Now the transfer window has closed thought it was a good time for reflection. All the talk throughout January was of what was needed and everybody seemed to focus on the need for a top notch striker. Fair enough but the window closed and too many we didnt get what we hoped for and that seemed to bring about a fair few moans and worries, but was it such a big deal. Look where we are today compared to after the Wolves game. 6 wins 1 draw 2 very close defeats, 16 goals in 9 premiership matches, (scoring in 7 of those), that is almost almost 2a game. We have on our books Bendtner, Whickham, Ji, Sessegnon (if we call him a striker) Gyan (if he comes back), who all play at international level. Campbell is coming back from injury and Noble Cook and Tounkara are up and coming youngsters coming through. That is potentially 9 strikers to call upon. Add to them Larsson Gardner McClean Vaughan and Richardson who can all chip in with goals. So where did this panic from the fans about not getting a top notch striker stem from. Personally and in my humble opinion the fears and the worries all go back to when we lost Bent Gyan and Wellbeck and didnt relace them, then after a good start to the season at Liverpool we had the debacle against Newcastle and then rapidly went dowhill thereafter and this has stayed with some fans right through till now. It was easy to say we were lacking a striker becuae we weren't scoring and yes it would have been nice to have one but before the season started we seemed happy enough with what we had bought and excited for what we may achieve in the season ahead. The real issue though was the manager and what appeared to be his inadequacy to play these players, get the best out of them and gel them as a team. That was the most fundamental ingredient missing to get this team to tick. The most significant moment of the season so far therefore was not missing out on a top notch striker but replacing the manager, Now that has been done we are seeing the fantastic turnaround. Very good players are playing to their true ability and showing us their worth, players previously not getting a chance now are, confidence is high, results are improving and fans fears are diminishing. The real time to reflect on whether it was a mistake or not to bring in a striker is at the end of the season For now though the managerial change was most necessary. Of course it could all go pear shaped but its not all doom and gloom. So for this season at least lets sit back, be positive, stop panicking and enjoy. After all we may still end up in one of our best league positions in the premiership and win the FA Cup. That would be progress and would be achieved with those very good players brought in by Steve Bruce and without the need to buy this top notch goal scoring striker. Time will tell but in Martin O'Neill we trust
I agree with a lot of the OP but let me give my case for a striker, I still hope the lack of getting one will not come back to bite us and its that admittable very small risk I was keen to put right. We have on our books Bendtner, Whickham, Ji, Sessegnon (if we call him a striker) Gyan (if he comes back), who all play at international level. Campbell is coming back from injury and Noble Cook and Tounkara are up and coming youngsters coming through. That is potentially 9 strikers Of these 9 strikers 3, maybe 4 not sure about Tounkara, are out on loan because they are deemed not ready for the prem. Bendtner,Wickham and Ji have shown they are not ready to be strong holding players or prolific goal scorers. Campbell, IMO has shown just how good things are when a proper striker is on the field, 2 goals scored that I would say would not have been scored without his natural striking skils and a style of play that comes from having a true striker in place. Sess looked better than I have sen him on Wednesday night and I put that down to having Campbell along side him. I wish we had brought in a striker, short term maybe but a striker all the same just in case, just to safgeguard things. I can only say again that I fail to see how wanting this could be a dig or loss of faith in MON, surely the fact he tried very hard to get Davies suggests he agrees with me.
Nice post. I think some of the panic for a striker in January came from the Chelsea game, which we could easily have won in the last fifteen minutes but lost. It was surely coincidence that all the players who had scored in previous games should miss sitters on that one day. But it threw us. We all cast our minds back and said we'd have won that game with a Bent. It was true, of course, but we'd have won it without a Bent on any other day but that one. We've had such a bad year, we probably all get a bit panicky yet. None of us have come to terms with Sunderland being 8th yet.
Syd Not saying any loss of faith in MON. What I was trying to get across was that there has been a lot of panic and worry from day one about us not having a top notch goal scoring striker and the fact our poor results compounded these feelings but in reality the most crucial and significant requirement was to change the manager. That happened and we have not looked back since. The very same players brought in by Steve Bruce are now showing us how talented they are and we are scoring from all over the park. No doubt having that marquee signing would have seen us having a striker scoring goals and as cutey buns says perhaps we may have won against Chelsea. But the real question is would we have had as many goals from elsewhere on the field if we had such a striker. It didnt happen when we had Bent. Although we will never know you could argue that had MON come in before the August transfer window closed and inherited the players already brought in by Bruce he may well have adopted the same approach as now and not paid huge sums of money on a striker who may or not make a significant difference to what is now happening in terms of goals scored. I accept what you say about Davies and yes MON clearly felt a need but when it didnt happen he must have been content with what he had because unlike his predecessors he didnt go out pursuing any Tom Dick or Harry. So for me the most significant requirement to get our season back on track was to replace the manager but of course the end of the season is when that will be best judged
Agreed, I get a little sick of this "he holds the ball up well" a real striker scores goals we should never forget that. The oppositions defense looked far more stretched and worried with Campbell up top. IMO next season we should loan Ji out and give Bendtner back. Try and get Gyan back and have Gyan, Campbell and Wickham as our forwards, playing 1 up top. We should keep Noble as a 4th in case we get an injury crisis. Sign a LB (Bridge if he proves himself) so Ricco can be cover for Sess. We should break the bank to keep Sess at the club, he is the best footballer we have had at the club for decades.
