Cavani, Hit or Big Hit?

Bobcat · May 10, 2021

I was highly skeptical when we signed him, because of his age and the fact that he played in a one team league (lol), and honestly while the season went on i was not completely sold on him since he had a few poor games and quite a few injuries

When we are approaching the end of this season, i have to say hes been a good signing. He might not be able to play 40+ games a season, but when he does play he adds something up top that currently no one else in the squad is capable of and even if hes no longer a 20+ goals a season striker, his experience, attitude and guidance will be invaluable to the likes of Greenwood

sincher · May 10, 2021

He is fecking superb and transforms us.

RooneyLegend · May 10, 2021

Honestly thought we should've signed him instead of RVP back in them say. He just handles his business.

Stormrage101MUFC · May 10, 2021

Definitely a hit so far, but now that's he's signed on for another year, if he can maintain this form for the whole of next season and bag 30+ goals (possibly winning us a major trophy too) then he will be a BIG hit.

Regulus Arcturus Black · May 10, 2021

Jeppers7 said:
Or perhaps then you’re a lemon for bringing up assessments from 2 months ago and equating them to the current reality. It’s evident to everybody that Cavani’s form in the past month has taken a large upturn and that any evaluation today should be very different from the evaluation of two months prior. Which again I’d refer you to my post, in its content, earlier today (not in its specific time).

My assessment from two months ago, I stand by 100%, every word of it, I also stand by my right to change my opinion based on Cavani’s performances and the importance of his performances in the past month.

Was a shit assessment then, still a shit assessment now.
Crystal clear from his first few games what Cavani was going to offer us.

Jeppers7 · May 10, 2021

Regulus Arcturus Black said:
Was a shit assessment then, still a shit assessment now.
Crystal clear from his first few games what Cavani was going to offer us.

Having read this thread at times you obviously have had a strong positive regard for Cavani, which in turn influences your ability to rationally assess his effectiveness.

That’s on you. I don’t have that issue, so can give a more balanced opinion. He had very little impact until March and has been terrific since.

Regulus Arcturus Black · May 10, 2021

Jeppers7 said:
Having read this thread at times you obviously have had a strong positive regard for Cavani, which in turn influences your ability to rationally assess his effectiveness.

That’s on you. I don’t have that issue, so can give a more balanced opinion. He had very little impact until March and has been terrific since.

well played.

ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg · May 10, 2021

He’s a hit (clearly). But in my mind, he cements himself next season.

he has been patchy, has injuries, started late and has a 3 match ban - that really disrupted the first 2/3 of the season.

with a per-season I hope we really see the best of him over a season. I don’t expect him to play every game. But if we can get 30 starts from him next year, then he should score a boat load of goals.

Foxbatt · May 10, 2021

If his team mates put the ball in the right areas at the right time, he is going to score most of those chances. As soon as I saw Cavani on the move I was screaming for Rashford to put the in ball in and to his credit it was a beauty and exactly the kind of crosses Cavani needs.

snk123 · May 10, 2021

Much much better than Zlatan and a class act all around

tomaldinho1 · May 10, 2021

snk123 said:
Much much better than Zlatan and a class act all around

I get he's very likeable but this is so premature. Ibra got 28 goals and 10 assists in 46 games en route to the League Cup & Europa. Cavani has 15 goals, 5 assists in 35 apps and (barring a real feck up) should also get an EL.

The real difference is how consistent Ibra was in tight games (including winning goals in 2 x finals, albeit pointless trophies) where he would directly win us points:

Cavani (15): Roma (4), So'ton, Everton (3), Fulham, Villa, Burnley, Granada, Spurs (1)
Of those - when has his goal(s) directly won points: Southampton (W), Fulham (W), Everton (D).

Ibra (28): WHUM, So'ton (4), Saint Etienne (3), Zorya, Swansea, WBA, Sunderland, Everton, Leicester (2), Man City, B'mouth, Palace, Liverpool, Blackburn (1)
same for Ibra re point winning goals: Zorya (W), Saint Etienne (W), So'ton (W), Swansea (W), WHUM (D), Everton (D), Palace (W), WBA (W), Liverpool (D), Everton (D), Leicester (W - Comm Shield), Blackburn (W), So'ton (W - EFL cup).

