[BeckhamtoScholes]

He isn't going to have the touch of an Ibra but he is effective. I like him. Give him the service and he will score.

If he was playing for City, he would have a lot more action because they are more attacking.

 

[Loublaze]

Thought he was poor in his hold up play today. I know he was isolated at times but he never looked like scoring.

I like Lukaku but Kane would fit us better.

The grass is always greener on the other side and all that

 

[Pogbasky]

In his post match interview with MUTV Mourinho was complaining that the fans aren't supporting Lukaku enough.

I think he should worry more about his midfield not supporting him enough

 

[Pogbasky]

I fear we aren't getting a new striker until we get a new manager. It's a shame because I like Jose, but Lukaku isn't good enough for where we want to go, imo. Neither is half the squad though.

Lukaku is more than good enough so long as you play to his strength. We need to consistently cross the ball well, we need to have even half decent balls into the 18 area. Not a single one of those things are happening.

I remember the 1998/99 season, Dwight Yorke was our top scorer and close to half his goals came from headers from David Beckham crosses. I can't imagine how many goals Lukaku would have with that type of service. Every time a decent cross comes into the 18 area he either scores or comes close.

Lukaku is not a hybrid number 10/9 type like Suarez so no point in expecting him to play like that, but we can and should play to his great strengths.

What you're asking for is akin to asking Messi to score more headed goals and hold the ball up and draw away defenders using his strength. PLAY TO HIS STRENGTHS!!!!

 

[JPRouve]

The grass is always greener on the other side and all that

I don't think so, a good chunk of the board was discussing it before his signing. I feel that it's a disservice to use him like we did yesterday, he is way better when he can use his pace and anticipation.

 

[Man-United]

Lukaku is a top top player, sick to read the comments here.

 

[Pogbasky]

So, to summarise, in this thread we have now heard that Lukaku has the following attributes;

1. Poor first touch
2. Cannot hold up play
3. Poor link up
4. Poor passing
5. Poor work rate
6. Poor Movement
7. Poor finishing
8. Tires late in games due to his size

I for one am amazed he even manages to find his way to training in the morning and put his boots on correctly. How the scouts at Anderlecht, Belgium, Chelsea, West Brom, Everton and Utd have got it so wrong on a simpleton is beyond me.

He must be the luckiest man alive to have contributed 14 goals on 15 games.

The overreaction on this forum is beyond pathetic. The beloved Harry Kane scored shiit all in August yet he was playing for a club that provides much better service for its striker. One wonders if he would have been crucified the same had he been playing for us.

 

[MeUnited]

Lukaku is more than good enough so long as you play to his strength. We need to consistently cross the ball well, we need to have even half decent balls into the 18 area. Not a single one of those things are happening. I remember the 1998/99 season, Dwight Yorke was our top scorer and close to half his goals came from headers from David Beckham crosses. I can't imagine how many goals Lukaku would have with that type of service. Every time a decent cross comes into the 18 area he either scores or comes close. Lukaku is not a hybrid number 10/9 type like Suarez so no point in expecting him to play like that, but we can and should play to his great strengths. What you're asking for is akin to asking Messi to score more headed goals and hold the ball up and draw away defenders using his strength. PLAY TO HIS STRENGTHS!!!!

Yeah, I guess. Lukaku just isn't the type of striker to play the type of football I'd like to see. Constant crosses because we've no other idea what to do isn't exciting football to me. If he was as good technically as Drogba I wouldn't mind, but he does play like a donkey. Every simple touch/pass seems like it takes a lot of effort for him to pull off. I'd still rather have Ibrahimovic, the only criticism of Zlatan's game was his poor finishing, the whole 'we need pace everywhere' argument, doesn't wash with me.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Myth that never dies. Madrid are a shit small club isn't it, maybe City too. He scored against them in both games last season.

Yeah but will he score in those games consistently? Track record up until now suggests not. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Yeah, I guess. Lukaku just isn't the type of striker to play the type of football I'd like to see. Constant crosses because we've no other idea what to do isn't exciting football to me.

Seconded

 

[roonster09]

Yeah but will he score in those games consistently? Track record up until now suggests not. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

In the last 2 seasons he scored as many goals as Kane against Top 6 and more than Aguero.

 

[deafepl]

He isn't going to have the touch of an Ibra but he is effective. I like him. Give him the service and he will score.

If he was playing for City, he would have a lot more action because they are more attacking.

Agreed, I can't understand these people criticizing Lukaku.

 

[haram]

So, to summarise, in this thread we have now heard that Lukaku has the following attributes;

1. Poor first touch
2. Cannot hold up play
3. Poor link up
4. Poor passing
5. Poor work rate
6. Poor Movement
7. Poor finishing
8. Tires late in games due to his size

I for one am amazed he even manages to find his way to training in the morning and put his boots on correctly. How the scouts at Anderlecht, Belgium, Chelsea, West Brom, Everton and Utd have got it so wrong on a simpleton is beyond me.

He must be the luckiest man alive to have contributed 14 goals on 15 games.

Right

Going off that Lukaku would be the worst striker of all time!

 

[montpelier]

I can see both sides of this & I think he's got a lot of untapped potential.

