[Andycoleno9]

yea the killer instinct just isn’t there, disagree on the second bit, that seems to be the sort of thing you can’t train into a striker.
With world class strikers you can see that instinct on display at a very young age.

He definitely needs another season though, the tactics have been weird and lopsided maybe that’s the reason.

Tactics are at fault in some things but with many of his flaws playing system has nothing to do. His hold up play, his ball control, him not being able to win a header.....there is just too many issues at this moment.
In ideal world he would be backup for top striker but i don't see us buying first choice striker this summer.

 

[Malone_Post]

.. hes technically good…

He’s not though is he? The likes of Mainoo & Garnacho are technically good. Hojunds technical ability is one of his biggest weaknesses.

As you say, he does have other qualities and hopefully they will be enough to make up for his lack of technique. But honestly, for the money spent, I was hoping for more.

 

[Brightonian]

Some serious flip flopping in this thread from game to game. Hojlunds biggest problem is being a young striker tasked with leading the line all season, worsened by leading the line of a very poor team.

At his age around 15+ goals is a good return for his first season, but more importantly, you simply cannot watch his goals versus galatasaray and west ham and doubt the talent. His performance away at Luton was genuinely one of the best classic striker performances weve had at the club in years- he was battered all game without getting a free from the ref, and held the ball up and brought in teammates brilliantly. I really dislike how random myths start to gain traction here. Hojlunds positioning is the latest. Earlier in the season we were discussing how poor the service was and the countless examples of where hes just waiting for a tap in but the pass doesnt come. Its all so reactive.

He's physically excellent, hes very fast, he works hard, he scores all sorts of goals and hes technically good, and only 21. Hojlund has no problems that arent normal, the problem is that we should have another striker, and more than 1 useful winger at a time. A striker relies heavily on the wide players and fulls backs- playing alongside AWB and Rashford occupying 2 of those 4 positions for much of the season is like a strikers worst nightmare.

Excellent post

 

[evil_geko]

Some serious flip flopping in this thread from game to game. Hojlunds biggest problem is being a young striker tasked with leading the line all season, worsened by leading the line of a very poor team.

At his age around 15+ goals is a good return for his first season, but more importantly, you simply cannot watch his goals versus galatasaray and west ham and doubt the talent. His performance away at Luton was genuinely one of the best classic striker performances weve had at the club in years- he was battered all game without getting a free from the ref, and held the ball up and brought in teammates brilliantly. I really dislike how random myths start to gain traction here. Hojlunds positioning is the latest. Earlier in the season we were discussing how poor the service was and the countless examples of where hes just waiting for a tap in but the pass doesnt come. Its all so reactive.

He's physically excellent, hes very fast, he works hard, he scores all sorts of goals and hes technically good, and only 21. Hojlund has no problems that arent normal, the problem is that we should have another striker, and more than 1 useful winger at a time. A striker relies heavily on the wide players and fulls backs- playing alongside AWB and Rashford occupying 2 of those 4 positions for much of the season is like a strikers worst nightmare.

It is like people don't get the concept of inconsistency with new young player in a new league. He has even done better than I expected he would. Inconsistency is something that was expected, a common fecking sense. But many moaners look at the price tag and decide he was supposed to be this great finished product striker to get 25 goals in his first season. And all that in a mess of a team we have had this season. I can't understand the thought process of resident moaners that already decided he will never make it, I can't.

Like you said, we should have also had senior striker in rotation, that is not his fault.

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

Excellent post

Agreed. This is all you need to read.

 

[Irwin99]

It feels absurd when I see scorched earth posts suggesting “Build around Rasmus, Martinez, Kobbie and Garnacho, and sell the rest.” I would not at all be surprised to see the new setup and future manager significantly reduce his role next season. The fact we paid a silly fee for him and have only reduced his value means it makes little business sense to move him on at this stage. But I can’t see any successful season, where we decide to overhaul the team to get the most out of Rasmus, as he’s done nothing to suggest that would be anything other than a reckless gamble.

