[ArseHat]

He lacks ability on the ball, but I consider him athletic for his build. However, I do think he’s bulked up too much as he seems to have lost that explosiveness he had during his early days at Everton. Not saying he should compete in the Olympics, but he has shown that he has the pace and agility to get in behind and/or run at defenders (although not the dribbling ability), and mobility to draw defenders out which Giroud was never capable of, which was my point (eg. his performance vs Arsenal for Everton, and his run to set up de Bruyne’s goal vs Brazil in the World Cup). Giroud’s inability to play off the shoulder and needing the ball played to his feet prevents him from being one of the best strikers.

Lukaku and mobility ?

Perhaps he hasn’t shown it at United, but at Everton, I’d see him working the defenders, taking up various positions along the front line during a match, aiming to make runs in behind the defense. He’s certainly more mobile than Giroud who he was being compared to anyways.

 

[RedDevil5]

Honestly wonder if we just sell next summer. He's awful. Adds nothing. Terrible player, awful touch, poor hold up play, poor passing, stops our "attack," among other crap. Shocking. One of the worst strikers we've ever had.

 

[Amadaeus]

His athleticism and physical condition were the biggest advantage he had over defenders, don't know what happened but he completely fecked it up in the past few months.

If this is not photoshop, then Our management team has failed lukaku. Such a transformation should only be acceptable in WWE or Sumo wrestling.

 

[Sylar]

He likes to point and then put his hands on his head in that oh so close motion when he fecks up

He heads the ball then points to another player like they should have read it
He miscontrols a pass and he points again

 

[el3mel]

He lacks ability on the ball, but I consider him athletic for his build. However, I do think he’s bulked up too much as he seems to have lost that explosiveness he had during his early days at Everton. Not saying he should compete in the Olympics, but he has shown that he has the pace and agility to get in behind and/or run at defenders (although not the dribbling ability), and mobility to draw defenders out which Giroud was never capable of, which was my point (eg. his performance vs Arsenal for Everton, and his run to set up de Bruyne’s goal vs Brazil in the World Cup). Giroud’s inability to play off the shoulder and needing the ball played to his feet prevents him from being one of the best strikers.


Perhaps he hasn’t shown it at United, but at Everton, I’d see him working the defenders, taking up various positions along the front line during a match, aiming to make runs in behind the defense. He’s certainly more mobile than Giroud who he was being compared to anyways.

Look at the difference in his body build in Everton and here mate and you will know why he's not showing it anymore. At Everton he was lean, here he turned into heavyweight boxer.

 

[2cents]

Its 1 goal every 2 games he's started.

There's like 7 forwards in the league that are better than a goal every 2 starts and have played more than a few games. So he's a top 10 striker in the league which is okay, not good or great.

We not counting four goalless CL appearances then, or the one in the League Cup? Which makes it 5 in 18 appearances this season.

 

[FootballHQ]

Weird comparison, he's the opposite of Giroud.

It's more a striker who regularly hits 20 goals in a season for a top side yet is deemed not good enough. Arsenal fans were always criticizing him so I see Lukaku as similar.

 

[Ekeke]

We not counting four goalless CL appearances then, or the one in the League Cup? Which makes it 5 in 18 appearances this season.

No, we arent if I'm comparing him against the other strikers in the premier league.

Drop him for the champions league and league cup then. His record in the league is okay

 

[Yorkeontop]

Whew, a timely strike for the big guy. He's confidence should grow and we'll hopefully see more o during this busy period.

 

[Irrational.]

Everton took us to the cleaners for him - they must be pissing themselves laughing.

Strikers we could've got for cheaper than Lukaku: Lacazette, Aubameyang, Wilson, Richarlison, Vardy, Arnautovic, Mertens, Insigne, Icardi, Mandzukic, Dybala (at the time) amongst others. And all much, much better strikers/ forwards.

 

[ArseHat]

Look at the difference in his body build in Everton and here mate and you will know why he's not showing it anymore. At Everton he was lean, here he turned into heavyweight boxer.

That’s what I mentioned in the the reply above yours. He’s just too bulky and lethargic in his movements now. He needs to cut weight to gain some of his quickness and explosiveness. A footballer doesn’t need to be that size, he’s just carrying unnecessary weight. Still needs to work on the technical side though, which is evidently lacking for United’s level.

 

[Jazz]

Agreed, he had a go at Dalot for overhitting a ball into the channel and I just thought - really? Coming from the man who fecked nearly every counter attack up?

