Question for the Hojlund haters and doubters

Sassy Colin

Death or the gladioli!
Joined
Jan 29, 2010
Messages
71,457
Location
Aliens are in control of my tagline & location
Agreed. He's had a decent year given his age and lack of service + plus how terrible the entire squad have been all year. Still, he's not a starting XI type player for a big club at this point in his career. He may eventually grow into such a role, but we need a striker who can knock in about 30 goals a year right now. All of this was entirely predictable when ETH began dropping big money everywhere else except on an experienced world class striker.
30 goals a year striker, eh? Who did you have in mind? And in this disfunctional team? Mbappe? I believe he's available on a free!
 

Uncle Mainoo

New Member
Newbie
Joined
May 8, 2024
Messages
42
For all the posters on here who played upfront for their football teams. Did you ever get the opportunity to blame lack of service for when you didn’t score a goal?

This new narrative that has been spun is weird to me. Looking back at my time playing football maybe I should have blamed service for all the times I went through a draught.

The label use to be atleast you’re “making” opportunities to miss. Key note “making”.
 

Raoul

Admin
Staff
Joined
Aug 14, 1999
Messages
130,704
Location
Hollywood CA
30 goals a year striker, eh? Who did you have in mind? And in this disfunctional team? Mbappe? I believe he's available on a free!
We had one last year from a player who no one thought had it in him, so anything is possible, especially if you don't blow your entire transfer budget on the likes of Mount, Hojlund, and Onana.
 

Lyng

Full Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
5,308
Location
Denmark
No, I'm expecting us to get someone else to replace those 30 goals who can do it consistently for a period of years. RVN or RVP type numbers in his first year.
Ruud would have ripped the head of our wingers by now...
 

The Purley King

Full Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
4,318
That service excuse just can't die. Every game we have a lot of crosses/low passes targeting penalty box. He isn't anywhere near of those. Are you saying that every cross or pass was shit? Our players try often through balls and Hojlund is nowhere these those? Again, are you saying that every through ball is shit?
How that service works anyway? He parks himself at one spot and Dalot or Garnacho must deliver the ball on his foot or head through 5 or 6 opposition players? Reminds me on Seinfeld's theory about magic spit which hits Kramer.



At this moment he is not even poor man's Lukaku and that same Lukaku was ridiculed among United fans.
We definitely do not have a load of dangerous crosses every game in fact that is the weakest part of our “attack”.
Every winger cuts back so often that prime inzaghi wouldn’t know when it was finally coming in.
I’m not saying hoijlund doesn’t need to improve, he does, but we have zero plan when we attack it’s just give it to our wingers and hope they do something.
Even when he scored 6 in 7 or whatever it was they were definitely not classic no9 goals. This is what we must improve to get the best out of him (or anyone who plays in that position)
 

Lyng

Full Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
5,308
Location
Denmark
That's for the club to sort out. And I suspect they will this summer.
2 options.
Either you keep this absolute shit system and manager and then you get a striker who is more of a provider for the wingers then a goalscorer, or you change the system and get new wingers or teach our current ones how to pass.

And when you have people mention R fecking 9 then you know there is an issue. If that is the quality we need in order for our striker to work then clearly its more than the striker thats the issue.
 

Raoul

Admin
Staff
Joined
Aug 14, 1999
Messages
130,704
Location
Hollywood CA
2 options.
Either you keep this absolute shit system and manager and then you get a striker who is more of a provider for the wingers then a goalscorer, or you change the system and get new wingers or teach our current ones how to pass.

And when you have people mention R fecking 9 then you know there is an issue. If that is the quality we need in order for our striker to work then clearly its more than the striker thats the issue.
Agreed. Its obvious the striker alone isn't the issue, which means the next manager will need to revamp the system with his own players. Every ETH player spare Martinez will either be pushed out or relegated to the bench in favor of whoever the next manager buys to make his system work.
 

Sassy Colin

Death or the gladioli!
Joined
Jan 29, 2010
Messages
71,457
Location
Aliens are in control of my tagline & location
2 options.
Either you keep this absolute shit system and manager and then you get a striker who is more of a provider for the wingers then a goalscorer, or you change the system and get new wingers or teach our current ones how to pass.

And when you have people mention R fecking 9 then you know there is an issue. If that is the quality we need in order for our striker to work then clearly its more than the striker thats the issue.
I repeat Mbappe is a free agent in the summer

lolzy
 

ifightdragons

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
252
Hojland?

The name is on the back of his shirt, yet our fans can't be bothered to even spell it correctly.
 

