Do you know something we don’t, or is this you own personal wish?
....over to something more interesting: Do you think we should go for him in January, and do you think he would hit the ground running here if we did?
Erling Haaland / signs for Dortmund
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....over to something more interesting: Do you think we should go for him in January, and do you think he would hit the ground running here if we did?
Happy to be proven wrong but he looks a donkey.... he is big and quite fast and young. But the rest is quite underwhelming. Think we are far too big a move for him.
I think he ment the Barca Dembele. The one at Lyon (?) wouldn’t cost that much, I think. Fair enough on the rest.
Damn we were good. Martial wouldn't even make the bench on that team. Hell, Rashford and James wouldn't either.
Not really, we struggled to play all of them and one ended up moving on because of it.
He’s got all the physical attributes to succeed in English football. No reason to believe he can’t hit the ground running. Might even turn James into an assist machine
Unfortunately the wrong one.
If he reads this forum, he will never come. The most toxic 'fans' possible
yeh. We the Caf don't deserve you.
I thought the idea was to get him in the Jan window and loan him back to Salzburg for the rest of the season
He is exactly why we need - as much as I like Martial and Rashford, they have an uncanny ability to never be in the right position for tap-ins. There was one game - could have been the Villa-one where James sent in a low cross about 5 yards from goal, and we had one player in the box - and he was somewhere near the penalty spot. A goalscorer would have been in front of goal - scoring easily.
That is the one thing Rashford never will be - and that is the player we need to decide tight games. And Haaland has that ability.
That is the one thing Rashford never will be - and that is the player we need to decide tight games. And Haaland has that ability.
This is exactly why we need someone other than Martial and Rashford neither of them have the movement required in the box, they are more about dribbling with the ball and taking on the defenders.
Since RVP, (excl. Zlatan maybe) we haven’t had a proper striker, who makes the right moves and scores those ”easy” tap-ins. Both Rashford and Martial have very pretty playing styles, they’re not strikers in that sense, they lack the directors, ruthlessness and instinct. That’s why I think we need someone like Haaland, who seems to be able to do those things.
Pukki is another example of the type of player our squad is severely lacking, his movement and finishing is absolute world class, a proper #9.
Pukki is another example of the type of player our squad is severely lacking, his movement and finishing is absolute world class, a proper #9.
If Ole isn't here, we don't get Haaland.
If Poch or Jesse Marsch were here, Haaland might be convinced. He could have his pick of clubs if he carries on at this rate and he'd need reassurances that the club is moving in the right direction.
Right now, if Liverpool made a move and I was Haaland, the odds would be in their favour rather than ours. Reminds me of when Dalgliesh was at Celtic. We desperately wanted to sign him but Liverpool were ascendant.
Combine them with a real goalscorer and .....
I wouldn’t mind as long as we get him. I just think he could hit the ground running if required.
Also concerned about how reliable martial is as our main striker, he’s so injury prone. Is he destined to be like Sturrige or Saha?
sign him ASAP. The bully we need that loves to score goals.
I love Martial as a player but he's not a natural goalscorer, i'd rather have him in a partnership alongside Haaland creating chances.
In home games we can happily play Fred/Mctominay as a pairing and have those 2 up top.
I love Martial as a player but he's not a natural goalscorer, i'd rather have him in a partnership alongside Haaland creating chances.
In home games we can happily play Fred/Mctominay as a pairing and have those 2 up top.
He's not quite fast, he's beat all the defenders fast. I'm not sure about what's so underwhelming about tearing CL teams apart?
Think the fact Greenwood had to start yesterday shows that we can't rely on just having James/Martial/Rashford for our front 3. Madness that folk complained about the lack of game time for some if we signed Haaland.
Holand noot noot.
To be fair to Martial on this one, he played the ball into James for this chance. It was Rashford and Lingard just aimlessly hanging on the edge of the area. Otherwise, completely agree with with you.
