His pace isn’t elite. It’s decent for his size but he’s no bale or Werner or prime Rashford.
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 48
- Goals
- 10
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 2
-
Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) discuss United's fantastic win away against Athletic Club in the semi-final of the Europa League.
They also pick out the positives of United's 4-3 loss away at Brentford, and Nik reviews a day out at Old Trafford watching Manchester United Women qualify for the Champions League.
What elements are those?
Cole scored 55 goals in 70 matches for Newcastle before he joined us, he had proven himself to be a absolute top striker. In his first season for us he scored 12 goals in just 17 games. So I doubt your claim. People were angry for him missing that chance vs West Ham that cost us the title, but he was a proven top striker and showed it instantly.
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After exactly 2 months in PL, guy who was in best 11 in Seria A last year, became;
A) flop
B) shit version of Fellaini
C) dogshit
D) waste of money
E) non footballer
F) player with shit technique, dribble, passing, slow and lazy.
Meanwhile, Hojlund in his second season still gets excuses about service, age, new league, wrong system etc....
Double standards at its finest.
The one thing that keeps me hopeful for Rasmus is he usually scores just above his xG. When the chances come he does usually put them away.
He is still poor at getting on the end of those balls across the box, but equally United are poor at providing those balls and have only started doing them in the last few weeks.
He is still poor at getting on the end of those balls across the box, but equally United are poor at providing those balls and have only started doing them in the last few weeks.
That is interesting isn't it? I don't think either are good enough to lead the line for us, but I agree that Zirkzee's movement is much better than Hojlunds.
Complete nonsense. It was totally coincidental that Zirkzee was the striker on the pitch, when Forster fecked up and presented us with a 100% chance. And Højlund has gotten exactly that type of goal a few times in the last weeks anyway (Plzen and Forest) by being at the right spot. It doesn't prove anything about movement. Meanwhile, look at Zirkzee for the chance where Mazraoui ends up taking a shot from a tight angle - totally flatfooted at the edge of the box as Bruno plays in Mazraoui.
Watching Duran put in a good CF performance. He just has better movement than, better touch and is just a smarter striker. Rasmus has a similar physique but doesn't have the same physical presence and opposite that, he doesn't have the technical ability to take the ball in tight spaces and be the link up striker. I think he will end up being a good no 2, however, we probably should not have spent 70 mil on him.
The only time he’s had a performance that made me think we have a top talent is against Galatasaray last season.
At a similar age, the likes of Rashford, Nani, Martial, Greenwood, Anderson, Rafael, Smalling, Phil Jones, Mainoo, Shaw all had much more impressive games and showed just far more talent.
Citing a player’s age as a reason to be patient is pointless if you don’t have the ability or talent to reach the level required. We heard similar arguments for Welbeck, Pereira, Dan James, Antony.
He’s essentially a worse version of Lukaku just not as lazy or as much of a twat.
At a similar age, the likes of Rashford, Nani, Martial, Greenwood, Anderson, Rafael, Smalling, Phil Jones, Mainoo, Shaw all had much more impressive games and showed just far more talent.
Citing a player’s age as a reason to be patient is pointless if you don’t have the ability or talent to reach the level required. We heard similar arguments for Welbeck, Pereira, Dan James, Antony.
He’s essentially a worse version of Lukaku just not as lazy or as much of a twat.
If you look purely at per 90 stats (on Fbref) in the league this season, Zirkzee is averaging 2.24 shots against Hojlunds 0.92 and is averaging 27.8 attempted passes against Hojlunds 15.4.
The "teammates won't pass to him" excuse doesn't seem to apply to Zirkzee who despite his obvious physical limitations doesn't struggle to get involved in the game or on the end of chances.
Small sample sizes of course.
Why would I waste time digging out those posts. They where mostly in match day threads like your examples of people calling Zirkzee Felaini, which is a daft comment as well.
The discussions on Højlund, Zirkzee, Garnacho and Bruno are extremely toxic because of comments like that. It's absolutely fair to be critical but this silly name calling and using words like useless doesn't add anything of use.
I have said again and again that Højlund should be understudy to a ready top striker.
The reason I rate his talent is because he scores when he gets a chance. He needs to become better at running correctly but he has matches where it's much better. I am not writing of Zirkzee as a player for us, because he offers different qualities. And this will be my last comment in this thread.
I think with these detailed stats, you can often build the narrative you want - especially when the sample sizes are so small, as you point out. That is only enhanced, when you only use the league stats. For instance, the only two PL games where Zirkzee has completed 90 minutes were Southampton (worst team in the league by far), and a terrible Everton team that gifted us chances.
If you look at all competitions, their shots on target pr. 90 is almost identical this season, and Højlund converts shots at a higher rate.
I'd much rather go with what I see when I watch them. I think Højlund is clearly quite limited, but still our best option for now. We've seen some dire performances from him, yes, but that certainly also goes for Zirkzee. And I do think we've seen more quality moments from Højlund overall (winner vs. Brentford, winner vs. Plzen, goal vs. Bodø/Glimt, pass to Bruno vs. City, etc.).
But if Zirkzee starts to perform better, he should obviously start. For now I still associate him with being mostly decent on the ball, but also lacking in intensity and speed.
He's got the right attitude and mentality, so that's a plus to his development.
I don't think he's limited, I think he's wildly inconsistent and raw.
One game, his first touch is excellent, and gets him a goal, the next game, it's bouncing off him and he can't get a handle on things.
It's to be expected. I don't think we'll sign another striker, so there's a lot on his shoulders. The new system has got him scoring again, but he needs to take another step forward in terms of his movement and positioning.
