Kant

Good point, didn't think about it like that. Point still stands though, you need to master the "art" of tackling because no one is ever going to be positioned perfectly.

Is this about money or being successful. The days when we had to sell to survive have gone. I want to win things. That means I want the strongest possible Everton team. That means Coleman stays. Anything else shows lack of ambition, acceptance of mid table mediocrity and sends a demoralising message to the players that stay.
 
Coleman stays!

Well the ideal is that your positioning avoids you to do a sliding tackle. By sliding to tackle the player is committed, and if the player misses the team loses one defender and its team positioning. For example (in-game fictional examples):
- From central positions: Let's say that McCarthy goes for a tackle and misses. The rival will be able to face 1 v 1 a CB unprotected, even shoot from range.
- From the wings: Let's say that Coleman is 1 v 1 against Sterling. Sterling dribbles and Coleman tries to tackle and misses. Sterling will cut inside, and face Stones, making all the defenders switch right to cover Coleman's mistake by changing man and leaving the far post unmarked or weakly marked by a LB/LM.
 
If the player was tactically aware and good at reading the game he could anticipate the pass and intercept it.
 
I'm not denying that a good strong tackle can get some players mentally stressed and have an impact on their games -the intimidation effect-. However most of the times I'd rather the player stay on his feet unless he's the last man a-la-Stones sometimes and never allowing a penalty and red card. Also tackles are seen by refs as violent and if mistimed, are almost certainly a yellow card. Sadly, even fair but strong tackles are awarded yellow cards these days...

I totally agree with most of what it's been said here. Every time I see a footballer/professional sports player do a dumb statement, I just remember:
- How outspoken I was when I was 18-22
- How relieved I am nobody did not even care about what I had to say at that age
- How I was not a multimillion making walking machine
 
These kids have agents, move millions and do not have lots of what we call brain. Their advisors and trusted people fool them, steal from them and in most cases say what they want to hear or even tell the kid what (the agent wants) they have to do/say. Even most of them write advice for other young colleagues at theplayerstribune.com!
 
After many years of being a sports fan, you learn to let them do the talking on the pitch and forget about more or less everything they say outside of it.
 
Lukaku, or any other, can say how he loves the club and kiss the badge, but if after 6 months he's steering for a transfer, it was not so much love, isn't it? Or he can claim he wants to play the big competitions or be a golden boot, but then a transfer offers and he decides to stay after a chat with the manager. So much of big talk, huh?
 
To sum up: let him develop. And we talk about him and this because there's no footy and still a few weeks until Everton does another transfer or loan!

So in other words, he never said I want to leave for *insert club here* 
Thanks for confirming

The saddest thing about this thread is that after how many years?? that we've all been crying out for a striker, one that can put the ball in the net. Year after year most have been saying "fuck me, if only we had someone to put the ball in the net we'd easily break top 4"
 
Problem was, we never had the money to buy one or we couldn't attract any break through players because the champions league clubs just bought them all. But now finally we have one. Not only do we have one, we have one who is a raw talent with his best years AHEAD of him, with plenty of time to develop and who has scored consistently for the last 3 seasons in the prem and certain sections of our fans just want to pull him to pieces.
 
Absolutely fucking shameful. It really is. You'd think we had Man City or Chelseas moneyy or Man Utd pulling power the way some are carrying on, just flog him and get our money back cos there's a fucking queue halfway down Halewood Rd of too draw strikers waiting to take his place.
 
People need to have a serious word with themselves.
 
This thread fucking pisses me off.

The idea is that the DMC provide the platform for the rest of the team to attack. They are the first line of defence, but also they are supposed to be good distributors, something that Makelele was never able to do, and tactically smart.
 
I want to believe that McCarthy will be the ultimate DMC at some point, when he decides to start grabbing games by the neck and starts passing forward and make good timed runs. The other DMC should not be a DMC, but a MC with the physical tools to run around.
 
In other words, in 2 years I fully expect McCarthy to do the Barry role, and a more offensive polished player to do the 'box to box' midfielder.

I would not let Coleman go for £20m. For £30m maybe, but it would be important to show strength (if Everton lets go Coleman for £30m, how much can they ask for Barkley, Stones?) and have a replacement lined up.
 
Full backs are very important in RM's tactics as they are the ones providing real width and surprise arrivals. True, last season he was not at his best, but who was? If the aim is to do something important, Coleman and Baines are an integral part of it.
 
