Manchester United confirm Lukaku bid has been accepted

And it looks like the Rooney gig is a "done deal" – loving all this!

That is some shout mate. Not saying that you are wrong and I never ever have a bet. But that really is a cracker. I'm almost tempted to risk a knicker! Think you get full credit there, mate.

Food for thought... assuming the wages on offer from them both are the same!!

I feel happy he is going and also sad. Happy for him because he is ambitions and even though he has dicked us around with contract and stuff we was always a stepping stone for him, and I get that we are not a top top team anymore.

To be classed as a top 3 super star player you need to be at a big club. He will be a superstar the minute he signs for United.

Wish him well; thanks for the goals, Rom.

Edit: Sorry, not BBC. It's from Sky's Kavel Solhekol.

I'm embarrassed to say he ever wore our shirt, let alone captained us.

We know he's going but let's unsettle both clubs as much as possible.

Just get all our deals done and leave both clubs fighting over him.

Lukaku already told us about that! Where does the smell of money and Premier League lead???

So it could be be Chelski, or Manure. And either will shower us with sweet, sweet dosh to buy new talent!

I just love (and pray for...) that last laugh in a couple of years!

The Rooney deal is a done deal, it seems. One top mobile striker to replace that lazy sod now, and this will have been the best transfer window I can remember. Aguero, Vardy or Dembele for me now please!

Employee sold at immense profit, position available.

I think that Manchester United would be paying the agent's fees. Good riddance to the lazy egotistical bastard.

That was "trolling"! Take it as a free lesson before you help that Nigerian Prince make you rich!

I don't see Chelsea being at the races now. This bid feels like too little, too late to me. More posturing than anything else.

Wherever he ends up, we should start practising "Romelu, Romelu, What's the score?" for when he plays us at Goodsion next season.

(Yes, I know it will be 2018-19 before we get the chance to play Bayern and PSG.)

For a guy that normally can't keep his mouth shut I haven't seen a word from him in recent days which leaves me to believe this has all been a plan from him and his agent to force Chelsea into making a move.

I could be totally wrong but if I had to bet on it, I think he is heading to the Bridge – either way, a bidding war is good for Everton

He's older slower, and shitter than he ever was... it's an ego trip for him and Kenwright, but why??

He's never gonna be anywhere near his best years. The best we can hope for is dickhead Bill's dream of him coming off the bench and scoring the winner against the Red Shite... then what??

It's not enough and it probably won't happen, so why??? What's the point? He's way way past his best, whatever he might think; he is truly finished... We don't need him.

Rom didn't want to be here unless on his terms and has consistently been a jackal in terms of PR and respect for the club. He is done and we move on.

Farewell Rom, not forgotten but never a genuine Goodison hero, as that is a two way journey and should be a life lesson.

Ramirez plus another, there's genuine hope this season.

The two things I remember about Phil are that tackle on Ronaldo and his abject display against Wigan in that cup match.

What he's done today should not be a surprise to any blue. Like Rooney he only has one true love – money. Er... sorry – that should read 'his hometown club'.

To my mind, Phil Neville conducted himself impeccably while at Everton despite his limitations.

I hate people disrepecting our club and things that Stuart Pearce and Rodney Marsh have said recently have really pissed me off, but let's not become the instantly offended. We're meant be a good-humoured happy old lot.

I know you didn't mean an actual lynching. 😂

Lukaku stays
Rooney takes pay cut to join boyhood club
Giroud staying with Arsenal
Sigurdsson signs for £40 million
Barkley leaves for £50 million
Robles made first choice 'keeper

This new jigsaw puzzle that Koeman is putting together better work or their will be some disgruntled ToffeeWebbers... too many happy ones on here of late – it doesn't seem right!

Clubs like Man Utd have a lot to answer for; if Chelsea are making a stand on the agent's cut, well, total respect!

Of course, we could reject both bids, but ultimately Lukaku will decide where he goes. It won't matter if Chelsea bid more if Rom has his mind made up on Man Utd. I don't think it's in anyone's interest for this to drag on and fully expect him to be gone early next week.

£75 million plus add-ons, plus Rooney seems fair to me.

Go and have a beer mate!

But Conte, another gypsy, raising a fuss because he didn't get what he wants at Chelsea, could see him get bounced. Fine by me.

Just means there are two bids that are "not accepted" surely.

And guess what! Mr Walsh has bags loads of them!!

SX

Given a cordial transfer relationship in the past with Man Utd you'd think Everton will be far more likely to sell to them.

Another day with Everton dominating the sports pages, this is what a good operator does.

With Jim White tweeting accurate and timely tweets, Alan Myers closely connected himself often backing it up, the non-Evertonians are getting a big dose of Toffee news.

I complained strongly about a poor inwardly looking shirt launch and a less than inspiring pre-season and stand by that.

But the last two weeks have done what the shirt launch and pre-season haven't; focussed the football world on Everton.

Fair doos to the strategy and professional way we have gone about the business.

Targets that are here and now, improvements to the first XI. Picking up decent talent to either make it into the first team or regularly generate profit player trading profit to the lower Premier League or Championship sides.

Pressure on Koeman to deliver.

Also the same agent who said that he would never have let him join Everton in the first place. Given the sums of money involved, I think Raiola is the one calling the shots, in spite of what lazy arse thinks.

On Phil Neville? All the outrage makes us seem small time. He was a Man Utd fan and player. He came here and did his best for us despite often being played out of position. He never dissed us and was just having a joke.

Many players play at several clubs but realistically have a greater affinity for one. Kanchelskis was here briefly but acts like he is Mr Toffee now. Fair enough, but do we say "what about Man Utd and Fiorentina you dirty rat?"

Howard Kendall put it nicely when he said Man City was a love affair, Everton was a marriage. I never saw that as a bash on City but rather an honest assessment of his feelings. Get over it, Neville bashers.

MATCH!?

Sorry, there's no matching.

Man United say '£75 million', next thing out of Chelsea's grid must be '£80 million!'

A response (to man Utd offering £75m) of "Yeah, same goes for us" is just annoying.

Matching is just fucking time-wasting.

A "No, I'm Spartacus" situation!

I think this warrants an investigation by the FA and the fact that the player is in breach of contract by not showing up for the club he is contracted to.

My God, doesn't modern football stink of corruption and bling-bling people?

I can't wait to see the back of this circus.

Another Everton first... :) Then again, the first public bidding war for a player in the media could be another!

For those who believe that he will improve with age, one of his main faults is laziness and lack of movement. How will this improve with age?

A few media quotes to confirm what my own eyes and brain record:

"His passing accuracy is far lower than the likes of Ibrahimovic, Aguero and Harry Kane. Indeed, no out-and-out striker in the Premier League lost possession more times than Lukaku last season."

"Lukaku's movement has also been criticised. It is a curious issue because he is a player with the pace to match the power but the statistics are startling. In the 2015-16 campaign, he ranked dead last of the 503 outfield players in the Premier League for distance covered per 90 minutes. He fared little better last term".

"Ibrahimovic's own mobility is not his greatest asset at the age of 35 but it is telling that even he covered more ground and made more high-intensity sprints than Lukaku".

Is everyone in football a Tory?

