I think a lot of people suspected it was going to be bad at the start of the season but didn't think it would be this bad. If things don't change we'll beat LvG's lowest goals record at this rate.
Do we have enough goals in the squad?
- Thread starter ManUnitedCanuck
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Exactly. Never did I expect it to be this bad.
I don't think it's just a case of throwing in a clinical player and this issue rectifies itself. The attack is made up of the wrong profiles:
Garnacho offers the team absolutely no service whatsoever, head down runner with no end product but is very direct which seldom has use outside of coming off the bench.
Hojlund is a player who will only score with his movement off the ball, he needs to run into space to get on the end of things to score there's no use feeding him ball to feet he should be the last part of the attacking phase.
Rashford somewhat hard to describe as he's not the same player he was three seasons ago, he does play the ball into space now and again but this is typically crossing, Rasmus at this moment in time isn't an ariel threat so it's a wasted attribute at this point.
It's not necessarily that they are individually woeful players but there's no cohesion between them to make anything work. United's midfield being pants also doesn't aid this issue because so much of the chance creation is from the wide play it further compounds the issue.
End of last season I'd had hoped United would go for a manager who will finally overload the midfield and allow the team to assert more control from the center. This isn't Amorim's approach which is perfectly fine but seeing how Sporting also develop chances from the wider areas the reality is that the wide players will either need to be replaced or benched.
Erik made a fundamental mistake, he replaced genuine first 11 starters (Sancho / Ronaldo / Greenwood) with prospects. I'm not saying those three were outstanding every week but they were genuine first team quality or contenders. The current first team in attack is full of substitute level players. INEOS next summer should be doing what they did this summer to the defense in the attack.
Garnacho offers the team absolutely no service whatsoever, head down runner with no end product but is very direct which seldom has use outside of coming off the bench.
Hojlund is a player who will only score with his movement off the ball, he needs to run into space to get on the end of things to score there's no use feeding him ball to feet he should be the last part of the attacking phase.
Rashford somewhat hard to describe as he's not the same player he was three seasons ago, he does play the ball into space now and again but this is typically crossing, Rasmus at this moment in time isn't an ariel threat so it's a wasted attribute at this point.
It's not necessarily that they are individually woeful players but there's no cohesion between them to make anything work. United's midfield being pants also doesn't aid this issue because so much of the chance creation is from the wide play it further compounds the issue.
End of last season I'd had hoped United would go for a manager who will finally overload the midfield and allow the team to assert more control from the center. This isn't Amorim's approach which is perfectly fine but seeing how Sporting also develop chances from the wider areas the reality is that the wide players will either need to be replaced or benched.
Erik made a fundamental mistake, he replaced genuine first 11 starters (Sancho / Ronaldo / Greenwood) with prospects. I'm not saying those three were outstanding every week but they were genuine first team quality or contenders. The current first team in attack is full of substitute level players. INEOS next summer should be doing what they did this summer to the defense in the attack.
How come we bury are chances in the cupgames? Barnsley and Leicester are nothing special but we have still scored 12 in two games there. Turn to league football and the guys can`t even hit the ball cleanly
What the lord are you on about? Greenwood disappeared because of domestic abuse, Ronaldo was diabolical for much of his second stint here, and Sancho practically didn't have a single good game for us.
I'm not interested in what the players did or didn't do to be dismissed from the team, Hojlund, Diallo and Garnacho are prospects, these prospects have replaced genuine first team quality players and all of the sudden the media and fans are scratching their heads as to why this team is having a negative goal difference two campaigns in a row.
Greenwood, Sancho and Ronaldo are closer to first team quality that is the context, Sancho had a plethora of experience at a top domestic club in Germany with plenty of UCL performances he was purchased for the first team. Ronaldo despite regressing still scored 25 goals on his return and his career speaks for itself he wasn't signed to be a rotation. Lastly, Greenwood was one of the most promising players to come out of the academy his goal contributions / talent proved why he was starting games on a regular basis.
United's current attacking trio as highlighted are players who should either be coming off the bench or are in need of being nurtured into such a competitive playing environment.
As stated the first team at the top end of the field is currently an array of substitute level players.
18th in the league in goals scored after 10 matches.
Will we reach 50 this season?
Will we reach 50 this season?
OMG, what the hell are you talking about??? Greenwood had to go for well known reason, there's nothing to do with ten Hag. Ronaldo was just not good enough anymore not to mention his age. Well, Sancho's case is a bit different but the fact is that he didn't have a single good game for the club.
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We have raw young striker Hojlund and a striker who isn’t a goalscorer and lose possession easily Zirkzee.
