[Albion] Do we really need a new striker

[Megazone]

Like Kayal ?

Yes, but better.

 

[perseus]

Like Kayal ?

A Kayal with a shot. His goal scoring record has never been good, apart from a first minute cracker on his weaker left foot. Was that at Huddersfield?

Dale Stephens and Sidwell's goals per game is much better, without being any more than slightly below average for a midfielder.

I think Kayal is our quickest in the middle of the park and should start against Chelsea. I'd play him instead of Knockaert.

 

[bhawoddy]

I'll be one of the few to echo the OP. I don't think we need a new striker. I think we can stay up with the current squad, and I wouldn't want to risk spurning £20+ mil plus wages on a striker who might not even keep us up. If we still insist on playing the 4-4-1-1 with Gross behind the striker, then what can a better Murray or Hemed do for us realistically? Maybe poke in one or two goals more from the few chances we are currently creating, at best? I'd much rather see us switch to 4-4-2 (at least for 30+ minutes of a game) and have Baldock stretch defences. It's slim pickings in the market and I don't think Dembele or Ze Luis are the answer.

Then again, I'm one of the few who won't be distraught if we are relegated. And when we lost to West Brom, I chalked that up as a bad day at the office and not a cataclysmic disaster that warrants calling for Chris' head for not playing more positively, when we played more positively in the league game prior to that. I'm just enjoying the ride and personally I think we've done bloody well to be sitting in 16th at this stage of the season as a newly promoted club!

All hail the Superfan of the year.........

 

[ewe2]

Gamechangers .......!!!!

 

[Brighton Mod]

If we have a faster and more dangerous striker then not only is there a chance they'll get onto passes that the current strikers aren't but also opposition defences may sit slightly deeper to avoid being caught for pace. If that happens then the midfielders should get an extra yard of space in which to operate.

Izquierdo, lightning pace had only ever been in display in one match this season, his greatest attribute his speed but use him to defend 85% of the time, how much faster do need a player to be. Round pegs square holes, the strategy is not to use a players strength but the managers ideaology, hence we see Solly with his talent coached out of him and Izquierdo, our most expensive player, being brought in to do a different job as to what his Cv says about him. Is it our players that are Championship level or the management team?

 

[sir albion]

We've been extremely lucky with injuries and we're dropping like a stone in the league.Can you imaging what will happen if we get 4-5 injuries ?
Problem is we have to many attacking players back defending all the bloody time and that's bloody tiring to say the least,so maybe we actually need better defenders who don't need as much support.
Having Murray back defending is just idiotic.....

 

[Weststander]

Gamechangers .......!!!!

Exactly.

 

[NooBHA]

I am confident there will be a striker in this window who comes in; however I don't think the strikers are missing too many chances afforded to them. The Murray Penalty aside. I would prefer to see Knockeart and Solly March and Isquierdo step up and become PL Standard players and start creating more clear cut chances for the current and or any new striker

 

[durrington gull]

With chances few and far between does it matter how good our strikers are. We might as well get more attacking midfielders with the system we play. Our biggest problem is Dunk and Duffy failing to weigh in with any set piece goals despite numerous glorious chances. 3 or 4 goals at the right moment would have had us sitting comfortably just above halfway.

Very valid points IMO, we do need a striker though but definitely true that we barely create any chances

 

[nicko31]

I am confident there will be a striker in this window who comes in; however I don't think the strikers are missing too many chances afforded to them. The Murray Penalty aside. I would prefer to see Knockeart and Solly March and Isquierdo step up and become PL Standard players and start creating more clear cut chances for the current and or any new striker

Agreed any striker needs service

 

[Seasidesage]

Sounds plausible as a quick fix. Not thinking outside the box though.

Not sure the correlation between possession and creating chances is clear cut as all that? Only against the top six sides is possession a problem.

I would be inclined to take off a winger and play extra midfielder for the more difficult games. Reduce the onus on the winger to defend. Reduce the demand for the trickier long passes that get intercepted. We can always put on a winger and bypass the midfield if we are chasing a game.

I think we are playing the right way (WBA on their own ground was always going to be difficult). Just we have not got enough points on board cause our midfielders can't shoot and we let in sucker goals.

I think most of the time we deal with opposition pressing quite well. Better than most teams.

