[Red in STL]

What's been up with his attitude lately as well? Absolutely berated Garnacho for his miss, as if he hasn't been the worst player on the pitch week after week. Has recently had loads of moments where he's been moaning or throwing his arms up at teammates.

I'm afraid Garnacho deserved it, he got it on plate and didn't even get it on target

 

[sebsheep]

Maybe correct but what I saw was zirkzee holding it up very well and bringing others into play vs rasmus losing everything.
And as I said I admire rasmus a lot but I’m beginning to think he’s not got enough.

I don't doubt that's your memory of it, but it definitely didn't play out exactly like that. I think Zirkzee helped fix one of the big issues we had in the game, but it's a combination of him playing well and the role rather than just performance level.

Difficult to say with Hojlund really, looks so out of form this season and has areas of his game he needs massive improvement in. I think he has some moments of real top quality as we've seen with some of the goals he has scored, but he's got to show that much more often to be a starting striker for us. At the moment I think we all know he shouldn't be.

 

[L1nk]

I've defended him to the death on here for a while, and whilst I still think there could be a player in there that we saw glimpses of last year and this, I cannot excuse the recent performances, which I also think was Amorim's message today, Ugarte looked mad to be coming off but Hojlund looked really disappointed. He should be taken out of the firing line for a bit, Zirkzee has earned his place starting for a while, get Rasmus back on the training pitch and maybe some sub appearences. But unless Zirkzee turns dog Rasmus shouldn't start for a while. He needs to sort himself out now or there will come a time soon where he won't be at United much longer. Considering he's cheap I would imagine we'd still keep him into next season but he needs to start turning a corner.

 

[Rozay]

Agree strongly with this. Every mediocre player around was a young player at some point. A player being young means very little. Vast majority of youngsters who show more promise than Hojlund don't end up making it at the level of a club like United. Just think about how much better Martial was as a teenager and even he never quite lived up to it.

I was arguing this from early on last season. We’re not stupid, everyone has seen young players before. Ronaldo came at 18 and scored 5 goals first season. It was clear what he had, and it was clear what could be improved with more experience. Nobody was demanding the finished article from Hojlund. But I quickly became concerned when I saw that he wasn’t even missing chances, or playing poor passes. There was just nothing. Game after game with no attempts.

Garnacho, for example, is 20 himself. He probably averages at least 3 shots per game. He misses a huge amount of shots. But with those misses, you can chart a clear path of improvement linked to experience. If he starts taking even half of those chances, he’d be a real player. With Hojlund, it’s like we need to teach him how to play football from scratch. How to run, how to control. This is before he even starts MISSING some chances with frequency. That is not a player with top potential. We have to do too much. The basics are not there. He’s a decent finisher. So was Jordan Rhodes. He’s never a top-end difference making forward player. Not good enough players like Solanke and Richarlison had far more tools as young strikers.

 

[Rozay]

Worst performance since he joined us.
I was at the game and he lost possession in the 2nd half the stretford end groaned and Ruben just signaled at one of the coaches and Zirkzee was called back from the sideline

More worryingly, I think it is far closer to being a standard performance since he joined us. At least 50% of every game he’s ever played for us have been completely ineffective.

 

[AndyMUFC]

He's a good finisher when he gets a chance but his hold up play is just awful. He can't physically cope with Premier League defenders and it's a massive problem.

 

[Denis79]

He's a good finisher when he gets a chance but his hold up play is just awful. He can't physically cope with Premier League defenders and it's a massive problem.

It's crazy really, I've seen him live several times this season, the TV doesn't really show what a unit he is. The kid is massive.

 

[The Hilton]

He's a good finisher when he gets a chance but his hold up play is just awful. He can't physically cope with Premier League defenders and it's a massive problem.

I think he can physically cope, but not mentally, as defenders are generally smarter than him.

Tonight he tried to play with his back to the defender constantly, so they'd either nip in front of him to steal the ball or stand their ground and let it go over them both to safety.

On the couple of occasions he ran the channels, it was dangerous and he created a good chance, but he was far more interested in wrestling than playing football.

 

[Fortitude]

It's crazy really, I've seen him live several times this season, the TV doesn't really show what a unit he is. The kid is massive.

I think he can physically cope, but not mentally, as defenders are generally smarter than him.

