🇧🇪 Romelu Lukaku

[DoubleO 192]

So good to see him fly right from the start. Been too long since we have had a striker like this. 

[cosmicway 1,333]

Lukaku versus tap-in Ronaldo:
 

 

 

 

[cosmicway 1,333]

Lukaku versus tap-in Ronaldo:
 

 

 

 

[robsblubot 3,595]

On 12/09/2021 at 02:15, killer1257 said:

We need King Kai back to his best asap, so he can create chances for Lukaku. 

Lukaku is insane. Did not know he was this good. Finally a worthy CF after Drogba and Costa

Will he tho? The most interesting thing, to me at least, about this season is to find out what will be gained and lost by employing a dedicated striker.

What is gained is obvious considering that Lukaku is a great finisher, and a powerful athlete. What is lost is a bit more subtle and may not become evident until we face stronger opposition in certain conditions.

early days, but It does appear that our volume of play is lower compared to last season. This was expected given that Lukaku does not contribute as much in the build up play and certainly does not press as much up front.

The biggest question remains: will his specific goal contribution outweigh what was potentially lost?

Update: I have a suspicion that it will work out in the PL (to some degree), but not so much in the CL. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by robsblubot

[Vincent 403]

Must admit, had my doubts about this signing due to the lack of space you get as a striker for Chelsea, but is doing very well, playing with his heart! 💙

[Warning_Hazard 156]

Lukaku didnt produce today but it didnt really matter.

Need him to turn up in the big games, Luckily we tore spurs apart 2nd half!

[Christacinto 137]

24 minutes ago, Warning_Hazard said:

Lukaku didnt produce today but it didnt really matter.

Need him to turn up in the big games, Luckily we tore spurs apart 2nd half!

Respectfully, I find it unbecoming to pounce on Lukaku after for not having scored one game. I thought he had a decent performance despite getting no service and you cannot deny he was definitely weighing on their defence. Imo, he has the skill, a kick-ass mentality and a heart that pumps blue blood. What more can you want?

[Warning_Hazard 156]

Just now, Christacinto said:

Respectfully, I find it unbecoming to pounce on Lukaku after for not having scored one game. I thought he had a decent performance despite getting no service and you cannot deny he was definitely weighing on their defence. Imo, he has the skill, a kick-ass mentality and a heart that pumps blue blood. What more can you want?

nah dont agree, This is the exact type of game you'd expect him to bang one in, Hes a striker not a midfielder, Whenever a striker doesnt score thats a bad day, Sure he definatly distracted and helped others score/find pockets but if he does that in every big game we have then we better hope and pray like today others in the starting 11 can take advantage of distracted defenses.

Ive given him props for his performances so far, just wanted to see him smash one past spurs!

Lets hope he can find the net in the next few again.

[NikkiCFC 8,324]

A couple of times against Liverpool and Zenit he did not made a pass when he should and it looks like TT noticed this and told him about it so today he was not selfish and did good but 2 players known for lacking ability in finishing let him down.

[MoroccanBlue 5,382]

53 minutes ago, Warning_Hazard said:

Lukaku didnt produce today but it didnt really matter.

Need him to turn up in the big games, Luckily we tore spurs apart 2nd half!

Tbh, we don’t need Lukaku for the big games. We always do well. 
 

We need Lukaku against the Brentfords, Watfords, Newcastle’s, Leeds, etc. 

[robsblubot 3,595]

3 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

A couple of times against Liverpool and Zenit he did not made a pass when he should and it looks like TT noticed this and told him about it so today he was not selfish and did good but 2 players known for lacking ability in finishing let him down.

Yes, Mount should've done better, but it was his good run and then pass to Lukaku on the right that made the play. He wasn't all alone either, being surrounded by 2-3 players. I understood what mount tried to do: he stretched his leg for an early shot to beat the defender who was closing in - it did not work, but it wasn't a bad decision.

Personally, I think if a striker receives a pass in that position, he needs to take the shot. Esp one who's main quality is his finishing.

[robsblubot 3,595]

3 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Tbh, we don’t need Lukaku for the big games. We always do well. 
 

We need Lukaku against the Brentfords, Watfords, Newcastle’s, Leeds, etc. 

That'd be like having the exact squad from last season and adding Lukaku without taking someone off. Since we can't play with 12 players on the pitch, something is always lost to gain what Lukaku provides.

Point being is that we don't yet know how we fare against the big teams and we will definitely need lukaku to show up. Spurs isn't a big team at the moment - they simply lack quality all around to be considered one.

[Tomo 21,751]

4 hours ago, robsblubot said:

That'd be like having the exact squad from last season and adding Lukaku without taking someone off. Since we can't play with 12 players on the pitch, something is always lost to gain what Lukaku provides.

Point being is that we don't yet know how we fare against the big teams and we will definitely need lukaku to show up. Spurs isn't a big team at the moment - they simply lack quality all around to be considered one.

Yep that's what I was saying all summer, the idea of a poacher to finish what we create is well too simplistic in reality.

