I have always liked HH and I was pleased that he came good again after he came back from his loan spell from Watford. However, that was in an excellent QPR team, top of the Championship for most of the season and playing well and he was able to carry that on into the first few games of the Premier League until he got injured and isolated again. I wonder if you were able to bring HH back from Cardiff now and bring back DJ from loan whether they would actually make any difference. Whilst I firmly believe that Cisse and Zamora are playing well below their best, I don't think our front two are 100% to blame for the lack of goals this season, perhaps not even 50% to blame. The team cant defend and seem bereft of ideas in the attacking third most of the time. Sticking HH up front in our current team is to merely introduce another striker who wont get the service and will spend half his time winning headers only to find no one in a hooped shirt is actively attacking the second ball.
Reminds me of what I shout to my boys when we're well behind schedule in the mornings - We're in the ****, We're in the ****!!!
I think the difference with HH is that he would MAKE the play. He would pluck balls out of the air and really quickly pass it to a supporting player/midfielder and then move on up the pitch as the rest of the team followed. We saw it countless times in our promotion season and he was at it again before he got injured last season. He absolutely bossed defences around and always brought in others. His first touch improved greatly and he was very intelligent in the game, which made up for a lack of pace. Cissé cannot do what HH does and vice versa. They are different. But I think they may have been able to work together, with HH dealing with all the air balls and then passing them on to Cissé or another player for them to blast it at the goal. We'd score from corners too. The truth is, a player from League 2 could beat a premier league defender because players aren't typically valued by their jumping height. But accuracy is obviously valuable and HH had that too! Another thing is that HH was brave and reckless (in the good sense). He would go up for any ball and was afraid of no one, no matter how big their name was.
So what now Hughesie/ What awfully bad luck. You get rid of our decent CF and bring in two old crocks. Your star buy last year is pants this year. In your master plan who is going to score the one goal per game you think wins matches?
I still don't know why we are playing target man football without a target man. Cisse can't hold the ball up and it isn't what Mackie is about either. I think we need to work on supply for them both, get them into the box and pepper the goal area with crosses from the wings. Maybe Hogan would fit the bill, I am not holding out much hope for SWP doing the job. If Junior can move out to the wing and dive inside if no cross is available it could be another avenue with Adel in the middle behind the front two receiving anything passed from the midfield. With Zamora out and AJ looking like a season long absentee we need to work out a strategy that makes the most of those who are fit. Both Cisse and Mackie tend to do well with crosses whipped in at pace but I am fearful of relying on Traore or Bootswinger bombing on as it leaves the defence vulnerable. Unless we can incorporate wingers then I can't see us changing from hoofing the ball over the midfield and hoping that it drops kindly as our second ball success rate is woeful.
Zamora & Johnson (Fulham's finest) + Dyer (although I believe is is temporarily fit to play) 'The Voice of Humanity. The Knackers Yard, or the Horses Last Home' please log in to view this image
Hulse & DJ, our new dynamic duo? As 'Arry would say, "one big, one small". [video=youtube;URlGrsLoFl8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URlGrsLoFl8&feature=youtu.be&a[/video]
With 11 goals to his tally, he certainly seems to know how to put them away at Scunny, on loan from Charlton, who have Hulse on loan from us.