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The debate has been raging ever since the Norwegian star burst onto the scene with Borussia Dortmund and hasn’t stopped since his move to Manchester City. With an impressive tally of Premier League goals this season, Haaland is definitely among the top strikers in Europe, but how does he compare to some of the other world-class players out there?

There is no doubt that Haaland is attracting all the attention particularly as he has just broken the Premier League record for most goals in a season (35 and counting). Some negative voices are saying, well he takes penalties as well and with those 7 taken out he would be on 28 for the season. Andy Cole, the iconic Man Utd striker of yesteryear actually scored 30 in one season without penalties.

I think he will still get the 3 he needs to get to 31 and beat that record anyway but even so, 35 in 31 is a monstrous record for any striker. Only Ronaldo, Messi and Lewandowski in recent memory have that sort of record. The man is an animal!

Erling Haaland also has 7 assists, and his all-round game, holding the ball up, dropping deep to join in then bursting in behind to scare defenders has improved in recent weeks. This is no doubt been instilled and worked on by the genius manager Pep Guardiola, who continues to innovate and evolve his teams to be ruthless and a winning machine.

Having a player like Kevin De Bruyne feeding him the ball definitely helps though, although he has taken a rest for the treble run-in and Haaland’s goals are still free-flowing. This is a testament to both Haaland’s quality and hunger for goals as well as City’s laughable riches and seemingly endless squad depth.

I think the measure of a great player and great striker is how they do it over multiple seasons and the trophies they end up winning and the effect they have on winning them. This season Manchester City is on for a treble, the same treble that their bitter city rivals Manchester United achieved in 1999.

I’m old enough to remember that too, with one of the greatest comebacks of all time in the final against a fantastic Bayern Munich side. If Haaland and his Man City teammates lift all 3 I think we are already in the realm of saying that Haaland is the best striker in the league and I think the world.

There is a saying in sport, overused and somewhat cliche though that “form is temporary, but class is permanent”. Haaland for such a young man has already been putting up these sorts of numbers for 4-5 years in top domestic leagues, he is annihilating international teams now too with Norway.

At the time of writing he has 21 goals in 23 games for them which is madness. This is without De Bruyne, Foden, Grealish, Mahrez, Bernardo Silva etc however Norway do have Martin Odegaard, who has been tremendous for Arsenal and is crucial to Norway.

On the scene at the moment we can only really point to a couple of competitors to the tag “best striker in the world” and that is Harry Kane and Karim Benzema. Benzema is underrated in my opinion or rather was until last years deserved Balon D’or win.

The man has scored over 27 goals in each of the last 5 seasons. He has won 5 Champions Leagues, 8 league titles, a hatful of cups and FIFA world club cups, the only thing he’s missing is a World cup winner’s medal. He should have been there in 2018 but he had an ongoing case with the French Federation in 2018.

Then there is Harry Kane, trophies ZERO, however, if he stays at Tottenham or in the Premier League he will break Alan Shearer’s all-time record of 260 goals in 2 seasons time. He guarantees you 20 goals a season, his all-round play and passing range is unreal but perhaps he just doesn’t get the recognition he deserves because he plays for Spurs.

Let’s not forget he is already England’s all-time top scorer, and that will stay for many years, no one is coming through the ranks to challenge that. I just feel Kane doesn’t have the same dynamism or electricity Haaland has, he doesn’t send the fear of god down defenders backs.

For me, Benzema is currently the best striker in the world, but if Haaland wins the treble, or even the league and Champions League, and maintains this same rate of goals for 2 seasons he will prove to me that he can do it in the hardest league in the world, can affect big games and provide the city with the Ultimate trophy they have been chasing ever since the middle eastern money flooded into the club.

This season has been a crazy one in the Premier League. But with just 4 games to go there are still outcomes to be decided up and down the table, but there are clear managers who have stood out and deserve to be named manager of the year. We are going to review them below:

Pep Guardiola – The man is a genius. He has revolutionised football in this country and across the world. This season he has developed an inverted wing back system, then changed to 3 at the back and moved John Stones into a roaming midfield role. They are in the Fa cup final against bitter rivals Manchester United. They are now top of the league and favourites to win the premier league title for the 5th time in 6 seasons. They are also favourites for the Champions League with their Champions League final coming against Real Madrid over two legs in the Semis. But does he deserve to win the award? Or is this all expected from a juggernaut of a team?

Mikel Arteta – So close! There has been a massive change in performance this season, recruitment has been amazing and they haven’t made a mistake in the market. They are on track to get 90 points which would win the majority of league titles, just ask Sir Alex Ferguson, he’d usually win with between 78-86 points. Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have gone off the boil and Peps former apprentice Arteta has taken his place to give us an exciting race. The youngest team in the league and great credit, but ultimately won nothing and were poor in Europe and cup competitions.

Eddie Howe – Newcastle look nailed on for a top 4 place and Champions League football next season. They have one of the best defences in the league, St James Park is a fortress and there is a feel good factor around the place. The transformation started last season, but this season has been remarkable. With the riches the Saudi owners have, there is potential for some massive star names coming through the doors, but I think they will continue to steadily build and Howe has arguably a tougher job sustaining it, but exceptional from Eddie and he always carries himself well.

