They can both do things the other cant do.Such as?
Genuinely curious, not trolling or anything.
I got it too Dee you bitchGlad someone got the reference.
Hyperbole, but some of the goals and things Zlatan has done over his career are incredible. The touches, plucking the ball out of the sky, the volley back heal goals and so on. Obviously yeah sure Any proffesional footballer could have moments where they emulate that sort of skill and ability but on a consistent basis I just don’t see those things as part of Lukaku’s game.
Same as I don’t think I could picture Zlatan screaming away from the half way line having beaten a man and going solo past maybe 2 more which Lukaku has in his locker.
May I add I’m not even a Zlatan fan in his final years here but the man deserves respect for at times being a god damn magician with a football.
No doubt while trying a king fu kickI've been criticizing Lukaku a lot but Zlatan would have bottled that goal against cp
They can both do things the other cant do.
Ibra has that extraordinary deftness of touch and can do the little flicks very few other players can do, not just Lukaku. I dont want to get into that whole thing about Lukaku having no hold up play because I think that is exaggerated, but Ibra's is clearly much better that that. He can bring the ball under control regardless of how it comes to him.
Whereas Lukaku can run.
Hey, I agree. I voted Lukaku. We got Zlatan well after his peak. I think Lukaku has been better for the team (whole team scoring more) but also just in himself. Not being as good as Ibra in that specific skill, his close control / first touch etc doesnt make Lukaku bad. Very few people are better than Ibra at that. But all round I would definitely take Lukaku.I will concede that Lukaku's first touch can sometimes let him down, but like you said about his perceived lack of hold up play, i also think his "bad" first touch is exaggerated. I just think Lukaku is clearly a better all round-player for us than what Ibra was.
Personally think there is no doubt in Lukaku being the better player. He is 24, entering his prime while Zlatan will be 36 soon. As it stands he is fitter, sharper and an all round better player than Ibrahimovic.
Again, this isn't about them in their peaks. Highly doubt Lukaku will be able to replicate the very impressive standards of Zlatan at his age either.
I think both are equally important for MU and both quality players. One has won all the accolades possible and the other has all the potential to do the same.
I wish we had Ibra some 6 years earlier because he is a leader and very inspirational, not sure about these qualities with Lukaku yet but he wins my vote for effort, speed, strength and most times skill.
Last Season, Zlatan played 28 PL games for United. Now, Lukaku has played 28 PL Games this Season. Here are their stats:
Zlatan: 28(1) PL Apps; 17 PL Goals; 0.61 Goals/Game; 5 PL Assists; Share of Team's Goals: 17/44*=39%; Share if Assists are included: 22/44=50%. Goals vs Big5: 2 in 6 Games = 0.33.
Lukaku: 28(0) PL Apps; 14 PL Goals; 0.50 Goals/Game; 6 PL Assists; Share of Team's Goals: 14/54*=26%; Share if Assists are included: 20/54=37%. Goals vs Big5: 1 in 7 Games = 0.14.
*When injured, United had scored 48 PL Goals. Of those, 4 came when Zlatan was suspended. Therefore, 44 Goals when in Action.
** Lukaku has missed one Game (Everton), where United scored twice. So 54 PL Goals when in Action, not 56.
Not quiteLukaku is a better player now than Zlatan was last season, obviously nothing on peak Zlatan, though. He also suits us better.
evidently notFor me the answer it's easily Lukaku. Not even close imo.
Lukaku just offers so much more. He has way more pace, gets the goals and also brings others into play. His hold you play is better and work rate is certainly better. Don't mean to shit on Zlatan here 'cause he did great for us last year in terms of goals, but i also think he hindered us a lot in attack. yes he scored all our goals, but that was partly due to the way we played in having him in the team. We were so restricted imo.
He was also supremely frustrating a lot of the time, and while Lukaku is far from perfect (he has a lot of room for improvement), he easily comes out on top for me.
