Newty82

Yes. Nitpicking. Is this because he should have put the ball out for a throw in some minds? How far back do you go in play to find who's at fault? I seen Di Maria, their most dangerous player today, pick the ball up in a load of space. Howard fault? Falcao runs off Hibbert, past Stones and in front of Jags, no one picked him up. Howard fault? Falcao gets played onside by Stones. Howard fault? Against Chelsea, Howard went toe to toe with Costa because he was a twat to Coleman. He was bigged up for that. Today Van Persie was a twat to stones. Howard did the same. Now he's a villain for it?! Nitpicking.

Oh come on. He wasn't talking about anybody with a scouse accent. Just Rooney. And he's dead right. Poor bloke is a vulnerable old man.

15 shots in 7 games. 8 on target. 2 goals. It's not just the service..... Naismith for example has 9 shots. 5 on target. 4 goals. We've scored 13 league goals. Only 2 teams have scored more. It's not as if we haven't been creating anything going forward...well until the last 2.5 games. Look at Costa (apologies to use him again! Just bare with me!). 19 shots. 16 on target. 9 goals. He's only had 4 shots more than Lukaku! Although Costas probably just going through a purple patch. You'll also probably say 'yeah well, Costas better, cost more, has better players around him etc etc'. Ok. Fair enough. Let's look at Berahino at WBA. 16 shots. 10 on target. 5 goals. I think the main point is, Lukaku is not being starved of service. He just isn't doing too well just now. Nobody expects him to do all the jobs of a winger, attacking mid and the chef. Just to be the striker we expect him to be. That's not being harsh or unrealistic or over critical. That's reality. Like jags, Distin, Stones, Howard, Baines, Barry, Mccarthy have all been criticised for not doing their role properly...so to is Lukaku. Why is that so hard for some of you to understand? If I don't do my job properly, my Area Manager tells me so. Isn't that real life? I'm sure he'll come good. We need him to. But at the moment, it's uncomfortable to say that many of Haf's points are starting to gain weight. And I don't like that.

Oh did you? Sorry. Read it back...the final third thing, that's why? Not convinced to be honest.

But why is he tired??? At the end of the day, at the moment he needs to up his game. No ifs, buts, excuses. We say he doesn't get the service, but so many times this season he has given the ball away in the final 3rd with players around him. This is reflected in him having one of the lowest pass success rates in the team. It is maybe a bit unfair to go too hard on him as the team is doing poorly. And possibly the expectation is higher due to his fee. I want him to come good. Really really do. He's going to have to go on a real shit hot streak to be our 20 goal a season striker this season.

I think it just shows that sometimes we see what we want to see. That's not aimed as a slant against you, but all of us really

81% pass success rate. The team had 84%. So he did ok. Lukaku was 71%. Just saying. Haha...Turning into a bash now!!!

But to be fair...you right off a fair few of our players! Laws of probability mean you are bound to get one right somewhere!!!

Hahaha...He is a dick for sure! But it helps him be a better player. The experience thing. Well, ok. In the first 5 minutes against Utd today, I remember thinking that Lukaku looked like a boss. Control was sound. But more importantly, he was using his size, body, strength. He had his arms out holding McNair. I thought 'this is it today'. But it was McNair who took the plaudits at the end for doing a number on Lukaku. McNair is 19 with only a handful of Premiership starts. So where does the line get drawn with this experience thing?

Again. Totally missing the point of why I used Costa. I'm not talking about the players around him. I'm talking about Costa, as a single player, not allowing defenders to bully him. To mark him out of a game. He is aggressive and in your face. This was in response to 'star players being targeted out of games'. I'm not talking about his talent, only his aggression towards defenders. I'm trying to type this for the 3rd time in hope that it makes sense? If you follow posts, one after one, including quotes, it makes more sense than taking a comment on its own????

Yeah, definitely. Martinez needs to play him in the middle with balls through to him. Sick of him being out wide just because he had a good game against Arsenal last season. He does need more support, he also needs to use that support properly. Too often he gives it away. And that's not prejudice, it's fact. Before the 'pro Lukaku' bandwagon starts flaming me...I have no favourites in this team. I take each game as it comes. And he isn't doing it for me right now, today. He has to take responsibility because it is affecting his performance.

And that's a fair point. But he ain't doing himself much justice with how he looks off the ball. We know strikers are fickle (more so than us lot!), a couple of goals and it will change him totally.

But it his fault that he is playing one dimensional. He needs to up his game. Be more aggressive. Want it more. Use his strength to his advantage. look at Diego Costa. All defenders know how good he is. They try to get into him...He doesn't take any shit, he gets stuck in. And if Rom isn't getting the service from his team mates that he needs, he needs to get stuck into them and start barking where and when he wants it.

No one else to put in though is there?! The problem with a pacey player is when they do go full on...no one can keep up! So there are no options other than to mess about with it. He hasn't been brilliant, no where near. I just like what his sort can bring to a team if used properly.

Exactly. I've just watched the game round at my wife's mums n dad's. With my 3 year old. Game finishes...carry the wee man home on my shoulders...he's nodded off on my knee. Cute. There's more to life...just got to put it in perspective.

You'll give yourself a hernia!

Although I think you have been over the top at times, I do agree with you here. He looks so heavy when 'closing' defenders down. He doesn't look like he is sprinting at them, or doing it with any real determination. It does look lazy. He has to do more. Regardless of age, fee, future potential...right now we need more from our No.1 striker. He didn't look confident today. He started off well but that didn't last long at all.

It's nitpicking if he is supposed to be at fault for anything today.

Can we be fair to Hibbert too. We all had misgivings about him. But that's 4 games in a row having not played for 2 years. And he hasn't really done much wrong. Ok, he's not as dynamic as Coleman but he has done no harm. Fair play to him.

He's a direct player playing in a non direct team. Bit of a mismatch. I like what he could bring, if used correctly. He should be allowed to run at players with the ball played in front of him, not tracking back to find it and then having to stop to play an inside pass. Same for Lukaku really...play to their strengths.

The real thing is where we finish after game 38.

Yeah. Exactly. It can only, and will, get better.

Oviedo. Nobody else stood out to me until he came on. He looked real good. Some very nice passes, skill, runs etc. I see Besic is running away with it. Suppose he did have a good one.

Much better in the 2nd half. That was much more like what we expect to see. But it adds to the frustration. We can do it, but we aren't just now. The first half was just drab. Thought Oviedo made a big difference when he came on. Gave us an extra option and wasted very little. Be great when he's in full swing. Osman looked good when he came on too! Fair play to him. And Browning looked good again. Marching down the right side, putting those crosses on. That's why he came on. Lukaku needs to step up. I'm not a Lukaku hater, but I am a fan who looks at our main striker and wants more from him. He needs to sharpen up. I'm not bothered about his fee, his age, his touch.. today, right now, the team needs more from him. Another game down. We need to find ourselves and quickly.