Romelu Lukaku

[Sheva. 5,373]

Belgian players sure come with a lot of drama.

[Barbara 15,149]

So much was said about the match against Liverpool that I had to watch it. The things I wanted to see improvement on his part were still shocking if not worse than I remember them. He can score goals, that's always been a fact, the thing is scoring goals in certain situations are more difficult than in others (the team he plays for will dictate how other teams approach the matches against his team, and that alone is an influence). His linkup play, his ball control, his first touch were all still terrible imo. Torres, for example, would be crucified here if he had showed so much unfamiliarity with treating the ball well (as we'd say in Brazil). Still he was at the right place, at the right time and scored his two goals. I wonder if he was better in those things I've just mentioned if Everton wouldn't have won the match...

Lukaku works in many teams with his qualities, I just don't know if he'd work easily for us. It's been a while since Torres missed a sitter (this season) and it's been a while since he's scored (but there was the injury so he wasn't playing) and he hasn't scored enough which means the service isn't good because if the service was good he was either scoring as Lukaku is or missing sitters right and left, none happened. The goals our strikers did score (except the ones where they fooled the goalkeeper, ) as far as I remember (and I don't remember them all) weren't easy goals to score. It wasn't about them being at the right place, at the right time, receiving a great assist and using one or two touches to score. I guess our service is worse, because teams are way more tight against us than against Everton, our midfield doesn't serve our attacking midfielders properly, we play too narrow and when we don't Ivanovic can't cross for his life and Hazard will mostly cut in, among many others reasons. So at the end of the day we rely much more on the individual technical quality of our strikers and I think Lukaku has glimpses of that in some moments limited to situations that suit his style while he completely lacks it in all other situations.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

It's good for us he's scoring against our opponents (the dailymail link above gives us confirmation that this was part of José's plans all along: send him to a good side so he'd score important goals against our rivals, but not against us), he's scoring all around so he's gaining confidence, but something seems seriously wrong in his motivations... it seems he isn't looking forward to become a better player, it seems he just wants to prove Mourinho he was wrong by trusting more experienced players than he trusted him, it's like he wants to prove he's better than the strikers we do have (many of his quotes can show that, the most direct being when he said he wants to end the season scoring more than Chelsea's strikers). If the kid is there with the wrong motivation, he'll come back to us next season and will be send away again because this isn't about his personal vendetta, bitterness or whatever he feels against the club or Mourinho for the decision to let him go. This should be about him trying to improve, focusing on himself as a player and getting better, but I all I get from his words and actions on the pitch is that he wants to outscore our strikers to prove to everyone else, but especially to Chelsea that loaning him was a huge mistake.

Maybe I'm completely misinterpreting his words to the media (and how much he focuses on our strikers, our manager instead of improving as a player, working with his current manager and his current team). When you compare his interviews to Piazon's you see the difference in the tone. Piazon WHEN he mentions Chelsea is in a light that he wants to improve as a player at Vitesse and come back at the end of season better than he left, so hopefully he can stay because he knows the competition for a spot in a club as big as Chelsea is high and big and that he hopes he improves to the point he can stay. Shouldn't all loaned players have the same mentality? Why does Lukaku seem so worried in doing better than Chelsea and Chelsea players? And if Everton finishes 4th does it mean they're as big as the size he thinks a club is worth of him, and therefore he doesn't need Chelsea anymore? I should probably break this post in two parts, as I'm talking about two different subjects and I don't people to mix them, so I'm adding a line of separators. Lukaku has two different problems imo: 1) he isn't technically as good as Chelsea needs him to be, because of his own deficiencies, and also Chelsea's deficiencies to provide him the service he needs to be provided otherwise he won't score as much; 2) his motivations seem to be way off target (I'm not stating they are, I'm interpreting them) if he simply wants to do better than Chelsea to prove a point.

About the #2 I also have something else to say: he isn't bigger than Chelsea and he won't ever be (no player will), if he thinks he's too good for us or so awesome that we should have kept him and played him 50% of the matches, he can stay at Everton or wherever else for as long as he wants.

[Shogun 721]

I love this boy, most players who come to Everton gain some sort of attachment to the club for the rest of their careers and coming off the back of a thrilling Merseyside derby with Goodison Park booming, it really is no surprise he could see himself at Everton. Of course, Chelsea fans have absolutely nothing to worry about as there is zero chance of that happening for financial reasons just for starters.

