Koeman not focused on contract wrangling

Still, who can possibly argue against the free market economy ! It is stories like this that bring me back to a personal reality that my head hates modern Euro and Premier League football even if my heart still follows this massive exploitative con trick.

We may have great debates on here about the various rumours, tactics and characters but in the end I don't think the modern young player gives a shit about the fans who pay him, the current club that employs them or anything else that could be anything other than themselves, their "development" and their effing image.

I've got a hunch that both will stay for another season, at least, but that might depend on who we buy in the summer.

Lukaku will probably get a Champions League club. Not so sure Barkley will get one.

We are sorted in the midfield 3 with Tom, Gana and Schneiderlin. Ross isn't a top class Number 10. I would trust Ronald to get a better quality No 10 with Barkley's transfer fee.

I totally agree – especially if we could get someone like Frank Kessie.

I think Ross stays.

I think Rom is gone.

Where in the hell are we going to get the goals?

7th means playing a qualifying tie in last week July / first week August before the Premier League season kicks off.

That probably means another 12 points minimum including a win at the Emirates.

If Ross wants to move to a top four side he will need to score more goals because after all, that is what this game is all about. Rom carries a huge price tag, his age and the goals he is already scoring make him a vastly valuable asset for the club.

For selfish reasons I want both to stay and us spend over a hundred million on top class additions to actually catapult us into the top six positions. I would love to see us unearth a new Hazard or Mahrez plus a commanding centre back, adequate cover in both full back positions and a fully firing Bolasie running directly at cowering defenders. That is my dream. :)

Unfortunately we seem to sell on cue then spend less than we take in causing progress to be slow or static. I want to see us less as a feeder club for the top four and more as genuine competitors for the title. How we ever got ourselves reduced to being less important than Spurs absolutely bemuses me.

Every player of worth is sold shortly after he has a good season. The press concentrate on reportings of us selling our best players and being linked with Man Utd cast-offs (apart from Schneiderlin). Frankly I find this frustrating and insulting.

Everton can't afford to go into next season, with added Europa League commitments, not knowing who will be available

It would also cost us c £70m.

Seems a big price to pay...

Rom? I don't really care if he stays or goes. But they both should have the decency to say what they are doing.

I think we'll not get much more than £60 mill for Lukaku... and will struggle to get £40 mill for Barkley.

I hope we spend the money wisely... we could come out of this a much improved team.

Jason #1: totally agree

Spread out amongst the squad. It's a team game.

But then, I want to see Tom Davies playing in there too. I just want them doing it in the Royal Blue Jersey.

I made the same point on another thread. People STILL seem to not understand that Lukaku's going is NOT up to him. He can only decide to stay – he CAN'T decide to go. He can ask, he can beg but he can't demand. He's got 2 years left on his contract and I think the club will do what they intend to do with Barkley and that's keep him until he has 1 year left.

Lukaku can tell whoever he wants what he's doing but if the club decide not to sell, he stays!

"I don't think the modern young player gives a shit about the fans who pay him."

The fans don't pay the players any more, Rupert Murdoch does.

Jamie (#6),

"Where in the hell are we going to get the goals?"

We've had 17 different goalscorers this season besides Lukaku.

He is completely and utterly out of his depth. The Barkley situation is cringe worthy. "I spoke to Ross SEVERAL weeks ago"?... Way to show a guy how much he wants him. We are treating kids with mere potential better than that.

"Only one boss in this situation" My arse. He does not have any influence at all, he even says as much.

Maybe both of them have "given it to him straight". Maybe neither of them believe they have a chance of playing Champions League football while playing for him.

Those suggesting he will use the money to bring in top class players would not recognise a top class player if he was playing in their garden.

He inherited these two, but let's not forget he has spent north of £80M and he has yet to bring in a player who has been able to hold his own against the big boys.

If you think a friendly chat every other day would beat the lure of immediate Champions League and the money, you are more naive than I thought, Darren. Wish it did matter as it once did.

I would imagine we would command something nearer world record fees for Moshiri to sell.

None of us should be shocked that big money talks (shrieks?) and until we are in a position to fling it about (like the sides above us) little will change re our ability to offer Champions League and (consequently) to hang onto our better players.

Reality – currently anyone we have who plays consistently well...or REALLY well... or fucking GREAT! will deffo come under a lot of (agent) pressure to move and almost certainly will. (We should all enjoy Tom Davies while we can)

As for where we finish this season, I want us to finish as high as possible (obvs dude) but I wouldn't consider it a disaster to be playing competitive must-win Europa games pre-season, instead of (incredibly) friendly games against FC Jibrovia 76ZK or Rengjøringpåske FC or whoever.

The Sun readers!!!

I also suspect we may have a serious chance with van Dijk because of Koeman.

I know you like to spin anything as anti Koeman but

He has bought:

Steklenberg £1m
Gueye £ 7m
Bolasie £25m
Williams £12m
Lookman £7m
Schneiderlin £24m

I would say the most disappointing of those signings is Williams however his best three games were Arsenal, Man Utd away and Man City home. And out defensive record this season is very good.

Gueye is a good signing by any measure. I'm not sure what Schneiderlin has done wrong.

Too early to judge Bolasie or Lookman.

I'm not convinced yet by the man, our performances away from home are still not good enough. But give the fella a chance.

He might have gained legendary status as a football player, but he still has plenty left to prove as a manager before he's deserving of similar plaudits.

His handling of the whole "Will they/won't they?" speculation has been well and truly all over the shop.

Firstly, his "Rom is good enough to play for Barcelona and will not have made the most of his career if he remains at Everton" comments were hardly conducive to convincing Lukaku, or any other player with serious ambition, that this is the best place for him/them to be putting down deeper roots. He hasn't left himself with a leg to stand on there.

Secondly, his soundbites about focusing only on upcoming fixtures and leaving other distracting business until the summer would be more laudable if his own words weren't constantly lighting the touch paper every time he turns up for a press conference or finds a mic thrust in front of his face.

Contract discussions should be kept between the club and player with the press only being clued in 'officially' when a definitive decision has been made and there's real news to reveal. That's all he ever had to say, instead of ramping up the speculation by needlessly issuing public ultimatums and heavy handedly putting his own player under increased pressure.

For someone who recently claimed to be sick of fielding questions about Barkley and Lukaku, he strangely struggles to button his lip and shut the fuck up about them. 

"I'm not involved in the negotiations but I know that the boy (Barkley) is talking to his agent. I don't know what stage [the talks] are at."

