Romelu Lukaku | Napoli watch

Does feel odd that two of Serie A ex attacking player are currently battling it out for the 2020/21 PL top goalscorer. Should highlight the quality of that league?
 
In Serie A.
And yet his goal scoring ratio in the premiership is better than;

Rooney
Fowler
Torres
Owen
Drogba
Yorke
Anelka

And his goal scoring ratio in Serie A is better than

Ibrahimovic
Shevchenko
Totti
Baggio
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Del Piero
Batistuta
Inzaghi
Crespo
Higuain
Trezeguet
Vialli
Ravanelli
Icardi
Cavani

Can't argue with those stats, although I suspect you'll try!
 
He wanted to go, he was a toxic presence at the moment and probably part of the mentality we wanted to change in the squad.
He didn't had a chance with Ole because he didn't want it.
Letting him go was simple good squad management, him doing good, or Martial doing bad won't change that.
Maybe if he would come now, for the first time, it would work great... or maybe he would fail again

the only mistake/failure was not getting another proper striker at the time.
 
And yet his goal scoring ratio in the premiership is better than;

Rooney - didn't always play as a 9
Fowler
Torres - injured a lot
Owen - also injured a lot
Drogba - surprised about this one
Yorke - even if he did better than Yorke I doubt his best season was better than Yorke's
Anelka

And his goal scoring ratio in Serie A is better than

Ibrahimovic
Shevchenko
Totti
Baggio
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Del Piero
Batistuta
Inzaghi
Crespo
Higuain
Trezeguet
Vialli
Ravanelli
Icardi
Cavani

Can't argue with those stats, although I suspect you'll try!
Most of these played in the days when serie A was renowned for being defensive. Put prime Ronaldo Lima in serie A now and he'd probably destroy it
 
Most of these played in the days when serie A was renowned for being defensive. Put prime Ronaldo Lima in serie A now and he'd probably destroy it
It’s almost as if you are creating so many conditions and exemptions in your comparisons that you never have to admit you’re wrong. Almost as if..
 
And yet his goal scoring ratio in the premiership is better than;

Rooney
Fowler
Torres
Owen
Drogba
Yorke
Anelka

And his goal scoring ratio in Serie A is better than

Ibrahimovic
Shevchenko
Totti
Baggio
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Del Piero
Batistuta
Inzaghi
Crespo
Higuain
Trezeguet
Vialli
Ravanelli
Icardi
Cavani

Can't argue with those stats, although I suspect you'll try!
I really hope this is a WUM. When those players played in Serie A the league was known as one of the best in the world. It's not even among top 3 at the moment that's how bad it's been. It's been on decline since early 2010s
 
And yet his goal scoring ratio in the premiership is better than;

Rooney
Fowler
Torres
Owen
Drogba
Yorke
Anelka

And his goal scoring ratio in Serie A is better than

Ibrahimovic
Shevchenko
Totti
Baggio
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Del Piero
Batistuta
Inzaghi
Crespo
Higuain
Trezeguet
Vialli
Ravanelli
Icardi
Cavani

Can't argue with those stats, although I suspect you'll try!

:lol:
Yorke’s goals led Utd to a treble.

I’m sure I could go through the rest of your list - but frankly you have been ridiculed enough.
 
And yet his goal scoring ratio in the premiership is better than;

Rooney
Fowler
Torres
Owen
Drogba
Yorke
Anelka

And his goal scoring ratio in Serie A is better than

Ibrahimovic
Shevchenko
Totti
Baggio
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Del Piero
Batistuta
Inzaghi
Crespo
Higuain
Trezeguet
Vialli
Ravanelli
Icardi
Cavani

Can't argue with those stats, although I suspect you'll try!

If you had to pick one of those players to control a ball fizzed at them, or you die. Would you pick Lukaku over any of them?
 
And yet his goal scoring ratio in the premiership is better than;

Rooney
Fowler
Torres
Owen
Drogba
Yorke
Anelka

And his goal scoring ratio in Serie A is better than

Ibrahimovic
Shevchenko
Totti
Baggio
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Del Piero
Batistuta
Inzaghi
Crespo
Higuain
Trezeguet
Vialli
Ravanelli
Icardi
Cavani

Can't argue with those stats, although I suspect you'll try!