He wasn't great yesterday but still did some good things - I also think him being there is a threat to the opposition & helps our team shape (aeons better than having Zlatan there, but without the Big Swede's technique (and inability to run anywhere, ) I suppose

 

[Darmae]

So, to summarise, in this thread we have now heard that Lukaku has the following attributes;

1. Poor first touch
2. Cannot hold up play
3. Poor link up
4. Poor passing
5. Poor work rate
6. Poor Movement
7. Poor finishing
8. Tires late in games due to his size

I for one am amazed he even manages to find his way to training in the morning and put his boots on correctly. How the scouts at Anderlecht, Belgium, Chelsea, West Brom, Everton and Utd have got it so wrong on a simpleton is beyond me.

He must be the luckiest man alive to have contributed 14 goals on 15 games.

Hahaha. Spot on.

 

[wr8_utd]

I think he should worry more about his midfield not supporting him enough

 

[whatwha]

Wouldn't be surprised if Lukaku is gone within a couple of years.

I know we paid big money but, with the inflation in the transfer market, £75m isn't a ridiculous fee and we'd probably recoup most of that if we flogged him to a second-tier club.

He'll score bags of goals against the smaller clubs but Rashford is already a more complete player than him and he's much younger. Lukaku isn't really good enough for an elite club, whereas Rashford certainly is.

Personally, I hope we start phasing in Rashford as the 9, which would free up a spot for Martial on the left.

Even in this market I don't think we could recoup anywhere near £75m (or £90m due to "easily achievable clauses" reported when we signed him). The clubs who would pay big money for him don't need him. Not that I think we should sell him, just saying.

 

[Maradona10]

Good game from him, i think mkhi moving closer and united as a team attacking a bit mroe helped him in the second half, he was unlucky not to score the header and was unlucky with some of the passes . I like him, i think he is perfect for us and yesterday's match would be a good experience specially second half of what it takes to win against top top teams.

 

[Treble]

Lukaku's doing well. He assisted our last goals in the league. The team has not created enough chances for him in te last 3-4 games.

 

[Emrethis]

Lukaku is a good striker, but he has two big problems that are holding back his game. Technical ability and temperament. Technical ability has been done to death already, so let's talk about the temperament issue.

The way I see it, Lukaku struggles to keep calm during games. In other words, he gets frustrated too easily. If we look at the Liverpool game, he had one big chance to win the game. Now I know that all strikers miss chances. But its also true that some strikers score more crucial goals than others. And in the Liverpool game we could see from minute one that he was frustrated. Its no wonder that when the chance finally came, he couldn't keep a cool head and ultimately missed it.

In other games, from what I've seen, Lukaku tends to over-react when teammates misplace a pass or the through-pass isn't good enough. He usually looks very frustrated, more than he needs to be. Even in the Tottenham game, the moment his header hit the bar, it was like he switched-off for a while. He moped about for at least 5s and looked away from the ball. He should have been getting into position immediately because there's a chance a teammate could send the ball back into the box.

If he wants to start scoring in big games, he needs to accept that chances will be few and far between. He needs to learn to keep a cool head so that when the chance comes, he is in the best frame of mind to take it.

 

[AR87]

If he was as good technically as Drogba I wouldn't mind, but he does play like a donkey.

Lol ok

 

[MThomas]

Not sure why people are having a go at him, he's not the problem.
Never been that much of a fan of his, but these days the problem is how we play and how we struggle to move the ball quickly. We just end up hoofing it up to him with his back towards the goal

 

[spontaneus1]

15 appearances, 11 goals and 3 assists. Caf declares him shite.

 

[deafepl]

Now I can understand why Mourinho need a proper wing who could cross for Lukaku to score because Lukaku has won most ariel duels - 25 more than Morata and 30 more than Lacazzette

Lukaku is more effective than Morata and Lacazette.

 

[SirAF]

15 appearances, 11 goals and 3 assists. Caf declares him shite.

Only at the Caf

 

[kouroux]

So, to summarise, in this thread we have now heard that Lukaku has the following attributes;

1. Poor first touch
2. Cannot hold up play
3. Poor link up
4. Poor passing
5. Poor work rate
6. Poor Movement
7. Poor finishing
8. Tires late in games due to his size

I for one am amazed he even manages to find his way to training in the morning and put his boots on correctly. How the scouts at Anderlecht, Belgium, Chelsea, West Brom, Everton and Utd have got it so wrong on a simpleton is beyond me.

He must be the luckiest man alive to have contributed 14 goals on 15 games.

Great post

 

[pocco]

It's the age old debate with some strikers that can score a lot but aren't as technically refined. Hernandez was another that fell into this bracket.

When it comes to Lukaku, I knew what we were getting. I was one of his biggest critics because I enjoy the more technical side of the game and it's not his strong point. Like I said earlier in the thread, I have a feeling he'll still split opinions by the end of his career with us.

 

[iHicksy]

I really rate Rom as a striker. He's a battering ram of a player, he's big strong and extremely fast but there are definitely areas of his game that he needs to improve if he doesn;t want to be sold in a few years time.

