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Everton 0-0 West Ham United
Will Roberto Martinez become third managerial casualty in the Premier League if Everton slip up tonight? Email rob.bagchi@telegraph.co.uk with the answer, or any other thoughts.
John McEnerney writes
Martinez is safe until they hit the iceberg which they aren't near yet. I can see him there for the season he's a good manager who is doing well. Not too many better coaches out there if BK sacks him it's the same for most clubs when it comes to either firing a manager or looking for a decent signing there just isn't enough quality out there just a lot of passengers. WHam looking half decent these days but this might go to a replay in the East End.
Half time It's very even.
44 min Everton break at pace from the goalkick. Lukaku speeds forward, smacking low shot that Adriano spills but again Reid saves West ham by stealing it away from Naismith's attempt to roll it in.
43 min Downing picks up a pass on the left, 25 yards from goal, shapes to shoot which makes Jagielka flinch and it lands for Amilfitano to shoot. It's wide bit there was no help from the Everton captain for his keeper there. Odd.
41 min Noble's shot is blocked on the edge of the Everton box and the home side bomb forward, four v four. Barkley takes it through the centre, drifts wide and tries to hit a diagonal ball for Lukaku to shoot but just miscalculates fractionally, enough to let Reid stop Lukaku pulling the trigger.
39 min Again Mirallas finds space on the left, drags the ball inside and shoots with his right foot past the far post.
37 min Raking cross from Mirallas after Oviedo plays it down the left touchline. The Belgium forward runs around it to centre with his right foot, a vicious, bouncing inswinger that skips over Coleman's hopeful lunge at the far post.
35 min Lukaku drives in from the left into the box, the ball on his left toe, and shapes a pass to Naismith, looking for the one-two but West Ham know his game and make sure Naismith can't turn ot back into his path.
33 min Jagielka is having a wobbly few minutes, miscuing a header when under no pressure 20 yards from his goal.
30 min Valencia almost has Jagielka on toast when he misreads a throughball and fluffs his clearance, stepping up but the bounce helps him by slowing Valencia down. He takes it on and finds Amalfitano whose flick is deflected out for a corner off Oviedo.
27 min Lukaku has a go at unpicking the defence which he does with a good pass up the left for Naismith who takes it on to a yard or so infront of the byline and goes for a goal of the season finish from a virtually impossible angle and smacks it horizontally.
25 min It wasn't quite clicking for Barkley and then he suddenly unlocks the Hammers' defence with a perfectly measured pass from the edge of the centre-circle to Lukaku's run down the inside-left channel. Lukaku clips a firm diagonal shot across goal and just wide. It took a deflection the ref didn't register.
23 min Sam Allardyce is talking urgently into his lapel mic. Saying, "get Reid to sign a new contract" presumably.
21 min Reid saves West Ham after Barry capitalises on Nolan's nonchalance, robs him 25 yards from goal, sprints ... not really ... and then ruins it by underhitting his pass to Mirallas 16 yards out on the right of the box. Mirallas still gets there before Reid but can't squeeze a shot past the defender.
19 min Everton have it on the right, stringing some passes together, but are forced to retreat and then paly it along the back four to Oviedo who taps it to Barkley. He takes a touch, stops and rolls it to the edge of the box where Naismith screws a shot from 20 yards past Adrian's right post.
16 min Downing is playing in an old left-half role, pinging it about with his left foot, the instep and the outside. He picks out Amalfitano who crosses into the box but Jagielka is a match for it.
15 min Shot from Downing with his so-called swinger, clipping it crisply with his right and arcing it high.
13 min Ian Darke and Michael Owen think the crowd is growing anxious. If it is Lukaku almost calms their nerves by turning on a throw from the left, about 25 yards out, letting it bobble across field and then scuds a low shot that Adryan parries then blocks the shot from Naismith's rebound.
11 min Downing takes it short to Jarvis who has run from the near post. He turns and stands up a chip with very little pace or power and Reid balloons it behind. He had nothing to work with.
9 min West Ham corner after Jarvis chased a lost cause. He takes it and Besic booms a header behind for another. Jarvis has another go, Naismith on the end of that one, clearing it up to Barkley, but it doesn't stick and Amalfitano links up with Noble and Valencia, cuts into the box on the right and shoots from a tight angle to earn another corner.
