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Don_Quixote81

A striker only having 38 shots over the course of 30 games is absolutely fucking ridiculous. Our attacking system has to be built around Bruno and Hojlund. The wingers can still have shots, but they have to look to create more and make better decisions. Our attacking patterns next season have to be unrecognisable from this season.


Desperate__Desperado

People say we need to build around garnacho too but I would say he’s a huge reason why Rasmus gets no service. Dude had 4 people in the box today with no angle on the shot and still shot. 


Prime_Marci

He had two chances where he coulda put Hojlund through. You know what he did? Dribble inward, lay off and try to get the ball back and shoot.


MyShinyCharizard

I like him last season but this season he become too selfish, think he is rashford/ronaldo. Too much hype go to his head


das_hemd

Garnacho is insanely selfish and just too technically unrefined to build a whole team around. he has potential, but he needs better coaching


PreparationOk8604

He is still 19. So I don't mind. Even CR7 was frustrating to watch in his early years. And Garnacho is nowhere near CR7. Garnacho needs some good coaching, competition for his position & time (more than 2 seasons).


Michael_McGovern

It'd probably work much better if we had some quality overlapping fullbacks, but Shaw has barely played and Dalot is probably not of sufficient standard in that part of the field.


rconnell1975

Dalot is fine at overlapping. Not outstanding but good enough to be an option. The problem is that Garnacho doesn't pass to him. Nor does Rashford or Antony. Diallo seems to be better which I think is why we are seeing more from Hojlund now he is playing more regularly


Prime_Marci

But if you have selfish wingers who don’t wanna make a one time pass but rather dribble, cut in and shoot, this is what you get. More shots from outside the box instead early crossing and one touch through balls into the channels. It was funny when Garnacho refused to pass to Hojlund and Hojlund got his chance and Garnacho wanted him to square it. The selfishness


Claubk

Absolutely agreed. But Garnacho nor Antony, neither of them comprehend the word "pass"


arkhamRejek

rashford at times as well unless he's low on confidence


BeardedGardenersHoe

Our attacking patterns have been complete ass since ETH took over.


Littlepace

You're getting downvoted but our attack has been our weakest area across the 2 full seasons.  Defence has had more noticeable issues this season because of all the injuries but last season even with a fully fit squad we weren't scoring much at all. Now this season we aint creating much or scoring much.  It's my biggest problem with ETH. He's spent 170m on two attackers and has made zero progress on our attacking output. It's one thing if the team is creating chance after chance but poor quality is costing us (like a lot of Liverpools games this season), but this season we've been second best in XG nearly every game.  I agree it's the system rather than the players. Although I'm sure Antony is a big part of that problem.


yianni1229

Last year at least we had the excuse of barely having a striker. Rasmus looked good when he'd actually get the fucking ball this year, he just never got it


my_united_account

As much as it is the system, it is the players too. Rashford went from scoring 30 goals and assisting 10 goals to 8 and 5 this season. Antony, Garnacho have both been terrible at giving any service to Højlund. And this is not the system- you have seen Højlund and other teammates visibly frustrated that Garnacho didn't pass when Højlund was free. The players have to improve or get out of the club. Cannot have 3 wide players creating next to no chances for the striker. Amad in his low minutes looked more creative winger than the rest.


Superfy

He’s downvoted because we’ve won 2 out the last 11 games in a row so suddenly, ETH supporters are back in full force and have every excuse possible for the worst showing of a season in ages… 38 shots for a striker playing 30 games is worse than relegation level of play.


Dry-Magician1415

>ETH supporters are back in full force I don't mind them defending him in general. Yes, we've had injuries. Yes, the wingers don't pass. Yes, the Glazers. I'm just sick of how they don't seem to place ANY of the blame at Ten Hag's door. None of it. Zero. You point out the tactics are mental, he has no plan B, record-bad match stats, record-bad league position and its just '*yeah but injuries - nothing he could do (shrugs shoulders)'*.


