Romelu Lukaku | Napoli watch

I find it strange how every league is average bar the EPL but also being told that teams nowadays are way better than they were 15 years ago.
 
2mufc0 said:
So what is a first rate league then? Apart for Bayern, City and PSG the competition isn't great.
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You can usually use European success as a good guide for comparing leagues. No Italian team has won a European trophy since 2010, when Inter won the CL. There's no question the standard of football in Italy's domestic competitions has collapsed. Serie A used to be THE league, now it's practically a retirement home for aging PL players who don't fancy the commute to the MLS.
 
I don't care how many goals this guy scores, I'm glad we got rid of this tosspot.

Useless in build-up play, awful touch, loser mentality (although that has crept into our team anyway), always sulking.

He needs to go back to his wooden shed.
 
RedRonaldo said:
Question being, if Lukaku is still here, would you play him instead of Martial?
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This season yes. Last season though Martial served up performances better than Lukaku ever did, while outscoring Lukakus Premier League record for us.
 
Lay said:
I find it strange how every league is average bar the EPL but also being told that teams nowadays are way better than they were 15 years ago.
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If that was a reply to me...

Well the PL is FAR FAR more competitive than any other of the top leagues. That doesn’t necessarily transpose to better or worse.

That’s not to say the top teams in each league are competitive with teams from other leagues. Look at Italy, France, Germany - how many times have PSG, Bayern and Juventus NOT won the leagues in the past decade. Spain is a duopoly, bar the occasional Athletic Madrid title run.

the PL is very different.
 
dinostar77 said:
Easy to move on when Utd sign a striker to replace him. We're still waiting for that. In the mean time hes banging them in. Where would utd be this season with Lukaku's goals rather than Martial's pitiful 4 goals.
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Probably in second place with the most goals scored of any side in the lea... oh... never mind.
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
not difficult to see where your bias lies. It may have been slightly exaggerated - but no top club outside of Italy would want him.
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Don't turn it around, I didn't make any outrageous claims. You said that no top 10 club in the PL would want him, which is clearly BS.
 
Botim said:
Don't turn it around, I didn't make any outrageous claims. You said that no top 10 club in the PL would want him, which is clearly BS.
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As I said slightly exaggerated.

United (obviously), Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal nor City would want him.

West Ham and Everton - that’s his level
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
As I said slightly exaggerated.

United (obviously), Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal nor City would want him.

West Ham and Everton - that’s his level
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I'm pretty sure Leicester and Spurs would gladly take him. When Vardy/Kane are out, he would be a clear upgrade on their back-up strikers. Even City could use him at the moment, although he would probably cause Guardiola to go even more bald.
 
Botim said:
I'm pretty sure Leicester and Spurs would gladly take him. When Vardy/Kane are out, he would be a clear upgrade on their back-up strikers. Even City could use him at the moment, although he would probably cause Guardiola to go even more bald.
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so he’s a back up striker?

Sounds about right.
 
Botim said:
I'm pretty sure Leicester and Spurs would gladly take him. When Vardy/Kane are out, he would be a clear upgrade on their back-up strikers. Even City could use him at the moment, although he would probably cause Guardiola to go even more bald.
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Well yes. If he would be willing to spend most of the time at the bench and be a part time player, most clubs in the world would want him.
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
so he’s a back up striker?

Sounds about right.
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Compared to the likes of Kane, obviously. I never said he was the second coming of fat Ronaldo, I just hate it when people underrate him to the point where he's apparently not even good enough for Aston Villa
 
He is having brilliant season, credit to him for playing so well in Serie A. Conte is the manager he needed and he really made a mistake joining ManUtd when Conte wanted him so badly at Chelsea. He is much better in 2 strikers system than 1.
 
I'm glad we got rid, but in all honesty I'd prefer him over Martial for his workrate and goals - neither of which Martial provides. Still, a hell of a goalscoring record, fair play to him.
 