Saying that we'd like to see a future team built around these young players and not some of the players we've put up with for multiple seasons and who have never been part of a single title challenge in their time here doesn't mean that people expect Rasmus or the others to start every game in the future. It's about allowing their games to develop and assessing from there. Obviously it might not work out but i'm willing to give them a chance over the next few seasons and hopefully better players will come in and form part of a better structure.

Let's be honest, it's been a rough start for Hojlund. The club in it's infinite wisdom decided to go into this season with Martial as the main squad striker (that player who's been here 9 years, is always injured and has a grand total of 19 goals in the last 4 seasons). The pressure and expectation put on Rasmus this season has already been ridiculous and it's obvious next season we'll bring in a more experienced striker to help him out. Same with Mainoo in midfield.

 

[Cassidy]

It is like people don't get the concept of inconsistency with new young player in a new league. He has even done better than I expected he would. Inconsistency is something that was expected, a common fecking sense. But many moaners look at the price tag and decide he was supposed to be this great finished product striker to get 25 goals in his first season. And all that in a mess of a team we have had this season. I can't understand the thought process of resident moaners that already decided he will never make it, I can't.

Like you said, we should have also had senior striker in rotation, that is not his fault.

His price tag is also not his fault

I think the criticism comes from those who really should he aiming it at the club (because they either didn’t want a project striker or they didn’t want one at that price point)

 

[Crimson King]

Some serious flip flopping in this thread from game to game. Hojlunds biggest problem is being a young striker tasked with leading the line all season, worsened by leading the line of a very poor team.

At his age around 15+ goals is a good return for his first season, but more importantly, you simply cannot watch his goals versus galatasaray and west ham and doubt the talent. His performance away at Luton was genuinely one of the best classic striker performances weve had at the club in years- he was battered all game without getting a free from the ref, and held the ball up and brought in teammates brilliantly. I really dislike how random myths start to gain traction here. Hojlunds positioning is the latest. Earlier in the season we were discussing how poor the service was and the countless examples of where hes just waiting for a tap in but the pass doesnt come. Its all so reactive.

He's physically excellent, hes very fast, he works hard, he scores all sorts of goals and hes technically good, and only 21. Hojlund has no problems that arent normal, the problem is that we should have another striker, and more than 1 useful winger at a time. A striker relies heavily on the wide players and fulls backs- playing alongside AWB and Rashford occupying 2 of those 4 positions for much of the season is like a strikers worst nightmare.

Hear, hear!

 

[SER19]

He’s not though is he? The likes of Mainoo & Garnacho are technically good. Hojunds technical ability is one of his biggest weaknesses.

As you say, he does have other qualities and hopefully they will be enough to make up for his lack of technique. But honestly, for the money spent, I was hoping for more.

I really do disagree on this one. When the ball is played into him on his own Im quite confident he can trap it well, hold it, and hes very capable of turning his man. He's not a bad dribbler either. Maybe hes a little raw in this regard, especially compared to Mainoo who is a real outlier for his age and real beautiful abilitiy on the ball, but I just dont see the technical concern for Hojlund at all - if I think of players who I consider quite poor technically, eg Lukaku, he's miles away. Even Haaland can look quite clumsy and awkward in ways Hojlund doesnt. Just with regards the money spent and hoping for more, do you mean you were hoping for more within the first 10 months for that money, or generally? Because if he kicks on a bit next year and hits more than 20, then does the same the year after that for example, weve a 23 year old striker by that point, with years of PL experience, already scoring a lot. With a player so young, surely the amount spent has to be considered in time. If you sign a 26 or 27 year old of course you want a more immediate 'complete' player.

 

[Borys]

I think he's done well. 14 goals I'dve taken that. Noone passes to him. He gets minimal chances, it's not like he misses as many as garnacho or rashford.

Get the wingers providing for him he will get 20+

He's converting slightly above what is expected from "statistically average" player. I do think he's a good finisher, and if the team provides him good number of chances, he'll make it count.

