Manchester, welcome to Zlatan - The Zlatan Ibrahimović Thread

... and since then ..

 

You said you didn't expect him to go on a goal scoring run. I'm just pointing out the fact that saying that makes you look like an idiot.

 

Why is anyone actually debating this?

Anyone who thinks Lukaku is similar to Heskey and that a 36 year old Ibra coming off a 9 month layoff should start over last year's scoring title runner up shouldnt be taken seriously.

 

I don't know how else to respond. It is a silly position to take. Others have responded more eloquently. Hopefully you will understand why the post made no sense and offer something a bit more insightful (despite my inability to do the same on my initial response).

 

He admitted to bring biased towards him.

Ignore all Zlatan talk,

 

There's bias and theres a blatantly ignoring common sense. I'm not a huge Lukaku fan but he's clearly a superior player now.

 

It's hardly my fault if you misunderstand something I said .. I / we were discussing the future not the early part of the season ... so for your benefit... I don't see Lukaku going on ANOTHER goal scoring run ..

No idea why you got so personal tbh

 

Resorting to personal attacks is the way things are done on this form. Even on RedIssue quite a few of the posts here would result in a ban, but because it’s a tiny forum posters who wouldn’t get away with personal abuse elsewhere get a pass here.

I disagree with your conclusion but the point you’re making deserves a more respectful response than what we’ve seen so far.

 

Well as you know , football is a game of opinion and extremes - sure I exaggerated a tad but the thing is ... I have never rated Lukaku and I was so disappointed when United signed him

 

I didn't see a huge upside in us spending 85m for Lukaku but a case can be made that I was wrong about him. He has scored a bucket of goals for us, after all, and he admittedly has had to cope with an extended absence by our only world class outfield player. And it's not as though we had many other realistic options at 9 last summer. There was Morata, but he would have cost even more than Lukaku and Lukaku has arguably been better.

There's no question that he's a good striker, but will he ever become a great striker? Maybe not, but with his incredible athleticism there's no question that he's built to succeed in the EPL but I do think we need a second significant scoring option for United to succeed in CL play. His athleticism isn't enough to overcome has lack of inventiveness that's required at the elite level.

Keep an open mind until the end of the season.

 

Still wish ManU had managed to get Morata tbh

 

Most here do. Although he's shown lately that he's a streaky finisher.

 

Me too. Morata has hit a poor patch but the difference in class between the two striker is clear.

The better way to think this through, however, is how we address Ibra's successor. Even if Ibra scores 15 goals and leads us to a CL win this season, I just can't see him physically being up for a third season. Whoever we bring in to succeed him should be viewed as a potential better option to Lukaku and not just another aging striker (Chicharito and Vardy rumors out there in last 24 hours). To get what Romelu has got he needs to know that Jose has another option, but for that to happen Jose actually has to have another option.

 

Most do?

Both Lukaku and Morata are weak signings for an elite team as I and others said in the summer.

 

I was saying of the two names we we're linked with and reliably reported to be in for, most would've rather had Morata.

Who would you have had us go for? The only other big names available we're Aubameyang and Belotti. I would've been fine with either but I don't think they're huge upgrades on Morata or Lukaku and certainly not more of a sure thing than Lukaku.

 

I think he's off.

 

Auba is certainly a level above and I would have taken him as a short-term signing.

Laca is a level below Lukaku and Morata.

 

Can't see Ibra lowering his standards tbh

I bet he'd retire before slumming it somewhere

 

I think the issue with this, is that we have made a number of short termish signings under Mourinho (Matic, Ibra and Sanchez).

 

I wouldn't have been against Auba but the point remains that we we're in desperate need of a striker and those were the best options available.

 

Agreed, this was pre-Sanchez

That said, if a Lewa became available tomorrow, it is fairly obvious that we would be in for him.

 

I would be more concerned about this except that in each case the player we got was either the best available player or wasn’t prohibitively expensive given the market.

We do need to sign another young talent, but the team’s future is clearly tied to Pogba, Martial, Bailly and to a lesser extent guys like Shaw, Tuanzebe and TFM if they kick on. We’ve got a good blend of ages in the team actually. A little too many old heads, but when Carrick and Ibrahimovic go this year that will be addressed.

 

Agreed. The age is not an issue as you already have players behind them waiting for their chance. We do need to purchase top tier talent under the age of 25 with either proven track record or a huge upside.