Greenwood would scored more goals than he did at United if he was first choice like Haaland and played in Germany
Greenwood vs Haaland
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I don’t see why we can’t have both ? If we signed Haaland then he would be the only forward who can’t play across the entire forward line as Sancho, Rashford, Greenwood, James and even to an extent Martial can.
Some games Greenwood could play from the right with Rashford or Sancho from the left and Haaland through the middle but then Greenwood could play through the middle with Sancho and Rashford either side of him.
Sir Alex managed to keep Cole, Yorke, Sheringham and Ole all happy during one of the clubs greatest ever periods so I don’t see why Ole can’t keep Haaland and Greenwood happy as the season is a long one and no one is playing 60 games a season without being burnt out.
Some games Greenwood could play from the right with Rashford or Sancho from the left and Haaland through the middle but then Greenwood could play through the middle with Sancho and Rashford either side of him.
Sir Alex managed to keep Cole, Yorke, Sheringham and Ole all happy during one of the clubs greatest ever periods so I don’t see why Ole can’t keep Haaland and Greenwood happy as the season is a long one and no one is playing 60 games a season without being burnt out.
Hopefully this will be a good comparison in 2 or 3 years. I watched Haaland in Dortmund"s game the other day and physically he looks like a 28 year old in his prime. Greenwood has made strides in his physique but he can't be compared to Haaland at the moment.
Talent wise I believe he certainly can reach or even surpass Haaland but he needs to show the same desire and work ethic. For all of Haaland's physical gifts, he is just as strong mentally.
Talent wise I believe he certainly can reach or even surpass Haaland but he needs to show the same desire and work ethic. For all of Haaland's physical gifts, he is just as strong mentally.
Greenwood to me looks like he has moments of genuine world class. His touch is incredible. He has fantastic vision and his finishing is the best at the club. He reminds me a Kaka and Chris Waddle hybrid. He's going to be one of the best on the planet very soon. By the time he's 23 he'll be unplayable.
Regardless of how good Greenwood could become we need Haaland in the team. Just think of a front four of Haaland, Sancho, Bruno and Greenwood. Pogba possibly in the midfield.
I have a feeling he'll join us.
I have a feeling he'll join us.
I think Greenwood is something special, seriously. There's a ballon d'or player in him.
Clearly Mason is better.
Greenwood may become a world class forward in literally every position, he was all over the attacking third in the Leeds game and I see his game continuing to progress in the same manner. His link-up play and awareness in tight spaces is becoming incredible.
The fact that Mason's finishing is supposed to be his best trait is crazy, he's so good in everything else. I think physically he seems fully ready to play as a starter, the Leeds defenders couldn't handle the explosiveness and quick movement. So I'm not sure Haaland should be number 1 priority, we need to see if Pogba is staying, will Martial have a good season, how will Rashford play after the surgery, Sancho's first season with us.
The fact that Mason's finishing is supposed to be his best trait is crazy, he's so good in everything else. I think physically he seems fully ready to play as a starter, the Leeds defenders couldn't handle the explosiveness and quick movement. So I'm not sure Haaland should be number 1 priority, we need to see if Pogba is staying, will Martial have a good season, how will Rashford play after the surgery, Sancho's first season with us.
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Mason is a very classy forward, like everyone has mentioned he has that RVP style which makes him a joy to watch.
Having never watched Haaland closely i cant compare the two...but to me he seems like an out and out goal machine, similar to Lukaku in some ways (just with a better first touch)
Conclusion... i'd swap Rashford, Sancho and every other forward at the club before I'd swap Greenwood.
Having never watched Haaland closely i cant compare the two...but to me he seems like an out and out goal machine, similar to Lukaku in some ways (just with a better first touch)
Conclusion... i'd swap Rashford, Sancho and every other forward at the club before I'd swap Greenwood.
Haaland shows more promise and is likely to become the bigger player, but it does warrant mention that he scored his goals in Austria and the Bundesliga. When you look past a handful of the top teams in the BL, the rest of the league is pretty much nothing. It's why one single team has dominated it for decades. And Haaland has been a starter much more often than Greenwood. I do call him the better player, but you can't just look at the numbers to arrive at that conclusion.
He's scored a few in the CL too didn't he?
