Ageed. City arent playing to his strengths, which is good for us and rest of premier league.
Remains to be seen if his all round game can improve with age and experience to benzema and leodowski levels.
Nordic Ghost Yeti | Haaland at City
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Remains to be seen if his all round game can improve with age and experience to benzema and leodowski levels.
If I'm honest I think the game has evolved for the better style wise.
I remember in lockdown watching Arsenal vs Chelsea in the UCL quarter final of 2004 and the thing that stuck out to me the most was how simplistic the patterns of play were, and that was the two best teams in the country possibly Europe at the time.
Ofcourse defenders should be able to defend and keepers should be able to catch etc but I do enjoy watching even the so called lesser sides play with more tactical variety these days. These days I go and watch EFL games close to me purely because of the football the teams (close to me) play, back in the 00s I'd only go for days out with friends/family and even then I'd remember it more for the company as apposed to the football.
I still don't think he's a problem, City were moving the ball too slow through midfield, they really had only a few openings. They seemed scared of us on the counter, and reasonably so because we had a few good runs at them in the first half.
In what way? Its the same sport being played and players do the same shit now as they did a couple decades ago. If you go even further back the only difference is the severity of tackling, state of the pitches, and the back pass rule not being a thing. I don't see how any of those made football any more entertaining. I suspect your statement is nothing more than "in the good old days" nostalgic twaddle
Came here to say this, some reason City ignored him.
Teams were more equal
Ferguson would have loved this guy. And used him properly.
Imagine City drop to 3rd this season with Haaland after finishing 1st last season. Would be funny.
27 goals in 24 games even they are not playing to his strength. I know its sounds funny but result wise City actually got worse after signing him.
He was right behind the Grealish header ready to tap in. Had Grealish not got to it Haaland would have.
I for one am delighted we kept City to under 1 XG the whole game but that doesn’t mean all of a sudden Haaland isnt a really good striker.
I for one am delighted we kept City to under 1 XG the whole game but that doesn’t mean all of a sudden Haaland isnt a really good striker.
Personally think we would win the league if we had him upfront.
I don't understand the idea of them not playing his strengths, he's getting more chances than he ever did before in his career.
They're struggling to manage shots on target
A player like Bruno would love him and he'd love Bruno. He'd be trying to hit him everytime
Being able to celebrate a goal in the moment, rather than sitting and awaiting a VAR decision every single time is far more entertaining.
Tbh he was bought to get them through the knockout stages in the CL.
Haaland + Pepball has never looked a match made in heaven.
Haaland + Pepball has never looked a match made in heaven.
And that is so important. Get into the opposition heads.
Don't start slow.
Get some shots on target early.
Break quickly.
Get a few strong challenges in.
Make them nervous.
MOTD analysis explained it. Making the runs off the shoulder of the CB but ball isnt coming to him.
Also when they have a chance to play it into him quickly, they dont and choose more elaborate buildup.
Apparently Shaw removed him from his pocket last night, dipped his big stupid head into melted cheese, and ate him like a cheesy bread stick.
Its a shame he’s a blue, as he is much more suited to this United team. His pace and runs would be better utilised in our team. Anyway, I hope he enjoys watching all that possession and ball retention
Its a shame he’s a blue, as he is much more suited to this United team. His pace and runs would be better utilised in our team. Anyway, I hope he enjoys watching all that possession and ball retention
Analysis like that really annoys me. Every striker should be making dozens of runs that don’t get picked out in every game. Freeze framing footage and drawing loads of arrows on the screen make each missed opportunity look like a terrible oversight but it’s just football. The vast majority of runs like get missed. That’s life. It was the same shit with Ronaldo stans last season.
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Exactly. Every game he makes at least 3 or 4 killer runs. His guys don't make the habit of finding him. If he played with someone like Bruno he'd score 60 a year. Yeah he doesn't have the hold up and build up play ability of Aguero or Benzema but he doesn't need to have it.
Haaland is averaging more shots on target than he did in his three seasons with Dortmund.
