I don't know how you can spend 70m on a striker and defend him on the basis that he's young and learning. Maybe he'll improve if he's loaned out but he's not going to improve at United, certainly not at the rate we need. We'd have scored 2/3 today if we had someone much better up there. The pitch was very wet, and I saw a lot of players slipping so it wasn't just him, but he just looks so wobbly and weak. He's not good at finding space either - so what is he good at?
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 23
- Goals
- 7
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 1
If he hd a right foot he could use it. Another big chance missed cause he can only shoot with left.
Just not good enough and I just dont see it with him
Just not good enough and I just dont see it with him
His hold up play has to improve massively. There was a moment in the half when Bruno got passed because he made the run behind Van Dijk, when in fact, he had to be in front of him.
Everytime he had to keep the ball upfront, so that more players can joint in the attack, he gave it away easily, putting us under pressure again.
Everytime he had to keep the ball upfront, so that more players can joint in the attack, he gave it away easily, putting us under pressure again.
Just don't think he's anywhere near the level. As I asked in the matchday thread, who else in the league would take him as first choice?
Southampton
Theres a player there but I'm not really sure what sort of player we're trying to develop.
He came in as a runner in behind the line, and looked to have good instincts in the box with a good bit of pace. But hes spending way too much time tussling with CBs, and he doesn't necessarily have the technique or the strength to effectively do that.
He came in as a runner in behind the line, and looked to have good instincts in the box with a good bit of pace. But hes spending way too much time tussling with CBs, and he doesn't necessarily have the technique or the strength to effectively do that.
Yeah, I saw both. Bruno's one was especially frustrating. He wanted Hojlund to make the near-post run. Hojlund just ran straight. Easy for van Dijk to defend that since all he had to do was watch the ball. Giroud was a master at that: jink quickly to the near post for an easy tap-in, which is what Fernandes wanted Hojlund to do.
But I'm really happy today. Been dreading Sunday since last week, so I'll just take the positive feelings and brace for next weekend!
Another off day for Rasmus, whose season has been quite poor. I'm not sure there's a striker of sufficient quality in his boots.
I really like Rasmus but that chance in the first half I knew for a fact he wasn't scoring as soon as he was 1 v 1 with Allison. Just doesn't inspire confidence that he's going to finish those chances but then in other games he will score something you wouldn't expect him to.
Odd conundrum, stick or twist time for us though.
Odd conundrum, stick or twist time for us though.
Yup, he's not getting passes because he's not putting himself in the right positions to receive themThat was my first thought when it happened.
This is how "no service" myth started. Guy makes a wrong move every time and players who make a pass take a blame for shit pass.
Edit: i just noticed that "snowflake obsessed". Whoever did that, nice job.
he simply looks basic to me. I've seen Aguero at 18 being great for Atletico and Tevez at 20 being equally ridiculous. Hojlund at 22 is nowhere near as talented and I can accept that.
but the question is, how much better he can actually get? for now let's ignore bad movement, underwhelming technique, being on the floor after every duel, average scoring stats and other stuff. let's just assume he will improve in all those areas by the time he's 24.
would you bet it will be worth the wait in the end? do we get new Ruud in 2 years? prime Dzeko at least? how much better do you see him at 24?
but the question is, how much better he can actually get? for now let's ignore bad movement, underwhelming technique, being on the floor after every duel, average scoring stats and other stuff. let's just assume he will improve in all those areas by the time he's 24.
would you bet it will be worth the wait in the end? do we get new Ruud in 2 years? prime Dzeko at least? how much better do you see him at 24?
Not sure what people expected from him. He had to pin back and battle with VVD and Konate, on his own today. He did the grunt work and held it up much better than he has done all season and in a massive away game.
Yes he needs to have more composure for his chance, but that comes with experience.
He played well and did a great job for the team today. He needs to bring it all together if he wants to be a success here, but there is obviously a very talented forward there.
Yes he needs to have more composure for his chance, but that comes with experience.
He played well and did a great job for the team today. He needs to bring it all together if he wants to be a success here, but there is obviously a very talented forward there.
Yeah my big thing with him is all top talents show flashes of potential, show the moments of class. He never really shows that much. He ranges from complete shit to decent at best, and I think that decent mid table level striker is where he'll top out at. He is still young and you never know, sometimes young players make big jumps. But he's a long way away.
