Strikers...

Rozay

Master of Hindsight
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As the list of required surgery seems to be lengthening, does anyone think this is another position we will need to be looking to bring in real top drawer in the near future?

With RVP seemingly suffering from his injury problems again, and then the fact that he'll be 31 in the summer anyway - coupled with the fact that Rooney looks to have a very good chance of leaving this year too, I think we may need to start looking at strikers.

I mean, if we were losing a Hernandez or Welbeck (and according to which paper you read, Rooney leaving is also a possibility anyway), we could perhaps dismiss it and say 'ah, we have Keane or Henriquez'. However, I'm not convinced we could afford to have the quality of those two out of our team (Rooney and Persie) for a sustained period without rectifying it. The amount of goals and general attacking influence will surely need to be replaced, and such is their quality, that it would take a very top player.

Problem is, I can't really think of any young strikers who could perhaps go on to be very top bracket that may be available in the next 15 months or so. Luis Muriel perhaps, off the top of my head, but I'm sure Moyes has already begun work on that list. The need is very much on the horizon though.
 
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Centre midfield does seem to be the flavour of the month and rightly so but yes I agree, within the next two seasons, we are going to need a top class striker. Who? I don't know, I wouldn't have said RVP before he arrived, so I think it comes down to possibilities at the time of looking for one.
 
It's a question that might be asked in the summer if Rooney leaves. With RvP's injury problems and age I wonder if Moyes would be willing to risk Danny and Chich as our only options outside of RvP.
 
Two centre midfield players, two left backs, one centre back, one right back, one winger. I'd prioritise signings in all these positions before a striker.
 
Should monitor Lukaku's situation I think. For some reason, everything you hear seems to add to the idea that Mourinho somehow doesn't rate him.

We can sit here an argue about if he would sell to United but with a player who when the time comes for us to invest, might be near the end of his deal, it might not be in the hands of Jose.
 
Kid Cunto said:
Two centre midfield players, two left backs, one centre back, one right back, one winger. I'd prioritise signings in all these positions before a striker.
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I agree, but that assessment is obviously based around being satisfied with the striking options now. I think a closer look would tell people that the striking options may well change dramatically in a season or so, and I think it's something we need to have an eye on from now.
 
Should Rooney leave as is likely, we'll replace him with a big talent. Unfortunately for Hernandez I'm not sure he'd get many more games than he gets now so he could still leave in that scenario. I doubt we'll sign a striker other than Rooney's replacement, and that might be more of an attacking midfielder anyway depending on our style.

However, should we decide we need another striker my money is on Moyes going for a physical player up front. Since Lukaku wouldnt be an option, it'll be Benteke or someone similar to that who can hold off defenders
 
Rooney's shambles in Munich cast my mind back to this issue again. I have no idea what bracket of player Wilson, or indeed Welbeck will end up in - but I can't shake the feeling that we will need an absolute world-beater in this area in the not to distant future.

According to all reports we are looking at strengthening the areas of the team that need the most urgent action, as we should. Hopefully, over the next 14-24 months, we will have a couple of new midfielders, left-back, perhaps a winger - all of whom may be fairly settled and ready to form the nucleus of a great team. Just thinking ahead, but just at the time that great team would be coming to the boil, I think we may find ourselves with a striker issue.

Persie will be 33ish by then, who knows if he will still even be here. Rooney will also be a couple years older and concerns over how he will age are not new. I just think that by the time the next great team is ready, the area of the team where we CURRENTLY have great players in it, may not be great anymore. It's all about timing. Right now the strikers don't have the support from behind to back them up. When they do, I think the issue may be reversed, and the team will be held back by the lack of a real top-class striker in his prime. We will then likely have the issue of Rooney being not so good anymore, but too important and overpaid to consider replacing, which leads to trying to work around him which causes issues.

At present, I don't see any young strikers coming up in the game that could be in that Aguero/Suarez bracket in the next couple of seasons either. Just brainstorming here anyway, not an alarming issue, but one I see arising within a year or two.
 
If both RVP and Hernandez leave this summer, then ideally we could bring in a young versatile striker like Volland capable of playing out wide as well. If we still have 3 summers after the summer though, then we'll likely need to buy a world class one in a few years once Rooney is older and starts declining. That is, unless Welbeck proves to be good enough to make that position his own.
 
