Niasse confident of finally making his Everton bow

Of course, it depends how Martinez utilises him. He could slot in very nicely on our left hand side, but it seems the manager prefers a more steady presence in that position these days.

The fifth player under 23 years of age to score 50 Premier League goals, after Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo...

The first Everton player to score in six consecutive Premier League matches...

The first to score in seven consecutive matches in all competitions since Bob Latchford...

The first Everton player since Dave Hickson to score in 8 consecutive games...

The striker with 20 goals in 32 games for us this season...

Oh, that overrated Belgian. Gotcha.

Mirallas may be over rated but he's not lazy.

He played well against City, in the cup at Goodison, but when Kone is not on the pitch, pushing up to help him, he just doesn't seem as effective.

He hasn't got the frame to keep making run after run, and he's still not always aggressive enough, so I just hope that this Niasse can be the answer, firstly for Lukaku, and more importantly the whole team.

Except for one thing: I do agree with him about in that he said he'd have paid £100m for Lukaku! And so wouldI!

As Andy (8) said earlier, he's the best we've had since Lineker, I'm simply baffled how anyone could think anything else. If there's one person who cannot be blamed for this seasons failure, it's Rom! Leave him out of it!

Please blame the clown instead!

Keep topping up that glass fella.

1st touch, heading, anticipation, shooting, freekicks... If you answer Yes to them then you are not watching the same games I am.

I hope this lad's now firing on cylinders though and wish him every success.

I also hope I never get to hear what his hammy's sound like.

ps: Just thought I'd join in the piss-take that is this thread!

Giving our best striker since Yakubu the impetus to improve and scale greater heights than he already has can only be a good thing. I will wait until he has played 20 or more games in England before I make any assessment.

Since joining Everton permanently, Lukaku's shot accuracy in the Premier League is 57.3%. That's higher than the following players in that time period: Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane, Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard, Saido Berahino, Wilfried Bony, Daniel Sturridge, Wayne Rooney and Christian Benteke.

I honestly think you're wrong in your assessment.

Yes it was one of those ridiculous games you get in a season when if you play till midnight you won't score but conceding just one against crap like Albion was hard to take in the end. Somehow I can't see how the new goalscorer will improve the defensive side of things.

Whilst the squad needs improving all round, from a goalscoring angle Everton are one of the best this season so Albion must have thought it was Christmas that they got a clean sheet.

Let's hope Niasse gets a game against Bournemouth and gives us something to shout about down there without the need for a replay.

How will we ever manage to hold onto him, teams must be lining up to take this genius.

Lukaku isn't the first player since Sharp to get 20 in a season, Yakubu got 21 in 07-08 season, Beardsley got 20 in 91-92 and Cottee got 24 in 90-91 (A lot in the Simod cup!).

Agree though Lukaku isn't lazy but it's clear he doesn't get into the right positions sometimes, he very rarely gets to the front post or as Deulofeu said earlier in the season on advice he had given to Lukaku "the first post" and doesn't get in the six yard box enough.

Whether anyone agrees or not, had Naismith played every game in his striking role, he would have been up there for goals. Naismith, when played in attack, knew where the ball was going and ran into the space in the box – not stood there with his hands on his hips.

As Brian Wilkinson says, Naismith had better awareness in the box and made runs which anticipated the arrival of the ball, whilst Rom tends to wait for the ball to come to him. Funes Mori has good predatory instincts at corners and Rom should actually take a look at how he consistently gets in there to win those headers – not exactly Rom's strongest attribute.

On the question of whether Rom is a good striker, the answer has to be yes, of course he is, but add the caveat, could he be an even better striker by adding one or two improvements to a couple of elements of his game and again the answer has to be yes. To be fair, he's young and has been left to plough a lone furrow at times by El Stupido, refusing to give him the support he needs up front. Kone is not and never will be the answer to that so let's hope Niasse is. (I knew I'd fit him in somewhere!)

Back to Funes Mori, I hope he gets the chance to add to his goal tally at Bournemouth. I just love the happiness of his goal celebrations and it's about time we had a defender who can get in the box and contribute a few goals per season.

He is clearly carrying a knock at the moment, and combine that also with a loss of confidence due to the team's inability to see games out I think it's taking its toll on him. Fact is, if you take away his goals, we are where Newcastle are.

I am dreaming of a starting line up with our new acquisition.

Robles;
Coleman, Jagielka, Funes Mori, Oviedo;
Barkley, Barry, Cleverley;
Lennon, Niasse;
Lukaku

If we don't win this one with the players we have available, I will spit the dummy.

Up the Blues.

Actually Charlie Chuck makes more logic than Bobby,

I fully expect Bobby to stick Howard in goal; if he doesn't, even he will find it hard to call Tim back for the Premier League game. Bobby will hope Tim plays well so he can keep him in the team; Kone will get game time, and Mirallas will probably be dishing out the oranges at half time again.

One of the perils of having a heavily pregnant wife.