One day soon enough, someone like Facefuck or Twatter will step into one of these situations and join the bidding, simply for the kudos and online activity.

A long outdated and impotent concept, Don, where it matters. All facilitating the globalist ratchet whatever the colours.

You could tell in Everton's games that when passes were lobbed to Rom as the target man he always tried that half-assed header pass forwards that no one could get on the end of (usually because the accuracy was poor) when he should have been bringing it down and waiting on teammates to catch up.

I don't see Rom improving in this area unless he gets miraculous coaching at his new club. However, having watched Man Utd play last year, they absolutely need someone who can simply score goals from nothing – which we all know Rom can do.

I think Chelsea did shrewd business in matching Man Utd's offer just because they suspect Rom would rather play there, but I don't think it will pay off and they'll end up missing out.

Since I have less animosity/hatred towards Lukaku maybe than longtime Toffees I'll miss having Lukaku simply for his finishing abilities. I'm not convinced that Sandro, Rooney, and our youth players can fill Rom's shoes. I hope Everton still plan on making a move for Dembele or another potential starter to share time with Sandro.

Not showing up for pre-season training to force the issue.

The "Everton is not an option'" quote when still having over 2 years to go on his contract.

The Chelsea logo pitch 5 a side incident a few weeks back. Just whose chain was he pulling then? Ours? Chelsea's? Both?

The subsequent 5-a-side instagram post mocking everybody as this pitch had no logos, ''Are you all happy now?''

The bromance with Pogba. Hangin' in LA when he should be back at the Club paying his wages.

We might miss his goals, but I won't miss Romelu the person and this self obsessed circus he takes with him everywhere.

As recent stats have shown that he's not much of a team player, we might well benefit from a playing style that has more mobility. He's the heaviest player in the league too. I doubt he will last much beyond 30, especially if he picks up an injury or two. We may well have had his best years already.

Take the money and run. This could well be a blessing.

I've very little affinity for Lukaku; I don't like him and have little respect for him but I don't think he's being bought for his passing, possession or movement.

He's got one thing in his armory: goals; but I fear teams must play to his strengths to get there and albeit he will score at Chelsea or Man Utd, I don't think he'll be as successful.

This transfer has been in the offing for months, and it is possible that all of our transfer business thus far has been conducted safe in the knowledge that a £75+ million transfer for Lukaku was more than just on the cards, it was in the works.

I don't know how transfer fees break down, but it's also possible that the Chelsea bid – while matching the Man Utd one in total fee – is more attractive to Everton because it a) all the money up front (if the United fee isn't) or b) sees Everton banking more of the fee (if agent's fees are included in the total fee, and Chelsea are offering Raiola less).

As for the Phil Neville bashing, I think Steven Telford and others are being incredibly touchy. Maybe give him the benefit of the doubt? The outrage is very unbecoming.

hat is called a conflict of interest and Premier League rules do not allow it.

All I really care about is who we get after this one. I hope we make a inquiry for Morata at least. Level headed guy with a stellar 2 years at Juve.

Has the self obsessed one got the mentality to survive what is possibly coming his way.

Better still the match is rearranged to a night fixture.

Man Utd certainly isn't there this season and there is no guarantee that they will be there next year – any more than Everton at this point.

Perhaps Chelsea's bid hinged on this entirely. If Lukaku trukly wanted to leave just for a Champions League team, he would definitely choose Chelsea.

There is an inherent conflict of interest in the role of the agent even if they are just paid by their own client. Because they are "advising" their client on career moves when the agent gets paid depending on the move. They are incentivised to promote transfers of their clients. Why anyone would listen to such an adviser I do not know.

Meanwhile, the Premier League rule that you cannot talk to a player without permission of his current club seems ludicrous to me and I can see why it is routinely ignored, or ignored by simply talking to the player's agent. In any other field of business, if you want to hire someone you talk to them in private. The last thing you do is alert their current employer!

Man Utd are in fact in the Champions League this coming season and will fully expect to be there going forward.

The quote was (very quietly): "That's not really an option, I think."

He didn't stay in LA to force any issue... he doesn't have to. He stayed in LA because what he thought was his about-to-be new team opens preseason there on Sunday. Probably figured the deal would be done by then.

And the five-a-side thing is just bullshit... he was playing at a complex of 5-a-side pitches in LA (I've been there) and that particular one just happens to be sponsored by Adidas, which also sponsors Chelsea and put up the stickers years ago. When he played on the next-over (unsponsored) pitch two days later, I think he had every right to troll the fake controversy.

Want to feel outraged/disrespected/happy he's gone? Be my guest. But geez, man, quit shoveling already.

They are surely trying it on here. If Rom's reputed love for Chelsea is so strong, blah, unfinished business, blah, then he will let Raiola starve and choose the Pensioners.

Gives credence to the chat Rom wanted Chelsea, Riaola wanted United. Perhaps we now know why...

Good luck to him. He signed for us, scored a shed load of goals and made us a massive profit.

I think he has been honest about what he wants from the day he signed. He wants to be the best and we are getting better quickly but we are miles off being the best.

I also think that, at the money they are talking, whoever signs him is getting a bargain. With the stupid money going round at the moment I'm sure he will turn out to be good business.

For the number of goals he scored, we actually didn't create that many chances for him. In a team that creates chances, he will score a silly amount of goals.

Did he wear the Blue shirt with pride when he was here? Yes. Did he give every ounce of his energy to our cause? Yes. Did he put his foot in against United? Yes – ask Ronaldo. As long as you do that, you deserve respect.

Which is possibly more than you can say for Lukaku, and exactly why he is going to get a more mixed reception next time he visits Goodison whichever shirt he's playing in.

Personally, I think he stayed one year longer than I ever expected him to, was our best goalscorer in a generation, and will leave for a fee not far shy of the world record. No complaints from me.

Phil Neville gave his all for us when he was here, and even his Instagram said "left one great club and joined another" – give him a break!!!

He does have respect for Everton, certainly more than Lukaku.

If I was Moshiri, I'd have him back from USA and training with the reserve squad until Everton are happy that the best deal is done for our club, not the one that suits him.

If he doesn't like it, don't sell him until next year!

£35m in 12 months for doing what exactly?

Surely something needs to be done, this is cash going out of the game that could be funding grassroots footy somewhere in the UK. Unbelievable.

His latest example of disrespect to his employers, us, has shown yet again what an immature and self obsessed piece of crap he really is.

If he had a shred of honour and decency in him, he would have returned, as it seems Koeman expected, for pre-season training and started getting himself fit for the coming season whoever he ends up playing for. No wonder the stats prove him to be the least mobile striker in the business.

Also, by failing to return to Everton prior to any transfer taking place, he is effectively sticking two fingers up at his team mates at Everton. If he signs for Utd as expected while holidaying in the USA, It's obvious there will be no handshakes all round or goodbyes to those he's shared a dressing room for over three years.

What a slap in the face for the men who have provided him with the ammunition on which to build his reputation. I hope Ross Barkley sees what a dickhead his big pal really is and that he can see exactly what Lukaku really thinks of him and his team mates, i.e. not much it would appear.

