🇧🇪 Romelu Lukaku

[Strike 7,489]

Really love how Lukaku came across in the interviews, clips posted yesterday. Doesn't feel like a new signing that needs time because he knows so many of the guys - remembers Azpi and the academy boys, knows Rudi, Zouma. I loved that bit where he says he told Havertz to join Chelsea when Inter faced Leverkusen in the Europa League. This is very different from the Lukaku that was in England years ago - he seems mentally more relaxed, at peace with himself. I think this Lukaku and Tuchel will be a good fit - definitely looking forward to the season that little bit more now.

[Jype 6,398]

4 hours ago, Strike said:

This is very different from the Lukaku that was in England years ago - he seems mentally more relaxed, at peace with himself. 

Yea, in that interview he definitely comes across as more mature than he was just a few years ago.

Of course time will tell if that's really the case or if he just had time to prepare for the interview and came up with answers everyone wanted to hear, but I've seen plenty of Inter fans praising his character and mentality so I guess that's a promising sign.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

12 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

Came across very mature and intelligent in the interview. Surely has grown a lot. Looks at his leanest shape in years, has apparently cut to 93kg

Now he just needs to make it work. I just hope the pressure does not get to him.

I’ll be honest for someone who has played at Manchester United, Inter Milan as well as for the best Belgian national team on top of making 3 £70m+ moves in the space of the last 5 or 6 seasons, if he struggles with pressure it would be insane.

 

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

12 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

I’ll be honest for someone who has played at Manchester United, Inter Milan as well as for the best Belgian national team on top of making 3 £70m+ moves in the space of the last 5 or 6 seasons, if he struggles with pressure it would be insane.

 

Shevchenko, Torres, Morata also struggled with the pressure despite being seasoned pros and all that.

 

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

27 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

Shevchenko, Torres, Morata also struggled with the pressure despite being seasoned pros and all that.

 

All different scenarios though for those 3 though. 

I don’t see Lukaku struggling with the pressure at all. In fact I think it will be the opposite, I think he will thrive because he knows outsiders will have doubts about him or that he isn’t maybe as well rated as he perhaps should be based on what he’s done in the last 12 years of his career. I mean even the price, going for £70+ million 3 times in your career in your last 3 moves, your going to feel the pressure of that price tag the first time surely? Not the second or the third around.

I don’t think it was ever a guarantee that Shevchenko could have suited PL football though or Mourinho’s team at the time but either way he was also 30 years old when we signed him. He also only managed to score 52 goals in 160 games from when he signed for us in 2006 (22 here, 2 at Milan and 28 for Dinamo Kiev) until he retired in 2012 so its not as if he did it elsewhere after leaving here either.

And Torres was finished before we signed him. And always was an ill fit, we should have signed Dzeko for instance who went to City as he was the mould of what we had or even tried for Suarez who was rounded and able to play off the sides as well. Whatever Torres did to get to that 2010 world cup fucked him as a top footballer, I mean Jamie Carragher said he knew that he was already finished when they sold him to us.

Morata was a mystery as he looked like he had all the ability to be a top top player. Just obviously has confidence or mentality issues which he still has based on the games he played for Spain in the last year and how the fans were on his back. 

Edited August 17, 2021 by OneMoSalah

[LDN Blue 7,903]

On 13/08/2021 at 00:00, DDA said:

This place misses the articulate ramblings. 

Ahahaha a retired setup but I often think of rebooting it, the world is a madder place than what we left it.

Good to see you keeping well old friend!

[ZAPHOD2319 4,818]

 

[milka 3,393]

[Pizy 18,916]

He really does exude that supremely confident aura when he speaks. 

Was watching a video a couple of days ago where Rio Ferdinand said he spoke with Rom on the phone and he told Rio how hungry he was heading into this season. I think he’s especially motivated to prove to the English media/fans/haters that doubted him wrong.

[Fernando 6,585]

54 minutes ago, Pizy said:

He really does exude that supremely confident aura when he speaks. 

Was watching a video a couple of days ago where Rio Ferdinand said he spoke with Rom on the phone and he told Rio how hungry he was heading into this season. I think he’s especially motivated to prove to the English media/fans/haters that doubted him wrong.

Winning a major title will do that to you. 

Well there's 2 options. You win and you get satisfied and go into decline. Or 2 you get hungry for more. 

[laura90 556]

3 hours ago, Fernando said:

Winning a major title will do that to you. 

Well there's 2 options. You win and you get satisfied and go into decline. Or 2 you get hungry for more. 

God no. It would be all another level of tragedy had we paid record fee and record wages to a player from your first option. That's not the case with Lukaku. It's the second option.

The thing is, he is so calm, well spoken, confident because everything was going in his favor in Milano. Even though he scored 17/18 non penalty league goals per season they adored him as if he scored 170/180.

Everything was going his way, the coach, the game plan, slow defenders, everything was peachy . Therefore the smile and confidence.

In Manchester, however, after the first ten games, nothing was going his way. Frustrating face, sulking, pointing fingers at his teammates, shouting for not passing to him, blaming teammates for not receiving his misplaced passes. Even got in the fight with Shaw. Loses his starting place. Goes away in hostile way.

The real question for us is whether:

1. What happened in Manchester stayed in Manchester. 

2. What happened in Milano stayed in Milano.

 

[NikkiCFC 8,324]

10 minutes ago, laura90 said:

What happened in Milano stayed in Milano.

I also said this after visiting Milano.

[robsblubot 3,595]

6 hours ago, Pizy said:

He really does exude that supremely confident aura when he speaks. 

Was watching a video a couple of days ago where Rio Ferdinand said he spoke with Rom on the phone and he told Rio how hungry he was heading into this season. I think he’s especially motivated to prove to the English media/fans/haters that doubted him wrong.

Hopefully not as hungry as he was at United 🤭

[DH1988 1,348]

Sunday cannot come quick enough!!

[Milan 17,957]

Also, there will be a press conference with Lukaku today after the training session, around 1pm.

[Nero 1,874]

[DH1988 1,348]

This is borderline unfair doing this on a Wednesday, we all have the homecoming-club narrative firmly in our minds, he needs to have a beast performance Sunday.

[Nero 1,874]

Iconic

[DH1988 1,348]

Great interview so far on YouTube.

[Superblue 6,372]

He's confirmed he's taking the number 9.