So, why not just leave it there then? That's a perfectly acceptable answer and would have provided him with the perfect cut-off point. Why proceed to reveal details of a private discussion he had with the player? Why suddenly let slip that Lukaku has already told him he won't be signing a new contract (a couple of days before a game he apparently wants everyone fully focused on) after previously claiming the club were still looking to "get the contract over the line"? Just to provide him with the perfect lead-in to a little dig at Drogba? I guess 'dead good at not getting distracted' can be added to 'always tells it like it is'.

According to Tripadvisor, Rengjøringpåske is beautiful in July. You can visit the Kirk Douglas Viking museum, eat fermented whale blubber, all washed down with a pint of Skol reasonably priced at €27.

Wait and see what happens over the Summer – with or without them the Club is moving forward and on a strong financial footing.

This from a man who told us repeatedly John Stones was the next Bobby Moore. And recently described Tom Davies as a defensive player.

The only thing stopping Koeman sailing well over £100m in the transfer window is Sissoko's middle finger.

Koeman has been a disaster in the Market. Bolasie's injury has disguised what was a silly buy. The purchase of Williams has proved to be a predictably stupid one which has to a large degree stunted the growth of a younger, better player.

Schneiderlin and Gana on a good day may stop the good teams, but they will never hurt them. Top midfield players don't sit down as readily as these two have done in recent matches.

Koeman's better more valuable players are the ones he inherited. Why on earth do you think he can bring in players to get us Champions League football, if he can't hold onto the ones he has?

Give the fella a chance? how much more do you need to see? I'll give you until Chrimbo before you are bleating about the dreaded Second Season Syndrome...

Despite some demonstrable progress, we look like we are still the 'pound shop' of negotiations. I guess the protracted capture of Schneiderlin tells us that, the abortive semi successful transfer windows leads me to think we might be fighting for top four if we'd been better?

As for the players themselves, regardless of my personal thoughts towards then, their career is short and the money great so good luck to them. Not their fault the market price is so far north of reality.

Summer is massive for Everton; if they cannot tie up their own, my doubts about recruiting progressive talent are real and well founded.

Wow that's some bullshit right there.

Calvert-Lewin was £1.5m. Way too early to say if that will be worth it or not.

Valencia is on loan. Yes he cost wages but just see it as a swap for McGeady or Niasse.

Bolasie had his season finished prematurely. He'd been alright up to that point but again way too early to judge.

Can you point me to the match Schneiderlin recently sat down. You do remember he was injured for RS and United.

I'm surprised you are worried about Lukaku leaving. That's a turnaround of fucking Trump proportions given your well publicised views on the player.

I'll complain when I think the manager has had a decent enough time to turn the club into a top four outfit. In the meantime the only bleating is from you.

I will not lose any sleep if we sell, I am sick of the guy moaning about Champions League and not turning up for the big games. That's my view, others may have a difference of opinions.

Maybe he would get a bit more respect from me if he kept quiet until the end of the season, instead of harping on with the transfer window closed.

I'm not sure why I'm discussing the merits of a future superstar with a guy who thinks Ashley Williams is a top player.

This thread is about Koeman and our players. Attempts to disguise his shortcomings by talking about players who did not figure in his plans are just obvious and won't wash.

Diversion – the favourite tool of those without counter argument.

Did you call John Stones "the next Bobby Moore"? Yes/No?

Did you describe Tom Davies as a "defensive player"? Yes/No?

No diversions please. One-word answers please.

Not bullshit at all, just exposing your not very subtle attempts to keep Koeman's spends down by omitting players.

As for being worried about Lukaku leaving? You really are having a chuckle. I'm counting the days until the selfish git leaves.

I just won't be buying into this "Ronnie in charge" Bollocks. He is having things dictated to him as a direct result of his own stupidity.

In my view, Stones will be outstanding and I would like him to have done it for Everton.

This diversionary crap thrown up on every Koeman thread demonstrates a clear inability to defend his mismanagement.

I don't think any of the above were/are great tacticians, actually, nor were they infallible judges of players but (like Shankly, I am afraid) they asserted their will, they made their victories seem inevitable and made their players believe so. That's what the great managers do, it's a mental trick and it's extremely difficult to achieve; when it works, the club concerned is transformed.

Is Koeman anywhere near any of that? No, but as one who wanted him sacked after the Watford shambles, I think there are some interesting signs. These things aren't about the surface, they're about a cumulative ethos and I'm starting to wonder whether one of the great, arrogant, successful players may be set to bring the same to his management career.

"... just exposing your not very subtle attempts to keep Koeman's spends down by omitting players."

I missed one player: Calvert-Lewin, at £1.5m. You are on to me!

I'm sure you are not worried about Lukaku leaving (neither am I, by the way) but it doesn't stop you using it as a stick to beat him.

I don't buy the "manager in charge" stuff either. Players have all the power and if they wish to leave, they will do, simples.

He was off balance after the derby fiasco for several reasons: the shock of the poor performance, the frustration of the passionate fans, the disappointment at his own team selection (possibly), and his surprise and annoyance at the negativity of the media towards Everton – which is a new experience for him first hand / on the inside so to speak, and he knows if he reacts aggressively or defensively they will bait him even more. Bit of a culture shock in some ways.

His latest response to the Drogba comment was par excellent. It was aimed at no-one but Rom, who will have got the message. Ever hopeful and ever biased, I would not be surprised to see a 5th or 6th place finish, and then let's see Jags's comment that the pundits will then refocus on a top 5 or 4!

Upsetting the media interested status quo is a costly business. Look at Man City. The have spent incredible sums and I still think the media love to put them down when they slip up. Perhaps the long term prospect is one team per city, with the Manure v Redshite being the only derby north of Watford that has any marketing value...

Try the last one.

What? Against Leicester?? Seriously???

Slides in for a ball he was never going to get, leaving us totally exposed to the counter.

Coupled with an aggressive tone, you stifle real debate. Chill, lad.

Do you remember the last 2 seasons when that clueless Spanish wonder was in charge? The style of football was dross and the results were crap too.

At least Koeman shows some leadership, some balls and some honesty. If we won the league, some people on here would still moan about something. Unbelievable negativity.

As for Barkley, he's not consistent enough for a top 4 team.

Delusions of grandeur for Romelu; delusions of adequacy with Ross.

You are pointing to one moment in a game. Absolutely ridiculous even by your special standards.

We dominated midfield on Saturday and that was a combination of Gana, Davies and Morgan. Surprisingly two players Koeman has bought and another promoted as a young player.