Tonight he tried to play with his back to the defender constantly, so they'd either nip in front of him to steal the ball or stand their ground and let it go over them both to safety.

On the couple of occasions he ran the channels, it was dangerous and he created a good chance, but he was far more interested in wrestling than playing football.

I keep reading over and over about Hojlund's size and strength and it really does him no favours. I don't know where the perception of him came from or why it is insisted upon; his ratio of winning physical tussles is absolutely abysmal, and I'm not saying that to be hyperbolic. You're almost certain to see him outwrestled and on his behind more often than not verses literally any PL CB's he is up against and it's a massive problem for him because he is utterly insistent upon backing too far in and essentially having to lock horns with opponents who constantly impose their will on him.

Height can be problematic in itself as a disrupted centre of gravity makes it much easier to take the base away and I think we see that routinely with Rasmus; he really has no sense of the positions he needs to take up to keep himself centred so that any little disruption to the left or right of where he is doesn't send tumbling to the ground. Me personally, I'd suggest the kid has some judo, wrestling or dance lessons - anything that forces him to learn how to use his body correctly and gives him an innate sense of counter-balancing because I cannot recall a striker here who has had such an inordinate lack of equilibrium. It either points towards him not being strong, lacking balance, big time, or both. I have seen nothing to suggest he has strength and I was surprised by the notion as I considered him a clean, off the shoulder, flank runner who should be avoiding tussles where he can and only embroiling himself in the rough and tumble when absolutely necessary. So for me, he can't cope at all with the kind of game he seems to be obsessed with trying to play, like at all and he either needs to learn how to use his body, pronto, or abandon that method because it serves no purpose for him and actually ensures an "L" in encounters he might otherwise win with separation. It continues to be one of the most baffling aspects of the player for me because it's not often you see a forward so insistent upon something he is dreadful at in such a manner - strikers are supposed to be wily and cunning and know where their strengths lie, and in this sense Hojlund seems to have mistook himself for the second coming of Sparky, which is mis-profiling in the extreme.

I'm not sure it's a battle of wits when one party constantly puts themselves in check and sometimes, mate.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

He has too many flaws to correct and not enough of a baseline talent level for me.

His hold-up play is maddening to watch.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Spends all game losing wrestling matches with defenders. Loan him out.

 

[criticalanalysis]

What's been up with his attitude lately as well? Absolutely berated Garnacho for his miss, as if he hasn't been the worst player on the pitch week after week. Has recently had loads of moments where he's been moaning or throwing his arms up at teammates.

I'm generally fine with his rare outbursts and displays of frustrations because most of the time, he has a right to be annoyed. He's been shit but again most of the time, he is trying to do the right thing and play the right pass.

The times he moans is generally when he should have been played through or teammates have been selfish etc.

Needs some time on the bench. Amorim and the coaches have a lot of work to do to improve his all around game.

 

[Marcelinho87]

I like him BUT he isn’t ever going to be the type of striker you play off, his touch, passing and link up play is nowhere near good enough and I don’t think he can improve all that much in that area.

Hojlund to me is quite clearly supposed to be a 6 yard striker who just finishes off chances but that won’t happen here.

 

[Toshey]

Spends all game losing wrestling matches with defenders. Loan him out.

And play who?
Loan him out to have only Zirkzee as striker, great idea.

 

[tenpoless]

Been getting worse while Zirkzee is improving in his decision making.

 

[Xeque_279]

So so poor today, this was supposed to be the game he shows that he can still do it. Made their CBs look world class. If Jan Bednarek has you in his pocket idk how to defend you. Confidence is shot.

He needs to spend some time on the bench, taken out of the limelight. Use him as a late sub to take on tired defenders.

 

[Lyng]

It was quite opposite though. Many of you were calling me out since day one because i was saying all these things about him (which turned out as being the truth).
Striker without technique and good sense for positioning has no place in PL.

Am i too critical about him? Maybe. But i even explained myself couple of times why; i am just not a fan (in football terms of course) of players with dodgy technique. I don't care much is player big or small, fast or slow (as many fans do) but technique is a must for highest level of football.
There are of course, like in everything in life, some exceptions but in general technique is a primary skill. And you can't teach technique. You have it or you don't. Hojlund doesn't have it.

I agree that you need technique, and Id probably even add its something we havent looked at enough in recruitment under Ten Hag. But for a striker that isnt enough, at least not in the Premier League. You need pace and clinical finishing to. I really do believe we need to sign a new striker.