For a target man his hold up play is pretty dire, this is mainly because his second touch is usually a tackle, he's getting beaten in the air more often then i'd expect as well overall. My main gripe with having him up front is the way the team plays, i've noticed that we play some really nice intricate passing instead our own half / outside our penalty box and then just lump it forwards instead of playing our way forwards. Obviously this isn't his fault by any means.

I;ve seen it a few times now with him, but it was especially noticeable against spurs in that I feel he plays up to the crowd with his shouting at other players (including when he's the one to blame). There have been a couple of occasions when he's stood with his arms out gesticulating at the player who hasn't passed to him long after the ball has been cleared when he should be paying attention to the game, the ball could have been picked up by one of our players and he's too focused on the Lukaku show to notice.

 

[RuudTom83]

He just needs his best mate back in the side and he’ll be scoring again in no time.

His good start has earned him a few weeks pass from having to deal with the unreal pressures of being a United player.

 

[meninred]

I was watching mainly Lukaku in Totenham's game. He appears a striker who strives on services. He doesn't seem a striker that create chances on his own and is not a technically gifted player.His touche is questionable too.
He has some similarities to Drogba. We need good passers of the ball to make the best out of him which we don't in abundance.That might be a big concern.

 

[el3mel]

I have to agree on his holding up play being quite poor. I though during the game that he's not using his physicality well enough. He should learn how to use it more to bully defenders and keep the ball under his feet.

 

[Pace Abuser]

Awful hold up play. Mainly because his first touch leads to his second touch being a tackle.
He gets goals but I've never been a fan of his all round play. He's too clumsy on the ball and that takes effort and concentration away from playing quicker.

 

[Darkhorsez]

Am also basing it on his time at Everton, so that's quite a good sample size.

As I say, he'll score bags of goals against the lesser teams but we need a more complete player when we're playing the elite.

Fair enough. I do think he now has more support than he ever did when playing for Everton so I don’t think it’s a like for like comparison. Also the times I saw him at Everton, he didn’t play at the same level of desire and genuine love for the club as he is displaying for Utd. Don’t remember him banging the turf at the final whistle in determination and passion for a good result. Let’s give him more games - I think he has more than earned that. He is not a playmaker as such - he just needs service and he will bang in the goals against any team! I think once Pogba returns - you will see service being resumed per 6-7 games at the start of season and more magic from him in front of goal. Could be famous last words!

 

[Ban]

@Hughes35 summarized it pretty nice. Is there something he's good at?
The famous first touch, hold up play, laziness.. Oh and when he scores it's a crap opposition.

The new thing is that he plays for the crowd and gesticulates too much..

 

[Jordan_mufc]

Lukaku is doing a great job in my opinion. I will never understand why everyone expects him to have the touch of Berbatov and Van Nistelrooy-esque finishing.

Yes he has his flaws and could definitely improve the basics in certain areas, but with the right service he is absolutely unplayable and I'm glad he's in our team.

 

[Tempo.]

Lukaku is a good striker, but he has two big problems that are holding back his game. Technical ability and temperament. Technical ability has been done to death already, so let's talk about the temperament issue.

The way I see it, Lukaku struggles to keep calm during games. In other words, he gets frustrated too easily. If we look at the Liverpool game, he had one big chance to win the game. Now I know that all strikers miss chances. But its also true that some strikers score more crucial goals than others. And in the Liverpool game we could see from minute one that he was frustrated. Its no wonder that when the chance finally came, he couldn't keep a cool head and ultimately missed it.

In other games, from what I've seen, Lukaku tends to over-react when teammates misplace a pass or the through-pass isn't good enough. He usually looks very frustrated, more than he needs to be. Even in the Tottenham game, the moment his header hit the bar, it was like he switched-off for a while. He moped about for at least 5s and looked away from the ball. He should have been getting into position immediately because there's a chance a teammate could send the ball back into the box.

If he wants to start scoring in big games, he needs to accept that chances will be few and far between. He needs to learn to keep a cool head so that when the chance comes, he is in the best frame of mind to take it.

This is a very good point.

 

[whatwha]

Lukaku is a top top player, sick to read the comments here.

Why does it bother you so much? What makes him "top top" (and please don't just bring up the '11 in 15' stat)? Does he have no real downsides in your opinion?

 

[red_devil83]

I recall an Everton fan posting in the summer saying that Lukaku willl bang loads of goals in for us but when he's not, you'll be wondering what he's actually doing. Found myself thinking that recently now his goals have dried up.

For one, his hold up play is non-existant. He constantly misjudges balls he should be winning.

 

[cyberman]

I can't believe Ive read a post disregarding 11 goals in 15 goals as simply a stat.
Apart from the goals, what makes this goal machine a top striker?
Remember not to bring up his goals...

edit..This was from March last year.
http://www.football365.com/news/romelu-lukaku-the-ridiculous-statistics
For a man with a shit first touch and hold up play he sure does create chance after chance.
Must be deflecting off his ass.

 

[RedCurry]

He'll be back amongst goals as soon as we start playing a little bit higher up the pitch. Hoofing balls at him is an insult to his ability as a striker. He's still done well by setting goals up for us.