Lukaku's minor weakness. Often has to sort his feet before shooting.
Quantity of service he enjoys isn't ideal either but it also doesn't help that he can't get a shot off from half-chances
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Lukaku's minor weakness. Often has to sort his feet before shooting.
Quantity of service he enjoys isn't ideal either but it also doesn't help that he can't get a shot off from half-chances
Ridiculous. Waiting for the ball instead of hunting it. Any other top striker and this is a goal. Just shows how far he's already behind the elite.
I was against getting Icardi but now won't mind a direct swap with Inter. Think that's the only possible way we can replace him at the moment without losing much after spending 75m on him.
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Does anybody have a stat on how many times he had possession of the ball in the first 25 minutes? I'm pretty confident he didn't touch the ball once
This video just shows how chance creation is very low. Very hard to create for someone who is unwilling to run or move.
He had 3 touches in first 25 mins.
He was very poor, he just stands there waiting for ball to fall at his feet. Very frustrating and poor performance.
I genuinely wonder if Strikers have freedom to decide on their movements. Aguero making runs behind, Kane coming deep to get the ball, Auba drifting wide..Its also likely that managers give specific instructions to the strikers based on tactics and striker type.
Perhaps Lukaku is instructed to hold his own position more often rather than try a go behind a deep opposition. I am not saying that he doesnt make mistakes or have off games. It maybe combination of what's asked from him and what he is trying to do.
Perhaps Lukaku is instructed to hold his own position more often rather than try a go behind a deep opposition. I am not saying that he doesnt make mistakes or have off games. It maybe combination of what's asked from him and what he is trying to do.
So buy a striker who isn’t able to play as a target man and who is the absolute opposite of a Jose striker?
Wonderful goal that, people really need to go and watch a few vids of his goal collections. He scored more than a few exceptional goals, much as Mockney explained, just had that extra level to his play compared to Lukaku. This against Coventry one of my favourites of his.
He could be frustrating with inconsistent finishing but he could create a chance out of nothing, razor sharp in his movement. Might have scored the best Utd goal in Europe ever as well, that Cole/Yorke joy against Barca at the Nou Camp
Also have a particular affection for the goals against Blackburn at 00:52 in this vid and Sheff Wed at 1:14. That latter one was in a loss and is unheralded but the instant lay off and movement, the first touch to open the space for the finish, just world class forward play, subtle brilliance.
Watching this videos makes me feel cry now. The speed of play and thought, the movement, telepatic passing, decent crosses, the ruthlessness of our strikers. Those were the times
Bad game. Still way off form.
Yeah we played great football and we were successful. I don't understand how Ferguson managed it. I thought we had to choose one or the other.
I'm really starting to get frustrated with this guy. How can a £75m striker struggle so much to get a shot away? Bloody hell
Andy Cole was miles better
Andy Cole in his first 18 months (1995-97) at the club looked out of his depth. Some of his misses were shocking!! Becks and Giggs were laying it a plate for him week in, week out
Lukaku in his his first 12 months looks comfortable...with plenty of room for improvement mind.
Unfortunately he aint getting a service to feed off. It's amazing when you look at it he bagged almost 30 goals last season!
He was playing so poorly yesterday and we had no other options. We need another striker.
We do have another striker. And 2 young promising talents who are both fighting to play striker. However the way we play the only option who works there is Lukaku because of his build, and even then he's not good at how he's supposed to play.
Bad day at the office for the lad.
That miss towards the end was criminal and highlights the importance of having a variety of strikers at our disposal, specially the instinctive ones like we used to have Chicharito, Zlatan, Solskjaer.
That miss towards the end was criminal and highlights the importance of having a variety of strikers at our disposal, specially the instinctive ones like we used to have Chicharito, Zlatan, Solskjaer.
I personally like the guy and I do think he still brings more giving the number of chances he gets from his team mates but he should have put that Pogba cross away and unlike his miss vs Tottenham this one really did cost us the 3 points.
Once we subbed on Martial for Sanchez, we had no other option. I doubt Rashford would have done a better job tbh.
Yeah. Personally I would have subbed Lingard off, moved Lukaku to the right, Sanchez to striker and Martial on the left. At least we'd still retain Lukaku's size and crossing ability as options in the attack, while having a technically superior striker at CF and a pacy dribbler who can beat his man on the left. In fact I think this arrangement would make better use of our attacking players' strengths moving forward, the main doubt being whether Lukaku has the stamina to play as a wide forward all game.
Good post - I think the most instinctive striker we have is Rashford.
Who seems to be rapidly losing those instincts.
Yes & trying to turn him self to Adriano or C. Ronaldo attempting to shoot from far & wide with utter power. The first thing I noticed that changed from his game the moment Jose's first undroppable target man came in.
