Instead of calleri..?

[NorthStandSeagull]

Manu has played 45 minutes for us, don't think you can put him in the same class as Toko just yet.

Both weren't/haven't been given time. Manu will be a success he's too good. Ronaldo didn't set the world alight at Manchester until given a run. Not that I'm comparing the two!

Previously mentioned by someone here Jonathan Soriano would be an outstanding buy for us and would certainly get us closer to the premier league

 

[Megazone]

Manu has played 45 minutes for us, don't think you can put him in the same class as Toko just yet.

How many minutes did Toko play?

 

[sdmartin1]

How many minutes did Toko play?

Unless you are watching him train every day our conclusions as supporters, at the moment, are pretty irrelevant. He is still making the matchday squad every week and we have not desperately dived in for a loan signing. He's 22 years old playing in a new country and league and Hughton has backed him to be a star of the future, don't remember the same comments made about Toko.

 

[perseus]

Lets say we didn't get promoted, we'd have spent £17 million plus the loss we are already making in this division which is around £8m per season I believe. Rhodes wouldn't have a lot of sell on value due to the fact he would probably be on the highest wages of his career if he joined us so would be pretty reluctant to leave. Calleri on the other hand is still a young player and could quite easily attract bigger clubs if he did well for us.

http://www.whoscored.com/Players/33704/History/Jordan-Rhodes

Rhodes App 103, Goals 54 Right 32 Left 7 Head 15. Almost all the goals scored within the penalty area. Right now we haven't got a winger who can cross the ball. So not the one for us right now?

 

[perseus]

Ulloa

http://www.whoscored.com/Players/19847/History/Leonardo-Ulloa

Season Team Tournament Apps Mins Total RightFoot LeftFoot Head Other Rating
2015/2016 Leicester EPL 5 99 - - - - - -------6.30
2014/2015 Leicester EPL 37 2409 11 6 1 3 1 6.85
2013/2014 Brighton EC 35 2901 14 6 3 5 - 6.89
2010/2011 Almeria SLL 34 1771 7 2 3 2 - 6.64
Total / Average 111 7180 32 14 7 10 1 6.78

Not as a high % as Rhodes.

 

[NorthStandSeagull]

http://www.whoscored.com/Players/33704/History/Jordan-Rhodes

Rhodes App 103, Goals 54 Right 32 Left 7 Head 15. Almost all the goals scored within the penalty area. Right now we haven't got a winger who can cross the ball. So not the one for us right now?

True but we also don't shoot from outside the box either so a predatory poacher is exactly what we need right now

 

[TonyW]

http://www.whoscored.com/Players/33704/History/Jordan-Rhodes

Rhodes App 103, Goals 54 Right 32 Left 7 Head 15. Almost all the goals scored within the penalty area. Right now we haven't got a winger who can cross the ball. So not the one for us right now?

Murphy, March and Kaz would disagree with you.

 

[perseus]

Hemed

http://www.whoscored.com/Players/28981/History/Tommer-Hemed

About the same as Ulloa.

 

[perseus]

Murphy, March and Kaz would disagree with you.

Murphy and March are unproven. Kaz (much as I admire the player) is below average at crossing. Prefers to shoot.

Stephens and Bruno are our best crossers but do not excel like the ageing Conway (by far the best in the Championship).

 

[perseus]

http://www.whoscored.com/Players/5025/History/Bobby-Zamora

A far more accomplished player but with a goalscoring record comparable to Hemed and Ulloa. A much greater proportion of goals from outside the box.

I would play Bobby Z as our second striker with Hemed as the poacher.

 

[perseus]

Stats (pinch of salt)

Records this season show

Dale Stephens leads the way with accurate crosses (1.8 per game). Last season he did accurate corners as well (the best by a long chalk ahead of Colunga). Best at free kicks as well. (cf. Conway is over 4.2 per game accurate crosses.)
Solly March leads the way with most crosses at over 5 per game (only 1 per game accurate). Best corner taker this season as well.
Bruno has the best proportion of accurate crosses but less than one a game.
Altogether the record is not very good with any of them.

Going back to last season Dale Stephens was the best % crosser but Danny Holla did very well with the most accurate crosses (1.4) per game with accurate corners as well, compared to the rest. Holla created the most goals (6 in 24) followed by Lualua (4 in 34). Colunga did better than the current lot by a whisker (not saying all that much). Solly March has shown a marked improvement.

