Think the whole team does at this point
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 21
- Goals
- 7
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 1
He is a very recent example how United have got themselves in this terrible mess. A young player like this was meant to be a prospect. If Atalanta want to hike the price up then leave him there.
Manchester United have now paid 100 million for Hojlund and Zirkzee in rotation and nothing to really show for it. There is cheaper talent out there as prospects, Atalanta saying 70 mill is a good sign for us to dodge a bullet. We need proven quality first, not a slim chance a young player might make it and drop 70 mill and sit bottom half of the table while we wait and see.
Meanwhile Sporting are paying 20 million for Gyokeres
Manchester United have now paid 100 million for Hojlund and Zirkzee in rotation and nothing to really show for it. There is cheaper talent out there as prospects, Atalanta saying 70 mill is a good sign for us to dodge a bullet. We need proven quality first, not a slim chance a young player might make it and drop 70 mill and sit bottom half of the table while we wait and see.
Meanwhile Sporting are paying 20 million for Gyokeres
Nail on the head. We are creating more and more chances in the new system but we have no one to score. If we had a capable striker we wouldn’t be talking about formations, coaches blah blah blah
I like Hojlund and think he shows a lot of promise. Yes, we overpaid for him. I don’t think that can be reasonably disputed. The problem is, he’s not ready to be first choice striker for a top flight team. He’s very young. He should be coming off the bench, learning, and brought along intelligently. I’d say the same about Mainoo. He’s being asked to do too much, too soon. In our team, with the lack of creativity, quality forwards and attacking structure, it’s unfair on the boy. He needs time, and needs to be put in a position to succeed.
Couldn't tell him apart from Strand Larsen skill wise.
The biggest problem for me with him this season is his mentality decline.
If you watch games 1 year ago, he was energetic, chasing for loose balls. Now he doesn't chase and run that much anymore and started to become a whining guy.
It is a common theme for almost all our youngsters (from Januzaj to Lingard to Martial/Rashford/Greenwood to Branden Williams to Garnacho): promising start > overhyped > complacent > "feeling like I have made it even though I haven't" >> fail to live up to expectation and fall to mediocrity. Seems like Mainoo starts to have the same problem too
If you watch games 1 year ago, he was energetic, chasing for loose balls. Now he doesn't chase and run that much anymore and started to become a whining guy.
It is a common theme for almost all our youngsters (from Januzaj to Lingard to Martial/Rashford/Greenwood to Branden Williams to Garnacho): promising start > overhyped > complacent > "feeling like I have made it even though I haven't" >> fail to live up to expectation and fall to mediocrity. Seems like Mainoo starts to have the same problem too
I think you are doing Strand Larsen a disservice, he's clearly the more effective player out of the two of them
I don’t understand how the club can choose to pay 70m for such raw talents. And that’s assuming he has the talent which I’m not really sure about. Not sure it we have the funds to replace him but in an ideal world he’d be sent out on loan. Since we aren’t in an ideal world we desperately need a starting striker so he fan primarily come off the bench.
I keep saying this to counter the argument that he has no service. He is terrible at actually putting himself in a position to get the service for the most part. He also has a massive lack of anticipation for simple things like rebounds or passes/crosses across goal. It's useless being a great finisher if you're movement is on such a low level.
It also affects our whole attack negatively because if your striker is easy to mark, there's much less space to exploit for our other attackers.
It's also very hard to develop a striker at a so called top club in today's single striker role unless it's a Rooney or Mbappe. They're best playing elsewhere like Salah, Suarez and Henry were. We need a mid 20 and an experienced Giroud type. Amad is good now through loans instead bits and pieces here on a silly wage, he'd be ruined.
With Hojlund though, said it before but he was dropping deep at Atalanta with a simple layoff, he had other players getting to the byline and working that whole area for service to the box, we have Garna/Rash cutting in solo. He would also do deep runs, he's fast at running or charging forward. He's not adept or agile to back into defenders to swivel and shoot or make a yard or two, Amad does that with ease, Hojlund is clumsy. He is nowhere near a young Kane who could swivel and shoot goals for fun out of nothing.
He is also I think biased to the left of play but is not getting served well by Garnacho/Rashford, they cut in and it's a jumble, they're always looking at each other in frustration. Hojlund can finish well, poach and get goals from defender mistakes and loose balls. This target man thing is so tiring to watch and for him as well. He should be fresh today yet looks like he's walked from Manchester to Wolverhampton with his wrestling play. His positioning is in question as well, we saw a few times McTom come on and time his run better so he could be picked out from a deeper angled cross.
