[Bondi77]

The problem here - and it should have been clear to the people who did this - is that you don't put young, raw players into such pressurised situations because the potential fallout can be ruinous to their development and cost them months, if not years, in recovery - both in terms of confidence and identity.

I have said (it to the point people might be sick of seeing it) that you always need a proper attacker to bear the majority of the goalscoring load and the pressures and pitfalls that come with it. Hojlund is and has regressed under the pressure and weight of expectation and is genuinely a worse player now than he was when he got here because of how we've handled him.

Perhaps Amorim works wonders and gets him up to par - as in a Manchester United calibre squaddie - but I see someone who should be on loan at a smaller club at best when he plays. He does too many things wrong, and the compound of that is someone who looks lost as one piece of poor play follows another and another and another. Even when he is on the ball, he doesn't really have a clue what to do with it or where to go once it's released. You can't help but notice his foibles because he looks so out of place with others in his own game, nevermind the competence or ability of those around him. The more you focus solely on him, the more problems come to light and that's really not where things should be with your lead the line striker who cost a small fortune.

It's going to be a very interesting season for Hojlund and the decision of what the club do with him, for his benefit as well as our own.

He was starting as the main striker for Atalanta which is one of the top 4 leagues in Europe and was starting for his country so I think most thought he was ready for the next step....I am sure he thought he was.

 

[GoodTimes]

Has spent too much time practicing his celebrations and not becoming a better player.

 

[Fortitude]

He was starting as the main striker for Atalanta which is one of the top 4 leagues in Europe and was starting for his country so I think most thought he was ready for the next step....I am sure he thought he was.

With due respect to him, that was never leading the line here as opposed to being the understudy of a proven goalscorer, which the club failed in their duty to find or have ever present.

From the moment we were linked, many in his transfer thread advocated the signing but said it should be for him to be #2/rotated with the main guy at #9; he was thrust way beyond that station and it has caused damage because he wasn't ready for that. In turn, we see the fallout and his confidence shot to pieces, where, even the things he was good at when he first got here, he's reluctant to do now.

There is always a danger of leaving a youngster bereft of confidence if too much is placed upon them too soon, which is why it's mostly reserved for prodigious types who there's no idea of the cap on until/if they start to struggle with the load they're carrying, at which point even they are dialled back some and fine-tuned to handle whatever it is they've likely temporarily capped out at. We've compounded matters with Hojlund, further shooting his confidence into the ground, by playing him over and over when time out of the spotlight would usually have been the remedy here, in times gone by.

It's just a lot of mismanagement from the outset and that part can't be apportioned to the player; when making the step up, there's usually expert handling to go with it and continue the nurturing process, and we have been derelict in that duty, which is why I really hope Amorim can turn this aspect around so we can see what Hojlund could be about as opposed to the wreck he currently is.

 

[Bondi77]

With due respect to him, that was never leading the line here as opposed to being the understudy of a proven goalscorer, which the club failed in their duty to find or have ever present.

From the moment we were linked, many in his transfer thread advocated the signing but said it should be for him to be #2/rotated with the main guy at #9; he was thrust way beyond that station and it has caused damage because he wasn't ready for that. In turn, we see the fallout and his confidence shot to pieces, where, even the things he was good at when he first got here, he's reluctant to do now.

There is always a danger of leaving a youngster bereft of confidence if too much is placed upon them too soon, which is why it's mostly reserved for prodigious types who there's no idea of the cap on until/if they start to struggle with the load they're carrying, at which point even they are dialled back some and fine-tuned to handle whatever it is they've likely temporarily capped out at. We've compounded matters with Hojlund, further shooting his confidence into the ground, by playing him over and over when time out of the spotlight would usually have been the remedy here, in times gone by.

It's just a lot of mismanagement from the outset and that part can't be apportioned to the player; when making the step up, there's usually expert handling to go with it and continue the nurturing process, and we have been derelict in that duty, which is why I really hope Amorim can turn this aspect around so we can see what Hojlund could be about as opposed to the wreck he currently is.

We were never going to spend 70m quid on a player to be backup.
No one is going to blame the player for not being good enough but the decision should have been to walk away at that price.

 

[Devil81]

Just doesn't have a strikers instinct. Several times yesterday and other games the likes of Garnacho and Amad have the ball in wide positions and he's just standing static in the box or even behind play at times. We can't keep blaming the supply line, if there is movement it gives them a target to hit.

I've always been of the opinion he's a incredibly average striker that we've paid at least double his true market value.

 

[Fortitude]

We were never going to spend 70m quid on a player to be backup.
No one is going to blame the player for not being good enough but the decision should have been to walk away at that price.

