Nordic Ghost Yeti (Scandi Carroll) | Haaland at City

I’m not from Norway. But the thread would be only 20 pages and not very interesting if everyone just agreed and had the same opinion, right? Giorno is a Real Madrid fan, I’ve seen him defend Kanté in another thread from ridiculous criticism, I’ve also argued against him on the merits of plenty of other players. Some people don’t decide their opinions on a player purely on club loyalties.

I don’t care for Haaland personally but I will defend a player who I think is being unfairly criticised, he deserves some criticism for a bad run of form but some of it has been over the top here.

People keep parroting the same narratives like ‘his team-mates bailed him out, City would score more without him, he’s holding them back’ etc as if he’s not still a world-class striker.
Go to a Liverpool forum and see how many people on there are vociferously defending City and United players like people seem to be doing here with Haaland. Bias due to club loyalties is actually pretty normal.

Now the Norway thing makes sense. If I was Norwegian, I'd want to defend him too.
 
Go to a Liverpool forum and see how many people on there are vociferously defending City and United players like people seem to be doing here with Haaland. Bias due to club loyalties is actually pretty normal.

Now the Norway thing makes sense. If I was Norwegian, I'd want to defend him too.
On those forums there is a bunch of deluded idiots spouting nonsense. You also have them here, but in general RedCafe is a great forum for neutral people who just like to discuss football. Which is why I wouldn't go to BlueMoon or RAWK (except to laugh at them for being deluded idiots)
 
With Haaland and Solskjaer people love to trot out the Norway bias. I rarely see it happen so often for any other nationality. As if you can’t be Norwegian and have a legitimate disagreement with how overly negative people are being.

Funnily enough I’m pretty sure you’re off on all three of those names.

How do I become Norwegian? Strictly for the purposes of my posts in this thread being more acceptable

I can't speak Norwegian. But I like fish.
 
He was not THE reason they won the ucl. The main problem in previous seasons was their defending which they improved on tremendously; the number of goals they scored was very similar.

Majority of those hail from Norway. We have many fans from there.

I'm guessing @giorno @adexkola @Keanes Magic Hat are all from Norway or have some connection with the country. Otherwise, the defending against well-deserved criticism of Haaland’s poor allround play is truly bizarre on a United forum.

Nah. Just being reasonable. You dont have to like Haaland but the critisicm in this thread is worse than RAWK at times. He's averaging a goal a game in a treble season at the young age of 23 and he's somehow shit and one dimensional? I wish our players are one dimensional

I would love to dig around the one slagging Haaland on their view about Rashford

Redcafe used to be more neutral in terms of acknowledging good players. I guess it's easier to do so when you're winning

For me Haaland is the Floyd Mayweather of football. He's not flashy like Ali but boy he does all the basics to the perfection. Not everyone fancy solo run dribbling past 5 players once a season, some can appreciate the marvel of his consistency in doing the basics of football.
 
On those forums there is a bunch of deluded idiots spouting nonsense. You also have them here, but in general RedCafe is a great forum for neutral people who just like to discuss football. Which is why I wouldn't go to BlueMoon or RAWK (except to laugh at them for being deluded idiots)
Well yeah, I get this, this is why I joined. I'm not a United fan. I do think it's OK for Man United fans to criticise a rival player though, and revel in his struggles (such as they are, it's a bit 'first world problems' where he is concerned....)
 
How do I become Norwegian? Strictly for the purposes of my posts in this thread being more acceptable

I can't speak Norwegian. But I like fish.

I can speak Norwegian, not a huge fan of fish.

I was gonna say surely someone with the username giorno’s not Norwegian, but clearly some people don’t fit the stereotypes.
 
How do I become Norwegian? Strictly for the purposes of my posts in this thread being more acceptable

I can't speak Norwegian. But I like fish.
I'd have applied for norwegian nationality long ago if it wasn't so far north :D

Too cold and I can't go 6 months without sun
 
For me Haaland is the Floyd Mayweather of football. He's not flashy like Ali but boy he does all the basics to the perfection.

What do you mean by "all the basics"? Putting him next to Mayweather, a tactical genius :lol:
Haaland is probably one of the worst most-hyped players ever with lacking so much fundamentally including passing, dribbling, vision, technique etc. basically League-2 level player outside finishing.

Not everyone fancy solo run dribbling past 5 players once a season, some can appreciate the marvel of his consistency in doing the basics of football.

