[Blood Mage]

Rest assured Højlund will be a much better striker than Chicharito ever was

It's possible but right now there's no evidence to be able to say that with such confidence. He's certainly not good enough to start for us at this present moment.

 

[OrcaFat]

I get it, I just don’t buy the narrative that due to Utd not absolutely flying Hojlund is somehow expected to produce literally nothing.

Let me explain why.

When you compare Hojlund’s PL output with other strikers who play for teams below Utd in the PL, in some cases for literal relegation fodder, and who have played similar minutes to Hojlund, in many cases LESS MINUTES than him, this is what you get…

Hojlund - Man Utd (7th in PL) 675 minutes - 0 goals - 0 assists

Foster - Burnley (19th in PL) - 609 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 2 assists

Amdouni Burnley - 888 minutes - 2 goals - 1 assist

Archer - Sheffield Utd (20th in PL) - 851 minutes - 2 goals - 1 assist

Jackson - Chelsea (10th in PL) - 987 minutes - 6 goals - 1 assist

Ferguson - Brighton - (8th in PL) - 743 minutes - 6 goals - 0 assists

Semenyo - Bournemouth (16th in PL) - 556 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 2 assists

DCL - Everton - (18th in PL) 654 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 0 assists

Awoniyi - Nottingham Forest (15th in PL) - 654 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 4 goals - 2 assists

Chris Wood - Nott Forest - 398 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 0 assists

Antonio - West Ham (9th in PL) - 812 minutes - 2 goals - 2 assists

Neil fecking Maupay - Brentford (11th in PL) - 480 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 2 goals - 2 assists

Again, this list is comprised only of strikers in teams BELOW Utd, and who have played similar minutes to Hojlund, in many cases less minutes.

If it’s acceptable for Hojlund to produce nothing because Utd aren’t absolutely flying, then NONE of these guys should have anything. Instead, they’re all producing. It’s a weak minded, excuse-culture narrative that needs to stop.

Does this mean Hojlund is useless? No, of course not - look at his output in the CL.

But it means he needs to do a lot better - even when only being compared to a very low standard level.

I’d be happy if he did do a lot better.

What you’ve posted is a good logical argument. It is also a classic example of why extrapolating from such numbers is a waste of time. It’s not possible to show by logical argument that he should do better because the problem is too complex. It’s much simpler to watch the games, watch Rasmus, and ask whether there is an awful lot he could do to score more goals without the rest of the team playing better as well.

 

[VP89]

And yet Lukaku came to Utd in his prime and was worse than Hojland is now. I wouldn’t trade those players at all.

Lukaku scored something like 25 or 26 goals in his debut season

 

[lex talionis]

This should have been Rasmus's bedding in season behind an able master leading the line, not being the guy we pin all our hopes for goals on.

A tragedy of a circus this club is.

 

[jem]

He’s a striker, he can’t do much if the chances aren’t being created for him. He’s not the sort that can dribble for 50m and score a wonder goal, that’s just not the player he is.

His CL appearances have showed that he can score, we’re just not creating by the chances for him in the league.

Yeah you're probably right - in any event, he's far down the list in terms of pressing issues facing this shitshow of a team.

 

[L1nk]

I get it, I just don’t buy the narrative that due to Utd not absolutely flying Hojlund is somehow expected to produce literally nothing.

Let me explain why.