I know Cavani started injured and he's almost having the reverse of Ibra's time here - starting unfit versus Ibra who did his cruciate and missed the last 7 or so league games - but I feel it's important to let head rule heart here.

Dr. Dwayne · May 11, 2021

Officially changing my vote from hit to big hit. Big fecking hit.

MyOnlySolskjaer · May 11, 2021

My number 7.

Shane88 · May 11, 2021

Greenwood needs to be like a sponge and soak in everything Cavani is showing.

His timing of runs is something else. It shows you don't need pace if you're just clever.

Vernon Philander · May 11, 2021

tomaldinho1 said:
I get he's very likeable but this is so premature. Ibra got 28 goals and 10 assists in 46 games en route to the League Cup & Europa. Cavani has 15 goals, 5 assists in 35 apps and (barring a real feck up) should also get an EL.

The real difference is how consistent Ibra was in tight games (including winning goals in 2 x finals, albeit pointless trophies) where he would directly win us points:

Cavani (15): Roma (4), So'ton, Everton (3), Fulham, Villa, Burnley, Granada, Spurs (1)
Of those - when has his goal(s) directly won points: Southampton (W), Fulham (W), Everton (D).

Ibra (28): WHUM, So'ton (4), Saint Etienne (3), Zorya, Swansea, WBA, Sunderland, Everton, Leicester (2), Man City, B'mouth, Palace, Liverpool, Blackburn (1)
same for Ibra re point winning goals: Zorya (W), Saint Etienne (W), So'ton (W), Swansea (W), WHUM (D), Everton (D), Palace (W), WBA (W), Liverpool (D), Everton (D), Leicester (W - Comm Shield), Blackburn (W), So'ton (W - EFL cup).

I know Cavani started injured and he's almost having the reverse of Ibra's time here - starting unfit versus Ibra who did his cruciate and missed the last 7 or so league games - but I feel it's important to let head rule heart here.

Very important post.

The pace at which people have forgotten what Ibra did, only 4 years ago, is incredible.

Cavani couldn't even properly dislodge Martial.

Raveneye · May 11, 2021

Jeppers7 said:
Having read this thread at times you obviously have had a strong positive regard for Cavani, which in turn influences your ability to rationally assess his effectiveness.

That’s on you. I don’t have that issue, so can give a more balanced opinion. He had very little impact until March and has been terrific since.

Justifying moment to moment opinions which include blanket future predictions that turn out to be false is a great way to feel always right and never learn.

Not saying you were necessarily wrong about everything then. But if someone said Cavani was a shit buy 4 months ago, they'd be shown wrong now. If someone said 4 months ago that the serious injury fears turned out to be true, they'd still be right about it now.

Siezard · May 11, 2021

Cavani is a big hit. He's too good to be honest.

Zlatan was slow and abusive towards defenders. Cavani is pure class right now!

Jeppers7 · May 11, 2021

Raveneye said:
Justifying moment to moment opinions which include blanket future predictions that turn out to be false is a great way to feel always right and never learn.

Not saying you were necessarily wrong about everything then. But if someone said Cavani was a shit buy 4 months ago, they'd be shown wrong now. If someone said 4 months ago that the serious injury fears turned out to be true, they'd still be right about it now.

But my opinion didn’t include any blanket future opinion? It was an assessment, at the time, based on what had happened up until that point.

There’s a reason that the thread was even created you’d think? It would suggest that opinions varied massively at the time. Perhaps the timing of the thread was an issue but it was asking for an opinion when at that point Cavani had scored 3 goals from December to March and he’d been starting week in week out, one of the goals was the 5th in a 9-0 win, he wasn’t really getting chances regularly but when he did he’d missed some absolute sitters. He’d scored 3 goals in about 700 minutes.

The upturn in form, the importance of his goals and performances, the fact that he was a free transfer, should all impact on someone’s opinion at this point. Having a different opinion now, based on the evidence in front of you, absolutely should be the case in my opinion.