He's definitely extremely consistent in terms of ghosting with 10 touches per game and receiving 5-6/10 in games he doesn't score.
 
Go to a Liverpool forum and see how many people on there are vociferously defending City and United players like people seem to be doing here with Haaland. Bias due to club loyalties is actually pretty normal.

Now the Norway thing makes sense. If I was Norwegian, I'd want to defend him too.

Yet a lot of people here just spend most of their time destroying our own players - Rashford prime example - when it comes to United players, so there's not much loyalty there.

Anyway, just read the troll herkalion's post above if you're wondering why this discussion is still going.
 
What do you mean by "all the basics"? Putting him next to Mayweather, a tactical genius :lol:
Haaland is probably one of the worst most-hyped players ever with lacking so much fundamentally including passing, dribbling, vision, technique etc. basically League-2 level player outside finishing.



He's definitely extremely consistent in terms of ghosting with 10 touches per game and receiving 5-6/10 in games he doesn't score.

He run over your dog or something?
 
Unh? How so? They're somewhat annoying with their pro-PSG bias, but in what way do their match ratings "normally suck donkey balls"?

Because not few times, like many news outlets, they have an agenda. They can be biased and also to somehow give some kind of tough image, quite unfair with their ratings.
 
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1. Erling so far is a player with almost a goal per game ratio in his carreer. Resting merit to "that" talent/attribute no matter how he does it, is RIDICULOUS in itself. Like it's ridiculous to doubt his contribution with his teams winning games and achieving titles.

2. Erling has to improve his overall game (he is very young, time is on his side), he has to better in situations where he is man marked and has to hold the ball, he has to be better in keeping it and gaining time, he has to use his head a lot better given his size, not only to score, but to defend, to play as pivot when his team needs to release a long ball in order to get away from some pressuring situation, etc. In games where he touches the ball few times, he MUST do better and I'm not talking about goals, but stuff like I've mentioned above, because later it doesn't matter if his team wins anyway, he deserves to be criticized.

3. Erling would be criticized when he blows some clear chance, or many, some even in some clouncy fashion, yet...see point 1. he'll come around, every player has to deal with some bad timing, bad form phase.

4. City, not always plays to his strenghts and that will affect his game. Given that he doesn't manage all that great what I've said in point 2., he clearly feels better running into spaces using his pace and size, playing with more space in general, like many of his best goals in Germany.
On the negative side the City we all know can put their own players in tight situations mostly pressed by their own mates since they play so far ahead in the pitch against defences with lots of bodies. In those tight spaces Erling will struggle. Also he finds himself multiple times running into spaces without receiving the ball, because City sometimes would not risk it at all. Erling is a player that loves verticality full time, City will be vertical in few ocassions. There is no mistery why Kevin, the player that takes more risks with balls in to space and more risky passes, is the one that served him better.
On the other hand in the positive side, City will provide lots of centres, lots of incursions in the little area that will generate rebounds, one/twos that will make players receive almost in front open nets, this with Erling ability to be in the right spot will help him to score a lot too.
Yet when he gets frustrated in those tight scenarios and the ball for whatever reason does not get in the rival's net in those clear chances, Erling starts to feel less comfortable and his finishing ends suffering, but like I've said in 3. he'll get better again, he has the right mindset and ambition, but news, he is human, not a cyborg.

5. And last, to defend him there is no need to create some sort of super special ability from him, nor bring clearly way better players than him "failures" to somehow imply that he is on that level of talent or whatever. He is a specialist building a carreer where it's almost a sure bet that he'll end in one of the best goalscorers ever. A player that no one bar some really footy ultra fan would now that reminds of him was Artime. This dude just scored goals for fun, he was heavily criticized his whole carreer as a fecking bricklayer, but he time and again respond with goals. Like Erling his mindset was surreal, strong as fvck. The thing with Erling is that I see atributtes in his physical side that he MUST improve for his own good, there is lots of room there to become overall a better player than he already is...in any case, if he doesn't, no big deal: see point 1.

PD: Sorry for the long rant and just some side note, Mayweather is far from an accurate analogy, this lad manages almost every aspect of boxing, the criticsm towards him was always based on the somehow extreme pragmatism and intelligence devoid of "passion" for lack of better word. Pragmatism that he also translates into his fight choices ,the timing of them, etc...clever fvcker no doubt and with a huge mouth too.
Yet, Floyd it's on the very skill ranking on multiple skills regarding boxing. The only thing that can be relate to Erling is that Overall pragmatism regarding their aims. Erling enters into the pitch to score goals, Floyd to win a bout in the safest way making his best effort to not jeopardize his carreer strategy...that pragmatism is in both, but Floyd does it with a very complete bag of skills being as cynical as he can.
 
