Romelu Lukaku

[Armel]

It looks like he is always going to be marmite wherever he goes really.

Fair point.

I do think a lot of his criticism is unwarranted, mainly regarding his character. He grew up in abject poverty and achieved his goal. He doesn't lie, he's a modern day football player. People get angry because he says that he wants to achieve the highest level in his sport, because he wants a transfer whatever... It would be worse if he was saying one thing, and doing something else. Professing undying love and buggering off. It's safer to support clubs in modern football than players.

At the same time you have people saying that Onyekuru is behaving like he's doing because he's only young and making excuses for him. Three trainers so far found him to be an arse, two clubs he left hanging (worst of all was Eupen when they were almost relegated and he jets off); then he comes out with some press statement and it's never his fault, always someone else's.

Sometimes people are weird.

 

[Tin-Tin]

Fair point.

I do think a lot of his criticism is unwarranted, mainly regarding his character. He grew up in abject poverty and achieved his goal. He doesn't lie, he's a modern day football player. People get angry because he says that he wants to achieve the highest level in his sport, because he wants a transfer whatever... It would be worse if he was saying one thing, and doing something else. Professing undying love and buggering off. It's safer to support clubs in modern football than players.

At the same time you have people saying that Onyekuru is behaving like he's doing because he's only young and making excuses for him. Three trainers so far found him to be an arse, two clubs he left hanging (worst of all was Eupen when they were almost relegated and he jets off); then he comes out with some press statement and it's never his fault, always someone else's.

Sometimes people are weird.

I have no problem with his attitude, he seems like a really intelligent guy and his honesty is quite refreshing - he always said he wanted to be the best and challenge for trophies and it was obvious that unless we had a City type buyout, he was always going to go.

I just think he's a fantastic goalscorer, nobody can have a go at his record. But in my opinion, a very average/limited footballer. Couldnt hold the ball up and considering his size, didnt win as many headers as he should or use his strength like he should.

I have no idea why the Belgians dont like him, I suspect its similar reasons but cant be sure. Dont they much prefer Batshuayi?

 

[Armel]

I have no problem with his attitude, he seems like a really intelligent guy and his honesty is quite refreshing - he always said he wanted to be the best and challenge for trophies and it was obvious that unless we had a City type buyout, he was always going to go.

I just think he's a fantastic goalscorer, nobody can have a go at his record. But in my opinion, a very average/limited footballer. Couldnt hold the ball up and considering his size, didnt win as many headers as he should or use his strength like he should.

I have no idea why the Belgians dont like him, I suspect its similar reasons but cant be sure. Dont they much prefer Batshuayi?

Yes he said something like that in an interview. He was disappointed about how the take-over worked out in practice. He had talked with Kompany and he had told him that at City immediately after the take-over good players appeared. He expected something similar.

I'm also not saying he's a very good technical footballer, he's a goalscorer and there's room for that in modern football. All in all 37 goals and 10 assists this year is good enough. He probably won't become a Lewandowski or something similar. Then again not a lot of players are; very few players can consistently decide games. He still depends too much on the team. He could use his attributes better ... I don't have an issue with people who criticize his football ability btw, that's fair criticism.

It's weird why he's so unpopular. He's about the only player that I can remember that ever got booed for the national team. One part is the Standard and Club Brugge supporters, him being an Anderlecht player and having taunted them from time to time will play a part. I suppose it's also a bit of a problem that he has a lot of confidence, marks you out a bit in Belgium- false modesty is preferred. Look at Mertens, he consistently gets picked as MOM and honestly most of the time he isn't - very bizarre.

Batshuayi is very popular because he's a very likeable character. He's one of those people you can't be angry with. He's also a pure goalscorer. Don't know how he would fare at Everton. His numbers are always top notch, but he isn't always very focused and he doesn't run a lot.

 

[Goat]

Yes he said something like that in an interview. He was disappointed about how the take-over worked out in practice. He had talked with Kompany and he had told him that at City immediately after the take-over good players appeared. He expected something similar.

Thats unrealistic tho, surely he knows that, nobody can ever do what City did again, mainly cos of clubs like City, Anzi, Malaga and PSG.

Its a different world to the 1 City barged into.

 

[Armel]

Thats unrealistic tho, surely he knows that, nobody can ever do what City did again, mainly cos of clubs like City, Anzi, Malaga and PSG.

Its a different world to the 1 City barged into.

I know. Still he expected something similar. Kompany told him something like: "Rom, one summer I just came in and boom, boom, boom, boom… Robinho from there, that guy came in, this guy came in, this guy came in and then everyone was criticising them but at the end they won league titles, FA Cup here, League Cups there." It was around the time he was disappointed in missing the signings of some new players etc...

 

[Goat]

I know. Still he expected something similar. Kompany told him something like: "Rom, one summer I just came in and boom, boom, boom, boom… Robinho from there, that guy came in, this guy came in, this guy came in and then everyone was criticising them but at the end they won league titles, FA Cup here, League Cups there." It was around the time he was disappointed in missing the signings of some new players etc...

I remember him saying it like.

 

[Prevenger17]

Lukaku is bog-standard, should spend less time moaning about how he is perceived, and more time trying to fix his bad case of rubber shins

 

[Hibbo]

Lukaku is bog-standard, should spend less time moaning about how he is perceived, and more time trying to fix his bad case of rubber shins

TELL EM LIKE IT IS BROTHER

 

[Prevenger17]

TELL EM LIKE IT IS BROTHER

GOOD LAWD!!!