That doesn’t make an opinion from a different point in time wrong. Unless that opinion was that he’s a terrible player and will never be good enough.

Marcelinho87 · May 11, 2021

tomaldinho1 said:
I get he's very likeable but this is so premature. Ibra got 28 goals and 10 assists in 46 games en route to the League Cup & Europa. Cavani has 15 goals, 5 assists in 35 apps and (barring a real feck up) should also get an EL.

The real difference is how consistent Ibra was in tight games (including winning goals in 2 x finals, albeit pointless trophies) where he would directly win us points:

Cavani (15): Roma (4), So'ton, Everton (3), Fulham, Villa, Burnley, Granada, Spurs (1)
Of those - when has his goal(s) directly won points: Southampton (W), Fulham (W), Everton (D).

Ibra (28): WHUM, So'ton (4), Saint Etienne (3), Zorya, Swansea, WBA, Sunderland, Everton, Leicester (2), Man City, B'mouth, Palace, Liverpool, Blackburn (1)
same for Ibra re point winning goals: Zorya (W), Saint Etienne (W), So'ton (W), Swansea (W), WHUM (D), Everton (D), Palace (W), WBA (W), Liverpool (D), Everton (D), Leicester (W - Comm Shield), Blackburn (W), So'ton (W - EFL cup).

I know Cavani started injured and he's almost having the reverse of Ibra's time here - starting unfit versus Ibra who did his cruciate and missed the last 7 or so league games - but I feel it's important to let head rule heart here.

Sorry to dismiss the whole post as I agree with it.

But this imo doesn't exist, no trophy is pointless as they ALL create a winning mentality.

Bebestation · May 11, 2021

Zlatan played like our main player which i didnt like.

Cavani plays more like our main striker.

kouroux · May 11, 2021

It was easy to see who watched him regularly and who clearly didn't. A little patience was needed for him to build his fitness, the injury and the crazy suspension didn't help matters but Cavani was always gonna be a success this season. I never had a shred of doubt about it, I found it hilarious how some were too quick to write him off. For many on these boards, if you don't hit the ground running, you're basically doomed to fail.

Marwood · May 11, 2021

Vernon Philander said:
Very important post.

The pace at which people have forgotten what Ibra did, only 4 years ago, is incredible.

Cavani couldn't even properly dislodge Martial.

There's no doubt Ibra being constantly fit and available was a big advantage but aside from that, I think Cavani has been better.

He works across the entire front line, runs in behind, holds it up and his personality is great. He's someone the younger guys can learn from.

Ibra totally different. I don't think you can learn what he's got. Then smaller things like Ibra only really operated in a very small area of the pitch. He used it well but we weren't getting complete centre forward performances from him(understandably given his age).

roonster09 · May 11, 2021

tomaldinho1 said:
I get he's very likeable but this is so premature. Ibra got 28 goals and 10 assists in 46 games en route to the League Cup & Europa. Cavani has 15 goals, 5 assists in 35 apps and (barring a real feck up) should also get an EL.

The real difference is how consistent Ibra was in tight games (including winning goals in 2 x finals, albeit pointless trophies) where he would directly win us points:

Cavani (15): Roma (4), So'ton, Everton (3), Fulham, Villa, Burnley, Granada, Spurs (1)
Of those - when has his goal(s) directly won points: Southampton (W), Fulham (W), Everton (D).

Ibra (28): WHUM, So'ton (4), Saint Etienne (3), Zorya, Swansea, WBA, Sunderland, Everton, Leicester (2), Man City, B'mouth, Palace, Liverpool, Blackburn (1)
same for Ibra re point winning goals: Zorya (W), Saint Etienne (W), So'ton (W), Swansea (W), WHUM (D), Everton (D), Palace (W), WBA (W), Liverpool (D), Everton (D), Leicester (W - Comm Shield), Blackburn (W), So'ton (W - EFL cup).

I know Cavani started injured and he's almost having the reverse of Ibra's time here - starting unfit versus Ibra who did his cruciate and missed the last 7 or so league games - but I feel it's important to let head rule heart here.

