Great news, he's missed some chances recently but I think he'll have a very respectable goal tally by the end of the season.
10
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 46
- Goals
- 28
- Assists
- 9
- Yellow cards
- 8
- Status
He can be a good option coming off the bench but I'd hate to see him starting 100% of our games as he has been doing and stunting the development of the likes of Rashford and Martial.
We are becoming a joke, why extending the contract of an ever declining striker who is barely good enough at the moment. Wait unter later in the season and evaluate his performances and maybe his improvements by then. If this so far is what he was required to do for us to take the option, Im baffled.
Barely good enough
Short term fix while Rashford and Martial develop and are ready to lead the line for us. Both are a few years away from that yet.
Awesome news!
We all knew it would be 2 years.
yea shoving them out of position has worked so well this year
From what i've seen so far this season extending his contract seems premature. Hopefully he has a cracking 2nd half of the season, and if he does a second year makes sense. But his decline could also continue in which case having a 36 year old striker leading the line next year would be a big mistake.
I don't like this 2nd year idea, at all.
I honestly think that this is a good thing. The sheer winning atmosphere he brings is very important in our club at the moment, and something we kind of has lost. I think he'll improve his play again and really show us what he's capable of.
If you think a striker who's costing you points by having the highest percentage of missing chances is good enough, thats your thing then.Barely good enough
He's been instrumental in our good football so I'm happy we're looking to extend his deal.
On course to be our first 20 league goal player since RVP, yet some are not happy he's gonna be here two years.
It's a great deal for everyone and was always going to be 2 years if Zlatan could first prove that he will be a 20 goal a season player in the Prem.
It's a great deal for everyone and was always going to be 2 years if Zlatan could first prove that he will be a 20 goal a season player in the Prem.
Happy with this. Done well despite the criticism, another year development for Rashford can only do him good as well
Great news.
Jose should really try him as a #10 behind Rashford or Martial. His present style of play is more of a 10 than a 9, and he ends up dropping deep anyway.
Jose should really try him as a #10 behind Rashford or Martial. His present style of play is more of a 10 than a 9, and he ends up dropping deep anyway.
It worked alright for Martial last year in that position. And well, how was our form with Rashford leading the line? Top 4... no mate.
Neither are ready yet, that's what this season has proven, feck all to do with that being "moved" or some other garbage.
Fantastic news.
Do you think we would have been better off without starting him most games this season though? Martial and Rashford have had plenty of game time and both have been pretty off form.
Brilliant news.
Don't see why people should be complaining. He has missed some absolute sitters but his overall game has been much better than first expected. Especially considering the crap performances he put into the national team before he arrived, which made me worried at the point when we signed him.
Second of all, his mentality on and off the pitch is needed beyond this season.
Don't see why people should be complaining. He has missed some absolute sitters but his overall game has been much better than first expected. Especially considering the crap performances he put into the national team before he arrived, which made me worried at the point when we signed him.
Second of all, his mentality on and off the pitch is needed beyond this season.
What the feck? he was fantastic in his last one for us. This place is really going to the shitter.
This is great news. we have no other option of his class.
Shoving them out wide is still giving them games because Rashford, for one, is way off the required standard to lead the line. He's just a kid and he plays like a kid. You know why nobody complained last year? Because he was there for a few months only, he was a brand new youngster that broke through so every negative point was ignored, he was being incredibly clinical with his one chance a game he was getting, and because we had nobody else available. His overall performances still weren't at a level that is good enough to be the main striker at a big club. Far from it. He is a great impact player to have, but he is still a kid and doesn't really play with much maturity. Martial on the other hand I want to see up top because he did have that maturity and intelligence in his game and he has the physicality to deal with defenders which Rashford doesn't have. He is still just 20 though, and not ready to be the sole striker and have the reliance of our goalscoring fall on him. Besides, he is by far our best option on the wing, and last season was better on the wing then up top because he got a lot more involved in the game because of LvG's system. He's just going through a rough patch at the minute though.
