People said this about Messi when he was compared to Maradona too, at a similar age. @Spoony and co. all felt like the greatest ever was an unassailable position and it’s just stretching the realms of possibility to even predict Messi could compete.
Nordic Ghost Yeti (Scandi Carroll) | Haaland at City
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People said this about Messi when he was compared to Maradona too, at a similar age. @Spoony and co. all felt like the greatest ever was an unassailable position and it’s just stretching the realms of possibility to even predict Messi could compete.
FFS you said what I said but better and in less words. cnut.
He induces that level of fear about the monster you're gonna face that Ronaldo did in the 90's.
Know people say Mbappe is more akin to Ronaldo style wise I guess but the sheer ferocity of Haaland's qualities is much more of a match. He's a huge, fast, unstoppable hulk.
City are gonna absolutely batter some teams by ridiculous scorelines this year cause Haaland will be getting 3, 4, 5 at a time and won't stop to be gentlemanly about it.
Know people say Mbappe is more akin to Ronaldo style wise I guess but the sheer ferocity of Haaland's qualities is much more of a match. He's a huge, fast, unstoppable hulk.
City are gonna absolutely batter some teams by ridiculous scorelines this year cause Haaland will be getting 3, 4, 5 at a time and won't stop to be gentlemanly about it.
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9 in 6. Absolute monster.
Yep. The bar is always there to be surpassed... and someone will always surpass it, at some point, I think, I dunno, until something stands for like 50 years at least I'll believe it's beatable. I don't really get the negativity behind wanting to will people to ascend to that level either, unless you are doing it giddily for any old player after a months form.
I don't see these Ronaldo/Messi scoring records are as unassailaible as some seem to think, at all. I'd be utterly stunned if they still held by the time I die, but still, fantastic achievement if they still do. That's of course if the game hasn't been massively condensced by that point, which is probably likely.... so they might actually
These are all once in a lifetime type players. Every young player who emerges to score lots of goals early on is not likely to wind up in that category - certainly not in the Ronaldo - Messi pantheon where they dominate world football for an entire decade, win 4/5 CLs and score 700-800 goals in a career playing in a major European league.
I've asked this question already here - but how many players have actually scored at this rate going back, however long? In their genuine young years, to not actually be considered, at the absolute worst, a great if not bordering legendary player?
Can't be many, if any.
Haaland has 11 goals in 11 games against top 5 league teams in the CL, R9 had 10 in 24…..
It’s impressive, but an equally important question would be how many have started strong and kept that pace throughout a vast majority their careers. Only two.
Yeah it’s surely true that people will get giddy about the next new thing and get carried away. It’s really hard to account for injuries, motivation etc. in maintaining those standards for so long, when you’ve seen such a short portion of their career. I’m just saying the same logic was applied to Messi and Ronaldo. It was flatly ruled out by people who had seen Maradona at their peak, over such a long time, and had all the romance associated with that. It just seems impossible for that to be surpassed. But it does happen.
Personally I think we see once in a generation players in almost every decade. The distinction people draw between Di Stefano and Pele, Cruyff and Maradona…a lot of that is just about the stories that get told. There wasn’t clear daylight between them as they crossed over those eras but relatively small details shaped the narrative. Putting Ronaldo and Messi on a pedestal is just a continuation of that from my perspective. I think you’ll be surprised how quickly that notion fades and how readily a new challenger is embraced. Then you’ll just be @Spoony dismissing the young ones for their ignorance, telling them they can never quite grasp just how good this era’s hero was.
I’d say they are on a pedestal that they themselves created and the football world placed them atop. Will what they’ve done never be eclipsed ? Of course not. Someone down the road will do better, but it may well not happen for the rest of our lives, and burdening young players with the hype and pressure of having better careers than Ronaldo and Messi benefits no one, especially the players themselves.
Pele, Muller, Greaves, Eusebio, Romario... I mean we're keeping reasonably modern, and more European, then yes him and Ronaldo stand alone in terms of doing like this up to age of 22, thus the comparison. Ronaldo and Messi essentially truly kickstarted as goalscorers at this age, but yes they elevated it to obscene levels while ageing better than all that came before them.... but that ageing process isn't going to revert backward, father time will continue to be pushed further out as science develops.
He's like Frankel the race horse. A freak of nature who was known as much from an early age. Those around him carefully managing his career and he's just destroying everything in his path. Devastating to see him at City as they really are the perfect team for him and that is painful for us.
He will be the first player to score 3 consecutive hat tricks in the PL this weekend when they play Slippy G's Villa.
I can see him having 30 goals by the time we play City in October. He will shatter and set new records that won't be broken for half a century.
All joking aside, only one of my statements could be true.
I can see him having 30 goals by the time we play City in October. He will shatter and set new records that won't be broken for half a century.
All joking aside, only one of my statements could be true.
24 goals in 33 matches to break the goals record for a season. If all of City's key players stay fit it's certainly possible.
Some truth to this. He joined a side that has won four of the last five titles, routinely destroys teams without breaking a sweat, and their average PL match is easier than their training session.
They were going to win the league without him, and will still win it with him. Let’s see if he makes the difference where they actually are challenged by better sides in the UCL.
Just a question. How high do you rate Gerd Muller? Say in comparison to Cruijff
Tuchel took one look at him and started signing every defender he can get his hands on.
Messi scored 39 goals at age 21, and 47 goals at age 22 while playing as a playmaker/ wide player. Similar numbers to R9. So its not only Haaland and Ronaldo9 boasting big numbers upto age 22. Before age 21 he had injury issues but when match fit was prolific. Messi only started playing as a false 9 later around 2011/12.
