Lukaku : Bulking up with muscle hurt me

Fracture90 said:
Yeah of course, learning how to hit the ball with your head and send it where you want it to go can be worked on in training, but learning how to position your body and how to shield the ball with it along with how to time your jumps better is a bit more tricky imo, it's more of a something that gotta come naturally.
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Usually I argue that most of the things can be learned in training but for Lukaku I don't think I can say that. He isn't aggressive enough to bully CBs, for a guy of his size, he is very weak.
 
roonster09 said:
Usually I argue that most of the things can be learned in training but for Lukaku I don't think I can say that. He isn't aggressive enough to bully CBs, for a guy of his size, he is very weak.
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This is what surprises me, and I guess many other fans worldwide, the most.
 
Meep said:
This is so stupid it's sad.

You don't "bulk up with muscles" in a short span of time. You do it through years and years of hard training. If you do it like a real man. This makes no sense. Maybe the national coaches told him to put in an extra effort to peak at the WC and he missunderstood.

How on earth can he, with the pay his getting from United, think that he can relax when he is back at Manchester. It sounds so unexplainably lazy so I've totally lost my interest in having Lukaku in the team.

Third, why does he go public with this totally stupid excuses? It makes him look even dumber.
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Well tbh it depends on lot of factors like genetics, muscle fiber type, nutrition, training, rest, finances, supplements etc...some people.
 
Fracture90 said:
Rooney was always famed for his leaping ability and his strength on the ball despite his somewhat short stature dude.
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I admitted it would have been easier for Rooney, but that’s just bullshit about his leap. He almost never scored headers, one season it suddenly exploded. He rarely if ever beat defenders for a high ball, he got in front of them because of timing and positioning.
 
Zoo said:
Hazard is Belgium's star player and he likes to have a strong target man to play off and hold the ball up for him. That's why he said that Giroud was his ideal strike partner and he much prefers him over Morata at Chelsea.

At least the issue has been recognised and Lukaku already looked noticeably slimmer against Fulham on the weekend.
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I get that, but it seems strange to me that the manager who knew how to get the most out of Lukaku would sacrifice him for Hazard.
 
People just love it when they get a chance to call a professional footballer fat and lazy:lol: Nothing tastes quite as good as that little pleasure
 
Fracture90 said:
@Handré1990 guys initial discussion was about Lukaku's ability to time his jumping and position himself in situations when he gotta shield the ball and jump to bring the hoofball down (something Rooney was great at, despite his somewhat small stature), not his ability to score headers.

But regarding Rooney's headers, the time period you guys have mentioned is the time he became our main attacking opinion, right after Ronaldo (who's famed for his leaping and scoring headers) departed.
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Oh. I was talking about positioning and timing going for low or high crosses in the box. Of course Rooney was brilliant when it came to controlling difficult passes in competition with defenders. I’d never deny that.
 
Harry190 said:
Something doesn't add up here. You don't put on muscle that quickly nor get rid of it the way he's supposedly going about it. Severe caloric deprivation and not water and rest will lead to that.
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Do you not think that's what he's on about? He's literally staying he's going into a deficit by having the leanest protein source going and eating empty carbed veg - that tied with litres of cold water will keep the hunger pangs away (replacing a meal with water).

What i actually find interesting is the fact he's managed to put the weight on based on his physical make up and career. Being 6 foot 3 and playing football every single day must mean his BMR is so friggin high. He must have been sinking 6000+ calories a day easy. Impressive.
 
Handré1990 said:
I admitted it would have been easier for Rooney, but that’s just bullshit about his leap. He almost never scored headers, one season it suddenly exploded. He rarely if ever beat defenders for a high ball, he got in front of them because of timing and positioning.
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And here I thought we were having a nice discussion.

Scoring headers involves you actually being able to send the ball when you want with your head, meaning you need some technique for it, that can be worked on. But you're completely disregarding the fact the discussion before you joined was not about scoring headers rather than Lukaku's bad jump timing and his overall inability to position himself proper.