Are you really comparing Lukaku with Ronaldo9? With Baggio, Totti and Del Piero? :lol:

They played when the Italian league was the best in the world - last season Immobile was the top scorer in Serie A; the season before, a 36 year old Quagliarela.
 
It’s almost as if you are creating so many conditions and exemptions in your comparisons that you never have to admit you’re wrong. Almost as if..
Yeah because Serie A in the 90s/2000s was the same as now.

And I think you've been slapped down by others quite enough that I don't need to say anymore.
 
:lol:
Yorke’s goals led Utd to a treble.

I’m sure I could go through the rest of your list - but frankly you have been ridiculed enough.

Thanks for looking out for me fella, but you needn’t worry

For what it’s worth I think Yorke was by some distance the best of your four main strikers in that treble winning side. But that’s not actually related to a goals per game ratio. It’s easy to look like you’ve won an argument when you arbitrarily move the goalposts!
 
Thanks for looking out for me fella, but you needn’t worry

For what it’s worth I think Yorke was by some distance the best of your four main strikers in that treble winning side. But that’s not actually related to a goals per game ratio. It’s easy to look like you’ve won an argument when you arbitrarily move the goalposts!

I see the argument is just about goals to games ratio? That’s all that matters.

David Nugest must be England’s best striker then.
 
And yet his goal scoring ratio in the premiership is better than;

Rooney
Fowler
Torres
Owen
Drogba
Yorke
Anelka

And his goal scoring ratio in Serie A is better than

Ibrahimovic
Shevchenko
Totti
Baggio
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Del Piero
Batistuta
Inzaghi
Crespo
Higuain
Trezeguet
Vialli
Ravanelli
Icardi
Cavani

Can't argue with those stats, although I suspect you'll try!
I would want to see this list to only include games against top 4 clubs in the league or QF or above in cup competitions. I am guessing that he wouldn't be doing so well on that list.
 
Nothing can change the fact that this guy is a cringy, crying donkey. Good riddance. I don't think I hate an ex United player more than this guy. Not even Di Maria and Tevez.
 
If you had to pick one of those players to control a ball fizzed at them, or you die. Would you pick Lukaku over any of them?

Well that’s a new metric now. xControl perhaps.

When fans don’t like a player, he is simply reduced to whatever his weaknesses are. On here there’s little more to Lukaku than not having a great first touch. His strengths will always be less relevant than his weaknesses, and it will always be vice versa if the narrative is to be spun the other way. In fact, genuine debate about a footballer is actually very hard today due to the amount of passion and partisan. Before even bothering to discuss, we should probably first establish whether the player is cast as the ‘goody’ or the ‘baddy’, then go from there.
 
Well that’s a new metric now. xControl perhaps.

When fans don’t like a player, he is simply reduced to whatever his weaknesses are. On here there’s little more to Lukaku than not having a great first touch. His strengths will always be less relevant than his weaknesses, and it will always be vice versa if the narrative is to be spun the other way. In fact, genuine debate about a footballer is actually very hard today due to the amount of passion and partisan. Before even bothering to discuss, we should probably first establish whether the player is cast as the ‘goody’ or the ‘baddy’, then go from there.

I don't see him as either, I just think he was dog shit.
 
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.

Exaggerating merely misses the point. You just wouldn't expect there to be a lot discussion given the circumstance.
 
Well that’s a new metric now. xControl perhaps.

When fans don’t like a player, he is simply reduced to whatever his weaknesses are. On here there’s little more to Lukaku than not having a great first touch. His strengths will always be less relevant than his weaknesses, and it will always be vice versa if the narrative is to be spun the other way. In fact, genuine debate about a footballer is actually very hard today due to the amount of passion and partisan. Before even bothering to discuss, we should probably first establish whether the player is cast as the ‘goody’ or the ‘baddy’, then go from there.
Lukaku is a descent striker. But the fact that your stats are putting him up there with the best strikers to have ever played in that league should make you review the stats a little bit. You can’t possibly stand here and tell us that Lukaku is better than Rooney and R9 can you? Unless your analysis of football starts and ends with stats
 
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.