When you compare Hojlund’s PL output with other strikers who play for teams below Utd in the PL, in some cases for literal relegation fodder, and who have played similar minutes to Hojlund, in many cases LESS MINUTES than him, this is what you get…

Hojlund - Man Utd (7th in PL) 675 minutes - 0 goals - 0 assists

Foster - Burnley (19th in PL) - 609 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 2 assists

Amdouni Burnley - 888 minutes - 2 goals - 1 assist

Archer - Sheffield Utd (20th in PL) - 851 minutes - 2 goals - 1 assist

Jackson - Chelsea (10th in PL) - 987 minutes - 6 goals - 1 assist

Ferguson - Brighton - (8th in PL) - 743 minutes - 6 goals - 0 assists

Semenyo - Bournemouth (16th in PL) - 556 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 2 assists

DCL - Everton - (18th in PL) 654 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 0 assists

Awoniyi - Nottingham Forest (15th in PL) - 654 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 4 goals - 2 assists

Chris Wood - Nott Forest - 398 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 0 assists

Antonio - West Ham (9th in PL) - 812 minutes - 2 goals - 2 assists

Neil fecking Maupay - Brentford (11th in PL) - 480 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 2 goals - 2 assists

Again, this list is comprised only of strikers in teams BELOW Utd, and who have played similar minutes to Hojlund, in many cases less minutes.

If it’s acceptable for Hojlund to produce nothing because Utd aren’t absolutely flying, then NONE of these guys should have anything. Instead, they’re all producing. It’s a weak minded, excuse-culture narrative that needs to stop.

Does this mean Hojlund is useless? No, of course not - look at his output in the CL.

But it means he needs to do a lot better - even when only being compared to a very low standard level.

I get that his league output obviously isn't great but he's at least scoring in the other competition, the CL, 5 to be exact, also not great but it's better than nothing at all and is more goals than everyone on this list bar 2

 

[frostbite]

Diego Forlan revisited?

 

[Captmfla]

Diego Forlan at least could make good passes and dribbles. Even Mctominay is a better shooter than Hojlund.

Elanga or Greenwood would have scored after so many matches.

Diego Forlan revisited?

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Lukaku scored something like 25 or 26 goals in his debut season

And made me suffer as a fan all season watching his god awful play!

 

[VP89]

And made me suffer as a fan all season watching his god awful play!

I'd much rather Lukakus first season than Hojlunds first season. It's not like Hojlund is Harry Kane level in his own buildup play. Often tries to rush flicks and has heavy touches.

 

[Offside]

And made me suffer as a fan all season watching his god awful play!

Lukaku's hold up play in his first season was better than Hojljund now. The major difference is, for example that goal Hojlund scored against Galatasaray, Lukaku would never have scored.

 

[RedRocket9908]

How long do we have to give Hojlund before we have to just accept that he is not good enough to play in the Premier League?

We are almost half way through the season and he still has zero Premier League goals despite us having a run of games against the bottom clubs, when he gets the ball he usually fluffs it or makes an awful heavy touch and gives it away, his off the ball work is really poor at times with him often being seen just stood alongside the furthest defender back doing very little, and what happened to all this pace he was supposed to have?

 

[ayushreddevil9]

How long do we have to give Hojlund before we have to just accept that he is not good enough to play in the Premier League?

We are almost half way through the season and he still has zero Premier League goals despite us having a run of games against the bottom clubs, when he gets the ball he usually fluffs it or makes an awful heavy touch and gives it away, his off the ball work is really poor at times with him often being seen just stood alongside the furthest defender back doing very little, and what happened to all this pace he was supposed to have?

Whole attack has like 3 goals

 

[mu4c_20le]

Whole attack has like 3 goals

That's why we paid big money for him.

0 goals from 2.7 xG is not on

 

[ayushreddevil9]

That's why we paid big money for him.

0 goals from 2.7 xG is not on

What I mean is if a whole unit of your lineup is malfunctioning then its not down to one player.

 

[mu4c_20le]

What I mean is if a whole unit of your lineup is malfunctioning then its not down to one player.

I agree that we're not making it easier for him

 

[andersj]

I really like him. He has a great attitude on the pitch. Hopefully that is reflective of his attitude off the pitch. In combination with his physical and technical quality I think it makes him a special talent. I can at a minimum see him end up at a similar level to Mandzukic in his prime.

I also think it makes him one our better purchases the past few years. According to several sources, he is on around £80k a week. That would make him easy to shift if he dont work out or not to the extent we want.

