[7even]

I don’t see him working hard, mostly just jogging around. Every single game more or less.
His first touch is abysmal. Most of our games he’s invisible and so anonymous that it’s like we’re playing with ten men.

His attitude and the way he way wave his hands whenever he fall to the ground makes it easy to dislike him.

Probably the worst starting striker I have seen since I started to following United for over 50 years ago.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

He’s a United fan and that’s the reason we even got him ahead of PSG in the first place. I’m not surprised he wants to stay and make a success of it. I hope it’s a second season syndrome and he’ll have a bounce back season in his third.

 

[Mmm-Qatarian]

I've been an exceedingly harsh critic of Hojlund at times this season but I'm not quite as willing to write his entire career off entirely as some are. A few reasons for that:

1. He scored 10 goals last season. I don't believe he was particularly fantastic last season either but my point is that you don't get into double figures at the age of 21 in the Premier League in, honestly, a pretty crap side by being completely useless.

2. He has the raw physical attributes to be a very effective striker. By this I mean that Hojlund is tall, fairly big, and very quick for his size. I don't think he uses these attributes effectively at all but IF you can develop your positional awareness and aggression, I genuinely think you can go pretty far as a top-level striker with just these attributes even if you're very technically limited.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to make the case that he should be given another shot next season. At the very least, I'd be doing everything to get him a loan move this summer. If a team comes in with a decent offer of a permanent transfer, I'm almost certainly taking it too. I still believe you're taking a fairly big gamble on Hojlund "making it", as he still has a tonne of development to do. With that said, to use a crude phrase cited elsewhere in this thread, I do genuinely believe there's still a decent player somewhere in there with him.

Ultimately, I think the main reason Hojlund has struggled far more this season when compared to last is that he's lacked some of the aggression and fight that he had when he first joined. He's just looked so timid against pretty much every top-level centre back (and even a lot of the not top-level ones) that he's faced, in a way that he didn't look last season. I suspect this is the result of a lack of confidence caused by a dip in form leading to a vicious cycle where on reinforces the other. This is why it was such a train wreck of a decision by Murtough, Arnold and Ten Hag to spend such a large sum on an unproven young player and make him our first choice striker.

I don't ever think Hojlund will be a truly great player but I do think that if he can get some of his confidence and aggression back, he has the raw tools to at least be a pretty effective striker. As I said earlier, he's big, strong and fast, and also a very composed finisher. I'd expect him to develop his awareness as he gets older, and if he can rediscover some of the aggression he had in his early days at United he should be able to score goals for somebody.

 

[Ted Lasso]

No club with serious ambitions would entertain the idea of keeping such a poor player.

We've kept worse players far longer.

He's going to have a breakout season for a top club in about two and a half seasons. Should be eased in up until then.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

It's funny to me that there seems to be a bit of a movement supporting him staying.

I don't really care either way as long as we bring in a striker who can do the job in the first 11 but it does surprise me.

 

[Cassidy]

If Inter are serious about signing him then the club will tell him he wont play if he stays and so he will leave. If he does not listen when we sign a CF he will be told he won’t even make the squad. Amorim will be ruthless

 

[Vidooq]

Hi is confused about his contract, which is really weird. His current contract ends in 2028, with an option to extend to 2029.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Terrible purchase, but there is still a high potential player here. We are not the right club to develop him, loan mandatory sell with buyback/future % is the optional solution here.

Where exactly? In what area of his game you see high potential?

 

[Cassidy]

Where exactly? In what area of his game you see high potential?

In his price tag

 

[Andycoleno9]

In his price tag

Pretty much that. People are desperate to see something in him because of those 70 mil. He is basically Manucho but paid 70 mil instead 1 mil.

 

[Frank White]

We've kept worse players far longer.

He's going to have a breakout season for a top club in about two and a half seasons. Should be eased in up until then.

Like?

 

[Andycoleno9]

We play one game per week next year. IF things go as we plan/wish we will have for front three;
No9; Gyokeres, Zirkzee, Obi
No10; Cunha, Mbuemo, Amad, Mount, Mainoo, Bruno (optional)

Why on earth we would keep Hojlund? That would be extremely bad planning.

