Lukaku ambitious to get back to the 'top'

Cheeky fucking get

He is shite, end of story.

Do you think we can get £40m for him, hope all the clubs are forming an orderly queue for him and Mirralas.

On a serious note I would be unhappy if he left as I think he is getting better.

I wonder how much we would be able to sell him for? I reckon £20M maximum. Martinez overpaid seriously last Summer at the cost of boosting the squad in other needed areas.

The guy is in denial. He has been shite this season and looks to be deflecting blame towards Everton rather than himself. I’d rather him go and Kev stay.

At least you get paid for it, you cheeky Belgian scamp.

Lukaku is quoted as saying he wants to play for a big club again, and we can all remember the huge number of clubs wanting to sign him in the summer, us and Wolfsberg. Mind his phenomenal form this season will no doubt attract a whole host of clubs wanting a big man with a good first touch, hard to shake of the ball and an incredible goal scorer.

This is nothing personal as he is very likeable, he is just not a PL manager and certainly not an EFC manager.

Maybe we will get £100M for him?

DoesnÂ’t seem to understand the off-side rule.

CanÂ’t hit a barn door.

...Yours for £30m!!!

WhatÂ’s with these two moody twats insulting OUR club.

ThereÂ’s no dressing this up. These are good players that only 6-months ago were being touted, by all, as the future of the Club. How did we get here? Unrealised expectations, sown by Martinez and harvested by the same manÂ’s apparent season-long ineptitude.

Will the last 14 games provide a foundation to turn this around? Doubtful, after all we seem to have just about realised that we need to defend. If weÂ’re parking the bus, what opportunity is there to impress our attacking-minded players to stay? The Europa is the only possibility, but we would have to win it...a long shot as we start to face stronger, more motivated teams in that competition.

All in all, weÂ’re going to reap the whirlwind of not getting rid of Martnez sooner. A ruthless approach would have set up a platform to succeed in the second half of the season, meeting the expectations of our best players while creating a positive background to move forward.

But at another level this confirms what my son said to me the other day: our key problem is the lack of discipline at the club, and rather than being the Â’naiveÂ’ interview that some will excuse this as, it demonstrates that the players have no fear and no respect; sadly, that has to be put down to the manager and his team.

HeÂ’s clearly deluded if he thinks heÂ’ll play for a club supposedly Â’biggerÂ’ than Everton, especially on this seasons form. IÂ’m actually shocked by this. IÂ’d expect it from Mirallas, but than again they do share the same agent.

This is sadly indicative of the modern game. He should be put up for sale in the summer and when nobody meets the asking price he might get a reality check and realise that although he might be amongst the best at running with the ball, a true world class striker has more facets to their game, and doesnÂ’t have the first touch of a journeyman lower league player.

Since they took over the club they have only offered promises that they never fullfilled ,run the club in the now and not looked at the future , failed to find a buyer for the club when other clubs had no problem and failed to back a manager at critical times.

The efforts in the community and various charities are to be commended and it is nice to read comments of how well the social side of the club is run .The problem is it is what those 11 players do on the pitch that matters to the 35000--40000 people that pay to watch , and that is what they should be getting the media praise for.

People when they read or watch football donÂ’t look at what goes on off the pitch at the Utd,, City,s or other championship cup teams they look at the players on the pitch and that is what represents the club . This is the area that B.K and his inept board are failing Everton.

What does it say about how things are at the club. No doubt thereÂ’ll be plenty whoÂ’ll try to put a positive spin on this but as far as IÂ’m concerned it speaks volumes about the players faith in the manager longer term. FFS itÂ’s only LukakuÂ’s second season with us!

I still think he is a great player with great potential.

Now, the cause for concern is how long before others join the "intention exodus", Last week KM, now him.
And the root problem is that "player ambition" is incompatible with MartinezÂ’s piss poor tactics.

Unless something fundamental changes, we are going to see the best squad of individuates we have had in ages drift off. ItÂ’s scarcely an exaggeration to say that the club is edging towards crisis. Act now, or have a larger mess to clean up. And by that I donÂ’t (necessarily) mean fire Martinez, but....... he is surely close to being on borrowed time.

Every utterance from these cretins pushes me further to the point where I canÂ’t find it in myself to support them any more. I hope they leave in the summer.

YouÂ’re right these player are idiots, disrespectful and perhaps self delusional about theyÂ’re own worth.

But these things alone do not answer the question of why they feel itÂ’s fine to speak out. For me, I said above, is telling us something about their faith in Martinez.

I think their agents constantly unsettle these young players always angling for a slice of any transfer fee, itÂ’s a big problem in modern football and will probably get worse with the new Sky deal.

I honestly think the manger is out of his depth, and the players he bought, with his positive spin and the change from down the back of BillÂ’s sofa, are starting to twig! The bubble of last year has definitely burst!

ItÂ’s probably been blown out of proportion, there is always two sides to a story. If true, get rid; if not, stand by him. COYB!!!

I could be wrong but I could never imagine players speaking like this under Moyes.

For the record if we could get backwhat we paid for him I would take it in a flash.

Good finisher but thatÂ’s about it, the rest of his overall play is just way too poor and his lack of effort was highlighted with him putting in more effort than usual against his former team Chelsea, than he shows most weeks of the season.

Are these footballers really that thick or do they just not give a fuck? (Probably both).

But this is fucking idiotic, and has come at completely the wrong time. I honestly do not blame him for thinking it: We are piss poor this season, and we are not playing in a way that he enjoys. But how can he come out and say it, less than a year after signing? ItÂ’s a horrible kick in the bollocks, and he needs to make a swift apology, in which he states his intention to bring Everton back to where they belong.