I'm one for Lukaku out and Rashford in, and under a different manager.
I'm a big fan of Rashford but I'm not sure you can associate his attempt to become C. Ronaldo 2.0 with Lukaku's presence and status in the team. Possibly he hasn't been receiving proper guidance under Mou's coaching team, I mean there's a reason Mou isn't known for developing youngsters. Or he's just a massive Ronaldo fanboy who doesn't yet have the maturity to know his own strengths and limitations.
We are never going to win anything of note with Lukaku as our main man. Like so many we have had at United in the past five years or so, he talks a good game but does nothing to back it up. One of the poorest strikers within the top six clubs.
It was just the pure positioning to me man - Rashford broke through as a striker who was in the right place at the right time - when he was no longer instinctive & had to be a winger/forward who spends too much time on the ball ie a supplier - he tried to turn himself in to a forward with a long shot. Just something that showed his development in to areas that were not exactly the things he needed a half season after he broke through.
It also happened first under Ibrahimlvic not Lukaku. Ibrahimlvic was one of my favorite players at Milan - yet he was bought not only for the short term benefits but also to get the fans used to United playing with one central striker - Rashford & Martial never had a chance & that's why the now undroppable Lukaku was bought almost instantly the moment Zlatan went off. Not to be part of a forward Line of 3 forwards - but to be a single forward with the rest supplying.
I also don't think Lukaku is the guy to take us forward.
He really just isn't technical gifted.
As fans, we sometimes see that he scores goals and that is enough, but he won't win us the league.
I wonder how most of his goals came for Everton and West Brom now, looking back.
He really just isn't technical gifted.
As fans, we sometimes see that he scores goals and that is enough, but he won't win us the league.
I wonder how most of his goals came for Everton and West Brom now, looking back.
He wouldn't play for any of the top PL teams.
Yeah Rashford has been very unlucky in that he's not going to develop into the profile of player he should be because Mou has no use for that sort of player. Probably should go out on loan if Mou doesn't leave tbh.
I do very much agree with your argument that our forwards are constrained by being forced to be pure suppliers to a lone target man striker in Lukaku. Martial obviously has a nose for goal and should be a wide forward, perhaps like Salah or Mane; Sanchez was a borderline world class striker at Arsenal and with his lack of pace now he really should be played much closer to goal, making him tear up and down the wing pumping in crosses is really setting him up to fail.
Lukaku is a good goalscorer, but his lack of an all-round game means he should be our plan B (kind of like what Fellaini does for us in attack) rather than main striker.
Edit: Sorry, just realised you were referring to Zlatan and not Lukaku.
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Lukaku nearly scored 30 goals last season in a Mourinho team that is dull and produces low chances. Imagine if he played under an attacking manager with loads of chances. Rashford on the other hand wouldn’t come close to the amount Lukaku would get.
Just look at him for Belgium, the team creates loads of chances and Lukaku scores a bucket load.
The next time I see Lukaku standing still pointing to his feet I'm going to make a damn meme.
We were all saying he was great during the WC. Has he suddenly become rubbish? I doubt it.
Feel like using him a target man is the wrong approach. He needs the ball played through the lines so he can use his pace and power, as he showed at Burnley.
Feel like using him a target man is the wrong approach. He needs the ball played through the lines so he can use his pace and power, as he showed at Burnley.
He was in good form but then again he didnt exactly score against anyone particularly decent.
And when Belgium got the chance to play against a decent level team Lukaku was pushed to the right,which basically says 'Look,Lukaku. You're good striker against Kentucky-fried chicken FC but not against Brazil'.
Insane that he really waited for the ball to bounce to him, in the six yard box. Of everything that happened, that is the moment that sticks with me the most from yesterday’s game.
Even Fellaini looks pissed off with Lukaku there. That was shocking. He talks big but just doesn't have the ability to deliver on it.
I still don't understand why the guys so huge. It would be one thing if he used it but he doesn't. Can't be right surely.
Now,now you cant expect a 75 million pound forward to actually move towards the ball. The pass has to be inch perfect to his feet and then ,and only then, will we witness the scoring talents of Romelululu Lukaku,once the ball is rebounded back into his path after blasting it at the goalkeepers now bruised mug that is.
It is the wrong approach, but if Mourinho were able to craft an attacking system that didn't rely on a target man then we would easily have 2-3 other striker or forward options, who might end up offering more in attack than Lukaku anyway because he has the worst technique of all of them by some distance.
It isnt that minor... he just looks clumsy often. Someone said it before... he plays in Timberlands. You cant really expect to be someone of Lukaku his size to be ellegant and nimble though
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