With his height also factored into the equation, I don't think that there is a heavier player in the EPL period, let alone a striker. When you have that much extra weight to carry around, it will impact his play without a doubt. He looks like a tank and has the turning speed and radius of a tank. He was never a player with a good first touch, but his overall game really seems to be dragged down by all those extra pounds he's put on since he joined us for whatever reason.
9
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With his height also factored into the equation, I don't think that there is a heavier player in the EPL period, let alone a striker. When you have that much extra weight to carry around, it will impact his play without a doubt. He looks like a tank and has the turning speed and radius of a tank. He was never a player with a good first touch, but his overall game really seems to be dragged down by all those extra pounds he's put on since he joined us for whatever reason.
You're right, he isn't. However he is better than a woefully out of form Lukaku, which is what we had on our hands. Until he shows signs that he's shaken that funk off it's better for him as well as us that he starts on the bench. Had Mourinho tried playing him through this bad form I think the crowd would have turned on him a bit, which would have knocked his confidence even more.
Rashford did nothing today. This sudden narrative that we play better with him up front, or that he makes us look better as a team is nonsense.
Aye, Rashford wasn't all that good either. If the break does Lukaku good though then it's worth making the change anyway. Rashford certainly wasn't worse than Lukaku has been recently.
i was in the Stretford end and thought the boos were for Rashford being subbed, with Lukaku coming on. Didn't feel like it was coming just from the away end
Who the hell in our fitness department tell our players to get that bulky any way ? The same happened with Depay as well. Someone in the club probably think telling the players getting heavier and being more muscular will make them better footballer.
Lukaku looks more suited for boxing than for football.
Lukaku looks more suited for boxing than for football.
There are things that we do without Lukaku that help the team. For example I feel we play less long hopefull balls because we know Rashford wont win them. So its more to do with Lukaku not being there than Rashford.
Very sad
Looks like he’s gained a bit of weight, Sanchez is looking the same if I’m honest. Given the reasons Mourinho is saying he is out. Hope he gets over the hurdle he’s in.
Looks like he’s gained a bit of weight, Sanchez is looking the same if I’m honest. Given the reasons Mourinho is saying he is out. Hope he gets over the hurdle he’s in.
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I think people should realise that Lukaku had all these months to settle into a team, and Rashford had just one game, before judging and comparing their performances as a striker.
How many chances Rashford and Martial got as ST in a year? How many in a row? And people measure it in the same way, ok.
He looks a completely different player from last season, where’s that guy? I remember him scoring 2 on his debut for us against West Ham, was sharp, full of energy, power and constantly making runs looked a real threat, thought we had that position sorted for the next few years. He looks tired don’t know if it’s still a World Cup hangover or if it’s the extra pounds he’s put on, defo looks bigger this season.
5 mins from the end I noticed him and realised I'd forgotten he was even on. Sums him up.
He is tired and his confidence is also shot.
That's the thing, if the extra bulk is a problem then it should be an easy thing to fix. It's not like it has happened due to a lack of professionalism on Lukaku's part, he'd have to work damn hard to put on that much muscle. So why isn't anyone guiding him properly?
Remember reading an article on Trent Alexander how Kopp told him to get rid of the beach body. He is built like a boxer, i do wonder if it has slowed his acceleration. Muscles weigh more than fat...he looks like a flipping heavy weight.
Whether he's tired after a WC campaign (bless) or not, when you come on for the last 20 mins surely you run your heart out to closedown defenders. No excuse for just ambling towards a defender with the ball. Don't make it easy for them, but sadly I've been seeing this attitude for too long now.
I think people just need to chill out a bit when it comes to Lukaku. He's having a very poor season so far and looks bereft of confidence, but he didn't start last season particularly well either (in terms of general play) but masked this with a pretty good goal scoring record. His overall play massively improved from around February/March onward and he ended up bagging 27 goals - not bad at all for someone who's been likened to Emile Heskey in this thread.
It's easy to fall into the trap of using today to demonstrate that he interrupts the flow to our football and that Martial and Rashford ensure more fluidity, but there have been a number of occasions where these two have been given a chance to spearhead our attack (or one of them get a start on the wing) and they've largely disappointed, with the team looking completely disjointed and anything but fluid. I was delighted with Martial today and hope he can start to gain some consistency, but to say that either he or Rashford would offer more than Lukaku over an entire season (at their current stages of development) is madness. We looked more fluid today because Pogba and Martial were both at the top of their games, rather than it specifically being due to Lukaku's absence.
This is indicative of recency bias - it seems that every time a player goes through a bad patch of form then they're suddenly not good enough for the club.
Also, can somebody explain why some keep saying that Lukaku needs to score 25+ Premier League goals per season? Ruud Van Nistelrooy, largely considered to be one of our greatest ever strikers, only managed this feat once, and in that season (02/03) only 13 of those 25 came from open play, with 12 from the penalty spot. Not to mention the fact that he was in a team with much more attacking talent and nous than the current side (at least for his first two seasons) and was working under an attacking manager to boot.
