Rasmus Hojlund | Match Discussion Thread 2024/25

A lot more happened when zirkzee came on because he got hold of the ball

I never thought Hojlund was good enough, put it down to youth, but I just think he's not good enough.
We must buy a striker this window
 
Mr C said:
A lot more happened when zirkzee came on because he got hold of the ball

I never thought Hojlund was good enough, put it down to youth, but I just think he's not good enough.
We must buy a striker this window
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A lot more happened because we were 1-0 down with 20 to go and the team started playing with more urgency and aggression and it takes them sitatuons to be able to do it.

Nothing changed in the first 20 he was on. We looked like conceding again before we scored.

It was yet another shit performance against a poor side by a bunch of players that didn't care before it really mattered.
 
I think Zirkzee made way more of the 50/50 balls that went into him. He was also a bit smarter in coming a bit shorter to receive the ball away from the defenders.

Hojlund was isolated but that is part of the job at times and he’s really struggling with it.

Hojlund I think has a lot of work to do on his all round game. I’m not sure if he will get the time to do that here.

It may sound ridiculous but him going out on loan next season could do him lots of good.
 
IDFD said:
A lot more happened because we were 1-0 down with 20 to go and the team started playing with more urgency and aggression and it takes them sitatuons to be able to do it.

Nothing changed in the first 20 he was on. We looked like conceding again before we scored.

It was yet another shit performance against a poor side by a bunch of players that didn't care before it really mattered.
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It was clear to see that our play up front improved when Zirkzee came on. Prior to this every time the ball went to Hojlund, we conceded possession.
 
Hojlund has been struggling and he wasn’t good last night he rarely gets in front of his marker but he’s shown there is something there he just doesn’t do himself any favours.
 
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I guess he shouldn’t be written off but he does need to improve for sure. Zirkzee does deserve to start ahead of him though based on recent performances.

Remember we bought another player from Atalanta who took a while to get going - and look at the little fella now.
 
People saying Hoijland is isolated, from what I see he isolates himself, his first touch is as good as brick wall, I appreciate the service is sh1t at times, but c'mon he should be looking for space, he needs to watch video's of RVN and RVP, especially RVN, not the most gifted of players, but he had the knack of being in the right place at the right time.
 
We certainly play to his weakness but if he doesn’t sort out that weakness he won’t make it as a top striker.
 
Very poor performance. His ability or inability to hold the ball up and link play was awful. He looks like a player who is short of confidence, over thinking and trying too hard.
 
He has failed to score in 36 out of 48 Premier League games. It’s an incredible stat for a striker.
 
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I called this early, but had to tiptoe around it because you all were being so agressively defensive around him and ETH

Nowhere near good enough, complete waste of money, who would spend 70m on a player with an awful goals record. Man Utd of course, twice!
 
Mr C said:
Nowhere near good enough, complete waste of money, who would spend 70m on a player with an awful goals record. Man Utd of course, twice!
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He doesn't have an awful goals record, prior to this season.

League appearances, 23/24 - 30 games, 10 goals. 22/23 - 37 games, 12 goals.

Not defending his current performances, but let's not rewrite history.
 
I think what we've learnt is asking a youngster to be the main striker at Utd is a waste of time that position needs to be an experienced player. The pressure is huge and will crush someone who hasn't got the confidence that comes with experience. Not suggesting we sign players at 30+ but we need to be targeting strikers who are 24-26.

Hojlund shouldn't be starting games especially if the tactic is to play direct because he clearly can't do it. They need to work with him in training to try and improve that side of his game but I'm not sure it's something he'll ever get.

For me he'll be a much better player coming on for the last half hour in games against tired defenders. For now Zirkzee is the better option from the start but he's not great either.
 
O-Dog said:
He doesn't have an awful goals record, prior to this season.

League appearances, 23/24 - 30 games, 10 goals. 22/23 - 37 games, 12 goals.

Not defending his current performances, but let's not rewrite history.
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I can't believe some people think this is acceptable for a striker who cost as much as he did, he'd struggle to get into a league one side with those stats.
 
jsp said:
I think what we've learnt is asking a youngster to be the main striker at Utd is a waste of time that position needs to be an experienced player. The pressure is huge and will crush someone who hasn't got the confidence that comes with experience. Not suggesting we sign players at 30+ but we need to be targeting strikers who are 24-26.

Hojlund shouldn't be starting games especially if the tactic is to play direct because he clearly can't do it. They need to work with him in training to try and improve that side of his game but I'm not sure it's something he'll ever get.

For me he'll be a much better player coming on for the last half hour in games against tired defenders. For now Zirkzee is the better option from the start but he's not great either.
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All very nice words, the fact is he's just not good enough for the EPL, he needs to go out on loan to learn his craft in England.
When you look at him, he's not a great goalscorer, 27 in 87 games for Atalanta, hardly prolific, he certainly isn't earning the £8m in add ons on top of the £64m fee.
He will end up following Antony out on loan, which is ridiculous for players costing that much.
At best he's a £15m player
 
He didn't set that price and those stats were when he was still a teenager.

