what was wrong with going for Roberts or Jutkiewisz - both goalscoers and apparently, just over £1.20million each
First of all, the Allams said millionS, not million, as people have continued to misquote over the last few months. Second, why is there confusion over where this money is? It's still there, the Allams are not to blame for any lack of big name signings. Barmby has said on more than one occasion that he is happy with the squad as it is. I think we do have the strikers to be honest, I just think that we have two 10-a-season strikers rather than one 20-a-season. It's the formation I have a problem with. As difficult as it would be to drop McKenna or Evans at this moment in time, one of them has to give. Playing one striker does not suit us at all in my opinion, and will only serve to win games 1-0.. if we come up against a team capable of scoring more than 1 then the game is lost. Fryatt is poor at the moment so I say throw Simpson or King straight in to partner McLean, with the other on the bench - Fryatt out of the 16-man squad completely. A 4-1-3-2 of some sort would be good, McKenna or Evans lying deep with Stewart, Brady and Koren behind the two strikers. Brady and Stewart also have the pace to get back and support the defence when necessary so it wouldn't be as attacking as it sounds.
I think we need another striker, we are lightweight up top. There is clearly money available, that money doesn't have to be used for a permanent signing, it could be used to fund a loanee from a prem side not getting much action. We're losing Adebolla, we've lost the threat of Barmby, McClean and Fryatt need some competition. Simpson hasn't featured since he returned. There's nothing on the bench if we need to chase a game and change the way we play, which they will, Middlesbrough matched our formation at the Riverside, and despite all the chances, we couldn't score. There must be a player who would improve us for an affordable loan fee, and put themselves in the shop window
strange aint it. 27 league games plus fa/league cups = 8 goals, for number one striker, when midfielder Koren has the same number in less games. also compare with Lambert 29 games - 18 goals. Yes, why dont we have bigger goals so he cant miss.
It really does amaze me as to how many on here aren't actually in full time employment within the football league with all the expertise they have !! .... I don't know where we will finish this season but it won't be far short from the top six and then we all know what can happen don't we and we can't discount albeit an outside chance automatic promotion. At the beginning of the season If someone had told me we would be in the top six now I would have been very happy. By all means question Nick Barmby's actions but both he and the Allams know the whole picture and between them they have done a great job so far. I do stress that it is still good to read it all though.
I'd suggest you have a look at the goalscorer charts. Apart from Lambert with 15 and Henderson & McCormack with 12, most clubs top scorers have 7-10 goals. Much as people would like to bend the facts to pretend MF is crap, he's not, he's weighed in with as many goals as most strikers. Koren has weighed in with more than his fair share too. If we're going to point the finger, it should be at the others.
Most teams who have a '20-a-season' striker expect to have or do have a couple of other players capable of reaching double figures. We have Fryatt, Koren and... well, nobody.
strangely i did get the figures for Lambert off wikipedia - i did say 29 games - 18 goals. i didnt say league games did i ??. i didnt check on any others as no doubt you would have come back and asked me to check my figures. Oh wait..... And yes, i do think he's crap, as i've said all season.
I mis-worded that slightly, I meant to add that unless we sell someone, ie McLean to Brighton, I don't see us signing another striker.
Theo, whilst agree with your theory about spending (for us) I disagree on your point about the other teams strengthening. All those teams around us are pretty much solid in most departments apart from the areas where they've added one or two, hence the reason why they've added to their squads where they've needed. I think it's clear for all to see we need another goalscoring striker to rotate with Fryatt as he's very hit and miss and plays good and bad in patches, you never know which Fryatt will turn up for each game. We rely heavily on him to put the ball in the net with him being our only goal poaching striker and our lone striker formation, it's vital that player is on form every game. While I wouldn't for one minute advocate spending for the sake of spending, a punt on a cheap proven lower league striker would be well worth the risk IMO as we have nothing to lose, only points and goals to potentially gain. It would also be good for Fryatt to have some serious competition as lets face it, when he hits form none of our other current strikers have a cat in hells chance of taking that lone role up top away from him, he needs to be constantly kept on his toes.
You need to get over that incident, to everyone who saw it it was a ridiculous booking, you're going by Peter Swan's view. EDIT: I'm talking about the McLean thing, not Diouf.
His position is big man up front winning the ball for Stewart, Brady, McLean, Fryatt, or Simpson to run onto, or to nod it back to Koren. (there's Plan B, Plan A = pass it to Koren, Plan B = knock it to King to nod down to Koren)
Is a lower division striker going to be any better an alternative than McLean or Simpson? I personally don't think so. I don't think we need another goalscoring striker as much as we need a wide player who can make chances and deliver set pieces. We are screaming out for it. I'm gutted that the Hamill thing hasn't come off. Hamill, Koren and Stewart playing behind Fryatt or McLean would have been perfect. If we were to buy a striker, it should be someone who can play up front on his own and hold the ball up. Not easy to find.
Don't tell me who's view I'm going by. I saw for myself on the telly several times that night thanks to the ability to pause and rewind it. He was miles from getting the ball, if he'd been any later in having his shot he'd have struggled to defend himself if he'd been charged with violent conduct for kicking him. I'm using Swan's description of the incident for comedic effect, because I'm saying Diouf deserves to have that treatment since he thinks it's acceptable to taunt a fellow pro who's laid on the ground, especially one who's earnt far from enough to be able to retire on.
I was about to quote a couple of your posts and argue with you, but in this one you've basically said what I was going to say. I'm certain that this side with a couple more players is good enough for promotion, but even my City bias doesn't lead me to believe that carrying on the way we are (no new players) will get us promoted. I'd agree with strengthening the two positions you've mentioned.
I fully understand what you're saying but I've seen you mention it several times (which is why I remembered that it was Swan's view), it was the kind of stupid refereeing decision that pisses me off so much and that's why I keep arguing with you about it. Cards are for anything that's blatantly cheating (professional) or genuinely dangerous. They're supposed to be a deterrent, not just awarded for every foul. He swung his leg and the defender got there first and replaced the ball with his leg, it's a free kick, fine. There's no need for a booking though when it's a genuine attempt to play the ball, especially when you see some of the stuff other players get away with. If people are getting booked for swinging a leg in an attempt to play the ball, it's nothing short of a joke.
Surely Nicky Maynard would be worth a try in the eleventh hour - contract up at the end of the season and surely.. surely they'd rather get something for him. I realise I've said surely a fair few times there
