Agree 100% with this Fran. Don't forget Long in your equation though. I think his staying fit maybe key as this will allow Jay and Charlie to build fitness.
Hadn't forgotten Shane, but assumed he would be as good as last season, but it is who else he plays with that worries me. Don't even get me started on the possibility of him getting an injury.....
If he starts as the number one striker, then the other two will be either fighting to be his partner if we play two up front, or not getting used as much if we play one. It'll be interesting to see what Claude settles on and how often he changes formation.
I think he will be even better, first choice and playing in his preferred role without the pressure if I have a bad game, Pelle will be back in
I'd be worried if he was playing without pressure on his place, no offence to Long but he's not good enough to be a guaranteed first choice striker for a club with European ambitions, IMO. The guy has only hit 10 PL goals once in his career and he's 30 this season.
N He will need to perform, with no doubt, but with the luxury for the time being he is the man, of course that will change if he under performs in a number of games. How many goals would he have got last year if he had played CF all season, I suggest in excess of 15 and that puts him among the better ratios of the league. I think this will be a somewhat defining season the Long and how he is regarded. He is now playing for a very good team (for the first time and is first choice)and should score a lot of goals, but if he finishes with ten or less then perhaps you are correct!
The fact we're in a position where Shane Long is our main striker does concern me. I'd be surprised if he gets 15 this season as he's just not a consistent finisher at all, he never really has been. If you take his 4 best Premier League seasons (in terms of goals per game), he's played 109 games and scored 30 goals. Nothing suggests to me that at 29/30 he will suddenly become the clinical finisher we need. I'd love to be proven wrong, as I do love the guy and the effort he guarantees us. Would definitely be more than happy to play him next to a better finisher, ideally Austin but I'm not convinced he's suited to our style of play.
Gardos has just posted this on Facebook. "For those of you wondering why I didn't travel with the squad to Holland, I've got a small back injury so I preferred to stay at Staplewood. It's frustrating to be injured again but it shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks to get back." please log in to view this image
Just caught up with the interview with the assistant manager, I found it interesting that Puel had asked Black if he'd be interested in working with him if he came to England before there was any possibility of coming to Saints. So not a random pick by Reed, but a request from Puel. He also spoke of the hard work needed to introduce a change of style (and the players being receptive to it). That detail is not always obvious to someone like me who has never played football...be interesting to see it in action next season.