I agree with your conclusion, but we really can just look at the numbers to arrive at it. Even if we laugh off his goals in Austria, which we should, we can't laugh off the wake of his destruction in Germany, a very good league. And he's done damage in the CL (if my information is correct) is that Haaland has scored 20 goals in 16 games, which compares quite well to Ronaldo's and Messi's goal tally in their first batch of CL games. (Ronaldo 0 goals in his first 18 CL games, Messi 8 goals in his first 21 games).
These are just numbers, but numbers that more than allow the conclusion that Haaland > Greenwood today.
That said, we should all be in awe at how far Greenwood can develop. You can never be sure about the future of a bright young prospect, but IMO has all the innate ability and character to become a United legend and part of future Ballon d'Or discussions.
How valuable is it for a young and developing player to be a first team regular in his preferred position in relatively big matches?
Haaland was Molde's top scorer when he was just 18. From there he basically secured his position no matter which club he went to. Kane played his first match for Spurs at 21 when he returned after a couple of loan spells (where he was considered a starter). Once back at Spurs he quickly established himself.
Greenwood is too good for a loan spell, but "not ready" to be an automatic choice as CF. It's a pity. I'd stick 'em up front and trust his burgeoning ability.
Haaland was Molde's top scorer when he was just 18. From there he basically secured his position no matter which club he went to. Kane played his first match for Spurs at 21 when he returned after a couple of loan spells (where he was considered a starter). Once back at Spurs he quickly established himself.
Greenwood is too good for a loan spell, but "not ready" to be an automatic choice as CF. It's a pity. I'd stick 'em up front and trust his burgeoning ability.
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I'm more and more coming round to this opinion as well. I was saying earlier that Greenwood, Sancho will have RW, LW positions nailed down by the time Rashford comes back but I think Greenwood's ready to start playing as the CF now - no more messing around on the RW.
Agree about his work in tight spaces, it's incredible to watch. I'll add though that he wasn't this good at close control when he started out, I think his time on the wing forced him to get better at working in tight spaces. And RvP himself spent quite a bit of time on the left, so it's not the worst idea in the world to have him play RW for a season.
In my opinion they are two very different type of strikers. In the limited times I've seen Haaland, he seems a more traditional striker like RVN, Shearer and Shevchenko. Lethal finisher but also with good power and pace.
I think Greenwood is a different type of player and more like a Van Persie.
Although Haaland has had an exceptional career and I'm sure he could play in the PL, I would like to see the evidence before making a decision on who is better. We have seen the likes of Schweinsteiger, Hargreaves, Werner, Havertz and Dembele do great in the Bundesliga and then struggle when the moved to the PL or La Liga.
I feel like after the top few teams the level of the league drops off quite a bit. This is nothing against the likes of Haaland and Sancho as I still think they are quality players but would love to see them prove it week in week out in the PL.
In terms of whether I would swap Greenwood for Haaland, the answer for me is a definite no. The main reason for this is Greenwood has come from the academy and I take a lot of pride in us developing our own players.
Is Haaland better? For now I think yes but he is more physically developed than Greenwood. In the next three or four years I think they will be closer in terms of there level.
However the ideal scenario for me would be when Cavani leaves next year we bring in Haaland and have both in the same team. Rashford, Sancho, Haaland, Greenwood, Martial and Amad would be an amazing forward line for now and the future.
I think Greenwood is a different type of player and more like a Van Persie.
Although Haaland has had an exceptional career and I'm sure he could play in the PL, I would like to see the evidence before making a decision on who is better. We have seen the likes of Schweinsteiger, Hargreaves, Werner, Havertz and Dembele do great in the Bundesliga and then struggle when the moved to the PL or La Liga.
I feel like after the top few teams the level of the league drops off quite a bit. This is nothing against the likes of Haaland and Sancho as I still think they are quality players but would love to see them prove it week in week out in the PL.
In terms of whether I would swap Greenwood for Haaland, the answer for me is a definite no. The main reason for this is Greenwood has come from the academy and I take a lot of pride in us developing our own players.
Is Haaland better? For now I think yes but he is more physically developed than Greenwood. In the next three or four years I think they will be closer in terms of there level.
However the ideal scenario for me would be when Cavani leaves next year we bring in Haaland and have both in the same team. Rashford, Sancho, Haaland, Greenwood, Martial and Amad would be an amazing forward line for now and the future.
Greenwood is our most exciting home grown player since Ryan Giggs. We dont need Haaland!
Greenwood is going to have an amazing season. Haaland would be a great buy but it wont happen if Greenwood delivers.