Can't argue with City sometimes being more elaborate than needed, but also strikers will always make runs without the ball getting to them.
I think about Halland, it's as simple as it looks, just from the naked eye.
1. He's less involved in a game. On derby day he really tried to get involved, who has his touches numbers for yesterday game? Against Bournemouth, he had only 8 touches, 2 of them were completed.. - this means the team defends with 9 men, control the game with 9 men, progress the ball with 9 men ; which = to more work on others. This is confirmed by if he doesn't score city struggle alot, and city have conceded alot of chances & goals ( they defend as 9 men)
2. He stays up on the pitch. As a goal poacher he will tend to stay higher up the pitch, on derby day he really tried to come deep for the ball. Even Pep said after the game he wanted Halland to have more connection with his teammates.
What staying up the pitch does is it creates a bigger space between him and his teammates.( Ole biggest flaw in 2022, brought by Ronaldo to the team).
In turn this makes the work to create chances more harder, as you need more precise passes, crosses and you have to run more and cover more pitch size YET HE DOESN'T DO all this things his teammates have to do more to bring ball to him.
United fans can really understand it, because of Ronaldo effect, he scored all the goals in 2022 but the team scored fewer goals in general. Bruno, Rashford, Martial, Greenwood goal number went south when Ronaldo came. In City Bernado, Kdb, Gundugan, goals dried up.
City at the peak of it's powers had an EPL season when goals from Sterling 18, Aguero 21, Sane 10, Kdb 8, Bernado 6, Silva 9, Jesus 13, Fernadinho 5, Gundugan 4.
Now after Halland 21 goals it's Foden with 7 then Kdb with 3. Foden 3 goals were against United in October.
So Halland will score goals, because City will pin teams to their half alot, so the whole 10 players will be near each other, near opposition box, length of passes will be small, defensive work will be manageable as it's congested. ( Same problem now ails Liverpool, all it's games are stretched, everyone on the pitch in stretched, from defense, midfield, attack).
You know why yesterday United were so good in first half, we were so close to each other, simple passes would bypass City through midfield, yet we can all agree we were not even on gear 2 attacking wise first half. ( Unfit Martial, one leg Rashford, Bruno winger).
It's also Arsenal biggest weapon, attack as a team and defend as a team, and all in waves and packs.
So Pep has to find a way to involve Halland more, that's all. Does Halland has the skillset to be involved and still score many goals we will have to see
1. He's less involved in a game. On derby day he really tried to get involved, who has his touches numbers for yesterday game? Against Bournemouth, he had only 8 touches, 2 of them were completed.. - this means the team defends with 9 men, control the game with 9 men, progress the ball with 9 men ; which = to more work on others. This is confirmed by if he doesn't score city struggle alot, and city have conceded alot of chances & goals ( they defend as 9 men)
2. He stays up on the pitch. As a goal poacher he will tend to stay higher up the pitch, on derby day he really tried to come deep for the ball. Even Pep said after the game he wanted Halland to have more connection with his teammates.
What staying up the pitch does is it creates a bigger space between him and his teammates.( Ole biggest flaw in 2022, brought by Ronaldo to the team).
In turn this makes the work to create chances more harder, as you need more precise passes, crosses and you have to run more and cover more pitch size YET HE DOESN'T DO all this things his teammates have to do more to bring ball to him.
United fans can really understand it, because of Ronaldo effect, he scored all the goals in 2022 but the team scored fewer goals in general. Bruno, Rashford, Martial, Greenwood goal number went south when Ronaldo came. In City Bernado, Kdb, Gundugan, goals dried up.
City at the peak of it's powers had an EPL season when goals from Sterling 18, Aguero 21, Sane 10, Kdb 8, Bernado 6, Silva 9, Jesus 13, Fernadinho 5, Gundugan 4.
Now after Halland 21 goals it's Foden with 7 then Kdb with 3. Foden 3 goals were against United in October.
So Halland will score goals, because City will pin teams to their half alot, so the whole 10 players will be near each other, near opposition box, length of passes will be small, defensive work will be manageable as it's congested. ( Same problem now ails Liverpool, all it's games are stretched, everyone on the pitch in stretched, from defense, midfield, attack).