Just curious, do you see Ibrahimovic as a top striker? Because his record in Champions league knockouts is 10 goals in 40 games. He scored 0 knockout goals in his first 6 years of playing knockouts, playing 16 matches and scoring 0 goals.

In addition, 60% of his CL knockout goals have comes against Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal, and Stuttgart, as a note.
 
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)

I agree 100% on this, and I'm not even Lukaku's fan. If you try hard enough, you can 'downplay' anyone's achievement by stat-padding arguments, etc. For example, Lewandowski last season. Scored 15 goals in 10 CL games, however:

- 5 goals came against Red Star - each of them while his team already had a lead. Stat-padding.
- 2 goals in a blowout vs. Tottenham. - Goal for 6-2 was stat-padding.
- 3 goals vs. Olympiacos which is a weak team
- 3 goals vs. Chelsea - however all of them were scored as his team was leading on aggregate. Stat-padding.
- 1 goal vs. Barcelona in quarter finals - Only scored when his team was up 5-2
- 1 goal vs. Lyon - last-minute goal with 2-0 up. Missed a sitter in the first half when the game was not yet done.
- could not score in CL final

So even though he scored 15 goals, none of them were really important - either against a weak team or stat-padding goals.

Btw, this isn't actually how I feel, but just an example of how you can apply this logic to discredit a player.
 
Lukaku is a descent striker. But the fact that your stats are putting him up there with the best strikers to have ever played in that league should make you review the stats a little bit. You can’t possibly stand here and tell us that Lukaku is better than Rooney and R9 can you? Unless your analysis of football starts and ends with stats

These are not ‘my stats’ at all, and the argument keeps shifting now to ensure that somehow, Lukaku can avoid being given any credit at the end of it. Like from the original point that was being made by the poster who presented the stats that Lukaku was one of the world’s best strikers, you have now shifted it to ‘he is not better than Rooney’ or worse still, the best fecking striker to ever play the game.
 
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.

Just curious, what games matters? Because if goals against Lazio/Milan don't matter, then pretty much not a single games Inter plays in Serie A actually matters. The games against Lazio last week was a game where Inter could overtake Milan as 1st place in the league, so if that game didn't matter, why would any other game?

I'm also one of those fans that don't consider him special. I prefer Lautaro as he is more in the mould of player I prefer. Good technically, generally scores in big games, can dribble, etc. But the argument that Lukaku won't score goals or get assists in games that matter really doesn't make sense to me. And I'll ask the same question from before:

Do you consider Ibrahimovic a great striker, and does he score goals that matter? The reason I ask is:
- Ibrahimovic has never done anything relevant in CL knockouts. I would actually argue Lukaku's 2 goals in the PSG comeback is more than Ibra has ever done in CL knockouts, despite playing 40 games compared to Lukaku's 6 or so.
- if games such as Lazio (top 4 team last season, in CL top 16) or Milan derby don't matter, then that essentially means that Ibrahimovic has never scored a goal that matters.
 
I agree 100% on this, and I'm not even Lukaku's fan. If you try hard enough, you can 'downplay' anyone's achievement by stat-padding arguments, etc. For example, Lewandowski last season. Scored 15 goals in 10 CL games, however:

- 5 goals came against Red Star - each of them while his team already had a lead. Stat-padding.
- 2 goals in a blowout vs. Tottenham. - Goal for 6-2 was stat-padding.
- 3 goals vs. Olympiacos which is a weak team
- 3 goals vs. Chelsea - however all of them were scored as his team was leading on aggregate. Stat-padding.
- 1 goal vs. Barcelona in quarter finals - Only scored when his team was up 5-2
- 1 goal vs. Lyon - last-minute goal with 2-0 up. Missed a sitter in the first half when the game was not yet done.
- could not score in CL final

So even though he scored 15 goals, none of them were really important - either against a weak team or stat-padding goals.

Btw, this isn't actually how I feel, but just an example of how you can apply this logic to discredit a player.

Exactly. As I said, when it’s all said and done, it a futile conversation. It is very clear that the premise of this thread is designed to take away credit from Lukaku wherever possible, so what is the point in trying to even talk actual football from that perspective? Just keep it personal, because that’s what it is.

