He wasn't too bad, but not K-Amazing enough to seriously impact the match on his own
Romelu Lukaku | Napoli watch
- Thread starter Samid
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75m for him was wonderful business. The ball bounces off him every time. His off the ball pressing is also non existent. Put absolutely no pressure on the Italian CBs when Chiellini or Bonucci had the ball.
a world class striker scores that chance at 2-1 ten times out of ten
hes not worse than Dong obviously.
But for £90m, he fell woefully short compared to any other striker we have paid big money for - unless we go back to Ralph Milne.
Ricky Lambert scored that 10/10 times.
Thought he had a good tournament. Italian centre backs got the better of him for the most part but Lukaku is nowhere near the reason for the failure of that Belgium side; in fact they'd be lost without him.
He's terrible in the big games.
Nothing has changed.
Good goalscorer, average player.
Good goalscorer, average player.
Ricky Gervais could probably do 8/10
don’t know why he sets himself up for failure so often. He obviously has a good attitude for self improvement but his self-consciousness makes him way too sensitive to criticism, while at the same time believing he’s better than he is…dangerous combo.I think he was pretty good for us and has obviously gotten better as he’s matured, but I’m glad we don’t have a personality like his in the squad. Always complaining to better players, usually for mistakes he makes 10x as often.
He and Conte exploited the weakness of Seria A last season to perfection.
Belgium’s “golden era” really had Lukaku leading the charge in attack - what a shame.
He’s one hell of a “point A-to-point B” player being so direct and limited technically but as was evident with United, he mostly is able to bully and take advantage of lesser sides. And sadly, that’s where most of his goals come from. When up against bigger, quality competition, his effectiveness drops considerably as he’s not able to get his way like he does versus teams with less talent.
So much so that Belgium have rarely ever advanced towards the latter knockout stages of a tournament, because he simply cannot get it done yet is still relied to.
He’s one hell of a “point A-to-point B” player being so direct and limited technically but as was evident with United, he mostly is able to bully and take advantage of lesser sides. And sadly, that’s where most of his goals come from. When up against bigger, quality competition, his effectiveness drops considerably as he’s not able to get his way like he does versus teams with less talent.
So much so that Belgium have rarely ever advanced towards the latter knockout stages of a tournament, because he simply cannot get it done yet is still relied to.
If Belgium played Spain's games I think Lukaku would've been top scorer and they'd be in the semis.
What a tit
Fluffed it when it mattered
2 goals in Knockout rounds.
Soft penalty tonight
One against USA 7 years ago.
Soft penalty tonight
One against USA 7 years ago.
He invites unnecessary pressure onto himself by stupid statements like asking for himself to be compared with world's best strikers.
Just get your head down and keep working instead of engaging with the trolls (the 1st touch one springs to mind) and demanding respect. He's a good player, but surely not among the world's best
Just get your head down and keep working instead of engaging with the trolls (the 1st touch one springs to mind) and demanding respect. He's a good player, but surely not among the world's best
A level below the best. He is more of a league striker that gives you consistent goals, especially against the average sides. But not the best of the best when it matters.
Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.
Don't forget the header he missed. It was a sitter too had he taken right position in the box. Top strikers do not level themselves with the crosser, they stay abou1 a yard behind to lunge at the right moment. But for Lukaku time and time again he either stay level or stay ahead. Looks like his mind is programmed to always stay with the last defender.
I thought he had a good game. Belgium looked very dangerous all game and he was the main source. Big miss though it is not easy to score given the speed, but he should have got more power on it.
It is not the attack that is the reason Belgium lost. It is the def that Italy is stronger.
He has had a really good tournament so far. In terms of strikers he is probably striker of the tournament so far. Although Schick and Kane could have something to say about that.
It is not the attack that is the reason Belgium lost. It is the def that Italy is stronger.
He has had a really good tournament so far. In terms of strikers he is probably striker of the tournament so far. Although Schick and Kane could have something to say about that.
He was atrocious tonight culminating in missing two absolute sitters. He never tries to drag his defender out of position or find space, he just jogs next to them. If they're half decent they shut him down completely. That much hasn't changed since his time here.
We knew once the difficult games started he would disappear. It was the same 36 and 34 year old centre backs he can't score against in Serie A.
We knew once the difficult games started he would disappear. It was the same 36 and 34 year old centre backs he can't score against in Serie A.
will be interesting with a different manager at Inter. No longer the golden child.
such a fragile mentality.
After Owen, I find him as the next cringiest footballer.
Good call.
At least Lukaku has never had his grinning face pictured next to a dead ferret.
He should have spent more time improving his technique and less time worrying about what people think about him.
Imagine the likes of Ronaldo, Lewandowski or Benzema coming out with that self pitying nonsense in a press conference trying to justify their position amongst top strikers. They don't need to as they let their play do the talking.
Rom is a very good striker but he will never be amongst the elite and he should make peace with that and stop talking.
Imagine the likes of Ronaldo, Lewandowski or Benzema coming out with that self pitying nonsense in a press conference trying to justify their position amongst top strikers. They don't need to as they let their play do the talking.