Or am I being unreasonable here? So this bollocks about "well, he hasn't played since December" is a little tenuous and completely redundant... wrist injury or no wrist injury, he should be fit.

Did I hear this when BK gave RM the job?

Still, we can dream, but that's all it will be whilst RM is at the helm.

As Alan says, he shows no anticipation for a cross in the box and for me has scored a number of miss-hit tap-ins and pens. Yeah he's big and strong and fast off a rolling start but to say he's the best since Sharp only proves what a bad time we have had since then.

The way Everton play with constant ammunition for a big man, he should be on a lot more.

He is good, no doubt. But, he is a £28million striker with a valuation close to £50mill.

Knowing he is ambitious makes me think he wants to be a world-class striker like Suarez (work rate like no other striker) or Benzema (fantastic finisher that always positions himself right). Compared to those two he is at the moment nowhere near. He is more of a Benzema type, so his focus should be on positioning and movement off the ball + becoming ballsy enough in aerial challenges.

His movement in the box and control lets him down. At the moment, he is not mentally strong enough to power himself through in difficult circumstances.

He is still young, and will continue to learn, hopefully. So, yes he is great but he could be Benzema/Suarez great. Which means we need to expect even more from him. He should be a beacon in this side, at the moment he is just a very good goalscorer.

He's worn a brace on his wrist for months and played no problem – you can see it on all his YouTube footage.

Honestly, people need to realise what they have while it's here – we'll miss him when he's gone.

Lukaku has been both great and could do a whole lot better. His scoring record is the best Everton has seen in a long time but it could be even better!

His stats and goal record could be even better had Lukaku been in the right place at the right time and been on the end of some of Del's crosses.

Del should be one of the first names on the team sheet. I also think Mirallas is being massively overlooked this season and should have been heavily involved.

Robles
Coleman, Jagielka, Funes Mori, Oviedo
Barry, Cleverley,
Deulofeu, Barkley, Niasse,
Lukaku

Speaking to the media ahead of his side's trip to the Vitality stadium, Martinez said: "We want to make sure Oumar is fully fit and ready. He had a little surgery on his wrist and that area has been causing him a bit of a problem.

"He is getting physically stronger with every session and his positive attitude is contagious.

"The next 48 hours will give us the final answer on whether or not Oumar will be available. He still has an outside chance but, if not, I feel very confident he will be fit and ready to be involved for the next game against Aston Villa."

Source: Liverpool Echo.

It does seem odd they decided to operate on it now –why not operate on it when we signed him?

Oh, by the way, that's the same Lukaku who had a magnificent first half of the season but has scored only goal from open play since Christmas and looks like he can't be bothered since. Big money move to a European super power, anyone? Yawn, yawn, yawn...

Good to see a couple of people tried to grab something out of the flames for you, no more so than Paul (#38), with his £28m overpriced? Errr... no, Paul, it's not. Sadly, the amount of money in football these days buys you very little.

Sure, we can all point to the bargains: Stones, £3m... err, hang on... £1.25m, thanks, OFM. But most decent, consistent strikers, it is name your price time. If you don't believe me, just look at the money wasted on strikers: Falcao, Torres, Carroll... the list keeps going.

The fact that can't be escaped is that he is a goalscorer - after 30 years of watching other teams break the bank in order to get the best striking talent, we finally spend proper money on a goalscorer - not a post injury prone saha, not a debatably aged Yakubu, not a mid level level AJ or Beattie - we actually sign someone who has immense athletic attributes and an eye for goal.

The fact that is so loved despite doing a "pretty decent" job - is an indication of how deprived we have been and not neccesarily how good he is.

Does this mean that we are not to question his poor touch or the seemingly 5-6 games spells where he just can't be bothered? Or do people have selective memories that when the net ripples and Lukaku peels away the word "beast" comes out and any memory of him strolling around whilst Olssen mops up every ball just disappears from mind?

I'm sorry but apathy has ruined this club - if someone questions the workrate of a player who has a decent goal return then its not a crime... it may just indicate that the person looks at "performances" and not just blended statistics.

The lad could be one of the best in the world - he won't be though. He lacks the "continued desire" to be a winner in the way lesser athletically gifted players like Cahill, Naismith, Kane, Vardy are. Far too often we wait for a derby esque performance where he terrorised the Liverpool defence or a game where he looked amazing against Southampton and we see him turn up looking like he has been to an Emmanuel Adebuyor seminar on "how to pretend you are putting a shift in".

He will no doubt be sold for good money - his stats, age, and highlight reel are impressive. In the meantime Niasse may be able to light a fire under his backside and we see the player he can decide to be when he wants.

He has absolutely no excuse whatsoever for the number of times a ball has zipped across the 6 yard box and he has been stood still by the penalty spot.

I'm serious when I say he could have had an extra 10 goals this season. Deulofeu lost the plot the other week, 5 balls he put across that box - every fan in th ground knows where he is gonna hit it but Rom doesn't commit.

Against WBA he allowed their defence to win every lose ball. I can't believe tgat he hasn't had any of the coaching staff ripping into him for it.

