[Betson]

Looking really lost out there now , confidence is at rock bottom. We have had other players at the club who did not hot the ground running but eventually became very important players for us , but not sure many have after such a long run of average to poor performances. Is is still young but certainly not looking as promising anymore. The weight of playing for a club like Utd is easy for most players to carry.

 

[Rozay]

He did have that shot at Anfield last season when had the whole goal to shoot at but shot straight at Allison

Yes, I remember that one now. Can’t say I recall any shots against City though.

And for all the talk of service, we can compare with almost every other striker who has played as a 9 for us in recent times with the same teammates. I recall 3 Zirkzee shots on target against Liverpool at Old Trafford this season, for example. Hojlund could never ever. That’s a quarter of his shots for the season, no way he could manage them against Liverpool. Martial, Rashford have scored goals and had shots against them too. All of a sudden people try to spin some sort of ‘everyone hates Rasmus’ nonsense and nobody wants to pass to him.

As poor as our players are, they are not crazy - there’s nobody who will see Hojljnd open and through on goal and just continually refuse to give him the ball. These situations are just not happening. Look at the penalty we won against Chelsea when Ruud was in charge. He pulled into some space and was found. His first touch was so poor that he took himself away from the goal and wasn’t able to get a shot off. Fortunately, he was fouled by the equally terrible Sanchez.

The likes of Amad and Garnacho are managing to shoot several times per game. Hojlund is just poor.

 

[Kaizane]

Counted once where he managed to lay the ball off to a teammate and we managed to put an attack together. The other times he lost the ball, Fulham more often than not ended up with a shot on our goal. Counted twice where he managed to bring the ball under control and the pass was on, but he wanted to turn into trouble instead and lose it. Can't teach basic football IQ.

I get why we're looking to bring in a wingback, but the striker position is far more urgent, I hope they've got a plan to plug the forward hole with either a loan, or a cheap punt on someone who can do the very basics of hold up play to provide us a framework to get the ball in the other team's box; I guess we'll find out this week if our season is finished or not.

 

[Kyōshi]

Absolutely dreadful yesterday and by far the worst performance since he arrived. This looks like a confidence problem rather than a reflection of his true ability. He was never this horrific in hold up play. But like I said, it looks like his confidence is shot. The pressures for playing at United are unique. Only Madrid and Barca are probably comparable. But those teams wouldn't have made him the number their one striker at this stage of his career. Even when Benzema was signed by Madrid, i.e. after a couple of really good seasons at Lyon, I remember he was eased into the side behind Higuain (not to mention that they had also signed Ronaldo and Kaka). But somehow this club felt that a kid with an unspectacular year at Atalanta was ready to lead the line at United!

He's right now in a doom loop, each performance is criticized so much that he seems to perform worse the next game. Doesn't really help in the current age of social media when it seems like everyone thinks that you're absolutely useless and gets reiterated publicly all the time. Just imagine that he actually responded to refute some guy on social media when they had posted that he was only signed caused he had the same agency as Ten Hag or something like that.

Loan him out next season for everyone's benefit. Let him develop somewhere else without this pressure and scrutiny and come back a better version. This club is not the right place for many players due to the current environment, let alone a young player tasked with leading the line.

 

[Denis79]

His confidence is so low that it seems that he's given up. Usually he fought so hard and when he lost the ball and rushed to rectify his mistake. Yesterday when he lost the ball he simply looked like he didn't care, just kept on jogging on like nothing had happened.

Sadly I think he's done at United, I don't see him coming back from such a long rot and such a poor season. I think he's been our most underwhelming starter this season. That said I don't blame him, I blame the absolute superstar who thought giving a kid all this responsibility was a good idea.

 

[Rolaholic]

Welp



It's a failure that he was bought the be the main man right away instead of being bedded in gradually.

 

[Rolaholic]

 

[Rozay]

Welp



It's a failure that he was bought the be the main man right away instead of being bedded in gradually.

It has to be this season. He came with a decent reputation and will still have some stock value on the continent. If we make the mistake of letting this go into next season, he will be yet another player we can only get out of the door on a series of loans. Italian clubs who wanted to sign him a year and a half ago will still move now.

 

[Lyng]

It has to be this season. He came with a decent reputation and will still have some stock value on the continent. If we make the mistake of letting this go into next season, he will be yet another player we can only get out of the door on a series of loans. Italian clubs who wanted to sign him a year and a half ago will still move now.

Agreed. And I hope he goes to the Bundesliga. Both for his own sake, and also because I reckon they will pay more than Italian clubs.

 

[Fortitude]

Pretty obvious the journalists read this thread.

 

[Danny]

His confidence is so low that it seems that he's given up. Usually he fought so hard and when he lost the ball and rushed to rectify his mistake. Yesterday when he lost the ball he simply looked like he didn't care, just kept on jogging on like nothing had happened.

