Allardyce thankful for 'precious point' from poor Everton display

People can and do criticise Allardyce but there is a general malaise and lack of ability within this squad of players.

That's 3 bosses this season and they all lament the performances. Do we honestly think they train them in the week for them to then forget the basics.

Sam knows we are in the mire.

The only thing that gives me any hope is there are 12 rubbish teams this year fighting for the 9 survival places.

Williams can't pass the ball;
Schneiderlin is not creative;
Bolasie – no goals or end product;
Sigurdsson offers nothing out of the ordinary;
Martina – I don't need to spell it out; and now...
Tosun – who didn't look like a Premier League striker today. Lacks pace, doesn't get in the box fast enough, and is flicking everything first time instead of holding and laying off. Admittedly support was poor, but I think he will struggle to score goals.

What exactly do you and little Sam do all fucking week? Play tiddlywinks with each other? Then you have the fucking nerve to say we are probably not going to get a left back!!!

I am convinced that all these managers, aka charlatans, don't give a toss about our club – just about their paychecks. Wankers!!

When is the last time we saw a match where Everton looked the better team in?

We can count on one hand where we have “outplayed“ our opponents this season and in most games we have been extremely fortunate to come away with anything.

Two matches against Bournemouth, they look better overall no argument, and two against West Brom and you'd have to say the Baggies should curse not taking the full six points off us as they were the team in both matches, today and Boxing Day that looked like they wanted to win!!

Everton are in a dire place at this moment in time, a truly dire dire place, we do not look like ending our horrendous run anytime soon as we cannot do the basics required on a football pitch of passing to a blue shirt, moving into space, running off the ball to make available a pass, we cannot attack in any dimension, we are completely long ball ale house but don't have the players to actually perform it well (think Wimbledon 1980s).

We cannot do basic defending or closing down of opponents, we lack energy, we have no cohesion, we are just not a team.

And all of these are massively relevant factors regardless of who plays, we have had different players in different positions all season but nothing has worked and it's started to arguably get worse.

Our only answer is to just throw more and more money at unknown players like Tosun and stick him in a struggling team that creates very few chances, a fella with no Premier League experience and expect him to do something!?

I have no idea where we go from here but surely to God, whilst he's hardly really what you'd call Mr Knowledgeable when it comes to talking footballing sense, Farhad Moshiri can't be happy with what he's seeing since his investment started at this club?

We are so mentally weak it's untrue. Why? No idea. Different players, different managers but same result – there's a mental cancer in the club and it stops us from any real or sustained progress.

I keep thinking back to him stood in the St James' Park home dugout when Newcastle lurched from bad result to bad result. The camera focused out and there were a group of fans gesturing to him shouting “You don't know what you're doing!” This guy is probably making 5 million quid for six months work, so I'd disagree slightly with the Toon fans. If nothing else he he has one eye firmly fixed on his bank balance.

I didn't want him and his blasé press conferences where he recounts stories of how awesome his Bolton side were with a couldn't-give-a-fuck attitude of someone who has been there and done it all before have done nothing to change my mind. Yes the players are under performing, but he's pocketing millions to make sure they perform. He's had a net impact of fuck all, so the sooner he's gone, the better.

Sadly I do think we have younger players who have passion and ambition on our books. Personally I would be pleased to see them picked and it fail and we sink even lower than this mid table crap than continue playing in this this Premier League con-trick.

And as for managers. A young one with something to prove and ambition rather than Sam and his has-beens. As for the Board, well too much to lose.

I would find a battle for promotion in the Championship more exciting and engaging than this rubbish. I doubt we will ever be regularly in the top 6 again. As for winning a title. Ha ha. Having a laugh.

This season and probably for a few now, I have reluctantly become inclined to just hope for the odd exciting game of football with a few goals rather than expecting a rebirth of a club that has been near dead and lying gasping in shadows of the RS and Manchester for decades.

I don't want to become one of the permanently bitter fans who flings shit all day at refs, other clubs and even our own fans because of some rich twat is selling me a clearly unrealistic dream.

It is bad enough being in my 58th year without becoming one of "those fans". The one's I used to look at when younger and think "What a knob, bet he is a joy at home."

So I still watch games, growl and laugh sometimes on the live forum and post 'YES!!!!" if and when we score (though strangely didn't today).

