Have we or any other club ever been so stacked with attacking talent as what we currently have?

Joined
Jun 26, 2014
Messages
21,604
Location
Behind the right goal post as "Whiteside shoots!"
I think the op’s emphasising the blend of depth and quality, rather than the quality full stop. I can’t remember many teams having the ability to field 2 top class front threes in the way we can currently.
Of course @Fortitude is.. he couldn’t be clearer. But as with almost every thread, it becomes a pissing contest and ‘Mbappe is better than Cavani’ or ‘xxxxx is better than yyyyyy’.

The op is about the depth to our second string (and third). Which right now is “stacked”.
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2014
Messages
21,604
Location
Behind the right goal post as "Whiteside shoots!"
this season in the league ...

Iccardi - 5 games and 3 goals (A goal every 94 mins)
Cavani 1 game 0 goals

time for that to change round but hard to argue that Cavabni has been better so far... Iccardi on the other hand has been pretty good
Last season. League goals.

Icardi (one “c”) 7 goals in 20.

Cavani 10 in 26.
 

11101

Full Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Messages
21,203
We have lined up with the following before (far from accurate formations i know):


2008: Ronaldo (Giggs) - Rooney (Saha) - Tevez (Nani)

1999: Giggs (Cruyff) - Yorke (Sheringham) - Cole (Solksjaer) - Beckham (Blomqvist)

1996: Giggs (Sharpe) - Cole (McClair) - Cantona (Scholes) - Beckham


Our current lot look excellent on paper but in reality there are some flaws:

Ronaldo - clearly world class, though not the player he once was.
Cavani - still very good but not world class anymore.
Rashford - very good, but we know by now he wont ever be a top tier player.
Greenwood - looks an incredible talent but 19 and still to go above 10 goals in a season.
Sancho - another great talent who has yet to settle and show anything here.
Bruno - no arguments here. Would get in any SAF side.
Pogba - world class when he's on it, as he currently is. Will he stay there?
Lingard - :lol:

That's potentially a great attack but the challenge is getting all those names to play at or near their peak at the same time. SAF managed it three times. In the current lot you've only got two definitely at their peak, and another two arguably there. If Greenwood and Sancho can get there and Pogba can maintain his current form, then you're talking.
 
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
1,424
Everyone sleeping on Diallo… he might end up becoming one of the best signings we’ve made. Just needs patience and chances.
 

Longshanks

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2020
Messages
1,752
Real Madrid with Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and Raul. 4 geniune world class attacking talents.
 

RedStarUnited

Full Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
8,083
Madrid 2011/2012

Main attackers had...
Name
Goals
Assist
Goals and Assist
Ronaldo
60​
15​
75​
Benzema
32​
19​
51​
Higuain
26​
13​
39​
The same team also had....
Name
Goals
Assists
Goals and Assist
Ozil
7​
28​
35​
Kaka
8​
16​
24​
Di Maria
7​
17​
24​

Let's be honest, we are not getting anywhere close to this output this season so you can forget about the 'any other club ever' part.
 

RoyH1

Full Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
5,887
Location
DKNY
Madrid 2011/2012

Main attackers had...
Name
Goals
Assist
Goals and Assist
Ronaldo
60​
15​
75​
Benzema
32​
19​
51​
Higuain
26​
13​
39​
The same team also had....
Name
Goals
Assists
Goals and Assist
Ozil
7​
28​
35​
Kaka
8​
16​
24​
Di Maria
7​
17​
24​

Let's be honest, we are not getting anywhere close to this output this season so you can forget about the 'any other club ever' part.
Those numbers are absolutely bonkers. 3 players with 25 plus goals is incredibly rare, but one of them scoring 60 on the same season is unheard of.
 

Tallis

Full Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
982
As others have said, our attacking depth is not the best in history.

However, we are pretty strong and can add the likes of Amad, Elanga.Mejbri, Shoretire and McNeil.
 

Gio

★★★★★★★★
Joined
Jan 25, 2001
Messages
20,297
Location
Bonnie Scotland
Supports
Rangers
Yeah, that’s ridiculous. You got any others that come to mind?
Struggling beyond what's already been suggested. Milan 92/93 were pretty stacked - Van Basten, Gullit, Papin, Massaro, Serena, Savicevic. Barca late 50s had some attack as well - Kubala, Kocsis, Czibor, Evaristo with Suarez pulling the strings, as did Real at the same time naturally with Gento, Puskas, Di Stefano and Kopa.
 

Fortitude

TV/Monitor Expert
Scout
Joined
Jul 10, 2004
Messages
22,406
Location
Inside right
Struggling beyond what's already been suggested. Milan 92/93 were pretty stacked - Van Basten, Gullit, Papin, Massaro, Serena, Savicevic. Barca late 50s had some attack as well - Kubala, Kocsis, Czibor, Evaristo with Suarez pulling the strings, as did Real at the same time naturally with Gento, Puskas, Di Stefano and Kopa.
Obviously, the first team attack is important, but what it can be replaced with without dips in quality was the intention of the thread, which seems to have lost its way a bit.

