Romelu Lukaku

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

Honking. Him, Werner, Ziyech, Pulisic all gone in the summer please.

If we truly have aspiration’s to being a top top team for longer than 8 months they have to go.  

Edited January 18, 2022 by OneMoSalah

[chelsea_4_eva 1,157]

He wants to be in the same bracket as Lewa, Benzema, CR7 but their mentality and ability are on a different level to Lukaku. When was the last time he stepped up and clinched a winner in a big game...

He wants to be all that, but hes not.. the problem is, in his head he is.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,892]

53 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

Honking. Him, Werner, Ziyech, Pulisic all gone in the summer please.

If we truly have aspiration’s to being a top top team for longer than 8 months they have to go.  

Something that really has to go is the recruitment approach which means that generation after generation we underperform in the transfer market and collect players with a flair for the spectacular but lacking in the final stamp of quality. 

Edited January 18, 2022 by OhForAGreavsie

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

Just now, OhForAGreavsie said:

Something that really has to go is the recruitment approach which means that generation after generation we underperform in the transfer market collect players with a flair for the spectacular but lacking in the final stamp of quality. 

We bought Pulisic simply to tap into the American market. 
 

There is zero footballing identity at this club. 

[LAM09 6,744]

Just now, OhForAGreavsie said:

Something that really has to go is the recruitment approach which means that generation after generation we underperform in the transfer market collect players with a flair for the spectacular but lacking in the final stamp of quality. 

Feels like we can't compete for the top talents anymore or are reluctant to go for them.  Providing Havertz hits the heights most expected prior to the move, he's the only top talent we've signed in years & COVID was probably the main reason we got it over the line to begin with.

[Jase 43,479]

10 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Something that really has to go is the recruitment approach which means that generation after generation we underperform in the transfer market collect players with a flair for the spectacular but lacking in the final stamp of quality. 

For all the stick we give to those players, I don't think they are bad players per se (including Lukaku!). In the right environment, in the right setup, I think they would thrive. It's just we do a shit job at recruiting players because (a) the club don't have any idea how they want the team to play, (b) we keep changing managers and (c) the manager some times does a shit job at getting the best out of them. 

[Jase 43,479]

Just now, LAM09 said:

Feels like we can't compete for the top talents anymore or are reluctant to go for them.  Providing Havertz hits the heights most expected prior to the move, he's the only top talent we've signed in years & COVID was probably the main reason we got it over the line to begin with.

Top talent? What top talent? Havertz has been here for 18 months, we spent 70+ million on him and he has yet to show any sort of consistency and qualities that made people go gaga over him in the first place. I know players are different from one another but Hazard was already showing his qualities, making an impact, giving us that X factor the minute he joined the club and he didn't even cost 70+ million!

[LAM09 6,744]

Just now, Jase said:

Top talent? What top talent? Havertz has been here for 18 months, we spent 70+ million on him and he has yet to show any sort of consistency and qualities that made people go gaga over him in the first place. I know players are different from one another but Hazard was already showing his qualities, making an impact, giving us that X factor the minute he joined the club and he didn't even cost 70+ million!

As I alluded to with "hit the heights". The potential to hit the level Hazard did whilst he was here. 

A number of things have hampered Havertz's time thus far at the club, from being played in multiple positions, not getting a run of games & needless to say, long term COVID effects.

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, LAM09 said:

As I alluded to with "hit the heights". The potential to hit the level Hazard did whilst he was here. 

Is the potential even there?

1 minute ago, LAM09 said:

A number of things have hampered Havertz's time thus far at the club, from being played in multiple positions,

Then here's the question, which I've been asking, what exactly is he? Is he a goalscorer? Is he a creator/creative player? Because so far, he has not shown consistent killer instincts to score AND he has not shown that he's capable of playing killer passes etc. He has not owned a game. So what exactly is he good at that we can fit him into one position? 

4 minutes ago, LAM09 said:

not getting a run of games

This is not quite true. He got a decent run of games towards the end of last season and this season as well, especially when both Lukaku and Werner were out injured.

[NikkiCFC 7,949]

As much as I don't like Lukaku I don't think he is our biggest problem like many are saying. 

Just simply comparing stats... 

Last season Tuchel took us at half season exactly. 

19 games 38 points just 25 goals scored 

This season after 19 games we had 42 goals scored and 41 points. 

So it was clear we needed goalscorer in the summer to fix our problems in attack. Unfortunately Lukaku is not doing that at all and it's huge disappointment but let's not pretend we are some attacking force without him. 

[LAM09 6,744]

7 minutes ago, Jase said:

Is the potential even there?

  £70m question. I think it's there, but he doesn't seem like the player that will push him to excel. 

7 minutes ago, Jase said:

Then here's the question, which I've been asking, what exactly is he? Is he a goalscorer? Is he a creator/creative player? Because so far, he has not shown consistent killer instincts to score AND he has not shown that he's capable of playing killer passes etc. He has not owned a game. So what exactly is he good at that we can fit him into one position? 

  I personally see him as more or an AM/SS rather than a CF, which he has played quite often whilst here. Saying that, I don't believe we'll get the best out of him should Tuchel stick to the current formation.

7 minutes ago, Jase said:

This is not quite true. He got a decent run of games towards the end of last season and this season as well, especially when both Lukaku and Werner were out injured.

How did that go? 