This is where I’m at. I don’t write him off for the future and am curious to see what he matures into, but for me, he needs a loan in a free-scoring league that hones his game and really makes him understand and appreciate his own game and strengths. Would love for him to spend a season in the Bundesliga, personally.
He’s very clearly a weak link here and not ready for the demands and burden, and as you say, that’s just no way to develop, especially when you’re being scrutinised for every action and mistake. Mistakes are part and parcel of learning and he needs to be able to make them - a lot of - to develop. He won’t get that privilege afforded here.
His movement is so frustrating.
He could be a very good striker in a few years time with further development working closely with a top class experienced centre forward. It just feels the wrong signing for United now unless we can somehow get in that experienced CF in for Rasmus to understudy to. Can you imagine if say Zlatan had been here now too. Perfect. There is no way on earth he should be our starting number 9.
It’s his biggest problem. He seems to make the wrong run most of the time and has a big problem shaking off defenders, almost running right into their arms instead.
He also has to be able to hold up play better. Time and time again he gets the ball upfront and seems to fall over and lose the ball more often than not. He fights but he really hasn’t shown anything special on a regular basis apart from the odd goal. Hope he gets better fast. United need goals and he doesn’t look like he’s going to deliver regularly this season.
I just don't think he is good enough. Not even enough to be a squad player of we won't to go back to challenging for top four.
Need to move him on and bring in a top class striker and a much more talented younger prospect.
Need to move him on and bring in a top class striker and a much more talented younger prospect.
He was through on their keeper Alisson today and hit it straight at him - the same as he did in last season's visit to Anfield.
I don't think he is good enough to lead the line at United, he has got a lot to learn - especially his finishing, and I'm not just basing that on his visits to Anfield.
We really need an experienced striker to lead the line, and for Rasmus to learn off that striker.
I don't think he is good enough to lead the line at United, he has got a lot to learn - especially his finishing, and I'm not just basing that on his visits to Anfield.
We really need an experienced striker to lead the line, and for Rasmus to learn off that striker.
Van Nistelrooy was playing for Heerenveen when he was Hojlund's age and didn't have a particularly amazing goalscoring record (around 1 in 3). That doesn't mean Hojlund is going to develop in the same way, but it's incredible to me that people are writing him off at 21. He's being asked to learn on the job in an incredbly difficult position in the toughest league for strikers in the world, and that's the fault of the club. Way too much is being asked of him right now. If he was at a serious club, they'd have a senior striker he could be rotated with and learn from. Maybe the freedom to go on loan to a pub league like the Eredivisie and bang in 20 goals to build his confidence. But that's not the case. Instead he seems bereft of it at the moment, to the point that he's doomscrolling social media and responding to negative comments.
He'll end up as another young player ruined by the clown show known as Manchester United if he doesn't get some help pronto.
Fair enough, just to be clear I'm mostly talking about this positioning within the box. He rarely seems to arrive at the right time to meet a cross or pass into the box.
In an ideal world we'd loan him to Leicester for the rest of the season.
Today his mates were better, but in other matches the crosses specially were pretty lame.
Anyway he is raw, he is extremely nervous to fit the bill and he is a kid.
He must do better, he could do better this game, yet when sometimes fans talk about things that actually didn't or did happen in a match and I feel it's not true, I ocassionaly give my view just to be fair for the player in question.
Think that would be a fantastic league for him to develop in. It has a physicality that is similar to that of the Premier League.
It's not a question of League, it's more a question of that Price Tag over his head, the huge ammount of social media and press surrounding players nowadays and the team lacking playing as team what makes him so unstable.
This of course is in general.
Then it comes what he has as a footballer and he has to improve in such aspects, specially his hold up play and to be more dangerous from outside the area...of course Man Utd it's not a place for patience or developing, so he'll have to find his best self fast if the team from now on improves to gain his place.
This of course is in general.
Then it comes what he has as a footballer and he has to improve in such aspects, specially his hold up play and to be more dangerous from outside the area...of course Man Utd it's not a place for patience or developing, so he'll have to find his best self fast if the team from now on improves to gain his place.