It's easy to fall into the trap of using today to demonstrate that he interrupts the flow to our football and that Martial and Rashford ensure more fluidity, but there have been a number of occasions where these two have been given a chance to spearhead our attack (or one of them get a start on the wing) and they've largely disappointed, with the team looking completely disjointed and anything but fluid. I was delighted with Martial today and hope he can start to gain some consistency, but to say that either he or Rashford would offer more than Lukaku over an entire season (at their current stages of development) is madness. We looked more fluid today because Pogba and Martial were both at the top of their games, rather than it specifically being due to Lukaku's absence.
This is indicative of recency bias - it seems that every time a player goes through a bad patch of form then they're suddenly not good enough for the club.
Also, can somebody explain why some keep saying that Lukaku needs to score 25+ Premier League goals per season? Ruud Van Nistelrooy, largely considered to be one of our greatest ever strikers, only managed this feat once, and in that season (02/03) only 13 of those 25 came from open play, with 12 from the penalty spot. Not to mention the fact that he was in a team with much more attacking talent and nous than the current side (at least for his first two seasons) and was working under an attacking manager to boot.
I am not Lukaku's biggest fan, but people had him rated as the worst player today in the player ratings and that's probably a little unfair. He had a couple of bad headers, but he had some great touches today (something I haven't said too often about him). In my opinion, he is screaming for a strike partner. People keep talking about how SAF always ran with 4 strikers in the team. That's because we played a 4-4-2. I say bring that back. And I would partner Lukaku with Sanchez. Some keep asking for Martial and Rashford, but Rashford isn't ready to be the regular starter and Martial is not a striker (as much as people like to think he is). Martial has been fantastic on the left wing and should be a guaranteed starter there. When he has played as a striker (very rarely) he has looked lost. He thrives in space and is so dangerous coming in from the left as we saw today...
Badly needs a goal. He would have put that header away at this point last season. Looks totally bereft of confidence.
He actually showed a lot of quality when he came on. Some of his link play was brilliant. Obviously when youre out of flavour, people wont pick up on that, but he did well in that respect.
Should have done better with his header. Not sure what happened, but when youre out of form, things dont go your way.
Think time on the bench will do him good, though. No player should be 'undroppable'
Should have done better with his header. Not sure what happened, but when youre out of form, things dont go your way.
Think time on the bench will do him good, though. No player should be 'undroppable'
It was a 1/10 performance.
It clearly wasn’t. 1/10 is getting sent off in the first minute of the derby.
As I said, people tend not to see the good stuff when you're out of form.
Had he had a loads of awful touches but scored, you'd had probably given him an 8. Fickle fans.
Having said all of that, he did deserve to be dropped and based on our performance today, it should remain the same in our next game.
Lukaku could never make a chance for himself like that. Both of them aren't scoring but rashford offers the team a different dynamic in terms of putting pressure on the defenders and pressing. When lukaku came on you noticed the everton defenders could suddenly push forward and pass into the midfield because he doesn't want to put pressure and run. First ideally we want the player who is scoring but if they both aren't scoring it's who helps the rest of the team more.
Can anyone ever see him scoring the kind of header Suarez did against Real today? People will scream service but that’s the type of goal from a half chance he doesn’t have in his locker and unfortunately never will.
Out of form now. Slow, no movements and bad touches. Mou should try Sanchez (not that he is any better right now) upfront until he rediscovers his form.
They just addressed this specifically on MOD2 and Shearer said the teams movement is better with Rashford upfront, so yeah, not nonsense
Genuinely can't remember Lukaku once making something out of nothing. Every top striker needs to have that quality, where he comes up with a great play and scores a great goal out of a situation where it didn't even seem like a real chance. All he is, is a poacher, and nothing special at that. He's one footed, poor in the air, not agile and not great on the ball, and finally inconsistent and very much a confidence player. That's a very bad combination to have and it's just so limiting to have. Said it at the time but he's just not good enough. Never will be. People praise him or say his touch is fine because he had a standard lay off to Martial once.. like that's the fecking expectations with him. Everyone expects him to feck up, so when he does the absolute basics and doesn't feck up on a simple pass, suddenly it's a good play.
His substitution on kind of coincided with us ceding control of the game, so a bit unfair to judge him too harshly. That said he shouldn't waltz straight back into the starting lineup next match, although I expect he will.
So where was this better movement when Rashford played upfront last year? You cant claim stuff like this after one game.
Lukaku looks heavier, slower and his touch has deserted him.
I thought he will grow from strength to strength after last season.
We need all our key players to be on form if we are going to get top 4 at least.
I thought he will grow from strength to strength after last season.
We need all our key players to be on form if we are going to get top 4 at least.
What did Jose say about Lukaku?
Lukaku's been here for a year and a half almost and you find a clip from like 3 years ago at a different club in one of the extremely rare times he's done something like that
No way. He hasn't unlocked that level yet
Look at the difference in his body back then. He was strong but lean. He could actually run.
Came here and suddenly decided to make a career shift to heavyweight boxing. If he takes his shirt off and steps into the ring now, I doubt his body will look any different than that of Joshua.
It's weird, some players bulk up so much at OT... Anderson, Shaw, Lukheskey
He pretty much said few times that he is irreplaceable.
You are 100% correct. The crowd around me have turned on him.
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