Royal Blue Jersey
Player Valuation: £35m
In the summer after he was paraded like the second coming the general consensus was that we were blessed just to be able to have Lukaku at Everton for these precious months. Four things, I think, have shifted the balance since then:
1) Chelsea have faired well enough without him.
Despite all the early media-inflamed fluster over the seemingly inexplicable decision to send their best striker on loan for 12 months, Mourinho has now firmly re-asserted his authority. Chelsea are building up a head of steam and able to continually rotate their 3 experienced professionals. One was never a star and two are now at peace with the fact they are no longer, and are willing to play into Mourinho's team before individual ethic.
2) Lukaku was overhyped
Hype he quite very well believed, if reports regarding the rift with Mourinho were anything to go by. It was quickly apparent, far from being a superstar he was an inexperienced player with much to learn. Suddenly rather than on another planet to Everton the two were actually a good fit for one another, surrounded by players good enough for him to thrive off but also to feel part of. The superstar element to him has eroded, I feel and for the better since he's been at Everton. He's no longer the world class wonderkid who has it all; he's just one cog in a well balanced and talented team.
3) Martinez indulges Lukaku
Whereas the Special One is carrot and stick in equal measure, Our Bobby is - let's face it - unlikely to be less than 99% carrot. Lukaku was letting his ego make demands of Mourinho he just wasn't having, such as declaring himself (and so wanting to be considered as) Chelsea's top striker. I don't know how much running Lukaku is willing to do off the ball either, which Eto'o and Torres will happily do (certainly what Mourinho favours given his willingness to give Schurrle a go up top; terrible finisher but great movement and work ethic). I don't know if I'm being unfair, it just never seems like he works too hard. Certainly at the start of the season he would be knackered after about 50 minutes. Here, Martinez has pandered to his ego and made him the main man, at the expense of our senior striker, just to try and get the best out of him.
4) Everton have surprised Lukaku
It's been interesting to see him slowly emerge from his stupor, that corporate new-age fog of Stamford Bridge that sucks in amibitious youngsters, particularly the foreign ones who aren't so clued up about the history and standing of the clubs in this league and are instead drawn by the bright lights of London and the Abramovich era moneybags pull of the Chelsea 'brand'. Chelsea have got 23 players out on loan, most of them youngsters. I think maybe Lukaku has matured somewhat, and has a greater understanding of how football really works and what is really best for him, and that this is a massive club. I really think given how little press we get abroad it probably takes a few of the foreign players by surprise, but you can tell by how he celebrates with the fans Everton have become close to his heart.
So, they're mostly my own highly subjective reasons that I feel have transformed the landscape 6 months on, agree with them or not they are secondary to the new facts of the situation:
1) We sold our only senior striker
Whatever your opinions on Jela (I loved him) just in terms of sheer number of bodies, he would not have been anything less than necessary in some games (Chelsea away springs to mind, the FA Cup rounds, potential injuries) or even just as a goal threat when coming on as a sub. The last few games before he started v QPR I thought he was starting to have a real impact from the bench, and then he put on that great display against QPR - Martinez played it to perfection, feeding the myth that Lukaku has been simply unstoppable and undroppable, and that with the world cup just around the corner he's only thinking of Niki as he shoves him out the door. Those sub & FA cup appearences sealed it.
2) We got £7.5m for him, a fair whack more than the general consensus had it, and though I am pre-empting myself quite a bit (12 days left yet) it seems as tho we all expected a £8m+ striker even if we had sold Jelavic on the cheap. So here we are sitting on a pile big enough for a one in, one out without even factoring in the money left over from our summer sales. Even with Bill's pantomime villain - OOCs - taking its cut, it's a sizeable sum.
3) Yet we're looking to bring loan players, or players on the cheap. Depressing as it was to be linked with Kenwyne Jones even I could suffer it if it meant we'd have the means in the summer to buy Lukaku outright. These bizarre/terrifying rumours of stopgaps out of the bargain bin suddenly start to make a bit of sense. We need someone cheap, short term, happy to play second fiddle to Lukaku. That really, really limits your options.
4) Martinez himelf has left the first hint. He has been very cautious when speaking about Deolofeu and Lukaku, not telling us outright "Yeah, course they're gonna [Poor language removed] in the summer" but equally never straying from the mantra that we're "right for" and "going to enjoy their" development. Now, this week there's finally a glimmer of hope, a definite change in tone, not something I think Martinez was careless in showing us:
http://www.theguardian.com/football...aku-everton-champions-league-roberto-martinez
So, long post, but there you have it. I think it's very much ON, Lukaku summer 2014.