 

[RedRocket9908]

What I mean is if a whole unit of your lineup is malfunctioning then its not down to one player.

Hojlund is the only 1 of our attackers who hasnt scored in the Premiee League yet this season, even Martial has scored so the idea that the attack malfunctioning it the reason he has zero goals doesnt really hold water

 

[L1nk]

How long do we have to give Hojlund before we have to just accept that he is not good enough to play in the Premier League?

We are almost half way through the season and he still has zero Premier League goals despite us having a run of games against the bottom clubs, when he gets the ball he usually fluffs it or makes an awful heavy touch and gives it away, his off the ball work is really poor at times with him often being seen just stood alongside the furthest defender back doing very little, and what happened to all this pace he was supposed to have?

This is because he's a young raw talented player, he is not Erling Haaland and he is not Kylian Mbappe which is what every youngster apparently needs to be today in order to not be considered an immediate flop. Hojlund is our joint top scorer in all competitions this season.. yes he doesn't have any in the league but virtually nobody is scoring for us in the league, so why are you expecting this raw talent in Hojlund to be carrying the entire squad on his back when its the clubs fault we've put him in this position in the first place?

You're watching a completely different player here, if he's as absolute garbage as you say why do we look more threatening with him up front, why do the fans constantly want to see him on the pitch and boo the decisions to take him off? People aren't blind, they can see the talent.

Not sure how many times it needs to be stressed that we bought him at a time of being young and raw, meaning instability and lack of consistency. The price tag is not his fault, the fact he is virtually our only striker when Martial isn't injured or can be bothered is not his fault, it is the clubs. But you are lumping the entire responsibility of the clubs attack on this kid when he clearly isn't totally ready for that, which you all should have known but you couldn't help getting excited and now the kid is getting the blame for your expectations which are grossly overinflanted in comparison to where he currently is in his career... which by the way is basically leading the line for Manchester United, an awfully run club of complete dysfunction where the team is playing like dogshit... but this guys meant to be banging in them in every game when the whole team is playing like a bunch of Sunday leagers who have never met prior to the match.

Again, I am simply amazed by the complete lack of literac, understanding and the posting of absolutely dogshit takes on this forum on a daily basis. Context and nuance might as well not exist in this reality.

 

[L1nk]

Hojlund is the only 1 of our attackers who hasnt scored in the Premiee League yet this season, even Martial has scored so the idea that the attack malfunctioning it the reason he has zero goals doesnt really hold water

Because Martial is a fully fledged senior international of 28 years of age who's been in this league since 2015 scoring goals for us, he's not some kid trying to find his feet in a new league in a god awful team.

Like what is really so hard to understand here? Like talking to a brick wall in this thread.

 

[RedRocket9908]

Because Martial is a fully fledged senior international of 28 years of age who's been in this league since 2015 scoring goals for us, he's not some kid trying to find his feet in a new league in a god awful team.

Like what is really so hard to understand here? Like talking to a brick wall in this thread.

Hojlund is not some kid brought up from the academy or signed cheaply from the lower leagues he is a full Danish International who was signed for 64m and was already playing top level football when he signed, you dont spend 64m on a player and expect him to spend his first season failing to hit the target in domedtically.

 

[ElDiabloRojo]

Serious pressure on him now to score in the league, it must prey on his mind.

Has to happen soon, against Chelsea would be a great time to start.

 

[Lyng]

That's why we paid big money for him.

0 goals from 2.7 xG is not on

United xG is 1.46 this season, which puts us at number 10 in league for xg.

 

[L1nk]

Hojlund is not some kid brought up from the academy or signed cheaply from the lower leagues he is a full Danish International who was signed for 64m and was already playing top level football when he signed, you dont spend 64m on a player and expect him to spend his first season failing to hit the target in domedtically.