We have raw wingers who make poor decision making like Garnacho and Amad.
We have Rashford who is currently on declined or at least not the same player as before.
We do not have enough goals in the squad and we need to buy something better to upgrade our attackers. Man united shouldn’t be relying on raw attackers like what we have right now. It’s part of man united DNA to score goals and right now these attackers don’t offer enough for united’s standard. Their current level is only good enough for mid table or relegation level.
We have raw wingers who make poor decision making like Garnacho and Amad.
We have Rashford who is currently on declined or at least not the same player as before.
We do not have enough goals in the squad and we need to buy something better to upgrade our attackers. Man united shouldn’t be relying on raw attackers like what we have right now. It’s part of man united DNA to score goals and right now these attackers don’t offer enough for united’s standard. Their current level is only good enough for mid table or relegation level.
Not even close and I really hope we do something about it in the market. Soon.
There's not one forward in the squad that's good enough to start for a top team and I don't see the potential in any of them to ever achieve that status.
The club basically needs to buy 2 wingers and a striker next summer who can be starters, not just squad players.
The club basically needs to buy 2 wingers and a striker next summer who can be starters, not just squad players.
Casemiro is our most calm and composed goal scorer.
Can someone actually help explain why we didn’t get a goalscorer in the summer?
I said on here in May that I wouldn’t sign anyone in the summer before getting a goalscoring forward. It was 1A and we couldn’t progress without one
It was obvious to anyone sensible. Yet United, the millionaires paid to sort it, didn’t do it. And I’m really struggling. They can’t be so incompetent that they didn’t see it
I said on here in May that I wouldn’t sign anyone in the summer before getting a goalscoring forward. It was 1A and we couldn’t progress without one
It was obvious to anyone sensible. Yet United, the millionaires paid to sort it, didn’t do it. And I’m really struggling. They can’t be so incompetent that they didn’t see it
This will be the dead horse that keeps getting beaten for a long time, unfortunately.
Failing to land Kane was one of the biggest blunders we've had in the transfer market post-Ferguson. One of the rare instances in which I think we should've handed him a blank check and told him to write down whatever number it takes to bring him to United.
Exactly. It was fkn obvious. I don't understand this we didn't see it comming. We have scored 57 goals last season and 58 the season before. In fact over the last 10 plus years we have broken 70 goals once. Rashford has been sht not for a couple of months but 18 plus months. To fix it we got Hojlund a kid with less than 10 goals in seria a and Zirksee. Then we have Garnacho and Amad who are just kids. People keep thinking you can just play kids. You can. But how many kids have been that good especially strikers/attackers. I mean the Rooney, Owen level of good at a young age. Very few. It was obvious they would A) need time and b) there form would fluctuate.
So who couldn't see those comming? All our new backroom staff couldn't see that we were already struggling for goals and they thought the answer was Zirkzee? Make that make sense.
A quarter of the season gone already.
With our current scoring rate, we are on course for just 35 goals this season.
Last season, 2 of the bottom 3 relegated clubs scored more than that (Luton 52, Burnley 41).
Bottom club Sheff Utd scored just 35 !
We are on course to equal that.
I'm sure we'll improve in that department at some point, but passing 50 goals still looks like a tough ask.
.
It's all incredibly worrying.
As mentioned in another thread, we need a hold up target man type striking option
Dominic Calvert lewin, 6 months left on current deal, Everton need the money, proven his fitness now for over 12 months, would be a good option
Dominic Calvert lewin, 6 months left on current deal, Everton need the money, proven his fitness now for over 12 months, would be a good option
The way we play is terrible though, we don't play percentages with crosses and cutbacks we just try insane shots from everywhere it's laughable trying to score like that.
I posted on the amorim thread about how we don't cross it/cut it back enough, and when we do we get brilliant opportunities to score. Players like Hojlund are constantly making runs to the back post and get nothing.
It's easier to tap the ball in from 6 yards than score from 20, it's the reason we don't score and I'm convinced by that.
I posted on the amorim thread about how we don't cross it/cut it back enough, and when we do we get brilliant opportunities to score. Players like Hojlund are constantly making runs to the back post and get nothing.
It's easier to tap the ball in from 6 yards than score from 20, it's the reason we don't score and I'm convinced by that.
The biggest hole in the squad is at striker. Hojlund has two months to find another gear before we hit the next transfer window but if he doesn't he'll undoubtedly have to settle for being a squad man rather than first choice at striker while we pick up the striker we, at least at this point, desperately need.
I don't know who or how much it would take, but if we want to start scoring goals again we need to bring in a goal scorer.