Let's be honest though, the loan is all about his progression as a player and his understanding of the game. No one should really care about what is going to happen after the season at this point.

I've not done any updates on him so I'll start from the top.

West Ham 2-3 Everton - Lukaku came on at half time and changed the game around (along with the free kicks from Baines). His whole game was perfect in that half with his movement, his passing, his energy and physicality and it totally changed the complexion of the game. Perhaps coming on for someone as woeful as Jelavic made him stand out more. Of course, it took great courage to header in the winning goal as well. 8/10

Everton 3-2 Newcastle - His link up play and his understanding in the first half with Ross Barkley was emphatic. They were finding each other with every pass. He slotted a sweet finish for his first goal before providing a superb through ball for Barkley's second goal and kept his compusure for the third to get it over Krul and trick Coloccini on the line to tap it in. Second half he was very poor and barely found a teammate whilst looking completely tired. 8/10

Manchester City 3-1 Everton - There isn't a lot to say about this match as from 17 minutes we were dominated by the home side and Lukaku didn't have much of a sniff but overall he played ok and latched on to a ball over the top from Jagielka really well with a good touch to run on to the ball and another decent enough finish. Same problems with energy levels and fatigue in the second half. 6/10

Everton 2-1 Hull - He struggled in this one, got a few scraps of the ball but he was totally dominated by Curtis Davies for the majority of the match, still won a fair few aerial battles but overall not much to write home about. 4/10

Aston Villa 0-2 Everton - He looked a bit better in this game, we were completely dominated in the first half and Around about the half hour mark Lukaku had a great header saved by Guzan. Second half came and for the first time this season he probably kept his energy levels to an adequate amount and slotted home yet another goal from the edge of the box to break the deadlock. 7/10

Everton 0-0 Tottenham - I missed the first half but Everton were apparently awful all together so it probably wasn't him to blame. There weren't many chances in this match and he didn't play much of a part and only really had one half chance IIRC. Quiet game. 3/10

Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton - Couldn't do anything to make a difference really, he was getting no service or options when he did rarely get the ball. I'd give him a free pass on this game because we were generally woeful. 4/10

Everton 3-3 Liverpool - Up until his goal(s), this was his worst match for us! His touch was absolutely dreadful and he couldn't pass a fart. I think this was the case throughout the match but fortunately he bagged two goals which is the main thing I'd want out of a striker. He was pretty poor otherwise. 7/10 (Without the goals 2/10)

Overall, his finishing is wonderful. He hasn't had a shot and missed where I've though "Even Kojo could have scored that". He has a lot to work on with his energy levels as far too often he has tired in the second half which has left us a bit disjointed at times and he needs to learn how to use his physicality to bully defenders more than he does. His passing is very hit and miss, some days it's great but other times it's very poor, there isn't an inbetween. His attitude is flawless as is his determination. He still has plenty to wok on but as long as he scores goals, I don't really care to be perfectly honest.

[robsblubot 3,530]

So much was said about the match against Liverpool that I had to watch it. The things I wanted to see improvement on his part were still shocking if not worse than I remember them. He can score goals, that's always been a fact, the thing is scoring goals in certain situations are more difficult than in others (the team he plays for will dictate how other teams approach the matches against his team, and that alone is an influence). His linkup play, his ball control, his first touch were all still terrible imo. Torres, for example, would be crucified here if he had showed so much unfamiliarity with treating the ball well (as we'd say in Brazil). Still he was at the right place, at the right time and scored his two goals. I wonder if he was better in those things I've just mentioned if Everton wouldn't have won the match...

Lukaku works in many teams with his qualities, I just don't know if he'd work easily for us. It's been a while since Torres missed a sitter (this season) and it's been a while since he's scored (but there was the injury so he wasn't playing) and he hasn't scored enough which means the service isn't good because if the service was good he was either scoring as Lukaku is or missing sitters right and left, none happened. The goals our strikers did score (except the ones where they fooled the goalkeeper, ) as far as I remember (and I don't remember them all) weren't easy goals to score. It wasn't about them being at the right place, at the right time, receiving a great assist and using one or two touches to score. I guess our service is worse, because teams are way more tight against us than against Everton, our midfield doesn't serve our attacking midfielders properly, we play too narrow and when we don't Ivanovic can't cross for his life and Hazard will mostly cut in, among many others reasons. So at the end of the day we rely much more on the individual technical quality of our strikers and I think Lukaku has glimpses of that in some moments limited to situations that suit his style while he completely lacks it in all other situations.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

