Romelu Lukaku

[Melanicus 5,208]

From his instagram profile.

'This how it will look from the back :-) #EFC'

[Magic Lamps 11,449]

Not sure whether it has been wise to loan out Lukaku. But his 2 cameos this season showed more what he is not yet than what he already is. Even though there is undoubted ability he lacked the cleverness and also the drive against both Villa and Muich. When he cam on with 25 minutes to play in Prague he showed nothing at all. If Drogba would have been in his position he would have worked his socks off throwing himself into every ball, playing fullback at times. Lukaku just strolled around not even attempting a tackle. He was as useless in attack. It might be difficult to retain the ball when you are the only man of you team forward but he was easily dispossessed by players half his size. I remember when Drogba took 7 minutes off the clock just by faking injuries or defending the ball at the corner flag. This is what wins you big matches. Even Ba would have done better in these situations. I think this is sth that Mourinho really rates about strikers. He does not care too much about his pre-season performances or his inconsistent matches for WBA. He needs playing time to develop consistency and match-winning ability. If Mourinho feels he can't give it to Rom yet, be it.

[Stats 6,980]

Probably cause Watford have a terrific mentor as a manager, including some of the best coaching staff. David Hughes is a youth coach there, another guy who really brings out the best from young players. And they play quite decent football, that creates an atmosphere for young players to improve. and also the reason of 90 days. Quite handy to bring him back if we need him.

Fair enough but in no way at all should Lukaku be thought of being loaned out to a CL. He is good enough to start for most PL sides IMO and playing in the Championship would be a ludicrous idea considering what he done in the PL last season. Even though going to a Championship team was never a realistic option, there are several other PL clubs who he could of join and possibly even European teams which would be much more beneficial. Anyway at Everton he is at a team who plays good football. To be honest if a Championship loan for Lukaku was even contemplated I would struggle to wonder if that is some kind of April fools day.

[English Freak 456]

Fair enough but in no way at all should Lukaku be thought of being loaned out to a CL. He is good enough to start for most PL sides IMO and playing in the Championship would be a ludicrous idea considering what he done in the PL last season. Even though going to a Championship team was never a realistic option, there are several other PL clubs who he could of join and possibly even European teams which would be much more beneficial. Anyway at Everton he is at a team who plays good football. To be honest if a Championship loan for Lukaku was even contemplated I would struggle to wonder if that is some kind of April fools day.

Completely agree. The fact that people on this forum would even consider the idea of Lukaku going to Watford for 90 days is very concerning.

He had offers from Everton & West Brom and from what I heard Marseille, Valencia and Malaga were all interested.

He's clearly a talented young striker...just needs more experience so he can better deal with pressurized situations in crucial matches.

[hjperdeath 2,226]

Fair enough but in no way at all should Lukaku be thought of being loaned out to a CL. He is good enough to start for most PL sides IMO and playing in the Championship would be a ludicrous idea considering what he done in the PL last season. Even though going to a Championship team was never a realistic option, there are several other PL clubs who he could of join and possibly even European teams which would be much more beneficial. Anyway at Everton he is at a team who plays good football. To be honest if a Championship loan for Lukaku was even contemplated I would struggle to wonder if that is some kind of April fools day.

I wasn't supporting the fact that he should go there, but just saying that Watford isn't a terrible place to go either.

[meetdoscar 335]

If you're gonna be sarcastic at least make it funny mate, now it just makes you look like a twat.

Did I hit some nerves? Take it easy i only speak the truth.

[didierforever 7,349]

did he get anytime with the belgium team?

[Hamilton 2,118]

No, Mirallas, Dembele and Pocognoli were the ones who got on second half

[Gorando 184]

Interesting article on Lukaku's not so positive image in Belgium http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/worldcupcentral/id/555?cc=5739

[Stingray 9,441]

I hope he gets a good run at Everton and builds up confidence and improves his weaker areas.

For now, I cannot blame Wilmots to choose Benteke over him, really.

[The only place to be 11,313]

..just needs more experience so he can better deal with pressurized situations in crucial matches.

How does one get that experience without playing in them?

Fuck Everton - he'll learn more from that one penalty miss than 40 games in the PL this season.

[DanishBlue 426]

Well, he still has to play games to develop and if Chelsea can't offer him games Everton is a good place for him - it's a very good club and he will play games with good teammates around him. Teams won't go all attack against Everton and because of that he will learn how to play better against teams that have a more defensive approach which is what we are dealing with at Chelsea. At West Brom he faced a lot of teams that attacked a lot and he had better conditions in the counter-attack. He knows that part of the game but now he will learn another how to deal with another approach. I think it's good for him and us and now I have to see all Everton games

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

Interesting article on Lukaku's not so positive image in Belgium http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/worldcupcentral/id/555?cc=5739

Hmm, weird article, Benteke is first choice because he has rarely disappointed and there is only one spot for strikers. Lukaku is not seen as "a poor man's second choice". Maybe only by rivals of Anderlecht...

There is some truth in the France criticism though. Van der Elst is a very annoying commentator btw. The kind of guy that makes you change the channel.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

How does one get that experience without playing in them?

Fuck Everton - he'll learn more from that one penalty miss than 40 games in the PL this season.

Couldn't agree more. With Martinez especially, I really don't see any progress for Romelu with Everton this term, this really isn't the best option for him. He should've stayed with Chelsea & we should've sold Ba.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Hmm, weird article, Benteke is first choice because he has rarely disappointed and there is only one spot for strikers. Lukaku is not seen as "a poor man's second choice". Maybe only by rivals of Anderlecht...

There is some truth in the France criticism though. Van der Elst is a very annoying commentator btw. The kind of guy that makes you change the channel.

Was Benteke always first choice for Belgium or did he force Lukaku out?

[The Skipper 20,593]

Couldn't agree more. With Martinez especially, I really don't see any progress for Romelu with Everton this term, this really isn't the best option for him. He should've stayed with Chelsea & we should've sold Ba.

I'm interested in why you think such? Why do you think it would've been better for Romelu to probably be third choice here than him probably being the first choice striker at a club aiming for a top 6 spot, who play the sort of football that we require from him (Romelu)?

[Stingray 9,441]

Was Benteke always first choice for Belgium or did he force Lukaku out?

Well, Lukaku just came around after having shit strikers for so long. Then came Benteke and when Lukaku was benched here, Benteke started to take his chances - see last year. Wilmots, the new NT coach put him in and he started scoring immediately. The rest is history.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I'm interested in why you think such? Why do you think it would've been better for Romelu to probably be third choice here than him probably being the first choice striker at a club aiming for a top 6 spot, who play the sort of football that we require from him (Romelu)?

I think he would've benefited more from the competition we have here, under the supervision of Mourinho, than he will have at Everton. While Everton are a competitive team and Martinez is a capable manager, I just think the best way to follow up to West Brom would've been getting more experience here.

One look at Everton's strikeforce and you see guys like Koné & Jelavic who aren't exactly the best to bring the best out of Lukaku. At least at West Brom he had Shane Long, Peter Odemwingie (pre-transfer request) and Rosenburg. He went from 3rd choice there to joint-first with Long. He displaced Odemwingie (which led to that transfer window fiasco) and because of that Rosenburg didn't even get a look-in.

Obviously I can understand Lukaku's reason for wanting the loan, with it being World Cup year and all. But as a Chelsea fan, I just think it would've been better for his development to try and force out Torres.