I believe we weren't doing too bad as a team when he was leading the line. Individual stats are secondary if the team are delivering. 

  

5 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

So it was clear we needed goalscorer in the summer to fix our problems in attack. Unfortunately Lukaku is not doing that at all and it's huge disappointment but let's not pretend we are some attacking force without him. 

We were at least a unit. If you took Werner out for someone like Kane last season, we'd have been a completely different proposition. Creating chances are even hard to come by now.

Edited January 18, 2022 by LAM09

[OhForAGreavsie 5,892]

22 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

 

Was he? I don't know.

Even if Rom was the best available, that still does not mean he is good enough. There must be a quality threshold and all players must meet it in order to justify a significant transfer fee. If, after watching Rom across eleven seasons of top level football, our decision makers still can't realise that he is short of the required quality then they have no business making those decisions in the first place. For nearly nineteen years now I have posted, here and elsewhere, to say that we tend to buy players with qualities rather than players of quality. I hope one year from now this will have changed. Every penny drops in the end.

Edited January 18, 2022 by OhForAGreavsie

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, LAM09 said:

How did that go? 

I believe we weren't doing too bad as a team when he was leading the line. Individual stats are secondary if the team are delivering.

Yes, we were doing fine then as a team but at the same time, I'm sure we didn't pay 70+ million on someone to just show nice touches, holdup plays and pass the ball in simple fashion.

[LAM09 6,744]

9 minutes ago, Jase said:

Yes, we were doing fine then as a team but at the same time, I'm sure we didn't pay 70+ million on someone to just show nice touches, holdup plays and pass the ball in simple fashion.

The price tag was largely around potential, which is the go to thing nowadays. 

Oh, how I miss the days of paying big bucks for players that were actually up to the job or supposedly so right there & then.

10 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Was he? I don't know.

Even if Rom was the best available, that still does not mean he is good enough. There must be a quality threshold and all players must meet it in order to justify a significant transfer fee. If, after watching Rom across eleven seasons of top level football, our decision makers still can't realise that he is short of the required quality then they have no business making those decisions in the first place. For nearly nineteen years now I have posted, here and elsewhere, to say that we tend to buy players with qualities rather than players of quality. I hope one year from now this will have changed.

This is what gets me more than anything - "Best on the market". To me, that's complete nonsense if we're including every CF in the world aside from a few untouchables (for us, anyway). 

I've been signing the same tune on this forum for a few years now & it's one word - Osimhen. He's been the ideal option since his time at Lille IMO.

Edited January 18, 2022 by LAM09

[NikkiCFC 7,949]

10 minutes ago, Jase said:

Then here's the question, which I've been asking, what exactly is he? Is he a goalscorer? Is he a creator/creative player? Because so far, he has not shown consistent killer instincts to score AND he has not shown that he's capable of playing killer passes etc. He has not owned a game. So what exactly is he good at that we can fit him into one position? 

How many attacking midfielders score around 20 goals in season? Not many if any. This is what Kai is or at least expectations from him. 

I already said this but here we go again.. 

Since here in 4231 Kai played AM just 5 times. Early on with Frank. 

Krasnodar, WBA, Palace, Southampton and Barnsley. In these 5 games he had 4g and 3a. That was 16 months ago. 

We have never seen it again. I am happy Tuchel finally switched it to this preferable formation but today instead of Kai he went with Mount. Let's hope he comes to sanse in the coming weeks. 

[OhForAGreavsie 5,892]

33 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

We bought Pulisic simply to tap into the American market. 
 

There is zero footballing identity at this club. 

I said at the time that I hoped Pulli's marketability was just seen as a fringe benefit, not actually a reason to sign him. I still hope that was true.

Saying there is zero footballing identity at the club sounds harsh to my ears but, if you are wrong, you are not wrong by much. 

[Jase 43,479]

6 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

How many attacking midfielders score around 20 goals in season? Not many if any. This is what Kai is or at least expectations from him. 

I already said this but here we go again.. 

Since here in 4231 Kai played AM just 5 times. Early on with Frank. 

Krasnodar, WBA, Palace, Southampton and Barnsley. In these 5 games he had 4g and 3a. That was 16 months ago. 

We have never seen it again. I am happy Tuchel finally switched it to this preferable formation but today instead of Kai he went with Mount. Let's hope he comes to sanse in the coming weeks. 

You keep on harping about that with Havertz but for god's sake, look at the quality of the opposition. 3 of those goals also came against a Championship side in Barnsley. Heck, you could even put that return down to maybe a honeymoon period, a purple patch. Even Werner had one in his first few months at the club. If he's this great generational talent that you and others keep on talking about, then he should be able to adapt to different systems. Him playing as one of the two 10s in the back 3 also isn't that different from playing as the lone 10 in a back 4. 

[manpe 10,861]

I have a feeling Lukaku's presence is demoralizing to the team, not only because he said he didn't want to be at Chelsea. Yesterday Ziyech overhit a pass to him on the right flank, Lukaku got to it but obviously lost it because that's what he does. Then he turned to Ziyech and started complaining with that sourpuss face of his, instead of showing some encouragement with a thumbs up saying "thanks for spotting me" or "better luck next time" or whatever, but no he had to be all pissy about it. I would hate to play with a teammate like that. And when Ziyech scored he didn't celebrate at all, not even a smile, what was that all about? What's going on with our players' moral?

Edited January 19, 2022 by manpe