7 min Reid is on the ground for a minute after Naismith caught him beneath the eye when they went up for a header, the back of the Scot's bonce delivering a shiner that was accidental but painful.
6 min Valencia knocks Barry down a moment after the ball had bounced up in the Everton box and hit the Hammers' forward's arm. Free-kick for Everton.
4 min Barkley finds Mirallas bursting up the left and he gets past Jenkinson and squares, looking for Lukaku in the centre but in true panto tradition it's behind him.
3 min Roberto Martinez is on the touchline, standing and encouraging. Not a great dela happening, long chip forward from Jagielka is too heavy for Lukaku's run and skips out of play.
1 min West Ham kick off. The camera position at Goodison is quite steep. I prefer a shallow view across the pitch. West Ham win a free-kick, just inside their half and Collins chips it up, allowing Valencia to fight for the knock-on from the edge of the box with Robles. He beat the keeper to it but also jumped the gun and had wandered two feet offside.
19.42 And now it's Z Cars. Always makes me think of Jimmy Ellis, Stratford Johns and Frank Windsor.
19.41 It's a grand old team to play for ... I'm forever blowing bubbles etc.
19.35 Cresswell's 'crossing is a little generic', says David James.
19.29 Who knew that Des Kelly is BT Sport's Geoff Shreeves?
19.26 Andy Carroll's absence on his birthday is the result of a whack on the ankle in training. And not the bumps.
Colin Whiting is feeling optimistic
Four-one to West Ham: Valencia, Nolan, Noble(pen) and Cole. Coleman for Everton. West Ham have under performed twice (Chelsea, WestBrom) and been unlucky once (Arsenal) in the last three matches; this side has goals in them if they get their tails up (particularly Downing, Valencia and Amalfitano are 'mood' players) and so an early lead could well have them turn in a big performance. Big Cup run coming for the Hammers...
19.20 That's enough Everton focus. What of this West Ham side, shorn of Sakho and Song. Is Nolan still dangerous? Can Jarvis come good?
19.07 Here's the take of Chris Bascombe, our Merseyside correspondent, on why this is crunch time for Roberto Martinez and his project at Goodison Park. Click away.
19.05 Are you old enough to remember Frank Lampard snr or plain old Frank Lampard as he was then known, dancing around the corner flag after scoring in the semi-final replay against Everton at Elland Road in 1980, the year Trevor Brooking won the Cup for Yer Actual West Ham? Since then they've played twice in the Cup - a third-round tie in 1982, when goals from Billy bonds and David Cross put Everton out 2-1 and again in 1991, the year of Keith Hackett he who shall not be named when West Ham were again 2-1 winners at Upton Park, this time in the quarter-final and with goals from Stuart Slater and Colin Foster.
18.58 Now with updated subs.
18.52 Here are your teams
Everton Robles; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Oviedo; Besic, Barry; Naismith, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku.
Subs Griffiths, Stones, Garbutt, Browning, McGeady, Eto'o, Kone
West Ham United Adrián; Jenkinson, Collins, Reid, Cresswell; Noble; Jarvis, Nolan, Downing, Amalfitano; Valencia.
Subs Jaaskelainen, Demel, Tomkins, O'Brien, Poyet, Vaz Te, Cole.
Referee A Taylor
18.50 Hello - let me say straight away that I don't think Bill Kenwright will pull the plug on Roberto Martinez this early whatever the above question suggests. It's just not his style. I also think that the problems Everton are facing are easy enough to discern. They've donw brilliantly to get so much out of Sylvain Distin but it is always a finite experiment, getting the most out of any veteran player. Add in Phil Jagielka's loss of confidence after the World Cup, injuries to John Stones, Seamus Coleman and Martinez's odd belief that Leighton Baines' future lies in following Philipp Lahm's path to central midfield which he's reportedly been working on, then defensive frailties seem to me to be a natural outcome. Add in injuries for Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar, too much pretty but aimless passing and leaving poor old Romelu Lukaku isolated for great chunks of games, then you do have a problem. But one that should not be beyond the skills of Martinez to resolve. They say he'd rather stick to his principles. I reckon if you sign Gary Caldwell, your principles are more flexible than people think.
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