It goes furtherLooks like Zlatan comes out on top here.
what you are saying is impossible, Zlatan has created nearly double the chances, scored a greater type of goal (including long range), made more forward passes, so I wonder what Lukaku offers more other than pace?How anyone can say Zlatan is beyond me. Lukaku offers so much more, as lethal as Zlatan was at times he was frustrating and quite limited. Would be a very handy alternative to have now if fit, but Lukaku is really beginning to grow on me.
Lukaku’s passing is much better, he can take his man on and run at defenders. Zlatan created more chances through his brilliant hold up play, but I think across the pitch Lukaku offers more.what you are saying is impossible, Zlatan has created nearly double the chances, scored a greater type of goal (including long range), made more forward passes, so I wonder what Lukaku offers more other than pace?
Agreed. Zlatan's contributions of 28 goals in 80% of a season are criminally underrated here. And it wasn't just the goals, it was the variety of goals - inside the box, outside the box, headers, free kick, audacious chips, opportunistic goals etc.Zlatan and comfortably. He carried our attack and our side at times.
I don’t remember half the forum ever debating Zlatans quality before his injury.
Because we played everythingt through Zlatan. If he was as good as he was in his peak the team's productivity would have been elevated along with his individual production, but it wasn't because his impact was diminished at this stage of his career. Zlatan himself had a great attacking season, but his performances and style of play did little to help the other attackers in the side.what you are saying is impossible, Zlatan has created nearly double the chances, scored a greater type of goal (including long range), made more forward passes, so I wonder what Lukaku offers more other than pace?
Oh yeah I was meaning broader picture than Just United career, because to be honest Zlatan didn’t really do that much that was Zlatanesque. Lukaku could just stand there and conserve energy like Zlatan did no problem at all, and run within the width of the box when he feels like it. Everything else he did for us yes I could see Lukaku doing that no bother at all.Oh throughout his career he's done some absurd things. But i'm just judging him on his United tenure and i don't really see anything he done last year that Lukaku also can't do. They're different players, obviously, but i just think Lukaku offers a lot more. I think it would be fair to say that i couldn't see Zlatan doing a lot of things Lukaku can do though.
That was spectacularSaying that the technique for that volley against City was beautiful even if it was in to an empty net.
I think the difference between the two camps is that some feel his lack of movement, involvement affected the overall team performance. There were also many games where he was absolute dire and then he’d score 2. It just depends if you can write off the 89mins in the game where he was like a statue, dropped to deep, misplaced passes and for someone who’s control was at one point berbatovesque he gave the ball away quite a bit.Agreed. Zlatan's contributions of 28 goals in 80% of a season are criminally underrated here. And it wasn't just the goals, it was the variety of goals - inside the box, outside the box, headers, free kick, audacious chips, opportunistic goals etc.
Yeah I can understand the argument that he wasted some chances and doesn't have Lukaku's pace or movement, but all things said, we are more or less the same in terms of our attack - other than the fact that Lingard has suddenly sprung to life with a lot more goals.I think the difference between the two camps is that some feel his lack of movement, involvement affected the overall team performance. There were also many games where he was absolute dire and then he’d score 2. It just depends if you can write off the 89mins in the game where he was like a statue, dropped to deep, misplaced passes and for someone who’s control was at one point berbatovesque he gave the ball away quite a bit.
Huh? How is it evident. I know Zlatan got more goals, but it's the intangibles that you can't simply measure by stats that made me come to the conclusion that Lukaku is better for us. That's what the question was. Zlatan's goalscoring stats are impressive because he was the fulcrum of our attack. And if he wasn't scoring then, for the most part, nobody was. That had to do largely with how we were playing with Zlatan in the team. That's why i said i found that he hindered our attack a lot of the time. That's not to belittle what he done for us.evidently not
Interesting.......We played through Zlatan because he has big shoulders and doesn't hide away like many weaker minded players do on occasion. He is always up for the fight so is like Cantona, a real leader who takes responsibility.Because we played everythingt through Zlatan. If he was as good as he was in his peak the team's productivity would have been elevated along with his individual production, but it wasn't because his impact was diminished at this stage of his career. Zlatan himself had a great attacking season, but his performances and style of play did little to help the other attackers in the side.
