Brighton & Hove Albion 0 - 0 Everton [L]

Mitoma will tear O'Brien a new one.

Never saw that coming: Giants at the back...

Branthwaite left back!

At least one positive is McNeil being benched.

Come on, Harrison, claim a place here!

Please say it ain't gonna happen!!!!

Not sure I’d play two centre backs against them. Especially one just returning from long lay off. Easing him back… ?

Mykolenko is either injured or being sold.

This could be a master stroke from Moyes. Talk about inviting pressure.

As much as I think Patterson is average he deserved to stay in the team, he has done nothing wrong to get dropped.

Moyes had an opportunity today to play 5 at the back with 2 wingbacks and chose to go ultra defensive. We all knew Jake was going to play right back today.

Let's see how this game pans out.

I was fancying us to get something out of the game, but I don't like that line-up too much.

Theres too many coming back from injuries and playing out of position for my liking.

Not the greatest shock in the world

We never got told anything about Mykolenko being injured, maybe he's ill who knows, maybe he's been flogged but I doubt it.

Patterson clearly will never be fancied by any Everton manager.

Am also a little surprised he hasn't gone with McNeil, it may be the case this is his last game, and possibly Iroegbunam.

Defend this shit, don't attack us

I wonder why he's gone this way? Maybe Garner really didn't want to go to full-back.

I also think left-back in a back four is a role with different expectations than the left centre-back. I'm not sure we will find Branthwaite any more likely to overlap or cross regularly than Mykolenko, so that choice seems strange unless Mykolenko and Aznou are both unavailable.

I think calling all of the chosen back four ‘lumbering' is too harsh but Moyes definitely seems to be trying to win the game by doughtily defending corners and set-pieces and hoping that overwhelming height and strength at the opposite end will gain sufficient reward.

Not really watched much of Brighton this season so I don't know if they remain nifty and nimble or whether some of that attacking verve has become dulled by the passage of time.

All games seem in the balance this season. We can definitely win this. Come on, you immense Blues!

Look on the bright side, we've got 2 right backs on the bench (one of the keepers must also have the mystery injury that is going around) and three if you think Rohl has played there but neither of our two left backs or any juniors.

Mr Moyes has certainly sprung one here.

I don't have the first clue about this formation, but I am always half-full, rather than half-empty in my views on our prospects, especially before the match has even started.

Like everyone else, I whinge and moan if/when it isn't working out or we make stupid mistakes. COYB!

I feel for Patterson, he's not the future but he's been steady in the last couple of games and, in a 3, he is a decent wing back.

Jarrad Branthwaite at left-back is strange... but he's quick, got a good left foot, and maybe with coming back from a long time out, there's a bit less physicality at left-back?

But I always say, where there's a negative, you can find a positive: No Mykolenko, finally... brilliant result! He is the worst left back in the Premier League.

Good midfield though and Harrison Armstrong will benefit hugely playing alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. I still fancy a result here for us.

Haven't you written before, telling us with unchallengable perspicacity that "Moyes sees them every day of the week" -- and therefore his selection cannot be questioned?

Welcome to the world the rest of us occupy...

Fingers crossed it somehow works and we win, we had a good run of wins with 4CB’s under Ancellotti so you never know. Will watch with interest, hope we aren’t all cursing a strange selection after the game (too early to whinge now, surely?).

Get ready for a backs to the wall, low possession approach from our boys.In other words like most of our away performances.

Good to see Branthwaite and KDH playing again.

This will be tough as Brighton are playing well.

I just prefer to see the argument countered rather than commenting on the mood or tendencies of posters on the thread.

This was always going ton be a tricky one, but we can bring the 3 points home.

Come on blue boys.

I'm not averse to questioning his calls Michael, I just object to the overwhelming levels of cryarsing levelled at him, when we've had 6-9 players out, and are still in touching distance of the euro spots. Particularly after the last decade, and the state of the squad in the summer. As every week passes it seems the players we bought havent' immediately tanked Tosun Walcott style., we picked up the best loan, the best player, an excellent forward, and two exciting youth players. Nobody now mentions that of course...

I didn’t see that starting line-up in any of my ‘what’s Moyes going to do’ thoughts!

I see the much-maligned Anjishnu failed to post his usual pre-match piece that includes the predicted line-up. I wonder if this means something anything?

Maybe he had this one predicted and thought "Nah, no one is gonna believe four centre-backs!"

In respect to this particular selection, I don't know what he has in mind, but it is different (which is one of the criticisms often made of him - never changes anything) and he is not playing a few players (for whatever reason) who are frequently criticised on this site for not being good enough, including McNeil, Patterson and Mykolenko.

Suck it and see!

Alliser Thorne: Do you know what leadership means, Lord Snow? It means that the person in charge gets second-guessed by every clever little tw*t with a mouth. (or keyboard)

We've been absolutely shite for the last few years, looking over our shoulder, watching the results of other teams as much as our own.

We're 5 points off the Champions League in the last week of January. Not one of us thinks relegation is a possibility. That's a massive step in the right direction. We're probably going to Europe next season regardless. Which one of you wouldn't have bitten someone's arm off for that last season. Give some bloody credit where it's due.

Getting spanked at home on numerous occasions is progress is it? We are doing a lot better than last season agreed. But it doesn't make everything in the garden rosy

Dyche didn't get us 5 points off the CL after half the season was done.

Yes, "doing a lot better than last season" is progress. In fact, it's the very definition of progress.

You don't have to be a happy clapper, nor does anyone have to be a moaning sod before the game has even kicked off.

But that doesn't mean people who express different views to you should be criticized. At the end of the day we all want our team to do well and win as often as possible.

But that line up today isn't exactly a confidence filler

At least we’ve been consistent.