9 | Erling Haaland - 2025/26

ninjamonkey said:
Have you seen our squad? The vast majority of our purchases over the last 12 months dont lend to a possession based style, haaland, semenyo, doku, marmoush, savinho, cherki, reijnders, none of them suit that style, there's only Foden in our attack that does suit that. What we need is our manager to set us up in a way that makes the most of having the best striker on the planet upfront instead of playing in a way that gives him 1, maybe 2 if were lucky chances a game.
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It is actually crazy all of our signings and the system is set up to play more transitionally.

The stats are so funny, every big game we have won (or nearly won like Arsenal), we have LESS % possession than the other team.

High possession games stifle Haaland because I guess the tactic is for him to just stand around their CBs, I don't understand if that's Haaland, or if that's instruction to occupy, but he must be bored as fuck with that.

Give him a partner, let him go wide and play closer between fullbacks and centrebacks.
 
JOGAMIGMOG said:
How can someone who does fuck all running, makes fuck all sprints, walks about for 85 minutes, touches the ball ten times, then has three days off before doing it again be knackered? I don’t get it.
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I don’t think he is knackered. He is stifled , bored, frustrated and sick of being marked by 3 centre halves while City play out the crap slow side to side football with wingers who can’t beat the 1st man and then get countered on only to concede.
 
WallyA said:
It is actually crazy all of our signings and the system is set up to play more transitionally.

The stats are so funny, every big game we have won (or nearly won like Arsenal), we have LESS % possession than the other team.

High possession games stifle Haaland because I guess the tactic is for him to just stand around their CBs, I don't understand if that's Haaland, or if that's instruction to occupy, but he must be bored as fuck with that.

Give him a partner, let him go wide and play closer between fullbacks and centrebacks.
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He has also been most alive in the stretched games where he has also been part of a great defensive effort, and looked really enthused by doing so
 
JOGAMIGMOG said:
How can someone who does fuck all running, makes fuck all sprints, walks about for 85 minutes, touches the ball ten times, then has three days off before doing it again be knackered? I don’t get it.
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Maybe he's put on too much weight.

Someone lean like Marmoush runs like a rabbit pressing like a madman possessed in comparison!
 
Blue_Lightsaber said:
Maybe he's put on too much weight.

Someone lean like Marmoush runs like a rabbit pressing like a madman possessed in comparison!
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Marmoush only runs forward. Like most of the others, has little to no desire to run backwards. Was on full display today when minutes after coming on, he let the right back make a 50 yard sprint to support their attack and didnt even contemplate tracking him. Despite being on the pitch for 70 minutes longer, I saw Haaland who is getting it in the neck for apparently not running, work harder going backwards than Marmoush did.
 
The best we have played recently was the 2nd half against Exeter, yes I know, but the whole team became more mobile once he'd departed.
 
robbieh said:
The best we have played recently was the 2nd half against Exeter, yes I know, but the whole team became more mobile once he'd departed.
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Think this is worth looking at tbh. The best Pep teams have always had mobile forwards (or false nines) who pull defenders all over the place. Aguero, Jesus, De Bruyne, Gundogan. That run between 2020-21 and 2021-22 is the best this team has been imo.

Since Haaland has come in, we were largely inconsistent in the treble season until we hit a purple patch that got us over the line. In 23/24 it was muscle memory and a Foden streak (and an Ortega save) that got us there. Last season we played our best football and hit our best form without him, then just let him back in for the FA Cup final. This season we seemed to finally work out that he was a player that thrives on fast breaks and using his physicality in foot races but we've gone back to playing a style he doesn't suit.

It's Pep or Haaland. We clearly can't have both. Something's gotta give.
 
youngbob said:
Think this is worth looking at tbh. The best Pep teams have always had mobile forwards (or false nines) who pull defenders all over the place. Aguero, Jesus, De Bruyne, Gundogan. That run between 2020-21 and 2021-22 is the best this team has been imo.

Since Haaland has come in, we were largely inconsistent in the treble season until we hit a purple patch that got us over the line. In 23/24 it was muscle memory and a Foden streak (and an Ortega save) that got us there. Last season we played our best football and hit our best form without him, then just let him back in for the FA Cup final. This season we seemed to finally work out that he was a player that thrives on fast breaks and using his physicality in foot races but we've gone back to playing a style he doesn't suit.

It's Pep or Haaland. We clearly can't have both. Something's gotta give.
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It’s pep clearly. The end can’t come soon enough.

And you’re spot fucking on in everything you’ve said.
 
It’s a weird one because he looks fuming in his post match interview and doesn’t see to be the type of player/person to down tools.
 
Stelea said:
I don’t think he is knackered. He is stifled , bored, frustrated and sick of being marked by 3 centre halves while City play out the crap slow side to side football with wingers who can’t beat the 1st man and then get countered on only to concede.
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If he feels any of those, other than being knackered then he a malcontent, then he should be sold.
 
His worst run of games without a goal from open play since he was back in Molde in 17/18.

8 games without a goal from open play.
 
He’d be on 45 goals now in our 2017-2019 team.

We don’t play to his strengths, and he doesn’t compliment our weaknesses. I’m starting to think he’d be better off elsewhere for his own records sake.
 
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