This argument about 'stat padding' is a bit stupid really. In most games, goals are important. It is only those where you see 4 goals or over really where goals start becoming a bit less so, but even then goal difference is something to consider.

Winning goals shouldn't get more credit than any other goal. In a 2-1 victory, the winning goal wouldn't be a winning goal without scoring the first one, so why is it considered better? Also, scoring the second in a 2-0 win helps to secure the result. A 1-0 lead has never been a safe scoreline; even 2-0 isn't very safe. It is a silly argument to try to discredit a player.

Reaching a secure scoreline is very important in matches, otherwise what is the point of trying to score more than one? That is pretty much what people are saying by pointing to 'stat padding'. You are pretty much saying that there is no point in scoring more than what is necessary to win, but without the successive goals, you don't know how the game would pan out. A 2-1 lead can easily be overcome by the opposition, so a 3-1 lead is much better.

In their 4-2 result over Torino, Lukaku got 2 goals and 2 assists. Pretty much people are saying that the 4th goal was not needed, but how do you know what would have happened if the fourth goal wasn't scored? It could have easily ended 3-3 instead with 2 dropped points. People would be questioning why Inter didn't score a fourth then.

In the end, his goalscoring record is fantastic and his assists aren't bad either (You have to remember he played for West Brom and Everton, as well.).

Premier League - 113 goals and 42 assists in 252 games
Serie A - 40 goals and 7 assists in 58 games
Europa League - 20 goals and 9 assists in 33 games
Champions League - 13 goals and 3 assists in 27 games
FA Cup - 13 goals and 4 assists in 19 games

Top 5 striker in the world. People keep saying that he is the same as he was here, but he has actually improved quite a bit. I think people forget that we signed him when he was 24/25. He has also improved over last season

Serie A (19/20) - 23 goals and 2 assists in 36 games (0.64 goals per game; 0.69 goal & assists per game)

Serie A (20/21) - 17 goals and 5 assists in 22 games (0.77 goals per game; 1 goal and assist per game)
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
As I said slightly exaggerated.

United (obviously), Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal nor City would want him.

West Ham and Everton - that’s his level
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We literally beat Chelsea to his signing, and City are strongly linked. Naturally, clubs who can’t afford £75m strikers will not be linked in any case.
 
Lay said:
I find it strange how every league is average bar the EPL but also being told that teams nowadays are way better than they were 15 years ago.
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I'm not really sure they are. The PL has benefitted from a huge influx of money which means even smaller clubs can buy far better talent than they could in the 90's. I think the tempo of the game is definitely higher, but you look at the quality of the teams and players across the different leagues. AC Milan used to be Galactico club, now they are club for retiring players. Inter had players like Luiz Ronaldo playing for them.

Now they are buying primarily Man Utd rejects(and Eriksen who is decent to be fair). Juventus are still a quality team, but they used to have an insane stacked squad in the 90's. Edgar Davids, Zidane. Del Piero. Thuram.Inzaghi etc. I think despite them walking the league every year, they are still a lesser club than they used to be. Lazio and Fiorentina had some quality players as well.

I'd say La Liga has fallen in quality in the past years. Valencia, Athletico Madrid and Deportivo further back used have better quality. Barcalona and Real Madrid have gone downhill since all their previous stars have retired and failed to replace them.

I don't think the top clubs in the PL atm are much better than the top top clubs in the other leagues, but I think the overall strength across the board is better.
 
Lay said:
I find it strange how every league is average bar the EPL but also being told that teams nowadays are way better than they were 15 years ago.
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Ultimately it comes down to money and how it is shared. In La Liga Barcelona and Madrid have all the money and are therefore the best. Bayern dominate Germany, PSG France, Juventus Italy, and so on. The only time that changes is when a major disruption happens, like Ronaldo moving or the mess going on at Barcelona with Messi, but it wont be too long before normal service resumes there. Serie A has had a double whammy of being a long term one horse race, and having a lack of credibility following Calciopoli. The league's growth has flatlined since 2006 whilst Spain and Germany marched ahead, and even France is catching them.

