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Radamel Falcao Colombia flag

2014-15 Performances


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5.4 Season Average Rating
Appearances
29
Goals
4
Assists
5
Yellow cards
2
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NoLogo

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I can't remember why I joined this war.
Buying him will only make sense if we get rid of RvP but that doesn't seem likely to happen under van Gaal. I'm also not a big fan of paying so much money for a 29 year old. After the Berba deal our club actually decided not to spend so much money anymore on players that are 27+ years old and I actually think that's a wise decision. But let's see if he starts banging them in like there is no tomorrow and his health stays stable it might be worth reconsidering this stance.
 

bugmat

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Apparently Falcao should have scored 5 goals by now to not be a flop. He has contributed to 3 goals in 200 or so minutes in his first year in PL football after a long recovery from injury. Give him time before you come to conclusions.
This. The man has been good for someone just recovered from a cruciate injury. 1 goal 2 assists. Better than TV.
 

Annahnomoss

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People really have no clue about who he is as a footballer if they complain about him shooting too much. If you look at the 70 goals he scored from Atletico, remove the penalties, then basically 60% are easy tap ins where he's played completely free, 35% are world class finishes from areas where "he was selfish if he shot" and 5% is more adventurous goals.

He'll shoot when there's some other option every now and then - but let him, that is what we bought him for. His only absolutely world class skill is his strength, goal poaching and finishing. Just let him shoot and be on his side, he's shown it works for him.
 

PvsNP

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How come he went unnoticed in all this time? I mean he came to Europe when he was 23. That's a bit late, isn't it. You would've thought that a player with his natural striker instinct and abilities would've been more wanted. Nevertheless, I'm so happy he's here now.
 

DannyDash

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How come he went unnoticed in all this time? I mean he came to Europe when he was 23. That's a bit late, isn't it. You would've thought that a player with his natural striker instinct and abilities would've been more wanted. Nevertheless, I'm so happy he's here now.
He has really caught the main public probably after his Europa league exploits with Porto. Your right 23 is a bit late but as soon as he set foot on Europe he was consistently scoring 20+ every season.
How can he be regarded as unnoticed, the prem is made of players being imported from the top European leagues. Therefore these players are known as they could be on the verge of playing in the Prem soon. He was wanted but everyone at the time didn't need a striker except for Chelsea. Falcao in 2012 was the best striker in the world, simple as that...
 

PvsNP

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He has really caught the main public probably after his Europa league exploits with Porto. Your right 23 is a bit late but as soon as he set foot on Europe he was consistently scoring 20+ every season.
How can he be regarded as unnoticed, the prem is made of players being imported from the top European leagues. Therefore these players are known as they could be on the verge of playing in the Prem soon. He was wanted but everyone at the time didn't need a striker except for Chelsea. Falcao in 2012 was the best striker in the world, simple as that...
Oh, I can see I wasn't too clear on what I meant. What I meant by unnoticed was that no other club than Porto were scouting him while he was at River Plate. The same goes for Jackson Martinez. He came to Porto at the age 26 and he's been scoring for fun ever since. Even a legend like Batistuta was discovered a bit late.

It just baffles me how a player like him didn't get more attention while he was playing in Argentina.
 

izec

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Oh, I can see I wasn't too clear on what I meant. What I meant by unnoticed was that no other club than Porto were scouting him while he was at River Plate. The same goes for Jackson Martinez. He came to Porto at the age 26 and he's been scoring for fun ever since. Even a legend like Batistuta was discovered a bit late.

It just baffles me how a player like him didn't get more attention while he was playing in Argentina.
Just because you score 20 goals for River, it doesnt mean you will end up as a world beater. Di Maria ended up at Benfica too, thats the way it goes nowadays. It is also better for them to go to these clubs, to establish themselves first in a lower european league and then go to a top club. There was this 3rd party ownership thing too with Falcao and most of the other south american players have that too. I am sure someone knows more about it.
 

