Though I agree that Lukaku deserves some brunt of our frustration, mostly due to his lack of putting in a shift (particularly getting into the box when played out wide), there are a few factors which would influence his (hopefully short) dip in form.
1. Missing Barkley
Now I know this is a seemingly ridiculous point at first glance, given that no one player should influence entirely how another performs, however, it does play a major role in Lukaku's gameplay, as well as our own attacking prowess. Not only does Naismith not offer the same surging power forward that our young superstar to be in terms of technical and clinical competency but at the same time, Naismith's movement around the pitch is that of an entirely different player. He excels in the air and generally running in the right places, essentially he can play a part in an attacking move but a completely other way. It seems more and more of our moves going forward are based on his presence in and around the box. This leaves Lukaku with a more hold-up role which I personally don't think suits him as much as it should a lad of his size and power (mostly due to his less than perfect touch) but his integration play has certainly improved on last year. One could of course argue that surely most of our attacking moves should be based around our 28m striker, which is without doubt sensible and if Lukaku had returned from the World Cup in the form he displayed at times last year then Bobby might've designed a system based more around him. Clearly however he's been struggling to fit into the systems devised around him (out wide etc). Equally Barkley's absence and replacement with Nais means that we don't have much of a passing prowess in the CAM role, which means that Barry and McCarthy are being forced to move up with the ball to create something (furthermore causing trouble for our aging back line)
2. Lack of consistent quality out wide
While it could be argued that Lukaku has been "found out" by opposing defenders, and this is to some extent probably true, the absence of our big players Mirallas and Pienaar out wide and McGeady's clearly fluctuating form and lack of finished product (as an Irishman I've seen it more than most, though I do think his end product has improved somewhat, even if it's a short term purple patch) has affected his play greatly. The lack of attacking threat on the wings mean we can't stretch defences like we could at top form last year. Certainly, Coleman's absence has doubled the effect of this problem
3. Possible fatigue/injury from the WC
I can't say I particularly agree with this point entirely. With the ongoing discussions of Sterling's withdrawal from the last international game it becomes increasingly evident how these powerful players suffer with lack of recovery time. I do think however that there have been games that Rom has played in that he maybe should've have been rested if we had the quality to replace him, these possible respites from our very busy last few weeks might've done the lad the world of good but unfortunately with Kone's infinite absence and Eto'o evidently not fit for playing (otherwise he should've certainly got an hour at least here or there) he's been forced to start.
What I would like to finish on is the fact that, we knew what we had last year, he's not a Suarez who can create goals out of nothing for himself, he's a powerful finisher as expressed in the WBA game, so of course his game relies somewhat on the supply he gets from behind. The rotation of his position as well as the players behind him may have affected in confidence since it's clearly affected his form. (Though I do think Bobby is trying to get the best out of him). I know most of the negative posts here are vents of frustration, and many a time myself I've had to be lent an ear to release the anger that can be caused, but I think with the return of our more positive attacking players, his form will return in time. again, one could argue that at 28m he should be the one dictating the attacks and that we should be worried about his injury affecting our attacks more than anything, just remember that a large proportion of his fee includes his age. We all agree that we wanted Lukaku as a player who's a good player, but will grow to be boss. So maybe in a couple of years time he'll be the one we fear might ever get injured, creating and scoring goals for himself. As much as I understand the idea of demanding the absolute best all the time from our young striker, no striker is perfect, and I'm willing to hedge my bets behind his showings of ability and hope (at the risk of being red-faced in a couple year's time) that it pays off.
