Wonder who else tried to sign him but offered 3 times more?

Robb, I keep making the same point about this and I haven’t seen you respond (apologies if I missed it).
We're not anywhere near having a squad where the final piece of the jigsaw makes us elite. So to catch up with elite sides (who themselves are continually investing heavily to get better) we need to consistently buy players for better value than they do. This means spending 100m on the ideal striker is probably a worse idea than spending the same sum on 2-3 players who we can expect to be elite by the time we aim for our project to come to fruition (apparently around 2028). Gyökeres at Coventry - yes, absolutely. Gyökeres today - doesn't seem to fit the business model or sporting strategy.

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 42 seconds ago
Robb, I keep making the same point about this and I haven’t seen you respond (apologies if I missed it).
We're not anywhere near having a squad where the final piece of the jigsaw makes us elite. So to catch up with elite sides (who themselves are continually investing heavily to get better) we need to consistently buy players for better value than they do. This means spending 100m on the ideal striker is probably a worse idea than spending the same sum on 2-3 players who we can expect to be elite by the time we aim for our project to come to fruition (apparently around 2028). Gyökeres at Coventry - yes, absolutely. Gyökeres today - doesn't seem to fit the business model or sporting strategy.
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We’ve seen what happens when you buy players like Zirkhorst - you get strikers who don’t have goals in them and we struggle to score goals and wonder why. It’s a catch 22 situation where you believe in this utopia where we have the time to buy medium priced players who can handle the immediacy of what is expected of the club. We’re actually seeing this with Arsenal where they’ve been doing this dance for the past few years but still for some weird reason don’t add a top striker to the mix.

We may never agree on this but something I fully believe in is that having a reliable top goalscorer helps the entire squad as it builds confidence when the wins are invariably going to happen and that trickles all the way down the squad.

If it costs £100 million (I think he’s cheaper in June) then it’s worth it as there’s no guarantee at all that buying a few £30 million players is going to be anymore effective.

And there’s no guarantee that the Gyok of Coventry would be ready for us and perhaps his time in Portugal made him that guy. I don’t think every player we buy should be £100 million but sometimes the big signings are necessary. As we saw with Rice when many said that we should buy cheaper. You have to pay premium to bridge gaps between our rivals and us.

*sometimes you have to pay premium

I agree with Robb but still id like to see if this fella can bring some confidence to the team before splashing more cash

Firstly, isn't it premature to judge Zirkzee as evidence of a failed transfer strategy after a handful of games? Secondly, Hojlund has a very impressive goals:shots ratio, and would presumably have scored a lot more already if the team were better structured to get the ball to him in dangerous positions. Gyökeres may be on fire playing for a team that's a well oiled machine in a Portuguese league where all but two opponents are cannon fodder; it's quite a stretch to assume he would take that productivity to the PL, and in a United side that struggles to create chances for it's centre forward. And just as utopian, in my view, to assume that this one player is a silver bullet. Which he kind of has to be, because he'd be seriously limiting what else we could invest in.

comment by Robben Amorim (U22716)
posted 7 minutes ago
*sometimes you have to pay premium
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Save it for Palmer

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 3 minutes ago
Firstly, isn't it premature to judge Zirkzee as evidence of a failed transfer strategy after a handful of games? Secondly, Hojlund has a very impressive goals:shots ratio, and would presumably have scored a lot more already if the team were better structured to get the ball to him in dangerous positions. Gyökeres may be on fire playing for a team that's a well oiled machine in a Portuguese league where all but two opponents are cannon fodder; it's quite a stretch to assume he would take that productivity to the PL, and in a United side that struggles to create chances for it's centre forward. And just as utopian, in my view, to assume that this one player is a silver bullet. Which he kind of has to be, because he'd be seriously limiting what else we could invest in.
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We’ll have to agree to disagree as we’ve needed a top striker for a long time and I’m not convinced in the ones we have. To make this one even more attractive he’s the managers star pupil and I’d be stunned if he didn’t wanna take him to United with him (albeit at the end of the season).

