[Devil may care]

Been saying it since day 1. He has improved a lot, but come any big game, he looks awful. Though I don't blame him at all today. The entirety of the blame lies with Mourinho picking a 4-2-3-1 and pogba as part of that double pivot. None of our attackers stood a chance because they had no basis.

Mourinho's stubborness with the 4-2-3-1 is so frustrating, it doesn't help any of our better players, yet he persists with it and it makes even less sense in a big game against a team with a 3 man midfield, and to top it off playing Sanchez and Martial on the wrong flanks was illogical.

But generally, while it's not a terminal loss having lukaku as primarily a poacher, it does limit us. We can turn into a very good team (once Mourinho stops playing Pogba deep), but with Lukaku, we'll never be "the best team". Top tier like City, Barca and PSG right now, and probably Bayern and Real Madrid of the last few seasons. You can't reach that level having someone like Lukaku as the main striker. Not the end of the world as we can still be a very good team like I said and win things, but to win the champions league, we won't ever be favourites.

Without a technically top end #9 I feel the domestic cups will be our ceiling, at the very least I'd like to see Martial at least allowed to compete for the striker berth.

 

[Heinzesight]

I’m starting to worry about Lukaku. He’s looking worse every game.

The usual excuse from his biggest supporters is that he isn’t getting the service and needs balls to run on too. This is a fair point but an average premier league forward should at least be able to hold the ball up, trap a ball, chest a ball down to feet, turn on a ball. He’s shit at all of these simple skills and it means he’s not bringing others into play and ruins any attack.

He needs dropping and play Martial up top.

 

[peridigm]

I've reserved my judgment on Lukaku as of late because he's been in a slump but still managed to pull off some level of contribution over the past 3 months. Tonight changed by mind. He is not the striker to take us back to our glory days. He is nowhere near the level Rooney, Tevez, Berba, or RVP were on in their prime United years. He is a one dimensional player that is easy to defend against unless you weight 90lbs. His half assed attempts to jump at DDG's long balls is pathetic. He rarely wins one and when he does the ball always manages to bounce to the other team.

 

[bosnian_red]

Mourinho's stubborness with the 4-2-3-1 is so frustrating, it doesn't help any of our better players, yet he persists with it and it makes even less sense in a big game against a team with a 3 man midfield, and to top it off playing Sanchez and Martial on the wrong flanks was illogical.



Without a technically top end #9 I feel the domestic cups will be our ceiling, at the very least I'd like to see Martial at least allowed to compete for the striker berth.

Yeah, agreed. Lukaku shouldn't be "untouchable". Start him often, but Martial should equally be allowed a chance to have him develop there, with Sanchez on the left, and then an actual right sided player like Bailey or something to play the right wing. That's our best hope IMO to close the gap on the biggest teams, but I doubt it.

 

[afrocentricity]

I'm not blaming him for this loss, obviously, and I'm not one of those stating that he's not good enough....... But....... I wouldn't be opposed to a bit of Martial up top if that's what is decided.

 

[Devil may care]

Yeah, agreed. Lukaku shouldn't be "untouchable". Start him often, but Martial should equally be allowed a chance to have him develop there, with Sanchez on the left, and then an actual right sided player like Bailey or something to play the right wing. That's our best hope IMO to close the gap on the biggest teams, but I doubt it.

Do you remember when Fergie used to drop Berbatov in the big games and play Rooney up top alone and add a CM? I'd like to see us do that at least on some occassions where we could use a more technical and mobile front 3.

 

[Sylar]

Prime Ruud gets you a goal in those 10 minutes after they scored the first and we looked dominant, putting us back in the game. He does not repeatedly get caught offside, he does not flail his arms at his teammates every time the pass isn't right. He gets one opportunity and he finishes it as coolly when we're 1-0 down in a tough away game against a top 6 team as he would playing in his back garden against his son. If you honestly don't think swapping Romelu for Ruud would have made a difference then you're either drastically underrating his ability or not perceiving just how much Lukaku holds back our attack.

yeah sure if he gets service. How much service did Lukaku really get? He had one chance second half that i can think of.

 

[kirk buttercup]

Sanchez- martial- Rashford/ Lingard
Pogba Herrera
Matic

 

[bosnian_red]

Do you remember when Fergie used to drop Berbatov in the big games and play Rooney up top alone and add a CM? I'd like to see us do that at least on some occassions where we could use a more technical and mobile front 3.