 

[Ted Lasso]

Like?

When you take a step back and consider things holistically, including that Rasmus has been playing for one of the worst United teams in recent history it's quite jarring to see some output comparisons , since "worse" is so subjective otherwise.

Rasmus
62 Apps 14 goals
2 seasons

Diego Forlan
98 apps 17 goals
2 seasons

Macheda
6 seasons
35 apps 5 goals

Dong Fangzou
4 seasons

Probably something to be said about Welbeck being at the club for almost 150 appearances and only 29 goals to show. Much better teams too.

By season one and the numbers , xg and all that , it does seem there's enough to warrant being just a bit more patient. Loan might work too.

 

[criticalanalysis]

Your post is a lot of hope with no rationale - it actually stands to reason he'd be a liability that gets in the way of other players given the cluelessness of his movement and positioning. Further to that, his combination play and 1st touch is even more of a hindrance in a team playing constructive football because he is an assured single point failure. Cunha can't build a plan of action off a striker who he has no idea what will and won't stick and with Hojlund, would actually be interacting with a much worse striker than he had at Wolves (imagine that) and the same goes for Mbeumo (assuming we secure his signing), suddenly both of them would be working with a striker that's considerably less dependable than the team they've come from. The potential calamity is pretty clear, I would think.

We should be avoiding that at all costs. Hojlund will have one more potential redemption arc over the summer due to the likelihood nobody actually forks up anything to take him off us, and even if they do, it'll be brinkmanship that concludes closer to the end of the window than at any reasonable time sooner, so, to my mind, he has that window during preseason to come back a new player who hits the ground running with the new players as a last chance to salvage his United career into next season, but honestly, him turning this around in the space of a 6-8 weeks would be unprecedented. Would be amazed if it doesn't take him at least until 2026 to clear the fog and get himself back on whatever track he's capable of.

I truly hope we don’t go into next season with him as our starting striker. All this talk about wanting to get back to the top would ring hollow if we’re not serious about raising the standard. You simply can’t claim to be aiming for the highest level and still rely on Hojlund as the starter after the performances he’s shown, he was arguably our worst performer last season.

To be clear, I'm not advocating for him to be our starting striker, far from it. I'm just resigning myself to the fact that there's a chance he's still going to be here next season. I am absolutely hoping myself into optimism that despite his horrific general play, I think he has some strange mental fortitude/'quality' where I think he could potentially find a new leaf. It's similar to the faith I have in Amorim because of the new transfers in/structure taking place.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

When you take a step back and consider things holistically, including that Rasmus has been playing for one of the worst United teams in recent history it's quite jarring to see some output comparisons , since "worse" is so subjective .

it’s not Rasmus has been playing in a terrible team so much as his playing makes us a terrible team.
As has been pointed out as nauseum, a halfway decent striker instead of Højlund would have meant winning games we drew, and drawing in games we lost.

 

[Ted Lasso]

it’s not Rasmus has been playing in a terrible team so much as his playing makes us a terrible team.
As has been pointed out as nauseum, a halfway decent striker instead of Højlund would have meant winning games we drew, and drawing in games we lost.

Don't distance yourself from my main point in this thread: Its easy to forget that Hoijlund was United's top scorer in his first season with us. He should be low on the list of players to dump this window . That's it.

Second season dips are as rooted in football as new manager bounces.

---
Your tangent:
As been pointed out ad nauseum, Manchester United's worst season in living memory isn't due to one single player. If you really insist on that incorrect perspective, then I'd ask why not blame Onana? Or better yet, why not Rashford? If Marcus hadn't downed tools and scored 30 goals again we'd have been a much better team too. Probably would have led to a better season for Hoijlund funnily enough

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Don't distance yourself from my main point in this thread: Its easy to forget that Hoijlund was United's top scorer in his first season with us. He should be low on the list of players to dump this window . That's it.

Second season dips are as rooted in football as new manager bounces.

---
Your tangent:
As been pointed out ad nauseum, Manchester United's worst season in living memory isn't due to one single player. If you really insist on that incorrect perspective, then I'd ask why not blame Onana? Or better yet, why not Rashford? If Marcus hadn't downed tools and scored 30 goals again we'd have been a much better team too. Probably would have led to a better season for Hoijlund funnily enough

OK Rasmus, have a nice summer.

