Nikica Jelavic

[Ihaters]

He's getting loads of chances ? Can you name them ?

Hit a shot yesterday that would of been burried last season around the 80th minute. There is one.
Around the 70th minute last game against Villa had a good chance that was saved by Guzan, wouldn't of been last season as we know.. There is two.. in two games.. when he's been a sub so not even playing many minutes.
He's been getting plenty throughout the season and he's been making Osman look like Roberto Carlos in the power shot stakes at times.

 

[toffeejack]

So you'd happily sit there & watch him leave a ball that wasn't down the central 3rd of the pitch if he's the furthest man forward? (which is highly likely given that he's the lone striker)

I can hear it now in the PE "leave that one Jela it's not your job lad".

the instructions should be not to pass it there in the first place or have the winger standing in that position if you're going to pass it there

 

[Brennan]

Jelavic has had 61 shots this season in the league. That's 61 in 22 starts.

He started 10 games last season and had 38 shots.

Even worse is his shots on goal, he had 18 in 10 starts last season, and in twice as many games he's only had 20 this year. He's gone from getting nearly 2 shots on target per game to getting 1. It's f***ing blindingly obvious that he's not getting anywhere near as many good chances. BECAUSE HE'S ON THE WING ALL THE TIME.

Derp.

 

[Little Ralphy]

Stupid is what it is. Why would having to run a little into the flanks mean he keeps missing the sitters he has been?

Composure. It's difficult to remain composed and have great technique when you've been running your socks off in wide positions to provide an option for a team, which has a more defensive mind set.

Giannluca Vialli once said that a striker’s job is to convert chances. You want him to be fresh in the box when the chance arrives, so that his technique is good and he will convert it. If you have him racing all over the pitch then you have to expect his technique to suffer. That’s what seems to happen with strikers under Moyes. Saha was the same, purple patch banging them in for fun, to showing up by the touchline looking to play the ball back to a fullback to cross in.

Personally I think it’s one of many reasons for Jelavic’s poor form, along with
- He’s being asked to work harder outside of the box which has affected his composure when/if he eventually gets in there
- Fellaini is now our main focus for attacks, whereas last season it was Jelavic. So Jela has suffered as a result, and the team has mirrored Felli’s form.
- Our build up play is much slower compared to last season. Last season we got the ball to Jela much quicker.
- No European Championships for Jela to aim for.

My main worry is that none of the other strikers this has happened to, have really recovered at Everton. Does Moyes set his side up for the better chances to mostly fall for midfielders? If so then why doesn’t he fill the midfield with players able to score goals?

 

[dixie7]

Am I right in thinking that the argument is as follows: If you chase a ball into the corners during a game rather than just waiting in the middle, you can no longer score the sitters that arrive throughout these games?

as to what stay upfront and get no service. he cant play the offside trap and even if he does get through has no pace to take on the last defender. he is darrent bent without pace.

The midfield and defense have had more to cope with this season, we have been shipping in goals pretty much every game so moyes asks the midfield to track back more and help out which is understandable. Its up to jelavic to adapt his game and get into shooting opportunities.

and of course the other problem is everyone has workout his game, he gets in the box steps back to create the space and then slots it home, if you try it every game people work you out, did it many times last season

 

[somuchfun]

NI
KI
CA
<3

 

[Ihaters]

As of Jan Jelavic had a 10% chance conversation rate
Last season it was over 30%
He's simply not taking his chances like he did last season.. That is something that will change because he is a cracking striker.
That is not down to having to run the channels.

 

[davek]

Jelavic has had 61 shots this season in the league. That's 61 in 22 starts.

He started 10 games last season and had 38 shots.

Even worse is his shots on goal, he had 18 in 10 starts last season, and in twice as many games he's only had 20 this year. He's gone from getting nearly 2 shots on target per game to getting 1. It's f***ing blindingly obvious that he's not getting anywhere near as many good chances. BECAUSE HE'S ON THE WING ALL THE TIME.