Yep, agree. But problem is Mourinho spent 75m on Lukaku, and because he's big, Mourinho will always play him when fit. I don't think he's anywhere near good enough to have that tag, but he has it and price obviously factors in. IMO he should be first team player of course, but know when to drop him or if he's out of form, start someone else. Or play a system that gets the best of everyone. Fergie broke our transfer record for Berba, but Sir Alex didn't care and that didn't make Berba undroppable. He was a squad player because of his limitations, just like Lukaku should probably be, not seen as a fixture in the side because he is nowhere near talented enough to play irrespective of form.

 

[pocco]

We are screwed because Jose isn't going to drop or sell him.

This. Welcome to our future. I wish i could find all those that were creaming their pants over signing such a poor footballer. feck me sideways, what have we done?

 

[Devil may care]

Yep, agree. But problem is Mourinho spent 75m on Lukaku, and because he's big, Mourinho will always play him when fit. I don't think he's anywhere near good enough to have that tag, but he has it and price obviously factors in. IMO he should be first team player of course, but know when to drop him or if he's out of form, start someone else. Or play a system that gets the best of everyone. Fergie broke our transfer record for Berba, but Sir Alex didn't care and that didn't make Berba undroppable. He was a squad player because of his limitations, just like Lukaku should probably be, not seen as a fixture in the side because he is nowhere near talented enough to play irrespective of form.

I never thought we'd see Jose sub Pogba off unless he was injured, but we saw it tonight, eventually Jose's sense of self preservation will surely kick in and he'll select the best options rather than the most expensive ones he signed off on.

 

[bosnian_red]

I never thought we'd see Jose sub Pogba off unless he was injured, but we saw it tonight, eventually Jose's sense of self preservation will surely kick in and he'll select the best options rather than the most expensive ones he signed off on.

Yeah I was shocked at that tbh. Though not 100% sure if it was the right call as we still kept a midfield 2. But whatever.

 

[Devil may care]

Yeah I was shocked at that tbh. Though not 100% sure if it was the right call as we still kept a midfield 2. But whatever.

Oh yeah it made no sense tonight, we needed to add a CM, not just switch CM's, it was like he was refusing to admit he got it wrong in not playing the 3 man midfield to begin with.

 

[Vernon Philander]

A lot of people getting bogged down by the fact that he didn't get much service. Whilst yes that may be true, this should really be expected against a top side away from home, and shouldn't excuse the striker from blame altogether.

The real sign of quality contribution from your forward in this type of situation is to be able to at least give the defenders something to think about off the ball. That could be by bullying them even without the ball, or trying to show endeavour such that it rushes the opposition when they have possession. I.e. make them think twice. This should in turn ease the pressure a bit from your midfield and not have to deal with wave after wave of attack.

Lukaku just doesn't offer anything like this.

 

[He'lmurderyah15]

Right. He offered us absolutely zero in terms of an out ball tonight, which is so important when you can't get passed a teams initial press. If we had a 9 tonight that the ball could stick to, it would have given us a better chance of getting up the field, instead of having to play it into midfield and just having it nicked by the Spurs press. This would have led Spurs to retreat. But unfortunately against a teams who's main attribute is pressing, our best ball playing midfielder went missing and our 9 couldn't trap a bag of sand.

 

[Tapori]

Yep, agree. But problem is Mourinho spent 75m on Lukaku, and because he's big, Mourinho will always play him when fit. I don't think he's anywhere near good enough to have that tag, but he has it and price obviously factors in. IMO he should be first team player of course, but know when to drop him or if he's out of form, start someone else. Or play a system that gets the best of everyone. Fergie broke our transfer record for Berba, but Sir Alex didn't care and that didn't make Berba undroppable. He was a squad player because of his limitations, just like Lukaku should probably be, not seen as a fixture in the side because he is nowhere near talented enough to play irrespective of form.

This. Lukaku being "Undroppable," is probably the worst aspect of Mourinho's management. It's literally not doing Rom any favours.

 

[Tapori]

Right. He offered us absolutely zero in terms of an out ball tonight, which is so important when you can't get passed a teams initial press. If we had a 9 tonight that the ball could stick to, it would have given us a better chance of getting up the field, instead of having to play it into midfield and just having it nicked by the Spurs press. This would have led Spurs to retreat. But unfortunately against a teams who's main attribute is pressing, our best ball playing midfielder went missing and our 9 couldn't trap a bag of sand.