Lukaku has barely played CL knockout football in his career due to having not qualified, but when he did - he scored two goals in Paris (the first two too for the star padding brigade) which haven’t got the adulation on this forum that a more ‘favourite’ player would have gotten had he scored them. He also scored in the Europa League Final last season (and quarter and semi if I’m not mistaken). The point is, there always be a ‘yea but’ argument presented to the point where there probably isn’t a point anymore.
 
I think he's the only footballer I dislike. He strikes me as thinking highly of himself without the presence or flair to show for it. Always catch him celebrating by himself as well. Glad we got rid, no matter how many goals he happens to score now.
 
I agree 100% on this, and I'm not even Lukaku's fan. If you try hard enough, you can 'downplay' anyone's achievement by stat-padding arguments, etc. For example, Lewandowski last season. Scored 15 goals in 10 CL games, however:

- 5 goals came against Red Star - each of them while his team already had a lead. Stat-padding.
- 2 goals in a blowout vs. Tottenham. - Goal for 6-2 was stat-padding.
- 3 goals vs. Olympiacos which is a weak team
- 3 goals vs. Chelsea - however all of them were scored as his team was leading on aggregate. Stat-padding.
- 1 goal vs. Barcelona in quarter finals - Only scored when his team was up 5-2
- 1 goal vs. Lyon - last-minute goal with 2-0 up. Missed a sitter in the first half when the game was not yet done.
- could not score in CL final

So even though he scored 15 goals, none of them were really important - either against a weak team or stat-padding goals.

Btw, this isn't actually how I feel, but just an example of how you can apply this logic to discredit a player.

True.
Lewandowski's campaign may not have been the most desicive, but still a great campaign.
Messi's 14 goal campaign wasn't his most decisive, he has had more desicive campaigns.
Ronaldo's 17 goal record wasn't his most decisive either(which campaign is better, 16/17 or 13/14, who can even decide).
 
How many goals did Lukaku score against the top 6 while at United? Was it 1 goal? I'm sure I remember it circulating at the time that Dan James equalled Lukaku's tally in his first 15 minutes when he scored on his debut against Chelsea. Lukaku was a flat-track bully who got decent numbers against weaker opposition but was largely useless for us in big games. He was far too expensive and demanding for what he gave back.
 
How many goals did Lukaku score against the top 6 while at United? Was it 1 goal? I'm sure I remember it circulating at the time that Dan James equalled Lukaku's tally in his first 15 minutes when he scored on his debut against Chelsea. Lukaku was a flat-track bully who got decent numbers against weaker opposition but was largely useless for us in big games. He was far too expensive and demanding for what he gave back.
1 goal in 23 appearances across two seasons. :lol:
 
Anything can be spun. Lukaku has been scoring goals against the big 6 since he was on loan at West Brom, including a hat-trick against us no less, and scored goals for Everton against City, Chelsea, Arsenal and the like. Some very good goals in there too. A record against certain teams in a short 2 season window is a bullshit metric to try and assess a player who has played senior football for 10 years, but people are clutching at anything they can.











Two Scouse derby goals in this one

 
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Anything can be spun. Lukaku has been scoring goals against the big 6 since he was on loan at West Brom, including a hat-trick against us no less, and scored goals for Everton against City, Chelsea, Arsenal and the like. Some very good goals in there too. A record against certain teams in a short 2 season window is a bullshit metric to try and assess a player who has played senior football for 10 years, but people are clutching at anything they can.
2012-13 scored 3 against us in the last 10min , scored 2 vs Liverpool who were pretty shit back then (finished 7th behind Everton)
2013-14 scored 5 against the top 4 teams (City 2, Arsenal 2, Liverpool)
2014-15 0 goals against top 9
2015-16 3 (4 if you include Liverpool who were shit that season - finished 8th) goals against top 4 (City, Chelsea and Leicester who were champions)
2016-17 3 goals against top 4 (2x City, Spurs) - 1 vs Ars who finished 5th
2017-18 0 goals vs top 4 - scored 1 vs Chelsea who finished 5th
2018-19 0 goals against top 10

