Baldock

[NooBHA]

I do agree with you, but i think we all saw that confidence evaporate when Baldock wasn't along side him. If we can find someone who will do the work that Baldock does AND chip in with maybe a dozen or so goals then yes Baldock would make a fantastic option off the bench, i cant think of too many though, Barnes is one in my opinion.

If you have a look at one of my earlier comments on this thread, I do concede that they played together when Baldock was fit because it was the most successful partnership.

All I am saying is now I think we need someone who is a little bit better than Sam...........I like him but if I was replacing Baldock or Hemed, it would be Sam and thats because I really see something in Tomer that perhaps makes me think we have not seen the best of him yet. Contrary to that, I don't think Sam will have any better a season than he did last year.

 

[Ecosse Exile]

United paid £10-15 for Zaha,

And even then they were robbed

 

[BensGrandad]

Could we entice Michu back to proper football or do Swansea still hold his registration.

 

[BensGrandad]

United paid £10-15 for Zaha, They picked Rashford up for free. They paid 26m for Anderson, Swansea paid 2m for Michu.
Transfer fees aren't a reliable indication of ability.

The difference being that those were all done by different men having different opinions of values our 3 stemmed basically from the same source or the same paymaster.

 

[Acker79]

And you still managed to miss out Carroll to Liverpool. That takes some doing when trying to prove this particular point
A point I completely agree with btw.

It's weird. I know football is littered with such deals, but none of them came to mind (I'm also at work so not giving this my full attention), and the first google result was a list of Man Utd failures and I didn't want to labour the point with a long list of examples so stopped with the two.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I'd say it was 3 crocked with the one healthy striker needing a break.

It's a minor miracle the team got so close.

On the plus side, Hemed and Baldock's agents aren't going to get rich anytime soon by touting a move for their clients.

 

[Ecosse Exile]

Could we entice Michu back to proper football or do Swansea still hold his registration.

Swansea released him after a financial settlement, played for UP Langreo last season, an amateur team in the Spanish 3rd division, and didnt pull up any trees, unfortunately i think hes had his day, a bit like Murray

 

[Pavilionaire]

Face it, we had four crocked/misfiring strikers this season who were collectively a marginal improvement on the the four fit/misfiring strikers we had the season before. Nowhere near where we need to be.

Are you saying that all four need replacing? Hemed was Joint 5th highest scorer in the Championship while Baldock didn't start a league match that we lost.

I agree that we need a couple of strikers like Murray and Vydra but I think Hemed and Baldock are worth their place in the quartet.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Could we entice Michu back to proper football or do Swansea still hold his registration.

Ow come ON, BG! You were doing so well and then THIS!?!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Are you saying that all four need replacing? Hemed was Joint 5th highest scorer in the Championship while Baldock didn't start a league match that we lost.

I agree that we need a couple of strikers like Murray and Vydra but I think Hemed and Baldock are worth their place in the quartet.

Hemed ALWAYS looked a bit lumbering. Baldock NEVER looked the part. Just won't do

 

[Acker79]

The difference being that those were all done by different men having different opinions of values our 3 stemmed basically from the same source or the same paymaster.

The players value comes from two sides, Man Utd were one side of three of the examples I gave. Brighton were one side of three examples you gave. But you want to stick with Brighton? Vicente. Signed for free. Does that make him worse than Chris O'Grady or Elvis Manu?

You have to factor in contract lengths, how much the club wants to keep a player for all sorts of reasons (discipline, alliance to previous managers, wages, player happiness), you have to factor in managerial preference, bidget control, contract negotiations not working out for any number of reasons.

Which all comes back to: transfer fees are not a reliable indication of ability.

 

[BensGrandad]

Ow come ON, BG! You were doing so well and then THIS!?!

He was very good at Swansea so thought perhaps he may have regained it playing for his brother as I hadnt read of his progress if any. Left to me I would add Murray and Vydra to the 2 we have, job done.

 

[Easy 10]

Could we entice Michu back to proper football or do Swansea still hold his registration.

The Michu who's played 18 games in the last 2 years - 3 on loan at Napoli, and 15 in the Spanish 3rd division ?

Think I'll pass !

 

[Pavilionaire]

The Michu who's played 18 games in the last 2 years - 3 on loan at Napoli, and 15 in the Spanish 3rd division ?

Think I'll pass !

Me too, I'd rather have Pikachu than Michu.

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

Me too, I'd rather have Pikachu than Michu.

Agreed, it's always nice to see a player evolve during their time at the club

 

[Triggaaar]

What caused Michu's fall from grace, did he get injured?

 

[samtheseagull]

Oh FFS!, another one.

Can we finally put this lie to bed. People who don't rate Baldock didn't, by default, also not rate Barnes. Is that simple enough for people to understand?

In fact , I'd go so far as to say almost the opposite is true. It appears most people who don't rate Baldock actually rated Barnes very highly.

I prefer to group most people that don't rate players that our managers clearly do all together in one group.

 

[samtheseagull]

Barnes was bang average, but the dullards on here seem to put him in the same bracket as Ulloa... that said, I'd rather have Barnes than Sam B...

Barnes was not in Ulloas league but i would say he was above average for us considering how much we missed him when he left

 

[Ecosse Exile]

What caused Michu's fall from grace, did he get injured?

He did get injured while he was on loan at Napoli, ACL i think, but not sure, it was obviously serious enough that he never played for them again and Napoli didn't take the option to make the move permanent.

However you could say his fall from grace started the previous season, his second at Swansea, after bursting onto the scene as a striker for the Swans, they moved him back into midfield in the second season, if i remember correctly this was at the time Wilfried Bony arrived. I dont know if he had a hissy fit over this or what happened but he eventually fell out of favour and only played about 15 or so league games. I think Swansea still played him up front in their Europa league campaign that season.

I could be wrong, if any of our Swansea lurkers are about maybe they could fill in the blanks.

Its a real shame IMO, i thought he was a real talent, even now he is only 30!

 

[perseus]

The role of the second striker is an important position.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4197254.stm

I think Sam Baldock lacks the required pace (= acceleration over 12 yards) and his strike rate is not very good (20% chance of a goal per game). His strike rate will have to improve (possible) but I can't see him going much about his slight lack of pace.

I think Baldock could play a useful role going wide (alternative to the second striker going deep) but we are OK for wingers, although we still do not have a real speed merchant. He is our best forward at winning the ball back without fouling. Not sure how he compares with the others at taking the ball on the half turn when marked or losing his defender.

The radio says (WA) says he should be on the shoulder of the defender and use his ? pace to get clear. That might be OK against Bristol City but I've not seen him do it often enough, if at all. Coming deep is OK despite the WA criticism.

Summary: such an important position, it would be excellent if we could get a better player. same age or younger.