Blue 250

This is the best squad Everton have had for years. If we stop leaking goals in the league ( Jags back should help and Baines settling in again) we should climb surely and we are still in two cups, to be honest if we can get one over on City in the cup we can beat liverpool.Then with some luck the FA cup could see a run. This could still be a really good season. Would Martinez get another crack if we don't win a cup and finish 11th or below.

Your 'inital implant procedure', is that where they cut and insert some metal work into the gum for the bone to grow to and the skin to grow over.How many teeth are you having done!

Out of interest John or any other 'skype,ers' do you get a lot of contact requests ? I skype family in America and get 3/4 requests on average per month.

Moyes would have got slated for a defencive 0-0 at City ! Thing is after draws at the likes of Bournmouth and Norwich it was probably a good point.

Yes it is a strange one, not playing him, must see things in training !

Goalkeepers thrive on confidence, Robles looks pretty good at the moment, given a decent run could be just what he needs to show his real class.Takes a brave manager to give 2nd goalkeepers a long run.Take a look at liverpool, Bogdan, drop him or give him a run(I say play him the rest of the season) A rs fan at work didn't even give him the benefit of getting a nudge for the goal from the corner kick......just wants him out! Probably the worst position in the team for making a mistake, you can make loads as an outfield player, one between the sticks and you are shite! Strikers face it also....one bounce of your shin and your usless, some like Ross can have a stinker and will start the next game (same goes for a lot of out field players). What would happen if Robles makes a mistake and we go out to City in the cup, would the fans calling for him to play more often, feel the same about him them. Every goalkeeper has mistakes in him, fact.

Thing is as we enter the 2nd half of the season and in both cups, do you want the only back up to Lukaku to be Kone ! if we don't get a striker, that's the frightening thought.

100%, also do we need help with Barkley, the coaching staff that is. The lad is so close to becoming an unstoppable goal scoring midfielder, he just has trouble with the final pass/shot.Get to his best and even an average striker will benefit from the space this lad will create when he draws three opponents.It's in him, he either needs more time or better coaching, afraid I think it's the latter.

Can't help but picture the film 'stand up virgin soldiers'......remember Everton getting a mention in that film.Also wasn't that the film the big lad playing football on the beach stepped on a mine.

Then we have a chance, shame that without the lad I think we'd struggle, that's how important he's become. surely an urgent task for Martinez, how to create threats without the big man, just in case.

City 1 Everton 1 Lukaku.

Wasn't it mid 70's Carlisle took 6 points off us and were still relegated, think it stopped us winning the league, remember reading something by Latchford about that fact.

Would Martinez sell for silly money even if Lukaku wasn't pushing for it. Hope not, there's a lot more to come.

How do you know that! This is a 'forum' it's for everybody, not just those sitting in ther full Everton kit with his collection of Rothmans football yearbooks in front of him, whilst seasrching other forums and media sights for something to write...( not my words, another member !) I don't post as much as you.....what was your latest dig...." I should try and make the match day thread during a game......."It's the best thread ".....Jesus ! if that's not the thoughts of a 12 year old I don't know what is.I'm not always posting or on this forum BECAUSE I HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO! Now take off your Hafnia kit......and the socks, put the Rothmans back in the loft and find a life. Others on here have doubted what you've posted, example, I was warned to give up the 'Bullshit ' thing.........not because I was wrong, but because it was not the done thing! I stopped.......I only posted a head rolling around laughing, and you've gone off on one........raw nerve maybe ! Never mind, keep a sence of humor.

Went for the 'cat' option. Understand Martinez is looking at starting ' the cat ' ahead of Mirallas next week, but still maintaines he has no problem with Belgium winger. Saying if 'Tiddles' runs out of steam, Kevin can expect at least 15 minutes match time.

Poor old Lawernson, he was on an FA Cup edition of pointless yesterday and when faced with the question ' name a country that begins with either the letter A, B, C and or a couple of other random letters', Lawro, thought for a moment before coming out with.........'Alaska'. Needless to say that got him 100 points, in a game where you don't really want points. Bless him, those old leather footballs were a nightmare when they were wet, too many headers me thinks. I don't mind him as a pundit, comes across as someone who doesn't mind saying what he thinks, refreshing and funny even if sometime daft.Long may he stick around the football sofa.

