[CM]

I don't like it when people guess. How on earth do you know that Rashford would have had a better chance than Ibra?
Many in here have basically wanted him to be subbed off when having a bad day, similar to the Bournemouth one, but he's been able to score.

But I do agree that he should be subbed off sometimes. I actually Think that his bad performance against Bournemouth was because of the EFL final against Southampton. Maybe just me, but I thought that he looked extremely tired the last minutes and after the game. So this performance could be because of physical and mental fatigue.

It wasn't guessing. By the end of the first half you could tell Ibrahimovic wasn't on his game. He missed chances he normally takes (including the one Martial put on a plate for him), he was on a booking and then very nearly sent off before half time.

Bournemouth's defence looked a mess and I think they'd have a lot more trouble coping with his pace and runs behind than the predictable football we were playing with Ibrahimovic on the pitch. Their full back was terrified of Martial in the first half and they really struggled to deal with him.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

The BBC frame the goalscoring stats nicely.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/top-scorers

It wasn't guessing. By the end of the first half you could tell Ibrahimovic wasn't on his game. He missed chances he normally takes (including the one Martial put on a plate for him), he was on a booking and then very nearly sent off before half time.

Bournemouth's defence looked a mess and I think they'd have a lot more trouble coping with his pace and runs behind than the predictable football we were playing with Ibrahimovic on the pitch. Their full back was terrified of Martial in the first half and they really struggled to deal with him.

I thought that Zlatan should have come off at half time as he was a liability in front of goal and in discipline.

 

[RedMaestro]

I took a look at Ibra's PL games Nov 27 to March 4 because some in here claim that he's bad, which is insane. So here goes:

19 shots on target - 9 goals
29 chances created - 3 assists

Let's not forget that he's been really good in the cups as well.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

I took a look at Ibra's PL games Nov 27 to March 4 because some in here claim that he's bad, which is insane. So here goes:

19 shots on target - 9 goals
29 chances created - 3 assists

Let's not forget that he's been really good in the cups as well.

Can't you put on total shots as well? It is disingenous to just include shots on target.

 

[MadMike]

To his credit he has been excellent in scoring in all competitions and was our key player in the cup final.

Looking the Premier League in isolation he hasn't been good enough IMO. He has had 12 more attempts on goal than the next highest in the top 20 scorers this season but is the 5th highest scorer overall. Defoe has one less goal than him in less than half the attempts for contrast.

There was a stat posted from Skysports recently that stated Zlatan had significantly more 'big chance misses' than any other player the league and he added 3 or 4 to that tally yesterday. United also have the worst 'big chance' conversion rate in the league.

The question is if we would fare any better with him not in the team, is it his skill that gets into all those positions to score and he is pulling his weight in the league after all? Thanks to his elbow we will get a chance to find out.

Re: the first bolded part. This is the stat you are talking about....

Spoiler: Big chances missed

Re: 2nd bolded part. We need to have an alternative formation/approach for when Ibra is having a stinker. Playing him for 90 mins and never substituting him, however bad he plays is to the detriment of the team. That is without a doubt the case for me.

He's a very very good player. He is not god. He has shite games like other good players (more so, one would argue) and we're overly dependent on him with no alternative approach. No plan B

 

[RedMaestro]

Can't you put on total shots as well? It is disingenous to just include shots on target.

Oh, sorry. It's 33 shots in total. 3 of those against Bournemouth, 6 of those against Watford - his last two games in PL.

 

[Born2Lose]

I took a look at Ibra's PL games Nov 27 to March 4 because some in here claim that he's bad, which is insane. So here goes:

19 shots on target - 9 goals
29 chances created - 3 assists

Let's not forget that he's been really good in the cups as well.

Why Nov 27? Why not the whole season?

Ibrahimovic - 109 Shots and 15 goals = 7.2 shots per goal
Defoe - 64 Shots and 14 goals = 4.5 shots per goal
Kane - 63 Shots and 17 goals = 3.7 shots per goal.

 

[MadMike]

Why Nov 27? Why not the whole season?

Ibrahimovic - 109 Shots and 15 goals = 7.2 shots per goal
Defoe - 64 Shots and 14 goals = 4.5 shots per goal
Kane - 63 Shots and 17 goals = 3.7 shots per goal.

Exactly, cherry picking his most productive period to make him look better.

 

[RedMaestro]

Why Nov 27? Why not the whole season?

Ibrahimovic - 109 Shots and 15 goals = 7.2 shots per goal
Defoe - 64 Shots and 14 goals = 4.5 shots per goal
Kane - 63 Shots and 17 goals = 3.7 shots per goal.

