Strike Partner for Berbatov?

It would seem from reports that we are looking to get in another Striker. But the question is can we find one who can partner Berbatov up front. So far he hasn't really had a partnership with any of the strikers Rodallega, Ruiz or Petric. Who would you say we could buy that would be a good partner for Berbatov ? My own opinion is that we should go for 2 quality creative midfielders rather than a Striker, so they could create more opportunities for him, and have him as a lone striker. If he gets injured then move Ruiz upfront in his role.

 

I think the issue is that Berba always tends to drop deep, leaving us with no front man to stick the ball in the net. If we can get someone for Berba to play just behind/off then we'll be golden. Someone quick who knows where the goal is.

Central midfield is still a more pressing concern though.

 

I agree that central midfield is the biggest need. As for Berba dropping deep, I read a comment from Jol a few days ago along the lines of 'Berba had to drop deeper than he would like at times last season' (my paraphrase, not an actual quote). I think Berba is more than capable of being the main striker as long as the midfield behind him is functioning properly. When that doesn't happen, he feels he has to drift back in search of decent service. I still believe that Ruiz behind Berba can be incredibly effective as long as the midfield gives them the platform they need. Boatang plus a Danny Murphy-esque playmaker playing deep, plus two of our army of wingers alongside Ruiz with Berba as the point of the rapier could be devastating. There were glimpses of their potential last season, but it got derailed with our midfield problems. I'd rather we spent big money on a playmaker than another striker (although I wouldn't say no to both!).

 

Yes, fair point Captain. A fox-in-the-box striker would be nice as a plan B though. Could Trotta or the Tank do this?

 

I’ve agonised over SuperBri’s very relevant question and that was because I agreed with all of your points, but something was still niggling away. To be honest I was slowly coming to the conclusion that the problem was the other common denominator in all of this - Bryan.

Then I stumbled across a blog on the very subject and it cleared my thoughts. In summary, Berba is better as a ‘lone‘ striker:

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The relevant paragraphs in the blog supporting this were:

” What Jol will have to be careful of when bringing in any more attack-minded players is that the team does not suffer when a new striker plays. The likelihood is that the manager will not switch from playing with a lone striker, so another attacker would force Berbatov to play deeper in the number 10 role and Bryan Ruiz would thus move out wide, likely taking 34-year old Damien Duff's spot in the side. Whilst a new striker could provide the pace that Jol believes his side need to 'get in behind' the opposition defence, both Ruiz and Berbatov may not take to kindly to being moved to accommodate such a player.

Ruiz maintained a WhoScored rating of 7.35 in his preferred attacking midfield role, compared to just 6.4 when moved out wide. Similarly, Berbatov scored 7.32 on average when playing up front and that dropped to 6.95 when playing deeper. Furthermore, Berbatov scored 14 goals and assisted 3 more in his 26 appearances as a striker, but could only net once in 6 appearances in the number 10 role that many consider him most suited to. Given his lack of pace, his technical ability and eye for a killer pass that few else would spot, there is good reason to believe he would be better off playing behind another striker. In terms of the good of the team, this is far from the case, though.

Fulham won 11 Premier League matches in the 2012/13 campaign; 10 of those wins came in the 26 games with Berbatov playing as a centre-forward (the only other victory being the aforementioned in which Petric scored twice - a 5-0 win on the opening day of the season against Norwich). That 38.5% win rate with Berbatov starting up front was much of the reason they finished as high up the table as they did. In the 6 games when he started in AMC behind either Petric or Hugo Rodallega, the Cottagers failed to win a single game, and only managed to score twice. That is, with Berbatov in attacking midfield, Fulham gained an average of 0.5 points per game, scoring 0.33 goals per game, while when the Bulgarian started up front, they won an average of 1.54 points and scored an average of 1.46 goals.”


I found the whole article quite compelling, as were its conclusions:


”The combination of Ruiz-Berbatov as the 10-9 in the Fulham line-up worked, and while another option up front would be beneficial, only back up is really necessary. Fulham do not have endless funds and six million pounds is a lot of money (for Darren Bent) and the Club have no need to rush into buying another striker."



Here is a link to the full blog: http://www.whoscored.com/Blog/EOlXd0_9hEOMWjSGxqxIJA/Show/

 

I like that C58, although I never put a lot of account on statistics.
Who ever wrote that seems to have put some effort in, a lot better than the normal
journalist.
Papers are still reporting our interest in Bent.