Cavani has scored more winners than the games you mentioned.
Vs Granada - Scored first goal in 2-0 win
Vs Roma - Scored equalizer and winner vs Roma (and then we scored 3 more goals)
Vs Southampton - Scored equalizer and winner.
Vs Fulham - Scored equalizer in a 2-1 win
Vs Everton - Scored first goal in 3-3 draw
Vs Spurs - Scored winner in a 3-1 win
Vs Everton (cup) - Scored the winner in 2-0 win

Other goals which were important too.
Vs Roma - Scored equalizer and a goal to give us lead but we messed it up to lose 3-2
Vs Everton - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead
Vs Burnley - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead
Vs Villa - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead.

The goal that gives us 2 goal lead is always important too, gives us breathing space and also confidence to the team. 1 goal lead usually leads to team dropping deep all the time.

Then when it comes to assists.
Vs Roma - Assist for first goal and couple of other goals.
Vs Southampton - Assisted the first goal when we were 2-0 down, won 3-2
Vs Leicester - Assisted the goal that gave us lead, ended 2-2

Only goal or assist which didn't matter much was his goal vs Southampton as we had 3-0 lead.

All this playing just 1859 mins which is equivalent to 20 full games.

tomaldinho1 · May 11, 2021

roonster09 said:
Cavani has scored more winners than the games you mentioned.
Vs Granada - Scored first goal in 2-0 win
Vs Roma - Scored equalizer and winner vs Roma (and then we scored 3 more goals)
Vs Southampton - Scored equalizer and winner.
Vs Fulham - Scored equalizer in a 2-1 win
Vs Everton - Scored first goal in 3-3 draw
Vs Spurs - Scored winner in a 3-1 win
Vs Everton (cup) - Scored the winner in 2-0 win

Other goals which were important too.
Vs Roma - Scored equalizer and a goal to give us lead but we messed it up to lose 3-2
Vs Everton - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead
Vs Burnley - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead
Vs Villa - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead.

The goal that gives us 2 goal lead is always important too, gives us breathing space and also confidence to the team. 1 goal lead usually leads to team dropping deep all the time.

Then when it comes to assists.
Vs Roma - Assist for first goal and couple of other goals.
Vs Southampton - Assisted the first goal when we were 2-0 down, won 3-2
Vs Leicester - Assisted the goal that gave us lead, ended 2-2

Only goal or assist which didn't matter much was his goal vs Southampton as we had 3-0 lead.

All this playing just 1859 mins which is equivalent to 20 full games.

How can someone score the winner in a 2-0 win? Ibra also had more assists, I didn’t even go into them. I can understand if you like his style of play more or even think his wider benefit on the squad is greater but to argue against the goal + assist output and importance of those goals is clutching at straws.

I’m not discrediting his goals, he’s been good for us but it’s crazy how quickly our fans have forgotten how many points Ibra won us purely off his goals. He also did a lot of mentoring with the younger players - he’s just a very different personality and a lot less likeable than Cavani.

roonster09 · May 11, 2021

tomaldinho1 said:
How can someone score the winner in a 2-0 win? Ibra also had more assists, I didn’t even go into them. I can understand if you like his style of play more or even think his wider benefit on the squad is greater but to argue against the goal + assist output and importance of those goals is clutching at straws.

I’m not discrediting his goals, he’s been good for us but it’s crazy how quickly our fans have forgotten how many points Ibra won us purely off his goals. He also did a lot of mentoring with the younger players - he’s just a very different personality and a lot less likeable than Cavani.

Scoring first goal in 2-0 win is important goal, same with goal that extends the lead from 1 goal to lead.

Looks like one more who can't read, where did I play down Zlatan's contribution? I said you missed out few of the Cavani's contribution and elaborated on how Cavani has more contributions than what you mentioned in the post. Nothing to do with Zlatan.

Siezard · May 11, 2021

Zlatan had penalties goals to jack up his goal tally.

duffer · May 11, 2021

As an old fart myself, I like seeing old fart players do well and he's done well.

keithsingleton · May 11, 2021

He's been a good addition but chances are this now means we won't get a striker in summer sadly. On the plus side it means we should have good money for a top CB.