 

[Woodywizz]

I can’t deal with another season of watching him backing into a defender and the ball then pinging 30 feet off his shin when he tries to trap it.

Will someone please make it stop.

 

[AndySmith1990]

When you take a step back and consider things holistically, including that Rasmus has been playing for one of the worst United teams in recent history it's quite jarring to see some output comparisons , since "worse" is so subjective otherwise.

Rasmus
62 Apps 14 goals
2 seasons

Diego Forlan
98 apps 17 goals
2 seasons

Macheda
6 seasons
35 apps 5 goals

Dong Fangzou
4 seasons

Probably something to be said about Welbeck being at the club for almost 150 appearances and only 29 goals to show. Much better teams too.

By season one and the numbers , xg and all that , it does seem there's enough to warrant being just a bit more patient. Loan might work too.

You've just shown he's comparable to other rubbish forwards who were nowhere near good enough for United, and then gone on to say we should be more patient with him. Can't say I understand the rationale. Why not just get rid and buy a better forward? Why must we persist with Hoilund?

Oh and the matches played stat is misleading. Most of the appearances by those players were as sub. Hoilund has been starting, so Hoilund has actually played far more minutes than Forlan despite less appearances, for example

 

[Fahad Jawaid]

He needs to be told to look for new club. Send him packing. His game at the best of times is not technically great. Considering he is at rock bottom right now. He needs to leave for his own good, needs to go to a league which is not physical for him, Where he has time and his poor touches will still allow him to get a hold of ball.

 

[Ted Lasso]

You've just shown he's comparable to other rubbish forwards who were nowhere near good enough for United, and then gone on to say we should be more patient with him. Can't say I understand the rationale. Why not just get rid and buy a better forward? Why must we persist with Hoilund?

Oh and the matches played stat is misleading. Most of the appearances by those players were as sub. Hoilund has been starting, so Hoilund has actually played far more minutes than Forlan despite less appearances, for example

If you look at Forlan as the closest example in terms of stats, the years after he moved on wound up being his most impressive.

Hoijlund was our top scorer in his first season. He's had a stinker of a second when the team as a whole has also failed miserably.

There's not a single person in the world saying Hoijlund had a good or even passable season. The sentiment is, give him a bit more time with a bit more stability around him and see.

 

[Ted Lasso]

OK Rasmus, have a nice summer.

 

[Zlatan 7]

When you take a step back and consider things holistically, including that Rasmus has been playing for one of the worst United teams in recent history it's quite jarring to see some output comparisons , since "worse" is so subjective otherwise.

Rasmus
62 Apps 14 goals
2 seasons

Diego Forlan
98 apps 17 goals
2 seasons

Macheda
6 seasons
35 apps 5 goals

Dong Fangzou
4 seasons

Probably something to be said about Welbeck being at the club for almost 150 appearances and only 29 goals to show. Much better teams too.

By season one and the numbers , xg and all that , it does seem there's enough to warrant being just a bit more patient. Loan might work too.

Your examples are players we sold because they were not good enough. Kind of supports the point to get rid of hojlund. He’s plenty old enough but not good enough

 

[Ted Lasso]

Your examples are players we sold because they were not good enough. Kind of supports the point to get rid of hojlund. He’s plenty old enough but not good enough

Unlike anyone on that list, Rasmus was United's top scorer in his first season.

We're short on true strikers. Sell the rest of the deadwood and take a gamble on another season of Rasmus. That's the preferred option for me

 

[friendlytramp]

With a rest and more confidence he’s on trajectory to be as good as Gyokeres and in a very similar mould which would suggest he’s perfect for this system. Keep or loan next season but don’t sell.

 

[lsd]

With a rest and more confidence he’s on trajectory to be as good as Gyokeres and in a very similar mould which would suggest he’s perfect for this system. Keep or loan next season but don’t sell.