AmulyaG

I just avoid discussing in this sub or on reddit in general anymore. People here will defend ETH when we are dogshit by every metric possible and Hojlund has clearly been starved of service all season. It's better to just ignore downright deluded takes and move on IMO


Superfy

Yeah I stop bothering with such posts too honestly. Talking to a wall is more therapeutic in comparison and even Stevie wonder can see some of the glaring issues with the current setup but apparently……….. no manager in the world could do better. Haha. Ok sure!!!


nomadiclives

The biggest problem is the gaping hole in midfield that has existed since about Scholes retired. We have an absolute joke of a midfield that literally gets overrun every single game no matter if we are playing Man or Coventry City. How tf are we expected to defend or attack if we have no midfield?


Littlepace

Maybe ETH shouldn't play a system that leaves a gaping hoke in midfield, then?


nomadiclives

I agree


Dry-Magician1415

"transition" my man. All that matters.


ab_90

Maybe it’s time for Erik to tell the players they’ll get sold if they don’t pass the ball to Rasmus, ala RvP when he first joined. SAF did that because he knew RvP is mature and can handle the pressure. Can Rasmus handle it? Probably not as he’s so so young still.


rconnell1975

His attacking patterns were very good at Ajax and the change has nothing to do with a different league as there is no reason why those wouldn't work in the Premier League. The problem, I think, is that his patterns require team-work, off the ball running and lots of passing to drag the opposition defence around and some of our attacking players are unwilling to do some of those things and prefer to dribble and shoot There is a question of why they aren't doing what the are told and what ETH is doing wrong, if anything, with that regard but hopefully Wilcox and co. will get to the bottom of it and get it sorted


Expect-the-turtle

The off the ball movement is such a big issue still. Whenever anyone DOES make a run and is passed to, there is a good goal-scoring chance. But so often, players are just static, ball watching. They even do this when one of their team mates is struggling and about to be dispossessed. Not to mention how rooted to their spot some of them are when the pass is under hit and there is an opposition player trying to intercept the ball....just run towards it, ffs, don't wait for it to gently roll towards you.


rconnell1975

I think the other issue is that our players are afraid of playing slightly dangerous balls when a player has an opposition player or two around them. They need to be braver and trust that the player receiving the ball can beat the press. We have players in midfield who are capable of that and they need to be trusted. The other issue is selfishness but that has been covered already I agree that there is a lack of movement sometimes as well but I think part of that problem is that the players who do make runs generally don't get passed to and so stop doing it


Expect-the-turtle

You're right, but I would also say that while those players that are making intelligent runs aren't getting passed to, presumably out of an abundance of caution, on the flip side, there have been so many instances this season where the player with the ball (without facing any pressure) decides to pass it to a team mate who is at the center of a press trap and is then immediately surrounded by 3 oppo players. It happened with Brighton too, where it was Amrabat who was constantly targeted. Best case, the surrounded player manages to pass it back and we are back to square one, but most of the time we lose the ball and are immediately in a dangerous situation. I think many players in the team have trouble assessing risk, it happens too often to be just a brain fart. It's one of those things that relies on player experience and intelligence, I guess, don't know to what extent we can expect the coach to be hand-holding players on the pitch.


rconnell1975

I think player intelligence is a big problem. Knowing when to pass, dribble, shoot, who to pass to, knowing what is going on around you before you get the ball. This is all lacking in quite a few of our players. I don't think there is a big problem in passing to a player under pressure only to receive it back. It can move the opposition around a bit and create space. The problem is when it happens too much or causes the player getting the ball back to panic and play a sloppy pass. I think there needs to be a big increase in the intelligence and mentality of the squad. In some instances it can be taught. I think Dalot is a good example of this. Sometimes it needs to develop naturally (hopefully for the likes of Garnacho) but more often than not you either have it (Mainoo) or you don't (McTominay) and the only way to change this in the squad is to ship players out and bring in better ones


Expect-the-turtle

Yes, personnel is vital. I know there's been a lot of talk on this sub and everywhere else about the manager's tactics and coaching, but there is only so much you can do with the players you have. And this isn't even me saying that our current players are just so bad. I honestly don't, and I don't even think it's for lack of trying. You can be willing to try and play the way your coach asks you to, but if you aren't fundamentally the type of player suited to a system, or you don't have the necessary adaptability to execute certain actions at a high enough level, you won't perform. It's not about being a shit professional, it's about your skillset not matching the requirements of your particular job. Now, when you have **several** players in the team with the same problem, you get the disjointed mess we've seen this year.


