We will never have a 20plus striker under Rafa

[lfc003]

I'm gonna be honest, I love Rafa but his use of our strikers really annoys me. I believe Rafa puts way too much emphasis into workrate and the teams build up play involving the strikers. Its really annoying watching our strikers 20 yards too deep running around like headless chickens trying to pressure the oppositions midfield.

 

I know we are being linked with E'too and other world class strikers but am i the only one that believes they won't be successful here unless Rafa changes our tactics?

[Flanders]

I know we are being linked with E'too and other world class strikers but am i the only one that believes they won't be successful here unless Rafa changes our tactics?

I hope so.

 

Eto'o by the way.

[Clay Davis]

how about 3 strikers that score 10 - 15 a season, and one other 4th choice that chips in with 5 or 6.

 

would that do?

[Guest Anders Honoré]

he did try and sign owen.

[Cam]

Bellamy will never be a 20-goals a season striker.

 

And judging by his efforts in goal at half-time yesterday he'll never be a 'keeper either.

[Earl Hafler]

Bellamy will never be a 20-goals a season striker.

 

And judging by his efforts in goal at half-time yesterday he'll never be a 'keeper either.

 

Maybe that's the way we're heading, what with Reina playing in midfield pre-season...

[Kindred]

Theres a few threads at the moment talking about goals, so I thought I'd actually have a quick look at the stats for this season and dump them in here!

 

Coutesy of BBC top six scorers (all games) for the top 4 teams:

 

Crouch 13

Kuyt 10

Bellamy 9

Gerrard 8

Fowler 7

Luis Garcia 6

 

 

 

Ronaldo 16

Saha 13

Rooney 12

Solskjaer 10

Giggs 6

Scholes 6

 

 

 

Van Persie 13

Henry 12

Adebayor 10

Silva 9

Julio Baptista 8

Aliadiere 4

 

 

 

 

Drogba 29

Lampard 17

Shevchenko 11

Ballack 5

Kalou 4

Essien 4

 

 

Take out Ronaldo, whose having a season like Gerard did for us previously and also Drogba , whose just gone mad! - Man U have 3 strikers scoring 10-13 goals each, same for Arsenal, Chelsea have one on 11 and one on 4. We also have three strikers scoring 9-13 goals each.

 

I'll leave further analysis, if required, to others but it kind of shows were not that disimilar to the other 'big' teams and at least provides some stats to work with rather than just guess work.

Edited March 5, 2007 by Kindred

[growler]

incidently, owen has never scored 20 goals a season in the prem, ever.

[Nebraska Red]

i could care less where the goals come from, it would be great if we had a 20-25 goal striker, but in today's game, that is not very likely.

 

if the goals are sprtead out that is fine, we need more from our midfielders who play on a regular basis and the occasional goal from the defence. if we get that, well be fine.

[Guz]

van Nistelrooy scored a lot of goals for United in the last 2 seasons but they didnt get close to Chelsea (and failed miserably in Europe). Same with Henry and Drogba has gone goal mad this season yet Chelsea are struggling to hold onto their title.

 

Whilst I agree we probably need a clinical finisher upfront, there are other problems in the side such as using the ball quicker, long balls from the back four, no goal threat from Alonso/Sissoko and a lack of decent crosses or isolating full backs from our wide men. It's not like we created a bag full of chances yesterday, Crouch had a great chance and Bellamy should've set up Kuyt in the 1st half but thats about it. About 10 harmless corners as well - the final one where Gerrard hit the first man was pathetic.

[Bootle Buck]

BERBATOV

Edited March 5, 2007 by Bootle Buck

[Nebraska Red]

BERBATOV

 

 

is good against the poorer teams, but goes AWOL when he comes up against a decent team.

[lfc003]

the fact is our strikers do far too much work away from the oppositions goal, that not only effects their ability to score but also the midfields.

[John am Rhein]

but am i the only one that believes they won't be successful here unless Rafa changes our tactics?

 

Probably not, but I reckon we'll only be successful if he sticks with his tactics. I think he will.

[Stevie H]

is good against the poorer teams, but goes AWOL when he comes up against a decent team.

he might do better against decent teams in a better team himself though.

[Dublinred4ever]

Crouch would score 20 plus if he played every game

[Magic8Ball]

the fact is our strikers do far too much work away from the oppositions goal, that not only effects their ability to score but also the midfields.

I agree, were it not for the fact that Mista scored more than 20 goals under Rafa I would say Rafa will never have a 20+ goal striker ( now a 20+ goal midfielder, that's a different matter) ....... hold on Mista was a converted midfielder, makes sense now

 

BTW loosely connected I get the feeling Voronin is being bought as back up to Garcia ie as an attacking midfielder who can play one of the strike roles

[Ombudsam]

Theres a few threads at the moment talking about goals, so I thought I'd actually have a quick look at the stats for this season and dump them in here!

 

Coutesy of BBC top six scorers (all games) for the top 4 teams:

 

Crouch 13

Kuyt 10

Bellamy 9

Gerrard 8

Fowler 7

Luis Garcia 6

Ronaldo 16

Saha 13

Rooney 12

Solskjaer 10

Giggs 6

Scholes 6

Van Persie 13

Henry 12

Adebayor 10

Silva 9

Julio Baptista 8

Aliadiere 4

Drogba 29

Lampard 17

Shevchenko 11

Ballack 5

Kalou 4

Essien 4

Take out Ronaldo, whose having a season like Gerard did for us previously and also Drogba , whose just gone mad! - Man U have 3 strikers scoring 10-13 goals each, same for Arsenal, Chelsea have one on 11 and one on 4. We also have three strikers scoring 9-13 goals each.

