Give Lukaku a break, please
- Match Day Pundit
- Oct 17, 2017
- 4 min read
After Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Anfield, Gary Neville gave a Romelu Lukaku quite the scathing review, saying: “I was disappointed with Lukaku.
“But it’s a tough place to come, it’s a really tough place to come.”
First, let us look at the facts:
This was a poor game for Lukaku, and by all means, the stats speak for themselves.
He touched the ball once in the first 20 minutes of the match.
He managed just one shot against Liverpool, down from a season average of 4.4 shots per game.
He had 2 touches in Liverpool’s box and only 22 touches in the game.
This was first game that Lukaku has failed to create a single chance for Manchester United.
It is hard to see where the goals would have come from. However, Neville went ahead to explain his observations, saying that Lukaku was not himself:
“It looked like he was distracted in the first half, he wasn’t himself, he was frustrated. He really didn’t get any impact in the game, no influence.”
This leads me to the question: was this performance as a result of the tactics employed by Mourinho for the day or was it a bad day for Lukaku?
Secondly, should we have expected him [Lukaku] to score or were his efforts commensurate to the task at hand: not to concede or lose to Liverpool?
These questions provide context from which we can make any judgment of Lukaku’s performance. For fans who were frustrated with his performance, it is important to realise that this was that kind of a game. Mourinho went into Anfield prepared to defend and looking at the stats, it is clear that Romelu did not get good service.
On the other hand, Lukaku is our number 9; he should be able to convert half a chance into a goal. He missed a chance and worse, for him, the biggest complaing about his performance, so far has been his poor conversion rates.
Neville concluded his remarks with this gauntlet: “It’s the big matches that will define him as a Manchester United striker, not the matches where he sort of bullies teams."
These truly reinforced the accusations thrown against the Belgian for being a ‘flat-track bully.’ According to the dictionary, a flat track bully is defined as a player who dominates poor or inferior opposition but cannot beat top-level opponents.
Does one game make Lukaku that kind of a player? (and don’t make me repeat that word).
Interestingly, Lukaku seems to feel that he has done enough to justify being a winner, dismissing such calls during his post-match interview that: "Now I am in a team who want to win against big teams so I think the situation will change. I don't put pressure on myself. The biggest pressure for me came in the as that was the game when everyone was looking at me thinking, 'Will he do it?'
"That game (vs Real Madrid) freed me from everything. People will say this and that but I am in a situation where the team is performing really well even though there is a lot of work to do.
Lukaku gave a chill respond, showing his maturity in the face of these allegations and of course, he needs to have the corresponding confidence if he is to survive and succeed at the number one striker for Manchester United. You have to admire his self awareness, though:
"The biggest strength is knowing you are going to score and knowing you are going to miss. A lot of strikers miss bigger chances than me but with me it is always, 'Rom did this, Rom did that'. "That is the standard I've set myself. It is something that happens in football and I am relaxed about it."
Lukaku has scored 12 goals in 10 games for Manchester United. Yes, these have been poor opposition compared to Liverpool. And no, this is not an excuse not to score… Yes, world class strikers turn up in big games, but no, they do not always turn up. Yes, it was unfortunate he did not score, but this was the team tactics that Mourinho employed… Lukaku
Where to we go from here?
Lukaku’s response gives an insight into his state of mind and having been confronted with these kinds of questions before, he addressed it head-on:
“Every time I miss, people put it like this - but a lot of strikers in the league miss bigger chances than me. But with me it’s always: ‘Rom did this, Rom did that’. I don’t know why. With me it [his price tag] is always put out.”
"I don't think too much about it. I just move on. I know expectations are really high but that is something I relish. When I was at Everton we have a different mindset going into games. Sometimes it was difficult against some teams when you play not to win and you don't really create chances.”
This is part acknowledgement and part very good excuse.
Lukaku missed a siter to score one-on-one with Simon Mignolet.
He has a poor record against the EPL’s top six teams.
The doubters will continue to doubt and there is nothing we can do about that.
The rivals will continue to gloat about it; but he can prove them wrong and hopefully, this will happen sooner than later.
For now, I will justify his poor performance because it was based on Mourinho’s approach of ‘do not get scored at Anfield.’ There was not a lot of counter attack and Ashley Young was more or less a defender. He had a chance, missed.
Let us move on; but forgive him and wish him success. And if this does not keep warm your heart, let’s be patient coz Z is making his way into match fitness and the guy’s not afraid of whoever.
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