 

[dasty]

No idea why whenever he is in a position where the ball is played towards him, he always tries to back into the defender without even knowing what the defender is doing. Smarter defenders always let him back into them, switch their body position a bit and this guy would have backed too much into them and allows the defender to easily nick the ball away.

His runs off the ball is also really concerning, as he tends to run along with the defenders instead of trying to challenge them. Too many times when our players got the ball on the wings, he run into the center of the goal with another defender in front of him - that is just poor as there is no pressure on the defender which means all they need to do is clear the ball. He should mix up his runs a bit and actually try challenging the near post area more. Let's not even mention his aerial prowess....

He has good physical attribute and shooting technique, but is so severely lacking in everything else especially off the ball. Even his first touch is constantly poor, but I actually think that is more of a problem of where he place himself to receive the ball than his actual technique. He should really stop being obsessed with backing into defenders for no apparent reason at all.

 

[McLvnsMuse]

If he had decent technique he won’t lose as a many duels as he does (vs wrestling CB’s all game and consistently losing)

If he had the pace people keep attributing he'd actually run the channels and break defensive lines.

If his box movement was better he would get off more than his current 1 shot or less per game.

He also lacks intensity for someone so young. Shows up on his pressing and how gassed he looks every game.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

And play who?
Loan him out to have only Zirkzee as striker, great idea.

In the summer

Basically we need to pick one out of these two to be our backup for next season

 

[amolbhatia50k]

If he had decent technique he won’t lose as a many duels as he does (vs wrestling CB’s all game and consistently losing)

If he had the pace people keep attributing he'd actually run the channels and break defensive lines.

If his box movement was better he would get off more than his current 1 shot or less per game.

He also lacks intensity for someone so young. Shows up on his pressing and how gassed he looks every game.

He has intensity but I think everything is hard work for him right now in this league which is why his utilisation of his energy is poor. If you spend all game playing wwf and losing against CBs and trapping every pass to you is arduous then you’ll be left sapped for when it matters.

 

[Bole Top]

"good in patches", "when in form", "good physical traits" and similar stuff is something you can say for literally every striker in EPL, even Ameobi. but the list of trully good, useful things he does for us on the pitch is very short. at the moment he simply isn't worth the time he's being given.

Lukaku often gets used here as some kind of insult, but he was toying with EPL defences even in his debut seasons at WBA and Everton. how many of you can honestly see Hojlund even at 23-24 playing and scoring like 18y old Lukaku?

 

[KD6-3.7]

We really need to bring in some proper strikers, I like Højlund but I don’t think he is even good enough to be a backup striker if we want to start improving. I always said from the start he was put in a losing position the moment he signed for us to be a starting striker.

While he is still young he isn’t that young, and he doesn’t have a significant strength as a striker so it’s not like he will miraculously evolve if given time, next season we should look to sell him IMO.

 

[Bondi77]

I was paying particular attention to him when we had corners
He is one of the biggest players in our team and is our centre forward and yet he makes no decent effort to challenge for the ball..
What the feck do they do with him in training!

 

[Ludens the Red]

Yeah, I think his critics have a serious leg to stand on at the minute. He’s got good raw ability, finishing technique, acceleration etc but I’m starting to think his lack of mental strength is too big an obstacle for him to overcome.
It’s rare to see a player lose belief and conviction through a game as much as he does but you see it all the time and it’s pretty bad at the minute.
Can’t even say the team isn’t creating chances. Other players seem to be having chances (and missing them of course) and he’s just nowhere. His face when he came off said it all. Was like he was lost.

 

[ThanksBoss26]

If he had decent technique he won’t lose as a many duels as he does (vs wrestling CB’s all game and consistently losing)

If he had the pace people keep attributing he'd actually run the channels and break defensive lines.

If his box movement was better he would get off more than his current 1 shot or less per game.

He also lacks intensity for someone so young. Shows up on his pressing and how gassed he looks every game.

Whether it was a lack of confidence or he’s knackered, I felt he really did lack intensity last night. I was sat behind the goal we were attacking first half and he was just ambling about for the most part. Poor work rate isn’t something I particularly associate with him but I thought he was way off it last night.