Spoony · May 11, 2021

Zlatan was good but Cavani has that little bit extra that fans like. He has a workhorse mentality alongside his technical abilities. Fans love that shit.

El Jefe · May 11, 2021

roonster09 said:
Cavani has scored more winners than the games you mentioned.
Vs Granada - Scored first goal in 2-0 win
Vs Roma - Scored equalizer and winner vs Roma (and then we scored 3 more goals)
Vs Southampton - Scored equalizer and winner.
Vs Fulham - Scored equalizer in a 2-1 win
Vs Everton - Scored first goal in 3-3 draw
Vs Spurs - Scored winner in a 3-1 win
Vs Everton (cup) - Scored the winner in 2-0 win

Other goals which were important too.
Vs Roma - Scored equalizer and a goal to give us lead but we messed it up to lose 3-2
Vs Everton - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead
Vs Burnley - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead
Vs Villa - Scored 3rd goal to give 2 goal lead.

The goal that gives us 2 goal lead is always important too, gives us breathing space and also confidence to the team. 1 goal lead usually leads to team dropping deep all the time.

Then when it comes to assists.
Vs Roma - Assist for first goal and couple of other goals.
Vs Southampton - Assisted the first goal when we were 2-0 down, won 3-2
Vs Leicester - Assisted the goal that gave us lead, ended 2-2

Only goal or assist which didn't matter much was his goal vs Southampton as we had 3-0 lead.

All this playing just 1859 mins which is equivalent to 20 full games.

Thank you for fact checking and posting this. As soon as I saw his list I knew it was incomplete because just off the top of my head the Spurs goal and Everton goal in the cup were missing.

Ibra had way more starts and minutes so I'd expect his numbers to be better. However there haven't been many games where I've felt Cavani's finishing cost us a game or points, Zlatan on the other hand had many costly misses for us that season.

roonster09 · May 11, 2021

El Jefe said:
Thank you for fact checking and posting this. As soon as I saw his list I knew it was incomplete because just off the top of my head the Spurs goal and Everton goal in the cup were missing.

Ibra had way more starts and minutes so I'd expect his numbers to be better. However there haven't been many games where I've felt Cavani's finishing cost us a game or points, Zlatan on the other hand had many costly misses for us that season.

Yeah, also for Zlatan to play everything should flow through him. For Cavani it's not the case. He does so much work off the ball.

IMO Zlatan had good year individually than Cavani but I would pick Cavani for the team. Even at their peaks I would pick Cavani, his work rate and off the ball movement was always exceptional.

André Dominguez · May 11, 2021

What is this need to criticize one player to praise another?

Zlatan did a very good job with our shirt. He pushed our team forward when needed. And he was also older when he joined us and our team on the field was less solid as a unit than the one we have today. After 32/33 y.o. every year that passes by gets heavier and heavier. If it wasn't for the injury, I'm pretty sure he would still be a valuable asset on that season and prbably one or two seasons more.

tomaldinho1 · May 11, 2021

roonster09 said:
Scoring first goal in 2-0 win is important goal, same with goal that extends the lead from 1 goal to lead.

Looks like one more who can't read, where did I play down Zlatan's contribution? I said you missed out few of the Cavani's contribution and elaborated on how Cavani has more contributions than what you mentioned in the post. Nothing to do with Zlatan.

Yes of course, all goals are great, my post is simply about where has a player's goal directly been the difference between points. You can't say Cavani scored the 'winner' versus Roma and then we scored 3 more - it doesn't make sense. My point is how can someone say Cavani has been 'much much better' than Ibra when Ibra was so crucial for us.

To fact check your stats:

Vs Granada - Scored first goal in 2-0 win
Vs Roma - Scored equalizer and winner vs Roma (and then we scored 3 more goals)
Vs Southampton - Scored equalizer and winner. - I put this one
Vs Fulham - Scored equalizer in a 2-1 win - I put this one
Vs Everton - Scored first goal in 3-3 draw - I put this one
Vs Spurs - Scored winner in a 3-1 win
Vs Everton (cup) - Scored the winner in 2-0 win

So actually you have just written what I put...

tomaldinho1 · May 11, 2021

Marcelinho87 said:
Sorry to dismiss the whole post as I agree with it.

