Romelu Lukaku

[Eligius 121]

You originally said he's the better striker.

We will sign Costa (Or another world class striker) who will fit into Moruinho's system, but you always need a plan B, Lukaku offers something different. Also is this the same Eto'o who cant score away from home?

If anything, Lukaku is a lesser version of Costa , not a plan b.

A plan B, would be Eto....

[bababoom 4,478]

If anything, Lukaku is a lesser version of Costa , not a plan b.

A plan B, would be Eto....

What a 33 year old who cant score away from home? if that's our plan B god help Chelsea.

Eto'o has been good in the big matches at home this season, but lets not pretend he's been amazing, we're only depending on him because we have no one else.

[Fastrobbie 26]

If we wouldn't have a Lukaku, we would be cyring to get him! Now that we have him, we are discussing whether we should drop him ...Makes no sense at all to me?

The kid is doing amazingly good for his 20 years old. He is far from a finished product, but he has a lot of potential. How many 20 year old strikers like him are running around? Can you image the sort of beast he might be in 5-6 years if he would be able to keep improving his skills and goal ratio? Is he ready to lead to Chelsea line next year? In my opinion, no ...

Nevertheless he is Chelsea property and we should be more than proud that he is!

If Mourinho would decide to sell him to raise more transfer funds, then so be it.

[robdog 2,084]

If we wouldn't have a Lukaku, we would be cyring to get him! Now that we have him, we are discussing whether we should drop him ...Makes no sense at all to me?

It's because Chelsea Football Club rather settle for talent like this

[Term-X 7,891]

I thought such things did not influence on Jose decision?

Did you?, well that's your problem then.

When you sign a big money player and he's taking up most of the wage bill, you/the club become committed to 'making it work' in a general sense. It's just the financial reality of football..

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

If we wouldn't have a Lukaku, we would be cyring to get him! Now that we have him, we are discussing whether we should drop him ...Makes no sense at all to me?

Haha, so true. Some guys on here are talking about every decent striker in Europe as if they were Ronaldo, while the one who's already here is of course utter crap.

It's sad that the only people who are actually criticizing him are fans of his own club and country (yes, we Belgians tend to pull everyone down too).

[ParNolio7 285]

My views on the Lukaku situation:

http://pieterhontele.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/romelu-lukaku-and-chelsea-an-unrequited-love/

I'm happy to have your comments.

[LukakutoStamford 779]

I don't understand why a) anyone believes what a player says to the journos people are crucifying Lukaku for having ambition and confusing his ambition for arrogance/uncontrolled ego .

He's a goal scorer wherever he goes. 30 goals in 60 games of which about 15 or so he was a sub.

He's flawed but he's also got certain skills that very few strikers have. He's never going to be the most technical striker but he certainly has moments of technical brilliance intertwined with the first touch of an elephant so I can see why people get frustrated at times. However he's 20 years old. To sell him is pure folly IMO because he has gotten better while delivering lots of goals despite being so young. I don't see too many strikers if any with a better goal rate at his age and not too many overall are ahead of him.

[YouNameIt 1,511]

Because he played for WB and Everton. Playing for Chelsea is a different thing.

You just keep amazing me with your bullshit posts. That is simply a load of crap. He's shown over and over again he scores against big teams.

And neglecting his goals and development by saying "playing for chelsea is a different thing" is just so narrowminded.

[BloodIsBlue 291]

Lukaku can handle being 2nd (and even 3rd if it was behind two $$$$$$ strikers), its 4th that made him sick to his stomach.

[Stats 6,980]

Really?

Costa, lukaku, eto equals Aguero/Dzeko/Jovetic/Negredo and Chicarito/rooney/RVP??

Some people on this board think's all of his goals he scored for both West brom and Everton would translate to goals for Chelsea..... Sorry, that's not how it works. Especially, when the offense doesn't revolve around you...

Eto a better striker than Lukaku, why would he play as the third striker? If eto is still here next season, and we sign costa or someone else, lukaku will be 3rd striker again...

And some people on this forum here like you believe because he has scored goals for teams inferior to us that this will not translate into goals for Chelsea... We are a better team than Everton. Much better? No. But we are better however they are a very good team who I hope can get top 4 this season. Lukaku has stepped up in big games too. 2 against Liverpool, absolutely ran United's defence ragged in the 1-0 victory at Old Trafford and 2 in 2 against Arsenal and one against City. He gets goals, end of story. It is ridiculous that people still believe this ludicrous assumption that he will not get goals at us. Sturridge scored goals at Bolton then was one of our top scorers despite playing out of position. Had he been given more chances on the field and in his correct position he would have scored more for a fact.