If we were to cash in on RVP while he's still got legs, I think Rooney/Welbeck/Hernandez is a fine complement of strikers. It'd also probably stop Hernandez pushing for a transfer since he'd be getting far more games.
 
bosnian_red said:
If both RVP and Hernandez leave this summer, then ideally we could bring in a young versatile striker like Volland capable of playing out wide as well. If we still have 3 summers after the summer though, then we'll likely need to buy a world class one in a few years once Rooney is older and starts declining. That is, unless Welbeck proves to be good enough to make that position his own.
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I know some players can surprise you, but it just seems most of the top youngsters coming up in the game now are not strikers. I can't even see who in the 19-23 age range who could move into the world class bracket in 2 or 3 years now.
 
Rozay said:
I know some players can surprise you, but it just seems most of the top youngsters coming up in the game now are not strikers. I can't even see who in the 19-23 age range who could move into the world class bracket in 2 or 3 years now.
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Yeah, there really aren't many sticking out. Guess you can say Lukaku, Werner, Berardi, volland all have plenty of potential but their all still young and only really broke through this season.
 
bosnian_red said:
Yeah, there really aren't many sticking out. Guess you can say Lukaku, Werner, Berardi, volland all have plenty of potential but their all still young and only really broke through this season.
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True. Just been thinking of the timing really of who may be out there when the need arises, which won't be long.

Isn't Werner more of a winger by the way?
 
Rozay said:
True. Just been thinking of the timing really of who may be out there when the need arises, which won't be long.

Isn't Werner more of a winger by the way?
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From what I've seen he's played mostly on the wing as a wide forward mostly for Stuttgart but naturally a striker, think he was a striker for german youth teams too (not sure though). That's what FM says as well really. The german posters on here would obviously be better prepared to answer that. Think he's mainly a striker though.
 
Hernandez and Welbeck are better than most of what is on offer. We should keep Hernandez because we won't be able to replace his goals from the bench. Not from our current lot and it's doubtful that a midfielder will. In regards to the future it would make more sense to sell RvP but I don't want to do that either. Keep it as it is preferably.

Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea will all look to buy a striker this summer. It's a seller's market.
 
True @Rozay .... I am more into converting wingers into strikers after a certain age.. Majority of striking youngsters hardly ever go on to fulfill their potential due to the demands of the role.
 
I think this topic needs revisiting. We have a problem here. We have a 'great attack' in name only, and we have nobody who offers anywhere close to the threat of the likes of Sanchez, Suarez, Aguero, Costa.

We need some speed up there, perhaps not even necessarily as a 9, but an attacker who is fast, strong, and can score 20+, be it centrally or wide. It would not surprise me if we did enquire about Bale, and he would definitely be one who would inject such qualities. I can't think of other young attackers in a similar mould. Reus could perhaps get us 20 goals if used correctly, Depay has it in him too I think. Lacazette is a player that interested me when I first saw him about 18 months ago, and although I haven't watched much since, he seems to have gone from strength to strength since then. he may well be an option as a younger more modern forward, but is probably also cooked just about enough to be able to come in and make an impact next season.
 
Rozay said:
I think this topic needs revisiting. We have a problem here. We have a 'great attack' in name only, and we have nobody who offers anywhere close to the threat of the likes of Sanchez, Suarez, Aguero, Costa.

We need some speed up there, perhaps not even necessarily as a 9, but an attacker who is fast, strong, and can score 20+, be it centrally or wide. It would not surprise me if we did enquire about Bale, and he would definitely be one who would inject such qualities. I can't think of other young attackers in a similar mould. Reus could perhaps get us 20 goals if used correctly, Depay has it in him too I think. Lacazette is a player that interested me when I first saw him about 18 months ago, and although I haven't watched much since, he seems to have gone from strength to strength since then. he may well be an option as a younger more modern forward, but is probably also cooked just about enough to be able to come in and make an impact next season.
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I agree. Rooney, Falcao and Van Persie are massive names but haven't been scoring that much. To be fair to Rooney he hasn't had mch of a chance up top this season. I think Falcao should be deployed up top on his own and get support around him.
 
