Stats

I agree but Willmots counts Mirallas as a make shift striker. In fact the game against Korea was where Mirallas was played. Many Belgians who I know were surprised that Batshuayi was not in the squad but I guess for Wilmotts having Lukaku and Origi and Mirallas as strikers are fine. Will be interesting to see what he does in the future when all strikers are fit.

Well when he played in the no.10 position against Croatia he was struggling to get in the game. Scolari moved him over to the RW and it worked wonders. His high work rate and sublime crossing made him suitable there and it got more out of Neymar.

They are around the same level. Rodriguez has had a better WC, yes but him and Hazard are very similar players. I don't think there is much between them but I would have Hazard right now. But if I had the chance to have both of them in the same team then yes please.

But let me guess, you did not say he was better than your golden boy Oscar? And he is having a brilliant WC but no I would not say he is better than Hazard. Near the same level but imo not better than him.

Well if it as a playmaker/no.10 you get much more out of a player like Rodriguez. Oscar combines well with the team etc, scores a few and works hard but he is not your typical no.10. Rodriguez on the other hand excels at dribbling, makes brilliant passes and scores goals. No surprise he was the top assist make at Monaco last season. But I would like to keep Oscar and think he will stay unless PSG offer silly money but tbh in a system that had Hazard, Rodriguez and Willian for instance we would be much more devestating on the attack. Hazard would excel more imo from this as well as Rodriguez is a tricky player who can play excellent precise through balls where the likes of Hazard and Costa can have plenty of chances to score from.

TBH with you he has been very silent. Apart from that he has been poor and not offered anything on an offensive side of view.

I am not his biggest fan nor am I his biggest critic but I don't really know what is top quality is. He can do most things but he is not excellent at any of it. But you compare him to players like James Rodriguez for instance, he is an excellent dribbler, passer and has loads of flair. I would say Oscar's best attribute is his work rate but that is not the best quality you want from a no.10. That is why I think he is inconsistent for club and sometimes country. He has no specific ability that will trouble opponents on a regular basis and imo this is why he often struggles to make a key influence in games regularly.

James Rodriguez is going to be wanted by many teams I can imagine. Been one of the starts of the tournament, if not the star of the tournament. Comes on second half and scores one and assists 2. Only 22 as well

Let's not jump to such conclusions. Origi is not better than Lukaku. He has been a better fit for Belgium so far and has got involved more and been a better impact player. Is he better than Lukaku? No he is not. 2 poor games does not make him a poor footballer. But he definitely needs to improve his attitude on and off the pitch. But like Willmots said, he was frustrated. I don't read too much into that reaction. If he simply walked of and sat down I and possibly others would be thinking he is not passionate about playing football. Different interpretations tbh. Aguero has had 2 poor games but that does not mean if Palacio goes and scores 2 goals he is a better player. But hopefully this justified criticism spurs him on. He is still in a learning process but like Origi has been used for Belgium so far, that is Lukaku's best fit for us. Costa the main striker and Lukaku as an impact player. Think it would work wonders.

2 poor performances from Lukaku seems to make everyone think he is a rubbish striker all of a sudden. Let's remmember that he still has had a very solid season. Yes Courtois has been delivering by talking but judging by our strikers inconsistent displays, Lukaku has performed well and certainly better than all the strikers we have. Lukaku had a good season, let's not forget that. He has been poor at the WC so far and while he has spoke a bit too often he is justified to feel he deserves a chance here.

Been excellent so far against Dzeko and co. Hope Mourinho is taking note. Excellent shift he has had in defence. Like the look of this lad

I am all for getting Costa and a huge fan of Cavani but those 2 games are meaningless. To be honest with you when Atletico played us over 2 legs he was nothing special same as Cavani. However when we played Napoli couple years back at their ground he was excellent and was a handfull all night long and think he got a goal and an assist. Looks unlikely we will get him but on the player himself he has always been a favourite of mine. Excellent work rate, powerful, acceleration and scores goals.

I have got the season review every single year and I must say the Chelsea TV commentary has always got on my nerves. I would prefer if it does the actual match commentary. Hope this is the case. Just recieved mine through the post earlier today. Can't wait to watch it

I guarantee you 100% Spain will be playing at the next WC. Your hatred of them is quite extreme.

