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I’m absolutely begging for his finishing to improve. I really like him as a player - his link up is often excellent, works hard, makes the right runs and has quite a knack of being in the right place at the right time but his composure in front of goal is dreadful. I find it such a shame because it’s going to hold him back and limit his career.
It's a tricky one with him, he's certainly made big strides in general play and is still young – there is a chance everything clicks at some point and then you have one hell of a player, I suspect he will do well at his next club either way. Just doesn't quite feel like a risk we can/should take at the moment, regardless of division.
"I agree with all of the positives that you cite. But it's really hard to get promoted without a top six striker..."
This is patently not true for us, as we don't rely on a prolific No.9.
We have conceded the least number of goals, have the 2nd best goal difference and 3rd highest scored.
Sure, Azon taking more of his chances would have improved those stats even more, but the metrics that do matter are clearly enough to be successful and on the cusp of promotion.
I also accept that last time we got promoted we relied on goals from different areas, but point out that goals from number 10 this season have been conspicuous by their absence.
I maintain that it's hard to get promoted without a top 6 striker. Not impossible though, I accept. If we manage it, then that will have been a great achievement. If we fall short narrowly, it will not be difficult to see what might have made the difference.
Last time round, a well timed acquisition of Kieffer Moore probably made the difference. This time round we did not make a similar acquisition. All I'm really saying is that that could cost us. If Azon's finishing were better, it would not be a problem. But his numbers really are extremely poor in that department, for all of his other attributes, intelligence, and undoubtedly likeable person.
He's got so much going for him but as a striker when you're finishing is that ropey you're going to struggle to make it at a high level. It's such a shame as there's loads to like about him. He works incredibly hard, brings others into play well, has good movement and a very decent touch, and he keeps defenders occupied. He gets a lot of good chances through the good work he does. But then he turns into a Sunday league player when presented with a chance. It's very odd as some of his goals have been really lovely finishes but you look at some of the misses and they're the kind you might expect to see two or three of from your centre forward over the course of the season and he must have racked up a dozen or so.
I do kinda wonder if it's worth exploring the idea of converting him to a number 10 type role. As people say, his link up play and passing at times is delightful.
I'm one of the people who was blamed for getting Paul Cook sacked. PM for the full post.
I also accept that last time we got promoted we relied on goals from different areas, but point out that goals from number 10 this season have been conspicuous by their absence.
I maintain that it's hard to get promoted without a top 6 striker. Not impossible though, I accept. If we manage it, then that will have been a great achievement. If we fall short narrowly, it will not be difficult to see what might have made the difference.
Last time round, a well timed acquisition of Kieffer Moore probably made the difference. This time round we did not make a similar acquisition. All I'm really saying is that that could cost us. If Azon's finishing were better, it would not be a problem. But his numbers really are extremely poor in that department, for all of his other attributes, intelligence, and undoubtedly likeable person.
Both sides of this argument can be justified to some extent depending on where you look at it from, but the ultimate and only reliable metric is whether we go up or not, and all players will have contributed to that in infinite small and large ways.
Azon's hold up and linking play has certainly contributed to a number of goals and has also enabled us to keep possession better that we would have done without his presence, which in itself has changed the balance of games and affected results in ways which we'll never be able to quantify.
When we tune up his finishing, he'll be very good.
Good work by Philogene...... GREAT WORK BY PHILOGENE!!!
I absolutely love this fella, he has the attributes of a class player. Whether he just panics in front of goal or what I don't know. We know he's produced a couple of worldies from opposing keepers and looking at his previous clubs has never been prolific. The problem we have is to get a striker you can rely on to score you 15 to 20 goals a season is a finger in the air situation. We signed Akpom and Szmodics, two past golden boot winners and neither have scored half a dozen between them. I know the guy Liverpool signed broke his leg, but again it just goes to show how you can spend 100 million plus and still not have a striker to speak of.
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