Non-related: Montoya to Inter is almost done, and he's not that good (and a prick that probably would not even be bothered to learn English ever).

To turn 70k into 25 million in a few years has to be good financial business. Problem is we will have to replace him. If we can get a good rb and cb for the money then lets do it but if not, then hold on to him.

I don't think many would be saying they'd sell this time last year. However his form has dropped a lot. If he's going to continue to go downhill it's a no brainer. Personally I wouldn't sell him yet.

Neither would I. His form has dropped in line with virtually the lot of them; at his best he's up with the best in the league. Don't want to be selling our prized assets, I'd want a higher bid than that.

Lukaku, Barkley, Dela, Stones
 
There aren't many teams in Europe with that level of potential.
 
However...and it's a big however...it's all potential...
 
Stones probably is the closest to being the real deal I'd argue but the other 3 could be world beaters

I will only say that the gap that English people perceive between the Premier League and other leagues is amazingly not true. i.e.: Anderlecht 3 - 3 Arsenal. Two years ago Olympiakos gave Man Utd a run for its money in 1/4 CL. In the Europa League PL teams keep failing year after year against "lower level opposition", feel free to review the performance of the PL teams starting by the 5-2 overall result of Everton, continuing with Liverpool against Besiktas.
Seriously?
 
When are you going to realise that a) the gap is not that big and that it can be also a matter of style of football played. The Premier League is a very particular competition in the sense of style as well, some great players fail here and go on to become big stars elsewhere, the same as strikers fail in the Italian league and go somewhere else and start scoring for fun.

You guys are making it sound like a 16 year Wayne Rooney is better than any striker that has ever played in the Jupiler league. To my knowledge, no striker has ever bagged in 50 goals in the Jupiler league.
 
All I can do is shake my head and disagree.

Cheers
 
I should be clear. I don't expect everyone to love him, but I do expect every Evertonian to see his worth and potential, and then support him. This is why I am so dedicated (for want of a better word) to the cause.

Right... Since the site was down yesterday, I decided to finally look into this argument of his goals in a lesser league counting towards why people think he's amazing. Remember this wonderful pictostat?
 

 
For Hafs sake, I am removing all his goals from anywhere except the PL - that means no Euro or Cup goals at all, no goals outside of his time with West Brom and us. Also, I am not counting National side goals or assists in any competition, the latter only because I ran out of time and couldn't find a good enough source. This has been applied to all the players I compared with below. All goals should count but this is to prove a point.
 
Out of curiosity, I took some of the names Haf has mentioned who are "better strikers". At least, those he mentions are now(were) better strikers, which isn't in doubt, but where they better at scoring goals at the age of 19, 20 and 21? I get his argument that the Belgian league goals boost his stat above (though I maintain all goals count) so lets focus on his time in the Premier League, where it's not so "easy"
 
It took me an hour or so, and I will confess that I may well have miscalculated the correct season starting when the player to compare with was 19 (though I think I've got them all correct - if anyone is bothered enough to correct me, PM with the correct season and I will update the info).
 
Anyway... Randomly chosen to compare with, were; Aguero, Suarez, Ronaldo, Shearer, Rush, Rooney and (for shits and giggles) that "better footballer" in our team, Kone.
 

 
Now.... Just to emphesise a point here - Rom had an average season last year, in a squad who were below average. He didn't have Forlan playing alongside him like Aguero did at the same age, he didn't have a Rooney or a Ronaldo playing with the likes or RVN, Giggs, Scholes, Keane...
 
We obviously don't count Suarez because he got his goals in the Dutch league, nor do we count the 1st 2 seasons of Shearer at the same age since they were a league below, just like Rushs first season at 3rd Division Chester (again, relevant to age not actual first seasons).
 
Fact is, we've got an amazing talent who we are developing. Compared to any of the great strikers, at the same age, he matches up. We've got a potential World Class player, so lets get behind him
 
I await the "yeah, but...." argument....

One more decent striker, one good CB and -most importantly- a confident keeper on goal and I would get excited.
 
Deulofeu and Naismith at the level shown the first season of Martinez are key to achieve the goals.
 
I can see that the team is a few steps away from being very good, but there are others also very close (Tottenham, Liverpool). Liverpool two seasons ago finished 2nd, then lost one vital player and ended up 6th, which shows how delicate is the balance.
 