11101

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Costa's been on/off injured ever since the end of last season. According to Mouriniho he's barely able to train inbetween matches. Doesn't seem to be holding him back does it?
Costa is in a team performing at top capacity though, and it's all being set up to feed him chances. Look how many times Chelsea get the ball to him in the box this season.

Di Maria and Herrera also play in different positions, so it's a difficult comparison there too. They will naturally be involved in a game far more than a box predator.

Falcao is clearly rusty, but his movement is still excellent and that's key. He is finding pockets of space all over but we're just not spotting them as a team yet, and he's not always finishing them when we do. Once we get sorted and start getting the right balls in to him im sure he will come good. Its telling that none of our other established world class strikers are looking particularly world class at the moment either.
 

PvsNP

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I_live_cement

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Guess I was wrong about that. Just found these articles:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...een-great-Arsenal-favours-La-Liga-switch.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...2617984/Tottenham-line-up-bid-for-Falcao.html

Linked to both Arsenal and Tottenham back in 2008. Was even dubbed the Colombian Rooney. Didn't recall any clubs being linked to him back then, tbh.
We we're linked to him too:

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/united-and-real-in-falcao-hunt.209442/

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/falcao.209617/
 

DannyDash

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Oh, I can see I wasn't too clear on what I meant. What I meant by unnoticed was that no other club than Porto were scouting him while he was at River Plate. The same goes for Jackson Martinez. He came to Porto at the age 26 and he's been scoring for fun ever since. Even a legend like Batistuta was discovered a bit late.

It just baffles me how a player like him didn't get more attention while he was playing in Argentina.
Oh I see, I get ya now. izec is right, the transition from south america to europe is huge and the best route tends to be via Portugal. I think he also had a bad injury there and maybe was a risk for clubs. The norm has changed now, players are coming over at 18-20 and really stalling. Jackson was a late one like you said. Sometimes it works sometimes or doesn't and I don't think it depends on how many you score before Europe either but Falcao made he right decision until moving to Monaco on his prime
 

Nights

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Costa's been on/off injured ever since the end of last season. According to Mouriniho he's barely able to train inbetween matches. Doesn't seem to be holding him back does it?
Firstly, Costa didn't do his ACL. It's a completely different level of injury to Falcao. Costa's also come off the back of a great season with Atletico. And finally Costa's joined a Chelsea squad that is settled and firing on all cylinders. Compare that with our squad which is basically just learning how to play together. I don't think even with his pricetag, we should be expecting Ronaldo/Messi type numbers from him, even when he's fully on song. He'll come good, and if he ends up getting anywhere close to a goal a game in the EPL, he'll be worth the pricetag.
 

LR7

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I think Falcao will be far more productive if he's made the focal point of the team. This whole situation with him Rooney and RvP needs sorting as it isn't getting the best out of the three of them or the team when they're all playing together. I don't think LvG has any intention of it though as he spoke about Falcao and RvPs relationship improving recently and Rooney will be straight back in the team when he's available (and rightly so).
 

MDFC Manager

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I think Falcao will be far more productive if he's made the focal point of the team. This whole situation with him Rooney and RvP needs sorting as it isn't getting the best out of the three of them or the team when they're all playing together. I don't think LvG has any intention of it though as he spoke about Falcao and RvPs relationship improving recently and Rooney will be straight back in the team when he's available (and rightly so).
This. Play him as a 9 and watch him score a shit load. His movement inside the box is phenomenal.
 

Escobar

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We need him to have strong players behind him that can create all kind of changes. That is how you will see him strive and the good thing is, we're surely getting there
 

Ducklegs

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This is going to sound facetious,but the person to ask is Martin O'Neil.

He was offered Falcao, and chose to sign Heskey instead.

Now, regardless of how laughably inept that makes him look as a talent spotter, there must of been a thought process as to why he was not interested.

