| Our current striker pool threat... 09:59 - Dec 1 with 1424 views | ArnieM |
Notwithstanding our apparent weakness in getting the ball into the box to whichever striker is playing. I thought id look at the calibre of our striker pool.... its not stunning reading in my humble opinion.
Hirst (age now 26)
21/22 Pompey ( loan) 40 games ( 13 goals)
22/23 Blackbur ( loan) 9 games ( 0 goals)
23- Town 67 games ( 21 goals)
Akpom ( age now 30)
2018/20 PACK 54 games ( 14 goals)
2020-23 Boro. 77 games ( 33 goals)
2023 Ajax ......42 games (14 goals)
2025 Lille.......14 games ( 3 goals)
2025 Town.....13 games ( 1 goal)
Szmodics ( now aged 30)
2020–2022 Peterborough United 79 games ( 21 goals)
2022–2024 Blackburn Rovers 79 games ( 33 goals)
2024–Ipswich 30 games ( 4 goals)
Azon ( age now 22)
2020-25 Zaragpoza 144 games ( 25 goals ) note ged have been a teenager for most of these games over 5 years, and likely lower level games.
2025 Town... 10 games ( 1 goal)
Just glancing at those figures it looks like Akpom is the better ( more effective ) striker. But he is 4 years older. He had one outlier season at Boro but that was only 2 yrs ago so likely relevant to his potential effecttiveness today.
Hirst, is approaching his prime years, at 26. Yet his career stats dont look stunning at all.
Azon, is just a very young striker. Most of his goals have come at an U21 youth level I suspect, so he can really only be viewed as WIP.
So our two main ( senior ) strikers there is a clear winner for bunging the ball in the net,which is what we need, yes? Akpom.
So you HAVE to ask, why is McKenna playing him as a #10??
We have lost the goals from the other forwards because McKenna either didnt play them and they've now left the club( Broadhead, Chaplin, Hutchinson), or they're injured ( Burns) who btw is 30 yrs old now and has been out of the game a year.
Of the younger replacements, Philogene has had a purple patch, ( 5 goals) but shocker, the opposition have sussed his cut in and strike tactic, and closed that door. What else does he / can he offer as a plan B?
Clarke, is similar player and identical strike rate and almost identical pattern of play, yet is used from the bench.
Why not play them both on either wing? Or at least try it.
Overall why, if you were the manager, wouldn't you play the more experienced and effective striker in that #9 role??
Its a wet day and im just mysing things really. No agenda... what do others feel re our striker threat?
Edit 7 Szmodics added [Post edited 1 Dec 13:11]
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| Our current striker pool threat... on 13:08 - Dec 1 with 138 views | ElderGrizzly |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 12:02 - Dec 1 by homer_123 |
I don't have those but my gut feel is that it's spread across those attacking players. Not evenly maybe but suspect all are culpable to a degree. |
Yeah, wasn't looking for a scapegoat but was genuinely interested how they had fallen.
I'll keep looking! |  | | |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 13:28 - Dec 1 with 120 views | MattinLondon |
I do not think that stats are not the right way to judge a player unless they are regulars and play at least 70 mins each match.
Hirst might well have played 40 matches for Pompey but how many of those matches were as a sub for less than twenty minutes? Same with the other players listed.
I think we need to improve the service to the strikers - get crosses in rather than attempting the spectacular all of the time. |  | | |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 13:31 - Dec 1 with 119 views | Illinoisblue |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 12:06 - Dec 1 by mellowblue |
I can see Nunez becoming an enigma like Cajuste is already, does not really have the ball control for that 10 position and has been less productive in that position than I hoped, yet in the midfield 2 is not that defensively minded and he does not cover for Leif as well as Taylor does (apart from on Friday, 2nd goal) |
Thought Nunez was especially poor at Oxford. Anonymous for large parts of the game and his first touch was horrible. Like a lot of squad he’s operating at a 6/10 level for the most part. And that won’t get it done in the championship. |  |
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| Our current striker pool threat... on 14:13 - Dec 1 with 94 views | davblue |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 13:31 - Dec 1 by Illinoisblue |
Thought Nunez was especially poor at Oxford. Anonymous for large parts of the game and his first touch was horrible. Like a lot of squad he’s operating at a 6/10 level for the most part. And that won’t get it done in the championship. |
key area of our team are being held together with plasters., number 10 position has been recruited horribly for, think there's an argument that the left sided role alongside Matisiwa has been recruited for horribly as well. If a guy who hasn't been a regular for 2 years is now becoming a regular and It's not like Taylor is a young lad gaining experience in those 2 years also.
That's not a slight on Taylor, but we have a semi regular Swedish international and a Chile international and both don't look ideally suited to how we like to play.
4 right backs, 3 Right sided wingers. |  | | |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 14:56 - Dec 1 with 86 views | Illinoisblue |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 14:13 - Dec 1 by davblue |
key area of our team are being held together with plasters., number 10 position has been recruited horribly for, think there's an argument that the left sided role alongside Matisiwa has been recruited for horribly as well. If a guy who hasn't been a regular for 2 years is now becoming a regular and It's not like Taylor is a young lad gaining experience in those 2 years also.
That's not a slight on Taylor, but we have a semi regular Swedish international and a Chile international and both don't look ideally suited to how we like to play.
4 right backs, 3 Right sided wingers. |
I’m intrigued as how the recruitment actually works and who’s calling the shots in terms of what deals get done. Again, no club has ever got it 100% right with transfers, but we again look to be relying on doing business in the January window to give us a lift. | |
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| Our current striker pool threat... on 15:44 - Dec 1 with 56 views | ElderGrizzly |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 14:56 - Dec 1 by Illinoisblue |
I’m intrigued as how the recruitment actually works and who’s calling the shots in terms of what deals get done. Again, no club has ever got it 100% right with transfers, but we again look to be relying on doing business in the January window to give us a lift. |
"again look to be relying on doing business in the January window to give us a lift"
Given our decent financial position, shouldn't we absolutely be doing that?
Just a couple of top-end players, not the 15+ of the summer of course | | | |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 15:51 - Dec 1 with 51 views | davblue |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 14:56 - Dec 1 by Illinoisblue |
I’m intrigued as how the recruitment actually works and who’s calling the shots in terms of what deals get done. Again, no club has ever got it 100% right with transfers, but we again look to be relying on doing business in the January window to give us a lift. |
yeah it's been muddled imo since promotion, where as before that i felt we were reasonably good barring a few misses.
This is the scenario squad wise we have been in and some of the buys.
4 Left sided players Enciso, Philogene, Broadhead, Clark last year.
4 right back this year.
no back up for Matisiwa
Phillips - for what he was brought in to do.
Muric - Didn't work.
Palmer - not the type of keeper we've seemed to want.
Szmodics - He done ok, but been injured regularly.
Johnson - Neither a right back or a wing back.
Godfrey - Disaster.
Greaves - Yet to be convinced. | | | |
| Our current striker pool threat... on 17:33 - Dec 1 with 21 views | Blue_Heath |
Looking at these figures we have done well with Hirst but the others were all better elsewhere. |  |
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