Hojlund instincts are looking for cutbacks and loose balls well inside the area or just pushing forward himself from deep and having a sweeping shot on goal roof of the net style. We need a whole system of short passing wide play and allow him to start deep to either run from there or layoff and wait for his team to get to the byline, we don't do any of that. Hojlund goals are like waiting for the planet to align, we see moments of what he can do and 89 mins of what he can't.
I wonder if Eriksen can play with him in better than Bruno and also Amorim try and utilize his largely unseen pace and drive from deep left area while Rashford is not there.
With Hojlund though, said it before but he was dropping deep at Atalanta with a simple layoff, he had other players getting to the byline and working that whole area for service to the box, we have Garna/Rash cutting in solo. He would also do deep runs, he's fast at running or charging forward. He's not adept or agile to back into defenders to swivel and shoot or make a yard or two, Amad does that with ease, Hojlund is clumsy. He is nowhere near a young Kane who could swivel and shoot goals for fun out of nothing.
He is also I think biased to the left of play but is not getting served well by Garnacho/Rashford, they cut in and it's a jumble, they're always looking at each other in frustration. Hojlund can finish well, poach and get goals from defender mistakes and loose balls. This target man thing is so tiring to watch and for him as well. He should be fresh today yet looks like he's walked from Manchester to Wolverhampton with his wrestling play. His positioning is in question as well, we saw a few times McTom come on and time his run better so he could be picked out from a deeper angled cross.
Hojlund instincts are looking for cutbacks and loose balls well inside the area or just pushing forward himself from deep and having a sweeping shot on goal roof of the net style. We need a whole system of short passing wide play and allow him to start deep to either run from there or layoff and wait for his team to get to the byline, we don't do any of that. Hojlund goals are like waiting for the planet to align, we see moments of what he can do and 89 mins of what he can't.
I wonder if Eriksen can play with him in better than Bruno and also Amorim try and utilize his largely unseen pace and drive from deep left area while Rashford is not there.
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he is so raw that you would think he is a 30m at most, but we paid 72m, let that sink in.
there are at least 12-15 strikers in the PL that are objectively better than him, yes he is young, but he was not ready at all to be brought in for 72m as the main striker for any club in the league, let alone for us.
his link up play, intelligence, positioning, and holdup are all severely lacking, he would need a season long loan to work it out and get better.
Edit: the bolded part I said it in jest, but when I thought about it, it could be true
Haaland, Isak, Solanke, Watkins, Duran, Evanilson, Jackson, Mateta, Wood, Jota, Pedro, Wissa, Delap.
Delap & Duran are the same age as Hojlund
there are at least 12-15 strikers in the PL that are objectively better than him, yes he is young, but he was not ready at all to be brought in for 72m as the main striker for any club in the league, let alone for us.
his link up play, intelligence, positioning, and holdup are all severely lacking, he would need a season long loan to work it out and get better.
Edit: the bolded part I said it in jest, but when I thought about it, it could be true
Haaland, Isak, Solanke, Watkins, Duran, Evanilson, Jackson, Mateta, Wood, Jota, Pedro, Wissa, Delap.
Delap & Duran are the same age as Hojlund
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His poor hold up play is ruining our attacking transition. Poor first touch, poor ball control, lack of strength, and poor heading ability. He’s getting bullied easily and no defenders are afraid of him.
Sadly it's not his fault and it's sthg that will allways be over his head.
That it's the main issue for him to gain confidence and some form of relaxation, a lot more of an issue than being 21
Defo not his fault, the club made a huge mistake signing him for a such a huge fee.
I knew the jig was up when Archie Gray (!!!) handled him no problem.
You say you jest, but I completely agree. And not just starters. I saw Armando Broja come on for Everton, and I swear he offers more.
I've got nothing against him, but every time someone says anything bad about this guy some people get too defensive.
He does get some service but is hardly in the right positions.
He always dribbles & holds on to play with his left arm bent on his chest to show just how technically limited he is at turning the ball around to get past defenders.
The whole "channel running" striker thing is something i never see, maybe once or twice a season and thats still from him running in to opposition giving him abnormally high amounts of space so he can run like flash with his head down the ground.
He has started to dive because he cant hold up the ball or he trips over himself.
Which such a poor squad he is still not the player that we should target for a quick sale but at the same time he's probably one of the only players we can get 40mil for if we sell him sooner rather than later - based on potential other clubs might still see whilst alot of us have seen enough to know his limitations aswell as his potential.