It's good for us he's scoring against our opponents (the dailymail link above gives us confirmation that this was part of José's plans all along: send him to a good side so he'd score important goals against our rivals, but not against us), he's scoring all around so he's gaining confidence, but something seems seriously wrong in his motivations... it seems he isn't looking forward to become a better player, it seems he just wants to prove Mourinho he was wrong by trusting more experienced players than he trusted him, it's like he wants to prove he's better than the strikers we do have (many of his quotes can show that, the most direct being when he said he wants to end the season scoring more than Chelsea's strikers). If the kid is there with the wrong motivation, he'll come back to us next season and will be send away again because this isn't about his personal vendetta, bitterness or whatever he feels against the club or Mourinho for the decision to let him go. This should be about him trying to improve, focusing on himself as a player and getting better, but I all I get from his words and actions on the pitch is that he wants to outscore our strikers to prove to everyone else, but especially to Chelsea that loaning him was a huge mistake.

Maybe I'm completely misinterpreting his words to the media (and how much he focuses on our strikers, our manager instead of improving as a player, working with his current manager and his current team). When you compare his interviews to Piazon's you see the difference in the tone. Piazon WHEN he mentions Chelsea is in a light that he wants to improve as a player at Vitesse and come back at the end of season better than he left, so hopefully he can stay because he knows the competition for a spot in a club as big as Chelsea is high and big and that he hopes he improves to the point he can stay. Shouldn't all loaned players have the same mentality? Why does Lukaku seem so worried in doing better than Chelsea and Chelsea players? And if Everton finishes 4th does it mean they're as big as the size he thinks a club is worth of him, and therefore he doesn't need Chelsea anymore? I should probably break this post in two parts, as I'm talking about two different subjects and I don't people to mix them, so I'm adding a line of separators. Lukaku has two different problems imo: 1) he isn't technically as good as Chelsea needs him to be, because of his own deficiencies, and also Chelsea's deficiencies to provide him the service he needs to be provided otherwise he won't score as much; 2) his motivations seem to be way off target (I'm not stating they are, I'm interpreting them) if he simply wants to do better than Chelsea to prove a point.

About the #2 I also have something else to say: he isn't bigger than Chelsea and he won't ever be (no player will), if he thinks he's too good for us or so awesome that we should have kept him and played him 50% of the matches, he can stay at Everton or wherever else for as long as he wants.

No lukaku needs to learn how to speak without saying much because right now he likes to talk and he says lots of shit.

[Stats 7,059]

Why is he at Everton?

Because you sent him on loan, José. I don't understand what he's trying to say here. The decision to loan someone out lies with the manager.

If he had plans for Lukaku this loan deal would have never happened, even if he asked for a loan himself.

Agree. Many seem to agree with Mourinho on this forum however on the article on skysports news the majority of people seem to disagree with Mourinho. Just look at all the likes that are given compared to the dislikes on how Mourinho is in the wrong: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/9048809/romelu-lukaku-made-a-transfer-request-at-chelsea-before-his-everton-loan

Yes, Lukaku may have asked for a loan but in the end of the day, Jose is manager. Gary Cahill may have asked for a loan because he thought it would be tough competing for a place with Luiz and Terry but does that mean Mourinho would let him go? Of course not. Mourinho is the manager and ultimately the decision lies with him. While I am happy to see Lukaku scoring at Everton, like I knew he would, it was Mourinho's decision to let him go. He is the manager and he would have had the final say. If Mourinho envisaged him being a key part of our team he would not have let him go however he did so IMO, Lukaku does not need to explain himself.

Some people believe he will come a better player at Chelsea because of his loan but I don't necessarily agree with this view. He certainly will have more goals there as eh is guaranteed more minutes however it would of been beneficial playing with a better team, competing for major trophies as well. Just needed a bit of time which he did not get so I am not surprised he asked for a move. Torres is looking better this season but still does not convince but anyway when he first came it took ages for him to come and make an impact. Eto'o who is impressing me more in recent weeks, also needed a few games to get ticking and that is what Lukaku needed.

Look, to sum it up I am happy he is enjoying his football at Everton but I also think at the same time, Mourinho does not need to switch the spotlight on Lukaku for him to explain himself. He is the player, Mourinho is the manager and obviously the question should ultimately be pointed towards Mourinho because if he really wanted him he would not have let him go, simply and regardless if Lukaku comes out and states that he did ask for the move, the responsibility does not lie with him.