Doesn't seem like anyone actually moans about this aspect of his game, rather the fact he's rather poor at everything else.

 

[ForeverRed1]

He looks fed up and has every right to be. Onana played more passes to him than any other player in the last game which sums up this team. Look for the number 9, he will score goals if given the service.

 

[Suv666]

Tactics are at fault in some things but with many of his flaws playing system has nothing to do. His hold up play, his ball control, him not being able to win a header.....there is just too many issues at this moment.
In ideal world he would be backup for top striker but i don't see us buying first choice striker this summer.

oh absolutely he shouldn’t be leading the line next season, we need a proper striker and Hojlund should be the backup.

I think most on here don’t realise the effect a good striker has on the attack. A 9 with an excellent positioning and movement creates so much space for other players to score.

I know Hojlund has scored some goals but I genuinely believe he’s a big reason why our attack has been so lacklustre this season.

 

[Rozay]

So, in your subjective opinion he’s not been good enough, objectively. I love that.

He objectively hasn’t been a good enough striker for Manchester United this season. The reasons why are subjective, not the fact that he’s been several levels below Alexander Isak, for example.

 

[11101]

Yep.
He always seems to be closely marked by a CB. You never see him float around the pitch like Nunez or Isak.

A huge part of that is due to the lack of threat elsewhere. Defenders don't have to worry about runners, passing around them, any movement in from the wings, or passing players on. They can focus entirely on marking their man. Centre backs track Hojlund. Full backs standup Garnacho/Rashford/Antony and stop their usual run and shoot. It's so easy.

I'm sure it's already been posted but Hojlund's most frequent supply yesterday was from Onana. That's ridiculous.

 

[L1nk]

Sorry but whilst I feel he does deserve criticism for a lot of things.. I'm not sure why all of a sudden his lack of positioning and run making is the thing being criticised, his "lack of killer instinct." Before he came to United this was pretty much something he was well known for, infact check any scouting report and you can guarantee it's one of his positives.

https://www.thescoutingapp.com/blog/scouting-report-rasmus-hojlund-248
"One of his main virtues is his tactical understanding of the game in the last meters. His movements inside and around the penalty box are a complete nuisance for defenders, either in order to create space and shooting chances for himself or his teammates."

https://medium.com/@fedacoloman/rasmus-højlund-scout-report-db8628a5f2ef
"Good box movement, likes to dermarkate himself in Haaland-fashion where he moves diagonally from a defender onto the far post. Managed to score a few goals like that."

https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/rasmus-hojlund-style-of-play-position-man-united/
"Højlund is a left-footed centre-forward with a poacher’s mindset. He looks to own the spaces inside the penalty area and finish as close to the six-yard box as possible. The Manchester United striker is confident when attacking crosses, often hiding from opponents inside the box and ready to finish first time from low, wide deliveries (below)."

https://totalfootballanalysis.com/a...-bergamo-202223-scout-report-tactics-analysis
"One of Højlund’s greatest strengths is his ability to sniff out a goal in any situation. He often moves deep into midfield and draws defenders with him, in order to create and exploit spaces for his teammates."

https://breakingthelines.com/player...arisons-to-erling-haaland-and-dusan-vlahovic/
"He’s a versatile attacker who can stretch into space, drop to combine, slide runners through, drive at goal, sniff out opportunities in the box, and threaten from a distance."

This is all pre-United, yes in a different league, but am I supposed to believe all of a sudden his movement in the box has just evaporated into thin air? In my opinion he's being told to play in a way that isn't using his strengths, that and just a complete lack of service has sapped all confidence of his run making because he feels he doesn't know what to do or where to go in order to get the service.

Again, not that I absolve him of any criticism, he can always be doing better, I just think for the moment he is the least of our worries and am more than happy to see him with his for the next few years to see if he develops, if he doesn't then we move on, but I feel his attributes, age and attitude should see him stay with us for the next few years because there is a player there somewhere and he is a die hard United boy. We do need another forward though for sure.

