Chido Obi | 2024/25 Performances

[Apokalips]

This is the kind of performance that would have the Højlund thread radioactive right now. Difference is of course that we didn't pay a king's ransom for him and that he has way less experience, so it's only right that he gets more leeway. But it suggests that it wouldn't have been better to just start him over Højlund for the last few months.

This is the same logic many used when Amad came in and didn't immediately tear it up. People kept saying he was no better than Antony etc had been so what's the point.

You can't give him 1 game and then judge him and throw back the guy who has proven to be shite over a long period, at least with Obi there is a potential upside whereas we know Hojlund will perform to a substandard level.

People shouldn't expect too much from a 17 year old, especially immediately but there were definite flashes and he manages to get shots away which already is more than Hojlund manages. He should start the remainder of the league matches and we aggressively pursue quality options in the summer.

 

[Red Rash]

Hopefully yesterday will quiet the folk who believe he should be starting or at least permanent first teamer.
A long way to go before he is ready for that step up, but there is definitely a player in there.

While I agree that he isn't ready, we also need to acknowledge that our current team doesn't do enough to get our striker in the game.

We've seen the same issues with Hojlund, Zirkzee and now Obi. We really need our team to be better at finding the striker and involving them more, only then can we really determine how close Obi really is.

Overall I thought he was fine yesterday though. Nothing amazing but didn't look completely out of his depth.

 

[Baxquux]

What did people expect him to do- short of becoming the new 'young Rooney' overnight and barrelling past players. He got shots off, which Hojlund struggles to; he won more duels than Hojlund has in at least 50% of this season's games (roughly); he actually looked to release the ball quickly when he had runners around him; he hustled. The service, meanwhile, was pretty bad except for playing a few balls up to him against strong and canny CBs.

Unless a striker is truly explosive Or a playmaker (like Kane, and even then he's had notoriously poor games for England and Spurs on occasion when starved) they're going to look underwhelming - in terms of the flashier (shots, goals) parts that forwards get judged on- when team-mates aren't finding them. You look for the process- movement off the ball, early shot-striking and instinct, player's awareness of his team-mates etc: he's precocious, if not quite 2003-era Rooney.

He still needs lots of work and obviously not 1st choice striker but people making judgments on him seem to have not watched other u-20 strikers, let alone u18 ones, in the PL, and also not to have seriously watched Utd this season in the PL.

 

[Red Rash]

What did people expect him to do- short of becoming the new 'young Rooney' overnight and barrelling past players. He got shots off, which Hojlund struggles to; he won more duels than Hojlund has in at least 50% of this season's games (roughly); he actually looked to release the ball quickly when he had runners around him; he hustled. The service, meanwhile, was pretty bad except for playing a few balls up to him against strong and canny CBs.

Unless a striker is truly explosive Or a playmaker (like Kane, and even then he's had notoriously poor games for England and Spurs on occasion when starved) they're going to look underwhelming - in terms of the flashier (shots, goals) parts that forwards get judged on- when team-mates aren't finding them. You look for the process- movement off the ball, early shot-striking and instinct, player's awareness of his team-mates etc: he's precocious, if not quite 2003-era Rooney.

He still needs lots of work and obviously not 1st choice striker but people making judgments on him seem to have not watched other u-20 strikers, let alone u18 ones, in the PL, and also not to have seriously watched Utd this season in the PL.

He did as well as he should have. Even Amorim tried to manage expectations pre match.

In my opinion we need to give him minutes till the end of the season, ideally 15-30 mins here and there, then give him time during pre season to see where he is at.

He is probably good enough to be an impact sub in a good performing United team but is still a fair way from being ready for the starting eleven.

 

[top1whoisman]

No where near ready. I think he needs a season for the U21's next term, training with the first team and used as a bench option for the cup games.

Does anyone feel he lack the intensity? Is it the same for the unders? @top1whoisman @limerickcitykid

Didn't understand it when some posters claimed that this was a first team signing and that he would be ready for the first team, based on very little apart from a crazy amount of goals at U18s level. Just physically nowhere near ready, as you said. I'm delighted he's got some minutes now and everybody knows where he needs to develop at during the summer and next season. He's got all the tools to excel in the academy and he's been pretty good for the U21s lately. The jump up however is huge and he definitely needs a strong, full season in the PL2 before we can start thinking about loans or permanent promotion.