I don't apply this to all, but I am sure had this been Benitez loaning him out, many would be calling for his head but let's just hope this is a situation sort of being over-hyped by the media and comes back next year a more mature player and ready to lead our line.

[Barbara 15,149]

So the kid asks for a loan because he wants to play because he wants to take part of the WC and José - knowing he wouldn't give too much play time with him while we had 4 strikers - agrees to let him go, not only so Lukaku can accomplish his personal goals but because he thinks it'll benefit the player and consequently Chelsea in the long term and now José is being judged by that? So José should have kept him and allowed him play time inferior to Mata... Oh no, that's not true because people think he could easily emulate what he does at Everton for us, despite our bad service and his not impressive individual technical qualities? Because our history with strikers prove just that, right? How many strikers came here and played equally well or even better then before joining us? The only exception I can think now is Drogba, all other strikers flourished here which is why is fair to think Lukaku (who isn't even technically gifted) would too, at age 20

And @Stats, I can't talk about others, but the reasons I badmouth Benitez is because of how BLOODY DISRESPECTFUL he was towards Chelsea FOR NO REASON AT ALL when he was at Liverpool. It has little to do with his limitations as a manager (and he has plenty of them). And your words aren't even fair, mate as this thread was a pandemonium when the loan was confirmed with people against José and the club. Then it was clarified by everyone involved that Lukaku requested to leave (although some poster who is close to Lukaku agent or family I don't remember insisted in a completely different story) it toned down a little, but I still feel like most people that post in this thread disapproves the loan, so what's your point with the Benitez comparison because Mourinho gets (and got) a lot of stick for this loan.

I have to confess I'm a little fed up with the Benitez comparison I read in every thread these days. It's not only about his mediocre work here, because maybe I could overlook that - although I don't miss losing both domestic cups, finishing 14 points behind the champions (nearly 10 points added during his spell) nor did I enjoy us struggling to win against second level teams in EL (but hey, at least he played Mata while doing all that, right?). So while none of this makes me miss him and therefore I wouldn't understand why people keep going back to him what shocks me the most is how people forget this good for nothing, disrespectful guy, who lacks any class, badmouthed this club and its supporters for no reason, completely gratuitously. I will never forget what he said about my club and about me as a Chelsea fan while he showed his true colors. Maybe his words didn't offend some people? Because I feel deeply offended and disrespected by that piece of spanish mierda for the things he said about us.

[Reddish-Blue 2,357]

And @Stats, I can't talk about others, but the reasons I badmouth Benitez is because of how BLOODY DISRESPECTFUL he was towards Chelsea FOR NO REASON AT ALL when he was at Liverpool. It has little to do with his limitations as a manager (and he has plenty of them). And your words aren't even fair, mate as this thread was a pandemonium when the loan was confirmed with people against José and the club.

I have to confess I'm a little fed up with the Benitez comparison I read in every thread these days. It's not only about his mediocre work here, because maybe I could overlook that - although I don't miss losing both domestic cups, finishing 14 points behind the champions (nearly 10 points added during his spell) nor did I enjoy us struggling to win against second level teams in EL (but hey, at least he played Mata while doing all that, right?). I will never forget what he said about my club and about me as a Chelsea fan while he showed his true colors. Maybe his words didn't offend some people? Because I feel deeply offended and disrespected by that piece of spanish mierda for the things he said about us.

What's all this fuss about Benitez?

Sure, he said some awful things about Chelsea whilst he was the Liverpool manager...but that's in the past

He got the caretaker job at Chelsea, helped the players win the Europa League, gave Aké a taste of first team football and then moved on with his managerial career at Napoli.

[Sheva. 5,373]

OTT reaction to say the least. Rafa didn't personally insult you he said something stupid about Chelsea flags, but something not uncommon for other rival fans.

He got more than enough shit for it during his time here, to even compare him to Mourinho is ridiculous. Everyone knows Mourinho is one of the best managers in the world and not only that, they both worked/working in completely different situations.

Mourinho doesn't get booed every time at home like its an away game, neither does he have to rely on Marin and fucking Benayoun when he wants to change the team.

