Romelu Lukaku

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

I dont watch a lot of Everton games but he missed a lot of chances vs Norwich and his general movement is awful. He progressed in a sense that he uses his big body more efficientely but I have serious doubts about him being the main striker here.

Lukaku scored about as many PL goals in the last six games than Costa did in the last calendar year. I have serious doubts about Costa being the main striker here.

[Rapkun 668]

One of them were clear. The other one was a difficult angle. Either way, he scored a great header and is on 15 for the season and has improved signifcantly this season. I agree he could of easily had a hattrick but he still has scored for fun and if I would take a striker who scores for us every game but misses a few in the game, I would take him.

I don't doubt he would be a very good squad player to have and certainly would have started over Diego if he was here this season but when both are on form I know I would take Costa every single time.

He refused to stay and fight for a place under Mourinho anyway so I'm not really sure why anyone would be frustrated tbh.

[supporter 3,088]

are we STILL blaming lukakau for wanting to play?

a 20 year old, who could have been our future has competition with torres and ba, and supposedly judged to be worse than both of them. and then jose had the audacity to go and buy a 33 year old etoo knowing he will not be anything more than a stop gap.

and then, jose plays schurrle ahead of lukaku at OT as a striker, literally spitting in his face and telling him that you are not getting any games here. sorry, but any ambitious player with a smidgen of self respect would have done what lukaku did. that too in a world cup year.

Hi friend!

But I'm not criticizing Lukaku for wanting to play more and prefer to go to a small team where he can take minutes to continue his evolution. I would have done the same.

But now he is a player "completely done" with 22 years and he should reconsider the possibility of returning to us.

I only criticized some passive behavior when Lukaku was with us. But if he wanted to take minutes it is totally understandable What I want to say that he should have no hatred against us and reconsider a hypothetical possibility of returning to our squad.

Regards.

[Stats 6,982]

I don't doubt he would be a very good squad player to have and certainly would have started over Diego if he was here this season but when both are on form I know I would take Costa every single time.

He refused to stay and fight for a place under Mourinho anyway so I'm not really sure why anyone would be frustrated tbh.

No. Mourinho did not give him a serious chance and decided to buy a 33 year old striker to sum it up. We shall all know by now that Lukaku made the right choice and Mourinho and giving serious chances to youth players has never been one he is good at.

[Laylabelle 9,301]

I don't doubt he would be a very good squad player to have and certainly would have started over Diego if he was here this season but when both are on form I know I would take Costa every single time.

He refused to stay and fight for a place under Mourinho anyway so I'm not really sure why anyone would be frustrated tbh.

I dont blame him for refusing to stay and fight.If its obvious your going to be over looked again and again make more sense to go somewhere where you wont be.Getting playing time and a as a result is doing well.101 games and 51 goals isn't bad.Just seems to be the way we do things..annoyingly

[zolayes 14,489]

I don't doubt he would be a very good squad player to have and certainly would have started over Diego if he was here this season but when both are on form I know I would take Costa every single time.

He refused to stay and fight for a place under Mourinho anyway so I'm not really sure why anyone would be frustrated tbh.

good to see Pacqual back

[supporter 3,088]

Jose never bet on the young, and Lukaku is another example.

But perhaps now Lukaku could reconsider a hypothetical back with us and not have any kind of hatred / resentment against Chelsea.

Life is life, and life is so hard. Lukaku is now demonstrating their quality with Everton and perhaps Chelsea would be the best place to continue their evolution. A club he knows and a club which paid a lot of money for him when Lukaku was very young.

[Rapkun 668]

No. Mourinho did not give him a serious chance and decided to buy a 33 year old striker to sum it up. We shall all know by now that Lukaku made the right choice and Mourinho and giving serious chances to youth players has never been one he is good at.

Our strikers were Torres,Lukaku,Ba. You think trying to buy a good striker to have a shot at winning the league was a bad idea?

