100% Agree. Not sure what Juve are up to with strikers at the moment though
[Poll] We desperately need a striker
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100% Agree. Not sure what Juve are up to with strikers at the moment though
Sold Tevez and bought Dybala, Zaza and Mandzukic, with Morata, Coman and Llorente still currently at the club, meaning they have six strikers competing for, I assume, two positions, if they continue to play a 3142 or 41212 next season.
Personally, I think that's way too many, and you'd have to think with three strikers going in, they're going to play, so I don't know where that leaves Morata, although he's arguably the most talented striker on that list at the moment.
I would definitely make a bid if I was Van Gaal. Young, with massive potential, in my opinion. He would also add to our Spanish contingency, and might even convince De Gea to stay, if he's thinking of leaving that is.
I think we will bid 50 million or so for Bale or Muller, which might not be settled until deadline day. If it doesn't work out, we will go into the season with Rooney, Hernandez, and Wilson also knowing that Depay or Di Maria could fill in there if need be.
Is Lacazette the kind of striker that can stretch and lead the line by himself? I've seen little of him, but what I did see didn't scream 'holding onto the ball in dangerous players and bringing others into play'.
Lacazette for me only. I would not want Benteke.
We have to be buying someone.
We have to be buying someone.
For god sake, we have finally undone the unbalanceness of last year.Please dont get another striker for the sake of it.
Barcelona
Main striker - Suarez
Deputy - Munir
Real Madrid
Main striker - Benzema
Deputy - Jese
Bayern
Main striker - Lewandoski
Deputy - A number of players who are not strikers by nature
These are the 3 best teams in the world.
- The 1 striker system works and is used by literally every top team around
- Rooney is undroppable - I don't ever want to see him in midfield
- Wilson needs the game/trust
Barcelona
Main striker - Suarez
Deputy - Munir
Real Madrid
Main striker - Benzema
Deputy - Jese
Bayern
Main striker - Lewandoski
Deputy - A number of players who are not strikers by nature
These are the 3 best teams in the world.
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What you forget - but what is very important - the three teams might have only one decent "real" striker but have other players in their offense that have high goal ratios. In all of the teams the striker usually is not even the player with the highest output on goals.
Ronaldo at Madrid, Neymar and Messi at Barcelona and Müller and Robben at Bayern have as good or better goal ratios than the main striker.
Good post. I feel Depay will get his share of goals this year, which will lessen the burden on Wayne, who himself needs to get a good 20 goal season in.
@RedStarUnited
I see your point, some people's idea of good depth is ridiculously overcooked. They think we need a bench full of world class players. Still I don't agree with you.
Munir is not Barca's first choice deputy as such, Pedro would come in if Suarez was injured and Messi would play as the 9. Muller has world class instincts in the penalty area which match any striker even if its not his best position, we don't have anyone in our squad that comes even close to boasting that other than Rooney. Also, look at Chelsea. Remy is a perfect example of a quality back up.
We can't go into next season with just Wilson and Rooney. As harsh as this may sound - we don't even know if Wilson is any good yet. There's every chance he could be playing for Hull in a few years.
I see your point, some people's idea of good depth is ridiculously overcooked. They think we need a bench full of world class players. Still I don't agree with you.
Munir is not Barca's first choice deputy as such, Pedro would come in if Suarez was injured and Messi would play as the 9. Muller has world class instincts in the penalty area which match any striker even if its not his best position, we don't have anyone in our squad that comes even close to boasting that other than Rooney. Also, look at Chelsea. Remy is a perfect example of a quality back up.
We can't go into next season with just Wilson and Rooney. As harsh as this may sound - we don't even know if Wilson is any good yet. There's every chance he could be playing for Hull in a few years.
The problem I see with Benteke is that for £32M you aren't getting anything special, and he isn't the guy that can take over from Rooney long term. I personally hope the choice to sell RvP means we have something already on tap, a striker of a higher caliber than some seem to think we can get.
Morata is excellent but he's only been at Juve one year and Real have a buyback option, which could make any deal awkward, especially given our current Mexican stand-off with them.
That is a good point but the issue should not then be that we need another striker but more goalscoring sources overall. So even though I agree with you, I think that most people on here just cannot move on from the 4 strikers mantra that Fergie built his teams around.
Couldn't agree more on the perception for depth. You'd think world class footballers are this obedient entity that would just come in and happily accept being rotated on a regular basis. I think it stems from the natural desire to eliminate any possible scenario like injuries and suspensions but the reality of things is that it is not feasible to have two equally world class players in every position.
In this case though I think it's not so much about moving on from the 4 strikers method of Fergie, as it is the view that we cannot go into a season with only one #9 and the only cover being a completely unproven kid.
Since selling RvP, I actually do think we need a striker now mainly because I have no idea where we stand with Hernandez. My point though is that we should not go out and splash money on an established world class striker and expect him to compete with Rooney for a starting spot. It will only create more problems, lack of continuity and ego related problems which is why you rarely see any side benching world class players and when they do, it usually does not last long before they clamour for a transfer.