That last part you wrote is actually what discussion was before you joined in. Also how can you underestimate Rooney's leaping ability that much? You don't get as successful in the air when you're 175cm tall just based on timing and great positioning.
 
beedoubleyou said:
Where could one purchase a tinfoil hat?

Perhaps from a bus station where our supporter seem busy throwing players when they hit poor form?
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If you think something as obvious as this isn't manipulation then I'm not sure what to say! If he'd been playing like wank for the last few months but had scored 10 tap ins we wouldn't be reading this article!
 
Fracture90 said:
And here I thought we were having a nice discussion.

Scoring headers involves you actually being able to send the ball when you want with your head, meaning you need some technique for it, that can be worked on. But you're completely disregarding the fact the discussion before you joined was not about scoring headers rather than Lukaku's bad jump timing and his overall inability to position himself proper.

That last part you wrote is actually what discussion was before you joined in. Also how can you underestimate Rooney's leaping ability that much? You don't get as successful in the air when you're 175cm tall just based on timing and great positioning.
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No, you’re right, I failed to grasp your point at first. Sorry about the rude reply to what turned out to not be your point (or main point), mea culpa and all of that!

Still, I have to dig my heels in to the «Rooney was always famed for his leaping ability». That’s simply not true. I think someone else dug up the stat, 3 headed goals before the 09/10 season. Doesn’t matter if he took over for Ronaldo as our ‘main header’ or whatever, he clearly showed massive improvement in that area. Talking about Rooney in his prime actually makes me a little sad looking at who we have as our main striker now.
 
Sounds like he's heard the talk of his weight and is running with it as an excuse. Literally makes no sense to bulk up for the World Cup...for what reason?

Also when would this bulking have been occurring? He magically packed on all that muscle in the time between end of season and WC? Or he was focusing on the WC, while our season was still going on?
 
I think he has put on a bit of weight but I doubt it's significant enough to single-handedly explain his poor form this season.

Even when Lukaku was on his best run of form last season it felt like there were a lot of things missing from his game which were overlooked because he was scoring. He hasn't got the willingness to run for the team or press (which might partly be a Mourinho instruction) but he also doesn't possess the quality on the ball someone like Ibrahimovic had before him to make up for it.

So we've basically got the lethal combination of a possibly overweight player who doesn't run, can't control the ball properly and isn't nearly as good at hold-up play as he should be playing up front for us every week.
 
Now we know where Shaw sold all those frozen takeaways he had stashed
 
I don't see the point in footballers bulking up to that level, it just seems ridiculous to me. You think about how Drogba used to traumatise Sendros and bully Carragher and he didn't look like he was auditioning for world's strongest man. Totally unnecessary.
 
Why tf has the club allowed this to happen and why if he has so many fitness issues is he still playing? Its mind numbing how a professional club is running like this. The club is a mess from top to bottom.
 
AgentP said:
You don't need to be bulky to be strong. Just look at Drogba and Mandzukic.
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This. I came across him at a Waitrose during his peak and was taken aback by how he didn't look taller or bigger than me. He did seem to be sculpted in granite though.
 
MikeKing said:
I actually think him bulking up now is just him finally growing into his grown man body. This is how big he is supposed to be as a grown ass man and I think he has to work incredibly hard to not only get himself in moderate shape but also to sustain that for long periods. Something got to give though, either he has to change his game completely and I'm not sure he is good enough technically to force a new path (all though his mentality says otherwise) or he has to drastically change his physique with heavy training and an eating regime.
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If you’re actively trying to put on weight, it’s not you ‘growing into your grown man body’. He’s had a grown man body since he was 16 years old. He’s heavyweight levels these days.
 
SilentWitness said:
I get that, but it seems strange to me that the manager who knew how to get the most out of Lukaku would sacrifice him for Hazard.
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Managers tend to sacrifice inferior players for superior ones.
 
There were a good number of us saying this same thing in the summer. Good that he's addressing it, but what idiot looked around world football's top strikers and decided Afobe was the one to try and replicate?

