🇧🇪 Romelu Lukaku

[Goemaere 131]

My fault, I forgot we can't be critcal.

All hail josé and his great football displays of the last 10 matches.

[didierforever 7,349]

stranded has two meanings. one where you are completely alone and don't have anyone to pass to, as you seem to mention with Lukaku, and another where you're hoping to recieve a ball, dragging defenders away, and working hard, you don't get the ball. That's another form of being stranded.

And that's another reason why strikers can't fare properly at the club. It's not just Torres, almost everyone has that problem. Ba was so prolific at Newcastle, joins Chelsea and boom. It is no way the fault of the AM's, but the way Chelsea have tactically set themselves up. Neither of the players should be blamed.

as soon as i finished posting my reply to choulo, i had edited it to make myslef clear and compare him while playing to what happened to everton when kone came on.

dude, the point of having a striker in such a system then changes. today lukaku had 1 half chance which he scored, and one 25% chance in which naismith failed to trap the ball and it was him vs a joe hart, who was always going to get there first. point is does torres provide us what lukaku cant (raw physicality to get into the face of defenders, speed, to convert long balls and half chances and be a poacher in the box and to provide an outlet for our AMs and iva to cross in the box)? i honestly dont think so. and things that torres provides, we have in abundance from our AMs (fluidity, link-up play).

[hjperdeath 2,226]

as soon as i finished posting my reply to choulo, i had edited it to make myslef clear and compare him while playing to what happened to everton when kone came on.

dude, the point of having a striker in such a system then changes. today lukaku had 1 half chance which he scored, and one 25% chance in which naismith failed to trap the ball and it was him vs a joe hart, who was always going to get there first. point is does torres provide us what lukaku cant (raw physicality to get into the face of defenders, speed, to convert long balls and half chances and be a poacher in the box and to provide an outlet for our AMs and iva to cross in the box)? i honestly dont think so. and things that torres provides, we have in abundance from our AMs (fluidity, link-up play).

I've seen Torres do that actually, atleast sometimes. Apart from the raw physicality, and that's what's hurting Lukaku. I think it was kellzfresh who said it, but he spends way too much time in the gym while he should be working on his first touch. His link up play can be much much better than what it is. Actually all these could be done by Ba, until he came to Chelsea. He was physical against Villa, has decent pace., but long balls? He was caught offside how many times again? It's the way Villa defends. They won't defend the same way against Everton. Ba was also one of the best poachers in the league at the time. But as we are on the Torres debate, I agree Lukaku is better, but how better is the question. Fernando's experience pipes him up to a spot above Lukaku cause when we really need a goal, Fernando is more likely to get one in the dying minutes than Lukaku. And that's a frightful hypothesis.

Anyways, on the kind of goals Lukaku has scored, found something interesting at WAGNH -

His first goal against Newcastle came on a counter attack where the Newcastle defenders had pushed too high up the pitch and then got caught out of position. In their scramble to try and get back, they all end up out of position and nobody marks Lukaku:

His second goal against Newcastle came because the defenders pushed too high up the pitch and Howard booted the ball straight over the top of them – look at how much space Lukaku has to work with (the two guys next to him are the deepest defenders):

The goal against West Ham was just a comedy of errors – he picked up the ball on the edge of the area and I have no idea what the defenders were trying to do. I’ve highlighted the defenders in red, Everton players in purple and Lukaku in blue:

The guy by the penalty spot was the furthest defender to the right (which means nobody at all is marking the guy at the bottom of the screen) and the midfielders aren’t making any real effort to get back and help.

The defending style in each of these (and, in fact, for his goal today against City) is really not the kind of thing we see against Chelsea and certainly not at home.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I don't want to discredit Romelu, he got half a chance and he did the most of it and sometimes that is more important than anything else.

Most of the time it is. He's a striker and he scores goals. That's what he's always done and I'm firmly of the belief that he would've done that in our side whilst developing the rest of his game.

It's a shame that our club seems unwilling to take a chance on our young players and I think it's something that Chelsea supporters have to ask questions of. Too many new fans who want instant success.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

First half he was an absolute handful but second half faded and is general passing throughout the match was poor but let me ask you something. Everytime we have been to the Etihad as there been one striker for us in recent seasons who done better than what Lukaku done today? I don't think so. He was playing against a very good team and overall he can be happy with his performance. Never easy against City. But to say his performance is a reminder of why he needed to go out on loan I totally disagree with.

I agree that he was not excellent but certainly was not poor. There are not many strikers who even score at the Etihad besides put in a better performance than Lukaku. RVP and Rooney come to mind but not many I can name so I don't agree to use his general performance today as a general reason why we should have loaned him out.

Ba last season was our best player in the away game against City. He was a handful throughout the game and won us a pen when it was 0-0 that Frank missed even though we went there just to park the bus.

It has nothing to do with the opposition, his first touch and passing were very poor, that has nothing to do with who he was playing against. Are you saying that his performance today was good enough for a striker who should be starting at a club like Chelsea? If you do, then I completely disagree.