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

Hypothetically if we build a team capable of winning the league in a few years, does anyone honestly see Hojlund being the #9 in that team?

100 %.

Let me ask you a counter question: Why would so many of us push back on the criticism if it was “blind faith”?

I see people claiming that he lacks “killer instinct” now. With that I think we’ve been around every useful skill for a striker - some think he lacks pace (objectively false), others technique, mentality, hold up skills, I could go on - and now killer instinct.
If you were all right, it simply wouldn’t be possible for him to score 14 goals thus far. It’s ridiculous. Some even think Weghorst was better.

The truth is: None of us can now how good he’ll end up, but we have seen enough (even without his time at Atalanta) to know that he’s good enough for a PL team (not the Turkish league, please…)
If you don’t see that, do have a look at him again up until the injury - the stats, his goals, his accurate passes (and a couple with the heel) that should’ve been assists, his hold up and lay offs, and yes, his movement and all those runs (often in vain because for some reason even Bruno hasn’t been passing the ball to him). It’s so obvious that he’s got the potential to become a top, top striker - killer instinct being the most prominent of his skills. It’s no coincidence that he’s generally regarded as one of the greatest talents of his generation. And honestly, I can’t see many other forwards doing better in this team and in his position than Kane and a few others.

 

[Insanity]

Hypothetically if we build a team capable of winning the league in a few years, does anyone honestly see Hojlund being the #9 in that team? Not based on blind faith, but based on what he's shown this season. When I think of all the title winning teams over the years I'm struggling to think of any that contained a forward as limited as him. If he were playing at any of our rivals would anyone be worried? Would anyone be envious? Doubt it. There would probably be a lot of laughing and piss taking

ETH thinks this is the redux of 2004-05 and we are seeing Rooney and Ronaldo in action in Hojlund and Garnacho.

 

[Desert Eagle]

Sorry but whilst I feel he does deserve criticism for a lot of things.. I'm not sure why all of a sudden his lack of positioning and run making is the thing being criticised, his "lack of killer instinct." Before he came to United this was pretty much something he was well known for, infact check any scouting report and you can guarantee it's one of his positives.

https://www.thescoutingapp.com/blog/scouting-report-rasmus-hojlund-248
"One of his main virtues is his tactical understanding of the game in the last meters. His movements inside and around the penalty box are a complete nuisance for defenders, either in order to create space and shooting chances for himself or his teammates."

https://medium.com/@fedacoloman/rasmus-højlund-scout-report-db8628a5f2ef
"Good box movement, likes to dermarkate himself in Haaland-fashion where he moves diagonally from a defender onto the far post. Managed to score a few goals like that."

https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/rasmus-hojlund-style-of-play-position-man-united/
"Højlund is a left-footed centre-forward with a poacher’s mindset. He looks to own the spaces inside the penalty area and finish as close to the six-yard box as possible. The Manchester United striker is confident when attacking crosses, often hiding from opponents inside the box and ready to finish first time from low, wide deliveries (below)."

https://totalfootballanalysis.com/a...-bergamo-202223-scout-report-tactics-analysis
"One of Højlund’s greatest strengths is his ability to sniff out a goal in any situation. He often moves deep into midfield and draws defenders with him, in order to create and exploit spaces for his teammates."

https://breakingthelines.com/player...arisons-to-erling-haaland-and-dusan-vlahovic/
"He’s a versatile attacker who can stretch into space, drop to combine, slide runners through, drive at goal, sniff out opportunities in the box, and threaten from a distance."

This is all pre-United, yes in a different league, but am I supposed to believe all of a sudden his movement in the box has just evaporated into thin air? In my opinion he's being told to play in a way that isn't using his strengths, that and just a complete lack of service has sapped all confidence of his run making because he feels he doesn't know what to do or where to go in order to get the service.

