apetswan- It can be very difficult to discuss issues on these boards sometimes. What your saying RE graham is what alot of people are thinking , but because your the one to throw it out there for debate some people think its your personal opinion when all you ve done is raise the question! He has actually had more than 2 games of football ,and scored ! . There are so many players who go for big money into the prem league and it never works out for them, we see it every year . I beleive that any decent striker will get goals in our system, it may take a while to get used to the way we play but DG will hopefully get there. brenden rodgers has proved himself to be a very good coach ,if there is anything missing in DG s game then rodgers will fix it Borini will be here in January to add to our firepower anyway !!
Hell it's all to play for yet, we have only dipped our toe in the Prem waters, so no need for panic, and it will take longer for our team to adjust to the Prem than it did the Championship, let's give it time! By the way Norway, Borini on loan?? now wouldn't that be a tonic for our team..................... please log in to view this image
I am a changed man! From what I've read from many of you, my opinion will be unpopular BUT along with Taylor, Sinclair, and Rangel, I thought DG had a fantastic game yesterday. He did everything other than score, and displayed attributes that none of our strikers in the past 5 years have been able to show. He won almost every ball played up to him by Vorm, holding off German international Mertesacker with ease, and his touch, which I thought was suspect in the first couple of games, looked much improved. I thought his defensive covering when our wingers were caught out of position was also excellent. Remember this: Peter Crouch went 19 games and four months without scoring for Liverpool in his first season with them, but ended the season with 13 goals, and do I even need to mention Torres? Panicking after DG has gone 4 games without scoring is a huge over-reaction, and needs to be put in perspective alongside the other elements of his game that really help the team. Yesterday, we showed real grit and shape against a very slick and far more skillful opposition, and then grew into the match as our confidence increased. To have approached the game guns out blazing, against a team of their caliber, would have been suicidal. For the opening fourty minutes, they starved us of our usual possession and "short-passes-between-keeper-and-center-backs" game, and so DG's aerial ability was a huge attribute in giving us an outlay in which to relieve the Arsenal pressure. I am extremely positive about yesterday's performance and especially about DG's in particular.
I thought DG was 100% better yesterday than against Sunderland. We have the two top scorers from last years Championship in our team - Is anyone giving Scott Sinclair grief for not scoring?
In fairness to Graham and to support the comments above about lack of service ... Early in the first half when Agustien crossed that ball in from the right wing Graham did get the best of the defender and a put a lovely touch on the ball only to be thwarted by a brilliant and purely reflex save. After the game even Wenger stated that he thought that was a certain goal. So more and better crosses ... We've all stated this it seems forever.
Listened to the match on 5live yesterday, as away at work & we have no broadband to 'stream'!! When we were denied by an outstanding save from 'Chesney' in the 1st few minutes, they weren't exactly sure if it came off Graham or Mertesacker. When they saw the replay & eventually described how, indeed, it was from Graham, they were giving him so much credit for getting in front of a defender of such stature. The guy is doing things right & for a bit of luck could have scored. If he had, we'd be waxing lyrical how he'd beaten a proven international defender of 70-odd caps!! The guy will score, this is not the time to drop him!! But one thing I disagreed on, compared to the commentary team, was the injury time miss. On witnessing during MOTD, the chance was not that clear-cut in my opinion. Think even Aguero might have had the same result.... One point that Pat Nevin did make, is that in all his time watching Premier league football, he had never seen such an isolated center-forward. His words were, "the guy needs help"!!..... Well make out of that what you want??!! We were away & not only that, at Arsenal, how many times as he seen the Swans play etc etc?? But he needs more service, that's for sure......
Think we may need to mix it up a bit and play with two up front, in something like a 3-5-2 with one of the midfielders dropping back when needed to defend, I think that we should go for it on some games and attack as a form of defence, I really think that putting lita up front with Graham would have done wonders against the gunners.
I agree with your optimistic tone bigapple, but scoring has to be the only thing I want from him at the moment and Liverpool weren't running the risk of going down that season. On account of the fact that while Peter Crouch wasn't scoring, other people were. I'm still not fretting, but the nerves are creeping in quite badly.