Rom is a very good striker but he will never be amongst the elite and he should make peace with that and stop talking.
Thats cause if Lukaku tried to shoot him he'd miss.
He is the same player he was when he joined us in 2018.
He’s a far better player. Strike rate aside you have to be insanely biased against him to watch him this season and not see how much better he is with his back to goal (his biggest weakness when he was at United) Service tonight was almost non-existent but his hold-up play as an isolated lone striker was streets ahead of anything we saw in a United shirt.
He's the Kevin Durant of football. Without the talent.
I watched Lukaku pretty closely, and here are my thoughts:
- He really easily outmuscles defenders, is faster and stronger than I thought he would be. Also he's "sharp" in the sense that he actually can dribble well (usually) and doesn't shy away from trying difficult shots.
- He actually had less service and chances than I thought he would have in the tournament. Maybe I overrated the playmaking abilities of this Belgium side. I can't say he was particularly wasteful. Everybody misses chances from time to time. Lewandowski missed two good chances this tournament too.
- As for his overall technique, it's very erratic. Like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're gonna get from him. People obviously will remember his fails more than his successes. And yeah, there were quite a few fails from him in this tournament.
- He doesn't seem to do anything when opposing team has the ball. He's just walking around and that's all. 0 pressing. It's super shocking because many players in this tournament have shown astonishing level of dedication that allowed them to reach higher level than I expected them to. In fact this tournament was a proof for me, how big difference a high level of motivation can make to the performance of a team. This motivation sometimes even backfired, resulting in dumb fouls you usually don't see in top level football, and red cards.
And then you have Lukaku who can't be arsed to try hard when his side is not on the offensive, and looks as if he played a friendly... We live in a time, where nobody is immune to criticism for not working hard on the pitch - even Messi. So Lukaku obviously doesn't get a free pass either - sorry.
As for rating strikers overall, I don't know how people can just lump them all together. Between Lewandowski, Suarez, Benzema, Kane and Lukaku, I dont know if any two of them are even on the same tier. In my humble opinion there's a pretty clear distinction on where each of them stands. But I guess that's a topic for another thread. This one is Lukaku's
- He really easily outmuscles defenders, is faster and stronger than I thought he would be. Also he's "sharp" in the sense that he actually can dribble well (usually) and doesn't shy away from trying difficult shots.
- He actually had less service and chances than I thought he would have in the tournament. Maybe I overrated the playmaking abilities of this Belgium side. I can't say he was particularly wasteful. Everybody misses chances from time to time. Lewandowski missed two good chances this tournament too.
- As for his overall technique, it's very erratic. Like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're gonna get from him. People obviously will remember his fails more than his successes. And yeah, there were quite a few fails from him in this tournament.
- He doesn't seem to do anything when opposing team has the ball. He's just walking around and that's all. 0 pressing. It's super shocking because many players in this tournament have shown astonishing level of dedication that allowed them to reach higher level than I expected them to. In fact this tournament was a proof for me, how big difference a high level of motivation can make to the performance of a team. This motivation sometimes even backfired, resulting in dumb fouls you usually don't see in top level football, and red cards.
And then you have Lukaku who can't be arsed to try hard when his side is not on the offensive, and looks as if he played a friendly... We live in a time, where nobody is immune to criticism for not working hard on the pitch - even Messi. So Lukaku obviously doesn't get a free pass either - sorry.
As for rating strikers overall, I don't know how people can just lump them all together. Between Lewandowski, Suarez, Benzema, Kane and Lukaku, I dont know if any two of them are even on the same tier. In my humble opinion there's a pretty clear distinction on where each of them stands. But I guess that's a topic for another thread. This one is Lukaku's
I refuse to believe that anyone said that.
I have to say his control does look better - not great but it is better and he seems to get on the end of more chances.
People seriously said that without being hyperbolic? I find that very hard to believe.
What a miss. Couldn't have happened to a bigger headed clown.
Search those words in this thread or his player performance thread for Utd, you’ll be surprised.
He‘s pretty unlikeable, and objectivity tends to fly out of the window for some when it comes to him for that reason.
Just yesterday someone was saying he should win the ballon d'or.
The match against Italy reminded me why I don't think he's a world class player, (two good missed opportunities someone like Ronaldo would have buried)
He's an excellent player, but just one step below, so I'm not that bothered that United sold him off.
I think he's more suited to the slower pace of Serie A . (Pogba as well) so I'm not worried about rumours of Chelsea pursing him....honestly I don' t think he wants to come back to the Premier League.
He's an excellent player, but just one step below, so I'm not that bothered that United sold him off.
I think he's more suited to the slower pace of Serie A . (Pogba as well) so I'm not worried about rumours of Chelsea pursing him....honestly I don' t think he wants to come back to the Premier League.
He's an above average striker with a good goalscoring record and wildly inconsistent technique. But for some reason, there's just this barrier dividing him from the top tier strikers. I still have no doubt that it was the right decision to sell him - he was good in his 1st season but totally stank up our forward line in the 2nd season. The criticism about his first touch and inability to hold up the ball was well warranted and fully justified.