Nordic Ghost Yeti (Scandi Carroll) | Haaland at City

He is brilliant and has the right attitude another brilliant move by City sadly. Strange how city and Liverpool both went for a big man goal scorer up top. Sadly it will improve both teams and add more strings to their bow.
 
Jippy said:
I'm puzzled by the number of posters who seem to be taking some strange, smug satisfaction that a handful of total outlier pundits who predicted the world's most coveted and deadly striker wouldn't succeed in the Prem are being proven wrong.
Take that attention-seeking idiot pundits, Haaland is going to usher in a new era of City dominance...whoopee doo.
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Agreed. The celebration of what a player he is, on a united forum, is rather odd.
 
Sayros said:
He doesn't control the game like a Benzema or Mbappe can. If he doesn't get the service, he hardly is capable of breaking down the defense on his own. A goal like Mbappe's had against Real Madrid, I won't see Haaland ever being able to score, for example. But he has his own advantages, he can get CBs bouncing off him, he has a huge physical advantage over Mbappe for sure, and even Benzema because of his speed, but those two have more to their toolkit than he does to impact the game in multiple ways IMO. As far as him strolling into the PL, who is honestly surprised? People massively overrate the difficulty of the PL, elite players will make a mockery of any league, especially if they're in the best team of said league.
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You're never going to see Mbappe or Benzema score a goal like Haaland's third yesterday either. Very different players, and ultimately this is just a rather pointless debate (we're already seeing the contours of this taking over from the God-awful Ronaldo vs Messi nonsense). They are all obviously top players (which you also note). One foundational point of that rather pointless debate is the notion of completeness that you express above. Although few would dispute that Mbappe or Benzema are more well-rounded players individually than Haaland, I'd question some of the inferences you draw from that. Firstly, it's much too simple to claim that this means they can do things on their own while Haaland can basically only do what his teammates set him up to do. The consistency of his scoring record, including for Salzburg in the CL and the Norwegian national team, says otherwise. And indeed, you see him scoring quite a lot of goals from situations where very few others would have ended up scoring, or where he's the one making the difference. Clearly, he quite frequently are able to break down defences without requiring anything special from his teammates, otherwise he would not be putting up at roughly the same rate for Salzburg in the CL as he did for Dortmund in the Bundesliga. He just does that with different tools than Mbappe or Benzema. And in any case, how crucially important is it really for a top team what a playercan do all on his own? I would think most such teams would be much more focused on what a player can deliver as part of the collective.

Secondly, I think the logic involved in that argument is iffy. Just because you have a wider array of tools and/or greater variability in your game, and hence more ways in which you can influence the game, that does not necessarily mean you are able to influence games more. And it is not self-evident that greater completeness is better than a more narrow set of extreme qualities, especially not when you're talking about exactly the qualities that are most sought-after in that position.

All of this said not to make the argument that Haaland is a better or more valuable player than Mbappe or Benzema. But rather to make the argument that it's rather pointless to debate which is better among different players who are all obviously and absolutely top-level, but also very different. It was pointless with Ronaldo and Messi, and it's no less pointless with Haaland and Mbappe.

And you are right about the idiot PL overrating. It may be the best league in Europe right now, but listening to some you'd think it was on a different level, as if it was the NHL of football. Which it obviously isn't (and which ought to be pretty obvious to anyone watching the european cups).
 
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Spartan said:
You're overrating Mbappe. Mbappe doesn't control games, only very few players in the world can control games. Messi and Neymar are the ones off the top of my head who can do that, the latter is also a superior player compared to Mbappe. Since you're a PSG fan, I assume that you know that is Neymar who has been pulling all the strings for the attack since he arrived. Neymar has a lot of flashy moments, but what people might not realize is that he has silently become the best playmaker in the world. His passing and vision have become legendary.

Neymar, and of course Messi, possess the football IQ to be able to control games, Mbappe doesn't have that. Mbappe relies on his speed, that is why he thrived under Poch hoofball. Galtier is now introducing a more possessive based style of football, this is why Neymar and Messi are thriving and will continue to thrive. They play best when the ball is at their feet, with Mbappe it's the opposite. Don't make a mistake about it, Mbappe is quite poor technically, especially compared to some of the best ever. Remember when United beat PSG 3-1 in the CL 2019? That Mbappe performance was hilariously bad, constantly tripping over his own feet, constantly misplacing passes, and dribbling the ball out of play.
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Imagine calling Mbappe "quite poor technically", and using an example a bad game of him 3 years ago, and forgetting the great games he had against Bayern,Juventus,City,Barcelona, or Real Madrid in the UCL.