Because I've already done that in a different thread that I created in which I made comparisons against 15-20 strikers. I did this because some claim that he's bad now, I claim that he's had a good period lately and it's unfair to say he's poor because he sometimes has off days (like Bournemouth yesterday and his drought period in the beginning of the season)

Oh, and if you are trying to be correct, why not include his cup stats? He's been really productive there. And how many chances have the others created?

 

[RedMaestro]

Exactly, cherry picking his most productive period to make him look better.

Read the post I replied...

You are aware of how much he's missed these last two PL matches, which are included?

 

[RedMaestro]

Re: the first bolded part. This is the stat you are talking about....

Spoiler: Big chances missed

Re: 2nd bolded part. We need to have an alternative formation/approach for when Ibra is having a stinker. Playing him for 90 mins and never substituting him, however bad he plays is to the detriment of the team. That is without a doubt the case for me.

He's a very very good player. He is not god. He has shite games like other good players (more so, one would argue) and we're overly dependent on him with no alternative approach. No plan B

skysports.com - Feb 20

Player-Goals-Points won
Zlatan Ibrahimovic-15-11
Diego Costa-15-11
Sergio Aguero-11-10
Sadio Mane-11-9
Gylfi Sigurdsson-8-8
Harry Kane-14-8

 

[MadMike]

Player-Goals-Points won
Zlatan Ibrahimovic-15-11
Diego Costa-15-11
Sergio Aguero-11-10
Sadio Mane-11-9
Gylfi Sigurdsson-8-8
Harry Kane-14-8

What is the points won? Is it late goals, or being the only scorer for the day, or goals he made himself without help from the team? I can't exactly wrap my head around this statistic

 

[RedMaestro]

What is the points won? Is it late goals, or being the only scorer for the day, or goals he made himself without help from the team? I can't exactly wrap my head around this statistic

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...n-ibrahimovic-manchester-uniteds-match-winner

 

[RedMaestro]

@MadMike Found a newer one on Ibra:

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

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Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[MadMike]

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...n-ibrahimovic-manchester-uniteds-match-winner

Okay, I read that. Still not sure what is really says as a stat. It can be seen as a positive and a negative...

When United need a decisive goal, more often than not, Ibrahimovic has been the man to step up.

In the Premier League, he's scored winning goals against Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Brom, and grabbed equalisers against Liverpool and West Ham.

Throw in his strikes against Swansea and Everton and, without his goals, Manchester United would be 11 points worse off.

If Ibra was not on the pitch someone else would have been on the receiving end of those chances. He is the focus of our attack so yeah, d'uh, he scores the most goals and the most important goals. But we're only 6 goals better off than last season with a much more attacking line-up (Pogba and Mkhi have been added) and mentality.

I want to see a chart with points lost instead of points won, for comparison. Where we didn't win and he missed chances, like yesterday. Otherwise that stat is incomplete

 

[Classical Mechanic]

@RedMaestro

The question is for me is if the team is allowing Zlatan to function or the other way around. There are interesting stats to support both points of view. He is likely going to be banned for three games now so it will be interesting to see if we become more or less productive on the bottom line. I don't think the Chelsea game ill tell us too much due to the strength of the opposition but the other two games are against teams in the league the type of which we have been struggling against despite creating a glut of chances.

 

[Raees]

For me this is where statistics never paint the full picture. We can all see that although he's had a productive season - overall he's not the level we quite need up front if this team is to get to where we want.

Is he an upgrade on what we had past few seasons, of course but he's also had the benefit of playing for a side which is generally better managed, more talented and built around creating chances for him.

I think we can all see that something is missing up front and it has been shown up again and again in this games at home and also in the big games where we always look second best. These things are not a coincidence and sometimes your own judgement and feel for the game is more trustworthy than statistics which can be used to paint any picture of your choosing.

 

[Raees]

@RedMaestro

The question is for me is if the team is allowing Zlatan to function or the other way around. There are interesting stats to support both points of view. He is likely going to be banned for three games now so it will be interesting to see if we become more or less productive on the bottom line. I don't think the Chelsea game ill tell us too much due to the strength of the opposition but the other two games are against teams in the league the type of which we have been struggling against despite creating a glut of chances.

The thing is we don't have fantastic alternative options to Zlatan. We could and probably will be worse off without him in the side and just as inefficient at putting chances away.

We need more quality and depth up front in general going forwards next season. A proper dynamic reliable clinical forward next year and Zlatan as a backup would be perfect.

