Zlatan Ibrahimović

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Given that the whole team was set up to create chances for him, scoring 28 from countless chances wasn't a big deal.

It's a Mourinho team, they always set up for a striker to do well. Drogba never managed to score like Zlatan though in the same system despite being in a better Chelsea side.

And if it was set up for Zlatan, what's the difference now with Lukaku? Are we not set-up for him? Will our other attackers suddenly start banging them in on a regular basis unlike last season?

 

[RC89]

Imagine we're in the mix in all comps and then... Boom! We get Griezmann and Zlatan in Jan.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

It's a Mourinho team, they always set up for a striker to do well. Drogba never managed to score like Zlatan though in the same system despite being in a better Chelsea side.

And if it was set up for Zlatan, what's the difference now with Lukaku? Are we not set-up for him? Will our other attackers suddenly start banging them in on a regular basis unlike last season?

I fear you're wasting your time. A 35 year old striker, first season in the PL, season curtailed by injury, 28 goals........"no big deal".

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

I fear you're wasting your time. A 35 year old striker, first season in the PL, season curtailed by injury, 28 goals........"no big deal".

I guess people like @Treble think the answer to a repeat of last season is that our main striker doesn't miss chances and scores 50 goals. Sadly after last night it appears Lukaku is also human and will miss his fair shares of chances.

My opinion differs, we need more goals in this side and at least one other player who'll bag 15 league goals minimum. It can't all be on Lukaku's shoulders like it was with Zlatan last season.

 

[kps88]

This will be great and his return will give the whole team a boost for the second half of the season. A bit like when Scholes came back from retirement or we signed Larsson out of nowhere.

 

[kouroux]

It's a Mourinho team, they always set up for a striker to do well. Drogba never managed to score like Zlatan though in the same system despite being in a better Chelsea side.

And if it was set up for Zlatan, what's the difference now with Lukaku? Are we not set-up for him? Will our other attackers suddenly start banging them in on a regular basis unlike last season?

Didn't Drogba score more than 30 goals for the whole season in 2006/2007 ?

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

I guess people like @Treble think the answer to a repeat of last season is that our main striker doesn't miss chances and scores 50 goals. Sadly after last night it appears Lukaku is also human and will miss his fair shares of chances.

My opinion differs, we need more goals in this side and at least one other player who'll bag 15 league goals minimum. It can't all be on Lukaku's shoulders like it was with Zlatan last season.

Yep. I see no downside to this.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Didn't Drogba score more than 30 goals for the whole season in 2006/2007 ?

33 in 60 games, @kouroux

Zlatan got 28 in just 46.

The point is, being a focal point doesn't make scoring those numbers "easy" as some here would have you believe, Drogba managed it just TWICE (correction) during his time at Chelsea, the second time, a few years later he got incredible numbers in fairness.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

I'd say move on. He was a huge reason as to why we played so poorly last season and he affected how Martial and Rashford played. He clearly wasn't as fit as people like to make out he was as the one game he really put in any effort he was being sick on the pitch after.

If any thing he hampered the squad.

 

[Man-United]

"wasn't a big deal" scoring 28 goals. Treble at his best praising Ibra again I see!

 

[Z_Wolf]

He was our most creative player last season. Apart from his lack of speed and poor finishing which was very out of character for him tbf, he was mint. He's technically of the highest quality and makes intelligent movements.

No brainer.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

"wasn't a big deal" scoring 28 goals. Treble at his best praising Ibra again I see!

Weird that we'd spend 75m+ on Lukaku if scoring 28 in 46 is no big deal, anyone could do it so why waste so much money?

 

[Escobar]

We shouldnt bring him back

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

We shouldnt bring him back

You think we have enough goals in the side this season @Escobar? As there's no question it cost us last time around.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Amazing that he still gets blame from some for our poor league finish.

Every striker misses sitters. If we had just any attacker come close to Ibra's production, we would have had a far better league season.

 

[Wade3]

33 in 60 games, @kouroux

Zlatan got 28 in just 46.

The point is, being a focal point doesn't make scoring those numbers "easy" as some here would have you believe, Drogba managed it just TWICE (correction) during his time at Chelsea, the second time, a few years later he got incredible numbers in fairness.

Let's not pretend as if Drogba played the many games every season. In fact, his 60 were by far the most he ever played due to injuries/AFCON. And as you said, he also had a season where he scored 37 in 44 games. Let's not forget that he also had a midfielder in his team who repeatedly scored 20+ goals. That's a big difference.

 

[Man-United]

Weird that we'd spend 75m+ on Lukaku if scoring 28 in 46 is no big deal, anyone could do it so why waste so much money?