Rozay said:
I think this topic needs revisiting. We have a problem here. We have a 'great attack' in name only, and we have nobody who offers anywhere close to the threat of the likes of Sanchez, Suarez, Aguero, Costa.

We need some speed up there, perhaps not even necessarily as a 9, but an attacker who is fast, strong, and can score 20+, be it centrally or wide. It would not surprise me if we did enquire about Bale, and he would definitely be one who would inject such qualities. I can't think of other young attackers in a similar mould. Reus could perhaps get us 20 goals if used correctly, Depay has it in him too I think. Lacazette is a player that interested me when I first saw him about 18 months ago, and although I haven't watched much since, he seems to have gone from strength to strength since then. he may well be an option as a younger more modern forward, but is probably also cooked just about enough to be able to come in and make an impact next season.
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The problem with United isn't the strikers. Falcao, RVP, Rooney all have the capability to produce the same numbers as Aguero, Costa, Sanchez etc. If you give Falcao, Van Persie and Rooney good service they will score goals. So if they aren't, you need to be looking towards other areas in the team.
 
BobbyManc said:
The problem with United isn't the strikers. Falcao, RVP, Rooney all have the capability to produce the same numbers as Aguero, Costa, Sanchez etc. If you give Falcao, Van Persie and Rooney good service they will score goals. So if they aren't, you need to be looking towards other areas in the team.
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It isn't as simple as that. That just ultimately means they are good 'finishers', and we need to create more for them to put the finishing touch on. That may be true, but that doesn't mean it is good enough. Aguero, Costa, Sanchez become a problem for the opposition as soon a they pick the ball up in the opponent's half. Ours become a threat when they get it in the opponents box. None of our strikers could have scored Aguero's second goal against Munich for instance. He intercepted a pass on the halfway line, and was immediately a danger to Bayern's goal. One of our strikers would have, at best, gathered it in, and had to likely turn backwards and laid it off. This would have been aplauded as 'good hold up play', but it is a far blunter threat. If they tried to run at goal like Aguero did, they would have been caught by Jerome. Last season, we had Welbeck who could do the run bit, but not finish it like Aguero, as he demonstrated against Bayern himself.

Sanchez' first goal against Stoke on Saturday was not a result of 'service'. The position he picked the ball up in would not have led to a goal if it were one of our strikers. Any striker who requires a regular supply of the ball in space in the opponents penalty box to become a threat to them cannot be called complete. We need a better contribution as a top side. It's too predictable and easy to defend agains
 
Age of the good old CFs is over who only need good service is over.As @Rozay said wee need strikers who will make a chance for themselves. It seems RVP is on the vane although he can make sthing out of nothing still every once in a while nd I'm not too sure about Falcao anymore. His build up play is good but both his and RVP's build up play just slows our game down. Sure he needs service but doesnt look like a player who can score out of nothing anymore. Maybe I'm wrong but..
We need s pacey player and a player who can score but can run at the defense too. Rooney can do that and is wasted at midfield and Wilson looks like he is that kind of a player but still hasnt proved it.
I'm not sure Chicharito would come back only to be a sub again and Im not sure he's that good anymore.
 
Mali_Zeus said:
Age of the good old CFs is over who only need good service is over.As @Rozay said wee need strikers who will make a chance for themselves. It seems RVP is on the vane although he can make sthing out of nothing still every once in a while nd I'm not too sure about Falcao anymore. His build up play is good but both his and RVP's build up play just slows our game down. Sure he needs service but doesnt look like a player who can score out of nothing anymore. Maybe I'm wrong but..
We need s pacey player and a player who can score but can run at the defense too. Rooney can do that and is wasted at midfield and Wilson looks like he is that kind of a player but still hasnt proved it.
I'm not sure Chicharito would come back only to be a sub again and Im not sure he's that good anymore.
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Not sure Rooney has the pace, or perhaps the dribbling ability to worry top defences in that way anymore.
 
The more I see of him the more I think Lacazette might be the best choice, he's fast, strong, links play well, can run with the ball and is versatile which would allow us to switch between a front 2 and front 3 quite easily.
 
Devil may care said:
The more I see of him the more I think Lacazette might be the best choice, he's fast, strong, links play well, can run with the ball and is versatile which would allow us to switch between a front 2 and front 3 quite easily.
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I have been leaning that way myself. Not much out there anyway tbh.
 