To be honest we have at times slaughted teams in the prem, performance wise, just not finishing them off and a few stupid defencive errors have cost us. At our best we are VERY good, the manager and coaches really need to work on a couple of problem areas.They could be found guilty of under achieving whilst in charge of one of the best Everton squads for years.

Didn't people watch what Lukaku did at WBA ?.....haven't people asked why Chelsea bought him in the first place, why West Ham wanted him, liverpool were interested in him, why Everton took him on loan, why Everton eventually bought him......why now he's worth probably £50million ? It's because the lad 'HAD' talent ! All the transactions above happened 'before' his 'terrible' season.It was written all over the lad that he was going to be huge.So he had an off season at 21 whilst playing in a below average team playing crap football.So what, Barkley still falls to pieces at times,Stones still makes mistakes, IT HAPPENS ! Some don't like the fact that others saw what he had.Most of us that 'did' see the potential were probably the same ones who were shouting Martinez down for his awful tactics last season at the same time seeing an under performing Lukaku.I wasn't surprised he and others were suffering, the tactics at times were awfull.None of our great young players advanced much last season. You could see the class Barkley had at a young age, he's had some pretty poor runs over time, made some very bad mistakes, I partly blame the coaching system at Everton for not bringing him on more, this lad should be winning games single handed. To me Lukaku is like Barkley and Stones, they've got mistakes and bad games in them, but more importantly huge amounts of talent. Their talent was spotted years ago, anyone who would let potential like that leave the club for a poor run of games.........probably has shit for brains, just saying

Your missing the point, quotes/stats aren't really relevant, the main question posed was......... Did Lukaku have the required talent to become a major force as a striker. Some said he did, some thought not, simple as that, Lukaku was one of many poor players in a Blue shirt, some could see through his poor form, some couldn't ! A poor run of form means nothing if you have talent.

Apparently Lukaku had crap season last year, unlike his fellow team mates and his glorious manager.A season during which Everton served up some of the worst football in living memory. Not exactly what a young centre forward needs to help his development. The major cause of disagreement on this thread was, will/can Lukaku develop into what he is now, what managers and coaches have obviously believed he would. Some members could see what his potential was....... some couldn't, some were spectacularly wrong, some would rather have sold him and kept Kone, each to their own I guess. Lukaku has proved some wrong, the lads going to get even better........... now, how do you want those eggs cooked

As much as I'd love him back your right, slowly, slowly. He/his partnership with Baines will never reach the levels they were, but we can dream.

Not obsessed with your posts, just hate Bullshit! You'ved managed to gloss over some of the things you wrote about the lad, not the rubbish about his holding ability or heading prowess, we could all see that he had work to do in some areas, pretty much like every other member of our squad, no it was the insults ( go back and have a good read ). Whatever the result, it was always Lukakus fault, he was 'this' he was 'that', never his team mates, it as laughable. Now you even have the fucking nerve to claim you always said he had it in him , seriously, you spend so much time on here, just re-read the thread (you've obviously got time), it's a blast.Or you could just say you were right all along, simply because you post more tham most you must be right !! Well YOU said you'd rather have Kone that Lukaku........I rest my case! Squirm and bullshit all you want,you were wrong ! The lad HAS proved you wrong ! Get over it. I said Re-signing Pienaar was the best thing this club had done for years........I was way off the mark......I was wrong !, see how easy it is. Yes you do post a lot don't you.......WELL DONE !

Spot on ! I also think this thread has been going so long the more personal comments made against the lad have been buried in time. Not a huge fan of Martinez, but he certainly got this signing right, should he get major credit ? seems many clubs had spotted his potential, so maybe he was just lucky in getting him.End of the day doesn't matter, he's ours, question now is how long for.If Martinez manages to keep him (I think we can replace Stones more easily than Lukaku), then I will rate him (Martinez)more. Lukaku is what most thought he'd be, a massive talent, to others, just a case of egg dribbling off a red face !

On paper a harder game than many of the previous, games that we all expexted more from. Can only see this giving us some added bite, maybe not expected to dominate, maybe not even expected to win. Watch us win this one!