Romelu Lukaku

[Hd123 5]

Vidic used to be superb. For the last couple of seasons he's been absolute rubbish. He's been a liability for them

!! If anyone has been rubbish for united in defence it is Ferdinand and Evans

[francozola 2,040]

!! If anyone has been rubbish for united in defence it is Ferdinand and Evans

I think they've all been rubbish lol. But okay, Vidic has been slightly better this season. The last two seasons he was atrocious! Ever since he got humiliated by Torres in that Liverpool 4-1 win at Old Toilet he was never the same!

[Nic! 301]

Kompany imo is intrinsically the best CB in the EPL, yeah. I think he has the best technical baggage for a central defender in the world. I'm biased being Belgian and all, I know. But as a Chelsea fan I reckon Kompany is world class.

Anyhow, back on-topic. Which is Lukaku! I think since his great performances with the reserves he should be rewarded with a spot on the A-squad bench sometimes. With Drogba and Kalou leaving for the ANC, he'll get some minutes anyway I guess so might not be bad to ease him into it. What if Chelsea doesn't buy a striker (which is possible) in the winter transfer period and Torres gets injured/suspended, then out of the blue Lukaku is your number one striker. And he should be made ready for such a scenario, otherwise you might not do him any favors by suddenly playing him.

[bababoom 4,478]

Vidic used to be superb. For the last couple of seasons he's been absolute rubbish. He's been a liability for them

Do not agree with this at all, take this season for example, when he was injured Man utd conceded 14 goals, but when he came back they only conceded 1, in the same amount of time.

[Nic! 301]

There's an article in the Belgian newspapers about Romelu Lukaku. It's his father, Roger Lukaku, telling in an interview that the Belgian media is a bit too harsh for the young striker. I translated the article:

Yesterday Romelu Lukaku got a spot on the bench at Chelsea, but against Fulham (1-1) he didn't left that bench. Half a year after his supertransfer, the 18-year old striker got only 3 subs in the Premier League and 3 starts in the League Cup. His father Roger says his son doesn't get enough support in Belgium.

With the Chelsea reserves Romelu Lukaku scored four goals in five games in the last couple of weeks, but for the A-squad he doesn't seem ready. 'We always said that Romelu's transfer to Chelsea was one for the future', quoting Roger in the French papers. 'Look at the names of those others strikers. Even Fernando Torres, who cost millions, gets benched a lot. No other club in the world has so much attacking talent as Chelsea en thus Romelu has to be patient. The only thing my son has to do, is to concentrate on his performances with the reserves. Coach Villas-Boas gets the reserves rapports every week and considering these rapports, he'll get his chance.'

Daddy Roger also reckons that the expectations in Belgium are too high. 'Romelu played a decent first half in the League Cup against Liverpool, but after an hour he was tired. That's not abnormal for a young player with no official game for over a month. Try to play football at that level for an hour long... And yet the critics in Belgium were harsh. I find that here in Belgium, they don't understand that Romelu is only 18 years old and still has to grow. I don't want to compare my son to Karim Benzema, but when he had a difficult time at Real Madrid the Spanish media shot him down. But the French media kept supporting him. They protected their striker because they realised they'll still need their striker for the French national team. With Romelu it's the other way around. The Belgians aren't sympathetic for him, while the English realise he needs time. Romelu is having a difficult time, but we are supporting him.'

No loan

It might be good if the Blues would loan out Lukaku, but that's impossible. In one season a player can only play official games for two different teams and Lukaku already played for both Anderlecht and Chelsea.

'It's a bit annoying', concludes father Lukaku. 'But maybe that's destiny. Soon Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are leaving for the Africa Cup and this will free up two places in the Chelsea attack. If Romelu can show himself off for a while, the comments will get a lot more positive. Romelu is perfectly on sheme. We do not worry at all.'

[francozola 2,040]

Thank you for the translation!

[LDN Blue 7,903]

We've said how ACoN provides Torres his platform to shine.. We must also remember Lukaku can also grab his opportunities with this.

[Badboy 1,526]

Put him in the penalty area and he will score goals.

[Lewis Robert Allison 0]

Lukaku is a great prospect for Chelsea and needs to be played but is showing to be a bright star for Chelsea reserves

[Madmax 9,219]

I only hope the manager doesn't ever repeat his earlier attempt at playing Lukaku on the wing.

