I've noticed across the threads of Ross Stewart, Damion Downs and the transfer thread that discussions are being had around who to put as a central striker or whether to manoeuvre the formation/tactics to suit the strikers we have in the squad. I thought I'd try and bring the debate into one place and add a 'wildcard' option into it! If Still were to persist with the current style (and if Downs is not up to this level yet) then it got me thinking about Joe Aribo. He's not everyone's favourite but he does have some attributes that could suit a holding striker ... - He's neither short, nor weak - He's always shown the ability to be tough to get the ball off when it's in and around his feet and his distribution is pretty good - He's not overly mobile (midfield wise) but wouldn't need to be quite so much as a CF - He's not bad in the air - He's always had a knack of scoring for us (9 in 88 league games - not crazy but not bad for a midfielder that was mixed between start and sub) Also, being a follower of Rangers, I know that he played CF for them on many occasions (cut from Google AI): "Aribo played as a central striker during the 2021-2022 season due to injuries to other forwards like Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe. Europa League Final: He famously started as a lone striker and scored the opening goal in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt" .... I'll now await people's thoughts on whether I need to see a doctor
Might be worth a try, I suppose. Would personally prefer we find a way of getting the best out of Archer and Armstrong
I think this would be my preferred route as well but would mean Still has to change his tactics. I don't see either of them working in the central role in the current format (although happy to be proved wrong!)
I see no other alternative but to bring in a free agent tall central striker, Bamford’s free, he can swap the treatment table with Stewart I would promote the young lad from the U18’s who is breaking all the goal scoring records too Downs can either drop into the U21’s or get loaned out to try and get his form (if he’s got any)
Shame his form didn't get him in contention for a couple of tries in the Carling Cup. Worth putting on the bench and giving some time to
I think that's right, but I'm hopefull Still is not the one-trick pony a lot of people seem to think he is.
Apologies if it's been provided elsewhere, but do we know the severity of Stewart's hamstring injury?
A couple of times on Saturday Fellows put in some nice low crosses/cut backs that went straight to a Derby defender. I do think those types of situations would suit Archer so I’m not sure we’d have to adjust tactics too drastically to make it work. Archer is arguably the most natural finisher we have so I’d be keen to see that happen.
We just need to stop pumping balls into the box and play to Archers strengths. Most teams in the league would love to have him as their main striker and we in theory have plenty of creative players that can play around him. We need to keep Armstrong on the right (or left) as he will contribute goals from there too which should help take the pressure off him somewhat. No point in wasting anymore minutes on Downs right now imo, he needs some time away from the first team limelight. So I wouldn't be opposed to Aribo coming onto the bench and acting as the bigger striker off the bench if needed, but think we should work on getting Archer a consistent run in the team and try playing to his strengths before putting Aribo in ahead of him.
Wasn't one of the reasons we hired Still because he isn't limited to playing just one way and is adaptable? Time to prove it
Pass and move on the deck, get Azaz in good areas to feed Archer, Adarma and Fellows with through balls. More direct running at the oppo defence committing them. Adarma and Fellows wide (interchangeable) and Archer central playing off of the last defender with Azaz just behind them. I agree that Aribo should be an option off of the bench if the match requires a change in tactics. We have the players to dominate matches and break down defences it just needs fine tuning.
Rewind to the beginning of the season and ask the rest of the championship: "Would you be happy with Archer & Adam Armstrong as your strikers, with Fellows, Azaz and Scienza feeding them" Bet 80% of the rest of the league would be happy with that, without even mentioning Fraser, Charles, Downes, Jander. Over to you Will.
Much like if you said to the PL "would you be happy with Isak and Ekitike as your strikers, with Wirtz, Salah and Szoboszlai feeding them" - your point is absolutely correct, and I know Liverpool are only a point from top (but on the flip side they won the league at a canter last season). Integrating a whole new set of players is witchcraft. But absolutely agree with the general point.
Personally I think Archer is the most clinical and natural finisher we have ... we just need to work to his strengths. As others have said ... Over to you Will, make it work.
Something I recall from our promotion season was the ability of our wingers to get to the byline and cut balls back. Smallbone was one of the main beneficiaries arriving from deep. Edozie managed to put those balls in (although blew very much hot and cold on it) and so I'm sure something similar with Scienza, Fellows et. al should work with Archer
I am not sure most of the league would actually want Archer up front. A large part of this league rely on the big forward and I just don’t think he would suit them.
Another thing is the tempo and urgency of our play needs to be quicker from the start of matches and don't retreat after taking a lead.