Was there another teenage striker doing that in top European leagues without scoring any penalties?

Utd massively overpaid for this kid the moment the numbers started getting that high they should have walked away.

The big problem here is rather than take a step forward this season he's taken a massive step backwards which can happen with young players. He's 22 in a few weeks so he's still very young but for now he probably needs to go out on loan next season to play in a slightly lower standard league to develop.
 
He can finish he`s proved that but the rest of his game is rubbish he needs to work on his touch his close control receiving the ball at this level is miles off and his positioning into the box is very bad.
 
Matt Varnish said:
All very nice words, the fact is he's just not good enough for the EPL, he needs to go out on loan to learn his craft in England.
When you look at him, he's not a great goalscorer, 27 in 87 games for Atalanta, hardly prolific, he certainly isn't earning the £8m in add ons on top of the £64m fee.
He will end up following Antony out on loan, which is ridiculous for players costing that much.
At best he's a £15m player
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I think he actually needs to go and learn his craft in France, Portugal, Italy or Germany. He needs to play in a league where the defences are not as good. Build his all round game then come back to the Premier League when he's a little bit more seasoned and well rounded as a player.

He's nowhere near ready and the club need to look at how they're spending their money on strikers because it's been a big problem. Lukaku was probably the last striker we signed who was at the right sort of age and because that one didn't work out they started going really old and now they've gone the opposite by going really young.

I don't disagree that it's heading towards a very disappointing end where Utd take another big hit financially.
 
Unfortunately for Hojlund you guys bought him based on his attributes and raw talent. He needed to be a rotational back up striker but was bought at a time where he had to be the main man.
 
Matt Varnish said:
I can't believe some people think this is acceptable for a striker who cost as much as he did, he'd struggle to get into a league one side with those stats.
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They're not stellar stats, but neither are they awful.

In the 14/15 season, both RVP and Rooney's league stats were similar to Hojland. Perhaps it's difficult to score in a poorly performing team?
 
jsp said:
He didn't set that price and those stats were when he was still a teenager.

Was there another teenage striker doing that in top European leagues without scoring any penalties?

Utd massively overpaid for this kid the moment the numbers started getting that high they should have walked away.

The big problem here is rather than take a step forward this season he's taken a massive step backwards which can happen with young players. He's 22 in a few weeks so he's still very young but for now he probably needs to go out on loan next season to play in a slightly lower standard league to develop.
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No
They were still in the academies, and worth about £20m.
That's the nub of the matter, expectations are high because of the fee, he didn't progress under ETH, and he has done so, so far, under Amorim, there is a point that some players reach and they just don't improve, I fear he is one of them, and will end up drifting from club to club, I don't believe he will be a top player anywhere, and will become another United flop.
 
Matt Varnish said:
No
They were still in the academies, and worth about £20m.
That's the nub of the matter, expectations are high because of the fee, he didn't progress under ETH, and he has done so, so far, under Amorim, there is a point that some players reach and they just don't improve, I fear he is one of them, and will end up drifting from club to club, I don't believe he will be a top player anywhere, and will become another United flop.
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Buying a 19 year old to be main centre forward with no proper support backing him up was a huge gamble that hasn't paid off.

Everyone here loses. ETH lost his job, Utd will likely lose a boatload of money and Hojlund's career progress massively stalls.

Again I don't direct my anger at Hojlund I direct it at the club for making bad decisions.
 
I dont get the criticism. He's playing under a manager who can't get the team to work attacking wise in this league. We barely create a chance. How many decent chances has he had since Amorim came in?

Even peak fat Ron's would struggle to get a goal in this side

The criticism yet again on this forum is being directed at the wrong people.
 
In the league he's had 12 shots in 18 games in the league.

I think the criticism of his performance is fine his all round performances have been really poor but at the same time we are asking him to do things he clearly can't do.

He isn't a target man for the other players to play off yet we keep pumping the ball up to him expecting him to hold it up.
 
O-Dog said:
He doesn't have an awful goals record, prior to this season.

League appearances, 23/24 - 30 games, 10 goals. 22/23 - 37 games, 12 goals.

Not defending his current performances, but let's not rewrite history.
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fair enough, but I said when we bought him.
 
Can I just be clear

When he came I said it was a waste spending 70m on a gamble, and his goals record wasn't great. Both those are true. I think I said we would be better off spending the exrtra on Kane, or getting Osimhen. In hindsight, thats true too. It's since turned out we may not have had the money for Kane, granted

He's played under two managers at united with poor return, apart form a little purple patch.

But regardless of this, lets say it's true the problem is his service. He can't do the other side of the game, it seems impossible for him to hold the ball up, lay it off and do the basics. And his runs from about 18 yards out into the box while the ball is wide are atrocious, probably why it seems he gets no service.

I can see why somebody would say he's a championship player, because he cannot score in the prem. And there aren't many teams below us to loan him out to.

For me, he needs selling and we just move on.
 
To be fair to @Mr C for those who are new to this place from day 1 he wasn't convinced by Hojlund.

I'm not convinced he's a premier league striker. The defenders in this league are much quicker and stronger than you'll face in other European leagues.
 

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