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Better game today after struggling for awhile, made the first goal, scored the pen but his confidence still looks shot to pieces right now.
 
Failed to score from open play against little Luton today having also failed to score in the reverse fixture, Keano was right about him.
 
Against their reserves and youth.

Tim Krul was hopeless in that cup game, a decent keeper would have saved at least 4 of those 5 goals easilly.

If you say so.
Just Morris, Clark, Townsend, Chong, Barkley, Doughty, Burke, Woodrow, and Hashioka literally played both today and in the cup but ok.
Reserves like Mengi (25 pl games this season), Ogbene (28 league games this season), Amari Bell too who was first choice till he got injured (in that actual cup game).

Wrong in both threads with the same post. Impressive.
 
Like the Keane question

What does Haaland offer beside goals
Do other players get asked the same especially when it's the main metric for their position

Do we get
What does KDB offer besides passes
Or what does Cortouis offer besides saves?

Many seasons in this CL man city got bumped out in the quarters like vs Spurs Liverpool Lyon
Haaland wrecked Bayern last quarters on their way to the treble. He probably won't get credit for that
 
Like the Keane question

What does Haaland offer beside goals
Do other players get asked the same especially when it's the main metric for their position
That main metric you're using would not keep Benzema at Real for 15 years, and shows Haaland as a better striker than R9.. Lukaku as one of the greatest strikers in international football.. that's how useful your main metric is when used alone for a striker.

Do we get
What does KDB offer besides passes
Or what does Cortouis offer besides saves?
No, because nobody has declared them "the best player in the world" in a given season.
Imagine reducing KDB's impact to only "passing" and a striker's impact to "number of tap-ins"

Many seasons in this CL man city got bumped out in the quarters like vs Spurs Liverpool Lyon
And, so? City played a SF the year before Haaland losing unluckily to Real, and played the UCL final against Chelsea the year prior not to mention their dominance of the top league in the word, Premier League.You're talking as if City was a nobody before Haaland. Remove Haaland from City, they would still continue to dominate as usual..

What was Haaland doing before City? any Bundesliga title/top scorer, Ballon D'or, Golden Shoe, treble...
forget about treble, any double? forget about double, any league title in Bundesliga?
Right after he left, Dortmund had their best Bundesliga season in years, and are in the QFs in the CL finishing their group at no.1 above PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle. Using your logic will imply he was a non-factor for Dortmund.

Haaland wrecked Bayern last quarters on their way to the treble. He probably won't get credit for that

so did many other City players who scored a total of 12 goals despite not being strikers (including 4 against Real in the UCL semis) in 7 semis & finals in a treble winning season while Haaland was ghosting as usual. doesn't make him the best player in his team let alone the world.
 
Missed the first half, but the second half it looks like hes having a nightmare.
 
Less of a ghost today, but not really a good game still. Some nice moments in the first half.

Limped a bit and got subbed.
 
Rodri 141 completed passes, Haaland 5.

Say what you will about his limitations but it must be incredibly frustrating to play for City as a striker at times, they just refuse to put the ball in the box unless it is on their terms, the other side is you will get a lot of chances in other games.
 
I'm probably his biggest critic here, but even I felt bad for him today, seems like he's a down to earth guy.

Those few who are trying to portray him as something he is not is not doing any favor to him.. just let it go, an excellent finisher when provided enough service as part of Guardiola's City machine, nothing more than that.
 
That makes it zero goals in his last four big games for City by the way (Arsenal, Liverpool and 2x Madrid).
 
He was poor as he has been since he returned from injury, I wonder if he is fully fit. The key test will be next season to his true level, whether he can recreate 2022/23 again, or this is closer to his level at the elite level.
 
I'm probably his biggest critic here, but even I felt bad for him today, seems like he's a down to earth guy.

Those few who are trying to portray him as something he is not is not doing any favor to him.. just let it go, an excellent finisher when provided enough service as part of Guardiola's City machine, nothing more than that.

Down to earth? He's an arrogant cnut and when he's not scoring, he's shite.