I really hope comments like this are wind ups. Our standards are literally in the gutter with stuff like this

 

[Toshey]

Watching him play for Denmark proves to me that we're not the issue and the system is not the issue. Rasmus is the issue.

 

[Frank White]

Unlike anyone on that list, Rasmus was United's top scorer in his first season.

We're short on true strikers. Sell the rest of the deadwood and take a gamble on another season of Rasmus. That's the preferred option for me

You're really clinging on to this top scorer angle. He scored 10 goals, which young lad, 1st season fair enough he did decent. He followed it up with last seasons complete disaster class. Outside of him looking like he couldn't hit a barn door, he barely resembles a footballer at this point.

If we didn't spunk away the better part of 70m on him he should be definitely on the chopping block this summer, if not for the fans sanity for his own good. Looks like the shirts swallowing him, he's not the 1st person and probably won't be the last either but surely he must be aware of how shite he's become.

 

[QMaster]

I really hope comments like this are wind ups. Our standards are literally in the gutter with stuff like this

At this point it's toxic positivity coming from these fans defending him...blaming everyone and everything except the player himself.

Toxic positivity is as bad as the overly negative doomsayers....because Man Utd hasn't had a lot of success in the last 12 years or so some fans, especially newer ones, are content with mediocre results and players.

Because Hoijlund likes the club, is young and 'seems like a good lad' these fans are more than happy with him leading the line for years to come.

Some of them even try to convince us that he's really hard working on the pitch when the statistics tell us anything but that.

 

[ScholesBrain]

I think the reason for his downfall this season is his complacency.
After he had his okayish first season, he seems to think he has "made it". He focuses too much on creating celebrations and social media. He hasn't fought as hard this season as he did in his first season.

He has gone through a Rashford-esque trajectory, except that he never reached Rashford's peak and he gone through the tracjectory in 2 seasons (instead of 8 seasons for Rashford)

 

[Denis79]

I really hope comments like this are wind ups. Our standards are literally in the gutter with stuff like this

Opposition fans

 

[Captain Barnacles]

He scored 4 league goals in 32 appearances, in comparison Oli McBurnie scored 6 in 21 for a woeful Sheff Utd side, Paul Onuachu scored that for Southampton this season and neither of them cost 70 million, we could get an average championship striker that would do better than him

 

[Insanity]

At this point it's toxic positivity coming from these fans defending him...blaming everyone and everything except the player himself.

Toxic positivity is as bad as the overly negative doomsayers....because Man Utd hasn't had a lot of success in the last 12 years or so some fans, especially newer ones, are content with mediocre results and players.

Because Hoijlund likes the club, is young and 'seems like a good lad' these fans are more than happy with him leading the line for years to come.

Some of them even try to convince us that he's really hard working on the pitch when the statistics tell us anything but that.

Toxic positivity... I like that.

It has been grating. I feel for some of the older fans, like myself, it's hard to see United in this state. And it's not because I miss the glory or anything. It's the gross incompetence, profligacy and the thieving of the club that gets to me. There is no reason a behemoth like ours should be reeling in this state. fecking Glazers, Woodward, Arnold, Murtough and now these new fecking moronic overlords - all of them have combined/or are combining to kill this club.

You are 100% correct that this mediocrity had seeped into the defense of the players, managers and our style of play. The acceptance of it is really bewildering. Maybe because growing up we were never given participation trophies and got a attaboy for being below average.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Toxic positivity... I like that.

It has been grating. I feel for some of the older fans, like myself, it's hard to see United in this state. And it's not because I miss the glory or anything. It's the gross incompetence, profligacy and the thieving of the club that gets to me. There is no reason a behemoth like ours should be reeling in this state. fecking Glazers, Woodward, Arnold, Murtough and now these new fecking moronic overlords - all of them have combined/or are combining to kill this club.

You are 100% correct that this mediocrity had seeped into the defense of the players, managers and our style of play. The acceptance of it is really bewildering. Maybe because growing up we were never given participation trophies and got a attaboy for being below average.

Funny thing is that when someone is quick to see a problem they are labeled as toxic or someone having an agenda against the player. Top reds and toxic positivity go hand in hand.