Anyway, the way I see it. He never stayed so we dont know how things would have happened. All strikers had their chance at one moment or another during that season and the coach was not satisfied with any of his choices. He could have had his chance possibly but we will never know.

[Stats 6,982]

Our strikers were Torres,Lukaku,Ba. You think trying to buy a good striker to have a shot at winning the league was a bad idea?

Anyway, the way I see it. He never stayed so we dont know how things would have happened. All strikers had their chance at one moment or another during that season and the coach was not satisfied with any of his choices. He could have had his chance possibly but we will never know.

He scored goals galore the season before. Was our top goalscorer in pre-season. Majority of people expected to see Lukaku lining up against Hull but he was a sub. Then he was a sub against Villa which I thought he would start and then against United, Schurrle who is not even a natural CF started instead and then Bayern in the Supercup he was also a sub. Then to sum it up he got a 33 year old striker who he made clear he was going to favour. I think Lukaku was smart enough to know which route it was going. He was not given a fair chance at all and Mourinho did not show enough fight to keep him here and make him feel valued.

[didierforever 7,349]

Our strikers were Torres,Lukaku,Ba. You think trying to buy a good striker to have a shot at winning the league was a bad idea?

Anyway, the way I see it. He never stayed so we dont know how things would have happened. All strikers had their chance at one moment or another during that season and the coach was not satisfied with any of his choices. He could have had his chance possibly but we will never know.

trying to buy rooney was a good idea. a very good idea.

trying to buy etoo, for a year was ridiculous to say the least.

yes, if we had given lukaku a chance, if we had given KDB a chance, if we had given bertrand a chance, if we had given luis the chance etc etc. see the pattern?

[Essien19 1,415]

No. Mourinho did not give him a serious chance and decided to buy a 33 year old striker to sum it up. We shall all know by now that Lukaku made the right choice and Mourinho and giving serious chances to youth players has never been one he is good at.

How do the cases of Lukaku and Courtois differ?

Both played great for their clubs, both are young players, but for Courtois Mourinho removed one of the best goalkeepers who ever graced the Premier-League from he lineup.

I think Lukaku is getting better and better, he will most likely become one of the best strikers in the game.

He just needed more time to develop and mature, this season he is scoring for fun, imo.

I think Lukaku is a popular guy, he posts pictures with a lot other young football players in social media and seems like a genuinely nice guy, imo.

But there is one thing that i don't like about him.

He lacks respect, why?!

He knew what he was getting into when he hired that prick Raiola and now he's doing the dirty work for him.

Raiola: "soon he will leave Everton for a big club"

"If we had met each other earlier, he wouldn't have played for Everton," Raiola. "Maybe somewhere else, maybe he would still be at Chelsea.

"We will see what happens in the summer, but the Everton directors don't have to think Rom will play there for the rest of his career.

"Later on, he'll play for one of world's best teams: PSG, Manchester City, Manchester United of Bayern Munich. Big names, but nothing is impossible as Rom has great potential."

Lukaku to PSG? We had a discussion with Martinez, he said he would let him leave Everton if a good offer comes in.

Now we arrive at the old question: does a good prospect or player justify everything?

In this case, i go with Ferguson and Mourinho all day long; for me big no!

Lukaku isn't that good that i would tolerate this kind of behaviour.

[Rapkun 668]

He scored goals galore the season before. Was our top goalscorer in pre-season. Majority of people expected to see Lukaku lining up against Hull but he was a sub. Then he was a sub against Villa which I thought he would start and then against United, Schurrle who is not even a natural CF started instead and then Bayern in the Supercup he was also a sub. Then to sum it up he got a 33 year old striker who he made clear he was going to favour. I think Lukaku was smart enough to know which route it was going. He was not given a fair chance at all and Mourinho did not show enough fight to keep him here and make him feel valued.

