Benjamin Sesko’s season is up and running. The world is at his feet – or head.
Manchester United conceding a late goal against Everton was a double blow. It denied the team a hard-fought three points, and it also robbed Benjamin Sesko of a very special moment.
Sesko had put United 2-1 up just minutes earlier. His powerful header from Luke Shaw’s cross was too much for Jordan Pickford to handle, and nestled neatly in the back of the net.
The striker is yet to start a game for United this season, and that was his first goal of the campaign. The goals and starts should start to increase from here.
All the adulation for Sesko was not quite forgotten, however, despite the dropped points.
There were some very kind words from The Independent’s Kevin Garside, who compared Sesko to one of Manchester United’s greats, in terms of his style.
“Sesko is Erling Haaland waiting to happen, a monstrous 6ft 5in and fast as a 100m sprinter. In possession he keeps it simple, gathers the ball, passes it on, makes his run.
“He hits the box like a 1950s centre-forward, all pace, power and Tommy Taylor vibes.”
The comparison to Tommy Taylor is quite a compliment.
Benjamin Sesko’s long route to greatness
Tommy Taylor had already established himself as one of Manchester United’s best strikers of all time before his tragic death in the 1958 Munich Disaster.
Taylor was an imposing centre-forward with a ruthless eye for goal, and it is Sesko’s powerful physical attributes that prompted the stylistic comparison.
From a productivity point of view, Sesko has a staggering long way to reach Tommy Taylor’s tally.
| Player | Goals | Games | Goals per Game Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Taylor | 131 | 191 | 0.69 (131/191) |
| Benjamin Sesko | 13 | 35 | 0.37 (13/35) |
Even accounting for playing substantially fewer games, Sesko’s strike rate lags behind Tommy Taylor’s staggering 0.69 goals per game rate.
If you account Sesko’s career totals playing in easier leagues, with his games for Liefering, Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, his goals per game rate is still only 0.42, inferior to Taylor’s prolific record.
| Club / Metric | Appearances | Goals | Goals per Game Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Liefering | 44 | 21 | 0.48 |
| Red Bull Salzburg | 55 | 21 | 0.38 |
| RB Leipzig | 64 | 27 | 0.42 |
| Manchester United | 33 | 13 | 0.39 |
| Combined Total | 196 | 82 | 0.42 |
Sesko has played more career games already that Taylor did for United, while scoring 49 fewer goals.
That just goes to show how staggeringly good Taylor was during his career, which was tragically cut short when he was only 26.
We all recognise Sesko is just scratching the surface of his Manchester United career so far.
He is just 23, and if he can establish himself as the club’s lead striker over the next decade he could gradually get towards Taylor’s total output – even if not at the same pace.
The Tommy Taylor story
While Benjamin Sesko cost Manchester United £66 million, it was a different era when the Red Devils shelled out £29,999 to buy Tommy Taylor from Barnsley.
The extra £1 went to Barnsley’s tea lady. Legendary manager Sir Matt Busby came up with the idea for the unique fee, wanting not to add extra pressure on Taylor by making him football’s first £30,000 player.
His goals went on to power Manchester United to win two league titles in 1956 and 1957. In the latter, he scored a career best 34 goals in 45 matches.
Taylor’s life was tragically cut short when he died in the Munich air disaster. He had already scored 22 goals that season when his life was cruelly cut short, and he had begun to establish himself with England.
In 19 appearances for the Three Lions, Taylor scored 16 goals. Later that summer he would have played a starring role for England at the 1958 World Cup.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/L3NrcgP