Hojlund or Zirkzee as first choice striker?

They both seem like massive confidence players. Hojlund has largely scored in bunches, and Zirkzee looked like a pub league player for most matches since that Liverpool game at home up until pretty recently.

Zirkzee is getting his mojo back at the moment, though.
 
Keep rotating till we find a real striker in the transfer window. Hojlund crap tonight, its Zirkzee's turn to start. When Zirkzee gets crap, bring Hojlund back in.
 
Zirkzee has been good (borderline very good) the last few games coming off the bench, so deserves to start. Indeed I thought he should have started this one.

Whether he can perform well from the start is another question, as (bar a couple of his first few games) he's been very poor whenever he's started previously. But it's time for him to be given another chance and see how he goes. Particularly considering Hojlund's atrocious form the last few games.
 
Zirkzee maybe not good enough to be out main striker but for now he is miles better than RH who offers nothing really.
 
I’ve kept making excuses for Hojlund but ultimately he’s not good enough. He’s not strong enough, he can’t hold up the ball, he doesn’t pass it wide and run into the box. He’s a nothing player and I still cannot understand why the club would agree to spend £70m on a striker with 8 goals in 31 games in Serie A.

Zirkzee long term I don’t think will be good enough but right now he should start.
 
Zirkzee is the main man from now on. Rasmus offers very little.
 
Zirkzee. He finds and brings others into play. The ball doesn’t bounce ten feet in front of him when it’s passed to him either.

Hojlund needs a stint on the bench.
 
ZZ is far superior technically and seems to be getting a bit more used to pace of the league. Rasmus needs to improve massively. All in all, we need a new striker ASAP
 
I don't really see the point of playing Hojlund, who's bad at playing in tight spaces, back to the goal and needs to run into space/channels. This seems to be something you won't be able to do against many bottom half PL sides? Top half he could potentially do it but he hasn't showed that either.
 
I've been a Rasmus advocate but absolutely agree, Zirkzee deserves his start. That positive energy, enthusiasm that he brought today is nit there at the moment with Hojlund. Rasmus is ratty and ineffective. Time for a change.
 
Neither is playing terribly well and clearly we need someone better to be the main man but I would drop Hojlund at this point as we are clearly intent on playing in a way that highlights the worst parts of his game. Hojlund needs the ball on the deck in front of him in the channels but we insist on sitting deep and lumping it long despite knowing he is poor at playing with his back to goal, much better to start with Zirkzee who is at least competent at hold up play. Tactically it also makes sense to use Rasmus off the bench in the last 20 minutes when his pace would be most useful against tiring defenders.
 
GlazersHater said:
Each time I see one play I ask for the other one to start. Zirkzee wasn't anything special tonight but damn Hojlund was bad. Out of the league bad, Hojlund is looking worse and worse as time goes by. He lacks so many of the technical qualities needed that I think at this point even Zirkzee will be a better choice.

But will have to wait, maybe next game after watching Zirkzee I'll have to say that even Hojlund is better.
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Presumably you didn’t watch the Everton match - the last time Zirkzee started a league match as a 9?
 
Hojlund has been atrocious for ages now. Offers us practically nothing. Zirkzee has made a decent impact in the last 2 or 3 games he's come on in. It seems like the Newcastle experience has given him a bit of fire in his belly, like he wants to show everyone that he can play.

That said, he'll probably start against Brighton and stink the joint out!
 
Doracle said:
Presumably you didn’t watch the Everton match - the last time Zirkzee started a league match as a 9?
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Tough to judge off that game because Everton were undeniably atrocious and it was far and away the easiest match we have had all season. Would have been interesting to see if ZZ could have kept it going but that was early in the RA era when he was rotating like crazy every game.
 
Zirkzee showed more in 10 mins than Hojlund did for 60. He has to start next match.
 
After today Zirkzee, but after watching the normal Zirkzee start against a decent team that isn't gassed then it'll probably be Hojlund again.
 
Buy an experienced striker in the summer, stop buying young inexperienced players. We have loads under 22/23. Send Hojlund or Zirkzee on loan and sell the other.
 
I swear it feels like every time either one of them starts, they'll have a shocker. Then whoever gets subbed in has a decent game and we flip flop our opinions on who should be the starter. It must have happened 4/5 times already.

But yes, Zirkzee has to start on Sunday
 
lost7 said:
I swear it feels like every time either one of them starts, they'll have a shocker. Then whoever gets subbed in has a decent game and we flip flop our opinions on who should be the starter. It must have happened 4/5 times already.

But yes, Zirkzee has to start on Sunday
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I don’t think it’s all that complicated. The guy who starts is up against a fresh defense. The guy who is subbed on comes in with energy against a tired defense. In today’s game, the midfield was also way more open towards the end.

Zirkzee should start against Brighton, but I wouldn’t expect anything like this performance from the start of that game.
 
Højlund really need to work on his positioning and runs. It’s to hard for teammates to find him. He trying really hard, but I feel the negative vibes.
 
Zirkzee deserves a start. He changed the game.

I wouldn't pin my hopes on either of them, but Zirkzee's only been here a few months. I give him more of a pass. Rotating them when one plays awfully should be the play.
 
Definitely Zirkzee, can't help wishing we had used the Rasmus money on Osimhen in this window or just waited it out for Gyokeres.
 
Well since Rasmus has good form in Europe but poor form In the league the next few games are obvious. Start Zirkzee for Brighton, Rasmus for Rangers then Zirkzee for Fulham and Rasmus for Bucharest.
 
To be fair to Hojlund, he did create a great chance for Garnacho in the first half.
 
Tallis said:
To be fair to Hojlund, he did create a great chance for Garnacho in the first half.
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It was also from a run that Zirkzee is physically incapable of replicating.

If Zirkzee had Hojlund’s pace, this would be a very easy choice, but he has to be one of the slowest modern attackers I’ve seen.
 
Do we play with a 9 or a false 9? Because we set up differently with each and the two are occupying different spaces and making different contributions. I’d say play Zirkzee as a false 9 and give him someone to feed. If we play Rasmus as a traditional 9, for God’s sake feed him the type of pass he can use.
 
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