Lukaku started preseason games because Torres arrived late that summer. The spaniard was never really tested during preseason. The game at united was already enough proof he didnt believe in torres. Lukaku was ahead of Ba in the pecking order and he was introduced in the euro supercup which was his last game at the club.

[Stats 6,982]

How do the cases of Lukaku and Courtois differ?

Both played great for their clubs, both are young players, but for Courtois Mourinho removed one of the best goalkeepers who ever graced the Premier-League from he lineup.

I think Lukaku is getting better and better, he will most likely become one of the best strikers in the game.

He just needed more time to develop and mature, this season he is scoring for fun, imo.

I think Lukaku is a popular guy, he posts pictures with a lot other young football players in social media and seems like a genuinely nice guy, imo.

But there is one thing that i don't like about him.

He lacks respect, why?!

He knew what he was getting into when he hired that prick Raiola and now he's doing the dirty work for him.

Now we arrive at the old question: does a good prospect or player justify everything?

In this case, i go with Ferguson and Mourinho all day long; for me big no!

Lukaku isn't that good that i would tolerate this kind of behaviour.

In fairness to Mourinho, he made a bold and the correct decision regarding Courtois. Thanks God he did not waste away him too.

And I am not saying Lukaku deserved everything handed to a plate for him but when he was here he was our best striker by miles. He should have started at least once. I wouldn't say he lacks respects but I think he has come across naive in his interviews before and you could use his naivety as an excuse. Mourinho, imo could have done more to make him feel valued here and convince him that he was part of his big plans. If he really was, he would not have let him go out on loan.

But every player/manager makes mistakes. Even Mourinho has let himself down and embarressed himself with his comments sometimes. Come on. But like KDB and Lukaku, we were not patient with them and it was clear to see how good Lukaku was and would be which frustrates me as to why he was never given a serious chance.

Lukaku started preseason games because Torres arrived late that summer. The spaniard was never really tested during preseason. The game at united was already enough proof he didnt believe in torres. Lukaku was ahead of Ba in the pecking order and he was introduced in the euro supercup which was his last game at the club.

Ba started against Villa though? Lukaku was better than Torres even at that age. Just look what he had accomplished the season before and how easily he settled in during pre-season but to not have started a game and think he left the club because he was unwilling to fight for his place, I disagree. He had a point to prove and did once again on loan but still that was not good enough.

[didierforever 7,349]

In fairness to Mourinho, he made a bold and the correct decision regarding Courtois. Thanks God he did not waste away him too.

And I am not saying Lukaku deserved everything handed to a plate for him but when he was here he was our best striker by miles. He should have started at least once. I wouldn't say he lacks respects but I think he has come across naive in his interviews before and you could use his naivety as an excuse. Mourinho, imo could have done more to make him feel valued here and convince him that he was part of his big plans. If he really was, he would not have let him go out on loan.

But every player/manager makes mistakes. Even Mourinho has let himself down and embarressed himself with his comments sometimes. Come on. But like KDB and Lukaku, we were not patient with them and it was clear to see how good Lukaku was and would be which frustrates me as to why he was never given a serious chance.

Ba started against Villa though? Lukaku was better than Torres even at that age. Just look what he had accomplished the season before and how easily he settled in during pre-season but to not have started a game and think he left the club because he was unwilling to fight for his place, I disagree. He had a point to prove and did once again on loan but still that was not good enough.

i cant give any credit to jose regarding courtois.

courtois was a liga winner and CL finalist. a part, infact the main reason that ATM beat RM to cop del ray. he was already a world class player. jose was doing nothing but replacing one world class player with another, with a 10 year age gap.

jose did not have to develop courtois, he could "trust" courtois cos well, he had already done it all. and for me, thats the difference between courtois and lukaku. i feel these 2 cases are very different and incomparable.

[Rapkun 668]

In fairness to Mourinho, he made a bold and the correct decision regarding Courtois. Thanks God he did not waste away him too.