Ultimately the realisation of his and MirallasÂ’ ambitious rest on the realisation of our own. If Mirallas puts in a series of big performances in the league, and the Europa League, along with Lukaku, then their success will be our success. Mirallas will likely be gone in the summer, and I think we will be vulnerable to Lukaku leaving when he has a top scoring season, unless we start moving in the right direction as a club. Martinez is not to blame for everything, but this stuff is happening during his watch, and is clearly a reflection of the problems created in part by his decisions, and playing style. I predict that an Everton side fighting for the UCL spots this season, even if we were not realistically going to get into the top 4 with Europa League and a lack of creativity, would not be hearing such comments from its personnel.

Lukaku scores one type of goal, the tap in from a pull back. He is useless in the air, useless outside the box and if he manages to get a second touch the attack is almost definitely over. Waste of money.

He may become a world beater at some point bit I canÂ’t see even grains of hidden technique there to be a top player. When he arrived he seemed to have everything but laziness has just brought a lethargy to his entire game.

Lukaku, keep shtum!

But he knows, and we know, that 4th isnÂ’t happening. Next season or the year after. The importance of the upcoming Europa League game goes way beyond simply winning a trophy. The Champions League will keep players, bring better options in. The paradox is that it will save Martinez his job... maybe it can stop the trend of him taking clubs into forever lower positions.

Until you can learn how to control a ball better than me, you donÂ’t deserve to be on the pitch.

Could it be anything to do with their disaffection with the present manager or is that just my Â’paranoiaÂ’ about the Catalan showing again ?

you say "Lukaku is clearly an extremely talented player"

I can only think you must not have watched the same player as I have been watching. Jose Mourhino knew he wasnt up to the task and was happy to offload him especially for the unbelievable fee we paid for him. Even the Belgium national coach saw through him at the World Cup and picked Origi ahead of him, and he looks far better and only cost Liverpool £10 million. So I think I will agree with the views of Jose and the Belgium coach Lukaku is not an extremely talented player, otherwise he would still be at Chelsea. Mourhino actually preferred 36 year old Drogba to Lukaku.

To me, we are a bigger club than Chelsea, but I appreciate Rom not getting that. Still, the comments are inappropriate and unhelpful in the extreme. In his defence, I guess heÂ’s frustrated, but he is earning 70k a week ... from this small club.

Anichebe is a better player when his headÂ’s right.

Lukaku will now decide that he needs to play better as he is after a new lucrative contract with a top club where he can ply his trade sitting on the bench....that should be worth watching.

People blaming Lukaku for being poor this season, HE HASNÂ’T HAD ANY FUCKING SERVICE!! The story of our season has been sideways and backward passing between Barry, McCarthy, Jagielka and Howard.

Just keep your trap shut, Rom. This is not the right time to be talking about moving anywhere. We (Everton) have given you a starring role at our club and you have been average at best so far.

Well let us know how you get on with that one Rom.

Frankly in hindsight we would have been better off with Peter Crouch up front or Danny Ings with Jon Walters as back-up, at least youÂ’d get 100% effort week in week out out of these guyÂ’s.

LetÂ’s be honest anyway, Lukaku does not suit the style of play here at Everton. Why persist with a guy who looks like the simple task of holding a ball up is virtually impossible?

Lukaku has scored a meagre two league goals since December 1st, a perfect example of player and club not being suited.

Sorry Rom but if we have to sell a player for a biggish fee this summer if rather it be you than Coleman or even Barkley for that matter.

There are better strikers out there than Lukaku that we could possibly get to Everton.

As I mention, has he outperformed Danny Ings this season? Or Peter Crouch? Or for that matter even Jelavic or the likes of Cisse at Newcastle.? Not really has he?

Very replaceable, in my opinion.

At his best, I am sure most of us quite like Lukaku, though he needs to put in some work on the training ground so that muscle memory eventually emerges when he goes to trap the ball.

Nevertheless on his current form we would be very lucky to get £28m so we now need to big him up as much as possible in case anyone is spying on ToffeeWeb.

Wonderful player. A steal at £100 million.

I said, just before we bought this clown, that heÂ’s not an Everton type player and certainly not worth a third what we paid for him! Great buy.. Martinez... NOT!!!

Play Kone up front till the end of the season – then sell the waste of space to the RS – they deserve him... let the shite float together!

Get kicking that ball against the wall and practice controlling the rebound before you gob off about "bigger clubs".

If true, then he can fuck off on a free for me, we wonÂ’t have lost anything more than a disgruntled dressing room. And if not true, then Duncan needs to Â’have a wordÂ’ to his trainee to play a little better than a Conference striker.

What is it with these arrogant Dutch and Belgium players?

If you include LukakuÂ’s season on loan from Chelsea then Mirallas has only been here an extra year, Nick. ItÂ’s not like heÂ’s earnt any extra leeway, or deserves more understanding from the fans, due to him being a damn good servant is it?

The only way in which his is Â’a different caseÂ’ is that he came out and explicitly stated heÂ’s considering his future right here, right now. Lukaku, on the other hand, seems to be talking vaguely of his future aspirations. HeÂ’s not saying heÂ’s looking to move on from Everton at the end of the season, if they fail to win the Europa league, like his compatriot did. Which is a fucking good job considering he looks like heÂ’s been playing with concussion most of the season and has been offside more often than Stephen HawkingÂ’s sight line.

If heÂ’d been banging goals in week after week then I wouldnÂ’t really have a problem with him restating his ambition to, one day, be amongst the best. The fact heÂ’s chosen to do it now, at a time when his performances have been pretty much turgid and his manager and match going fans have stuck by him and defended him against his detractors, just makes him look like a laughable dick with delusions of grandeur.

The only aspect of his performance the other night that would have made Chelsea fans sit up and take notice of what theyÂ’re now missing out on was the two fucking sitters he failed to slot.

That said, he is second to none at the things he’s good at, and I don’t think £28M isn’t really that much based on his age and scoring record. It’s just about £10M too much for Everton to have spent.