Ibra on the other hand gets off more shots per game then anyone else in our team, creates chances on his own because of the mix of physicality and ability he brings, and his intelligence and experience to pick up good positions in the box. Yes he's missed a few sitters during October and we struggled because of it, but it's a far better sign to be getting chances and be missing them rather then just not getting chances. When players aren't getting in goalscoring positions and just don't look like a chance will fall their way (Rashford whenever he plays, same with Rooney), then it just means they aren't doing the right things up front. Rarely is it due to a lack of service, as Ibra has pretty clearly showed.
He went through a rough patch with his finishing, it happens. Said it a bunch of times, but I wouldn't worry about a striker who is missing chances as long as he keeps getting these chances. His finishing will average out to the norm over the course of the season like with most strikers. The fact that he always gets in these positions and makes chances on his own is good enough because none of our other strikers would get in these positions in the first place. The arsenal game is a perfect example. How many actual chances did we create, compared to the our dominance of the game? We got in good positions all the time, but there was nobody ever picking up good positions in the box or nobody who could deal with the center backs physically. Ibra would've had a hatful of chances in that game had he played, and chances are, he probably would've scored one (since he did break his drought in the last game...). Even if he would have missed them, it's a guarantee we would have created far more just having him up front.
Of course, ideally for this season and the next few we would have someone in their prime up front. Aubameyang, Lewandowski or someone like that. But that's never going to happen, and I'm delighted we got Ibra even at 35, instead of someone like Higuain for 90 million
. There just aren't very good strikers on the market at the minute, and we got the only top class one who happened to be moving clubs on a free.If anything, his overall games started off poorly but he was finishing at an unsustainable clinical rate, while after that he adapted more and was being a lot more influential per game and getting more chances, but then he went through a rough patch with his finishing.
He's clearly good enough, he just went through a rough patch. If he scores 2 a game like he did against Swansea I am sure the moans will stop.
Honestly feel like some people despite watching so much football know feck all about the sport. Like Mourinho said recently, I would much rather a striker who contributed to the overall game and made a lot of chances for himself and others, but was finishing poorly, over a striker who barely got a chance but was being incredibly lucky with his finishing and scoring every chance (Rashford last season vs Ibra this season in October).
Good, he's still class and this will at least silence some of the FM transfer muppets who are drooling over the likes of Icardi and Lukaku.
Dybala or Griezmann on the other hand...
Dybala or Griezmann on the other hand...
So we ”shoved Martial out of position” last season too then? He played 29 matches on the wing, scored 13 and assisted 7. Centre forward 20 times, 4 goals and 1 assist. Perhaps he is a winger, at least as of now. He hasn’t been any better as a striker, quite the opposite.
Martial isn't playing out of position. I wish people would stop spreading this ridiculous notion. He was our best player last season in exactly the same position which he's occupied regularly throughout his career.
Rashford shouldn't be starting yet for us, he's naturally nowhere near ready as his league tally from last year suggests. 3 goals in 9 games or something like that as a striker, scored within two games? It's just not nearly consistent enough. I agree that he shouldn't be starting on the wing though, I think that it's only messing with his development.
It's true that we create more chances when he plays, his link and hold up play has been quite good lately and much better than in the start. But with a 4231 with the surrounding players creating for the big targetman, the way this team is set up with our other attackers not getting in centrally (Martial and Rashford staying on the wing) for example, we just need goals from our CF, which he isn't producing. I really like the CF who creates for himself and others, but in this setup it's quite ineffective as have shown this entire season. Just like Rooney was for a while, not really scoring a lot as a striker but getting credits for his holdup and linkup play. Give me a striker a who scores goals, a lot of them and consistently. Every title winner of the past few years had has a striker with 20 goals at least, do you think that's a coincidence? I have strong doubts Ibra will get to that and even stronger doubts that he will get to that next year, while Rashford and Martial are being judged on the odd game out they play up front.He went through a rough patch with his finishing, it happens. Said it a bunch of times, but I wouldn't worry about a striker who is missing chances as long as he keeps getting these chances. His finishing will average out to the norm over the course of the season like with most strikers. The fact that he always gets in these positions and makes chances on his own is good enough because none of our other strikers would get in these positions in the first place. The arsenal game is a perfect example. How many actual chances did we create, compared to the our dominance of the game? We got in good positions all the time, but there was nobody ever picking up good positions in the box or nobody who could deal with the center backs physically. Ibra would've had a hatful of chances in that game had he played, and chances are, he probably would've scored one (since he did break his drought in the last game...). Even if he would have missed them, it's a guarantee we would have created far more just having him up front.
