Chelsea definitely need a striker, United definitely don't. United need a world class creative midfielder which is why they tried to sign Fabregas and why they are currently trying to sign Gareth Bale.
Agree completely. Cleverley is not up to it. Personally I think Chelsea should let Lukaku off the leash, but Mourinho is so conservative...
you really think man u are one of the other suitors in the hunt for Bale. If they sign Bale I will really be amazed because they look unable to sign anyone with Moyes.
Of course they are after him. But Spurs will not sell him to another English club, so it's pointless. That's only because Moyes said that he feels the squad needs very little to be changed. The only transfer business they've done is the Fellaini/Baines deal, and that was so they could get an idea of what Everton wanted for them. If he wanted someone, I'm pretty sure they'd get them. It's Manchester United. Biggest club in England. The manager should not be the main reason for joining a club - the club itself should be.
Bale is a different story though. English clubs were the only ones after Berba, whereas Real Madrid and PSG are after Bale.
I think it is hard to say if we need a striker. Against Chelsea it was forgivable to not score in open play and on saturday we had 10 men.
I'm not convinced by Graham as a lone striker one little bit. He needs movement around him to give him some space as he's not exaclty mobile himself. If he gets isolated with 2 quality CB's on him he's next to useless. Sagbo seems mobile and powerful enough to be a handful at least in a lone role. Can't see that from Graham. He'll either need lots of support from the wide/attacking mid-fielders/forwards or another striker next to him to be effective I think. Still, Sagbo's first ban is tomorrow, Man City away where we'll get nowt anyway and the third is Cardiff, which is the only one he's likely to be a big miss for.
Not sure why anyone can write off any of our strikers after two games - one against arguably the best team in the league, and one whilst we were down to 10 men.
I'm not writing anyone off, but notice that Graham had a lot more support from runners from midfield at Swansea than he did at Sunderland, hence the disparity in goals scored.
Graham was anonymous in the Norwich game, I think Sagbo's positioning....................... or lack thereof is more of a problem. Either way we do actually need a striker.
Jury is out with me on Graham, I wasn't impressed by his movement Saturday when he came on, but I guess he may need time to settle in. I would give Prossy a go, as he does seem to get in the right areas when balls come into the box, and has scored some important goals, even though he has not had a lot of playing time. EDIT I wonder if the 2 Tottenham boys can help getting Defoe on a loan, as he isn't getting much playing time, he would be a great addition.
I thought Graham looked decent on Saturday; his hold up play looks alright and he set up a chance towards the end of the game. As Macca said, we've had two tough games, one against a team light years ahead of us and one where we had ten men and had to defend. I think it'd be harsh on our current crop if the answer was to just bring somebody else in, but I think we'll use the game tonight to give Proschwitz and Fryatt 90 minutes and see how they do. To be honest, I'd start with Nick against Manchester City, to combat the height of Dzeko from set pieces as well as causing problems in their box. The big gripe for me on Saturday is that Sagbo kept drifting out wide. This meant that when the ball went into the box, there was nobody to attack it. If we're playing a 4-3-3, then the central striker has to remain in the middle, otherwise it's a 4-6-0. The wingers need to cut inside, allowing the CF to remain an attacking threat. Danny Graham would suit a 4-3-3 better as he's naturally a CF, whereas I think Sagbo is more of a forward player, like Aluko.
As you say it is to early to make a judgement on Graham, I am sure he will get better with games under his belt. I agree with your comments that we need someone to gamble and get into the box more often, as crosses are wasted at times. That is why I think Prossy may suit, as he does seem to take up good position in the box, and has scored some important goals for us.
