Romelu Lukaku

[blueblue]

He would go to Man Utd. If that happens I reckon we'll get £50m plus Rooney. However, it would mean Mourinho admitting he was wrong to get rid of him, and I'm not sure that has ever happened.

Utd want rid of Rooney and Rooney wants out of Utd.

Why would we concede a huge portion of a fee for Lukaku to facilitate this ?

I do not believe that Mourinho would want Lukaku anyway.
Lukaku has done very well at Everton where the team is built around him, it would be a very different challenge for Lukaku at one of the very top European clubs where he has to adapt to the system and accept that the goals will be shared around more easily. Not saying he wouldn't succeed , just a very different challenge.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Mourinho is not going to indulge a striker like Lukaku. His previous history of strikers shows he wants world class target men who have a good touch, physically occupy defenders, can defend from the front, and win the big games for him. Drogba, Milito, Benzema, Costa, Ibrahimovic. They are all the same profile. Despite the number of goals Lukaku doesn't have these elements to his game. His touch is poor, he does not want to get involved in physical confrontation, he does not occupy defenders unless he is about to score, and he barely shows up in big games. I can't see Mourinho shelling out close to a world record fee for a player with these limitations. Any scouting report would tell you the same thing. Get him one on one he'll score, his in the box movement is second to none, in every other aspect of his game though he's not a top player.

 

[Little Ralphy]

Who are these 'top' players that we keep hearing about that win every game they play because they never have a bad day and always turn up with their A game?

I assume they all play for the teams with the best fans, who force their team to improve and win games just through sheer willpower and refusing to accept second best.

I can see what you're saying but for a lot of Everton players - Lukaku included - it's pretty much every time we play a better side or there is some pressure on, that they don't perform. I know Drogba is always brought up when Lukaku is mentioned, but even when Chelsea didn't play well he always put in a shift and made people work hard. When he was at Marseille he scored a hat-trick at that shed. If there was a big game he came up with the goals.

Someone like Costa as well, will work hard along the line and hold the ball up, bring others in to play. Lukaku did none of that. If he wants to be a top player like he keeps saying he does, then he needs to learn to affect the game positively, especially in big games when it counts. And not just wait for chances to be created for him like a Defoe would.

I think he's a great talent, with loads of potential and is a massive player for us, but he's not beyond criticism, and there is loads of room for him to improve his game.

 

[Stuartisitc1878]

Utd want rid of Rooney and Rooney wants out of Utd.

Why would we concede a huge portion of a fee for Lukaku to facilitate this ?

I do not believe that Mourinho would want Lukaku anyway.
Lukaku has done very well at Everton where the team is built around him, it would be a very different challenge for Lukaku at one of the very top European clubs where he has to adapt to the system and accept that the goals will be shared around more easily. Not saying he wouldn't succeed , just a very different challenge.

the problem with United is they aren't a top side anymore. They aren't a cert to be top 4 let alone champions. Their fans are also muppets of the highest order. They accept Pogba's naff performances because he's Pogba and worthy of their respect but Felliani, a player they've never taken too because he came from us and in their eyes is the symbol of everything that was David Moyes. They manage to blame for every one of their poor results whether he's playing or not and it doesn't matter whether Jose rates him or not or whether he's playing better than Pogba they feel he isn't United quality (he's not a United player the pundits say a lot). Just look at how United fans now talk about Rooney, their all time leading goalscorer.

 

[hallamblue]

the problem with United is they aren't a top side anymore. They aren't a cert to be top 4 let alone champions. Their fans are also muppets of the highest order. They accept Pogba's naff performances because he's Pogba and worthy of their respect but Felliani, a player they've never taken too because he came from us and in their eyes is the symbol of everything that was David Moyes. They manage to blame for every one of their poor results whether he's playing or not and it doesn't matter whether Jose rates him or not or whether he's playing better than Pogba they feel he isn't United quality (he's not a United player the pundits say a lot). Just look at how United fans now talk about Rooney, their all time leading goalscorer.