And I am not saying Lukaku deserved everything handed to a plate for him but when he was here he was our best striker by miles. He should have started at least once. I wouldn't say he lacks respects but I think he has come across naive in his interviews before and you could use his naivety as an excuse. Mourinho, imo could have done more to make him feel valued here and convince him that he was part of his big plans. If he really was, he would not have let him go out on loan.

But every player/manager makes mistakes. Even Mourinho has let himself down and embarressed himself with his comments sometimes. Come on. But like KDB and Lukaku, we were not patient with them and it was clear to see how good Lukaku was and would be which frustrates me as to why he was never given a serious chance.

Ba started against Villa though? Lukaku was better than Torres even at that age. Just look what he had accomplished the season before and how easily he settled in during pre-season but to not have started a game and think he left the club because he was unwilling to fight for his place, I disagree. He had a point to prove and did once again on loan but still that was not good enough.

His successful loan at WBA was the reason Mou wanted him in the first place same as with KDB. In a big team and especially with a new coach competition is necessary. If after 3 PL games other players like say Azpi or Cahill felt overlooked and frustrated and asked to leave they would never had their chance either.

[Essien19 1,415]

In fairness to Mourinho, he made a bold and the correct decision regarding Courtois. Thanks God he did not waste away him too. And I am not saying Lukaku deserved everything handed to a plate for him but when he was here he was our best striker by miles. He should have started at least once. I wouldn't say he lacks respects but I think he has come across naive in his interviews before and you could use his naivety as an excuse. Mourinho, imo could have done more to make him feel valued here and convince him that he was part of his big plans. If he really was, he would not have let him go out on loan. But every player/manager makes mistakes. Even Mourinho has let himself down and embarressed himself with his comments sometimes. Come on. But like KDB and Lukaku, we were not patient with them and it was clear to see how good Lukaku was and would be which frustrates me as to why he was never given a serious chance.

Yes, we can settle for naive, but it's not doing big Rom any huge favours, he should had a better adviser and i don't mean Raiola.

That's on the club and the player.

And I am not saying Lukaku deserved everything handed to a plate for him but when he was here he was our best striker by miles

I didn't rate Torres very much, i wanted him out as soon as possible, but was Lukaku overall really better than the Spaniard back in the day?
When we make the comparison now i take Lukaku all day long, but at that time?
Lukaku had to improve on his first touch, his positioning, link up play, play with his back to goal (imo) and so on.

Torres scored in the big games; especially against Bayern Munich and Atletico and that was because of his movement, imo.

Lukaku wasn't ready, especially during the world cup he looked out of place. He just needed more time.
Now he's ready and living up to his potential, can get close to the Drogs, imo.

Mourinho, imo could have done more to make him feel valued here and convince him that he was part of his big plans.

Mourinho is a grown man and fully experienced, i agree with you that he could have made him stay.

Tragic, that his short-term successor Eto'o fucked it up against Atletico, at least he put the game to bed, imo.

But like KDB and Lukaku, we were not patient with them and it was clear to see how good Lukaku was and would be which frustrates me as to why he was never given a serious chance.

That's really frustrating, i get it, but one can't have it all.
It's a very lame and odd excuse, i know, but no one is perfect and all people make mistakes.

We can only look in the future and try to avoid this kind of "failures"...

[Stats 6,982]

His successful loan at WBA was the reason Mou wanted him in the first place same as with KDB. In a big team and especially with a new coach competition is necessary. If after 3 PL games other players like say Azpi or Cahill felt overlooked and frustrated and asked to leave they would never had their chance either.

Fair enough but unlike Azpi and Cahill who were more or less only competing with 1 player for their position, Lukaku was competing with three and it was a world cup year and he wanted to get as much action as possible, especially with the likes of Benteke around. Either way, I still think Mourinho thought they were not ready because of their age and not playing for a big club.

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

Romelu actually defended Mourinho in an interview today... No hard feelings it seems.