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2018-19 Performances


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el3mel

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Very good striker who has improved his game a lot in last season. Gets so much undeserved criticism because as a team we don't create enough chances. He is a level below strikers like Kane, Aguero.
And that's the point. I don't think anyone disagree about him being a good striker. We are just aspiring for a higher outcome that's it.

Not sure also it's the problem of our team only. Lukaku had exactly the same doubts hanging over him when he was at Everton and that was one of the main points some were always doubtful about signing him. He's also the same for Belgium, scoring a lot in small games but seems to be always far from scoring in big games even when he is playing well, he doesn't look like he actually get chances in these matches. He played very well against Brazil but at the end his 4 goals came against Tunisia and Panama.

He needs to improve his presence as goal scorer in these kind of games, otherwise doubts and criticism will always be hanging around him. He's not a 30-40m striker to escape it. He can't be a support striker for ever.

He comes out as a nice and very likable lad with great character and I personally love him as a personality, but at this point I can't disagree with anyone who thinks he will have to be upgraded on in the future if a better name becomes available. I'm fine with him leading the line now till someone else appears.
 

roonster09

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And that's the point. I don't think anyone disagree about him being a good striker. We are just aspiring for a higher outcome that's it.

Not sure also it's the problem of our team only. Lukaku had exactly the same doubts hanging over him when he was at Everton and that was one of the main points some were always doubtful about signing him. He's also the same for Belgium, scoring a lot in small games but seems to be always far from scoring in big games even when he is playing well, he doesn't look like he actually get chances in these matches. He played very well against Brazil but at the end his 4 goals came against Tunisia and Panama.

He needs to improve his presence as goal scorer in these kind of games, otherwise doubts and criticism will always be hanging around him. He's not a 30-40m striker to escape it. He can't be a support striker for ever.

He comes out as a nice and very likable lad with great character and I personally love him as a personality, but at this point I can't disagree with anyone who thinks he will have to be upgraded on in the future if a better name becomes available. I'm fine with him leading the line now till someone else appears.
I don't mind him not scoring in big games if he can contribute to goals like he did against Liverpool, Brazil, Spurs, Arsenal. End of the day team is important, so if Lukaku helps team in scoring goals in any way then I would says he did his job.
 

el3mel

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I don't mind him not scoring in big games if he can contribute to goals like he did against Liverpool, Brazil, Spurs, Arsenal. End of the day team is important, so if Lukaku helps team in scoring goals in any way then I would says he did his job.
We want him to both contribute in scoring goals and score them himself. At the moment he's playing the support role in big games. To move on from a good striker to a top one he will have to start becoming a threat in these games. Don't think that's asking for much, eh ?
 

anant

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Rom's a tier below Aguero and Kane, and I doubt anyone is arguing against it. Our general play style leads to him getting underappreciated, as simple as that. He's missed an easy chance in each of the 4 games- ideally, you would want all these shots to be converted as they are sitters! But, because we don't create enough (which shouldn't lie on his shoulders) and we lost 2 of those games, we are criticizing Rom.
I mean, for arguments sake, let's compare his Spurs chance vs the Aguero 1v1 vs Arsenal. Both were very similar, but no one's going to criticize Kun because City won that game, similarly, if we compare Aguero's chances vs Necastle vs Lukaku's 1v1 vs Brighton or Burnley or Leicester and both were of equal difficulty. I can bring up Auba's finishing vs Chelsea up as well for that matter
The thing with Lukaku is that because we watch our games more closely, we remember his feck-ups with more clarity than those of Auba or Kane or Aguero.
Should Lukaku be more clinical? Ofcourse, if he wants to be considered in the bracket of Aguero, Lewandowski and Kane
But if you want to say that he is a shite player, you need to present better evidence
 

Patrick08

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I don't mind him not scoring in big games if he can contribute to goals like he did against Liverpool, Brazil, Spurs, Arsenal. End of the day team is important, so if Lukaku helps team in scoring goals in any way then I would says he did his job.
He also fluffed his easy chances against city as home, Liverpool away Seville games, super cup game, Fa cup final he was anonymous too and now against tott, as a fan he should do lot lot better in big games than just playing a support role specially when the manager never benches or substitutes him in games.
 

MuranoLover

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Don't think they are included in big chances created. PL site don't have track of penalties won. Should be interesting but not sure which site keeps track of that.
Interesting especially for strikers who dont take the pens themselves
 

SupaFella

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I can see where United would hope for a better performance from Lukaku still while as a Belgian i am extremely happy afcourse of the lad. i must make a remark in regards to his company there as it can certaintly be considered that having the likes of Hazard and De Bruyne in support sure is helpfull even when those players are confident enough to make him the focal point of the attack. Even when Romulu is not at the ball he can often create room for others with is very usefull for us.

