Didn't think he had an awful game today. Run the channels okay, etc.
But just not the required level. More money wasted.
But just not the required level. More money wasted.
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.
He has a good game. He beat the offside trap and almost scored.
Not a bad bench option to do some running and maybe nick a goal in a tight game. But to have him as your number 9 and first choice centre forward is laughable. No way near ready nor simply good enough for that role. I’d say he’s about a £15-20 million young squad player yet we’ve splurged 70 plus on the kid.
Really thought he was going to be class.
He's shit.
He's shit.
Very poor today, gain. Finishing is meant to be his forte but missed a one-on-one to bring us back into the game.
And a few times his touch was just terrible. I think Casemiro (for once) played a good pass into him for him to turn and attack the Newcastle defence. He controls it but then his 2nd touch goes about 5 yards too far and he loses it.
Another half chance in the 2nd half where the cross comes in from the left and he can't control it on his chest and it goes out for a goal kick.
Just terrible.
And a few times his touch was just terrible. I think Casemiro (for once) played a good pass into him for him to turn and attack the Newcastle defence. He controls it but then his 2nd touch goes about 5 yards too far and he loses it.
Another half chance in the 2nd half where the cross comes in from the left and he can't control it on his chest and it goes out for a goal kick.
Just terrible.
This is my frustration with the whole situation. I really like him—he seems like a great personality and gives his all on the pitch. But whoever determined he should be our main striker is completely off the mark or an idiot. He's not ready for that role, and now he's bearing the load of the criticism due to poor decisions made by others. After last season, who thought it was a good idea to keep him as our main No. 9 and only bring in Zirkzee as a backup? It’s baffling.
Watching Delap at Ipswich do the things I want from this guy just pisses me off.
He hasn't improved on any attribute since his arrival
Get rid at end of the season
He hasn't improved on any attribute since his arrival
Get rid at end of the season
Absolutely terrible striker. He's like signing Uwe Rossler in the 90's for City.
Shite average player.
Shite average player.
When did a player do that at Utd? Give me a break, put him in any of the bottom teams and have him play all games with a clear plan and purpose you will have him scoring his 5-7 goals there as well. He was never good enough to be a starter for United, neither was Garnacho or Mainoo but we bought a new striker this summer who is worse and two years older. Get a decent 9 in have Hojlund come of the bench. We also need wingers, midfielders, CB and a goalkeeper.
Loves having a tussle with centre halves with his back toward goal, then falling over.
Doesn’t like laying off the ball and then pivoting quickly into space, nor then scoring goals.
Wank. And we paid £70m for this? Another one we can toss in the “utterly shit”/ “what the feck were we thinking” / “Jesus this kid is fecking shite” bin
Doesn’t like laying off the ball and then pivoting quickly into space, nor then scoring goals.
Wank. And we paid £70m for this? Another one we can toss in the “utterly shit”/ “what the feck were we thinking” / “Jesus this kid is fecking shite” bin
I want to believe there is a good forward there but I just don’t know how it happens because he’s not good against anyone that isn’t europa league level outside of the PL. I’m not really sure what he’s good at, the ball bounces off him and I don’t think he’s ever won a crossed ball in his life.
Clear plan? No coach can plan for a player on hold up play, first touch and taking chances.
I thought Lukaku was bad at trapping the ball, this guy is worse.
And now he's picking up the bad habit of throwing his arms in the air in frustration but screws our attacks because he can't hold the ball or cushion it to another player.
I can't remember the last time he won an aerial duel, for a guy of his size it's wank
Zirkzee was never a striker, I said and a few others did in the "do we have enough goals in the team" thread.
Shouldn’t be the main man like we bought a 17 year old Endrick or something is what some people are saying, he should be a competent striker atleast able to compete with a good striker best case scenario but he’s not compentent enough the bench won’t make him better. Midfielders (CM) are players that get better as they get older but a striker you usually can see something in them that I’m not seeing in Højlund at all. He’s not worthy of building a team around ever.
His constant stupid battles with center backs are infuriating. Like mate, just lay it off to someone you dont need to do so much.
He refuses to keep it simple. From the very first game Amorim said he takes too many touches and yet here he is again taking too many touches.
There were situations where a better ball control would've put him through on goal, like that return header where he failed to bring the ball down to his feet in order to take a shot, or a through ball where it got away from him without any pressure due to heavy second touch. I was actually surprised that he missed that one on one with the goalkeeper.
If you watch his first touch in the second half - kicking it out for a throw-in from a first time lay off - you can get a sense on why he takes so many touches. It’s not because he loves the ball or refuses to keep it simple. He’s just very poor at getting that first touch right, no matter what he tries to do with it. Low confidence and high frustration is making that worse, but his basic technique isn’t good on that front. Providing a delicate touch to a runner while the defender’s all over you with your back to goal is one of the hardest skills in the game, in fairness. It’s worth paying a lot of money for. It’s just a shame it’s not what we paid a lot of money for.
I do sympathise with him in terms of not getting chances but I'm sorry, his hold up play is bloody awful. He's not making it here unless that improves big time.
I dont think every team will be as aggressive as Newcastle or as physical as them. Kid isn't meant for those games but we unfortunately do not have a choice.
We are targeting wrong age profile players and expecting them to be complete players from day 1.
We are targeting wrong age profile players and expecting them to be complete players from day 1.
I feel for the kid. He plays with passion and very clearly cares. He works his socks off, even if in an inefficient manner at times. He has a lot of potential, but he should be playing softer minutes at this point in his career. He’s been thrown into the deep end and is being asked to lead the line in a very unforgiving league, for a very dysfunctional team. We need to buy a legitimate starting striker, and let Hojlund come off the bench / start against weaker teams. It’s far too early to write him off, but despite the fee we paid for him there should be more attention paid to his development. We’ll ruin him if we continue to mismanage him.