Schneiderlin has already looked like a good addition. He is mobile, spots a pass and breaks up play effectively. He's played 10 games so it's very early to say but we have got 22 points in those games.

Are you really going to go down the 'he's not a very good buy' route?

I thought Tony's, "growing authority" shout, with regards to Koeman, was a good call, or maybe Everton, and its fans, are growing on the manager, because he seems less detached with each passing week, although I don't think he's doing well enough to qualify for second season syndrome, if things suddenly stop improving.

Lukaku has played every game and never been subbed off or benched.Now Barkley has been benched and subbed quite often.Lukaku is deemed lazy but has over 50 sprints in every match, mostly waiting for decent service that does not come.Lukaku has scored 23 league goals without taking a penalty.If he took the penalty's he would be home and hosed for the golden boot.

Barkley has NEVER hit double figures in any season.Yet some fans say he is more important than Lukaku.

If Lukaku leaves I predict he will bring twice as much money as Barkley in the transfer market.

I would love them both to stay but we are not seen as a big enough club to keep them.Why do the media talk up our players leaving ?Why not Spurs players ?This fact really infuriates me.

You said he didn't go to ground and asked me for an example. I gave you one. One which directly resulted in a goal.

Dominating midfield against a Leicester side who tend to by-pass it does not disguise that.

Schneiderlin and Gana are decent players, but they will not get us to the next level -CL

Shining against lesser teams is all very well, but unless you can shine against the better teams, you cannot be successful.

I know, it was probably a misjudgment.

But Holgate could have pulled Gray back and most importantly Jags made the worst mistake by following the ball and leaving Slimani free.

All three still had good games.

You flatly denied he went to ground. Others may have been at fault, but that is another issue.

You asked for an example and you got a very clear one

No you are completely changing what you said as per usual.

You first started by saying

"Schneidderlin and Gana on a good day may stop the good teams, but they will never hurt them - Top
midfield players don't sit down as readily as these two have done in recent matches."

You obviously mean that the players have not played well or showed up.Regardless of the fact Schneidderlin didn't play in either the Derby or the Man U game.

You then say

"You said he didn't go to ground and asked me for an example. I gave you one. One which directly resulted in a goal."

That's absolute bollocks even for you. We are not looking for an example of a player ending up on his arse, unless of course you believe this to be an important factor in a players performance but a player not showing up.

I would say in the 10 games Morgan has played he's been very good, his worst game was against Spurs but he was excellent at Stoke, Bournemoth, Sunderland West Brom, Middlesbrough and Leicester.

He is good enough to be part of a CL team, it's just your dislike of Koeman that is stopping you seeing it.

FFS... Show me where I 'flatly denied he went to ground.'

Do you just make stuff up?

Your posts highlight why Koeman is the manager and not you and boy am I glad about that. If you can't see beyond your love-in with Roberto, I pity you.

IMO, the club has come on leaps and bounds since Koeman arrived and he's not perfect but then neither is Mourhino or Guardiola but I'm damn sure we won't get much better than Koeman.

No, Mockers, that is what you would like me to mean. but I mean what I say. Him and Gana have gone to ground too readily in recent games. That, my old china plate, is true... no matter how much bluster you want to waste denying it.

If Schneiderlin is good enough for a top four team, why do you suppose he doesn't play for one at his age?

Can I point you in the direction of post #57?

Stop being a tit. It's quite obvious what you meant.

When did Gana go to ground? And how game changing was it?

Really you are looking ridiculous now, but I know that's never worried you.

As for the 'world class' one, my feelings are well documented.

You keep pedalling this idiotic lie that I loved Roberto. Do you realise how stupid it sounds? I was quite possibly his biggest critic on these pages. More diversionary nonsense

Mockers: "When did Gana go to ground?"

Do you actually watch these games?

I am a massive fan of Koeman's. I feel very optimistic about our future, and believe he is the absolute right man for the job.

You clearly disagree, so: If you were in a position to fire him, right now, would you?

Or perhaps wait until the end of the season? And replace him with who? (Your ideal manager for us, regardless if currently employed.)

No, go on, tell me, game time. Simple question.

And you have some brassneck talking about diversion. This was never about wether a player sits on his arse.

"Very sad" comes to mind as you are as slippery as Sean Spicer covered in Vaseline on the Big Dipper.

You made it about a player sitting on is arse by claiming it never happened. I had just made a one-line observation.

I have said what I did about Koeman and his handling of the contracts. I don't think he can bring success to this club. He is too slow in thought and in deed. His judgement is poor and he lacks courage.

You think I'm wrong? Well, I'll have this conversation with you again at Christmas, by which time I fully expect the excuse factory to be back in full flow. I'm betting somebody will use the "second-season syndrome" line before the clocks go back.

Wrong, wrong, wrong!

You quite clearly made it about Gana and Morgan not turning up in big games. Then bizarrely you make it about the players 'going to ground'.

Even if anyone believed such a blatant volte face, we are still waiting for the example of Gana going to ground. Which game? What time? How did it effect the game?

Come on, I'm dying to know. Please show us you are not full of shit.

The reason I keep responding is that people are asking me direct questions. I have something to say.

You'll have noticed nobody ever asks you anything.

Night all!

Stekelenburg – for me he is a decent keeper but not much to pick between him and Joel.

Williams – has been disappointing, hoped for a loud voiced leader, he has often been quite meek and quite surprising considering his career at Swansea and Wales.

Bolasie – good player but way overpriced, shame about the injury and is he better than Mirallas?

Gueye and Schneiderlin – for me these two are very good signings who should do well, basis for a solid midfield.

Lookman – big money youngster, far too early to judge.

Valencia – decent player but surely just here as cover, The quoted £14mil price tag seems steep

For next season, if Rom stays another year and Ross signs, then we need to strengthen mainly across the back line and bring in a new striker and we should be able to make points up on those above.

Darren, don't let the bastards get to you!

I'll have you know I definitely know my father.

We don't know anything till this season is finished and the transfer window closes; let's enjoy the game against Burnley. COYB.

Meanwhile we are chasing a back up right back from Soton. A journeyman midfielder from Swansea, some no-name joker from Spain. All of this is probably reliant on cashing in on Lukaku never mind last year's transfer profit, the "game changer" TV money or Moshiri's billions.

If we really want to compete we should put in a bid for Arturo Vidal or someone of his ilk. The exodus to China proves that these mercenaries will go wherever the money is. So splash some cash. To hell with FFP.