Derp.

The shots on goal is the key stat...and your last sentence doesn't really reinforce the point you feel you're making. Proportionate to games played, he marginally got more shots off last season to this.

 

[davek]

I don't agree that he's being asked to do anything different to last season mate, sorry I just don't see it.

The only thing he doesn't regularly have when playing with Fellaini off him, is the sight of someone getting beyond him, both giving him an option & potentially creating space for him. I'd like to see him & Victor given a chance to play as a pair.

The obvious distinction to make between this and last season is that he played with Cahill last season and that was a success because - unlike with Fellaini who can hold the ball up and take the ball on from there - Cahill tended to release it a lot quicker with a knock down. Fellaiinis famous 'chest trap' may be delaying matters for Jelavic. However, and that said, Jelavic should be able to work off a top player like Felli. If he cant then there's something seriously limited in his ability to adapt.

 

[toffeejack]

Composure. It's difficult to remain composed and have great technique when you've been running your socks off in wide positions to provide an option for a team, which has a more defensive mind set.

Giannluca Vialli once said that a striker’s job is to convert chances. You want him to be fresh in the box when the chance arrives, so that his technique is good and he will convert it. If you have him racing all over the pitch then you have to expect his technique to suffer. That’s what seems to happen with strikers under Moyes. Saha was the same, purple patch banging them in for fun, to showing up by the touchline looking to play the ball back to a fullback to cross in.

Personally I think it’s one of many reasons for Jelavic’s poor form, along with
- He’s being asked to work harder outside of the box which has affected his composure when/if he eventually gets in there
- Fellaini is now our main focus for attacks, whereas last season it was Jelavic. So Jela has suffered as a result, and the team has mirrored Felli’s form.
- Our build up play is much slower compared to last season. Last season we got the ball to Jela much quicker.
- No European Championships for Jela to aim for.

My main worry is that none of the other strikers this has happened to, have really recovered at Everton. Does Moyes set his side up for the better chances to mostly fall for midfielders? If so then why doesn’t he fill the midfield with players able to score goals?

Good post mate. It's no coincidence that jela went back to croatia in the midweek under a different coach and immediately slotted. Just sick of moyes' everybody has to work their socks off 1-11 covering every blade of grass. Those kind of strikers cost £25m-£30m, we can't afford that luxury. what we can afford is a striker who's a natural goalscorer and every time we get a new one they seem to turn into dog turd after 1/2 - 1 year.

 

[toffeejack]

The obvious distinction to make between this and last season is that he played with Cahill last season and that was a success because - unlike with Fellaini who can hold the ball up and take the ball on from there - Cahill tended to release it a lot quicker with a knock down. Fellaiinis famous 'chest trap' may be delaying matters for Jelavic. However, and that said, Jelavic should be able to work off a top player like Felli. If he cant then there's something seriously limited in his ability to adapt.

Shouldn't we be making sure we play to our main goalscorer's strengths? That's what forwards are bought for to win games with goals. Name anybody in the world who would prefer an all round attacker who doesn't score many like di santo, over a tap-in specialist like van nistelrooy?

moyes seems like the guy who'd prefer di santo. There is a reason why jelavic only cost £5.5m, not £30m

 

[Brennan]

The shots on goal is the key stat...and your last sentence doesn't really reinforce the point you feel you're making. Proportionate to games played, he marginally got more shots off last season to this.

His total number of shots are important because Jelavic doesn't take many from outside the box.

I wouldn't call 40% more shots in his first season 'marginal' either.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

Shouldn't we be making sure we play to our main goalscorer's strengths? That's what forwards are bought for to win games with goals. Name anybody in the world who would prefer an all round attacker who doesn't score many like di santo, over a tap-in specialist like van nistelrooy?

moyes seems like the guy who'd prefer di santo. There is a reason why jelavic only cost £5.5m, not £30m

Di Santo doesn't score many because he's ****e.