 

[lex talionis]

I take a bit of a contrarian view on Hojlund. He was shit in 24/25, without question, but he actually started off fairly well for us in 23/24. He got injured, then the timbers started to fall all around him, then he felt incredible pressure to deliver even though everyone else was shit, and he never found his feet again after that bright -- not brilliant, but bright -- start. We clearly need to bring in a proper goal scorer, but Hojlund might well restore some decency if the pressure is taken off him with a proper striker getting the job done.

 

[Denis79]

I take a bit of a contrarian view on Hojlund. He was shit in 24/25, without question, but he actually started off fairly well for us in 23/24. He got injured, then the timbers started to fall all around him, then he felt incredible pressure to deliver even though everyone else was shit, and he never found his feet again after that bright -- not brilliant, but bright -- start. We clearly need to bring in a proper goal scorer, but Hojlund might well restore some decency if the pressure is taken off him with a proper striker getting the job done.

He might still rediscover his form, but if he weren’t such an expensive investment, I’d much rather see Chido-Obi given more game time and a real chance to develop. Personally, I believe he has a higher ceiling than Hojlund.

 

[Revival2024]

A top club that wants to restore its prestige moves on Hojlund. The abject standards he has set should come with ramifications. He is a striker with no box instinct. Poor reading of crosses, never makes outstanding runs behind the defense, poor first touch, Poor hold up play (even Chido is better, and he has just left the academy).

Poor at creating his own chances. 6ft plus but gets bullied regularly - smaller players like Amad are able to hold off the ball better with intelligence. Speed, which was his supposed strength, has gone to tatters. Hojlund simply must not be anywhere near the starting lineup, and he should be out of the squad. Top strikers are hard to find. The only solution is to create more chances and spread the goals across the team.

Some people blamed his lack goals on the team not creating chances for him. All top strikers create their own goals through their own good movements, hold up play, dribbling etc. He does none of that. His touch is so poor, defenders know all they need is to pressure him a little. He spends most times tussling and fighting a losing battle.

Top strikers rarely get into physical tussle. They rely on their clever movements to cause damage. They drag defenders into corridors of uncertainty, switch up their movements, whether that be dropping deep or floating to the wings or running in behind. He rarely does any of that. He stands around like a traffic cone, jogging around like a dainty daisy, waiting for a cornetto to arrive.

The club needs to set standards and be ruthless when players like Hojlund don't meet them. Manchester United is not a place for TikTok dance reels or a creche. The club needs top football stars who are serious and have the quality to boot. Rasmus is not at the expected level and should be excommunicated.

 

[tenpoless]

If he kept finding spaces / shooting but had a terrible shot to goal ratio then I'd be completely fine with it. In fact I'd drop my standard even further, if he's decent at holding the ball and bringing others into play, even if he his shot attempts is terrible, I'd still be okay with it.

But the thing is in his 2nd season he's terrible in all of those. Makes you wonder why not play Maguire there instead? at least he can hold the ball and head the ball in. It doesn't make sense to keep him now that his confidence has shattered too.

With young players you look at their raw attributes, if the raw attributes are not there then it's a red flag.

 

[Mercurial]

Wise thing would be to sell on the youth potential and hope some Italian club can take a punt. If he has another stinker it will rock bottom his value. With Gyökeres inbound and 1 game a week he will not play much. His time is up by a logical means. Else he has to bit part sub at best.

 

[AndySmith1990]

At this point it's toxic positivity coming from these fans defending him...blaming everyone and everything except the player himself.

Toxic positivity is as bad as the overly negative doomsayers....because Man Utd hasn't had a lot of success in the last 12 years or so some fans, especially newer ones, are content with mediocre results and players.

Because Hoijlund likes the club, is young and 'seems like a good lad' these fans are more than happy with him leading the line for years to come.

Some of them even try to convince us that he's really hard working on the pitch when the statistics tell us anything but that.

We could sign some chain smoking plumber who plays part time football for San Marino, and there would be a few weirdos on here who come out with shite like "I see a player in him" and "it's not his fault, we need better players around him"

It's tedious as feck reading blatant lies and delusional RAWK nonsense about incompetent United players. You'd think we were a charity, not a professional football club valued at billions