The PL is a bit different because the money is shared differently. There is more money overall, so there are more good teams, but because it is shared more equally the entire league doesn't become a training ground for one or two top teams.
 
Kaos said:
I'm glad we got rid, but in all honesty I'd prefer him over Martial for his workrate and goals - neither of which Martial provides. Still, a hell of a goalscoring record, fair play to him.
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I don't think there's anyone who realistically wouldn't prefer Lukaku over this seasons Martial.
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
did he want to go to Italy or realise he couldn’t have gone anywhere else?

would Bayern, Dortmund, Real, Barca, Athletic Madrid, or PSG want him? No.

would anyone in the top half of the PL have wanted him? No.

I’m no fan of Lukaku that’s clear. This is not meant as a criticism - but he (and his agent) are very good at spinning the story.

Italy was the only place he could realistically go.
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Again he wanted to go to Italy and made that clear. I don't know why you feel the need to spin it
 
11101 said:
Nothing has changed. Still hasn't scored against Juve, the only team comparable to any of our top 6.

I live near Milan and watch Inter regularly. He is still the same player with the same problems, only now he is playing against the equivalent of Bournemouth every weekend.
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See, I have no issues with him. You know what youre getting with him. In a league like italy, his goals against lesser teams wins you a league.
In the Premier league, it probably gets you top 4.

CL is a good indicator of deeming whether hes a good striker or top striker. I dont see him as one,. But good luck to him I guess.
 
It wasn't working out for him here and I don't think it ever would have for whatever reason. We sold him and got most of our money back. He's doing very well at Inter. Good for him.

Like others have said - selling him was the right decision and just because Martial has had an appalling season doesn't make selling Lukaku a mistake.
 
NotThatSoph said:
He created the first and scored a good solo goal to kill the game in a 3-0 against title rivals Milan.

So, yes, just the usual stat padding.
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So he didn't score the winning goal, and hence no need for there to see a deluge of posters in this thread, as I was referring to originally.
 
Vernon Philander said:
So he didn't score the winning goal, and hence no need for there to see a deluge of posters in this thread, as I was referring to originally.
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No, you're right, the only time talking about a player is needed is when scoring the winning goal in a tight win. That's why nobody ever talks about football whenever someone wins by two or more goals.
 
Kaos said:
I'm glad we got rid, but in all honesty I'd prefer him over Martial for his workrate and goals - neither of which Martial provides. Still, a hell of a goalscoring record, fair play to him.
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You could put a bale of hay upfront for us and the wind would ensure that it would move more than Martial does each game.
 
Sylar said:
See, I have no issues with him. You know what youre getting with him. In a league like italy, his goals against lesser teams wins you a league.
In the Premier league, it probably gets you top 4.

CL is a good indicator of deeming whether hes a good striker or top striker. I dont see him as one,. But good luck to him I guess.
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Exactly. He will score plenty of goals but he won't do it in the games that matter.

The Inter fans i know have all settled on the same, he's a solid striker but he's never going to be special. He fits them now but if they can ever get back to being genuine European challengers he will need to be upgraded.
 
gza the genius said:
It wasn't working out for him here and I don't think it ever would have for whatever reason. We sold him and got most of our money back. He's doing very well at Inter. Good for him.

Like others have said - selling him was the right decision and just because Martial has had an appalling season doesn't make selling Lukaku a mistake.
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Was it though? Looking back now can we say it was the right decision? Utd are looking for a point striker who can holdup the ball, bring others into play, do his work in the 18 yard area and get 20+ goals a season. Everything lukaku can do and what none of our current strikers can (with the exception of Cavani whos been fantastic but isnt a long term solution).

It was a mistake by Ole, Martial should have been sold (Mourinho wanted Martial sold as well).
 
11101 said:
Exactly. He will score plenty of goals but he won't do it in the games that matter.

