cementing 7th etc – and we were not found wanting. I'm tempted to be inspired into thinking we are on the verge of something here. Ross, for me, had an inspired game – patient and intelligent use of the ball – more or less controlling most of what happened that was good.

Ours was, in my humble opinion, a very significant performance on several levels... inspiring? There are very few of those games around week on week from anyone these days. I'll take it all day long... for now.