Lowest goals, lowest chances created says different. Its not a compete answer by any means but it would help. Also an extra wide midfielder, who? we don't have one. LR provided that last season but he isn't in contention and the level has gone up anyway. Kayal isn't really mobile enough for that and who does that leave of the required quality?

We could do with more reinforcements than just a CF for sure, but bedding down multiple changes would be tough given the crucial games are right in front of us over the next 6-8 weeks. Biggest single improvement we could make is a striker IMO.

 

[Lindfield by the Pond]

Last decent striker we had was BZ circa 2001

last decent top flight striker we had was 1983 . . .

Last opportunity to have a decent top flight striker was also 1983. Agree on BZ though.....its been a while.

 

[perseus]

Lowest goals, lowest chances created says different. Its not a compete answer by any means but it would help. Also an extra wide midfielder, who? we don't have one. LR provided that last season but he isn't in contention and the level has gone up anyway. Kayal isn't really mobile enough for that and who does that leave of the required quality?

We could do with more reinforcements than just a CF for sure, but bedding down multiple changes would be tough given the crucial games are right in front of us over the next 6-8 weeks. Biggest single improvement we could make is a striker IMO.

We have low chances created but we have mid-table possession stats. Kayal envisaged as the third midfielder instead of a winger, but this requires a more mobile striker in Baldock. I think we need a mobile striker and another midfielder ideally. And we probably could not change the system too much either.

We are not all that much different on shots per game than our fellow strugglers, about nine of them. It's shots on target we are poor at. Problem is throughout the team.

Anyway if the only option is to relieve pressure on the defence is the lump the ball to a target man it will be no change.

Not disagreeing we could improve with the right striker. More that I do not think we have a chance of getting one. Therefore will have to get more accurate shots and chances out of the players we've got. And quite a few other clubs have the same sort of problem.

 

[perseus]

Take out our inability to score from set pieces (2) and our inability to stop them (16), our open play is just the the same as the other strugglers and better than three.

It has got to the state that all opponents corners are treated with trepidation and when we get a corner I know it is less than one in fifty we score from.

 

[darkwolf666]

I guess I'm right we are bottom of the premier league in terms of shots, but are we also down there in terms of chances created - if that is even a thing? There have been a lot of balls across the box that our strikers didn't get to, or balls over the top that ran through to the defenders - its been clear in many games that a striker with an extra yard or two of pace would get to these balls and get a shot away when Glenn or Tomer couldn't reach it. So to say we don't need a striker because we're not creating chances is ignoring that the striker themselves can create these chances by being in the right place.

Or, maybe all these balls into the box aren't good enough and aren't finding our striker... whoever it may be!

 

[perseus]

Or, maybe all these balls into the box aren't good enough and aren't finding our striker... whoever it may be!

Stats do not bear this out. It looks like the inaccuracy of finishing not the lack of chances, compared to the bottom half teams in the EPL.

 

[Quinney]

Take out our inability to score from set pieces (2) and our inability to stop them (16), our open play is just the the same as the other strugglers and better than three.

It has got to the state that all opponents corners are treated with trepidation and when we get a corner I know it is less than one in fifty we score from.

That may be down to me I’m afraid, I keep putting £5 each on Dunk or Duffy to score anytime. Should I take one for the team and give it a miss against Chelsea?


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[darkwolf666]

Stats do not bear this out. It looks like the inaccuracy of finishing not the lack of chances, compared to the bottom half teams in the EPL.

But that's not what Kalimantan Gull said, he indicated our strikers weren't getting on the end of numerous crosses or balls across the box. I in turn queried the quality of said service.

My understanding from the stats was that we are creating less chances then other teams, hence scoring less goals.

 

[dazzer6666]

That may be down to me I’m afraid, I keep putting £5 each on Dunk or Duffy to score anytime. Should I take one for the team and give it a miss against Chelsea?


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Glad it’s not just me.......

 

[Gazz15]

That may be down to me I’m afraid, I keep putting £5 each on Dunk or Duffy to score anytime. Should I take one for the team and give it a miss against Chelsea?


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Me too, I was convinced they would have about 3-5 goals each by now, these huge dominating centre Backs? Now all I see is Duffy heading over, and the allegedly £20M - 50M Dunk when not losing his head up top, in his out of position last minute panic lunging deflecting shots dangerously towards our goal.

For both to have blanked is a problem, considering the chances they have missed to date.