It's a strange comparison, I'll give you that.
They aren't even remotely similar in appearance.
Where do you rank Mason Greenwood as a talent?
- Thread starter Paxi
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They aren't even remotely similar in appearance.
He pings the ball like Bobby Charlton. No curling, placement nonsense. Just slaps the back of the ball with extreme power and control.
He can be as good as RvP at the very least.
When he develops a Cristiano/Son/Salah like shoot on sight policy the ballon d'or won't be too far away.
I worry a little about his long-leggedness, combined with his explosiveness, combined with his playing game after game at such a young age.
History shows us he's currently following the perfect recipe for constant hamstring injuries.
History shows us he's currently following the perfect recipe for constant hamstring injuries.
A bold claim but I think he's so good he could fire us to a league title over the next 3 years and he won't even be at his peak.
The worry about injuries due to constant overplaying is genuine however there are a handful of games left, he’s regularly subbed, he has an economy of movement which means he’s not taxing himself making meaningless runs and the coaches/sports science staff need to be trusted to make the right calls.
On the last point you make. Where’s your evidence? Is there a catalogue of players who’ve suffered debilitating hamstring injuries? The most famous one is Owen but his style depended on a huge number of sprints per game. Messi in his younger years restricted himself to maybe
3/4 per game. Greenwood is freakishly good and may yet reach the level of greatness as a Rooney/Ronaldo etc. Those players IIRC didn't suffer long term hamstring injuries.
I’m not sure his long leggedness is a valid point
I think (hope) he’s talking about amounts of shots, not the quality of the players. The carpet bombing approach, I think @Classical Mechanic called it!Son
Can add Giggs/Bale/Torres/Robben/Ousmane Dembele/Robinho/Pato off the top of my head.
I'm excited about this fella. He's a talent and I'm glad to see the manager isn't afraid to play him
Yeah pretty muchI think (hope) he’s talking about amounts of shots, not the quality of the players. The carpet bombing approach, I think @Classical Mechanic called it!
The first 4 had glorious careers. The next lot...debatable but that’s not really a conclusive stat is it?
Sports science is getting better at spotting signs of injury so I’m not in the least bit concerned
Top 3 u19 talent in the word, best of the 2001 class, best at the number 9 position
More talented than Foden or CHO for sure, unsure about how he stacks up against Sancho as I believe Sancho is still a rarer kind of player as in he will probably be more complete down the line
More talented than Foden or CHO for sure, unsure about how he stacks up against Sancho as I believe Sancho is still a rarer kind of player as in he will probably be more complete down the line
Yeah, I get it. The power and precision in his shots should dictate that the team should try to get him in those shooting positions as often as possible.
Feck me, Greenwood looks like some talent. Can Sancho play on the left? Cos I'm officially more worried about Rashford hitting the required standard than Greenwood at the moment.
Yeah, and CAM.
It's too early to tell if he's a better talent than Foden, but he's showing more although I could see Foden still ending up the best of the bunch, they have plenty of time and development ahead of them.
Regardless, United's got a future superstar if he keeps it up and makes the right adjustments as defenses focus on him more.
Do people think he'll maintain this standard? Young players tend to go up and down a lot, right?
Honestly, it might sound mad but I think he will keep this up and improve further. I'm not saying he won't have poor games or even spells but his career has an upwards only trajectory, and he's shooting right to the top.
Agreed.
That's why we definitely should sign Sancho. Mason is till very young and developing physically. It'd do him no good running him to the ground and risk injuries. But I have trust in Ole, he has handled the development of Greenwood really well so far.
I think he is one of the best teenager ever. There are wonderkids and generational talents for many positions, but the one position that is the most impactful is the striker. Greenwood has the tools to be one of the most lethal strikers in the game. Take Mbappe for example, he is rapid, keen eyes to make the right runs, good in front of goal, and he ends up with roughly 1 xG per game. However, Messi and CR7 are the kings of the game because they can score from "anywhere at any time" during their prime. Greenwood can score from many angles and distances. I'm confident that should he maintain his performance level over a stretch of another season or 2, he'll average 1 goal a game with a lower xG. That's going to be more important for any team because it means players like this require less from their teammates and are a bigger threat to the opposite team, thus requiring more energy to play against, giving other teammates better chances. Lewandoski is an insane striker, a top-class player, but he scores because he is world-class at getting into position and converting the chance. Again, Messi and Ronaldo are different, and they're the real generational talents.
So, therefore, I think Greenwood is well equipped to be up there, assuming he continues to evolve his game as he plays more. But that's pretty unlikely, reaching your potential and making the most out of your strengths is probably one of the hardest things in football.