Coming in and rotating whilst honing your craft as a youngster doesn't make you a perennial backup; it makes you precisely someone who is honing their craft and in light of that, being set up to be the main man in the future.

The price we paid for what he was is too much, but it was clear from the outset he was not ready to lead the line here, as many stated before we'd even got him in.

 

[Møllemanden]

Expectations are a bit unfair really. He's very young still and should've been a backup striker to a senior PL quality striker, and yet he somehow came in and had to be first choice from day one. Some of our best teams in the last 30 years had four very good strikers available. Cole, Yorke, Sheringham and Ole. Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney and Berba.

I know the formation is different now, but a top top team has options. We currently don't.

 

[Bondi77]

Coming in and rotating whilst honing your craft as a youngster doesn't make you a perennial backup; it makes you precisely someone who is honing their craft and in light of that, being set up to be the main man in the future.

The price we paid for what he was is too much, but it was clear from the outset he was not ready to lead the line here, as many stated before we'd even got him in.

And others compared him to Haaland and were licking their lips at the thought of him playing for us.

 

[Giggsyking]

Forget What is written in the Tweet. I do not agree totally with it. But just watch the video as an example of his movement. Almost every game he does this.. He runs toward the player with the ball instead of attacking the box. Its so tiresome.

 

[yamo123x]

Very poor again yesterday. Not on his own, but it was a chance for him to come on and make an impact, and we basically saw a repeat of what we have seen all season so far, poor touch, weak and always on the floor and nowhere near the goal when crosses came in.

Confidence must be low now, at best a bench option but he needs to show some sign of improvement this year.

 

[Robertd0803]

Almost every game he does this.. He runs toward the player with the ball instead of attacking the box. Its so tiresome.

Its really frustrating. His positional sense just seems off somehow.

 

[oz insomniac]

Hojlund seemed to score regularly prior to falling under the ETH scheme, not that anyone understands what it was, hopefully he can find form when he understands the system, at least Amorim has a system, never saw one that included a striker under ETH…

 

[Bondi77]

Hojlund seemed to score regularly prior to falling under the ETH scheme, not that anyone understands what it was, hopefully he can find form when he understands the system, at least Amorim has a system, never saw one that included a striker under ETH…

I have hope for him,
If Ruben can get a 25yo Championship striker to be successful in his system then there should be hope for Rasmus.

 

[Denis79]

With due respect to him, that was never leading the line here as opposed to being the understudy of a proven goalscorer, which the club failed in their duty to find or have ever present.

From the moment we were linked, many in his transfer thread advocated the signing but said it should be for him to be #2/rotated with the main guy at #9; he was thrust way beyond that station and it has caused damage because he wasn't ready for that. In turn, we see the fallout and his confidence shot to pieces, where, even the things he was good at when he first got here, he's reluctant to do now.

There is always a danger of leaving a youngster bereft of confidence if too much is placed upon them too soon, which is why it's mostly reserved for prodigious types who there's no idea of the cap on until/if they start to struggle with the load they're carrying, at which point even they are dialled back some and fine-tuned to handle whatever it is they've likely temporarily capped out at. We've compounded matters with Hojlund, further shooting his confidence into the ground, by playing him over and over when time out of the spotlight would usually have been the remedy here, in times gone by.

It's just a lot of mismanagement from the outset and that part can't be apportioned to the player; when making the step up, there's usually expert handling to go with it and continue the nurturing process, and we have been derelict in that duty, which is why I really hope Amorim can turn this aspect around so we can see what Hojlund could be about as opposed to the wreck he currently is.

This is exactly my thoughts about the situation. Hojlund might have bags full of potential but we are throwing that away. He wasn't ready to lead the line at a club with our ambitions, like you wrote, many warned about this on this forum before we got him and they were 100% right. He looks bereft of confidence, clearly overwhelmed and because if it he's regressing.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Forget What is written in the Tweet. I do not agree totally with it. But just watch the video as an example of his movement. Almost every game he does this.. He runs toward the player with the ball instead of attacking the box. Its so tiresome.

Said it for a while now, his movement in the box is highly questionable.
Doesn't look like a natural. At this point I think he'd be more effective as a wide forward than a n9.

 

[Cassidy]

Forget What is written in the Tweet. I do not agree totally with it. But just watch the video as an example of his movement. Almost every game he does this.. He runs toward the player with the ball instead of attacking the box. Its so tiresome.

