Lukaku can't spark Belgium fightback

Rom has been introduced but so far he just trots about on the pitch, nothing new there I suppose. Just shows that passion does a hell of a lot for you in football, Wales have it in abundance, as for Belgium?? I’m still not convinced by their attitude or application to work as a team, too many inflated egos and not prepared to role up their sleeves, much like the Dutch.

Can’t get my head around how two big physical specimens in Benteke and Lukaku can be so half-hearted in everything they do. I have said it before about Rom: he just doesn’t have that hunger or fire in his belly to make it to the very very top, I’m not bothered about Benteke he doesn’t play for us, but Lukaku?? ...the lad's lack of effort seriously needs looking at.

The Welsh forward who hasn’t got a great deal in his locker ran his socks off for his team as did the whole of the Welsh team. Deserved win for the Welsh and as usual the Belgians bottled it. What does it say about Mirallas if he can’t even get onto the pitch?

Mourinho knew something was just not there with Lukaku, something just not right for a player that everyone keeps harping on about as "potential".

Talk all you want Rom, but if you're not prepared to put the effort in, you will never get anywhere near where you think you should be.

He wasn’t the only one but, when you consider that he and Benteke have a combined value of circa £60M, there is something very wrong with their attitudes and / or with the game itself.

I read today that Spurs are interested in bringing Llorente to the Premier League... maybe we could throw our hat in the ring?

I really don’t know why he keeps running his mouth.

Contrast his performance with that of Mo Besic for Bosnia. The little guy ran his heart out for his country as did most of his teammates. The Belgians seemed to think they only had to turn up to win.

Vastly overrated and no wonder FIFA is in such a mess when this team is ranked in the top two in the world. I wouldn’t even place a team like that in the top ten!

For the record, I'm not really a Lukaku fan, for many of the reasons mentioned above (poor first touch, lazy, doesn't win headers, etc) and I feel that, if a decent offer came in, we should take it.

The lad rates himself too highly and he has no right to.

I'd love to sign a new first-choice striker and give him a challenge to truly be number one.

Charlie Austin would be my first choice as he can head, use both feet, and works his socks off. He'd cost half the price of Lukaku and is more of a team player. Maybe then, Rom would pull his finger out and we could pair them up. Javier Hernandez would also be worth a punt, maybe on loan.

We are certainly short of quality and options up top.

Understandable, I suppose. He’s been a big disappointment this season and his utterings to the press have done nothing to endear him to the fans. Next season is looking very likely to begin under a very gloomy cloud. If we don’t get off to a flyer, it could all turn very sour, very quickly.

The only way I could muster any sort of optimism for the upcoming season is to see at least two signings that will improve our starting eleven. I can’t see that happening. Option two is to sack the manager... but that’s obviously not on the cards either.

So let’s all moan and whinge and accept that the inevitable will drag on for another 4 months at least. Sigh.

Lukaku has scored a significant amount of goals given his age. Why don't you guys try supporting, instead of criticising, him? If a Lukaku, who managed 32 Prem goals in 49? starts before he turned 21, scored so effectively without any first touch control etc, what could he achieve when he improves technically?

(And don’t give me bullshit about players don’t improve technically... they do, and they do it all the time). What was the Drogba he is so often compared doing at 22? Actually, do you remember Drogba’s performances and touch when he first came to this league?

Lukaku has only just turned 22. He is a kid, and his confidence is low. We’ve utterly failed to play to his strengths this season. When his confidence is up, his touch improves, as does that of any player. He is the best striker we’ve had in a very long time, and one of the most important young players at the club.

I just don’t understand the reasoning of fans who look to criticise their own players at every opportunity. And it’s not just because a player, a 21-year-old at the time, discussed his ambitions. The same things happened with Hibbert and Osman over several years, and they are as loyal as they come.

There is a peculiar and aggressive negativity in these forums at times – I do not see the point of it. If you want to criticise someone, criticise the manager under whom both Barkley and Lukaku have gone backwards because he has refused to play to their strengths.

Though I agree with the general thrust of your argument, you can’t possibly tell people they cannot criticise ’x’ but may criticise ’y’. A lot of people, justly, question Lukaku’s ability and commitment.

He had some rank performances and a few excellent ones last season, and when fired up is a superb striker. When he is off the boil, he stinks. However, next season he needs to step it up for us on a regular basis, particularly in the league, where we need him to impose his strength.

The comparison with Anichebe is ludicrous. Lukaku is a much better finisher. His record does not compare with Anichebe’s.

If we can get close to our money back we should get rid, even if there just may be a great striker in there somewhere.

He’s not Everton, so hopefully this OTT agent could do us a favour.