Roberto De Zerbi – Brighton as a club are quite remarkable, they play some of the best football in the league, and they use an advanced statistical base to sign players, rarely does that not pay off. They get the most out of every single player at the club and they seem to sell at the right time for the highest transfer fee and it doesn’t seem to affect the quality of play. How much is is down to the role Graham Potter played the seasons before or Tony Bloom and Paul Barber at the top of the house? That’s difficult to say but De Zerbi has taken them on to a new level. An outside chance of a top 4 place but I think the top 6 is looking solid for them and what a season.

Unai Emery – The man is so underrated it’s unreal! He’s taken Villa from relegation candidates to European candidates. Steven Gerrard should be credited for some of the recruitment, I actually think that was decent. Coutinho made an impact but quite predictably tailed off when he got settled at the club and knew what he could get away with. The improvement though can be tracked in the same way Ollie Watkins’ form has changed. He looks like scoring every single game now, and Emery made the bold decision of getting rid of Ings in January. He only brought in Alex Moreno but he’s been a shrewd signing, Villa have become more solid defensively, and very effective in transition and if Villa get Europe they are guaranteed a trophy, Emery and the Europa League are wedded it seems, he’s won it a remarkable 4 times!

Gary O’Neill – I mean what a job this man has done. Scott Parker threw his toys out of the pram and a 9-0 result earlier in the season didn’t help. It looked like Bournemouth were going to have a long hard season. Lowest attendance in the league and limited budget but my god what a turnaround. Gary O’Neill has got Bournemouth defensively solid while maintaining a big threat on the break. Ouattara, the January signing has given them pace and invention going forward, Billing just off Solanke has been a master stroke and they look hard to deal with, pace and power always is! In recent weeks they have been winning games and are comfortably safe and may finish as high as 12th. What a season.

Honourable mentions would be Marco Silva, Fulham were going so well and might have made Europe but injuries and Mitrovic’s ban have derailed that. Brentford are always solid and will finish top half again, but the winner for me would be Howe, followed extremely closely by De Zerbi but I think Pep will win it especially if he lifts the Premier League trophy, Fa Cup and the much-desired Champions League, the holy grail for Man Citys owners.

At time of writing we have 4 teams in my opinion that could go down, along with Southampton who are definitely gone. Which is a shame as I quite like Ruben Selles and his approach to football, and they have a lot of vibrant, talented young players. This relegation fight is the best i remember and the tightest at the bottom of the table with lots of teams still involved.

Those teams are Leicester City 30pts, Leeds United 30pts, Nottingham Forest 30pts and Everton 29pts. These are some of the biggest and most historic teams in England. Everton haven’t been releagted for 72 years, Nottingham Forest have won the Europen cup (now Champions League), Leicester City won the league less than 7 years ago and Leeds United are massive in both history and support.

It would then, be sad to see any of them go, the Championship is a brutal league and there is no guarantee they will bounce straight back, even with parachute payments. But which of the 4 will go, lets find out!

Leicester City – Best Goal difference of the 3 stuck on 30 points, tough fixtures to come but the key game is the next one for them, Fulham Away. I think Fulham are on the beach and with no Pereira and Mitrovic, their 2 most talented players, Leicester will win this one and i think that could be enough. It will go to the last day no matter what and if thats the case i think West Ham at home will be at least a point. West Ham will rest players to get ready for a UEFA Conference League final and they will secure their safety then. Players like James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Harvey Barnes will give them enough going forward and they will be safe.

Leeds United – 17th on Goal difference right now and the same as Leicester have 2 games where they can get points. They will get no change out of Newcastle or Manchester City but with Sam Allardyce, just appointed to take over from Javi Gracia, they have someone with experience in releagtion scraps. He got my own team Sunderland out before as well as Palace and Everton, who ironically could do with his services right now too! I just can’t see how they can get a point in the next 2 games, but i think they will beat West Ham with everything on the line for them and Elland Road will be a factor if it is required last day of the season. 3 or 4 points for me. What they do have in their favour is a squad of hard workers, a side effect from the Bielsa and Jesse Marsch era who thrived on the pressing game with physicality across the picth. Allardyce will focus their minds, simplify the play to be more effective, and keep the goals conceded to a minimum and with goal difference in play that could be worth an extra point.

Nottingham Forest – In the drop zone on goal difference currently and Steve Coopers side have it all to do. It always looked a tough season with such a crazy influx of players in this season. Around 25 players have come in, which is baffling, you can only have 11 and 9 subs and most squads are 25 all in. Signings take time to gel and Forests home form as given them a chance and they have Southampton next at the City Gorundm which is must win. In my opinion if they don’t win that game they are going down. If they win they will have momentum and i could see them beating Chelsea who have been atrocious or get something from Palace last day of the season. They do have a passionate, albeit crazy owner in Marinakis who clearly loves the club and wants the best for it but he should leave Steve Cooper to it. Key player will be top scorer Brennan Johnson who i can see being poached by a top 6 club if they go through the trap door in 4 games time. He is pacy, works extremely hard pressing from the front and has an eye for goal.

Everton – 29pts and the early Sean Dyche bounce seems to have worn off. Only Chelsea are a more chaotic club right now. Their off field troubles are well documented with Farhat Moshiri ploughing over £500m in transfers over the last 6-7 years with nothing to show for it. They are still building a stadium, which is not fully funded, they have lost over £300m in the last 3 years and are facing strict FFP penalties. If they were to go down, I don’t think I am being too apocalyptic here, but if they go down this could be disastrous for the club, it could be the beginning of a downward spiral towards extinction

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