You know why yesterday United were so good in first half, we were so close to each other, simple passes would bypass City through midfield, yet we can all agree we were not even on gear 2 attacking wise first half. ( Unfit Martial, one leg Rashford, Bruno winger).
It's also Arsenal biggest weapon, attack as a team and defend as a team, and all in waves and packs.
So Pep has to find a way to involve Halland more, that's all. Does Halland has the skillset to be involved and still score many goals we will have to see
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Yeah but when it's with a striker who's very very good in that situation, your team should try it at least once.
It goes both ways. He should be much much much more involved. He's even the only one with his physical profile, instead he played like a glorified Hernandez. I don't know how much is by design but the game has expanded the role of striker beyond running in behind. This isn't the 2000s. If that's all he did then he didn't do enough. Lumping the ball behind the last man isn't a tactic, it's an opportunity play. It won't take long before people start to ask if this is what City really needed.
This is where coaching from guardiola and his staff come in, to help make him a more rounded player.
Hes a big lad, a physique like zlatan without the technique and touch of zlatan though.
The very best no9's: leodowski, bemzema, kane and i will add a past his prime zlatan (ok more experienced and older than haaland the lot of them), can drop deep and contribute as a creator as well, bringing other forwards in their team into play. Haaland is a rough diamond. When he develops a more all round game, he will be that much more dangerous (if the has that in his locker).
I am starting to wonder if bundasliga is weaker than i thought. Sancho, Werner, Havertz and Haaland (ok hes still banging goals in), have all struggled to a degree. Whether its the intensity of the schedule or intensity of the football or some other factor.
Don't see 4-4-2 coming back, that's basically a British style, with foreign coaches and the CL I just don't see it
The guy has 21 goals in 17 games and gets compared to Werner and Sancho.
By who? Idiots?
It's sort of confusing. Does he adapt to City's style of play or does City adapt to his style or a bit of both? They won a ton of things by retaining possession, being elaborate in their build up, not giving the away the ball with risky passes. Altering this to catch Haaland's runs will imply 10 players who were brought in to play a particular style need to adapt to a different style. They'd just be better off making Haaland adapt to their style that's worked very well, even if it means fewer personal goals for him. Sort of a Ronaldo like situation.
It's not that crazy to ask are City better with/without him...as a team they are not scoring more goals that last year.
Last season they scored 99 goals in the league (2.6 per game) this season they have 46 so far (2.55 per game) so next to no different GS.
But when you think the Yeti scored a triple hattrick, something which is a complete fluke tbh. It makes you wonder... does having a pure CF suit Pepball?
Last season they scored 99 goals in the league (2.6 per game) this season they have 46 so far (2.55 per game) so next to no different GS.
But when you think the Yeti scored a triple hattrick, something which is a complete fluke tbh. It makes you wonder... does having a pure CF suit Pepball?
He is a monster should have been found on number of occasions yesterday. This City team isn't playing to his strength.
I think when a player is as effective as Haaland has proven he can be, they have to build around him and adapt to him. Real Madrid did that for Ronaldo to devastating effect and that's what City will have to do. They can still keep their possession game but they'll be more direct and more decisive in games which in my opinion would make them infinitely more dangerous. Possession does not do anything to well-drilled opposition but directness will fluster even the most disciplined group and I think we saw that yesterday. The 20 minutes that they have us the most trouble were also by far their most direct 20 mins of the game. Rest of the time
everything was in front of our players.
Only one wum in this thread used to do this.
Not all good old days is nostalgic twaddle though, today's game is full of shirt pulling and persistent diving that wasn't a thing, unlike today where if you fart they fall down, the game is much faster now and the overall general ability is better though
Teams have to evolve their style, otherwise the opposition works out how to play against them, that's partly what United failed to do before ETH arrived, think about all the "little" teams that have come to OT in the last few years and beaten us, that's because they figured out that United couldn't handle a high press very well