Also totally agree with Jay Harris #63. If Everton did not give Man Utd or anyone else permission to speak to Lukaku, then it really is time the Premier League stepped in to sort out obvious cases of poaching or tapping up of players. Talking to the player's agent should be classed as having the same result as speaking to the player and shouldn't provide a get out route for the club doing the illegal tapping up, in this case Man Utd. If nothing is done to prevent such activity it makes a further mockery of their own rules and regulations.

I hope this sorry, sordid transfer is quickly concluded and that Lukaku enjoys playing for a manager who will ruthlessly drop him when it appears he can't actually keep up with the pace of some of the high intensity games he's going to be called on to perform in. The stats don't lie in this case.

If he's the least mobile striker in the league, covering the least ground of any player in his position, I can see him being quickly found out when the going gets tough. The pressure to succeed at Man Utd will be like nothing he's experienced before. Only time will tell if he is man enough to handle it.

With his over-inflated ego and belief that he's already the best ("What can I learn from Harry Kane?"), I honestly can see his bubble being burst a lot sooner than some might believe. If it does, I for one won't be shedding a single tear for the Belgian Blunderbuss.

Go away, Lukaku the Egoman, and take your attitude and your dismissive disrespect with you. We'll see you when we pass you on our way up the league.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40526177

Like many, Rom has annoyed me with his quotes but, in a more dynamic team, his pass stats etc will go up so those on here saying he is shit and a waste of money are deluded.

He is a goal machine who rarely misses a match through injury and we will miss that.

I want to hear more on whose coming to the club.

Rooney, if he comes, is a huge step backwards. Statement of intent, Man Utd rejects, relegated keeper, bottom-half centre-back. Impressive, and all done at top speed...

Time will tell, but I fear massive disappointment.

Don't forget that Everton have known we're going to sell Rom for at least a year – so there was no point in denying Man Utd the right to talk to him (Raiola) once the bid came in. It was obvious that Man Utd would come back with a bid that we'd accept in the end so imagine if we went through this current circus and then still had to wait a week for them to agree how much he was going to get paid and how much Raiola was going to suck out of the deal.

Where Liverpool went wrong was making an unwelcome offer and assuming that gave them the right to talk to Van Dijk anyway. Trying to act like a big club but being shown up for what they really are.

Also – I agree with the comments that we should give Neville a bit of a break and that Rooney will be a real bonus for the dressing room – if not the pitch – for 40 matches this season.

In fact, rather than him dissing Everton, I suspect Everton are pleased with him being over there for this reason. Smart. Typical Everton this.

I was against taking him back if it meant we were paying out money just to reduce the Manc debt. That's not the case; now we are getting a still very good player for free without fucking our wage structure. Any other team in the Premier League would cut their balls off for that deal.

I would think you are one of the still bitter Wayne haters because the lad wanted to better himself and, looking at his medal collection, I would say he achieved it.

Welcome Home, Wayne.

Is it right this time?

Bottom line – whatever the knobhead wants, Everton hold the strings and I just hope they hold out to screw everyone for the best possible price tag.

Surely, if he's broken his contract with us by staying in LA, we should be stopping his wages while this gets sorted?

However, he was supposed to be back at training and he decided to go and play with his Man Utd buddy in the USA. Did you ever hear such shite?

And while I'm at it, is Barkley back at training or where does he go to play on his holidays?

Rooney should be signed on a pay as you play contract. Let's pre-empt his bleeding heart story by testing it before he arrives.

I feel a bit better now.

I think I will miss his goals more than the person to be honest. It's not like he's blue blooded like Baines!

Now we need to bring in Rooney, Sigurdsson and anybody else that improves us.

Now fuck off out of our great club and take the Lukaku circus with you. I will look forward to seeing you fall flat on your over-priced arse in the coming months whilst enjoying all the tweets from Man Utd fans on how useless you are, what a lazy twat you are, how you can't control a ball, and what a waste of money you were.

Let's get Sigurdsson and Rooney in, then a class striker, please, and I'd be very very happy with this window.

As much as I admire Lukaku as a player, I'm sick and tired of this 21st century, social media driven, instagramed to death, bling laden, hip-hop inspired Bromance between him and his 'best mate', Pogba.

He keeps on moaning about wanting to win trophies. He is unlikely to have a better chance than then and yet fluffed it. Goalscoring is his primary responsibility and he didn't.

Same thing goes for the league. Score a couple more times when it counts and against the top six and you take points off them as well. Win both games against Liverpool and they'd be on 70 pts, we'd be on 67 pts.

Bottom line for me is that he doesn't score when it counts.

Then we'll be sorted in the transfer market bar any last minute gems and of course the ongoing Barkley decision dithering.

Onto Lukaku, has there ever been a player who has divided Evertonians? scores goals for fun, and yet there are still huge question marks. For me it was ironically the Man Utd game at Old Trafford. We were under the cosh as we were defending a 1 goal lead, every ball up to Lukaku came right back, which led to the Williams/Lukaku spat, when Williams rightly complained about his total lack of holdup play.

BTW,I'm listening to Sky Sports News and according to them, it was his agent who pushed him toward Man Utd. because amongst other things, the Mancs were prepared to give the agent more money! If I was a multi-billionaire, I wouldn't put a penny piece into football; the thought of giving money to those leeches would turn my stomach.

Now he's going we can get on with rebuilding our team and squad.

Who we buying today then?

COYB

But we are on the rise. I would like to see the money used in part on someone special. Everyone we've brought so far has been good but not next level. I'd like us to bring in someone with that little bit extra.

Top player though I will not join the chorus of condemnation on his character. I don't know him.

I hope he makes a statement a la Cleverley thanking the club. Everton deserve that. He is a professional who has given his all. Not a Baines etc, no. I have thought some of his media statements misjudged, but overall he has my respect.

Good luck, Romelu. Most importantly, I feel we are in a position to progress now without him.

Link

Talking to a former south London scout this morning who told me to keep an eye on Lookman – he said £10m for him is well justified. I kind of forgot we'd bought him!

Can we have a thread about Barkley achieving his potential now please ? Not been one for ages!

Let's splash out on the best forward we can get our hands on now, add a couple more other players and move on!

Riola pocketed £46m from the Pogba deal. And he did act for Juventus and for Pogba. Which is why the deal is being investigated by FIFA.

He also acted in two more signings United made last summer and cleared over £50m in fees from them alone.

Is it any wonder Rom went there? Next summer he'll be sending some other big name their way for pocketing another fortune.

The guy is the worst kind. Read up on him. He wasn't even a certified agent. There's a lot of murky stuff about him.

Now, Rooney comes in, and we use the rest of the cash on Demberle, Sigurdsson and Virgil Van Dijk, then sit back and watch the rest of the transfer window, and in particular our friends across the park, squirm.

I hope all this talk of Giroud is groundless and we go for Aguero and Dolberg as we have endured decades of decline and such opportunities for massive progress have not been available.

And we're getting £90m for Lukaku. Including the add-ons.

That's one hell of a summer of dealing!

So let's go out and spend some more!

Onwards and upwards.

Glad he's away... his goals can be replaced by the new frontline. I'm genuinely excited about who might yet come in.

Van Dijk and a big-money striker..

Truly exciting for all Evertonians, and maybe a sign of what is to come.

If we get Van Dijk, it will be worth what we spend on him just to watch the kopite meltdown.