For all the fuss about it, Man City and PSG get away with mailing a check to Geneva each year and carry on spending. QPR have been dodging their supposed hundreds of millions of FFP penalties for years with no apparent consequences.

We aren't going to win anything if we replace Barkley and Lukaku with a past it Rooney and a bunch of jobsworths. I'm fed up with it all.

Lukaku has gone so let's just move on from this subject: "Is he staying? Is he going?" – it's very boring now. Lukaku is not the only striker in the world. Everton will bring in a new striker and find a way of playing that will give the new striker the chances to score goals.

I am sure if Kane played the same amount of games that Lukaku has played, he would be the top goal scorer. All this talk about Lukaku's goals... lest we forget, that's what he is paid to do: score goals; at the end of the day, he is doing his job – nothing more, nothing less.

Barkley is also paid to do a job, the only difference between the two is that Lukaku does his job more often than Barkley... that's all.

And let's not get too excited about brining in top players because all the top 6 teams will be doing the same thing. I am sure if the Boss doesn't get his top targets, he'll be off at the end of next season also.

It's time for the top brass to stand up and be counted by telling both Barkley and Lukaku they're going nowhere and put an end to all this rubbish.

You are probably the only Evertonian who didn't see Gana sit on his arse leaving Coutinho driving straight at Pennington. Or were you hoping the rest of us were not looking?

How did it effect the game? It swung it completely in their favour, just moments after our equaliser.

Okay, how does this sound?

Shneiderlin did not go to ground against Leicester and despite the fact that he has been a pro for over a decade without ever getting even close to finishing top four. He's deffo a top four player.

Same goes for Gana. He most definitely didn't go to ground in a recent match (I made that up) He too is a top four player.

Koeman hasn't spent 80m and the players he inherited are not worth more than the players he bought... Oh and he's handled the situation with Barkley really wel... "Only one boss here."

Are we agreed? Good.

I shall now look out my grass skirt and join the rest of you kite-fliers, safe in the knowledge that the guy who has never gotten close to top four is an absolute certainty to do so and he will do it by attacking and winning when we visit the grounds of the teams that actually do qualify

I`ve said it before: these Koeman threads are getting more like Martinez threads by the day.

I for one like to support my team and its players, not lambast then for any made-up reasoning I can find to try and make a point.

So get a life, Darren, grow up a little if you expect some sort of respect on this site.

Your post is all thats needed till the start of the new season.

We have some exciting talent coming thru in the Under-23s and there is speculation that Wayne Rooney will sign a 2-year deal with options before heading east to China where he can top up his piggy bank with a few billion Yuans. Rooney Davies Gana Sniderlin maybe a Walsh or Dowell in the mix.

Granted the loss of Ross and Rom will be hard to swallow for most blues but hey it opens the door for others to step up and other signings to improve us.
Personally a Coutinho type who revels in the big games would be ideal. Anyway, players come and go and the project is still a work in progress.

I can see a few players allowed to leave in the summer however the old war horses of Barry and Jagielka will be around for another season at least as they are pretty good back up and great for the kids coming thru.

Robles is proving a bit of a disaster in waiting but overall is a pretty good keeper and can learn from these mistakes; luckily the Leicester game didn't cost us.

Holgate looks assured at right back and Pennington, after a shaky start, gathered up his confidence and got better by the minute.

Both Bolasie and Coleman are serious long-term concerns; hopefully the rest will extend their careers.

That should read (short) night all. I can only admire your tenacity to post at 00:22 am then follow up with your next post at 05.53am.

If Ross goes, hopefully we sign a replacement with your energy.

Anyway, back to my earlier point. Thanks for your reply re Stones. Can you clarify how you see Tom Davies as a defensive player?

Koeman is a straight talking Dutchman, who are not the best man-managers in my opinion. Sometimes better to say nothing than tell the absolute truth. "Do I look fat in this dress?" asked the tearful missus "Well it is a small bathroom, love" wasn't apparently what she wanted to hear.

His recent substitutions – or lack of them against Leicester – have me baffled at times, and my absolute pet hate of not leaving anyone upfield when we are defending corners puts me in a rage.

I think the jury may still be out on Koeman. Hopefully he's growing into the job that Everton need as we enter Mr Moshiri's brave new world.

The message is 'Get to this level or you won't get a game, keep improving'.

Why have a go at me? What makes you think I was referring to you?

In Moshiri we trust! (He will not sell player's for a penny less than they are worth)

Koeman is handling the situation very well IMO. Speaking to the player's in private, and then being honest with the media about the situation (which is how we get to know the truth about what's going on).

If he's truly not involved in these things, then that should be his answer when asked.

Koeman is like most managers; some good/bad signings, makes out he's in or not in control when it suits him, etc. All politicians to a man.

Gana and Schneiderlin are two top notch solid players, a base from which our forthcoming attacking signings (if we get them) will flourish. The players who will make the real difference are the ones who will replace Barkley, Mirallas and Deufelou. Consistent attacking players who make the difference and score goals rather than the current one good game in three or four men.

I've said it before. Koeman's done what any half decent manager would have done; he's organised the team, made it harder to beat and got it to seventh.

His real job starts this summer. Bringing in the players we need and trusting them enough to attack and win games away from home.

That's why my jury's out, but it's great fun reading other people's certainty.

This season, one defeat and seven consecutive wins make Goodison more of a fortress than it's been for ages.

Whether you like Koeman or not, he's certainly improved our match day experience for the better. And I think things will improve even more, given time.

Good points, Paul, (hard to disagree with) but with the amount of goals Everton are now scoring at Goodison lately, people would say their isn't much wrong with our attacking play!

How we bait and switch.

Having now claimed your intent was players who 'sit down' in big games literally means players sitting down when you quite obviously meant it as a player having a poor game and going missing.

You point to Gana in the derby. Of course Coutinho did beat him before having Pennington on toast. Of course at no point did Gana's said arse ever touch the ground. He just ended up with one knee on the ground. Of course I'm sure you meant ' going to ground' or maybe you could widen it to 'incidents of non vertical intervention' just to be safe.

If that was even in the remotest way relevant to the ability or potential of a player, by your monumental logic I guess you are writing off Tom Davies's career who went to his arse when he missed the tackle on Mane for the first goal.

You can twist all your want, you are, after all, renowned for it. Your writing off of Morgan Schneiderlin after 10 games though is telling. Your entrenched view on Koeman means you wouldn't want to acknowledge he might have made a good decision.

