The only time I was sure an Arsenal player wasn't faking being hurt
Nordic Ghost Yeti (Scandi Carroll) | Haaland at City
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Are people really comparing him to Messi and Ronaldo, because i've not heard/seen/read that anywhere. Anyone comparing him to those two need their heads checked, IMO. Fantastic goalscorer, of course, but nowhere near those 2.
Yeah, you got me because I hazarded a guess, based on his history in big games, that he would probably blank. Instead, he has gotten 1 goal in a game with an hour against 10 men. Great.
I feel so foolish. It’s not the “gotcha” you seem to think it is.
He fecking hates Gabriel to be fair, and I can respect that
Just check this out 
You see it all the time on twitter and instagram. A lot of young fans, in particular, only see the game through stats and goal records.
It’s why the likes of Hazard will be forgotten to time and players are average unless they are getting a goal per game.
Haaland is a great player, but I think he is still to have his big deciding moments. If he never adds those, then he can’t be considered among the very elite players (and I am talking about an all time list here).
City would be winning games against Brentford and West Ham by the same score without him. He needs to become the difference maker to be truly elite. That’s my opinion anyway (as if we need to add that on a forum)
Ah yes his history in big games vs Arsenal, like the game two seasons ago when they were running away with the title where he got a goal and 2 assists or the game at the Emirates where he also scored.
3 goals and 2 assists in 5 league games vs Arsenal when they're the other title challenger, clearly not cut out for the big games.
They're only big games when he doesn't score right?
As for the Messi, Ronaldo thing people compare them in terms of output not talent. "He's obviously shit cause he's not as good as two of the 5 best players in football history".
3 goals and 2 assists vs Arsenal, 6 goals and 2 assists in the Derby. Not bad for 2 years and a guy who doesn't deliver in big games.
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Haaland has 5 goal involvements in 5 league games vs Arsenal now? No penalties either. That is what they are asking of him. He will be very quiet in some games vs tough opponents, of course. The sample size is big enough to say that.
Yeah, I don't disagree with you for the most part. Thankfully i'm not on social media, so aren't privvy to these opinions and the whole just judging things based off stats thing grates me as well - and football's heading more and more that way. I think Haaland's ok - world class forward definitely, but he's definitely a tier or 2 below the all time greats, IMO.
The fact that you have to go back to a game where he dunked on Rob Holding two years ago to find an example says quite a bit.
He threw the ball at a city player after the goal then charged through the back of player from kick off should’ve been sent off, a totally unlikeable prick just like his managers
So he had 2 games in a row last season where he didn't score against them, one in the second half of the season where he was poor against everyone and only a 4 goal haul covered up a poor 4 months (post stress fracture).
So in 5 league games he's got the better of them 3 times and been nullified twice. Thats a pretty good big game record.
By who? That clown Micah Richards?
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12 year olds cause no one with any sense would even make the comparison.
He's never spoken about as the best player in the world, by anyone in football, best goalscorer? absolutely. Best player? Everyone says he's miles away. People don't even think he's the best player in the current City team. He's not.
Its hyperbolic "I hate him cause some 12 year old once said he was as good as Messi on twitter" nonsense to cover genuinely bad takes.
He could have killed him
I enjoyed the barge after the kick off.
Whoever it was from arsenal deliberately got in his way.
Whoever it was from arsenal deliberately got in his way.
Messi is the best player ever, period. Can’t compare Haaland with the likes of Messi, Pele, Ronaldo or Maradona. Off course they were more technical gifted and dominated the game more.
At the same time I’ll say Haaland is the best striker and finisher the world has seen. His speed, strength, positioning and final touch is almost supernatural.
It looks so simple, but I don’t think many other players could have scored the goal he did today and Haaland does it over and over again.
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If he hadn't have scored today, you'd be all over it speaking about how he does nothing in big games. But because he scores, it's not a big game because it's only a league game.
His goals against United don't count because United are shit
His goals against Arsenal in a title race don't count because Rob Holding was playing
His goal against Arsenal when Saliba/Gabriel are both playing doesn't count because it's only a league game
His goal against Arsenal doesn't count because he only scored once when Arsenal had 11 men but not after they went down to 10
His goals against Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle, Spurs and Villa don't count either
His goal against Bayern in CL quarters doesn't count for reasons
Top CBs always have his number except he's when he scores against the best CB pairing in Europe, but that goal doesn't count so they still have his number
Essentially for Haaland to get credit for scoring in a "big" game it needs to be a CL final or semi final or domestic cup final, and only against a recognised elite team. And he has maybe 2 or 3 of those games a season.
Absolutely, Haaland will never be seen as one of the goats, nor should he be. I don't think he's the best finisher either though he's very good. For what its worth I think Brazilian Romario was the best finisher I've ever seen but I'd say Haaland is the best in the post CR7 era. Its his physicality and his knack of right place, right time that great strikers have that really stands out.
There was also the headbutt in the first half that he got away with, how he ended this game without even seeing a yellow is incredible
He is, but against Arsenal I'm cool with it
fair enough not a fan of either team or manager but thought Arsenal were harshly dealt with todayAbsolutely he seems to get away with a lot I don’t understand why defenders don’t wind him up of the ball he’s very likely to react
Both their goals were a result of referee-error.
First goal: The referee should’ve given Walker more time to reorganise himself after called him up to the misfield (as captain).
Second goal: Should’ve been canceled. Clear foul on City’s goalkeeper in the same situation.