It's always easy to pick up the chances he missed, but forget the match winning goals. Lukaku missed a sitter yesterday going by the same "sitter" stuff Zlatan was judged on.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Let's not pretend as if Drogba played the many games every season. In fact, his 60 were by far the most he ever played due to injuries/AFCON. And as you said, he also had a season where he scored 37 in 44 games. Let's not forget that he also had a midfielder in his team who repeatedly scored 20+ goals. That's a big difference.

Who's pretending?

The bolded part is ideal for the point most of us are making, Drogba had seasons like the following and his side still had a good league finish:

41 games - 16 goals
41 games - 16 goals
42 games - 14 goals
46 games - 13 goals.

Because he had other players in his side pitching in! If you just look at Zlatan's highlights video from last season you see the he easily should've ended the year on 15+ assists, but sadly he didn't have a Lampard and it was often the case that if Zlatan didn't deliver, we didn't win.

In the season Drogba scored 37, Lampard got 26, Malouda got 15, Kalou got 12, Anelka 15 and Chelsea won the double, spot the difference to us last year? Because it aint the main striker that's for sure.

I fear we're in for another frustrating season if we put everything on Lukaku's shoulders as we did with Zlatan. Lukaku is a top striker, a great signing, but he alone isn't going to turn us into title challengers, we need more from others. Resigning Zlatan in December would at least guarantee us another player in our squad that would produce double figures, and surely that's a very good thing indeed?

 

[Escobar]

You think we have enough goals in the side this season @Escobar? As there's no question it cost us last time around.

On one hand, I feel he wont solve our goal scoring problem (he was one of the reasons why we didnt score enough). Second, I believe we need to develop rapidly the way we play, especially our off the ball movement and attacking play. There, I just dont see what he will bring to the table. I feel Lukaku is more suitable and both cant play at the same time imo

 

[The red panther]

You think we have enough goals in the side this season @Escobar? As there's no question it cost us last time around.

Seeing as Lukaku and Zlatan play in the same position and have similar output (Lukaku slightly better), I don't see how Zlatan will bring us any extra goals.

Playing them together won't work imo, putting one on the bench for the other is madness.

 

[GM K]

I disagree, I think that's an overly simplistic way of looking at it. While most athletes eventually recover from ACL surgery, their performance generally drops the season after they return. I haven't seen any studies done in football, but there was actually a medical study done in basketball about this very phenomenon. Since you're in LA, I'll use Kobe as an example. He suffered an achilles tear in the back-end of his career at the same age as Zlatan (35), and came back a shell of the player he was before. These high-impact injuries are more difficult to recover from the older you are.

I also bring up his age because he doesn't have many years of service left. Unless he's willing to come back largely for a ceremonial role (which would shock me given...it's Zlatan), I'd rather we explored other opportunities.

Brilliant analysis and facts loaded.

The only flaw in your submission is that it seems to miss the critical factor in this particular scenario: the subject in question is Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zlatan defies science.

 

[Trigg]

Brilliant analysis and facts loaded.

The only flaw in your submission is that it seems to miss the critical factor in this particular scenario: the subject in question is Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zlatan defies science.

Jordy Nelson of the Packers had a hell of a season after a torn ACL too. Not quite as old as Kobe or Zlatan but still in his 30's. There's always an exception and if anyone is likely to be one, it's Zlatan.

 

[GM K]

Signing Zlatan again will definitely improve the team.

What I like most about Zlatan is the mentality he brings into the team. He is as big a star as they come, a leader and fortunately, he's still very much a top class player. These attributes rub off on the younger players.

We really need Zlatan now. He will be a massive asset in the short term.

The key is how he is used. Jose has to manage him well and Zlatan himself must agree to play more rotationally.

 

[GM K]

I guess people like @Treble think the answer to a repeat of last season is that our main striker doesn't miss chances and scores 50 goals. Sadly after last night it appears Lukaku is also human and will miss his fair shares of chances.

My opinion differs, we need more goals in this side and at least one other player who'll bag 15 league goals minimum. It can't all be on Lukaku's shoulders like it was with Zlatan last season.

Totally agree.

 

[Escobar]

People who claim we need more goals seem to forget that Lukaku and Zlatan wont play together. It will be one or the other. And last season he missed way too many chances anyways

 

[van der star]

People who claim we need more goals seem to forget that Lukaku and Zlatan wont play together. It will be one or the other. And last season he missed way too many chances anyways

Zlatan is more than capable of playing as a 10. He has the vision and the attacking arsenal to play a supporting role behind Lukaku.

 

[The red panther]

Zlatan is more than capable of playing as a 10. He has the vision and the attacking arsenal to play a supporting role behind Lukaku.