Baines - Jags - Stones - Coleman is a very strong defensive line IF Jags retains the level we know he is capable of, not last years form.
 
McCarthy - Barkley - TBD. McCarthy is a stud who usually plays well. Barkley is all irregularity at the moment, his first season with Martinez he was bright, powerful and incisive. Last season, not so much. The third midfielder probably depends of the game, balance, form and the legs of Barry. But I'm quite happy Cleverley is in the club, another pair of fresh legs, pass and move style player can never hurt the squad.
 
Lukaku - Deulofeu - TBD. This is the most worrying part. Lukaku so far is inconsistent and requires a more direct approach, Deulofeu is still quite raw and inconsistent, albeit magical in his day, and we do not have a third great player to be a complement of the others. Mirallas is the best of the bunch, but we all know how things went last year. McGeady drives me mad, and Pienaar looks like a shadow of the players he used to be, which is a shame considering that Baines - Pienaar was the most fruitful pair on the left two seasons ago and a key to the excellent fifth position. Naismith two seasons ago became a very valuable contributor but playing as false 9 or second striker due to his excellent movement, smart passing and work rate. Let's see if he can be back to his best.
 
The bench guys: some of them can be trusted (in Joel I trust after the three clean sheets, I'm glad Alcaraz and Distin are gone and I want to see Galloway, Besic, Cleverley in action, Ossie can do good 20 mins sometimes...) and some others are deadwood (I'm looking at the oft-injured Gibson and Koné, sorry).
 
There is still a lot of work to do IMO to get me excited about this squad, but the two first players in are a good sign. Deulofeu is raw, mercurial talent that can give a lot, and Cleverley is a player that can contribute and fill in the gaps when teams close down.
 
Let's see. So far I see a 7th position in the cards, 6th if Firmino is a bust and Sterling leaves.

welcome toffeeman. like pad said we haven't signed lennon (i'm hoping we do as well though), but yes the signings are looking good and we are linked with quality this summer which is a compliment.
 
i am positive on the outlook too and think a cup victory is in our grasp this year. i'd love champs league as well and think we will be a dark horse since we had a rough campaign this last year.
 
COYB

Great stuff!! Love his comments about coming home, 2 years ago these young boys we have were probably rated around the most promising of their positions ( Stones, Barkley, Gerry and Rom) let's see them push each other now and kick their development on! Just shows you don't need to spend 60-70 million a window.

I wonder about the % of goals scored for the team. How did you get this number as bad or good?
 
I mean, Tottenham Hotspur this season -total goals 57, per transfermarkt.com :
Harry Kane -allegedly wonderkid valued £30+-: 21 goals / 34 games (36,8% of goals of the team). Christian Eriksen: 10 goals in 38 (17.5%). Nacer Chadli: 11 in 36 (19.3%). Soldado & Adebayor combined: 3 (5,3%). Lamela 2, Townsend 2, Danny Rose 3, Dier 2...
 
No one is saying that Kane had a bad season, just the opposite...the only criticism that everyone can see is to wait if he can keep his excellent level.
 
For the record, Lukaku this year scored 10 in 36, top scorer in the League with 20.4%. Although I see it low, I also saw the poor football offered and the general poor level of the team. I'd be very happy if he can chip 15-18 PL goals next year, adding some assists.

Wish people would stop talking about Deulofeu & Garbutt as if they were done deals. Tempting fate until they appear on the OS as confirmed. I know they're 95% sure but until the ink's dry on the parchment and the pair of them are pictured smiling together (competing for the "club's daftest haircut" competition) with Roberto I'm not talking about them as fact.

Hang on... You want him to score more whilst linking up play? Want him to part the Red Sea too?
 
And again, fuck the price tag! If you're expectations are purely based on on a price tag, its pointless debating with you and honestly I expect better. The price tag has no relation to the players ability!!! How many times?!

I'm still not having this is happening. I'm firmly in the "until I see him in an Everton shirt on th official site it's not happening" brigade.

Sterling looks to be going for 50m... 
Don't care what the price is, he is a "keep at all costs" player

Stones, for me, is a bigger prospect that Barkley, Stirling and Kane. Spurs talking £40m plus for Kane, the shite want £50m for Stirling, then if Chelsea want Stones it has to be over £55m in my opinion. Every player has their price, no harm in making it massive. We don't want to sell him, we don't need to sell him, if you want him bring a fucking big bag of cash or don't even bother making a call.