27 Jan 2025 11:54:17
When the defence grabbed hold of Collyer after that clearance ???. Loved it.
Not sure what we do with our attack at all at the moment. Hojlund clearly off the pace and confidence seems to be at an all time low. I think for his benefit, he should be taken out the starting 11 for a bit.
27 Jan 2025 13:38:18
2 shots on target in two games - one a penalty, one a deflected goal. Arguably 1 short on target lol. Think about that.
27 Jan 2025 14:06:25
The striker situation is dire.
Zirkzee is okay for link up play, but clearly isn’t a goal scorer. Doesn’t have the killer instinct to look for his shot.
Hojland is drowning, despite his work rate. No confidence, and just not imposing himself in games. Obviously there’s an issue with service, but he doesn’t look like scoring at all.
It feels like Amorim is desperate to get rid of Rashford, so he can bring in a striker, and I completely understand his frustration. A talented player on massive wages who can’t be bothered in training. Still, it looks like Rashford’s attitude is putting other clubs off taking him on loan, and the public criticism is adding to that.
Ultimately, the blame lies with the club for buying Zirkzee in the summer. It was obvious last season that Hojland can’t cope with the pressure of being the main man. If he’s going to develop, he’ll need to be under less pressure, and we should have looked for a more established striker to help him. Instead, we brought in another young striker from Italy. Not sure we can even blame ETH, as Zirkzee seems to have been a club decision, not his.
27 Jan 2025 14:52:36
Hojlund, IMO could do with a loan back to Italy or somewhere so he can play regularly, score some goals, all away from the scrutiny that comes with playing for Manchester United. Sadly, we do not have the depth in squad to do this.
Zirkee is a frustrating player, he must be a nightmare to play against in 5 a-side games. His first touch is quality and his link up play is good, however during the game yesterday he played the ball left to Garnacho I think and just jogged forward rather than sprinting into the box. Garnacho crosses it and only Diallo is in there against Anderson and Bassey.
What I will say in defence of the strikers is that we're not just not scoring many goals, we are not creating anywhere near enough goal scoring opportunities. If we were creating chances and missing them then at least you have something to work with but we don't even look like creating chances and look lost with what to do when we get into the last 3rd.
I'd like to see Mainoo in behind the striker, I think his dribbling in tight areas would cause defenders a lot of problems.
27 Jan 2025 14:53:59
There's certainly nothing wrong with the mood in the camp, the Collyer reaction, and the reaction to the goal were awesome. I think that's one of the reasons Rashford isn't around, his mood doesn't fit with the general vibe.
27 Jan 2025 15:21:11
Ports I copped that too. I was like, sprinttttttt! So frustrating to watch when he made a lovely touch and pass. I think it's the way he always plays. But he will win a lot more admirers if he does that then sprint to get into position.
27 Jan 2025 15:26:17
I really don’t get the Hoijland situation. I feel his strength is running on to the ball but he should be spending every day taking 30 yard passes with every united defender taking turns at hounding him until he can handle it. If he could hold up the ball it would transform him and our forward line. At this level its incredibly frustrating that he isn’t improving at it.
27 Jan 2025 15:53:44
AJH- I think Rashford has been training without being selected (I think I read) . But what is very clear is Amorim doesn’t give a damn about reputation and shows the players they must work hard and they’ll get game time. Probably why collyer is ahead of eriksen and Casemiro right now.
Either way Rashford needs to give himself a shake or get on with a move.
27 Jan 2025 18:47:15
Agreed on Zirkzee. He possesses pace but doesn’t use it. It’s a bit like Hojlund which is baffling. If you look back to his goal against Galatasaray, he ran straight past the defender and dinked it over the keeper. He’s obviously a lot better with space to run into or running at a defender. He’s a big lad and with the pace he does have, he should be a nightmare to have running at you. Why he insists on constantly wrestling with his defender I will never get. He could at the very least mix it up. Maybe he lacks the IQ as I can’t see the manager instructing him to do this every match. The manager has to grab hold of him and change things. There is no chance of selling him due to his value decreasing so we could only consider a loan. Who takes him though? I don’t think he would get into any prem side currently.
27 Jan 2025 21:18:06
AJH
I agree, spirit looked strong. The manager is taking the right action. The club must back him up and shift Rashford out.
We are playing without a striker. It’s not like we could see the goal scoring issues all last season or in summer. Hojland doesn’t hold the ball, make runs, or burst past anyone. Perhaps one of the youth needs a chance, they cannot be worse than what we have.
28 Jan 2025 06:23:23
If you watch him live he is the opposite of what strikers like Watkins or the nc boy do. He is a poor striker and will get sold. He looks busy but he ain't and when he should be busy he stands around.
28 Jan 2025 08:10:23
Amorim is taking the hits and the short term pain for the greater good here with Rashford. Clearly none of us know what Rashford is like day to day, and if he’s a trouble maker and not working, then we can handle some games where we struggle to score goals for the sake of moving him out of the camp.
I’m not convinced by his formation in the Premier
league, but I’m all in for backing Amorim and his team over playing Rashford. We saw ten Hag back
Away from his principles after a really positive start to his reign, and it all fell apart for him. Ruben must stay strong and it will come good. Almost the polar opposite to ten Hag’s spell in charge, and Ole’s to a large extent too who bowed to player and club pressure.