And thinking: why should United not have had players with the stature of Hazard and De Bruyne playing for them? This is the traditional rich club that could afford such players to make things complete. Do the United fans feel that the club is investing enough (and smart enough) in having the right level of players?
 

Pogue Mahone

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Rom is 25. He can become even better and thus "elite" (don't like the word).

I think that he has to improve on his movement. It's not poor but he ain't dynamic enough. Kane and even Aguero cover more ground than him. 9km per game is ok but maybe not enough, especially in the big games. When the intensity is high he does not look sufficiently involved. Couple that with Sanchez/Martial not covering much ground too and we have a problem.
Nobody in our team covers much ground. Seems unfair to single this out as a flaw in Lukaku’s game when it’s clearly a tactical issue.
 

Mcking

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Rom's a tier below Aguero and Kane, and I doubt anyone is arguing against it. Our general play style leads to him getting underappreciated, as simple as that. He's missed an easy chance in each of the 4 games- ideally, you would want all these shots to be converted as they are sitters! But, because we don't create enough (which shouldn't lie on his shoulders) and we lost 2 of those games, we are criticizing Rom.
I mean, for arguments sake, let's compare his Spurs chance vs the Aguero 1v1 vs Arsenal. Both were very similar, but no one's going to criticize Kun because City won that game, similarly, if we compare Aguero's chances vs Necastle vs Lukaku's 1v1 vs Brighton or Burnley or Leicester and both were of equal difficulty. I can bring up Auba's finishing vs Chelsea up as well for that matter
The thing with Lukaku is that because we watch our games more closely, we remember his feck-ups with more clarity than those of Auba or Kane or Aguero.
Should Lukaku be more clinical? Ofcourse, if he wants to be considered in the bracket of Aguero, Lewandowski and Kane
But if you want to say that he is a shite player, you need to present better evidence
Even if City lost that game, Aguero would barely get any criticism. Rom scored twice in a game we won and he was criticised instead for the ones he missed.
No one criticised Kun for that Arsenal miss and Kane hardly ever gets criticism for missing chances because no one actually gives a feck. They aren't Romelu Lukaku, they don't play for Manchester United and they don't play for a club whose fanbase jump at any chance to criticise their players and unfavourably compare them to players in other teams.
 

Treble

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Nobody in our team covers much ground. Seems unfair to single this out as a flaw in Lukaku’s game when it’s clearly a tactical issue.
IIRC, Matic, Pogba, Lingard, Mata, Rashford cover over 10 km per game. I agree that the team as a whole is not the most dynamic. Lukaku might be following Jose's instructions, etc. I'm just commenting on potential changes in Lukaku's game which could help him make the next step in his development.
 

Pogue Mahone

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IIRC, Matic, Pogba, Lingard, Mata, Rashford cover over 10 km per game. I agree that the team as a whole is not the most dynamic. Lukaku might be following Jose's instructions, etc. I'm just commenting on potential changes in Lukaku's game which could help him make the next step in his development.
It's a fair observation. I think his movement is quite good but if he covered a few more km we would be a better team. He always seems to be at his best when he's running the channels, rather than staying central, with his back to goal.
 

acnumber9

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Nobody in our team covers much ground. Seems unfair to single this out as a flaw in Lukaku’s game when it’s clearly a tactical issue.
Lukaku was exactly the same at Everton too though. He waits for the ball too much for me. Doesn’t make anywhere near enough runs in the penalty area to get across defenders.
 

Mcking

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Lukaku was exactly the same at Everton too though. He waits for the ball too much for me. Doesn’t make anywhere near enough runs in the penalty area to get across defenders.
He's always at the far post and never makes near post runs. I don't know why, but if he could improve on that, he'd score more.
 

Raven

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"Doesn't do it in big games". I remember the exact same criticism being thrown at Ronaldo... look how that turned out.
 

haram

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When do we discuss that Lukaku’s positioning in the box frees up space on the edge of it for the likes of Lingard to pounce? Or are we going to say that Lingard has just magically started to score more?
 

AndyJ1985

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He's a good striker, nothing more and nothing less. He's never be near the level of players like Aguero or Henry, and for that reason I can't really see us winning a title with him up front. We'd have to have world class players surrounding him like Hazard and De Bryune to stand any chance.
 