He obviously still has loads to work on and improve and those weaknesses were highlighted today. He went on loan so he can have a chance to start almost every game even when he puts in bad performances. Because, had he stayed here and he put in a performance like he did today or the second half against Newcastle, then Jose will have to bench him the following game.

[Stingray 9,441]

mirallas and osman who got subbed early on because they were shambolic

True, they sucked so bad. Lukaku could have been better too tbh.

[didierforever 7,349]

I've seen Torres do that actually, atleast sometimes. Apart from the raw physicality, and that's what's hurting Lukaku. I think it was kellzfresh who said it, but he spends way too much time in the gym while he should be working on his first touch. His link up play can be much much better than what it is. Actually all these could be done by Ba, until he came to Chelsea. He was physical against Villa, has decent pace., but long balls? He was caught offside how many times again? It's the way Villa defends. They won't defend the same way against Everton. Ba was also one of the best poachers in the league at the time. But as we are on the Torres debate, I agree Lukaku is better, but how better is the question. Fernando's experience pipes him up to a spot above Lukaku cause when we really need a goal, Fernando is more likely to get one in the dying minutes than Lukaku. And that's a frightful hypothesis.

Anyways, on the kind of goals Lukaku has scored, found something interesting at WAGNH -

His first goal against Newcastle came on a counter attack where the Newcastle defenders had pushed too high up the pitch and then got caught out of position. In their scramble to try and get back, they all end up out of position and nobody marks Lukaku:

His second goal against Newcastle came because the defenders pushed too high up the pitch and Howard booted the ball straight over the top of them – look at how much space Lukaku has to work with (the two guys next to him are the deepest defenders):

The goal against West Ham was just a comedy of errors – he picked up the ball on the edge of the area and I have no idea what the defenders were trying to do. I’ve highlighted the defenders in red, Everton players in purple and Lukaku in blue:

The guy by the penalty spot was the furthest defender to the right (which means nobody at all is marking the guy at the bottom of the screen) and the midfielders aren’t making any real effort to get back and help.

The defending style in each of these (and, in fact, for his goal today against City) is really not the kind of thing we see against Chelsea and certainly not at home.

that is a very pessimitic and prejudiced way to look at things.

the first goal that lukaku scored against newcastle was a counter with defenders out of position as u have shown but u dont take into account how that came to be. it was lukaku's ball to mirallas on the right which got him into that position.

etoo was 4 yards from the goal but could not score. his 2nd goal against everton was from a long ball from howard and a mistake from newcastle but u still have to finish them. tell me how many of everton's defensive mistake were we able to finish.

i dint watch the west ham match so wont comment on it.

the kind of goal lukaku scored today against city, has been scored many times over and over again by a special guy named DD. hell he just scored a similar one against juve in CL. a lot of times when playing city (and other big teams), our striker will find himself alone upfront and cech and the defenders will feel the need to hoof the ball to release the pressure. and at that point it is upto the striker to produce something special and lukaku did do that today. can the 3 we have do the same? i really doubt that.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Because, had he stayed here and he put in a performance like he did today or the second half against Newcastle, then Jose will have to bench him the following game.

And there in a nutshell is what I think is at the root of this issue - young players need support and he put in a fabulous performance against Newcastle, but in the next game he 'struggles' (scored a goal and I think people are being overly critical where they wouldn't with other players) against one of the best teams around so fans say he needs to be benched.

That's the same type of 'support' that Jose gets from people saying he was the wrong choice because of a few tough results at the start of the season. For most supporters the prospect of someone with Lukaku's potential is enough to stick by him and support him - we managed it with JT and other young players in the past but nowadays that seems to be asking too much of certain types of fan.

Until that is remedied then I think we're going to struggle to develop talent in any meaningful way.

[didierforever 7,349]

True, they sucked so bad. Lukaku could have been better too tbh.

everton in general were poor or rather were simply over-run and over-powered by city.

[hjperdeath 2,226]

that is a very pessimitic and prejudiced way to look at things.

the first goal that lukaku scored against tottenham was a counter with defenders out of position as u have shown but u dont take into account how that came to be. it was lukaku's ball to mirallas on the right which got him into that position.

etoo was 4 yards from the goal but could not score. his 2nd goal against everton was from a long ball from howard and a mistake from newcastle but u still have to finish them. tell me how many of everton's defensive mistake were we able to finish.

i dint watch the west ham match so wont comment on it.

the kind of goal lukaku scored today against city, has been scored many times over and over again by a special guy named DD. hell he just scored a similar one against juve in CL. a lot of times when playing city (and other big teams), our striker will find himself alone upfront and cech and the defenders will feel the need to hoof the ball to release the pressure. and at that point it is upto the striker to produce something special and lukaku did do that today. can the 3 we have do the same? i really doubt that.

Highly disagree . Looks like we've come to a deadlock. agree to disagree then . Cheers .

[Stats 7,142]

Ba last season was our best player in the away game against City. He was a handful throughout the game and won us a pen when it was 0-0 that Frank missed even though we went there just to park the bus.

