Rasmus Højlund | Match Discussion Thread 2023/24

justintime said:
Look at the RVP case at United. SAF told the other guys that if they do not pass to him or create chances he would drop them. I see nothing in ETH helping out his new striker. Day in and Day out we see the same selfish attitudes from other players. But nothing from Ten Hag.
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I always take comments like that with a pinch of salt.

Our creative players were always told to find the striker as in his systems it was normally the centre forwards that got the goals the wingers were there to create mainly and chip in with goals.

ETH is just trying to get results to keep his job, he’s managing a crisis.
 
Glad he scored, he needed a goal. 13 goals so far. 15 goals would be a more than decent goal return in his first season at 20/21.
 
I thought he was slow and on his heels in the first half. But he is going to score goals if other players create chances for him like Bruno did today.
 
That injury he got just as he was finding form seemed to knock him back quite a bit.

Probably had to rush back because of the shortage of players but he's stuck at it would be nice to see him finish the season strong and grab a few goals.

Be good if he can get 10-15 in the league baring in mind he doesn't take penalties that's a decent return for a striker.
 
Just checked on BBC and looks like it it 14 in 37 which isn’t a bad return at all for a young man at a new club with a dysfunctional team.

I think if he hadn’t got injured then that figure probably would have been approaching 20. That really set him back and has looked a little rusty ever since he came back. That streak he was on was very good but shame it got stunted.
 
I think the issue for him is there hasn't been a consistent trickle of goals they all came in 1 spell.

I do think had we been able to get Martial out last summer and bring in another striker as competition he'd have found it easier.

Fitness has been a problem he arrived injured with no pre season and it took a long time to really see the fully fit version of Hojlund.
 
Think he's had a great season all things considered, and if he stays fit he will tear up the Premier League next season, and as for the Europa Conference League thingamajig, that will be X-rated
 
for me, he's not good enough to lead the line for united....yet. Got a few things that need work.

We need to get another striker without doubt
 
Hojlund has a long way to go before he can be seen as our nailed on striker - somebody who can do the job with confidence. He's still a boy really, he's not ready for the pressure that he's under right now. It could end up being very bad for him. In a perfect situation he would see a good amount of game time next season, enough to learn and progress, but not every minute he's available.

Next season he must get the season he deserves, with minimal stress and ideally somebody to learn from or even look up to. I've always had faith in him, but I stick to my assessment that he's for the future not now.

It's a hard one though, as bringing in another striker may not even help, they might not be up to the task either even if they are an experienced player and nobody can doubt the good work Hojlund has done already. So there is an argument to let him keep going, just personally I'd prefer to let him ease himself in for a few years.
 
Not overly surprised he was replaced, he was pretty poor. His hold up play was poor and his stats are awful.
 
One of his worst games he looks tired and fed up, I’m sure he’ll be good in the right set up but not this one.
 
Just read that Hojlund received the ball 4 times from Onana yesterday, more times than any outfield player,
think about that before criticising him, that’s on the manager
 
JammyRed said:
Just read that Hojlund received the ball 4 times from Onana yesterday, more times than any outfield player,
think about that before criticising him, that’s on the manager
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Nah, he was poor. His touch and link play was below par.

His stats:
Completed passes 3
Shots 0
Aerial duels won 0
Dribbles 0
Tackles 0
 
I think the point is, he wasn't allowed to be in the game. That will only ever result in bad stats I think.

If he's received the ball the most from Onana in what was 65 mins I think, that is very worrying.

I can say one thing for certain - he was not in the game and looked quite tired, as did Mainoo.
 
Sideshow Bob said:
Nah, he was poor. His touch and link play was below par.

His stats:
Completed passes 3
Shots 0
Aerial duels won 0
Dribbles 0
Tackles 0
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I’m surprised he stays interested with the lack of service he gets, if he had 6 or 7 chances in a game and didn’t score I’d be concerned but not while he’s expected to score in that shambolic set up.
The stat that the keeper passed to him more than anyone else should be the stat you are worried about.
 
justintime said:
How many thru passes did he receive and how many crosses did he get is the stats that is needed.
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I think some fans expect him to cross the ball from out wide then run in and get on the end of his own cross, it really is blindingly obvious where this team is going wrong but Ten Fags cant put it right.
 