I mean JEEEESUS, however dumb they are, you would imagine that they would at least have the mental wherewithal to think Â’Actually, probably best to keep that to myselfÂ’Â’

But no - a dumb thought goes through pea-brain and the pea-brain suggests "BLURT IT OUT LAD!!" and...here we are.

When I was 5, my dad would take me and my (late) brother to the Pier Head on Sunday mornings, while our (bland, taste-free) Sunday dinner was being prepared at home.

There was a little pie stall down there and we would plead with my dad for a pie.

"Alright" heÂ’d say "But your motherÂ’s making your dinner so donÂ’t say anything to her about pies"

WeÂ’d promise and get our pies.

On returning home my mam would ask "Did you have a nice time?"

"Yeah" weÂ’d answer

"What did you get up to?Â’ sheÂ’d then ask.

Our response was...well, put it this way, weÂ’d basically do a Lukaku and drop my dad right in it ("YouÂ’re givin them frigginÂ’ PIES!?" Those things are full of shite plus IÂ’ve got the dinner on here..." etc)

I should repeat, I was FIVE (and I could at least receive a ball at my feet without it looking like I had polio).

Poltroons, all of them.

We own your contract for four more seasons, meaning that we get another 18 months of you performing at a level that attracts said clubsÂ’ interest, so Everton get goals, and the player we wanted; you get your move, if you still want it.

if Everton have in those 18 months to 2 years, a striker who is in the elite bracket and deserves the highest stage, our league form will probably reflect that, as will our placing. Oh, and we turn a profit. If not, then in say four years you will look a right tube when you are sweating on us offering you a new deal.

However;

He is unable/unwilling to shield a ball. (6ft 4in ???? & questionable body strength)

He jumps like heÂ’s limbo dancing.

His ability to trap/control a ball is reminiscent of days on a beach with a fly-away.

In summary; he canÂ’t do the basics that well. He should be getting his head down and working hard (if he is - have you seen an improvement yet?) rather than talking nonsense about playing for a big/top team...

It’s quite clear he hopes that his comments will force him out of Everton. I hope to god it does – and take the clown who bought him with him.

Do I think Chelsea are a bigger club that Everton? – not in a million years, all fur coat, no knickers and absolutely zero history. Most of their fans have been recruited in the last decade but the fact is they have more money to buy success – and nowadays, that is the definition of ’big’.

Incidentally I do think he had a fair game against Chelsea; he actually controlled the ball (not all the time!), used his strength admirably and was unlucky not to score. LetÂ’s cut him some slack and hope that his improvement continues preferably with a hat-trick against Leicester.

In this day of crazed transfer fees you probably would get someone paying near 17/18 million for him, fooled into a false sense of security by us paying a stupid amount for him.

I do think nothing will change regarding Lukaku at Everton in terms of what he contributes, we only play one style of football and itÂ’s as clear as day that it doesnÂ’t work well, least of all when you have a striker that canÂ’t trap a ball or hold a ball up consistently enough, plus letÂ’s be honest itÂ’s not like Rom has the work ethic of a Marcus Bent or Craig Bellamy, constantly on the move.

He does in many ways remind me of Anichebe.
In Leon OsmanÂ’s autobiography he states that Anichebe had all the tools to be a really top striker but he was basically lacking in bravery and all it took was a tough centre half from the opposition to nudge him and Victor would disappear, quite embarrassing for a man of that physique.

I believe Lukaku lacks the bravery and hunger, the fire in his belly, to become a really top striker and this is a factor that he will always carry with him regardless of age, you canÂ’t coach a player to have that courage and aggression non more so than can you coach him to run all day like Bent used to during that top 4 campaign.

I watch enough football and see strikers scoring the type goals that Lukaku should.

The club is showing very poor leadership and management skills with all this outpouring of players wanting to move, criticism of style play, contract delays, not to mention lack of wining results on the pitch! All this seem to me of a club going downhill rapidly.

Something needs to be done, to me Everton FC is a great club, stacked with great history, which now needs to be matched by its ambition, if the players think differently why!!!

Someone take charge!!!

They were by far the best chances in the game, served up on a plate just right for him to do his business... yet he arrogantly assumed that getting them on target would suffice.

Sadly, thereÂ’s a lot bigger problem here than lack of service. He seems to have lost the very special knack that set him apart: that magical ability to finish.

Which Â’BigÂ’ club is going to pay good money for a centre forward whose control is woeful, canÂ’t head and canÂ’t pass? The only one I can think of is ......Everton and weÂ’ll never get our money back!!!

Pathetic!

You certainly figure out quick who you can count on when things get tough.

IÂ’m glad he enjoyed his reception at Chelsea. It will be in stark contrast to the one he can likely expect at Goodison next time.

Sadly, the mindset of the current generation of footballers. However, we are the idiots that overpaid for him and unless he starts to play to the level and consistency required to recoup any of that back, we are going to get screwed (yet again) at the hands of Chelsea.

I have no idea whether BBS has it in him to rip a strip off of these prima donas but he should and put him on the "naughty seat" as Pulis did with Berahino recently and play Kone instead. Not like heÂ’s making a difference these days.

N.B. This doesnÂ’t excuse his witless comments!

He must drop Lukaku next week for showing a blatant lack of respect towards the club who pays his wages, he has abused the trust at his place of employment and this should not be allowed to happen.

Its hardly like his form has been great anyway, heÂ’s not un-droppable.

Be big Roberto

"What was Arteta's reason for leaving," the Club needed 10m to pay off part of a bank overdaft.

"or Lescott?" He got offered a shedload of money by City.

Why did Pienaar go to Spurs? 'Cos we wouldn't give him pay parity with Baines who he was as good as at the time.

