Too early? He wasn't good enough and had too many deficiencies while at Everton or West Brom and Chelsea before that. He always looked a good striker but never top level. He's shown nothing here to change the opinion that he's good but never will be good enough to be a main player in a big team, and nothing more than a hindrance in big games. Too many basic problems in his game and natural ability.
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Goals
- 15
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 5
- Status
I think he was genuinely top-class in his final season for Everton - 25 goals in his final league season for them was excellent, and considering he was still quite young at the time felt like the natural progression of a player who was getting better year-on-year. I think the problem largely is that without goals he doesn't offer enough to compensate, and so to be worth it as your main striker he has to be hitting those 20+ goal seasons constantly.
Our attacks are so much better without him.
Get back his best form, and be a super sub.
Will this season be his lowest goal scoring/season?
Get back his best form, and be a super sub.
Will this season be his lowest goal scoring/season?
Why are we sweating
Because he might come back before Tuesday
Liar.
Our first goal today was evidence that our attacks are so much better without him messing them up. So much more fluidity. There is no way Lukaku would've started the move and assisted the way Sanchez did with his lumbering movement. I hope he remains a bench option for us, nothing more.
He he he he he he
Martial has had 8 shots in the league this year, all on target and 5 of them went in. He is our most reliable finisher.
Should be a super sub until he gets some form going. He's played enough games and its made things worse for him.
This is his level. A good squad player for a top 4 side and a leading attacker for top 6/ top 8 sides
Should accept this role at the moment. Take the rest, be a supersub, work on his touch, and then maybe re-integrate in the first XI.
Hes been here one and half year now, if he was a 19 years old new arrival to the league that might excuse him, but hes not. He did not set the league on fire at Chelsea or Everton, and he wont do it for us either. Hes a decent goal scorer and has an impressive physique, but his technique is so limited he will never be the kind of player we want him to be. We looked so much more dangerous in attack today and his absence is the main reason
Martial is the only one you could debate is a better finisher and he's in great form while Lukaku's confidence is in the toilet so of course right at this very moment Martial is out performing him but all things being equal I think he's the most natural finisher we have, it's the rest of his game that isn't upto standard.
I just hope he stays out of the XI, a good person but sometimes trash as a player which he has been like forever for us.
Need fluid front 3 and what I saw today, gave me some hope.
Need fluid front 3 and what I saw today, gave me some hope.
I think Lukaku is our most reliable goalscorer rather than "finisher" exactly. A lot of his goals (especially at Everton) were down to that knack some strikers seem to have of being in the right position in the box to put the chance away. That's not quite the same as his actual finishing ability.
In fairness it would be ridiculous to judge Martial on that small sample size as it is obviously unsustainable over the long run.
Martial and Mata are both better finishers than Lukaku. I’d say Sanchez is too.
Agree to disagree, I'd bank on Lukaku to finish a chance more times out of 10 than those two and certainly Sanchez. Like I said I'm not saying it's a reason to put him back in the team as I think we more than make up for it with our all round attacking play when he's not there but of all the sticks to beat him with I don't think finishing is one of them.
Lukaku’s finishing depends largely on how the ball falls. He doesn’t have a range of finishes as he is not a technical finisher and can’t engineer shots from various situations. But yes of course, opinions and all that.
Martial finishing is far better than Lukaku it's not even a comparison, both by head and leg.
Lukaku is better finisher than say Rashford and Lingard but that doesn't say much does it ?
Lukaku is better finisher than say Rashford and Lingard but that doesn't say much does it ?
He's been missing 1:1 chances even when he was on form and scoring regularly. Just last season he probably missed at least 4 sitters while playing for the Belgium NT.
Have you seen Sanchez play for Arsenal? Sanchez is a far better finisher than Lukaku or Martial, just because he is struggling here doesn't make him a poor finisher.
Ah shite, that is no good. Didn't really see much difference without him in the last two games, I hate to use the old "blessing in disguise" but if we could squeak through this period giving him a couple of weeks break that might be a boon when we come out the other end of these fixtures.
He was man of the match today, by not playing.
I'm not saying he's a world class finisher but it's still one of the stronger facets of his game, Martial missed a 1 on 1 last week but everyone still rates his finishing, it happens.
Of course I've seen Sanchez at Arsenal but he's not come close to showing that level of finishing with us so who's to say he's still capable of that standard? I'd love him to prove me wrong and start tucking them away but so far there's no reason to believe it.
