Bolasie keen to rectify winless run

Not surprised they picked the goalscorer to offer it!

Has this guy got a time machine?

One of our problems at the moment is failing to work for the team. Bolasie epitomises that. Too busy trying to do step overs and drag backs to realise the smart option is on... Invariably slowing the play to a standstill.

Infuriating player who needs to show his undoubted talent consistently.

Three Fs are needed: 'fast fluent football'.

One thing that is needed is another transfer window; lots of players need shipping out: Gibson, Cleverley, Kone, and Niasse all need to go asap as Koeman has no use for them. Then next season, Deulofeu, Mirallas, McCarthy, Oviedo and possibly Besic (depending on if he's fit long enough to prove or disprove his worth to Koeman's team). Also, send Valencia back.

None of the above convince Koeman that they should hold down a first-team place, he clearly doesn't trust any of them so a mass clear-out needs putting into place.

Mirallas, McCarthy, and Deulofeu are the only players capable of convincing Koeman to trust them, reasons being, Koeman wants Deulofeu or Mirallas to prove they can hold a starting place down, proven by the chances they've been given. And IMO, McCarthy is a talented lad with lots to offer and should be given his chance before being moved on.

Koeman's patience is evidently wearing thin: Barkley, Mirallas and Deulofeu have all spent time on the bench this season but have equally been given the opportunity to perform and prove their worth. By and large, they have not met expectations and I would hazard a guess that there will be a limit to Koeman's tolerance with a timescale in place in terms of how long that they have to deliver.

Steve Walsh will hopefully have his targets in mind and personally we need to look to be replacing Jagielka, Barry, Barkley, Mirallas and Deulofeu.

I agree with you that a few players should be moved on but most of them are on such good and long contracts that they will be reluctant to go. How some of them were awarded new contracts is hard to understand... who gave them the contracts and why is a mystery to lots of us.

Bolasie has pace and power but he still has a lot to prove. Sadly Mirallas hasn't lived up to our expectations – flashes of brilliance but loads of mediocrity.

If there were trophies for pedalling the same tropes, week-in & week-out, we'd be the kings of Europe.

As it stands, I'd probably keep Barry, Coleman, and Baines for now. Lukaku will probably go anyway (Bayern Munich are sniffing), but the rest are lazy shithouses who don't deserve to wear the shirt. How some of the defence are getting a game ahead of Holgate is actually quite worrying.

I bet Man City and Man Utd wish they had Jags in their team.

As for Bolasie, I'm not impressed.

Clear-outs should include Deulofeu and Mirallas with Barkley given one more season to see how he interacts with any new signings. No improvement after that then get rid.

Sad to say it looks like Jagielka's mental ability has abandoned him. His thinking is far too slow and means he'll drop us in the shite with increasing regularity.

We also have to play our part though and patience has to be the order of the day... For now.

Bolasie is a good player but needs to cut out the pointless showboating. Just whip the damn crosses in – which he is very good at when he actually bothers to do it.

Chelsea's 3-4-3 system yesterday was ruthless on the counter. It would be interesting to see Koeman try it. In my opinion, we don't have the players for a 4-2-3-1 offensively. 3-4-3 would also solve the problem of Oviedo being targeted at left-back. Food for though anyway.

Adopting Chelsea's system would look something like this:

Stekelenburg;
Jagielka, Williams, Funes Mori;
Coleman, Gana, Barry, Baines;
Lennon, Lukaku, Bolasie.

Also, I can't believe Koeman not putting McCarthy on the bench, is he not a better option than Cleverley to replace Barry or Gueye? At least he'll put himself about.

I can't understand McCarthy not being on the bench at least... Was he injured? Hard to believe he was dropped after his good performance as a substitute last week. He is a very good player in my opinion who should never be out of the squad.

Try real hard to remember, when you have a marker standing right in front of you, to not hit the ball against him. Try to keep moving and not standing still when you take a pass.

One more thing: definitely do not try to be clever on the edge of your own box, now that would go a long way to putting a stop to a winless streak. Hang on – your 27, not 7, you should already know these things.

I think we will beat West Ham on Saturday and I will be at Stamford Bridge on the 5th, believing once more.

Oh for the day when some pissed off owner of a club has contracts with performance related pay, and the coaches and management decide who's paid what depending on performance, it will never happen of course.

Paul #21 (responding to Paul #19 – too many bloody Pauls!) – some players might not give a flying fuck because of their high rewards (and so not put the effort in) but I can't see that would apply to many. What about those who've grown up supporting the team (not many, but a start).

Then there are those just starting out on their first team careers, wanting to make an impression to stay in the first team and progress.

Then there are those who just love playing the game (and if you love playing the game, surely money isn't going to take that love away?) and want to do as well as they can?

And then there are those who want to impress international mangers.

And then there are those who know they won't make it with their current team because they're not up to it, so want at least to attract another buyer.

And then there are those who have formed a bond with their fellow players and for their sake want to perform well.

And then...

To give him his due, he's been consistently better than Mira-couldn't-care-llas and Deulo-woeful-eu.

Let's just send opposing teams emails outlining what we're capable of, I'm sure they'd see how hopeless it would be for them to even turn up.