It is very important to understand this aspect of his qualities. This is a 19 year old who outruns and physically bullies ANY defender put up against him, on top of that he only needs 2,5 chances to score and sets up his teammates east and west. There is actually nothing underwhelming about him.
This is the biggest nobrainer signing we can do.
Finishing chances is the same no matter what league you're in also. His conversion rate is very good also.
He might not get the same amount of chances - but that's a different story. If anything his high % is exactly what we need. He's a 1 in 2 shots man rather than 1 in 5.
Does it? They already have four strikers on their books (Werner, Poulsen, Cunha and Schick). Okay, Schick is loaned, maybe they would just discard him? Cunha hasn't played that much, though he is seriously talented. But Poulsen is like the heart and soul of their game, he does so much work for the team, drags defenders around, plays Werner into space, acts as an outlet for long balls and last season he started scoring as well. And of course there is Werner.
On the other hand Dortmund's boss recently admitted that it was a mistake not to buy a second out and out striker last summer. They only have Alcacer, who - while being great as a goal scorer - doesn't offer any physical/aerial presence at all and suffers a constant struggle with injuries/fitness. Out of roughly 1800 minutes of football this season Alcacer only played 800, if Haaland was there he would've picked up 1000 minutes without even having to really fight for his place.
Since Lewandowski will dominate Bayern's attack for quite some time still, I think Dortmund is the logical destination for Haaland, should he prefer a move to Germany.
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I agree with most of what you’ve said about martial and rashford. More so martial than rashford they never scrap for tap ins which is disappointing for a striker.
However I find it strange that nobody criticizes James for consistently playing the same cross when nobody or 1 person is in the box? He’s done it countless times over different games and yet continues to do so. It’s a bit lazy of you ask me that he can’t decide to wait a bit/hold back when he already knows nobody is in there. It’s like his thought process is signaling “hey I’ve done my job so the rest is up to you strikers”. It’s also a lack of creativity which he needs to improve on.
At the end I blame both martial for not trying to get more involved and James for not looking to switch things up.
A lot of the best teams hit the cross early into the danger area. It's up to the forwards to anticipate that and get on the end of them. Look at Liverpool's full backs, they consistently hit the cross fast and early. clearly something that they work on
Yes he could wait but the advantage would be lost by then if the defenders get back. He did it against Sheffield Utd for our third goal but Rashford had arrived into the box. So to say he's lazy is very harsh. It's truer to suggest that we don't get into the box to support him.
Has no one picked on on the story running today that Haaland has a release clause of €20m....?!?
I think we will get him. He is definitely someone who would thrive for us imo.
I mean they bought him at the start of 2019 for 5 million, at the time that kind of clause might have seemed fair (Wikipedia showing 14 goals in 39 games for Molde) until he exploded onto the scene.
I don't think release clauses have any impact on a bidding war - which is what it would be at that price.
I'd say he's ours, reliant on one factor...Ole is given assurances on his future at the club
I'd say he's ours, reliant on one factor...Ole is given assurances on his future at the club
If Haaland comes in and he actually hits the ground running, is James who should see more time on the bench rather than Martial (while fit) or Rashford. Perhaps Martial should start to consider being more of a second striker slightly to the right wing and so Haaland can be the marksman. Maybe?
Re: James, he can bring a lot to the team coming from the bench, that kind of addition in a difficult match is something we lack off the bench and he is one who can surely bring it in.
Re: James, he can bring a lot to the team coming from the bench, that kind of addition in a difficult match is something we lack off the bench and he is one who can surely bring it in.
The reason I suggested its a lazy way of thinking(creatively) is because he always goes for this option MULTIPLE times a game. After the first two tries if he sees there is nobody in the box he should think a bit harder and try something else. He is so fast that sometimes he gets there before everyone else and just automatically whips it without any hesitation. Whats the point in constantly crossing if you're aware nobody will get to the end of it due to the previous failed attempts? The criticism is not on him only but both parties like I suggested in the original post.