One of the criticisms of Falcao or should I say, one of his weaknesses, is that he does not play particularly well with his back to goal, he is 100% and out and goal scorer, and supposedly is not great with his build up play.
Perhaps for most managers, having someone who is just a complete goal machine regardless of how many they score, isnt enough.
 

buckooo1978

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I think Falcao will be far more productive if he's made the focal point of the team. This whole situation with him Rooney and RvP needs sorting as it isn't getting the best out of the three of them or the team when they're all playing together. I don't think LvG has any intention of it though as he spoke about Falcao and RvPs relationship improving recently and Rooney will be straight back in the team when he's available (and rightly so).
I totally agree

we need to treat Falcao like we did Ronaldo or even RVP in his first season

now he's off the mark just watch him go - i can't wait to see his pace and movement unsettle the Chelsea defence
 

LonelyFire

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This is going to sound facetious,but the person to ask is Martin O'Neil.

He was offered Falcao, and chose to sign Heskey instead.

Now, regardless of how laughably inept that makes him look as a talent spotter, there must of been a thought process as to why he was not interested.

One of the criticisms of Falcao or should I say, one of his weaknesses, is that he does not play particularly well with his back to goal, he is 100% and out and goal scorer, and supposedly is not great with his build up play.
Perhaps for most managers, having someone who is just a complete goal machine regardless of how many they score, isnt enough.
Ive heard that line of thought before but never bought into it. Granted, we have seen little of him comparatively so far, however, one of the most impressive aspects of his performances so far have been how strong he is on the ball and ability to lay off to those around him. Im not concerned one bit about his hold up play.
 

Firstouch20

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I totally agree

we need to treat Falcao like we did Ronaldo or even RVP in his first season

now he's off the mark just watch him go - i can't wait to see his pace and movement unsettle the Chelsea defence
His pace is nothing special. He is pretty slow actually.
 

rotherham_red

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This is going to sound facetious,but the person to ask is Martin O'Neil.

He was offered Falcao, and chose to sign Heskey instead.

Now, regardless of how laughably inept that makes him look as a talent spotter, there must of been a thought process as to why he was not interested.

One of the criticisms of Falcao or should I say, one of his weaknesses, is that he does not play particularly well with his back to goal, he is 100% and out and goal scorer, and supposedly is not great with his build up play.
Perhaps for most managers, having someone who is just a complete goal machine regardless of how many they score, isnt enough.
That sounds more like Costa at the World Cup than the Falcao we see today. He's been brilliant at keeping the ball under pressure and bringing others into play. In fact, more than his ability in the box, it's been that aspect of his play which has been most impressive... Cos I too, had heard that he was nothing more than a box player, and it was also for this reason that I was, and still am, concerned with the sale of Welbeck because of what he could offer tactically which was unique when compared to the rest of the strikeforce we have.
 

Ducklegs

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Ive heard that line of thought before but never bought into it. Granted, we have seen little of him comparatively so far, however, one of the most impressive aspects of his performances so far have been how strong he is on the ball and ability to lay off to those around him. Im not concerned one bit about his hold up play.
Yes he has done very well in the respect I agree.
 

GE

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Focks sake. The last thing we need is another glass player.

Hope they don't risk him. He should have stayed in England.
 

The Red Thinker

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What has he shown since 2012/2013 for us to be lucky with him? Doubt he is any/much better than Rooney atm.
You seem to forget the fact that he was devastatingly good in 2013. Which is LAST YEAR. 11goals in 20 For Monaco after moving from Atleti scoring 28 league goals 34 matches (last year). Then, he's been out of action for 7 months since the beginning of 2014. Hailed as the best number 9 in the game till January THIS year. Some people have really, really short memories.
 

Sammyjunn

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You seem to forget the fact that he was devastatingly good in 2013. Which is LAST YEAR. 11goals in 20 For Monaco after moving from Atleti scoring 28 league goals 34 matches (last year). Then, he's been out of action for 7 months since the beginning of 2014. Hailed as the best number 9 in the game till January THIS year. Some people have really, really short memories.
Since 2012/13 in that part I included the Atletico performances he hadn 11 goals in 20 isnt really special for a player of his calibre, and like 3 of then were pens. He is a good player but I doubt he will make us much better than we were without him, ofcourse we have more depth now (in terms of quality) but if we'd put Rooney up front we wouldnt have a problem/it wouldnt be less. Huge difference compared to di Maria.
 
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