I would like to see Anthony Martial coming as well though as Man Utd don't seem to want him. Would fill in the problem left sided attacking berth & is able to play as a lone striker as well.

If we can sign a creative mid and another striker (not Rooney), I think we'd have a hell of a team. Will have also cleared out a lot of the dross left from the Moyes and Martinez years.

Although the likes of Niasse, Besic and McCarthy are still on the books.

We bought Inchy for £750,000 and he was way better than Lukaku could ever dream to be.

Lukaku has struggled to score against the top sides, baring in mind the tough start we have, we could actually pick up points in those opening games, so all in all looks an interesting start to the season.

Say what you like about Rooney, for once we will have a player who will not roll over and have his belly tickled by our neighbours across the park.

I wonder what will happen with Niasse – I've not spotted him in any of the "back to training" pics published this week – maybe he's been air-brushed out?

I would have liked to have seen Giroud replace him but he has already said he wants to stay at Arsenal, and they are not going to allow Giroud and Sanchez go and only bring in Lacazette, as that wouldn't add up.

For me, I would have loved to have seen Iheanacho & Dembele come in for Lukaku, with Rooney and / or Sandro sat just behind them. But gutted Leicester are getting Iheanacho as he is going to be world class in 2-3 years. 😕

He scored lots of goals of all types yet vital goals always seemed to elude him. I am not a stats person but I wonder if any ToffeeWeber has any to show this trait.

I wonder how we would have viewed his time here had he managed to bag a few vital winners non more so than the winner at Anfield as well as spurning those chances in the semi.

Maybe its not how many you score but rather the quality and importance of goals that win matches. Anyway, Rom or no Rom, we are on the up.

UP THE BLUES

I must admit most TWebbers are being quite mature about the whole thing; Played for us for 3 seasons, paid a heap of money, and got a heap more when we sold him, let's hope he makes a classy exit, doesn't diss the club, and he gets a decent reception when he comes to the Old Lady.

Let's hope that we're above them in the table, and Keane puts him in his back pocket all game.

Glad to see the back of him as I thought he was a complete over-rated tool.

Next season, it can be all about players that are happy to wear the badge.

Wonder how long it'll take him to get trimmed down to optimum operating weight??

Giroud
Iheanacho
Dembele
Mertens

I would be delighted

But the club's in a better place these days, I think it's a good piece of business. Onward and upward.

Sold for crazy money. Great business. He'll get a decent reception when he first plays against us at Goodison Park.

Now spend the money wisely. Koeman, Walsh and Bill have done great business so far this window.

Now let's get out and spend on Giroud and Sigurdsson. Some really good youngsters on board now too. Gray to add to that I hope.

Oh, and let Ross go too – or will he eat a huge slice of humble pie now he sees we are really on the move. COYB !!!

I was hoping for maybe Giroud with Sandro and Iheanacho/Dembele either side.

All the over the top handshakes and dancing round and generally acting like a real dick?

Oops, my mistake!

Unlike somebody else who seems to live his life through Instagram, Twatter, or whatever these annoying things are called.

For someone who appeared to be using us as a stepping stone, 4 years has been a long step... but long enough. Good luck to him.

Lukaku wanted to return to Chelsea not that long ago, plus they've won the league twice in 3 years, whereas Man Utd have been miles off, plus Mourinho sacked Lukaku off last time they worked together.

Good luck to him. Ambitious, intelligent guy, who seriously knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. At a team that have more dangerous and creative players making space, he could get bags of goals. Not certain that team will be United under Mourinho though, they really struggled to create chances last season.

Good luck to him anyway and thanks for the goals.

If he had the chance, he would have sailed away from the Titanic on his own.

He was promised Champions League football if he came here to play under Martinez and we have never delivered our side of the bargain. He was promised big signings if he stayed one more year and again we didn't deliver.

Shame he's leaving now as we're finally in a position to deliver those things.

He's not an Everton fan, he's a highly rated, prolific goalscoring young footballer. If your son was in the same position playing for a club abroad, you'd tell them to go play for the team in the country that will give you the best chance of winning something and will pay you the most money.

We're making a fortune from being a stepping stone to him. No sour grapes from me. £140m for him and Stones and hopefully we'll use that money to buy a whole new starting lineup.

Happy days.

Ross to Utd .... You mean Sheffield Utd?

"We asked for £100m and we got it. Great work blues!"

We haven't got £100M, we have £75M. It's crap work from the blues, should have demanded way more. If they said no... 'no sale'!

'The most poisonous Everton player I can ever remember' – are you for real? Get a grip.

The lad's done nothing wrong at all. He wants to move because Man Utd are a bigger club and he'll become a global star. We're some way behind them – you have to agree with that!

I wonder how many goals we have conceded over the last few years because of his inability to hold the ball up and lack of closing down opposing defenders. Something stats can't show!

Watch this space for no high profile replacements for the big Sulk. Well many so called ex player experts seem to think Rom is not the man for the red devils.

Only time will tell... Oh and by the way if Rom was as a lot of you put it a intelligent guy, he would be leaving Everton with everyones blessing and some tears. Where is the intelligence in winding up your own fans. Glad to see the back of him

One more point, Koeman was a top defender and will have Rom"s cards marked on how to deal with him when we play united.

Fantastic deal, Everton. Just fantastic.

We continue to be Man Utd's bitch.

The bores go on about Lukaku showing 'disrespect' to this club, then get all giddy about that twat Rooney coming back, and he spent majority of his Man Utd career showing disrespect to this club and kissing his United badge at us any chance he got.

I can't wait to have the prima-dona gone from our club. And I hope we replace him wisely!

We haven't finished our transfer business yet, have we??

You sound like a woman looking for negatives!

Lukaku was never staying he made that clear from day one, we've trebled what we paid and there is load's of time left to spend the money on replacement's!

Get a grip! We're not mixing with elite yet but going in the right direction with Koeman and Moshiri at the helm!

"The proofs in the pudding"

Pudding is one of the more polite things I've heard him called but lucky for us.

It's a very expensive pudding in my opinion... and will likely leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Man Utd fans!

What are we going to argue and bicker about now, every time an international break comes around?

As a mere fan, I'm quite content and will be delighted once the money is reinvested into a team player or players.

You sure they are the same people bro? I for one am giddy about Lukuku leaving and can bore you on why I'm not keen on Rooney returning, if that counts.

We also got rid of our only goal scorer. Who not many really took too. I'm actually glad he's gone and we can now look forward to getting in another striker or two. Hopefully the new one will have a better attitude. As it stands, we have a much improved squad and first 11 from last season.. we've added, well we all know what we've added.

Rooney aside we have added younger, hungrier players all on the up and up right through the spine of the team. As I have previously stated, the last time we sold our top striker to Man Utd we went on to finish in a champions league place.

We need a focal point like a Giroud or Morata, and a top winger too if we loan out Mirallas. Everton are on the up and up...

All this in an Everton shirt, which I honestly believe he has a great deal of pride in wearing. He could also be very influential for Barkley and many of the younger players. The dressing room presence should not be under-estimated.

The incident of Rom being arrested in Beverly hills for disturbing the peace, after SEVERAL warnings, exemplifies the selfish, egotistical nature that we all fondly know and love. BUT, lets put Rom behind us now and move on into these very exciting times ahead. I can't recall being this excited about a new season.

