With Romelu Lukaku eyeing a move to a Champions League club, Roberto Martinez and underachieving Everton have problems... Lukaku has made plenty of headlines this season. But his well-publicised quotes about wanting to play in the Champions League next season wont have pleased Everton boss Martinez during the international break. Lukaku Everton future in doubt Romelu Lukaku has said he wants Champions League football Lukaku is unlikely to feature in Europes elite club competition with Everton any time soon. Martinezs side are down in the bottom half of the Premier League table, 13 points off fourth. A late-season surge towards European qualification doesnt seem to be on the cards, either - theyve managed just four wins in their last 16 league games.That points towards a Lukaku exit from Goodison, which would be a painful blow to the club.With a run to the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup under their belt and a final-four clash in the FA Cup to come, the season has been far from a failure. The Sunday Supplement panel discuss whether Romelu Lukaku leaving Everton for Champions League football would be a good move for him But Evertons worrying league form raises questions over whether the squad and Martinez should be doing better, given the talent they have at their disposal.In the league theyre underachieving, says former Everton striker Tony Cottee. They should be where West Ham and Manchester United are, looking to push into the top four.For Everton to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League - especially when it has been such an open division this season, with all of the big guns misfiring - would be more than disappointing. You cant keep saying oh well, well get it right next year. They need to start getting it right now. Tony Cottee Its a serious problem. You cant keep saying oh well, well get it right next year. They need to start getting it right now.Its a view held by current players, too. At the start of 2016, ahead of a 1-1 draw with Tottenham, Lukaku said: We shouldnt be in this situation. As a team we know we should be higher but at the moment its not going the way we want.Three months on and 12th-placed Everton are actually one spot lower in the league than they were then, albeit with game in hand on the two teams immediately above them.So whats going wrong?Goal-scoring certainly isnt the problem. Only three Premier League teams have found the net more often and, in Lukaku, Everton have the third-top scorer in the division. Lukaku has scored 18 goals in the Premier League this season Its at the other end where the problems lie. Only five teams have conceded more than Everton this term - and nowhere have their defensive problems been more apparent than at Goodison Park. Everton have conceded more goals at home than any other Premier League team.This has led to one of the worst home records in the division. Everton have won just four out of their 16 fixtures in front of their own fans, and only Crystal Palace (14) and Aston Villa (10) have taken fewer than the 16 points Martinezs men have managed at home. Costly goals conceded Everton have dropped 14 points from winning positions this season - only Liverpool (15) have dropped more. In short, Evertons defensive problems are detracting from their good work in attack. Theyve dropped 14 points from winning positions this season - more than enough to place them in the Champions League spots.This group of very talented players have got to find a way of keeping more clean sheets and give themselves a chance to win more games, said Cottee. Evertons defence have conceded 41 goals in 29 games this season I wouldnt say theyre a long way off. With Lukaku, Ross Barkley and John Stones, the spine of the team is very strong. But defensively theyve been vulnerable, particularly at Goodison, where theyve conceded far too many.They will need to add to their squad defensively in the summer. Theyll need a goalkeeper, with Tim Howard leaving, maybe another centre-back to bolster that position and perhaps another holding midfielder.Obviously somethings not quite working because of the number of goals theyve conceded.Cottee says Martinez must find a way to balance Evertons attacking play with a need to tighten up at the back. However, he concedes it may not be easy for the forward-thinking Spaniard to mute his attacking instincts.Ive followed Martinezs career closely and I think he did an excellent job when he was at Wigan. Going forward they were fantastic - but they were always vulnerable defensively, said Cottee. Most goals conceded in Premier League 2015/16 Team League position Games played Goals conceded Aston Villa 20 31 58 Newcastle 19 30 55 Sunderland 18 30 55 Norwich 17 31 54 Bournemouth 13 31 50 Everton 12 29 41 Its hard to say from the outside because I dont know how much time he spends working on the defence, but its something he needs to look at. We all love free-flowing football, but you have to get it right at the back.Martinez needs to look at himself as a manager and also his team to see how he can correct that. He can only do so much himself - the players need to step up, too. But if you keep conceding poor goals it doesnt give you a chance. Captain Phil Jagielka has spoken out in defence of his manager previously, saying the players must also share the blame.But, with new, substantial investment being made in the club, Farhad Moshiri, who has taken a 49.9 per cent stake in the club, will be keen to see improvement soon. A win at Manchester United on Super Sunday would help. But Everton must address their underachievement throughout the remainder of the season - or Lukaku wont be the only player considering whether his future ambitions can be fulfilled at the club. Watch Manchester United v Everton live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Sunday from 3.30pm Also See: Lukaku happy for Jose reunion Lukaku right to look for CL Lukaku Everton future in doubt Time for Lukaku to move Cheap Panthers Jerseys .