Sadly I think he's done at United, I don't see him coming back from such a long rot and such a poor season. I think he's been our most underwhelming starter this season. That said I don't blame him, I blame the absolute superstar who thought giving a kid all this responsibility was a good idea.

When confidence is really low though that is when he needs to rely on doing the basics and fundamentals of being a striker, and play your way into form and confidence.

At the moment he doesn't get himself in the correct positions to receive a ball to feet, his body shape is wrong, he can't trust his first touch and then everything becomes reactionary for him. Wouldn't mind too much if he was missing a few chances but he's not even doing that.

 

[Rozay]

Agreed. And I hope he goes to the Bundesliga. Both for his own sake, and also because I reckon they will pay more than Italian clubs.

Only a few clubs there can pay, and he is of course not going to Bayern. Frankfurt just signed Elye Wahi too. Leverkusen look to be about to lose Boniface to Saudi, so I’m hoping he is of interest to them, as they may pay a decent fee.

 

[Rozay]

When confidence is really low though that is when he needs to rely on doing the basics and fundamentals of being a striker, and play your way into form and confidence.

At the moment he doesn't get himself in the correct positions to receive a ball to feet, his body shape is wrong, he can't trust his first touch and then everything becomes reactionary for him. Wouldn't mind too much if he was missing a few chances but he's not even doing that.

He’s never been able to manage to miss a few chances, with whatever level of confidence he may have. I raised this as a big concern early last season, although I tried to be diplomatic at the time aware of the connotations of ‘judging a young player, in a new league, playing in a struggling team, just back from injury’ etc. But it was an early concern that he simply wasn’t even missing enough chances when he wasn’t scoring. We need something to be able to project from, it’s the main thing that gives me hope with Garnacho for example. He has many deficiencies in his game - but he continues to threaten the opposition goal every game.

 

[Shark]

No on Mount. Let's not confuse one problem for another.

One can clearly see what Mount offers in an Amorim system. Movement, energy, one-touch passing, pressing, etc. He's tailored-made for the inside-ten. Even Amorim himself sees his value ( and namechecked him after the first training session). Mount's problem is simple: he can't stay fit. Not that he offers nothing.

Hojlund is only nominally a striker/CF, but offers nothing. No goals. No holdup play. No shots. No goal threat. Nothing.

Disagree. When he has been fit he's offered nothing all the same. Been utterly pointless.

Hojilund has scored goals. Done a lot more than Mason fecking Mount.

 

[JBG]

Disagree. When he has been fit he's offered nothing all the same. Been utterly pointless.

Not true... when he's been fit, he's been running around and pressing for like 10mins, before injuring himself. Great bit of business this, specially with 1 year left and a CF or DM a bigger priority at the time.

 

[Fobal]

Whilst INEOS may not be much better, we can agree both the football management and ETH were utterly clueless when it came to signings, Antony, Mount, Casimero, Hojlund, all just dumb and often simply stupid. There were plenty on here willing to defend the previous regime whether ETH or the likes of Murtough. Just compare Isak at Newcastle who cost much less, even the striker City have just signed on the back of half a season of really strong stats. Hojlund had done little to suggest he was ready for PL let alone worth even half his fee. People say he would have been fine as a back up, he wouldnt. He has no stand out attribute and many weaknesses. The bizarre thing is both ETH and Amorim needed a forward to be able to retain and recycle possession, most teams do. He is a major, major problem as the ball doesnt stick with him at all, in fact even in space his control is woeful. Yet still people post that there is 'a player in there'. There isn't

Casemiro was a bet that has more than fine reasons behind to at least try, it didn't work in term of fitness, yet it wasn't an awuful bet to try.

The guy is absolute class as a player, he even instantly started great and the understanding between him, Varane and Licha was fecking great, they click instantly.
Varane was already broken, Case had more issues with his fitness than they thougth, Lcha started to get broken and shyte happens.
Of course he was already in his last days, I know, but not few times those bets work and it was at a role that United needed/s like water, a DM/CM with a brain, ability and pause.

Also I dunno how bad he must be training, but I would at least try to insert him slowly back to the team if he is fit again, given how we still lack control, to let Ugarte be his legs and him in a more Busquest alike role with Bruno near, at least starting to give hiom some minutes in matches to see if he come somehow come back to sthg close to his old self.
His experience and talent if we find that he still has sthg in his tank, would be more apreciatted to this already fvck up season. It's true that he didn't look at the pace in that match with Erikseen and that it doesn't look promising to even bet in those little minutes to see how it goes.
Also he might be having a bad attitude for Amroin, dunno, but seeing how the team still is, just try once more a bit.