But by the next day, well it somehow it may warrant a glance at TW if nowt else to do but to be honest, it hardly matters anymore.

Probably the worst back 4 in my time as a fan.

There's nothing but a toxic nasty atmosphere these days at Goodison, even when we somehow managed to equalise out of the blue, there was little belief amongst the fans that a winner was on the horizon, no real backing or optimism from the fans.

What on earth has happened to Everton these days?

It doesn't feel like the Everton of even a few years ago.

Roll back to the Moyes era or even the first year under Martinez, the fans were full of voice, vocal , there were songs aplenty for every player, we had our cult heroes like Fellaini and the song to go with it, likewise Arteta, Cahill , Carsley, who can forget the velocity of “feed the Yak and he will score“ coming from the Street End when Yakubu had buried another goal?

Even Roberto Martinez had songs belted out about him and his players in that first year .

There was enthusiasm, optimism, a bouncing noisy crowd and a nasty scary venue for opponents .

It's just gone now at Everton, there's almost an empathy there and malaise from Evertonians nowadays going the match.

It reminds me of the early 90s when fans disappeared, and the only thing that rekindled that love and bonded the supporters with the team again that brought them back was the Joe Royle era and winning the Cup in 1995.

You get the feeling if this continues for too much longer at Everton, it could eventually lose a generation of supporters.

We need to get back our identity.

The fans need heroes on the pitch again, cult heroes, and a manager that can live up to those expectations rather than dampen them and drag our hopes down.

Now we have, apparently, a clueless manager who wheels out the same tired excuses after every game, eg, "not good enough", "mentally weak", "failing to do the basics" etc...

Well, you Brummie bastard, that's why you are getting paid millions to sort it out!!!

I am beginning to seriously hate Everton and everything connected to it. It doesn't take a genius to see what our flaws are but these multimillionaire fuckups seem to take pride in their ineptitude and lack of shame.

Who is motivating the team? The players feel our fears and believe it or not we are a team/squad in transition. We new it had to come. Perhaps this season is that and having big Sam is a blessing. Realistic and honest views about our play and players is what is needed. Sam does that better than anyone.

The left-back fiasco is inexcusable. The imbalanced śquad falls on the Director of Football.

Sam though deserves some scrutiny too. His strengths are man management and organization. I haven't seen evidence of either in weeks.

I wonder did any one meeting or conversation include the use of a football and passing the ball ??

No matter the personnel he sets the team up to negate and bore – this he does so well it has become his trade mark. I believe we will stay up, as I believe we would have stayed up under Unsy. I believe that as long as he stays at the club we will stay up. But that is all.

All entertainment and joy from watching the team will go, as it is now going. The deafening white noise blaring from the speakers into the Park End today is preferable to the smug arrogant, "not my fault", "aren't I great" shite this man spouts.

What a fucking moron. The players can't pass the ball, because they have no options. There is no movement, nobody "offers". The man on the ball is always isolated. We cant even take a throw-in... they all run away from the thrower.

Things will not changed as long as the Night King is in charge. Players are so preoccupied thinking about how to stop the opposition when we don't have the ball, they don't have a clue what to do with it when we get it.

For fuck's sake, there must be a manager out there who can get us playing decent, effective football.

Whilst recognising the irony, as I go every week, I cannot for the life of me understand how the ground is almost full every week.

How dare you. The answer is obviously to be even more boring. Passing? Who needs that. Let's ask if we can start two keepers.

The 2 defensive midfielders are basically on top of the 2 centre halves and we walk out of defence because we know we will lose the ball within a couple of seconds.

It's becoming a chore going to Goodison

Isn't that down to our hapless board to find a manager capable of dragging this club that's been allowed to hit its knees back to its feet??

This is a pure fact, Sam Allardyce was brought in as a troubleshooter, a stabiliser to keep the club up this season, he is not, I repeat NOT, going to move the club to where it should be aiming for.

If Allardyce departs, I'd be looking at Fonseca but it gets a bit exhausting all of this conveyor belt stuff doesn't it? He's shit, let's try another one. He'll make it all better.

With the exception of Brown Shoes' first year, and an exceptional Gareth Barry, it has simply never worked. What it results in is two positions: attack and defence and 40 yards between (ideal for fat Sam and his 00's Bolton tactics).

