I haven't exactly been shy in my criticism of Pelle on here, but we have very little alternative in terms of playing him. We have J-Rod coming back from a long term injury and who has never looked great leading the line imo, and Long who has never (I don't think) hit double figures in a PL season for any team. So we are kind of ****ed in terms of dropping Pelle for any length of time. I'm in favour of trying something new with some combo of Jay/Mane/Long/Tadic but can't really see that being much better in the long run than Pelle. We missed a trick by not signing another out and out striker in one of the last 2 transfer windows.
Maybe a run as the focal point will result in him scoring goals. Or perhaps it won't, but he'll open up space that will allow our other attackers to score more goals. Or perhaps that won't happen, either, but it'll have an equally important effect: reminding Pelle that the only way to be assured of a starting spot is to work for it each and every game. We need him back to the player he was in the first half of last season, which means a much higher work rate than he is delivering most of the time.
I don't think Pelle is slacking, he's just not very fast. Lambert was similar. If we were to bench someone for not putting forth consistent effort in matches, we'd bench Mane.
He slacked on Saturday. Several times I watched as he just walked about at a time when he should have either been offering himself or tracking a defender. This was commented on by the three people I took who didn't know who he was ( they were not Saints fans) and referred to him as the no.19.
Rickie made all manner of things happen with his movement, despite his lack of anything remotely resembling speed. Disengaging from the CBs in the early stages of an attack to make himself available (and often, to open an angle to turn the ball around the corner to an onrushing wide player). His little in-to-out diagonal runs when someone was running through the middle, to force the defenders to make a decision between going with him, or staying centrally to pick up runners. Trotting goalward when a cross was imminent, then peeling off behind his man and toward the far post for either a free header or one isolated against a fullback. All subtle, but all incredibly effective. Those sorts of things, rather than 100 mph sprints, are what Pelle has not displayed in great enough quantity. He spent several long stretches of Saturday's game completely flat-footed when we had the ball, and as soon as we lost the ball, he shut off entirely. The latter drives me nuts...even if you aren't going to harass a defender into giving the ball away, at least work to get back onside such that if we do intercept, you're in a condition to do something. He was frequently found behind the defensive line, walking back into position.
If this rumour that Newcastle think they can get Austin for £6m in January is true... I wouldn't mind buying him for that and then Pelle would have to play much better or he would lose his place to Austin. Newcastle are planning to offer £6m for QPR's England striker Charlie Austin, 26, in the January transfer window. (Telegraph)
Some of you guys were watching a different Rickie Lambert to me. Because many of the criticisms being levelled at Pelle could have been, and often were, aimed at him in his last two seasons with us. For the record, I have advocated keeping faith in both.
Juanmi. There is enough there to try something different. Pelle missed one league game late last season, I forget which one, but I do remember us looking much more fluent, trying different things. This was without Juanmi and Rodriguez don't forget.
I have watched Juanmi a few times in La Liga and he doesn't play as a central striker, whether or not he could is a different matter, and with a fluid front three it could be argued that there isn't really a central striker as they all interchange throughout the game. As for Austin I just don't think he ticks Saints recruitment boxes for whatever reason. We must have had a few opportunities to sign him down the years (when he was at Swindon, Burnley and possibly even when he was at Poole) and we never even seemed interested. I'd be very surprised if we ended up signing him, which I personally am not overly fussed about.
But Rickie didn't want to be here? You can compare stats all day long. You can say how you think RL lead the line better. But at the end of the day he wanted to leave. No one else in are team can play the Pelle role. People seem to forget that this is only Pelle's second season in the Prem. He scored 12 and assisted twice in 38 games last season. He has also scored twice in five games this season. So not really as bad as people say.
Those goal totals aren't too bad, as long as we get goals from other players regularly aswell. Unfortunately we don't and I put a lot of that down to Pelle. The 2 assists in 38 games for a target man type striker says it all
It isn't just Pelle tho. People need to remember Lambert, Lallana etc had played in the team for years together. So they knew how each other played. We have replaced our whole front line, it takes longer then a year for players to get to know each others style of play. Some of Pelle's knock on are great but then no one will be around him to help him out. People can blame Pelle all they want, but if no one is helping him out then you can't just blame him. He is left isolated far too much.
May be it's not a case of Pelle being dropped but that of having different options within a game, for me Saturday screamed for a change in tactics, the introduction Mane should have been accompanied by the introduction of Long, who is both good in the air and quick over the ground. 'Pass and move' depends on how mobile your front men are and how quickly midfielders can get beyond them.
At the risk of getting shot down I would drop him for every away game And tell him to quit the flicks completely or drop him for the home games too. The only thing good about his performance on Saturday was that his zero contribution meant no stupid flick ons, backheels, overhead kicks from the half way line and the only thing I could get wound up about was the number of times he was knealt on the floor pleading with the ref for yet another free kick. It wasn't given, get up and get on with it................and that would be the same for all the others too.
