Romelu Lukaku | Match Discussion thread 2017/18

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Always said we should have bought Morata instead.

Too many times last night we didn't have him in the box where we needed him. He needs to stop floating about. He was very right sided last night a lot when he didn't need to be.
 
maxt7 said:
Haha we are all thinking the same.

Why's Jose talking about his boots? Unless Adidas can design a boot with pillows in to soften that touch its not gonna help.
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It might be what's making him unhappy imagine being a £75m striker that doesn't have a boot deal that's got to knock your confidence a bit, you'd think people would be falling over themselves to have Man Utd's number 9 in their boots.

Was a very random thing for the manger to bring up.
 
maxt7 said:
That's a true point JSP. But what happens if Jose wants to play 3-5-2 in the big matches against City and Arsenal? Which I think he might. Lukaku is going to have to adapt. I've said it before when he plays as a lone striker he doesn't move enough and becomes a static target man. Easily marked. And the biggest problem with that is that his touch as a lone static target man isn't good enough. He doesn't either bring others into the game or hold the ball up to set a platform for further attacks.
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If we got for the 3-5-2 we are probably better with Rashford & Martial as the 2 with Lingard in behind if I'm totally honest the way we are playing at the moment.

I think people assume because he's so big and powerful that he wants to be a target man or he's good at it he just isn't good at that job so you take away his supply which is crosses or balls into the channels and he can't really do much.

It might be something he can learn to do but it's clear he's still learning that role and right now he just looks like a very frustrated player.
 
jsp said:
It might be what's making him unhappy imagine being a £75m striker that doesn't have a boot deal that's got to knock your confidence a bit, you'd think people would be falling over themselves to have Man Utd's number 9 in their boots.

Was a very random thing for the manger to bring up.
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Cant he buy a set of boots? Surely the lads could have a whip round?
 
jsp said:
If we got for the 3-5-2 we are probably better with Rashford & Martial as the 2 with Lingard in behind if I'm totally honest the way we are playing at the moment.

I think people assume because he's so big and powerful that he wants to be a target man or he's good at it he just isn't good at that job so you take away his supply which is crosses or balls into the channels and he can't really do much.

It might be something he can learn to do but it's clear he's still learning that role and right now he just looks like a very frustrated player.
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If your going to lead a line in this day and age on your own, against alot of sides that play a back 3 then you've got to do more then Lukaku is offering at the minute. I'm not being harsh, I want the guy to succeed. I wanna be bowling around town in my Lukaku shirt. I wanna be singing his name at the top of my voice on a Monday morning in the office. But his got to help me want to do that.

He doesn't move defenders about. He doesn't hassle the back 3 like say Costa used to at Chelsea. He doesn't win enough balls in the air. He didn't against Liverpool or Chelsea. He got easily marked by nobodies like Lovern and Christensen. His first touch is poor. But I can live with all that as long as he scores and takes chances and he isn't at the minute. That's what killing it for me. Ok maybe his boots are rubbish and his got no confidence. But we've got 2 massive games coming up and chances will be at a premium and we need this guy to do more then he is at the minute.
 
maxt7 said:
If your going to lead a line in this day and age on your own, against alot of sides that play a back 3 then you've got to do more then Lukaku is offering at the minute. I'm not being harsh, I want the guy to succeed. I wanna be bowling around town in my Lukaku shirt. I wanna be singing his name at the top of my voice on a Monday morning in the office. But his got to help me want to do that.

He doesn't move defenders about. He doesn't hassle the back 3 like say Costa used to at Chelsea. He doesn't win enough balls in the air. He didn't against Liverpool or Chelsea. He got easily marked by nobodies like Lovern and Christensen. His first touch is poor. But I can live with all that as long as he scores and takes chances and he isn't at the minute. That's what killing it for me. Ok maybe his boots are rubbish and his got no confidence. But we've got 2 massive games coming up and chances will be at a premium and we need this guy to do more then he is at the minute.
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I accept he needs to do more but I don't think he can be pinned for the failures vs Liverpool & Chelsea he didn't set the tactics and against Chelsea the whole team broke down.

I'd be careful about singing Lukaku songs in public ;)

I'm sure the goals will come again he's always been a bit of a streaky striker, lets just hope he's been saving them for Arsenal & City.
 
I'm not pinning the whole of the Chelsea and Liverpool performances on him. Because your right we didnt set up to play to his strengths. But if he wants to be a lone wolf up there, the guys got to be pulling and dragging people about with his movement at the very least. It's what Lingard does so well. Create spaces. Rom is guilty of standing still too much. In a 3-5-2 i'm hoping that a Rashford or a Martial creates that space for him because they move and Rom scores the goals.
 
jsp said:
It might be what's making him unhappy imagine being a £75m striker that doesn't have a boot deal that's got to knock your confidence a bit, you'd think people would be falling over themselves to have Man Utd's number 9 in their boots.