A real ton of shite on here of late about Lukaku. The guy has been run to the ground and is in really poor form. It doesn't warrant the vitriol. Hopefully this break helps him get back to his best, which is both an asset to this team and very much compatible with Martial.
Toxic thread, this. People trying to outdo each other with hyperbolic and over-the-top statements. Lukaku needs a proper rest and to be re-integrated slowly; his own pre-season in a way. He will be fine after that, just like he was last year.
I feel he should be given a chance on the right side attack sometime in the coming games . He is too static to play as a lone striker since we end up hoofing the balls always . I think he will do better against the full backs than the centre backs . He has the pace and physicality to make it work there but since he has always been a striker it would mean less tracking back when it comes to defensive duties so that means more of Valencia and Young at right back to cover for him.
Martial-------------Sanchez---------------Lukaku
Mourinho has been in a experimental mode and making interesting changes to the starting 11 this season so I do feel this play is possible . We should keep Sanchez up top since his movement really helps Pogba and Martial get some extra time and space . Lukaku's pace will be helpful on the counter attacks and as we have seen with Belgium and Everton he can work it out on the right side .
Martial-------------Sanchez---------------Lukaku
Mourinho has been in a experimental mode and making interesting changes to the starting 11 this season so I do feel this play is possible . We should keep Sanchez up top since his movement really helps Pogba and Martial get some extra time and space . Lukaku's pace will be helpful on the counter attacks and as we have seen with Belgium and Everton he can work it out on the right side .
Sanchez hasnt lost his finishing, he is in a team which doens't help him get as many goalscoring chances. He used to play around the opposition box at Arsenal, he is struggling here because he is played very deep and away from the box.
Watching Mourinho's post match, I get a sense that Lukaku is not actually injured. If he plays against Juventus and Man City, there is no way he is going to score and that is going to hamper his confidence more and more attacks from the media. So the fake injury to not involve him in the next 2 matches.
My only, eh, hope is that he's not shuffled straight back into the starting lineup again, that he has to earn his place by coming off the bench and outperforming the alternatives. I thought Sanchez did a fine job against Bournemouth, hopefully he starts vs Juventus along with Rashford and Martial.
Lukaku has talked the talk for some time, mental strength and all that, now it's time that he proves himself and shows that he deserves to be an automatic starter again.
If he fails to do that, we'll have serious problems scoring goals this season. We desperately need Lukaku to regain his goalscoring form.
Lukaku has talked the talk for some time, mental strength and all that, now it's time that he proves himself and shows that he deserves to be an automatic starter again.
If he fails to do that, we'll have serious problems scoring goals this season. We desperately need Lukaku to regain his goalscoring form.
That diagonal Sanchez made that created the space in the middle Martial scored from is one thing Lukaku needs to do more in the box. We all know he would have stood 5 ft away pointing to his feet. I believe he doesn't like to move into spaces his footwork can't handle but the solution shouldn't be standing behind a CB and stifling movement in the middle.
There is a marked improvement to how we play when he's not there. Even when he was still starting, we played best when he was shifted to the right, basically bypassing him almost entirely.
Last season he was considered decent by most people. You would have expected him to use that and improve further, but he's been utterly horrible this season. Completely static, no energy, missing ablsolute sitters one after another. He is definetly a major reason we have lost so many points.
Deserves to be benched, and play as a sub till he proves he's better than our other players.
I would be open to shipping him out and getting a more technical striker next season (hardly any good strikers available though). He's certainly better than what he's showing right now, but I dont think he'll ever be a top class striker who can decide games on his own, which is what I expect for a top team.
I’d take Arnautovic.
Forget that, there was long ball to Sanchez that he had no right to win yet he won and knocked it back to Mata. I kept thinking, Lukaku would never win that header effectively. By effectively I mean, its not just about going up and getting your head on the ball without caring about the direction.
Mourinho has already said he’s coming straight back in when fit and that he was rested against Everton.
It would depend a lot on who will be managing us next season. IMO football is moving away from the traditional striker role. It's now better to have a fluid front 3, who constantly interchange and share the burden of scoring goals.
I think Sanchez as a striker is a pretty good idea for now. Him Martial and Rashford can interchange roles in the game. Sanchez can hold the ball up better, link up well and also can create chances. I remember him winning a header, and laying it off to Mata (I think?), which I'm pretty sure Lukaku would not have despite his frame.
- Status