🇧🇪 Romelu Lukaku

[LAM09 7,054]

7 minutes ago, Jase said:

Is the potential even there?

  £70m question. I think it's there, but he doesn't seem like the player that will push him to excel. 

7 minutes ago, Jase said:

Then here's the question, which I've been asking, what exactly is he? Is he a goalscorer? Is he a creator/creative player? Because so far, he has not shown consistent killer instincts to score AND he has not shown that he's capable of playing killer passes etc. He has not owned a game. So what exactly is he good at that we can fit him into one position? 

  I personally see him as more or an AM/SS rather than a CF, which he has played quite often whilst here. Saying that, I don't believe we'll get the best out of him should Tuchel stick to the current formation.

7 minutes ago, Jase said:

This is not quite true. He got a decent run of games towards the end of last season and this season as well, especially when both Lukaku and Werner were out injured.

How did that go? 

I believe we weren't doing too bad as a team when he was leading the line. Individual stats are secondary if the team are delivering. 

  

5 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

So it was clear we needed goalscorer in the summer to fix our problems in attack. Unfortunately Lukaku is not doing that at all and it's huge disappointment but let's not pretend we are some attacking force without him. 

We were at least a unit. If you took Werner out for someone like Kane last season, we'd have been a completely different proposition. Creating chances are even hard to come by now.

Edited January 18, 2022 by LAM09

[OhForAGreavsie 6,073]

22 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

 

Was he? I don't know.

Even if Rom was the best available, that still does not mean he is good enough. There must be a quality threshold and all players must meet it in order to justify a significant transfer fee. If, after watching Rom across eleven seasons of top level football, our decision makers still can't realise that he is short of the required quality then they have no business making those decisions in the first place. For nearly nineteen years now I have posted, here and elsewhere, to say that we tend to buy players with qualities rather than players of quality. I hope one year from now this will have changed. Every penny drops in the end.

Edited January 18, 2022 by OhForAGreavsie

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, LAM09 said:

How did that go? 

I believe we weren't doing too bad as a team when he was leading the line. Individual stats are secondary if the team are delivering.

Yes, we were doing fine then as a team but at the same time, I'm sure we didn't pay 70+ million on someone to just show nice touches, holdup plays and pass the ball in simple fashion.

[LAM09 7,054]

9 minutes ago, Jase said:

Yes, we were doing fine then as a team but at the same time, I'm sure we didn't pay 70+ million on someone to just show nice touches, holdup plays and pass the ball in simple fashion.

The price tag was largely around potential, which is the go to thing nowadays. 

Oh, how I miss the days of paying big bucks for players that were actually up to the job or supposedly so right there & then.

10 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Was he? I don't know.

Even if Rom was the best available, that still does not mean he is good enough. There must be a quality threshold and all players must meet it in order to justify a significant transfer fee. If, after watching Rom across eleven seasons of top level football, our decision makers still can't realise that he is short of the required quality then they have no business making those decisions in the first place. For nearly nineteen years now I have posted, here and elsewhere, to say that we tend to buy players with qualities rather than players of quality. I hope one year from now this will have changed.

This is what gets me more than anything - "Best on the market". To me, that's complete nonsense if we're including every CF in the world aside from a few untouchables (for us, anyway). 

I've been signing the same tune on this forum for a few years now & it's one word - Osimhen. He's been the ideal option since his time at Lille IMO.

Edited January 18, 2022 by LAM09

[NikkiCFC 8,319]

10 minutes ago, Jase said:

Then here's the question, which I've been asking, what exactly is he? Is he a goalscorer? Is he a creator/creative player? Because so far, he has not shown consistent killer instincts to score AND he has not shown that he's capable of playing killer passes etc. He has not owned a game. So what exactly is he good at that we can fit him into one position? 

How many attacking midfielders score around 20 goals in season? Not many if any. This is what Kai is or at least expectations from him. 

I already said this but here we go again.. 

Since here in 4231 Kai played AM just 5 times. Early on with Frank. 

Krasnodar, WBA, Palace, Southampton and Barnsley. In these 5 games he had 4g and 3a. That was 16 months ago. 

We have never seen it again. I am happy Tuchel finally switched it to this preferable formation but today instead of Kai he went with Mount. Let's hope he comes to sanse in the coming weeks. 

[OhForAGreavsie 6,073]

33 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

We bought Pulisic simply to tap into the American market. 
 

There is zero footballing identity at this club. 

I said at the time that I hoped Pulli's marketability was just seen as a fringe benefit, not actually a reason to sign him. I still hope that was true.

Saying there is zero footballing identity at the club sounds harsh to my ears but, if you are wrong, you are not wrong by much. 

[Jase 43,479]

6 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

How many attacking midfielders score around 20 goals in season? Not many if any. This is what Kai is or at least expectations from him. 

I already said this but here we go again.. 

Since here in 4231 Kai played AM just 5 times. Early on with Frank. 

Krasnodar, WBA, Palace, Southampton and Barnsley. In these 5 games he had 4g and 3a. That was 16 months ago. 

We have never seen it again. I am happy Tuchel finally switched it to this preferable formation but today instead of Kai he went with Mount. Let's hope he comes to sanse in the coming weeks. 

You keep on harping about that with Havertz but for god's sake, look at the quality of the opposition. 3 of those goals also came against a Championship side in Barnsley. Heck, you could even put that return down to maybe a honeymoon period, a purple patch. Even Werner had one in his first few months at the club. If he's this great generational talent that you and others keep on talking about, then he should be able to adapt to different systems. Him playing as one of the two 10s in the back 3 also isn't that different from playing as the lone 10 in a back 4. 