"How many times was Heitinga alledged to have quoted something different? "Said something about a bicycle tour of Barcelona but fulfilled his contract despite telling the Club it would be better off selling him and they didn't listen.

" And not to even mention Rooney." Sold to balance the books.

"Some very selective memories on here at the moment." Pit, kettle. black!

We should have read between the lines before signing Lukaku last summer.

"if Everton are in the Champions League I'd join them"

He spent months harbouring hopes that Chelsea would keep him or another "top club" (haha) would come in and pay mad money.

They didn't, and Lukaku didn't want to sit on Chelsea's bench so he thought he would use us as a stepping stone basically.

MIrallas missed a penalty before his outburst and Lukaku’s chance was even easier than Mirallas’s. Same outcome though, didn’t convert. Same with most players these days all talk no result. The only CL quality player we have at present is Stones and you don’t hear him mouthing off. Lukaku and Mirallas aren’t good enough for the biggest clubs otherwise they would be there.

I don't recall this second gilt-edged chance to which you're referring (unless it was a 20-yard effort with his weaker foot that Cech did well to save) but I find this criticism of Lukaku – and I include Mohamed (1) here, too – not scoring our best chance against Chelsea utterly mystifying.

Your assertion in your match report and again here is that he "languidly" ushered the ball in the general of the goal. In actual fact, he did everything he was supposed to as a top striker – got himself in position, off his marker and put the shot on target.

9 times out of 10, the goalkeeper doesn't start moving in the direction he anticipates the shot before the ball even reaches Lukaku's foot. It was a world-class save from point-blank range where the angles are a lot less forgiving with a 6' 4" goalkeeper in front of you than they appear from a side-on TV angle.

On to Lukaku's comments: He has always stated his ambition to play for a Champions League side, even before he joined us. He signed for a club seemingly on the cusp of cracking the top four last summer but that has clearly gone off the rails in this train-wreck of a season.

At age 21, he has time to make that dream a reality with us. Is he top Champions League quality yet? No, but his ambition is to reach that standard. While he is not immune from criticism himself at the moment, it's clearly not going to happen under the current system that Martinez insists on using. His goalscoring record is there for all to see and he will always be a consistent goalscorer but he's being wasted as a hold-up-the-ball target man when that's not his strength.

Doesn't stop me from supporting the club through thick and thin but it's the reality - if players are offered more money by a so called 'top' club they move. Rom was an idiot if its true what he said. Not surprised he was thinking it - just surprised he said it out loud!

Absolutely spot on. Great post

Today’s players are mostly mercenaries, and influenced by agents etc, this is the reality of this money bonanza, and with the new Sky money, it will only get worse.

The players are very unhappy, I know through a very good source, who knows many of the Moyes players, that the lads don’t trust Martinez, they think he is two-faced, and a bullshitter.

Funny that, I have also been thinking that for several months.

I still believe he is a top class player with a ton of potential.

Yes, we all know he has a heavy toe, and that does not look like it is going to change. Therefore to make the most out of him, it surely has to do with the type of service he gets. It seem 9/10 balls that come to him do so as he stands with his back to the goal.

We are consistently breaking down in the upper 3rd of the pitch. And its seeing this repeated and repeated that the most annoying part.

Here is Q to be asked:
Last season compared to this season, did opponents adapt to us, or is it some tactical tweak that has gone so badly wrong which Martinez refuses to change.

This is a fucking depressing season compared to the fireworks of last.

They want the prestige of playing for a big club in a top league (that's not Olympiakos) in Europe's biggest competition and at Mirallas's age, I don't begrudge him the desire to make that happen in the next year.

Lukaku has time. I genuinely believe that he wants to play at the highest level and if we could provide it, he would stay even if it meant we couldn't pay him ridiculous wages.

He is moving to his left before Lukaku hits it and extends his leg to make the save. It was superb. I would wager had it been at the other end, our keeper would have stood helplessly motionless.

Football media is full of bollocks, trivia, missquotes and banalities. It's only when someone says something so monumentally stupid that you think....well no one would make that up, surely? If he has said this then sell the dog....and what's more RM should drop him and make him clean Naismiths boots for the rest of the season.

Gobshite.

Maybe though heÂ’s taken a good look around him, and thought, how can this club really go places with a Chairman who has not got a fucking pot to piss in, who has never put 2p in towards purchasing a player. AFTER 15 YEARS.
A board worth a billion+, that wouldnÂ’t even buy the total bargain that was Finch Farm when unbelievably it came up for sale (prompting a cash-strapped city council to snap it up!!!). And who like Gillette & Hicks are only along for the Sky revenue ride.

He also might well’ve sussed the manager is an ineffectual who has lost the plot and is taking us nowhere... So er what would YOU do???

Problem being, nobody is going to pay for them.

Fair enough, these guys aren't true Evertonians like the rest of us, and have no proper allegiance (apart from the astronomical wages we pay them).

If you want a move to a top club, knuckle down and do the business on the pitch for a year or two, then kindly piss off, instead of blabbing to the media.

What planet do these guys live on. I was all for the Lukaku move - going on what he had shown last few seasons and the cursed potential - but he has regressed beyond belief. It's not all down to poor service.

He can't even get his napper on an unchallenged long ball! Is this the same boy that scored 2 awesome headers against the hammers and the shite? And is coached by big dunc? Bloody Naismith puts him to shame with the timing in his jumps.

If only there were more mosques on merseyside, we'd have Ba (a player Lukaku can only dream of emulating) and plenty left over in the bank.

Buy out your contract and go fail somewhere else.

P.s how many goals did you score for that top club you played for??

He can't fail to understand how demeaning that is to the club and the fans. Looks also like he's been phased by the hug and kiss from the manager who was more than happy to dump him.