I think he should do more to get involved, he is a limited player at the moment, he needs a coach who can get him to add morre to his game
 
JammyRed said:
I think some fans expect him to cross the ball from out wide then run in and get on the end of his own cross, it really is blindingly obvious where this team is going wrong but Ten Fags cant put it right.
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I doubt fans actually believe that.

Where is the team going wrong?
 
Sideshow Bob said:
I doubt fans actually believe that.

Where is the team going wrong?
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You thought I was being serious? jesus what are you smoking?
where I am being serious though is Hojlund is expected to score from literally no service, Thats where its going wrong,
Im not saying he`s great yet but he`s very young and learning still, needs to work on his touch and hold up play without doubt.

Trouble is he isn't getting any help in trying to achieve it.

Whereever you look online not many fans are saying Hojlund is the problem in that side they are blaming his lack of service from wide players and its true.
 
Sideshow Bob said:
I doubt fans actually believe that.

Where is the team going wrong?
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I think you'll be surprised what fans think considering they all expect Rashford to put in 90 minutes of work, be our main outlet, score goals, and be this experienced leader type player all in one. A lot of them have no clue.
 
Jayc1860 said:
I think you'll be surprised what fans think considering they all expect Rashford to put in 90 minutes of work, be our main outlet, score goals, and be this experienced leader type player all in one. A lot of them have no clue.
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The fact this is even considered as being up for negotiation is part of the problem at the moment.

Rashford went to the club last summer and negotiated the sort of contract that puts that responsibility on your shoulders and so far he's failed to live up to the standard. Top players get paid top money because they consistently deliver on the above and Rashford doesn't and that is a problem.

As for Hojlund we can see the effort is there in pretty much every game but the output isn't his performances are a bit of a mixed bag which you expect from a young player which isn't helped when we are also blooding another youngster in Garnacho at the same time. He needs some help next season, a club like Utd should not be going into seasons every year with only 1 centre forward it's been like this for years and it needs properly sorting out. Not saying we need to spend fortunes on another big name centre forward but there has to be a backup who is a specialist in that position and can contribute some goals when Hojlund is either unfit or out of form.

Martial will be gone this summer which creates the space on the wage bill so the club have to go out and bring in at least 1 centre forward option this summer and sort out some better options for the wide positions.
 
jsp said:
The fact this is even considered as being up for negotiation is part of the problem at the moment.

Rashford went to the club last summer and negotiated the sort of contract that puts that responsibility on your shoulders and so far he's failed to live up to the standard. Top players get paid top money because they consistently deliver on the above and Rashford doesn't and that is a problem.

As for Hojlund we can see the effort is there in pretty much every game but the output isn't his performances are a bit of a mixed bag which you expect from a young player which isn't helped when we are also blooding another youngster in Garnacho at the same time. He needs some help next season, a club like Utd should not be going into seasons every year with only 1 centre forward it's been like this for years and it needs properly sorting out. Not saying we need to spend fortunes on another big name centre forward but there has to be a backup who is a specialist in that position and can contribute some goals when Hojlund is either unfit or out of form.

Martial will be gone this summer which creates the space on the wage bill so the club have to go out and bring in at least 1 centre forward option this summer and sort out some better options for the wide positions.
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Rashford needs players around him to support him in doing whatever superman antics you believe possible. It's crazy you keep coming at him with this stupid contract shit. Signing a contract doesn't make him super-rashford, it makes him our player, and that's about it. It's then up to management to get the best out of him by playing him in a team of players that support him, and in a system that works. I'm done listening to the rubbish, he is not to blame for our misfortunes.

You point out Hojlund and Garnacho as young and learning, and rightly so. This is what Rashford has to work with. Hojlund gets the benefit of the doubt, why not Rashford? Don't tell me he is the more experienced, that doesn't matter one bit. He has to work with those two who are learning and Bruno, who makes the attack even more scatter-brained in it's attacking.

He can't do it all on his own. I know you understand football, and that it's a team game. Use what you know and apply it to his situation.

The manager is to blame, plain and simple. It's a total mess in every part of the field.
 