He does get some service but is hardly in the right positions.
He always dribbles & holds on to play with his left arm bent on his chest to show just how technically limited he is at turning the ball around to get past defenders.
The whole "channel running" striker thing is something i never see, maybe once or twice a season and thats still from him running in to opposition giving him abnormally high amounts of space so he can run like flash with his head down the ground.
He has started to dive because he cant hold up the ball or he trips over himself.
Which such a poor squad he is still not the player that we should target for a quick sale but at the same time he's probably one of the only players we can get 40mil for if we sell him sooner rather than later - based on potential other clubs might still see whilst alot of us have seen enough to know his limitations aswell as his potential.
He is very raw, apart from finishing, he still needs to develop the other aspects of his play significantly to be anywhere close to being considered a lead striker at a top half PL club. He lacks strength and is easily blocked off, his movement outside and inside the box is not the best, his first touch is inconsistent, and passing is quite average. I don’t think we can afford to develop him while playing in the first team. Ideally he needs to develop at a lower club, away from the scrutiny at a club like United.
I don't think he is a top half pl striker he would struggle to get to make an impact for the likes of wolves, bournemouth forest and Ipswich. Liam Delap is much better footballer and more of a problem playing for ipswitch
I stand by my point that if Hugil was given the same amount of games as Hojlund he would have delivered similar numbers and offered far more. We have to accept ten hag wasted hundreds of millions on sub standard players who will never be good enough to be main starters if we wish to return to the top.
if we're happy to be mid table, then feeding Hojlund the number 9 and having our fans praise him for getting shots off and looking angry, while blaming other players for not spoon feeding him chances then we are right where we belong
For a players who is apparently pacey, he never ever runs in behind. Wolves pushed up with a high line today there was ample opportunity to run in behind and stretch them/turn them round, but no just stands Infront of his defender demanding everything to feet so he can 'control it' straight into trouble.
The players even played a few through balls and balls over the top for him and he wasn't even attempting to move for them.
He's a good wrestler who can kick the ball quite hard with his left foot, and that's about the sum of his talent.
Really really poor signing who would struggle in the championship.
The players even played a few through balls and balls over the top for him and he wasn't even attempting to move for them.
He's a good wrestler who can kick the ball quite hard with his left foot, and that's about the sum of his talent.
Really really poor signing who would struggle in the championship.
Welbeck, Jimenez, and Strand Larsen too based on this season. You could even make an argument for Calvert-Lewin despite him having a tough run of form. Darwin, Jesus, and Nkunku don't get loads of game time, but they'd almost certainly start for us ahead of Hojlund too. So I'd say he might be the 21st-best striker in the league at the moment.
Hopefully the penny drops and all the potential we paid for comes to fruition, but it's generally quite dangerous to bet the house on potential.
Someone needs to sit him down and force him to watch clips of Cavani's movement, even the declining version we got here. He was elite at creating separation from his marker and the only way i can describe Højlund's movement is that he deliberately tries to be as close to the CB as possible. I had never seen a striker mark his CB before this. He has no anticipation for balls in behind, and always tries to back into defenders to hold up play but he's also terrible at that.
A 1.81m Martial was stronger and smarter than a 1.91m Højlund, for how big he is he's so easily knocked off his feet. Zirkzee is much more physical. I'm beginning to believe that one of our biggest problems is that our players are just not "football smart". Højlund is probably the fastest player at the club behind Rashford/Dalot but he has no idea how to use that speed. It's so easy to shut him down.
A 1.81m Martial was stronger and smarter than a 1.91m Højlund, for how big he is he's so easily knocked off his feet. Zirkzee is much more physical. I'm beginning to believe that one of our biggest problems is that our players are just not "football smart". Højlund is probably the fastest player at the club behind Rashford/Dalot but he has no idea how to use that speed. It's so easy to shut him down.
Chris Wood is twice the player Hojlund is. Hojlund might not even have the potential to ever get to Chris Wood's level.
They are both the same height but Chris Wood routinely wins headers and bullies opposing defenders all game long. Hojlund gets toyed around like a ragdoll by defenders. Chris Wood guarantees double digit in league goals as long as he is a starter despite playing for relegation fodders, Hojlund would not even be close this season.
17 league goals and 5 league assists in championship in 21/22 season.
21 league goals and 12 league assists in championship in 22/23 season.
At that time in 2023, Gyokeres would have been 25 years old. Good age for a striker.
