[jeff_goldblum]

I'm of the school of thought that Lukaku deserves a chance to show his worth. Up until Mourinho left I don't think there was a single player playing to their potential with the possible exception of Martial. Everyone deserves a little bit of leeway for how the start of the season has gone, for some reason people like to pick and choose which players they give a pass to.

At Everton he was a penalty area striker and was largely dependent on good team play and good service for his chances, in a functioning team he will score goals. I'm not convinced of him as a nailed-on starting striker here, but he's a natural goalscorer and there's always room in a squad if he's willing to fight for a place and take the opportunities he gets. If he wants to start every game, hopefully we'll be able to offload him for a decent enough sum, he'd be an upgrade for most Premier League teams.

Above all, I hope whatever personal situation he's currently dealing with turns out okay and he's back with the squad soon.

 

[Samid]

Can he play CB? Lindelof will be needing a new partner soon.

 

[deafepl]

He isn't strong. He is not able to hold the ball up (he gets easily dispossessed by smaller/lighter defenders). The ball bounces off of him, so he can't get involved in quick build up play.
He is unable to receive the ball and hold the ball up, due to his first touch, which is terrible. And let't not forget that he is overweight. Being overweight in the EPL is the kiss of death.
His strength is for the ball to be threaded past/behind him and he drops off the shoulder of the defender and chases the ball.

I'm not going to rule him out yet, he was great for Belgium and Everton and in his second half of the first season with us. If he ends up underperforming, Greenwood is likely to get chance when Sanchez makes striker his own, I don't think Sanchez can continue playing for 90 minutes, 70-80 mm at best. I am not sure if Ole also wants the striker to come down and collect balls from CB while midfielder pushes higher like Martial which results in a goal through one first touch, that would rule Lukaku out but Greenwood/Sanchez is perfect striker for Ole's 9 striker system.

 

[Fracture90]

I'll reserve my judgement until after I see him play for a while under Ole.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

I don’t think he has what it takes to displace Rashford in terms of raw pace, skill or energy, he’ll look a lot like benteke at Liverpool.

 

[Rozay]

He has a mountain to clim to be honest in order to get back into this team.

Well both him and Sanchez want to get into this team. If size is not a key parameter, then he can’t possibly be seen as a better player than Alexis Sanchez.

 

[Litch]

Will be great to have genuine competition in the squad. What I was really interested in was how much of the Jose factor impacted on the players ability to play, and if yesterday's performance is an indicator of this, we will see the 'real' Rom. Now whether that is good enough to play this way, at least we will find that out 'untainted and without excuses' as we did yesterday with the other players (although early days). What we do know is Sanchez does have the ability, just don't know whether he is on the decline or not....

 

[Bobcat]

The vitriol towards him is unbelievable. He's obviously had a pretty prolonged rough patch, but he still scored 27 in his first season and he's been back among the goals this month. Look at what's happened to the rest of the team today - he deserves every chance to play in an attacking side and get a fresh start.

Agreed. I really hated the sight of him under Mouhrino, but he should get a chance to prove himself under new management as everyone else. That being said, i was never convinced he was a better choice over Rashford and certainly not Martial. This season Martial has scored or assisted on average every 110 minutes, same for Rashford, where as Lukaku has scored/assisted every 197 minutes.

 

[11101]

I worry a bit for when he comes back. Yesterday we played so aggressively with quick one and two touch passing. He just cant do that, and it risks breaking our entire play down if he is in the team. He needs to drop the weight very quickly.

 

[Jazz]

Of course he'll be given a chance but should work very hard to get it.

Honestly, I don't want the Martial/Rash combo interrupted again. I want it to grow. I just think eventually it will be best if he leaves.

 

[Rozay]

I'll reserve my judgement until after I see him play for a while under Ole.

My judgement on him is over 6 years. He’s been playing in England for that time. At no point has he had the requisite talent. He may well score more goals under Ole, but he won’t become a good footballer and won’t be able to make goals happen for himself like others. Therefore, the best we can hope for is ‘better’, but not ‘good enough’.

 

[Janson]

He has a mountain to clim to be honest in order to get back into this team.

I think he will be back starting as soon as he's avaialable.

 

[Kag]

I think he’ll be back in the side more or less straight away.

 

[edgar allan]

I think he’ll be back in the side more or less straight away.

It would be madness bringing him back when you see how a bit of movement and good feet can transform an attack.

 

[edgar allan]

I worry a bit for when he comes back. Yesterday we played so aggressively with quick one and two touch passing. He just cant do that, and it risks breaking our entire play down if he is in the team. He needs to drop the weight very quickly.

the weight isn't helping but it won't give him a decent touch on the ball.

 

[Springfield WildCats]

I think he will be back starting as soon as he's avaialable.

