Lukaku

[LinekersLegs]

Utterly confused by this statement. Barkley had ZERO assists last season and Osman had three so unsure how Barkley's thru balls are doing so much damage.
When building up one player and slating another try to use facts rather than opinion
Mirallas created more goals than anyone and is far more important than Barkley for setting up Lukaku

Agree that Mirallas usually brings out the best in Lukaku, was very surprising that the Belgium coach hardly had the two of them on the pitch at the same time during the World cup. The only time he did was during extra time in the USA game and within 2 mins a nice pass from Kev to Rom setup the first goal for De Bruyne.

 

[Azzurri]

Can they teach players not to be morbidly obese Azz?

I think so mate. Clearly they're not doing so with that fat joke Lukaku.

 

[red1]

Lukaku will probably score against Aston Villa, I wouldn't be surprised if Naismith scored too...he's a beast this season. He's outscoring Lewandowski and played less games than him too

 

[mkrudden]

It's interesting that someone just posted that RM just posted in a press conference that Lukaku is tired/exhausted. I remember when rom played for west brom that he didn't play every game, but last season for us he was probably overplayed due to us not having another striker available or in form. Could that big season last year have burnt him out a bit ??? he certainly looked off the pace at the world cup and has continued into this season. The fact that the manager has highlighted this problem brings weight to the argument that his form is off this year. In fairness to everyone on this thread we don't know rom's physical situation, oxygen level count or whatever they use to show exhaustion. I have been very critical of the big fella because he looks like he is not at it, but if he has a fatigue problem this would show up as the exact reason being highlighted on here. (looking leggy, not chasing, poor touch etc) The whole fat issue came about when we were discussing has rom become too muscle bound and lost some of his explosiveness, I was hoping he could be rested due to the fact naisey seems to be hitting some form, get Rom ready to explode back onto the scene again. I personally hope rom can come good soon and take the premiership by storm but from what RM is saying he may have to play every other game.

He didn't say that mate. He said playing in the World Cup and then coming back to first team action too early has meant that he is struggling to find rhythm and form.

Further, Martinez said that the only way for Rom to get back to where he was is continuing to play games and get some good fitness.

If he was tired/exhausted he would be resting him.

 

[LinekersLegs]

Michael Cox
http://www.freebets.org.uk/blog/5-misfiring-premier-league-strikers
Lukaku attracts a lot of criticism considering he’s still 21, has a brilliant goalscoring record, and has moved between teams and managers, forced to embrace a new style of football season after season. This season, finally starting for the club that actually owns him, and playing under a manager whose methods he’s already familiar with, should be his most consistent yet.

It’s been a frustrating start to 2014/15, however, with just two goals in seven matches. That’s not awful, especially considering Lukaku played extremely well against Arsenal in a 2-2 draw too, but there have been some peculiarly flat performances – he contributed little against Chelsea in a 6-3 defeat, was anonymous on the right in a 1-1 against Liverpool, and was surprisingly timid against Manchester United’s unfamiliar centre-back pairing of Paddy McNair and Marcos Rojo.

That said, the entire Everton squad has appeared somewhat sluggish so far this campaign, and it’s worth remembering that they’ve already faced four of the other top 7 from last season. Lukaku is a fine player, and as fixtures become simpler, his goal return should improve.

 

[moyeslovechild]

tbh saying his goal return should improve misses the point a bit i think. i think most of us would expect him to get 15+ this season. he'll score you goals, but should we expect somethin more than that? there are some aspects of his game that are pretty weak, and his slow start to the season has enhanced that

having said that, he's only 21, not many strikers who'll have scored as many as he has at this age, and typically big strikers really come into prominence in their mid 20s, so he's well ahead of schedule

i'd expect him to get much better at the traditional target man stuff while probably losing some of his quickness. all the meanwhile he'll be banging them in, possibly with greater frequency

 

[Professor Toffee]

Lukaku will probably score against Aston Villa, I wouldn't be surprised if Naismith scored too...he's a beast this season. He's outscoring Lewandowski and played less games than him too

Hey Red1 can we have Oxlade Chamberlain please, thanks in advance

 

[meagher94]

Unfair to paint Barkley with the "no assists last season" brush. Not only is it stupid but it's also not even true. Watching the highlights from last season:

He gets an assist v Crystal Palace for Mirallas in the 3-2 defeat. It takes a little deflection so probably doesn't go down as an official assist but it clearly still is.