100% this. Fergie also managed to have Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo, Saha, Nani in '07-08 and Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov and Nani happy in the following season.
I don't see Martial lasting long here and Cavani has entered the twilight of his career so I see our primary long term attack as:
Rashford Greenwood Sancho
--------------------Bruno-------------------
I think we'd show a lack of ambition if we didn't try for Haaland at his release clause price of ~£75m (?) Plus these kind of signings give everyone else at the club a lift and increases competition for places which improves ability and performance. I didn't include Pogba as it's unknown whether he will sign a new deal.
This. People keep talking about how bad the defending in the BL is when discussing Haaland, but people still rate Lewandowski as the best striker in the world, and I don't really see many people talking down Lewas abilities at all.
No doubt they'd possibly/probably score a bit less in England, but it's not like the Bundesliga is packed with sunday league footballers.
Agree 100%. Seen others say the same thing about Serie A and it's mad. Also Haaland is a monster.
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Gotta catch ‘em all!Greenwood, Sancho and Bruno as a fluid trio behind Haaland. We'd be unstoppable! Add Rashford for pace/something different, Diallo whenever he's ready, and we've got insane strength in depth as well.
In my experience, this is mostly Twitter folks that swallow the Premier League kool-aid and genuinely think it's some kind of ultra-elite competition - the same league where Newcastle just finished ahead of 8 teams and Burnley made the top ten a season earlier.
You'll hear a lot of them say the same thing about La Liga too - even funnier when a United fan says this after what Villareal and Sevilla (twice) have pulled on us just in the last few seasons.
I stated he’s current goals and matches also. If you didn’t see that it doesn’t make my stats incorrect.
Those are goals scored and matches played in the league. Don’t see how it’s false/inaccurate/wrong!I'm sorry, but what in the actual feck is this?Not only is it inaccurate/false/wrong, it's probably the worst example of cherry picking (not even sure I'd call it that) I've ever seen.
But since stats is seemingly your thing, lets do a much easier comparison. Let's compare their age 19 season (20/21 for Mason, 19/20 for Erling, you know, since they're only 15 months apart age wise, not three years). League and CL/EL.
"If both were same age" – well, here are the actual stats when they were same age.
Mason
League: 31 games / 1825 minutes. 7 goals, 2 assists. Point every 202 minutes.
CL/EL: 14 games / 919 minutes. 2 goals, 2 assists. Point every 230 minutes.
Erling
League: 29 games / 2042 minutes. 29 goals, 9 assists. Point every 54 minutes.
CL: 8 games / 554 minutes. 10 goals, 1 assist. Point every 50 minutes.
I'm not saying this is conclusive evidence of anything at all. But it paints a very different picture to whatever you were trying to prove in your post.
Anyways. I won’t apologise for seeing a great talent and enormous potential in one of our academy graduates and not wanting his progress hindered by signing a £100m plus player to take his place. The best eras for Man Utd both under Sir Matt Busby and SAF have all come when we’ve had academy players at the core of our squad.
I’m sure between 92-96, despite United winning the league when it was less competitive , there would have been many better alternatives to Neville, Scholes, Beckham etc who would have made our CL win come quicker and anyone who remembers us getting outclassed by Barca and Juventus will remember… but the joy of 99 came by seeing that team develop and improve each season until we finally in 99 were the best team in Europe. Great signings also had a place eg Stam, York, Cole, Cantona (retired before 99) etc but they filled the spots that were missing.
But your interpretation of your stats was incorrect, mate. That bolded bit downplaying Haaland's career record at the time he turned 18 (just to clarify: he had 50+ professional appearances and 30+ goals at that point, to Greenwood's ~10 and 2) was based on your belief that Greenwood is 18 right now and 3 years younger than Haaland. The valid comparison to make here is to look at their goalscoring records since Greenwood made his United debut - that's what the other person was saying.
And the fact that you didn't even know how old Greenwood is right now is itself a bit mind-boggling, really. Just a pretty poor post all around, and it's not a good look to fall back on internet tactic 101 of telling the other person to "calm down" when you're called out.
No one is telling you to apologize, don't act like a victim here, cmon. We all believe in Greenwood, and want him to succeed. I don't think anybody's said anything else.