Again, not that I absolve him of any criticism, he can always be doing better, I just think for the moment he is the least of our worries and am more than happy to see him with his for the next few years to see if he develops, if he doesn't then we move on, but I feel his attributes, age and attitude should see him stay with us for the next few years because there is a player there somewhere and he is a die hard United boy. We do need another forward though for sure.

I don't think it's just ETH, i think our wingers and Bruno don't really mesh well with him. Bruno wants someone with electric pace because he wants to put the ball first time into space and our wingers are just too dumb or selfish or both. I agree though that his age, attributes and attitude are all good and if in a year or two he hasn't developed, we can reevaluate.

 

[Brightonian]

Hypothetically if we build a team capable of winning the league in a few years, does anyone honestly see Hojlund being the #9 in that team?

Yes, without hesitation.

Possibly even more confident of this than of Garnacho, who is a better performer this season but on the basis of aggression, pace, and flair, all things which history shows us are less reliable season-to-season. Hojlund to me has clearly demonstrated technique (first touch, link-up play), work rate, physicality, intelligent movement and understanding of space, and a variety of finishing. Not always consistently, and he's not had much luck with the outcomes. But 15-ish goals and settling in is roughly what I was expecting from his first season.

 

[GDaly95]

I was harsh on him from the beginning but regret that and actually think he's a really good prospect.

He had no shots and something like 4 touches against Burnley. Rashford and Garnacho had something like 14 shots between them. They're like school children who get the ball and just try to run and score from wherever they are. Holjund isn't blameless and has his faults but the situation around him is dire.

He's too young, raw and inexperienced to come good in spite of the club being a mess. If the club gets its act together in the coming years, I believe he can be a top player.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Hypothetically if we build a team capable of winning the league in a few years, does anyone honestly see Hojlund being the #9 in that team? Not based on blind faith, but based on what he's shown this season. When I think of all the title winning teams over the years I'm struggling to think of any that contained a forward as limited as him. If he were playing at any of our rivals would anyone be worried? Would anyone be envious? Doubt it. There would probably be a lot of laughing and piss taking

I don't think it's impossible, but from what we've seen this year a number of things would have to go right. Obviously, a title challenging side would by definition be better in all areas, so even if his current version he'd look a lot better just by virtue of playing in a better team and getting more service. He'd hopefully also have developed into a better and more mature player by then.

I'm not sure he has the quality to become on of those types of strikers that drag a team to a title win, but I do think he could become a quality cog in a team that could win it - especially if there is true world class on the other forward positions. It could be bit similar to the Firmino situation, when Liverpool won it. Not that they are similar players, but that they would fill their role and contribute without being one of the very best players in the team.

This season he's just really difficult to assess, because the team is so poor. I hope we get to see him in a much better coached side soon.

 

[Marwood]

The service to him is so poor its almost impossible to judge.

But he s fast, strong, mobile. Why don't we let him use those assets rather than play him like Niall Quinn?

Let him pull wide, rampage around a bit.

 

[golden_blunder]

Whatever it is, we are not utilising him fully. He’s got blinding pace, why are we not playing on that. Let him run the channels too. We rarely see that. We are limiting him.

he’s got Thor’s hammer in his boots. Let’s get him in positions to use it

 

[CassiusClaymore]

I was harsh on him from the beginning but regret that and actually think he's a really good prospect.

He had no shots and something like 4 touches against Burnley. Rashford and Garnacho had something like 14 shots between them. They're like school children who get the ball and just try to run and score from wherever they are. Holjund isn't blameless and has his faults but the situation around him is dire.

He's too young, raw and inexperienced to come good in spite of the club being a mess. If the club gets its act together in the coming years, I believe he can be a top player.

Exactly this. People comparing him to other strikers are missing the point. You could have prime Marco Van Basten up front and he'd also look anonymous with such a selfish bunch around him. They don't play for the team, they play for themselves because they are a pair of wannabee Ronaldo fanboys.

 

[Litch]

The lad is really fast but somehow we have turned him into a target man, playing with his back to the goal or holding the ball up?
Better coaching would have him playing across the 3 positions including running the channels.