 

[Insanity]

Yes he is always a bit aloof. Generally teenagers who are tall as feck and lanky will look the same tbf.

In fact are there any really tall players who are known for intensity? They can run just as hard as a shorter player but their physical appearance just wont give off the same hard worker look.

In the appearances so far he has looked languid to me. You are correct it may be because he is tall and lanky. To me it appears he is not physically ready yet to play a part for the first team. Needs to develop more physically before he can be more useful.

I am sure it's a case of both nerves and overthinking. The game is just flying by him before he even knows how to react or what to do.

With more game time, the game will slow down for him, and then his natural talent will emerge.

His inexperience is definitely playing a part too.

Didn't understand it when some posters claimed that this was a first team signing and that he would be ready for the first team, based on very little apart from a crazy amount of goals at U18s level. Just physically nowhere near ready, as you said. I'm delighted he's got some minutes now and everybody knows where he needs to develop at during the summer and next season. He's got all the tools to excel in the academy and he's been pretty good for the U21s lately. The jump up however is huge and he definitely needs a strong, full season in the PL2 before we can start thinking about loans or permanent promotion.

I agree.

 

[Grande]

He did as well as he should have. Even Amorim tried to manage expectations pre match.

In my opinion we need to give him minutes till the end of the season, ideally 15-30 mins here and there, then give him time during pre season to see where he is at.

He is probably good enough to be an impact sub in a good performing United team but is still a fair way from being ready for the starting eleven.

This sounds quite realistic to me, maybe even a bit on the optimistic side?

Something We should remember is that the lone striker role at a team in development is a tactically, physically and confinence-wise a very demanding role. We have seen Højlund, Zirkzee and Rashfourd flounder at it and lose confidence, attracting large choruses of ‘not good enough!’, and while they might actually be nnot good enough for the role, they are players with much more experience, players who have scored double digits in Big 5 leagues. Expecting Obi at 18 to even fill their shoes is unrealistic, and even filling their shoes atm will not be good enough to not frustrate a lot of fans and attract bad attention to himself or the gaffer - something that would be bound to be detrimental to the development of a teenagers confidence.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

He did literally nothing wrong. At one point even rolling a premier league centre back very adeptly and nearly scoring.

Of course he isn't ready and that is totally understandable. However we are currently in a position where he can get minutes in senior football. That can be quite a good thing in his development as long as we as a fan base are sensible about what to expect.

 

[shabin_d_great]

I wish we can have a forward who is quite fast. Obi doesn't seem to run very fast even for a 17 year old

 

[Hammondo]

I wish we can have a forward who is quite fast. Obi doesn't seem to run very fast even for a 17 year old

Yea he seems quite slow.

 

[Ekeke]

I wish we can have a forward who is quite fast. Obi doesn't seem to run very fast even for a 17 year old

The Arsenal posters on here used to say its hard to say how good a prospect he is because hes faster and stronger than all the kids hes playing against, even though he was playing at a higher age group

He's fast enough for the u18s and u21s



He isnt a Rashford or Mbappe, but he'll probably be decently quick in adult football when he isnt a 17 year old with 151 mins of football

 

[Hammondo]

The Arsenal posters on here used to say its hard to say how good a prospect he is because hes faster and stronger than all the kids hes playing against, even though he was playing at a higher age group

He's fast enough for the u18s and u21s



He isnt a Rashford or Mbappe, but he'll probably be decently quick in adult football when he isnt a 17 year old with 151 mins of football

I think his power really helps him out at the youth level, even if hes not faster, the other players simply are pushed away or cant get tight to him.

 

[ROFLUTION]

I wish we can have a forward who is quite fast. Obi doesn't seem to run very fast even for a 17 year old

Out of curiosity, I did some research if that is actually expected from a 17 year old or whether it’s just natural to look slow when thrown in against the big boys.

A sprinting runner typically reaches their peak performance between 25 and 30 years old. This is when physical attributes like muscle strength, speed, and reaction time are often at their highest, combined with enough experience and training to optimize technique. However, some athletes, like Usain Bolt, have set world records slightly outside this range (Bolt was 22 for his 100m record and 30 for his 200m record). Factors like training, genetics, and injury history can shift this slightly, with some maintaining elite performance into their early 30s.

So it’s probably fair to say he will get faster.

