Nordic Ghost Yeti | Haaland at City

[Fortitude]

City are all over the place as a team with or without Haaland. They are not meeting the bar they had last season, and that can't be levelled at Haaland - evidenced again with how poor they were as a unit without him on the pitch for the majority of the game.

They look flat and drawn out compared to their usual selves.

 

[Redfrog]

Why didn’t he start the last two games ? It’s weird. I would have get it if it was just one to rest him, but why both ?

I am curious to see if he is a Pep player or if it will finish like with Zlatan.

 

[SilentWitness]

Why didn’t he start the last two games ? It’s weird. I would have get it if it was just one to rest him, but why both ?

I am curious to see if he is a Pep player or if it will finish like with Zlatan.

Perhaps as he is the one good thing about the season for City and he's protecting him for the league and CL.

 

[padr81]

Why didn’t he start the last two games ? It’s weird. I would have get it if it was just one to rest him, but why both ?

I am curious to see if he is a Pep player or if it will finish like with Zlatan.

Simple rotation, Alvarez will start early cup rounds because he needs game time to get used of the league. Pep won't risk him in the league and we have a nightmare 8 games coming up where Haaland will get very little off time.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

He's an incredible player and goalscorer but he's, a throwback and is pretty poor off the ball.

 

[mu4c_20le]

should've gone to bayern imo

 

[Hoof the ball]

For sometime who knows.....

Have City scored more team goals thus far this season given Haaland's scoring numbers, or is it just that Haaland has scored a high percentage of them and overall City are scoring less in other areas?

 

[padr81]

For sometime who knows.....

Have City scored more team goals thus far this season given Haaland's scoring numbers, or is it just that Haaland has scored a high percentage of them and overall City are scoring less in other areas?

I think we're ahead on total goals compared to same stage last season but its super close after our last few games. We were way ahead. We're on course for 100 league goals which is slightly above our average over the last few seasons, We scord 102 when the dippers won the league.

 

[cyberman]

For sometime who knows.....

Have City scored more team goals thus far this season given Haaland's scoring numbers, or is it just that Haaland has scored a high percentage of them and overall City are scoring less in other areas?

They’ve scored more but not by much, it’s stat padded by two 6 goal wins early on in the season. It’s evening out fairly quickly

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

His goalscoring numbers are obviously ridiculous. Barring a major drop in form, he's going to shatter the all time premier league record for goals in a season.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

He’s such a strange player. His movement in the box is unbelievable. Watching the game last night and the run for the header he missed was so well timed it was almost supernatural. That movement alone will get him a ton of goals. The rest of his game is so average in comparison.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

You just know he's going to go apeshit on Saturday and get what will become his customary hat-trick now. I genuinely fear our defence have become so used to playing against dross given the general ease of our post-WC run.

His longest drought in the Premier League is 1 game

 

[Sunny Jim]

He’s such a strange player. His movement in the box is unbelievable. Watching the game last night and the run for the header he missed was so well timed it was almost supernatural. That movement alone will get him a ton of goals. The rest of his game is so average in comparison.

Movement (anticipation), acceleration in the fist meters + upper body strength. Perfect blend for a strikers. What i noticed is he get tired quite quickly.

 

[EtH]

He’s such a strange player. His movement in the box is unbelievable. Watching the game last night and the run for the header he missed was so well timed it was almost supernatural. That movement alone will get him a ton of goals. The rest of his game is so average in comparison.

He is basically Inzaghi with ridiculous athleticism. The absolute worst fit I can think of in a Pep system and I still think it will cost them in terms of overall team performance.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

You just know he's going to go apeshit on Saturday and get what will become his customary hat-trick now. I genuinely fear our defence have become so used to playing against dross given the general ease of our post-WC run.

His longest drought in the Premier League is 1 game

When you look at the results Wolves and Forest have been getting recently I think our recent fixtures haven’t been as easy as they looked a few weeks back. In keeping with our shitty luck with fixtures this season.

 

[Dr. StrangeHate]

He's an incredible player and goalscorer but he's, a throwback and is pretty poor off the ball.

He would still be starting for every team in the world.

