Lovenkrands and Best > Carroll and Shola?

I think as a single player, Carroll was the best striker we had. However, i think the Lovenkrands and Best partnership is really blossoming, and our team looks alot more creative and better paced with them upfront together.

We looked alot more threatening from Set plays with Carroll and Shola in the team, but our creativity and passing play, is starting to look better every game with our current duo upfront, because they both have good ball control, pace and agility, something which Carroll and Shola lacked. More of our play is leading to threats on goal, and that's promosing.

Lovenkrands' ability to get on the end of long balls is excellent, he just wasn't give enough time to build a link with the others before. His ball control is good, and his vision and passing is good also. Him and Enrique connect very well on the left hand side, and have done so the last two games.

I have personally been very convinced with Lovenkrands. He may not score too much, but his ability to play with the team, is great and he should be given more time. Best is also convincing me. If we had been a bit more fortune, he could have quite easily had 7 goals from 7 games. His work rate and decent great scoring talley, instantly puts him ahead of Shola for me.

I think it's very promosing that we seem to be playing brilliant, attacking football, and without a real target man. I didn't think we'd be able to change style so fast, but credit to Pardew and our great coaches, we have managed to adapt.

I personally think i'd rather keep Best and Loverman over Shola. We only really need one more striker in the summer, and we can always stick Arfa behind him.

I'd keep Best and Lovenkrands, send Ranger out on loan, get rid of Shola.

Thoughts?

 

Agree.

I'm Best's NUMBER ONE FAN, he looked so average in the Championship but definitely doesn't look out of place in the Premier League. He has a better technique and ''all round game'' than Ameobi and Ranger, he has has two very good feet, looks good on the deck, decent passer, decent pace, good mobility, decent strength and excellent work-rate, although his finishing needs some improving(Blackburn game, he could've scored a couple being a bit more ruthless). Will only get better with a FULL Premier League season on his belt, definitely keep for next season, even as 3rd choice.

Lover, nowhere near a prolific striker but like Best has better technique than Shola and Ranger, better ability, good on the deck, very good mobility, good pace, lacks strength though and can look lost at times, but he's been decent enough when partnering Best up front and took his goal very well against Birmingham, hopefully we'll see more of that before the end of the season!

My IDEAL summer scenario :

Keep Best as competition/3rd choice!
Get 1 or two quality striker/s as first-team starters.
Sell Ameobi.
Sell Lover.
Keep Ranger as competition/3rd/4th choice.
Loan Airey to a decent L1/bottom half Championship team.

So it'll be : NEW ST, NEW ST and Best/Ranger(bench options).. and then the likes of Donaldson/Young Ameobi as reserves.

 

Well this is a first. A whole article without 1 *.

Maybe something is getting through.

 

Leon best will tear you apart...again

 

I read it thinking it was a decent article, didn't even realise the author!!!

Tash, spot on i feel!

 

I disagree but still feel Best and McLoven are doing very well.

 

Best and Lovenkrands are doing well for now but I don't want to have to rely on them for large swathes of the season.

3 against the Hammers when they were at their abject worse doesn't fill me with any aspiration that Best can actually cut it.

If we have a good finish to this season in the top 10 then Best et al are NOT the players to face next season with the hope that we can either maintain that league position or better it.

 

Ranger out on loan, cover in the event of injury? I also think that Ranger will benefit from the Premier League and find his feet soon enough.

 

I agree with OT's point. If we have ambitions of Europe or being a consistent top 10 team in the Premier League as Pardew said(can't remember when) then we'll have to buy 1 or 2 quality strikers. Best is OK as 3rd choice for next season IMO, but we need to ship out the ageing ''has-beens''.. I'm looking at Ameobi and Lover here!

 

Agree, but Shola needs to stay. Newcastle through and through, when he gets a run of games, he scores, and can't be on that much.

Sell Lover, loan Ranger (jeeze), buy two quality strikers (van wolfswinkle/Dembele/Hulk/Wickam) and we'll be fine next season.

What will happen though, as we all know, is Ashley will buy one striker.

 

Agree with everything you said RIP but Shola can never leave......

 

We definitely have started to play better football since he left, mostly because we don't have the option of hitting it long, and so far it's worked. Good Article