If he had any sort of bottle he'd be telling the manager what sort of service he needs but clearly isn't getting. But regardless of the service to him a demonstration of a few basic skills: like killing a ball when he receives it; learning to look along the line to avoid being constantly offside; and judging the flight of a high ball wouldn't go amiss.

But for me the bottom line is that these particiular kinds of public statements from players at any club are inexcusable and therefore we shouldn't try to excuse them.

Martinez was gullible enough to pay a fortune for him, even though he will have know his character having worked with him for a year.

This is yet another consequence of the poor judgement demonstrated by an out of depth manager (Eto'o, Barry, McGeady....).

Of course Lukaku should keep his mouth shut but yet again it highlights the lack of respect; dressing room control and even the ruddy style of play demanded by the players that this manager is out of his depth.

There will be a statement soon distancing himself from the remarks or a statement to say they were taken out of context and the manager will be saying that the rebuttal was remarkable for a 21 year old.

Surely the stepping stone scenario involved him banging 40 goals over 2 seasons then moving on for £40m?!

Try and think of one Rick champions league club that would pay £15m for him at this point. He's deluded.

Looks like Eolfsburg are heading for CL so hopefully they'll come back in the summer (though Dost looks a better player at this point, and possibly Bendtner!!)

"I am playing at a club that has in recent history shown its aspirations and capability to qualify for the CL and I am committed to doing my part in making sure the goals of the Club and the fans are achieved."

NOT, I want to play for a better team

Whichever way you cut it, the impression is of a club in some disarray I am afraid, just at the time when we need to be focused. There are few more ruthless and disloyal operators than professional footballers and their agents when they sense they're on sinking ground.

I want every footballer we buy to have aspirations of being good enough for CL football, winning trophies and playing for a "top team". The expectation of course is that that "top team" eventually is us if we buy enough players of sufficient calibre.

The first comment from Mohammed is a prime example of the type-before-you-think mentality. Where are all these "loyal" footballers that we could've signed instead of Lukaku? The last proper loyal footballer I can remember was Le Tissier.

All of our players are here only because we offer them something better than they could have got elsewhere. Even the Evertonians among them like Barkley will no doubt be off as soon as City, Chelsea or Utd offer to double their pay.

Quite frankly I'm more worried about the dross in the squad happy to settle for mid-table every season.

Lukaku's price tag is fuck all to do with him. His poor performances this season and indeed the (lack of decent)service he has received is a different discussion. I've little doubt he will eventually become one of the top strikers in world football.

We all love the club and believe we are a top club - the very best. The Belgians have no ties to us - our club is merely their employer and this is the problem with most foreign players who see us as a stepping stone to success and even more money.

The day when we can pack the team with local born players would mean we could dispense with the mercenaries who are only bothered with their career and not the club. Until then we have to suffer these poorly considered interviews and possibly moderate our support for the culprits and instead get behind the likes of Ross and Leon - local boys who get far too much unfair stick but who bleed royal blue.

Any player with ambition would want away from us at the moment,Barkley and Garbutt included..The stadium is a disgrace and the off filed earnings for Everton players is a joke. Name one of our Squad of internationals that gets any real media coverage or high profile sponsorship?

The truth is we are lucky to be in the EPL considering the pittance we spend on players and this season has given some of the squad itchy feet. Most of our players don’t view EFC with the same Blue tinted specs that we all do.The club is a shambles and thats the truth.

Rom is a TIT for blurting out his true feelings though .

The season prior to Lescott signing for City they finished 10th in the league, not a CL placing even by the red shite standards. Lescott was pissed off at being continually being played out of position at left back and was offered a shed load of money to play in his proper position by the newly acquired Sheiks.

Spurs were not in the CL when Pienaar joined them and the only reason he left was because he was not offered parity pay parity with Baines and both Chelsea and Spurs made offer for him. Chelsea were a CL qualifier that year by the way.

I think everyone knows the financial benefit to the Club from the sale of Rooney and how it saved the Club.

So none of these players left for so called "Champions League Glory" as you claim.

That said, I'm with Lyndon on the harshness of criticism of Rom for missing the 2 chances against Chelski. Both were very good saves and he was unlucky that Cech's reflexes were undiminished following his long stint on the bench.

Both Lukaku and Mirallas are frustratingly inconsistent in both performance and effort and, for me, could be replaced. The one thing that does bother me is this is another indication of problems in the dressing room.

He is deluded if he thinks he can play for EuropeÂ’s elite at this stage of his career. If he wins us the Europa League, maybe some "top club" will come in for him. In the meantime, just shut the fuck up and let your football do the talking instead of your mouth.

Score a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge and yeah, you've earned a bit of leeway to talk yourself up.

Do the opposite and well, get your head down, shut up and get in with it.

And, to be honest I don't care if it's been taken out of context - if I talked about the competition in the glowing terms Mirallas and Lukaku have done in the past couple of weeks I'd been shown the door.

At club level, when dealing with the media they should keep the subject to three things, and three things only - Everton, Everton and Everton.

Not fit to lace Naismith or John Stones boots.

The implication that Lukaku cannot be extremely talented because Chelski let him go is perhaps the worse of it. How many top players have been let go by top clubs? Let alone someone who was clearly let go because of specific conditions.

Lukaku has acted like a twat, and has clearly been off what we expected this season..but he is 21, he has received very little service, and has suffered because of our style.

He should keep his gob shut mind, but it doesn't need the wailing and gnashing of teeth, it's the sort of thing players say all the time, it doesn't mean all of our best players will be sold and we're going to get relegated.

Lukaku's comments are a big fuck you to the manager, his fellow team mates and us the fans.

The fact they also arrive on the back of two glaring misses at crucial points in a tight game at Stamford bridge, indicate that Lukaku is an egomaniacal maniac, an idiot or is being badly advised by those around him.

Its gone sour at Everton this year and any of our decent players with an eye for success will have an eye on the exit door.

