Hafnia

I agree, I think the biggest factor in getting better is physical stamina, asserting himself more and improving his focus. As I've stated before, I don't think he's technically all there and probably will not get his touch etc up to a desired level. But I do think he is a 20 goal a season striker. Will he become a £50m rated player? Not for me no, but I do think he will always be worth £18m plus. He will likely continue to amaze and frustrate and in latter weeks a £20m plus fee is not so ridiculous. I just think some people can lose sight of the fact that he has got lots to improve on and has a lot of hard work ahead of him.

As I stated, it's hardly a robust statistic to establish his status amongst the world's elite. He scored 35 or so for anderlecht from 16 whilst the others were playing for clubs competing at a higher level. There could be someone 17 years old who bangs in 30 goals a season for TNS in the Welsh league. It looks a really impressive stat till you scratch beneath the surface. Don't wanna piss on bonfires and stuff as it's been a big signing and many young fans probably feel like I did when we signed kanchelskis.

I think lukaku does have some work to do and will do well to take mourinhos comments on board. I think the crux of it is that lukaku didn't want the competition for places, at Everton he is clearly number 1 striker, but I'm afraid that he has another thing coming if he thinks he will get carte blanche. Naismith, Kone, and a few kids will be aiming for their chances up front, Rom can't get complacent. As in the world cup, we seen how petulant he can be when things don't go his way. Let's hope he hits the ground running, has a solid season and breaks the 20 goal Mark.

Yeah he came across well, £28m??? 10m too much but he said he needs to improve at being more efficient offensively, which was good to hear.

Have we outsourced our press conferences to kitbag as well?

I'll be 100% behind the lad, regardless of my opinion on him he is a marquee signing and is a good bit of exposure for the club. Still got a bit to go before I'm sure he will be the player many think he is. Money in the game is mental.

Clowns... This does not happen at the likes of United. Kids who want "full kit" for birthday etc are now getting shorts and top with a random pair of socks or none... Poss poor it really is.

Seriously....

You better believe it, I even know a Coventry fan....

Spoke to a Hungarian lad who works in my local, reckons this lad has the potential to be very very good. He's a big ac Milan fan, but is like an encyclopedia on football. At 2-4m he reckons it's a bargain.

I don't see where it is that being a big fan of Roberto means you throw any judgement you have of a player out the window. It is possible to rate a manager but question a potential signing. Just like it's ok to question games where he got his tactics wrong.

Keep up the battle Mike.

Do we know how much Roberto is happy to pay? I don't believe we do. I do have faith in Roberto, does this mean I don't trust my own judgement too? No, of course it doesn't. At a lower price lukaku can be a good signing, not at the 20m bracket.

thanks for the input... I like the look of the lad.

I must say, he hasn't quite taken the club to his heart the way I thought he would.

whatever... just make any deal to wherever soon enough so we can get on with who we are going to sign with what money we have.

Physicality is the main reason you don't see many young lads play at 16 - at 16 he was physically developed enough and good enough to play in the belgian league, its hardly the same as Michael Owen, Messi or Wayne Rooney playing international class defenders in one of the toughest leagues in the world. Anderlecht have won their league 33 times... he was a striker in a team that presented more goalscoring opportunites than most team in eurpoe against their opponents. I'm not getting into this whole debate on why he has more goals at 21, its an insult to anyones intelligence to suggest that it stands up to Messi, Rooney, Owen and Shearer. There are so many inconsistencies to consider to make it a tangible metric.

I remember the Kanchelskis transfer, recall United and Donetsk squabbling over sell on etc, I was sick over that, wanted him to sign so much. Still to date he was the transfer that got me the most excited. Loved him.

Got to say, I really didn't like Messi at the end of the game, he behaved like a bit of a brat, Neuer offered him a hand shke which he gave very little acceptance to.

No one expected Stones to be in a position to oust one of those two, because in reality he wasn't. Physically he has a bit to go in terms of development and Jags is probably still the best centre half at the club but only just. Stones even when those guys were back fit was getting game time, Martinez has most definately demosntrated more trust of younger players than Moyes. Barkley was at risk of becoming a shadow of the player his talent deserves to be under DM. RM has seen the risks and still gone about playing him. Agree to disagree and all that.

For me Romey its a juggernaut of expectation and hype that has gotten out of control. Its the size of him and the way he can score goals that gets people excited. I don't believe I'm unfair on him, if he wasn't being touted at £24m I wouldn't have the problem, his ego is deffo a concern. For me he is in the Jack Wilshire overhyped, massive ego bracket. Both players need to knuckle down with regards to different aspects of their game. The sweet spot for me is the cost, we need to protect ourselves. Could a permanent move see him become overburdened? A loan move often offers a player a more carefree approach in terms of shouldering responsibility. I am just not convinced at this time that he offers us the comfort of knowing that £24m will be a safe investment...

So not being given the opportunity is nothing to do with Moyes? Regarding Barkley it was widely said that the lad was desperate to get away in order to play at the end of last season and was considering his options, Moyes going and Martinez coming in changed that. Stones getting a run? Yes I do. He was given his chance in pre season and impressed - he therefore was given his chance at first team premier level. Compare that to Shane Duffy, he proved more than capable and did well at Spurs when he had to be played. Then against Man City when Moyes had no centre half options he played Tony Hibbert there instead.... Yes Hibbert did well, but at the expense of a young lad getting a break.

How is it irrelevant? At 16 most lads are barely 10 stone and have 3 years of growth before being strong enough - Lukaku was a fully grown man at 15 which meant he could physically cope, players are pretty much "technically" where they are going to be at 16. So it is not irrelevant at all. Shearer made his debut at 18 - Lukaku had scored 33 of his goals at the age shearer was given his debut. Its a tabloid headline stat which does not stand up to further analysis. You need games to score goals, and if he has played more games than all those players that he has been compared with, at a lower level then of course those stats are going to favour him. You may as well just have the headline saying "Lukaku was a physically matured beast at 16 and got 33 goals by the time he was 18..." that in essence is what the stat is.

We had an option to buy which we tried to exercise, Dier was told we could not guarantee him some first team football appearances so he decided not to sign. EVERTON’S young England defender, Eric Dier, has returned to Sporting Lisbon because he believes the Portuguese club will offer him a better chance of regular first-team football. The 18-year-old moved to Everton on loan in January 2011 and extended the loan period for the whole of last season. He made 12 reserve appearances but didn’t feature in a first team squad and boss David Moyes said: “We wanted him to stay with us. We knew he wanted to be in the first team, even though there would be little chance. Maybe Ricardo Sa Pinto (the Sporting coach) and Sporting have other plans for him.” Yes, It's less damning than the mustafi release, however it is indicative of the managers reluctance to trust young defenders.

That doesn't make it right, would it have been a noble act if Moyes let Ross Barkley leave the club due to not getting more game time? No, it would be mismanagement. SHEEDY:- ‘In my seven years Moyes showed no interest in our youth team.’