Chuba Akpom

N

northernrower

Well-known member
Does anyone know when is contract is up? I've read conflicting articles, one saying 2022, the other 2023.

I can't see Wilder keeping him, but I honestly think he would have been a better option than Connolly or Balogun for the run in.
 
It's 2023 with the option of a further year.

I don't think he'd have done much better than either, which is a sad indictment.
 
How difficult can it be for recruitment to pick up a goal scorer? Why are they making such a hash of it?

Looking at the Championship top scorers list, I believe there are ar least 18 clubs with top scorers who have bagged more than ours. The likes of Peterborough, Reading, Derby, Bristol City, and Birmingham are all trumping us in that department.

Obviously as a team we share our goals out and are sitting in 8th position on merit, but with a half decent striker our points total could have been so much better. Are the recruitment team trying to be a bit too clever when choosing a striker?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/top-scorers
 
northernrower said:
How difficult can it be for recruitment to pick up a goal scorer? Why are they making such a hash of it?

Looking at the Championship top scorers list, I believe there are ar least 18 clubs with top scorers who have bagged more than ours. The likes of Peterborough, Reading, Derby, Bristol City, and Birmingham are all trumping us in that department.

Obviously as a team we share our goals out and are sitting in 8th position on merit, but with a half decent striker our points total could have been so much better. Are the recruitment team trying to be a bit too clever when choosing a striker?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/top-scorers
Click to expand...

I suppose in their defence this year the "type" Warnock wanted in the summer was very different to the type Wilder likes and there was already clearly tension behind the scenes about buying certain players for Warnock when the longer term plan was to find a manager to play a more progressive style.

Finding one in January was always going to be a tough ask.

Obviously they are fairly hard to find, but not by any stretch impossible. We're pretty poor at it, but doesn't help that when we have signed good ones in fairly recent years they've been mismanaged (Bamford and Stuani).

I don't think finding one who can score 15+ should be that hard. Not in a side that creates chances. Finding a 20+ is obviously harder but must be our turn for one!

Summer will be interesting. I'm expecting at least one permanent striker with a good track record, probably for a decent fee.
 
northernrower said:
How difficult can it be for recruitment to pick up a goal scorer? Why are they making such a hash of it?

Looking at the Championship top scorers list, I believe there are ar least 18 clubs with top scorers who have bagged more than ours. The likes of Peterborough, Reading, Derby, Bristol City, and Birmingham are all trumping us in that department.

Obviously as a team we share our goals out and are sitting in 8th position on merit, but with a half decent striker our points total could have been so much better. Are the recruitment team trying to be a bit too clever when choosing a striker?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/top-scorers
Click to expand...
We've bought loads of players that have scored regularly for their previous clubs and then looked like donkeys in our team. Rhodes, Gestede, Assombolonga had all scored goals at this level when we signed them and they couldn't replicate it for us. We've bought tried from Scotland that have scored hatfuls like Kris Boyd, Belgium with Jelle Vossen etc. We've signed midfielders/wingers with great goalscoring records that barely look like they've ever taken a shot before in our team.

It's a difficult thing to get right because the team might have been set up for them in their previous clubs so they get more chances, get more confident and then score more goals. Everyone wants a goalscorer, the good ones cost a fortune so you are basically hoping for a cheap one to come good or you accept that you buy someone that fits your system and allows the team to win but might not get 20+ themselves. We have produced via the academy a lot of good quality players over the years but no good strikers. That is a long time to go without finding one so maybe we don't know what we are looking for.

We can obviously do better than the ones we have. They aren't players that have proven themselves at any significant level so they are all gambles really. I think Balogun will have a decent career but won't score many at the highest level. Sporar won't score many in England, might do somewhere a bit less physical. Coburn needs to bulk up a bit but he has potential. Watmore isn't a striker but his work is worth more than just goals. Connolly won't score goals in his own back garden.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top