From the comments by LvG I don't think he has any interest in Hernandez. You are correct in that it is nearly impossible to carry two top class #9's in modern football when most play with a 1 striker system, I just think if we had been looking purely for a bench striker then surely players like Bacca would have been snapped up. In this transfer window we have shown a ruthless streak with our handling of De Gea and now the imminent sale of RvP, so it's not impossible that LvG would begin the process of diminishing Rooney's status to a degree by bringing in a top #9, especially if he has plans to play Rooney in the AM role in the midfield 3 at times. The only other option I see is the type of player that can operate wide in a front 3 as well as a #9, thus adding to the firepower and covering Rooney in one go.
You are not looking at this right.
Barcelona
If Suarez is out then they have Messi, a player who gets more than 50 goals a season. Also, they have Neymar on the flanks who got 40 goals last season.
Real Madrid
Madrid signed Hernandez as a back up last season; who played when Benzema was out. More importantly, they have Ronaldo and Bale on either flanks, that's two players who would get you more than 60 goals a season.
Bayern
Muller has always been a goals scorer and played the position numerous times for Bayern and Germany. They also have Robben who is a goal scorer and gets them around 20 goals a season.
Us
In our situation, we would only be left with Rooney, a player who has only played as a main striker in a couple of seasons and is the only one who is capable of scoring 20 goals.
We don't have players on the flanks or a Messi/Muller, who would pick up the goal scoring slack. Young and Di Maria have never been prolific goals scorers; Januzaj and Wilson are too young; Depay is coming from an inferior league and will take time to adjust.
So, we definitely need a striker if RVP, our best option as a lone striker, is leaving. I would be shocked if the club doesn't go for another striker in the case.
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I cannot really disagree with any point you make here. If I had to go with one option, for me it would be the last one which is why I am all for going for Bale. I usually am not a big fan of big signings and big changes and whenever there is a choice between trusting what we have and changing, I would go for the former. But in this case, I do believe we need more potency up front and at the same time, I don't want to see Rooney dropped or in midfield. This is why I would think somebody like Bale or Reus is the type of signing I'd be all for.
Don't worry lads. Benzema is coming!
I know we have a different view on Rooney so I wont rehash that, I can see the logic in the two players you mention without a doubt, but the one aspect that would still concern me is that I don't really see either covering the #9 role if Rooney missed any significant time, which would leave us with Wilson who is nowhere near ready IMO. Muller would be the perfect signing for us IMO and I genuinely think we will make a substantial push to get him after we conclude the Darmian and Schneiderlin deals, but I admit he's a longer shot than practically anyone outside of Messi and Neymar.
I said in another thread yesterday that icardi would be my number 1 pick, he's young and has a very good goalscoring record. He's abit of a Cnut but who really cares all I care about is his ability to score goals which he can do, with the Argentinians (and possibly otemendi) we have at the club already he should settle pretty quickly.
It looks like RVP is leaving so a new striker is an absolute must, with our larger amount of games next season we can't go into it only having rooney, chicha and wilson. It would be suicide.
Wilson needs to be loaned out he's still too raw. Hernandez isn't good enough to lead the line if rooney gets injured, rooney himself is too inconsistent to be out number 1 striker with the large amount of matches we will have.
It looks like RVP is leaving so a new striker is an absolute must, with our larger amount of games next season we can't go into it only having rooney, chicha and wilson. It would be suicide.
Wilson needs to be loaned out he's still too raw. Hernandez isn't good enough to lead the line if rooney gets injured, rooney himself is too inconsistent to be out number 1 striker with the large amount of matches we will have.
So, who's it gonna be?
Kane - surely we would get bled dry
Benzema - unlikely?
Benteke - there if we want him but I am not convinced he's the answer
Lacazette- could be the best one available
Or someone else out of the blue?
Kane - surely we would get bled dry
Benzema - unlikely?
Benteke - there if we want him but I am not convinced he's the answer
Lacazette- could be the best one available
Or someone else out of the blue?
Ideally we would sign Lacazette, but I don't see him or any other top striker coming here to be backup for Rooney and know he will be always 2nd choice no matter how good he plays because of Rooney's captain status.
Getable :
Berahino
Austin
Benteke
Getable but would get fleeced
Higuain
Kane
Cavani
Laccazette
Lukaku
Difficult to Attain
Benzema
Muller
Lewandowski
Berahino
Austin
Benteke
Getable but would get fleeced
Higuain
Kane
Cavani
Laccazette
Lukaku
Difficult to Attain
Benzema
Muller
Lewandowski
I'd want someone who could play as a wide forward as well as a striker. We need goals from across the entire front-line. Ideally, pace too.
Sold Tevez and bought Dybala, Zaza and Mandzukic, with Morata, Coman and Llorente still currently at the club, meaning they have six strikers competing for, I assume, two positions, if they continue to play a 3142 or 41212 next season.
Personally, I think that's way too many, and you'd have to think with three strikers going in, they're going to play, so I don't know where that leaves Morata, although he's arguably the most talented striker on that list at the moment.
I would definitely make a bid if I was Van Gaal. Young, with massive potential, in my opinion. He would also add to our Spanish contingency, and might even convince De Gea to stay, if he's thinking of leaving that is.
