He hit it so sweetly that the keeper had no chance despite guessing the right way. The ball hit the inside of the side netting. You couldn't place one any better. It was his 50th goal in all comps and his 34th in the EPL. Nobody has scored more in one season since 1931. And in the EPL, he is now level with Shearer and Andy Cole with 6 games remaining. Surely, he will beat them by a distance come the end of May. The man is a machine. And you would have to think that there is more to come in future seasons as he perfects his game and gets the nous that comes with maturity. His in-game participation isn't great, which for a Pep team is something which will have to improve. In some games this season, he has barely touched the ball. City are not quite used to playing it long to him, or to slipping him in when the defence is sitting deep. Against Arsenal, City went long for the first time this season to beat the Arsenal press, and it worked a treat. I expect to see that option a lot more next season. His potential is frightening and the opposition must be genuinely worried about how good he could become.
Haaland joins an illustrious list of great strikers who have scored more than 30 in an EPL season. Behind the aforementioned top 3 lie Salah, Suarez, Ronaldo, Kane, Van Persie, Henry and Kevin Phillips. Each player was a joy to watch, but Shearer was the best. He managed more than 30 in a season 3 times, no-one else has more than one. And he scored the full gamut of goals, long rangers, tap-ins, headers, left and right footers. He held the ball up well and was a scrapper for the cause. He was a dirty bastard sometimes, but his England status meant that he was rarely punished.
Andy Cole was a strange one. In big games he frequently went missing. In the "Spice Boys" FA Cup Final of '96 and the UCL Final of '99, he was completely anonymous and got subbed off in both. Yet against the smaller teams he was unstoppable. Having said that his place in the list of greats is undeniable. My own fave was Thierry Henry. I loved watching the Invincibles back in the day. Henry, Bergkamp and Viera were a class above the rest in my book and Henry was unplayable when he was right on it.
The quality of strikers that didn't make the list is also very telling. No Owen, Fowler or Torres. No Rooney, Agüero or Defoe either. Just goes to show how hard it is to get on this list and how good Haaland is with 6 games left. Those six make the list of most goals ever scored in the EPL in their career, so they were consistently hitting high numbers but never more than 30 in one season.
Haaland joins an illustrious list of great strikers who have scored more than 30 in an EPL season. Behind the aforementioned top 3 lie Salah, Suarez, Ronaldo, Kane, Van Persie, Henry and Kevin Phillips. Each player was a joy to watch, but Shearer was the best. He managed more than 30 in a season 3 times, no-one else has more than one. And he scored the full gamut of goals, long rangers, tap-ins, headers, left and right footers. He held the ball up well and was a scrapper for the cause. He was a dirty bastard sometimes, but his England status meant that he was rarely punished.
Andy Cole was a strange one. In big games he frequently went missing. In the "Spice Boys" FA Cup Final of '96 and the UCL Final of '99, he was completely anonymous and got subbed off in both. Yet against the smaller teams he was unstoppable. Having said that his place in the list of greats is undeniable. My own fave was Thierry Henry. I loved watching the Invincibles back in the day. Henry, Bergkamp and Viera were a class above the rest in my book and Henry was unplayable when he was right on it.
The quality of strikers that didn't make the list is also very telling. No Owen, Fowler or Torres. No Rooney, Agüero or Defoe either. Just goes to show how hard it is to get on this list and how good Haaland is with 6 games left. Those six make the list of most goals ever scored in the EPL in their career, so they were consistently hitting high numbers but never more than 30 in one season.
How many will Haaland end up with when he leaves the premier league? He'll be at City until at least his current contract runs out because no other team will be able to afford him. Barring injury or illness I think we are seeing the beginning of a legend.
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| Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports |
Haaland is something else. The pundits were saying that in the game against Fulham he made a great contribution during the match, bringing players into the game. Since watching him this season he seems much more than a one trick pony. The way he is going he might well be considered down the line as the greatest forward of all time.
ReplyDeleteEven @ 3 - 0 , I wasn't confident of the Reds grinding out a win . A 20 yrd gap between midfield & defence has been the big problem all season . It needs to be corrected ( big time ) during the summer . Suarez scored some unbelievable Prem goals ( 31 ) during the 2014 campaign ; pity that the defence was just as flaky as the present lot . Rush was the best striker of the eighties .
ReplyDeleteI felt the same. with 75 minutes left 3-0 didn't seem a safe distance and so it proved to be. Fortunately, Mora was as poor as anything the Reds have and gifted Liverpool the victory.
DeleteRush was special.
Rush was incredible, but Dalglish made him better. Just like Haaland and De Bruyne
ReplyDeleteNot totally convinced Haaland is human. As much as I hate the twat Suarez was up there for me, as was Tevez for sheer industry.
ReplyDeleteThe Viking wont beat the record set by Dixie Dean...
ReplyDelete