What we are calling you out on is the very inaccurate/bad post. You got the age difference very wrong. You got Erlings stats/context wrong. You used stats for Mason until he was 18 years old for some reason, even though he happened to play last season as well. Same with Vinicius.
I'm sorry, but if you can't just put your hands up and at least admit you were inaccurate at best, or actively misleading at worst, I don't know what to tell you. Just own your mistake. You're proven wrong, no need to spin it into a "I won't apologize for seeing a great talent". Be better.
My stats were accurate, I got the ages wrong for Greenwood, Felix, and Vinicius. I held my hands up to that… I did not put stats for Greenwood until he was 18 I put his up to date stats.
If there is a chance in hell that we could get that blonde twat we should be all over it. Mason just needs to compete for a place in that team.
They are different types of strikers, playing in different leagues and though both very young Haaland is two years older so further in his progression.
Greenwood is pretty much the same age and at the same stage in development terms all be it at a much bigger club as Haaland was when he moved to DOrtmund. But Haaland has alreayd proved he is good enough to be starting game in game out for a big club in a major league, Greenwood is right at the start of that big season right now.
Rightly or wrongly for me personally Greenwood is ENglish, home grown at the club and seems pretty down to earth, calm and likable. Though no doubt a fantastic striker, the agent, some of the interviews, the aura....he is a great watch obviously but I havent warmed to Haaland much and personally not bothered whether we sign him at all or not now, I am mre than happy with Greenwood who I think has all the ability and mentality to become a top top striker, so who is the better player is irrelevant to me. Greenwood needs to go on and prove himself first as a centre forward, but I have a lot of confidence he can and will do so, so I think we should be more than happy with the player we have got as he is the best to break through in a long time here
Greenwood is pretty much the same age and at the same stage in development terms all be it at a much bigger club as Haaland was when he moved to DOrtmund. But Haaland has alreayd proved he is good enough to be starting game in game out for a big club in a major league, Greenwood is right at the start of that big season right now.
Rightly or wrongly for me personally Greenwood is ENglish, home grown at the club and seems pretty down to earth, calm and likable. Though no doubt a fantastic striker, the agent, some of the interviews, the aura....he is a great watch obviously but I havent warmed to Haaland much and personally not bothered whether we sign him at all or not now, I am mre than happy with Greenwood who I think has all the ability and mentality to become a top top striker, so who is the better player is irrelevant to me. Greenwood needs to go on and prove himself first as a centre forward, but I have a lot of confidence he can and will do so, so I think we should be more than happy with the player we have got as he is the best to break through in a long time here
The thing with Haaland's numbers is, teams like Salzburg and Dortmund operate in a way that incentivizes getting the max out of assets like Haaland.
That's not the case for Greenwood. At Utd Greenwood isn't the star, and we're more concerned with his development than anything else. If he was at a functional German club which needed to turn him into a 100M asset, I'm sure his numbers would be a lot better than they currently are.
Saying that, Haaland is currently better than Greenwood by most metrics, but who knows how it will be in future should Haaland move to a different team/competition with a different way of operating.
That's not the case for Greenwood. At Utd Greenwood isn't the star, and we're more concerned with his development than anything else. If he was at a functional German club which needed to turn him into a 100M asset, I'm sure his numbers would be a lot better than they currently are.
Saying that, Haaland is currently better than Greenwood by most metrics, but who knows how it will be in future should Haaland move to a different team/competition with a different way of operating.
Until we reach the end of the season it's impossible to say, at the end of the day we aren't certain to get Haaland and when you look beyond him I don't see a better option than Mason out there.
I think we should work on Haaland behind the scenes. By the end of the season we'll know if we need a new striker or not. Hopefully Greenwood will have the position nailed down by then. So basically im advocating duplicity.
AND Greenwood is playing out of position for most of that as RW
Haaland is maximising his qualities and going for it. Greenwood is flirting with success. Mentally Haaland is light years ahead of Greenwood. I hope Mason scrapes together enough self-belief to have a good Utd career.
They probably have similar raw-talent levels although Haaland has more physicality.
They probably have similar raw-talent levels although Haaland has more physicality.
Greenwood has great potential, he is probably the most natural finisher since as long as I could remember, and his overall game has been improving everyday.
Haaland though, is a monster. He scores goals and he is unstoppable for scoring goals.
Haaland though, is a monster. He scores goals and he is unstoppable for scoring goals.
