Forever Blue: Could Haaland do more?

As we all know, the World is constantly changing and the way we look at football is no exception.

I have a great deal of experience of this because I have hosted football phone-ins and debate shows on radio and these days I have a weekly audio podcast called Forever Blue.

Years ago, the debates were based on what people had seen at the game they had attended and the pool of contributors was probably smaller. Since the explosion of TV coverage of the beautiful game and the resultant leap in popularity of the sport I love so much, many more people feel equipped to have an opinion, even if they only dip into highlights of moments captured on social media.

I’d already noticed an increase in the use of statistics to back up an opinion. Goal numbers, assists, distance run and the dreaded “expected goals” might have a limited value, but not to the extent where the whole opinion is based on those “insights”.

I had a friend who used to visit from the US to watch Manchester City, long before the blanket coverage that exists over there today. As an American he loved sports statistics. Baseball, like cricket, has books full of statistical analysis and it doesn’t appear to be much different in other US sports. I’d argue that football is different and when Pep Guardiola rubs his fingers together sometimes when talking about the smell of football, he’s expressing his instinct about a player rather that pure statistical analysis.

The prompt to my column on this subject, this week, is the debate I’ve witnessed online since City’s draw with Chelsea on Saturday. It was a disappointing result of course which has meant that fans can be more polarised in their views.

Statistics, particularly from last season, suggest that City’s Norwegian frontman Erling Haaland is peerless. How can you argue against him being the best striker in the World when he’s been the top scored in the League which is regarded as the best and most competitive in modern football? However, I believe the argument is more nuanced.

I attend every City game and I watch the matches very intensely. I don’t drink and I don’t chat to the person next to me while I watch. That doesn’t mean my opinion is better than anyone else’s but it might mean it’s based on more on experience. It would be a bit like some going to the polls in the general election this year and casting their vote based on what their friends are saying or occasionally reading one newspaper versus someone who is constantly engaged in the political debate, in all it’s forms.

For what it’s worth, I think Erling Haaland is a very good striker, full of power and determination. He plays up from for the current best team in World football. He’s bound to have a hat full of goalscoring chances and score many goals, but the analysis of him when City don’t win a game and he fails to score cannot be without criticism just because of his numbers. I’ve watched every moment he’s played for City and I’d argue that Sergio Aguero was a much better striker. The statistics would strongly suggest I’m wrong.

On Tuesday, City played their second game of the week, when they faced Brentford at the Etihad Stadium. It wasn’t the most convincing I’ve seen the Blues and almost inevitably it was Erling Haaland who raced clear, benefitting from a slip in the Brentford defence, the score the only goal of the game.

The big challenges are now going to come very quickly for Pep Guardiola’s team who face Bounemouth and Luton (in the FA Cup) on the road before successive games against Man United and Liverpool. It’s never dull and it’s always Great to be a Blue!