An older more established Hojlund would be fine! My issue is that he's not where we need him to be.
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An older more established Hojlund would be fine! My issue is that he's not where we need him to be.
An older more established Hojlund would be fine! My issue is that he's not where we need him to be.
The club rightly didn't want to spend 150 million on Osimhen. Kane wasn't available to English clubs and other strikers that changed clubs this summer are not better than Hojlund.
EDIT: If you agree that they are the same profile, then why do you think Osimhen would be doing significantly better in this team? He also needs chances in order to score goals. At one point, we didn't create a chance in the PL for Hojlund for over 160 minutes.
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Other than standing out aerially, Osimhen share similar weaknesses with Højlund. He struggles to impose himself on games, and needs service by his team mates. Osimhen, right now, is struggling a bit more than he did last season, and that's with Kvaratskhelia supporting him on the left. He would struggle even more here with Garnacho and Antony on each side. You can't just isolate a striker up top, and expect him to score goals. How would that happen?
Hojlund needs to learn when to be a little smarter. He was trying to hold off 2 strong CBs last night and the ref was giving him nothing despite the CBs manhandling him constantly. A smarter forward would have tried to win some fouls and let the CBs know that they can't just bully him and get away with it.
Can someone tell me how many chances have been created this season for Haaland, Osimhen and Hojlund respectively? Conversion rates as well
Would be appreciated!
Would be appreciated!
I thought this too. Will come with experience I think. He's too young, he will come good, but he needs an experienced striker to study under for sure
Which is why it was a shame Martial wasn't available last night. We'd of had a better game with Martial dropping as opposed to Hojlund doing this and failing for 90 minutes.
In the current system, I wouldn't expect any striker of ours to be scoring loads. Our chance creation is beyond abysmal. But I think the pressure we're putting on Hojlund in the current system/squad, given the club he's now at and the stage at which he's at in his career, is ridiculous. There's no way he should be the number one option up top for any big club. His standard/rightful expectation is similar to when we brought in the likes of Hernandez, Solskjaer or even Saha to an extent. We're now in a stituation where we've spunked an insane amount on the kid and have decided that he's the guy to lead the line for us. We need more established attackers to help him settle. Somewhat ironically, his signing would have probably paired quite well alongside having a proven striker coming to the end of their career like Cavani a few years ago. It's a shame we couldn't have brought in a stop-gap alongside him - like a Giroud or Icardi - for a season or two to help take the pressure off.
This gives an idea:
Premier League - Big chances missed
Højlund has missed 8 "big chances" according to this. Haaland has missed 17 in comparison, but obviously also scored many, so in general will just have had a lot more "big chances". Personally, I'm struggling to come up with 8 big chances Højlund has missed in the Premier League, but might just be my memory.
Not a good performance yesterday. His confidence seems to have gone now. Also, did anyone else think it looks like he's carrying a knock or something? He didn't seem to be moving comfortably.
A thing that struck me by our offensive "performance" yesterday is that it seems our plan is to launch a difficult ball to one of our three attackers and hope for the best even though they're most likely outnumbered. Great stuff.
A thing that struck me by our offensive "performance" yesterday is that it seems our plan is to launch a difficult ball to one of our three attackers and hope for the best even though they're most likely outnumbered. Great stuff.
His hold up struggled against the physical confrontation Bayern showed. But I thought he looked like he was struggling physically which is a concern. Didn't look like a completely fit player, but maybe it's down to confidence.
He's not getting many opportunities to score in this team. Strikers have to do their part to help creation but if you're looking at a 20 year old raw talent and thinking that he's coming into a team with better players that will pull their weight and ensure he gets opportunities..well...that ain't happened to be fair to the lad. There's very little going on, a striker would have to be doing a lot off their own back.
He's not getting many opportunities to score in this team. Strikers have to do their part to help creation but if you're looking at a 20 year old raw talent and thinking that he's coming into a team with better players that will pull their weight and ensure he gets opportunities..well...that ain't happened to be fair to the lad. There's very little going on, a striker would have to be doing a lot off their own back.
I know football is all about opinions, but it makes me sad to read the excuses our supporters providing for Rasmus. The most important attribute for a striker is to be “in the right place in the right time”, you just have to observe how many times Scott Mc found himself this season in a dangerous position (and scored a few goals as well). Apparently strikers from relegation teams like Eduardo from crystal palace or Solanke can bang 5-10 epl goals in half a season, yet our 70m “striker” cannot score a single goal because the team is not playing like prime Barcelona. By “service”- fans expect him to score tap ins from 2 yards, this I can do as well for 10$ per week and free transfer as well.. There is a reason why strikers are the most expensive players- they have the ability to change the game. Rasmus (so far) did nothing, if we as fans are waiting for his first tap in goal to conclude the problem is with the team and 0% on Rasmus- we will not get far.