Eto'o is good but he has been inconsistent this season, just been better than our other strikers. Lukaku on the other hand has a better goal conversion rate per min than Eto'o, more goals in general, is younger and while I like Eto'o I would rather have a developing and good enough striker as Lukaku as second choice/ rotation striker here for next season than an ageing Eto'o. As well as Lukaku's goals he also has contributed to 6 assists this season. From that I would gather that his powerful build combined with his pace and goalscoring instinct will help us next season if he links up with Hazard. Hazard as brilliant as he has been has had to do without a world class striker but I think having Costa and Lukaku here would also improve Hazard. The hold up play of the strikers and link up play with Hazard will bring goals next season. Can almost see a telepathic understanding there.

We bought him for a reason. He has got massive potential. He has showed this at 2 different clubs so there is no reason to suggest he will not be able to make the step up with us. He is a must to keep around. I would rather he stays here next season tbh so we have reliable strikers to hit the net but just no way should we ever consider selling him. Would be a huge mistake.

[ParNolio7 285]

This whole "Scoring for Chelsea is not as easy as scoring for Everton or West Brom" is so incredibly ridiculous. If anything, it's the other way around! Playing for Everton or West Brom, you play against exactly the same opponents as Chelsea but with (slightly) inferior team mates. So it's more difficult to dominate your opponent being Everton and definitely West Brom, so you'll create less goal scoring opportunities. So explain to me please how on earth it can be more difficult to score for Chelsea? Who create more chances and give more accurate assists.

In fact, if this ridiculous statement would have any truth in it, then shouldn't it show in the topscorers list? Over the seasons 2012-2014 only Luis Suarez (Liverpool), Sturridge (Liverpool) and Robin Van Persie (Man United) have scored more goals than Lukaku. Those are not exactly small clubs are they?

This season's ranking: 1.Suarez (L'pool) 2. Sturridge (L'pool) 3. Touré (Man City) 4. J. Rodriguez (S'hampton > agreed, not a top team) Aguëro (Man City) & Rooney (Man United) 7. Hazard (Chelsea) 8. Remy (Newcastle > agreed, not a top team), Giroud (Arsenal), Lukaku (Everton) & Gerrard (L'pool)

So only 3 players in that top 10 (11) who are not in an absolute top team. Kinda strange if you're saying that any sh!tbag could score as many goals for Everton or W Brom as Lukaku does.

Not even to mention Lukaku's assists (6) (outranking Jay Rodriguez & Loic Remy in that department), MOTM performances (4) (outranking Giroud, Remy & Sturridge) + average rating (7.38) (outranking Giroud, Remy & Jay Rodriguez).

All stats from Whoscored.com

So, stop being so blasé about playing for Chelsea. Players like Remy, Jay Rodriguez and Lukaku can walk into any top BPL side.

The pressure you say? Then explain how come Lukaku has scored at least once against every top side in the BPL, crushed Arsenal in Everton's most vital match of their history & qualified Belgium in Croatia with two goals when they needed to win to secure Brazil ...

No more arguments left I suppose?

[ParNolio7 285]

Sorry for those who already did, but I kindly invite you to read my latest blog post on Lukaku:

http://pieterhontele.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/romelu-lukaku-and-chelsea-an-unrequited-love/

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

The pressure you say? Then explain how come Lukaku has scored at least once against every top side in the BPL, crushed Arsenal in Everton's most vital match of their history & qualified Belgium in Croatia with two goals when they needed to win to secure Brazil ...

No more arguments left I suppose?

Completely agree with your whole post. Also, how many strikers have the combined, pace, acceleration, strength and finishing to be able to pull off that second goal against Croatia? Benteke, for example, the man he replaced, would never have been able to do that with the skills he has. Look at it. He creates a counter out of nothing, uses his speed to outrun the defender to the ball and then uses his strength to make room for the scoring opportunity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv0QPzhRA8M

Seriously, how many other strikers could pull this off?

I'm looking forward to him playing Korea and Algeria on the world cup. They're practically midgets. He'll fuck shit up.

[LAB 1,030]

This whole "Scoring for Chelsea is not as easy as scoring for Everton or West Brom" is so incredibly ridiculous. If anything, it's the other way around! Playing for Everton or West Brom, you play against exactly the same opponents as Chelsea but with (slightly) inferior team mates. So it's more difficult to dominate your opponent being Everton and definitely West Brom, so you'll create less goal scoring opportunities. So explain to me please how on earth it can be more difficult to score for Chelsea? Who create more chances and give more accurate assists.

In fact, if this ridiculous statement would have any truth in it, then shouldn't it show in the topscorers list? Over the seasons 2012-2014 only Luis Suarez (Liverpool), Sturridge (Liverpool) and Robin Van Persie (Man United) have scored more goals than Lukaku. Those are not exactly small clubs are they?

This season's ranking: 1.Suarez (L'pool) 2. Sturridge (L'pool) 3. Touré (Man City) 4. J. Rodriguez (S'hampton > agreed, not a top team) Aguëro (Man City) & Rooney (Man United) 7. Hazard (Chelsea) 8. Remy (Newcastle > agreed, not a top team), Giroud (Arsenal), Lukaku (Everton) & Gerrard (L'pool)

So only 3 players in that top 10 (11) who are not in an absolute top team. Kinda strange if you're saying that any sh!tbag could score as many goals for Everton or W Brom as Lukaku does.