The poor lad just ends up fighting CB's on the half way line

 

[Litch]

Whatever it is, we are not utilising him fully. He’s got blinding pace, why are we not playing on that. Let him run the channels too. We rarely see that. We are limiting him.

he’s got Thor’s hammer in his boots. Let’s get him in positions to use it

Just posted the same....

 

[Mike Smalling]

Whatever it is, we are not utilising him fully. He’s got blinding pace, why are we not playing on that. Let him run the channels too. We rarely see that. We are limiting him.

he’s got Thor’s hammer in his boots. Let’s get him in positions to use it

Not bad, but how about this. We pump long balls to him from deep, so he can fight a long and lonely fight with the centrebacks. Then we instruct our wingers to shoot at every opportunity, and never look to cross to him. When we reach about 70 minutes played in the game, and it opens up just a bit, we sub him off, so he is ready for the centreback fights in the next game.

 

[golden_blunder]

Not bad, but how about this. We pump long balls to him from deep, so he can fight a long and lonely fight with the centrebacks. Then we instruct our wingers to shoot at every opportunity, and never look to cross to him. When we reach about 70 minutes played in the game, and it opens up just a bit, we sub him off, so he is ready for the centreback fights in the next game.

Not sure what point you’re making to me specifically because I agree with you, we’re setting him up to fail

 

[Grande]

Whatever it is, we are not utilising him fully. He’s got blinding pace, why are we not playing on that. Let him run the channels too. We rarely see that. We are limiting him.

he’s got Thor’s hammer in his boots. Let’s get him in positions to use it

I agree about utilization, apart from that for his age, he is unusually good shielding and recycling the ball as a target man, which we utilize to some degree.

I think his biggest area for development is his movement in relation to team mates and opponents. This can be learnt, but it also is highly dependent on developing relations with teammates. Rashford is having an off season to be sure, but it’s not coincidental IMO that Højlunds scoring spell came when he and Rashford started to coordinate each others movements better, it also lead to Højlund providing chances for Rashford. Garnacho is a great talent, who needs to (and will) develop his ability to look up and interplay more effectively. Antony has been staring down a black hole, almost literally, at times. Service into the box or behind the lines are a weaknesses of both Dalot and Bissaka, unfortunately.

What has frustrated me the most, is Højlund nit being able to capitalize on Bruno’s abilities the same way Rashford, Martial and Garnacho has. I think this in part is he is less tuned on to explode from the shoulder and the timing implied, but also maybe related to our ability as a team to use not only first runs, but also second and third runs systematically. This is typically developped later in a playstyle development, so might be forthcoming next year, depending on the coaching situation.

 

[Dec9003]

I was harsh on him from the beginning but regret that and actually think he's a really good prospect.

He had no shots and something like 4 touches against Burnley. Rashford and Garnacho had something like 14 shots between them. They're like school children who get the ball and just try to run and score from wherever they are. Holjund isn't blameless and has his faults but the situation around him is dire.

He's too young, raw and inexperienced to come good in spite of the club being a mess. If the club gets its act together in the coming years, I believe he can be a top player.

Harsh blaming Rashford against Burnley.

 

[GDaly95]

Harsh blaming Rashford against Burnley.

By Rashford I meant Antony

 

[Rauður Djöfull]

The figures are nuts vs Burnley, where United had 27 shots. Rasmus had zero of these, whilst Antony had eight and Garnacho had six. He just does not have the knack of finding space in the final third right now, and actually kept getting in the way of others yesterday second half, when they were in dangerous positions.

It would be one thing if he was performing a support role, and either being the creator or was responsible for progressing the ball, but he only created a single chance too, making a further five passes all day! Weghorst at least made the team a bit more cohesive, but Rasmus is pretty dependent on others, rather than serving them.

