Romelu Lukaku

[Vesper 30,100]

16 minutes ago, Hermione said:

Since Roman got sanctioned Romulus hardly plays coincidence? Are we sure Tuchel wanted this clown.

I think he was a good company man, and after the board saw Håland was a no go, they asked Tuchel to convince Lukaku to come

football is, unfortunately the one major team sport where the manager/coach often has little power over player recruitment

almost no chance a basketball, hockey, baseball or yank football head coach/manager would have as little input as many football managers do

sure, there are exceptions (Fergie, Pep, Klopp etc) but in the modern game, the boards usually run the road, especially at Chels

 

[chelsea_4_eva 1,181]

This is the guy that thinks hes a world class level player but then has the touch of a brick wall. Talks the talk but never walks the walk. If he just got his head down and worked hard and not done that clusterfuck of an interview in the middle of the season, he would not get as much hate.

[OhForAGreavsie 6,058]

6 hours ago, chelsea_4_eva said:

This is the guy that thinks hes a world class level player but then has the touch of a brick wall. Talks the talk but never walks the walk. If he just got his head down and worked hard and not done that clusterfuck of an interview in the middle of the season, he would not get as much hate.

He would be a difference maker for PSG. For them he could be the missing piece of the jigsaw but at Chelsea he's a piece that wound up in the wrong box. He's a piece of the puzzle ok but just not the one Thomas Tuchel is trying to put together.

[OhForAGreavsie 6,058]

7 hours ago, Vesper said:

I think he [Tuchel] was a good company man, and after the board saw Håland was a no go, they asked Tuchel to convince Lukaku to come

Agreed.

[robsblubot 3,595]

I can't imagine him delivering the goods at any top CL club. Just look at his stats alone and Inter was the oddball. Now, Inter does not compete in CL and does not pin their opponents down in their half.

Again, not really sure what was so mysterious about his very specific and abundantly clear strengths and weaknesses.

Edited April 21, 2022 by robsblubot

[Vesper 30,100]

Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's scathing Romelu Lukaku criticism proved spot on

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/Chelsea-arsenal-hasselbaink-romelu-lukaku-26760893

 

It was another forgettable night at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea who went down 4-2 to London rivals Arsenal, consequently suffering their third straight home defeat. Although the loss will most likely prove ineffectual in terms of where Chelsea finishes this season, it was still a bitter pill for Blues fans to swallow.

Leading the inquiry immediately after the game was Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who was part of the Sky Sports punditry team. And he didn’t hold back in his criticism of not only Chelsea as a collective, but also key players within the side.

One of those singled out by Hasselbaink was Romelu Lukaku who had little to no impact in what was his first Premier League start in over two months. The 28-year-old was of course signed for a mammoth £97.5million last summer and expected to take Chelsea to a new level following a scintillating two years with Inter Milan in which he bagged 64 goals in 95 appearances.

But, so far, he’s managed just 12 goals across all competitions, with only seven of those strikes coming in either the Premier League or Champions League.

Those issues have not all been down to Lukaku alone, and Thomas Tuchel has alluded on more than one occasion that Chelsea must try to do more to "understand him better" as a player. Yet Lukaku isn’t blameless either, and the sympathy from Chelsea fans is starting to waver as his work ethic and commitment both continue to come into question.

“For Chelsea today it was a really bad performance. Certain players are getting an opportunity, Lukaku, (Malang) Sarr and (Andreas) Christensen,” said Hasselbaink. “He (Lukaku) doesn't do enough. If you want to be the man you've got to run around. You need to try and show that you're bothered. You need to want to suffer. He doesn't run around”.

The former Chelsea striker then went on to question the 28-year-old’s desire. “Lukaku, you've not had the best games show that you are the man and really want it. Go and show that desire I didn't see it. That desire, I didn't see it.”

These accusations carry some merit, particularly when it comes to Lukaku’s work rate without the ball. Strikingly, from the 127 Premier League forwards who have played over 600 league minutes this season, Lukaku ranks third-bottom in terms of the number of defensive pressures he’s made on a per 90 basis (8.54).

There could be a case made that the Belgian plays for a side that dominate the ball, and as a result, he’s bestowed fewer pressing opportunities.

However, within that same list of 127 players, Diogo Jota ranks inside the top ten, while Liverpool teammate Roberto Firmino ranks 14th - and Liverpool boasts a higher possession average than Chelsea this season. You also have Chelsea players like Christian Pulisic sitting as high as 24th.

Lukaku’s primary job is to score goals, and it’s fair to say that there are some factors influencing his ability to do so, like the structure of the team which does not play to his strengths.

Yet desire and commitment are two areas that he can control, and right now both are missing.

[Vesper 30,100]

31 minutes ago, Hermione said:

Expecting Romulus to start against United, he wants to prove something against his former team and I think he will, expect some world class finger pointing from him.

I would start Remus

[Tomo 21,751]

Today shown he could have actually been an asset if he knew his place and played a Giroud role (alternative tactical option when the match situation suited).

Had he stayed with us all along he could have probably had a good trophy laden career as a plan B but his big ego got in the way.

I guess he got what he wanted for the most part (unconditional starting spot) but apart from the Belgium League as a teenager and Serie A under a manager who's turned all sorts of average dross into a Champion he's got absolutely nothing to show for it.

[Johnnyeye 7,501]

just leave this club ffs

[dimmas 130]

Do you think dortmund might be interest to recruit lukaku to replace halland?

 

Doesn't mean lukaku would fill halland's boot, since halland seems really superior in certain important aspect

But if they try to find striker with huge physicality, can exploit acres of space, capable to score load of goals when use solely as poacher. Lukaku in dortmund might work actually

Edited April 30, 2022 by dimmas

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Superblue 6,372]

 

[Milan 17,955]

poor little fella

[Fernando 6,585]

We knew that. 

Thus it was dumb to get him. 

Lukaku can be good in another type of system like it was with Conte. But the pressing machine like us, and Liverpool it will not work. 

So that's why it's important to sell him and just get a winger. We might not need to get a CF at this time since no one can fit the game we want to play. Not even Liverpool have a true CF because of that. 

It would be good to have, but one that can help with the pressing, does not exist in this moment. 

[King Kante 1,643]

10 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

 

What is idiotic if true, is that when he was playing full time, he was the 4th worst outfield player in the league at pressing. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by King Kante