Disrespectful to Lukaku. He deserves a chance if Rashford form dips.
Can we keep £90m Lukaku on the bench?
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Disrespectful to Lukaku. He deserves a chance if Rashford form dips.
Defensive because we played vs Spurs, and the wingers were supposed to get the goals.
Had that been vs one of the 4 previous PL games under Ole, Lingard would have been on the right, and Rashford central. So in the Scenario where Rash is injured, Lingard goes back to the right, Martial/Sanchez playes 11 and 9.
I never said we should get rid of Lukaku, but we do have options.
Completely disagree. Fergie used to have four strikers, yea?
Sanchez has not shown that he's more effective than Lukaku. I want him to come good but it's been night and day between the two. Martial is our starting LW, so moving him into the middle isn't really a solution if we want to keep our shape at all.
I don't see how theres evidence to support that this would happen. An out of form Lukaku yes, but look at his assists and goals from last year and only Pogba had more assist than Lukaku.
If we hold the same shape with Lingard and Martial pushing forward (along with Pogba) and Lukaku drifting into the box we would still be very effective in my opinion. Also, he's proven to be very capable of putting in a key pass to a speedy Lingard, Martial or whomever may be roaming in (Pogba or as we are all hoping Sanchez).
I wouldn't judge him by that. Out of form, and also chances are Ole told him to not press high and drift back incase they counter. Under Jose his defense has improved immensely and he's been very capable of defending on another teams counter.
In other words, I think Lukaku isn't as one dimensional and useless as many are making him out to be. He needs to get healthy and he needs to get on board with whats going on. I don't think Ole has written him off yet, especially as a plan B for when we hit a wall against certain teams. If A isn't working, Lukaku brings a completely different threat up top. I think he would be most effective with a Martial or Rashford right next to him in a 4-4-2 (Diamond with Pogba underneath them. I think Lingard could work on the right side of that midfield, with Herrera on the left or lets pray Fred comes good.
Other option is a 4-1-3-2
Lukaku-Martial
Herrera-Pogba-Lingard (if Rashford is resting)
Matic in the hole.
In other words, he's an option in attack and I don't think we are chock full of attackers like people think.
If Lukaku is to be moved on, I would love to give Atletico cash plus Lukaku for Greizman to link up with Pogba. I think that's far fetched but I think he would fit in well there. Otherwise like others said, many premier league teams would jump on him (not top six), but I also think he would do well in Italy as others have said.
Only if it's reinforced and he sits in the middle.
#notfatjustbigboned
#notfatjustbigboned
Wisest thing to do is ship out both lukaku and Sanchez( if he doesn’t recover form) and reinvest the proceeds. Lukaku cost too much to be a bench player.
Doesn't matter, he wouldn't accept being backup anyways
Because first , we have seen how good he can be , at least technically much better than Lukaku which would suit a fluid side more. Second , we can't get rid of Sanchez , who is going to buy an overpaid finished 30 years old striker ? Meanwhile Lukaku is 25 , He will still attract interest from many clubs.
Why 90m in the title? He's significantly below average quality in our forward players. Of course he plays off the bench.
To ship them out means finding someone that will pay their wages. On current form who is going to do that?
Of course we can and we should too. We should always give our players game time on merit not on the transfer fees. Maybe harsh but he doesn't really belong to a club of this stature. We should cut our losses asap imo.
Hopefully the latter.
Fingers crossed.
Hopefully the latter.
Fingers crossed.
Why would PSG waste any money on him when they have a ready made replacement in Mbappe?
I thought we paid 75 million plus add ons? Personally I would sell him and give his squad rotation place to Greenwood
Of course you can put him on the bench or even decide he's not selected in the match day squad.
The bigger question is - is he happy to be a bit part player for periods of the season or longer term. This could spark one of two responses.
Firstly he ups his effort and game. Challenge does that for some. This would be great for the club as healthily competition improves players.
Secondly he could hide or look for a way out. If he leaves to look for first team football long term then I guess you can't blame him but if it's soon then you question his mentality.
As a player in yet to be convinced he's a top player but as a man I quite like him.
Read this (something he wrote before the world cup) and you'll see a different side of him.
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/romelu-lukaku-ive-got-some-things-to-say
The bigger question is - is he happy to be a bit part player for periods of the season or longer term. This could spark one of two responses.
Firstly he ups his effort and game. Challenge does that for some. This would be great for the club as healthily competition improves players.
Secondly he could hide or look for a way out. If he leaves to look for first team football long term then I guess you can't blame him but if it's soon then you question his mentality.
As a player in yet to be convinced he's a top player but as a man I quite like him.
Read this (something he wrote before the world cup) and you'll see a different side of him.
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/romelu-lukaku-ive-got-some-things-to-say
I wouldn't be crossing my fingers if I were you unless we have better players to bring in.
If Rashford is indeed staking a claim for that middle spot I hope we don't end up like Spurs who struggle to sign another decent centre forward as they know they will play second fiddle to Kane.
I'm not not saying we shouldn't look to replace if he doesn't work out or indeed spurs and us are equitable. What I'm saying is that I would rather make a judgement on him based on how he copes to the challenge Rashford and Ole have given him which is "you are not currently the best we have up top - show us what you can do when you do get the chance."
Just for argument Ole has demonstrated 2 separate version of 433, 1 against minor clubs, 1 against big boys. Against small clubs, why can't Lukaku plays in centre with Rash/Ling on the right? This is assuming Rashford has a dip in form or need to rest? Against big boys, why can't Lukaku plays on the right replacing Rashford? Again, assuming Rashford dip in form or resting. Lukaku would probably be less effective than Rashford as a RHS striker but he should be able to do a similar job. As a central striker Lukaku should be better for his hold up play. Once again I can't see the logic of exclusive-or, that we must get rid of Lukaku. Just because Martial's form is better than Sanchez and Rashford better than Lukaku, do not mean we must sell the other 2, although the age of Sanchez does mean we can't afford to wait and see too long.
