It’s the system though. He’s a poacher playing as a number 9. If you had Diego Costa in this side we’d be far better. There wasn’t a single moment in that game where Valencia’s centre backs were thrown off their game by Lukaku.
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It’s the system though. He’s a poacher playing as a number 9. If you had Diego Costa in this side we’d be far better. There wasn’t a single moment in that game where Valencia’s centre backs were thrown off their game by Lukaku.
At the post match analysis the coaches are going to be well impressed with his heat dot.....I mean map.
He was so poor today.
He was so poor today.
Terrible today, should be given a rest.
Not the most brightest player too.
For all that talk about fighting and that milk story, he really seems to be all talk.
Not the most brightest player too.
For all that talk about fighting and that milk story, he really seems to be all talk.
Drop him. Play Rashford up front.
The only good thing about his peformance today was how much it wound up Keown
Did he though?
I like Rom but he's been very poor the last 5 matches or so. I'm starting to wish Zlatan didn't get injured for us, his style suits us far more.
I'd be down for Rashford playing up top for a few games, but won't happen. Took Mourinho 2 seasons to start playing Shaw, and 9 months to play Sanchez on the right. Probs be another 3 years before Rom gets dropped.
I'd be down for Rashford playing up top for a few games, but won't happen. Took Mourinho 2 seasons to start playing Shaw, and 9 months to play Sanchez on the right. Probs be another 3 years before Rom gets dropped.
But.. but.. attitude something something captain material because he gave an interview 
He cost us today. Not just him... Sanchez aswell. Valencia is utterly useless when it comes to overlapping and whipping one in. He always stops the ball in front of the full back and hits the first defender every time. It’s frustrating.
Lukaku is probably our best player in terms of who performs the most for us. But he misses too many chances. That free header was inexcusable. People want to blame Jose, that’s fine. But Jose wasn’t controlling him when he missed that header. If he took his chances and we won 3-0 for example, everyone would be talking about how “Mourinho turned it around and attacked!” But because nobody took their chances, it’s “0-0, boring boring Man United. Why doesn’t Mourinho attack?” etc.
People only remember the score line but there’s been plenty of games like this in the past. People not taking the chances and Mourinho getting the flack for “parking the bus”... it’s all bullshit. Not scoring doesn’t mean he parked the bus
Lukaku is probably our best player in terms of who performs the most for us. But he misses too many chances. That free header was inexcusable. People want to blame Jose, that’s fine. But Jose wasn’t controlling him when he missed that header. If he took his chances and we won 3-0 for example, everyone would be talking about how “Mourinho turned it around and attacked!” But because nobody took their chances, it’s “0-0, boring boring Man United. Why doesn’t Mourinho attack?” etc.
People only remember the score line but there’s been plenty of games like this in the past. People not taking the chances and Mourinho getting the flack for “parking the bus”... it’s all bullshit. Not scoring doesn’t mean he parked the bus
This. I think the flak he gets by some of our fans is a bit too harsh but there's no denying he's been dogshit so far this season. It could be hangover from the World Cup, after all he (sort of) went all the way.
He has offered absolutely nothing for a while now. A genuine 1/10 performance if there ever was one.
We've had more obvious issues so it's rather gone under the radar how awful he's been this season but tonight make have woken a lot of people up.
He's been awful and he's disgracefully half arsing it too.
He's taking the piss
He's been awful and he's disgracefully half arsing it too.
He's taking the piss
Scholes just called him out on his movement. Good. He's just escaping criticism. Jose needs to put him on the bench for a spell.
Looks fat and his movement is not good.
Can barely move. Looks like he put on a stone.
Except if we look at the stats from last season it's a fact that we create less than our rivals. Not an opinion, a fact. Lukaku's finishing has nothing to do with that, nor does people's memory.
This season his finishing has certainly cost us as he has been missing more than usual when we have created for him. In general though his goalscoring is far, far, far less of a problem than his general play.
Do kinda feel a bit sorry for him, being played in a manner that doesn’t suit him and to be honest I think the reason he is being so static is due to instruction, much like Zlatan was played, just occupy the two CB’s. Unfortunately Lukaku is nothing like Zlatan and doesn’t have anywhere near the same skill set.
He’s certainly struggiling and playing some dog awful rubbish but coaching, just mind boggling decision after another.
He’s certainly struggiling and playing some dog awful rubbish but coaching, just mind boggling decision after another.
Trash. How can you be 75m striker with 0 technique? He needs to be doing so much more. Drifting to the right wing constantly and doing feck all. Still laugh at people saying he should be a captain. Never been convinced by him in a United shirt even last season when people will have you believe he was brilliant.
