He is a good outlet though - wins the ball from goal kicks and allows the team to maintain possession. Not really sure who else would do that job
Robbie Brady/new forward
He is a good outlet though - wins the ball from goal kicks and allows the team to maintain possession. Not really sure who else would do that job
My worry is when Koren is unavailable we may struggle. This is where we need more attacking depth in our squad and a new striker brought in. When the new striker is brought in, it will surely be McLean that is dropped.
i would suggest that IF or when Koren is unavailable then both Brady and Stewart will start and the tactics / formation be slighty adjusted. dont see it as a problem short term. plus Oli will be back soon as well.
I take on board the differing opinions of the two of them, but if they're on a par, how come Fryatt's scored 17 and Mclean's scored 7?
Or perhaps he just never gets his shots on target.![]()
My worry is when Koren is unavailable we may struggle. This is where we need more attacking depth in our squad and a new striker brought in. When the new striker is brought in, it will surely be McLean that is dropped.
Fryatt goes near the goal, McLean doesn't.
I'm not saying they're identical, but that they're very similar. They aren't as chalk and cheese as some people seem to think. The 'running about isn't enough' comment will always come up with McLean but never Fryatt, it could apply to both of them though.
I know you're joking, but come on, Fryatt has missed way more simple, close range chances. No one even expects him to score one-on-ones any more.
I don't think it will at all. McLean would be harder to replace and you'd always want him in the team. But if we brought in someone who could play the lone striker role Fryatt is playing now (say if we signed Billy Sharp) I'd want him to start ahead of Fryatt.
Don't forget, we aren't playing 2 strikers at the moment it's more of a 4-2-3-1, Fryatt is the 1 striker and should make way if we got someone like Sharp, McLean is on the wing and could only be replaced by Brady, Garcia or Pusic. It's all quite academic anyway though because a 'first 11' only ever last a few games nowadays before you pick up an injury and it all gets changed round.
Brady might not be here and neither may Olofinjana
dont think there is much to worry about on either of them.
I think the chances of Fryatt being dropped ahead of Mclean, whoever we sign, are just shy of zero.
So if we signed a quality striker, we'd either put him on the wing to accomodate Fryatt, or we'd completely change the formation to accomodate Fryatt? I really don't think he's as good as you seem to think. If it wasn't for Koren's input against Milwall, we'd all be bemoaning another set of unnecessary points dropped due to Fryatt's simple misses. Just like West Ham, and Blackpool, and Macclesfield, and Palace...
I've actually got nothing against Fryatt, it just does my head in that everyone bums him so much but can't have any praise for McLean.
If we can find anyone willing to take on the wages of Oli, McShane, Kibane, or Ghilas, they'll definitely be gone, they're all on way more than they're worth.
I would hope that we'd sign a player to suit the formation we planned to play him in.
You rate Mclean more highly than me, which is obviously your opinion and you're welcome to it, but it's Nick's opinion that matters and as the two players he singled out for praise after the game on Saturday were McKenna and Fryatt, I suspect he sees things the same way as me.
I'm not saying McLean's suddenly my favourite player, I don't rate him significantly more than others. It's just I see beyond the nonsense sterotype that we have about Fryatt's skill being so superior to McLean's. If McLean has one bad game it's back to everyone bashing him like last season. If Fryatt has a bad game it's an exception to the rule. They are both decent at what they do, they both work hard but don't have a brilliant chance conversion rate. Anyone can see that our biggest problem, and has been for ages, that only Koren in the team can finish consistently. If we're going to get promoted (which is a perfectly realistic aim given the way the defence and midfield have shaped up) we will need to start finishing chances at some point. We could do with a quality striker to do that, but without messing about with the current system that works so well. Fryatt would be the obvious one to replace if we did get someone in as it's his job to finish the chances. If you wanted to replace McLean it'd have to be for Brady or Garcia who would both offer something very different to what he does but it's a completely seperate position to where Fryatt plays.
If NB said Fryatt played well on Saturday (even though that comment does interest me because I thought he looked like he was in a huff all game), it doesn't change the fact he almost cost us the game with those chances in the first half. Again.
Based on the first sentence you write, and the idea you wouldn't ever bench Fryatt, you must not want us to add another striker unless it's one just to sit on the bench?
Fryatt goes near the goal, McLean doesn't.
I'm not saying they're identical, but that they're very similar. They aren't as chalk and cheese as some people seem to think. The 'running about isn't enough' comment will always come up with McLean but never Fryatt, it could apply to both of them though.
I know you're joking, but come on, Fryatt has missed way more simple, close range chances. No one even expects him to score one-on-ones any more.
I don't think it will at all. McLean would be harder to replace and you'd always want him in the team. But if we brought in someone who could play the lone striker role Fryatt is playing now (say if we signed Billy Sharp) I'd want him to start ahead of Fryatt.
Don't forget, we aren't playing 2 strikers at the moment it's more of a 4-2-3-1, Fryatt is the 1 striker and should make way if we got someone like Sharp, McLean is on the wing and could only be replaced by Brady, Garcia or Pusic. It's all quite academic anyway though because a 'first 11' only ever last a few games nowadays before you pick up an injury and it all gets changed round.
I'm not saying McLean's suddenly my favourite player, I don't rate him significantly more than others. It's just I see beyond the nonsense sterotype that we have about Fryatt's skill being so superior to McLean's. If McLean has one bad game it's back to everyone bashing him like last season. If Fryatt has a bad game it's an exception to the rule. They are both decent at what they do, they both work hard but don't have a brilliant chance conversion rate. Anyone can see that our biggest problem, and has been for ages, that only Koren in the team can finish consistently. If we're going to get promoted (which is a perfectly realistic aim given the way the defence and midfield have shaped up) we will need to start finishing chances at some point. We could do with a quality striker to do that, but without messing about with the current system that works so well. Fryatt would be the obvious one to replace if we did get someone in as it's his job to finish the chances. If you wanted to replace McLean it'd have to be for Brady or Garcia who would both offer something very different to what he does but it's a completely seperate position to where Fryatt plays.
If NB said Fryatt played well on Saturday (even though that comment does interest me because I thought he looked like he was in a huff all game), it doesn't change the fact he almost cost us the game with those chances in the first half. Again.
Based on the first sentence you write, and the idea you wouldn't ever bench Fryatt, you must not want us to add another striker unless it's one just to sit on the bench?
We're obviously not going to agree on this one, but personally, I think Fryatt is twice as good a player as Mclean and for that reason I'd drop Mclean ahead of Fryatt. Nick is a great believer in making sure you get your most talented players onto the pitch, which is why the likes of Harper and Adebola won't get a look in now. He's deciding who to sign, he's deciding them based on a formation he wants to play, I'd put a fairly hefty wedge on Fryatt being included in that formation. Just my opinion.
The part we disagree on is that Fryatt is so talented.
I'm always trying to convince people it's not just about goals with strikers (because there are so many factors involved) but if the chances are being made and the striker keeps missing, I don't see how it can be excused.
Here's a question for you, if a goal scoring opportunity was being created, would you rather it was Mclean playing the ball to Fryatt, or Fryatt playing the ball to Mclean?