[Schmeichels pinky]

err..

Yes, that was broadly recognised in the football world as his main strength before joining us. Last season he lived up to that assessment. This season he’s had tons of problems, but one of his only good stats is xg/shot.

 

[Pexbo]

I think he can go really far. Ideally as far as fecking possible.

 

[JBG]

The poor touch was indicative of what he is as a footballer, just bad.

He had ages to see Mainoo won the ball and to anticipate the pass, the pass was fine, the defender wasn't harassing him. It should've been a simple touch, swivel, hit and he couldn't manage it.

That situation right there was just horrible and almost a "picture" of why our attack is so toothless and why we ended up where we did in the PL and also why we couldn't score in the EL final. Because we have him up top, said it a couple of times here, I started this season being positive towards him and thinking he will kick on from last season and get even more goals and then that turned into blind hope from me and now I'm sitting here with a realisation that he's just shit.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

He did so some good stuff today. Mount should have buried the header and Hojlund also put in a cracking low cross later on. I can still see a footballer in there somewhere. I just pray to god we don’t go another season with him as our main man at 9. For our sake and for his. Because that is a completely insane situation for us to end up in, even for just one season. Ending up like that twice in a row would be so close to deliberate self harm that the shareholders would probably deserve a written explanation.

 

[Escobar]

I hope that was his last game for us. Hopeless

 

[Shark]

That situation right there was just horrible and almost a "picture" of why our attack is so toothless and why we ended up where we did in the PL and also why we couldn't score in the EL final. Because we have him up top, said it a couple of times here, I started this season being positive towards him and thinking he will kick on from last season and get even more goals and then that turned into blind hope from me and now I'm sitting here with a realisation that he's just shit.

Putting all of our misfortunes down to one player isn't the way to go, but he's so incredibly poor that it's kind of a special case. I'm not sure he'd even be flying at championship level. Having a striker like him up top significantly disintegrates our chances of picking up points, unless you have a side that has goals all over the pitch. We simply don't have that.

 

[L1nk]

There's definitely something about the guy. In his first season he showed some promise, and this season he barely resembles a footballer. To me it's a little more complex than he's just shit, cause I certainly didn't think that way in his first season.

 

[Cassidy]

I’ve probably written more than ten posts about it and can’t bother to elaborate but keywords are speed, finishing and mentality.

Ha fair enough.

Not sure I agree with mentality but finishing is fair usually for him

 

[Marwood]

So a debut season with 10 Prem goals and 6 in Europe while showing promise is worse than Weghorst now? It’s obvious his horrible form this season has a lot to do with the team in general - otherwise he wouldn’t have done so much better in his first season.

He didn't score in his opening 15 league games last season. Had a 6 game scoring spell. Then the goals dried up again.

In the league his entire season was that 6 game spell.

It should have been alarm bells ringing for all of us. Not top boot him out but to realise that's not a performance level we can bank on and he needs support and time not being first choice.

 

[Bole Top]

he should be sold as soon as possible, while there are still clubs that remember those few goals from his first season.

if he was brought for cheap like Chica or he came from academy, loaning him to see whether he can learn anything in smaller club would be a much easier decision to made.

but he was soooooo expensive that another similar season ends all hopes of us getting the offer that would be considered decent.

 

[Adz_99]

He's truly bloody awful and getting worse by the week.

I think his ceiling is an awful lot higher than he's shown this season though. Last year he was basically fine but this year he doesn't even look Championship level. A fresh start in Spain or Italy and he'll look like a competent footballer again.

 

[BarstoolProphet]

There's definitely something about the guy. In his first season he showed some promise, and this season he barely resembles a footballer. To me it's a little more complex than he's just shit, cause I certainly didn't think that way in his first season.

Was quite evident today watching live that the other players deliberately looked for other options than to pass to him. Can't blame them either, because he looks quite lost out there at times, but at the same he has entered an evil circle.

 

[Oranges038]

There's definitely something about the guy. In his first season he showed some promise, and this season he barely resembles a footballer. To me it's a little more complex than he's just shit, cause I certainly didn't think that way in his first season.

True enough, he'd have had a tap in today if Dalot wasn't useless.

It's more to do with timing of movements and players knowing when & where to play the final ball. There's no real relationship or chemistry with the players around him. Almost like they are never sure what the other is going to do.

You can see at times he goes to run the channel, but the ball doesn't get played so he just ambles back in again. He runs near post, the ball gets cut back, he holds back and it gets flashed across goal. Always seems like maybe he decides one movement and the passer thinks he should be moving the other way.
It's harder to play centre forward when there's little consistency in supply and passes.

It's also hard to play towards a centre forward that doesn't appear to have any real strengths at the minute, he's been poor in the air, poor hold up play, poor movement anticipation and positioning.

