[UncleBob]

By who? Pretty much everyone i saw thought he'd had a reasonable season but he needed to do a lot more to be a success here long term. He got some goals but his all round play was being called out by a lot of people.

Just read his performance thread.

 

[steakpie]

Am I the only one who thinks his touch is actually fine? I would rate it 6/10

He is one of those players who can control it as long as the pitch is smooth. Welbeck and Rooney were similar.

 

[11101]

Just read his performance thread.

From @el3mel and @Bwuk , a couple of posters i consider to have half an idea what they're talking about:

Overall his numbers have been disappointing to a degree. After the great start I thought he'll be at 25-26 goals in all competitions by now like what Salah, Kane and Aguero have achieved.

He's having a decent season, not great but decent. I'll say 6.5 or 7/10. Plenty of time to improve many things though.

Lukaku makes 35 year old Zlatan look world class. Just in terms of ability and not necessarily scoring.

And one from myself:

Been saying it all along but that's where he should spend the whole game, on the last man and looking to get beyond them. He's not a great footballer but he is a great striker/finisher. We should be playing to his strengths not amplifying his weaknesses by asking him to get involved everywhere.

Lukaku had a good first season but he was not exceptional and it was clear where the gaps in his game were, and they seem to have gotten worse this season.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

Why isn't the bold part the major problem here, his current form.

Not sure what youre getting at, I don't think anyone's arguing that he's in good form. If your argument is we should drop him because of poor form that's a fair opinion, but our back-up options haven't fared any better when they've played and Sanchez, who would be the obvious option to take Lukaku's place, is injured. As I said in my previous post, in better times we'd have another goalscorer to step up and take the slack, give Lukaku a break from the limelight and take the pressure off him. Unfortunately with our current squad we don't have that luxury.

What is being argued is that when you have one proven goal-scoring striker in the squad, you should aim to play to their strengths. That should be common sense, and doubly so when the player is struggling individually. Unless another player is showing in training he is ready to step up and lead the line, players and manager should be working to provide a platform on which Lukaku can perform rather than expecting him to morph into a different player overnight.

 

[Kostur]

Apparently got rid of Raiola and Federico Pastorello is his agent now.

 

[breakout67]

Its pretty fecking obvious what Lukaku's strengths are when you watched him for Everton or Belgium. When Everton dominated the ball they would use width and Lukaku would make runs into the box to attack crosses. When Everton were on the back foot they would make long passes into the channels for Lukaku to chase which would help them get up the pitch.

When we dominate the ball we play with 5 players in a 3 metre space. Our fullbacks are either bad at crossing (Shaw/Valenica) or are constantly twisting/turning and never put in a cross first time so forwards can make runs (Young). When we don't dominate the ball we hoof it into the sky for him to try to get a flick on or to beat 3 players by himself.

 

[Stacks]

Its pretty fecking obvious what Lukaku's strengths are when you watched him for Everton or Belgium. When Everton dominated the ball they would use width and Lukaku would make runs into the box to attack crosses. When Everton were on the back foot they would make long passes into the channels for Lukaku to chase which would help them get up the pitch.

When we dominate the ball we play with 5 players in a 3 metre space. Our fullbacks are either bad at crossing (Shaw/Valenica) or are constantly twisting/turning and never put in a cross first time so forwards can make runs (Young). When we don't dominate the ball we hoof it into the sky for him to try to get a flick on or to beat 3 players by himself.

pretty much. We are caught up in 2 styles, none of which suit him. short, slow, sideways passes or long balls. Its weird because Jose in the past has signed appropriate strikers for his systems

 

[IronCroos37]

Lukaku is a boring forward.

 

[Rozay]

Playing balls into his feet under pressure as if he's suddenly going to be a great target man/hold-up play striker is a big issue. At the best of times it's wasting his other talents, in his current form you might as well just pass it straight to the opposition. If we want to use him as an easy ''out" ball from defence we'd be better off putting the ball into the channels for him to chase than trying to play fast into his feet or lumping it onto his head.

He's at his best when you give him decent service into the box, or on quick breaks when you give him something to run onto or he can use his movement to create space for others. If we continue to get the sort of service into the box as Dalot did against Fulham, Lukaku will prosper as he comes back into form.

This is football, modern football at that. Any footballer who you need to avoid passing the ball to his feet is a fecking con man and a masquerade. That should not be spun as some sort of fault of his teammates, who have the stupidity to pass the ball to their teammates feet. Not being good at football isn’t acceptable, and when the rest of your teammates are at the top of the game, it will naturally mean you can’t keep up with what they are doing.