Ronaldo's (Portuguese) birth as a prolific goalscorer came in 07/08 at age 22/23 when he scored 42 that season. He has since played as an inside/second forward/wide forward feeding of his strike partner. And has been a supreme goalscorer. You can say his goalscoring came later.
Ronaldo9 and Haaland are centre forwards. R9 was ALOT better technically than Haaland. But both have been prolific from an early age. I think that Haaland is a fantastic goalscorer and can break alot of records but, for me, what separates a R9 from a Haaland is the allround game. Simple.
Although, unfortunately, mordern football has been reduced to the numbers game principally the goal stats and it is not inconceivable that with time Haaland will be proclaimed a GOAT candidate purely on numbers similar to our own Cristiano (who while also boasting a better allround game than Haaland, doesn't reach elite levels).
My opinion is that the player considered the best attacker in the world should be the one who is able to influence the outcome without necessarily scoring. He should be able to unbalance the opponent, create chances for himself and others and regularly create danger for the opponent. He can be a striker, a winger, an attacking midfielder, or a no 10.
To match Haaland you will need to bookend him with physically talented defenders… like all the time. So you will have to play man down against the rest of City’s team. Seems a tall ask. … and then he still might score.
I'm thoroughly enjoying Haaland making a mockery of the PL. I'm hoping all those 'couldn't cut it in the PL' folks are having a good look at themselves. There's nothing really shocking about it, he's just continuing his rate of goalscoring and he's the centerpiece of the best team by far in the league that creates chances at will. I just love how goal-starved he is constantly, I hope he never loses that. Without injuries or some serious off-the-field distractions, it's hard to see how the rest of the league has a chance over the next few years.
He may well end up in the Ronaldo/Messi (much more in the Ronaldo ilk) category barring a terrible injury.
For me, from what I’ve seen the past few years he is just on another level and I’ve always felt that presence from him that he can easily end up in that greats category.
he is that level of “freak” and it’s been clear to see for years tbh. Think brushing that conversation of as silly, is well, silly.
For me, from what I’ve seen the past few years he is just on another level and I’ve always felt that presence from him that he can easily end up in that greats category.
he is that level of “freak” and it’s been clear to see for years tbh. Think brushing that conversation of as silly, is well, silly.
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He's already on par with Mbappe
Mbappe is mostly all hype, very good player mind you, but hardly prime Messi.
Why's he a cnut? He hasn't done anything to merit that label, other than playing for City.
Haaland: "I try to listen to Pep as much as I can and I try to play with these amazing footballers. Without them I wouldn't be able to score. It's about chemistry, playing together and listening to Pep." | Post-Match Interview
People thought he would be like Ibra or have an Ibra like situation looks nothing like that.
People thought he would be like Ibra or have an Ibra like situation looks nothing like that.
Hope he fecks off to Real as soon as possible.
Such a great goalscorer, he will make everyone look stupid.
Ugly with millions in the bank, which means he will be handsome in the eyes of most women out there.
If we’re going to be honest, Erling is a beast of epic proportions. The sooner he leaves for Real, the better. Goal
scoring records will be shattered everywhere he goes. We may need to compare him to Ronaldo and Messi before it’s all done and dusted.
Not that this disqualifies him as a footballer, but that face is hard to look at.
scoring records will be shattered everywhere he goes. We may need to compare him to Ronaldo and Messi before it’s all done and dusted.
Not that this disqualifies him as a footballer, but that face is hard to look at.
He is still more comparable to R9 than Haaland, because of style.
Haaland is physically stronger than Mbappe and R9, the last two are more about dribbling and pace than physicality.
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But competition was also less fierce back then. Right now england alone sends 4 heavy weight club
The comparison with R9 are a bit off, Mbappe is more comparable to R9 than Haaland because of style.
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We have fecking Martial and they got that beast. Its unreal how far behind we are. After WC he will be fully rested too and roaring to go while others are shattered
Despite being capable of the spectacular he has that special skill to make a lot of his goals look so easy / normal. The kind normal strikers score once every 3 games or so. Only he does it all the time.
Lets hope Madrid finds a pile of gold or something.
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This.
20-25 years ago the UCL wasn't as imbalanced as it is now, there were less teams playing the competition, the gap in quality between the top teams and medium teams was smaller, and high quality players didn't move to rich teams as soon as they turned 18-19.
For example, Shevchenko played for Dynamo Kiev until he was 23 years old, no way someone of that quality would be playing till that age for a ukrainian team nowadays...he would be signed by a rich team as soon as he turns 18-19, and that would totally weaken Dynamo Kiev performances in Europe (if they quality for european tournaments).
Same thing with Hristo Stoichkov, who played for CSKA Sofia till he was 24 years old.
Imagine nowadays players with the quality of Stoichkov,Nedved, Shevchenko,Figo, etc playing for their home team till they are 23-24 years old... impossible.
Exactly. People keep saying he will never be as good or as all rounded as the likes of Mbappe or Benzema, completely failed to see Mbappe/Benzema could never do some of the things he always does on the pitch too.
I know he will continue to receive very high praise for his performances and rightly so, but he’s a good old fashioned target man. It’s refreshing to see that type of players making a comeback in PL. Teams have been prioritizing tactically sound players over physically strong ones for the last few years and now a highly functioning Man City team throws in a physical centre forward into their team. Teams will struggle at least initially.
He reminds me a bit like Lebron James, direct, fast and powerful. Hate to say it but I think he will do very well in that City team.
Now we just need a rival for him so we can potentially those crazy output like Ronaldo Messi rivalry.
Now we just need a rival for him so we can potentially those crazy output like Ronaldo Messi rivalry.
I blame Spurs and Levy though. If they accepted City's 100 millions bid last year for Harry Kane, they wouldn't have gotten Haaland.
He's scoring a goal every 44 mins. 12 shots on target 9 goals.