You off course may end up being right... but that doesn't stop you being wrong.

Have people forgotten how bad we were last season? How abysmal defensively we were?

We now have the 5th best defence in the league. Williams is a big part of that.

Moshiri has stated recently "we have a window of opportunity" which suggests that Koeman hasn't got time to mess around waiting to see if Romalu Lukaku and more especially Ross Barkley are going to stick around.

He will already be lining up their replacements with Steve Walsh.

I'm not bothered - if they don't want to play for us they can go.

Organisation is an important factor, telling other defenders where to go, who to Mark. Very similar to Dave Watson and Richard Gough during their latter days with us.

Ron: '😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆'

Jog on, Ross, you're not good enough.

Perhaps his comments were lost in translation but how else can you interpret "He will not have fulfilled his potential if he stays at Everton"?!

I've been resigned to Rom leaving for months but Barkley going would be a blow. Not that he's irreplaceable, but what sort of a signal about Everton does that send out?

Can imagine it would put some pressure on Moshiri also. He arrived saying he wanted us to keep Stones, Rom and Ross yet it looks like we could lose all three within a year and a bit of him being involved.

Man Utd probably won't get Champions League football next season. Arsenal won't pay our asking price. Chelsea have other targets (Rom is about 4th choice). Spurs and Liverpool? No chance. None of the big European teams seem interested so what's left for him? Unless we want to unload him for about £40m I can't see a way out for him.

Ross on the other hand might be easier to sell as his asking price will be a lot lower but will he be starting every game? As others have mentioned – Jack Rodwell.

While I love Everton, anybody who believes that we are on the level of a Barcelona is, simply put, nuts.

However, should they win it and qualify for the Champions League next season, then Ibrahimovic is likely to stay, and I can't see him playing second fiddle to Rom.

"Schneiderlin and Gana are decent players, but they will not get us to the next level – Champions League.

Shining against lesser teams is all very well, but unless you can shine against the better teams, you cannot be successful.

Perhaps someone has already pointed this out but seems a bit ironic given that Leicester are the only British team (just about) left in the Champions League.

I don't see that Scheniderlin/Gana are inferior to any of Carrick/Herrera, Henderson/Lucas, Fernando/Fernandinho, Matic/Kante or obviously Drinkwater/Ndidi. I do think that Dembele/Dier could be a step above as those two are both so powerful and good on the ball with the Belgian especially one of the best midfielders in the league in my opinion.

Tony (#120), yes we are scoring lots of goals at Goodison Park; you are allowed to score away from Goodison as well, not doing it Tony are we? Is that down to Koeman and his tactics or the big players not turning up?

I cannot see Moshiri giving in the same way Kenwright did with Rooney, selling him for much less than what he was worth, before he went blubbering to his mum.

If Moshiri wants £80M+ for Lukaku, then he will get it; otherwise Rom stays, for next season at least. Besides, as others have stated, it's really out of Rom's hands. If Moshiri says to Rom, "you're staying," then I guess he's staying.

Goals are great but his 24 have yielded only 8 more points and there's nothing to say that a good replacement would have had a better effect. To me, his comments read as an advert:

"Great player, will get better, too good for us, want to keep him but if you give us £{insert number}M then I'll drive him there myself so that I can reinvest in something better suited to the team."

His comments on Barkley are very similar, being 'sign up or we'll happily cash in and reinvest'.

Absolutely 100% right in my view. No-one's bigger than the club and there's always better out there if you're smart enough. Over to Walsh.

No-one is irreplaceable; Liverpool lost Suarez, Man Utd Ronaldo, Spurs Bale and those three clubs didn't fall apart. I have confidence Koeman and Walsh will source good replacements.

From the players' point of view, I can't think of anyone who has left us for a "bigger" club and prospered, since Rooney, and neither are as good as Rooney.

100% agree. Our first 5 results this season were a draw vs spurs and then 4 wins. And then Koeman replies to a question about this teams Champions League credibility, he laughs and says no, and we start losing.

The players I mentioned are great on their day, but I wouldn't count on them in the big games. That's what better players give you – consistency and confidence in their own ability.

It's all about who we bring in during the summer and the degree to which Koeman trusts them and himself to let them go at teams more than now.

Ross Barkley definitely is a good player and has potential to be a great one, but it's hard to argue that he's inconsistent, prone to poor decision-making when given time and generally not quite the finished article. £100k a week (plus all the other bonuses and fees they get) is a perfectly fair offer even in the mad world we live in currently and it's hard to see where he'd go that's a step up but would guarantee game time – sure he'll get more cash to join the midfielders graveyard at Spurs or man City, but can anyone really see his career going onwards? Maybe he should chat to Rodwell or Pienaar about how much game time he'll end up getting?

Lukaku is a different beast, there's no doubt Chelsea will want him and I wouldn't be surprised if Man Utd, Man City or Spurs also registered interest. Whilst I suspect that he may struggle for the game time and on the biggest stages should he move, he's currently headed for the golden boot following a succession of decent hauls of 15-20 per season so it's hard to argue that he can't put the ball away given half a chance. Yes he has room for improvement (although I'd argue his hold-up play and offering of an 'out-ball' are much improved already) but teams will rightly pay top dollar for a proven Premier League finisher.

Ultimately I think we'll keep Barkley and may even end up holding onto Lukaku for one last season on the basis that with a couple more reinforcements and a season under his belt of tactics, ideology and team shaping, Koeman should be given a proper go at the Champions League slots.

Although I'd love to have seen us in the mix for the top 4, generally this season has been encouraging – we have a new owner with genuine access to dosh, we've brought in some genuine talent (Gueye and Schneiderlin especially), seen young prospects given a run (Davies, Holgate, Pennington, Calvert-Lewin and Lookman) and have a youth team competing for Premier League 2, we've got rid of a lot of deadwood that's been hanging around for years, re-established a Fortress Goodison vibe with a great home record, are making genuine inroads on a new stadium and have a manager who might not always get it right but does seem able to change tactics before the 70th minute and talks with intelligence about the match and the issues facing the team and we almost certainly have European football to look forward to.

As for the allegations of misspent cash. We may have outlaid a chunk of cash: c.£77.5M + whatever loan fee for Valencia
Bolasie £25m
Schneiderlin £24m
Williams £12m
Gueye £ 7m
Lookman £7m
Calvert-Lewin: £1.5M
Stekelenburg £1m
Valencia: Loan ??

But I'd argue only Bolasie and Williams look like over-payments (the former had his season cut short with the jury out and the latter was a proven defensive leader).