I like him, think he's better than what he's showing at the minute, but also think this could be another Forlan, Jon Dahl Tomasson situation. The team / league just doesn't suit him, he's also too young and inexperienced to lead the line for a PL team.

Probably won't get a third season to try and recover his Utd career.

 

[Denis79]

We really need a new number 9, maybe even two so we can sell or loan him out. Still can't believe the people in charge decided to go with him as our main striker for two whole seasons, insanity...

 

[Maluco]

There's definitely something about the guy. In his first season he showed some promise, and this season he barely resembles a footballer. To me it's a little more complex than he's just shit, cause I certainly didn't think that way in his first season.

It’s another reason why we need a clear out of the senior players. Rashford, Shaw, Maguire, Bruno should all go probably. They have failed to cultivate a dressing room where young players can thrive.

The club needs better and new standards need to be set and maintained. Too many good players have fallen after coming here. It’s broken and needs scraped

 

[Fortitude]

Don't know how anyone can say his worst attribute is heading; without a 1st touch, you are basically playing catch up for the majority of the time you are on the pitch. You can be a world class player without being able to head the ball, you are not going to even meet the bar of the game going on if your 1st touch is by far the worst on the pitch.

First touch sets up so many other basic fundamentals as well as the building blocks for other things you get to do with the ball.

If you can't head a ball, you can still be highly effective on a football pitch. If you can't control a football, you are prey to be hunted down, and if your first touch is truly elite, it will buy you time on the ball other players don't get to have and a respect from your opponent that alters the game both they and you can play.

Hojlund's first touch has been abysmal and led to his own teammates bypassing him and not trusting him to be able to control the ball and progress the play. Equally, it has him swarmed by opposing CB's who give him absolutely no respect as they don't fear his ability coming onto the ball.

Hojlund has a lot of things wrong with his game, but without a competent 1st touch, you cannot get by in the Premier League because everything else in your game will go to mush and have no opportunity to express itself.

Unless you're the second coming of a Hugo Sanchez or Mario Gomez - who could routinely determine games with 1-touch finishes - you're not going to get anywhere without a 1st touch that is assured and reliable enough for opponents to have to think about what they're doing.

 

[Posh Red]

There's definitely something about the guy. In his first season he showed some promise, and this season he barely resembles a footballer. To me it's a little more complex than he's just shit, cause I certainly didn't think that way in his first season.

I think that’s true for all footballers. The very best ones can master the psychological side of the game as well as the technical side. This poor bloke is in a pit of despair.

 

[Posh Red]

True enough, he'd have had a tap in today if Dalot wasn't useless.

It's more to do with timing of movements and players knowing when & where to play the final ball. There's no real relationship or chemistry with the players around him. Almost like they are never sure what the other is going to do.

You can see at times he goes to run the channel, but the ball doesn't get played so he just ambles back in again. He runs near post, the ball gets cut back, he holds back and it gets flashed across goal. Always seems like maybe he decides one movement and the passer thinks he should be moving the other way.
It's harder to play centre forward when there's little consistency in supply and passes.

It's also hard to play towards a centre forward that doesn't appear to have any real strengths at the minute, he's been poor in the air, poor hold up play, poor movement anticipation and positioning.

I like him, think he's better than what he's showing at the minute, but also think this could be another Forlan, Jon Dahl Tomasson situation. The team / league just doesn't suit him, he's also too young and inexperienced to lead the line for a PL team.

Probably won't get a third season to try and recover his Utd career.

Dalot should have done better with the pass, but his first touch when the ball was played into him after we robbed Villa under pressure sums him up, at the moment. He lacks assuredness. I feel for him, and think he needs a loan, as a minimum.

 

[Ekeke]

A loan only makes sense as a precursor to a sale in the hope he regains some value by scoring in France or equivalent. He has no future at United and is the worst regular first choice striker I have ever seen at the club. Gary Birtles, Alan Brazil, Terry Gibson, Peter Davenport, Wout Weghorst can all relax now

While I can see why you're doubting his talent and potential and I do too, a loan makes sense because hes still very young and isnt good enough right now. We never know when it might click for a player. It may never. Or it might come out of nowhere.

Just because we get someone else doesnt mean they'll do the job. Zirkzee wasnt much better and the next guy might not be much better than that. So a good loan where he does as well as most of our former players this season - Antony, Greenwood, Wan-Bisakka, McTominay level post United season he might return as our best striker option even if he doesn't turn out to have a lot of potential.

Can we afford to loan a player out that we paid that much for? Not if we're getting permanent offers for like 75% of what we paid for him. If nobody is willing to pay more than 25-30% of what we paid then it makes some sense to hold out and sell him later when hes doing better.

