I have to say I completely disagree with the idea that we need to buy a top class striker, for three reasons:
- With Holt staying, we have plenty of strikers with various options. Holt will do as Holt does this season, he will always be a handful. Morison has taken a bit of flak, but he scored more than most strikers and I think will be stronger next year with the added experience. Jackson is still coming into his prime- he pulls defences all over the place and creates space. If he can hone his finishing (which seems to be a mental block rather than a lack of skill) I think he could be very good. James Vaughan, despite his injury history, is a class act. If he can stay fit, we will have a striker who really is naturally talented and brings an entirely different game compared to the other three. We then have Martin (who I'm not sure we will sell just yet) who may still be able to make the step up to the Prem, maybe a new manager will give him a chance to shine. The strike force is the one area I am really not bothered about- the fact that it bothers other teams is what I'm content with.
- Currently, top class strikers cost a bomb. Our transfer budget will be around the 10m mark. That would get us a decent striker from abroad, but do we really want to blow our entire budget on a player that might not cut it in this league? Anyone remember how Afonso Alves did for Middlesbrough? I really don't think we're at the stage where we can afford to take that risk and I don't see how the price will justify the change to our current strike force.
- If we are going to buy a striker, I hope it will be a young hot prospect, perhaps not quite ready for the prem yet, but willing to learn (because then they at least have the chance to adapt and come good) and relatively cheap in comparison to blowing on someone class. That way we'll have plenty of cash to strengthen the parts of the squad which really need it, like another fullback, centre back and a winger.
Just my opinion. I think we're pretty blessed with the strikers we have, especially compared to some of the others