Erling Haaland | Dortmund player

He looks an amazing talent. However I still stand what i said few months ago. His release clause in 2022 could have been triggered by anyone, including City n Liverpool and we'd have been helpless to stop it.

All the fans moaning we didn't get him now would have had lost the plot totally had we got him and lost him to rival in 2022. Just not meant to be. Maybe we will kick on and be the club to trigger the clause in 2022 though. That's what we have to aim for surely.
 
Wednesday at Stoke said:
You talk like Dortmund haven't had 5 difference managers in the same period that United have had 4.
Click to expand...

Granted but on the whole they still look more stable then this current United set up(From the boardroom down)

RedIan said:
I think we would have signed him had it not been for the clauses his old club wanted in his contract...
i also remember a few saying he was a donkey and they didnt want him !
and finally dont under estimate the pulling power of Man United. We may be lacking structure in the team and have a board of directors more interested in running a business than putting out good football but we are still the biggest club in the UK and we pay big wages, many top players would love to come here. Look at Bruno,s desire to come here..
Click to expand...

That there is the issue though, we pay big wages at times for average players, and that has made the club unstable to an extent, player power is at a all time high, we literally have Pogba & Raiola clowning United every chance they get, personally I feel Burno comes across as a different breed of player, different to Haaland, who is obviously still young.

He appears to be a great player, but I still think choosing Dortmund over us was the right decsion for him, I think at Dortmund he will have more direction where as if he was at United he would end up like Martial or Rashford, in that at times they look directionless.
 
thepolice123 said:
Not to be pedantic but its extremely rare to find two players of similar playing styles. Every elite player iw
s quite unique in his own right. You need to have the same natural talents, physical and mental attributes, football upbringing and not to mention the era of football - the possibilties are practically endless. .

I think when people are making player comparisons, they generally doing a very loose interpretation. We look at certain areas of player's game and branch them in a category of players with similar qualities. For example, Haaland's qualities and flaws and be easily applied to peak Torres. He also had an inconsistent general play, his first touch can be dodgy as hell and his passing was average. However, they are both physical specimens, they can operate anywhere inside and outside the box, had incredible speed to burn and an insatiable hunger for goals.
Click to expand...
You're not being pedantic, but Haaland can't be readily compared with those who have preceded him - even the Torres comparison offered is some way off as Torres was superior technically and relied a lot on pace and approach to goal rather than in-the-box actions. Me personally, I wouldn't compare the desire to score goals between them as I think there are very, very few strikers who show that kind of incessant hunger outwardly in the manner Haaland does, which is why I compared him to so few in that aspect - not to say what I wrote is definitive, but rather that his traits aren't broad or applicable to many, as far as I am concerned.

Haaland is freakish for being 6'4" and moving how he does, not just in terms of speed, but in looking for space rather than tussling with defenders - he's an extremely clean player for his height and size (stature) - the bulldozing thing is more when someone gets in his way as he runs towards goal rather than him going into games looking for that contact. It is an oddity - think of guys his height and you're getting power-based forwards who outmuscle others and are masters at hold up play. Haaland isn't particularly impressive in terms of hold up and he'd rather move than be static and the lynchpin for others to play off.

When drawing comparisons, it's usually much easier than what Haaland offers up, even in broader strokes - I don't think you'll find as many "he reminds me of's" that have as many contrasting players as Haaland is generating, I think that is for good reason as he is a smattering of X's, Y's and Z's.
 
Last edited:
Withnail said:
Yes the history of last month completely eludes me. That's a poor attempt at smartarsery. What has getting someone like Ighalo on a short-term loan got to do with Haaland?

If the club had stumped up the cash and wages for Haaland I highly doubt they would also have paid as much as they had to pay to get the Fernandes deal over the line.

You can believe what you like but I find it extremely unlikely.
Click to expand...

A players wages is never a problem. Especially Haalands entry level wages. I think you've been mislead to believe that we only have so little to spend and that the Fernandes purchase was all we could afford. Please let me reassure you that that is not the case. I, like many others here, read the clubs financial statements with great interest and have a reasonably good overview of where the club is at financially. So when you say that you think its "extremely unlikely". You are factually incorrect.

There's been numerous posts on this forum recently by me and others where we've discussed the clubs financial position. We have a very healthy EBIDTA. There are no problems with the clubs cash flow at present date.