[manpe 10,861]

I have a feeling Lukaku's presence is demoralizing to the team, not only because he said he didn't want to be at Chelsea. Yesterday Ziyech overhit a pass to him on the right flank, Lukaku got to it but obviously lost it because that's what he does. Then he turned to Ziyech and started complaining with that sourpuss face of his, instead of showing some encouragement with a thumbs up saying "thanks for spotting me" or "better luck next time" or whatever, but no he had to be all pissy about it. I would hate to play with a teammate like that. And when Ziyech scored he didn't celebrate at all, not even a smile, what was that all about? What's going on with our players' moral?

Edited January 19, 2022 by manpe

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[blues.bridge 343]

make an offer for adeyemi, like £50M?

[Tomo 21,751]

2 hours ago, manpe said:

I have a feeling Lukaku's presence is demoralizing to the team, not only because he said he didn't want to be at Chelsea. Yesterday Ziyech overhit a pass to him on the right flank, Lukaku got to it but obviously lost it because that's what he does. Then he turned to Ziyech and started complaining with that sourpuss face of his, instead of showing some encouragement with a thumbs up saying "thanks for spotting me" or "better luck next time" or whatever, but no he had to be all pissy about it. I would hate to play with a teammate like that. And when Ziyech scored he didn't celebrate at all, not even a smile, what was that all about? What's going on with our players' moral?

It's not a feeling it pretty clear, the spirit that was so evident as recently as Liverpool is totally gone.

Btw he was even bitching to Azpi when the rest of our team were focusing on congratulating Ziyech for scoring.

[manpe 10,861]

4 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Btw he was even bitching to Azpi when the rest of our team were focusing on congratulating Ziyech for scoring.

About what?

[Tomo 21,751]

Just now, manpe said:

About what?

Don't have a clue, probably about how Bettenelli didn't tell him how wonderful he was on the team bus or something like that knowing him.

[Clockwork 1,794]

12 hours ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Something that really has to go is the recruitment approach which means that generation after generation we underperform in the transfer market and collect players with a flair for the spectacular but lacking in the final stamp of quality. 

How much is that has to do with the managers though? Only Sarri prided himself in attacking football. If we want to change this trend then we need a manager who brings more competency in the attack.

we also sold two of the best players in the last ten years in Salah and KDB.

 

[Superblue 6,372]

12 hours ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Something that really has to go is the recruitment approach which means that generation after generation we underperform in the transfer market and collect players with a flair for the spectacular but lacking in the final stamp of quality. 

Not just this but we seem to have a roundabout way of dealing with players.

Some we don't seem to give enough of a chance to and end up regretting it. Salah and De Bruyne are obvious examples but I take even someone like Tomori as an example. The club appeared to rate him at one point and when a deal was done to go on loan to Milan it appeared Lampard wouldn't be far out of the door then too, so why be so quick to agree a permanent option in the deal? I'm not saying he'd definitely be the answer, but I think from what I had seen of him when he was in the first team his characteristics would actually have suited playing as one of the wider centre backs in a 3 under Tuchel.

But then at the other end, there's players we seem to hold on to forever. I understand some are difficult to shift like a Bakayoko or Drinkwater for example. They are just rubbish buys and the club has to suck that up and do what it can to claw something back through loaning them out. But some players stay in the first team picture for far too long. I'm pretty certain that a lot of this has to do with regular managerial changes seemingly giving players a fresh start again under a new manager. 

If anything our recruitment should be made so much easier now because we're no longer needing to find squad filler. That door for the academy players has been opened now and I think it will lead to a steady stream of players coming from that route moving forward who can occupy those squad roles within the squad (and hopefully develop into something more central to the first team in time). Our primary focus now should be on either buying the best players available that are going to 'fit' our team and improve the starting XI, or if there's a really promising young player who looks like becoming that player and the opportunity is there to get them at an earlier stage (like we did with Salah, De Bruyne, etc). If that isn't available then don't make a move. I think that's what we're unfortunately paying for now with Lukaku where we've panicked that we need a striker to be added to the squad. And if Tuchel has given his ok to the deal I can completely understand why. Even with the Champions League win, he knows he'll never be bullet proof here like Klopp or Pep might be at their clubs. If the team struggled to score and break teams down like last season he could be out the door and for what is likely a short term tenure, adding a proven goal scorer to the squad would make sense. 

It's the same reason why I'd rather not try and address the full back/wing back issue this January if the right options aren't there. It definitely needs addressing in the summer because Alonso and Azpilicueta aren't good enough and mobile enough to play that role in the way that it needs to be played. But I want a genuine alternative to Chilwell and James which doesn't show an obvious drop off in quality. I don't want to see another Emerson bought in January and it's yet another player to serve a purpose short term but be stuck dealing with long term.

 

[Tomo 21,751]

I've just thought if he scores against Plymouth he's so going to do a Maguire vs Albania and cup his ears, isn't he?

[chelsea_4_eva 1,182]

41 minutes ago, Tomo said:

I've just thought if he scores against Plymouth he's so going to do a Maguire vs Albania and cup his ears, isn't he?

I'm going with shushing the crowd...

Edited January 19, 2022 by chelsea_4_eva

[NikkiCFC 8,319]

9 hours ago, manpe said:

And when Ziyech scored he didn't celebrate at all, not even a smile, what was that all about? What's going on with our players' moral?

 

[NikkiCFC 8,319]

 

[MoroccanBlue 5,382]

Oh Tuchel I fear for you. 

I really do.