I don't know who or how much it would take, but if we want to start scoring goals again we need to bring in a goal scorer.
If you dont score, you dont win matches. simple.
11 years since we last won the league. In that time we spent big on only two centre forwards. Lukaku and Hojlund.
Says it all really.
11 years since we last won the league. In that time we spent big on only two centre forwards. Lukaku and Hojlund.
Says it all really.
There was a poster in the earlier pages seriously arguing that we would score 86 goals in the PL this season 
Nobody should be surprised we struggle to score when you look at the players we have. We could score more with better coaching but the truth is we have a very poor set of forwards. It doesn’t help that Bruno has lost his scoring touch and Mount is pretty useless as far as scoring goes so our AMs don’t contribute much either.
Nobody should be surprised we struggle to score when you look at the players we have. We could score more with better coaching but the truth is we have a very poor set of forwards. It doesn’t help that Bruno has lost his scoring touch and Mount is pretty useless as far as scoring goes so our AMs don’t contribute much either.
Well obviously we don't.
And Ironically our two best CFW signed since Sir Alex Were Zlatan and Cavani both free transfers. We need to get a 24-26 year old elite number 9, we all know who it is ?
Manchester United's forward line scored 7 EPL goals (2 Garnacho, 1 Bruno, 1 Diallo, 1 Rashy, 1 Zirkzee, 1 Hojlund) and had produced 6 EPL assists (2 Bruno, 1 Diallo, 1 Garnacho, 1 Rashford and 1 Zirkzee). Cole Palmer and Mohammed Salah had produced these sort of stats on their own (7 goals and 5 assists each). Meanwhile Ndidi and Daamsgard have more assists on their own then Garnacho, Rashford, Zirkzee and Hojlund combined. Let that's sink in.
We need to take some very nasty decisions. In my opinion the kids are good but lack the experience to be regular first teamers while the senior players, well, there's no excuse for those.
We need to take some very nasty decisions. In my opinion the kids are good but lack the experience to be regular first teamers while the senior players, well, there's no excuse for those.
Some decent predicting there sir
Yeah, I was damn close. I'll do the next ten league matches now, and in January we'll see how I did:
Leicester City (H): +2
Ipswich Town (A): +2
Everton (H): +1
Arsenal (A): -2
Forest (H): 0
City (A): -1
Bournemouth (H): +1
Wolves (A): +1
Newcastle (H): -1
Liverpool (A): -2
So, if my maths are correct that would give us a -2 differential and 28 points after 20 matches.
You are expecting a lot.
Do we have enough goals in the squad?
Well, it depends. What is our aim for the season? A title challenge (lol)? Let's be conservative and say that would require anywhere between 80-90 goals; we'll probably just about scratch half of that.
Realistically, and I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, but unless one of our attacking players suddenly hits a purple patch and goes on a prolonged period of unprecedented proficiency, we'll likely perform even worse than our nightmare second season with LVG, when we managed just an embarassing 49(!) goals in the league.
The scary part is, on paper at least, that 2015-16 actually had more potential to come good in the future than our current crop does, IMO. Spoiler alert: they didn't.
A quick depressing comparison of the two squads:
In 2015-16, our attacking options were basically a washed up Rooney, an infuriating Depay, an unknown but "exciting" potential in Lingard, and a tidy but hardly prolific Mata. This after letting go of/phasing out RVP, Hernandez, Kagawa and Nani in recent windows.
We did strike (temporary) jackpot with the deadline day signing of Martial, and he instantly become our biggest threat, though at 19, he was made to shoulder way too much way too soon. We got another shot in the arm - and by chance, IIRC - when an injury crisis meant LVG had to fast-track Rashford into the first team, and he, too, hit the ground running.
Then you had the likes of Herrera and Fellaini chipping in with the occasional goal or two from midfield, but they were hardly Lampard kind of numbers to make any significant difference. From set-pieces, Smalling was a threat, but didn't really get as many goals as his physical advantage allowed him to, IMO.
Basically, we went into that season with a slow and laboured attack devoid of any edge or creativity, and pretty much got bailed out thanks to the emergence of Rashford and Martial. Again, 49 goals was an embarrassment, and the football we dished up that season was possibly the worst in all my years of following the club. The FA Cup was a sweet end, but we could all tell that the attack was in major need of upgrading in subsequent windows.
Now, coming to 2024-25.
We came into the season with Hojlund (promising but rough around the edges) and Zirkzee (worryingly already looking like another bust) as our strikers, and Rashford (unreliable), Garnacho, Amad and Antony (non-entity) as our wide options. Rashford's form falling off a cliff means there isn't one finished article in the attack, and you can't go into a season based on just all potential.