[Lewis Robert Allison 0]

I only hope the manager doesn't ever repeat his earlier attempt at playing Lukaku on the wing.

Same he is a good striker

[Nic! 301]

Put him in the penalty area and he will score goals.

I only hope the manager doesn't ever repeat his earlier attempt at playing Lukaku on the wing.

Exactly. He needs to be put up front, not on the wing. His technical capabilities are way too limited for that position (although, his crossing is actually quite good). He's a brute force up front and should only be played there.

PS: Thanks for all the likes and reputation guys, I'll keep you guys informed about Lukaku in the Belgian media.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I think he will get a chance in the FA cup. He has playing well for the reserves, he's earned a chance.

[Atholy 1,293]

I'm not to worried about Lukaku at this moment.

The most important thing now is that he doesn't lose confidence! At the beginning I was a little worried about that, but since he's started scoring in the reserves games ... I don't think it's an issue now.

So let him be on the bench for the next few games and give him some minutes. The moment Romelu scores at the bridge & when he hears/feels all us fans shouting and singing at him... he will be launched for good!!

Mark my words gentlemen ! The lad just needs to feel some blues love... no chance of stopping him then! :blue scalf:

[Nic! 301]

So there was another article in Belgium about Lukaku today. This time it's his manager Christophe Henrotay that talks about his client. The translation:

The first months of Romelu Lukaku in Chelsea went somewhat difficult. The young striker only got a couple of substitutions in the Premier League. "But that's entirely normal", says Christophe Henrotay, Lukaku's manager.

Lukaku made his dream come true last year by transferring to Chelsea. Until now Lukaku only played full games in the League Cup and with the reserves. "We expected this situation. It's naive to think that Lukaku would've grabbed a starting XI spot right away en he'd performed like he did in Anderlecht", Henrotay says to Het Laatste Nieuws.

"It's way too early for an evaluation of Romelu. With a baby you also don't look if it can walk after six months." Christophe Henrotay expects that Romelu's situation will evolve soon. Nicolas Anelka is going to China and both Didier Drogba and Salamon Kalou have international duties for the African Cup of Nations.

"It would be nice if Lukaku could sometimes get 20 or 30 minutes of gametime and score. But that's bonus. Chelsea believes in Romelu. Why else did they pay 18 million to Anderlecht? Lukaku doesn't feel any pressure."

And what if Lukaku stays on the bench? "In the summer we'll look if a loan is an option, but at this moment we're very happy at Chelsea", concludes the manager.

There's only a little sentence I found about Lukaku in a Courtois article, when he was at Chelsea for tests. Courtois went to the clothing room after the 1-1 draw against Fulham.

"I went to the player's room after the game, but due to the dissapointment most players left already. Only Romelu Lukaku, Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Torres were still there. I wanted to talk with Torres about his former club Athletico Madrid, but he wasn't really in the mood. Although I speak a bit Spanish now. Torres and Sturridge just said 'hello', but Lukaku was in fact really enthusiastic. He was begging the keeperstrainer to let me train another time with the Chelsea squad. I think Lukaku would really like another Belgian player with him in the team."

[termninja 5,290]

So there was another article in Belgium about Lukaku today. This time it's his manager Christophe Henrotay that talks about his client. The translation:

There's only a little sentence I found about Lukaku in a Courtois article, when he was at Chelsea for tests. Courtois went to the clothing room after the 1-1 draw against Fulham.

Haha Torres wasn't in the mood...

Good to see the enthusiasm from young lad.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I feel sorry for Lukaku, his career seems to have completely gone stagnant in the last few months. He desperately needs a loan move.

[francozola 2,040]

I feel sorry for Lukaku, his career seems to have completely gone stagnant in the last few months. He desperately needs a loan move.

Yep but the worst part is he won't be able to for another six months. Kind of wish we hadn't played him at all so he could have gone somewhere. I'm sure he'd be getting some good playing time at a championship club. But then again he might get a couple of starts when Drogba goes to the ACN

[eldo 868]

Bring him Eden Hazard.

[Nic! 301]

Bring him Eden Hazard.

Haha, I was thinking the same thing while I was translating.