Llorente's probably off and Coman is still very raw (and may be sent on loan), so everything indicates that Morata stays.
I was wondering what people would think of Llorenthe as a back-up striker to Rooney ?
We have bought Depay for that
He's a good target man and could be effective, but he's basically fellaini with better hair. I would rather invest in a top young striker who will do the business for years.
But Depay can't stand in for Rooney in the striker position. We need cover/competition for both, as well as the possibility of playing an entire front 3 that can stretch defences whilst providing a goal threat.
Lacazette or Kane but its going to be hard getting them especially Kane
I'd just wonder if LVG might take a punt on Wilson as this young striker who could a job for years and have some back-up (in the form of a player like Llorenthe or somebody else) to cover up the risks ? I remember last summer people would rate Wilson as a better player over Kane (red tinted glasses and all that) but perhaps Wilson does have the quality to evolve in a similar way as Kane but he just needs the playing opportunity and a good season ?
Idk who says he can't ?
He is not a striker that can play on the wing but rather a winger that could play as a striker.
Wouldn't be the first time for him either, I think he has played there for PSV but not sure. Naturally not the most obvious player for such a position but in case you need it he could play there I think.
So, every time Rooney gets injured we move our first choice left winger up front and then bring in somebody else to play on the flank? No thanks, far too much tinkering when you consider how often Rooney picks up knocks. And if Rooney is out for a couple of months, we'd be fecked relying on Depay as our centre forward. I'm sure it's been said that Depay isn't particularly good in that position (maybe by NL Max).
I'd rather buy another player who can cover as a striker first and foremost, but also gives us tactical options out wide.
A front 3 of ADM, Rooney and Wilson is not that bad.
Could replace ADM with Depay or replace Wilson with Depay.
Behind them Sneidy, mata , hererra or
Carrick Sneidy Hererra
lots of options here I think.
Also there's Fellaini if things get really bad (injuries)
Once the midfield is sorted and functioning well, the goals will come no matter who's upfront
Could replace ADM with Depay or replace Wilson with Depay.
Behind them Sneidy, mata , hererra or
Carrick Sneidy Hererra
lots of options here I think.
Also there's Fellaini if things get really bad (injuries)
Once the midfield is sorted and functioning well, the goals will come no matter who's upfront
I don't get that we have Depay/Young/Di Maria/ Mata and Januzaj who can all play on the wings
we don't need tactical options out wide. We need a striker and if you say we should be looking at somebody who could also play on the wing when Rooney is fit so not a bencher than Depay could play that role not saying that is what we should do but it is a valid option.
---------Carrick---Herrera--------
--------------Mata----------------
Di Maria---Depay----Young
Could work perfectly well for certain games
He's 21 years old and according to Whoscored, Depay's never played up front before. Even if he has, it'd only be a handful of games in the Dutch league. It'd be madness to go into the new season with him as our second choice striker.
At the moment, the only pacey goalscoring winger we have is Depay. Buying a second one would give us a very different tactical option to what we can currently muster.
Most of our wingplay is currently geared towards crossing. Adding another man who can play as a wing forward would completely changes the complexion of the side. It would mean opposition fullbacks on both sides would have to worry about runs through the channels rather than stopping crosses.
Who's our 50 goal a season player?Rooney ain't getting it
The point im making is, if we get another 'starting level' striker, it will only force LVG to try and fit him in some games. Thus bringing us back to the 442/352 stuff we had last year. Why would anyone want that? We finally found the right team and player balance last year when we used the 4-3-3. LVG apparently doesn't like 442 and most people in here hate the 352, yet I bet the same people are the ones advocating for another striker.
What I would want is for LVG to increase our overall goal output across the front players and midfield.
The teams I mentioned in my post don't have 2 strikers rotating, they have other players in their preferred formation who contribute to goal scoring.I hope if we do sign a striker, it wont be a 30m+ one that will happily sit on the bench(Do they even exist?), it will be an up and comer that wont mind getting rotated.
And we would need to sell one or more of our wingers because we can't handle anymore players for those positions other than the ones already here.
Apart from Lacazette I also don't know who could play that role and is realistically available.
Depay also doesn't need to be second choice striker he can be third choice. Second choice could be Wilson or a new striker aswell. I'am just saying Depay can be a back-up plan for that position.
That's fine but who out of our current crop is scoring the bloody goals?
We definitely need another goal scorer.
Rooney hasn't scored 20+ goals for a few seasons now, it'd be a big gamble to hope he'd produce that again. Mata is probably good for 15, but that'd be far more likely if he played centrally as a #10 which it doesn't look like we will play. Memphis is coming into a much harder league so no idea how he will do. di Maria, Januzaj and Young aren't exactly goal scorers either.
Rooney hasn't scored 20+ goals for a few seasons now, it'd be a big gamble to hope he'd produce that again. Mata is probably good for 15, but that'd be far more likely if he played centrally as a #10 which it doesn't look like we will play. Memphis is coming into a much harder league so no idea how he will do. di Maria, Januzaj and Young aren't exactly goal scorers either.