Also, we've recouped a fair chunk of that: c £50M
Stones: £47.5M – with c £6.5-7M to Barnsley = £40.5M
Oviedo: £5M
Gibson: £2M
Howard: £1M
Ledson: £??

Plus reduced wages with Pienaar, Osman, Hibbert let go and Cleverley, Niasse, Deulofeu, and McGeady on loan in the shop window plus Tarashaj, Rodriguez, Galloway, McAleny and a load of other youth players all out getting experience.

That's a net spend of ~£28M (plus agent fees and other nonsense) and a wage bill that at worst will surely have stayed in the same ball-park and ideally reduced a little.
This plus the approaches that didn't come off (for Gabbiadini – sigh and Sissoko – phew!) plus a few more millions from likely sales of Deulofeu, Cleverley, Niasse, etc surely suggest Koeman will have a decent budget in the summer even assuming Lukaku and Barkley do stay.

All-in-all, I'm feeling about as positive for the club as I have in pretty much the entire premier league era, looking forward to 6 games where the players can have freedom to express themselves (and hopefully some more more youngsters can state their case) and an eventful summer transfer window.

I'm aware that these things take time, but I still don't think we have anywhere near enough personality in the team to go and dominate teams away from home just yet. Which is something Koeman said himself in so many words, after another massive disappointment at Anfield...

Lukaku only turns up for poor opposition, against top teams he comes up usually empty. He gets into positions that make sense to him, but to no one else. I'd rather a team player.

Lukaku is a different scenario, I think we will struggle to replace him. Yes we should be awash with lucre, but the crackpot money wanted for even average players now is crazy.

Regarding Koeman, he has dropped some right clangers on the diplomatic front but on the playing side has shaped decently. He'll do for me, without me being too impressed.

Graham and Darren, stop the baiting, you are only raising your blood pressure... on second thoughts, though, keep it up – it's well entertaining.

Good, in-depth post.

I think and agree Barkley may well sign and Lukaku give us another year, but we have the comfort in a practical manager who will just get on with it. We have a scouting network, and also financial resources in place whether they are sold or not.

Everton are on the up and up, soon to be envied by many.

Koeman's exact quote was "I believe Romelu's potential is greater and higher than Everton. If he finishes his career at Everton, I know he'll have left something behind".

I summarised those comments as "He will not have fulfilled his potential if he stays at Everton". Please explain to me how I've taken his comments out of context?

As I said, I actually rate Koeman highly as a manager, but I think he was wrong in what he said and I don't think it helps when we're trying to convince players like Lukaku of our ambition when our own manager appears to be advising him to leave!

Who has said Barkley has "refused to sign" a contract offer? The only official comments have come from the manager who, once again, has stated he hasn't the foggiest how far along discussions are between player and club. Yet, despite claiming to be completely in the dark, his every superfluous word on the subject serves only to push his player further into a corner marked 'contract rebel' in the eyes of many supporters, all too ready to believe Ross 'refuses' to put pen to paper.

You're now claiming he's turned his nose up at a "very decent" offer, despite not knowing for sure if an offer has even been made as yet, never mind how 'sweet' it might be. Koeman merely said "we will offer him what is good, what is normal for the player", not that they have offered him such a deal already.

Chris @140 – an excellent post, although I don't totally agree.

There is clearly more to do to fulfill our ambitions – & his & Rom's! – but I believe Koeman has done a very good job in his 1st season with a significant overhaul of the squad, reducing the age & upping the performance significantly. I want an ambitious manager and ambitious players; I believe we're on the up and am looking forward to the future.

If Ross goes, he won't be a significant loss – I'd much rather lose him than Rom, Tom, Gana, Schneids and Mirallas. Rom would be extremely difficult to replace, but I believe Koeman has the knowledge & experience to be able to do it, probably by changing the style of play with more mobile strikers.

I want us to keep him for another year after which he can go if he still thinks he can't fulfill his ambitions with us. The guy's given us far more than Rooney, so I just don't get why some people are so hateful to him & loving of Rooney.

Ross's career will take another downwards step if he leaves; his best season with us was in Martinez's 1st, since when he's gone backwards; he wouldn't be a regular starter for Spurs or Chelsea – too lazy & slow in thought & movement.

Maybe he meant to say "present-day Everton" rather than just "Everton", but there's a limit to what he can say in pressers because just about every utterance can interpreted differently, unless the utterance contains the word "phenomenal", obviously.

That and his contract running down is why I think he is looking at a move before he signs another. A nice guy and I wish him well but we need more than he offers if we are going forward.

Barkley hasn't signed a contract, but there MAY be one on offer! Lukaku has said he will NOT sign a contract, but is that at this time, or after this season has ended and we know more about our possible Europa League games? Who knows...

I'm rather taking the unvoiced Koeman approach: we have Barkley and Lukaku available until the end of the season, so let's use them! Then get rid, or keep, as the situation by then dictates!

Pickford – £20m
Trippier – £15m
Keane – £25m

And throw in Siggurdsson for £25m.

That's £85m for four decent players. Players that will undoubtedly strengthen the squad in key areas (I'd say we also need a young left-back) but are they the type of players to convince Rom and Ross to stay?

Of course we can sell the likes of Niasse, Lennon, Cleverley (£8m I think we get for him), McCarthy, Kone, Jagielka and Stekel;enburg for around a combined £30-35m which would free up enough funds for an upcoming striker.

Five in, seven out? Quality over quantity? A top, young striker plus some solid quality pros could just tip the balance in our favour.

We don't need (or necessarily want!) to sell all or any that are not Barcelona standard players! We just want more good players, and then let the lessers (...) fill out our now expanded squad for Europa League games!

As someone mentioned, Lukaku has a bad scoring statistic against the Sky top 6, but when looking at it, all the 5 below him have equally bad scoring stats against the top 6. Not directly related, but let us look at why/what we throw money at?

Problem is, what sort of world class talent are we realistically going to sign ahead of the current top 4, Utd and the European elite?

And even if we could, would we really want the grief that comes along with these players?

For starters how many top names failed in the premier league (for every Yaya, Aguero and Costa there's a Falcao, Veron or Soldado)?

And how many of these top stars who did perform then became relentless sources of trouble (look at the issues of Ozil and Sanchez at Arsenal, Payet at West Ham Utd, Yaya sulking at Man City, De Gea wanting away at Man Utd, etc)

Koeman has done the basics got us to the standards we expected before Martinez. We are in this league based on size, talent, wages and turnover a top 7 side.

