He still lacks the first touch or the quality if it. He needs to be able to build the attack if we are going to play like we are playing. Against top teams we have the chance to counter but against most teams in Prem that is not possible.

Get the touch on Drogba level at least and we have ourselves a brilliant striker. Drogba was brilliant crosser and had good first touch Romelu looks to have similar eye for the goal.

Maybe one season with West Brom and then call him back

 

ive watched him play a lot this season and his first touch is not bad at all. it may have been before but for a good while there have been no apparent holes in his game.

 

physically hes one of the most dominant players in the league. you just put him in the box and he will collect swarms of defenders around him. i dont think he would struggle against parked buses, especially if we manage to get plenty of corners, and with de bruyne in the squad our crosses and corners should be quite dangerous

 

he still has 3 months of premier league experience ahead of him, and a preseason after that. he'll be ready

Lukaku and Feruz are our future strikers. We certainly do not have to go out and spend the money Falcao and Madrid will demand. Lets get these guys in the squad and let them play through the heartache periods so they can learn, adapt, and overcome. If we listened to some, Drogba would have been gone after his first season.

Between Moses, Hazard, Mata, Oscar, Ramires, deBruyne, Josh, Marin, Piazon, Ba, Lukaku, and Feruz we are fairly covered with players getting forward. All of these players are under 26 with majority being under 23. The future looks bright and with the proper manager (ahem, Jose) these kids will blossom into wonderful players...

 

I dont know when was the last time kids blossomed under Jose.

He still lacks the first touch or the quality if it. He needs to be able to build the attack if we are going to play like we are playing. Against top teams we have the chance to counter but against most teams in Prem that is not possible.

Get the touch on Drogba level at least and we have ourselves a brilliant striker. Drogba was brilliant crosser and had good first touch Romelu looks to have similar eye for the goal.

Maybe one season with West Brom and then call him back

 

Did you see his goal yesterday? Great first touch that caught out the defender and allowed Lukaku to breeze past and get his shot away.

 

That's just one example admittedly, but I don't believe his first touch is particularly bad. 

The Belgian Blues could the future.

 

Thibaut Courtois looking good for Athletico

 

Kevin De Bruyne impressing for Bremen

 

Lukaku continues to do well for WBA

 

Hazard has done fantastically in his first season and will only get better next year.

Did you see his goal yesterday? Great first touch that caught out the defender and allowed Lukaku to breeze past and get his shot away.

That's just one example admittedly, but I don't believe his first touch is particularly bad.

I'm not saying it is bad but it is not at the level it needs to be if he wants to succeed at Chelsea IMHO. We could take him back for next term but I'm afraid he wouldn't do well with the scrappy minutes he'd get.

When he plays for WBA, for big parts of the game, he has the chance of using his pace on the break to run into space, and he's pretty good at that already.

 

But the real test will be how he gets on up front, on his own, when the opposition defence park the bus, and space is tight.

 

But if I was the gaffer, I would have had him back at Chelsea last month, and be preparing him for next season, as he will need some time to adapt.

It only took ONE touch for me to be convinced that Lukaku needs to be brought back here in the summer. The touch with his left foot that took him past Agger when the pass was played slightly behind him was pure class. Add to that his turn of pace that is explosive to say the least and his ability to run with such pace and power with the ball and you have a monster in the making.

Could Ba and Lukaku be our striker options next season with Feruz getting time? Spend that money on a proper CM and Cristiano Ronaldo when Mourinho comes back? Or not.....

He's ready, and I cant wait to see him back next year. 

 

I didnt see it, but it sounds like he took Liverpool apart in the 15 minutes he had yesterday.

He's ready, and I cant wait to see him back next year on loan at Port Vale next season.

 

Fixed that for you.

When he plays for WBA, for big parts of the game, he has the chance of using his pace on the break to run into space, and he's pretty good at that already.

 

But the real test will be how he gets on up front, on his own, when the opposition defence park the bus, and space is tight.

 

But if I was the gaffer, I would have had him back at Chelsea last month, and be preparing him for next season, as he will need some time to adapt.

 

Good point. But he will also have world-class players behind him next season as opposed to WBA. Put him on some intensive work on his finishing during next pre-season and i think we have a 20 goals a season striker.

When he plays for WBA, for big parts of the game, he has the chance of using his pace on the break to run into space, and he's pretty good at that already.

But the real test will be how he gets on up front, on his own, when the opposition defence park the bus, and space is tight.

But if I was the gaffer, I would have had him back at Chelsea last month, and be preparing him for next season, as he will need some time to adapt.

I wouldn't have taken him back otherwise this is exactly how I feel.

Different ballgame playing the open field on counter aka actually having some space to run. 90% of the games we play we are facing the bus, home and away. Lukaku is not the bus breaker with his ball control level. His brute force alone is not enough. Torres has a great first touch most of the time and he is struggling to say the least. 1on1 with space is where Romelu is at his best.

 Torres has a great first touch most of the time and he is struggling to say the least. 1on1 with space is where Romelu is at his best.

 

Torres first touch (or lack of one) is actually one of the things that frustrates me most.

 

I'm not an avid "hater" of Nando but this would be one of my criticisms. 

. Torres has a great first touch most of the time and he is struggling to say the least. 1on1 with space is where Romelu is at his best.

We must be watching a different Torres, his first touch was awful at Liverpool and it still is now.

Honestly I can't think of many top flight players with a touch as bad as Torres, certainly not any at a club as prestigious as ours.