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He missed a great chance today which is a real shame but I thought he was doing better to get on the end of thru balls today. Don't get me wrong he wasn't great but at least he actually had a chance to shoot today, I still believe in him
It is, but usually - or better say in our storied past - it was about developing exceptional youngsters into world beaters or even all-time level talent. Our normal template is to take a Greenwood-level talent and nudge them on to world class for a career. In the here and now, Yoro is more akin to what our policy normally is, not Hojlund.
Suffice it to say what we're more known for is bringing in young players who have exceptional and easily identifiable aspects and attributes and then rounding out their game, so basically bringing other elements in line with what got them through the doors in the first place, as well as taking their initial selling point and making it elite in its own right.
Hojlund is a massive deviation from the template we're renowned for. In our true form, it is a player like a young Isak that would have come through the doors and be turned into the very best version of himself possible, not a Hojlund.
Whether you like what you see in Hojlund or not, there's no real consensus on the player he is or the player he might go on to be. There's a lot of hope based off not very much, but not much tangible elite ability, and that's a big departure from buying or promoting what would be classed as S tier talent.
A better way to say it might even be we're not used to developing players who are starting so far behind the starting line to becoming anything - usually, you have something really special about you for us to fork out eye-watering amounts of money. That policy has floundered a lot, the past few years, but it's still very foreign to the fanbase, which is why all the overpriced that have come through the doors of late have been getting a lot more stick: Antony, Mount, Hojlund, Zirkzee are a departure from: Pogba, Martial, Sancho, Amad and even Memphis Depay, so it's a question of what's coming through the doors in the first instance and where they're needing to be developed from rather than us not being familiar with putting the finishing touches to talent and making it something better than it was (historically).
At the moment he is not a player we need. In future he could become decent, but we can't afford that time, we need upgrade "yesterday". So not sure about his future in the club, we will see.
He's not good enough.
I think he’s very physically talented and he has a good variety of finishes in his locker. He needs to work on his movement and his balance. Once he gets a goal again he’ll go on a streak but I think you’re probably right. At 22 with such rough edges he should be sharing the burden with another free scoring striker and coming off the bench and grabbing goals here and there. It’s too much pressure but I do genuinely like him and hope it all comes together for him asap
That's the main reason why his price tag it's playing such a huge parte, the player himself suffers from that perception from the media and fans.
I mean poor crosses or passes happen. His problem is even if the cross or pass is poor he's rarely arriving in the sort of positions he needs to be in to even receive the pass. The video posted on the last page is a prime example of it.
Yeah, no.
I don't want him anywhere near our team, no matter how shit we currently are.
Which league?
We’ve been robbed I bet Atalanta are laughing still until this day. Last season they won the Europa League without him and now they’re gunning for the league title. We need to fire out scouts. This guy has 0 potential to be what people are expecting him to be. It’s not the same case as with Martial and injuries this is a case of lack of talent. He doesn’t bring players into play he rarely does anything clever with the ball very generic footballer that lacks creativity. We should see what our U18/Reserves can do in 20 minutes on the pitch unless we can bring someone in. This guy only scores in Europe vs minows and a deflected goal vs Bayern.
He’s never scored vs the big teams in the league.
He’s never scored vs the big teams in the league.
Very good post from start to finish, particularly the bolded
Really hope he turns it around in the end but he was easily our worst player on the pitch yesterday. Continously flopping, horrible movement. Never makes the near post run, he's always behind the defender.
I specifically remember seeing an analysis video of him before he arrived which showed how good his movement was, moving in and out and then going to the nearpost, think it was for the national team.
Needs to be out of the spotlight, we desperately need someone more experienced with a similar skillset for him to rotate with.
I specifically remember seeing an analysis video of him before he arrived which showed how good his movement was, moving in and out and then going to the nearpost, think it was for the national team.
Needs to be out of the spotlight, we desperately need someone more experienced with a similar skillset for him to rotate with.
His first touch is awful and hold up play could be much better. From what I’ve seen this season, he’s more of a squad player. He’ll get replaced long term if things don’t improve.
Bruno was furious at one point as he made a run behind the defender instead in front. I just dont think he has "it" to be a top striker - movement, composure, first touch, heading, all is lacking.
A year in the championship like Diallo would do him the world of good I reckon. His first touch reminds me of Lukakus. It's shocking. He's simply not top 10 premier league standard whatsoever