And as for attempt at smartassery. My bad perhaps. I just assumed that you somehow imagined we didn't have money for a cheap forward after or before buying Fernandes. The Ighalo loan underlines how urgent our need for a forward is, both in the short term, and moving forward.
 
He's still coming here, just taking the scenic route. Estimated time of arrival: July 2022
 
Wednesday at Stoke said:
You talk like Dortmund haven't had 5 difference managers in the same period that United have had 4.
Click to expand...

That's a bit selective, isn't it? To get to five vs four you have to go as far back as Klopp, who started in 2008, but not count SAF for United. And count Peter Stöger, who was an interim coach for Dortmund, but not Giggs for United.
There is also more to stability than the number of coaches. Dortmund have a rather clear identity (attacking football with young players) since Klopp (2008) and have been finishing top four in 9/10 seasons. Their younger players are also more important assets to them than they would be for richer clubs, as Dortmund can't just sign some €60+m rated striker if they feel that Haaland is too immature. They will have told Haaland that they are going to finish top 4 each year (hoping for the odd title challenge), play CL each year, play attacking football and that he will have a rather safe spot in the starting lineup.
At United there are much more maybes. Regarding top 4 finishes for example or even more essential things like who will coach the team next season and what kind of philosophy he will follow.
 
padzilla said:
I don't get the hate for United on this one. We tried to sign him but he wanted to go somewhere else instead, it used to happen all the time under Fergie as well - look at Robben choosing Chelsea over us.
Click to expand...

The anger stems from Woodward's pathetic briefings that we pulled out because of certain demands. The reality is that he, as you said, decided to go elsewhere. Woodward tried scoring cheap points with those nonsensical briefings, instead they backfired and make him look more and more incompetent for every goal Haaland scores. Not to mention the fact that we were so desperate for a striker that we had to sign one on loan from China in the final moments of the window.
 
do.ob said:
That's a bit selective, isn't it? To get to five vs four you have to go as far back as Klopp, who started in 2008, but not count SAF for United. And count Peter Stöger, who was an interim coach for Dortmund, but not Giggs for United.
There is also more to stability than the number of coaches. Dortmund have a rather clear identity (attacking football with young players) since Klopp (2008) and have been finishing top four in 9/10 seasons. Their younger players are also more important assets to them than they would be for richer clubs, as Dortmund can't just sign some €60+m rated striker if they feel that Haaland is too immature. They will have told Haaland that they are going to finish top 4 each year (hoping for the odd title challenge), play CL each year, play attacking football and that he will have a rather safe spot in the starting lineup.
At United there are much more maybes. Regarding top 4 finishes for example or even more essential things like who will coach the team next season and what kind of philosophy he will follow.
Click to expand...

That still doesn't make them the model of stability and continuity, they also have a higher player turnover as they are a selling club and buy players with that philosophy of them leaving so that they don't spend their best years at Dortmund. They do have a better player development system which United seem to lack as they separate the football program from the first team manager, while United haven't figured out how to do by lacking a technical director.

They could offer him regular CL football but the league is still not that much of a step up, other than Bayern or Leipzig at times, you have a steep drop off in quality.
 
I don't understand why people cared about the release clause.

If he came in now and solved our immediate issues, if he left in 2 years time we can sign another player, or we can try and re-negotitate with him to remove the clause in his contract.

Not every player we sign is going to be at United forever.
 
Bwuk said:
I don't understand why people cared about the release clause.

If he came in now and solved our immediate issues, if he left in 2 years time we can sign another player, or we can try and re-negotitate with him to remove the clause in his contract.

Not every player we sign is going to be at United forever.
Click to expand...

Do we really want to be a stepping stone club? Moreover, we'd probably lose a lot of potential earnings by letting him have a release clause and then there's him being a Raiola client.

He'll be a fabulous player, maybe the player we deserve but not the one we need.
 
Far more precise in his passing and build-up play yesterday compared to the other games he has played for BVB. He must have had some hours in their passing machine.

While there are some elements of his game that holds him back from being compared to Lewandowski etc his movement and anticipation and top speed is top-notch.

And Raiola was not the one that made him chose BVB, it was himself. And that MUFC claim of ludicrous financial needs is not true.
 
horsechoker said:
Do we really want to be a stepping stone club? Moreover, we'd probably lose a lot of potential earnings by letting him have a release clause and then there's him being a Raiola client.

