Why can’t we score goals? (Not the Wout bashing thread)

[DJ_21]

Simple answer is we don’t have clinical strikers. And we only have strikers that really like to run in behind other than WW obviously. We don’t have a clinical ST that will also bring the wide players into scoring positions. We should have been 3-0 up against Brighton first halve but Antony, martial and rashford was all guilty of missing chances.

 

[Hammondo]

Not really true.

We are one of the top teams for chances created. We are not a freak team like City but Bruno still creates as much as De Bruyne. We dont finish them.

You don't need a 30+ goal striker either. A single focal point can be a problem. If you don't have that, you need one who scores 15-20 and contributes at least the same again with their all round play. Most importantly we need somebody who will get on the end of all those chances created. Not all of them will be converted but we don't have anybody who even tests the opposition defenders.

But are we making good chances? I feel we are good at making half chances but not good ones.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Do they necessarily need physicality

Yes. We play a 4-2-3-1. Not a 4-3-3. Away from home and vs tougher sides Casemiro's physicality alone is not enough to compete. We'd get over run in the middle defensively. We need to have a midfield that can't ever be bullied physically yet can keep the ball or control games like the best. Our aim should be to be as physically balanced as bayern's starting 2 in their 4-2-3-1

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Would we score 81 goals (instead of 49 now) if we had Jesus as striker?

I'd say yes. Here is why:
We'd get 10-12 extra goals from Jesus
Because he'd be an actual extra goal threat and would encourage more assists out of Rash and Antony. About 5 each.

His play and presence would give a Rashford even more space/freedom to add another 6-9 goals.


His link up play would get more out of Anthony and put him in easier positions to score easy goals adding another 5-7 to his current league tally.

Bruno would be able to score too because of having a forward capable of picking him out with a pass, if he were to run beyond them. That would probably add another 7-10 to our current tally.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

Would we score 81 goals (instead of 49 now) if we had Jesus as striker?

No, not even if we tried for a thousand years.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

We still need to improve on creating more chances. It's not just buying a great striker.

We ideally need to work on both. You can say a great striker might make it easier to create chances, but there's improvements needed in that regard either way.

 

[Spaghetti]

It’s quite difficult to answer the question without an element of Wout bashing

 

[Hammondo]

I'd say yes. Here is why:
We'd get 10-12 extra goals from Jesus
Because he'd be an actual extra goal threat and would encourage more assists out of Rash and Antony. About 5 each.

His play and presence would give a Rashford even more space/freedom to add another 6-9 goals.


His link up play would get more out of Anthony and put him in easier positions to score easy goals adding another 5-7 to his current league tally.

Bruno would be able to score too because of having a forward capable of picking him out with a pass, if he were to run beyond them. That would probably add another 7-10 to our current tally.

You are not in the real world.

 

[RedSky]

At times we lack control in games. If you don't have control and manage the game properly then chance creation will suffer. It's not just a case of buy new striker = problem solved. It'll obviously help matters but until we're able.to control the game properly we'll always struggle.

Our attacking options are pretty bloody awful though. None of them bar Rashford is a consistent goal threat.

 

[11101]

But are we making good chances? I feel we are good at making half chances but not good ones.

Most definitely. Look at the Brighton game. Antony's early chance wasn't easy even if he could have done better, but Rashford and especially Martial had chances that a striker even half as good as Haaland would not miss.

 

[Hammondo]

Most definitely. Look at the Brighton game. Antony's early chance wasn't easy even if he could have done better, but Rashford and especially Martial had chances that a striker even half as good as Haaland would not miss.

That's an outlier though, we usually create pretty meh chances. Our expected goals stat is usually really poor.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

You are not in the real world.

You also live in the same world in which Arsenal have 89 goals off of just 67 big chances and Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli thanks to Jesus joining them in attack, have added an extra 18 goals to their combined total of the entire last season in the league. With 6 games to spare.

 

[Borys]

Imagine us getting a pure goalscorer, RVN style. What chances is he going to score? We don't create nearly enough good chances.
Rashford and Antony are both focused on finishing themselves. One is good at it, second not that good. They don't create much for others.

I am actually quite surprised we're so low on 'goals-xG', not sure who has been missing those chances. Ronaldo, Antony probably.

Once we get an actual striker, there needs to be some adjustment because if we continue current approach we're not scoring enough to compete. It is, however, a MUST HAVE.

