Spot on - I'm a bit ambivalent about the Yak as he doesn't really excite me but you can't argue with his record and if MON brought him in I think he would do a good job for us. I would prefer Fletcher though.
I wouldn't touch Yakubu. One of the laziest around. The only way to consider players like him is if you're going to partner him with a workhorse buzzy type. Like a Bellamy type player who is non stop. If you are going to play one up top or looking for a mobile two man partnership, he is not your man. Very lazy and very selfish. To be honest I just think Sunderland can do better and O'Neill will not like his lazy streak. He likes his players/teams to work. Surely Sunderland would be better looking to the continent where you'd get some value for money which you won't get with players like Yakubu?
This lazy thing does my head in. Strikers are there to score goals not chase balls around like a dog. Would people prefer a forward who chases defenders around and runs after lost causes but only scores 4 or 5 goals a season?
The point is the two don't have to be mutally exclusive. A striker is not only there to score goals in modern football. The days where a striker would just poach are just about over. You have to have more strings to your bow at the very top. Whether that is running channels or closing down full backs, you have to do it. Yakubu just flat refuses and is not a team player. There is reason none of the top clubs have ever gone near Yakubu. As you say he has no problem scoring, so you have to ask why can he not cut it with the best? Berbatov has found a similar scenario at Man U. Ferguson has decided if he can get the same amount of goals out of a Welbeck or Hernandez, why use him? Just because you work, it doesn't mean you'll score less goals. Quite the opposite. So why would MON go for a lazy goal getter when he can get one who'll work. The only reason is money. This applies in Yakubu's case of course but a sensible club will always go for someone who will work and has a sell on value. At 29 Yakabu could easily become an albatross round the clubs neck. I reckon Sunderland will have money available or MON wouldn't have went. They don't need to look at desperate options like Yakubu and should leave it to the promoted clubs.
I agree with this. One of the biggest things about Kenwyne was imo his inability to be the first defender as a forward. He was just happy to go through the motions and wait for crosses or passes to land at his feet. In the modern game, attack is the first line of defence and its something Fletcher is particularly effective in AND he scores between 10 and 15 goals a season.
Van Nistelrooy, Raul, Linerker. Don't remember them chasing their tails but I remember them scoring a **** load of goals. Darren Bent does nothing but stay in the final third and wait for chances Man Utd would probably have won the league had they played Berbatov more
All four you mention with the exception of Lineker work a hell of a lot harder than Yakubu. Bent does plenty of selfless running for the team in the channels. Granted he won't go chasing defenders round but he does work. Van the man and Raul worked. Raul would often drop into midfield to make a 5 with Real Madrid. Again he is not gonna go chasing defenders like a Bellamy, but he'd do his bit. To be honest Van the Man was just a good all round striker at his peak. He scored goals, he closed down. He wouldn't pass but he was a good team man otherwise. Lineker played in a different era and his laziness was accepted then. The game has moved on though both in terms of the rules (Lineker wouldn't score as many today), and what a striking role involves. Yakubu is on a different level to these guys in terms of laziness and ability. Not a good combo really. There is no way of knowing if Man U would have won the league if Berbatov had played more. I doubt it personally. Maybe if Paul Scholes had never retired however.............
