Hafnia

What game did you watch? Sorry to break it to you but a free signing from the Scottish league is our top striker at the moment. The £28m poster boy is about as much use as mirallas and Barkley at this moment in time. I know you love the marquee name players but really you need to open your eyes to what they are bringing to the party - not what they can bring if and when. Without Naismiths goals this season we would be close to bottom 3.

Broken toe? In 2005 I broke my big toe in two places right across the knuckle. Nail fell off the lot. Played footy on ibuprofen a week or so after. I'm not buying this broken toe as a reason for lack of fitness. He has proper medical team behind him too. A broken toe is a dull ache. the bone heals fully within 6 weeks.

I've already held Martinez accountable for signing him. Now we have him I want to see the lad show Naismith esque desire and effort. Not just going through the motions "look at me pressing the defenders" in a half arsed effort. Time to deliver one way or another.

A bit of an apologetic article to say the least. The final part of the article gives you a selection of 4 reasons as to why he has been poor:- His start last season World cup hangover Uncertainty over role Expectation The reason I would give is not even on there:- He is not as good a player as his previous goalscoring exploits suggest. Ultimately his transfer fee is the crux of the problem. You can't have a £28m striker at Everton and bench him - the manager will look stupid. If he was a home grown talent he would have been "rested" or even given time in the under 21's. I have said all along that if being a striker was just about scoring goals like a Tony Cottee or Gary Lineker then he would be fine. The game has changed, 4-5-1/4-3-3 means the striker has to be able to link play effectively and be a part of getting the midfield up the pitch. Defenders are smarter now - they are athletes. The way we play means that the centre forward needs to be proficient in so much more than just putting the ball away. People asked why I touted Bony or Welbeck ahead of Lukaku and I feel pretty much vindicated. In terms of finishing in the box there ain't much between them - in fact Lukaku remains pretty much the best option. I have watched the other two pretty closely and their link up play has been very good, Bony's goal last week, control, give and go - back of the net. Welbeck commits defenders and beats them for pace opening up the opportunites for others. My solution is simple - take him out the firing line, give him under 21 game time, get some goals and get him fitter. I don't want to see a 21 year old labouring and looking leggy. If he needs to lose a few pounds then get it done.

Unbelievable all these injuries, i'm almost writing this season off. Aside from that Mr Martinez has some rapid learning to do.. Genuinely like the fella but that can all change, if he doesn't get more deliberate and less flippant with his in match tactics I will lose patience. It seems like the strict school teacher has gone and the stand in teacher is letting the class run amok. Maybe not that bad but he needs to show them a real nasty side. He's like the polar opposite of Moyes, I thought he had the positional discipline thing nicely balanced - he hasn't. Don't get me wrong i'd have him over dour Davie any day but he needs to tighten things up and get a little more authoritive.

I fear the worst after seeing it. Awful. The speed and impact really was disturbing. Prayers are with him.

Its a strange one is this. Has the milkman made a reappearance and he is having personal issues? Maybe he feels that he is on the decline and can't handle it - I dunno.

With mirallas and Barkley injured you can at least look forward to the potential of McGeady or McCarthy having a bad game so you can say "I told you they were crap"

That's all you needed to do!!! You've cost the lad goals!

I'd quite like him to score 1-2 goals most games, retain the ball and pass it then I will LOL at myself.

so he needs more chances than other strikers who are scoring more than him who have the similar number of shots?

I've seen enough of his "exhausted the defences" nonsense - he actually doesn't! Against Algeria in the world cup he failed to register one touch in the area. Against South Korea he was anonymous. Origi was getting on at around 60 minutes against supposed tired defenders. Lukaku got on at 94 minutes against a USA team that had ran an average of 12km per man - bit of a difference Matt. This hard work fallacy - which is what it is, is just the bog standard minimum a striker is expected to do. This final third workrate? I've played the lone sriker role myself and from a comparison perspective it is no where near as demanding as central midfield, full back, or winger - no where near. OK if not take my word for it, then Graeme Sharp has a clouded judgement - "does not do enough, he does not make enough runs"

I would play Besic and McCarthy together - Barry seems leggy.