Second half today aside we are creating a lot less with Rom in the team than last season (my biggest fear when we signed him), all Is well and good while he is actually is taking those said little chances but he has to keep doing so to justify what we've taken off the system as you imply.

[MoroccanBlue 5,382]

4 hours ago, robsblubot said:

That'd be like having the exact squad from last season and adding Lukaku without taking someone off. Since we can't play with 12 players on the pitch, something is always lost to gain what Lukaku provides.

Point being is that we don't yet know how we fare against the big teams and we will definitely need lukaku to show up. Spurs isn't a big team at the moment - they simply lack quality all around to be considered one.

What do you mean? We essentially continued where we left off last season under Tuchel. Goals from everyone in the big games. 7 points from Liverpool, Arsenal, and Spurs. All away. 
 

Last season we drop points against Zenit and Villa without Lukaku. Without a shadow of a doubt. That is my point. These are the matches we really need Lukaku. 

Edited September 19, 2021 by MoroccanBlue

[robsblubot 3,595]

18 hours ago, MoroccanBlue said:

What do you mean? We essentially continued where we left off last season under Tuchel. Goals from everyone in the big games. 7 points from Liverpool, Arsenal, and Spurs. All away. 
 

Last season we drop points against Zenit and Villa without Lukaku. Without a shadow of a doubt. That is my point. These are the matches we really need Lukaku. 

I think we are agreeing more than disagreeing.

Think we have played one top club so far, one contender for the PL title, and that's Liverpool. So, I'm just cautious here.

My only point, which is the one I share with Tomo, is that while I completely agree with your that we've gained against the smaller sides, we've also lost certain things by adding a dedicated striker like Lukaku. It's never a win-win!

Allow me to exemplify:

Is Lukaku exactly the same as Werner? Better yet, does Lukaku do *everything* that Werner does AND on top of that scores far more goals? Or is he a completely different player? For me it's clearly the latter, which makes the team different from last season.

[NikkiCFC 8,324]

1 hour ago, robsblubot said:

Allow me to exemplify:

Is Lukaku exactly the same as Werner? Better yet, does Lukaku do *everything* that Werner does AND on top of that scores far more goals? Or is he a completely different player? For me it's clearly the latter, which makes the team different from last season.

But Lukaku is playing essentially instead of Kai who played as number 9. If anything, Werner should benefit from Lukaku arrival as we know he works best with classical striker. 

[robsblubot 3,595]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

But Lukaku is playing essentially instead of Kai who played as number 9. If anything, Werner should benefit from Lukaku arrival as we know he works best with classical striker. 

Sure, and if Werner gets in the start XI someone else will have to leave and we will miss what he does on the pitch. Kai looks also less with Lukaku on the pith in my eyes. There is no win-win here because we had a VERY strong side last season already. Again, I agree that Lukaku helps a lot winning those physical PL matches, but he will always play due to the price tag.

Also, the formation that we used last season (+ dedicated striker) was the one from the first half against spurs. We only became as solid as last season when added a 3rd CM with Kante. That's because the balance of the team was a bit off when facing a stronger side. Potentially because Lukaku does not "run like dog" like Werner. 😆

We will find out more as the season progress, but I'm still very curious as to what we will do against City and United, not to mention the later stages of CL.

[Clockwork 1,794]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

But Lukaku is playing essentially instead of Kai who played as number 9. If anything, Werner should benefit from Lukaku arrival as we know he works best with classical striker. 

Werner problem is finishing though, is not out of position, runs, or anything for that matter beside converting his chances. I would give him run of games though, not like Mount or Havertz are playing well.

[Tomo 21,751]

On 20/09/2021 at 20:29, NikkiCFC said:

But Lukaku is playing essentially instead of Kai who played as number 9. If anything, Werner should benefit from Lukaku arrival as we know he works best with classical striker. 

Which brings me to another issue, Kai so far is not looking anything near as good behind the striker as he did as false 9.

Hopefully Tuchel at one point tries the Martinez tactic of false 9 with Rom coming in from RF.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

14 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Which brings me to another issue, Kai so far is not looking anything near as good behind the striker as he did as false 9.

Hopefully Tuchel at one point tries the Martinez tactic of false 9 with Rom coming in from RF.

 The question is whether we switch the 80m signing to accomodate the 100m signing or vice versa...

this tactic might be a decent ploy every once in a while, but there is no way TT is gonna make that a permanent. He is rather conservative in terms of positional play.

It is really Kai's job to adapt to the new situation. False 9 is a hardly a permanent position but rather a tactical option we palyed last season bc our strikers were misfiring. No coach except Guardiola has every played a false 9 over extended periods IIRC. Kai should not be fixated on that role. If he really only excels at false 9, this is a big problem but only for him. Right wing/right attacker is exaclty the position he mostly played for Bayer Leverkusen and where he scored most his goals. this is why i think he just suffers from a dip in form and should be fine in the long run.