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I think you and Dave are at cross purposes, Dan.
You are talking about Ross not being "special"......he thinks you mean Rom
davids
Player Valuation: £70m
Sorry if you see it that way,it wasn't meant.I just thought that given the squad he inherited and the little time he had to improve it,he's done a lot for the club,in a very short time.If after last seasons toothless performance at Sunderland someone had told me we would be in Europe,I'd have suggested they look for some shade to sit in.
AndyC submitted an update to GrandOldTeam's homepage
Should we prepare for life after...
The end of the season is less than two weeks away.
The players and manager will almost certainly be jetting off to sunnier climes within hours of the team bus arriving back at Finch Farm after the Arsenal game.
We still have unfinished business to attend to and conclude.
Two matters of paramount importance that surely cannot and should not be allowed to go on into the summer.
The upcoming summer transfer window is the most important the club will undertake to date, we cannot go into that window with matters unresolved that could affect and influence the summer shopping.
So what is happening with Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku ?
Is Ross Barkley going to sign the contract offer before the season end or as the manager has clearly stated, if he doesn't, will he be sold ?
Romelu Lukaku, still with two seasons on his existing contract, hasn't actually said he wants to leave, but repeats all too readily his desire to play in the Champions League sooner rather than later.
With both these scenarios needing sorting out and surely before players and manager go on holiday, should Everton FC and its supporters start preparing for life after Rom and Ross ?
Lukaku scores goals and when he's really in the mood and given good service, he's arguably the most dangerous forward in the Premiership and right up there with the best in Europe.
Rightly or wrongly, those oft repeated wishes are seen as him wanting to leave rather than a commitment to working his backside off to get Everton into the Champions League in the next two years.
Everton have reportedly put a £100 million (or more) price tag on the Belgian snipers head and given he's favourite to win the Golden Boot as the Premierships leading scorer, will suitors with enormous cheque books finally come out from hiding behind unsubstantiated media reports and table one or more bona-fide offers.
But of more pressing and urgent concern is the situation surrounding Ross Barkley.
Barkley is a talented footballer, but there are still doubts among many Evertonians as to exactly what is his best position... deep-lying midfielder, attacking midfielder, in the #10 role alongside or slightly behind Lukaku, even the dual striker role?
Barkley is a local lad, a Blue through and through and surely would not want to leave his hometown club - would he?
At times though he looks lost on the field.
At times, he looks unhappy on the pitch.
Too often, possibly feeling the pressure of expectation, he takes a touch too many and loses possession.
Or and preferably, he'll make an instinctive turn that bamboozles his marker; he'll play an instinctive pass; he'll instinctively break into space at pace and the crowd will be on its feet as he bears down on goal - desperate for the end product to be a bulging net.
Barkley can shoot with both feet - we don't see enough of it.
Barkley can dribble and beat people - we don't see enough of it.
Barkley can and has imposed himself on games - sadly we definitely don't see enough of this.
He's improving the defensive side of his game - note the goal line clearing headers against Burnley.
The crowd are desperate for him to reach the heights of Everton midfielders of the past - Ball, Harvey and Kendall to name but three.
The crowd are desperate for him to succeed in the Royal Blue of Everton.
The (majority of the) crowd will be heartbroken if Barkley is sold - as the manager has clearly intimated he might be - and he reaches the heights in the colours of another Premiership club.
There are big questions that need to be answered by actions...
Does Ronald Koeman think Ross Barkley is one of the players to build his new Everton team around?
Is Ronald Koeman keen to work with Barkley to see the local lad achieve greatness, indeed does he actually believe Barkley can achieve greatness and maybe even more importantly want to work with him ?
Will Ross Barkley sign the new contract believed to have been tabled ?
Will these questions be answered before the respective parties go on their summer holidays, or will they not leaving us mere mortals to fret, ponder and bite our fingernails to distraction.
There are doubters as to the whether Ross Barkley can or will reach the heights?
Has he got the application, determination and sheer will to succeed ?
Has he the mental strength to drive him through adversity and poor patches of form ?
And this unerringly leads to the questions I (personally) don't like to pose... should the contract offer not be signed in the next two weeks, should Everton do what Koeman has intimated and put Barkley up for sale ?
Would Ross Barkley be better off leaving Everton FC ?
Would Barkley blossom under Mauricio Pocchetino - Spurs have reputedly made tentative enquiries ?
Were Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku to leave Everton this coming summer, the monies involved would likely be staggering.