On a separate note - I’m often patriotic about the greatness of all things Australia but the A League quality is pure shiiiit and I’m watching Mata play for his new team (Western Sydney) and he looks so annoyed at how awful his team is 😂

comment by Robben Amorim (U22716)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 3 minutes ago
Firstly, isn't it premature to judge Zirkzee as evidence of a failed transfer strategy after a handful of games? Secondly, Hojlund has a very impressive goals:shots ratio, and would presumably have scored a lot more already if the team were better structured to get the ball to him in dangerous positions. Gyökeres may be on fire playing for a team that's a well oiled machine in a Portuguese league where all but two opponents are cannon fodder; it's quite a stretch to assume he would take that productivity to the PL, and in a United side that struggles to create chances for it's centre forward. And just as utopian, in my view, to assume that this one player is a silver bullet. Which he kind of has to be, because he'd be seriously limiting what else we could invest in.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

We’ll have to agree to disagree as we’ve needed a top striker for a long time and I’m not convinced in the ones we have. To make this one even more attractive he’s the managers star pupil and I’d be stunned if he didn’t wanna take him to United with him (albeit at the end of the season).
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I have a feeling Amorim will have a far more limited role in our recruitment strategy than any of his predecessors

Surely you have to sort your midfield and defence out first.

You’ve just had a manager who couldn’t stop buying from the inferior Eredivisie and buying a load of players he used to manage and look how most of those turned out.

Now you want to do it again with the Portuguese league.

Honestly, the likes of Mbuemo, Wood, Isak would be far better options for United whilst rebuilding, they are Prem proven. That’s what United under SAF used to do well, buy top players from within the league

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 hour, 18 minutes ago
Gyökeres may be on fire playing for a team that's a well oiled machine in a Portuguese league where all but two opponents are cannon fodder
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While it's clear that the PL is stronger than the Primeira Liga, someone of your eloquence could easily make that point without being so dismissive or disparaging of the Portuguese league.

Fwiw, here are some overall numbers from last season for the PL top 3 vs the Primeira Liga top 3, taking into account it's 38 vs 34 games:

Matches lost
Prem 12 (10.5%)
Prim 12 (11.8%)

Total points accrued
Prem 262 (2.30 ppg)
Prim 242 (2.37 ppg)

Aggregate goal difference
Prem 169 (+1.48 gpg)
Prim 152 (+1.49 gpg)

This suggests that neither of the leagues comprised more "cannon fodder" relative to the top 3 than the other.

comment by Roy's Keane (U11635)
posted 1 hour, 48 minutes ago
comment by Robben Amorim (U22716)
posted 7 minutes ago
*sometimes you have to pay premium
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Save it for Palmer
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dream on

comment by Robben Amorim (U22716)
posted 5 hours, 43 minutes ago
comment by Ruben The King Amorim Tim Tagi Dim (U10026)
posted 4 hours, 13 minutes ago
https://www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11095/13246276/ruben-amorim-to-man-utd-outgoing-sporting-head-coach-explains-decision-to-move-to-old-trafford

Amorim insisted Man Utd will not sign Sporting players - including in-demand striker Viktor Gyokeres, who scored four goals against Estrela on Friday - in the January transfer window

"Gyokeres costs £100m," said Amorim. "It's very complicated. I will not take any of Sporting's players in January. But that's another story.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mentioning Gyok by name specifically there surely means he wants us to sign him. May have to wait until the end of the season.
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He was asked about him.

comment by ai'sonlyagame (U6426)
posted 36 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 hour, 18 minutes ago
Gyökeres may be on fire playing for a team that's a well oiled machine in a Portuguese league where all but two opponents are cannon fodder
----------------------------------------------------------------------

While it's clear that the PL is stronger than the Primeira Liga, someone of your eloquence could easily make that point without being so dismissive or disparaging of the Portuguese league.