 

[RedMaestro]

@RedMaestro

The question is for me is if the team is allowing Zlatan to function or the other way around. There are interesting stats to support both points of view. He is likely going to be banned for three games now so it will be interesting to see if we become more or less productive on the bottom line. I don't think the Chelsea game ill tell us too much due to the strength of the opposition but the other two games are against teams in the league the type of which we have been struggling against despite creating a glut of chances.

You're right. I really do hope that Rashford or maybe Rooney will do a good job. But like I said in a different thread, as long as someone scores, it really doesn't matter how good/bad they are. I also think that Mkhi is going to be extremely important if Ibra gets a long suspension. I he has a great period then I don't Think Ibra will be missed that much - well I hope so anyway. But I'm confident that Mourinho will know what to do if he has to work without Ibra.

 

[togg]

The thing is we don't have fantastic alternative options to Zlatan. We could and probably will be worse off without him in the side and just as inefficient at putting chances away.

We need more quality and depth up front in general going forwards next season. A proper dynamic reliable clinical forward next year and Zlatan as a backup would be perfect.

It's amazing to think we once had Cole, Yorke, Teddy and Ole!! Amazing when you think about it.....

 

[RedMaestro]

For me this is where statistics never paint the full picture. We can all see that although he's had a productive season - overall he's not the level we quite need up front if this team is to get to where we want.

Is he an upgrade on what we had past few seasons, of course but he's also had the benefit of playing for a side which is generally better managed, more talented and built around creating chances for him.

I think we can all see that something is missing up front and it has been shown up again and again in this games at home and also in the big games where we always look second best. These things are not a coincidence and sometimes your own judgement and feel for the game is more trustworthy than statistics which can be used to paint any picture of your choosing.

I totally agree, I just got annoyed with a couple of posts stating he's a lousy finisher and similar to that. He's clearly mentally and physically tired - I noticed this after his game against Southampton, looked like he was going to collapse. And when you're not 100 %, you won't do yourself justice. But he "Soldiers on".

 

[togg]

I totally agree, I just got annoyed with a couple of posts stating he's a lousy finisher and similar to that. He's clearly mentally and physically tired - I noticed this after his game against Southampton, looked like he was going to collapse. And when you're not 100 %, you won't do yourself justice. But he "Soldiers on".

It's why I was a little surprised he wasn't on the bench....he did look totally knackered last Sunday. But...his fitness is pretty special for his age and probably felt fine yesterday and told Mourinho so....

 

[Raees]

I totally agree, I just got annoyed with a couple of posts stating he's a lousy finisher and similar to that. He's clearly mentally and physically tired - I noticed this after his game against Southampton, looked like he was going to collapse. And when you're not 100 %, you won't do yourself justice. But he "Soldiers on".

I agree he is definitely tired but I don't think Zlatan has ever been a clinical finisher. Because of his talent he inevitable gets so many chances to score and with his technique will obviously put goals away but for a top striker he really does fall short on the finishing front.

 

[MadMike]

The thing is we don't have fantastic alternative options to Zlatan. We could and probably will be worse off without him in the side and just as inefficient at putting chances away.

We need more quality and depth up front in general going forwards next season. A proper dynamic reliable clinical forward next year and Zlatan as a backup would be perfect.

The way I see it there is 0 chance that Zlatan will stay here to be a back up. He's not that kind of player. Also, if you keep a 36yo on the bench he'll be a retiree by the end of the year. If that's what we offer him, Ibra will turn it down and go somewhere else to be the main man.

 

[Raees]

The way I see it there is 0 chance that Zlatan will stay here to be a back up. He's not that kind of player. Also, if you keep a 36yo on the bench he'll be a retiree by the end of the year. If that what we offer him, Ibra will turn it down and go somewhere else to be the main man.

If it has to be, so be it. The team comes first and whilst we appreciate his output this season it is a case of looking at the bigger picture and for me that means getting in forward who contributes for 90 minutes, keeps the other side on back foot all game and can match Zlatan goal output too. As well as ensure we put the shit sides away and be a thorn in opposition side in the big games.

 

[Born2Lose]

Because I've already done that in a different thread that I created in which I made comparisons against 15-20 strikers. I did this because some claim that he's bad now, I claim that he's had a good period lately and it's unfair to say he's poor because he sometimes has off days (like Bournemouth yesterday and his drought period in the beginning of the season)

Oh, and if you are trying to be correct, why not include his cup stats? He's been really productive there. And how many chances have the others created?