How did we decide to ignore Gyokeres for 20m and chose to spend 70m on a striker who only managed 9 league goals in Serie A. In any logic, striker with that stats in championship for 2 seasons is still better than 9 league goals in Serie A for 1 season. It’s ridiculous. Big question mark on the recruitment department. The recruitment system needs to be ripped off too.
Chris Wood has actually scored 10 pl goals in 18 games this season . 33yr old Chris Wood would instantly be our best striker, my god we're bad. Says alot about our strikers and our team in general. Awful.
Yeah, losing faith in him rapidly
Been utter shite this season, like he's more bothered about wrestling with defenders than getting hold of the ball, and a weird knack of missing the ball completely when it lands by him in the box
Been utter shite this season, like he's more bothered about wrestling with defenders than getting hold of the ball, and a weird knack of missing the ball completely when it lands by him in the box
Spends most of the time wrestling and often ends up on the grass
He isnt very good. First touch is shocking. Cant hold the ball up. We need a better striker.
I remember back in the day people said kevin Phillips was no where near the quality we needed. Kevin Phillips had a good first touch, quick feet, clever, could score with
both feet and his head. He was on a different planet to Rasmus, but we have to wait fir Rasmus to come good apparently
Watch the full clip where he doesn’t skip the part where Amad delayed and should have passed it just when the clip started. I’d be frustrated as well if your teammates always seem to ignore his runs.
I still think he has potential just needs some coaching
Hope we get rid in the summer rather than persist with this mistake. Clearly he's a really poor, limited forward without a great deal of potential. Some will desperately hold in to the belief he'll come good, because it's easier than accepting we've once again wasted a ton of money on a dud. But being ruthless is what we'll need to be if we hope to get out of this dire situation anytime soon
Out of curiosity I took a look at what his previous clubs fans were saying about his sale. They said 70 mill was a huge risk, and that he used to go missing against the big teams. We have to be honest with ourselves here, not only have we overpaid a silly amount, but the guy is 21 years of age. He should not be leading Man Utd at all with 0 experience, and all this does is stall his development and ruin our chances too.
He should not have been anything more than a good sub at this stage of his career, and I bet both us and him would have benefited from it.
Yesterday I was watching him a lot, to see how much of a big issue he really is, and what struck me was that he was actually trying to make runs but only for nobody to have the vision to pass him him. His hold up play is not the best however. Its not like he isnt tryinng... but then thats the case with our other players. I dont think theyve downed tools at all, its just that they are not good enough or should be on our bench at best.
How on earth did Manchester United end up with him and Zirkzee as their forwards? There should be a documentary about how badly this club in run when buying players. I was laughed out of the park when I suggested neither would get into double figures for league goals and I was being flippant about it - won't be far off.
Hojlund is very poor. The odd good spell like any top flight forward, but he does look particularly average. He's another who thinks playing for United is another way to promote himself with his ever changing celebrations and social medial posts. How about you acknowledge the mess we are in and fight for the shirt and stop pissing about.
I'm sure his stats will improve once he gets a better service, but his build up play and positioning has been wank since we bought him, so not sure how it will improve in the near future.
Hojlund is very poor. The odd good spell like any top flight forward, but he does look particularly average. He's another who thinks playing for United is another way to promote himself with his ever changing celebrations and social medial posts. How about you acknowledge the mess we are in and fight for the shirt and stop pissing about.
I'm sure his stats will improve once he gets a better service, but his build up play and positioning has been wank since we bought him, so not sure how it will improve in the near future.
We looked the best with Rashford up front but sure,, Höjlund presses or something? He's a poor mans Haaland at best
Yeah, he's not that great. O well.
Loan in January to a lower premier league team is the way forwards. Somewhere like Leicester would be ideal as they will need to rotate Vardy so he should get some games there. Then loan him again next season.
By 26/27 he will still only be 23. That’s the time to make a call. If he’s done well on loan and improved his first touch, passing, movement etc then we can then think about reintegrating him into the squad.
Just laugh at this point.
Very true. The old regime just accepted a 'Utd tax' and overpaid massively on just about every player we have signed till the club has ended up skint.
You don't take punts on players developing at 70m ..
I don't see huge potential either. Some minor improvement as he reaches late twenties but he's not going to be the next Shearer or Drogba.
Still better than Zirkzee at No 9 though.
I was pretty pissed at Amad for doing this, it was quite a silly decision considering the square to Hojlund was there for a 1-2.
Yeah, the guy who's played a grand total of 3 games for Everton and hasn't scored a league goal for 2 years offers more than him.