Just say you don't like Mbappe, stop making up stuff in order to make an argument.
 
I think the idea that Haaland would fail in a City side was built more on hope rather than actual facts.
 
The commentary yesterday was so circle jerky. Going on about how City have never had a striker like this when they've Aguero banging in goals consistently for a decade.
 
Bubz27 said:
The commentary yesterday was so circle jerky. Going on about how City have never had a striker like this when they've Aguero banging in goals consistently for a decade.
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Haaland has a bigger ceiling than Aguero
He also feels like the difference between deep CL runs and actually winning the CL something I unfortunately think City will touch within the next 2yrs
 
RkkMan said:
Haaland has a bigger ceiling than Aguero
He also feels like the difference between deep CL runs and actually winning the CL something I unfortunately think City will touch within the next 2yrs
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Yeah unfortunately. Aguro couldn't replicate his form in the CL. Haaland has already been scoring for fun in the CL for lesser sides.
 
Sadly, this guy is going to absolutely smash it for City. Wouldn't be surprised if he takes the prem goal scoring record in his debut season.
 
Technically average and he isn’t going to wow you with his overall play.
However, he has pace, strength and fantastic movement - not to mention that he plays with a great degree of intelligence. He’ll pick up great numbers in whichever team or league he’s in.
 
fallengt said:
Roy Kean broke his father's leg.
Ole made calls and Eeland still refused to join. Dude just hate United. W e never had a chance to sign him.
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He went to Dortmund because it was the best step for his career and would represent the biggest payday further down the line. He’s not a City fan, he doesn’t hate United, I doubt he could care less about either. He went with the best option for his career.
 
Jippy said:
I'm puzzled by the number of posters who seem to be taking some strange, smug satisfaction that a handful of total outlier pundits who predicted the world's most coveted and deadly striker wouldn't succeed in the Prem are being proven wrong.
Take that attention-seeking idiot pundits, Haaland is going to usher in a new era of City dominance...whoopee doo.
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I think most people have already resigned themselves to Haaland continuing his goal a game ratio at City, so you just kind of have to take it with a shrug. It’s painful, but the painful moment was when the signing was made, the reality of it is kind of mundane now. Maybe it’d hurt more if United were actually fighting for the title.

The smugness of PL fans talking about other leagues as farmers leagues, puffing their chests up about how difficult the PL is, and claiming Haaland would never score those kinds of goals here…it’s nothing to do with Haaland, it’s just amusing to see them proven so thoroughly wrong so quickly. Those kind of delusions were celebrated in a big circle jerk and it was a shameful kind of xenophobia. At least that can’t happen again.
 
The movement for the header was so subtle but so Haaland. Perfect ball by Foden but he’s done that almost every time I watch him.

And yes the xG for the third must have been non-existent. Not many forwards do that these days.
 
I also hate Mbappe for the record. I can’t believe PSG have the 3 most spoiled footballers on the planet as their front 3.

Haaland is a machine and he will easily finish top scorer.
 
Nice hattrick. Why do City keep conceding so many goals though? Is he working off the ball as hard and contributing to general play as much as a false 9?
 
Zen86 said:
He went to Dortmund because it was the best step for his career and would represent the biggest payday further down the line. He’s not a City fan, he doesn’t hate United, I doubt he could care less about either. He went with the best option for his career.
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Do you really think his dad an ex city player and someone who received a career ending injury from our captain doesn't have sway with his son?

Reminds me so much of RVN, but quicker.
 
M16Red said:
Do you really think his dad an ex city player and someone who received a career ending injury from our captain doesn't have sway with his son?

Reminds me so much of RVN, but quicker.
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Why has this myth not yet been busted?

Keano didn't end Alfie's career. While what he did was absolutely cnutish and moronic, and I don't agree at all with this revenge angle. But his tackle didn't end Alfie's career. It was not even the leg that Keano tackle which led to Alfie Haaland's career demise.
 