Source
 
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2012-13 scored 3 against us in the last 10min , scored 1 vs Liverpool who were pretty shit back then (finished 7th behind Everton)
2013-14 scored 5 against the top 4 teams (City 2, Arsenal 2, Liverpool)
2014-15 0 goals against top 9
2015-16 3 (4 if you include Liverpool who were shit that season - finished 8th) goals against top 4 (City, Chelsea and Leicester who were champions)
2016-17 3 goals against top 4 (2x City, Spurs) - 1 vs Ars who finished 5th
2017-18 0 goals vs top 4 - scored 1 vs Chelsea who finished 5th
2018-19 0 goals against top 10

So what is that meant to demonstrate? I’m genuinely unsure, is this a rebuttal or something? Is your point that he didn’t score in every game he played against the top 6 (which was the argument posed which you have now amended to ‘top 4’ of course) before United?

Interesting that you also chose to point out what minutes the goals came in for one particular game :lol: . Is there a point there? It’s a hat-trick in a game his team drew, which by simple mathematics would mean if he didn’t score them (in the last 10 minutes, of course)....
 
So what is that meant to demonstrate? I’m genuinely unsure, is this a rebuttal or something? Is your point that he didn’t score in every game he played against the top 6 (which was the argument posed which you have now amended to ‘top 4’ of course) before United?

Interesting that you also chose to point out what minutes the goals came in for one particular game :lol: . Is there a point there? It’s a hat-trick in a game his team drew, which by simple mathematics would mean if he didn’t score them (in the last 10 minutes, of course)....
Game was basically done since it was the last game of the season and nothing to play for.
 
Do you consider Ibrahimovic a great striker, and does he score goals that matter? The reason I ask is:
- Ibrahimovic has never done anything relevant in CL knockouts. I would actually argue Lukaku's 2 goals in the PSG comeback is more than Ibra has ever done in CL knockouts, despite playing 40 games compared to Lukaku's 6 or so.
- if games such as Lazio (top 4 team last season, in CL top 16) or Milan derby don't matter, then that essentially means that Ibrahimovic has never scored a goal that matters.
Ibra’s record in the CL KO rounds is truly laughable. He was chastised for it earlier in his career but it seems like it’s almost completely overlooked these days.
 
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
If that statement were remotely true than all the top teams would be battling it out for his signature and not Haaland or Mbape.

And yet his goal scoring ratio in the premiership is better than;

Rooney
Fowler
Torres
Owen
Drogba
Yorke
Anelka

And his goal scoring ratio in Serie A is better than

Ibrahimovic
Shevchenko
Totti
Baggio
Ronaldo (Brazilian)
Del Piero
Batistuta
Inzaghi
Crespo
Higuain
Trezeguet
Vialli
Ravanelli
Icardi
Cavani

Can't argue with those stats, although I suspect you'll try!

You're comparing stats from different eras. Back in the late 90's early 2000s a goal in 2 games was considered really good. A goal in 3 was considered acceptable.

These days a goal per match isn't viewed as sci-fi any more. People like Haaland, Mbape, Bruno and even Kane have 1 contribution(G+A) per match. Does this imply that all of them are better than someone like Henry or Ronaldo(R9). No stats can be interpreted differently, but context is very important.

As I mentioned above: if Lukaku was anywhere near as good as some people claim on here, wouldn't every top club and their dog be after him?
 
Ibra’s record in the CL KO rounds is truly laughable. He was chastised for it earlier in his career but it seems like it’s almost completely overlooked these days.
I mean nobody even rated Ibra in the 2000s- mostly a showpony who went missing in big games and then all of a sudden he's become this cult hero in his 30s
 
Game was basically done since it was the last game of the season and nothing to play for.

It obviously wasn’t ‘basically done’ if it required 3 fecking goals in the last 10 minutes for it to end in a draw was it?

I must say that this particular attempt to discredit a hat-trick (by a teenager playing for West Brom no less) against the Champions in a game they’d have been desperate to win for obvious reasons (so disagree with your ‘nothing to play for’) is a little embarrassing.

When compiling your list you may as well have removed it altogether then, because it almost ‘doesn’t count’ the way you are pitching it.