Apologies, thought you were just picking the best stats. If you could find some stats about cup competitions too I'd be happy to see them, there might be a little bias though as Ibrahimovic has played in the Europa and Kane in the CL.

It's surely significant though that Kane needs about half as many shots as Ibrahimovic to score a similar amount of goals.

 

[RedMaestro]

I agree he is definitely tired but I don't think Zlatan has ever been a clinical finisher. Because of his talent he inevitable gets so many chances to score and with his technique will obviously put goals away but for a top striker he really does fall short on the finishing front.

Agree with you. I don't know why it's like this. Is it because he not better than that, maybe used to much which means he's never 100 %, tries to do difficult things, takes shots from strange positions. I really don't know. But I really don't care that he has a "bad" conversion rate - as long as he keeps scoring and the team can win, it really doesn't matter. Sure his stats won't look as good, but I honestly don't Think any player cares about what there shot stats look like. They only care about how much they've scored and how many assists they made.

 

[RedMaestro]

Apologies, thought you were just picking the best stats. If you could find some stats about cup competitions too I'd be happy to see them, there might be a little bias though as Ibrahimovic has played in the Europa and Kane in the CL.

It's surely significant though that Kane needs about half as many shots as Ibrahimovic to score a similar amount of goals.

No worries. I've had some difficulties finding reliable cup stats, put I'll keep looking.

Yes, strange when you compare Kane with Ibra. But then again, then really don't have the same style of play. Ibra probably takes more "risks" - not quite sure, since I haven't seen Kane in all of his matches. But that's the feeling I get.

 

[Born2Lose]

@MadMike Found a newer one on Ibra:

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— Twitter API (@user) date

Surely that's a erroneous statistic, it would be much fairer to compare their shots per goal?

Ibrahimovic 4.4 shots per goal
Mata 1.7 shots per goal
Mkhi 1.7 shots per goal
Martial 1.7 shots per goal
Rashford 1.2 shots per goal

https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/32/Show/-Manchester-United

 

[Fracture90]

Too many posters here behaving like he's the 2ND coming and that we should be thankful he's scored as much as he did.

Guess what, he's a striker who's getting paid for scoring and it's his job. Herrera is hassling the ball back, Rojo is clearing the ball etc, it's their job.

Our entire gameplan is constructed in order to compliment him, his lack of speed, pace and mobility. Yes he scored goals, yes he also missed just as much probably.

The fact stands he's wasteful and all that talk about other needing to step up doesn't hold because Mourinho is always rotating wingers but never Zlatan himself and as I said whole gameplan is constructed to provide for him.

We haven't had the chance to explore the alternative and add some pace in. People complaining about wingers delivery but more often than not they're forced to turn around and wait because our CF has wondered off down the pitch, outside the 16m box.

All he's scored doesn't change the fact that he is struggling physically in EPL, which is expected considering his age. You can often see him having poor control, first touch, ball just slipping away from his feet which results in him giving away a foul and getting more and more frustrated. Rooney's pass to him yesterday is the best example.

Also have you noticed that in situations when ball isn't passed to him he's behaving like Ronaldo, sulking and raising his arms up, complaining?

Don't think that's good for the atmosphere on the pitch and it's not encouraging for our other players that many here are saying need to "chip in" if anything anyone else wanna be selfish, he'll be scrutinised by Zlatan, whilst he gets no stick for shocking misses he had

Respect for what he's done so far in his career but if he is to stay with us for another season and still be our first option, nailed in started that can't be subbed...we're feked. You can bring in 10 Griezmanns, Neymars and others, but it won't work.

One last thing, for those that are contemplating we would have been worse off without him. Mourinho had plans for other striker probably in case he couldn't persuade him to come over.

Maybe that striker would be on 35 goals by now, maybe he wouldn't be, maybe he would have gotten injured... We don't know.

 

[RedMaestro]

Surely that's a erroneous statistic, it would be much fairer to compare their shots per goal?

Ibrahimovic 4.4 shots per goal
Mata 1.7 shots per goal
Mkhi 1.7 shots per goal
Martial 1.7 shots per goal
Rashford 1.2 shots per goal

https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/32/Show/-Manchester-United

Yep, stats are like this, a player can both be seen as good and bad...

Then again, Ibra's a striker, he'll most likely take more shots then the others, except for Rashford (but he's also played as a winger so that Counts for him too)

Would be interesting to see how many shots per goal the other top teams players have - the players in positions similar to Mata, Mkhi, Martial, Rashford, Pogba.

