DON’T!BLAME!LUKAKU
He needs support...
UNLESS you’ve been living under a rock this season, you will know that the football in one half of Manchester has been full of goals - and the other half has been sending the fans into frustration at the boring football being played.
Many Manchester United fans hoped upon the appointment of Jose Mourinho that their club would consistently provide entertaining football and be a force to be reckoned with in the top four.
Unfortunately, in Mourinho’s third season, there has not been a consistent level of progress, with the first season of winning the Europa League, League Cup and Community Shield not being replicated.
After a third of the season, United found themselves outside of the top six, and quite often firing a blank, with performances being anything but inspiring.
There has been the occasional bright light, a late fightback against Juventus to win 2-1 in the Champions League and a 2-2 draw against Chelsea in the Premier League, but for every positive step forward taken, the club take several back.
United’s main man, Romelu Lukaku, has, in particular, struggled this season, going more than 1,000 minutes without scoring a goal, a drought that has coincided with the team’s poor form.
Although signed to score goals, should the blame rest solely at Lukaku’s feet? Last season he was United’s top goalscorer in the Premier League with 16 goals, seven more than strike partner Alexis Sanchez.
Players like Sanchez have continued to fire blanks in the red shirt, leading to some very dull performances.
That’s added to the pressure on Lukaku. He looks like he has the weight of the whole team on his shoulders, and it shows.
It must be galling for Manchester United fans, who have been used to watching excellent strikers over the years.
In Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign, he had a wealth of forwards to choose from.
In 1998/99, he had the likes of Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and in 2008/09, he had Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez.
In 1998/99, Yorke, Cole and Solsjkaer all scored in double figures in the Premier League, notching 18, 17 and 12 goals respectively. In 08/09, he had Ronaldo who scored 18, Rooney 12, Berbatov 9 and Tevez 5.
It’s easy to forget that behind these talismanic strikers were players like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and many more who also contributed goals.
The problem Manchester United have currently is they are lacking support for Lukaku.
Sanchez was obviously purchased to fill the gap, but he has struggled to fit into the system and is not an out-andout number nine.
United do have potential in Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, but Mourinho, for whatever reason, can’t seem to get the best out of them.
If the Red Devils are to pick up their season, something has to change.
The finger can easily be pointed at the manager for the poor form, for alienating his players and not inspiring them to show what they can do.
Critics would also say Mourinho spent too much of the summer convincing Marouane Fellaini to stay, and not shifting the deadwood such as the Ferguson-signed defensive duo of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.
If United are to challenge properly, they need a proven goalscorer who can take the pressure of Lukaku. The only problem is, is there one going in the current market?
And if there is, would be want to join them?