We need a midfield ffs. We need to build through something.

My choice would be to stop the fancy stuff and go back to 4-4-2 and stick with a team until it gels – it simply can't be any worse!

Pickford
Kenny Keane Holgate Garbutt
Walcott Davies Baningime Bolasie
Tosun Calvert-Lewin

Vlasic, Rooney, Klaassen, Sandro, Sigurdsson, Lookman, Feeney, Gueye, Niasse on the bench for now. With Browning, Dowell and Connolly coming in next year, and a new centre half and left back.

Williams, Jagielka, Schneiderlin, and Martina need to go. They have no place in an EFC line-up.

Fonseca is a very good shout, Guardiola had many words of praise for him from his battles with him.

I don't know the situation with Tuchel but I'd be trying to sound him out too if he's available still?

I cannot understand how so many pro's can play soooooooo badly. Maybe try Niasse and Tosun up front against Leicester???

What has happened to Garbutt?? Can't we get him in at left-back??? He must be better than Martina.

Sam says how it is which is fair enough but we have got to show some balls and fight in these games and he needs to earn his pay. We are 9th somehow but by the end of February we could be in serious trouble again.

Seriously, EFC is not good for the old ticker.

That picture that keeps getting shown of Moshiri – "He looks like a mad professor". Him and Kenwright together... there is no fucking hope for us.

I suppose the next FA Cup round they will be in Dubai, sunning themselves as a reward for all the shit they have given us.

Simonsen, Pistone, Weir, Stubbs, Unsworth (Blomqvist 75), Hibbert, Carsley, Gemmill, Gravesen, Radzinski (Moore 45), Ferguson.

What I note from that team was a team with more heart, fight and leadership in Stubbs, Weir, Unsworth, Graveson, Carsley, Ferguson, Hibbert than this current shower. Look at our Captain... Jags, hardly inspiring is he!.

Football is not about throwing money around like confetti but building team that has spirit, pride, heart and having a connection with the fans. Something I don't see with this current bunch.

We need the squad trimmed urgently to begin to redress these issues and build team spirit again. I would go as far as to stop any further spending 'apart from a left back' and get a smaller squad in for early preseason and try and get some shape, balance and fluidity into the team before next season. Our preseason games this season were shocking and its carried on from there. The warning signs were there.

All we as fans can do is keep the faith, get this season over with and go again.
COYB.

They were the days when Everton players at least cared and wore the blue shirt with pride and passion, a bit like the 1990s team, limited technique wise but absolutely full of heart and aggression.

Calling the players Mental is a new one.

West Brom in the last encounter showed how to neutralise the Everton attack (long Ball / Tosun isolated / no support play)and then take up a higher defensive line putting Everton under pressure in their own half and supporting their own forward play. They also learned from Tottenham that the Centre Half is instructed to man mark and can be drawn out of position, enabling them to exploit a lack of pace in that position. Credit to Walcott in his interview after the match when he said that Everton needed to play higher up the pitch.

In the last game West Brom where only finding out the tactics and could have been beaten had the unorthodox and unpredictable Niasse been brought on. But Sam took fright and substituted negatively.

In this game Walcott in the second half on his own initiative tried to support, but West Brom where resolute in there tactics, Facing defeat Big Sam had not choice but to introduce Niasse, who West Brom didn't want on the pitch to spoil the party, but the unpredictable and unorthodox Niasse that doesn't know or care about tactics scored (Man of the Match) with Everton second shot on target for a God knows how long.

In his after match interview Big Sam reluctantly acknowledged Niasse goal but came out with some tosh about Niasse having difficulty with the pace of the Premier League.

Why???? Because he is trying to move Niasse out , but Moshiri hasn't got back to him regarding Niasse agents Vodoo and it's starting to put him under pressure as Niasse hero status increases and he start to think the Vodoo (Mental) is having a affect on other players.

Thank God for Vodoo, even though I am not sure I can say that.

You couldn't make it up, fellow long suffering Everton Fans.

Jay Wood has pointed out elsewhere that we should be looking upwards. He's right, though – as we are obliged to say – it shows how bad the Premier League is now. I foresee another round of stinking Europa League qualifiers in early June or whenever it is, somewhere exotic. All hail, Big Sam.