 

[Ted Lasso]

There's definitely something about the guy. In his first season he showed some promise, and this season he barely resembles a footballer. To me it's a little more complex than he's just shit, cause I certainly didn't think that way in his first season.

What it is, is a very normal progression for good young players. Impressive flashes when they first land on the scene, then a rough second act. What happens next is both the players and the environment. Being at this United as the one leading the line is highly unlikely to wind up magically turning him into a top striker.

He should be 3rd choice behind seasoned veterans, and maybe then he gets a chance at reaching his potential. Any proper functional team would be better for him than this United one this season

 

[Redstain]

Hopefully his last game in a United shirt.

 

[Blood Mage]

The system has undoubtedly made him look worse but even last season he wasn't good enough really. Needs to be moved on.

 

[Andycoleno9]

I hope this nightmare "project" is over now. Sell him for whatever you can and move on. And a scout who saw in him material for PL.

 

[Pexbo]

I don’t like the pressure that has been put on him this season. In an ideal world we have a world class first choice striker scoring 25+ goals a season, an alternative that is premier league proven that can get 20+, then we have an academy player like Obi picking up sub minutes and league cup matches for experience, then we have someone like Cunha who could play there in an emergency, then we have Maguire we could throw up there in an apocalypse and most importantly there is zero room left for Højlund to get a single minute.

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

He didn't score in his opening 15 league games last season. Had a 6 game scoring spell. Then the goals dried up again.

In the league his entire season was that 6 game spell.

It should have been alarm bells ringing for all of us. Not top boot him out but to realise that's not a performance level we can bank on and he needs support and time not being first choice.

I didn’t elaborate cause I’ve already spent enough time in this thread, but if you go back and read you’ll see that there’s much more to it than goal tally. This was just a quick answer to the claim that he’s been worse than Weghorst among others which is way OTT imo. He played well in many games without scoring last season and created way more chances for Garnacho, Bruno and Amad than they did for him.

 

[Steve 007]

I got him wrong, seriously wrong.

I thought he was a top talent. Today just summed up his season. Past the last defender. Didn’t do anything but hit it late and straight at the keeper.

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

There's definitely something about the guy. In his first season he showed some promise, and this season he barely resembles a footballer. To me it's a little more complex than he's just shit, cause I certainly didn't think that way in his first season.

This is exactly my impression too - he seems like a person who needs good relations on and off the pitch to thrive. The fact that Garnacho and Bruno mostly ignored his presence on the pitch his entire first season might be an indication of how he was welcomed to the team

 

[ron86]

I didn’t elaborate cause I’ve already spent enough time in this thread, but if you go back and read you’ll see that there’s much more to it than goal tally. This was just a quick answer to the claim that he’s been worse than Weghorst among others which is way OTT imo. He played well in many games without scoring last season and created way more chances for Garnacho, Bruno and Amad than they did for him.

His all round play was awful last season as well. People were saying his first touch was worse than lukakus, the only good thing was his purple patch of goals which was never sustainable. He makes bloody Paulo wanchope look like r9

 

[Bobski]

Don't know how anyone can say his worst attribute is heading; without a 1st touch, you are basically playing catch up for the majority of the time you are on the pitch. You can be a world class player without being able to head the ball, you are not going to even meet the bar of the game going on if your 1st touch is by far the worst on the pitch.

First touch sets up so many other basic fundamentals as well as the building blocks for other things you get to do with the ball.

If you can't head a ball, you can still be highly effective on a football pitch. If you can't control a football, you are prey to be hunted down, and if your first touch is truly elite, it will buy you time on the ball other players don't get to have and a respect from your opponent that alters the game both they and you can play.

Hojlund's first touch has been abysmal and led to his own teammates bypassing him and not trusting him to be able to control the ball and progress the play. Equally, it has him swarmed by opposing CB's who give him absolutely no respect as they don't fear his ability coming onto the ball.

Hojlund has a lot of things wrong with his game, but without a competent 1st touch, you cannot get by in the Premier League because everything else in your game will go to mush and have no opportunity to express itself.

Unless you're the second coming of a Hugo Sanchez or Mario Gomez - who could routinely determine games with 1-touch finishes - you're not going to get anywhere without a 1st touch that is assured and reliable enough for opponents to have to think about what they're doing.

This, individual goal records remain hugely overvalued. People ended up thinking he had an acceptable season last year purely based on his goal total, but watching him play revealed all the same weaknesses that have been so apparent this season. He is just not a good footballer outside of finishing and physical potential that he doesn't seem to know how to use.

As you say first touch, the building block of any top class professional footballer, without that as an attacking player you can't be part of the game. His teammates play and train with him, is it any wonder they don't look for him as their first option? they know he can't deal with the ball in many scenarios. So do the opposition, which is why they are so aggressive with him, you see it at every level, the guy with the baggy touch is targeted.