Modern top class footballers have no loyalty and with greedy agents will just go to whoever pays the most with a real opportunity for success .As Everton supporters we tend to idolize certain players and then call them what they really are mercenaries.when theydecide to leave and usually to bigger money clubs were they believe they will have more success.

The sad thing is we have to admit that Everton have a magnificet history and in the past we were the millionaire club but we can not continue living in the past this is the here and know not 20 yrs ago.

His comment may be because he believes that there is no future at Everton and with Miralles wanting to leave he may feel the same. This to me shows that if there is a lack of ambition it has to start at the very top B.K.

It is no use shouting and swearing at a player because he wants a move as he is just an employee and there are not many employees that will not move if they are offered more money with more success in his field.

The people at the top of this club over the years have squandered a number of opportunities to move the club foreward,that in this modern age is becoming more difficult to do, with the high costs of transfers and wages and their poor vision on the commercial side to promote the club.

These are the people to blame for players wanting to move on as no player will come to a club because of who we were,they come because of who you are today and what you offer for the future..

After the Chelsea game he looked more happy with the reception he received from some of their fans rather than being pissed off that we lost! Everton will still be here long after the departure of these mercenary bastards.

With all the new T.V. money becoming available there will be a host of top class foreigners begging to play in the Premiership. Most of which will be far better players.

Martinez needs to show some discipline and sort this out. If these gobshites donÂ’t want to play for Everton then they have to go. They WILL be replaced. It doesnÂ’t take too many moaners in the dressing room to fuck the whole thing up.

They do, yes. Christophe Henrotay, but I don't this is agent-driven like Mirallas's situation probably is. Lukaku's always been ambitious.

To modern day players, the glories days of Catterick and Kendall are ancient history and I doubt if too many of them have ever heard of Alan Ball let alone Dixie.

For me, the only merit of seeing Lukaku come good is that he will be doing it for Everton. All else is immaterial - and the same goes for Mirallas and all the other 'players of potential' we have in this most disappointing squad.

I imagine there isn’t much to see here just some naughty ammendments to comments about Lukaku being happy with the reception from his ex clubs fans with 2+2 being made to add up to 4,532

The price tag isn't his fault, the lack of playing to his strengths isn't his fault, the team's nosedive into the abyss isn't his fault. What is his fault though, is what he chooses to say, when he says it and who to. Ffs you can't blame him for wanting to decamp or any of them ftm. We are shite at atm.

You're spot on, but add fixed us up with an amateurish second rate manager who may well take us down.

He has progressed his career properly.

2006–2008 Issia Wazi pld gls
2007–2008 Sparta Prague B (loan) 14 (2)
2008–2011 Sparta Prague 59 (22)
2011–2013 Vitesse 65 (46)
2013–2015 Swansea City 54 (25)
2015– Manchester City 0 (0

You don't run before you can walk. If you want richer clubs to buy you then you have to produce the goods with the club you are at and at this moment in time that just ain't happening. He's simply not ready. He needs to knuckle down and learn how to be a striker and maybe when he's become a more complete player than he is today richer clubs might show an interest in him.

Otherwise I'm with Kevin Rowlands all the way.

Built like a brick shithouse but week after week dominated by opposing centre-halves so much, itÂ’s embarrassing.

And donÂ’t give me that shit about lack of service, he just ainÂ’t good enough. I didn’t want him and, as mentioned above, there are a lot better players out there that cost a lot less than what he did. Martinez fucked up big style paying £28 million.

Really though, the only thing that pisses me off is that he's come out and said this now. I've no problem with players being ambitious but right now we need our players fighting like fuck to get us out of the mess THEY put us in.

Play as good as you can and put in the effort till the end of the season and then if you want to leave, leave. No problem. Coming out saying things like this (if he has) at this point does no favours to anyone.

Still loads of shite being typed on here though. We've got the same people telling us Lukaku is shite and he will never make it, never play for a big club but we've got to give Barkley time because he's only a young lad. 6 months separates them in age.

I know who's name I'd put on the team sheet first.

This shows a lack of respect for the manager. Martinez has talked him up since he came on loan and actually stated not long back that " He wouldn’t swap him anyone".

Martinez IMO does not have his management strategy right, he comes across as that whimpy teacher in school who used to get hell off the class idiots and didn’t have the balls to stand up to them.

I hope Big Dunc has a quiet word and Barcelona Bobby drops him immediately. I’m not holding my breath on the 2nd one though.

Lack of respect for the manager?

I wish I could post a pic of Zaha right now.

Hes our coach, and our six foot striker canÂ’t win a header.

I love Dunc as much as anyone, really I genuinely do. But IÂ’m not having him as a coach right now.

He will not get involved in first team matters until he is employed to do so.

You are both right in apportioning blame but for me it should be directed fairly and squarely at RM.

He is so far out of his depth I am amazed he is still in place and for that, indirectly you can blame BK.

In my opinion we greatly overpaid for him – he can’t hold the ball up, Naismith wins more headers (which is unbelievable considering the size of Lukaku), and I just don’t think he has the heart to be a top class player. When have you ever seen Lukaku score with a thundering shot?, They’re pretty much all tap-ins or scuffed.

It will come down to price. Why would Lukaku care if we want a profit? The market will dictate what he's worth and he'll get his move.

Sadly this is just a reflection of our shit season. It's been criminal.

This season can't end soon enough for me. I know we are still in the EL, but we all know how that's going to end. St Steven of Whiston will lift the trophy to end his glorious career!

I would probably also believe that I should be playing for a team like Man United and being paid a similar amount to Rooney etc.

This is the mindset of your average Premier League footballer and nothing you say or do is ever going to change that.

We have billionaire owners! Why do they never get questioned about no investment or new stadia? Then we wonÂ’t have the likes of Lukaku embarrassing this great club.

The lad is 21. We can't expect him to be too savvy.