His movement has been an obvious issue, its been covered up by the fact the team generally didn't or doesn't create enough. Its was glaringly obvious and the reason why ETH started playing McTominay as a second striker

 

[Rozay]

He has average talent. Quite obviously so too. People point to a few goals he scored here and there, but that’s exactly what ‘average is’. Average players do good things sometimes. Average strikers score goals sometimes. Average talent does positive actions sometimes. Elite talent, regardless of the end product, shows that often. Cristiano Ronaldo was an average player and an elite talent when he joined us at 18. He scored 5 goals that season. He made poor choices. But almost every game he showed he was an elite talent.

Hojlund doesn’t have it. There, I’m saying it before he is 26 and has played 150 games uninterrupted by injury in the perfect system in a winning team - which is apparently the only circumstances under which you are allowed to not rate a player here. He has been poor in more than 50% of the football matches he has played for us. Kobbie Mainoo hasn’t. Martinez hasn’t. Mazraoui hasn’t. Hojlund has.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

I think amorim has to be forced to work with him. We just can't have manager after manager come in and sign a whole new team of players. I think amorim has to get a song out of this squad before we spend a fortune on any specialists, perhaps outside of the wing back issue. It is the only way to break the cycle. Hojlund couldn't do what amorim needs after two training sessions and 35 mins in the pitch? Coach him

 

[sugar_kane]

He will show whether he is worth sticking with or not over the next couple of months. I'm hopeful Amorim's system will produce a lot more chances for him, and we know he is a strong finisher.

If by the end of the season he's still looking out of his depth we should probably look to move on from him.

Even though I'm massively sceptical of him being a total victim due to the lack of service angle (some of this has to be down to his own off the ball movement) he's shown he is a great finisher and is still relatively young. He also looks shot of confidence and feeling the pressure.

 

[Betson]

He has average talent. Quite obviously so too. People point to a few goals he scored here and there, but that’s exactly what ‘average is’. Average players do good things sometimes. Average strikers score goals sometimes. Average talent does positive actions sometimes. Elite talent, regardless of the end product, shows that often. Cristiano Ronaldo was an average player and an elite talent when he joined us at 18. He scored 5 goals that season. He made poor choices. But almost every game he showed he was an elite talent.

Hojlund doesn’t have it. There, I’m saying it before he is 26 and has played 150 games uninterrupted by injury in the perfect system in a winning team - which is apparently the only circumstances under which you are allowed to not rate a player here. He has been poor in more than 50% of the football matches he has played for us. Kobbie Mainoo hasn’t. Martinez hasn’t. Mazraoui hasn’t. Hojlund has.

Hard to disagree with any of that , even average players have good games and score good goals from time to time but they are average because they don't do it consistently. Hojlund does not do it consistently. If he were playing like this for another club in the league none of us would be interested in seeing him come here. He still has youth on side but there are worrying signs he is not up to the levels required.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Hard to disagree with any of that , even average players have good games and score good goals from time to time but they are average because they don't do it consistently. Hojlund does not do it consistently. If he were playing like this for another club in the league none of us would be interested in seeing him come here. He still has youth on side but there are worrying signs he is not up to the levels required.

And good coaches can coach consistency in to players. Especially young players.

 

[Hester_manc]

Is it just me, or has Højlund changed his runs?

Last season I think he was very good at getting into the box, but he didn't always get the right pass from his teammates. However, he made some goals and good runs and was almost always ready for crosses - especially if they came along the ground.
This season I think he does not take the runs into the box to the same extent. He goes further back on the field to be more involved in the play, but is then missing in the box, or he finds a position at the far end of the box where he is not dangerous.
As I said, I don't know if I'm misinterpreting. But to me, it seems that he is trying to get more involved in the play, but on the other hand, is missing right inside the small box right in front of the goal.

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

Is it just me, or has Højlund changed his runs?

Last season I think he was very good at getting into the box, but he didn't always get the right pass from his teammates. However, he made some goals and good runs and was almost always ready for crosses - especially if they came along the ground.
This season I think he does not take the runs into the box to the same extent. He goes further back on the field to be more involved in the play, but is then missing in the box, or he finds a position at the far end of the box where he is not dangerous.
As I said, I don't know if I'm misinterpreting. But to me, it seems that he is trying to get more involved in the play, but on the other hand, is missing right inside the small box right in front of the goal.

I think you’re right and that the reason is ETH’s tactics combined with low confidence

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Its really frustrating. His positional sense just seems off somehow.

It's always been off. The claim that our AM and wingers are selfish is true but so is the fact that Hojlund doesn't move like a striker needs to. It's a real slog for him to get into good positions.

 

[Bobski]

Is it just me, or has Højlund changed his runs?