Funny when thinking of epic attacks through the years, thoughts don’t really go much further than what the 1st xi’s do, but our depth currently had me wonder about that in particular.
 

Revan

Assumptionman
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
Messages
49,419
Location
London
Those numbers are absolutely bonkers. 3 players with 25 plus goals is incredibly rare, but one of them scoring 60 on the same season is unheard of.
Then this will blow your mind even more. Barca 2014-2015: Messi 58 goals, Neymar 39 goals, Suarez 25 goals. 122 goals coming from 3 players, 4 more than from that Madrid attack. I do not have the assist numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised if they lead there too.
 

Siorac

Full Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
23,789
I don't think you can really directly compare then to now though in terms of pure goalscoring, as the game and particularly the defending has changed a lot. Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez in today's game could be getting 20+ league goals a season each in a good enough team.
I'm not quite sure 'the game has changed' argument really holds. In the following season, 2009/10, we scored 86 and Chelsea were champions with a whopping 103 goals.

In 08/09, our attack just rarely ever clicked, despite all the big names, and we played quite conservatively for most of the season.
 

RooneyLegend

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
12,963
I'm not quite sure 'the game has changed' argument really holds. In the following season, 2009/10, we scored 86 and Chelsea were champions with a whopping 103 goals.

In 08/09, our attack just rarely ever clicked, despite all the big names, and we played quite conservatively for most of the season.
Berba ruined us
 

RoyH1

Full Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
5,887
Location
DKNY
Then this will blow your mind even more. Barca 2014-2015: Messi 58 goals, Neymar 39 goals, Suarez 25 goals. 122 goals coming from 3 players, 4 more than from that Madrid attack. I do not have the assist numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised if they lead there too.
That's downright ludicrous. Those Spanish giant teams of the 10's were stacked beyond belief which I suppose answers the OP's question. Yes, other teams have been stacked with even more attacking talent than we have.
 

RooneyLegend

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
12,963
At some point we had Yorke, Cole, Ole, Sheringham, Giggs, Becks and Scholes supporting from midfield. Goals were everywhere.
 

RooneyLegend

New Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
12,963
Then this will blow your mind even more. Barca 2014-2015: Messi 58 goals, Neymar 39 goals, Suarez 25 goals. 122 goals coming from 3 players, 4 more than from that Madrid attack. I do not have the assist numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised if they lead there too.
Those 3 scored more the season after iirc.
 

dinostar77

Full Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Messages
7,198
Italian clubs in the late 80s and early 90s. Had the three foreigner rule so players couldnt even make the bench but had to be in the stands. AC Milan had such attacking talent it was ridiculous as did Juventus etc.

Quite a myopic view from opening post but probably unintentionally.
 

Mentality Monsters

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Aug 16, 2021
Messages
160
Can this be added onto club honours and Oles CV?

Manchester United - Most Stacked Attacking Talent Ever Champions 1863 - 2021

Revisit this when we actually win something, let alone anything of note.

Ridiculous thread.
 

hobbers

Full Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
27,359
Ronaldo
Pogba Bruno Greenwood

Cavani
Rashford VdB Sancho

Martial
Elanga Lingard Amad​


Quite stacked.
 

Gonçalo Motta

Full Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2013
Messages
626
Location
Porto, Portugal
Ronaldo
Pogba Bruno Greenwood

Cavani
Rashford VdB Sancho

Martial
Elanga Lingard Amad


Quite stacked.
Yeah, that frontline would give a good fight just outside the relegation zone.

We have good talent but the only title win frontline that I see there is the first one with Ronaldo.
 

lysglimt

Full Member
Scout
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
15,105
Surely Nottingham 92/93

After selling Sheringham - they had :

a) Gary Bannister - 32 years old - had spent the last 2 seasons on-loan at WBA in what today is the League 1 and only scored 18 goals in 72 matches
b) Robert Rosario - 27 years old - scored an amazing 18 goals in 126 matches for Norwich before leaving for Coventry and scoring 8 goals in 55 matches
c) Lee Glover - 22 year old - had scored 4 goals in about 40 matches when the season started
d) Jason Kaminsky - 20 years old - unfortunately most famous for drinking himself to death at the age of 31 - which started after not being able to cope with being released from Forest.
e) Paul McGregor - 18 years old - who actually was semi-successful as a musician

The best attacking line-up in the P.L ever :)
 

DoomSlayer

New Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2019
Messages
4,875
Location
Bulgaria
We are so stacked in attack, that we couldn't score a single goal in our last game. Too many forwards going in each others' way, I suppose.
 

LawmanMan

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Aug 24, 2021
Messages
200
And with so little to show for it in terms of attacking play?

We are miles behind the Tevez-Rooney-Ronaldo axis, BTW.
 

Fortitude

TV/Monitor Expert
Scout
Joined
Jul 10, 2004
Messages
22,406
Location
Inside right
I guess this thread is evidence that opening posts are rarely read, for the amount posts bypassing even the opening sentence.

Ah well. Would at least make sense if said OP didn't explicitly state this isn't about the accomplishments of starting xi's in isolation as of course what we then have would not warrant a thread.