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

His all round play was awful last season as well. People were saying his first touch was worse than lukakus, the only good thing was his purple patch of goals which was never sustainable. He makes bloody Paulo wanchope look like r9

His first touch was one of the things that he should improve, yes. But as a big boy that’s not uncommon in young strikers. It wasn’t nearly as bad as this season, though, which shows that other things are influencing his performances.
The bolded part is simply not true. Confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance at play here, it seems. He did well in many games for a young new striker

 

[Scandi Red]

Labels and archetypes are kinda cringe, but... What striker archetype is he?

He is not an assertive goal-machine like Lewandowski and Zlatan. He is not an all-rounder like Rooney. And he's certainly not pacy and technical! I don't think he excels at anything.

 

[hellhunter]

Labels and archetypes are kinda cringe, but... What striker archetype is he?

He is not an assertive goal-machine like Lewandowski and Zlatan. He is not an all-rounder like Rooney. And he's certainly not pacy and technical! I don't think he excels at anything.

I think for Atalanta, he was something like a slower version of Chicharito. Runs in the channels and strong finishing

 

[Scandi Red]

I think for Atalanta, he was something like a slower version of Chicharito. Runs in the channels and strong finishing

Yikes. Isn't pace essential if you're gonna spend your time running in the channels?

I've never been a fan of these types of strikers. Too niche.

 

[hellhunter]

Yikes. Isn't pace essential if you're gonna spend your time running in the channels?

I've never been a fan of these types of strikers. Too niche.

I'm not an expert on Hojlund or Serie A by any means, might be totally wrong here. Think it worked well for him over there and isn't all too dissimilar to Gyokeres for Sporting, who's also not lightning quick

 

[Tallis]

Yes, he looks like a underdeveloped version of Gyokeres to me.

 

[Fortitude]

This, individual goal records remain hugely overvalued. People ended up thinking he had an acceptable season last year purely based on his goal total, but watching him play revealed all the same weaknesses that have been so apparent this season. He is just not a good footballer outside of finishing and physical potential that he doesn't seem to know how to use.

As you say first touch, the building block of any top class professional footballer, without that as an attacking player you can't be part of the game. His teammates play and train with him, is it any wonder they don't look for him as their first option? they know he can't deal with the ball in many scenarios. So do the opposition, which is why they are so aggressive with him, you see it at every level, the guy with the baggy touch is targeted.

You see it a lot with the build up that his own teammates hesitate to pass in to him and instead scan for other options and routes, which in turn makes what should be an instantaneous progression or transition a stuttery, unsure one.

So much of the first-touch action in the PL barely registers for the viewer because they've become acclimatised to a comfortable passing grade first touch from those playing in it. It's only outstandingly good or bad first touch players who draw attention quickly, whilst those with a consistently good or bad 1st touch build up a profile over time - Lukaku slots into that second category.

But when you're having balls bounce off you more often than they stick, you look like you're not a PL player. I watched the Championship playoff final and the technical level was stark for how poor it was. You have fleeting moments of technical brilliance underpinning mostly very poor quality football. An erratic 1st touch can be factored into everything at that level and obviously the technical ladder shifts again - if the ball bounces off you more often than it doesn't at that level, you're a league 1 player.

It's the same way how the leading lights in those Championship teams come up and are pilfered after proving they have a PL level of touch and ability.

So much of Rasmus' game can be assessed and deemed not PL standard, but that first touch of his really is a barrier for entry and unless it jumps up levels, there's no way he can get by in the Premier League constantly looking like a PL player, as opposed to someone who may have had the fortune to score a goal - 90 minutes of solid, contributory involvement requires a default on 1st touch that the vast majority of the league have.

 

[Marwood]

Labels and archetypes are kinda cringe, but... What striker archetype is he?

He is not an assertive goal-machine like Lewandowski and Zlatan. He is not an all-rounder like Rooney. And he's certainly not pacy and technical! I don't think he excels at anything.

I think he'd be something like Ollie Watkins, that kind of player.

But he needs more time for sure.

 

[Schmeichels pinky]

And he's certainly not pacy

https://www.manutd.com/en/amp/news/detail/rasmus-hojlund-has-already-posted-fastest-man-utd-speed

 

[Scandi Red]

https://www.manutd.com/en/amp/news/detail/rasmus-hojlund-has-already-posted-fastest-man-utd-speed

I wrote pacy AND technical. The latter is a key feature of that archetype.

 

[RedC]

Young players can easily be broken by circumstances, it doesn't mean they will never be good. He's been served a 9 course tasting menu of pure shit in terms of the situation, I feel quite sorry for him.