It feels absurd when I see scorched earth posts suggesting “Build around Rasmus, Martinez, Kobbie and Garnacho, and sell the rest.” I would not at all be surprised to see the new setup and future manager significantly reduce his role next season. The fact we paid a silly fee for him and have only reduced his value means it makes little business sense to move him on at this stage. But I can’t see any successful season, where we decide to overhaul the team to get the most out of Rasmus, as he’s done nothing to suggest that would be anything other than a reckless gamble.

You just get sad thinking about how well Kane would have dovetailed with Rashford and Garnacho either side of him. An elite goalscorer who is also happy to drop deep, link play, with a superb eye for creating chances for others in recent seasons. I hope he comes good, but we need two more forwards in the next transfer window, one of whom should be starting most weeks.

They also didn't pass the ball to him, instead they shoot and thus have high shot count and nothing to show for it since they didn't score (beside one from Antony)

Højlund got 4 passes from Onana which was highest pass to him from a teammate, yes he can do better and is learning still and needs to improve but he is getting starved out there by selfish teammates and he could have had assist or two but one of them AWB decided to look at the ball instead of shooting

 

[Dec9003]

They also didn't pass the ball to him, instead they shoot and thus have high shot count and nothing to show for it since they didn't score (beside one from Antony)

Højlund got 4 passes from Onana which was highest pass to him from a teammate, yes he can do better and is learning still and needs to improve but he is getting starved out there by selfish teammates and he could have had assist or two but one of them AWB decided to look at the ball instead of shooting

His positioning in and out of the box is poor, he’s the complete opposite to when we had Cavani who was elite in that regard.

 

[Doracle]

Reading this thread, I find it all a bit puzzling. I’ve always thought we were set up to spread our goals relatively evenly across the front 4, with the CF playing a vital role in supplying the others.

Over the past few years, we have had Martial, Cavani, Ronaldo and Rashford leading the line for us at times. The wingers have primarily been Rashford, Greenwood, Antony and Garnacho more recently - all similar profile. At no stage previously do I recall our forwards being unable to get involved or it being the fault of our wingers for not supplying them.

Is this therefore somehow solely a Garnacho problem or is there some other cause of Hojlund’s lack of involvement?

 

[mu4c_20le]

From reading this thread, you'd be forgiven for thinking we signed the new Inzaghi. People expect our players to find him in the last move, to basically put the ball on a silver platter for him to tap in. Give him the ball and he will score! The problem is he is rarely finding space or getting away from his marker to receive that ball, and passing to him when he's 30 yards away from goal is mostly useless.

 

[Quinze]

Is this therefore somehow solely a Garnacho problem or is there some other cause of Hojlund’s lack of involvement?

For me, it's the tactics. I don't think we've had any striker thriving under EtH in these two years, and the two n°8 tweak going into this season is definitely not working, so it's not just a Rasmus problem.

Next year is going to be big for him as that excuse will probably be gone.

 

[L1nk]

Whatever it is, we are not utilising him fully. He’s got blinding pace, why are we not playing on that. Let him run the channels too. We rarely see that. We are limiting him.

he’s got Thor’s hammer in his boots. Let’s get him in positions to use it

The lad is really fast but somehow we have turned him into a target man, playing with his back to the goal or holding the ball up?
Better coaching would have him playing across the 3 positions including running the channels.

The poor lad just ends up fighting CB's on the half way line

This is what Atalanta had him doing

 

[dutchred]

Would love to start a game with with Wheatley, and have Rasmus as impact sub. Wheatley deserves a chance

 

[RuudTom83]

Would love to start a game with with Wheatley, and have Rasmus as impact sub. Wheatley deserves a chance

The other way around is the way to go...the Amad experiment upfront didn't really work last game. Rasmus off and Wheatley on for the last 30 minutes would be the sub I make for the last few games of the season.

 

[Irwin99]

I quite liked hearing Keane talk about the United vs Coventry game and at 3-0 up he was talking about how players should be wanting to get the striker a goal. There's lots of valid criticism about his movement but sometimes you think he could use a bit more help.

Compare and contrast to the hilarious and rather sad attempts to get Ronaldo a goal when he was struggling before he left last year.