Has Neil Warnock Blundered Big Time? When we were in The Championship, we had no centre forward in the true sense of the word, that is someone who could score 20 goals. We gained promotion through dogged hard graft, and that was greatly unexpected in many people’s eyes. We have a good side, but we knew that we needed a big bugger, skilful, who could hold the ball up, bring other players into the game and bag a bundle! Zohore was the great hope, but we all knew that he really wasn’t gutsy enough to be that type of player, not the real deal...needed somebody to play alongside of a similar ilk. We signed that type of guy, when we paid big bucks for Madine, but Warnock style does not allow for the two to strike together, and he has not had a reasonable chance IMO! Warnock had three months to address this situation, knowing that this was a massive problem to go into The Premier League without a serious centre forward...he knew we were lacking in this prime position, and for goodness sake, we knew it! Three months! Maybe Bamba or even Morrison, could be tried in this position, these two are more than capable, who knows? Otherwise Warnock might be gone before we know it, and we will have to endure a miserable season.
I have to agree. Zohore is not playing well and hasn't been for some time. Madine hasn't really been given a chance but I'd be inclined to give him a run of games to see what he can do. Either that or play without a recognised centre forward.
He acknowledged he needed a striker and we know there was interest in some but it was understood wages and/or transfer fees were the issue. Strikers seemingly cost more than other players. Not surprising given goals are king. So in that sense he was fettered as he couldn’t or wasn’t allowed to spend heavily. Or the forwards he wanted didn’t want to play in a potentially struggling team. Maybe he should have looked to the championship or abroad. Or broken the bank. As you say we knew all along this would be a major problem which has been borne out so far.
Problem is we could spend 30m and still not be guaranteed 20 goals or safety. We are trying to stay up without breaking the bank. If we go down which is likely we will be in a strong position to bounce back.
Breaking the bank not an option...….even if we then stay up we have to deal with the fallout. Ask Swans fans about that!!! And we have a generous owner who could stand it.....but no-one is willing to test him too far. Quite right too.
Erred on the side of caution. IF we stay up, great, if not, no biggie. We regroup and go again. We weren't expected to be here so let's just enjoy it as Neil says...
Mmmm not so sure having seen the first 3 g I didn’t want City to break the bank and applaud City for not doing so; my point was it seems that to get that golden striker with the Midas touch, it takes big bucks..... But of course it doesn’t always work that way; Andreus Cornelius eg City will just have to go with what they’ve got, and work hard until eventually the goals come
After the first 3 games, I don't see us staying up. We will probably be sitting at 6 games with 2 points. We couldn't get a win against 2 average teams who played half an hour with ten men. I still am not sure that strikers are the sole reason things have gone the way they have. Our midfield does not control the ball, hasn't produced more than 1 decent cross a game, and can't put a dangerous pass into a channel. It wouldn't be much fun to be the lone striker. You pretty much never have a teammate within 30 meters of you! As said earlier, we are trying not to break the bank, and unfortunately a striker is the biggest gamble there is. Team confidence in front of goal may well be an issue as well. Morro would make that header 9 times out of 10. I am hoping once we get a couple of goals the players will loosen up a bit.
Bit unfair on the midfield ToB, I haven't seen any of Saturday's game but against Newcastle the midfield 3 were excellent - and it was their fiŕst match together. Now if you mean the wingers, Murphy has been okay but the others not so good. For me Hoilett was disappointing against Newcastle. We had good chances against them which Zohore in particular wasted. While I still hope overall the squad is good enough, the failure to land a striker with ability at this level is likely to be the big problem. Madine is certainly not the answer, Reid and Ward are too lightweight as no. 9's, Zohore has the attributes, apart from heading, and must raise his game, you simply can't use a centre back as your main striker as the do not have the mobility, pace or ball skills needed and Healey will never be more than an average Championship player at best. In reality division 1 will be his level. If we can hang in there and not get cut adrift before January then the cheque book must come out to bring in someone who can perform at this level.
Nin - agree we've yet to score and we haven't exactly played premium sides yet, but we've only conceded two - only Liverpool at the top have conceded less. If you look at the other sides in the bottom half of the table, some have already let in 9 and most have shipped 5,6 or 7. Maybe that average will get dented a bit after our next 3 games from which we expect nothing, but we'll be half a dozen Prem games wiser and we can build on that. Most of the other sides we're targeting have at least a couple of years Prem experience advantage over us so it will take time to adjust. Warnock needs to find the right combo up front to complement this new midfield of ours which looks very promising. To be honest, he's failed to get it right this first three games but we just have to go with what we've got. I think he'll have to put some faith in Reid and give him a run in the starting X1 not just a 15 minute last ditch cameo. The guy looks sharp to me and will score.
Perhaps a little harsh, but I think most teams score goals through their midfield and often strikers have them set up on a plate. Not sure I have seen that in the three matches. Newcastle was the best performance. i am not trying to excuse the strikers entirely, but I don't think they are solely to blame especially with how we are setting up. Think we need a defensive midfielder, a creative midfielder, and an attacking midfielder (Reid?) to sit behind Zohore. I think after the next three games, Warnock will have to start to take a more aggressive attitude!
Ah Masky, need to be more optimistic pals...so here goes: Dilly Dilly everyone! Dilly Dilly Masky! Silly old bugger Masky!
Your in a Mini league including the likes of: Newcastle (****e) Huddersfield (****e) Burnley (****e, how they've manged to stay up so long is one of lifes mysteries) Bournemouth (always a couple of injuries away from disaster) Fulham (Villa should have beaten them) Southampton* (maybe??) West Ham* (don't like it up em captain) Palace* (same as above but remember, Zaha is injury probe and without him Palace are ****e) There's 44 pts left there to play for and look to pick up a point or two from other the likes of mid-table fodder like Bournemouth, Leicester, Everton, Wolves, Brighton. The fodder teams used to include us, Stoke and WBA and look what happened. It may not be as intense as the Championship but that could be to your advantage especially around Christmas where the games come thick and fast. You're used to that kind of intensity but a lot of the premier league Sissyboys don't like it and don't put in a shift. That's a good time for you to get stuck in to them. Dont expect to win the league just fight to stay in it by looking for wins against teams in your mini league and picking up points against those clubs just happy to be mid-table fodder for the top-six. All you got to do have more points than three other teams come May. Looking at some of the piss poor sides in the prem, you can do that.
Not quite sure why he put on Paterson for 85 minutes. He is a passenger at this level and it seemed we were playing with 10 men as he was just anonymous. Reid should have started let alone only get 15 minutes.
Question is does Warnock always know what he’s doing, seems to make some strange decisions sometimes?
Keeps everyone on their toes. Seems to me like the power of the media is making us start to question NW. He has got us where we are. While we might not have scored we have 2 clean sheets. The whole club has to aclimatise to the demands of the Prem and will need time to do this. I strongly recommend we do not get on the backs of NW and the team at such an early stage. We clearly need a better striker but can't address this until January. We have to work with what we have and support from the fans, not criticism and doubt, is crucial.
Fully support Warnock, just querying a few decisions! Nothing wrong with Neil Masky very wise, runaway leader of Prediction League thou knows!
