You've got to think how the **** has it come to this?! This was the season when we were meant to kick on, add some signings to give this team the further boost they need. Instead as usual we didn't make the needed signings, and we're back to being short in a key area. In just 1 month the bubble has burst so bad, Wenger's a top class disgrace.
You do all realise United, Spurs, City and Chelsea all needed another striker and none of them managed to get one. Liverpool got Benteke, would you all have been ecstatic with him? There were very few strikers on the market, the best any of us could have hoped for were players like Berahino or Austin, would we all be cheering "yay we got B/A as back up striker"?
Again you are repeating the same rubbish that you have spouting in other threads. If Wenger was intent on finding a forward from the day the window opened to replace Giroud or just bring in another CF into the squad and not just day dreaming about signing Benzema, than the best that was available was not ****ing Austin and Berahino.
Did United actually try and get any of the available strikers that moved though? To me it looked like they were in the same boat as Arsenal and Chelsea. Made no attempt to get one. City and Chelsea do NOT need another top class striker given they have Diego Costa, Remy, Aguero and Bony so don't know what you're talking about there. Spurs could go after anyone they want, they'd never get anyone top class so they're an irrelevance. So it boils to United and Arsenal really. And it doesn't look like either of them made any effort for the strikers that moved. I think Benteke is actually a very good striker and if he stayed fit and played for a top club he'd get over 20 league goals a season easy. He's quicker, stronger, better in the air and a better finish than Giroud.
Seriously, what is it with Arsenal, it's like Déjà vu year in year out. When you think something is going to change, we make the same mistakes again and again. Ok even if they are saying getting a striker is a major ordeal (that's them), what about the DM spot? Even if you couldn't get rid of some of our baggage like Flamini, it was still a poor decision not getting one. We can go blue in the face but until there is a shake up in the management, we will keep on making these foolish mistakes. It is just so disappointing when we are close but still not taking that final step.
This happens to you guys time after time. See my post on Aug 6: http://www.not606.com/threads/danny-welbeck-injury.307309/#post-8206382 Fortunately for you United, Spurs and arguably Liverpool are in the same position (1 fit quality striker), but Chelsea and City must be loving this.
Absolutely, I would have taken Benteke. He's as good if not better than Giroud. Chelsea signed Falcao - I would have taken him four sure. Martial looks like a good prospect but they paid maybe 15-20 million too much. We missed the chance to sign Mandzukic, Dzeko and Martinez all would be improvements on Giroud.
I don't think we need a striker who is a slight improvement on Giroud. Giroud is already a quality striker. What we need is a world class striker who is a clear step up. Dzeko or Mandzukic would not have filled me with joy. I'd rather we wait and get a top quality striker than just buy anyone in. That said you'd think we would go for a loan move for the short term, particularly with Welbeck injured...
Giroud is not a quality striker. That is all. The fact the only strikers you rate above him are the world's elite is baffling. There are dozens of strikers better than him in the world.
Giroud is a quality striker. That is all. The fact you think there are dozens of clear improvements on him is baffling.
And for the record I don't only rate the worlds elite above him, I said if we are going to go out and add a striker I want it to be someone who is a big step up on giroud, not a minor improvement. #readingisfun
So there's Giroud... There those a tiny bit above him, then there's the world's elite, is that it? There is no reasoning you can have to argue Giroud being a 'quality' striker. His scoring record in front of some of the best creative midfielders in the world is bang average. When was the last time he scored at the Emirates in a competitive match?
He averages 20 goals a season in all competitions for the last six years. That is a quality striker. Doesn't matter what negative spin you want to throw on it, giroud is a quality striker.
Even if true that's not an impressive tally when you include ALL competitions. But it's not true either. He's only played in European top leagues for 5 seasons. And only in two of those has he hit more than 20 goals. And that's if you include every competition under the sun which is the only way to get some decent figures for him. Being the sole striker in front of Cazorla, Ozil, Ramsay, Sanchez and struggling to reach 20 in ALL competitions is bang average.
I'm guessing maths isn't your strong point. The way an average works is by taking the totals for all those years, adding them together and then dividing by the number of years we are looking at. If we take his last six seasons like I said then he has 120 goals in those six seasons. Ergo he averages twenty goals a season over the last six seasons. If we take just his five years in top division teams then he has 98 goals in five seasons. So your right, he averages 19.6 goals per season while playing in the top division.
Oh... So he doesn't actually average 20 a season in top flight football???? Weren't you supposed to be proving something here? And again... Let's disregard how close to 20 a season he's getting. Even if he got 20 a season for 10 years in a row, the fact that it includes ALL competitions makes it a bang average stat. If he were getting 20 just in the league then that would be a quality striker. But he doesn't. And he isn't.
Last season giroud scored at a ratio just better than a goal per 2 games (in the league and in all competitions). I don't understand how anyone thinks he isn't a quality striker. Now I'm not trying to claim he is he best thing going, but he is a quality striker.
I said he averaged twenty goals a season over the last six seasons. That is 100% correct. You were the one that moved the parameter of what I was saying so don't give me that rubbish about "so he doesn't actually bla bla bla". And 19.6 is pretty ****ing close anyway you pedant.
You've got no idea what his average was over 6 seasons aside from the stats column you're reading on wikipedia. And if you're including French lower divison goals to try and create a stat then why not include preseason friendlies too? Just as meaningless. And this is beside the point. Because someone who can only get 20 goals a season in top league football in ALL competitions (which Giroud can't quite) is bang average. So Giroud is close to making it to bang average status... I'll give you that.