You say he is a full Danish international like he wasn't picked to play for his country in 2022, where he made 2 appearences, I believe when we signed him he'd only played about 5 times for Denmark. I don't care about how much he was signed for or where from, neither of those are his fault but you are treating him as if they are. You do spend 64 million on a player like Hojlund because that is exactly what we deemed acceptable to pay, that is what the market is pricing players at - knowing Atalanta didn't need or want to sell - and knowing he was a raw talent and not the finished article, again, the clubs fault not his. The reality is we needed to sign a more established striker alongside Hojlund but we didn't do that because we are stupid, and so the buck falls to this kid to pick up the pieces in this broken ass team and instead of laying the blame squarely at the feet of the club like you all should be doing, you're blaming him for being put into a position he isn'tm totally ready for despite his best efforts.

Criticism can be warranted but slagging him off as well as writing him off in this thread is completely OOT. Again, how is it really that hard to understand these things?

 

[antonyrightfoot]

In summer we should have signed Watkins from Villa, would cost the same and is x10 the player. In January I would sign Ivan Toney, Rasmus has a first touch of an elephant

 

[Gandalf]

How long do we have to give Hojlund before we have to just accept that he is not good enough to play in the Premier League?

We are almost half way through the season and he still has zero Premier League goals despite us having a run of games against the bottom clubs, when he gets the ball he usually fluffs it or makes an awful heavy touch and gives it away, his off the ball work is really poor at times with him often being seen just stood alongside the furthest defender back doing very little, and what happened to all this pace he was supposed to have?

It is a third not a half
he joined after the first couple of games
missed the next couple recovering from an injury
Has missed another in the last couple of weeks
Scored 5 in 5 in the CL

Give your head a wobble

 

[RuudTom83]

For the likes of Hojlund, Garnacho, Mainoo etc you go through periods of development to reap the rewards down the line.

Hojlund has shown glimpses, it’s just a shame the experienced players have all collectively took the season off.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

For the likes of Hojlund, Garnacho, Mainoo etc you go through periods of development to reap the rewards down the line.

Hojlund has shown glimpses, it’s just a shame the experienced players have all collectively took the season off.

Generally yes but I feel the rules are different for #9s, you're judged on your ability to score and make a difference.

Martial at 20 was held to a high standard whilst being a £55m young striker and so should Hojlund.

 

[VP89]

I don't think he's that good. His first touches are often too heavy and the ball always looks like its trapped under his feet before he releases. And he's also massively underperforming on his XG. Hopefully he improves though.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Hojlund is the only 1 of our attackers who hasnt scored in the Premiee League yet this season, even Martial has scored so the idea that the attack malfunctioning it the reason he has zero goals doesnt really hold water

Rashford - 2 goals (1 pen)
Garnacho - 1 goal (a wondergoal)
Martial - 1 goal

4 goals from out attackers in 14 league games. How hard is it for you to understand that it has more to do with the dogshit tactics? By your logic Garnacho must also be binned because he has a grand total of 1 more goal than Hojlund?

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

Got to admit he seems an odd one for the press to pick out as the players been 'perplexed' by.

You can see the guy is talented, but he's just another player in a team that isn't functioning right now.

To me he's very near the bottom of players that we have a problem with right now.

 

[Heinzesight]

Odd behaviour digging this guy out. Give the fecker a chance.

 

[TheReligion]

Hojlund is not some kid brought up from the academy or signed cheaply from the lower leagues he is a full Danish International who was signed for 64m and was already playing top level football when he signed, you dont spend 64m on a player and expect him to spend his first season failing to hit the target in domedtically.

I think you are on another planet

 

[The Urban Goose]

Odd behaviour digging this guy out. Give the fecker a chance.

Yes, bunch of bullying cnuts if they're playing billy big bollockses to this lad. I'd ship them out for that alone, how the hell are the kids going to progress other than becoming terrified of making a mistake if that's the dressing room environment.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Lukaku's hold up play in his first season was better than Hojljund now. The major difference is, for example that goal Hojlund scored against Galatasaray, Lukaku would never have scored.