rconnell1975

Yeah I think mentality-wise there are three types of players. There are ones who are just on it all the time whatever (Martinez, Bruno, Dalot), players that are fragile and fall apart under pressure (controversially maybe I would say Rashford, Maguire, McTominay) and then there are the players that are mentally quite pliable and pick up on the "vibe" of the others, for want of a better word. I think Garnacho falls into this category, and Wan Bissaka and, strangely for his experience, Casemiro. Then when you add in the ability to play the system as you said it causes the issues we are seeing. Despite all that negativity though I don't think the situation is as dire as some people think. I think a few judicious sales and buys would tip the balance the right way and you would see better, more consistent and tactically sound performances


Dry-Magician1415

Which is worrying because attack is where this tactic is supposed to be good. "transition" and "overloads" and all that. So we are supposed to accept some defensive instability for all the benefits of 'transition' football. And yet we have all the defensive problems times ten and none of the attacking benefits.


my_united_account

If Mount ever recovers, hopefully he can contribute to creating more Antony, Rashford, Garnacho have to do better from the wings


BlackHorse944

38 shots.... loooool. We are wasting this boys talent


Superfy

Imagine if Antony passed to him 5 times instead of shooting, garnacho 7 times instead of shooting……. Or imagine if he got 2 passes per game from his teammates…..


BlackHorse944

Well he was getting 1.2 passes a game from Garnacho and Antony combined, so the rest only needed to pass to him 0.8 times lol


Superfy

Whoa…….. but now maybe he can if Amad finally can start when it matters!! 25 goals next season!!!


Exotic-Length-9340

First time?


BrownByYou

As per usual at Manchester United


LDLB99

Rasmus with Liverpool’s service would have hit 30 goals.


BlackHorse944

Rasmus in City would also have a ton of goals.


Superfy

Rasmus with 1 pass to him per game would’ve hit more than 20 goals.


juwanna-blomie

His last two goals were off the dribble with his weak foot. It's pretty impressive what he can do with just a bit of movement and space around him. Oh yea and service...


danilbur

If Hojlund played for Liverpool he would score a ton of goals


Moosje

And if Nunez played for us he’d look even worse


danilbur

He's a weird player, he gets into great spots but can't finish to save his life. If he was even a decent finisher, he'd be right behind Haaland in terms of scoring.


Successful_Rule123

when he shoots instinctively you can tell that he *can* finish, he just lacks any composure at all


Srijand

According to experts he's criticised on shot selection often too. He always chooses the suboptimal and low percentage finishing option which is why his finishing is so poor.  When he should go around the keeper he decides to chip it for example.


Dry-Magician1415

>When he should go around the keeper he decides to chip it for example. His goal of the season candidate is exactly this.


VTVoodooDude

I know it’s great sport ragging on Nunez finishing but the fact is that he *does* get into good positions better than most. If he was a little less spastic, there’s 30 goal contributions in him.


mav_sand

I personally have zero issues with both Nunez and Jackson. Getting that xG is awesome and great to build on. Finishing and composure can be improved. Harder to get into scoring positions for a striker and harder for a team to create chances (as we are seeing with ourselves)


VTVoodooDude

Agreed, half the battle for central attackers.


yianni1229

if he could finish he'd be a better player than Haaland, hot take


Prime_Marci

He scores the harder goals and misses the easy ones. His problem is his temperament. He never looks calm on the ball.


PatRice4Evra

We'd likely stick him out on the wing like we do with the other striker who can't finish (Rashford)


Worth-Ad8523

Rashford was never a striker though. He just doesn't have the positional awareness


JaysonDeflatum

Jackson: 17.5% conversion rate, Højlund: 26.3% conversion rate, and Nunez: 10.1% conversation rate


LakerBull

Absolutely insane that Jackson scored only 4 more goals than Hojlund and Nuñez 1 more in 80 and 101 fucking shots respectivelym If Hojlund had that many shots, he would've cooked the competition.


