Connor Wickham is Sunderland's No 1 striker, Gus Poyet tells Steven Fletcher Gus Poyet said Connor Wickham will lead the line against Burnley The manager said Wickham can play out wide but the versatile forward impressed so much at the centre of his attack against Tottenham Steven Fletcher is 'not happy' but fighting for his place Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has warned Steven Fletcher that Connor Wickham is set to continue as his main striker. The Scot was dropped from the squad for last weekendâs 2-2 draw with Tottenham having failed to get off the mark this season. The Black Cats head to Fletcherâs former club Burnley on Saturday, but it is 21-year-old Wickham who will again lead the line at Turf Moor. Sunderland's Connor Wickham has played his way into being Gus Poyet first-choice striker Wickham impressed Poyet up front in the Black Cats' 2-2 draw with Tottenham at the weekend âWe did it a little bit in pre-season with Connor wide,â said Poyet. âBut Connor did so well the other day against Spurs that my idea is to play him in the middle. âFletch has trained well â heâs been serious. He wasnât happy of course, but heâs trained really hard and wants to be part of it, which is great âCan Fletch or Jozy Altidore play wide? Iâm not so sure. I think Connor is the one who adapts better. âBut weâve got three games coming up inside a week and everyone is important. Itâs good for me.
The headline does not exactly match anything that Gus has said - at no point has he said that Connor is the number one striker! Sensationalism at it's best! FWIW I thought he had an excellent game against spurs - little chance of doing anything against such a good side but held the ball up well and did what he could when he could - might have even won it for us if Buckley hadn't taken that one off his toes (we'll never know I suppose!)
In the past, I've thought of Connor as a big kid with too much of an attitude problem to please any of three managers. But, at the end of last season, I changed my mind. He seemed to have grown up and started to take the job seriously. Now, I think he's earned his number one spot, and I hope it continues. What puzzles me is Poyet's statement about whether or not Altidore can play out left. He plays there all the time for U.S.A. first off Donovan and later off Dempsey. It's his most successful position. I hate Jozy in the middle. It just doesn't work. I'd love Wickham in the middle and Altidore playing off him to the left. Jozy's proven it time and time again at international level. Do it, Gus.
Our no 1 striker who won't sign a new contract it's a joke. Get angry Connor? would even like to see you get sent off for going in on a tackle.
If you ask me this is the worst set of strikers we have ever had in the premier league !, we have gone backwards since Bent left. We could have had Bendtner from Arsenal, Defoe, Lakaku, Borini, the list goes on. How many will Altidor, Fletcher and Whickham have scored by January ?.
Not Daryl Murphy, Chris Brown, Anthony Le Tallec, Steven Elliot, Kevin Kyle and Jon Stead? Short memory.
Well, fair comment to a point, but how many did Bendtner and Borini score (minus Borini's penalties)? They say Wickham hasn't scored in the PL this season, but he's been played on the left for most of those games. They say Altidore doesn't score, but he was played in the centre all of last season. What's the point of playing Borini and Wickham on the left when they both wanted to be in the middle? And what's the point of playing Altidore there when it's never been has natural position? I'd love to see Wickham in the middle where he wants to be, and Altidore on the left of him, which is what he does for U.S.A. Playing lads in their right positions might just result in some goals, eh? I do sometimes wonder about Poyet.
Backed up by some of his assists last year, all from wide, most memorable being a delightful touch in the derby that contributed to a goal. I'd be happy to see Jozy out wide.
I've been told from a canny source that Mr Fletcher has an 'alcoholic sauce' problem of his own and is downing far to many of them, which is the sole reason he's been dumped.
Play Connor as a number-nine,and watch him score goals...it will happen.Give him his chance and a decent run of games up-front and we will be OK,as long as we get him to sign a new contract!
