9 | Erling Haaland - 2023/24

[dancity19]

He has only scored in 6 of his last 20 competitive fixtures for the club. I know he sets ridiculous standards, but we cannot pretend that this isn’t a worry. In that time, the only teams he’s scored against have been Forest, West Ham, Fulham, Sheffield Utd, Burnley and Everton. Let’s be real, he’s in absolutely shocking form considering he’s the best striker in the world and likely to finish 2nd in the ballon d’or.

14 blanks in his last 20 games.

It’s not solely the reduction in creativity either as he’s had a fuck tonne of big chances missed in these games.

Arsenal - X
Leipzig - X
Wolves - X
Forest - 1 goal
Red Star - X
West Ham - 1 goal
Fulham - 3 goals
Sheffield Utd - 1 goal
Newcastle - X
Sevilla - X
Burnley - 2 goals
Arsenal - X
Inter - X
Utd - X
Brighton - X
Chelsea - X
Real Madrid - X
Everton - 1 goal
Real Madrid - X
Leeds - X

No amount of mental gymnastics can surely argue that he’s not off form. And has been for a while now.

 

[hertsblue]

I previously said jokingly when we had the annual link to Messi that despite amount of goals we score, i have never seen a team miss so many easy chances as us when it looks harder to miss than score and we would end up coaching the finishing out of him.

Given we still miss so many easy chances ie Ake as Arsenal,i wonder if we actually put to much emphasis on tactics and not enough shooting practice in training. We all know we must not work on set pieces given the state of them

 

[mancityscot]

No amount of mental gymnastics can surely argue that he’s not off form. And has been for a while now.

oh there'll be folk on here that will do their best to argue it, i guarantee.

 

[Middedon]

Is he just not use to the folks feeding it to him? He’s had some good balls into the box from Doku and Gvardiol and Kovacic. With really no time to practice is there just some time needed to make the connections? To better anticipate the moves of the new players?

(I’m sure this has been mentioned in the last 100 pages).

 

[itisrising]

Not blaming just stating the obvious -as coach he has to figure it out.

Pep has to figure out why Haaland has missed 15 big chances in the league so far?

 

[Indaparkside]

Pep has to figure out why Haaland has missed 15 big chances in the league so far?

Because he’s human

 

[YatesA]

Second highest headed goals last season with 7 (behind Kane with 10). 2 already this season. I'd say he's not too bad at them.

I don't think anyone watches haaland head the ball and think oh that's a strong powerful brave header of the ball there. His scored headers are not that of a dominant header of the ball. They are all either courtesy of being 6ft 5 with a favourable match up and the high volume of chances created leading to very easy and simple headers. Can't recall one header where he has bossed his way through a defender and smashed it past the keeper

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

Erling will have to adapt and change how he approaches defences - after his prolific first season it was obvious that oppo defences would step up and tighten the area around him and go physically stronger on him

Big issue is the lack of forward balls through the channels to play him in have totally dried up, and with the loss of Kev we dont have anyone with the belief to thread those balls in. Kev is a grand master of it because he has the belief to play those passes, it seems everyone else (even though they have the ability) actually decide not to take that risk, which makes Haaland cut an isolated figure not getting into the game

We actually had chances to do so against arsenal to both Erling and Phil, but didnt take them

 

[the-ecstacy-of-eight]

Or he could move to a team that has Bellingham supplying him...

...or Bellingham could move to his team to start supplying him ;)

 

[super_city_si]

Norway playing Cyprus on thurdsay. Hope the big fella bags a few. Get a taste for the goals again