Last season I think he was very good at getting into the box, but he didn't always get the right pass from his teammates. However, he made some goals and good runs and was almost always ready for crosses - especially if they came along the ground.
This season I think he does not take the runs into the box to the same extent. He goes further back on the field to be more involved in the play, but is then missing in the box, or he finds a position at the far end of the box where he is not dangerous.
As I said, I don't know if I'm misinterpreting. But to me, it seems that he is trying to get more involved in the play, but on the other hand, is missing right inside the small box right in front of the goal.

I think the whole Hojlund is not getting passes from his teammates excuse was also a great deal of new signing hype and hope that big money signings and kids get. Yes the service was poor, but he played a major part in that.

His movement just isn't very good at this stage, he can improve that and with his finishing that can make him him a pretty good striker but it would also take a technical leap for him to be a long term starter for Utd.

 

[Toblerone92]

This guy will never be a success for United and those of you that think he is anywhere near the required standard to start for United are just deluding yourselves; his positioning is poor, he doesn't hold the ball up well, he's not particualrly good in the air and his work rate is average. Another appaling waste of money and the idea that he is the future alongside Mainoo and Garnacho is laughable.

 

[Grand Vizier]

This guy will never be a success for United and those of you that think he is anywhere near the required standard to start for United are just deluding yourselves; his positioning is poor, he doesn't hold the ball up well, he's not particualrly good in the air and his work rate is average. Another appaling waste of money and the idea that he is the future alongside Mainoo and Garnacho is laughable.

Yes, we are so delusional for thinking that a striker who scored 15 goals in PL and CL as a 20 year old for a poor attacking team could develop to become a better striker. How many goals would be enough for you to deem him as good enough?

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

This guy will never be a success for United and those of you that think he is anywhere near the required standard to start for United are just deluding yourselves; his positioning is poor, he doesn't hold the ball up well, he's not particualrly good in the air and his work rate is average. Another appaling waste of money and the idea that he is the future alongside Mainoo and Garnacho is laughable.

Thanks for that contribution

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

I think the whole Hojlund is not getting passes from his teammates excuse was also a great deal of new signing hype and hope that big money signings and kids get. Yes the service was poor, but he played a major part in that

It’s going around in circles in here. No, he was in free positions numerous times last season without them playing him. He made so many runs without getting the ball that he probably began to doubt himself and seek other ways of contributing. At some point even resilient players will start to question themselves when their new teammates act like that. Too bad seeing how he came here full of vigor, optimism and energy.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

I’m going to go agaisnt the grain and say from what I saw against Ipswich, this system is going to suit him far far better. I don’t think he was good by any stretch, but then the performance as a whole was pretty poor anyway. However, from what I saw he got more of the ball than he ever did under Ten Hag, there was significantly more space for him to run into down the channels (which is still his biggest asset). I can see him scoring significantly more goals in this system, but Amorim needs to abandon the Rashford experiment and give him a run of games up there.

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

I’m going to go agaisnt the grain and say from what I saw against Ipswich, this system is going to suit him far far better. I don’t think he was good by any stretch, but then the performance as a whole was pretty poor anyway. However, from what I saw he got more of the ball than he ever did under Ten Hag, there was significantly more space for him to run into down the channels (which is still his biggest asset). I can see him scoring significantly more goals in this system, but Amorim needs to abandon the Rashford experiment and give him a run of games up there.

Bold post considering the “Hate Hojlund”-contingent in here. But yes, it’s clearly much better suited to him now as expected. Hope Amorim gives him confidence.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Bold post considering the “Hate Hojlund”-contingent in here. But yes, it’s clearly much better suited to him now as expected. Hope Amorim gives him confidence.

Oh yeh I know full well I’ll get scrutiny for it and that’s fair enough because his current form is hard to look past. But I still see a talented player who joined the club in a tough moment. The aim for this team should be regularly getting him into those channels (not crosses). Do that and he will score plenty of goals.

 

[Andycoleno9]

I’m going to go agaisnt the grain and say from what I saw against Ipswich, this system is going to suit him far far better. I don’t think he was good by any stretch, but then the performance as a whole was pretty poor anyway. However, from what I saw he got more of the ball than he ever did under Ten Hag, there was significantly more space for him to run into down the channels (which is still his biggest asset). I can see him scoring significantly more goals in this system, but Amorim needs to abandon the Rashford experiment and give him a run of games up there.

Look at Gjokeres goals for Sporting in that system. Gjokeres is not much more talented player than Hojlund but has two traits in which he is world class where Hojlund is simply awful; positioning in the box and movement without the ball.
From what i see in Amorim's system whole team mostly work for striker and that means that striker must have perfect movement skill and football IQ. Hojlund doesn't have that.