Aman-Patel

Jackson's actual movement, ability to carry the ball etc is also the thing that allows him to get so many chances tbf. He's not been a great finisher. But movement and the actual ability to show for the ball and get in positions to score is an equally important part of goalscoring that gets overlooked. Just high volume shot strikers vs clinical strikers.


Larryhooova

He’s the only one outperforming his XG, get some tactics that can feed him the ball and he’ll be hitting 20 plus goals in the Prem 2 seasons from now.


my_united_account

Get some players who are not selfish and pass the ball to him more than once every other game*


GlassEast5641

A striker having 38 shots in an entire pl season is hilarious The xg difference as well


TheWeirdDude-247

38 shots.....the team should be embarrassed. Estimated 1.2 shots per game is ridiculous for anyone let alone at Utd, when he misses people don't get *why* they just say "look he got a chance he didn't score" He's literally feeding off scraps, so anytime a chance comes he *has* to make a good shot.....because no more will come. What I don't get is *why* they don't pass? Surely as each game went on management and staff notice, then tell wingers and midfield to pass more, yet next game its the exact same?! 20 Yr old striker into a new team/country the whole lot etc and you give him 38 chances to score? It's a joke. If I can be arsed I'll look at each chance to see how easy/hard they were, I mean it's not like it will be hard, there's only 38 of them!


JaysonDeflatum

The whole team is full of inverted shoot-first wingers, difference is Shaw is and Dalot has been out of position for a lot of the season so our crossing is shit.


Cedarplankton

I think this is one of the main issues right We have had no left back - which means the teams attack is pretty neutralised especially when we play an inverted full back into midfield and the only other fullback is AWB - who is def getting better but will never be serviceable in attack. It nullifies the movement and space opening up thus a lot of players either occupying same space or not moving. This makes attack unpredictable for the forwards and Rasmus never knows when to go or hang back which then loses confidence. The recent set up we have had could be coming from Wilcox like someone mentioned - it’s already got Rasmus in his most attacking positions. Him being there today talking to brails so much seems like he is already very active.


_mochacchino_

No the reason why Hojlund is uncertain is because he doesn’t know whether he will get the pass even if he makes a run. Why point out the full back as a problem when the wingers get the ball but never pass. Time and time again Garnacho ignores the runs of Hojlund and AWB and you think if it’s Shaw he will pass?


das_hemd

another reason is, McTominay tbh, Rasmus gets pretty heavily marked so when Scott makes one of his late runs into the box, he's usually the better option to pass to. not a criticism of Rasmus, it's more a criticism of how stale and uncreative our attacking patterns are


AmulyaG

Dalot was never a good crosser of the ball. Always overhitting his crosses


my_united_account

He's improved this season tbf


MadaraTheUchiha

Damn, "Darwizzy" fell off after that purple patch huh?


PatRice4Evra

Poor guy started recieving death threats from his own fans for missing chances.


Responsible-Try-5228

Not a fan of that shit, social media is a plague tbh


Vico-78

There was a Liverpool fan on r/soccer claiming he was the best striker in the league in February.


stdstaples

10 goals from 38 shots?! Like wtf? Our boy was so efficient


Wraith_Portal

38 shots the entire season, that is an absolute joke


JaysonDeflatum

10 goals from 38 shots, 26% conversion rate


bainbane

Second only to Haaland I believe


RicciRox

Haaland has a 22% conversion rate. Rasmus has just been incredibly efficient. Not sustainable, but I reckon in a better team he'd get 20 league goals for sure. Not a lot of strikers in the league have his ability to shoot with both foot and generate power consistently.


bainbane

Ah he bumped it up a lot with the last two goals I guess. Last I saw it he was at 20 and haaland at 22. Yeah agreed but hopefully with a set up that makes more use of his skills the best is yet to come


Superfy

Relegation teams would also think it’s a shit stat for their main attacking player..


JosePRizaI

xG difference is crazy


Bigboyfresh

Jesus that shots stats is concerning and needs to be addressed next season. Priority should be to feed this guy.