Looking for the positives.

WTF?

I'm loyal but when the club are happy to charge me 㿒 and employ this manager, that makes for a miserable day. I was actually stunned how bad Schneiderlin is. He needs moving out.

The lowest moment was Kenny's free kick. He hit it into space and nobody was there. Is that by instruction?

No Tom Davies. No Lookman. This manager should be fired now because he will do insurmountable damage with his face saving excuses.

It was amateurish today. I could believe what I was seeing which doesn't say much for how it's gone.

As for the sentiment: to be honest, I don't hate Liverpool, except for derby day they're irrelevant. I'll never wish them well, but I don't care. If we're ever going to develop as a club, we need to compare ourselves to the champions elect, not to Liverpool.

The style of football Allardyce serves up is like booking a table at a Michelin star restaurant and being told today's special is Pitbull steak overdone.

I won't be eating at Chez Goodison again until the Fat Chef is fired by the owner. Thinking about it, a Pitbull steak might just be a fuck sight tastier than the shite Fat Sam is putting on the table. I might have to give it a go.

I assume the answer is "yes", on the basis that any achievement while Allardyce is in charge will be despite him (and will have been achieved in an ugly way) and will, of course, be nothing that Unsworth would not have achieved regardless, much more quickly and in a much more attractive and Evertonian style.

We're hugely unlikely to get anywhere near 7th given Allardyce's terminal deficiencies, but these speculations might be entertaining since we have a 10-day gap before the next match.

Unless we are watching different Everton teams then I can tell you the Everton that I watch isn't finishing 7th mate.

Regardless of how we could be close to this team or that team , we don't win enough games, score enough goals or even look like creating enough chances to finish above the likes of Leicester who are much better than us with players that actually know what the fuck they are doing.

It would be an absolute travesty on the Premier League if a team as bad as us finished 7th.

I'm still searching for three teams that look worse as an overall unit than Everton at present.

A few of them do have it. Holgate and Kenny never stop trying, although their naive mistakes seem to be multiplying. Jags, who sprinted 90 yards to create an equalizer at Anfield and was rewarded with a seat on the bench. Bolasie, who works his ass off even though he's not fully fit yet. Siggy, who never has anybody to make his passes to because nobody's moving. Baines, whom we miss desperately. And Davies, who somehow can't get on the pitch because of... SCHNEIDERLIN???!!! That decision alone disqualifies Sam as manager as far as I'm concerned.

Unfortunately, only the players themselves can change things now. Sam can talk until he turns purple and it won't matter. The answer lies in the guys who lace 'em on every day.

Each successive manager since Moyes has only served to worsen the football club.

Theo should lend Sam his bin liners tonight.

Surprise, surprise.

Some of the players are average but they gave it a go with plenty of skill too. I bet these players are not near the wages our players are on and I'm sure the manager is on a lot less than ours.

In the same game, you have Chelsea with Hazard and Willian creating so much space with one touch or showing boundless energy – it barely resembles the same league we play in.

As for that horrible little git Conte. He is just what we need!

Cuco Martina couldn't look less interested if he tried. Kenny was badly exposed and his confidence seems to be waning. Holgate got it wrong again!!! And Williams looks like a player waiting for a transfer.

The midfield are terrified to have the ball at their feet and try to get rid rather than play.

I can't really comment on our forward 3 as I can't remember them having the ball for long enough to make an impression on the match.

Kick-off. Walcott passes back to Schneiderlin who promptly launches the ball at the corner flag.

Allardyce can say what he wants, post-match. That's his ‘tactic' and it's disgraceful to see from a professional football team. I was embarrassed if my Sunday league team did that – and we were not playing on a carpet like this lot.

There is so much wrong it's hard to pinpoint anymore.

Pickford – Good player. Wish he could parry the ball away from goal though. It also annoys me that both his feet leave the floor when he kicks the ball off the ground. Can't give him a hard time though. He's young and he's been our player of the season.

Kenny – Had a poor game. In his defence, he must have been told to pump it down the line every time he gets it. Unfortunately it reflects poorly on him when there is never a Blue shirt in sight.

Holgate – Has ability and lots of potential. He is also a very arrogant young man. It's not often I dislike an Everton player, particularly a kid. He just looks like a complete arsehole to me.