The white Welbeck, in the sense that he's always on his arse. He's got proper Bambi legs.
Welcome to what feels like most signings in the last ten years. I'm done watching YouTube compilations because of this guy and Antony.
Hojlund's physical struggles are not limited to aggressive teams like Newcastle. He's had issues with and has struggled to impose himself on center backs from the top to the bottom end of the league
He works hard, a lot of our players don’t, and he was up against a really physical back line tonight. He never stops trying.
But lord his first touch is brutal. His finishing is ropey. He really should have scored tonight. Technically he’s just not ready, I think there’s a player there but it’s the wrong environment. If he were at a club with an accomplished striker ahead of/alongside him…Zirkzee was the wrong player to add to him. I was excited after Fulham but alas
But lord his first touch is brutal. His finishing is ropey. He really should have scored tonight. Technically he’s just not ready, I think there’s a player there but it’s the wrong environment. If he were at a club with an accomplished striker ahead of/alongside him…Zirkzee was the wrong player to add to him. I was excited after Fulham but alas
Brighton Welbeck is several times the player. You obviously haven't watched him in recent times
United Welbeck was several times the player too. It wasn't a dig at Welbeck, it's just he's always falling over when he gets shots off, always seems to be off balance and same vibes from Hojlund so far.
He struggled against the athletic beast that is Archie Gray vs. Spurs.
Face it. He's just not good. Lacks the fundamentals.
United isn't a charity, so I hope the executive team shows the same ruthlessness they've shown to the rest of the staff and bin him off upcoming summer.
He just can’t hold the ball up the save his life. And seems to know this so would rather drop to the floor in the hope of getting a free kick.
Even league two players can hold up the ball better.
Even league two players can hold up the ball better.
To think there were people actually defending the amount we spent on him at the time
I was relatively optimistic 12 months ago. A physical specimen who passed the first season test with a C+, nothing spectacular & was hamstrung a bit by Martial’s legs falling to pieces.
Was a bit alarming that a crocked Martial made the team function far better than Hojlund did last season, but I thought that he could come good with some refinement.
This season has been a bit of a disaster, he’s becoming animated on the pitch, it’s moving away from hunger to frustration, which is festering in all of his play.
His confidence looks shot to pieces, trapping the ball seems to be a challenge at the moment, almost completely overthinking everything.
I do struggle to see what he’s aiming to develop towards; is it a target man to win duels from channel/aerial balls, an off the shoulder pace merchant or a technical striker we can play line splitters too under pressure.
He seems to be stuck between styles and looks lost as to what his own skill set is.
Was a bit alarming that a crocked Martial made the team function far better than Hojlund did last season, but I thought that he could come good with some refinement.
This season has been a bit of a disaster, he’s becoming animated on the pitch, it’s moving away from hunger to frustration, which is festering in all of his play.
His confidence looks shot to pieces, trapping the ball seems to be a challenge at the moment, almost completely overthinking everything.
I do struggle to see what he’s aiming to develop towards; is it a target man to win duels from channel/aerial balls, an off the shoulder pace merchant or a technical striker we can play line splitters too under pressure.
He seems to be stuck between styles and looks lost as to what his own skill set is.
My biggest worry is that he is not as hungry as he was even just 1 year ago.
When he joined our club, I perceive him as a good attitude+hardworking player
He seems not to have pressed that much in the recent games and he has that frustrated gesture too much.
When he joined our club, I perceive him as a good attitude+hardworking player
He seems not to have pressed that much in the recent games and he has that frustrated gesture too much.
Same age as Liam Delap from Ipswich
Watch Delap's performance vs Chelsea and Rasmus tonight.
Watch Delap's performance vs Chelsea and Rasmus tonight.
Hojlund is big and strong. No one can doubt his desires to score goals. He's also trying very hard to run the lanes. Good player in a dysfunctional team.
He’s still a long way from the required level, we paid at least double what he was worth and I suspect he’ll be back in Serie A at some point in next couple of years.
He has some good qualities I’m just not convinced it’s enough especially given the state of the team and squad in general.
He has some good qualities I’m just not convinced it’s enough especially given the state of the team and squad in general.
I thought he did ok compared to other games he ran the channels and in some instances held the ball against defenders much better than usual. Any striker will struggle in this team. Our transmission from our half to the oppositions half is non-existent at the moment which makes it harder for any attacking player. However, I feel he needs to chose his physical battles better. He spent too much effort trying to win physical battles. Sometimes one touch pass or making a run behind defenders are better options. He will come better if we improve the quality in the midlefield and attacking areas. There is a player there
It's a horrible situation. I still think he's got potential, but we need better from him and our main striker. There's not much room for patience right now.
He does make plenty of runs, and he is constantly ignored. But there's so many parts of his game he's weak at and its painful to watch game after game.
He does make plenty of runs, and he is constantly ignored. But there's so many parts of his game he's weak at and its painful to watch game after game.
I would sell him in a second if there were interest. But none will come close.
Is it just me, but it feels like he’s a striker who needs to play along side another striker. I think that he need to 1-2 with other players to shine. He is really quick and strong, but he can’t wrestle the hulking centre backs in PL for 90 minutes each week. He shines in EL cause his physique gives him more of an edge there and we are able to put more men up top which he can tap the ball to. He is not a target player in that sense, even if he is quite big.
Wouldnt make the bench at any other top 10 club.
When this lad is out forward and we can’t score for shit, you know we are in trouble. Frustrating player to watch and doesn’t do the basics right.
It's Nicklas Bendtner, only for 70 million.