Anyway, in general no doubt it didn't work, it had a big margin of not working, but at the same time it was a worthy bet to try to help the team with a champ in a very needed role.

 

[Irwin99]

To be fair to him, and I’m very aware of his struggles and poor overall play, we’ve had this problem for what seems like years. Our central striker, whoever plays, struggles to even take shots in games. Previously people wrote this off as EtH’s emphasis on wingers taking 500 shots at goal every game but it does feel weird that it’s not getting better.

 

[Mike Smalling]

To be fair to him, and I’m very aware of his struggles and poor overall play, we’ve had this problem for what seems like years. Our central striker, whoever plays, struggles to even take shots in games. Previously people wrote this off as EtH’s emphasis on wingers taking 500 shots at goal every game but it does feel weird that it’s not getting better.

When was the last time we had a proper #9 in their prime (not already declining or just a prospect)? Lukaku in the 17/18 season perhaps. Not that I was a huge Lukaku fan, but he was at least a proper goalscoring striker.

 

[Fobal]

When was the last time we had a proper #9 in their prime (not already declining or just a prospect)? Lukaku in the 17/18 season perhaps. Not that I was a huge Lukaku fan, but he was at least a proper goalscoring striker.

THIS

United have been beting too much on propects (while paying high sums) without enough background and not trying to buy or even steal a proper consolidated forward (even more than just strikers) from someone else.

And when a bet it's made, it's no pecisly buying an emerging talent a la Vinicius in Brazil, Mbappe in his days from Monaco, or such. It's fecking United, you have to do this stuff, getting it right or not at the end it doesn't matter.

 

[Black Adder]

He just doesn't have that hunger and selfishness striker should have. Had really high hopes when he first signed for United, but since then he regressed instead getting better, shame really.

 

[Mike Smalling]

He just doesn't have that hunger and selfishness striker should have. Had really high hopes when he first signed for United, but since then he regressed instead getting better, shame really.

That's really not how I see it. Much more of a quality issue than a attitude/mentality problem.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

It must be hard being a forward in this team but at times he really doesn’t help himself. I’ve seen enough of his finishing to know that given chances he can score goals but this seems to be his problem in that he can’t seem to get any chances. Like not even a sniff.

I think what Scholes said a few weeks ago as well about how he would have like to play with him as he feels he just needs someone to like tell him to go, make the run and I’ll find you.

Too often I watch him and he will make a good run and not receive the ball, then there are times when he should be making the run but instead he is showing for the ball.

Not sure why he persists with this point forward kinda play, he should just be living on the shoulders of CB’s and threatening to go inbehind them constantly. Or if he must try and win/hold the ball up. Just do it quicker. No need to fight for 5 minutes waiting for the perfect pass to appear. Get it down then just get rid, spin and go.

If your team mates aren’t then finding you after that it’s their issue. He looks to have talent and ability but seems like he is a few seasons off being that proper threat we want infront of goal.

 

[Black Adder]

That's really not how I see it. Much more of a quality issue than a attitude/mentality problem.

Don't get me wrong, I also think he's not of highest quality, I don't see his lack of involvement as just attitude problem.

What I meant is that if you're playing as a ST you have to have have some arrogance about yourself, maybe trying to take a shot when there's pass available or trying to take on your man even if you know it will amount to nothing, but you have to try to make something happen. He waits for opportunity to come to him instead of trying to make that opportunity himself. Haven't seen that much of passive striker ever I think.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Don't get me wrong, I also think he's not of highest quality, I don't see his lack of involvement as just attitude problem.

What I meant is that if you're playing as a ST you have to have have some arrogance about yourself, maybe trying to take a shot when there's pass available or trying to take on your man even if you know it will amount to nothing, but you have to try to make something happen. He waits for opportunity to come to him instead of trying to make that opportunity himself. Haven't seen that much of passive striker ever I think.

His confidence is rock bottom at the moment, I think that’s largely why he plays as you describe. If you look at his goals vs. West Ham, Newcastle and Brighton last year it’s sort of what you describe - little dribble and then a shot. His level has just dropped a lot this season for whatever reason.

 

[Rozay]

To be fair to him, and I’m very aware of his struggles and poor overall play, we’ve had this problem for what seems like years. Our central striker, whoever plays, struggles to even take shots in games. Previously people wrote this off as EtH’s emphasis on wingers taking 500 shots at goal every game but it does feel weird that it’s not getting better.

Ronaldo was one goal off the PL top scorer with 18, Cavani got 17 just before, just before that Martial got 20 (all these totals are in the league). Hojlund would do well to take 18 shots a season let alone score 18 goals. If we take Ronaldo’s 18 alone, off the top of my head - what was the service he received for his long range goal vs Spurs? A simple pass from Fred miles from goal. Or his volley against Spurs in the first game - identical to the ball Casemiro played to Hojlund against Chelsea where Hojlund’s poor touch led to our penalty instead of a shot. There’s Ronaldo’s goal at OT against Brighton, picked it up, went past a player and scored from 20 yards.