Wolfbot

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 1, 2018
Messages
105
Hard to really tell how he'll end up. Very young, inexperienced and playing in a shit team. The goals he's scored show that he does have the ability to get himself on the end of things in the box which is a great quality for a striker.

In the games I've seen though, I don't see much else to his game at PL level. He doesn't look very good at taking on players and making space for a shot, has missed a fair few easy chances as well.

I think he'd be fine as a second striker coming off the bench or into the team to cover an injury at this stage. Fact is there's far better strikers in the likes of Tony, Watkins, Wilson, Isak, Solanke playing in the league...and that's without mentioning the bigger teams.

I'm not saying any of these guys would be a striker for a league winning team, but when they are all clearly better than our 70 million pound striker, that's a problem.

The problem isn't Hojlund though, it's with the recruitment and planning as per.
 

gaffs

Full Member
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
12,942
Location
Moscow 08, Rome 09, London 11
He's a mid table player with a United fleeced price tag
If that mate.

Mid Table clubs, Bournemouth, Brighton, Wolves and Palace all have better forward options.

Hojlund has some talent, but needs serious coaching and not to be our number one option.

Ten Hag signing him at 20 for £72mil, on the back of 10 goals for Atalanta is criminal. He is an understudy, at best.

I said this when we signed him.....

I would have brought in Niclas Fullkrug from Wolfsburg, now at Dortmund. Way more experienced, refined, stronger and had a better shot on him. Older, but someone who we could have got a few years out of. I would then bring in a Hojlund under him and let him develop.
 

yamo123x

Full Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2003
Messages
3,033
Location
england
pros- he is young and has potential
with more service he may score more
enthusiastic

cons- no presence
poor first touch
always on his backside
3 injuries this year
not an instinctive natural striker
he doesnt really strike fear into our rivals or any defence
he cost 72 million
 

fps

Full Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2018
Messages
5,639

Call a spade a spade, this is shocking
Chances are a two-way street. The best strikers are in positions to have chances created, they make that happen.

Despite this, I think Hojlund's had a really promising first season. I look forward to him pushing on next season with an increased understanding with the attackers around him and hopefully at least one high quality wing signing.
 

NoPace

Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
9,504
If that mate.

Mid Table clubs, Bournemouth, Brighton, Wolves and Palace all have better forward options.

Hojlund has some talent, but needs serious coaching and not to be our number one option.

Ten Hag signing him at 20 for £72mil, on the back of 10 goals for Atalanta is criminal. He is an understudy, at best.

I said this when we signed him..... (Fullkrug)
I think he's too young to write off, but yeah, the fact that Gyoekeres, Boniface and Moffi went for like 20-25M each is pretty rough.

The Bundesliga mid-table sides don't have the money to resist moves for guys like Fullkrug, so we would have had to go outside the Prem, but relying on Martial was, as always, a bad idea. And Rashford going from passable as a 9 against high lines to seemingly being scared of contact hasn't helped.
 

Bobski

Full Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2017
Messages
10,130
Nice bright cameo. Did well for the goal, but the play that most impressed me was when he took a great touch on the turn, quickly turned right then tried to find AWB overlapping. Not a great pass but the play and awareness around it is what I want to see more of from him.
 

Leftback99

Might have a bedwetting fetish.
Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Messages
14,710
Good to see him get a goal. But we played better without him.
 

BenitoSTARR

Full Member
Scout
Joined
Sep 1, 2015
Messages
14,472
The goal was top drawer. Weak foot, under pressure, moving away from goal and slots it through legs to finish low.

Hes far from the finished article but doing that is a good sign.
 

Rightnr

Wants players fined for winning away.
Joined
Jan 25, 2015
Messages
14,764
Perfect role for him. Just not starting quality yet and may never be but with a proper coach maybe.
 

BenitoSTARR

Full Member
Scout
Joined
Sep 1, 2015
Messages
14,472
Perfect role for him. Just not starting quality yet and may never be but with a proper coach maybe.
Imagine trying to make this about Ten Hag :wenger: he just needs to be able to be rotated with a reliable alternative that isn’t Martial.
 

Ricardo de la Vega

Full Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2013
Messages
1,024
Think he's been class almost every time he plays. Strong as an ox, holds of two or three defenders, you see them physically shaken by him - and hes ALWAYS surrounded with no support. Thats why he gives the ball away sometimes, but almost everyone would. Boys going to be a player.
 

leeroyTX

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jun 23, 2023
Messages
178
Location
Houston, TX
15 goals is not nothing when you consider the lack of service. With better coaching and better wing play, I think he will easily be over 20. I think he will learn to better position himself in the box and be a better poacher. 20+ goals is very achievable next season.