If Lukaku was in the form when he was in Everton, I would say ‘please stay’ because he, at least, could do better in counter-attack. But obviously he doesn’t see his fatty body as a problem, he is very satisfied with his performance; just like what Ole said in the press conference “I want players to be confident but not complacent and take their foot off the pedal because that’s a big difference for me”, so let him go.
Think because that figure amounts to the total money we are to pay for him including add-ons, of course if he activates those additional clauses .
Think the more important question is how are we to recuperate the money invested in him? There's no way in hell he'll be happy to be a bench warmer considering his status in Belgium NT and his scoring record, and I also don't see the way in which he is to sideline Rashford out of the first team for any significant period of time considering his shortcomings.
They currently are playing Mbappe and Cavani upfront in most games. Cavani will need replacing with someone.
Why not? Whoever is in form should play. Rashford isnt Ronaldo to play every game regardless of how he's doing so Lukaku will get enough chances to reclaim the starting berth. If he doesnt want to fight it out, he can leave.
We need to bring the youth through whilst Lukaku is still here. The youth could learn how to peel away from the last man and how to barge them out of the way as he does have pace and a lot of strength. As long as the youth have a good first touch and quick shooters, they can get the knack from watching RL in training and bring into their game. Regardless of the price, unless his own form comes up to scratch, he will stay on the bench ad there is no other option.
He knows his weaknesses as OGS will have pointed them out on several occasions, I dare say, so if he doesn't put the extra work in and sort himself out, then he will keep starting on the bench. Surely then, he will be "forced" to request a transfer and only then will we see what other teams value him at.
He knows his weaknesses as OGS will have pointed them out on several occasions, I dare say, so if he doesn't put the extra work in and sort himself out, then he will keep starting on the bench. Surely then, he will be "forced" to request a transfer and only then will we see what other teams value him at.
Completly agree. If he was so dedicated, we wouldn't have a £75m out of shape striker.
PSG aren't going to buy Lukuku, they can get any striker in the world - not a chance he's going somewhere like PSG. West Ham, back to Everton are more likely options.
But with the way we're playing now (assuming we're to stick with Ole or get someone else who's also playing attacking football) with the front 3 freely interchanging and whomever is acting as #9 at that moment being involved heavily in build-up or opening spaces for others to run into, can you really see Lukaku replacing Rashford/Martial in the #9 role for any significant period of time?
We have to
I wonder if it is just a confidence thing?, if it is, he HAS to give himself a shake and get himself back into the starting line contention. I hope he has the desire to WANT to be the main striker but I also hope has done a lot of work on his 1st touch!!
Sure we can, Rashford is twice the player he is.
Sell him and bring back chicha 
Yes, touch aside, Lukaku is capable of doing all these things to a good level. Also as I said, Rashford is hardly Ronaldo who is so good that you carry him when off form. There will be times when Rashford will go off the boil and it's upto Lukaku to do well then.
In any case, I think Ole will suit Lukaku. The way Mourinho used him was atrocious. Lukaku will do much better under Ole with the ball on the ground.
I know he’s hardly flavour of the month right now, but come on, as if Lukaku would sign for West Ham.
Cavani has a couple of decent years in him yet, by then they can switch to using 1 striker, buy someone who is good in the air like Icardi, or another promising young striker might emerge.
There’s no pressing reason for them to buy Lukaku, especially if their priority is Europe.
We can and we should. I wonder if Lukaku will be happy to stay as a reserve though. I don't mind us selling him to Chelsea for the same fee we bought him and then add someone else who is willing to be a reserve. Maybe 50m + Morata could do.
Yeah but the touch is a big, big part of the way we're currently playing. Can he do his part in this team? Yes, but I just don't see him replacing Rashford in this team for any significant period of time. He just doesn't offer as much in the build-up part as Rashford does.
Performance and fitness is what makes you a part of the lineup or not! Lukaku gained weight, got slow and lazy when he knew he was gonna start anyways. But it's 2019 and the manager is Ole, now you need to perform and be fit in order to start games!
75m or 90m doesn't matter anymore
75m or 90m doesn't matter anymore
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White handkerchief producers love this idea.
NO, I really don't think we can keep him on the bench. He will soon want to find another club, he is a prolific goal scorer but he does not suit the fast open football that we play.
I believe we should play 2 up top and all of our 4 strikers will see plenty of game time that way, with great support up front and lukaku certainly is useful that way.
I agree with the consensus that Lukaku will look to leave if he isn’t being played. Which would be fair enough from his point of view. He wants to play football. I don’t think it makes much sense to have such an expensive player (both in terms of wages and transfer fee) sitting on the bench either.
It (sort of) rests on how good Rashford is/becomes. If Rashford doesn’t quite cut it then reinvesting Lukaku’s money and wages on a top striker that is one of the world’s best would probably be the wise thing to do.
It (sort of) rests on how good Rashford is/becomes. If Rashford doesn’t quite cut it then reinvesting Lukaku’s money and wages on a top striker that is one of the world’s best would probably be the wise thing to do.
But it’s unlikely that we’ve paid that bonus. But it shouldn’t be included in the original price. Pogba cost 89m lukaku didn’t cost more
I don't think a top striker except kane exists in current climate with age on his side. We have got to find better ways to use our assets to full potential.
If we can recoup upwards of £50m for him we should be selling him anyway.
I think there are definitely a few clubs stupid enough to offer us that for him.
I think there are definitely a few clubs stupid enough to offer us that for him.