The sheer amount of times we played it up and it didn't stick or he didn't do something was astonishing. he simply has to do better; much better. I can see he has it in him like away at Burnley, but not tonight.

 

[Tapori]

Without wanting to beat a dead horse, because at this point there mightn't be anything original left to add in this deluge of negativity about him, but the glaring contrast between Lukaku and his opposite number was there to be seen tonight. Neither of them had their shooting boots on today, but Kane was tracking back and winning the ball or at least pressuring our player in possession, he was bringing his teammates into play with his ability to hold up the ball, he was creating space and options with his runs and just looked threatening every time he got the ball facing goal. Compare that to Lukaku whose sole contribution in the first half was to stand offside and then chastise his teammates for every pass that wasn't inch perfect, infact the sum total of his performance was one shot on target, the ball for which he seemed to wait an eternity to bounce conveniently enough for him to hit (giving the keeper more than enough time to set himself), it's just clear he's not technically good enough and arguably the worst #9 I've seen at the club in my lifetime.

Compare him with the rest of the attack, ballers like Lingard, Rashford, Pogba, Martial, Sanchez, Mata and he just sticks out like a sore thumb. For all his athletic ability his lack of balance renders his strength redundant, he's not at all dominant in the air and his overall presence on the pitch is almost paradoxically lacking. I got behind this transfer at the beginning of the season but it's clear now he's not only not contributing enough himself but he's holding back the rest of the talent in terms of playing time and playing style.

I fear i agree too much with this.
Jose dropping him may well be required.

 

[James Peril]

Huddersfield at home is right up his alley. Can drift inside the box and get some chances, maybe nick a goal... who knows. When we play anyone decent next, I want a 433 with Sanchez in the middle and Martial - Lingard next to him. Midfield of Pogba, Matic and Herrera. No room for the other team to exploit us, more of a collective effort up top.

Lukaku is not cutting it, a few headed goals here and there is not any different to what typical mid-table strikers do.

 

[Carlsen19]

Simply nowhere near good enough against any half decent sides. He has one or two moments where you can be fooled for thinking he has a brain but on the whole he's absolute trash.

 

[Manny]

If SAF was managing this side, he'd be dropping Lukaku for big games and playing Martial up front and Sanchez and Lingard on the wings.

 

[AP88]

It’d be more beneficial to play Martial or Sanchez as a false 9 than to persist with this buffalo as a fake 9.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

It’d be more beneficial to play Martial or Sanchez as a false 9 than to persist with this buffalo as a fake 9.

Fake 9

Not bad.

 

[NK86]

How can he be so fkng poor in the air. Whenever a ball is played to him, he jumps like an oaf to try and flick the ball on blindly even though he knows there are no runners beyond him. Does he think that if he gets a flick he has done his job.

Has no ability to try and chest the ball down and bring others into play. Kane is literally 10 times the player he is. Everton robbed us off clean and we will be stuck with him lumbering around for the next few seasons.

 

[Hawks2008]

If you aren't feeding him 5 chances a game he is useless. He cannot hold up the ball, he cannot win headers consistently, his link up is shite, and he doesn't make any sort of unselfish runs to occupy or drag defenders away to make space for others. What shits me the most about him is he'll score the last goal in a 3-0 or 4-0 win against some lowly side and raise his arms like a knob. He has a massive ego and I don't get why when he has achieved feck all. He is the epitome of a flat track bully. For a man of his size and strength he uses it worse than players with smaller frames. Everton was his level.

 

[el3mel]

Lukaku is the least of our worries, however for sure he needs to improve his big games performance. It has become a concern now.

 

[SATA]

Belgium won't win anything with him being the number 9 either, let alone us

 

[Blind17]

People banging on about him not getting service should watch Kane yesterday,he missed couple of chances but still got involved in their every attack.

 

[ti vu]

If SAF was managing this side, he'd be dropping Lukaku for big games and playing Martial up front and Sanchez and Lingard on the wings.

Not sure, but one thing for sure, SAF would try to improve our wing play and at least try to supply him.