Because Mourinho makes him feel untouchable. Who the hell he thinks he is when he's never won a sausage? Can't wait for him and Jose to get turfed out.
He's got no loyalty, I bet you when Jose gets sacked, he'll be kissing the new manager's arse and throwing shade Jose's way. You watch.
I just hope whomever is in charge knows they need to choose players on merit irrespective of any ass kissing.

 

[GifLord]

This has aged well

 

[shamans]

This has aged well

All those vids are garbage. Tifo football is another one, so inaccurate but people gobble it up due to the sketches.

 

[Lash]

Because Mourinho makes him feel untouchable. Who the hell he thinks he is when he's never won a sausage? Can't wait for him and Jose to get turfed out.
He's got no loyalty, I bet you when Jose gets sacked, he'll be kissing the new manager's arse and throwing shade Jose's way. You watch.
I just hope whomever is in charge knows they need to choose players on merit irrespective of any ass kissing.

Probably right. He thinks he's an all round no. 9, from mourinho's praises, I think. He should stick to being a poacher and playing on the shoulder - it's all he's good for.

 

[Giant Midget]

He spends so much time on his knees blowing Jose that his legs have gone numb.

It’s the best explanation for the League 1 level play we’ve seen from him this season.

 

[VeevaVee]

Everton took us to the cleaners for him - they must be pissing themselves laughing.

Strikers we could've got for cheaper than Lukaku: Lacazette, Aubameyang, Wilson, Richarlison, Vardy, Arnautovic, Mertens, Insigne, Icardi, Mandzukic, Dybala (at the time) amongst others. And all much, much better strikers/ forwards.

Actually feel a bit sick looking at that

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

People blaming Mourinho for a player forgetting how to trap a football.

 

[VorZakone]

Everton took us to the cleaners for him - they must be pissing themselves laughing.

Strikers we could've got for cheaper than Lukaku: Lacazette, Aubameyang, Wilson, Richarlison, Vardy, Arnautovic, Mertens, Insigne, Icardi, Mandzukic, Dybala (at the time) amongst others. And all much, much better strikers/ forwards.

Wilson? Richarlison? In the summer of 2017?

 

[Revaulx]

If this is not photoshop, then Our management team has failed lukaku. Such a transformation should only be acceptable in WWE or Sumo wrestling.

Rooney; Anderson; Shaw; Memphis; Schweinsteiger. Now Lukaku.

Does any other “top” club have such a problem controlling players’ weight?

 

[mad1max954]

Rooney; Anderson; Shaw; Memphis; Schweinsteiger. Now Lukaku.

Does any other “top” club have such a problem controlling players’ weight?

Totally agree. Our running stats have been embarrassing for years too, surely if your struggling the least you can do is work bloody hard as a team for the club/ fans.

 

[Litch]

Player with zero confidence at mo like so many at the club. Bored of the first touch grap when there are clearly bigger things happening at this football club than him at this moment in time. He's just this seasons Fellaini.....

 

[Rajma]

No wonder he backs Jose to the hilt at every opportunity as his role under the new manager can change drastically.

 

[GifLord]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

People blaming Mourinho for a player forgetting how to trap a football.

Yikes some of the replies Lukaku an elite striker ?

 

[JSArsenal]

He won't score 20 - he's not below Aguero and Salah. The way he's playing he's below league 1 strikers. Giroud had a great touch - some of Arsenal's best team goals involve his touches which I can never imagine with Lukaku.

I would say Giroud had an average touch more than anything. For every great touch or flick on the ball bounced off of his foot and went to the opposition five times. A lot of people were getting fed up with his flicks that went nowhere.

Giroud's touch is still better than Lukaku's at the moment though.

 

[Niall]

Gfycat is not loading on the site anymore

Gfycat embed working again.

 

[VJ1762]

There is a video of how poor Lukaku has been this season on r/reddevils. He has regressed so much

 

[kouroux]

Lukaku gets laughed at because of his terrible touch. Nothing unfair about it as it is seriously shit

 

[11101]

Yikes some of the replies Lukaku an elite striker ?

To be fair to him he is (was) one of the best in the league. Last season it was obvious to all that we expected him to play in a way that didn't suit him but he still did a reasonable job. It's clear there's something going on with him this season that we don't know about.

 

[flappyjay]

Everton took us to the cleaners for him - they must be pissing themselves laughing.

Strikers we could've got for cheaper than Lukaku: Lacazette, Aubameyang, Wilson, Richarlison, Vardy, Arnautovic, Mertens, Insigne, Icardi, Mandzukic, Dybala (at the time) amongst others. And all much, much better strikers/ forwards.