Most talented striker we’ve had in decades, but stuck in a team forced to play slow possessions football that is full of passing among the back four. But I’m sure that his substitute appearance is totally to blame for Belgium’s result. Yeah, that makes total sense.

Now, apparently, he’s lazy, can’t trap a ball, can’t run, yet is still our best goalscorer for ages, but some people on here want shut!

Fickle, yes we really are.

The comparison with Anichebe is not goal wise, it’s the same traits in personality: he doesn’t like getting hurt, he doesn’t run or get involved enough... and, for a man of his unique physical strength, he doesn’t bully defenders.

It does not improve with age, just look at Anichebe.

It’s the lad's personality to be half-interested.

Get off Big Rom's back, for all his downfalls, I still want him to succeed and regain his first season form.

Certainly that is true of the two in our team. We can never be sure how the will feel ’on the day’. But it’s not as though they were on big money last night, so too much to expect they should put in a shift for their country, isn’t it ?

Jim, your support for Lukaku has always been admirable, but when you say "what could he achieve when he improves technically", well, he’s been here for two seasons and his technical ability has not improved and his attitude and commitment have got worse. His much criticised first touch is no better or arguably worse than when he joined us on loan. If players DO improve technically "all the time", it’s way past the time when he should have started to look like a £28M man.

When we signed him, you and I had a discussion as to his merits in which I said I was pleased that he’d signed but felt that we’d been shafted by Chelsea by having to pay so much for him. I still feel the same. I see little in his game to make me think that he’ll emulate Drogba and agree that he resembles Anichebe more than his hero Didier. And by that I mean by comparing his attitude with that of Anichebe’s, not necessarily his talent.

I would really love Lukaku to be the player we want him to be but it’s up to him to improve his game (if he can!) and up to him to improve his attitude and respect for the club and fans, starting with keeping his mouth shut. He may be "only 22", "a kid" but that’s old enough to show respect for people.

Unfortunately he seems to believe his own publicity, or, at least, believes the Thin Spanish Waiter who states that he’ll become the world’s best striker. And when that tubby little upstart of an agent implies that he’s too good for Everton maybe he’s started to believe that too.

His scoring statistics look good but until or unless we have a manager who can get the best out of him and play a system that suits him he’ll carry on looking the lump that he often does. So Martinez must shoulder SOME of the blame and time will tell if Martinez has the technical nous to improve his game.

Interestingly, George Green has been binned at 19, despite being lauded as the next best thing, so maybe attitudes and ability are not always thought to improve sufficiently to hang on to a talent.

Incidentally, the Wales game was shown here in Wales at 22:30 so it was possible for Brian to watch both games...

A new low, even for these message boards.

He has pace and strength and can finish occasionally. He has very little technical ability and poor positional sense. He’ll end up being one of those players by virtue of his size at a young age that did well in his teens but faded into obscurity.

I couldn't believe it when we agreed on £28 mill for him. There will always be more games where he disappoints than satisfies.

And as for learning things like first touch as he gets older, believe me, if you don't have it when you are 22, then you will never have it. I see kids at the school I work at with a better touch every day. You get to be a PL player because you have what it takes. You don't start learning when you get there!

"He doesn’t like getting hurt." – I take it you are referring to the same Lukaku who knocked himself out whilst scoring his first goal for our club?

Some of the self-deluded, attention-seeking comments here are unbelievable.
Steve Hogan (26) agreed. In August of last year, it seemed to be all of our dreams came true when we signed Lukaku permanently; now that the lad has had a less than stellar season, and apparently he is half-arsed, can’t trap a ball, can’t get into space, and lacks courage.

Get behind the lad. No he hasn’t looked the same player in the season just gone, I’m sure both him and Martinez know that better than anyone (in spite of what may be said in public). They will be the better judge of what went wrong last season than we will ever be. It amazes me that people who, I’m assuming, have never even met the lad, label his personality as "half-interested".

I wonder if Romelu turned up at some of your workplaces, if he would label you as half-arsed, overweight, and half-interested. Possibly.

However, that doesn’t mean that people can’t describe or react to how they viewed his performance in any particular game either for Everton or for Belgium. It’s not as if his performance was an isolated blip for him he has produced many more of those type of performances in an Everton shirt and that is what his critics are worried about.

When any team visits Goodison next season and sits back as has been the case many times, Lukaku will be found wanting. For those who say that it is the manager's fault or the tactics employed then have a look at how many crosses were put in last night by the Belgians and how many occasions Lukaku looked like getting on the end of them.

He is a forward that has to be spoon-fed inside the penalty area and few teams are going to give him the space he requires inside or outside of the area. Latchford was similar to Rom in that he didn’t move a great deal but, when he did, it was with purpose and desire and he was always on the alert for the half-chance. Lukaku is more Yakubu than Latchford: moody, self-centred and not a team player. Forget about his age and price-tag – a striker should be an asset to the team, not a liability; at the moment, Rom is the latter.