Our wing play is atrocious at the moment. Take too long to put cross in and when not hitting the first man, not so accurate. Lukaku needs to improve his ability to hold up play for sure, however our creativity is so bad. On a day Pogba flops, we're back to square one with little creativity. Alexis improves us, but he is not a dedicate play maker, and he needs to get at the end of chances too. In this game, he end up as if he's playing out of the position.

 

[Thomasvo]

Terrible. The difference between him and Kane couldn't have been bigger in that game.

 

[LoneStar]

Just drop him and play with a fluid front 3 in the big games. He’s so poor at holding the ball up. And for a person of his physical attributes, he’s shocking in the air and also doesn’t use his strength well.

Has he had one good game against the top 6 so far? When it comes to fluid football, I can see him holding us back in the future.

 

[Kapardin]

Just drop him and play with a fluid front 3 in the big games. He’s so poor at holding the ball up. And for a person of his physical attributes, he’s shocking in the air and also doesn’t use his strength well.

Has he had one good game against the top 6 so far? When it comes to fluid football, I can see him holding us back in the future.

Funny you should ask:



53 fecking percent.

It is not even the Top 6. He hasn't been playing well even against the fodder. Since his goal drought, he's merely scored goals when we have already been 2-0 and 3-0 up and done feck all otherwise.

I give him 1.5 seasons before he is either sold or benched. Still a long time away though thanks to his price tag.

Lukaku is the least of our worries, however for sure he needs to improve his big games performance. It has become a concern now.

On the contrary, he's the biggest worry and the weakest link in attack. If a team is 2-0 down and playing badly, a top striker like Zlatan, Costa or Kane would get onto the end of even a bad pass and make something out of it to pull their team back into the game. That would raise the game of the other forwards too as it provides them confidence.

Lukaku is like a little kid who hides behind the apron-strings of Martial, Lingard etc and comes out of hiding to stat-pad.

 

[Rasfene]

Well, he stayed fit and managed to score more goals than Morata, Lacazette and Rooney.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He's light years behind Kane as a striker.... and I guess that is a problem.

He needs to improve a lot... being good in flashes isn't enough.

 

[Westerkerk]

Personally I thought he looked like a quality signing. Athletic, powerful, full of confidence, can hold the ball up well, good header of the ball, a nightmare for defenders - and for a while at the start of the season it looked like a great call. However, I'm really disappointed in his development as a player here. He's regressed. Looks frustrated and is adding nothing to our attacking play. He sticks out like a sore thumb. I'm not sure we're playing the right style to suit him, and vice versa. I'm very confused by his presence.

 

[J_Red 11]

If he gets the same amount of minute as Martial or Rashford, he would have been behind Rashford, Martial & Lingard in term of goals.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Being used incorrectly by your manager can’t help. I get Jose wants to play his way and is trying to mold Lukaku in to a point forward but that just isn’t Lukaku’s game. Put the ball in front of him and get it to him quickly and he’ll punish teams, we have players in our team who are prime for a certain way of playing but Jose doesn’t want to play that way.

 

[Stacks]

Funny you should ask:



53 fecking percent.

It is not even the Top 6. He hasn't been playing well even against the fodder. Since his goal drought, he's merely scored goals when we have already been 2-0 and 3-0 up and done feck all otherwise.

I give him 1.5 seasons before he is either sold or benched. Still a long time away though thanks to his price tag.



On the contrary, he's the biggest worry and the weakest link in attack. If a team is 2-0 down and playing badly, a top striker like Zlatan, Costa or Kane would get onto the end of even a bad pass and make something out of it to pull their team back into the game. That would raise the game of the other forwards too as it provides them confidence.

Lukaku is like a little kid who hides behind the apron-strings of Martial, Lingard etc and comes out of hiding to stat-pad.

It happened in the City game when Zlatan scored the volley just before half time and we were all over them the 2nd half?

 

[Cloud7]

Cant see him being our striker for years to come, just like Chelsea with Morata, I think he'll be replaced when a better fit for the team is found.

My thoughts as well. I can definitely see United cutting their losses with him in a couple years once someone better becomes available. We just have to bare with him until then and hope we pick up some silverware along the way.

I’ll go out on a limb and predict that in about 4-5 years he’ll be at West Ham (or some equivalent)

 

[Fergus' son]

Astoundingly bad last night, from everything I'v seen im almost certain that he is not good enough to be our striker for more than this season. What was Mourinho thinking?