Hope we get a few more in now with the cash. I suspect that we will but, as always, time will tell.

Missed a chance there, Everton!

I'm gonna put a tenner we beat Man Utd 4-0 at home next season.

Well, he will be if he volleys the winner at Anfield next season!

Once a Blue, Always a Blue.

Have a read of Ibrahimovic's autobiography mate. Great read, one you just can't put down and tells you all you need to know about how Riola operates. Donnarumma will be his next big paycheck.

As for Rom, loved his goals but haven't the person. All this social media stuff with Pogba is just pathetic.

With Lukaku gone, have we strengthened up front? Will Sandro and Wayne replace his goals?

Great to see him coming home.

COYB

Ah...Sorry Col, got it: VVD.

Personally, if he doesn't get off to a flyer, it could all go downhill rather quickly. They are already pointing out his poor running / sprinting stat's in comparison to other strikers (dead last).

You have to make up for what is perceived as a lack of effort with some very skilful and mesmerising performances, or important goals in big games. Could turn nasty for the big lad.

Anyway – I agree if we can get him. I do like Funes Mori though, but if he's off, good luck to him.

Money means fuck all if we do not have a goal scoring threat, especially as we have a tough start.

Lukaku the man might not be fondly remembered but I hope we will not regret the absence of his goals.

What good business on the part of Everton. Lukaku exhibited a real lack of class as person. Hope he gets all he deserves as a footballer

think midfielders like Klaassen will be chipping in more, but it doesn't mean you no longer need a 20+ goals a season striker like Aguero, Kane, Sanchez, Costa.

Replacing Lukaku with Sandro feels like a huge step backwards. Let's hope he was brought in as a second striker with growth potential, and we are going to go for somebody proven who can help us push for top four. But not a whisper about us signing any strikers yet...

Benteke anyone?

Fake outrage from Koeman when Lukaku doesn't turn up for training in the first day of pre-season. And all the while Lukaku is partying in LA with his new buddy, waiting for the rest of his new team mates to arrive.

Be interesting to see how much we spend from now on because all of our players signed thus far have been bought knowing Lukaku is paying for them all.

Also, how many new players can the team take? We don't want to end up like Spurs after they sold Bale.

I'd be over the moon with two more top drawer players, one of which should be a striker.

Quality, not quantity.

I can't see Liverpool, Chelsea or Man Utd doing something similar. I can only suspect that we had agreed to selling him if a buy-out clause was reached.

He will surely score plenty of goals for them, just as he has for us. Whether that makes him worth so much money is another matter.

Rooney in on a free and a world record fee is outstanding business. I think we'll still go for another striker, be it Giroud or Dembele as Rooney and Sandro are not really out and out frontmen.

We must have had a budget to begin with so I can see at least three major signings coming in. If we managed to pull off Van Dijk, Sigurdsson and Dembele or Giroud or a similar three, then none of us will be looking back at Lukaku's departure with regret.

I suggest this is typical of the mindset of fans so used to mediocrity and so clueless as to the ambition or recognition of what type of money and players it takes to actually win in this or any top league, that they are happy that a supposed local lad is coming home. I can only hope Moshiri and Walsh don't listen to the fans.

FFS, one poster on here ignored the truth about Champions League to make his snide comment about Lukaku. Facts? Who needs em?

Why can't people be honest about Rooney? One poster couldn't even state his actual age. He, in his list of former era strikers for Everton, mentioned an 18-year-old Rooney now 13 years later. What?

That is the problem. Too many of the Rooney sycophants seem to be stuck on the Rooney image they had for a brief time and cannot see the wreck that he is now. FFS some on here seem to put him in the same category as actual Everton legends. How is that possible when he played so few games for us?

I don't dislike Rooney, he has born the brunt of England fans' suppressed desires and frustrations for a winning team on his hair implanted head and shoulders for years. I just do not think he is a step forward and he would be an obstacle to us signing players we need.

He is not coming on a free because he possesses anywhere near the ability to be a starter on any top four club. So Everton brings in a nearly 32-years-old player whose production over the last 4 seasons show a decline, while offloading a player whose stats over the same period indicate a player on the rise. This plus a bunch of unproven players and some not yet signed players are going to get us to the top four?

BTW, the wish list of Sigurdsson, Giroud, Aguero, etc is just that at this point. Everton have no day-in and day-out proven striker now. I know the window is open but there are no guarantees.

Also now that it is clear to other teams that Everton have a need for a striker and money, care to guess how much a striker with 75% to 80% of Rom's production is going to cost? Guess about £75 million.

Oh well, if he runs around like a headless chicken and kisses the badge, and applauds Ross Barkley's idiotic runs, inability to make a penetrating pass, unforced turnovers, and upper deck shots, then he is a true Blue.

(In my view £90m is not an inflated price either. He is world class.)

Then you have Zlatan Ibrahimovic who is 36 years old in 3 months time. And Zlatan has had a series of injuries in his career, then came to Manchester United and scored 22 goals, 8 assists in 42 Games. Not bad for 35 is it?

I know Rooney has played from a very young age and had some long seasons, but so has Zlatan who is 4-5 years older. As long as he keeps fit, which he will be once the season starts, he will be a stunning addition.

Come on, Rooney, get yourself home and do all you can to win us a trophy.

Dan, (#240)..unless it all goes tits-up, we'll be needing more capable players for the extra games.

I don't think fans are wildly celebrating at Rooney's return but trying to stay positive in what has been a very positive summer for our club. We've been in the headlines daily with new signings.

I think the poster that stated Man Utd aren't in the Champions League probably honestly didn't think they were, which isn't obvious from their Premier League position.

Rooney for Lukaku isn't a step forward but, in the grand scheme of this summer and doubling our money on a player that doesn't want to play for us anymore, it's not bad.

And now? "I suggest this is typical of the mindset of fans so used to mediocrity and so clueless as to the ambition or recognition of what type of money and players it takes to actually win in this or any top league."

Sure there must be continuity of thought somewhere, Jim!

Like your early June mindset better.

Everyone agreed we relied on Lukaku's goals too much.

Well, in the future, we won't.

Personally, I found him frustrating in his footballing limitations which don't need to be re-hashed and his iterations while on international duty but can't fault his overall professionalism and ambition. Good timing. Can't see him being world beater. Expect over 15 goals for Man Utd a passing off our frustrations to them in short order.

Also feeling cautiously optimistic regarding Rooney despite his age and wage bill. The question to be answered is whether he adds something in terms of attacking guile to last season. Difficult to answer as the terrain has already shifted with additions but I'd take his attitude and drive over everyone in our front line last season aside from Davies. A season-long deal with option to extend seems reasonable.

The important thing IMO at this juncture is to ensure the front line is strengthened with the Lukaku funds and that might not prove so easy.

Fantastic window thus far and hopefully just the beginning.

1st. He called the Club out on the lack of transfer effort in the anuary window.

2nd. He has (or is in the process of) a root-and-branch overhaul of the squad, all done whilst getting us back into Europe (just).

3rd. He has played Romelu like a violin, pushing his market value whilst simultaneously living with his lack of contribution to a 'pressing' philosophy way of playing.