He'll be a fabulous player, maybe the player we deserve but not the one we need.
Click to expand...

No we don't want to be a stepping stone club, but if we have to do this to get back to the top then so be it.

Who would you rather we signed in Jan? Ighalo on a free, or Haaland knowing he'd perhaps leave us in a few years?
 
Just saw that second goal! I literally averted my eyes nanoseconds after the ball hit the back of the net like I'd just seen a sniper at work. Awesome that he plays in such a cathedral and since he's a big white kid (I haven't seen him play) I'll compare him to Wayne Rooney.
 
Yorkeontop said:
Just saw that second goal! I literally averted my eyes nanoseconds after the ball hit the back of the net like I'd just seen a sniper at work. Awesome that he plays in such a cathedral and since he's a big white kid (I haven't seen him play) I'll compare him to Wayne Rooney.
Click to expand...
What?
 
What stands out is the incompetence of the CEO, he certainly can do things others dream of. A Norwegian player agrees with a Norwegian manager , but somehow no deal could be brokerd and finalised .

What vision of the players future and the club was put forward, yes Riola is a absolute prat, but at one point we were in the driving seat, only for the deal to collapse. All this change of mind at the last moment, really falls on Woody, just don't trust him to concede deals as he should as other clubs appear to do, all media briefings and no credibility.
 
Yorkeontop said:
Just saw that second goal! I literally averted my eyes nanoseconds after the ball hit the back of the net like I'd just seen a sniper at work. Awesome that he plays in such a cathedral and since he's a big white kid (I haven't seen him play) I'll compare him to Wayne Rooney.
Click to expand...
It was even harder in the slow replay. Mental
 
horsechoker said:
Do we really want to be a stepping stone club? Moreover, we'd probably lose a lot of potential earnings by letting him have a release clause and then there's him being a Raiola client.

He'll be a fabulous player, maybe the player we deserve but not the one we need.
Click to expand...

It's not a case of being a stepping-stone club, we desperately need to shoot up the table and get into a CL qualifying position. The fact Haaland saw Dortmund as a better option than us is a prime example of the reality of where we are. If he banged in the goals for us for two to three years and moved on, having established us as a permanent CL fixture, we would have zero problems attracting a suitable standard replacement rather than last minute loan deals with players from China.
 
Bwuk said:
No we don't want to be a stepping stone club, but if we have to do this to get back to the top then so be it.

Who would you rather we signed in Jan? Ighalo on a free, or Haaland knowing he'd perhaps leave us in a few years?
Click to expand...

We are already a bit of a stepping stone club to Real/Barca like most clubs in the world. Our long term goal is and should always be to be the pinnacle.

With the release clause in there it would make us vulnerable to anyone getting him for an insanely cheap price, even Liverpool or city. How would you like that?

I would much much rather this way. He is not the only striker in the world, even if he ends up the best striker in the world.
 
Fortitude said:
You're not being pedantic, but Haaland can't be readily compared with those who have preceded him - even the Torres comparison offered is some way off as Torres was superior technically and relied a lot on pace and approach to goal rather than in-the-box actions. Me personally, I wouldn't compare the desire to score goals between them as I think there are very, very few strikers who show that kind of incessant hunger outwardly in the manner Haaland does, which is why I compared him to so few in that aspect - not to say what I wrote is definitive, but rather that his traits aren't broad or applicable to many, as far as I am concerned.

Haaland is freakish for being 6'4" and moving how he does, not just in terms of speed, but in looking for space rather than tussling with defenders - he's an extremely clean player for his height and size (stature) - the bulldozing thing is more when someone gets in his way as he runs towards goal rather than him going into games looking for that contact. It is an oddity - think of guys his height and you're getting power-based forwards who outmuscle others and are masters at hold up play. Haaland isn't particularly impressive in terms of hold up and he'd rather move than be static and the lynchpin for others to play off.

When drawing comparisons, it's usually much easier than what Haaland offers up, even in broader strokes - I don't think you'll find as many "he reminds me of's" that have as many contrasting players as Haaland is generating, I think that is for good reason as he is a smattering of X's, Y's and Z's.
Click to expand...
Vieri is the most obvious and compelling comparison IMO - hulking strength, left-footedness, directness, power, finishing ability.
 
