Rickie Lambert, Grant Holt, and Andy Carroll tend to grab the headlines, and although their goals proved pivotal to their respective teamsâ ability to compete in the Premier League, Southampton, Norwich and West Ham each survived because they could rely on goals coming from a range of sources. For Norwich, they arrived from Pilkington and Morison. For Southampton, Rodriguez, Puncheon, Schneiderlin and Ramirez, each contributed more than five goals each. And for West Ham, midfielder Kevin Nolan actually outscored his Geordie teammate with ten Premier League goals. That's one of the conclusions to my Premier League Survival Guide - the final part of which is now live - and just one of the many lessons taken from Norwich City's experience. Thanks for reading the other parts, and giving feedback and comments. Have a read of the concluding chapter and let me know what you think. http://hitrowz.com/2013/07/12/premier-league-survival-guide-part-5/
As a point of interest, did anyone ever say that a "star striker" (whatever that phrase means), would keep a promoted side in the top flight?
Not a promoted side, but 49% of Villa's goals were scored or assisted by Benteke. Judging by Cardiff splashing the cash on Cornelius, they're hoping a star striker can do the business for them.
i agree that it's a case of 'sharing the goals' that helps keep a newly promoted team up (well, any team for that matter) but you do still need a striker to step up to the plate. important to have at least three other players getting 6+ i'd say
Certainly not the intention. Just highlighting that sides looking to stay up will need goals from all over the pitch if they are to stand a chance of doing so. Norwich provide a positive example of how that can work. Although not included in the article, Andy Johnson got over 20 league goals for Crystal Palace some years back, and they still went down. It's also relevant given Norwich's investment in Wolfswinkel - as in, it will still be vital that others chip in with 5+ goals.
I think the sharing of the goals necessity is probably more dependent on how you play than anything else. If your putting all your eggs in one basket then he's going to get all the chances and they will be rightly falling to the correct person, you can still have a star striker however and play for the midfield to chip in. I don't know what scenario suits a star striker over a spreading of goals through the team. Would a striker be more likely to get you points in tight away games and would a spread of goals be more likely to pick up more points in home games against a more defensive approach. I'd personally prefer a spread of the goals because it would perhaps suggest a better team to watch.
I like the sound of this 'Nothing' - who does he currently play for? A lot of water has gone under the bridge since our high scoring contests with the Essex Tesco boys 4 seasons ago. You must be very proud of us Mikey, how we've forged ahead.....while you've kind of stuttered along achieving boogie all FACT.