The worrying thing for me at the moment is the chronic lack of goals from midfield. I think it's Barry 2, Barkley 1, Mirallas 1, Bolasie 1 – the rest, Gueye Deulofeu, Cleverley (okay, not a regular)... zilch! That's a worrying stat when you consider 3 or 4 of them are classed as attacking midfielders.

And it rather begs the question: Where does it leave us if the lump up front gets injured? I doubt Kone and Valencia will get the goals. The West ham game is huge for us now. Win and it sends us to Chelsea in a good frame of mind. Lose or draw and the storm clouds really will be gathering.

If you had Dave Thomas down the bye-line, he knew if he put a cross in, Bob Latchford would be there, didn't have to look, he would play the ball in and Latchford would know where to be.

Our problem is, we do not have that type of player waiting for the cross to come in, or anticipating a cross.

Under Koeman, we're a lot better than we were the last two seasons, but we've got a long ways to go. I'd say we're on par, performance wise, with a lot of that mid-table Moyes stuff we had to suffer through for years.

Player for player, we've arguably a better squad now, than anything that Moyes could field, but I'm not seeing it on the pitch. Putting it down to a Martinez hangover only works for so long. It's time for players and manager to up their game.

We need to stop looking ahead to the next window, and get busy.

Our team are the same. Nervous fucking wrecks. Playing for a man who was a legend as a player. They need time to settle. With Martinez, they could do what the hell they wanted, it mattered not. Now, they are finally under scrutiny and some of them don't know whether to stick or twist. They will settle and we are going to be okay but we the fans mustn't give up on Koeman.

The reality is that little has changed since Koeman took over and IMO none of our 'window' signings have solved the basic problem, that we are just not good enough to compete in the EPL – let alone Europe – under the present setup at Goodison Park. As has been proved at the Etihad and Old Trafford, spending hundreds of millions on so-called superstar players who prove to be anything but, hasn't been the answer and never will be.

Everton must have been an extremely fortunate club then, because for all of my life and a little more they have played every league game in the top-flight. I realise we are having issues, but not to the extent that we cannot compete in the EPL. Mind you, considering some of the recent results, you might well have a point.

As for spending big money on superstar players, I think you'll find that those clubs that have continued to invest in their squads throughout the Premier League era have either competed at the top end of the table for most of that time or have now got themselves into a position where they can be considered bona fide contenders.

It could be argued that our relative lack of investment has allowed other clubs outside of the big spenders to be more competitive and that is making it more difficult for Everton to compete both for available players and for points. That's not an excuse for losing matches against teams we should be beating at least 70% of the time, but it does have a bearing.

We will continue to tread water with sub-par performances until Koeman can get the right players in, 2 or 3 transfer windows probably needed with a major clear out of the deadwood.

My only reservation is a) Kenwright still being involved in any transfer dealings and b) whether we will actually see Moshiri flexing his financial clout.

After Bolasie's duck-breaker on Saturday, we have six goal scorers this season. With only Lukaku (6) and Barry (2) on more than one. If you look at the stats of great, or even very good players of the past, you see certain trends. Centre-halves scoring once every 8-10 matches – we had Lescott pumping in a goal every 5-6 but other than that... Barry is putting 2-3 away a season and McCarthy has scored maybe twice in his Everton career.

It's just not good enough and I think it is a part of the club culture that desperately needs to change. The fact that last season we had a fullback on our books with zero goals in a 16-year career says it all.

A lot on here during Martinez's rein said we peaked too early in the first season. But now you say we should be in the mingle. But we are, aren't we? I mean 5 points tells us that.

I can't see anyone coming in, in the January window. What's the point if, as some seem to think, quite a lot will be leaving? And then they would have to bed in.

I think leave this season alone for panic buys and make a real challenge next season. Who knows, even with this drab squad, we may make Europe and with buys in the summer we might even win something. At least then we will be in the driving seat, because we will have something to offer them.

Should have gone in for Adama Traoré in the summer. Looks like he could become a class act now. He was a risk in the summer but Barca obviously rated him at one point and he's stronger, faster and more direct that Del Boy.

Hopefully Walshly can find the fits for what Koeman wants to do

Dead right, I'm making one of my bi-annual trips up to Goodison, so please don't spoil my day, and my whole week after when I would have to endure my boss (WHU fan) gloating. (Not that any game I'm not travelling to isn't also vital, of course...)

It's either the players, or the formation, which is wrong, but it's quite possible it could be both, because as Mark (#28) says, the players have got a lot to answer for at the minute, because they don't seem to know how to react, now they are no longer playing on easy street.

There does seem to be a lack of goals in the whole team now where Geri, Mirallas and Barkley have gone right off form and don't seem up for the task that Koeman has set them. You would have to worry that if Rom was to finally leave next season how we would manage then.

Currently I'm happy we're sitting 6th which isn't bad when you look at the teams above us and Man Utd below us. Yes I do believe we will start spending BIG but it will take time and patience and we can't just turf out all the deadwood without getting in good replacements.

Because it's nothing more than a club-led media release. Have you seen the Anichebe tweet?

As a member of that mysterious 5, it behoves Yannick to keep his gob shut or we might expect him to actually do what he says he will do.