The Inter fans i know have all settled on the same, he's a solid striker but he's never going to be special. He fits them now but if they can ever get back to being genuine European challengers he will need to be upgraded.
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Thats just inaccurate and a myth. Henry, CR7 the other great strikers/forwards were lethal because they punished the mid/lower table sides which were points you were expected to get. Their quality ensured those points rather than a shock draw or loss (not everytime beit more often than not). In the so called games that "matter" their strike rates dropped because they were up against better opposition.

This flat track bully stuff is nonsense. Give me a a 25 goal a season flat track bully all day long.
 
dinostar77 said:
Was it though? Looking back now can we say it was the right decision? Utd are looking for a point striker who can holdup the ball, bring others into play, do his work in the 18 yard area and get 20+ goals a season. Everything lukaku can do and what none of our current strikers can (with the exception of Cavani whos been fantastic but isnt a long term solution).

It was a mistake by Ole, Martial should have been sold (Mourinho wanted Martial sold as well).
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Lukaku played for 2 seasons at ManUtd. He was poor at holding the ball, bringing others into play, barely moved in the box and didn't score 20 league goals in any of the 2 seasons.

He is doing well in Serie A, good for him. Doesn't mean he would have done the same in our team when he couldn't in 2 seasons.
 
roonster09 said:
Lukaku played for 2 seasons at ManUtd. He was poor at holding the ball, bringing others into play, barely moved in the box and didn't score 20 league goals in any of the 2 seasons.

He is doing well in Serie A, good for him. Doesn't mean he would have done the same in our team when he couldn't in 2 seasons.
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He was playing under ultradefensive mourinho. Look what hes done to the spurs attack. He never got a proper chance under Ole and his system when Ole got everyone up to speed on his methods.
 
dinostar77 said:
Thats just inaccurate and a myth. Henry, CR7 the other great strikers/forwards were lethal because they punished the mid/lower table sides which were points you were expected to get. Their quality ensured those points rather than a shock draw or loss (not everytime beit more often than not). In the so called games that "matter" their strike rates dropped because they were up against better opposition.

This flat track bully stuff is nonsense. Give me a a 25 goal a season flat track bully all day long.
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Why not one that does it for both? I mean Vardy has a great record vs the top 6 as well as overall in seasons.
Or Kane, or Aguero. Or Rashford since hes one of our own.
 
dinostar77 said:
Thats just inaccurate and a myth. Henry, CR7 the other great strikers/forwards were lethal because they punished the mid/lower table sides which were points you were expected to get. Their quality ensured those points rather than a shock draw or loss (not everytime beit more often than not). In the so called games that "matter" their strike rates dropped because they were up against better opposition.

This flat track bully stuff is nonsense. Give me a a 25 goal a season flat track bully all day long.
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And you'll stay as an also ran.

The best strikers from the most successful teams always score in the big games and get the goals in the 1-0 scrappy wins, regardless of what they do against the cannon fodder. Aguero, Henry, Van Persie, Ruud. Henry scored or assisted nearly every time he played us or Chelsea. Ronaldo scored against everyone. Rashford, Aguero, even Vardy. They all do it when it counts. Lukaku never could.
 
gza the genius said:
It wasn't working out for him here and I don't think it ever would have for whatever reason. We sold him and got most of our money back. He's doing very well at Inter. Good for him.

Like others have said - selling him was the right decision and just because Martial has had an appalling season doesn't make selling Lukaku a mistake.
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This, even if he would have scored more goals than Martial, I doubt those goals would have come when needed. Furthermore, we probably wouldn't have signed Cavani who in the twilight of his career, is a superior player to Lukaku.
 
horsechoker said:
This, even if he would have scored more goals than Martial, I doubt those goals would have come when needed. Furthermore, we probably wouldn't have signed Cavani who in the twilight of his career, is a superior player to Lukaku.
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You're being very disingenuous here in my opinion. Lukaku is presently one of the leading forwards in world football. You can't turn a blind eye to that
 
Does feel odd that two of our ex strikers are currently battling it out for the Serie A title
 
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