Best penalty taker I've seen at sunderland was Gary Rowell, and he started as a midfield player. And -imo- if it hadn't been for his injury would have stayed there, played 500 games & probs scored 200 goals. And anyone who disagrees is clearly insane so dont bother!
Kid is a proper talent but needs to put a bit of beef on, wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on a tailored diet to do just that though.
From my youth Slim Jim Baxter took a great penalty, top corner every time, can’t remember him ever missing.
Tough one this imo. I do tend to agree but I mentioned yesterday that if Rusyn was in from the beginning and on penalties he could potentially be on 5 goals as a minimum already and people would look at the numbers in a very different light. Clarkes tally this season is obviously hugely propped up and some of those penalties could’ve done a world of good to a striker but only the manager knows how good they are at penalties. I always find it weird when you have central midfielders taking penalties your 9 should be lethal from the spot and want the goals for himself.
If memory serves me right he used to point to where he was going to put it and the only one he ever missed was in a match in the USA where, at the time, they had the crossbar at 7ft 6in rather than 8ft
It was ridiculous to give him that shirt - not that we are ****fest fanatical about that number like a certain Saudi Arabian team - but it just adds pressure to a young lad who is miles away from being ready. In all honesty, if I had my way in Jan I'd do the following: 1. Sign an experienced Championship striker. No idea who, but use some of the Stewart money 2. Send Burstow back to Chelsea. Seems a great kid with a future, but it's the right player at the wrong time 3. Leave Hemir in u23s for rest of the season. Let him learn his trade and (as Mowbray has mentioned countless times) get fit. The kid clearly isn't fit enough to play senior football 4. Rusyn & Mayenda to be support/competition for the striker from Point 1
Which experienced champ striker do you think we could sign that would be effective in the way we play?
Fair enough, I think we’ll struggle to find someone to be honest I really do think it’s a system issue rather than an individual. If they dip into the L1/L2 market I don’t see anyone being an improvement on what Rusyn can offer he’s obviously played and performed at a higher level. When you look at the top scorers of the league even expand to top 20 they’re mostly young lads but other clubs don’t have the luxury of midfield options we have and just stick with their striker whether they score or not. No idea who I’d go after either but one I’d probably take a chance on is Matt Godden from Coventry. Nothing worth getting too excited over but still a regular for them after they’ve spent £15m+ on strikers but because of that i think they’d be tempted to sell for a small fee. Absolute workhorse, gets his fair share of goals and a little b*stard he harasses defenders. Probably dreaming but hopefully Diallo back on loan would massively improve us and give us that link that looks to be missing between the midfield and 9.
Striker wise I thought we should have gone for Kevin Nisbet and I'd still be happy if we did, although I doubt he'd want to move after recently going to Millwall. I reckon he'll be a regular scorer in the championship.