 

[ZupZup]

He needs to just stop worrying about wrestling defenders. Just concentrate on getting to the ball, controlling it, and finding a simple pass. Don’t be worrying about trying to swap shirts with the centre back all the time. It’s infuriating to watch the way he plays… it’s just really brainless stuff.

I read an interview with Andy Cole a while back who said the exact same thing about him. It’s like he’s incapable of learning because he hasn’t changed at all.

 

[ThanksBoss26]

He needs to just stop worrying about wrestling defenders. Just concentrate on getting to the ball, controlling it, and finding a simple pass. Don’t be worrying about trying to swap shirts with the centre back all the time. It’s infuriating to watch the way he plays… it’s just really brainless stuff.

I read an interview with Andy Cole a while back who said the exact same thing about him. It’s like he’s incapable of learning because he hasn’t changed at all.

Yep that is very frustrating to watch. Especially as he rarely wins them.

 

[Longshanks]

Zirkzee did also lose a lot of his physical duels. I think a bit part of the difference was Zirkzee drops much deeper making the passes into him easier, when either of them are high we struggle to execute passes to them.

Not sure that's necceserialy true.

Southampton pushed high against both zirkzee and Hojlund. Hojlund lost nigh on every physical duel against the saints CB and also his touch and technique means he can't play in tight areas.

Zirkzee actually won a fair amount of physical duels, won a few headers and his touch and technique means he can play in tight areas so suddenly we were able to break the line far far more often thanks to Zirkzee, giving us the ability to play into the central areas.

 

[crossy1686]

Poorest I've ever seen him last night and he's been bad for a full year now. Absolutely nothing stuck to him, lost every single duel and was always behind the defender. Then had the nerve to kick the post and scream when Garnacho missed his chance even though he's not scored countless chances himself.

Not sure where he goes from here because he clearly prefers to have the ball played into space for him to run on to. Maybe its time to re-assess in the summer and see if there's a market for him, we need a more complete forward though, or at least one that can hold a ball up.

 

[Lee565]

He is basically a really.poor man's haaland And I mean a really poor man's.

So ineffective outside of not scoring like playing with 10 men often

 

[CallyRed]

Rasmus would be a great WWE character name. The Dangerous Dane.

 

[cirilus]

Poorest I've ever seen him last night and he's been bad for a full year now. Absolutely nothing stuck to him, lost every single duel and was always behind the defender. Then had the nerve to kick the post and scream when Garnacho missed his chance even though he's not scored countless chances himself.

Not sure where he goes from here because he clearly prefers to have the ball played into space for him to run on to. Maybe its time to re-assess in the summer and see if there's a market for him, we need a more complete forward though, or at least one that can hold a ball up.

Best choice dor him to find another place fast.

Not living up to the hype and price tag will only hurt the boy even more.

He is not suited to this competition and being a solo target man.

Best to be honest with him, take a huge loss and find a way.

Not that he can't learn, but the suffering will lock his evolution.

 

[Badunk]

Zirkzee stands his ground and feels behind for the defender, which is why he's able to hold it up. Hojlund backs into the defender, who then either rolls him (and he ends up on the floor), or gets the jump on him. If he just stands his ground, he immediately increases the amount of times he can hold the ball up and play his teammates in. It's a simple fix, on paper, but it's very difficult to change lifelong habits.

And, just to add: it's really important that players absolutely fizz the ball at him. If they underhit a pass to him while he's backing into a defender, the momentum favours the defender nipping in and stealing the ball away from him. If it's fired in with real pace, he can turn his opponent or hold the ball up. You can see that the players are much more inclined to hit passes at pace and from all types of heights and angles at Zirkzee, because his first touch is much better than Hojlund's.

 

[Fortitude]

Not sure that's necceserialy true.

Southampton pushed high against both zirkzee and Hojlund. Hojlund lost nigh on every physical duel against the saints CB and also his touch and technique means he can't play in tight areas.

Zirkzee actually won a fair amount of physical duels, won a few headers and his touch and technique means he can play in tight areas so suddenly we were able to break the line far far more often thanks to Zirkzee, giving us the ability to play into the central areas.

Zirkzee also has far better control of his balance and often wrong foots CB's enough that they overcommit to one side and he simply spins out on the other, which is CF 101. It's so much harder to commit all your strength to pushing into someone in a tussle if you also have to be mindful of them using any overcommitment of yours to spin you.