1) Chelsea have faired well enough without him.
Despite all the early media-inflamed fluster over the seemingly inexplicable decision to send their best striker on loan for 12 months, Mourinho has now firmly re-asserted his authority. Chelsea are building up a head of steam and able to continually rotate their 3 experienced professionals. One was never a star and two are now at peace with the fact they are no longer, and are willing to play into Mourinho's team before individual ethic.
2) Lukaku was overhyped
Hype he quite very well believed, if reports regarding the rift with Mourinho were anything to go by. It was quickly apparent, far from being a superstar he was an inexperienced player with much to learn. Suddenly rather than on another planet to Everton the two were actually a good fit for one another, surrounded by players good enough for him to thrive off but also to feel part of. The superstar element to him has eroded, I feel and for the better since he's been at Everton. He's no longer the world class wonderkid who has it all; he's just one cog in a well balanced and talented team.
3) Martinez indulges Lukaku
Whereas the Special One is carrot and stick in equal measure, Our Bobby is - let's face it - unlikely to be less than 99% carrot. Lukaku was letting his ego make demands of Mourinho he just wasn't having, such as declaring himself (and so wanting to be considered as) Chelsea's top striker. I don't know how much running Lukaku is willing to do off the ball either, which Eto'o and Torres will happily do (certainly what Mourinho favours given his willingness to give Schurrle a go up top; terrible finisher but great movement and work ethic). I don't know if I'm being unfair, it just never seems like he works too hard. Certainly at the start of the season he would be knackered after about 50 minutes. Here, Martinez has pandered to his ego and made him the main man, at the expense of our senior striker, just to try and get the best out of him.
4) Everton have surprised Lukaku
It's been interesting to see him slowly emerge from his stupor, that corporate new-age fog of Stamford Bridge that sucks in amibitious youngsters, particularly the foreign ones who aren't so clued up about the history and standing of the clubs in this league and are instead drawn by the bright lights of London and the Abramovich era moneybags pull of the Chelsea 'brand'. Chelsea have got 23 players out on loan, most of them youngsters. I think maybe Lukaku has matured somewhat, and has a greater understanding of how football really works and what is really best for him, and that this is a massive club. I really think given how little press we get abroad it probably takes a few of the foreign players by surprise, but you can tell by how he celebrates with the fans Everton have become close to his heart.
So, they're mostly my own highly subjective reasons that I feel have transformed the landscape 6 months on, agree with them or not they are secondary to the new facts of the situation:
1) We sold our only senior striker
Whatever your opinions on Jela (I loved him) just in terms of sheer number of bodies, he would not have been anything less than necessary in some games (Chelsea away springs to mind, the FA Cup rounds, potential injuries) or even just as a goal threat when coming on as a sub. The last few games before he started v QPR I thought he was starting to have a real impact from the bench, and then he put on that great display against QPR - Martinez played it to perfection, feeding the myth that Lukaku has been simply unstoppable and undroppable, and that with the world cup just around the corner he's only thinking of Niki as he shoves him out the door. Those sub & FA cup appearences sealed it.
2) We got £7.5m for him, a fair whack more than the general consensus had it, and though I am pre-empting myself quite a bit (12 days left yet) it seems as tho we all expected a £8m+ striker even if we had sold Jelavic on the cheap. So here we are sitting on a pile big enough for a one in, one out without even factoring in the money left over from our summer sales. Even with Bill's pantomime villain - OOCs - taking its cut, it's a sizeable sum.
3) Yet we're looking to bring loan players, or players on the cheap. Depressing as it was to be linked with Kenwyne Jones even I could suffer it if it meant we'd have the means in the summer to buy Lukaku outright. These bizarre/terrifying rumours of stopgaps out of the bargain bin suddenly start to make a bit of sense. We need someone cheap, short term, happy to play second fiddle to Lukaku. That really, really limits your options.
4) Martinez himelf has left the first hint. He has been very cautious when speaking about Deolofeu and Lukaku, not telling us outright "Yeah, course they're gonna [Poor language removed] in the summer" but equally never straying from the mantra that we're "right for" and "going to enjoy their" development. Now, this week there's finally a glimmer of hope, a definite change in tone, not something I think Martinez was careless in showing us:
http://www.theguardian.com/football...aku-everton-champions-league-roberto-martinez
So, long post, but there you have it. I think it's very much ON, Lukaku summer 2014.
