9 | Erling Haaland - 2023/24

[iTyler]

He's never the one to win games for his team when they don't play well. If the team has a bad game, he's useless. He's got some elite attributes, sure, such as his pace and his athleticism. But his overall game is worse than someone like Ollie Watkins. I can only imagine how much better we would be had we got the Kane and Rice deals over the line.

 

[shemnel]

of course him missing chances will grate, and it casts the spotlight on him as goals can paper over shitty performances, but he is far far from our problem right now.

 

[Goldust]

Held the ball up well at times.

 

[kaz7]

I have absolutely zero doubt that I'll wake up to a ton of shit for this take but I maintain we're not a better team with him than without him.

In the modern game, you need your forward to be able to press consistently.

You keep banging on negatives about this kid , strange player to hate so much

 

[city warrior]

Agree, he is the least of our problems, BUT he has missed the same chance (a complete free header 6 yards away) like 5-6 times in the last 6 months. Why isn't he heading the ball down? When you do that, it makes it impossible for the GK. Other than that, he played as good as he could yesterday.

 

[skillman]

Spurs and Villa notoriously play high lines and yet we don't utilise the runs he makes in behind. His pass to Grealish against Spurs at the end is exactly what other players should be doing for him. He's too quick and strong for it not to work.

Ever since he's come we've been scared shitless to give him the ball unless he's tapping it in from 6 yards out. Everybody except KDB which either means his runs are shit and impossible to execute a pass to (wrong) or the players themselves are too scared to make that mistake and cause a turnover.

Having Alvarez in is forsaking that control we usually have so turnovers are more dangerous and that in-turn (I think anyway) is causing players to do the safe bet 9 times out of 10.

Pissing me off.

 

[Scottyboi]

Too many times last night we had chances to put the ball into him and we turned back. Between him and Alvarez one needs to be dropped, we can't play the way we want with both of them in the team.

 

[Blue Steel]

Erling is far from our problem at the moment. Some absolutely mad takes on here about him.

He looks frustrated, and like others I don’t think playing him and Alvarez at the same time is working.

I think his all-round play has been improving but by and large he hasn’t been getting enough of the service he needs to perform well.

Seems to play better when Jack is on the pitch as well.

 

[Moss Side's Finest]

Too many times last night we had chances to put the ball into him and we turned back. Between him and Alvarez one needs to be dropped, we can't play the way we want with both of them in the team.

That lack of through balls to him happens week in week out

 

[Mr HJ]

Erling is far from our problem at the moment. Some absolutely mad takes on here about him.

He looks frustrated, and like others I don’t think playing him and Alvarez at the same time is working.

I think his all-round play has been improving but by and large he hasn’t been getting enough of the service he needs to perform well.

Seems to play better when Jack is on the pitch as well.

This and only this - you can see his frustration building after making the umpteenth early run into space and not getting the ball - this is why Kev is so important to the way we play. The drop off in offensive quality with Nunez and Kovetic is huge with both seeming incapable of playing an early first time pass. That added to the way we constantly re-cycle the ball has made it tough for him to effect certain games.

But man oh man imagine where we'd be without his 18 goals already? Some people are never satisfied.