The Skipper

Managerial instability + the fact that we always wanted to compete short term wise is the reason why, definitely. It isn't that hard to understand. How do you expect a manager to trust any youth player when their job is constantly on the line?Tell me, who was the last player that came out of Real Madrid's academy and is now a valuable for them? We aren't the only clubs that have this problem. Hopefully now with Mourinho back here for quite a while and the team finally being pretty complete and balanced, we'll see more youngsters coming through.

Probably the most irrelevant comment but I absolutely hate beer. Still drink it though if there's nothing else there

Ake is being groomed as a back up left back and has done very well in pre season. We don't need a back up LB.

At least Pogba stayed until the end of his contract, and wasn't demanding that he needs to be the number 1 option in the CM. All Pogba wanted was a few games that'd allow him to prove his worth. Instead SAF played players like Cleverley and Rafael over him in midfield. Of course he had to leave.

And it has been explained countless of times why that's the reason. Managerial instability.

You cannot compare John's situation to Romelu's at all, please! John was going back to a team that already had 4 very, very good strikers, all strikers who were much better than him in Jovetic, Dzeko, Aguero and Negredo. Of course he isn't going to get any realistic game time there. Romelu's situation is A LOT different, because realistically speaking he should be backing himself to get minutes over Torres and Drogba. Plus John wasn't opening his mouth and angling for a move out of the club as soon as he left City to go out on loan. It really isn't comparable at all. John didn't go to City and tell the boss, "look, I will only stay if you make me undisputed 1st choice or give me significant minutes" - do you know how deluded that is? At a top club like CFC too? It's never going to happen. I can't believe you're genuinely trying to defend Lukaku's decision here. Sure, a club like Everton is a great place for him to grow but that was never the problem. The problem is that he practically demanded a top role in the team without earning it. Why should I be sympathetic with him about that? Why should my club bend over for someone that has done nothing for us? I don't, but my point is Mourinho wouldn't go out and say something like that if there wasn't any truth behind it. If it was false, Romelu will come out himself and say that Mourinho is bullshitting and give us the real reason why he left but I can't see that happening, you know why? Because what Mourinho said is definitely true. He makes sure that what he said is very clear as well: There is no ambiguity in what he said at all. It's sad that people are now basically saying Jose is lying in order to defend Romelu's decision to move. He doesn't need to be defended, his reasons are very clear.

Even if he did say something more akin to 'I'm not willing to fight for the 2nd spot of the team because of Drogba and Torres', I will say the same thing - good riddance. If he can't back himself to fight for his spot in the team then again I say - good riddance indeed. He doesn't deserve or need sympathy, because he hasn't done anything for CFC and because he clearly has his own plans and ambitions to follow.

If Mourinho is lying, surely Romelu will come out with a statement of his own to prove that what Jose said wasn't true? So Jose is lying now? Mourinho wouldn't say something like that to the public if it wasn't true. Why can't Lukaku fans just accept that this is the case? Even without Mourinho's quotes it was pretty evident that this is what he wanted.

He wanted to be our number 1 striker without working for it, he wanted it handed on a plate even though he's done nothing at CFC, how can you even try to justify that?

So that once and for all explains it all. Romelu is actually deluded. Undisputed number 1 striker at CFC? Really? Good riddance.

Benfica lot weren't lying when they said we signed the best DM in the world were they.

Lol. Goodnight.

Exactly. So why are you whining about his situation at CFC then?

Why didn't a 'proper top European CL club' buy him now then?

Thank you.

Sorry, that still doesn't explain that Robben isn't an elite player. That's exactly like saying that because Ronaldo is selfish he isn't an elite player either. Robben 'does not help his team' but helped his national team to finish 3rd (something no one really expected), where he was the best player for them, and also in 12/13 where he was one of the key men for Bayern during their treble. Right. No point in discussing this with you anyway because you're not saying anything valid that proves that Robben isn't an elite player and that he's overrated.

We have no problem at all with FFP, jog on.

What? Did you even watch those games? He wasn't poor against Mexico at all, he was the only attacking player that was actually threatening going forward and created most of our chances. Against Costa Rica he was average? Did you even watch the game? He again was Holland's best player and ran riot, again our most threatening player and ran the show up front for us. Robben was very good in almost every WC game apart from the Argentina one, where he still did okay even though Mascherano made it very difficult for him to play. Seriously, anyone saying that Robben isn't an elite player has to be joking.

Why are you ignoring his performance in the WC this year and his performances in the 12/13 CL campaign?You're mad if you don't think Robben is an elite player and one of the best in his position right now.

Do we have to sell 3 non HG players? Don't think that is necessary. Torres and Mikel/Romeu (on loan perhaps) out should be enough to get in a new striker.

There hasn't been a Miranda rumour for ages now, why is this even being discussed?

I was just giving an example tbh. It isn't the end of the world though, we can shift out one or two players in the team if we do need to accommodate another non-HG player.

Jay Rodriguez is not a bad shout.

Yup, have always thought Cesc will be more influential for us in the pivot next to Matic. We'll see though when the season starts.

That's fair enough, but that doesn't explain how you think he's overrated?