Cornish Steve

What kind of welcome is that? There's a time and place for expressing your opinion on fans, and this is not it. Hopefully, Ben isn't put off by such ill-considered comments.

Welcome, Ben. It's good to have another Everton fan from this side of the pond. Whereabouts are you? We have forum members from most parts of the US.

So what will you do if he becomes the league's top scorer? With Suarez no longer around, that's not unrealistic.

"Mr Martínez will be one of the top managers in the world and to play under him now, and for such wonderful fans, is an honour. We have a lot of young players who want to be part of one of the best teams in England." That indicates a real vision for the future and genuine excitement and ambition among the younger players.

Seriously: forget the price tag. As others have mentioned, view it as a straight swap for Fellaini. That puts the whole deal in context.

This is the key: a solid backbone of young players who can lead this team to greatness over the next decade. It's like watching the rise of Barca all over again. Stones, Garbutt, Coleman, McCarthy, Besic, Barkley, and Lukaku. What a combination!

Monday: Buy him not matter what the price. We can't afford to miss out. Stop dithering, just buy him. Tuesday: A price of 24m is must too steep. He's not worth more than 20m. Get the best deal for him. Which way will the wind be blowing on Wednesday?

That's a bit harsh. Things can change in an instant, and predictions are exactly that: Some work out and some do not. Timing is important in the Lukaku saga, and I think our friend is probably right. Now I must get to the gym and keep my wayside in check.

I think it's all part of a master plan. These Soton players all signed a secret pact. They get to earn higher wages for two years at other clubs and learn all about how their opponents train and play. Each plays crap for two years, allowing Soton to buy them back at half price. With top players together again and inside info in tow, they win the league in 2017. Come on. This has to be as plausible an explanation as any other.

Agreed. Knee-jerk reactions don't help anyone.

And a note to our friends living in Britain: Des Plaines and Marseilles (both in Illinois) are pronounced "Dez Plains" and "Mar Sales", respectively.

Pulling a Kenwright: "I can get you into Europe."

But, as it is, he's on his way to Hull.. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28442322

(1) Drop ball where the ball was picked up by the assistant ref. (2) Other than tell him he's an imbecile who doesn't deserve all the money he's paid? Nothing, so long as it doesn't interfere with play. (3) Play advantage and award the goal.

I really don't get the whining about this. Yes, we need a striker - we all know that, and the club will deal with it without paying over the odds - but we also need squad depth, and that's what this move is all about - as well as planning for the future. This guy not only plays for his national team, but he was voted their best player at the World Cup. To get him for the quoted price is a steal.

I'd hold out for more, until the savings amount to the increase they applied. There are clear laws against advertising one price and insisting on another, and they know it.

Not at all. It's called making people look good in public so they'll work with you again in the future.

The more this argument rages, the more convinced I am that I want to sell a car to Paddock. "The other buyer is out of the country right now but he gets back this weekend. If you don't buy today, you know you'll never find another car like this one. You'll regret the delay for years to come."

You don't think the manager and board don't know that? If there was a risk, they'd act now. If the deal is mostly done, it's safe to negotiate the price down. Patience! With financial fair play, I would hope that every club will be forced to do business more carefully - although the rich usually find a way around any restrictions. Wasn't it Rockefeller who was asked the most effective and reliable way to get rich? "Slowly."

Long-term, long-term. Our defence is aging. This would be a good signing.

I've been going to the projectfree.tv site to watch some recent British series. Of course, I'm a Sherlock fan, having read all the original stories as a teen and watched all the Jeremy Brett episodes in previous years. These last couple of weeks, though, I've watched all four episodes of the second series of 'Endeavour' - because I was an avid Morse fan (again, having read all the original books by Colin Dexter). I thought they were all well done. Also, I'm a fan of Friday Night Dinner and have been watching the latest series. Episodes 2 and 4, I thought, were the best.

Well, that's this season's goal from a corner.

Both he and Oviedo need a little more time to reach full fitness. He's not shit - just wait and see.

Welcome from Atlanta. Re underdog status, the British press just assume that the Big Six financially will always claim the top six spots in the table. These six are Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool (three teams from the north) and Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs), all London teams. Everton upset the applecart last season by beating both Manchester United and Spurs. The national press, though, never seem to learn their lesson, and few seem to believe that Everton will make it above seventh this season. While much stayed the same last season (Martinez was careful not to stray too radically from the approach of his predecessor, David Moyes), there were some important changes, too. One of the biggest is the emergence of some younger players, especially Ross Barkley and John Stones. Unlike David Moyes, Roberto Martinez allows young players to sometimes fail because that, in the long-term, is the best way to get them to succeed. It's clear to me that Martinez is building for the future, not only making short-term progress but also establishing a young core of players (Barkley, Stones, McCarthy, Coleman, Oviedo, and maybe Lukaku) that could build a lasting legacy. With new links to Barcelona (and the opportunnity to loan players from there), Everton is moving away from the ordinary to the daring, from the cautious to the bold. One thing to note is Martinez' motto: sin meido - without fear.

If Britain had a half-decent youth program and more homegrown players were as good, I'm sure we would have brought in someone local. As it is, four local players coming through our own youth program may soon make it to the first team, so I don't think the addition of one Belgian is going to hurt.