I don't think he's limited, I think he's wildly inconsistent and raw.
One game, his first touch is excellent, and gets him a goal, the next game, it's bouncing off him and he can't get a handle on things.
It's to be expected. I don't think we'll sign another striker, so there's a lot on his shoulders. The new system has got him scoring again, but he needs to take another step forward in terms of his movement and positioning.
I agree with your post overall, but how is Lukaku a lazy player?
He isn't an elite finisher and he can't control a football. But whatever.
He's objectively an elite finisher by all metrics and it's ridiculously hyperbolic to say that he can't control a football. He needs to improve his control for sure to make it at the top.
Rasmus doesn't take enough shots for my liking; you have to get in the right areas but when he does it's like his mind jumbled whether to shoot, pass or run more.
The right coaching can correct this, he has the other attributes but it really needs to start happening soon.
The right coaching can correct this, he has the other attributes but it really needs to start happening soon.
Completely agree. He needs to be more selfish and decisive when he's in the right area. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, and all that.
Other teams competing for top 5 have Isak upfront, we have Höjlund. Höjlund needs to start scoring.
I think Rasmus will eventually come good, but not signing another striker would be lunacy. I still don't think Zirkzee is even a striker to begin with.
This.
The common response to any critical examination of Rasmus is age. The problem is he’s not showing enough range to his talent to justify what we paid (naturally, consistency will come with time)
It’s basically Pace Power Finishing we see in trickles.
For the price we paid he should either have more raw skills in his arsenal or be devastatingly good at a few things and we only have to worry about adding more basic stuff to his arsenal.
Hes not devastatingly good at anything. Hes pretty good at finishing, ok pace and ok strength/hold up. That’s not 70m.
Yep, Isak, Watkins/Duran, Solanke, Wood, Welbeck would all be an upgrade at this point. And that's what's likely to leave us behind them.
His finishing is really good when he does make the right decisions or runs. I think he should take more shots honestly. I was hoping Rudd would have been able to mold him as far as movement and decision making
Worse version of Lukaku?
This BS about Lukaku just refuse to die. Prime Lukaku was in top 5 strikers in PL. Prime Lukaku would walk in first 11 in every current PL team except Newcastle and City.
Lukaku for United (where he was labelled as huge flop) had record of 42 goals and 12 assists in 96 games. That is goal or assist in every second game. Yeah, lets use Lukaku as benchmark how shit someone is.
You could have saved yourself the hysterics. I said he’s a worse version of Lukaku meaning he’s a Lukaku type player but an inferior one.Worse version of Lukaku?
This BS about Lukaku just refuse to die. Prime Lukaku was in top 5 strikers in PL. Prime Lukaku would walk in first 11 in every current PL team except Newcastle and City.
Lukaku for United (where he was labelled as huge flop) had record of 42 goals and 12 assists in 96 games. That is goal or assist in every second game. Yeah, lets use Lukaku as benchmark how shit someone is.
Lukaku was/is a very good striker but a level below what’s required for top sides. If I was to say a player is a worse version of Rashford, that doesn’t mean I’m saying Rashford is shit.
Worse version of Lukaku?
This BS about Lukaku just refuse to die. Prime Lukaku was in top 5 strikers in PL. Prime Lukaku would walk in first 11 in every current PL team except Newcastle and City.
Lukaku for United (where he was labelled as huge flop) had record of 42 goals and 12 assists in 96 games. That is goal or assist in every second game. Yeah, lets use Lukaku as benchmark how shit someone is.
Prime Lukaku still wasn't anywhere near good enough. Hojilund isn't anywhere near the age where he's entering his prime yet.
Man Utd 0:3 Bournemouth
Maybe we can sell him to the WWE.
Lukaku was 10x the player at same age.
He’s nowhere near good enough at the moment.
An appalling forward. He does absolutely nothing 95% of the time.
He looks like he is in a street scrap. There is more of an art involved in WWE, don't think they'll take him.
GCW, could use him.
It’s well-established that he isn’t good enough, but compared to Zirkzee today he was almost a breath of fresh air. At least he had a nice through ball and a threatening shot.
A bit of an overreaction to his performance, no? I felt he looked like he was one of the only players who cared. Bit unlucky not to score and generally held the ball up well.
It's the movement, he just doesn't read the play at all. Zero understanding with anyone. Always 2 minutes behind everyone else, never takes up the right positions (why he has such low shots), never available for a pass.
The movement is just...
Honestly championship level if that.
The movement is just...
Honestly championship level if that.
There was a moment he had garnacho all free and he went for glory. Decision making from all our attackers are below par.
He's not the world-class talent everyone said he was before he joined, that much is obvious. But hopefully he'll get going in the PL soon. We really need the goals.
Hopefully we don’t revert back to starting him just because of one bad result. I view sidelining Hojlund as absolutely critical to our chances of looking a coherent team this season. Zirkzee might not be the long-term answer but he’s a far more gifted player.
He had a solid performance today, coming close to scoring on two occasions and providing a key pass to Garnacho. It was a significant improvement compared to his display against Spurs.
- Good pass to Garnacho, who should have scored.
- Good shot from an acute angle, which the goalkeeper only just saves.
- Should have finished better from the edge of the box.
- Better at holding on to the ball than Zirkzee.
- Much more in-game than Zirkzee.
- Good shot from an acute angle, which the goalkeeper only just saves.
- Should have finished better from the edge of the box.
- Better at holding on to the ball than Zirkzee.
- Much more in-game than Zirkzee.