 

[PhilM]

I'm also not saying he's a very good technical footballer, he's a goalscorer and there's room for that in modern football. All in all 37 goals and 10 assists this year is good enough. He probably won't become a Lewandowski or something similar. Then again not a lot of players are; very few players can consistently decide games. He still depends too much on the team. He could use his attributes better ... I don't have an issue with people who criticize his football ability btw, that's fair criticism.

It's weird why he's so unpopular.

I was mostly in the camp that gave Lukaku support while he was here: he scored goals (his primary role) and his comments were often honest.

They may have sometimes came across as slightly crass or that of a youth, but I never thought he was overly disrespectful towards the club.

However, I did recognise that due to a number of aspects he failed to really adhere himself to our fan base; the same is occurring at Manure.

He's a great goalscorer and genuinely wants to be the best he can be - he's meant to train hard for this - so you have to respect that as a player.

Yet, there's lots of aspects of Rom mainly on the pitch, that don't help build a bond: he moans (petulant); can appear lethargic; has poor control.

That's not an overt criticism of him, for like I said he'll score copious goals, but when the going is tough he can appear to not truly exert himself.

A few of my Manure friends feel that while he's a good goal scorer he will never be a top star as he can be far too anonymous or petulant.

If he really wants to be deemed a star player then he would need to change these features of his game, although I don't think it's in his capability.

 

[Armel]

I was mostly in the camp that gave Lukaku support while he was here: he scored goals (his primary role) and his comments were often honest.

They may have sometimes came across as slightly crass or that of a youth, but I never thought he was overly disrespectful towards the club.

However, I did recognise that due to a number of aspects he failed to really adhere himself to our fan base; the same is occurring at Manure.

He's a great goalscorer and genuinely wants to be the best he can be - he's meant to train hard for this - so you have to respect that as a player.

Yet, there's lots of aspects of Rom mainly on the pitch, that don't help build a bond: he moans (petulant); can appear lethargic; has poor control.

That's not an overt criticism of him, for like I said he'll score copious goals, but when the going is tough he can appear to not truly exert himself.

A few of my Manure friends feel that while he's a good goal scorer he will never be a top star as he can be far too anonymous or petulant.

If he really wants to be deemed a star player then he would need to change these features of his game, although I don't think it's in his capability.

This is a good assessment. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[verreauxi]

I was mostly in the camp that gave Lukaku support while he was here: he scored goals (his primary role) and his comments were often honest.

They may have sometimes came across as slightly crass or that of a youth, but I never thought he was overly disrespectful towards the club.

However, I did recognise that due to a number of aspects he failed to really adhere himself to our fan base; the same is occurring at Manure.

He's a great goalscorer and genuinely wants to be the best he can be - he's meant to train hard for this - so you have to respect that as a player.

Yet, there's lots of aspects of Rom mainly on the pitch, that don't help build a bond: he moans (petulant); can appear lethargic; has poor control.

That's not an overt criticism of him, for like I said he'll score copious goals, but when the going is tough he can appear to not truly exert himself.

A few of my Manure friends feel that while he's a good goal scorer he will never be a top star as he can be far too anonymous or petulant.

If he really wants to be deemed a star player then he would need to change these features of his game, although I don't think it's in his capability.

Nice analysis. Also cheers to @Armel who has also provided some great insight.

 

[4737carlin]

Lukaku is bog-standard, should spend less time moaning about how he is perceived, and more time trying to fix his bad case of rubber shins

Cant wait to see him sulking and pointing at the World Cup, while its a crying shame we made no effort to replace him im glad we took that fee when we did, as if we still had him we wouldnt have a chance of getting that kind of money for him now.

 

[sd_1992]

I was mostly in the camp that gave Lukaku support while he was here: he scored goals (his primary role) and his comments were often honest.

They may have sometimes came across as slightly crass or that of a youth, but I never thought he was overly disrespectful towards the club.

However, I did recognise that due to a number of aspects he failed to really adhere himself to our fan base; the same is occurring at Manure.

He's a great goalscorer and genuinely wants to be the best he can be - he's meant to train hard for this - so you have to respect that as a player.

Yet, there's lots of aspects of Rom mainly on the pitch, that don't help build a bond: he moans (petulant); can appear lethargic; has poor control.

That's not an overt criticism of him, for like I said he'll score copious goals, but when the going is tough he can appear to not truly exert himself.

A few of my Manure friends feel that while he's a good goal scorer he will never be a top star as he can be far too anonymous or petulant.

If he really wants to be deemed a star player then he would need to change these features of his game, although I don't think it's in his capability.

Was never going to be a top player as soon as he thought he was bigger than a club he hadn't managed to improve in any way... Too many players these days think they have a right to play for a CL team without putting the work in to get there themselves...

 

[PhilM]

Was never going to be a top player as soon as he thought he was bigger than a club he hadn't managed to improve in any way... Too many players these days think they have a right to play for a CL team without putting the work in to get there themselves...

Personally, I think to claim that Rom hadn't earnt the opportunity to play Champions League football is slightly unfair based on his record here.

His goal return while playing for Everton simply isn't something we should ignore - one goal every 1.9 games based on a total of 87 goals.

Yes there were deficiencies to his game, which some may rightly argue are still present in his game, but he scored regularly in a mediocre squad.

The issue is that at clubs like Man U, with more quality players to support him, he should be scoring more and nor will they accept his deficiencies.

Let's not forget, they have memories of van Nistelrooy, Yorke, Cole, Cantona, C Ronaldo, Rooney (in his prime) and Ibrahimović amongst others.

Does Lukaku's image match with the likes of the above? Arguably no and that'll be the issue. To be a star, you have to portray yourself as one.