I agree, I think the criticism Proschwitz got was massively unfair. The first couple of games with us he didn't look at all bad, but Simpson scoring the winner against Brighton and his concurrent form meant that Proschwitz was always going to be second string while he got going. The games he was brought in, notably Ipswich and Wolves for me, he looked top drawer. For a big lad he's got great feet and a really good finish. People seemed to think that because he was starting on the bench, it meant he was ****. But would you have dropped Aluko or Simpson before Christmas? Or Gedo after his goalscoring exploits? He was given the chance to start against Cardiff and look what happened; he scored in the six yard box - something we were crying out for all season. He missed the penalty but in all honesty, it was a high pressure moment he perhaps wasn't ready for. In the games he has been given a chance in (Orient in the cup he scored twice, including that stunning strike from outside the box), he's done well and now he's got a season of English football under his belt, I think he'll push on and become a vital member of the squad. People seem to confuse being on the bench with being ****; it's about getting the right players for the right situations and as we saw with Le Fondre for Reading, some players are better coming off the bench as impact players. With Sagbo suspended, it's a great chance for Nick and Matty to stake their claim for a position and I'll have a fiver on NP as first goalscorer tonight.
A Danish paper is linking us with Bendtner again today. http://www.bt.dk/fodbold/bendtner-kan-faa-debut-i-weekenden I dunno what it says like.
"Nicklas Bendtner is in serious negotiations with Crystal Palace and may have already debut on Saturday. Hull lurking also still in the wings Crystal Palace is far in efforts to ensure Nicklas Bendtner as a new striker. The club gained promotion has started the Premier League season dirt with two defeats and just one goal, and the club desperately chasing more gunpowder to the attack, although Palace earlier this summer brought striker Marouane Chamakh in Arsenal. The club's manager, Ian Holloway, confirmed yesterday to the newspaper The Guardian that Nicklas Bendtner is considered as a new striker. - He is one of the names we have had a dialogue with. There might be something on that front, and we would like amplified on the offensive part, said Holloway. Nicklas Bendtner and his agent, Tom Brookes, met with permission from Arsenal on Sunday afternoon at the Westbury Hotel in London with Palace management to discuss a possible move for the striker. A change is realistic and Crystal Palace hope actually on Bendtner debut on Saturday against Sunderland. As several times earlier this summer, Bendtner's wage demands the overriding problem. The attacker insists on keeping its current top of the scale at Arsenal around 20 million. Gross, and it can Crystal Palace by no means match. The same was the case when everything went wrong with both Eintracht Frankfurt and Malaga earlier in the transfer window. But now the difference is just that Bendtner has a few days to change clubs before the transfer window slams in. And in Arsenal threatened him by Arsene Wenger with a life on the reserve team if he does not follow you. Therefore all dialogue with Arsenal to release Nicklas Bendtner completely free, then Crystal Palace do not have to pay the transfer fee of three million. pounds (26 million. DKK). Instead, there will then be provided to ensure Bendtner a high sign-on fee and some lucrative bonuses against a slightly smaller salary. But the Palace is not only gained promotion club that tries to download Bendtner at the last minute. Hull manager Steve Bruce is still trying to lure Nicklas Bendtner to change. Bruce was a kind of father figure to Bendtner when he in 2006-2007 was leased to Birmingham with Steve Bruce as manager. Bendtner was dating even Bruce's daughter in the period. In 2011, Bruce was also the man who downloaded Bendtner to Sunderland on loan, and the close relationship between Bendtner and the manager must convince the striker to move to Hull. But here's pay package an even bigger problem for Hull have downloaded several reinforcements, and the box is nearly empty. Therefore, a pure rental agreement may be considered. West Bromwich and Hamburger SV are also mentioned as suitors, but it is Crystal Palace and Hull as serious dialogue with Bendtner camp right now. Nicklas Bendtner is definitely done at Arsenal, as Arsene Wenger despite an amputated first team squad had youth players on the bench in the victory over Fulham on Saturday and no Bendtner." An amputated squad? You'd have thought Wenger would've gone out on a limb to sign new players. EDIT: If you read the Holloway quote in his accent, it still somehow sounds like he would say it.
