I do not hide the fact that in my opinion he is a complete and utter waste of space and should be got rid of. To give him ' one final chance ' he has to tie up a space in the squad limited to 25 players. In that squad you need no more than 5 strikers and with Martin that would comprise the 5. Is he going to get a chance in front of Holt, Morrison, Jackson or Vaughan? If the answer is 'no' then why keep him? Some people keep referring to his signs of promise? Have I missed something? Apart from one season for us in Div 1 his record as a striker in the Championship and Premiership with us, with Luton in Div 2 and with Palace in the Championship is poor as I have documented elsewhere so why should that change now in an increasingly strong Premiership? There seems to be an attitude - perhaps understandable - with some fans to always want to give any home grown player ' another chance ' We had it with the Jarvis brothers, Henderson, Spillane etc etc and now we are having it with Martin. There is always a chance that somebody might suddenly change so you cover that with a sell on clause but you cannot tie up places in your limited squad with such players. It's hard but once you are 21 football becomes a very diificult environment unless you have already proved yourself.
Martin was injured a lot of the championship season so give him a chance there Apart from that, it's hard for me to justify but when I see him play he looks a player. Put it this way, if he was crystal palaces player we would probably be looking at him in this close season in the same light as Rodriguez/Rhodes etc Who knows what our front men will be next year, or if Martin is to me moved to another position. Key is I just want him to get a **** because my gut tells me he's got something. In my eyes he's a link between the morisons and Holts of this world and the Jackson/Vaughan's of this world.
i'd love to be proved wrong too maestro! just can't see it happening for the lad, not at norwich. we all want to see 'one of our own' come through and do wondrous things for the club but that man is not going to be chris martin. he just isn't ever going to be good enough. the only reason i can think for keeping him next season is as back up if we don't bring another forward in - that's not great is it!
i think you're overestimating his ability beefy. crystal palace fans thought he was 'alright'. he didn't pull up trees for them - he's an average championship striker as it stands so unless he's going to suddenly raise his game tenfold i agree with 1950... its best for both parties for him to move on.
I think his ability is very good, it just sticks in my teeth this one I can't let it go. Thing is, I think Vaughan's off, and I think we'll get a striker in.
i don't think anyone would question that he does have ability, but can you honestly say, hand on heart, you think he is going to score goals at premier league level on a regular basis? is he ever going to be good enough to even get in the team? i would have to say there is little to no chance of him being able to do either, and for that reason, he should go elsewhere. had we bought him rather than brought him through as a youngster, its unlikely many would be saying 'keep him'.
martin's technique is better than that of jackson, i don't think i can argue with that, but as i say, jackson has pace and can transform our team when used in the right way. if we bring on martin, nothing changes. its a waste of a squad member because he really isn't that much use to us unfortunately. he probably needs to move on for the sake of his career as much as for our benefit!
Agreed and we should always have a pacey option. I love watching Jackson as we works so hard and does create a lot. I'd keep him and maybe use vaughan as a makeweight for Davies at Birmingham We haven't seen enough of Vaughan, and we may come to regret letting him go, by that's football, it's a risk.
i definitely wouldn't let go of jackson. as you say he works so hard and creates chances. vaughan is more tricky - i'd much rather let go of martin than vaughan because he is a much better player, even if we haven't really seen it yet, but i can understand why he might go out on loan instead.
I've seen Vaughan play maybe 5-6 times I know this is no yard stick, but he never impressed me. I don't think he's as good as Jackson but I do believe, on his day, Martin can be better than Vaughan. I'd definitely keep Jackson, we need his dimension. He rest is a puzzle I'm glad I don't have to solve. But Vaughan out, Davies and Rhodes in and we've got a party.
well seeing as rhodes would blow our budget, i think we can forget about that one! i personally am happy to go with our current five strikers on the books. i doubt we'll play with two up top that often anyway. i'd rather have an excellent, balanced midfield with good width and where players can drift into the hole behind a striker, be that howson, butterfield, hoolahan, surman, snodgrass D)...
I like seeing 2 strikers up top but what we do with our midfield this year is anyone's guess. We have a lot of options. Rhodes wouldn't be that much would he?
many people say they like to see two up front - even i do - but actually its a weak tactic when opponents play five in midfield. i think we'll become a little more rigid in our tactic next season but equally as flexible as last season going forward with many players attacking from deep. rhodes would be a luxury buy and at that price is ludicrously over priced, hence nobody has bid for him. my guess is he'll stay at huddersfield until january, then we might see someone take a risk on him. depends on how he fares in the championship.
£8m + is being bandied around at the minute! Huddersfield don't need to sell, he's already moving up to the Championship, and he's a hot prospect! I have a sneaking suspicion that he will cost much less after this season. I like 2 strikers too, I don't think that, with the potential exception of Holt, any of our strikers can play the lone sriker role particularly effectively. Morison very much wants the ball put on a plate for him, Vaughan is probably a bit susceptible to bullying, and Jackson couldn't hit rubber in a bouncy castle.
morison played really well for about four months as a lone striker! it was only when he got a knock (and got abused) that his form tailed off. agree jackson couldn't play that role but he's there for if we want pace, likewise vaughan
I think we need to investigate holt and morro up front together. There was fleeting glimpses last season but nothin solid. I just feel they can work together, despite what others think about personal differences or whatever Let the pace come from the midfield and let the big men he in the right place at the right time.
its certainly an option! worked wonders against newcastle. wouldn't want to play that way away from home though. against slightly weaker sides at home would be feasible, especially those who are weak at the back.