Not even to mention Lukaku's assists (6) (outranking Jay Rodriguez & Loic Remy in that department), MOTM performances (4) (outranking Giroud, Remy & Sturridge) + average rating (7.38) (outranking Giroud, Remy & Jay Rodriguez).

All stats from Whoscored.com

So, stop being so blasé about playing for Chelsea. Players like Remy, Jay Rodriguez and Lukaku can walk into any top BPL side.

The pressure you say? Then explain how come Lukaku has scored at least once against every top side in the BPL, crushed Arsenal in Everton's most vital match of their history & qualified Belgium in Croatia with two goals when they needed to win to secure Brazil ...

No more arguments left I suppose?

I'm sorry, but did Everton had to play against Gala, PSG (+ Real/Atletico/Bayern) this season?

Also, can you compare the pressure you have to endure playing as a striker for CFC vs that for Everton? Ask Torres, Eto'o, Ba. I mean we all saw THAT penalty vs Bayern early this season (I'm not judging him for failing, i'm actually defending for him). Think about it. Him scoring in important matches for Everton is not the same as scoring in important matches for CFC. He wasn't ready to play for us in the beginning of the season. We had to make a choice, we loaned him. Great news he got used to some of the pressure throughout the season playing for Everton. We actually accelerated his progress by not throwing him in the shit right away and giving him an easier task.

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

Ugh, I hate these comments.

The only top team you played in Europe up till now (excluding Bayern in the Supercup) was PSG, and even they wouldn't just walk to the title in the Premier League. Are you seriously going to compare Galatasaray to the likes of City, Liverpool or even Arsenal and Man Utd (even at this time).

Newsflash: Lukaku played against the exact same teams as Chelsea this year, because logic dictates he plays in the same league as Chelsea. Fact is: he scored a hell of a lot more goals than the Chelsea strikers separately, and many of them were against the top teams. He lost all his confidence while being third in the picking order behind two sorry ass strikers before Eto'o came to save the day somewhat.

What was his reaction in his first two matches for Everton? He knocked himself out scoring a goal as a sub and then he proceeded by destroying Newcastle by himself. The amount of Everton points and goals scored is almost doubled whenever he plays. Check the stats.

He's been playing under immense pressure since his first match for Anderlecht, because from the start, half the people said he was a lumbering giant who couldn't hold the ball if his mother's life depended on it. He proved them wrong and he keeps doing it today.

Not ready my fat ass he ain't. ^^

[Toli 977]

It will be more difficult for Lukaku to score here. Teams against us tend to park the bus (beside the big teams) and his game against parking the bus teams isnt very good. he is at his best when he has space or in a counter-attack. futhermore, our system requieres that the striker also drops back and holds the ball + can give it to his team players. this type of game also isnt really developed from Lukaku.

its okay that belgian people cheer up for their players, but you should take your lukaku glasses of and chill a little bit. if you read about Lukaku from you, you could think he just scored 50 goals a season and is in the frame to be worlds best footballer 2015. the same happened with De Bruyne, where people made him look like the next Messi.

Lukaku is still far away from playing for a top team. if people think its the same to play for Chelsea and West Brom, they are sorry for this term, deluded. And playing for Anderlecht and playing for Chelsea? you really compare the pressure from this teams? The whole world looks upon Chelsea and watches every geam. nobody besides Belgium cares about Anderlecht. Dont compare apples with bananas.

There are a lot of players who play great for smaller clubs but then when they go to a big club, they crumble and cant find their form. Lukaku still has to prove he is good enough for us so people should lay back and wait. We should keep him, no doubt about this, but no way as our 1st choice striker. And Mourinho wont be that mad to do this. As a 2nd striker though, he can stay.

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

May I remind you that the small club he's playing for now is just 9 points behind you and fighting for a Champions League spot. Six if they win their extra match.

I don't believe in the parking the bus theory. A decent striker will score goals for every club he plays for. Btw, I know the pressure at Chelsea is bigger than the pressure at Anderlecht, but it's still the club everyone in the country expects to compete for the title every year, and at the time he was a sixteen year old schoolboy that nobody knew. If you're suddenly dropped in the team at that age in that club: that's pressure for you.

And I've said several, multiple times that I agree that Lukaku has obvious flaws, but that he also has a set of combined assets few other strikers possess. The main one for a team like Chelsea would be that defenders fear him by now, because he tends to overpower and outrun them. Him being on the field as such will create opportunities for midfield. In comparison, not even my mother fears Torres at this moment in his career. You might as well play with one less player and be done with it.

I don't think he's the new Messi, but some of the people on this forum are acting like he's playing in the junior league and this pisses me off a tad.

Never said he should be the definite first striker. What I said is, he shouldn't be benched for hacks like this year. ;-)