So, therefore, I think Greenwood is well equipped to be up there, assuming he continues to evolve his game as he plays more. But that's pretty unlikely, reaching your potential and making the most out of your strengths is probably one of the hardest things in football.
Ole would do what he deems best suited for United, last season Ole played Rashford up top with Martial on left most of the time but this season Ole shifted their roles with great success so I don't believe anything is set in stone who knows how Ole would utilise all four of them who would be his preferred 3 exciting times ahead for sure .
There’s similarities. Both seem ultra aware of what’s going on around them, both very direct and know what they want to do immediately. That’s perhaps it.
He’s at a better level than Ronaldo was at this age. Others might be shy of saying it but it’s true.
Ronaldo McDonaldo. Phenomenal talent.
James Wilson is a fun little comparison. Greenwood has the shooting technique of James Wilson with his left foot, but is also equally good with his right, which Wilson wasn't. Greenwood is slower than Wilson, but is also a much better technical player who could legitimately play as a #10 and to top it off has vision that Wilson wasn't capable of.
And as amazing as we thought Wilson was in the 2012/13 season (21 goals in 29 games or so), Greenwood's goal scoring recorded was more impressive while doing it at a younger age, while also being more skillful. So Greenwoos is an obviously far superior prospect to what Wilson was.
I'm a fan of Foden. Foden is like Greenwood to me. Just two very polished young players with great end product for their ages. They're just in different positions. And I think Sancho is the same, but with his own slant on football (dribbling, flair).
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I think you got the wrong Ronaldo there. We were talking about R9 here not CR7 I think?
Oh really. I did then
Yeah it seems, but it's normal though. Both named RonaldoOh really. I did then
Sancho is better on the left than on the right. I'm pretty convinced if he comes Rashford won't be starting for us.
He can be our Micheal Owen, if he keeps working hard.
Mason is doing things an 18 year old wouldn't normally do. There's never been a time where I thought, "Well... with more time he will make better decisions."
His decision making is elite, his shooting is elite, his technique is elite... I don't see a weakness. He even tracks back well, he hustles with the best of them. He's buffed up well and will get better physically. It's amazing really. It's like watching young Messi, he's doing things a 25 year old matured over years to achieve.
He is the most natural forward in a long long time.
Henry level talent for me. Not quite Mbappe or Messi level talent yet. For that you need to destroy big teams with strong players. Mason is one below.
Legendary talent - Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe (Players who rise above it all, will be remembered for ages)
Hero talent - Henry, Rooney, Greenwood (Position based heroes who can set the football world alight)
World Class talent - Rashford, Martial (Players who can go down as club heroes, and become crucial pieces of a winning team)
His decision making is elite, his shooting is elite, his technique is elite... I don't see a weakness. He even tracks back well, he hustles with the best of them. He's buffed up well and will get better physically. It's amazing really. It's like watching young Messi, he's doing things a 25 year old matured over years to achieve.
He is the most natural forward in a long long time.
Henry level talent for me. Not quite Mbappe or Messi level talent yet. For that you need to destroy big teams with strong players. Mason is one below.
Legendary talent - Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe (Players who rise above it all, will be remembered for ages)
Hero talent - Henry, Rooney, Greenwood (Position based heroes who can set the football world alight)
World Class talent - Rashford, Martial (Players who can go down as club heroes, and become crucial pieces of a winning team)
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Does people feel he has any particular similarities in playing style to some of the best strikers of the 90s and 2000s? I've seen Bergkamp and Van Persie mentioned. Any other suggestions?
Van Basten. More an 80s/early 90s players. Was also two footed.
Some of the comparisons on here. Rooney's name being put forward. The only thing Mason has in common with Wazza is their young age when breaking through. A fair comparison in terms of playing style would be Dennis Bergkamp. However Mason can be even better! I'm astounded by the talent this young man has and he's ours.
Minimum Robbie Fowler, hoping for Cristiano but that's a tad unrealistic due to Cristiano being GOAT candidate to RVP will do me fine
If City and Pool lose their manager and players and Chelsea drop out. Winning a league is the hardest it's ever been. I doubt if we had Messi we would win the premier league as you need 95 points now which is absurd. Barca don't even do that. The moment you sleep on your enemies you are dead
That's why I sleep with my gun under the pillow.
On the other hand, let's see what happens with City in a few days because it might actually happen.
Better talent than Rashford and Sancho.
Liverpool won't hit that points total next season, City neither both are showing signs of significant decline.