Waits for a pass on a plate - he's conserving energy. We've had plenty of headless chickens chasing lost causes. Not everyone can play like Vardy.

No aggression winning headers - he's doing exactly what Drogba used to do. Avoids getting hurt or showing the defenders what he can do when going up for a hopeful long ball in the middle of the park and then steam rollers people out of the way when the header can be on goal.

I'd rather have Rom, saving energy and avoiding injury than Big Dunc killing himself to win every single hopeless long ball, only to get injured every other week. Carroll does the same as Dunc, wants to win every single header and be involved in everything only to end up consistently injured. Players have to pick their battles carefully. Barry does the same thing and is rarely injured.

Extra ten goals this season? Like he'd be at Everton if he'd scored an extra 10 goals this season.

Have you guys seen how many chances Giroud, Rooney and Aguero have missed this season as well? Rom's much younger than them and still learning his trade.

Christ, we have one of the most exciting young strikers in the world, who is improving every year and people on here still want to find a negative. Not even a negative actually, more like slander. Slandered with false accusations of being lazy, holding back and wanting to leave, by your own fans after being the best player we've seen at Goodison in years.

What has a player got to do to get the fans behind them at this club?

Remember players are human and inconsistent; like we all are no one pulls a blinder at work everyday. That is why stats help, they don't mean everything but they mean a lot. What is key thay are factual rather than opinions. if we went just on feelings then we would have 3 points from Saturday, because I felt we would be WBA. I felt we played better. But the stats say we lost. Guess they are wrong.

As for winning headers I see your point, he's hustling the defenders. What's the point in winning a header and directing if to deulofeu because by the time he gets the ball in the 6 yard box Rom will be getting his well earned rest about 25 yards from the goal mouth.

I mean you are right about rooney, aguero and giroud for the chances they missed, what they need to do is not get there to miss them. .. then they can't be blamed. Fair play Rom is ahead of the game.

I just hope Rom doesn't take us to court for slander, £75k a week can buy the best legal eagles, did he take his national manager to court for calling him a lamppost? He should do, he's broader than that, more like a telegraph pole.

Lukaku is the best striker I've seen at Everton since Lineker and whilst not quite as devastating a finisher or as fast over a couple of yards his strength is far better as is his heading which shows amazing neck strength that most strikers can only dream of. When we give him the service that he needs he is virtually unplayable and at such an early age for a striker.

For a fan to criticize a lad with such massive talent is only on a par with similar criticism of Ross Barkley, the only 2 lads at the club who we could virtually name our price for, the only special talent that we have and the 2 players we couldn't replace. I'm proud that these lads are at the club and pray that they stay; shame on our fans that call them lazy or lethargic. We're fans, they are top class International footballers,there's a reason for that.

I say bring Howard back quickly at least then the boo boys will have a sensible player to moan about.

If you'd like to argue that he has played well in the last few games I am perfectly willing to listen to your argument, but please don't imply something that I never said.

I would agree Lukaku certainly hasn't been as good in the last five games, anyone reasonably looking at it would have to agree. And I think you are always reasonable in your posting. No player is above criticism but sometimes a little perspective is required.

The guy deserves to be cut a little bit of slack, he has after all played more football than any other player this season including every single PL game as a lone striker. His record this season speaks for itself.

When you hear nonsense like Peter Barry calling him 'an idle bastard' or Alan Bodell calling him 'a lazy overrated Belgian' or the serial Lukaku hater Peter Roberts posting his usual shit.

"I just hope Rom doesn't take us to court for slander, 㿷k a week can buy the best legal eagles, did he take his national manager to court for calling him a lamppost? He should do, he's broader than that, more like a telegraph pole."

The answer is no of course!

You suspect there is something a bit more personal than just criticism of a players performances.

The difference, of course, is that Everton have paid good money for this guy rather than have him on trial/loan.

His record seems to indicate that he can play a bit and YouTube clips seem to support that. But I'm always suspicious of ex-Russian league players and their easy access to sick notes. There has been quite a few of them around the Prem.

I'm sure most would agree that a plan b is needed. Id like to see him work his arse off for an hour and subbed if he starts flagging rather than conserving energy as someone suggested! Made me laugh that one!

If you disagree with me, then that's okay too – it's opinions.

Deep sea fishermen and Oil riggers work a grinding 18 hours a day for far less and seem to be functioning just fine, the 22-year-old needs to eat more Shredded Wheat.

His inconsistency is not unique in strikers but but it's the stark contrast in that inconsistency that strikes me (no pun intended). It is pretty obvious in some games that he really couldn't give a shit and his effort is minimal. And then he pops up with a goal that you can only gasp at. His contribution to the team play is at best, poor and his first touch, as has been often stated on here, is bewilderingly lacking for a pro. And then... he scores one of those really special goals.

I guess I would say that Romelu Lukaku to me is the most confusing striker I have seen at Everton. We would have really struggled without him this season but I won't be that disappointed when he goes at the end of the season.