But this imo doesn't exist, no trophy is pointless as they ALL create a winning mentality.

Yes agreed, to a point. I do think Comm Shield's main benefit is actually making sure you start the season with a pretty tough fixture which helps a lot with seeing where you're at, rather than the actual trophy & I'm just not a fan of the League Cup - I know some people value it more. Ideally you try and win everything but there's some obvious major trophies versus minor trophies if you have to pick and choose.

roonster09 · May 11, 2021

tomaldinho1 said:
Yes of course, all goals are great, my post is simply about where has a player's goal directly been the difference between points. You can't say Cavani scored the 'winner' versus Roma and then we scored 3 more - it doesn't make sense. My point is how can someone say Cavani has been 'much much better' than Ibra when Ibra was so crucial for us.

To fact check your stats:

Vs Granada - Scored first goal in 2-0 win
Vs Roma - Scored equalizer and winner vs Roma (and then we scored 3 more goals)
Vs Southampton - Scored equalizer and winner. - I put this one
Vs Fulham - Scored equalizer in a 2-1 win - I put this one
Vs Everton - Scored first goal in 3-3 draw - I put this one
Vs Spurs - Scored winner in a 3-1 win
Vs Everton (cup) - Scored the winner in 2-0 win

So actually you have just written what I put...

Its not Cavani's mistake that other players followed up by scoring few more goals after he equalized and gave the lead, while for Zlatan no one did that.

Cavani scored 2 very important goals vs Roma in the first leg, one to equalise and other to give lead.

He also scored winner vs Spurs to give 2-1 lead.

And, well doesn't matter if you think scoring a goal to give 2-1 lead is not important goal or a winner then all this doesn't matter. Only the last goal counts for you. So according to you, if team wins by more than a goal then it's not a "winning contribution" goal.

If Cavani's goal was stat padding ones like his goal vs Southampton then yeah would have agreed (that those are not game winning ones), not the goals that actually gave lead to the team or gave breathing space by extending one goal lead to 2.

tomaldinho1 · May 11, 2021

roonster09 said:
Its not Cavani's mistake that other players followed up by scoring few more goals after he equalized and gave the lead, while for Zlatan no one did that.

Cavani scored 2 very important goals vs Roma in the first leg, one to equalise and other to give lead.

He also scored winner vs Spurs to give 2-1 lead.

And, well doesn't matter if you think scoring a goal to give 2-1 lead is not important goal or a winner then all this doesn't matter. Only the last goal counts for you. So according to you, if team wins by more than a goal then it's not a "winning contribution" goal.

If Cavani's goal was stat padding ones like his goal vs Southampton then yeah would have agreed (that those are not game winning ones), not the goals that actually gave lead to the team or gave breathing space by extending one goal lead to 2.

I get what you are saying and I can only repeat, all goals are great, but the facts behind Ibra's contributions are so clear (i.e. his goals literally won us 20+ points & 2 cups) and that why I pointed it out when the poster said Cavani has been much much better. I knows football fans these days have goldfish memories but it's important to be logical in these situations - there's no perfect system for assessing it but just look at Ibra's goals in tight games (again not discounting any goals by any players but he always turned up in those games where we won by a single goal, when it's happening that frequently you have to acknowledge it).

If the poster had said Cavani could have hit a similar amount of goals to Ibra if he'd stayed fit that's a better debate but to simply say he was 'much much better' is false.

Stacks · May 11, 2021

Red Shorts said:
Love seeing these threads a year after they are created.

The guy is the 3rd top scorer after the two GOATs over the past 11 years. He's born winner and goalscorer and is in my top 3 favourite players of all time for us.

I'm waiting for the winner from him in the Europa league

Did you just start supporting utd 18 months ago?

sincher said:
He is fecking superb and transforms us.

He gives us a different type of option upfront but we were still 2nd in the league and advancing in most cups when he wasn't playing. He is more the cherry on top.