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Stitched Panthers Jerseys . 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SEATTLE -- Even with all the teaching hes done to change the way tackling is handled in the NFL, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll still believes in the importance of the big hit.So when Earl Thomas raced across the field and leveled Rob Gronkowski with a shoulder tackle to the midsection last week, Carroll was ecstatic about the result of the play, and the message it sent that the game can still be physically brutal but in a safe way.Neither one of the players got hit in the head. Still the jolt was significant, but if we could show kids how we want them to hit and play this game, and college kids, thats how you do it, Carroll said. Its the new way, its the new way to make hits.The duo of Thomas and strong safety Kam Chancellor are just two of the challenges rookie Carson Wentz has to face when the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Seattle on Sunday. Wentz has passed plenty of tests in his first NFL season, getting Philadelphia into the playoff conversation at 5-4 after last weeks home win over Atlanta.But even Wentz acknowledged theres little that can prepare him for the experience of facing the Seahawks defense in Seattle .You go in there confidently. You dont worry about the extra outside noise and all those things, Wentz said. You just go in there and play ball.The past two weeks have indicated another second-half surge could be on the horizon for Seattle. After holding off Buffalo in a Monday night victory, the Seahawks went across the country on a short week and won at New England , stopping the Patriots at the 1-yard line in the final seconds. They kept a two-game lead over Arizona in the NFC West.It ranked among the more impressive regular-season wins since Carroll arrived in Seattle and showed flashes that a plodding offense could be on the verge of a breakout.Its a process, said Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who had three TD catches last week. Weve still got some young guys. Our offensive line was pretty much all in new spots, Russell was dealing with some injuries, so there are a lot of things that go into it. Its not just a normal routine. ... I do expect us as the season goes on to continue to get better. Thats one thing I expect.Heres what else to watch as the Eagles and Seahawks meet for the 15th time:ROAD WOES: The Eagles are 4-0 at home and have outscored opponents 108-38, but theyre 1-4 on the road with four straight lossses after winning at Chicago on Monday night in Week 2.dddddddddddd They fell behind 14-0 in three of those four losses and rallied to either have a lead in the fourth quarter or have the ball with a chance to go ahead on the final drive, only to lose.I think when you are on the road, you try to press just a little bit, coach Doug Pederson said. You try to get that quick, early lead, try to take the crowd of out of the game. You maybe do some things that are uncharacteristic of what you do at home, and we just cant do that.The Seahawks are 31-5 at home since 2012, when Wilson became the starting quarterback.SPLITTING CARRIES: Seattle will have running back Thomas Rawls in the lineup for the first time since Week 2, when he suffered a hairline fracture in his leg. The return of Rawls led to the release of leading rusher Christine Michael earlier this week, but its unclear how the carries will be split between Rawls and rookie C.J. Prosise.Prosise energized a lethargic run game last week against New England, rushing for 66 yards and catching seven passes for 87 yards.A quick emergence is really exciting, Carroll said. Hes coming up and doing stuff. You can see how hes capable.BALL CONTROL: The Eagles rank second in the NFL in time of possession (32:28) and controlled the ball for 38:10 in their win over the Falcons. Ryan Mathews had a season-high 108 yards rushing, helping keep Atlantas high-powered offense on the sideline. Its no secret that a balanced attack is Philadelphias formula for success. Pederson doesnt want Wentz throwing 45 passes per game the way he did in losses to the Cowboys and Giants.WELCOME BACK: Pederson has a longstanding connection to the Seahawks. The graduate of Ferndale High School about 90 minutes north of Seattle went to numerous Seahawks games in the Kingdome as his family had season tickets. Pederson even got to play a high school playoff game in the Kingdome.You just kind of walk on that turf and you go man, one day it would not only be great to play in this game, and who knew back then that youd be a head coach in the league, Pederson said.---AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL. ' ' '