Bailey

And neither can Jelavic. Lukaku's all round link up play and general football intelligence is far better than Jelavic's. Lets not get carried away with Jelavic because he scored 2 goals in probably the easiest game we have had all season. I wouldnt say that Mirallas has been as prominent in games as he was last year (probably because we relied on him a lot last season) but he is still one of our top performers despite that.

Like Dunc alludes to, Lukaku is a FAR better all round footballer than Jelavic! Mirallas has been one of our most productive players in terms of assist and chances created. He wont be going anywhere.

I think this is a very good loan for him. Watched him in some of the extended highlights and he looks like a unit. I wouldn't say he is technically gifted but he has the physical ability. It will be interesting to see how he develops.

Thats really good business if true. I like Jela and wish him all the best but I do think we need a striker with more of an all round game. I hear this Lewandowski fella is out of contract in the summer

Although tbf it would only have taken a 5min conversation with RM for anyone to want him as manager!

Nice article that Romey and I wouldnt disagree with one word of it.

It has certainly been much better this season Dunc. I think Martinez coming in has probably made the little things like this easier because he is so personable and comfortable in the public eye. It really is good to see.

All the best Mike and I really hope the treatment goes well and you make a swift recovery! Supporting Everton is a battle at the best of times so you are well prepared!

I think that after this WC there will be a big change but I cant see anything changing before that. My team at the moment would look something like this: Hart ? Jags Cahill Baines Barry Gerrard Lallana Barkley Townsend Rooney For me, Rooney should stop trying to be a playmaker and just concentrate on scoring. Of course he can do more than that and he will do but he needs to focus on working defenders and stop dropping too deep. With the 3 attacking players behind him he shouldnt struggle for chances. Whilst im not a massive fan of Townsend I think we need someone with a little directness. If we need someone to keep hold of the ball we can bring Wilshere in instead. Our biggest problems are at the back. Caulker might not be a bad shout as I liked him at Spurs but havent seen much of him since he moved. Im not convinced by the rest but it would be between Cahill & Smalling. We dont have a good RB and they are all similar. Maybe Walker with his pace would get the nod.

He is probably the best useless English wide man we have though! Easily the best finisher too!

Here's the attempt from McAleny against Arsenal (all I could find in about 10 secs lol).

I think he hit it on the volley (or half volley) and either just glanced the keepers LH post or went past it. He was very alert and reminded me of the Michael Owen type striker but like you say, certainly not a one up top man. They are completely different players to compare really. Like I said above, McAleny is that poacher type. Small, nimble and pretty quick with a good technical ability where as Vellios is more of a big strong target man who also seems to be good technically but he seems to have some sort of attitude problem. I imagine they would probably work quite well as a pair tbh. McAleny is probably the better footballer, but Vellios will probably get further in the game due to his physical ability.

I wouldn't disagree with this. I don't think he is ever going to be anything special but I think he could become one of England's better wingers under the right manager. I know that's not saying much and it shouldn't because I only think he can be a top 10 prem winger at best but depending on the compensation amount it might not be the worst move in the world.

Everton 3 - Norwich 1 Lukaku

That made me laugh!

Naismith, Osman and Jelavic as an attacking trio scares the shit out of me. Barkley needs to have a big game! Plenty of options on the bench though.

Stones for me given the circumstances. Tbh I didnt think Baines did a great deal and I thought that bar the odd moment, Barkley had one of his poorer games.

Just watched the FF replay. That was a difficult game against a very determined and aggressive Stoke side. We didnt help ourselves in the first half by giving the ball straight back to them and I thought that our front 4 were all especially guilty of this and allied with Stokes physical presence (especially with Distin out) it caused us a few problems that we havent seen so far this season. Overall we did well enough without ever really getting going. We had our moments and dominated possession for large parts of the game but Stoke looked as equally threatening IMO when they got the ball forward to Crouch who gave Alcaraz a few problems aerially. It was a game in which no-one really stood out due to the way Stoke played but on his league debut I thought Stones was excellent and it was a real bonus to see him cope so well. Him and Alcaraz did look like they had a decent partnership and importantly both are very good on the ball.

Yeh good point, that is a decent break actually!

Everton 2 - 2 QPR McCarthy

I agree with the strong side sentiments but at the same time it wouldnt hurt to rest the big fella up front because he puts a lot into his games and one week off at this busy time would probably do him the world of good. Depending on the fitness at the back I would go with: Robles Coleman - Alcaraz - Distin/Stones - Baines Mirallas - Barry- McCarthy - Pienaar/Naismith Barkley Vellios/Jelavic (depending on transfer situation). Make sure we have Lukaku on the bench so that he can come on and change the game if needs be. If Distin is fit, it wouldnt surprise me to see Stones in ahead of Coleman either but bar the striker change they would all be strong replacements.

He is too one dimensional as a winger. When your game is all about possession you need players that appreciate space and know how to find space. Pienaar, Mirallas, Deulofeu and even Naismith know how to do this but Baines, Coleman and Oviedo dont know what to do when they get marked by a FB because its not their game. They can break into space from FB because they generally wont have a winger tracking them fully or they will overload the opposing FB with our winger. He can do a job there for sure but he isnt a long term option.

I dont we do need someone right now and thats probably where we see this differently. If the deal is as reported then I dont have a problem with it but i wouldnt like to see us pay a fee.

Not the worst deal in the world if its on a free but not really sure he is what we need. I would love to be proven wrong though.

Spot on. Its not like he isnt putting the effort either. Same applies to Lukaku as well. I wouldnt say that either is in sparkling form but they contribute a lot more to the team than they get credit for. Same here, especially against Stoke who are still quite physical. Barry, Howard and Baines back in there would help too but still not ideal!