Eugenius

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And that's the point. I don't think anyone disagree about him being a good striker. We are just aspiring for a higher outcome that's it.

Not sure also it's the problem of our team only. Lukaku had exactly the same doubts hanging over him when he was at Everton and that was one of the main points some were always doubtful about signing him. He's also the same for Belgium, scoring a lot in small games but seems to be always far from scoring in big games even when he is playing well, he doesn't look like he actually get chances in these matches. He played very well against Brazil but at the end his 4 goals came against Tunisia and Panama.

He needs to improve his presence as goal scorer in these kind of games, otherwise doubts and criticism will always be hanging around him. He's not a 30-40m striker to escape it. He can't be a support striker for ever.

He comes out as a nice and very likable lad with great character and I personally love him as a personality, but at this point I can't disagree with anyone who thinks he will have to be upgraded on in the future if a better name becomes available. I'm fine with him leading the line now till someone else appears.
This pretty much.

I like the lad, but most big games we've had playing with him is like playing with 10 men. We've had strikers down the years like RVP, Rooney, Tevez, RvN that will bag you a goal when it matters, even with half a chance. With Lukaku when it matters you can be almost sure he will miss more often than not.

I'm a fan of him, but if we had a CL final tomorrow I'd probably rather play Sanchez upfront.
 

cyberman

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So how is Morata doing these days?
The striker position has a lack of in depth quality worldwide, we can't just shit on Lukaku because he isn't Kane.
Chelsea won a few EPL with Costa up top and he's even less prolific than Rom.
 

ash_86

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When do we discuss that Lukaku’s positioning in the box frees up space on the edge of it for the likes of Lingard to pounce? Or are we going to say that Lingard has just magically started to score more?
You're right. It's definitely noticeable since last two games. We have had numerous shots from Edge of the box from Lingard and also Pogba seems to be much closer to the box than he usually is. Credits should be given where due.
 

MyOnlySolskjaer

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So how is Morata doing these days?
The striker position has a lack of in depth quality worldwide, we can't just shit on Lukaku because he isn't Kane.
Chelsea won a few EPL with Costa up top and he's even less prolific than Rom.
People are picking the strangest times to criticise his finishing. Same is happening with the Rashford thread.

People just have too much time on their hands during the international break it seems.
 

Sparky Rhiwabon

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Lukaku scores more for Belgium than he does for us. Also scored more for Everton. But then, Sanchez was great for Arsenal as was Pogba for Juve (and for France). Our system just doesn’t suit attacking players, that’s all.
 

finneh

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It's a fair observation. I think his movement is quite good but if he covered a few more km we would be a better team. He always seems to be at his best when he's running the channels, rather than staying central, with his back to goal.
The problem is that Lukaku isn't just inkeeping with the team in terms or distance covered... He's literally the worst in the league in his position. Our team isn't set up as a pressing or high-octane outfit... But the constant selection of Lingard combined with the purchasing of Sanchez and Fred tells you all you need.to know about what Jose is looking for.

Truthfully in my opinion if Lukaku wants to be a great player he needs to spend the next 12 months literally running marathons weekly. He's far too static to ever be a top striker... At the moment he's Hernandez with half the runs
 

Raven

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Just to be clear, I'm not comparing Rom to Ron. I'm just comparing the agenda pushing foola in both situations, we saw Lukaku play some his best games last season against top 6 opposition. There's been a huge improvement as far as I'm concerned.
 

Tomuś

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I'd rather focus on improving the service before replacing Lukaku. He's scoring at an absolutely elite ratio for Belgium. If you want to get a better striker then good luck I guess. Be ready to spend north of £100 m easy, though and convince one of the extremley small pool of such ones to come here.
 

Irish Jet

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Seems to be a few indirect shots at Pogba there. I don’t think they get on too well anymore and have felt that way for a while.
 

roonster09

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Seems to be a few indirect shots at Pogba there. I don’t think they get on too well anymore and have felt that way for a while.
They came to training (2-3 weeks back) in the same car. Lukaku, Pogba and Dalot.

 

Cassidy

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Talk is cheap. I’d like to see him do his talking on the pitch this season. 16 league goals at United isnt enough.

Edit: Tbh my stance now is everyone should shut the feck up and do their talking on the pitch
 
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Watford 1:2 Man Utd

Holters

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Lukaku now has 20 Premier League goals for United. Only van Persie, van Nistelrooy and Dwight Yorke have scored 20 goals in fewer games for United. Puts Lukakus goal scoring into perspective as the three others played when United were dominating the Premier League.
 
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