Based on what? His ability? His form? The fact we just scored five with out is telling, martial is twice the player he is, and can do things he can’t even dream about, if lukaku starts expect us to struggle again. Hopefully ole knows better

 

[izec]

Martial and Rashford are better than him. We were so dumb to pay that much for him, thanks Jose for your great transfers.

 

[edgar allan]

I'm not going to rule him out yet, he was great for Belgium and Everton and in his second half of the first season with us. If he ends up underperforming, Greenwood is likely to get chance when Sanchez makes striker his own, I don't think Sanchez can continue playing for 90 minutes, 70-80 mm at best. I am not sure if Ole also wants the striker to come down and collect balls from CB while midfielder pushes higher like Martial which results in a goal through one first touch, that would rule Lukaku out but Greenwood/Sanchez is perfect striker for Ole's 9 striker system.

Sanchez of 2 years ago maybe, the Sanchez of now is finished.

 

[Greck]

I think he’ll be back in the side more or less straight away.

I think so too but then I start to wonder if it's just years of being conditioned by Jose's policy that makes me think so. There's absolutely no reason to believe Ole will give him a starting berth so easily if Rash and Martial have been tearing it up in his absence.

Wouldn't even be surprised if our coaching staff were happy to oblige him a leave because they didn't think him central to what they were about to implement

 

[Eire Red United]

He’ll get his chance definitely and I hope he stays as he’s a good lad, but no way Ole is stupid enough to stick with him ahead of the 3 who started yesterday if he keeps stinking the place up.

 

[Kag]

I think so too but then I start to wonder if it's just years of being conditioned by Jose's policy that makes me think so. There's absolutely no reason to believe Ole will give him a starting berth so easily if Rash and Martial have been tearing it up in his absence

I have no issue with people preferring Martial and Rashford. If Rashford was more composed then I’d prefer it, too. But Lukaku isn’t the mug he’s being made out to be. In an attacking team (and this is what we hope Ole can sort out) Lukaku will score a lot of goals.

There are certainly questions regarding his overall game, but if we can find some form then I think we’ll score more goals with him in the team ahead of Rashford. For now, he’s the better goal scorer.

 

[Thiagoal]

I have no issue with people preferring Martial and Rashford. If Rashford was more composed then I’d prefer it, too. But Lukaku isn’t the mug he’s being made out to be. In an attacking team (and this is what we hope Ole can sort out) Lukaku will score a lot of goals.

There are certainly questions regarding his overall game, but if we can find some form then I think we’ll score more goals with him in the team ahead of Rashford. For now, he’s the better goal scorer.

Would much rather a striker that contributes more to the team and scores their share of goals, rather than a prolific scorer that hinders our overall style of play!

 

[diawl_coch]

Lukaku will be an important part of the mix over the next few months, and I agree with the posters who think he's going to score quite a few goals.

Playing in a team with a lot of pace, he has a lot to offer and may surprise quite a few!

 

[goofygoofygoofy]

Obviously his first touch and short passing isn't as good as some but if we play a little bit more open/expansive, he can be effective. Look at the 4-2 win away at Watford last season. His size is a hindrance when we play in small spaces but when we make the pitch large it becomes a benefit. The problem is that since the turn of the year we haven't played as freely and he hasn't looked as exciting (even though he still scored goals in the second half of last season).

Matic and Lingard probably similarly suffered from this congested style of play over the last 12 months.

 

[Fracture90]

My judgement on him is over 6 years. He’s been playing in England for that time. At no point has he had the requisite talent. He may well score more goals under Ole, but he won’t become a good footballer and won’t be able to make goals happen for himself like others. Therefore, the best we can hope for is ‘better’, but not ‘good enough’.

Fair enough.

 

[Greck]

I have no issue with people preferring Martial and Rashford. If Rashford was more composed then I’d prefer it, too. But Lukaku isn’t the mug he’s being made out to be. In an attacking team (and this is what we hope Ole can sort out) Lukaku will score a lot of goals.

There are certainly questions regarding his overall game, but if we can find some form then I think we’ll score more goals with him in the team ahead of Rashford. For now, he’s the better goal scorer.

Let's wait and see then. The striker in a modern system has to be a good footballer. The attack isn't going to carry itself so that any technically poor striker only has to position himself for tapins.

I know people want to use his form with Belgium as evidence but they have Hazard and KDB. That would almost be like us having two Paul Pogbas creating for him

 

[edgar allan]

I have no issue with people preferring Martial and Rashford. If Rashford was more composed then I’d prefer it, too. But Lukaku isn’t the mug he’s being made out to be. In an attacking team (and this is what we hope Ole can sort out) Lukaku will score a lot of goals.

There are certainly questions regarding his overall game, but if we can find some form then I think we’ll score more goals with him in the team ahead of Rashford. For now, he’s the better goal scorer.

