The manager had pinned his hopes on Lukaku leading the line and the striker’s imminent move to Manchester United raises questions about whether Chelsea have again taken their eye off the ball after winning the titleThe first thing to acknowledge is that there is time for Chelsea to make a success of this transfer window. It is the first week in July, not the last in August. Those within the club’s recruitment department can justifiably point to the late arrivals of David Luiz and Marcos Alonso last year, and the impact both players had on the team’s title success, as evidence that significant additions can be plucked from the ether right up to the cut-off.And yet, not for the first...
Five things to look out for including how Liverpool will replace Lallana and Lukaku’s pursuit of the golden boot when the two old rivals meet at AnfieldJürgen Klopp’s side triumphed without their influential No10 at Goodison Park in December but he remains pivotal to their prospects of breaking any defence and one of the few talents capable of elevating a derby with a touch of class. Since returning from an ankle ligament injury in January, Coutinho has recaptured his early-season form only sporadically and scored once in 13 outings for his club. However, his goal and performance for Brazil against Paraguay in midweek, when he helped his country to qualify for the World Cup in Russia before flying back to...
Everton manager has readily changed clubs to further his own career and this response to Lukaku’s desire to move shows an all too common double standardThey were nine games into the Eredivisie season when Valencia came calling for Ronald Koeman in October 2007. PSV Eindhoven, the team he had led to the Dutch title, had won seven and drawn two and were enjoying the view from the top of the table. Yet Koeman had always wanted to manage in Spain and the relevant people at PSV were candid enough to realise Valencia was an upgrade. Jan Reker, PSV’s general director, would later say: “Our question to Valencia was: ‘Can’t this wait until next year?’”The answer was a polite no. Valencia’s information...
Ronald Koeman’s comments about Romelu Lukaku and Liverpool’s title chances were not diplomatic but Evertonians should not pine for the failed romanticism of Roberto MartínezWelcome back to club football, the sort that does not have to apologise for forcing viewers to wait an extra day for I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!. Events have been unfolding during the international break and it transpires that some Everton supporters think Ronald Koeman should be gagged. They do not care for the tone of some of the manager’s recent remarks and believe club officials should step in to shut him up next time he starts saying Romelu Lukaku probably will have to move somewhere else to fulfil his potential, or...
Impressive start to the season has been tempered by a run of five without a win but there is enough talent out wide to arrest their run against West HamWayne Rooney heading back to Everton makes a great story but let’s face it, Ronald Koeman was only answering a question. Probably as keen as anyone else to change the subject after five winless games, the Everton manager was not about to turn down the invitation to wax lyrical about a Goodison old boy, though he has enough problems at the front of his own team without importing an extra enigma from Manchester United.Another Everton old boy is on Merseyside on Sunday, and Slaven Bilic returns in charge of a side...