What a tool...

It does not make it much better, but the quotes have been decontextualised.

I would say something though: posters have lined up to criticise Lukaku for this. Many of these posters are probably twice Lukaku´s age. Some of the criticism directed towards the 21 year old is quite simply peculiar. This a perfect example from Michael:

´They were by far the best chances in the game, served up on a plate just right for him to do his business... yet he arrogantly assumed that getting them on target would suffice.'

This is beyond wrong...how can you state that his attempts were arrogant? His first effort was a good first time shot, which Cech only just managed to save. His second chance should have been a goal. He was denied by an excellent save, but I think missing it was a symptom of form and confidence, not the absurd reading of 'arrogance', which borders on the non-nonsensical. And where has this service been for most of the season?

We´ve had claims stating that Anichebe is a better player...Anichebe! seriously, is there some level of sarcasm I´m missing? Anichebe scored as many goals for us as Anichebe managed in one season with West Brom... what are you talking about Kevin? And Origi is better, with his 3 league goals in Ligue 1? I did not realise that posters on here watched alot of Ligue 1 football. Or Lukaku is crap because Mourinho decided to sell him to buy Diego Costa?

Lukaku has been an idiot, but some of the reactions on here are absurd. I want Lukaku to wear an Everton shirt, irrespective of his stupid comments, because he has what it takes to be a top top player. His touch goes missing too often, but there are games when he shows what he is capable of, and the service this season has been non-existent. We are simply not creating, and our midfielders prefer a run and shot, or a backwards pass, then the kind of service Lukaku clearly needs. If Lukaku has so many problems with his game, but managed to score so many league goals prior to this season, what does that say about his current and potential ability? Do the concerted attacks on him perhaps lack a realism, which will disappear when he hits form, and the fans can line up and use these forums to state that they always knew he would come good. And when he starts scoring and performing again..and he will, I´ll bet on two things: Anichebe will be doing fuck all, and Origi will be behind Sturridge, and perhaps Ings in the pecking order.

Lukaku has lost form after the World Cup, and has looked out of sorts this season, and clearly has had some personal problems. He should have done better, but there are circumstances, and young players have dry periods. He is playing in a team which clearly does not suit his style, and he is playing in a team without creativity at the moment. He could do more of course, but I can bet that a different manager would have resulted in a different Lukaku this season. Any success we will have this season in the Europa League will rest on his shoulders, and I think a change of tact will bring us closer to the Lukaku of the last two seasons. It might be good to remember, when you are all criticising him so much, that he is 21, and never asked for 28mil to be paid for him (or 24 or whatever the final fee is or may be).

Lukaku needs support from those around him in order to score the goals we bought him to deliver, but has Martinez picked the team to play to his strengths? NO! Though I deplore the lack of loyalty from Rom, less than a season into his nice long lucrative contract, you have to ask just why this state of affairs has been allowed to develop. Mirallas, Lukaku, Garbutt, and next?

Surely Bk could see this coming and should have acted at the first hint of trouble. Martinez is patently not a man-manager despite being good with words and should have gone after the appalling run over Christmas. Lukaku was happy enough to come here when it looked like we'd be challenging for honours, and I he had any guts, after his performances this season, he'd get his head down and try to help us achieve that goal by doing his job over the period of his contract.

He should be reminded he's not on loan any more, but a long term investment by a q who really wanted him when all the so -called 'big' teams backed away after his dismal world cup. Gratitude? Loyalty? Obviously not Belgian words if Rom and Kev's attitudes are to be believed. Give me a team of Naismiths, Osmans, Baineses, Jagielkas, etc, men who are proud to be Evertonian and ready to go out and do their best for the team every week even if they have a bad 'un now and then.

I just feel that as soon as one or twitching go wring for Lukaku against Leicester the supporters will destroy him, again leading to a ugly atmosphere.

Roberto spent all the time Kone was out injured bigging him up telling us what we were missing yet he's hardly played him since his return.

Back up your words man.

There are players in the Premier League that we need to be aiming at targeting this summer to steady this sinking ship of a club and bring some passion and hunger into it.

Look at 2003/04 season

Awful season but we signed two lads do or die lads, Cahill and Bent, it made a world of difference just having two guys who worked their tits off every week.

Naismith and McCarthy both do this as do maybe Jagielka, Stones and Coleman.

But we could be a different team altogether by just finding a striker or two who will work and put himself in a position to get hurt if it means scoring a goal for Everton F.C.

Charlie Austin and Danny Ings are not big fancy names but either one of these lads would show more commitment than Lukaku who can even be arsed busting a gut to stay onside.

Now he may well have been misquoted but he’s been linked to these type of comments before. The only reason he’s at Everton is because no-one apart from the Spaniard rated him. I will say this, though: if anyone comes in for him in the summer, and I doubt they will, there’s not a prayer Everton would get £28M. It would be nearer £15M.

The lump has got an over-inflated ego and is so full of himself, it’s untrue. Switch the lights off on your way out, you cunt. ThereÂ’s lads in League Two just as good. Let’s face it, they couldnÂ’t do any worse.

I think if the kid was doing himself justice, we wouldnÂ’t have had this reaction, and it must be hard for him that his father has not been well.

"Age gives you life experience, but this man mountain is really just a boy".

It might be stating the obvious, but something really is wrong at Everton just now. Especially when you shut your eyes and think back to that Arsenal game.

Get back in training and work your nuts off till it clicks again and stop being so disrespectful to Everton. Fuck me, another big time Charlie who thinks he’s God. Dear me.

We can get Ings at the end of the season for peanuts so maybe sell Lukaku if anyone will give us in excess of £10 million and buy Ings. Then everyone is happy, we get in a goalscorer, will save money on wages, and we ship out the waste of space formerly known as Lukaku.