 

[MadDogg]

A few times when he opened up he looked quite fast in a straight line. Not sure about his acceleration or his agility though, both of which are more important to a footballer than top speed.

 

[Escobar]

Offers already more than Holland

 

[Hammondo]

Offers already more than Holland

I really don't think he does, he was fairly invisible against Brentford.

 

[Escobar]

I really don't think he does, he was fairly invisible against Brentford.

And Hojlund? It was his first start or so, unlike Hojlund who has so many more games yet offers absolutely zero

 

[Hammondo]

And Hojlund? It was his first start or so, unlike Hojlund who has so many more games yet offers absolutely zero

Well he at least runs, doesn't hide.

 

[Marwood]

Out of curiosity, I did some research if that is actually expected from a 17 year old or whether it’s just natural to look slow when thrown in against the big boys.

A sprinting runner typically reaches their peak performance between 25 and 30 years old. This is when physical attributes like muscle strength, speed, and reaction time are often at their highest, combined with enough experience and training to optimize technique. However, some athletes, like Usain Bolt, have set world records slightly outside this range (Bolt was 22 for his 100m record and 30 for his 200m record). Factors like training, genetics, and injury history can shift this slightly, with some maintaining elite performance into their early 30s.

So it’s probably fair to say he will get faster.

Not sure it works like that for footballers though. Footballers don't get quicker after about 21. Where they are at that point in terms of speed tends to be their max.

 

[next_number_seven]

Out of curiosity, I did some research if that is actually expected from a 17 year old or whether it’s just natural to look slow when thrown in against the big boys.

A sprinting runner typically reaches their peak performance between 25 and 30 years old. This is when physical attributes like muscle strength, speed, and reaction time are often at their highest, combined with enough experience and training to optimize technique. However, some athletes, like Usain Bolt, have set world records slightly outside this range (Bolt was 22 for his 100m record and 30 for his 200m record). Factors like training, genetics, and injury history can shift this slightly, with some maintaining elite performance into their early 30s.

So it’s probably fair to say he will get faster.

He won't get much quicker.

If you watch him in the youth teams, he's not that quick.

Footballers often get slower in their late twenties anyway.

Owen, Rooney, Giggs etc were much quicker in their late teens/early twenties.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Not sure it works like that for footballers though. Footballers don't get quicker after about 21. Where they are at that point in terms of speed tends to be their max.

Source?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Not sure it works like that for footballers though. Footballers don't get quicker after about 21. Where they are at that point in terms of speed tends to be their max.

That has to be nonsense. What's so special about footballers that they mature as sprinters at different rates to actual sprinters?

Quick check and Kyle Walker was 30+ when he set his fastest ever PL speed.

 

[Marwood]

Source?

Watching footballers for decades. Who gets faster in their mid to late twenties?

I've no doubt Obi will get faster over the next few years but I highly doubt he'll just keep getting quicker and quicker right up to his late 20's.

That has to be nonsense. What's so special about footballers that they mature as sprinters at different rates to actual sprinters?

Quick check and Kyle Walker was 30+ when he set his fastest ever PL speed.

When you pick out the exception, the guy everyone is amazed at for maintaining his speed into his 30's, what would that tell you?

Footballers don't run in straight lines, on tracks, without contact. A footballers speed is linked to agility.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Watching footballers for decades. Who gets faster in their mid to late twenties?




When you pick out the exception, the guy everyone is amazed at for maintaining his speed into his 30's, what would that tell you?

Footballers don't run in straight lines, on tracks, without contact. A footballers speed is linked to agility.

I picked out a footballer who is famously fast to discuss at what age footballers run fastest. Didn’t think he’d be a controversial choice!

 

[BarstoolProphet]

Watching footballers for decades. Who gets faster in their mid to late twenties?

I've no doubt Obi will get faster over the next few years but I highly doubt he'll just keep getting quicker and quicker right up to his late 20's.



When you pick out the exception, the guy everyone is amazed at for maintaining his speed into his 30's, what would that tell you?

Footballers don't run in straight lines, on tracks, without contact. A footballers speed is linked to agility.

You said at the age of 21, now you're shifting to mid to late twenties, and you're basing it off eye test?

 

[RedC]

Watching footballers for decades. Who gets faster in their mid to late twenties?

I've no doubt Obi will get faster over the next few years but I highly doubt he'll just keep getting quicker and quicker right up to his late 20's.