Mourinho's talisman. One day when he's long gone Jose will figure out why he seemed to have bad luck at Inited
That’s ridiculous.
Talks a lot good things in the media then takes a dump on the pitch.
He simply stopped improving after his first season here and still to this day he doesn't have a healthy rivalry on his position.
He simply stopped improving after his first season here and still to this day he doesn't have a healthy rivalry on his position.
Sadly I found myself agreeing with everything Keown said.
What Keown didn't pick up on is his general lack of sync with other players, there was one point in particular where Valencia was forward on the RW and Sanchez and he combined, brought in Lukaku and all he had to do was play the ball through but instead he turned the opposite way and passed backwards. Both Sanchez and Valencia just looked to the skies when it happened, as if it's not surprising to them.
Why is he undroppable and unsubbable? Why is he the only one who gets to play up front?
Yes people blame the midfield players of not creating for him. But how can they create anything because his movement off the ball has been terrible.
When he had KDB and Eden Hazard alongside him and he failed against any top quality opposition what hope so we have at Manchester United?
The man should be not be playing as a striker at any top club.
When he had KDB and Eden Hazard alongside him and he failed against any top quality opposition what hope so we have at Manchester United?
The man should be not be playing as a striker at any top club.
Care to expand on that?
Always has. This is why I'm so puzzled by some who think he should be captain. Guy knows how to talk that's for sure, but can't produce it out on the pitch.
Because the manager wants it that way.... what can you do?
What makes it worse is that Jose had seen him daily in training while at Chelsea. If it was clear to a novice like myself and a lot of others that he lacked the technique to be a quality striker, how can a manager who is supposedly world class not know?
I mean anyone who was at the FA Cup Semi vs Everton under LVG would tell you how many chances he ruined with bad touches/finishing.
I mean anyone who was at the FA Cup Semi vs Everton under LVG would tell you how many chances he ruined with bad touches/finishing.
I think a more obvious assessment of why he’s playing poorly is because of himself and his lack of ability, as opposed to deciding he’s probably been told to.
Concrete slippers, at this point anyone would do. I'd take Mitrovic, Deeney, Murray, Oh I could go on and on
Excuses excuses
I actually think he misinterpreted Mourinho saying play like a Manchester United stature forward as play like a musical statue.
He's in awful form and somehow Mourinho hasn't worked out that despite his size, he's not a proper target man. There was a lot of talk on commentary tonight about his lack of movement and Pogba getting frustrated with him.
Me too.
We’d probably benefit a lot if we raided the best players of the lesser teams in fact.
Zaha, Mitrovic, Pereyra, Wan Bissaka. Buy em all!
No idea why we haven’t tried someone else through the middle, seems he can play as badly as he wants without being dropped.
We don't create because his movements off the ball has been shite most of the time. If his movements were better we would create more obcobvsly.
He should never be our main striker. Everton was his level.
He was so good in the World Cup, too. Really thought we was going to get a great season out of him.
A guy who was one of the best strikers in the league with one of the best conversation rates who basically got his goals from movement and arriving on to things doesn’t just all of a sudden become rubbish unless there has been changes.
It’s obvious the difference in how he was/is deployed at Everton and Belgium compared to how he is deployed for us, to me his lack of movement is in part to the reason I said earlier, that is how Jose wants him deployed, stay up top and occupy the 2 Cb’s to hopefully leave space for someone else, it’s exactly the same as how Zlatan was deployed. The problem tho is the isolation, how slow we are and the massive gaps between defence, midfield and our forwards, it’s just poor coaching and management.
We can maybe critique his movement in the box when chances are coming in but then he pulled off a few decent movements or runs this evening to create space or an opportunity for himself. I’m by no way saying he isn’t partially to blame, but it’s painfully obvious at this moment in time we are just being poorly managed and coached and players not being used in ways that would get the best out of them or others.
On this tho, I wouldn’t be against him being dropped for Newcastle and playing Martial, Rashford and Sanchez in a 3, however none of them can do the job Jose wants, and even more proof of how Jose wants us to play is how he deployed Martial vs Wigan. Made him play the same way, just occupy the 2 CB’s and try and win the high balls. Something Martial is clearly not used to.
How so? I did say he's been dogshit this season, but of course my point is it's quite incredible how a footballer who performed to the highest level last season which was then followed by a decent World Cup could decline this emphatically in such a short period of time. I just can't see a reason for this unfortunately, except for him having a hangover from playing a lot of football in the summer.
I think hes too big and its hampering him. Look at him in videos when he played for the baggies or everton and then now. as for the world cup he had WC players with him and only scored against the 'smaller' teams
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