Nah he was always a carthorse and I couldnt stand watching him in any game.

 

[Tee27]

Feel it’s very harsh to judge him so quickly, yes his output has not been poor especially with no goals in the league but he’s a young striker in his first season in the league.

Coming into this team as the main and sometimes the only out and out striker due to martials injury woes (and the fact he’s just quite poor nowadays) can’t be easy for a young striker to come into. They need to be embedded into the side with players around him who can elevate him instead you have people like rashford who strolls around the pitch half arsed.

The supply from the wings and full backs are poor and the creativity in the middle is non existent apart from Bruno and that’s when he decides to turn up.

 

[city-puma]

I get it, I just don’t buy the narrative that due to Utd not absolutely flying Hojlund is somehow expected to produce literally nothing.

Let me explain why.

When you compare Hojlund’s PL output with other strikers who play for teams below Utd in the PL, in some cases for literal relegation fodder, and who have played similar minutes to Hojlund, in many cases LESS MINUTES than him, this is what you get…

Hojlund - Man Utd (7th in PL) 675 minutes - 0 goals - 0 assists

Foster - Burnley (19th in PL) - 609 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 2 assists

Amdouni Burnley - 888 minutes - 2 goals - 1 assist

Archer - Sheffield Utd (20th in PL) - 851 minutes - 2 goals - 1 assist

Jackson - Chelsea (10th in PL) - 987 minutes - 6 goals - 1 assist

Ferguson - Brighton - (8th in PL) - 743 minutes - 6 goals - 0 assists

Semenyo - Bournemouth (16th in PL) - 556 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 2 assists

DCL - Everton - (18th in PL) 654 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 0 assists

Awoniyi - Nottingham Forest (15th in PL) - 654 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 4 goals - 2 assists

Chris Wood - Nott Forest - 398 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 3 goals - 0 assists

Antonio - West Ham (9th in PL) - 812 minutes - 2 goals - 2 assists

Neil fecking Maupay - Brentford (11th in PL) - 480 minutes (less than Hojlund) - 2 goals - 2 assists

Again, this list is comprised only of strikers in teams BELOW Utd, and who have played similar minutes to Hojlund, in many cases less minutes.

If it’s acceptable for Hojlund to produce nothing because Utd aren’t absolutely flying, then NONE of these guys should have anything. Instead, they’re all producing. It’s a weak minded, excuse-culture narrative that needs to stop.

Does this mean Hojlund is useless? No, of course not - look at his output in the CL.

But it means he needs to do a lot better - even when only being compared to a very low standard level.

Shocking to know Maupay has 2 goals!

 

[SirMonteyne]

I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. He has the potential to become a top striker, much better than I expected. However, any striker would struggle under ETH's game plan, even the top/greatest scorer in the history of this sport. Our team doesn't create many clear-cut chances for strikers because our build-up plays are slow. This is because fast build-up plays come from the midfield. Additionally, top strikers need to conserve their energy to make bursts, get behind defenders, and execute good attacking plays. Unfortunately, ETH uses all of his striker's energy to create spaces for his inverted wingers.

 

[Ludens the Red]

I think he’s lucky in that he’s caught a break from the media/pundits. Considering what we spent on him and the fact he’s scored zero league goals. Kinda relieved he’s not been ravaged by the media for it. I guess there’s so much nonsense elsewhere they can let him off the hook for now. He does need to start scoring though. He has wasted some very good opportunities in the league and his overall play has looked clunky recently. Wasn’t expecting fireworks but had hoped for 10-15 league goals this season. He may not score five at this rate. Improvement needed really:

 

[WeePat]

The kid had less than 70 professional games to his name when Utd signed him. He’s only 20. I think his naysayers may need to chill a bit and let him develop.