He was subbed off at halftime.
Did they only face each other once in Serie A?
I'm going to assume that Napoli obliterated them so much so that the striker vs CB contest wasn't really a contest and more a formality of Kim just sweeping up loose balls, or Rasmus trying to avoid him entirely and attacking to the other side of the defence.
Thats because football is a complex game and saying "player X in team Y is currently scoring goals" has no relevance. Talking about a midfielder coming in to score goals from a position that a CF can't and shouldn't inhabit isn't relevant. People are talking based on what they are seeing from Hojlund, not meaningless comparisons that ignore the fact that players like Calvert Lewin were banging in goals for fun a while back and hes shit again. Rashford was great last season and abject this season. Cherry picking random examples of other strikers doesn't prove anything.
The team is highly dysfunctional and isn't creating many chances and those that are coming are coming from all over the place. Haaland makes runs and knows that his teammates will find him. Arsenal have patterns to their play so that players know where to be and when. United are a complete mess right now and Hojlund is young and inexperienced.
Writing him off after 3 months of a junk season is ridiculous.
I did watch it so couldn’t tell. Was referring to their last game in Italy: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spielbericht/index/spielbericht/3844993
I agree with your main point. Ideally, a huge club like us has a functional team that's not relegation standard at attacking and Hojlund can come in and have 1-2 decent seasons before becoming the main striker at 22 or 23. However, him being our only striker with too much responsibility being put on him doesn't take away from his talent.
McTominay making deep runs forward from midfield is totally different than how Hojlund needs to find favorable positions.
He has already scored 5 goals in the CL, one wrongly ruled out in the PL, and another one ruled out against Galatasaray that was a fantastic finish. 7 times he got the ball in the net in 1280 minutes. Do you really think it's bad, or are you upset he only managed to score against Bayern München, and not mighty Luton Town in the PL?
He has found himself in the right place at the right time so many times and that is how some of his goals have come from, but when the rest of his team mates are unbelievably selfish, it doesn't matter if he's in the right place, because they're not looking for him.
Seriously, take a look at what you're saying.
I thought that was the instance being talked about. If not, my bad. Which instance were you talking about?
I am not suggesting he is a league 3 player, but still I cannot help when I read all those excuses. Is it easier for Mc to score from midfield than Rasmus from upfront? Do you believe in our team a player like Watkins wouldn’t have at least 10 EPL goals by now? What about the corners- did he was close to score? Harry Maguire played as a striker a few minutes against Newcastle iirc and he looked there more dangerous than Rasmus all year (imo). I really hope I am wrong, but so far I am not see any attribute he has that justify 20m transfer fee, nevermind 70m.
His problem is that he tries to beat him and Upamecano too physically and they are simply stronger. His technique isn't good enough yet to hurt them in any other way. Kim on Saturday looked like a mug trying to deal with Frankfurt who played with a false number 9. He isn't as good as United made him look yesterday.
I think we really need to get a striker in this next transfer window - hopefully not a 'Wout' but somebody who can spell Rasmus and provide the requisite quality/workrate combo (unlike Martial.) There's too much pressure on Rasmus - I think he will turn out well, but he needs time.
Osimhen has 12,4 full 90s, 5 non penalty goals.
Hojlund has 14,7 full 90s, 5 non penalty goals.
It’s a ratio of 0,4 to 0,34, in favor of Osimhen.
I’m bashing neither but people are always looking at other players as if they were the saviors regardless of reality.
In reality, Hojlund has his limitations but Osimhen is doing only marginally better this season, while he’s playing in a team he knows and a league he knows, all while being older.
I’m not sure there’s one striker that would solve all our problems at the moment
Yeah to test in that way, you have to have guile, and I haven't seen any guile in Hojlund's game for him to take that route.
He's got a lot to work on and improve upon.
I think he had a couple of shots saved on the line and other scraps in the box that ended up as a shot not on target
Since when did penalties not count as goals?
Also, it's not just based on this season is it? Osimhen has been one of the bet strikers in Europe for a few years now and the current best player in Africa.
I don't think Osimhen would be a saviour for us, nor do I think Hojlund's a bad player, but one is considerably more established/equipped to lead the line for us currently than the other.