He gets an assist in the cup for Coleman.

He also creates plenty of golden opportunities for other players only for them to fluff an easy finish.

Basically it's the worst stat in the world.

 

[Huyton Layne]

Unfair to paint Barkley with the "no assists last season" brush. Not only is it stupid but it's also not even true. Watching the highlights from last season:

He gets an assist v Crystal Palace for Mirallas in the 3-2 defeat. It takes a little deflection so probably doesn't go down as an official assist but it clearly still is.

He gets an assist in the cup for Coleman.

He also creates plenty of golden opportunities for other players only for them to fluff an easy finish.

Basically it's the worst stat in the world.

You're wanting a chances created stat. But if that bumps Barkley it's gonna bump other people too, you're trying to say people only miss chances created by Barkley which is ludicrous. And it clearly isn't the worst stat in the world. Suarez had a arse load of assists for the RS last season as well as scoring goals. Both are being missed this season quite clearly.

 

[LinekersLegs]

Unfair to paint Barkley with the "no assists last season" brush. Not only is it stupid but it's also not even true. Watching the highlights from last season:

He gets an assist v Crystal Palace for Mirallas in the 3-2 defeat. It takes a little deflection so probably doesn't go down as an official assist but it clearly still is.

He gets an assist in the cup for Coleman.

He also creates plenty of golden opportunities for other players only for them to fluff an easy finish.

Basically it's the worst stat in the world.

He also made the goal we scored when we lost to Arsenal in the FA cup, it was just that Mirallas didn't quite connect with his cross correctly and it bobbled up for Lukaku to score the tap in with Kev getting the assist. Ross created the chance out of almost nothing though from collecting a loose ball near our box and running all the way to the other one and a lovely cross for Mirallas.

 

[bicycleheader]

tbh saying his goal return should improve misses the point a bit i think. i think most of us would expect him to get 15+ this season. he'll score you goals, but should we expect somethin more than that? there are some aspects of his game that are pretty weak, and his slow start to the season has enhanced that

having said that, he's only 21, not many strikers who'll have scored as many as he has at this age, and typically big strikers really come into prominence in their mid 20s, so he's well ahead of schedule

i'd expect him to get much better at the traditional target man stuff while probably losing some of his quickness. all the meanwhile he'll be banging them in, possibly with greater frequency

Scores 15 and continues developing, then I will be happy with that.

Incidentally him getting 15+ would be the first time since Cottee we would have had a player do that for two seasons in a row. (think thats right..)

I still expect him to do at least that, and with our horrible record for consistent strikers it would be a great achievement.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Lukaku even when playing badly still has the potential to score frequently. 2 in 7 when you're carrying an injury/not fit isn't even that bad. We've had some strikers on top of their game who could never get above 10 goals. There will come a moment this season where we will laugh about that time when we doubted Lukaku.

 

[NEC]

Lukaku even when playing badly still has the potential to score frequently. 2 in 7 when you're carrying an injury/not fit isn't even that bad. We've had some strikers on top of their game who could never get above 10 goals. There will come a moment this season where we will laugh about that time when we doubted Lukaku.

Did he get injured after the arsenal game? Because the run he did on the right flank before putting in the pass for Naismith suggested that he wasn't impeded in any way.

His lack of fitness for me is mainly a cardiovascular issue, rather than an injury. He may be playing with some discomfort but as I said, in the Arsenal game he was able to run freely when he needed to.

 

[blueblue]

A lot of players are showing they have not really recovered from their World Cup exertions(Germany!) . Lukaku is just one of many. His form and his goals will come,it will just take a bit of time and patience.

 

[Mashtray]

my dream would be for Rom and Naisy to score, we need rom to grab some goals for confidence and naisy needs to keep scoring too, what a start hes had