Hojlund needs to do more. Acceptable service cannot simply be being presented with a series of sitters in front of goal.

 

[Vidooq]

Lisandro Martinez has more shots on target than him. That's a mental stat.

 

[Robaldo]

He's not been good but the compilations I've seen alleging he's terrible where he's constantly receiving a bouncing ball in his own half with no one within five yards tell me it's a system issue. Guy's 21 and had a decent first season, so things can change.

 

[CannibalSpectre]

Not a chance. Mount most recently has been much worse. He's literally offered nothing. Sancho too. Hojilund is actually nowhere close considering he had a decent first season here hitting double digits. Antony I'll give you.

Shows how dire the situation is that we're having a debate about four players in the same generation and squad contending for worst transfer of all time. This club!

 

[Lay]

Never known a striker to have this little amount of shots. He doesn't want to score

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

If we can get rid in the summer, I'd do it without thinking twice.

Not good enough. He has to work on so much to reach Lukaku's level and that's not good enough either.

 

[Still ill]

Feels like the tide has turned. Lots of people seem to have lost patience. Understandable. He needs a spark. Knock someone over, tear around like a lunatic for a bit, get a reaction from the crowd. We need to see what it means to him. Needs to happen soon or tge dream is over.

 

[Red00012]

Our last 2 PL games
Fulham 1 shot on target (Martinez deflected shot )
Brighton 1st shot on target (Bruno penalty )

 

[MrWilliams]

He’s simply not good enough. Could have just added €30M and gotten Osimhen. At least he was proven in Serie A

 

[Waynne]

Lisandro Martinez has more shots on target than him. That's a mental stat.

Yep. I'd rather have Wout Weghorst back than continue with Rasmus. These stats are diabolical.

 

[Marcus]

He can't be that bad (he lost possession almost all the time when he received the ball) and without hope. He tries which is a very good foundation. The next step is to have more composure and that can come with coaching.

 

[marcus agrippa]

Why does he keep trying to post up defenders like he's an NBA centre? You're taking on CBs in the ONE area that they are great at and losing every time. Why not play off the shoulder and use your speed instead? To me this is a coaching deficiency more than anything because a proper striker coach would have forced him to change approach many many games ago. So we have to ask who the striker coach is or if we even have any striker coaches.

Nah, not having this. There was a game not long after Amorim arrived where, during the period just before the second half started, I saw Amorim clearly telling Hojlund to bend his runs away from the defender. You could see it with the hand gestures that Amorim was using. But did he do it? Did he feck.

It's his natural instinct. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen him have a ball well within playing distance, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM, but his first instinct is to look for the defender to keep him away from the ball, rather than take the ball and therefore the initiative.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

People use the word effortlesss with some footballers. With Hojlund, everything seems like a major effort. Getting a chance or shot away is like a major accomplishment. It’s just not enough at this level. We should never have signed someone so raw and lacking for the premier league.

 

[Charlie Foley]

Why does he keep trying to post up defenders like he's an NBA centre? You're taking on CBs in the ONE area that they are great at and losing every time. Why not play off the shoulder and use your speed instead? To me this is a coaching deficiency more than anything because a proper striker coach would have forced him to change approach many many games ago. So we have to ask who the striker coach is or if we even have any striker coaches.

The Talk of the Devils podcast actually talked about this in the latest episode. Apparently the consensus among the analysts at clubs around Europe is that he’s developed this bad habit and his first instinct is to go looking for the defender to bump into. There was one moment in the Fulham game where the ball was coming to him and he had his back to it because he was running towards the defender to post up. It’s frustrating.

 

[Solius]

Why does he keep trying to post up defenders like he's an NBA centre? You're taking on CBs in the ONE area that they are great at and losing every time. Why not play off the shoulder and use your speed instead? To me this is a coaching deficiency more than anything because a proper striker coach would have forced him to change approach many many games ago. So we have to ask who the striker coach is or if we even have any striker coaches.

It's weird, he also positions himself straight on so his angle for escaping with the ball or laying it off is poor. Makes it easier for the CB to prod it away too.

If he angled it he'd be in a much better position to spin and turn.

 

[Brazilian_Ronaldo_9]

I said this before, for a striker he doesn’t take shots or even attempt one outside the box or have the confidence to try in the box.

Atleast with a poacher, your in the right places which he isn’t.

I feel bad for him as we’re not getting up the pitch but his hold up play is awful.

Best for him to go somewhere else to revive his career or be loaned out.