We can get Kane in January and it won't make Antony and Garnacho to play like Sane and Gnabry. None of our wingers is able to run at opposition defenders and cause them backwards and make them fear the space. Look at last night, like men against boys and one of our wingers cost 100m euros. Hojlund will come good, as I think will Garnacho.
How is it a red herring? The kid has 13 shots total in the league and 11 shots total in the CL, 5 of which are goals. We create virtually nothing and he's feeding on less than scraps. Haaland has over 50 shots in the league in comparison by the way, reason being that his team mates create a lot of chances for him because that's what they are setup to do, our wingers just want to cut inside and shoot or sideways/backwards pass everytime and who knows what's happened to Bruno.
Because penalties have no relation to the intrinsic value of a striker. Had we had some penalties in the league afforded (against Arsenal for instance) or if he was the one allowed to shoot the penalty against Chelsea for instance, then his record would look better, with 6 or 7 goals in 14 games
1. You can't other aerial ability in the Premier League. It's a significant asset.
2. Osimhen is just much more intense, faster and is far likelier to actually make something happen just by chasing down a defender or a keeper
3. Osimhen has better ball retention than Hojlund
4. Osimhen is a significantly better finisher
There's really no basis for comparison.
No, he fecking hasn't
He had a great 22/23 season, and that was his first great season.Kane, Lewandowski and Benzema have been the best strikers in Europe. Osimhen is just so far behind those players.
And if you think Osimhen is a better player than Salah, then I don't know what to say.
It's a red herring in that there have been games where we've created lots (not many, but a few) and many where we haven't. And strikers should be able to create turn half chances into goals and create opportunities for themselves. Even McTominay has been doing this consistently better than Hojlund this season. Not to compare the two as one is clearly a world-class player, but if its taken around 50 shots for Haaland to reach 14 league goals - you would expect some return from 13 shots from most top strikers in the league. I think Rashford was averaging a goal every 5 (?) shots last season, maybe even less.
No, he fecking hasn't
Kane, Lewandowski and Benzema have been the best strikers in Europe. Osimhen is just so far behind those players.
And if you think Osimhen is a better player than Salah, then I don't know what to say.
He literally just won African Footballer of the year and has been a top striker since the end of 2021. It's now almost 2024.
He is a significantly better player than Hojlund, and there's no shame in that.
1. You're right, but it doesn't help when we have shit crossers and are terrible at set pieces. We wouldn't take advantage of Osimhen's aerial ability.
2. Højlund is faster than Osimhen, mate. Osimhen is more intense in his pressing, but the difference isn't that big of an importance when they're strikers.
3. He doesn't, really. Osimhen and Højlund both share this weakness at the moment. Just watch a few Napoli games, and you'll see how bad Osimhen really is in this aspect.
4. He is a better finisher, I agree, but he also has much more experience and gets more chances for him to finish than Højlund. Strikers usually improve their finishing with age and experience.
Yes, and winning it ahead of Salah is a clear indication that he really isn't the best African Footballer, no?
Please explain to me how he was a top striker in the 21/22 season. I guess we have very different standards to what a top striker is.
Hojlund is nowhere close to being faster than Osimhen. Osimhen has been clocked at 36.6 km/h - that's Mbappe levels. Hojlund's top speed in the Serie A was 34.4 which is about Lingard level. Hojlund was also dispossessed more in both last season and this one according to whoscored.
I think Salah is a better player, but that doesn't detract that Osimhen has excellent credentials to win the award.
Osimhen scored 18 in 32 in 21/22, and around 10 goal for Nigeria. I'd be pretty happy if we had a striker who could consistently achieve those numbers.
Højlund has already been clocked at 35.45 km/h in PL in which he has played less than 800 minutes. You shouldn't really take this "top speed" literally. Dominic Solanke has been clocked at 36.10, but we all know he isn't as quick as Mbappé. Acceleration is very important as well.
Osimhen is dispossessed almost equally as much as Højlund. And just to add to what Højlund does better - statistically - progressive passing, shot-creating actions, take-ons, progressive carries, progressive passes received (hold-up), carries into penalty area, passing distance, passes per 90, pass completion, etc. Osimhen really isn't better when it comes to ball retention, carrying or dribbling.
Lukaku also scored more goals in less games, but it doesn't make him a top striker. It's not all about goals if you want to play for this team. Paying £150m for a bit better Højlund is an extremely bad deal, and would make us even more of a laughing stock, if that's possible.
Sorry lads, but he is nowhere near the level required right now. Madness that this has cost us 70+ million.
Well, at least Ten Hag's brother and agent made a lot of money off the deal.
Well, at least Ten Hag's brother and agent made a lot of money off the deal.
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