Jelavic was only scoring goals in Scotland, that's why is price was what it was. If a club had have wanted him last summer, he'd have been in the £20M+ bracket.

He's been largely poor this season & has been missing chances that last season he was finishing, his conversion ratio bears that out. It's nothing more than a confidence issue.

 

[Deano]

It wrecks my head when ever I see him on the wings. Like proper makes my blood boil.

 

[Summerskin]

I've just used the excellent Everton Results.com and the likes of wikipedia (hence why some figures may be ever so slightly out) to list how many strikers we've had under Moyes and their conversion rate.

Now bear in mind that this list focuses solely on #9's and doesn't include the likes of Steve Watson, Fellaini, Cahill, Donovan, McFadden, Naismith or Kevin Mirallas, who have spent the majority of their Everton career playing elsewhere.

Duncan Ferguson: 20 goals in 102 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 5.
Tommy Radzinski: 20 goals in around about 55 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 2.75.
Nick Chadwick: 6 goals in 17 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 2.8.
Kevin Campbell: 13 in around about 70 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 5.3.
Wayne Rooney: 17 goals in 177 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 4.5.
Brian McBride: 4 goals in 8 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 2.
Francis Jeffers: 2 goals in 22 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 11.
Marcus Bent: 8 goals in 66 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 8.25.
James Beattie: 15 goals in 86 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 5.7.
James Vaughan: 9 goals in 60 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 6.5.
Andy Johnson: 22 goals in 74 appearances, a conversaion rate of 1 in 3.3.
Victor Anichebe: 24 goals in 154 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 6.5.
Yakubu: 33 goals in 107 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 3.2. *

*His first season with us and his sole season with Blackburn yielded a conversion rate of 1 in 1.8, which clearly shows how horribly mismanaged he was since f*cking Blackburn managed to serve him up with a glut of goals.

Louis Saha: 35 goals in 115, appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 3.2.
Jo: 7 goals in 35 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 5.
Jermaine Beckford: 10 goals in 40 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 4.
Apostolis Vellios: 3 goals in 24 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 8.
Denis Straqualursi: 3 goals in 27 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 9.
Nikica Jelavic: 18 goals in 44 appearances, a conversion rate of 1 in 2.4.


Now, of course pure stats don't tell the whole story, because if they did we seemingly dropped an almighty b*llock in letting Brian McBride go...but this list does go some way in telling us where our problems lie.

For a famously settled and close knit first XI in which the likes of Osman, Hibbert, Neville, Howard, Cahill, Arteta, Baines and Jagielka have/had played together for well over 5 years the sheer amount of centre forwards that we've gone through is quite startling, especially considering that we've played with 1 up top for the best part of 8 years.

Including the lads that have had to do a job up front or do play centre forward elsewhere (i.e. Cahill, Naismith, Fellaini, McFadden, Donovan) I count a total of 26 strikers that have been utilised under Moyes in his 11 year tenure, that's over two per season.

As mentioned before, take a starting XI from 2007 and in Howard, Neville, Hibbert, Jagielka, Baines, Osman and Pienaar there's 7 players out of a possible 11 that make our first choice XI to this day, Moyes clearly likes his favourites and of course they've served us brilliantly but the further we get up the pitch the clearer it gets that our play will never suit an out-an-out striker.

It's not like we've had our precious striking talents snatched away from us by those in the upper echelons of World Football either, out of that above list only Wayne Rooney has gone on to bigger and better things...that's one centre forward out of a possible 26 that's been deemed good enough for a stronger club than ours to bid for.

The combination of poor buying (Beattie, Johnson and Yakubu were all club record signings), a lot of dross and a frankly undeniable aversion to playing simply to a strikers strengths continues to cost us, the latest victim in Nikica Jelavic still has a very respectable conversion rate of around 1 in 2 but as has been said in this thread, he's clearly being asked to do a lot more whilst recieving less in return, time shall only tell how he will continue at Everton but I for one am not expecting too much.