Originally Posted by ICT User 77:
“Nice win at the weekend against West Ham. Eden was top class yet again, as was Mata. Our creative midfield is certainly improving as the season progresses.
In regards to our strikers. Really can't decide if it would be best to loan Lukaku out again or keep him at the club.
Maybe the club should discuss it with him and see what he wants to do. If he really wants to stay and fight for a place in the team let him. However if he still feels he wants to go out on loan to get more first team action, again maybe we should let him do so.
If Lukaku does go out on loan again, then we have to bolster our striking options, which we should probably be doing anyway.
Whether Torres stays is obviously up to Abramovich. There has been no indication that he is looking to get rid of Torres apart from the rumours he could be used as part of an exchange deal with Falcao.
If we really do want Falcao, I think we have to let Atletico keep Courtois. Apparently they are really interested in keeping him and so we may have to include him in any deal instead of or with Torres.
Ultimately if Falcao does come, Torres will probably have to leave the club, as we shouldn't be paying two top striker wages when one will always start games whilst the other will be on the subs bench.
The only definite for next season is Ba. There are a lot of questions regarding everyone else. Who's to say Roman won't go after a totally different striker like Cavani, who obviously is seen as the alternative to Falcao.
If you look at the rumours currently, Roman wants Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but looks like he may go to PSG.
As mentioned, with Lukaku, let's see what he wants. If we want to keep him happy and at the club we should work with him to develop his career so he can reach his full potential.”
Well, if Lukaku bases his decision on the first season he had with us, you can see why he might want to stay with WBA for another season. Neither Sturridge or Lukaku were given many chances, despite the form of Torres.
But I still think, with the right manager, he would get plenty of experience this time around. If we did manage to sign Falcao, we wouldn't want him playing 50+ games a season. Then there's the possibility of playing two from Falcao, Ba and Lukaku.
I agree, we might not go for Falcao. But with the Torres/Atletico connection and Courtois to use as a bargaining tool, we must be favourites to get him if we're serious.
I read about our interest in Aubameyang, but I've never seen him play to be honest. Looking at his CV he appears to have been more of an attacking midfielder. He's quite slightly built, not that there's anything wrong with that. But I'm not sure he would be a genuine alternative to Falcao or Cavani though.
Whatever happens, I'm not sure I could stand another season of waiting for Torres to produce the goods. I feel it's time to call it a day, both for his sake and ours.