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Seamus Colemole
Previously deathbyropeandglass
Oh. So we can look around and find loads of 22 year olds/players with 200 first team games who have a first touch so bad they have actually set up opposition strikers for goals?
Dithering Dougie
Banned
You can do what you want I suppose. But while you're looking find another 22 year old with a matching goalscoring record in top flight football will you please.
Seamus Colemole
Previously deathbyropeandglass
Can't mate cause there isn't one.
But if his control is so bad because of his age you'll easily be able to find other players of his age and younger with equally as bad first touches, and strikers of his age and younger with such poor hold up play at times.
And any player of any age who has played over 200 first team games for 3 differing PL teams and played in a world cup who is still so poor at certain basics of the game.
Dithering Dougie
Banned
His touch is erratic, one minute it's fine the next it's not as good. That's not because he can't do it otherwise it would always be poor it's because of a lack of concentration.
As I've said he's not prefect but his game is evolving like you'd expect any 22 year olds to, as he gets older his concentration will improve and then you'll see a more consistent player. But in the meantime I guess you'll just have to put up with a very good footballer with an outstanding scoring ratio, so it's not all bad.
bluemangroup
Player Valuation: £70m
Can't we all just agree he scores lots but has a bad first touch but is 22 which may or perhaps may not be a factor and save going round and round and round and round in circles?
Duncan Disordely
Player Valuation: £35m
The Equaliser
Player Valuation: £50m
It's fairly simple for me really.
He doesn't like playing the lone striker's role which obviously requires playing with his back to goal and therefore a good first touch and hold-up play. You can see this in his body language and lack of movement sometimes. This might improve though as he becomes older and more experienced. He should look to Drogba as an example in this regard.
Play him with another striker and/or give him balls to run on to by playing a counter-attacking style and he is right up there with the best finishers. This is why he is so much better with Kone on the pitch as the burden is shared. To get the best out of him we really need to play with 2 strikers, even they are not in a 4-4-2, so that he is not isolated as much. The West Brom game was a prime example of the contrast between both scenarios.
He doesn't like playing the lone striker's role which obviously requires playing with his back to goal and therefore a good first touch and hold-up play. You can see this in his body language and lack of movement sometimes. This might improve though as he becomes older and more experienced. He should look to Drogba as an example in this regard.
Play him with another striker and/or give him balls to run on to by playing a counter-attacking style and he is right up there with the best finishers. This is why he is so much better with Kone on the pitch as the burden is shared. To get the best out of him we really need to play with 2 strikers, even they are not in a 4-4-2, so that he is not isolated as much. The West Brom game was a prime example of the contrast between both scenarios.
Donald Twain
Vide cor meum
I cant keep up with all these threads @Dithering Dougie is cracking heads in.
bluemangroup
Player Valuation: £70m
Put him on ignore and save yourself the trouble
Dithering Dougie
Banned
bluemangroup
Player Valuation: £70m
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blue4eva77
Yarmolenko ? Yes please
Interesting that Tony Cottee has a better Premier League strike rate. Especially when considering that people are banging on about his goal ratio and that nothing else matters.
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Dexter
Dixie Dean Lar
Yes the problem really is we only have him as the only striker who is half decent, so we can't rest or drop him, i do wish people would stop going on about his age though, 22 is not that young when you have liverpool with a couple of 18 year olds, Martial at man u
paulbefc
Player Valuation: £60m
He didn't "explode to life" really though, because he wasn't doing anything massively differently to before his goal. He just got a rare decent bit of service and as he usually does, took full advantage and scored a goal that obliterated WBA's confidence and momentum and changed the game entirely, meaning his team mates had far more success in creating chances for him and others later on. Martinez' tactical changes also helped us out.
Lukaku wasn't anywhere near the main cause of our problems on Monday and often isn't the root of problems, but will usually be the player asked to pick the ball up with back to goal after we've passed the ball around safely with zero penetration/creativity in front of a defence that has had ample time to organise themselves, while he is double man marked and he will then be slated for giving the ball away while the players who should have been giving him actual service that plays to his strengths often avoid criticism. The above is the story of almost every minute of almost every league game last season. Thankfully this season Deulofeu's back and isn't scared of/has no second thoughts about whipping a ball in that he can actually attack.
When most of team is playing "crap", it's likely that Lukaku, as a lone striker, will also look crap/ineffective as he's dependent on service from them. When the only way he can get the ball is by sprinting away from the goal he's meant to be attacking to do tasks that ask him to rely on his weakest attributes, he's never ever going to look good. This was the case a pretty shocking number of times in the first hour or so on Monday night and in countless other games previous.
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