It'd be a miracle if Ten Hag turned those players into functioning attack. Miracles don't happen.

Ole had it easier as he had 3 dangerous players, each could do some damage. We currently have 1 (partly that's on Ten Hag and his transfer preferences).

 

[11101]

That's an outlier though, we usually create pretty meh chances. Our expected goals stat is usually really poor.

That's not really correct.

https://footystats.org/england/premier-league/xg

xG is a dodgy stat because if you have no target to aim for, our creative players wont play a pass they might have otherwise been able to play. Ignoring that, our expected goals vs actual goals is one of the worst in the league, 16th out of 20. That shows just how shite our finishing is. Every other stat matches our league position give or take, except that one.

 

[Suv666]

We haven’t had a proper striker who is in his peak since RVP. It’s actually baffling how we have managed to limp along for so long without investing in 9s.

 

[Borys]

We haven’t had a proper striker who is in his peak since RVP. It’s actually baffling how we have managed to limp along for so long without investing in 9s.

That is not true. A few years ago we had Martial in his fine form (and not constantly injured) plus Greenwood looking like the next big thing (scoring a significant number of goals too). I think our attack kept us alive back then because midfield was piss poor.
Then we also added Ronaldo.

It all went south with Greenwood and Martial followed by Ronaldo. I mean, it's not exactly normal to lose 3 strikers in 2 reasons.

 

[NZT-One]

That's not really correct.

https://footystats.org/england/premier-league/xg

xG is a dodgy stat because if you have no target to aim for, our creative players wont play a pass they might have otherwise been able to play. Ignoring that, our expected goals vs actual goals is one of the worst in the league, 16th out of 20. That shows just how shite our finishing is. Every other stat matches our league position give or take, except that one.

xG might not be perfect but it is better than anecdotal evaluations or "based on feel".

Apart from that:
"because if you have no target to aim for, our creative players wont play a pass they might have otherwise been able to play."
Following that logic, wouldn't it mean that ETH must be the epitome of daftness setting us up in a dysfunctional way? Football can be played in many ways. Even without traditional goal scorers (doesn't mean it doesn't help, to have them). If we could generate more chances, we would score more goals because even if you have only strikers with a 20% conversion rate you'll end up scoring more when you create more chances.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

You also live in the same world in which Arsenal have 89 goals off of just 67 big chances and Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli thanks to Jesus joining them in attack, have added an extra 18 goals to their combined total of the entire last season in the league. With 6 games to spare.

Yeah. It was pretty evident during his absence. After the restart and up until April Fool's Day, when Jesus made his first start since his injury, Arsenal managed to score only 39 goals in 18 games across all competitions. This is what... 2 goals per game? Absolute tossers, they couldn't live without him.

 

[Hammondo]

That's not really correct.

https://footystats.org/england/premier-league/xg

xG is a dodgy stat because if you have no target to aim for, our creative players wont play a pass they might have otherwise been able to play. Ignoring that, our expected goals vs actual goals is one of the worst in the league, 16th out of 20. That shows just how shite our finishing is. Every other stat matches our league position give or take, except that one.

We are as close to Southampton as we are to man city, we are closer to Ever on than we are Arsenal. Considering this has been a poor season for the teams at the top, that is not good.

 

[Hammondo]

You also live in the same world in which Arsenal have 89 goals off of just 67 big chances and Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli thanks to Jesus joining them in attack, have added an extra 18 goals to their combined total of the entire last season in the league. With 6 games to spare.

They bought many players, Trossard has 8 goals and 11 assists, hes been a better and had more impact buy than Jesus. Jesus has only made the starting 11 59% of the time.

 

[AndySmith1990]

That is not true. A few years ago we had Martial in his fine form (and not constantly injured) plus Greenwood looking like the next big thing (scoring a significant number of goals too). I think our attack kept us alive back then because midfield was piss poor.
Then we also added Ronaldo.

It all went south with Greenwood and Martial followed by Ronaldo. I mean, it's not exactly normal to lose 3 strikers in 2 reasons.

We should've never put ourselves in a position where we were relying on a mentality weak and lazy player like Martial, and an over the hill 38 year old. We are where we are through poor planning and bad decision making. We should've binned off Martial years ago and never signed Ronaldo. We could've easily had a significantly better front line right now if we had competent people in charge instead of the likes of Woodward and Solskjaer

 

[Lost bear]

But are we making good chances? I feel we are good at making half chances but not good ones.