But everybody wants a midfield 3 of Pogba, Herrera and Matic, how will that work with Zlatan as 10 ?

 

[MuranoLover]

Zlatan will be needed , there is no question , so lets bring him on .

He showed he is a class act when he denied some US / China offers , we need such people !

 

[Wade3]

Who's pretending?

The bolded part is ideal for the point most of us are making, Drogba had seasons like the following and his side still had a good league finish:

41 games - 16 goals
41 games - 16 goals
42 games - 14 goals
46 games - 13 goals.

Because he had other players in his side pitching in! If you just look at Zlatan's highlights video from last season you see the he easily should've ended the year on 15+ assists, but sadly he didn't have a Lampard and it was often the case that if Zlatan didn't deliver, we didn't win.

In the season Drogba scored 37, Lampard got 26, Malouda got 15, Kalou got 12, Anelka 15 and Chelsea won the double, spot the difference to us last year? Because it aint the main striker that's for sure.

I fear we're in for another frustrating season if we put everything on Lukaku's shoulders as we did with Zlatan. Lukaku is a top striker, a great signing, but he alone isn't going to turn us into title challengers, we need more from others. Resigning Zlatan in December would at least guarantee us another player in our squad that would produce double figures, and surely that's a very good thing indeed?

You didn't understand my point. If you have other players on the team who are proven goal scorers, they tend to take more of your shots away, thus resulting in less attempts and less goals for somebody like Drogba. Instead of focusing on the pure goals per game metric, one should take shot attempts and shot accuracy into consideration.

Check this comparison matrix, which confirms your point about Zlatan being a good creator, but it also confirms that he needs more attempts to score goals than other top strikers. For the sake of it, I threw Diego Costa's 14/15 season under Mourinho in there and it's kinda interesting that he is the top chance creator in that group, which indicates that Mourinho likes to play through his strikers as a creative outlet:

http://www.squawka.com/comparison-m...ts/key_passes/chances_created/goals_scored#90

 

[Raoul]

But everybody wants a midfield 3 of Pogba, Herrera and Matic, how will that work with Zlatan as 10 ?

Leave that to Mourinho to sort out

 

[Ixion]

I'll feel more confident having two proven strikers as options. Rashford and Martial still too raw to count on and Mata and Mkhitaryan as a 10 wouldn't chip in with enough goals.

 

[Escobar]

Zlatan is more than capable of playing as a 10. He has the vision and the attacking arsenal to play a supporting role behind Lukaku.

I dont see that. He'd want to be upfront and to be the focal point of attack. I rather we move on and get someone young and talented

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

People who claim we need more goals seem to forget that Lukaku and Zlatan wont play together. It will be one or the other. And last season he missed way too many chances anyways

Erm... yes they will, plenty of times.

 

[The red panther]

Erm... yes they will, plenty of times.

How ?

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Check this comparison matrix, which confirms your point about Zlatan being a good creator, but it also confirms that he needs more attempts to score goals than other top strikers.

Based on one season? Zlatan's first in a new club and league? Bravo @Wade3.

Any chance you have a matrix over say the past 3 seasons for a better comparison?

And if you think Pogba and the likes of Rashford doesn't/didn't take a shit load of shots away from the striker last season then you're in cloud cuckoo land.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

How ?

We've played 2 up top a good few times already in pre-season.

 

[The red panther]

We've played 2 up top a good few times already in pre-season.

Haven't seen any of our preseason games, only the supercup. So how would we lign up with Zlatan and Lukaku, genuine question.

My feeling is that they are not compatible strikers and a partnership between those 2 would not work. Putting either on the bench is madness because both need to play, hence why I'd say we should not be bringing Zlatan back.

 

[paulscholes18]

We've played 2 up top a good few times already in pre-season.

But it's been Mata or Mkhitaryan with Lukaku not Rashford

 

[Ixion]

People who claim we need more goals seem to forget that Lukaku and Zlatan wont play together. It will be one or the other. And last season he missed way too many chances anyways

I'd love to know how many goals people think Zlatan would have scored if he hadn't missed all these chances because it's exaggerated beyond belief. 50-60 goals?

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Haven't seen any of our preseason games, only the supercup. So how would we lign up with Zlatan and Lukaku, genuine question.

It's not really a question for me, it's one for Jose, but he has played 2 strikers plenty in pre-season in a 3-5-2. A 4-4-2 with these two would also work just fine.

My feeling is that they are not compatible strikers and a partnership between those 2 would not work.

Putting either on the bench is madness because both need to play, hence why I'd say we should not be bringing Zlatan back.

People always say this shit about strikers and it's often total nonsense. Lukaku and Zlatan could be a beast of a pair, Zlatan being such an intelligent football makes him like Sheringham in that regard.