[The only place to be 11,313]

So much was said about the match against Liverpool that I had to watch it. The things I wanted to see improvement on his part were still shocking if not worse than I remember them. He can score goals, that's always been a fact, the thing is scoring goals in certain situations are more difficult than in others (the team he plays for will dictate how other teams approach the matches against his team, and that alone is an influence). His linkup play, his ball control, his first touch were all still terrible imo. Torres, for example, would be crucified here if he had showed so much unfamiliarity with treating the ball well (as we'd say in Brazil). Still he was at the right place, at the right time and scored his two goals. I wonder if he was better in those things I've just mentioned if Everton wouldn't have won the match...

Lukaku works in many teams with his qualities, I just don't know if he'd work easily for us. It's been a while since Torres missed a sitter (this season) and it's been a while since he's scored (but there was the injury so he wasn't playing) and he hasn't scored enough which means the service isn't good because if the service was good he was either scoring as Lukaku is or missing sitters right and left, none happened. The goals our strikers did score (except the ones where they fooled the goalkeeper, ) as far as I remember (and I don't remember them all) weren't easy goals to score. It wasn't about them being at the right place, at the right time, receiving a great assist and using one or two touches to score. I guess our service is worse, because teams are way more tight against us than against Everton, our midfield doesn't serve our attacking midfielders properly, we play too narrow and when we don't Ivanovic can't cross for his life and Hazard will mostly cut in, among many others reasons. So at the end of the day we rely much more on the individual technical quality of our strikers and I think Lukaku has glimpses of that in some moments limited to situations that suit his style while he completely lacks it in all other situations.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

It's good for us he's scoring against our opponents (the dailymail link above gives us confirmation that this was part of José's plans all along: send him to a good side so he'd score important goals against our rivals, but not against us), he's scoring all around so he's gaining confidence, but something seems seriously wrong in his motivations... it seems he isn't looking forward to become a better player, it seems he just wants to prove Mourinho he was wrong by trusting more experienced players than he trusted him, it's like he wants to prove he's better than the strikers we do have (many of his quotes can show that, the most direct being when he said he wants to end the season scoring more than Chelsea's strikers). If the kid is there with the wrong motivation, he'll come back to us next season and will be send away again because this isn't about his personal vendetta, bitterness or whatever he feels against the club or Mourinho for the decision to let him go. This should be about him trying to improve, focusing on himself as a player and getting better, but I all I get from his words and actions on the pitch is that he wants to outscore our strikers to prove to everyone else, but especially to Chelsea that loaning him was a huge mistake.

Maybe I'm completely misinterpreting his words to the media (and how much he focuses on our strikers, our manager instead of improving as a player, working with his current manager and his current team). When you compare his interviews to Piazon's you see the difference in the tone. Piazon WHEN he mentions Chelsea is in a light that he wants to improve as a player at Vitesse and come back at the end of season better than he left, so hopefully he can stay because he knows the competition for a spot in a club as big as Chelsea is high and big and that he hopes he improves to the point he can stay. Shouldn't all loaned players have the same mentality? Why does Lukaku seem so worried in doing better than Chelsea and Chelsea players? And if Everton finishes 4th does it mean they're as big as the size he thinks a club is worth of him, and therefore he doesn't need Chelsea anymore? I should probably break this post in two parts, as I'm talking about two different subjects and I don't people to mix them, so I'm adding a line of separators. Lukaku has two different problems imo: 1) he isn't technically as good as Chelsea needs him to be, because of his own deficiencies, and also Chelsea's deficiencies to provide him the service he needs to be provided otherwise he won't score as much; 2) his motivations seem to be way off target (I'm not stating they are, I'm interpreting them) if he simply wants to do better than Chelsea to prove a point.

About the #2 I also have something else to say: he isn't bigger than Chelsea and he won't ever be (no player will), if he thinks he's too good for us or so awesome that we should have kept him and played him 50% of the matches, he can stay at Everton or wherever else for as long as he wants.

There's a big difference between Piazon and Lukaku. Lukaku is a key part of his international team, played about 200 first-class matches and in his second third full season in the Premier League.

Piazon will likely never be a part of this club's first-team.

Lukaku seems a very self-determined person. He's intelligent, hard-working, dedicated and is all about football. He doesn't fall out of clubs late at night, he doesn't fall out of models early in the morning and he phones his mum before watching dvds of other matches. That kind of devotion to your craft can make you a bit impatient, a bit impulsive and occasionally it leads to you saying things you shouldn't.

Being a 20 year old man does that as well. What he needs is guidance....all this talk about eggs needing a mother is fine in press conferences but when you don't bother to contact someone for two months, you have to wonder about the commitment someone has to actually hatching these eggs.