Greenwood is superb young player and IMO one of the sure player who will have brilliant career. He has skillset to play multiple positions at high level and apart from heading, he has no weak areas in his game. He is very good dribbler, superb finisher with both feet and one of the very few players who can use both feet with ease. He can also pick passes easily and his overall game has improved so much.
On the other side, what Haaland has achieved for his age is exceptional. I wouldn't say his skillset is broad but he looks like perfect 9 with so much hunger for goals. In FM terms, if you edit the player, you just lower not so important attributes and max out important attributes for a 9, he looks that kind of player. He is already one of the best CF in the world.
Right now Haaland is on different level to Greenwood, going by their achievements.
On the other side, what Haaland has achieved for his age is exceptional. I wouldn't say his skillset is broad but he looks like perfect 9 with so much hunger for goals. In FM terms, if you edit the player, you just lower not so important attributes and max out important attributes for a 9, he looks that kind of player. He is already one of the best CF in the world.
Right now Haaland is on different level to Greenwood, going by their achievements.
This is a very FM type of view but I'd love something that gets back to SAF's 99/00 squad with 4 strikers and 6 players competing for 3 spots - with equal left and right footed players on each side. I say that because I find that Greenwood is different to Haaland and more similar to Rashford and yet different partnerships could be great to watch (in 433,41212 diamond, 352 etc)
6 players competing for 3 spots
LW - Rashford, Sancho (Right Footed)
ST- Isak/Vlhaovic(Right F), Haaland(Left F)
RW- Greenwood, Madueke (Left Footed)
Rashford and Greenwood are the left and right footed version of a slightly similar player.
Sancho and Madueke are the right and left footed of a slightly similar player, capable of playing on either sides.
Haaland is more a traditional left footed striker that we don't have and I'd like a Right footed version of him aswell - even if its unlikely or comes from our youth team.
6 players competing for 3 spots
LW - Rashford, Sancho (Right Footed)
ST- Isak/Vlhaovic(Right F), Haaland(Left F)
RW- Greenwood, Madueke (Left Footed)
Rashford and Greenwood are the left and right footed version of a slightly similar player.
Sancho and Madueke are the right and left footed of a slightly similar player, capable of playing on either sides.
Haaland is more a traditional left footed striker that we don't have and I'd like a Right footed version of him aswell - even if its unlikely or comes from our youth team.
Now that Grealish is at city, I think the below suffices.
CF Haaland, Greenwood, Rashford
WF : Greenwood, Rashford, Sancho, Pogba.
CAM Bruno, Sancho.
Haaland, Greenwood, Rashford, Sancho, Pogba, Bruno.
I think that is sufficient to challenge on all fronts next year. There’s also room for a youngster to break through which we must always have one place for.
The beast is constantly evolving and the United machine is well and truly back and ideally I’d like Pogba replaced for a more prolific creative winger however that will be fine until 2024.
CF Haaland, Greenwood, Rashford
WF : Greenwood, Rashford, Sancho, Pogba.
CAM Bruno, Sancho.
Haaland, Greenwood, Rashford, Sancho, Pogba, Bruno.
I think that is sufficient to challenge on all fronts next year. There’s also room for a youngster to break through which we must always have one place for.
The beast is constantly evolving and the United machine is well and truly back and ideally I’d like Pogba replaced for a more prolific creative winger however that will be fine until 2024.
We can discuss talent, potential, and current scoring rates all day long, but it's all pretty irrelevant if the players aren't utilised in the right way. With a player like Haaland, who along with De Jong would probably be my next dream signing, you need to ensure the team is set up to provide him with chances, delivering balls into the box and creating the spaces for him to burst into. He would be a pretty straightforward replacement/upgrade on Cavani. Mason fits in far better with the idea of a fluid, rotating attack with his adaptability, close control, and two-footedness. In terms of numbers, he's likely to suffer in comparison to Haaland, not for lack of ability, but for greater versatility.
I actually think Pogba has suffered to the same extent, in that he's such a talented player that he's often been picked to play in positions he's not naturally suited to by virtue of the fact he's simply better than our alternatives, and this leads to criticism of him not performing week in week out to the level we saw against Leeds.
I actually think Pogba has suffered to the same extent, in that he's such a talented player that he's often been picked to play in positions he's not naturally suited to by virtue of the fact he's simply better than our alternatives, and this leads to criticism of him not performing week in week out to the level we saw against Leeds.
Haaland would be first choice if he was at United.
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