When we say "chances" - has Naismith had it laid on a plate for him? He is using his guile, tenacity and desire to get in the positions - he is working for the team, getting in defenders faces and is doing so with a real desire in the way Cahill used to. Lukaku is doing is best Louis "Can't really be bothered" Saha impression - things aren't going for me and boo hoo. I seen this at the world cup and it culminated with a strop in being brought off. Origi went on and showed him what it was all about. As i've said, he has been a "top boy" for too long - far too used to getting his own way and owning the pitch. He's playing against fully grown, international class defenders now, not some journey man belgian league defender who looks at a 6ft 4 frame and decides "its not my day today before the ball is kicked". I could almost tolerate some of his bad touches but he just really doesn't want to know. Mate was in the away end and many of the blue fans were disgusted with him yesterday, not from a technical stand point but the fact that a 19 year old novice had him in his pocket and he accepted it. Whether the price tag has nothing to do with him or not, he is getting paid £75k+ a week to at least show some willing.

Not at £28m - it's not on. If it's about goalscoring alone then why is Naismith outscoring him? I don't buy it. Neville on motd trying to make out its because he's being played wide. I don't think it is, it's because the other points he highlighted are true - that he can't control a ball. Sinclair had it right, he needs to earn the right to play.

He's been carrying a knock since the start of the season by all accounts, regardless. If you failed to appreciate his quality last season then you are best just as well focussing your binoculars on mirallas and Barkley. Funny, you manage to find a defence for Lukaku, someone who could do with taking a note out of McCarthys book in terms of working a full shift, running hard, actually putting in a challenge and not going through the motions.

Do feel free to posts in any of the other threads Robles lad.

Yeah I think we need to purify the shooting stats to remove all "that was Fuckin stupid shooting from there" shots.

Is Lukaku 21?

I said he will prove to be a good signing, is the fact that he's a new hate figure make that wrong?. Do you need my posts to be all "ah yeah mirallas and Barkley are the team, without them we have nothing. I'd play mirallas instead of McCarthy in midfield cos McCarthy is crap"

I don't like the fact that they've gained weight, cos for me it's £28 million pounds we've spent on someone who needs to be played like djibrill cisse. Sure put the ball in the box for him and he will find the net, so could jelavic. If it's ahead of him he can run onto it. That's great if you want to score 25 goals in the championship. Defences are smart in the premier league. I watched Dave Watson play a nice deep line against Michael Owen which allowed martyn to sweep up through balls, Owen couldn't do anything else. His good games are the exception rather than the rule, we seen this in the world cup. I fear Divock Origi will arrive for that lot next year and take his place as the best Belgian striker.

I like an anology but is that one saying Lukaku is the equivalent to a set of crayons? I'd probably agree, thick, cumbersome, overpriced, and can be found in an 8 year olds back pocket.

The defence for Lukaku is getting very "but, but, but". I'm sorry I'm not having it and I apportion the blame at Martinez if I'm honest. I seen what the lad was all about after 8 games and the world cup confirmed it. His natural stamina and aggression is shite. His control and ability to pass the ball with authority is poor. His aerial ability is awful for a 6ft 4 striker. It all points to a lad who has had it way too easy in his development years. Growing up and being 8 inches taller and 3 stone of muscle bigger than your peers makes the game very easy. The playing field has been levelled now. At WBA in a poor team he was used as a last 40 minutes player due to his stamina. At the world cup it was evident that he is best used as an impact sub. I'm extremely disappointed that Martinez spent so heavily on the lad. I'm hearing his touch was ok here, he made a few runs there. Nothing is done with authority! It's all very Victor anichebe. If it was Vic who put in the last two performances that Lukaku has done against two big rivals a fair few would be up in arms and you know it.

Never seen game but listened to the end and sharpie was pissed off with him. How can a 21 year old be unfit? He hasn't had a big world cup, he had an extra week or so off. It's not Luke he detrained that much. He needs to improve and fast, its all and well me being onto him. I've had his number for a while. It's the poor fans who are giving him a chance who are running out of patience. As a lone man up front you expect a lot more. Personally I think sharpies getting to the pointvthar he's lazy, does not make runs at all, static is the word he used.

Essential part of forward play.