So not only is there superior touch and technique with the ball, there's better balance before and when shielding it. It makes the contrast between them in this regard pretty stark. It also buys Zirkzee a lot more time to play as despite him being so slow, CB's aren't overzealous in getting touch tight with him.

 

[romufc]

I have seen enough of him now, I dont think he will get better.

We have seen him now for 18 months and he has not improved one bit. He is actually getting worse and is becoming a big problem in this team.

Its really frustrating watching him, I have defended him and thought he can improve but I give up on him. Everytime the ball goes to him, he loses it, putting the team under pressure for no reason.

Its time to cut our losses and get rid of him in the summer.

 

[The Hilton]

I keep reading over and over about Hojlund's size and strength and it really does him no favours. I don't know where the perception of him came from or why it is insisted upon; his ratio of winning physical tussles is absolutely abysmal, and I'm not saying that to be hyperbolic. You're almost certain to see him outwrestled and on his behind more often than not verses literally any PL CB's he is up against and it's a massive problem for him because he is utterly insistent upon backing too far in and essentially having to lock horns with opponents who constantly impose their will on him.

Height can be problematic in itself as a disrupted centre of gravity makes it much easier to take the base away and I think we see that routinely with Rasmus; he really has no sense of the positions he needs to take up to keep himself centred so that any little disruption to the left or right of where he is doesn't send tumbling to the ground. Me personally, I'd suggest the kid has some judo, wrestling or dance lessons - anything that forces him to learn how to use his body correctly and gives him an innate sense of counter-balancing because I cannot recall a striker here who has had such an inordinate lack of equilibrium. It either points towards him not being strong, lacking balance, big time, or both. I have seen nothing to suggest he has strength and I was surprised by the notion as I considered him a clean, off the shoulder, flank runner who should be avoiding tussles where he can and only embroiling himself in the rough and tumble when absolutely necessary. So for me, he can't cope at all with the kind of game he seems to be obsessed with trying to play, like at all and he either needs to learn how to use his body, pronto, or abandon that method because it serves no purpose for him and actually ensures an "L" in encounters he might otherwise win with separation. It continues to be one of the most baffling aspects of the player for me because it's not often you see a forward so insistent upon something he is dreadful at in such a manner - strikers are supposed to be wily and cunning and know where their strengths lie, and in this sense Hojlund seems to have mistook himself for the second coming of Sparky, which is mis-profiling in the extreme.

I'm not sure it's a battle of wits when one party constantly puts themselves in check and sometimes, mate.

I'm finding your chess analogy a bit odd given that would be a battle of wits.

Hojlund clearly has the height, weight, strength, and pace to handle defenders and hold the ball up, what he doesn't have is the ability on the ball in tight spaces, or the footballing sense in terms of knowing when to come short, go long etc.

 

[sixdwarf]

The issue for him is right now Zirkzee is beginning to overtake him for effort. Neither are first choice strikers for a top club and we need to take action in that area.

 

[gorshed]

He needs to just stop worrying about wrestling defenders. Just concentrate on getting to the ball, controlling it, and finding a simple pass. Don’t be worrying about trying to swap shirts with the centre back all the time. It’s infuriating to watch the way he plays… it’s just really brainless stuff.

I read an interview with Andy Cole a while back who said the exact same thing about him. It’s like he’s incapable of learning because he hasn’t changed at all.

He needs to just stop worrying about wrestling defenders. Just concentrate on getting to the ball, controlling it, and finding a simple pass. Don’t be worrying about trying to swap shirts with the centre back all the time. It’s infuriating to watch the way he plays… it’s just really brainless stuff.

I read an interview with Andy Cole a while back who said the exact same thing about him. It’s like he’s incapable of learning because he hasn’t changed at all.

So glad someone has mentioned this, I was pulling my hair out yesterday watching him, he was more concerned at looking at the defenders and wrestling with them instead of watching the ball and getting first touch right, I had really high hopes when we first signed him my hope is fading fast

 

[Fortitude]

I'm finding your chess analogy a bit odd given that would be a battle of wits.

Hojlund clearly has the height, weight, strength, and pace to handle defenders and hold the ball up, what he doesn't have is the ability on the ball in tight spaces, or the footballing sense in terms of knowing when to come short, go long etc.

It's not a battle of wits if only one side knows how to play.

He doesn't clearly have the strength. I don't know what you are basing that on.