4th. He has instilled a sense of respect and discipline within the Club which was lost by Martinez.

5th. He has room to manoeuver with the sale of Ross; he can stay or go.

Personally, I think Koeman wants Ross to stay as one of an attacking – pressing from the front of two, three or four, depending upon the game, from: Lookman, Rooney, Barkley, Sandro, Mirallas, Bolasie and Calvert-Lewin as strikers in the next season, depending upon the games and the fitness factors. With Schneiderlin, Gueye, Klaassen, Sigurdsson? Barry (part time), Davies with youngsters having an opportunity every now and then. Virgil van Dijk? Could be icing on the cake.

That squad, including Baines, Kenny, Keane, Williams, Jagialka, Coleman, Holgate, Pickford and Stekelenburg, with possibly Onyekuru at Christmas, would get in the into the top 4.

The people who are running the club have said earlier this year they would have Rooney back when asked. So maybe, just maybe, they have some sort of plan.

When they made these statements, it wasn't in the context of replacing Lukaku, and I don't think that is how it should be viewed now. Look at it when all the buying and selling is finished and see how it looks then.

I suspect more signings are coming, in and out. Most interesting summer I can remember. All hail Everton!

Let's not forget he scored goals for us and became our leading Premier League scorer, but take away his goals this season and we still finish 7th... Enough said!!!

Is there room for improvement in him?? Of course there is but he wants no competition, he wants to be the main man without having to work hard for it, so he will never improve; that in itself is a bad recipe in any walk of life, but that is now Man Utd's problem and personally, they will not make top four.

But, as for Toffees, a few more signings and improve our away form and we are bang right there all day long. We have competition for places which we have never had.

People constantly talking about a lack of loyalty; Rooney could easily have taken huge amounts of money to play in China, but he's taking a massive wage cut to play for us. I think he'll give it his absolute all every game he plays.

Forget the past, he's one of our own and I can't wait to sing his name again.

Well I'm looking forward to that too, so you're not alone.

Having said that I was against him re-signing, believing we should be targeting 22-26 year olds.

As I said in an earlier post though I trust the management team. I'll cheer as loud as the next blue in the Top Balcony when Rooney scores.

Once that was agreed it matters not what was in the previous (written) contract. And to add, he did say a short while ago that he knew where he would be playing next season and it wasn't Everton, with no response from the club.

Nobody can dispute Wayne's quality – just as Man Utd did with Zlatan last season and look what they got out of him.

So now the question should be: Who are the strikers that the club is going to sign? – because, right now, we are dreadfully short in attack.

You should have never cut your hair.

Consider: 15 points is a lot to make up and all the teams above us will have strengthened as well.

Also, a side with so many new elements will likely take a while to "bed in" and get comfortable playing together, and we don't have a while – our early schedule is brutal.

After opening with Stoke, we have Man City away, Chelsea away, Spurs at home and Man Utd away. We could easily have only 3-4 points after five games and be looking up from the relegation zone. That's a deep hole to dig out of and still reach 4th.

So I don't expect it this season.

I agree. Top 4 is a stretch and probably won't happen. I say probably because of Leicester City... you never know.

We're a better team presently. But top 4 I believe is harder now more than ever. It'll take something truly special to crack that in the upcoming season.

An aside... I just noticed another article about the NBC Sports ET. Are we losing "those" channels (491-495) on DirecTV? Or is the $50 ONLY for the streaming on computers and mobile devices?

I'm hoping we keep the DTv 491-495 and I can just record games if need be. Prepared to shell out $50 – but wouldn't pay for streaming only on phone, iPad, or computer.

Do you know if we would still get the DTv channels?

The badge kissing is a little less easier to understand. I expect he wanted to hurt us as much as he was hurting himself. Nothing like being spurned by those who are meant to care for you the most – fans & players alike.

Rooney didn't really have that option at the time so he did what they would have done to him had the roles been reversed. He was seen as some sort of "Judas" for doing what the people who launched those tirades knew they would never be able to do in their lives, and they hated him for it.

Hated him for putting his life and his family's before theirs.

If only that could happen!!

There was a lad c.10 years old to the left of me who spent the majority of the game stood on his seat shouting things at Rooney on corners about his mother that turned me cold. Rooney had had an hour of abuse and it was his way of saying 'fuck you', and given the reaction it worked, and worked probably better than he expected.

In hindsight he'd probably take it back but all he was doing was sticking up for himself at the end of the day.

He did take it back or at least admitted it was an error of judgement and something he regretted. I wonder how many of those on the other side of the fence can say that?

Broke my heart the day he left but we were a mess. But I do have to say I didn't want to re-sign him, but purely on a football basis.

Having him back seems almost surreal - seeing 'Rooney Returns To Everton For Free' etc. are headlines I never thought I'd see, or want, but strangely my overall feeling is I'm glad he's back. I think it'll be a good thing and I bet he can't believe it any more than many of us can.

Here is an Engadget article highlighting why it is terrible.

I've been critical of selling the family silver, but the above has worked out well financially, and gave us some great performances on the pitch when we didn't have two bob to rub together.

We'll actually buy the Extra Time and forgo the NFL ticket if that's the case. I can catch any NFL game while I'm out. 50% of the Everton games are on that ET package of channels.

And the Wife supports Burnley! She'd never see a game!

People saying he's taking a pay cut to come to us, shows he's a true blue. From what is being reported, he's getting the rest of this years wages paid by Man utd as a golden handshake. So he's not out of pocket

Can he come in and do a job? Possibly. I'm just going to be gutted when I cheer him scoring. I will support the team, no matter what, and I have to trust the management team. I just don't want to give him the chance to return.

Having recently read a revealing book on the 'super-agent' Jorge Mendes, nothing surprises me as far as that kind goes.

Would I take the money or be like Leon Osman, hardly a poor person? I know what I would think.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40545516

Genuinely enjoyed having you on board but now a new and exciting chapter begins.

Just hope that Man Utd don't back out of the deal now he has shown them his true colours already.

Also was it just me or did Lukaku look pretty tubby when the photos of him training with Pogba where shown in the papers.

"Romelu Lukaku was given a citation by police in Los Angeles after failing to heed repeated warnings over noise from a party last Sunday.

Sgt. Jay Kim says Lukaku was not handcuffed or booked on July 2 for the misdemeanour of excessive noise, and the Belgium international is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on Oct. 2."

Partying too loud on a Sunday afternoon. Whoa, the humiliation is almost unbearable, eh?

And BTW he doesn't really have to appear in court... just send in a check for the citation.

Surely you're not daft enough to think I meant it, or are you?

I can imagine him: "Yes, officer, I'll keep the noise down."

Then, when the officer hops back in his car and drives away, he reaches for the remote and whacks it back up again, like he's untouchable.

Golden rule: if you have to point out a joke is a joke with a little smiley face, it's probably not a very good joke.

It also conveys the "sentiment" intended in absence of the spoken word.

Golden rule: Don't debate with thick people. Doh!

ps: I think we will finish higher than Man Utd next season. 😜

Didn't realise there were so many golden rules either. Apologies.