Kicking the ball into the channel for your striker to chase like a dog in the park is no consistent formula at the very top of the game. It worked for Jamie Vardy for a bit, but it’s ultimately not enough in isolation. God forbid your striker actually catches up with the ball. Then what? Does the pass always have to be one that allows him to shoot with his first touch? If not, Lukaku needs to control the ball that is running away from him, under pressure from a centre half who is chasing him, and consistently bring others into play, or manoeuvre his man for a shot, which he’s very poor at for a top level striker. If there’s a man between him and the goal when he gets it, chances are he cannot get a shot on target.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

@Rozay

If you read the bits of that sentence you didnt highlight you'll see that I was specifically referring to situations where the defence wanted an easy out-ball. I'm not suggesting lumping balls into the channels as a 'consistent formula'.

Just saying, if our defence is going to play it long instead of attempting to pass it out (which happens all too often at the moment) then there's a way to do that which uses Lukaku's strengths and there's a way that highlights his weaknesses.

 

[SalfordRed18]

He's a limited forward that can play a pivitol role in certain types of teams. He's not what United needs and United isnt suited for him. Can definitely do a job at a big club but not at sides who try to be somewhat technical.

 

[shamans]

He's gonna go on a run of 4-5 games scoring goals and people are gonna gloat and talk about how "they told us all along".

As has been mentioned many times, he's a good striker just not United quality. You can't have these long spells of nothingness if you want to be the top dog for Manchester United.

If we had an excellent team everywhere else he'd be alright but then you'd have to say how good someone like Rashford would be in a team where everything else is functioning well.

 

[M Utd]

I like him as a man
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/romelu-lukaku-ive-got-some-things-to-say
But I'm yet to be convinced of the player. All players take time but I was hoping for a little more after a year and a half at the club.

I'll ask a honest question does anyone think we would see a drastically different player under a new playing style/manager?

 

[royboy16]

Has the Utd Lukaku improved on the West Brom or Everton Lukaku version ?

 

[Bwuk]

Has the Utd Lukaku improved on the West Brom or Everton Lukaku version ?

He was better at Everton than he was for us.

 

[Pat Evra]

I celebrate when he doesn't lose possesion.

 

[Raw]

Looked better when he fecked off.

 

[el3mel]

Mind baffling how we're still starting this lump.

Just feck off from our club please. I'll sell for 30m.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Was great.

When he went off the pitch and we actually played alright

 

[PepsiCola]

Shocking.

Positively shocking.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Sad truth is that we play better without him. Just loads more fluidity.

 

[Eckers99]

It's like watching a war vet stumbling around a battlefield looking for an arm.

 

[bosnian_red]

Hes a really bad footballer

 

[starman]

Please sell him in the window. He's a hinderance. Complete waste of money in fees and wages

 

[Hugh Jass]

God awful. Looks like a pub player. His ball control, just horrible.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Permanently bench him.

We look much better with anyone leading the front besides him.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Wow, this was a night where nothing went right for him. We actually played better when he went off.

 

[sullydnl]

Has the Utd Lukaku improved on the West Brom or Everton Lukaku version ?

Last season he was better in some aspects than he was in his final season at Everton while being worse at others. I figured that was okay though as he had just made a step up to a bigger club and Everton's style of play suited him more (not least because they created a lot more chances for him than we did).

This season he has been legitimately terrible, though one has to imagine that's down to form, fitness and confidence rather than some insane regression generally.

Obviously as you go further back in his career he becomes more raw but generally yeah, he was better towards the end of his time at Everton than he has been here.

 

[redom]

Undeniable that we looked better when he went off.

 

[Redplane]

The reason for a seemingly unavoidable death of playing with powerful and/or explosive target man in the United system? Oddly LVG probably could ve made it work.

 

[Foxbatt]

I can't stand his waiving and his pointing anymore.

 

[el3mel]

Wow, this was a night where nothing went right for him. We actually played better when he went off.

These nights are every match this season.

 

[Irish Jet]

He was never technically great and has dropped off considerably. That was an absolutely dreadful performance.

The team looks far more balance without him. More urgency with our movement and more ability to play with pace. His Utd career is turning into a tragedy for both him and Mourinho.

 

[Fracture90]

Add more muscle.

 

[anant]

The biggest problem is that he isn't able to even control passes that were from 5 yards away. There was this play in the 1st half where Mata passed him the ball just outside the box , anyone can control that, but not Lukaku. His touch took the ball away from him and the pass, that in an ideal scenario, would result in our shot but ended up with a turnover of possession.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Hilarious trying to see him lay our players off but giving it away.

 

[Bwuk]

He’s woeful. I’d rather give Greenwood minutes than Lukaku.

 

[Rossa]

I celebrate when he doesn't lose possesion.

You remain seated for most of the match then.

 

[Thiagoal]

He's been shocking- absolutely shocking- but Mourinho's tactics of using him as a target man is bringing out the worst in him! His skill set simply does not compliment how he's being used! At this stage his performances are nothing short of embarrassing; league 2 standard!

 

[Bwuk]

He's been shocking- absolutely shocking- but Mourinho's tactics of using him as a target man is bringing out the worst in him! His skill set simply does not compliment how he's being used! At this stage his performances are nothing short of embarrassing; league 2 standard!

It’s not Mourinhos fault he can’t trap a ball.