I'm amazed at lots of small players who hold the ball up well. Tevez could play as a target man, and Hazard was good yesterday. It's down to balance not weight. Apparently Giggs was an absolute monster despite never being bulky.
 
Professional athlete's have one job outside of football, look after yourself.

I'm not buying that someone at Belgium told him to gain 7kg (1 stone) in weight to be more effective. He's taken the Anderson approach to gaining weight.
 
Redlips said:
Sounds like he's heard the talk of his weight and is running with it as an excuse. Literally makes no sense to bulk up for the World Cup...for what reason?

Also when would this bulking have been occurring? He magically packed on all that muscle in the time between end of season and WC? Or he was focusing on the WC, while our season was still going on?
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Agreed. People are acting like Lukaku has suddenly piled on a few stone... But in truth he's been getting progressively bulkier his entire career. If you saw him for Anderlecht and the early days at West Brom he was very lean, I wouldn't be surprised if his distance covered was up there with other top PL strikers. Towards the middle of his Everton days he'd lost a portion of his acceleration and started to cover the lowest distance in the league. This was compensated by increased strength and also the fact that he conserved his energy for several high energy runs per half. By the time he was at United even earlier last season his powerful runs were significantly reduced in number as he saved his energy for getting into good positions in the box; he became very reliant on merely being a good finisher. Nowadays his size and therefore lack of stamina are not only impacting his ability to get into good positions, but also his ability to do the basics with the ball at his feet.

Lukaku 2013 - 2018 reminds me of Rooney 2009 - 2014. He's transitioned from an explosive & strong player to a bulkier, more lethargic one. As the years go by it becomes more and more difficult for their body type to stay as lean as they were when they were younger. Whereas at West Brom he probably ate whatever he wanted provided he was training daily, I imagine he now has to work twice as hard whilst also watching his calorie intake like a hawk. They both have the physique of a boxer, which unfortunately does not lend itself to PL Football.

Looking at him at 25 I dread to think where he's going to be in a couple of years; he'll probably follow the Rooney path in going back to Everton in 2020 and to the US in 2021.
 
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antohan said:
This. I came across him at a Waitrose during his peak and was taken aback by how he didn't look taller or bigger than me. He did seem to be sculpted in granite though.
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Yeah he had the perfect physique.

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This is what Lukaku should be aiming for instead of turning into Mark Henry.
 
Sorry but I don't believe him. Unless the Belgium trainer comes out and says otherwise. Surely a professional would know better than advising him like this?

I think he just got fat (I don't see the new 'muscles'), and he's looking for an excuse.

The good thing is he knows he needs to lose the weight so hopefully he's working on that.
 
DWelbz19 said:
If you’re actively trying to put on weight, it’s not you ‘growing into your grown man body’. He’s had a grown man body since he was 16 years old. He’s heavyweight levels these days.
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Either he was fully grown at an early age, or it was just him being ridiculously big for his age. Im saying if it is genetics it isn't necessarily as easy as just training it off. If this has been more of an "unexpected" natural growth then it changes his prospects and money-value as a professional football player. It is a totally different player than we bought. I know the article aren't saying this, but if his genetics point to this being his expected size coming into his 30's, then it is a bigger problem for all parties and I wouldn't expect them to just come out and say this.
 
What has the fitness guru Jose hired from Sampdoria been doing all this time?
 
Which manager was it that joined Spurs and then told most of the team that they needed to lose weight and improve their fitness?
 
Unless he thought he was training for the pissing Rugby World Cup, this is just yet more nonsense.
 
This is the same guy that blamed the players at United not understanding him like the Belgian players do a month ago. This is the same guy who pretended he tore an ACL when he failed to control a football and proceeded to sprint off the field when subbed. Also the same guy that has the decency to actually turn and have a go at his own players on the pitch when he’s abused a football.

Come on man. We’re not dumb. Don’t believe this shit. He got fatigued and got fat after the World Cup, simple as. Put your head down and stop the bs and excuses ffs
 
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