RooneyLegend said:
Honestly thought we should've signed him instead of RVP back in them say. He just handles his business.

RVP much better all around.

tomaldinho1 said:
I get he's very likeable but this is so premature. Ibra got 28 goals and 10 assists in 46 games en route to the League Cup & Europa. Cavani has 15 goals, 5 assists in 35 apps and (barring a real feck up) should also get an EL.

The real difference is how consistent Ibra was in tight games (including winning goals in 2 x finals, albeit pointless trophies) where he would directly win us points:

Cavani (15): Roma (4), So'ton, Everton (3), Fulham, Villa, Burnley, Granada, Spurs (1)
Of those - when has his goal(s) directly won points: Southampton (W), Fulham (W), Everton (D).

Ibra (28): WHUM, So'ton (4), Saint Etienne (3), Zorya, Swansea, WBA, Sunderland, Everton, Leicester (2), Man City, B'mouth, Palace, Liverpool, Blackburn (1)
same for Ibra re point winning goals: Zorya (W), Saint Etienne (W), So'ton (W), Swansea (W), WHUM (D), Everton (D), Palace (W), WBA (W), Liverpool (D), Everton (D), Leicester (W - Comm Shield), Blackburn (W), So'ton (W - EFL cup).

I know Cavani started injured and he's almost having the reverse of Ibra's time here - starting unfit versus Ibra who did his cruciate and missed the last 7 or so league games - but I feel it's important to let head rule heart here.

Vernon Philander said:
Very important post.

The pace at which people have forgotten what Ibra did, only 4 years ago, is incredible.

Cavani couldn't even properly dislodge Martial.

recency bias one hell of a drug.

roonster09 · May 11, 2021

tomaldinho1 said:
I get what you are saying and I can only repeat, all goals are great, but the facts behind Ibra's contributions are so clear (i.e. his goals literally won us 20+ points & 2 cups) and that why I pointed it out when the poster said Cavani has been much much better. I knows football fans these days have goldfish memories but it's important to be logical in these situations - there's no perfect system for assessing it but just look at Ibra's goals in tight games (again not discounting any goals by any players but he always turned up in those games where we won by a single goal, when it's happening that frequently you have to acknowledge it).

If the poster had said Cavani could have hit a similar amount of goals to Ibra if he'd stayed fit that's a better debate but to simply say he was 'much much better' is false.

We scored 54 goals in the league that season, one of the poorest return for us. Maybe we just shut the shop after going a goal ahead, which isn't the case now. So Greenwood scoring the 3rd goal in extra time shouldn't devalue Cavani's goal vs Spurs. It's the winner.

Anyways for me individually Zlatan had better season than Cavani but I would take Cavani over Zlatan everytime.

Dan_F · May 11, 2021

I was pretty critical of him through till around February. Not because he was a bad player, but it just looked like he was phoning it in. I think it was around the time where Martial got injured and he stepped into the team and offered nothing different. I think it must have been games against West Brom, Palace etc.

I think it can’t be overlooked that he didn’t play between March and September 2020. I know we didn’t exactly have a pre season, but signing him a month earlier would have made it much easier for him to hit the ground running.

Lay · May 11, 2021

Zlatan was good as is Cavani. Zlatan missed a lot of chances but I don’t blame him for that. What I do think is a key difference was that our tactics under Jose was centred around Zlatan. It was Zlatan or bust. With Cavani we have more of a team player

Cavani, Hit or Big Hit?

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"I will cry if Rooney leaves"

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Pogfamily Mafia

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Self proclaimed tagline king.

Creator of Player Performance threads

Actually Nostradamus

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Pogfamily Mafia

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Im a doctor btw, my IQ destroys yours

45k posts to finally achieve this tagline

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Hercule Poirot of the scouting world

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Hercule Poirot of the scouting world

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Sensible and not a complete jerk like most oppo's

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The People's President

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Hercule Poirot of the scouting world

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Hercule Poirot of the scouting world

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Full Member

Hercule Poirot of the scouting world

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Correctly predicted Italy to win Euro 2020