The boy will score & when he does I think he'll flow. He knows the fans are getting edgy, so let's cut him some slack. When he gets one, his confidence will come flooding back & he'll hopefully be stroking them in with ease. There's nothing worse for a footballer when like this, they 'snatch' at chances & the end product is all too familiar!! He's had a few chances, yes, but it's not as if he's had a constant supply to allow for the misses & to be honest, he's been unlucky too. The support for him could be better. He's probably thinking he's got to make the most of each one because he's not going to get too many, that's a pressure in itself!! In any case, this is not the time to drop him in my opinion, it could destroy him totally. What's the options if we did?? Not a lot if you ask me. Lita, Moore & Beattie are far from convincing. Although the latter's well applied himself in the friendlies I've seen I must add & the formers not had much pitch-time in all fairness, but I'm not holding out for much!! Not convinced Routledge's best position is in the hole too, prefer Dobbie!! Think he brings so much more into the game with his intelligence. But he's not getting a run!! Been mentioned about Scotty in the hole, I concur. Thought of this when we we're struggling for goals at times last season. With his pace & trickery he could terrorise centre-pairings, not only creating chances for himself, but also creating space for our striker!! The added difference now being, Wayne could take his place out wide!!...... Our midfield set-up might not be the most conducive for all out attack too. As much as love the stability, experience & platform Leon gives us, we lose out in an attacking sense I feel. I'd like Kemy to sit maybe(when fit), if he's got the discipline to do so & then open-up the opportunity for Little-Joe to flourish in a free to roam attacking role!! There are a few options to chose from even with the players we currently have at our disposal...... Well & of course if there was Ferrie??!!..........
WSAF, I see what you mean about our midfield not being that attacking, but I have to disagree with you about Leon. He is the only midfielder we have who knows that position really well, and if he gets dropped, we will see how much we miss him. Joey is a little dynamo, so he sometimes gets dragged in to areas he shouldn't be, and Kemy is way too loose to play as a holding midfielder in the way Leon does. I think the problem is the attacking midfield position, where the chances should be created regularly, but are not at the moment. Without Leon playing, we won't keep the ball half as much as we do now, and I can see how that may look like he is the problem when it comes to attacking, but without the ball for long periods, we will get battered by quite a few teams. Take the Arsenal game for example, even though it wasn't one of his better games, without him maintaining the shape of the midfield, we could have conceded a lot more goals Edit: The only other player we have who can play that position is the Evil Genius, and I am still hopeful he can come in and step our game up later in the season
The midfield needds to move the ball quicker, Kemy has done well but looks a little slower passing the ball around , Gower (im not his biggest fan) seemed to add more flow , Danny boy has done ok considering he doesnt get alot of decent ball but we need to remember that aint really gonna happen in the prem league unless you play up front for man utd or man city !! DG needs to convert his chances , he will get there in the next game or 2 i reckon , scott sinclair has been unlucky in the last 2 games and i think his fitness is getting close to full after a delayed pre season , im very happy with where we are overall . WBA is going to be a massive game for us , the other members of the team need to also try and get into positions to shoot , dyer needs to convert his hard work and tricky play into assits and goals . He seems above any critizism but DG seems to get plenty while living off mediocre pickings. Defence is outstanding so far and was my biggest concern when we got promoted , we have all the tools to do the job in the prem league (as long as our first team stays fit) so im hoping the jack faithfull can make DG feel 10ft tall on saturday by singing his name and making him feel part of our club , this could be just what he needs to relax in front of goal and score a hatfull !! My view of our team is getting better by the game , seems strange to some maybe but i got a feeling like when sousa took over , it took a while to bed in but when we turned it around we progressed nicely .i see similar parallels here onwards and upwards
Leeeeon I fully appreciate what Leon brings to the side. As I've commented elsewhere on this forum, I like the stability & platform he gives the team. But at present, the way we're set-up, especially at home, I don't think it's gonna bring the added bonus of goals. I hope I'm wrong of course & the Baggies would be a perfect start to prove that. I feel we need a bit more dynamism in the midfield at home & maybe when away too, against the 'lesser-target' sides!! In this case I think Joe gives more than Leon. Of course, if he wasn't injured now, it would mean Kemy (for his physical presence) doing his job. This is all dependent on his 'discipline', something which I did stress!! It's academic now, the results of the scan could mean him out for an extended period (fingers crossed not), so Leon it's going to be anyway. Away & against the 'top' sides at home it's Leon all the way. Other than that, we have to be prepared to vary it, predictability will be all too apparent otherwise!!....