We have made loads of great chances that have been missed.

 

[IRN-BRUno]

It's clearly not the main issue but we do have a lack of goals from defenders.

2 - Newcastle, Brighton
3 - Man United, Man City, Villa, Fulham, Palace, Forest
4 - Wolves, Bournemouth, Leicester, Southampton
5 - Liverpool, West Ham, Everton
6 - Brentford
7 - Chelsea, Leeds
8 - Arsenal, Spurs

Last season we managed a total of 2, the year before that 6 but only 3 in 2019/20 so it's a fairly regular thing.

If we look at the only 2 sides with fewer this season, Newcastle have 3 attackers in double figures so aren't as reliant on 1 scorer like we are with Rashford. Brighton have 4 players on 7+ as well as Welbeck/Ferguson combining for 10.

Of those who have the best record, take out the 8 goals from Arsenal and Spurs in those games and they would lose 6 points so it can make a sizeable difference.

 

[Borys]

We should've never put ourselves in a position where we were relying on a mentality weak and lazy player like Martial, and an over the hill 38 year old. We are where we are through poor planning and bad decision making. We should've binned off Martial years ago and never signed Ronaldo. We could've easily had a significantly better front line right now if we had competent people in charge instead of the likes of Woodward and Solskjaer

I fully agree. But this is kind of extraordinary situation still.
The way we've been doing transfer business lately is a bit ridiculous and probably the biggest reason we are where we are (more of a factor than who is the actual manager imo).

 

[bosnian_red]

You are not in the real world.

Sure he is. Even just look at xG. Our xG with who we have is 58, arsenals is 70. Just 12 xG between us, in terms of the quality of chances created this season. And we have 5 "simpler" games to come. Put Jesus up there all season and you don't think we'd get another 12 xG? Basically 0.33xG per game more by having an actual decent striker rather than Ronaldo or Weghorst, or basically having a 1 man attack of Rashford all season.

All you can do is plan for xG really. After that, variance can make all the difference, difference where United is currently shooting at about 10 goals fewer than xG and Arsenal is 10 goals above xG. Last season for example, Arsenal finished a bit below xG and we were basically right on xG.

 

[bosnian_red]

They bought many players, Trossard has 8 goals and 11 assists, hes been a better and had more impact buy than Jesus. Jesus has only made the starting 11 59% of the time.

TBF Jesus was injured for like 4 months with a knee injury and had an operation. When fit, he starts.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Yeah. It was pretty evident during his absence. After the restart and up until April Fool's Day, when Jesus made his first start since his injury, Arsenal managed to score only 39 goals in 18 games across all competitions. This is what... 2 goals per game? Absolute tossers, they couldn't live without him.

That's the problem with missing the whole point spectacularly. They built an attacking system based around Jesus' strengths as a forward and have reaped the benefits all season. Even in his absence. Especially when the bought in a player like Trossard who offers a lot of similar traits. If you seriously believe having a player like Jesus as our starting 9 wouldn't have a similar transformative impact. You simply do not understand why Arsenal's goal scoring as a team has improved. We are basically in attack where Arsenal were a year ago with the likes of Lacazette and an completely switched off Aubameyang as their main striker options

 

[Escobar]

It's clearly not the main issue but we do have a lack of goals from defenders.

2 - Newcastle, Brighton
3 - Man United, Man City, Villa, Fulham, Palace, Forest
4 - Wolves, Bournemouth, Leicester, Southampton
5 - Liverpool, West Ham, Everton
6 - Brentford
7 - Chelsea, Leeds
8 - Arsenal, Spurs

Last season we managed a total of 2, the year before that 6 but only 3 in 2019/20 so it's a fairly regular thing.

If we look at the only 2 sides with fewer this season, Newcastle have 3 attackers in double figures so aren't as reliant on 1 scorer like we are with Rashford. Brighton have 4 players on 7+ as well as Welbeck/Ferguson combining for 10.

Of those who have the best record, take out the 8 goals from Arsenal and Spurs in those games and they would lose 6 points so it can make a sizeable difference.

Standards have been so poor for years

 

[bosnian_red]

It's clearly not the main issue but we do have a lack of goals from defenders.