It's not a coincidence Martial, Rashford, Lingard and even Pogba have had more productive attacking seasons with Lukaku spearheading the attack than they did last year.
There isn't a stat that can measure the value of Lukaku making runs out wide which create space through the middle for others to exploit and stretches defences. Zlatan making more forward passes means little if he was dropping deep into midfield to do so as he so often did which let the opposition CBs off the hook.
I also would like to see the chances which Zlatan created and judge their quality. His playmaking was one of the more disappointing aspects of his game last year for me. I also believe Zlatan was far more wasteful in promising positions than Lukaku has been generally.
I don't want to sound like I'm disparaging Zlatan. He was the best possible option for us last year given the dearth of quality strikers available and the various needs we had. I just think Lukaku is a more progressive option and his impact on those around him is better in ways that individual stats will not capture.
See above.Huh? How is it evident. I know Zlatan got more goals, but it's the intangibles that you can't simply measure by stats that made me come to the conclusion that Lukaku is better for us. That's what the question was. Zlatan's goalscoring stats are impressive because he was the fulcrum of our attack. And if he wasn't scoring then, for the most part, nobody was. That had to do largely with how we were playing with Zlatan in the team. That's why i said i found that he hindered our attack a lot of the time. That's not to belittle what he done for us.
Lukaku fits better, imo. As an all-round player, he's better for us. We share the goals out now. Obviously that's not ALL down to Lukaku but it's more than merely a coincidence. We no longer have that player who we're overly reliant on (i.e. Zlatan) to get all our goals, so therefore we're far more fluid in attack and not as one dimensional. We still have problems, but that's a completely separate issue.
It's all opinion at the end of the day, so it's certainly not "evident".
Seen above. Disagree for the reasons that i've already highlighted in my post.See above.
Great post and I would just echo everything you’ve said. The point about the chances created my strongest memory from our team play is Valencia looping ball to Zlatan to header on.Because we played everythingt through Zlatan. If he was as good as he was in his peak the team's productivity would have been elevated along with his individual production, but it wasn't because his impact was diminished at this stage of his career. Zlatan himself had a great attacking season, but his performances and style of play did little to help the other attackers in the side.
It's not a coincidence Martial, Rashford, Lingard and even Pogba have had more productive attacking seasons with Lukaku spearheading the attack than they did last year.
There isn't a stat that can measure the value of Lukaku making runs out wide which create space through the middle for others to exploit and stretches defences. Zlatan making more forward passes means little if he was dropping deep into midfield to do so as he so often did which let the opposition CBs off the hook.
I also would like to see the chances which Zlatan created and judge their quality. His playmaking was one of the more disappointing aspects of his game last year for me. I also believe Zlatan was far more wasteful in promising positions than Lukaku has been generally.
I don't want to sound like I'm disparaging Zlatan. He was the best possible option for us last year given the dearth of quality strikers available and the various needs we had. I just think Lukaku is a more progressive option and his impact on those around him is better in ways that individual stats will not capture.
Because Zlatan would take free kicks, penalties and take shots himself. Whereas lukaku is generally more selfless in his play. Against arsenal away for instance lukaku got no assists or goals but he was heavily involved in 2 of our 3 goals. Zlatan also couldn’t run the channels like lukaku seems to be doing for us.I don't understand people making the point that Lukaku is a better fit for the team than Zlatan. The only thing Lukaku offers over Zlatan is pace. People point to our goal tally last season and partially blame our players underperforming on having to play through Zlatan. Why? It wasn't Ibra's fault that Martial was in poor form last season. Not to mention, that we're simply a better team this season, with or without Lukaku. Our players are more accustomed to Mourinho, players like Martial and Lingard are playing better (and it doesn't have to do with Lukaku), and having Matic helps us quite a bit. If anything, Lukaku doesn't get involved enough in our buildup play, and can be too static in his movement. Zlatan missed quite a few chances last season. So has Lukaku this season. Zlatan had his faults, but he was just a more capable player than Lukaku is.
