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Strikers always have supporters resting in the palm of their hands. An insultingly mediocre display can be salvaged with a late salvo; notching a winning goal deep into injury-time can double a 4/10 performance with the swipe of a boot or a deft flick of the head.
The position’s enchantment lies within its distinctiveness. There is no position so fundamental to the success of a team yet so intrinsically challenging to master, but that also leaves strikers at an advantage over their teammates.
Goals are revered, celebrated and replayed more than any other action on the football field. Become a virtuoso at centre-forward and you’re almost guaranteed to enjoy perennial popularity and stardom amongst your supporters.
But, as with everything in life, there are exceptions to the rule, and as Manchester United prepare to travel to Goodison Park tomorrow afternoon there’s no escaping the feeling that Romelu Lukaku falls into that category.
Lukaku will return to the club where he fully kick-started his career and showcased his credentials to thrive at one of Europe’s top clubs, leaving Chelsea fans pondering what might have been over another lost talent.
The Belgium international remains the club’s all-time top Premier League goalscorer with 87, leaving Goodison Park favourites Tim Cahil and Duncan Ferguson in his wake. That he managed to race to this tally in the space of just four seasons is perhaps the most startling aspect of this fine individual achievement, with his goal per game ratio standing at marginally more than 1 in 2.
But yet Lukaku returns to the club this weekend as something of a divisive figure, an enigma who never quite managed to fully satisfy the supporters. That in itself is antithetical to the quintessential reputation of a renowned goal-machine.
When Roberto Martinez welcomed the precocious talisman to the club on a permanent deal in summer 2014, he spoke with a conviction that suggested Everton’s deal was a genuine coup, per BBC.
“We know that Romelu is still a young man and the potential that he has is quite unique, and we are desperate to see him enjoying his football and to watch him grow as footballer in the years to come.”
The towering centre-forward could hardly grow any more physically but technically and mentally he blossomed into a devastating striker, scoring goals of a stunning variety from poacher’s tap-ins to thumping headers, while the occasional sumptuous long-range effort was thrown into the mix.
But yet, he is not the unanimously popular figure he should be on the terraces at Goodison, and that is the most “unique” thing about Lukaku. Martinez was unquestionably alluding to the uniqueness of his centre-forward prowess for a player still firmly embedded in the formative stages of his development, but almost five years later it’s clear that he is unique for all the wrong reasons.
If you stand on the terraces at Old Trafford or walk into any of Manchester’s finest watering holes when United are playing you’re bound to hear familiar complaints when Lukaku is in possession: “He plays like he’s wearing jeans,” “he’s put on too much weight,” “get this waste of space out of my club!”
This the lexicon field which defines a player with 113 Premier League goals and 42 assists in 249 appearances. Imagine what he could do if he swapped those jeans for shorts…
And the most pertinent point to acknowledge here before Everton clash with United is that complaints from the Red Devils have often been echoed by the Toffees faithful. Unlike an overwhelming majority of prolific centre-forwards, his natural habit to consistently find the net wasn’t enough to bridge an unbreakable bond between players and fans.
On paper, Lukaku is and should be regarded as an Everton legend of the Premier League era, but memories of a rigid style and squandered opportunities bizarrely deprive him of the acclaim – amongst some fans at least – which his incredible goal scoring record merits.
Martinez was right about Lukaku for all the wrong reasons: his uniqueness lies within the paradox of his legacy at Everton.