Golden rule: Refer back to #316 :-)

The Kop were up in arms screaming, faces red, veins sticking out of their necks. Nobby faced them and with both hands gave them the V-sign three or four times... "Fuck you lot" was his attitude.

I loved him for it, best of all Man Utd won the game. I had plenty of happy days on the Kop; not enough when we played there.

And totally disrespectful to Everton and brings shame on the club. Words aren't enough. Duncan's head-butt was small beer compared to this. I can't see United or anybody signing him now. His image is totally trashed.

Oi Graham. Put that book of Golden Rules on my Christmas list please?

God bless all Evertonians.

No to Giroud as I think we need more pace in attack, Dembele or Batshuiya would be better. Also, I would go for Sanchez from Ajax instead of Van Dijk. He would be cheaper and younger.

Could also be a compensation case too... Who manufactures your headset bro'?

This is a classic. Peter Osgood giving the Vs to the Kippax at Maine Road. If you don't want to watch the whole thing it's about 4.40

Link

Only himself to blame...

Evertonians have been telling him to STFU for ages.

Maybe I am totally wrong, I must be.

Fake news, apparently.

Yet the guy can still do no wrong by some, glad to see the back of the guy and his ego.

"Good to have shared this part of my journey with you but now is my time to shine with my new friends, they are all richer, better players than you, with a bigger stadium, and cooler, especially Poggy, byeeee".

Him and Lukaku are absolutely perfect together. Both over rated. Both good but neither as good as they think they are. And never worth £180m in a million years.

Can't wait to see them in 6th or 7th come January to see what the fans are saying about them, and Lukaku in particular after it's dawned on them he does the absolute bare minimum on a football pitch.

The only thing we have to stomach now is all the media love-ins about how they are the greatest players to ever walk on a pitch.

"Who would say no to the biggest club in the world? The best stadium in England, the best fans. I mean, it's the perfect opportunity.

"I always said I wanted to play for a team that's challenging for every trophy that there is there. I think Manchester United at the minute wants to be the dominant team, the dominant force.

"Now it's time to work hard, work harder than I ever did before and I'm willing to do it."

So Lukaku makes no mention of us or his love of Chelsea. He also says that United have the best fans! On top of this he mentions that he will work harder than before.

I think that this tells us that at times he wasn't doing his very best for little old EFC.

Now the mancs can suffer his constant social media feeds and his bromance with his bezzie, Paul. I've almost forgotten about him already.

I don't see any sadness from his team mates or anyone at the club and that tells a story. This guy has a long way to fall from his ivory tower.

There is a saying, that one should be kind on your way up the ladder because you will meet again on your way down. He is and was a mere statistic in Everton's history. A footnote, no more, no less. I would not wish him good luck. He has used up all those vouchers.

And come on people, he also had the decency to let us all know how he felt every time he was away on international duty.

And it's not as if he's local and owes the club anything.

Those comments have about as much class as his first touch but I won't lose any sleep over them. It will be like the annoying colleague leaving the workplace. All handshakes and false friendship.

"You take care, Rom, it was great working with you. Yes of course we'll keep in touch (deletes Rom's number). See you soon pal."

He and that club and its graceless manager, are a perfect fit.

I'm sure they deserve each other, and I trust that hubris and its companion will come visiting.

Now, take a big breath, smell the roses and embrace the future.

The future could very well be Blue.

Lukaku gave four years, scored goals but he was never popular or liked. I barely batted an eyelid when I heard the news apart from getting excited about who we will sign with the money.

I have absolutely no desire to see Rooney back but this child being gone will soften the blow.

I don't mind a opinions but I do mind statements that are based on an intimate knowledge of what goes on at the club when clearly it's conjecture.

Don't give me a great goal scorer, how many winners on tight games, how many crucial strikes stepping up when needed? Chelsea in the cup last year is the only time he lifted his game.

Good riddance.

Let's see how long before the 'best fans' notice that his second touch is a tackle and are questioning his workrate.

He's not a Mourinho type player; smells of reaction to me as United were not getting their top targets; because he wouldn't be going to the 'biggest club in the world' if Griezman was available.

Oh, and never before have I wanted to finish above the Mancs than this year.

He may have been a good striker but a team sometimes needs players to work for each other, Lukaku never did much other than token efforts at that, never ran his wotsits off for anyone.. remember 503rd immovable object..

An really disrespectful person who couldn't give a shit about others, eg, sound disturbance etc etc. Thank god he's gone I hope... We've much more important matters ahead without his disruptions.

Don't forget he missed a lot more than he scored so the £90 mill is brill. Not in the same league as former lads from my era: Bob Latchford, Joe Royle, Andy Gray, Alex Young, Roy Vernon, Duncan Ferguson.

I'm sure our board are very happy with the arrangement. Let's rally round Wayne – Hes turned down some serious offers to come back – and he's a real Blue.

Yes, he had a spat with Williams on the pitch. It happens. We don't know what they thought about each other off the field. Perhaps all will be revealed in the next few weeks.

Lukaku may have his supporters in the team and that's brilliant for him, he scored goals. But he impression is and will continue, that his superior attitude and arrogance does not make him a team player.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic retiring has helped this move along. Let's give him a nice welcome when he comes back to Goodison and Williams gives him a bit payback for his mouthing off!

I think this will be both Wenger and Mourinho's last season in charge of these clubs, and then the rot will start to truly set in.

The mighty Blues are on the up. Can't wait to break that trophy drought, then watch us go!

I would hope you are right I could see maybe Arsenal failing to get into the top 4 but Mourhino is a serial trophy winner. Last year everybody said what a poor season Man Utd had yet they still won 2 trophies.

Nope.

Glad to get the money he cost in the end.

Off the pitch he is a one man narcissistic echo chamber. I will welcome not having to listen to his pronouncements and even more; I will welcome not having to listen to other Blue's pronouncements on him (eventually!).

The club has £90 million in the bank for a player with had two years left on his contract. Great business all round. Whatever the reason Jose sold Lukaku for, he must see something different now.

But when was respect ever a consideration for Rom? He's in it for himself and that isn't an ingredient for being part of successful teams.

On the lack of a statement from us, what do people think is the reason behind Everton not saying a word about it so far? Could we be planning to counter this news with a couple of announcements ourselves?

So what's different this season? Well Rom of course, but he's replacing Zlatan and the only thing Lukaku is an improvement is he's younger; IMHO Zlatan is/was a fundamentally superior centre-forward in every department so Lukaku could be seen as a step backwards.

So perhaps Pogba and Lukaku will power Man Utd to the title but would anyone put money on it.

I also said many times last season that Lukaku rarely looked delighted when he scored.

With all the shitty things Lukaku has said over the past few days, I now wonder if he hasn’t been disruptive to squad harmony for a while. Either way we’re well shut of him. Hope he breaks a leg on his debut for Utd.

We've now got oodles of mazuma, a potentially great player in return, no more worries about his daft comments and a good looking future squad with more new faces to come in.

he's not sure whether he's signed for Man Utd or Chelsea but he's got a lot of cash, a lot of pressure, a lot of exposure (for good and bad) and, as Roy Keane said,

A lot of Prawn Sandwich munching non-fans.

Ta ta, Rom.

Best fans eh? The lot who spend most games singing about Scousers rather getting behind their own side.