It has nothing to do with the opposition, his first touch and passing were very poor, that has nothing to do with who he was playing against. Are you saying that his performance today was good enough for a striker who should be starting at a club like Chelsea? If you do, then I completely disagree.

He obviously still has loads to work on and improve and those weaknesses were highlighted today. He went on loan so he can have a chance to start almost every game even when he puts in bad performances. Because, had he stayed here and he put in a performance like he did today or the second half against Newcastle, then Jose will have to bench him the following game.

He was not much more of a handful than Lukaku was today. Also what was the main thing that was missing? A goal. My point is when we play City none of our strikers do any better than him, especially when playing at City's ground. Our strikers are isolated most games we play against them and if anything Lukaku should be happy with what he done today.

[Zoro 151]

Touch of an elephant and 4 goals in 250 minutes > touch of an angel and 0 goals in 2200 minutes.

Which one of our current strikers has the touch of an angel? Lol. Lukaku is not good enough for Chelsea, neither is any of our current strikers.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I've seen Torres do that actually, atleast sometimes. Apart from the raw physicality, and that's what's hurting Lukaku. I think it was kellzfresh who said it, but he spends way too much time in the gym while he should be working on his first touch.

How much time does he spend in the gym? In fact what type of workouts is he doing in there?

People who say stuff like 'he spends too much time in the gym' are the type of people who have never set foot in a gym. I'm also fairly certain that you have no idea about his training regime.

[hjperdeath 2,226]

How much time does he spend in the gym? In fact what type of workouts is he doing in there?

People who say stuff like 'he spends too much time in the gym' are the type of people who have never set foot in a gym. I'm also fairly certain that you have no idea about his training regime.

It wasn't something that carries a literal meaning, I actually meant it figuratively. As of now he has too much physicality and needs to brush up on other area's of his individual play, which Roberto Martinez, a person with a fine youth track record, will be able to provide Lukaku with.

On the second line though, I do go to gym. Infact I had a 3 week course on maintaining the fitness list and gym training scheduling of under-19 players of a local club.

[LukakutoStamford 779]

Look the loan was absolutely mandatory. People are getting upset for the wrong reasons. The issue is with Mourinho Emenalo or whomever is making the transfer/personnel decisions who couldn't come up with a better answer than an old Eto, wasteful Torres, and a languishing Ba.

As for Lukaku, no one is ever going to confuse his first touch with Messi or Hazard, he's always going to be a bit rough with his touches, but as he gets older he should smooth out aspects of his game and through experience how most effectively use his energy, position himself, and make better decisions. That's the whole point of the loan and the whole reason why I wanted him to go on loan in the first place. He's still a work in progress.Yes he could help Chelsea this year, but at a risk of stunting his own development.

Lukaku is a goal scorer. He's never going to be a slick player, but he's the type of player who will terrorize defense with his pace, will, and strength.

I'm sure Lukaku will probably score 20-25 PL goals this year. I had him down for 10-15 last year and he got 17 with 20 PL starts 14 sub appearances at age 19.

The problem is that Chelsea hasn't addressed the striker issue by getting someone who is ready and in top form to play, not that Lukaku is on loan.

[joshmercury 20]

His fitness is a major issue. Faded out badly both in newcastle game and today in the second half.

I think if at all he makes it here he will be more of an impact sub like hernandez .

Give him 30/45 mins to go all out ,like steve clarke did he will be most effective.

[Ainsley Harriott 2,732]

His fitness is a major issue. Faded out badly both in newcastle game and today in the second half.

I think if at all he makes it here he will be more of an impact sub like hernandez .

Give him 30/45 mins to go all out ,like steve clarke did he will be most effective.

Right now I agree, but he still is 20... It will be a different conversation when he hits his physical peak! He will be very vey scary.

[Gorando 184]

His first touch, hold up play & passing were terrific vs West Ham & 1st half against Newcastle. It's obvious he has the technical skills to develop these aspects of the game. Playing 90 minutes week in week out will do wonders to his game. I think it's safe to say a loan is the best thing for both Chelsea & him

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

Ii is probably not "too much physicality" that would inhibit Lukaku's progress. It is rather the opposite. I think he could score even more when he would concentrate on his strengths. His power and his pace are his main assets and he should be more often in the centre of attack where he can outjump, outmuscle the defenders. He can be a worldclass striker. Surely not because of his talent or skills but because of his physique. If his stamina is a problem, i think that is the easiest to be worked on. He does not always score pretty and he is not hte most clinical of finishers, but he has scored 4 goals in 3 matches so far against all sorts of oppositions. Some finishes even were poor and should have been kept out, but fact is they ended up in the net and that is more than any of our other strikers who got 10 years more expereince have done so far. So if any of the 79 players that belong to Chelsea FC is capable of playing the striker role in the future, it is him.

[Stats 7,142]

While we all may agree and disagree on his loan at least we know one thing. That we have one of the potential best complete strikers in the world in Lukaku, no doubt about that and hopefully we have years ahead to watch him play at Stamford Bridge.