They've never had respect for Rooney, they've always had an uneasy relationship with him, bit like Owen with Liverpool.

 

[Lanolin]

I can see what you're saying but for a lot of Everton players - Lukaku included - it's pretty much every time we play a better side or there is some pressure on, that they don't perform. I know Drogba is always brought up when Lukaku is mentioned, but even when Chelsea didn't play well he always put in a shift and made people work hard. When he was at Marseille he scored a hat-trick at that shed. If there was a big game he came up with the goals.

Someone like Costa as well, will work hard along the line and hold the ball up, bring others in to play. Lukaku did none of that. If he wants to be a top player like he keeps saying he does, then he needs to learn to affect the game positively, especially in big games when it counts. And not just wait for chances to be created for him like a Defoe would.

I think he's a great talent, with loads of potential and is a massive player for us, but he's not beyond criticism, and there is loads of room for him to improve his game.

He can definitely improve his game, no arguments there. And I agree that sometimes we need more from him.

My issue is the idea that some people keep putting forward, that the really good players always produce when it matters. They don't, simple as that.

If Lukaku never produced in these games then there'd be a case to answer, but he does. He scored in a cup QF and SF last season, has 3 goals in derbies, had one of his best games in the 3-0 win against Arsenal which was absolutely massive at the time, and earned us a point at City this season in a game where we only managed to give him the ball about twice and one of them was on the half way line. His record in these games is pretty similar to others. I put up stats the other day which showed he's scored more goals against the top 6 this year than Costa or Aguero. Are they not top players? If they are, why haven't they done more to get their teams results? Why can't Aguero drag City to the latter stages of the CL? Harry Kane has been in great form for 3 years, but how did he look in the Euros when England needed him? Like a selling plater is the answer.

The criticisms of Lukaku are valid in isolation, but the idea that other players don't have the exact same issues is a total fallacy. We just don't care about them because they don't play for us.

 

[davids]

But he didn't stand around with his hands on his hips. But I don't expect him to be running back to the edge of our own are either...

For Rom to be at his best he needs support and space. He had neither - for a plethora of reasons, some of which were his own making - on Saturday.

You say he's a big powerful player which is spot on, but he isn't the new Drogba. He isn't a target man - he's more akin to Sturridge or Vardy.

And I'm all for pressing, but one player pressing on his own isn't useful. You need to press in packs. We didn't do that on Saturday.

He didn't stand around with his hands on his hips? Were we watching the same match? Don't get me wrong he's the best out and out finisher we've had for a very long time,but lets be honest,when the going gets tough Rom goes missing.

 

[Tin-Tin]

Who are these 'top' players that we keep hearing about that win every game they play because they never have a bad day and always turn up with their A game?

I assume they all play for the teams with the best fans, who force their team to improve and win games just through sheer willpower and refusing to accept second best.

Thats the point, nobody is saying they turn up every week, but they have won points on their own when the teams been struggling. How many times did Gerrard and Suarez do it for Liverpool, Drogba or Lampard for Chelsea, Henry, Messi, Ronaldo etc - even Rooney to a certain extent. These are the big game players - they dont just do it against the likes of Hull, West Brom, Osasuna but against the top teams in massive games.

Rom has yet to do this. I agree about the service but he has to do more to influence the bigger games. He had plenty of service against Man U in the FA cup semi final where he fluffed his lines and missed the decisive penalty in the Super Cup Final against Bayern.

 

[Lanolin]

Thats yhe point, nobody is saying they turn ip every week but have won points on their own when the teams been struggling. How many times did Gerrard and Suarez do it for Liverpool, Drogba or Lampard for Chelsea, Henry, Messi, Ronaldo etc - even Rooney to a certain extent. These are the big game players - they dont just do it against the likes of Hull, West Brom, Osasuna but against the top teams in massive games.