 

[TheSweeper]

Jose's tactics is always to get the best out of individuals. You look at Barcelona or bayern - no matter how good Messi & Lewandowski might be there is no emphasis on getting the best out of them - they are merely the best in the team because they constantly do better than everyone else when given equal importance.

In this regard it's not particularly surprising he is scoring goals - but this reliance on him isn't getting the best out of anybody else.

Was my favorite player at Milan because of the eye candy - but again a few of LVG's teachings are important as how all 11 players should be play in a synchronized manner to actually be really dominant again. Right now it is only Zlatan who is doing the work because he has been given all he needs.

Well done to him anyway - none of it is his fault & neither is he doing anything wrong; it is just part of how different people view football.

 

[Fracture90]

Then again, Ibra's a striker, he'll most likely take more shots then the others, except for Rashford (but he's also played as a winger so that Counts for him too)

You can only create so many opportunities per match and between that bolded part and the fact he keeps complaining when not given the ball, its really not encouraging for other attacking players to step forward and be selfish.

 

[RedMaestro]

Too many posters here behaving like he's the 2ND coming and that we should be thankful he's scored as much as he did.

Guess what, he's a striker who's getting paid for scoring and it's his job. Herrera is hassling the ball back, Rojo is clearing the ball etc, it's their job.

Our entire gameplan is constructed in order to compliment him, his lack of speed, pace and mobility. Yes he scored goals, yes he also missed just as much probably.

The fact stands he's wasteful and all that talk about other needing to step up doesn't hold because Mourinho is always rotating wingers but never Zlatan himself and as I said whole gameplan is constructed to provide for him.

We haven't had the chance to explore the alternative and add some pace in. People complaining about wingers delivery but more often than not they're forced to turn around and wait because our CF has wondered off down the pitch, outside the 16m box.

All he's scored doesn't change the fact that he is struggling physically in EPL, which is expected considering his age. You can often see him having poor control, first touch, ball just slipping away from his feet which results in him giving away a foul and getting more and more frustrated. Rooney's pass to him yesterday is the best example.

Also have you noticed that in situations when ball isn't passed to him he's behaving like Ronaldo, sulking and raising his arms up, complaining?

Don't think that's good for the atmosphere on the pitch and it's not encouraging for our other players that many here are saying need to "chip in" if anything anyone else wanna be selfish, he'll be scrutinised by Zlatan, whilst he gets no stick for shocking misses he had

Respect for what he's done so far in his career but if he is to stay with us for another season and still be our first option, nailed in started that can't be subbed...we're feked. You can bring in 10 Griezmanns, Neymars and others, but it won't work.

One last thing, for those that are contemplating we would have been worse off without him. Mourinho had plans for other striker probably in case he couldn't persuade him to come over.

Maybe that striker would be on 35 goals by now, maybe he wouldn't be, maybe he would have gotten injured... We don't know.

Well, the other offensive players surely get paid to score as well?

He doesn't sulk as much as he used to. A couple of times this season. And he's almost always clapping his teammates, for good attempts even when it goes wrong, which was basically non-existent 10 years ago.

The problem is that Mourinho wants a certain type of striker and there aren't that many out there. If a great one turns up, he'll most likely get him. But at the moment, Ibra's the best choice. And it's easy to complain now after his crap performance yesterday - but he's been one of the best in the season so far, together with Valencia and Herrera. Behind these, Mkhi, Pogba, DDG, Carrick and Bailly.

 

[MadMike]

Yep, stats are like this, a player can both be seen as good and bad...

Then again, Ibra's a striker, he'll most likely take more shots then the others, except for Rashford (but he's also played as a winger so that Counts for him too)

Would be interesting to see how many shots per goal the other top teams players have - the players in positions similar to Mata, Mkhi, Martial, Rashford, Pogba.

Here's the thing, no one is saying that the others can't do better. It's exactly what's being said on their respective threads. They receive criticism as well.

But this is the Ibra thread and criticism towards his finishing (or the insistence to play him for 90 mins of every game) is always deflected with the argument "It's the others that have not scored enough, Ibra's done great". Well feck me he hasn't done that great that he should escape criticism.

Every other big striker from Costa, to Sanchez, to Kane, to Lukaku has better conversion ratio and goal per minutes and less missed chances.

I'm not saying Ibra shouldn not be playing for us, I like him. I'm saying that he shouldn't be untouchable and seen as a god. He isn't. He needs to start getting subbed when he's not playing well. Like yesterday.