When you pick out the exception, the guy everyone is amazed at for maintaining his speed into his 30's, what would that tell you?

Footballers don't run in straight lines, on tracks, without contact. A footballers speed is linked to agility.

Any footballer can get faster if they haven't reached their max potential for speed. Speed can be trained like anything else, there will just be a ceiling for everyone.

 

[Marwood]

I picked out a footballer who is famously fast to discuss at what age footballers run fastest. Didn’t think he’d be a controversial choice!

Yeah but you've picked the biggest exception of them all.

I could pick one individual to prove my side of the debate. Same logic.

Rashford. Quicker now or when he was 21?

 

[Marwood]

You said at the age of 21, now you're shifting to mid to late twenties, and you're basing it off eye test?

No pal that was the other side of the debate that thinks footballers keep getting faster up to their late 20's in terms of speed.

I'm saying I don't think generally(yes there'll have been an exception throughout the history of time) that's the case.

Most footballers peak early in terms of speed. The comparison with sprinters is a bit of nonsense. Sprinters don't have to change direction, don't have the wear and tear of footballers, don't cover the distance, don't have impact injuries.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yeah but you've picked the biggest exception of them all.

I could pick one individual to prove my side of the debate. Same logic.

Rashford. Quicker now or when he was 21?

You’ve decided he’s “the biggest exception of them all” because that suits your argument. I just provided data instead of forming opinions based on vibes.

I have no idea what age Rashford logged his fasted speed. Do you?

 

[Apokalips]

That has to be nonsense. What's so special about footballers that they mature as sprinters at different rates to actual sprinters?

Quick check and Kyle Walker was 30+ when he set his fastest ever PL speed.

Because it most likely is nonsense, you can't make such a claim without some sort of valid evidence that this occurs in human beings as a phenomenon or some reason why footballers are subject to different physical laws than other humans or athletes.

Footballers are humans like any other athlete or person in general, the same laws apply to them so surely their speed can be improved upon in the same way sprinters do. The fact is most possibly won't work that hard on sprint and speed training but what an incredibly weird stat to make up based on nothing but their own thoughts.

There are no facts or logic about why 21 is an age that players can't get faster, can they also not get stronger? Does something happen to their musculature that prevents them developing explosiveness after 21? 21 is a very young age to peak physically. Also running technique and efficiency can improve to make one faster which would come through dedicated training, most players would never have worked with a speed or sprint coach unless they seek one out so they just run how is natural to them, hence why many may not appear to improve speed but surely they would have the potential to improve to a level.

I notice that many fans come out with weird pseudoscience about footballers physiques and present opinions as facts without giving any real evidence to back up the thought process.

 

[Dominos]

That has to be nonsense. What's so special about footballers that they mature as sprinters at different rates to actual sprinters?

Quick check and Kyle Walker was 30+ when he set his fastest ever PL speed.

I picked out a footballer who is famously fast to discuss at what age footballers run fastest. Didn’t think he’d be a controversial choice!

Yeah but you've picked the biggest exception of them all.

I could pick one individual to prove my side of the debate. Same logic.

Rashford. Quicker now or when he was 21?

I'm not sure how common injuries are for sprinters however I assume nothing like how common they are for footballers.

This may be the key difference between the most common peak age.

You can't convince me Rashford, Rooney, Martial for example are faster in their late 20s than they were late teens or early 20s. Why? I assume each injury no matter how minor is taking a % of athleticism away from these players. They all got slower and I don't think that's particularly uncommon, despite Kyle Walker's freakish longevity.

You have to remember sprinters are working years to take 0.1 seconds off their 100m record. So whilst sprinters can technically get faster, for all practical purposes in the context of footballers peak pace, whatever they have at 21 is basically the best they'll realistically get.

Footballers working on their sprinting to get a tiny bit faster into their late 20s is likely going to be offset by injuries taking something away from them. And if they do get faster it will be negligible anyway.

 

[Marwood]

You’ve decided he’s “the biggest exception of them all” because that suits your argument. I just provided data instead of forming opinions based on vibes.

I have no idea what age Rashford logged his fasted speed. Do you?

Do you know Walkers speed at 21? Were they even clocking top speeds properly back then?

But the point is using one single footballer to prove a point about footballers in general is just a bit silly.

 

[Marwood]

I'm not sure how common injuries are for sprinters however I assume nothing like how common they are for footballers.