Fwiw, here are some overall numbers from last season for the PL top 3 vs the Primeira Liga top 3, taking into account it's 38 vs 34 games:

Matches lost
Prem 12 (10.5%)
Prim 12 (11.8%)

Total points accrued
Prem 262 (2.30 ppg)
Prim 242 (2.37 ppg)

Aggregate goal difference
Prem 169 (+1.48 gpg)
Prim 152 (+1.49 gpg)

This suggests that neither of the leagues comprised more "cannon fodder" relative to the top 3 than the other.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tbf I think the important context was regarding doing it in a United side.

Interesting stats, though. Any comparison of goals scored? A quick look at Sporting shows since Gyokeres went to Sporting their goals for has shot up exponentially.

comment by Robben Amorim (U22716)
posted 11 hours, 12 minutes ago
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 6 minutes ago
We know from past experience that lots of goals in the Dutch and Portuguese leagues doesn't always translate to the PL. It would be a big risk to spend 60m on a player that only has a handful of goals at the top level.

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63 goals in 66 games for Sporting
‘Handful of goals ‘




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Portuguese league isn't top level. Dutch league is better and we've seen how players can smash it in that league and look totally lost in the PL. He's scored against a couple of good teams at national level and European club level. Thats it really.

comment by Striketeam7 - staying humble (U18109)
posted 2 hours, 14 minutes ago
Surely you have to sort your midfield and defence out first.

You’ve just had a manager who couldn’t stop buying from the inferior Eredivisie and buying a load of players he used to manage and look how most of those turned out.

Now you want to do it again with the Portuguese league.

Honestly, the likes of Mbuemo, Wood, Isak would be far better options for United whilst rebuilding, they are Prem proven. That’s what United under SAF used to do well, buy top players from within the league
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Awhilst i agree with this sentiment, sometimes a player it worth it regardless of the manager in charge (not that I feel this is the case here).

I look forward to seeing what amorim can do with Rasmus tbh.

comment by Playmaker (U22780)
posted 11 hours, 1 minute ago
I say we wait and see what Gorky does after Amorim leaves.

If his form dries up quicker than a camel tird in the sahara it goes to show the boy plays for Amorim and we sign him.

If however, he carries on banging them in regardless then obv he's a worldie and we sign him.

Remember, Cristiano was offered to the scousers first for 8m and they turned him down thinking he was some spoofer playing for Sporting in a tinpot league. United ended up paying 12m and the rest is history. Lesson here is whatever his value, we buy him and why not pay an extra 50%.

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You are comparing one of the greatest players ever with a 26 year old who hasn't yet played in a top league. Let's be sensible here

comment by Ruben The King Amorim Tim Tagi Dim (U10026)
posted 30 minutes ago

Interesting stats, though. Any comparison of goals scored? A quick look at Sporting shows since Gyokeres went to Sporting their goals for has shot up exponentially.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Haven't checked, Daz.

I know what the gist was, it's just the disparaging way in which these comparisons are made that gets me. The fact it was RR when he's usually so measured illustrates how this kind of language seeps into all our thoughts and speech.

Others are admittedly much, much worse.

comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 33 minutes ago

Portuguese league isn't top level. Dutch league is better and we've seen how players can smash it in that league and look totally lost in the PL. He's scored against a couple of good teams at national level and European club level. Thats it really.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Really, is it so hard to see past such basic generalisations?

There are loads of Portuguese and Dutch imports who've smashed in the big leagues and loads of 'PL-proved' and big league imports who've flopped.

In the end it comes down to how each individual player adapts not only to a different league, but to every individual club.

How much extra do you have to pay nowadays for someone who's already stood out in the PL, and is it worth it?

It's well over a decade since Fergie spoke of 'value in the market'. The same arguably applies now more than ever.

ioag

He’s gonna be Atleti’s next flop striker anyway.

In a time where there is such a lack of quality strikers available it’s crazy the disrespect one of the rare good one gets.

I'm just looking forward to seeing how Amorimball helps Hojlund.

comment by Diafol Coch 77 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 JA606 Class Act (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
I'm just looking forward to seeing how Amorimball helps Hojlund.
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The official term is AmoBall ™️