Unfortunately there is nothing about his attitude and general demeanour that suggests that he will radically alter and therefore we should be prepared to see even more of last night's Romelu rather than the one we had hoped to see when we signed him.

Craig, I don’t see any "self-deluded, attention-seeking comments" on here, only fans who can see, and are prepared to comment on, the shortcomings of our record transfer player.

We all, I’m sure, want Lukaku to do well while he’s here. He always comes across as intelligent and well educated and is no doubt a very nice chap off the field. But it’d be better if he were to put as much effort into his game as he does these days in telling every man and his dog that he deserves a top Champions League club. A club similar to the one that sold him..

Incidentally, if you consider Lukaku up to Premier League standards regarding his "first touch", then one might suggest that it’s you who is deluding himself.

Maybe Lukaku could consider that?

We’ve all got a frightening list of his deficiencies but he’s more comfortable up on his own for us and I expect him to have a decent season. His assets are pace, power, a great left foot and a very strong desire to score goals. Forced to play whilst carrying various injuries, last season’s League tally was way below his loan season. Hopefully this was just a temporary blip.

Studying him closely, he still has the same first touch as Naismith but there have been slight improvements to his overall game. His last goal looked a simple header from a McGeady cross but Barry Horne noted how he completely fooled the centre back as he made room for himself. Nothing to get too excited about but someone is telling him things and he’s listening.

We have an awful amount of cash invested in this lad. Like him or not, we need him to succeed and I pray he has the drive and determination to get where he thinks he belongs.

I never rated him, and yes, Charlie Austin would be a great signing.

My point is, some fans have seemingly judged the lad’s footballing credentials on one admittedly poor season.

He needs time, and we have fans need some patience. Proven top quality strikers under the age of 23 in the premier league are a very rare breed. Rom has only had three full seasons in the premier league, and it’s hard to argue that in two of those (WBA loan and first year with us) he was an outstanding success.

Tony Cheek nails it for me with his comments re Rom's first touch, something that you should have at the outset, not something you should have to learn at this level.

I repeat, I would love Rom to be the player we want and need but to be that, HE has to want to be that player. And he shows little backbone for that fight at this moment.

I wonder if, if football had a system whereby young players would only receive, say, 25% of their pay with the rest invested or in trust, or even only paid when they have provided us with the performances we have paid for, if then we would see young players give the 100% we expect from them every week, instead of only on the days when their mind is on the job in hand and not on their next gold Bentley...

People say Lukaku is learning the game and he will be one of the world greatest strikers on a few years but it can work the opposite way also, players young with potential can deteriorate and not live up to expectations, remember Jeffers, Rodwell??.

It could be me but I think the Lukaku you see now is the one you are going to roughly remain with.

I ask the question because as you keep pointing out, what good is it having all the credentials if you haven’t got enough desire?

I know he’s young and I know he’s got a very good goalscoring record for his age, but you only improve with hard work. Let’s hope after playing football for nearly two years without a proper rest, this kid can now have a little break from the game and can analyse for himself where he has got to improve.

Comments on a poor performance are perfectly justified by his poor performance vs Wales, that even his manager lambasted. Labeling them "self-deluded and attention-seeking" is totally unwarranted and frankly insulting.

If you wish to take the long view, do so by all means, that’s your prerogative... but do not please come here and post blanket condemnations of what are perfectly reasonable assessments of yet another lousy performance by our Champions League wannabe.

However, balanced with that, we know injuries played a part for him last season, and I suspect fatigue played a much bigger part than even he would of realised. He had been playing football virtually continuously since he joined us as our number one striker – which meant that, when fit, he was invariably selected – then he went away to the World Cup (initially anyway!) as Belgium’s Number One striker. Coupled with the extra games from our Europa League campaign, and Romelu hasn’t played so much football before in his young career in such a short space of time, all with the pressure of having to provide the goals for club and country.

I think Lukaku is so desperate to prove himself as a top striker (and to an extent, having to live up to his own hype he had created in season 2013-14) he perhaps doesn’t see that he could do with a break. Playing in an under-performing team this season of course doesn’t help either.

Apologies if my comments were misconstrued as a blanket assessment – it certainly wasn’t, just aimed at a few individual posts. What I can’t get past and what makes me angry is some comments attacking his courage on the pitch (when there is obvious evidence otherwise) or the lad’s personality, which go way below the belt.

By all means, comment on what we see of him on the football pitch.

And now the fact that he has ambitions of playing in the Champions League is being used as a stick to beat him with.

Oh for a squad of "yeah I’m happy to be perennially mid table" journeymen!