The simple truth is that we had the choice between a 20 year old striker who scored 17 goals in the Premier League last season and a 32 year old who went to a fucking shit hole in Russia for a massive fucking paycheque. One has scored 7 goals in 8 games, the other is out injured and 75% of his goals come either from absurd keeping mistakes, referees failing to understand the most basic rules of football or Liam Ridgewell having a micro-stroke whilst in possession of the ball.

[Stingray 9,441]

but something seems seriously wrong in his motivations... it seems he isn't looking forward to become a better player ... Why does Lukaku seem so worried in doing better than Chelsea and Chelsea players?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with his motivation. What a weird thing to say, B. If anything - being a real Chelsea fan all his life - he wants with a burning desire to PROVE he can do better than our other strikers. He wants to show José what he can do. How can you call it bad motivation in him, while on the other hand we all praise a winning, fighting mentality. You cannot expect loanees to be tame sheep in their loan club and by divine intervention turn into roaring lions when they join the club again.

Lukaku seems a very self-determined person. He's intelligent, hard-working, dedicated and is all about football. He doesn't fall out of clubs late at night, he doesn't fall out of models early in the morning and he phones his mum before watching dvds of other matches. That kind of devotion to your craft can make you a bit impatient, a bit impulsive and occasionally it leads to you saying things you shouldn't.

Being a 20 year old man does that as well. What he needs is guidance....all this talk about eggs needing a mother is fine in press conferences but when you don't bother to contact someone for two months, you have to wonder about the commitment someone has to actually hatching these eggs.

The simple truth is that we had the choice between a 20 year old striker who scored 17 goals in the Premier League last season and a 32 year old who went to a fucking shit hole in Russia for a massive fucking paycheque. One has scored 7 goals in 8 games, the other is out injured and 75% of his goals come either from absurd keeping mistakes, referees failing to understand the most basic rules of football or Liam Ridgewell having a micro-stroke whilst in possession of the ball.

that post made me laugh so hard(in a good way!)

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Barbara 15,149]

OTT reaction to say the least. Rafa didn't personally insult you he said something stupid about Chelsea flags, but something not uncommon for other rival fans.

He got more than enough shit for it during his time here, to even compare him to Mourinho is ridiculous. Everyone knows Mourinho is one of the best managers in the world and not only that, they both worked/working in completely different situations.

Mourinho doesn't get booed every time at home like its an away game, neither does he have to rely on Marin and fucking Benayoun when he wants to change the team.

What's all this fuss about Benitez?

Sure, he said some awful things about Chelsea whilst he was the Liverpool manager...but that's in the past

He got the caretaker job at Chelsea, helped the players win the Europa League, gave Aké a taste of first team football and then moved on with his managerial career at Napoli.

I still think he's disrespectful and what he implied was beyond flags. But these days anyone is allowed to say whatever BS they say and most don't feel it's disrespect because they've got used to it (they disrespect others themselves - and I'm not saying you or anyone here do that, I don't know any of you to state such). But a huge part of fans still hate him for that. The hatred he received from beginning to end from the support in London (mainly, but I've seen all around in social media) says as much. He didn't offend me in a personal level, I get it and I agree, but he was a disrespectful cunt that knew nothing about this club's history. While I don't know that much myself all way long from Brazil, I've looked back, I've watched matches from the 50's and onward and special TV shows about our history. We've always had avid, faithful, passionate fans. It wasn't Roman's money that brought (or bought) that...

Also, if you're a professional there are a few lines you don't cross. When you're hot headed you say shit about your opponent, about their money injection, their poor football, but you don't actually badmouth support (in a cool moment nonetheless) especially in a country with the historic England has when it comes to [violent] reactions from fans. It's nearly irresponsible on his part, but everyone brushes it off as if it was nothing... Do you think people who act violently against others because of sports are rational enough to overlook even stupid little things like that? To this day we still hear about isolated acts of violence between fans that lead to death or not all over the world. Then a supposedly professional comes and say things about the support, implying they're as fake as the flags the club bought them to wave? What if someone had reacted bad about that and took it to in the next level? Then I bet you, this convo between us now would be very different. Then one might say nobody would do that based in such silly words. I think it's completely irrational, appalling and shocking that people kill because of sports at all and still they've been doing it for decades all over the world, many times without any provocation, any silly words, just out of craziness, but many times reacting to provocation. Good thing nothing happened though, but you still hear isolated cases all over the world about a fan that took a joke or some mockery or even disrespectful words too far. Or do you not? I could tell you a few stories only this year...