Lukaku will probably end up leaving in 2-3 seasons time by which he will be around 24-25, taking what he has learned at Everton, and providing he has bagged 15+ goals consistently each season by then, he'll do even better at a bigger club, with better players around him. We are not getting Champions League football any time in the near future so his long term ambitions will lie elsewhere.

Long gone are the days when Everton were a big club; unless a Billionaire comes along sometime soon, nothing changes at the club. People should accept that we are simply a stepping stone to players leveraging a move eventually to become winners.

All the arguements put forward recently all point back to one area and that is the hierarchy of this club, if we want success and improvement then start turning nasty against Kenwright and the rest of the pricks who are on the Board of Directors.

"Most of their fans have been recruited in the last decade but the fact is they have more money to buy success – and nowadays, that is the definition of "big". – Not sure I buy the 'recruited more fans' line. It's the same for most clubs which goes through transformational change. An attract product/service is on offer so naturally more people are willing to see it and buy it.

It's not just the buying power of clubs like Chelsea that make them big but also the infrastructure they have around – training facilities, investment in their youth academies, corporate sponsorship to name a few. There is no comparing Samsung with Chang. Chelsea are run as a global business, those who make strategic business decisions for the better of the club, not like the fools who we have who just plod along each day without any hope of driving forward the club. It isn't just the money.

Like the song said;

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end..........

Get rid please.

If Martinez wants to represent the club then he needs to act on stuff like this.

Otherwise, get rid please.

If it is Tabloid lies then I take both comments back.

My take is that BK is directly to blame as he hired RM without doing a thorough background check on his Premier League credentials and just hired him for beating Everton and winning the FA Cup.

Despite BK giving his normal speech of "I have been 24/7 on the phone talking to football people all over Europe", the feeling is he spoke to Dave Whelan about Martinez as soon as David Moyes informed him he was leaving.

The money is pouring into football but we are run by amateurs. The sky 4 are bringing in excellent merchandising deals and we have a few bob thrown in our direction.

Example -"Bill, itÂ’s dave from kitbag, guess what that corner shop in St. Helens has agreed to take some stock!!! "

Not an outrageous opinion to have. He came here to play first team football and develop. Doesn't say he wants to leave now or not see out his contract.

He's here to do a job, not become a lifelong Evertonian. Also he was talking to a Belgian newspaper and comments have been translated. Using Google translate! Anyone think of getting it properly translated before kicking off?

Even if he did say that one day he would like to play for a club playing regularly in the Champions League and attracting the world's best players, what's wrong with that? We're not that and haven't been for years. He's only 21 but his comments are often fair more rational and intelligent than a lot on here.

Our record signing doesn't even deserve a place in the team, but no doubt our arrogant, ignorant, feckless manager will see it differently. Trouble is neither Martinez nor Lukaku have earned the right to be arrogant as they have achieved fuck all relative to the top performers in their profession.

Did you see WBA destroy West Ham in the Cup? Just shows what a good manager who can recognise the strengths and weaknesses of his players, combined with a compatible style of play relative to his players abilities, can achieve. Pulis is 10 times the manager Martinez will ever be.

Spot on.
Pulis doesn't get the credit he deserves for looking sounding or looking stylish.

He certainly goes about his business in a far more quiet way not one for the superlatives of Martinez but his results yield more substance than Roberto.

As far as I am concern Everton payed well over the odds for him Chelsea saw Martinez coming simple as that. Everton should just sell him for no less than £28 million and get there money back and buy a couple of decent forwards who have got what it takes to score week in week out unlike Lukaku. He is way to far up his own arse hole.

He is the one of the reasons to why Everton are in the shite they are in because he cant score for toffee. Personally I think Lukaku should be playing in the Championship. Let's face it, he isn't no Graham Sharp or Gary Linker now when they were Everton playing forwards they were what you call on the money. Who dose he think he is. Cash in on him before it's too late...

If we could sell him tomorrow and get £20+ million for him (which I don't think we could), I'd sell him in a heartbeat, even if it meant taking a loss. We all knew that we had paid over the odds for him in the summer, but we hoped that he would develop, with his age and ability. Clearly he has done far from develop this season.

His performances have angered me all season and if he has made these comments then it is just adding insult to injury.

Looks like the scum nit picked a few lines and twisted them to their own ends. Scum bags.

Laugh of the day? Seamus linked to Bayern Munich. Do these morons (they're not really journos are they?) sit around a table and decide what lies to publish the next day?

Too right. It's not like we get decent coverage any way, even Our Kid (a Red) calls The Times "The Liverpool Fanzine". The rest of the papers are no better and then let's get onto Sky.....

Shut up shop and do the talking on the pitch.

Yes, these comments are disrespectful but he's a young lad with big ambitions – you can't blame him for answering honestly to them questions... we've been poor this season.

We need to give him the service to his feet and not complete 78,000 passes before he gets it. He's shit at holding the ball up, he needs to improve in this area. He's a beast at running at players and getting in behind.

What's happened to Kone? He's hardly given a chance... he looked half-decent when he's played but he needs more time. What's the point in buying him if you're not going to use him? Martinez has no Plan B; pass, pass, pass doesn't always work and teams have got onto us.

Mirallas is a boss player but, if he wants to go, let him go. Someone new will come in and replace him... I've learned us fans love footy as a hobby but it's their job and most of them are not arsed nowadays – no loyalty.

"There has been a lot written about that – there was a conversation taken a little bit out of context after the Chelsea game.

"It was clearly someone looking for a headline about if Rom wanted to perform in order to come back to Chelsea, and his answer probably didn't reflect what he meant."

Sorry, Roberto, but that's BS of the highest order. He clearly knew exactly what he was saying and plenty has been written to rationalize it. So to have you now come out with this "little bit out of context" crap is nothing short of pathetic.

We need to protect and nurture him, let him develop and support him.