 

[Rozay]

Yes, we are so delusional for thinking that a striker who scored 15 goals in PL and CL as a 20 year old for a poor attacking team could develop to become a better striker. How many goals would be enough for you to deem him as good enough?

Football isn’t algorithms. Anyone who watched all of our games last season would know that ‘encouraging 15 goal season’ is a completely misleading assessment here. I knew at the time that come the end of the season, all that would matter was that he ‘scored 17 goals’. The reality is, he was largely dreadful all season and looked well out of his depth most of it.

On paper (where modern fans seem to watch football), 16/17 goals if a good return for a striker. In reality, there’s a big difference between Hojlund scoring 17 last season and Martial scoring 17 in his first season (also as a young player in a struggling team bla bla bla). Martial was 4 or 5 levels above what Hojlund did last season. I think Michail Antonio got 16 or 17 a couple of seasons back while also looking a million miles away from a striker good enough to play for Manchester United.

To distill Hojlund’s season down to a goal tally is, I would say, wilfully misleading personally.

 

[CannibalSpectre]

Yes, we are so delusional for thinking that a striker who scored 15 goals in PL and CL as a 20 year old for a poor attacking team could develop to become a better striker. How many goals would be enough for you to deem him as good enough?

It would help a great deal if he looked the part outside his goals in isolation. Most of those goals came during a purple patch and he's been diabolical outside of it.

If that patch wasn't a fluke, he needs to score more consistently and show way more in his overall game than he has thus far. He may not have it.

 

[Grand Vizier]

Football isn’t algorithms. Anyone who watched all of our games last season would know that ‘encouraging 15 goal season’ is a completely misleading assessment here. I knew at the time that come the end of the season, all that would matter was that he ‘scored 17 goals’. The reality is, he was largely dreadful all season and looked well out of his depth most of it.

On paper (where modern fans seem to watch football), 16/17 goals if a good return for a striker. In reality, there’s a big difference between Hojlund scoring 17 last season and Martial scoring 17 in his first season (also as a young player in a struggling team bla bla bla). Martial was 4 or 5 levels above what Hojlund did last season. I think Michail Antonio got 16 or 17 a couple of seasons back while also looking a million miles away from a striker good enough to play for Manchester United.

To distill Hojlund’s season down to a goal tally is, I would say, wilfully misleading personally.

You don't score those goals (plus another three goals that were ruled out barely by VAR, one was even wrongly ruled out) if you don't have potential. I'm not saying world class potential, but very few players score that "many" goals as a 20 year old in their debut season without having anything about them.

He has regressed massively and don't look the same player at all, and I think people are misremembering him due to his performances this season. Very different players, in my opinion.

Martial was a potentially generational talent, and was obviously much more talented than Højlund, but these talents aren't around at the time. Højlund still has time to develop, any way. I don't think he will be a world class striker, but I think he can be a good-to-great one, and could be good enough for us when you consider how few world class strikers there are these days. Very few of the currently good PL strikers were massive talents at 20.

 

[Escobar]

This is exactly my thoughts about the situation. Hojlund might have bags full of potential but we are throwing that away. He wasn't ready to lead the line at a club with our ambitions, like you wrote, many warned about this on this forum before we got him and they were 100% right. He looks bereft of confidence, clearly overwhelmed and because if it he's regressing.

He does not have bags full of potential. He is overrated and a limited striker

 

[thisisnottaken1]

He does not have bags full of potential. He is overrated and a limited striker

He does. He’s only 21 and I’m tired of people writing him off

 

[Big Ben Foster]

When he was in his run of form last season I actually thought he had that striker's instinct and strong finishing abilities. What he doesn't have is the technical skill, and that's not something you can really develop - for the most part, you either have it or you don't.

 

[Rozay]

You don't score those goals (plus another three goals that were ruled out barely by VAR, one was even wrongly ruled out) if you don't have potential. I'm not saying world class potential, but very few players score that "many" goals as a 20 year old in their debut season without having anything about them.

He has regressed massively and don't look the same player at all, and I think people are misremembering him due to his performances this season. Very different players, in my opinion.

Martial was a potentially generational talent, and was obviously much more talented than Højlund, but these talents aren't around at the time. Højlund still has time to develop, any way. I don't think he will be a world class striker, but I think he can be a good-to-great one, and could be good enough for us when you consider how few world class strikers there are these days. Very few of the currently good PL strikers very massive talents at 20.

Fair enough.

I don’t agree that he has regressed massively though, and I think perhaps it might be you misremembering last season based on a very compressed highlight reel. He was similarly terrible in many games last season. Of course, the early ones were probably written off as him being new and adjusting, but he had more poor games than he had good ones in my opinion last season.

Other than that, I think your assessment is fair.