Williams – Tremendous fall from grace. That he is a first choice centre-back says more about Keane and Jags than it does about his own ability.

Martina – Never a footballer. If you're a right-footed left-back then, at the very least, you should be able to cut back on your right foot and get an unchallenged cross in. Offers absolutely zero and slows down every attack. He doesn't pick himself though.

Schneiderlin – Does nothing going forward, or defensively. Really liked him when he signed. Now I can't stand to see him on the pitch. He can only be selected ahead of Gueye because of his passing range. This might be evident in training, but on matchday it is conspicuous in its absence. Get this muppet out of the team.

McCarthy – Offered lots of energy, typified by the wonderful tracking back that has probably ended his Everton career. Poor lad, genuinely gutted for him.

Vlasic – Did very little, but then he is playing the toughest role in world football. Messi would struggle with Martina behind him.

Sigurdsson – Worked his socks off. Looked much better in the middle. He tried, failed, and tried again. At least one player is trying to play their way out of bad form.

Walcott – Must be wondering what he's signed himself up for.

Tosun – Same again. He didn't look good but I think you've got to give him time.

Bolasie – Should have had 5 U23 games before being anywhere near the First Team. Looks as rusty as anything.

Rooney – Thinks he's Andrea Pirlo. Sits deep and floats 60 yard nothing-balls towards the corner flag. Didn't work when we had the aerial colossus, Aaron Lennon out there... it's not going to work with Walcott either. Play him as a striker or not at all.

Niasse – Great finish and, as ever, he worked incredibly hard. He's a good option from the bench.

All-in-all... thoroughly depressing.

I'm a glass-completely-full supporter once the ball is dropped. That won't change.

But I don't kid myself about what's hitting my eyes. We have a bunch of players. Not a Team.

So, all I want is for us to get enough points to not fall into a relegation fight. That's it. My glass-full attitude until May.

Because I have no choice but to accept what I'm seeing. We don't, and won't, become a better Side from now til then.

Mr. Moshiri is approaching his second-year anniversary becoming the principle owner of Everton.

He's boosted things on the commercial side and the docks is a go. In the end, though, it all flows from the "product" on the pitch.

He has to, must, remove Kenwright from any goings-on at Everton. The Barry-Lukaku-McCarthy signings coup excepted, his decision-making has been a disaster since Moyes left.

Never more obvious then since Mosh has left that part of Club operations under his control.

For the rest, somehow let's get to 37-38 points by May. I'll consider that my glass spilling the head of my beer onto the bar. Genuinely happy with that.

Because I have no choice.

I just hope we survive this season and replace him with a proper coach/manager in the summer. I am sick and tired of our team being ultra-defensive bore, home and away against whatever team, ffs.

After 60 years of supporting Everton, it's over for me. I can't stand to watch the listless, disorganized, uncommitted crap anymore.

Burnley for me from now on!

That's all I've got to say about the state of things at the moment.

If you do watch Burnley, please permit me to suggest that you watch Ben Mee for a very under-rated centre-half (former left-back) who anticipates and covers for his defenders and goalkeeper. He has raced back to make two clearances off the line in each of the games before the Man Utd game. He is making Tarkowski look good, just like he did Keane.

Also watch how Cork and Defour run the midfield for Burnley, transitioning from defensive marking to offense and back again. It is a hard-working squad. Wonder how Dyche can seem to get so much from his squad but Fat Sam can't seem to manage or coach such effort from his squad of presumably better players?

Other players to watch are Vokes as well as Brady and Wood when the two come back from injury.

BTW, can someone tell Allardyce that the player he referred to as a "substitute" has a name, Niasse. He might want to familiarize himself with the player.

What club with any sense sells an asset like that? He might be clumsy and unorthodox but he puts the willies up opposition defences and that's what we need. If we sell our season's folk hero then there really is no way I can see us scoring the goals we need to stay up.

And his goal yesterday, within seconds of coming on, was a real class finish, from a ball at a difficult height to control. Watched the game on beIN Sports and can honestly say he had to be my MotM with Walcott not far behind. The rest? Dire and dreadful.

What I noticed in his brief cameo was his willingness to get to the near post before his marker. I think it would be a really bad move to sell him to a premier league opponent at this moment in time. It has the potential to come back and bite us big time.

