Going through the Championship I think nearly every team has a forward/s better than Ji and Wickham, just highlights how weak we are up top really. Southampton- Lambert, Guly, Sharp Reading - Hunt, Roberts West Ham - Cole, Carew, Maynard, Vaz Te Brum - Zigic, King Blackpool - Skp, Taylor-Fletcher Cardiff - Miller, Earnshaw Brighton - Mackail Smith, Boro - Emnes, McDonald, Jutkiwics Leicester - Nugent, Beckford Hull - Fryatt Derby - Davies, Robinson Burnley - Rodriquez, Austin The list goes on. Just highlights how bad a position Bruce left us in when id rather see any of the above on the bench ahead of our two and im praying this is rectified in the summer. Think Mon will bring in someone to lead the line then hopefully a second who he actually rates enough to play. Alot depends on Gyan and Sess, if both are sold then id like us to go try and find a big man little man style partnership and go back to a 4-4-2 formation.
Great post.........a sums up the lack of strikers at the club... The few times iv'e seen them i like the Leicester pairing...
Personally, I have very high hopes for Wickham, and feel he will prove to be a great buy in the long term...
I was slaughtered by many on here for going on and on about the need for a striker in January, I did not and still dont accept we could not have got someone in to help us out.
I think the fact the only deals were two loan defenders show that Mons hands were tied, what forwards were available on loan?
I think we all know where we need to strenthen, if we can all see it then MON can definatly see it. I think he will have a list of targets and hopefully not just a plan a but a few plans for who we can get in
I think we were all in agreement over the need for a new striker. Seems to me MON decided to keep his powder dry till the summer when prices are more realistic.
More importantly, what forwards available on loan had more premiership experience than Ji and Wickham? Syd, who says we didnt make a move to buy a striker but that it didnt happen for x reasons? We know Davies was a target, but that one didnt come off. How many more did we go for, but where the bids were not made public? MON obviously decided not to get fleeced by buying in the Jan window, and to make do with what we currently have. A risk? maybe, but one that worked IMO as MON has acheived what was (or at least I) expected from him when he took Bruce's job - get us out of relegation trouble. We also have to remember Ji bagged us 3 points against Man City, without which we would be in 13th place.
.... and as we relax and enjoy an end to the season without any worries of relegation whatsoever, I think we can safely arrive at the conclusion that Martin O'Neill made the correct call in January. In todays financial fair play rule environment it is an absolute necessity for our great club to ensure we don't pay over the odds for players that are neither here nor there and won't ever be anything more than that. Bruce spent £17 million pounds on Wickham, Gardner, Ji and Elmo. As a club, we cannot afford this kind of outlay for such a poor return on the football pitch. Wickham might come good in two years time, but that is two years away... Meanwhile, when the money has already been spent, it is difficult to spend some more.... Martin O'Neill, by ensuring safety well before the end of the season was proven right to keep his eyes on the budget anticipating a summer reshuffle. Well done Martin.
Your strikers are pish, even if your managers have been reluctant to admit it. Bendtner is half decent and I actually thought he would seize his chance with SAFC with both hands and take a big step in establishing himself as a starting premier league player. I don't think he's done enough though. Ji and Wickham should be 4rd and 5th choice at most. Bendter has his moments but overall I don't think he does enough to warrant 'leading the line'. It's a shame though because I think he has the talent and the physical attributes to do it. Now I wouldn't be surprised if MON would go in and get himself Agbonlahor and Kevin Davies. I think they would both be excellent signings for Sunderland. And Kalou is available in summer apparently, a player who has shown he can do stuff in the prem, only that he was never given a consistent run of games. A front line of Kalou and Agbonlahor would be scary imo. Of course if Sessegnon stays you won't need Kalou. Bruce's transfers weren't bad per se, but they messed up the balance of your team. Brown and O'Shea are good players and great signings because they don't need much coaching, they'll do their job. Bardsley too just does his job. Agbonlahor i think will cost at least 9-10 mio though, maybe 12 so who knows if there are funds? Kevin Davies could probably be gotten for a minimal fee, he's old after all. If you can't have him I'd try and get Jones back. he was great for you, and what's he doing at stoke wasting away on the bench? Crouch is their main man with Walters supporting and Fuller will forever be Pulis favourite. Pulis has such a record of signing decent strikers and destroying them. Just remember what our strikers were like when Andy Carroll left. We would trying to schore goals with Shola and Lovenkrands. They made Leon Best look like Francesco Totti when he came on. That said, I'd much rather have Leon Best and Shola than Bendtner and Wickham right now, they're more settled.
4 or 5 games ago, most sunderland fans would have agreed with you, but Bendtner has been much improved lately and has scored the goals to prove it.
You are comparing Wickham to championship players yet Wickham delivered as much in the ganesh he played as most of the players you listed. The step up is massive between championship and premier league and nobody knows whether any of those you listed will be good enough. I watched Wickham last season and he looked a fantastic player. He's played bit parts of gakes for us and he's not good enough? Give him a run and a bit if confidence he'll be ok. I do agree we're weak up top and need at least 2 forwards however i think the constant getting at a 19 year old is out of order
I do see the point and there is not doubt at all that we need strikers in a big way but none of the forwards on that list have done it in the Prem except SKP of course and Taylor-Fletcher notched a few. I still have hopes for Wickham as he is just a young boy and has loads of potential.....look at Grant Holt, lower league player for much of his career and now doing the business, the lad just needs some time.