Of course, ideally for this season and the next few we would have someone in their prime up front. Aubameyang, Lewandowski or someone like that. But that's never going to happen, and I'm delighted we got Ibra even at 35, instead of someone like Higuain for 90 million
Rashford was excellent up front last season, scoring goals but his linkup play with flicks, combinations was also getting better and better, he isn't able to replicate that ofcourse if he gets to be played as a byline/defensive winger and then the odd match where Ibra is out, he finally gets a chance again.
And I'd have Higuain over Ibra at this moment, both not the most frequent scorers in big matches but when Higuain gets chances, he scores. He's proven that at Real and Napoli and now Juventus. He is a bit of a flat track bully yes, but you need those as well to finish high, we'd have 6 points more now for example if we had one.
Big mistake.
So do people want Rashford to be the starting striker for us next season, at 19 years of age or Martial, who has scored 4 goals for us as a centre forward, in 20 matches? Or do you want us to sign a new starting striker? Who wouldn’t somehow stand in the way of the development of Rashford and/or Martial? I think this is the best scenario for us. an experienced CF who can teach the young guys a lot, while only staying for us for 1,5 seasons.
No fecking way. Rashford is overrated on here and I prefer to see Martial on the wing.
What do they learn if they never get a decent run in the CF position? Do you think they'll get to learn how to be a top class striker by Ibra teaching them in training? It's the experience, rhythm in that role that causes the biggest developments, with Mourinho shown so far that Ibra is undroppable for a few matches, has to play every match 90 min, I don't think they'll develop a bit in that role. They'll only get turned more and more into wingers.
We would probably have even less points if either of them would've played PL matches as a CF instead of Zlatan. I do agree though that Zlatan has played too much and too many full 90 minute and Rashford should get more minutes as a striker and less as a winger.
What I'm questioning though is the "oh no, don't want Zlatan to be here next season" opinions. I'd like to hear whether they'd go with Rashford as our 1st striker, or Martial or see another signing brought in?
Earns the same as Sergio Aguero...
Will be 36 this time next year...
We're becoming a soft touch of a club - a 5 star retirement home for fading stars instead of a breeding ground for hungry talent.
Not impressed.
Will be 36 this time next year...
We're becoming a soft touch of a club - a 5 star retirement home for fading stars instead of a breeding ground for hungry talent.
Not impressed.
What other fading stars have we bought other than him and Basti?
Not even close to being a trend.
History repeating itself, Mourinho getting sacked before the start of the next season and we're getting stuck with another has-been on big wages.
I'm not so sure about that, when Rashford was CF we were getting better results than we are now, but LVG was the manager then and we played in a very different set up now so no one could really know I think. The problem isn't solely Zlatan imo, it's more how Mourinho uses him and misuses especially Rashford. If this is how Mourinho wants to use Zlatan this season, then Rashford should be nowhere near 1st striker next season as he has barely played in that position then. If he occasionally subbed Zlatan, gave him some rest, put Rashford up top so that Rashford could develop from where he was under van Gaal, then maybe yes. Now I think next season we'll have a declining 36 year old, his replacements who are nowhere near ready if Mourinho continues to use him like this. That'd be a terrible scenario imo. That'd be a huge waste.
I'd like that too, but I think we are trying to run in behind with the wingers to create something similar. Just that its not always working that well. I think the penalty Martial got against Fenerbahce is a good example.
I can't believe people complain though, he's been our best striker this season. By far. Very few in the world that would be an upgrade.
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