Mr C said:
like the rest of the badly coached squad
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I know you don't want to hear it but a big reason it's all been a mess this season is the injuries there's no consistency in the side game to game.

Not saying it'll save the manager his job but it can't carry on the playing style needs to be set and next season the squad needs to be built to play to that style, we can't keep having players that compromise the system.
 
Jayc1860 said:
Rashford needs players around him to support him in doing whatever superman antics you believe possible. It's crazy you keep coming at him with this stupid contract shit. Signing a contract doesn't make him super-rashford, it makes him our player, and that's about it. It's then up to management to get the best out of him by playing him in a team of players that support him, and in a system that works. I'm done listening to the rubbish, he is not to blame for our misfrortunes.

You point out Hojlund and Garnacho as young and learning, and rightly so. This is what Rashford has to work with. Hojlund gets the benefit of the doubt, why not Rashford? Don't tell me he is the more experienced, that doesn't matter one bit. He has to work with those two who are learning and Bruno, who makes the attack even more scatter-brained in it's attacking.

He can't do it all on his own. I know you understand football, and that it's a team game. Use what you know and apply it to his situation.

The manager is to blame, plain and simple. It's a total mess in every part of the field.
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I expect him at this age to be able to read a situation and not just try to get past 3 players to get a shot off every time he gets on the ball which is what he's been doing a lot recently. Sometimes he needs to accept the route to goal is closed and just pass or just go down the outside and try a cross mix it up to keep the defence guessing. Recently I think he's been desperate for goals so he's been chasing goals trying the impossible and just praying it comes off. His job as a wide player is to score and create to me he's currently 100% focused on scoring and not looking for his team mates.

I think he does miss Shaw/Malacia often he's playing without a full back outside of him to draw players away by offering the overlap which can turn a 2vs1 to a 1vs1. All Rashford is looking for is getting a defender 1vs1 in that situation he's devastating currently he's often trying to beat the opponent when it's 2vs1 or even 3vs1 he needs to accept in those situations you need to back out and pass it. I want him to cut out the super man stuff and play like an adult which is what he now is.

Experience is a factor he's got 100's of games under his belt he should have much better decision making and he should be telling these young players around him what to do if they're not doing it. Make the run here, show for the ball here, when I do this you do this etc etc. I imagine currently the moment Rashford gets the ball Hojlund just thinks get in the box and hope a rebound falls to you as he isn't going to pass or cross it he is currently head down and go for goal. It's frustrating as around the turn of the year it started to feel like Rashford and Hojlund were starting to find each other and get a bit of an understanding going but that seems to have gone away.

As for Bruno it's pretty clear the tactic is for him to feed the wide players constantly they are the ones he's looking for all the time. The ball over the top to a centre forward is pretty much impossible especially from a deep position so instead he feeds the wide players which is the right thing to do. In the last 3 games Bruno has put two very good chances on a plate for Hojlund one that he scored midweek and one that he didn't take vs Coventry as he couldn't sort his feet out.

As for the coach if Rashford had consistently performed under another manager I think you could point the finger at him but he hasn't, he's always been an inconsistent player so I think you have to wonder if that's just part of his game.
 
Mr C said:
I agree, it will be great when a manager comes in who has a style he can impose
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Whoever that is needs to be given the time to clear out the players that do not fit it.

We can't keep changing the style every 2 seasons which is what's happened for the last decade and we can't keep making panic signings that don't fit that style.
 
I think if ETH had some kind of system or plan, we wouldn't be changing him.

It's all on him this time
 
Mr C said:
I think if ETH had some kind of system or plan, we wouldn't be changing him.

It's all on him this time
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I disagree it's on Murtough and Arnold as well they appointed him and they don't seem to have kept control over the entire process and that's why both of them are now gone, maybe ETH will follow it feels likely to be honest. Whoever is manager next season needs some proper people managing them and making sure we don't lose track of the longer term plan for a short term gain. Short term fixes cannot be expensive fixes. Hopefully this is what INEOS are fixing currently.

I also don't think they're anywhere near finished with the clear out that was required when he arrived.

His signings have not addressed problems in the long term. They wanted De Jong chased him all summer ended up with a quick fix in Casemiro that lasted 12 months rather than 3 years, that short term fix now needs to be replaced again. The Martial issue has taken 2 years to resolve meaning for 2 seasons we've been without a backup striker.