Rozay said:
I have been leaning that way myself. Not much out there anyway tbh.
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That's true, options are scarce. Lacazette is at the right age where he has experience and is playing well but still has room to go up a level, which makes him ideal.
 
Devil may care said:
That's true, options are scarce. Lacazette is at the right age where he has experience and is playing well but still has room to go up a level, which makes him ideal.
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Yea that was my point with him before. The other options are either undercooked or overcooked it seems.
 
Would Aguero score as many goals in our team as he does at City?
 
We miss an immense goal scorer since Ruud Van Nistelrooy. We had Rooney hitting 34 one year, RVP 27, but we need somebody able of doing it every year.
 
I'd let both RVP, Falcao and Hernandez go this summer. Buy someone in the 21-26 age group and start with Rooney upfront.
 
Yeah I don't think people have talked about this enough really. We definitely need something fresh up front. Pace is an obvious issue. A speedy striker who can make runs off the shoulder, in between the full back and a centre half would be so refreshing. Someone like Berahino (I'm not suggesting him, hasn't shown enough yet anyway) would be excellent for us. LvG resorted to playing Di Maria up front just so we had pace against Southampton. Definitely need someone.
 
Devil may care said:
The only other decent option to me is Benteke but he's been hit and miss so far this season.
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Benteke is an option, similar kind of level to Bony perhaps. Ultimately, I still don't think he's dynamic enough to take us up a level. He will still require 'service' - arial balls, crosses etc. He's not the player that would move us forward in terms of speed per se.
 
Anyway I'm sure that if we manage to play higher with more speed and intensity, RVP or Falcao can shine and score 20+ goals.
But we need more support need to create more down the middle and in the wings.

Buy Reus, Strootman and Vidal and you'll have a striker "watered" by chances.
 
Rooney is captain, and won't be dropped. RvP is still our best #9 in my opinion, but we should only be playing one of him and Rooney.

We shouldn't sign Falcao either. Sign two goalscoring wide men rather than an actual striker. I'll use Depay and Bale as examples.

Rooney
Depay - di Maria - Bale​

With the likes of Mata, Januzaj, RvP and Wilson providing back up.
 
Rozay said:
Benteke is an option, similar kind of level to Bony perhaps. Ultimately, I still don't think he's dynamic enough to take us up a level. He will still require 'service' - arial balls, crosses etc. He's not the player that would move us forward in terms of speed per se.
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A striker I like in that mold is Pablo Dybala, but I think there'd be concerns over whether he is prolific enough yet, or if he could physically handle the PL.
 
Lacazette is a very good option to be honest in terms of planning for he future. Has been really impressive since the 2nd half of last season and possesses all the requisite physical or technical tools to really thrive in the league. Another one to keep an eye on would be Milik who's impressing at Ajax despite slowing down in recent weeks.

But there's one particular striker who's really grown on me despite not being a big fan of him until this season. And that's Harry Kane. Could very well be a case of a player going through a purple goal-scoring patch but he really seems to have progressed rapidly, in almost Bale-esque fashion in terms of his productivity. 16 goals in 20 odd games is a superb return and can't be a pure coincidence. Especially considering his overall team-play, physical menace or holdup ability, and quite tellingly a lot of them helped earn extra points for Tottenham.

Might be a bit premature to sign him but then there's always an element of Levy demanding absurd amounts of money if Kane can build upon this run of form and establishes himself as a genuinely top notch striker. If we could get him for about £30 million that would be money well spent and give us a good core of English players going forward in conjunction with the likes of Shaw. Might sound ridiculous but if he keeps developing, it wouldn't be surprising if Kane winds up as the best pure English #9 on his generation following in the footsteps of Shearer or Linekar. My only major concern is that he isn't the fastest player around and might slow down considerably in the future.

Another hidden game might be Ezequiel Ponce from Newell's Old Boys, Messi's hometown club. Although there have been reports that Roma have signed him for £4 million, nothing been finalized yet. Would be a gamble but he's a superb talent, good pace, goalscoring touch and will get better with experience (is only 17 right now). Then there's Talisca but he's developing more as a #10 or #8 so that throws it out of the window.
 
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