 

I'll leave further analysis, if required, to others but it kind of shows were not that disimilar to the other 'big' teams and at least provides some stats to work with rather than just guess work.

 

love logic like that

[Gilps]

love logic like that

 

We're just the same as them if you ignore the ways in which we aren't

[Knox_Harrington]

As I've said before, our highest scoring player was renowned for his workrate from the front.

[Magic8Ball]

Liverpool need three top-notch signings

 

By Alan Hansen

Last Updated: 2:40am GMT 05/03/2007

 

 

Each of the four English teams going into this week's Champions League fixtures would be relatively happy with their position, even the club who have just suffered their most galling defeat of the season.

 

Rafa Benitez

Glaring omission: Rafa Benitez needs a 20-goal-a-season striker

 

Had I been a Liverpool player coming off the pitch at Anfield while all around me Manchester United celebrated a game they ought to have lost, I would not have been too despondent.

 

Yes, the disappointment would be massive but deep down there would also be a feeling that if Liverpool play that well against Barcelona tomorrow night, they will go through. I have no doubts about that whatsoever.

 

The one point you can make about their defeat by Manchester United is that if Liverpool possessed a 20-goal-a-season striker, they would probably have won that game easily. That is one of the issues that Rafael Benitez and the club's new owners have to address in the summer. In terms of buying players the Liverpool manager has to stop shopping at Woolworth's and start looking around Harvey Nichols.

 

From their first triumph in Rome in 1977 to that amazing night in Istanbul two years ago, the European Cup has given Liverpool some extraordinary memories; but the league was always the bread and butter at Anfield and the gap between Liverpool and the leaders cannot make for comfortable reading. They are a side in need of three high-class players added.

 

However, when he looks at the picture beyond Saturday's game, Benitez will be reasonably happy. This season the emotions around Anfield have swung wildly from doom and gloom to euphoria and then back again, but despite Saturday's setback Liverpool are on an upward curve. Their displays have been good, and often better than good, for many weeks now while at centre-back Jamie Carragher is putting in one quality performance after another.

 

The one proviso I would add is that I cannot see Barcelona being as bad at Anfield as they were at the Nou Camp. After Liverpool conceded an early goal, everything about Benitez's game plan was spot on; aided by a Barcelona defence who were all over the place and a goalkeeper who made errors that were simply jaw-dropping.

 

The atmosphere at Old Trafford on Wednesday is likely to be tense, not because of the match situation - Manchester United should progress easily enough against Lille - but because of the extraordinary circumstances of the first leg. Usually in football, as in life, there are two sides to every story but here there is only one. The French attempt to simply walk off the pitch was beyond belief. The only circumstances in which you would ever leave the field of play is if the pitch was invaded. Lille were angry that they had conceded to a quickly-taken free-kick, which was the result of timing and opportunism from Ryan Giggs. United were not to blame for what happened and if Lille wanted someone to criticise they should take a look at themselves.

 

Of all the English clubs, Arsenal are under the most obvious threat. If you had said eight days ago that their season could be over on Wednesday night, it would have seemed incredible.

 

Their brand of football, technically, is superior to anything else in England, their youth system gives them strength in depth but they are still 20 points behind Manchester United and for all the great touches they displayed against Chelsea and Blackburn in the cups, they lost both matches.

 

They have two big questions to answer. How many of that young side that played in the Carling Cup final will have made it in four years' time? And is next season going to be any different to this one? They have the players to beat PSV Eindhoven but too often at the Emirates Stadium Arsenal have faltered against teams they should have brushed aside.

 

The first game they played there, against Aston Villa, set the pattern. They dominated, they conceded against the run of the game and had to fight hard for a late equaliser. It is a pattern they have to break on Wednesday night, otherwise their season will have collapsed inside a fortnight.

 

United's winner at Anfield would have hit Chelsea hard but whether the Premiership is now beyond them or not, they are a club who are not going to go away. But the formula for Jose Mourinho is a simple one. If Chelsea win the Premiership or the Champions League to go with the Carling Cup, it's been a good season. If they don't end up with either the Premiership or the Champions League it's been a bad one. It's as straightforward as that.

 

 

worth visiting for the comments

 

 

So I guess Hansen agrees with you

[sutty]

I think the initial statement in this thread is flawed.

 

If we had a clinical finisher (if Kuyt was a clinical finisher for example) we'd already have a 20 goal forward. Creating chances and therefore tactics are not the problem.

[Flasher]

I think the initial statement in this thread is flawed.

 

If we had a clinical finisher (if Kuyt was a clinical finisher for example) we'd already have a 20 goal forward. Creating chances and therefore tactics are not the problem.

 

 

I believe that's what Hansen is saying too.

 

Truth is, we do create enough chances for a striker to score 20+, but we are just not taking them consistently at the moment.

[Stevie H]

rafa alluded to it last week as well. someone with bellamy's pace but fowler's finishing.

[IgPig]

rafa alluded to it last week as well. someone with bellamy's pace but fowler's finishing.