Our current squad does have a leg up over the 2016 bunch at least in terms of goals from midfield though, thanks to Bruno and Casemiro being quite effective from set-pieces. Not counting Mount till he makes regular appearances for us. As for goals from the defenders, I like what I've seen from De Ligt so far, but we need more such threat from corners and set-pieces.
So, yeah, even when put in a direct comparison against our previous worst attack, the current options don't really look all that promising, at least for this year.
Unless Bruno steps up his form MASSIVELY and one or two of our other attacking players find the back of the net consistently, I predict about 45-50 goals for this season. Which will probably land us anywhere from 6th to 10th.
Well, it depends. What is our aim for the season? A title challenge (lol)? Let's be conservative and say that would require anywhere between 80-90 goals; we'll probably just about scratch half of that.
Realistically, and I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, but unless one of our attacking players suddenly hits a purple patch and goes on a prolonged period of unprecedented proficiency, we'll likely perform even worse than our nightmare second season with LVG, when we managed just an embarassing 49(!) goals in the league.
The scary part is, on paper at least, that 2015-16 actually had more potential to come good in the future than our current crop does, IMO. Spoiler alert: they didn't.
A quick depressing comparison of the two squads:
In 2015-16, our attacking options were basically a washed up Rooney, an infuriating Depay, an unknown but "exciting" potential in Lingard, and a tidy but hardly prolific Mata. This after letting go of/phasing out RVP, Hernandez, Kagawa and Nani in recent windows.
We did strike (temporary) jackpot with the deadline day signing of Martial, and he instantly become our biggest threat, though at 19, he was made to shoulder way too much way too soon. We got another shot in the arm - and by chance, IIRC - when an injury crisis meant LVG had to fast-track Rashford into the first team, and he, too, hit the ground running.
Then you had the likes of Herrera and Fellaini chipping in with the occasional goal or two from midfield, but they were hardly Lampard kind of numbers to make any significant difference. From set-pieces, Smalling was a threat, but didn't really get as many goals as his physical advantage allowed him to, IMO.
Basically, we went into that season with a slow and laboured attack devoid of any edge or creativity, and pretty much got bailed out thanks to the emergence of Rashford and Martial. Again, 49 goals was an embarrassment, and the football we dished up that season was possibly the worst in all my years of following the club. The FA Cup was a sweet end, but we could all tell that the attack was in major need of upgrading in subsequent windows.
Now, coming to 2024-25.
We came into the season with Hojlund (promising but rough around the edges) and Zirkzee (worryingly already looking like another bust) as our strikers, and Rashford (unreliable), Garnacho, Amad and Antony (non-entity) as our wide options. Rashford's form falling off a cliff means there isn't one finished article in the attack, and you can't go into a season based on just all potential.
Our current squad does have a leg up over the 2016 bunch at least in terms of goals from midfield though, thanks to Bruno and Casemiro being quite effective from set-pieces. Not counting Mount till he makes regular appearances for us. As for goals from the defenders, I like what I've seen from De Ligt so far, but we need more such threat from corners and set-pieces.
So, yeah, even when put in a direct comparison against our previous worst attack, the current options don't really look all that promising, at least for this year.
Unless Bruno steps up his form MASSIVELY and one or two of our other attacking players find the back of the net consistently, I predict about 45-50 goals for this season. Which will probably land us anywhere from 6th to 10th.
If I don’t laugh, I would cry. So tragic.
Ha oh god. I think you're being optimistic here and we're still on -2 over halfway through the season
The forwards are receiving zero service. United are famous for their wide players. Taking on defenders and crossing. The wide players today are cutting inside and taking speculative shots on goal. I'm noticing Rasmus and Zirkzee are taking up.good positions and they aren't being passed to. Hopefully Amorim changes this.
Goals isn't just on the forwards.
It's on the entire team. We don't get enough assists. There's no system in here which guarantees goal scoring opportunities. We look for moments where individual talent comes out or the opponent gets unlucky with a mishit clearance etc.
A system where a particular style of play dictates opportunities being created isn't there with us. Truth be told , it wasn't there in the latter years of Ferguson's time as well.
It's on the entire team. We don't get enough assists. There's no system in here which guarantees goal scoring opportunities. We look for moments where individual talent comes out or the opponent gets unlucky with a mishit clearance etc.
A system where a particular style of play dictates opportunities being created isn't there with us. Truth be told , it wasn't there in the latter years of Ferguson's time as well.
We waited too long but they’re coming now!