This idea that there's no plan or no system I just don't accept the Utd tactic currently is to make the game as open as possible because that suits our attacking players. Yes it compromises the defence and midfield but it's the only way the attack seems to be able to score so I guess the decision has been made that it's the best way to get results currently but I don't believe it's the way ETH would set it up if he had a better way of doing it.

Bad decision making, a couple of soft penalty decisions and individual errors have cost us some narrow wins lately. It feels like we have to work pretty hard to get goals and create chances but far to often we are gifting the opponent goals by making individual mistakes.
 
jsp said:
I expect him at this age to be able to read a situation and not just try to get past 3 players to get a shot off every time he gets on the ball which is what he's been doing a lot recently. Sometimes he needs to accept the route to goal is closed and just pass or just go down the outside and try a cross mix it up to keep the defence guessing. Recently I think he's been desperate for goals so he's been chasing goals trying the impossible and just praying it comes off. His job as a wide player is to score and create to me he's currently 100% focused on scoring and not looking for his team mates.

I think he does miss Shaw/Malacia often he's playing without a full back outside of him to draw players away by offering the overlap which can turn a 2vs1 to a 1vs1. All Rashford is looking for is getting a defender 1vs1 in that situation he's devastating currently he's often trying to beat the opponent when it's 2vs1 or even 3vs1 he needs to accept in those situations you need to back out and pass it. I want him to cut out the super man stuff and play like an adult which is what he now is.

Experience is a factor he's got 100's of games under his belt he should have much better decision making and he should be telling these young players around him what to do if they're not doing it. Make the run here, show for the ball here, when I do this you do this etc etc. I imagine currently the moment Rashford gets the ball Hojlund just thinks get in the box and hope a rebound falls to you as he isn't going to pass or cross it he is currently head down and go for goal. It's frustrating as around the turn of the year it started to feel like Rashford and Hojlund were starting to find each other and get a bit of an understanding going but that seems to have gone away.

As for Bruno it's pretty clear the tactic is for him to feed the wide players constantly they are the ones he's looking for all the time. The ball over the top to a centre forward is pretty much impossible especially from a deep position so instead he feeds the wide players which is the right thing to do. In the last 3 games Bruno has put two very good chances on a plate for Hojlund one that he scored midweek and one that he didn't take vs Coventry as he couldn't sort his feet out.

As for the coach if Rashford had consistently performed under another manager I think you could point the finger at him but he hasn't, he's always been an inconsistent player so I think you have to wonder if that's just part of his game.
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The whole problem I'm pointing out though is that this team is dysfunctional, and regardless of experience or ability, playing in that situation is hard for any player. I've never thought Rashford was a leader or even inspirational, he's not captain material, and it seems like that is what the fans and you want form him, based upon a contract. I don't think that is fair. Mbappe is a phenomenal player, but doesn't have any of those characteristics either, even though he is a captain I don't see him as one. Yet he is seen as one of the worlds best players when on form, and that's the point, he doesn't need to do it all, he needs others to chip in too. Rashford would be great in a functioning team without all of this unecessary pressure. That is why he had such a great season last year - the focus was not on him as much and the team was playing quite a lot better than it is now. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I don't see why Rashford is suddenly expected to be doing everything. He is simply an outlet for peoples frustration due to one crazy year of football, when he was unplayable. That had nothing to do with the team and everything to do with him getting everything right. He's now suffering for it. He can't win. The tracking back stuff is clearly an ETH strategy for those that haven't worked it out yet. It's called an outlet, and requires the player to be ready to go, and not be puffing and panting, struggling from a recent burst lung due to defending. It's so obvious yet more than half the fan base can't understand it.

Also if Rashford has always been an inconsistent player then why would you or anybody else expect anything different? That includes the manager surely, so why has he not planned for that if he wants to use the player?

It's all about making the team play as one and understand each other and what is likely to happen next - not ping pong football and just blatantly random runs etc. Then you will see Rashford be a much better player. If you put him in the Arsenal team, that would be frightening. I guarantee it.

As for Bruno I don't think there is a tactic - he does what he wants when he wants, and that is another frustration for Rashford.
 

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