But equally staggering would be the immediate pressure upon both club and manager to replace them and add further quality signings to the squad.
The next two weeks are crucial.
The summer transfer window will be pivotal.
The over-riding ethic has to be Nil Satis Nisi Optimum - Nothing but the Best.
Evertonians are fed up of being labelled 'punching above our weight' or 'the best of the rest'.
We're equally fed up of being referred to as 'sleeping giants'.
Whichever way the situations surrounding both Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku pan out, there can be no more fudging around post the visit to the Emirates on May 21st.
If we have to be prepared for life after... the club and the manager need to ensure that the life after is the best it possibly can be.
Well written. Simply, yes. We all have players that we want to become club legends, but no player is bigger than (nor as big as) the club. All will leave at some point, and if they don't have the desire, talent, or moxie to make it, so be it. There's always another lad willing to cut his teeth, another foreigner looking to ply his trade, another playing in England who wants to prove himself.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
Half of those players are out of our reach; the other half are a bit meh.
We've had a CL class goalscorer for the past few seasons and achieved no silverware or CL spot with him. I dont think an amalgamation of lesser forces to give a better balance of goals will move us up a notch. We need better players plus a CL quality goal scorer.
Same old Everton this summer: sell the silverware ---> recycle the cash ----> fall short again.
...good job they have these stadium schemes to distract or they'd be pitchforked out of the boardroom.
Personally, I'm loyal to Everton rather than specific players, but going through the squad there aren't a huge number who you would have in it to take us onto the next level. Both Barkley and Lukaku are among that group, and I'd rather we added to the group than subtracted to it. It'll be a big enough summer as it is without adding to the size of the overhaul needed.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
He's not a great because he's not surrounded by good quality as the greats were....that's how they became greats.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
As you and others have reminded me all season: we are scoring a lot of goals. That's only because RL is on fire.
Those goals wont be in such volume next season if he isn't here.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
No, he was referring to Lukaku mate.I think that fellow was talking about Barkley when he posted that Dave, not Lukaku
Suffolkblue25
Player Valuation: £25k
The thing I don't understand with the Barkley situation is that he's a local, as are all his family and friends, yet no one knows anything about the reasons he wants to leave.
Yes Koeman mentioned him talking about champions league, but as others have said that's such a vague reason.
All we know is that he's apparently been having trouble with locals, hence why he got decked in a club.
Is that really reason enough to leave the club that has been such a big part of his life?
Yes Koeman mentioned him talking about champions league, but as others have said that's such a vague reason.
All we know is that he's apparently been having trouble with locals, hence why he got decked in a club.
Is that really reason enough to leave the club that has been such a big part of his life?
Carlito
Player Valuation: £40m
At least when Lukaku ends up at Galatasaray, he'll just think it's because the Chelsea players were all jealous that he had too much sauce. Having the personality of a teenage girl does come with its advantages.
I fear that poor old Barkley, on the other hand, will crumble under the scrutiny of the London press.
I fear that poor old Barkley, on the other hand, will crumble under the scrutiny of the London press.
Wouldn't miss either.
Doesn't turn up enough for me Lukaku. All his goal have come from about 15 games this season. Seen a lot more stinkers from him than blinders.
Barkley doesn't have a football brain. Gazza, Rooney, Beckham etc weren't the brightest of people but they all had football brains. Don't get me wrong he's a very good player but I am now sick of screaming "give it now" only to see him take that extra touch. Just don't think it is something you can teach, you've either got the football brain or not.
Doesn't turn up enough for me Lukaku. All his goal have come from about 15 games this season. Seen a lot more stinkers from him than blinders.
Barkley doesn't have a football brain. Gazza, Rooney, Beckham etc weren't the brightest of people but they all had football brains. Don't get me wrong he's a very good player but I am now sick of screaming "give it now" only to see him take that extra touch. Just don't think it is something you can teach, you've either got the football brain or not.
That's an opinion, with no validation behind it as you have no idea who will be brought in.
But returning to your original point that it's impossible to replace his goals, lol
GwladysPhil
Player Valuation: £35m
I'm sick of him side stepping when we're on the attack instead of playing it through to another player.
I like that some people say that if Rom and Ross don't get Everton, they should get out.
Does this go for the manager who had the Catalan press in his house so he could put himself in the shop window for the Barca job??
Does this go for the manager who had the Catalan press in his house so he could put himself in the shop window for the Barca job??
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