Nordic Ghost Yeti | Haaland at City

[Gentleman Jim]

One successful shot doesn't tell us anything. He has played for 5+ years; we need a compilation! How many long shot attempts and how many on target.

Your blind bias against him is hilarious.

It's just like the argument about whether Pep would be able to get a poor team promoted with a modest budget, a useless debate as there will never need to be an answer.
The Haaland that City need is prowling around their forward line on the shoulder of the last defender ready to use his speed, strength and instinct to carve out chances for himself or at least keep 2 or 3 defenders occupied trying to deprive him of chances.
He strikes a ball well and accurately when it's on the ground, acrobatically reaches aerial passes with head or feet and while not the best link up player around is not terrible at it for a man of his size.
Also he's nowhere near his peak performance due to his age and with top coaching and being around several top players he can be expected to add more to his game in time.

 

[Karel Podolsky]

Kimpembe in the return leg of Dortmund-PSG did the best job against him that I've seen anybody do. He basically bullied him all game. The thing with Haaland, I feel he will deal with the Shaq-effect that the NBA had where, I could be wrong, but I could see defenders being allowed to be rougher on him without getting called for fouls they normally would because of how big and strong Haaland is.

He should learn from Calvert-Lewin, Rashford, or Drogba

 

[abundance]

I think that nearly everyone who says he is just a poacher genuinely havent watched any Dortmund games. Or bothered to watch a YouTube highlight reel.

His main strength is above all positioning to break through the defensive line. Its just high football IQ. There is just no way you score at a goal per game rate in every club or national team youve palyed for without being an absolute master at reading the game. What Haaland does best is keep distance between himself and defenders, that way he is always facing the right way to receive the ball when it gets played while running at full speed. I see quite a few people suggest that because he touches the ball little, he is a liability to City, but for some reason it doesnt occur to anyone that City plays the way Pep instructs them to. Having Haaland as the final ball recepient is the feature, not a bug.

The majority of Haalands goals come after successfully breaking free from defenders to put himself in a shooting position inside the 16m area, or as a through ball. Teams just cant play a high back line against someone like that, its going to end badly every single time, so just by excisting on the pitch, teams by necessity adapt to the threat he poses for the space behind them.

This goal compilation from the Dortmund era highlights the point of Haaland being the intended recepient of the final ball. Its a mix between Haaland positioning himself in the 16m box to receive the pass, or him breaking free to either get to the ball first, or straight up creating a space for himself past the defensive line to score against the keeper. He is a striker, that the entire point of the player.

Exactly.

Haaland is 21st century alchemy: it's like someone, somewhere, in the middle of a full moon night, distilled l'esprit of Pippo Inzaghi and infused with it a synthetic body with the size of Luca Toni, the elasticity of Ibrahimovic, the power of Adriano, and the speed of Mbappe.

So that you have a.. thing roaming the field which can outsmart, outrun, outmuscle and outstretch any defender, and that will inexorably find the net no matter who he plays with and against.

 

[Handré1990]

Not being a sheltered 12 year old certainly helps.

Very good!

 

[Yakuza_devils]

This guy makes football and scoring goals looks so easy at elite level of world football.

He is definitely in the class of Messi, Ronaldo.

 

[Member 125398]

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For anyone who hasn’t seen his goal

That's a high boot, a red card and a 3 match ban for Evra imo.

 

[DWelbz19]

For anyone saying he wouldn’t make much of a difference to the team performance, just look how many points he’s won us already this season.

Part of that is because you lost Jesus and Sterling, to be fair. I think the overall squad and player profile balance is weaker, but Haaland in the XI is obviously a much bigger individual quality improvement.

 

[Red&Black]

maybe it's just me... but he reminds me of a balotelli that actually cares (even though his schtick is to act like he doesn't).
mario could have been somewhere in that realm of goodness, had he cared enough to do so.

 

[horsechoker]

maybe it's just me... but he reminds me of a balotelli that actually cares (even though his schtick is to act like he doesn't).
mario could have been somewhere in that realm of goodness, had he cared enough to do so.

Let's hope he tries this

 

[Samid]

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[Tom Cato]

Super salty he is not playing for us
Super happy as a Norwegian football fan. First time a Norwegian player has won the POTM award.

 

[Yorkeontop]

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[Jim Beam]

Freak of the nature, freak of a player.. However, he does leave me somewhat cold with his style. Like he is superficial and came out of the laboratory.

A bit like his club I guess.

 

[Tom Cato]

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Who holds the current records? Lewa? Messi?

 

[izec]

Who holds the current records? Lewa? Messi?

It is in the PL, no?

 

[fck]

This guy makes football and scoring goals looks so easy at elite level of world football.

He is definitely in the class of Messi, Ronaldo.

He might be in the class of Ronaldo but Messi is easily a level above and I don't see how this is even debatable.

 

[The Firestarter]

hE OnLY ScOreS iNsIDe thE bOx

 

[Nero]

Let's all repeat the exact same comments again.

 

[Hakara]

Even with a terrible hit he still always seems to score. Records are gone this season for sure.

 

[FriedClams]

hE OnLY ScOreS iNsIDe thE bOx

out of genuine interest, why did this way of talking become a thing? What started it?

 

[Eriku]

Let's all repeat the exact same comments again.

Except "he only gets goals in the 6 yard box"

 

[mu4c_20le]

He's not just a cheat code in football, but in life. A human that size should not be able to move like that.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Don’t quote me, but I think he might score goals.

 

[The Firestarter]

out of genuine interest, why did this way of talking become a thing? What started it?

twitter

 

[Samid]

Tap-in poacher

 

[Ishdalar]

He's just unreal, if injuries respect City and things don't go south he's so obviously going to have a historic season, and it's just his first one.

He has that factor from the really great players that it may look like stopping what he just did should be easy, but it's never easy for the defenders because he leads them to fail.

 

[Gazautd18]

Time to put this thread on mute.
fecking hate him

 

[Borys]

Him playing for City makes watching football less enjoyable.

 

[Nero]

Him playing for City makes watching football less enjoyable.

2 years max. It'll be over before you know it.

 

[Leftback99]

2 years max. It'll be over before you know it.

Before what?

 

[ekestubbe]

out of genuine interest, why did this way of talking become a thing? What started it?

Envy.

 

[Borys]

2 years max. It'll be over before you know it.

I'm an optimist, I hope Pep will be gone as well.
Just win the feckin CL and get out.

 

[njred]

There are some players where we all say “every time I watch him nothing happens”, but this guy isn’t one of those players that make up 99% of football.This is one of those guys that does something every time you watch him. It’s incredible.

 

[Nero]

Before what?

Before Madrid activate his clause.

 

[Sara125]

Envy.

The worst is when people were saying he wouldn’t suit City’s system like, what? Get arguably the best midfielder in the league to feed in balls to a striker who only needs one touch. Literally perfect for them.

 

[Wilt]

Before Madrid activate his clause.

Do you actually think he’d want to leave City?

 

[Eriku]

Envy.

I think he meant the aLtErNaTiNg lower and upper case letters.

 

[Ventura]

Just an 18 meter tap-in, nothing to see here

 

[Ayoba]

Now I cry

 

[Leftback99]

Before Madrid activate his clause.

He's not going to the leave the team that are likely to dominate for the foreseeable future.