We are almost certainly going to get dragged back towards the arse end of the table in the coming weeks. It's bad times on the pitch and confusing times off it.

Even when we were skint and proper crap we knew where we were going no where. But this worse in some ways. We have the cash but have entrusted chimpanzees to waste it.

18 months on and we can't put in a solid 90. A woeful team full of poor individuals.

I've supported Everton for most of my thinking life (and will continue to do so) but the people running the show are (or have already) draining me of my love and passion. I don't know what to do or think anymore tbh.

You hit the nail on the head about Holgate. Williams gets flack for his distribution but what I've seen Holgate is arguably as bad if not worse with his passing, it's god awful.

Rondon owned our defence yesterday, bullied us and basically had us off big time.

1) How the fuck are we still 9th?

2) Moyesie has given West Ham real momentum now (up to 10th) and Hammers fans have gone quiet. Should we have taken him back short-term to 'stabilise' Koeman's mess? He would surely have us looking better than the shite and nonsense this clown is conning us with?

3) Given the excess number of midfielders we were supposed to have, that area of the field is seriously bereft of anything resembling effect at the moment. If Sanchez goes to Man Utd, would that give us the chance to have a nibble at Mata again?

The team has no natural balance with our only left footed player playing in goal. Lookman has to be given a chance, as it's clear Bolasie is way off from starting.

On the back 4, we are absolutely screwed until Baines and Coleman are fit again, and hope to god Keane improves. Holgate and Kenny just aren't premier league quality yet. Whereas Martina never will be and Jags n Williams are of the ilk to just keep you in the Premier League. What a fucking shambles.

I suggest you go through our remaining fixtures and, based on the way we're playing only (not in how you think we should be doing), estimate the points tally from those games. I personally don't see us reaching 40 points... I really don't.

I know that 40 points isn't necessarily the required total using recent stats but the fact that we look unlikely to reach what many class as enough points to survive is an absolute disgrace!

For those who state "there're are a good few teams worse than us and there's no way we'll go down," I'd say "We just avoided a home defeat to the one of those teams, to the second-worst team in the league."

Without a complete transformation over the remaining games, we're in danger – you'd better believe it.

The team he picked yesterday was abysmal, Vlasic looks another player out of his depth, leaving us without a real goal threat.

I think Sam will be gone in the summer, just read Silva has been sacked by Watford, which makes you wonder does the present owner have a clue what his doing? I think he needs to ditch Kenwright and get a an experienced football man in to help him, if we are to improve.

We may have no influence anymore on their club but at least they cannot demand logic and consistency in this mostly depressing part of my existence.

COYB (for next hour!)

That striker didn't have a shot because none of the other useless fuckers found him with a pass all game! It's as simple as that.

Harry Kane would struggle in that team because, apart from the Rooney pass that found Walcott for our goal, there was almost no threat and no creativity. Tosun can't be blamed for that.

The guy scored the equaliser within one minute of coming on. And yet we have 4, yes, four cretins at the back who are grossly incompetent to put it mildly. Barring Pickford, we would have lost yesterday.

Just hope those so called "much worse than us" teams live up to that!

13 Everton FC 38 9 11 18 31:57 -26 38
14 Huddersfield Town 38 10 8 20 29:61 -32 38
15 Watford FC 38 10 7 21 41:67 -26 37
16 Stoke City 38 8 7 23 35:73 -38 31
17 Newcastle United 38 8 6 24 33:59 -26 30
18 Brighton & Hove Albion 38 7 9 22 27:56 -29 30
19 West Bromwich Albion 38 4 12 22 27:60 -33 24
20 Swansea City 37 4 8 25 21:63 -42 20

Oh – he also mentioned that Cenk is at his best when his teammates create a few chances for him.

There was no movement or options for the player in possession and no willingness to hunt in packs to get the ball back, West Brom were fare better because they worked harder.

Moyes will be back, mark my words and get you money on now whether you fancy that or not.

I have posted from the beginning that Sam Allardyce should never have been appointed; however, he is here and he was brought in to resolve the very problem he is complaining about – ie, confidence – isn't that what managers do? How could he not take this team forward having watched Unsie's last game in charge a 4-0 win over West Ham who will finish so far above us we will be screaming for Moyes to come back!!