As for his work last season I said it a few times on this forum that he honored his job and the wage he was paid because he took the job seriously knowing he was just an interim with no chance of being made a permanent manager. He showed good work ethic and I think he did the best he could do (which as a manager wasn't that much if you ask me, but still in the short time he had it was decent and he at least achieved the CL qualification goal) despite being disrespected by fans through and through (there's also this, the seed you sow is the one you get). People are bitter and dislike him and I actually find it amusing many here are so ready to badmouth Mourinho - who's never disrespected this club - and be so quick to defend the one who did. People are emotional and passionate - I don't know how many still resent him for his words like I do, but I'm sure I'm not the only one (there signs disapproving him him til his last match at the Bridge). Irrational, silly, whatever it is, it's how some people feel. There are many other episodes about Benitez being disrespectful towards other clubs, so many unnecessary words, it wasn't an isolated fact, so I don't respect him as a professional at all, my appraisal of him as a person seeing his true colors showing like that is a bad one and I'm thankful he's not here anymore and I hope he never steps on Stamford Bridge again.

Overreaction for overreaction, I'll keep overreacting about my dislike for the man, while others will overreact about a few bad results and some questionable decisions. As Raphael said in Mourinho's thread the other day, there's just an amount of useless and annoying posts, each defending or presenting something annoying or nonsense (that first post was all about that, this one has relevant points imo though, although it also includes some of that). I won't deny though it makes my blood boil when people mention Benitez and dare to compare him to Mourinho... not only that's a blasphemy judged by their work and titles alone, but I feel something I can't explain well in English about my values and what I should and shouldn't say to others (especially as a public figure). I was taught since very early age, in a small city in the middle of nowhere in Brazil. Call me old-fashioned.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Look, to sum it up I am happy he is enjoying his football at Everton but I also think at the same time, Mourinho does not need to switch the spotlight on Lukaku for him to explain himself. He is the player, Mourinho is the manager and obviously the question should ultimately be pointed towards Mourinho because if he really wanted him he would not have let him go, simply and regardless if Lukaku comes out and states that he did ask for the move, the responsibility does not lie with him.

Spot on.

I'll stop short of calling Mourinho a coward for basically throwing Lukaku under the bus like he has, but I've defended Mourinho as being the main man at this club. He should have the final word on these personnel decisions so saying stuff like he did yesterday is bordering on pathetic.

This shit about him asking Lukaku to explain why he's on loan is beyond embarrassing. The reason (the ONLY reason in my mind) that he's on loan is because Jose said he could. That's it. For Jose to sit in a press conference and rely on insinuation and implication rather than simply coming out and saying something is a return of the Jose who eye gouges people in my opinion.

It's classless to pick on a 20 year old who has very little right to reply.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

There's a big difference between Piazon and Lukaku. Lukaku is a key part of his international team, played about 200 first-class matches and in his second third full season in the Premier League.

Piazon will likely never be a part of this club's first-team.

Lukaku seems a very self-determined person. He's intelligent, hard-working, dedicated and is all about football. He doesn't fall out of clubs late at night, he doesn't fall out of models early in the morning and he phones his mum before watching dvds of other matches. That kind of devotion to your craft can make you a bit impatient, a bit impulsive and occasionally it leads to you saying things you shouldn't.

Being a 20 year old man does that as well. What he needs is guidance....all this talk about eggs needing a mother is fine in press conferences but when you don't bother to contact someone for two months, you have to wonder about the commitment someone has to actually hatching these eggs.

The simple truth is that we had the choice between a 20 year old striker who scored 17 goals in the Premier League last season and a 32 year old who went to a fucking shit hole in Russia for a massive fucking paycheque. One has scored 7 goals in 8 games, the other is out injured and 75% of his goals come either from absurd keeping mistakes, referees failing to understand the most basic rules of football or Liam Ridgewell having a micro-stroke whilst in possession of the ball.

Agree with everything except the bolded part.The way Piazon has been performng this season it would be very risky to write him off just yet imo.

[Leif 6,006]

I'd swap him for Barkley personally if Everton were up for it

[Reddish-Blue 2,357]

Agree with everything except the bolded part.The way Piazon has been performng this season it would be very risky to write him off just yet imo.

I agree that Piazon has been performing well this season...but in general, the Dutch clubs are fairly weak (other than Ajax).