Was a very random thing for the manger to bring up.
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Maybe Lukaku was moaning about it and Jose knows he is low on confidence and happiness. Might be his way of advertising for him. I bet he has a boot deal now by the weekend.
 
maxt7 said:
I'm not pinning the whole of the Chelsea and Liverpool performances on him. Because your right we didnt set up to play to his strengths. But if he wants to be a lone wolf up there, the guys got to be pulling and dragging people about with his movement at the very least. It's what Lingard does so well. Create spaces. Rom is guilty of standing still too much. In a 3-5-2 i'm hoping that a Rashford or a Martial creates that space for him because they move and Rom scores the goals.
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I don't think he wants to be a lone wolf in the way that Costa was happy to be up there smashing into 2 defenders and just being a bastard for 90 minutes I think he wants wingers and midfielders who will bring the ball up the pitch to him not just hoof it 40/50 yards to him and hope it sticks. He's looked much better in games where Utd have controlled the game in the games where we've been on the back foot a bit even last night he has struggled and that was similar at Everton.

His movement could be better but I think given his size he has to pick and choose his moments to explode and use his energy.

We are saying he was poor last night but he played a major part in creating the first goal for Young by turning the defender and he played the through ball to Martial, he also had a great scoring opportunity which he blew but there was another he created for himself just after where he almost scored.

Strikers are judged by goals and rightly so he's not scoring so the pressure is on it seems to be effecting him and it shouldn't but different players have different personalities. Scholes made a good point last night saying he's coming to short at the moment he needs to stay up top and make the runs then have a go at the midfield for not playing the passes because he's not playing well or getting touches he's doing that Rooney thing of dropping into midfield which might get him a touch but it doesn't really help the midfield as it crowds there space.

It's an issue and right now if I was picking the team for Saturday I wouldn't start him but that's a huge call for a manager to make not starting your £75m striker in 2 of the biggest games of the season would bring a lot of media attention especially if you don't win.
 
I didn't hear Scholes say that last night but his right in what he saying. He needs to be stretching teams alot more. I think that his game should be all about the space between the right sided center back and the right back. Valenica pushing up helps drag right backs out of place and that gap gets bigger. Rom then needs to be arriving in that vacant space, full pace and naturally on his left foot. He would cause anyone problems. But just standing in that gap like his doing now isn't doing anything but meaning his easily marked. His scored 93 goals in 200 premier league appearances so his obviously mega talented its just not happening at the minute for him. But he needs to go back to doing what his good at. Not standing still. Not taking alot of touches. Not moaning at his teammates because his frustrated. Just pull onto the right side, drag defenders out, and run in behind. Pogba and Matic will find him.

Dropping him on Saturday would literally kill his confidence stone dead. And I hate to see all the rival fans giving it from behind a screen.
 
Champions League: Manchester v CSKA Moscow - 5th December 2017

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Needed that ahead of Sunday. Has been doing other things really well lately but has lacked goals so great to see him on the scoresheet, could see he was getting frustrated so be good for his confidence.
 
I think last night him getting the applause when he went off might help as it show's we're all behind him but there were 2 other good chances squandered one close in on the rebound which he hit straight at the keeper and the other one where he let the ball bounce and it ran away from him a bit. I think a confident and in form Lukaku makes more of those chances.

The link up play is improving but still some way to go on it but a goal will help him, he really should fancy himself vs City on Sunday that defence is weak and in the absence of Pogba he really needs to show up as our other "flagship" signing we need him to be the difference maker in a big game which so far he hasn't been.
 
Premier League: Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City - 10th December 2017

He was awful.
 
Think it’s time to bench the big man not for Zlatan but get Rashford up top.

He’s just not on it and it’s been going on for 2 months now.
 
Awful is being kind. Although I felt for him in the first half as we were hoofing it to him in blind hope. In the second half he had his chances to run at City and he never looked confident. His overall confidence is shot to pieces.
 
I’m worried about the two assists he picked up for City today. I’m worried about the big chance he missed. I’m worried about his lack of confidence. And I’m worried about how badly he messed up after he turned Fernandinho on the half way line, drive into the box only to lose it so poorly.

Everything he's built a career on doing well his just not doing now. Is the pressure that comes with that shirt too much for him? Because he's not handling it well.
 
Confidence plays a big part with some players and right now he looks like the confidence has totally gone.

He’s always been a messy player the ball at times bounces off him but in the box he’s a lethal finisher but at the moment that isn’t happening for him and I think it’s getting into his head.

I think service to him has been a problem at times but when the service has arrived he’s been wasteful and he can’t throw his arms about at sulk when he’s not making the most of it when the ball does come to him.
 
He's got to play through this now and start scoring again. The only one who can break his terrible record against the big boys is himself. His got to go back to scoring against the lesser teams, make sure we get them wins and start rebuilding that momentum ahead of the spurs game and the other big games coming up after.