2 - Newcastle, Brighton
3 - Man United, Man City, Villa, Fulham, Palace, Forest
4 - Wolves, Bournemouth, Leicester, Southampton
5 - Liverpool, West Ham, Everton
6 - Brentford
7 - Chelsea, Leeds
8 - Arsenal, Spurs

Last season we managed a total of 2, the year before that 6 but only 3 in 2019/20 so it's a fairly regular thing.

If we look at the only 2 sides with fewer this season, Newcastle have 3 attackers in double figures so aren't as reliant on 1 scorer like we are with Rashford. Brighton have 4 players on 7+ as well as Welbeck/Ferguson combining for 10.

Of those who have the best record, take out the 8 goals from Arsenal and Spurs in those games and they would lose 6 points so it can make a sizeable difference.

This stems from our set pieces being so poor. We are in the bottom 3rd in the league both for and against in terms of set pieces, getting accurate deliveries, shots off creating chances from them or allowing shots from them. That's probably the biggest criticism of the coaching I'd have, as set pieces is almost entirely based on coaching that you can clearly pin point.

Getting set pieces (for and against) to the level of the other top clubs and simply signing a good striker would improve us more than anything else IMO. Would likely put our underlying metrics right up there with Arsenal at least.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

That's the problem with missing the whole point spectacularly. They built an attacking system based around Jesus' strengths as a forward and have reaped the benefits all season. Even in his absence. if you seriously believe having a player like Jesus as our starting 9 wouldn't have a similar transformative impact. You simply do not understand why Arsenal's goal scoring as a team has improved. We are basically in attack where Arsenal were a year ago with the likes of Lacazette and an completely switched off Aubameyang as their main striker options

No, he wouldn't. He did his job at City and he's doing quite well now at Arsenal because the system suits him and not the opposite. He's always been surrounded by teammates who are on the same wavelength as him. Players who are calm on the ball, whose brains are drilled to analyze what's in front of them to find the best available option, and whose link-up ability and off the ball movement are excellent.

The line that he has transformed them to the point that they don't need him is the funniest thing i have read on the Caf for quite a while. I doubt i have read something like this about Messi on here. He's not that good and, in front of goal, he's often very frustrating. The people who scream their lungs out about the lack of a "pure finisher" would have had their knives out in zero time, had he been here.

The argument about Lacazette and Aubameyang isn't wrong. Arteta made a conscious choice there. What you don't get is that the Lacazettes and the Aubameyangs reign supreme at United. They are the type of players we are trying to build the whole team around. Route one football where numbers (goals/assists) is the only metric that matters.

 

[Hammondo]

TBF Jesus was injured for like 4 months with a knee injury and had an operation. When fit, he starts.

I wasn't suggesting he doesn't start, just that he's not been the biggest difference.

 

[OrcaFat]

We do.

https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/clubs/big_chance_created?se=210

We are 6th highest in the league, however, Arsenal are only one place higher with the 5th most big chances this season and it has been sufficient enough for them to bag 81 goals thus far, so, the statistics argue for chance creation being sufficient.

The major issue isn't isn't big chance creation, but big chance conversion.

Being 6th really bears out that we don’t create enough big chances. I agree conversion is probably an even bigger problem but we are actually higher up the actual league than the Big Chance league. To challenge for the league we need to be in the top two or three for chance creation AND conversion, surely.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

No, he wouldn't. He did his job at City and he's doing quite well now at Arsenal because the system suits him and the opposite. He's always been surrounded by teammates who are on the same wavelength as him. Players who are calm on the ball, whose brains are drilled to analyze what's in front of them to find the best available option, and whose link-up ability and off the ball movement are excellent.

You are STILL missing the point. Arsenal's attacking improved because the signed a striker like him. A genuine goal threat who could link up the attack better. The system is built for the strengths of a player like him. That is why their attacking output increased with his addition.

The line that he has transformed them to the point that they don't need him is the funniest thing i have read on the Caf for quite a while. I doubt i have read something like this about Messi on here. He's not that good and, in front of goal, he's often very frustrating.

That is because you keep insisting on missing the point. They built a system based on his strengths as a forward. That is why
In his absence they went and signed a player like Trossard who offers most of the same strengths Jesus offers as a center forward. Which all stems from signing a player like him. Not from what you imagined the statement meant.

The argument about Lacazette and Aubameyang isn't wrong. Arteta made a conscious choice there. What you don't get is that the Lacazettes and the Aubameyangs reign supreme at United. They are the type of players we are trying to build the whole team around. Route one football where numbers (goals/assists) is the only metric that matters.