This may be the key difference between the most common peak age.

You can't convince me Rashford, Rooney, Martial for example are faster in their late 20s than they were late teens or early 20s. Why? I assume each injury no matter how minor is taking a % of athleticism away from these players. They all got slower and I don't think that's particularly uncommon, despite Kyle Walker's freakish longevity.

You have to remember sprinters are working years to take 0.1 seconds off their 100m record. So whilst sprinters can technically get faster, for all practical purposes in the context of footballers peak pace, whatever they have at 21 is basically the best they'll realistically get.

Footballers working on their sprinting to get a tiny bit faster into their late 20s is likely going to be offset by injuries taking something away from them. And if they do get faster it will be negligible anyway.

Yeah that's the biggest difference.

Years of training nothing but speed day in day out to strip 0.1 off over a straight line 100m.

Simply not comparable to a footballers training or the type of running they do in a game.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Do you know Walkers speed at 21? Were they even clocking top speeds properly back then?

But the point is using one single footballer to prove a point about footballers in general is just a bit silly.

They’ve been clocking them since 2021. His fasted recorded speed was in 2023. There’s not a single 21 year old in the top 5.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Watching footballers for decades. Who gets faster in their mid to late twenties?

I've no doubt Obi will get faster over the next few years but I highly doubt he'll just keep getting quicker and quicker right up to his late 20's.



When you pick out the exception, the guy everyone is amazed at for maintaining his speed into his 30's, what would that tell you?

Footballers don't run in straight lines, on tracks, without contact. A footballers speed is linked to agility.

The thing is, many have been watching football for decades, including myself. It’s not that I think you are completely wrong, but without data this could just be our perception that is skewed too. Not disregarding it, just saying it’s a bit difficult to prove without data.

 

[golden_blunder]

I think that Barcelona does it on a consistent basis. Yamal, earlier there were very similar cases with Pedri, Gavi, Fati to name a few…

Less physical demands

 

[Marwood]

The thing is, many have been watching football for decades, including myself. It’s not that I think you are completely wrong, but without data this could just be our perception that is skewed too. Not disregarding it, just saying it’s a bit difficult to prove without data.

Yeah maybe.

I find the demand for data in debates a bit of an end point really. Specific to this debate I don't think speed data was even properly collected until a few years ago. I've also got a 20min downtime at work, fancied a bit of football chat. Really don't have the energy to start researching peer reviewed data.

And I also trust myself to be able to see if a player has got faster or slower. There's something a bit robotic and sad about needing data to give an opinion on something so straightforward.

I obviously hope Obi gets quicker. It would really help him.

But I also think it's very feasible he just turns out to be a player who isn't particularly quick.

 

[Marwood]

They’ve been clocking them since 2021. His fasted recorded speed was in 2023. There’s not a single 21 year old in the top 5.

So you don't know how fast he was at 21 but you're telling me for sure Walker was faster in his 30's and that therefore is true of most footballers. That in no way was anyone really impressed by Walker maintaining such speed late into his career and that's a pretty normal thing for footballers to do in their 30's.

Come on. You can't be going there just to win an Internet debate.

You know Walker was more an exception than a norm.

Re the bolded, so what? What's that got to do with anything. I didn't say only 21 year olds are fast or they immediately start declining post 21.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

So you don't know how fast he was at 21 but you're telling me for sure Walker was faster in his 30's and that therefore is true of most footballers. That in no way was anyone really impressed by Walker maintaining such speed late into his career and that's a pretty normal thing for footballers to do in their 30's.

Come on. You can't be going there just to win an Internet debate.

You know Walker was more an exception than a norm.

Re the bolded, so what? What's that got to do with anything. I didn't say only 21 year olds are fast or they immediately start declining post 21.

I’m telling you Walker ran quicker in 2023 (aged 30+) than he did in the previous 2 years. That’s all.

For someone who claims to be far too busy to check any of these stats you sure are writing a lot of posts laughing at people who took the minute or two to check actual data.

 

[Marwood]

I’m telling you Walker ran quicker in 2023 (aged 30+) than he did in the previous 2 years. That’s all.

For someone who claims to be far too busy to check any of these stats you sure are writing a lot of posts laughing at people who took the minute or two to check actual data.

So absolutely nothing to do with my opinion most players are as fast as they'll become by about 21.