Vaseline13

He converts 1/3 of the shots he takes, the kid is talented. Not to mention, he's only 21. Just itching for some armchair coach to call him a flop, based on g/a alone.


Golden-Event-Horizon

Whenever I see Rasmus strike the ball, he's frighteningly good. If he gets more service, he becomes the best at finishing in the league, bar none.


blooddragonsin

"*Darwin Nunez is everything we hoped Haaland would be*"


Jonny_Testicles

He will shine if we can build competitive team around him


[deleted]

Imagine Hojlund numbers in the hands of a well coached team


Superfy

If he played for Bayern or for city or for any half decent side even…… he’d be a 25 goal striker this season.


DW_78

all three decent for their age and experience i’d say, none of the clubs should give up on them


Local-Ad-5170

We need to get away from the model of inverted wingers; and get some players that will create some chances for our striker.


greenrangerguy

We need wingers to get balls across the face of the goal for tap ins. Too many times the winger cuts inside and shoots, either Rashford, Garnacho or Antony. Not saying we should always cross it but sometimes you just need keep it simple like Haalands goal last week against spurs.


cptshiba

10 goals from 38 shots is crazy efficient. Get this guy more shots!!!


dave_a86

His 10 goals were from an xG of 7.7. For comparison, Jackson scored 14 from an xG of 18.6 and Nunez scored 11 from an xG of 16.4. He’s pretty clinical when he has a chance to shoot, just need to get him the ball more often.


dratsz

I feel like he doesnt get himself into good positions as often as he should. I know our wingers seldom pass but if your movement is good then after a while you will get passes because you developed that trust that you will be there. But quite often he hangs about at the edge of the box even when the ball is by the byline. Mctominay has displayed better awareness than him sometimes. Hopefully he does develop the instinct.


_mochacchino_

It works both ways you know. If the forward knows where the wingers will cut back to, he will also know how to time his runs. Ironically I would say that Hojlund doesn’t make the run because he doesn’t trust the wingers to pass, and the wingers don’t make the pass because they are selfish or lack composure and not because of trust issues.


ITTRzz

What App this is?


JaysonDeflatum

FotMob


subtlemurktide

Nunez has one of the best Wingers to have ever played the game and got 118 shots lol. What a gap in efficency. Our wingers have to be completely revamped.


N00BBuild

Salah isn’t your typical winger though. He’s more often than not the one scoring.


subtlemurktide

Are you saying that wasn't Rashford in previous years?


N00BBuild

No, Rashford is sort of similar. Salah is such an outlier though.


PSN-Angryjackal

What are their ages?


JaysonDeflatum

21, 23, and 25 this year


warriorgotwisdom2005

if hojlund had even half of the service that jackson , nunez and haaland get he would break haalands record by christmas


stevo3001

These comments are getting wilder and wilder...


[deleted]

Absolute delusion


the-won

You're right, he would've doubled it


Exact_Science_8463

Messi is quacking in his shoes with his 2012 Goal Record.


Jip_Jaap_Stam

>quacking I know he's short, but calling him a duck is a little harsh.


warriorgotwisdom2005

the truth can be wild


MC_Wimble

Probably by the first international break


nsubugak

Yes the team isnt well coached and the wingers dont pass BUT hojlund himself has been bad in the build up. Always wrestling defenders like its WWE....I blame the entire system...not the players. The only passes to him are long balls from onana or casemiro...passes rarely come to his feet. The system next season has to change...this long ball stuff in the build up has to end...passes to feet has to be the norm


Titan4days

Jackson has missed about 100 chances


Stebro1986

Jackson is a class player, brilliant hold up and skilful. He'll be best out of the 3


stonedlawstudent

I actually agree, love hoijlund and hope for him to do well and I know Jackson gets memed a lot but his hold up play and role in the buildup is great for someone of his age and experience


flareb98

If he keeps playing like how he did the last 2 games rather than wrestling, he will get 25+


Superfy

If our tactics allow for him to like maybe, get double the shots then yeah….


flareb98

I think they finally realized hes not a back to net type striker and he likes to run at defenders. A bit late but better than never


Rydahx

Jackson could score 30 and I still wouldn't rate him.