Best News of the week - and its Monday AM on the desk.

Jol to get a striker in.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11681_7102385,00.html

 

Thanks for posting that. It does sound like good news but when you read the whole thing and Jol is asked is getting a striker a priority he says "maybe". Does this mean getting a new RB may be a priority too?

It would be very interesting to know who he is considering.

PS. How annoying is it on Sky web articles that Wayne Rooney's head is sticking up at the bottom?!

 

I find it quite difficult to tell Wayne Rooney's head from his bottom.

 

Good news indeed. I'm hoping for speedster to stretch the defense.

 

Ha ha Captain! Though not so much now he's got his new hair!

 

The problem is if the striker he is after is a backup or competition for Zamora then it doesn't give him too many options of players available at the moment with Premier experience. Jol might just have to wait till teams decide who they want to put out on loan.

Ideally we need more than one striker.

Not sure we will get a right-back with Premier experience, so the options are Baird, Kelly, Hughes, not sure about Salcido (if he's to be sold) and maybe Simon Davies when he comes back as an attacking full back.

 

Nice one Cap

Yes this sounds good from Jol, I bet Brum are kicking themselves that they never sold Jerome to us.

I think they were expecting Jol to come in with a better price

 

Exactly right, Super Bri. We need a goalscoring partner for Zamora, and an alternative (back-up) for Zamora. It's possible to get someone who can do both, but more likely that we're looking for two separate players. The back up doesn't have to be a proven goalscorer, but he needs to be someone who can hold the ball up, bring people into play and allow us to keep the same shape of the team if ever Bobby is missing. I'd be quite happy for us to take someone without Premier league experience for that role and give them time to grow. The other striker needs to be ready to hit the ground running - and running, as DR suggests, very quickly at defenders!

 

I'm still going with Bendtner as the striker.

 

And I still think he'd be a danger to the harmonious balance of our squad.

 

Its interesting that Jol comments on the good spirit of the squad in this article (and has done so in others). Hopefully he's aware that any new player has to fit in with the team he's already got.

I don't really have a view on Bendtner one way or the other. What are his pros and cons?

 

whats up with Bendtner? He's frustrated because he feels he should be playing week in week out at Arsenal no? Has Wenger given him a fair crack?
I hear the number 52k is his wages - is that true?

 

Bendtner is a hugely self-confident - some would say arrogant - individual. Apparently, they did some personality profiling among the Arsenal squad a while back and the sports psychologist doing it commented that Bendtner scored higher in self-belief than any other professional sportsman they had ever tested. Personally, I don't think arrogance is always a bad quality in a striker, but I think he may just be a bit too much of a Charlie Big-Potatoes type for our team ethic. I don't know about his wages, but he certainly wouldn't be willing to come to Fulham to sit on the bench. I don't think Zamora should expect an automatic selection, but equally, I think we aren't looking to replace him at the moment. Unless Zamora and Bendtner could become a partnership - which I can't see - signing him would solve some problems while creating others.

Also, opinion is divided about whether his goalscoring record is good enough. His fans point out that most of his Arsenal appearances are as a sub, so his goals to minutes played ratio is a lot better than his goals to games might appear. His detractors point out that if he was as good as he thinks he is, he would have got a run of games at Arsenal by now and proved himself.

 

You are a fountain of knowledge Cap

 

He certainly doesn't sound very Fulhamish on that evidence. Having said that, I'm all for players who want to play and get frustrated when they can't. Maybe some time on the bench will have given him some perspective on his situation (and ability) and he will have matured a bit.

The main issue though is that his style isn't what we need. I agree we need a partner for Bobby (a better one than AJ) not a duplicate.

 

...and a RB ?
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...ng-to-replace-John-Pantsil-article785588.html

 

I completely agree with the Capt. And who can forget the miss against Barcelona in last seasons Champions League that cost Arsenal the tie - A real striker would have buried that - I think even AJ would have scored.

 

"I feel there is more to come from Zamora and Johnson but we played too many long balls to Bobby. I'd like to add a few things going forward," - Jol

This, to me, sounds like he's not after another Bobby.

 

You make a good point Bidley, but he's also talked about needing someone to do what Bobby does. That's why I think - and hope - he's ideally looking for two new strikers. They won't both be big money signings, though.

 

Fair point Cap. Today's gossip column says we want Crouch. I don't.