Yeah mate, long way of saying “he isn’t decisive in big games, but he has scored against Villa”
They drew today, it was good of him to finally score against Saliba/Gabriel, I didn’t say it wasn’t a big game. A goal is a goal. He had 60 minutes to be decisive against 10 men at home, though, and didn’t do it.
He needs to be winning big games for his team, and he rarely does it. That’s all I am saying. He scores lots of goals in games that City will always score lots of goals in.
You have listed a lot of points that I didn’t make, but carry on.
Why did you think it was important to mention that it was a "league game", if you weren't insinuating it isn't a big game?
So it's not enough to score in big games, but it has to be the winning goal in a game that City win by just one goal, because otherwise it's not "decisive". Goals in games that City draw don't count, and goals in games where City score a lot of goals don't count either.
What teams in the league, and what teams in Europe exactly qualify as big games? Because it seems to me like he's actually scored loads of goals against the top 4, and top 4 contenders. Does scoring a hattrick against United count, or did that not count as decisive in your world?
United definitely weren’t a top team when he did that mate, are you serious?
I get your point, but no, I don’t count goals against a United team losing every other game, Newcastle or Villa as big games.
He scored today, and fair play to him. He usually doesn’t manage it against Saliba/Gabriel. Elite players grab the massive games by the scruff of the neck and make things happen. He isn’t that sort of player.
United finished 3rd in the season when he scored a hatrick.
So United, Newcastle and Villa don't count even when they finish top 4.
What about Chelsea and Spurs?
Did the quarter final against Bayern count?
Is it only Liverpool and Arsenal that qualify as big games domestically then? And Arsenal only counts if they have a fully fit squad, because neither game against Arsenal in 22/23 counts because Saliba was injured.
It's slim pickings for him really isn't it on the domestic front, he barely ever gets to play a big game.
I like him. He's nuts
His big game record all the way back to Salzburg has been more than fine. The fact that he scores at such an absurd rate makes it easier to notice that he has less goals in the big games which is natural because those games are harder. In 2 full seasons he has scored 6 against United, a couple (memory might fail me here, but at least one crucial one) against Spurs, 3 goals against Arsenal, twice against Liverpool, in both legs against Bayern on the way to a treble after being the difference in the round of 16 scoring 5 goals against Leipzig after we drew 0-0 away. Sure, it could be better, but I'm not sure you can really expect a striker to realistically have a that much better record in big games. The only reason people expect it is because he scores at such an abnormal rate.
It is a service thing more than anything else. No argument that he is a striker that requires service and he understandably gets less of it against better defences and midfields. There is no shame in that, because history already shows that if you provide him with service he will score more than anyone else is.
And his father.
He's a great goalscorer, but I cannot bring myself to like him at all as a player. Probably how a lot of non Utd and Madrid fans felt about Ronaldo maybe.
And he looks a bit too much like Vigo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters 2.
Can't wait until he fecks off.
He joined and they won the treble in his first season with them.
What would be a bigger difference?
Arsenal, Liverpool (under Klopp anyway), Madrid, Bayern would be the elite teams (Inter and Barca look to be getting there again). Semi finals and finals are the elite games. That’s what football is all about. Winning those big games. The greatest players of all time won those big games and were decisive at the biggest moments.
Chelsea/United look improved this season, but certainly were/are not good teams under Ten Hag/Poch. (Although, the big game he had recently against either of those was the FA Cup, where, he didn’t score)
A team like City has plenty of those games over the course of the season and he usually doesn’t score against Arsenal, didn’t score in the FA cup final, didn’t score in either the semi or the CL final when they won it. He didn’t score in the ‘23 FA Cup final either or even the semi against Sheffield United! He has, in fact, played for City in 6 finals and he hasn’t scored in any of them.
There is a pattern, whether you want to admit it or not.
He scores in games that City would inevitably score the same number of goals in, it’s just concentrated to one individual. Great player, but not elite until he does it frequently on the biggest stages. That’s what the elite players have always done and those are the moments that are played back forever.
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He's a victim of his own success. He scores at such an insane rate generally that people expect him to keep that same level against the best teams. His record against those best teams might be as good as the best strikers of the past but that still seems like underperformance given how good he is otherwise.
This is absolutely spot on
Right, so earlier you said league games do count as big games, but now it's just semi finals and finals. Which is it?
So Bayern does count as a big game but only when it's a semi or final, which conveniently discounts his goal against them in CL quarters.
Mid-week you were gloating that he didn't score against Inter and so he was a flat track bully, but by your definition it wasn't even a big game, as it was only a group stage game?
So scoring a hatrick agaisnt United doesn't count because United are too shit to count, despite them being a top 4 side that season. But playing a far worse United side who finished 8th does count because it's a final, and Sheffield United in a cup game counts as a bigger game than a 3rd place United side in the league. Do you ever just think you're making it up as you go along to suit your agenda?
He's scored in 3 separate games against Arsenal in his short time in England, so I'm not sure how "he usually doesn't score against Arsenal" is a fair assessment.
I have very simply laid out my point for you in the post above with a few stats about his lack of goals in important games. It’s very easy to understand.
Today was a good goal against a top team in a big game. It doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t do that often enough and is rarely decisive when it counts.
That includes finals, semi finals, and big games in the league (as we have seen against Arsenal in recent matches) and CL (as we saw as recently as this week)
6 finals, no goals
Messi scored 32 goals in finals, Ronaldo 30, Neymar 21, Romario 19, Drogba 10 goals and 10 trophies.
The greats, and even the very goods, decide big football matches. He has time, but it’s a massive failing if he doesn’t eventually add that to his game.
He has very much been the flat track bully on roids for City so far.
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