Mr Allardyce, you cannot motivate the players because they, like we fans, see you as a one dimensional manager who has passed his sell by date.

I look forward to just one weekend where I can feel positive about being an Everton fan for which I have for 60 years!!

Vlassic and Kenny were appalling and we may as well have played with 9 men. No way is Kenny good enough at this level. If Sam wants to trim the squad he should start by sending a few younger players out on loan for game time and experience.

Rooney and Niasse score goals and have to play, that's what the game is about. Something Bolasie could do with learning. Walcott had a promising debut and definitely an upgrade to what we have.

We all have our opinions but I'd not play Kenny, that's based on the amount of times he gifted back to the ball to the opposition. I'd be playing 3 at the back and try to control the game better... but then again I'd also have Martinez's style football back!!

What we need now is another lengthy post by Mike Hughes explaining that his appointment wasn't the lowest point in Everton's already sorry recent history, but in fact a masterstroke in hiring a misunderstood managerial genius.

I've never stated any of that, Steve. But if you're the same Steve Brown who was in my class 30-odd years ago (and had to keep repeating a year due to a failure to comprehend), why not sit nearer the front?

School day tomorrow, Steve. LOL.

That is now the sum total of 2 goals in our last 6 league games both down to the contribution of the ridiculously maligned Niasse who the manager wants to sell.

Why is that, Sam?

I love Everton, always will. However, I wasn't being merely cynical. It really is strange how the Burnley bandwagon is rolling along with such endeavor, out of which emerges results and no little quality.

The results angle seems to me to be undermined by a series of quite shocking referring howlers in favor of their opposition, but what class being shown by Sean Dyche. He never gets drawn into the mire, just stays semi-detached and objective about his own team as well as the opposition as if he doesn't really care but you know he does.

Why did Keane look so impressive for them but so crap for us? Why did Everton not look at Dyche to organize their management crisis is beyond me... hence the crisis, I suppose.

Also, what is it about Niasse? Why and how can the Club possibly be treating him like they do? His goals per minutes scoring statistics are the best in Europe, in the toughest league!

I accept the substitute role can be misleading, but he really knows where the onion bag is. His goal on Saturday was the product of a quick fast run into space, ahead of Walcott's headed assist, thus making the assist a possibility. Credit to both players.

I would love to see Niasse alongside Tosun, with Lookman and Walcott on the wings, and Gana and Sigurdsson in midfield. With Pickford in goal, we could forget about the defense (we don't have one anyway!).

ps: Why is it when we kick off, we pass the ball sideways / backwards and invariably hoof it upfield or out play, which always gifts the ball to the opposition? Anything has to be better than those options!

Why can we not see Everton play a match with hunger anymore??

As I type, you know who has levelled for Spurs.

I cannot understand how or why Ashley Williams is anywhere near the first team. He offers absolutely nothing to the team other than chaos around him.

Schneiderlin is another who offers nothing. Why people keep calling him a defensive midfielder is beyond me. Surely a defensive midfielder would win the occasional 50-50 challenge.

Bolasie, even when fully fit, is hit and miss but, when clearly only 60% fit, he is a liability. Fortunately Big Sam has the solution – play him on the left wing so that, along with Martina, we have two players who only use their left leg for standing on.

I was sat here thinking that the Board would consider the changing of the manager again would be prohibitively costly. Then I thought again.

We were prepared to go to 㾸m (not the oft reported 㾶m) to secure Silva but instead, when he showed honour and wouldn't resign, we went for Fat Sam for ٠m compensation to Crystal Palace.

That leaves 㾶m of what we were originally prepared to pay. Surely there's a deal to be done to get rid of FS and his 'entourage' that would cost us overall no more than we were prepared to pay 2 months ago?

As a benefit, we wouldn't be saddled with any of Fat Sam's bullshit signings (assuming Tosun and Walcott don't already fall into that category).

It's time to be bold and show proper leadership and have the courage of our convictions. Do the right thing and do it now.

This is one of the biggest problems playing guys out of position and on their weaker leg. Square pegs round holes. How we don't have a left-sided player other than Baines just beggars belief. Williams and Jags can't play out from defence on the left side because they can't fucking kick the ball with their left foot.