Pickle85 said:
Agreed. The celebration of what a player he is, on a united forum, is rather odd.
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Yeah. My suspicion is it's people taking pride in "spotting" an elite talent at a young age. But it's not exactly difficult to do when he was scoring a double hattrick in youth internationals, and scoring 1.5 goals a game in the CL at 18 for Salzburg against superior opposition. Well done guys, you're an elite youtube scout. The mega star that you, everyone else with access to the Internet, my grandad, my nan and my nan's dog all spotted at 18 and predicted would become a phenomenon is now proving he's a phenomenon at City. Hooray!!
 
Mike Smalling said:
Just saw his high boot on Andersen’s head yesterday. Very lucky not to get sent off. The exact kind of thing Nani was sent off for against Madrid and not dissimilar to Mane vs City a few years ago.
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I think it was dissimilar in a very important way, which is that Mané was moving at high speed and Haaland wasn't.
 
RkkMan said:
Haaland has a bigger ceiling than Aguero
He also feels like the difference between deep CL runs and actually winning the CL something I unfortunately think City will touch within the next 2yrs
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Signing Osimhen is our only chance catching up City in the foreseeable future...
 
Bit weird that the noggie posters have to gush over a bloke that's going to make City even better... I knew this thread would be really fecking weird, and so far, it's coming up trumps.
 
Pickle85 said:
Agreed. The celebration of what a player he is, on a united forum, is rather odd.
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He is proving a point. We had countless discussions on this forum how hard the PL is, how bad other leagues are etc, for example when discussing the Sancho performances or similar players where so many posters on here just dismiss his former performances with "he has only done it in a farmer's league". Nuanced discussions with a lot of those posters were impossible, and it was quite tiresome.

I hope that maybe now some people realize that "PL proven" doesn't matter as much as they thought, everybody can hit the ground running if he has the quality and is used the right way from the beginning. And quality can be seen in other leagues as well.
 
Zen86 said:
He went to Dortmund because it was the best step for his career and would represent the biggest payday further down the line. He’s not a City fan, he doesn’t hate United, I doubt he could care less about either. He went with the best option for his career.
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Yeah ultimately how dreadfully we are being run meant he didn't want to take the risk and join just like Bellingham, being spurned by top class talents like them is all down to these leeches.

Quite frankly I don't know where we turn for a prolific goalscorer with him and Nunez now at our two most bitter rivals. If anyone can suggest a sure fire hit then feel free because need a boost.
 
M16Red said:
Do you really think his dad an ex city player and someone who received a career ending injury from our captain doesn't have sway with his son?

Reminds me so much of RVN, but quicker.
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Do people not realise that Alf literally continued playing the rest of the game and got surgery like a week later for his OTHER knee?

edit: I just double checked it was even after the season had ended
 
On course for 57 league goals at his current rate, and he probably hasn't even fully clicked with his teammates yet.

I'd expect him to get 15-20 exact replicas of his third goal yesterday, with passing from De Bruyne and Gundogan and him having the pace and power to bully CBs on route to goal.

If you defend high against him he'll to that to you, but if you defend deep, he'll sniff out space in the box to attack like for his first goal yesterday.

The kid is an absolute beast of a goalscorer.
 
diarm said:
On course for 57 league goals at his current rate, and he probably hasn't even fully clicked with his teammates yet.

I'd expect him to get 15-20 exact replicas of his third goal yesterday, with passing from De Bruyne and Gundogan and him having the pace and power to bully CBs on route to goal.

If you defend high against him he'll to that to you, but if you defend deep, he'll sniff out space in the box to attack like for his first goal yesterday.

The kid is an absolute beast of a goalscorer.
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Yeah I thought seeing Aguero there really hurt but this is a whole new level of pain right now. I cannot accept we made such a mess of this when he was at Molde, also regret not allowing that clause thing at Dortmund.
 
I think part if the reason people are gushing is that we don't even see City as rivals anymore because we've fallen so low. But also because we are in an era where there is a lack of great strikers in their prime.
 
This thread will be on the front page all fecking season

Something not right about a load of United fans wanking over Haaland on a weekly basis.
 
croadyman said:
Yeah I thought seeing Aguero there really hurt but this is a whole new level of pain right now. I cannot accept we made such a mess of this when he was at Molde, also regret not allowing that clause thing at Dortmund.
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That release clause would've been active this summer, and he would've still joined City. This time from United - unless.we actually managed to break him too
 
Skills said:
That release clause would've been active this summer, and he would've still joined City. This time from United - unless.we actually managed to break him too
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Least we would have got a couple of years
 
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