- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,629
The more I think about all this, the more I reckon it could be one of those quiet, understated but eventually key signings.
A comparison that springs to mind is Yann Kermorgant. Spent his entire career being a bit part player, mostly at lower league clubs (in France), followed by a largely unimpressive stint at Leicester, and then a spell leading the line at Charlton. Despite a less than stellar goalscoring record, as far as I can tell he's tended to be an extremely popular player with fans (apart from at Leicester, but then he did royally screw up a penalty in a play off semi final), and someone valued for his hold up play, unfailing work rate, and the fact that he chips in with 10-15 goals a season. Charlton fans really didn't want him to go, much more so than the arguably more talented Dale Stephens.
Kermorgant signed for Bournemouth midway through last season, aged 30, to no great fanfare, and I bet there were AFCB fans moaning about the underwhelming nature of the move. Yet he became an important part of their squad, and his move coincided with them going on a roll that left them only a few places outside the play offs. He scored a few himself and more importantly, provided the catalyst for Grabban- who'd been on a bit of a dry spell- to score a load more. He's never going to be their main man, but he brings stuff to the team/squad that isn't always quantifiable when you look at bare stats.
That's what I reckon O'Grady could be about for us. Assuming there's another striker lined up, he may well be the man to bring the best out of him, or perhaps CMS. For a mere £500k, I suspect he's well worth a punt, and could turn out to be a really useful signing, the sort that slips under the radar of other teams.
A comparison that springs to mind is Yann Kermorgant. Spent his entire career being a bit part player, mostly at lower league clubs (in France), followed by a largely unimpressive stint at Leicester, and then a spell leading the line at Charlton. Despite a less than stellar goalscoring record, as far as I can tell he's tended to be an extremely popular player with fans (apart from at Leicester, but then he did royally screw up a penalty in a play off semi final), and someone valued for his hold up play, unfailing work rate, and the fact that he chips in with 10-15 goals a season. Charlton fans really didn't want him to go, much more so than the arguably more talented Dale Stephens.
Kermorgant signed for Bournemouth midway through last season, aged 30, to no great fanfare, and I bet there were AFCB fans moaning about the underwhelming nature of the move. Yet he became an important part of their squad, and his move coincided with them going on a roll that left them only a few places outside the play offs. He scored a few himself and more importantly, provided the catalyst for Grabban- who'd been on a bit of a dry spell- to score a load more. He's never going to be their main man, but he brings stuff to the team/squad that isn't always quantifiable when you look at bare stats.
That's what I reckon O'Grady could be about for us. Assuming there's another striker lined up, he may well be the man to bring the best out of him, or perhaps CMS. For a mere £500k, I suspect he's well worth a punt, and could turn out to be a really useful signing, the sort that slips under the radar of other teams.
I was going to suggest pitch forks and a witch hunt, I'm losing my touch 