 

[RedMaestro]

Jose's tactics is always to get the best out of individuals. You look at Barcelona or bayern - no matter how good Messi & Lewandowski might be there is no emphasis on getting the best out of them - they are merely the best in the team because they constantly do better than everyone else when given equal importance.

In this regard it's not particularly surprising he is scoring goals - but this reliance on him isn't getting the best out of anybody else.

Was my favorite player at Milan because of the eye candy - but again a few of LVG's teachings are important as how all 11 players should be play in a synchronized manner to actually be really dominant again. Right now it is only Zlatan who is doing the work because he has been given all he needs.

Well done to him anyway - none of it is his fault & neither is he doing anything wrong; it is just part of how different people view football.

You're right. I really don't like when a team is too dependant on 1 player. But Mourinho must feel this is the bigger chance to get on the right track. He puts his "trust" on "previous" winners - Pogba and Ibra.

 

[Fracture90]

Jose's tactics is always to get the best out of individuals. You look at Barcelona or bayern - no matter how good Messi & Lewandowski might be there is no emphasis on getting the best out of them - they are merely the best in the team because they constantly do better than everyone else when given equal importance.

In this regard it's not particularly surprising he is scoring goals - but this reliance on him isn't getting the best out of anybody else.

Was my favorite player at Milan because of the eye candy - but again a few of LVG's teachings are important as how all 11 players should be play in a synchronized manner to actually be really dominant again. Right now it is only Zlatan who is doing the work because he has been given all he needs.

Well done to him anyway - none of it is his fault & neither is he doing anything wrong; it is just part of how different people view football.

This is a very sensible view of things. Truth is he is having a good season scoring wise, but than again he's missed some absolute shockers.

That is why opinion on him is split as it is.

 

[RedMaestro]

Here's the thing, no one is saying that the others can't do better. It's exactly what's being said on their respective threads. They receive criticism as well.

But this is the Ibra thread and criticism towards his finishing (or the insistence to play him for 90 mins of every game) is always deflected with the argument "It's the others that have not scored enough, Ibra's done great". Well feck me he hasn't done that great that he should escape criticism.

Every other big striker from Costa, to Sanchez, to Kane, to Lukaku has better conversion ratio and goal per minutes and less missed chances.

I'm not saying Ibra shouldn not be playing for us, I like him. I'm saying that he shouldn't be untouchable and seen as a god. He isn't. He needs to start getting subbed when he's not playing well. Like yesterday.

I agree, he shouldn't play full 90 minutes constantly and I really don't know what the reason is. But Ibra's created the most chances, scored the most goals and is 3rd with assists in the team.

The others may have better converison rates, but they haven't scored that much more than him and you will never know if they would have had as many goalscoring chances in this team.

But I do agree, sub him off when he's not good. The only thing I can see that could be the reason is that he's scored most of his goals after the 70th minute, at least I Think so.

 

[Fracture90]

Well, the other offensive players surely get paid to score as well?

He doesn't sulk as much as he used to. A couple of times this season. And he's almost always clapping his teammates, for good attempts even when it goes wrong, which was basically non-existent 10 years ago.

The problem is that Mourinho wants a certain type of striker and there aren't that many out there. If a great one turns up, he'll most likely get him. But at the moment, Ibra's the best choice. And it's easy to complain now after his crap performance yesterday - but he's been one of the best in the season so far, together with Valencia and Herrera. Behind these, Mkhi, Pogba, DDG, Carrick and Bailly.

The way our current gameplan is set and the fact he has 3 more shots per match more than anyone else, I'd say it's more likely they're paid to create for him.

If you look at the yesterday's match, the only time he showed the sign of approval was when Valencia sent a bad long ball towards him. Other was just him sulking and complaining.

I'm bothered by his untouchable status tbh. I'd like us having alternatives or at least trying some out. If Mourinho really believed he can have a 35 year old guy playing 90 minutes, 45-50 games per year, than I'd like me some of what he's smoking.

 

[RedMaestro]

The way our current gameplan is set and the fact he has 3 more shots per match more than anyone else, I'd say it's more likely they're paid to create for him.

If you look at the yesterday's match, the only time he showed the sign of approval was when Valencia sent a bad long ball towards him. Other was just him sulking and complaining.

I'm bothered by his untouchable status tbh. I'd like us having alternatives or at least trying some out. If Mourinho really believed he can have a 35 year old guy playing 90 minutes, 45-50 games per year, than I'd like me some of what he's smoking.

Hopefull Griezmann or someone similar will come in the summer...