I know a lot of the folks here want Rooney assigned to the bench but I cannot believe he was dropped yesterday and Schneiderlin played. This just goes to show to me that Sam has no clue!! What does he see in Schneiderlin that we all don't see?

With purchasing Walcott I would like to see us try a 4-4-2 system and play Walcott and Niasse as strikers. These guys are quick and can worry any defence. They just need to receive the ball from somebody who can pass forward and that means you have to play Rooney and maybe Davis now that Macca is out and Sigurdsson and one from Lookman or Bolasie.

I see on the Echo that there is a call to bring Klaassen back... my word, we really are in trouble if we think he will ever wear the blue shirt again.

Southampton third from bottom and they are streets ahead of us in every department. Took the game to Spurs from the start and had several chances to win it as well.

Talk about rewarding failure!!, is it any wonder most on ToffeeWeb are pissed off to the high heavens???

Last five seasons, we have played with two defensive mids most of the time and it has not worked, yet we still persevere with it.

Please, please, can the powers that be bring in a manager who can play good attacking football, able to pressurise the opposition when not in possession and field four proper defenders in their right positions. Rocket science it ain't !!!???.

It might not seem like it but we are better than early season.

The problem as I see is a very fragile mentality from the players and it's been like that for years so it's not something that Sam Allardyce has brought into the club.

Moyes's team had characters like mad Tommy, Tim Cahill and Lee Carsley. Of the current crop, there is only James McCarthy who would have a go and now he is out for the season.

I really fear that if we don't get a hardnosed bastard in we will fall apart before the end of the season.

Just to put it into context, we are now almost 40 points behind Man City after 24 games.

I could have told you after our 4-1 annihilation at Southampton in November that they were streets ahead of us in every department – not least vastly superior in the fitness side of things.

Everton have been a very very lucky team this season with some extremely good fortune in lots of games and we are in a false position; there's no way we deserve to be in the top half of the table, no way are we even anywhere near good enough.

We must go away from Goodison with the approach of winning matches. Draws away are not points gained but two points dropped. If we lose with this attitude then so be it.

This board have a lot to answer for, the sooner they are replaced the better. And I really can't say Moshiri is any better than Kenwright, and that's saying something!

And why didn't we go for Harry Maguire, 㾾m instead of this useless donkey called Keane, 㿅m?

The boos were aimed at Allardyce as, seeing as we were chasing the game, they wanted Niasse to play alongside Tosun – not replace him.

Schneiderlin's inclusion is baffling and must have something to do with it. I think at times like these the number of local guys in the team needs to be as high as possible as pride is serious lacking with some of them. The football side of things really needs to be updated.

The answer regarding Keane is that Mee, Lowton, and Heaton made Keane look far better than he is by cleaning up his errors. Ben Mee is doing the same thing with Tarkowski this season.

Mee is an intelligent player who is strong in the box and very good at being where he needs to be. He is Burnley's Jags when Jags was sub-30.

Plus the entire team, including the forwards and mids, cover for one another. Burnley just doesn't quite have the finishing quality that money they don't have would buy. Plus Wood is injured still.

I truly believe Koeman lost his way when the board failed to bring in a replacement striker and Rooney returning. He looked a dejected man. That then passed onto the players.

The aging squad certainly doesn't help either.

Allardyce's record is in real danger.

Apart from McCarthy and precious few, that can't be said for our squad. Not enough Peter Reids – too many Michael Madars.

Evidently Dion Dublin and two women on BBC's Final Score were taking the piss when they heard that Everton had just had their first shot on target this year.

Yes, laughing out loud!

This team's a shower of shite.

"Probably the worst back 4 in my time as a fan."

Whilst they're far from the best, they're certainly not the worst. The problem is a midfield that lacks pace, constantly pass to the opposition and fail to track runners thus putting the defence on the back foot time and again.

The same midfield criminally fail to service the front runners so that our first shot on target came from a full back in the 37th minute.

Who was responsible for signing a midfield player for 㿂M who is so poor he now doesn't even make the squad. Who failed to have a back up when Giroud failed to sign? Who failed to address the left-back problem? Who signed Bolasie and nearly signed Sissoko.

Step forward, Mr Steve Walsh. Your time is (surely) up.