Rom has yet to do this. I agree about the service but he has to do more to influence the bigger games. He had plenty of service against Man U in the FA cup semi final where he fluffed his lines and missed the decisive penalty in the Super Cup Final against Bayern.

Cup quarter final against Chelsea last season to get us into a position to fluff his lines at Wembley? City away this season? 3-3 draw v Liverpool? The Europa League run? He has done it, and to suggest otherwise is just wrong. As in, there is evidence very much to the contrary if you don't only count the last game we played wrong.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Cup quarter final against Chelsea last season to get us into a position to fluff his lines at Wembley? City away this season? 3-3 draw v Liverpool? The Europa League run? He has done it, and to suggest otherwise is just wrong. As in, there is evidence very much to the contrary if you don't only count the last game we played wrong.

He could have had a double hat trick in that 3-3 v Liverpool. We absolutely caned them but Deulofeu and Lukaku played passback to Mignolet. Typically they scored 3 out of their 4 chances. We should have won that game 5 or 6 to 2.

 

[Lanolin]

He could have had a double hat trick in that 3-3 v Liverpool. We absolutely caned them but Deulofeu and Lukaku played passback to Mignolet. Typically they scored 3 out of their 4 chances. We should have won that game 5 or 6 to 2.

Yeah he could have done even better, but 2 goals in a derby counts as turning up as far as I'm concerned, otherwise we're into very weird territory of what we class as acceptable.

The simple fact is that his record is not one of a flat track bully. We've got someone saying he can't be seen as a big game player because he missed a penalty in a glorified friendly but Gerrard is a big game player, despite absolutely bottling it when the biggest moment of his career arrived. It's unbelievable how much some Everton fans seem to hate our own players.

 

[BlueToff]

 

[Tin-Tin]

Yeah he could have done even better, but 2 goals in a derby counts as turning up as far as I'm concerned, otherwise we're into very weird territory of what we class as acceptable.

The simple fact is that his record is not one of a flat track bully. We've got someone saying he can't be seen as a big game player because he missed a penalty in a glorified friendly but Gerrard is a big game player, despite absolutely bottling it when the biggest moment of his career arrived. It's unbelievable how much some Everton fans seem to hate our own players.

Seriously mate, how can you say Gerrard wasnt a big game player? Olympiakos, Istanbul, the goal against West Ham in the FA Cup, he rescued that team so many times - a slip, as hilarious as it was isnt really bottling it - its just a slip.

Some players thrive under presssure but he, along with a few others at the club seem to wilt under it. The difference with him though is that he claims to be up there with the best when he clearly isnt- yet.

 

[BlueToff]

Seriously mate, how can you say Gerrard wasnt a big game player? Olympiakos, Istanbul, the goal against West Ham in the FA Cup, he rescued that team so many times - a slip, as hilarious as it was isnt really bottling it - its just a slip.

Some players thrive under presssure but he, along with a few others at the club seem to wilt under it. The difference with him though is that he claims to be up there with the best when he clearly isnt- yet.

Lukaku single-handedly dragged us through that FA Cup quarter-final last season.

He is a big game player.

I've just posted a tweet that shows the stats back that up.

Give him the service and support and he comes up with the goods.

 

[Tin-Tin]

Cup quarter final against Chelsea last season to get us into a position to fluff his lines at Wembley? City away this season? 3-3 draw v Liverpool? The Europa League run? He has done it, and to suggest otherwise is just wrong. As in, there is evidence very much to the contrary if you don't only count the last game we played wrong.

Where was the pressure in these games? We were the undergogs against City and Chelsea, we were expected to get beat. The semi-final at wembley with the preasure on, he, along with the rest of the team went missing in the first half of the biggest game of some of their careers. Saturday, with a real chance of pushing for CL qualification, he goes missing again.

The rest of the team are not void of criticism but he's the only one shouting his mouth off at how he's in the same bracket as some of the worlds best. The worlds best produce when the pressure is on, on the biggest stages and in the biggest games.