 

[RedRonaldo]

It's kind of interesting to see that after 16 games this season, City have an xG of ~37, which is identical to what they had after 16 games last season.

Said it before but I don't think he will make 1 bit of difference to them in the league. They'll win most years, they'll have an off year here or there as long as Pep is there, whoever they sign. Haaland doesn't change anything for them in the league. Where Haaland will prove his worth ultimately for them is if they get over the line in the CL, if he can get the goals in the key moments of the biggest cup games. Because Pep has long since mastered league football and will be dominant wherever he goes. Whether the goals are focused in on one individual or spread out evenly, they'll on the whole create a similar amount every year pretty much.

I don’t think we can look at things that way, there are many variables in football rather than everything will always remain constant + the rest of change being Haaland’s impact. It’s just too simplistic way of interpreting things. For example Liverpool drop off this season is surely not only down to one variable only (Nunez in Mane out), there’s are many other reasons for sure.

 

[Ish]

When you look at the results Wolves and Forest have been getting recently I think our recent fixtures haven’t been as easy as they looked a few weeks back. In keeping with our shitty luck with fixtures this season.

Not to mention "our recent defence" have been completely makeshift and we should have our first choice back 4 available (not sure re Dalot's injury update but AWB has been decent recently), comprising 2 world cup winners at CB , Shaw in some of the best form he's produced in our colors, and all this - protected by Casemiro.

The only thing i am unsure of is midfield. Stick to the Casemiro, Eriksen, Bruno combination or bring in Fred who can help in these sorts of matches but I am no fan of shifting Bruno wide right.

Irrespective of the result, i am most intrigued by how EtH will approach the match and/or what his learnt about this league/City after that 6-3 trashing earlier the season. I think we'll be more prepared and we really need a 110% shift from every single player out there. Defend as a unit and attack as a unit and we'll be causing City all sorts of problems.

 

[JTRI]

Was he injured or suspended? Either way I’m glad he wasn’t playing today.

 

[Skills]

Like Shaw's back pocket

 

[Man-United]

He was so shit. Glad Old Trafford gave him abuse also.

 

[Red Rash]

Anyone have any stats on how many touches Haaland had during the game? Really though Varane and Shaw did a great job of not giving him a sniff

 

[horsechoker]

Pocketed by a stand in centre-back

 

[GMoore23]

Sasquatch

 

[Cloud7]

This is why no matter how many goals he scores he will always be a lesser player than Mbappe for me. Cut his service and he offers nothing to the game.

 

[Flying_Heckfish]

Offers so little outside of his unreal finishing. Really not a typical Pep player.

 

[cyberman]

He’s becoming more and more anonymous as the season goes in. This league finds players out the longer it goes on and defenders have realised this giant uses his legs to score from ridiculous angles because he can’t use his head that well. Close the space around him and fight him in the air. Even smaller clubs are doing it well

 

[Zen86]

Another disappearing act from Babybel head

 

[Zoo]

Perhaps they are worse with him in the team..

 

[Bobski]

His numbers are amazing but City are worse. Van Nistelrooy MK2

Not entirely serious as I think the WC is such a randomizer this year.

Not even sure it is his fault, the boring ass ball recycling style with him making constant untargeted runs must be frustrating.

 

[Heinzesight]

Did the goal pig play?

 

[SirAF]

Lukaku 2.0

 

[I’m loving my life]

Giant plastic Hasbro figurine

 

[Judge Red]

Shocking goal drought. Makes City a worse team. He’s still gonna get the Golden Boot but maybe not much else under Guardiola.

 

[Judas]

He were crap.

 

[Irrational.]

He'll never be in Mbappe's league. Kylian produces goals out of nothing and wins games by himself.

He can score 50 goals this season but he doesn't even make the top 5 PL strikers of all time for me.

 

[Gambit]

Playing for the wrong team. The amount of runs he tried and totally ignored by his mates.

 

[VeevaVee]

He played?

 

[RuudTom83]

He is great at what he does...but he doesn't do a lot when he isn't scoring.

 

[Kaos]

Ten Hag probably told Shaw to imagine him as a doner kebab. Shaw was feasting.