ETH doesn't coach route one football. Never has and never will. Besides a look at his previous sides will show exactly how much having a center toward who can link up play actually produces the type of football he is known for. Not the utterly inadequate collection of doing a job and out of position CFS we currently have. I seriously doubt the likes of a none committed Aubameyang let alone Lacazette of last season would have been of any use to his prior teams.

 

[bosnian_red]

Being 6th really bears out that we don’t create enough big chances. I agree conversion is probably an even bigger problem but we are actually higher up the actual league than the Big Chance league. To challenge for the league we need to be in the top two or three for chance creation AND conversion, surely.

For sure. A top center forward helps in both massively. Elite forwards will always have a high xG/90, they know where to move to make passes easier for their team mates to get the chances. They can make them on their own. Us being actually not that far off Arsenal despite having championship level central strikers this season is actually not that bad, and something that you can easily see being addressed by just signing a striker. Just like we went from a mess defensively to the most clean sheets in the league by plugging a DM in our team. Needs more to be true title challengers, just like Arsenal need more, but it'll be a massive step forward. Set pieces are also something that is just garbage from us while top teams know how to be top in that too.

 

[Red in STL]

That's not really correct.

https://footystats.org/england/premier-league/xg

xG is a dodgy stat because if you have no target to aim for, our creative players wont play a pass they might have otherwise been able to play. Ignoring that, our expected goals vs actual goals is one of the worst in the league, 16th out of 20. That shows just how shite our finishing is. Every other stat matches our league position give or take, except that one.

This is spot on, and why a proper CF is the top need, our creative players will create more if they have someone to pass to

 

[Idxomer]

We have a poor attacking unit with one scoring forward and very little goal threat from the midfield and defence.

It's not just the striker. The likes of Antony and Sancho don't do enough either to help us score more. Bruno does his job creating many chances, but his finishing has mainly been off for the last year.

One other thing which separates us from most other teams in the top half is that we don't have enough physical players who can overwhelm other teams. For me, that's one of the main reasons we never really thrash anyone.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

You are STILL missing the point. Arsenal's attacking improved because the signed a striker like him. A genuine goal threat who could link up the attack better. The system is built for the strengths of a player like him. That is why their attacking output increased with his addition.

That is because you keep insisting on missing the point. They built a system based on his strengths as a forward. That is why
In his absence they went and signed a player like Trossard who offers most of the same strengths Jesus offers as a center forward. Which all stems from signing a player like him. Not from what you imagined the statement meant.

ETH doesn't coach route one football. Never has and never will. Besides a look at his previous sides will show exactly how much having a center toward who can link up play actually produces the type of football he is known for. Not the utterly inadequate collection of doing a job and out of position CFS we currently have. I seriously doubt the likes of a none committed Aubameyang let alone Lacazette of last season would have been of any use to his prior teams.

There's no point for me to miss. They performed as well without Jesus on the side as they did with him. Of course, Arteta built the team around Jesus. But he didn't build it only around him. The whole team is being designed to perform in a certain way. Just like United are build to take the best out of Bruno and Rashford. You think that Casemiro's job at Real Madrid was to constantly receive the ball on the half turn and try to play a pass between the lines? We're back to the "which player will solve this problem" debate again. The correct answer is, no one. Balance in team sports isn't a task for one man. As i mentioned earlier, Arteta made a conscious decision regarding the style of football his team should play. That's why Aubameyang and Lacazette were shown the door. The Arsenal board indulged him.

We have been trying to play with a forward who drops deep so that the inside forwards can attempt runs in-behind since Solskjaer came in and played Lingard up front. Where did it take us? The two players who, despite their obvious weaknesses, can help us mix things a bit up front (Sancho and Antony) are getting shat upon by the "give me end product" crowd on a daily basis. But Gabriel fecking Jesus would come here and change our destinies? Come on...

I know that ETH doesn't teach route one football. But route one football is what we're mostly getting this season. You know why? Because that's the kind of football that suits our best players. I really hope that Kane is the answer for him because after 300+ million in two seasons without a title challenge, i simply don't know what's next.

 

[Lentwood]

I think our attacking players are massively over-rated by this forum, who don't appreciate that football isn't about nutmegs, flicks and rabonas.

Personally, I believe our forwards, bar maybe one, are wholly unsuited to play in title-winning teams.