That pressure and expectation of being our number 9 is always there if your scoring or not. It’s a massive stage to play on. I’m not writing him off but I’m disappointed in his performances in the big games for us up to now.

I do feel however that we need to see Zlatan get more minutes or even start Rashford up top. Because we need a genuine plan B if things arent working with Rom. At all times we need a striker in form. Ideally Rom but if not then someone has to be.
 
Zlatan doesn’t look right he isn’t moving properly I think he’s worried about his knee and rightly so he’s fit enough to play but I don’t think he’s confident enough yet to start pushing it to the limit which you have to do at the very top level.

I think his minutes need to be 10-20 minutes in games that are won over the next few weeks maybe even months I think he may have rushed his rehab.

I know rom needs to play through it but can the team afford to let him do that? he can’t be untouchable it sends the wrong message if he doesn’t deliver vs Bournemouth eventually you have to bench him. I wouldn’t make him sit on the bench I’d give him a night or a weekend off to get away from everything.

We got him to beat up the weaker sides and right now he’s not even doing that he hasn’t really had a good game in 2 months now.
 
Anyone else noticed that this lack of confidence and drought has all come from when Zlatan has come back into fitness, it seems that from whenever Zlatan returned to training Lukaku seems to have gone right into his shell, even small things like Zlatan coming on and ordering him over the the right wing a couple of times, at the minute, like Gary Neville said, he doesn't look like he feels he belongs there.

No brainer now to drop him for the big man or Rashford, thats the last of the big boys for us for a while now so a chance to get the confidence flowing again but if Jose doesn't drop Lukaku now and give others a chance, if I was Rashford or Ibra I would be banging on his door asking to know why I'm starting up front.

Lukaku was dreadful but jesus so was everyone else, Matic and Herrera did they play one decent pass all game, was driving me up the wall!
 
That’s the thing, Lukaku relies on good service and the players around him were terrible so he can’t take all the blame. However, when he did get the ball he looked devoid of confidence, if that chance he had where Ederson saved had gone in, I think it would have given him a huge lift. Now he’s gonna be dwelling on that though.

Personally I don’t think Zlatan is ready for a start, he looks well off the pace so far and understandably so. I would give Rashford a start up top for sure against Bournemouth.
 
SuperRash said:
That’s the thing, Lukaku relies on good service and the players around him were terrible so he can’t take all the blame. However, when he did get the ball he looked devoid of confidence, if that chance he had where Ederson saved had gone in, I think it would have given him a huge lift. Now he’s gonna be dwelling on that though.

Personally I don’t think Zlatan is ready for a start, he looks well off the pace so far and understandably so. I would give Rashford a start up top for sure against Bournemouth.
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We can only use that excuse for so long though we know the service isn't great but when it is good he wastes it if he was making the most of the good balls I'd be able to get on board with him a bit more but at the moment he's not making the most of the good balls. There are signs of some good link up play when it goes into his feet, it looks like him and Lingard have a move where he touches the ball and leaves it behind for Lingard to run on to which they've pulled off a few times in recent games but his lack of goals is a problem.

He's been given 2 fantastic chances vs Watford & City and wasted both of them, strikers will miss good chances but you have to take the really easy ones and right now he's not doing that. When the team is winning he can get away with it a bit but every time the team lose or draw he's going to take the flak for it especially if he's missed a chance that's what comes with the territory at Utd you are judging to incredibly high standards and you need to deliver.

Totally agree about Zlatan he doesn't look right yet I think it might take him a long time to get himself back up to speed assuming he ever does, looking at the way he's moving I think he's rushed back to quickly as he looks very wooden and static.
 
Premier League: Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth - 13th December 2017

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Why the lack of celebration when he scored?

I reckon Lukaku reads social media and lets it get to him. He's got the hump because people are getting on his back a bit over the recent performances so he's not really feeling the love but you can't act like that at Utd because it won't help you in the long term.

Everyone wants him to do well and fans need to stick with him but not sure being sulky when you get a goal is going to help.
 
Don't I googled Lukaku to see why he had an affiliation with Bournemouth after that post. Was well confused why a kid growing up in Belgium would be a fan of what I assumed then were a division 2 side.
 
Haha class, Big Rom the Bournemouth fan lol he needs to buck his bloody ideas up, although was a spot on header to be fair but he is just a miserable s**t lol

few of my Everton mates were saying he done it a few times at their place, when people were getting on his back he would sulk and never celebrate, not the best way of getting the fans on your side to be fair.
 
Some footballers are self centred **** he wants realise he's playing a sport he loves for one of the biggest sides in the world and earning a bomb. Just bloody enjoy it mate whatever the criticism. Everyone in the home section would swap in a heartbeat.

If it bothers you that much, give up pal.
 
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