[Joelasticot 111]

I remember how much people on here were pissed off about the club favouring the short term approach for so long.

Sending Lukaku out on loan a few seasons in a row is exactly what we were all crying out for in the last few seasons.

We are trying to polish what could be a gem in the long run.

See the Sturridge case for example : one good loan at Bolton and we brought him back to the first team. Was he ready? maybe... Was the club ready to play him in his favoured position, ready to give him the time a player his talent and his age requires? Absolutely not ! Did he help in a short-term fashion? Yes he did. What ended up happening? He left.

Obviously Lukaku is not Sturridge and there are many other factors that have to be account.

Regardless, what the club is doing with a guy like Lukaku is obviously influenced by the club's own experience in dealing with young talented strikers. It's really naive to think that the club doesn't use its past experiences to improve in the way we promote young talents in the first team.

This situation is really so great for Lukaku and his progression as a player who has the ambition to rival with the greatest. I'm very impressed by how the guy comes back from his mistakes (especially communication-wise) and deals with his situation in very mature fashion. He wants to grow, we are helping him in doing so.

I'm very pleased with the way the club are dealing with the situation. We are not sacrificing Romelu's progression in order to strenghten the squad for this season, we are waiting for him to be fully ready to come back (if he ever does).

Does that mean I am not frustrated seeing he might help us this year and he can't? Yes I am, as we all are. But I am trying not be deluded because I know thinking long-term comes at the price of short-term efficiency. I do my best to try and remember all the mistakes this club has done in the past regarding these types of situations and I look towards the future.

To me, the Lukaku situation is somehow a proof that the club's approach has changed, that mourinho migh very well be here for the long-run. He is willing to sacrifice right now for a better future. Isn't that saying a lot considering how much Mou is attached to his track record and outstanding statistics across Europe? I think it is. And I definetely like what it is saying a hell of a lot!

[The only place to be 11,313]

Regardless, what the club is doing with a guy like Lukaku is obviously influenced by the club's own experience in dealing with young talented strikers. It's really naive to think that the club doesn't use its past experiences to improve in the way we promote young talents in the first team.

Except it doesn't seem that's the case. Without Lukaku's 'request' he may well have still been at Chelsea this season 'competing' for a spot with Torres, Eto'o and possibly even Ba.

In fact if you look at every young player from Ake's age onwards, they've all either stagnated or regressed since Jose was appointed. I used to be a firm believer in this club's youth policies but I've seen nothing over the last six months to encourage me that players like Chalobah (gone from a first-team regular at Watford to a bench player at Forest), Piazon (minutes in the competitive Spanish league to first-team regular in a weak Dutch league) or Lukaku are actually going to make the transition from promising youngster to first-teamer here.

In fact I take back everything I said about Sturridge. I WAS WRONG DANNY. You did absolutely the right thing leaving this place and going to Liverpool. He will develop better there, he will be more appreciated there and he might even win more there (although that's doubtful because we'll simply outspend them over the next ten years because our owner is richer than their's).

[Tomo 21,733]

There's a big difference between Piazon and Lukaku. Lukaku is a key part of his international team, played about 200 first-class matches and in his second third full season in the Premier League.

Piazon will likely never be a part of this club's first-team.

Lukaku seems a very self-determined person. He's intelligent, hard-working, dedicated and is all about football. He doesn't fall out of clubs late at night, he doesn't fall out of models early in the morning and he phones his mum before watching dvds of other matches. That kind of devotion to your craft can make you a bit impatient, a bit impulsive and occasionally it leads to you saying things you shouldn't.

Being a 20 year old man does that as well. What he needs is guidance....all this talk about eggs needing a mother is fine in press conferences but when you don't bother to contact someone for two months, you have to wonder about the commitment someone has to actually hatching these eggs.

The simple truth is that we had the choice between a 20 year old striker who scored 17 goals in the Premier League last season and a 32 year old who went to a fucking shit hole in Russia for a massive fucking paycheque. One has scored 7 goals in 8 games, the other is out injured and 75% of his goals come either from absurd keeping mistakes, referees failing to understand the most basic rules of football or Liam Ridgewell having a micro-stroke whilst in possession of the ball.

The goals against Schalke and West Brom, isn't that what Jose wants, our players pressing high like Eto'o did? while the Hildebrand and Ridgewell shouldn't have made those mistakes they did because they were pressed into it, if Eto'o weren't around both would have cleared quite comfortably.