I know that is going to be controversial and I'll get called all sorts of names for saying it, but for me, the likes of Rashford, Martial and Sancho are all fine when the going is good and we're playing well...but as soon as the going gets tough, they revert to type and disappear.

To be fair, I think most of this forum now have wised-up to Martial and Sancho. Both high-class technicians but neither have the physical or mental tenacity required to perform week-in, week-out at the highest level. They're 'moments' players. They do good things in games and/or occasionally have a 'good game'...but rarely string together consecutive good games. They NEVER drag us through games when the team isn't playing well. Think about it...can you remember one, single game where the team played poorly but Sancho or Martial had a great game and dragged us out of a hole? I think back to United greats of the past...the likes of Cantona, Keane, Scholes, Beckham, RvN, Ronaldo, Rooney etc...they could win you a game on their own through sheer force of will. This bunch just fold.

On to Rashford (and I type this knowing in an hour I'll have 10 comments calling me an idiot)....for me...again, a 'moments' player. Now, admittedly, he's had more good moments this season than he has over the last couple of seasons. I'll also say that, for a few months at least, it looked like ETH had got something out of him that I didn't think he had. The goal he scored against Wolves and the header he scored against West Ham were the types of goals that I just never thought I would see Rashford score. One barnstorming run, showing tremendous strength and desire to shrug off defenders, and one 'throwback' style CF header. I thought 'wow...ETH might actually be a wizard!'

However...recently...for me, he's reverted to type again. He's whingeing, he's losing the ball easily and then giving up, he's not winning headers, his hold-up play has disappeared, he's not playing with the same directness and aggression...and the goals have started to drop-off too.

Now...I am NOT saying that he is useless. I am NOT saying that he hasn't been, at times, one of our better players this season. BUT....what I AM saying is that I fear he lacks the consistency and the mentality to relentlessly put together good games over the course of a season to deliver us major honours. If the goal is to keep finishing 4th...then fine. If the goal is to win the Premier League and/or the Champions League....I am wholly unconvinced.

Look at Mo Salah as a counter example. A true world-class player who has won the Premier League and the Champions League. People widely believe that he's been off it this season...yet he's scored 30 goals again. We were talking on this forum not long ago about Rashford being the best forward in world football....I am sorry but that's wildly deluded. He belongs in that club when, like Kane, Salah, Haaland etc...he does it relentlessly, game after game, season after season, regardless of how the team is playing.

Not only that, but he needs to work harder and offer more when he isn't scoring or assisting. And again, this is a criticism you can definitely throw at Martial and Sancho. When they don't score or assist, they are useless. They don't offer a physical presence, they don't work hard enough, they don't fight for loose balls and they don't help us progress the ball up the pitch. World-class attackers, even when they are off their game slightly, win loose balls, chase lost causes, fight off defenders, bring teammates into play....our lot are 'YouTube' footballers. Great when you boil their seasonal output down to a 4-minute compilation video but severely lacking in their all-round game and contribution.

So....the thread asked...I have given my opinion...as always....happy to engage in a proper discussion/conversation with folk with opposing views...but don't bother just saying 'Rashford has scored X goals and made X assists' because that entirely misses the point I am making!

 

[Suv666]

That is not true. A few years ago we had Martial in his fine form (and not constantly injured) plus Greenwood looking like the next big thing (scoring a significant number of goals too). I think our attack kept us alive back then because midfield was piss poor.
Then we also added Ronaldo.

It all went south with Greenwood and Martial followed by Ronaldo. I mean, it's not exactly normal to lose 3 strikers in 2 reasons.

Martial literally had one good season with Utd that’s it and half the time played on the wings similar to Greenwood. He has never been a proper #9.

Ronaldo was way past his peak. Same as Zlatan and Cavani.

 

[11101]

xG might not be perfect but it is better than anecdotal evaluations or "based on feel".

Apart from that:
"because if you have no target to aim for, our creative players wont play a pass they might have otherwise been able to play."
Following that logic, wouldn't it mean that ETH must be the epitome of daftness setting us up in a dysfunctional way? Football can be played in many ways. Even without traditional goal scorers (doesn't mean it doesn't help, to have them). If we could generate more chances, we would score more goals because even if you have only strikers with a 20% conversion rate you'll end up scoring more when you create more chances.

Like I say, even if you ignore that aspect we are still one of the worst in the league for converting our chances. That is reason number 1 why we don't score enough.