Highly unlikely with these two. Inter wanted 40m for 28 year old Perisic I wonder how much the would have wanted for their talisman. As for Dybala you could never have bought him for less than what we bought Lukaku for.

 

[André Dominguez]

This is clearly an "I told you so" thread. A lot of people (me included) always thought this guy was being extremely overpaid for the same reasons:

- He lacked on the ball skills
- He's not a "self-suficient" striker that makes your team win games out of the blue (a must requirement for a top club striker)
- He lacks creativity: in a top team there are at least three players who score 15+ goals per season, and if the striker can't find the way to assist them...
- His goal record was clearly not worth 85M€

Benzema with all his flaws (composure being a major one) still has:
- Creativity
- Ball skills
- Self-suficiency

 

[Ekeke]

Lukaku gets laughed at because of his terrible touch. Nothing unfair about it as it is seriously shit

Did anyone in this thread mention when he had a sublime touch in the opponent's box? I think it was after Rashford tried to be too clever with the backheel and messed up the free goal. The ball looped up in the air at some point and Lukaku killed it with a good touch. He missed the chance but was a clean first touch.

My guess is it hasnt been mentioned

 

[kouroux]

Did anyone in this thread mention when he had a sublime touch in the opponent's box? I think it was after Rashford tried to be too clever with the backheel and messed up the free goal. The ball looped up in the air at some point and Lukaku killed it with a good touch. He missed the chance but was a clean first touch.

My guess is it hasnt been mentioned

Fortunately for him he can still trap the ball a few times each game

 

[Pogue Mahone]

To be fair to him he is (was) one of the best in the league. Last season it was obvious to all that we expected him to play in a way that didn't suit him but he still did a reasonable job. It's clear there's something going on with him this season that we don't know about.

Yup. That’s my take on it too. He’s a confidence player and when he’s not confident his game goes to pieces. The whole bad touch thing was a huge issue for him when he was struggling at Chelsea. Moved to Everton, started scoring goals, found some self-belief and nobody was mocking his touch any more. There’s a good chance the same thing will happen again with a team/manager that gets the best out of him. It’s not as though he hasn’t had periods of form at United where he’s looked like a very good striker. Unfortunately they’ve been too few and far between.

He still might not be quite good enough for a team with the (supposed) aspirations of Manchester United but he will be streets ahead of the player we’ve been watching this season. Meanwhile, I hope everyone is enjoying themselves finding everything he does hilarious. Whatever floats your boats.

 

[Greck]

It's the lack of humility with his teammates that really gets me. Having a go at everyone when he messes up a pass or a flick isn't healthy. Moreso because the players and fans see his inflated sense of importance is from being a favourite rather than a top performer. Hope order is restored at the club soon because this business of picking underperforming favourites is just awful

 

[11101]

Did anyone in this thread mention when he had a sublime touch in the opponent's box? I think it was after Rashford tried to be too clever with the backheel and messed up the free goal. The ball looped up in the air at some point and Lukaku killed it with a good touch. He missed the chance but was a clean first touch.

My guess is it hasnt been mentioned

You mean the one where he should have hit it first time? Not the best example to use.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Player with zero confidence at mo like so many at the club. Bored of the first touch grap when there are clearly bigger things happening at this football club than him at this moment in time. He's just this seasons Fellaini.....

Unfortunately, he's one of the players we're not allowed to apply with confidence issue to.

The way we almost despise one of our own players is disgusting.

 

[AndyJ1985]

Unfortunately, he's one of the players we're not allowed to apply with confidence issue to.

The way we almost despise one of our own players is disgusting.

Ah so now criticising him for being useless means we all despise him. I guess you've got bored of using the word hate and freshened up your vocabulary

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Ah so now criticising him for being useless means we all despise him. I guess you've got bored of using the word hate and freshened up your vocabulary

If only we applied the criticism fairly across the board. This stinks of hate.

 

[redIndianDevil]

It's the lack of humility with his teammates that really gets me. Having a go at everyone when he messes up a pass or a flick isn't healthy. Moreso because the players and fans see his inflated sense of importance is from being a favourite rather than a top performer. Hope order is restored at the club soon because this business of picking underperforming favourites is just awful

Exactly this. He comes across as very over confident, too much talking and trying to look the leader. Even in his Everton days he used to constantly rile up their fans by giving interviews about how he's destined to play CL and how good a player he is.