I can basically predict when he'll play well. That's how predictable he is. From earlier this season:
He's got to go for it today. Raise your game, realise you're in a team. Hopefully for him the recent benching would have humbled him into realising his flaws and he comes up with a good performance.
I'd usually be confident in writing him off in such circumstances but got a funny feeling he'll have one of his unplayable 1 in 10 games tonight.
... and sure enough, he played a blinder that day.
His weight isn't the issue. He's filled out - he's not fat, it's genetic. He's always been that way - that's why he impressed in lower age groups as he was basically an unstoppable force against kids. A flat track bully. It's also why he's incredible in a counter-attacking team, because if you get him running at a defender from deep and his mind is on it, then he's a rampaging bull with unreal finishing ability.
But the reason he's failed, and the reason he'll continue to fail at any club with footballing ambition, is because he has a complete lack of actual footballing ability. He's a naturally gifted goalscorer; he has split second reaction time in the box, but he is completely incapable of helping a side get into the positions for him to be effective at the top levels, and that is the way the game has gone over the last decade. It's not enough to be a Lineker type and not be involved in the overall play anymore, because defenders are more mobile and athletic. They cover space - you need your entire line pulling them out of position to exploit play.
Lukaku does absolutely none of that. He never has and he's incapable of it. It's a core lack of ability. The defence of him is from football fans who have a 'Roy of the Rovers' mentality, who seen him score goals after years of James Beattie and Steve Watson up front. It's understandable, but it's simply wrong - it shows a limited knowledge of football. He simply lacks the ability to play football at a high level. He hasn't changed at United; he's the exact same player.
My advice is to learn from why you got it so wrong about him. Look at why you thought he was a superstar and then try and learn why he actually wasn't. My dislike of Lukaku isn't personal; it's actually because of how blinkered Evertonian ambitions are, because not only is he not good enough for United, he was never good enough for Everton - a side that should be aiming high.