Drogba's touch was a mixed bag and I expect something similar with Lukaku but if we stick with him i can see him being a 30+ goal a season striker for us in 2/3 years.

Edited February 12, 201313 yr by Hazard_a_guess?

I wouldn't have taken him back otherwise this is exactly how I feel.

Different ballgame playing the open field on counter aka actually having some space to run. 90% of the games we play we are facing the bus, home and away. Lukaku is not the bus breaker with his ball control level. His brute force alone is not enough. Torres has a great first touch most of the time and he is struggling to say the least. 1on1 with space is where Romelu is at his best.

 

Well when teams park the bus all we tend to do is get the ball out wide and send in hopeless crosses to Torres. So id actually say Lukaku is better suited for those games. Also, he is more likely to provide some movement behind the back four where as Torres currently drifts wide to, again, send in more crosses.

We must be watching a different Torres, his first touch was awful at Liverpool and it still is now.

Honestly I can't think of many top flight players with a touch as bad as Torres, certainly not any at a club as prestigious as ours.

Drogba's touch was a mixed bag and I expect something similar with Lukaku but if we stick with him i can see him being a 30+ goal a season striker for us in 2/3 years.

I wouldn't say his touch was terrible at Liverpool just that he was a quicker player. I think his speed made up for a lot of his heavy touches. That speed is no longer there and he is unable to get to those heavy touches we see him do frequently today. For me Torres showed deterioration while at LFC and I never understood the need for him. However, what's done is done and I hope he can recover to show something of his former self before he moves on.

Some investments works extremely well, Drogba, Lamps, and Mata... Others are not as fortunate and struggle. I wont name names but we know plenty...

I've said all along we need to think very carefully about signing a top-drawer striker in the summer.

Lukaku needs to come back and he needs to be given games.

People were saying that last summer about Torres. Saying we shouldnt sign anyone and really give Torres the spotlight. That didnt work out too well did it.

I for one am tired of taking risks. Go get the best striker in the world. If Lukaku wants to leave because of that then so be it.

I cant believe that people were happy for Studge to go but cant bare the thought of losing Lukaku. Studge is and always will be a better player than Lukaku imo.

People were saying that last summer about Torres. Saying we shouldnt sign anyone and really give Torres the spotlight. That didnt work out too well did it.

I for one am tired of taking risks. Go get the best striker in the world. If Lukaku wants to leave because of that then so be it.

I cant believe that people were happy for Studge to go but cant bare the thought of losing Lukaku. Studge is and always will be a better player than Lukaku imo.

 

in what universe is splashing 40 million on falcao (for example) not taking risks? we already have lukaku and his wages would be nothing compared to falcaos

 

lukaku has proved hes worth investing in. he has his best years ahead of him.

 

lukaku is a chelsea fan and wants to become a chelsea legend. and no, sturridge is not better than him

in what universe is splashing 40 million on falcao (for example) not taking risks? we already have lukaku and his wages would be nothing compared to falcaos

 

lukaku has proved hes worth investing in. he has his best years ahead of him.

 

lukaku is a chelsea fan and wants to become a chelsea legend. and no, sturridge is not better than him

 

I think he is, at the moment at least. In a couple of years time, once Lukaku's first touch improves, i expect him to become a beast.

I think Lukaku has the potential to go on to be a fair better player than Sturridge.

 

Incentally, Lukaku is now the youngest non-English player to score 10 Premier League goals, and the 8th youngest overall.

Torres first touch (or lack of one) is actually one of the things that frustrates me most.

I'm not an avid "hater" of Nando but this would be one of my criticisms.

His first touch is generally very good and he has an eye for creating the game but when he is alone in the box he completely loses confidence in scoring or shooting. Lukaku has the scoring part but creating the game or passing in small space or turning with the ball are not his strenghts. Playing like we play we need a player like Ba. He knows how to score at the moment. No matter how he goes to goal and puts the ball in.

I don't think Torres or Lukaku is the answer to our scoring needs at the moment. We need Ba healthy and fit.

His first touch is generally very good and he has an eye for creating the game but when he is alone in the box he completely loses confidence in scoring or shooting. Lukaku has the scoring part but creating the game or passing in small space or turning with the ball are not his strenghts. Playing like we play we need a player like Ba. He knows how to score at the moment. No matter how he goes to goal and puts the ball in.

I don't think Torres or Lukaku is the answer to our scoring needs at the moment. We need Ba healthy and fit.

 

Playing Devil's Advocate here.

 

By your own admission you admit that Torres loses his head when alone in the box (but Lukaku doesn') but is able to graft the odd chance with some neat passes, something you feel Lukaku can't do.

 

Now, when you have a midfield behind you consisting on Mata, Hazard, Oscar and Lampard who are arguably some of the best midfielders in league in terms of creating chances do you not think a good target man with strength and pace and a decent strike rate would be more beneficial to the side?

 

My main gripe with Torres is that he drifts away from the "danger" zones to often when I think he would be best to be aggressively attacking the near post he is drifting out to one of the wings.

 

I just think a more "selfish" and "aggressive" forward like Lukaku would be better suited to the midfield talents we have. 

I think that a Lukaku's speed and bodystrenght up front with the passing/crossing from Mata , DeBruyne , Hazard , Lampard would do alot of damage to many teams in PL.

He is now taking the penalties for West Brom!

Brilliant run that from Lukaku. Nutmegs a player on the halfway line and uses his strength and pace to get past another defender and into the box. What a player.

We HAVE to take him back in the summer, right??