The season before that and our most accurate crosser was Conway at 1.9 per game. Orlandi and Lopez (ageing) ran him close. But for actually creating goals Lualua and Conway were best with crosses.
Keith Andrews was best at the free kicks. (Nothing to shout about though).

Last season, if you wanted an Albion player to keep hold of the ball and not give it away, Gordon Greer was by far the best (surprise). Paddy McCourt was well OK (I thought so at the time) and worth a mention is Lewis Dunk and Dale Stephens. Dolly Holla was not far behind. Of the forward players, Solly March had the best record of not losing the ball.

Comments:

Holla must be in with a shout at starting ahead of the anonymous Crofts.
March in improving and I would choose him ahead of Murphy.

Forster-Caskey would be lucky to make the bench, although his free kicks are not bad.

I don't think stats are the be and end all. Just a check on my intuition. Or rather CH's judgement.

 

[GT49er]

Records this season show

Dale Stephens leads the way with accurate crosses (1.8 per game). Last season he did accurate corners as well (the best by a long chalk ahead of Colunga). Best at free kicks as well. (cf. Conway is over 4.2 per game accurate crosses.)
Solly March leads the way with most crosses at over 5 per game (only 1 per game accurate). Best corner taker this season as well.
Bruno has the best proportion of accurate crosses but less than one a game.
Altogether the record is not very good with any of them.

Going back to last season Dale Stephens was the best % crosser but Danny Holla did very well with the most accurate crosses (1.4) per game with accurate corners as well, compared to the rest. Holla created the most goals (6 in 24) followed by Lualua (4 in 34). Colunga did better than the current lot by a whisker (not saying all that much). Solly March has shown a marked improvement.

The season before that and our most accurate crosser was Conway at 1.9 per game. Orlandi and Lopez (ageing) ran him close. But for actually creating goals Lualua and Conway were best with crosses.
Keith Andrews was best at the free kicks. (Nothing to shout about though).

Last season, if you wanted an Albion player to keep hold of the ball and not give it away, Gordon Greer was by far the best (surprise). Paddy McCourt was well OK (I thought so at the time) and worth a mention is Lewis Dunk and Dale Stephens. Dolly Holla was not far behind. Of the forward players, Solly March had the best record of not losing the ball.

Comments:

Holla must be in with a shout at starting ahead of the anonymous Crofts.
March in improving and I would choose him ahead of Murphy.

Forster-Caskey would be lucky to make the bench, although his free kicks are not bad.

I don't think stats are the be and end all. Just a check on my intuition. Or rather CH's judgement.

After ploughing my way through that mind-numbing plethora of stats, I see that Conway apparently now makes more than twice as many accurate crosses per match than he did a couple of years ago playing for us. So is the lack of crosses more to do with the way we play than the players?

 

[perseus]

After ploughing my way through that mind-numbing plethora of stats, I see that Conway apparently now makes more than twice as many accurate crosses per match than he did a couple of years ago playing for us. So is the lack of crosses more to do with the way we play than the players?

Well spotted. Crosses need intelligent forwards to meet them. Gestede and Rhodes far better than Ulloa is one conclusion drawn. However, Conway only played 13 games or so. I did not rate Conway at the time. My mistake. Conway put in inaccurate crosses when playing for us. As did the rest of the team. And the rest of the team still do.

Blackburn play a different style though. Much different. They are the best aerial side and play to their strengths. One of the reasons why I think we would need a proper winger as well (Rhodes or no Rhodes. And it would disrupt our current successful style).

March seems to be our best prospect playing on the left hand side as he is improving all the time. Not as good as Lualua though (even at crossing). A winger does not really have to burn the defender for pace just make enough room to put a cross in if the striker is good.

Arguably, the speed merchant (if he can shoot) should play more central and play off the shoulder off the defender. Baldock is not quick enough and Lualua is.

By favoured front three would be Hemed, Lualua and March with Zamora as the sub for any one of the three. For Hemed if we are drawing, for March if we are losing and for Lualua if we are winning. That leaves Baldock* out in the cold and Murphy as a reserve. (*We could play Lualua deeper or wider and include Baldock as well?)

 

[perseus]

Anyrate, we are unlikely to get Calleiri as he is Italian and he will be knackered after the long Argentine season, and he might only be able to kick with his right peg? Very good with his right though.

Incidentally, last season our worse forward for losing the ball was Texieira. Not only by stats. I tried to photograph him with the ball but he kept on losing it. I also tried to photograph Bruno but he is very quick and it was hard to keep him in the picture.