Yeah. Bayern should get rid off Robben for that reason then. Logic

The bar should be set higher for him because he is reported to be joining us for 32 million and is older. Costa imo has had 2 awful games. You are not one of them but it annoys me when people set one type of standards for one player and different for another. The slate he was getting here was way overboard yesterday. He was poor but the creativity from the midfield was poor while Lukaku was playing.

These pages would be on the 368 mark had Lukaku been playing in Costa's position tonight but surprise, surprise the excuses for Costa are that he has recieved no support. BTW that is true but it is funny that when it is Lukaku it is that it is his fault. Some people just wait to pounce and slate you unfortunately because they have made their mind up.

Because Belgium don't play like Everton

Lukaku was poor but he definitely will start against Russia. Well Origi won't start. If he was to drop Lukaku he probably would play Mirallas up front but can't see him doing that. Not denyig Origi made an impact when he came on but he was a good option of the bench and I think Wilmots will use him the same way against Russia.

Well I can understand why that annoys people but when you see such comments it really annoys me. Why do people slate our striker who while has his flaws has got into double figures 2 season in a row. Look, I know he has some growing up to and play to improve but how many big clubs would love to have a striker like him on their books. When Costa was 21 please compare his stats to Lukaku. Yes, Costa has proved himself on the big stage but he is around 5 year older than Lukaku. What annoys me about Costa is his nasty antics that can cause trouble to himself and the club if he gets sent off for doing one of his 'crazy moments'. Same way Lukaku speaks to the press too much, Costa too often loses his cool. I am not saying you should not be annoyed with him for his comments and arrogance but come on he is young and just a bit immature maybe. He will learn but you should not let that turn into hatred as your comments seem to suggest. It would be best to get behind him. The last time Belgium played in the WC, Lukaku was in primary school. The more he plays with Belgium he will get better but as I reitirate he is 21. Regardless of what he says we can't expect him to be a world beater and your comments of him being a "joke of a striker" is harsh considering his age.

WOW. So much double standards. I knew this would happen. Costa has a below average game and he is rightly defended but people are waiting at the door to bash Lukaku. I am not denying that he had a bad game or am I saying he should be the no.1 striker but fucking relax. This is Belgium's first game in a WC for 12 years. They were all average in first half and some second half. Second game I am sure they will have better team chemistry and we hopefully will see a better performance. But sorry to say some of our 'fans' should be embarrassed with their comments. Especially the one who described him as a "joke of a striker" or something down those lines. We should be getting behind him regardless of his comments to the media. He is 21 and it amazes me to see how people jump on his back but when he does well you don't see the ones criticising him complementing him. I don't judge strikers on one games that is why I am not going to slate Lukaku or Costa but please don't act as if Lukaku was poor while defending Costa who was also poor despite winning the penalty. Patience of our fans is poor and shameful. He had a bad game. That does not make him a bad striker ffs.

I don't think you can draw much from his performance apart from his non-football antics such as headbutting players. That is becoming frequent and he needs to cut it out. One time he will do a stupid thing and get banned for 3 or more games for violent conduct. But come on mate let's not twist what people said. I don't recall one person saying that Lukaku is better than Costa? People criticised his performance and that is it. Some had a knee-jerk reaction and said he is overrated etc but there was not one person that specifically said Lukaku is better than Costa.

Well Ajax named him player of the season for a reason.

Poor performance really. Was decent first half and won a penalty and to sum it up done a stupid thing once again. He needs to cut that out of his game. I don't want to sound pessimistic but had this been Lukaku you just know you would have got comments like "this shows why he is not ready" and his understanding of the game is not there etc. I am positive he will do the job but his acts of stupidity concerns me. How many times does he lose his cool? He needs to work on it because we can't let that affect us next season and it worries me tbh because once he will get caught out once and miss 3 games. But anyway positive side, I am sure that was just an off game for him and the rest of the Spanish players but situations like this is why I hope Lukaku is around next season. If he is off form we can have a player like Lukaku come on and add more impetus upfront and most importantly will hopefully make Costa perform better knowing he has got a quality young striker waiting to take his place.