Do we have a striker problem

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Robert Jarvis

Robert Jarvis

Player Valuation: £35m
Another game gone west because chances were not converted so is this down to the strikers or the supply from midfield?

Well Vaughan abd Ancichebe are out and TBH I doubt if they will ever figure in a blue shirt again. Both I think are looking at the early demise of their careers through injury. That leaves us with:-

Jo. Done some decent work in biuld ups now and again but goal scoring a completete no no. He was bought in as a striker but really that has not worked.

Yak Upto his injury was knocking goals in but now supposedly recovered seems to be way off with any ideas of scoring. has the injruy done for him or are we seeing the laziness that Boro were glad to be rid of? Does he inspire confidence that he will find a scoring tough again?

Saha is certainly a classy player and can knock goals in with the right service but there is still a ? over fitness and of course his contract expires soon and he can talk to clubs from this January so could be gone soon.

Lets face it none of these are the goal scoring machine that we need or are capable of getting in there in the for example Sharpy mode.

As far as I can see we have no up and coming balls of fire in this respect either. So do we have a striker problem/ I think we do but how to remedy that. Donovan is not a striker and is only here for 10 weeks anyway. So I think we really need to look at this part of the team because in my view we are very weak here.

Ideas anyone??
 
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Robert Jarvis said:
Yak Upto his injury was knocking goals in but no supposedly recovered seems to be way off with any ideas of scoring. has the injruy done for him or are we seeing the laziness that Boro were glad to be rid of? Does he inspire confidence that he will find a scoring tough again?
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What was his record before the injury, something like 1 in 10 which came off his back wasn't it?
 
Vaughan came off the bench at the weekend. As he picked up another injury since then?

I don't think we can say it's a striker problem as Saha is about 4th in the top scorers chart. There are a couple of things missing though.

1) In the past we've had considerable contributions from elsewhere, be it Cahill, Fellaini or Lescott. This season Saha has got 43% of our league goals. Cahill hasn't really got going yet, Fellaini only has 1 goal, Yak also has just 1 and Jo has yet to get off the mark. All of these players have shown they can score consistently in the PL but for some reason they havn't yet.

2) Our defence has stank. In terms of goal scoring we're not 'that' far short of last season. 23 goals from 17 games equals around 1.35 per game. Last season we averaged 1.44 per game. The difference though is that where last season we conceded just 37 all year, this season we've let in 31 already. Under Moyes we've always relied on having a very good defence, so when we did score we often came away with points. This year that hasn't happened.

So in answer to your question, I don't think we have a striking problem per se. Get the other guys chipping in with goals and sort out the defence and we'll be fine.
 

Robert Jarvis said:
I think it was a bit better than that.
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Yeah you're right, it was 3 in 15.

2 of which were in the first 2 games, with the 15th game being the Spurs away where he got injured.

So yeah, it was a bit better i guess.

Although i couldnt be arsed to check line ups to see if he actually played in all those games.
 
Bruce that is a good point and I think you can look at the CBs. Just wish Moyes would have gone for Cahill, Shancross, Upson rather than Distin.
 
We were linked with that Chamakh from Bordeaux this morning. For £7m....where would we get that money from?! Still he knows where the goal is but he has a choice of us or the Gooners.......great stuff.
 
Saha stays. Think he fits well here and Moyes respects him as a player.

Jo goes because Everton will not have the loot to keep him - Citeh doesn't want him either but someone will pay more than the tenner Everton have available.

Yak needs time.

Most glaring problem has been the lack of scoring out of the MF.
 

I don't think we have a terminal striker problem.

The continuing wave of injuries has brought inconsistency throughout the team and that I think is why the midfield have failed to chip in as much as last season.

Each week it looks like each player is figuring out how those around him are going to move and position themselves.

Once things click and the ball gets moving up the pitch I think we're looking pretty slick. Piennar, Osman and Baines in particular pulling some lovely link play against Birmingham. We could do with Billy getting involved some more. On saturday I had a sense that could have been helped by bringing Coleman on in the right back position.

Having said that, right now Saha remains our one significant goal threat. Yak remains off the pace .. but think he'll be fine in a few weeks. In the meantime Donovan's arrival can't come soon enough.
 
"Lets face it none of these are the goal scoring machine that we need or are capable of getting in there in the for example Sharpy mode."

Saha and Yakubu's goalscoring records are excellent, they banged in goals throughout there careers. Saha's already scored 12 goals this season, a fully fit Yakubu is capable of getting 20 plus.

Jo and Cahill can both play upfront, as can Vaughan, Anichebe and at a push Fellaini. Donovan could also do a job in there once he joins.

I'd be more worried about our lack of creativity in midfield to be honest, and the lack of solidity in defence. Our strikers are the least of our problems at the moment, in my opinion. Saha's been fit for ages, bar the odd game here and there he's been around all season.
 
"Do we have a striker problem?"

Yes we do. We also have an offside problem, Jo scored a very nice goal vs the scum and it was chalked off, as was Saha's very well taken goal against Brum. I remember Ameobi being the entire depth of the 18 yard box offside and it being allowed.

Yak is not fit, he is not fit to an almost insane degree. His first year of marriage seems to have been good to him. Saha cannot find miraculous strikes every week, the last players I recall scoring from everywhere all season were Beattie at Southampton, Le tiss at the same and Phillips at Sunderland. (They all play in red and white vertical stripes!).

Confidence: when we concede a few heads drop, suddenly the pressure is on to score and there is no one carrying the fight to the opposition (Chelsea and Hull excepted)
Opposition has remembered that Pienaar and Baines is our main attacking threat and so kick them both all game every game, and still we do not fight back. When was the last game we kicked the oppositions main threat all game to hinder them? All the silky football in the world counts for nothing if you do not have the fight to back it up Re: Arsenal.
Saha is excellent, and will score more, and will score a lot more when the midfield gives him the easier chances he can finish in his sleep.
Yak needs to get fit and then get that service he so enjoys tussling shoulder to shoulder with a CB running in on goal.
Jo needs the clever ball to the last defender to capitalise upon, on the deck to his strongest foot which is his left. Meaning we need the smart ball from right mid. Right mid, where Arteta used to be playing remember.
Vic and Vaughan have been out for so long that it is difficult to consider them, Vaughan got a run for us against Brum but is it a possibility he will again be loaned out in January? I reckon so, especially with Donovan brought in.
 
Yes, we have a striker problem.

This is why it is very important to start giving our young strikers some experience.

Saha, as good as he is isn't a long term solution.
Jo isn't ours, and Yakubu is a long way from being the guy we know and love, plus he's an African nations player.

Fellaini knows where the net is, and could cover that role if needed, but we need him elsewhere. Cahill is lacking both luck and confidence, and Vaughan and Anichebe will probably be offloaded if the opportunity arises.
 

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