They are more than questions now.

He will score some goals for sure but at the expense of the attacking drive of the team.
He would surely got a goal yesterday but most of the those one touch attacks would have died with his touch.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

In form he’s a 25+ goal striker, let’s see if he’s still got that ability.

 

[Adisa]

I think he’ll be back in the side more or less straight away.

In place of who.

In form he’s a 25+ goal striker, let’s see if he’s still got that ability.

Of course, he still has the ability to score goals but that's not going to guarantee him anything. The most important player in a team that likes to press is the striker.

 

[bosnian_red]

He'll get his chances but I just hope not for Rashford or Martial. Lingard compliments them so well too. I can see the 5 of them (with Sanchez) being rotated pretty well but he definitely shouldn't have a bigger role than any of them. He has the least talent out of all of them.

But at the same time, I do think he'll score plenty. The main thing with him is he knows and understands his role and limitations, and should be rotated amongst all of them. Ole I have a good feeling will love having 5 options to pick from (thinking Mata will compete in midfield). Theyll keep each other on their toes and when one loses form, the other will come in. One will always sub in if the other isnt doing it that day. Just like how in 99 we had Yorke, Cole, Ole and Teddy, now we have the 5 attackers who are all quality players and bring something different. Not a chance Solskjaer will set and forget the 3 we saw today, he'll rotate, theyll all have chances to prove themselves and theyll all have their roles.

 

[ottosec]

People forget how good he was last season. And not only at scoring goals.

Since Mourinho used him for lumpball purposes mainly, people seem to dislike him. But I think he's more like a poacher, a player that prefers the ball played forward, not straight at him.

He deserves a chance just like everyone else, it's up to him if he takes it or not, let's see how he does before we throw him under the bus.

 

[Foxbatt]

People forget how good he was last season. And not only at scoring goals.

Since Mourinho used him for lumpball purposes mainly, people seem to dislike him. But I think he's more like a poacher, a player that prefers the ball played forward, not straight at him.

He deserves a chance just like everyone else, it's up to him if he takes it or not, let's see how he does before we throw him under the bus.

But he is the one who keeps pointing to his feet and wants the ball played to his feet. Yes Ole will rotate all the strikers as he knows best about the rotation of strikers. It will not be Rashford, Martial and Lingaard always.

 

[Janson]

I think so too but then I start to wonder if it's just years of being conditioned by Jose's policy that makes me think so. There's absolutely no reason to believe Ole will give him a starting berth so easily if Rash and Martial have been tearing it up in his absence.

Wouldn't even be surprised if our coaching staff were happy to oblige him a leave because they didn't think him central to what they were about to implement

That's more like what you want to happen. It obviously won't. Lukaku is still a far more proven striker than Martial and Rashford combined. So I think he'll get the benefit of the doubt to begin with. We still have to see what he can do when he gets better service.

Martial and Rashford have been "tearing it up" for one game, against Cardiff. People need to relax.

 

[Jeppers7]

I don’t think he has what it takes to displace Rashford in terms of raw pace, skill or energy, he’ll look a lot like benteke at Liverpool.

He has a hell of a job on his hands, always felt he was extremely disrespectful to his teammates when he talked of the club bringing in better players in the summer, very sure of himself for a guy who scored 16 league goals and 7 since October. Talked like somebody who held some kind of privilege.

Well we will see now, I just don't see how he improves this team.

 

[haram]

His 100 club episode on Sky Sports at the moment. He was very slim in his first year at Everton.

 

[Jeppers7]

People forget how good he was last season. And not only at scoring goals.

Since Mourinho used him for lumpball purposes mainly, people seem to dislike him. But I think he's more like a poacher, a player that prefers the ball played forward, not straight at him.

He deserves a chance just like everyone else, it's up to him if he takes it or not, let's see how he does before we throw him under the bus.

I haven't forgot, he was decent at best

 

[el3mel]

If you watched his early goals at WBA and when he moved to Everton you notice how his body has changed. He was lean, and thus was fast and aggressive. The more he grows up the more he becomes more and more bulky till he reaches his state now.

I honestly think we're up to a new Rooney case here. He'll be finished by 29-30.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

His 100 club episode on Sky Sports at the moment. He was very slim in his first year at Everton.

Over 100 goals in the PL at the age of 25 is some achievement.

 

[Janson]

Based on what? His ability? His form? The fact we just scored five with out is telling, martial is twice the player he is, and can do things he can’t even dream about, if lukaku starts expect us to struggle again. Hopefully ole knows better

Based on the fact that he is by far our most proven striker and he has been a scoring machine in the PL for years. Martial still has plenty to prove in this league to even be considered anywhere close to Lukaku.

 

[haram]

Over 100 goals in the PL at the age of 25 is some achievement.

It is. Lets hope he can get back into form.