So measuring Koeman against Martinez is a false economy in my opinion.

He should as he's asserted many times keep his nose out of contract wrangles, at least in public anyway. Koeman neither has the cleverness or sophistication in English to pull this off.

Put simply, if he wants either or both to stay, he speaks to both the player and the board and says so. Up to the board to ensure his wishes are communicated and followed through on.

As always on the field I remain non committed about his style, as it only works at home. Spectacular home form is what's expected, we are a huge club.

His transfers are clearly a stepping stone to better, but he has to get more out of the team on the road, that's on him.

It's difficult to be confident a coach so pragmatic and cautious can improve us to become a top four candidate. He might with better players but that's not a very strong endorsement is it?

I really do expect us to go unbeaten until the end of the season; let's see if that happens. It might give us something to chew on.

Pickford is young and inexperienced. Would he save us any more points than Robles?

Trippier looks good, but is he an improvement on what we're used to with Coleman (who will hopefully return and regain his place)?

Keane would replace which centre back? I would assume it would be Jags, but is Keane an upgrade or a similar standard? He is certainly younger, and Jags has dipped this season, but is he a better player than the Jags we've been accustomed to?

Sigurdsson would be an improvement on Mirallas and could possibly combine well with Barkley and Lukaku.

Would it concern the top 4 if we bought those players? Probably not. Unfortunately, we are not yet in a position where we can expect to buy a player that interests a Champions League club. However, that doesn't mean we can't compete by buying smartly.

It's going to be an interesting and exciting summer. I haven't given up hope of Van Dijk joining us. As has been well documented, his family are supposedly close with Koeman's, and they share the same agency. That surely gives cause for a little optimism. He may be one player who would come regardless of interest from Champions League clubs.

D Hind – "Try the last one."

Mockers – "What? Against Leicester?? Seriously???"

D Hind – "Yep"

Mockers – "You are pointing to one moment in a game."

D Hind – "You asked for an example; I gave you one."

Mockers – "Don't be a tit, When did Gana go to ground and how game changing was it?"

D Hind – "Really, you are looking ridiculous now"

Mockers (back again) – "Go on tell me, game, time. Simple question?"

Mockers (back yet again) –"We are still waiting for an example of Gana going to ground, which game, what time, how did it effect the game?"

Mockers (now completely cock sure of himself) – "Come on, I'm dying to know, please show us, you are not full of shit."

D Hind – "You must be the only Evertonian who didn't see Gana sit on his arse, leaving Coutinho driving right at Pennington."

Mockers – "Yeah but no but yeah"...

Look, Mockers, you need to know what you are talking about to do a Kavanagh QC. You clearly don't.

Two tackles, both players going to ground, both resulted in goals, both happened in the past fortnight... and you didn't have a clue about them, did you watch on the radio?

I feel like I've been cross examined by Elmer Fudd.

More deflection as ever. I know your game.

Schneiderlin and Gana aren't up to scratch because they missed a single tackle in a single game. No matter how much you blowhard, it's still arrant nonsense.

*You know that normally it's just the Royal Family who refer to themselves in the third person. Oh and Pele and Charles de Gaulle.

The top clubs can't buy every talent, there is too many and hopefully many more coming through. We even have a chance on loaning top talent, like Lukaku and Deulofeu.

Of course every player is different, I say we can find another gem that wants games, that way help achieve European games and stay with us, just like the above mentioned players did. This time we'll have even more transfer funds and hopefully be more stable at the top continuing this current run and form.

It's a team game. We've had 17 separate goal scorers this season.

Both statements very true or I agree with.

However... and I stand to be corrected on the stats...

Rom has netted 23 goals. Our next closest is 4 goals.

It will not be easy replacing those goals – 23 of them from a single player despite any number of individuals pitching in and recognizing there's 10 outfield players.

Rom will be SORELY missed and I, for one, fear losing him greatly – no matter how frustrating he can be.

The players I mentioned might not even be targets but they will be the sort of players we go for, if Rom likes it or not.

Ronny has a big building job on his hands, let's see what happens.

As Wilf Dixon used to say, "You can't play football sitting on your fucking arse."

Mockers doesn't get it and neither do those who are banging on about "net spend", Nor those who set their bar as low as Jay Harris ("He's better than Martinez") . . .It makes me cringe when people talk about our current players being better than Cleverley... is that really where Koeman supporters are setting their bar? Better than Martinez and Cleverley? Haven't both been relegated?

Gana and Schneiderlin DO go to ground to readily. Those who watch the match on the radio wont know this, They seem to believe the two incidents I gave are one-off's , they're not. They were just classic examples. The two players are primarily ball winners, tacklers.

I'll say it again they are very decent players.and yes they are an improvement on Cleverly, if that's where you set your bar, but how many goals will they score? Create? Peter Reid and Paul Bracewell were miles better, but even they needed assistance from players who could create? Do you think they would have been as successful without Sheedy and Tricky?

This is the problem. It doesn't matter how much you give Koeman. He will never buy a Coutinho, or a Hazzard, or a Silva. He would not recognise creativity if he came home one day and his Mrs had brought Michelangelo in to paint the ceiling. He likes his work horses, his tackling Machines, players with iron lungs who can play his dim witted version of a "pressing game"

This net spent argument makes me despair, some Evertonians have started to wear it like a badge of fucking honour, what good would £110M from the sale of Lukaku and Barkley be, if the manager goes out and buys two Sissokos?

Koeman's handling of the Barkley situation has been either amateurish or deliberate. "we spoke a several weeks ago" ? ... What a twat.

Those who think Barkley is stalling on a contract are just not listening "We offer him a contract THEN" ..."We WILL offer him what is good, what is normal for a player". The fact is, as of yet, Barkley has not even been offered a fucking contract. Why has Koeman not assured him about his future? Spoken with him about his plans? Tried to persuade him to stay?

"Honest Ron" would trade Barkley's skill and potential for a powerful workhorse in a heartbeat. He would swap him for a Sissoko today. He knows Barkley's departure would make a lot of Evertonians unhappy; he doesn't want to be seen to be the instigator, but by doing nothing, he is doing everything in his power to make it happen.

Lord knows why the club have left matters this long. Perhaps they took Barkley's loyalty for granted.

My instinct is that Barkley and his agent would act as any other player would do – they have a short time to maximise the earnings potential and leaving the contract to its final 12 months gives them significant leverage.

Even if it were not the case, it is still a risk with every single player. The club now looks truly amateurish in its handling of the matter.

