♦ Alfie Haaland shows his support for son Erling, following criticism aimed at him
♦ Man City striker has faced jibes about his game from several football pundits
♦ IAN LADYMAN and CHRIS SUTTON have their say on the Premier League’s Player of the Year – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Alfie Haaland has come to the defence of his son Erling Haaland in light of the criticism aimed at him from Jamie Carragher and old rival, Roy Keane.
The Manchester City striker is leading the Premier League goal-scoring charts once again this season, with 17 goals, one ahead of Ollie Watkins.
However, after he drew a blank in last month’s goalless draw with Arsenal, Roy Keane sensationally labelled the Norwegian’s all round play, the standard of a ‘League Two player.’
Jamie Carragher then hit out at Haaland after Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Real Madrid in midweek, by suggesting the striker is one of the world’s great goal-scorers but is not ‘world-class.’
Now, Haaland’s father, the former City and Nottingham Forest midfielder has backed the forward by defending his record at the club.
Alfie Haaland has leapt to the defence of his son Erling following criticisms of the striker
Haaland’s all-round play has been targeted despite him topping the goal-scoring charts again
Roy Keane called Erling Haaland’s all-round game the standard of a League Two player
Speaking to Viaplay Fotball he said: ‘Then you have the background of Keane and other experts, who may have a slightly different agenda.
‘They probably think it’s a bit okay to come up with that (the criticism). But the team wins, and Erling is still top scorer, so it can’t have been that bad.’
Alfie Haaland infamously clashed with Roy Keane on multiple occasions during their playing days.
In 1997 whilst playing for Leeds, Haaland’s tackle on the Irishman saw him rupture his cruciate ligament and it led to Keane openely seeking revenge on the midfielder.
Four year’s later, during a Manchester derby, Keane raked his studs into Haaland’s leg and the collision ultimately led to his retirement the following season.
Keane admitted in his autobiography his intentions towards his rival and was given an additional fine and ban for the challenge and admission.
Erling Haaland has 30 goals in all competitions this season, bringing his Man City career total to a impressive 82 in 90 appearances for the club.
In the build-up to today’s clash with Luton, the 23-year-old’s manager, Pep Guardiola also defended his striker, insisting his how good Haaland’s been since he joined the club.
Jamie Carragher used his column to suggest that Haaland is not a world class footballer
Roy Keane and Alfie Haaland clashed a number of times during their playing days
Erling’s father played for City and Nottingham Forest in his playing days during the 1990s
‘He helps us to make more spaces in the areas and his contribution has been exceptional since the first day he arrived,’ Guardiola said.
‘They [pundits] do whatever they want. That is not a problem. They have an opinion, I have an opinion and it doesn’t matter if it is right or wrong.
‘If I give an opinion it looks like I want to criticise the pundits but I don’t. We can agree or disagree.
The Spanish boss was responding to Carragher’s comments following the Champions League clash at the Bernabeu.
The former defender wrote in his Telegraph column: ‘Erling Haaland is the ultimate luxury footballer. He is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest goal-scorers, but is yet to become a world-class player.
‘If his sole interest is breaking goalscoring records, he has no need to change anything. If he has serious ambitions to win the Ballon d’Or and play for Real Madrid, he may have a problem.
‘He must add more to his game to make that leap and to seriously challenge his rival to the title of best player of his generation, Kylian Mbappe.’