Lukaku

[Tubey]

Tubes be honest mate do you have a teeny weeny bit of a problem with black people?

I think everyone would be sound if you admitted it, as long as it was less than 10%.

If I didn't have one of my phones on charge right now, I'd be at my regular NAACP meeting mate.

 

[Carlito]

We aren't only in the league though are we?

Stop finding excuses to put the lad down. He's got 16 goals or so so far ffs.

We will be next season.

Shame, as I do enjoy watching him bundle through physically weak defences.

 

[Abraders]

We're not playing to his strengths (he's a power runner with the ball and against Kiev he dominated as we turned defences and gave him room to work)... BUT in Europe he also holds the ball up, lays off, passes accurately etc. These aren't his natural strengths but in Europe he does a job in doing it.

In the league, he's beyond useless.

As I've said, I just want to see him do what he does in Europe in the league - that is drop intelligently into space, hold the ball up with his physical strength (for some reason he looks like he weighs six stone lighter in English football) and as such get the full backs into the game higher up.

I'm actually not bothered if he personally scores or not - I just want a better performance as a footballer from him domestically. Goals are secondary; if he had the record he has in the league but he'd been good at the basic stuff a player has to do in a single striker role, I'd be giving him no grief whatsoever.

Nah fair enough. I see your point, and it is valid - I just don't see the specific criticism to be too fair because he is still learning and prem teams outmark him in any game, and refs don't give him as many free kicks in the prem either imo.

Agree more with Moutsgoat on that - if he was 'altidoring' it everywhere i'd be slating him haha.

 

[KevMirallas]

He's the same player in both comps FFS. If you think he's ace in Europe, then you think he's ace. It's the same actual bloke, no fooling.

 

[Tubey]

Hes against a different class of defender in Europe.

Confidence plays a part in anybodys game, in Europe he clearly thinks he can bully people, so he bullies them, in the League hes played against these defenders.

I agree. But if he's going to be world class he needs to stop just talking a big game and go out and throttle matches with his talent. He shouldn't be allowing the side to slump.

I know he's 21 etc. but if he can do it against Kiev, he can do it against Newcastle. He hulked up and inspired us in Europe - he hasn't done it once this season against some truly dire defences.

 

[Abraders]

We will be next season.

Shame, as I do enjoy watching him bundle through physically weak defences.

Champions League brother

 

[Abraders]

I agree. But if he's going to be world class he needs to stop just talking a big game and go out and throttle matches with his talent. He shouldn't be allowing the side to slump.

I know he's 21 etc. but if he can do it against Kiev, he can do it against Newcastle. He hulked up and inspired us in Europe - he hasn't done it once this season against some truly dire defences.

Idk, i'm 21 but I think it would be quite a mental challenge - regardless of my size - to bully defenders week in and week out that are mostly all 5-10+ years in experience in their professional position.

Lukaku is probably considered our highest threat, too. I can't imagine managers would ignore that.

 

[Tubey]

Nah fair enough. I see your point, and it is valid - I just don't see the specific criticism to be too fair because he is still learning and prem teams outmark him in any game, and refs don't give him as many free kicks in the prem either imo.

Agree more with Moutsgoat on that - if he was 'altidoring' it everywhere i'd be slating him haha.

If by Altidoring (great term btw) you mean he's getting into positions but failing to score all the time, I'd hardly have a bad word to say about him. I'd be defending him like I did Jelavic, as it'd mean he's making the right moves regularly.

For example, against Leicester, where he missed a bagful. It was annoying, sure, but I knew if he was like that regularly, more often than not he'd get two a game.

What bothers me is his poor movement, non-existent first touch and, with alarming regularity, the way he just disappears from games totally.

I have no desire whatsoever to see him play badly just to moan at him, but I can understand why people think that is the case as I harp on about it constantly, but we have a player here who could be out of this world brilliant but is letting himself down by not doing the basics right domestically.

 

[Goat]

I agree. But if he's going to be world class he needs to stop just talking a big game and go out and throttle matches with his talent. He shouldn't be allowing the side to slump.

I know he's 21 etc. but if he can do it against Kiev, he can do it against Newcastle. He hulked up and inspired us in Europe - he hasn't done it once this season against some truly dire defences.

Hes been poor in the league, but im struggling to name a single player, Besic, that hasnt been, I cant explain it, we smash a side like Wolfsburg home and away and then get bummed by Stoke.

No clue whats happening.

 

[Tubey]

Idk, i'm 21 but I think it would be quite a mental challenge - regardless of my size - to bully defenders week in and week out that are mostly all 5-10+ years in experience in their professional position.

Lukaku is probably considered our highest threat, too. I can't imagine managers would ignore that.

Not week in, week out. Just a few games a month maybe - that'd be a nice start.

I think he's played genuinely well once this season, twice if being generous. Yet he's been incredible every game except one in Europe.

 

[Abraders]

If by Altidoring (great term btw) you mean he's getting into positions but failing to score all the time, I'd hardly have a bad word to say about him. I'd be defending him like I did Jelavic, as it'd mean he's making the right moves regularly.

For example, against Leicester, where he missed a bagful. It was annoying, sure, but I knew if he was like that regularly, more often than not he'd get two a game.

What bothers me is his poor movement, non-existent first touch and, with alarming regularity, the way he just disappears from games totally.

I have no desire whatsoever to see him play badly just to moan at him, but I can understand why people think that is the case as I harp on about it constantly, but we have a player here who could be out of this world brilliant but is letting himself down by not doing the basics right domestically.

Can't take credit for it, MoutsGoat came out with that pure genius and is now quite calmly preserved in my footballing vocabulary haha.

Personally I rated Jelly for that too, always half rated that he even managed to get 3 sitters missed a game, than doing nothing at all, because for sure, that is frustrating. But when I watch Lukaku, sometimes maybe his movement is lacking - and i'm one to go on about it in voice too - but, nobody else does either. And more often than not if he made that run we'd pass it sideways.

 

[Goat]

But last season he scored goals in the league, lots of them, I think we should just stop trying to work out whats going wrong in the league this season, with all our players, cos its just crazy how they play like Pele on a Thursday and Li Tie on a Sunday.

 

[Abraders]

Not week in, week out. Just a few games a month maybe - that'd be a nice start.

I think he's played genuinely well once this season, twice if being generous. Yet he's been incredible every game except one in Europe.

Well for all of our benefits, lets hope whatever it is that's going wrong for him, stops right now.

Could do with the real Lukaku standing up today and Thursday.

On a side note; really rate the guy for having stepped up on penalty duty whilst Baines is out. Mirallas take note...

 

[chicoazul]

If his name was Ronald Lake you'd all love him.

 

[Tubey]

Can't take credit for it, MoutsGoat came out with that pure genius and is now quite calmly preserved in my footballing vocabulary haha.

Personally I rated Jelly for that too, always half rated that he even managed to get 3 sitters missed a game, than doing nothing at all, because for sure, that is frustrating. But when I watch Lukaku, sometimes maybe his movement is lacking - and i'm one to go on about it in voice too - but, nobody else does either. And more often than not if he made that run we'd pass it sideways.

The movement is the most vital thing for a single striker in our system though. If he does badly at that role, the whole pack of cards falls down, as there is no focal point to the attack.

For example, if we work it wide, and Lukaku has just jogged into no man's land, then the ball will be worked back and sideways to retain possession and look for another opening.

This is why he's such a let down in the league for me. Nothing sticks to him, so we can't regularly get runners beyond him.