It always makes me laugh when anyone describes United as the world's biggest club when it's obvious Real Madrid are.

We'll miss his goals but not much else.

I'm still stunned we got £100m, brilliant piece of business, i'm gonna enjoy watching what the Man Utd. fans think they are getting as to what he actually does for them, it wont take long ha ha.

Always deluded, egotistical big mouth.

At least the dressing room will be a better place to be at Goodison Park.

Shut the door on your way out, Rom, and thanks for the £90 million – we can now get a proper No 9 who wants to be here.

When Lineker left after only one season, we were banned from Europe and he went to Barca, not a rival. I felt sad that we couldn't/wouldn't keep him, but had nothing against him.

Rom, we are told, is an intelligent guy, can speak a few languages and seemed well liked, by his mates. However, like many players, he always seemed to be with a small clique of buddies.

He scored some great goals for us and we got good money for him, but I hope he has a mediocre time with the Mancs, with an early exit from Europe and the only silverware he gets is a necklace from his Bro' Poggie.

Thanks for his goals, and we have got good money, fleeced Man Utd, and the Koeman project is developing.

He's gone, we all move on and it's happy days and the Circus, a la Romelu, has now left town.

Happy Days and a new era at EFC has started.😀🍻

Can only assume the music system was more than 5 yards from where he was and he couldn't be bothered moving to it but just stood where he was and waved his arms in the air.

Couldn't agree more. I'm actually a bit speechless. Lukaku has done so much more than Rooney has ever done for Everton, spent years more time here, contributed so much more. But Rooney is hailed as a club great for leaving at the age of 18 and being so kind as to come here 13 years later.

Do me a favour, save me reading the whole thread, what numbers are the posts justifying Rooney's behaviour?

It's all on the other thread where the comments about him remind me of how the great leader is viewed in North Korea.

Rooney being signed makes no difference to me. Gutted when he left but he left for the most successful club in my life time. He was ambitious and his decision has been proven with his trophy cabinet. A new generation of fans will only remember Wayne at Man utd. He signed 2-year contract and remember, he is no legend at Everton. Still much to prove.

http://www.espnfc.us/manchester-united/story/3155160/romelu-lukaku-opens-up-about-his-move-to-man-united-jose-mourinho

http://www.espnfc.us/manchester-united/story/3155175/romelu-lukaku-to-fill-zlatan-ibrahimovics-man-united-place-in-my-way

He fecked up the best chance we had of winning something for years with that shite penalty against the Mancs in the semi final and is the antithesis of a team player. Give me the 6 players we have been able to sign for the same money we are getting rid of him for any day of the week.

We will be stronger, we will be more cohesive and we won't have to listen to him whining on about how desperate he is to leave us every time there is an international break.

I have no problem with Rom having ambition, but to be so vocal and disrespectful to our great club is disgusting. Man Utd fans will not have seen much of him as he always went missing when we played them, no more so than the cup semi-final. They will end up booing him – just like Fellaini.

At least Rooney and his Mrs took the time to thank Man Utd. Good riddance, here's to the new chapter in Everton Football Club.

There is not one Evertonian anywhere, I would not give the time to, but I have never known a more arrogant self-centred person as Lukaku and his constant rants of wanting away, so glad we have seen the back of the guy.

Onwards and upwards, fellow Evertonians.

His sale 13 years ago basically saved the club from going under. He has always stated that Everton were the only other club he would consider playing for and he has kept his word and is obviously very happy to be back.

On the other hand, we have someone who has done nothing but disrespect our great club since near enough the day he got here and his classless exit is absolutely no surprise to a lot of us. Goodbye, good riddance and welcome home ,Wayne.

Btw, it's also no coincidence that he's already been handed the Number 10 shirt,. Some may miss you, Rom but you'll quickly be forgotten by most of us.

I will confess my frustration got the better of me and I had to say my piece on here; some agreed, others had a different view which is absolutely their right.

Even now, after failing to show up on Thursday to at least say goodbye to his ex team mates he does a press release on why he joined Man Utd and not one positive mention of Everton football Club.

I am sorry, Mike, for my previous rants and disappointments, you do a fantastic job on here and it is appreciated by all the posters on here along with the other Eds.

We all get rattled and great to be able to let off steam on here. I stand by my glad to see the player gone and look forward to a new Look Everton.

Cheers again Mike and apologies if I got on the wrong side of you with my views.

Time for us all to trust the management and owners and support the club.

Appear to be treating his crap with the contempt it deserves.

No problem, Brian. I appreciate your comments. I can't recall clashing with you over Lukaku... in fact, scanning your posts, it looks like our views are very similar.

Perhaps you had issues with some of my comments about him in my match reports, where I was at times harsh about his playing character that has been fully exposed on this thread and many before it.

I'm hoping like most that, without him and with the fine new additions, our football will be entirely different and a helluva lot better to watch!

It is possible he'll rise to the occasion and despite his total lack of class I don't wish him ill and he'll certainly score a decent haul against weaker opposition, but Lukaku is no Ibrahimovic.

"I want to say a big thank you to all the people involved at @everton. I want to thank the fans for your support throughout the 4 years we've spend together. You guys helped me through all my games and I can proudly say it was an honour to play in front of you. To the staff at the the stadium and training ground thank you for making me feel home from the first day I walked in. To my teammates it was great to play with you guys. To technical staff thank you for helping me become a better player. Working with you guys has been a pleasure and I'll take your advice throughout the rest of my career. Thank you, Everton Football Club."

Unless it's off the cuff and recorded live, or said in your presence, then it's rehearsed, pre-considered or prepared by a third party. Even then, some are very savvy today.

It's like the Christmas bottle between loose business associates. Doesn't change your life, but should anyone not give the right bottle to the right recipient, it's considered remiss. All fairly hypocritical to this particular cynic.

Lukaku thinks what he thinks, despite the eventual message. Guess it might improve the boo-hiss ratio a little in his favour on his return to Goodison.

I think I preferred the variety when people acted as themselves.

They still give the impression of giving an opinion but it's a very well thought out media release every time. Believe nothing, judge on the pitch.

Lukaku is like a caricature of the modern day footballer. He's right at the extreme point of where football is going. Has the loss of a 20+ goal a season striker ever been met with such apathy? He didn't care about us, we didn't care about him. I suppose at least in this instance no-one bothered to hide it!

Wouldn't have looked very good for him, leaving the club that nurtured his growing ambitions, only to totally blank them after getting what he wanted, would it?

With any other club, his constant bleating about needing to move to play in the Champions League, and especially the crap he came out with on every international break would probably have led to fines, being dropped etc but no, Everton indulged the ego, the mouth, the arrogance and the agent and the father. A sort of unholy trinity there, the ego, the agent and the father.

I just have a feeling there's going to be a new wave of excitement and expectation in the dressing room with Rom gone. It might even convince Barkley to put pen to paper on his new deal, but if not, we now know the club means business and Ross can either be a part of it or try his luck elsewhere. Koeman is showing that nobody is indispensable and there's a new wind blowing through the corridors of Goodison Park.

What poetic justice it would be if Rom's new pals made an early exit from the Champions League while we enjoy a total renaissance and outstrip them in the league, as we came so close to doing last season. Now that would make me laugh out loud!