As for Koeman, I have to say he and Walsh have done a fucking grand job on our defensive midfield. Schneiderlin and Gana for less than £30M. Considering they inherited Barry, Besic, McCarthy it is a significant upgrade.

On the creative side, the Man City like transformation that Everton would have to undergo (see Lukaku's quotes from Kompany) – I can't see happening. Moshiri does not strike me as someone with the depth of pockets or indeed instincts to go and buy big. He seems to be a build long term, brick-by-brick type of owner.

So it makes it critical we try and retain Barkley, for all his faults. With Schneiderlin and Gana behind him, and Davies alongside him he will continue to flourish.

But now he and his agents hold the cards and the club will have to get out of their casual stance and work hard to keep him.

In paragraph one, you hold Koeman and management culpable for not signing him.

Then in paragraph three, you say that Barkley and his agent were letting the contract run down to get more leverage.

So essentially you're blaming management for not sufficiently pushing Barkley to sign something he had no intention of signing anyway.

Have I got that right?

You also leave out two key points. First, we have no idea what Barkley has been offered or how hard he has been pushed. And second, pushing him would have looked like idiocy for the first half of the season, when he was playing so miserably that most of us would have offered him two skateboards -- one for each foot -- and a brisk shove downhill.

Last 7 home games in 2017: Won 7; Goals for 26; Goals against 6

A great basis going into next season with an improved squad. Need to get the away results sorted and we are flying.

I am very optimistic for next season. 100% confidence in the manager.

Back on topic. Has anyone considered Ron doesn't see Barkley as a part of his teams future? "We will offer him a contract that is normal for the boy..." They may be a fair distance apart in their respective figures.

When Barkley's form improves, he would have demanded a contract to reflect this, but I'm sure we would've pointed out his inconsistent form. Had Barkley been consistent throughout and showed Koeman his quality from the start, I doubt we would be here.

"Have I got that right?" – Nope.

Barkely has not signed a new contract and has 12 months to go. Fact. He and his agent now hold the cards. Everton fucked about. They are culpable if he is sold this summer.

Read this bit again:

"Lord knows why the club have left matters this long. Perhaps they took Barkley's loyalty for granted.

My instinct is that Barkley and his agent would act as any other player would do – they have a short time to maximise the earnings potential and leaving the contract to its final 12 months gives them significant leverage."

I did not suggest Barkley ran his contract down. You interpreted it. All I said was he and his agent now hold the cards because leaving the contract to its final 12 months gives them leverage.

"You also leave out two key points. First, we have no idea what Barkley has been offered or how hard he has been pushed. And second, pushing him would have looked like idiocy for the first half of the season, when he was playing so miserably that most of us would have offered him two skateboards – one for each foot – and a brisk shove downhill."

1. I am going on Koeman's statements that the club will offer Barkley a new contract in the summer. Doesn't sound from his statement like they pushed hard enough.

2. The "idiocy" you refer to is your opinion. My opinion differs. Koeman's job is to manage the fluctuations in form. To build a team he needs the club to tie down his best players so he can find the right system to bring the best out of them.

And, as Barkley has proven in the past and is now proving yet again, when in form he is one of our best players (my opinion, granted, but there was no idiocy in tying him down earlier).

And getting pasted by Elmer Fudd. Oh the embarrassment.

That said it's about potential and it's all ways been there with Ross. I don't think it's a coincidence that his form has improved with honest Ron's arrival and surely he realises this so why leave a manager who is taking him places? Doesn't make sense.

The same might be said for Rom but I think his case is different and has been discussed to death on here.

Now that Ross is looking like the real deal again there's a bit of panic setting in. I think if we show our support for him over The Sun article and the club does the same, it might be the difference in him signing a new contract or not. He comes across as a sensitive guy needing to be loved.

Oh wouldn't you just love that. Not going to happen. All points answered with interest.

I would however, be acutely embarrassed if I said I wasn't at a game, then forgot and came back the next day with a complete cock 'n' bull story about my whole match experience...

There are Premier League managers who would pay good money for that sort of insight...

It also doesn't take into account goals that brought us back into a game and gave us a fighting chance of picking up a point, even if ultimately we lost that game.

I'll check on the stats for 'bringing us back into a game' though and let you know.

There was another one though, the game against Leicester the other week, so 6 games affected for 11 points total (9 differential)

If anyone could be bothered, it would be interesting to know how his 'points affected' tally compares with Kane, Costa, and Ibrahimovic. I doubt there would be much difference.

1 against Leicester in 91st minute

1 against Sunderland.

There were 3 more games when we were already 2 or more ahead that Rom scored last in.

Feel free to pass that on to any Premier League managers who you may have met on the same coaching course as your good self.

When talk about how many points he earned us, is there any analysis saying how he pulled those defenders to him and thus providing others space to run into and ultimately resulted in goals?

As for his signings, well they have proved OK thus far with Schneiderlin proving a great addition to a team that needed to replace Barry. Williams has not been brilliant but has been reasonably solid and the blooding of new players has been a joy to behold.

As for Valencia, cover for Lukaku was all he could ever hope for. As for future signings, well Koeman was at Southampton when they signed Mané and got Toby Alderweireld on loan so I think he is capable of finding good players as replacements for those he loses.

As for Ross, his agent will decide whether he signs or not and therefore Koeman's position is the only certain one that can be stated; sign in the summer or be prepared to be sold. We need the money if the player won't sign with only a year to go.

As for Lukaku, he is a player with ambition, he came to Everton to get playing time and score goals; I think it's called getting yourself noticed. If he leaves then the cost of replacing him will not be cheap and it will be harder than if we were Man City, Man Utd or even the RedShitebut we can replace him.

As for the nonesense that some of the comments have spouted on here, maybe you missed the fact that we have just achieved 8 home wins on the trot and Lukaku has scored for the ninth home game on the run. We are back on level points with Man Utd and above Arsenal and as the old adage says, points on the table are far better than games in hand.

Never any mention of the whole match experience. Making things up again.

Barkley has only given the club one season of form and a new contract with pay rise is on the table. "Champions League" is an excuse for "I want to leave or more money".

For me, both can go. We have the management to deal with it. Both players must hand transfer requests in to forgo any loyalty payments. Barkley has to go with one year left. Lukaku may stay and take £25 million next summer.

Let's face it, with more signings and Lukaku's goals, top four may not be out of the question. Are we going to replace Lukaku for less than £60 million? The board has serious thinking to do.