Read this thread, it’s like he was literally bred to be the best athlete ever:
 
Reading this thread makes it seem like Raiola is the big evil entity in this scenario who intervened after Haaland and United reached an agreement. It's the player and his father who put him in charge, he has absolutely zero say in anything without their backing. I guess you could argue that he turned their heads but honestly, an agent convincing a player to join a significantly smaller club because it promises a better perspective in terms of development can hardly be classified as such.

The guy is incredible. Incredible mature for his age and his goal scoring is already very consistent. If he manages to transfer this consistency to his overall play - which was very good against PSG - god knows how good he can become.
 
It's interesting that Dortmund continues to do business with Raiola even though he was allegedly a massive cnut towards them regarding Mkhitaryan.
 
Gio said:
Vieri is the most obvious and compelling comparison IMO - hulking strength, left-footedness, directness, power, finishing ability.
Click to expand...
@Raees said the same, but Vieri didn't bust his gut getting in the box incessantly like Haaland does, nor did he run away from the ball with such frequency or voracity, and he was a much bigger threat from 25-30 yards out (cracking shots) I think Bobo's technique was also on another level to anything Haaland has displayed to date and he was better at holding up the ball.

For me personally, it's really hard to bracket Haaland's game with other strikers that come to mind since the mid 90's, at least.

The desire he has to run away from the ball reminds me most of Alen Boksic, but he doesn't have that deftness to his finishing, preferring instead to take cracks at goal, but that, to me, is where he's an oddity because his striking inside the box after all that running is more akin to a 6-yard striker than a runner.

First thing that comes to mind is that he runs towards goal as a primary instinct, which I guess would be template from which I'm trying to draw comparisons.
 
HTG said:
In current form I see nobody who’s better.
Click to expand...

Lewa is back to his best, and still far better. You’d still take him for a CL final against anyone.

It’s exiting to watch such a strong emergence from a young centre forward though. There are so few good ones around.
 
Fortitude said:
@Raees said the same, but Vieri didn't bust his gut getting in the box incessantly like Haaland does, nor did he run away from the ball with such frequency or voracity, and he was a much bigger threat from 25-30 yards out (cracking shots) I think Bobo's technique was also on another level to anything Haaland has displayed to date and he was better at holding up the ball.

For me personally, it's really hard to bracket Haaland's game with other strikers that come to mind since the mid 90's, at least.

The desire he has to run away from the ball reminds me most of Alen Boksic, but he doesn't have that deftness to his finishing, preferring instead to take cracks at goal, but that, to me, is where he's an oddity because his striking inside the box after all that running is more akin to a 6-yard striker than a runner.

First thing that comes to mind is that he runs towards goal as a primary instinct, which I guess would be template from which I'm trying to draw comparisons.
Click to expand...
Yeah don't disagree with most of that. I'd still say that the majority of their games are cut from similar cloths. Haaland's hold-up play will improve in time, it's usually the final component that young centre-forwards develop because it relies primarily on decision-making and collective responsibility which is gained from experience.
 
VorZakone said:
It's interesting that Dortmund continues to do business with Raiola even though he was allegedly a massive cnut towards them regarding Mkhitaryan.
Click to expand...

I think they have seen it as a win-win situation, he can play few years for them and same time they can still gain 30mil profit even they sell him for his release clause. I really hope UTD would have agreed for this deal and make him feel loved and stay at our club for years by adding few more quality players and win something.

Even he wants to leave in future we could still profited from that. Isnt it ?

People are saying its a footballing decision but it appears he was convinced by Riola to change his decision.
 
That shot for his second. Unreal power and precision with that backlift. Barely noticed he had taken the shot before it was bouncing out of the nets again.
 
sp_107 said:
People are saying its a footballing decision but it appears he was convinced by Riola to change his decision.
Click to expand...

Just as the spotlight is on Haaland (as he's playing PSG in the CL) and Raiola's unpopularity has probably reached an all time high it "leaks" that Solskjaer and Woodward basically signed him (after his flight around Germany, btw), except for evil Raiola meddling, at least according to the same media that told us it was United that passed on the deal, because of that supposed release clause.
 
Gio said:
Fast, but just to put that into context with a running start - Usain Bolt's first 60m of Jamaica's relay record was covered in around 5.1s.
Click to expand...

Exactly. These kinds of comparisons are always bullsh*t. I remember Rooney having a similar statistic for his counter-attack goal at the Emirates in 09/10. No way can a footballer come close to official world records in sprinting during a game - would be much more interested to see how it ranks against other sprints in football games.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.