Also similar to teams like Liverpool who have trent and city who have de bruyne its obvious they have training routines where their players have positional patterns already in memory that help when hitting the cross early. Even the midfielders get in the box when they see de bruyne in a familiar position on the pitch. It rings bells in their head signalling "get in the box like your life depends on it". We dont have that sort of trigger in our team because other than the obvious playing through the back system, we dont have any other tactical patterns that Ive noticed. Thats down to coaching management.
I hope that's true, no brainer for that kind of money.
We need an additional forward. There are enough games to go around and we have 4 forwards (Martial/Rashford/James/Greenwood).
Every time I've seen Haaland he has been nothing but impressive, looks a real goalscoring talent.
I don't think we should look at it as simply as "Haaland takes martials spot", what we lack is quality squad depth and Haaland would give us another option. Simply put, he makes us better.
We could adapt a front 4 of:
LW = Rashford
RW = James
CF = Haaland
#10 = Martial
Martial could be the deeper creator, as we know Lingard/Periera/Mata are average options there at best.
All of Rashford/James/Martial/Greenwood can play in different positions along the front line.
Gives us another dimension to an attack which is somewhat lacking a killer instinct in front of goal.
For me though, we sign one of Sancho/Haaland - I don't think we get both. Pro's and con's to each but for me, a top ruthless goalscorer like Haaland is very hard to find....
Every time I've seen Haaland he has been nothing but impressive, looks a real goalscoring talent.
I don't think we should look at it as simply as "Haaland takes martials spot", what we lack is quality squad depth and Haaland would give us another option. Simply put, he makes us better.
We could adapt a front 4 of:
LW = Rashford
RW = James
CF = Haaland
#10 = Martial
Martial could be the deeper creator, as we know Lingard/Periera/Mata are average options there at best.
All of Rashford/James/Martial/Greenwood can play in different positions along the front line.
Gives us another dimension to an attack which is somewhat lacking a killer instinct in front of goal.
For me though, we sign one of Sancho/Haaland - I don't think we get both. Pro's and con's to each but for me, a top ruthless goalscorer like Haaland is very hard to find....
Some detail picking on these dates and numbers:
- He signed for Salzburg in August 2018 (While Ole was his manager at Molde), and was allowed to stay in Molde to finish the season and joined RBS 1/1-2019
- He came to Molde at 16 and left just after turning 18, was used as a sub a lot in the beginning, so 14/39 doesn't justify his performances there. If we break down the numbers you understand why a lot of big clubs were scouting him back then too:
14 goals and 5 assists in 1800 minutes in the Norwegian top tier, Tippeligaen.
4 goals and 1 assist in 450 minutes Europa League Q
In total 1 goal per 125 minutes and a goal contribution (G/A) per 94 minutes.
In the same period he also scored 6 goals in 6 matches for both Norway U17 and U18.
This season his numbers are unbelievable though: 27 goals and 7 assists in 1323 minutes (a G/A every 39 minutes) along with having a conversion rate of close to 40% (Goals/shots x 100%)
As far as I know, the release clause in his contract doesn't kick in until summer 2020. But it is set too low to matter anyway. A low bid will only induce a bidding war, and you end up having to pay marketprice anyway. I believe we need to pay at least 75M for him in January. If we get him for that, it will be a bargain.
If no one picks him up now, there will be a bidding war in the summer and the price might even higher.
Even PSG can't adapt a front 4 of:
Mbappé
Neymar
Di Maria
Icardi/Cavani
with a better midfield than ours. One will sit on the bench but I have no problem with this if this lad worth it. Martial as a 10...I just can't see it with his work rate and a midfield 2.
This. No reason why we can't play a front 2, especially with Pogba being out for so long. Martial also doesn't exactly have a great injury record either.
I refuse to believe that we’ll have a bid ready in January. Won’t it take weeks to “prepare the bid” first?
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