Who's the best striker?

[Magic8Ball]

Having seen lots of posts recently about potential new recruits, there seems to be no agreement as to what makes a good striker.

some people talk purely in terms of goals, others about the strikers ability to adapt and so on.

 

it strikes me that no ones actually tried to garner opinions on the attributes people expect to see in a good striker, so I thought I would name a few I expect to see and hear others opinions

 

in no particular order:

 

Ability to finish

Game brain - ability to be in the right spot or make a run to distract the defense for someone else

Turn of pace - in particular I mean in the first 5-10 yards after that I doubt it matters much

Ability to create goals - I guess this goes with game brain, I think the best strikers know when its down to them and when they should pass

Ability to play with partner

Ability to play alone

[sean]

Eto'o

[Falconhoof]

The question you need to ask about a striker is Con he shut ?

[dorgie]

Rush. Oh no, sorry, Dalglish. Ok, I meant Owen. Oops, I'm wrong again, am I allowed to change my mind to Fowler ?

 

There is no answer to the question (at least not a straightforward one).

[Dog]

Err. Err.

 

Oh yeah.

 

 

GOALS

[_00_deathscar]

Having seen lots of posts recently about potential new recruits, there seems to be no agreement as to what makes a good striker.

some people talk purely in terms of goals, others about the strikers ability to adapt and so on.

 

it strikes me that no ones actually tried to garner opinions on the attributes people expect to see in a good striker, so I thought I would name a few I expect to see and hear others opinions

 

in no particular order:

 

Ability to finish

Game brain - ability to be in the right spot or make a run to distract the defense for someone else

Turn of pace - in particular I mean in the first 5-10 yards after that I doubt it matters much

Ability to create goals - I guess this goes with game brain, I think the best strikers know when its down to them and when they should pass

Ability to play with partner

Ability to play alone

 

Ruud van Nistlerooy fits all but 'turn of pace' and 'ability to create goals'.

 

Eto'o fits more or less all, although his 'ability to play alone' is partly due to having Messi and Ronaldinho roaming in and around him.

 

I don't think Henry has the ability to play alone.

 

Drogba fits all, but he's a Danish king.

[Magic8Ball]

Eto'o

The interesting thing about Eto'o, Henry and Villa is not only do these strikers have a great strike rate, but they also have a high rate of assists too

[bazz]

Good question from the original poster.

 

Everyone wants a striker who will score 20-25 goals a season, but Cisse did that and he is generally regarded as being dreadful.

 

Im not saying Im a fan of his, but he did score 20goals and we shipped him off. Yes I understand that his touch was woeful, his positioning was dreadful, he couldn't understand basic instructions (i.e. the offside rule) and was a bit of a tart.....but he scored goals.

 

Its a strange situation to be honest. We all seem to want a striker who is as hardworking as Kuyt, as quick as Bellamy and has the predatory instinct of Fowler in his heyday and scores 25 goals a season. Does he exist?

 

Personally I want a striker (Eto'o IMO) that can pick up a ball, lay the ball off or turn and run and defences and score goals.

 

Not too much to ask...eh?

Edited June 13, 2007 by bazz

[Cunny]

goals, pace, creativity, decent first touch

[Falconhoof]

but Cisse did that and he is generally regarded as being dreadful.

 

Im not saying Im a fan of his, but he did score 20goals and we shipped him off. Yes I understand that his touch was woeful, his positioning was dreadful, he couldn't understand basic instructions (i.e. the offside rule) and was a bit of a tart.....but he scored goals.

 

13 goals in 49 league appearances for us.

[Cobs]

13 goals in 49 league appearances for us.

10 from open play

 

[Magic8Ball]

Good question from the original poster.

 

Everyone wants a striker who will score 20-25 goals a season, but Cisse did that and he is generally regarded as being dreadful.

 

Im not saying Im a fan of his, but he did score 20goals and we shipped him off. Yes I understand that his touch was woeful, his positioning was dreadful, he couldn't understand basic instructions (i.e. the offside rule) and was a bit of a tart.....but he scored goals.

 

Its a strange situation to be honest. We all seem to want a striker who is as hardworking as Kuyt, as quick as Bellamy and has the predatory instinct of Fowler in his heyday and scores 25 goals a season. Does he exist?

 

Personally I want a striker (Eto'o IMO) that can pick up a ball, lay the ball off or turn and run and defences and score goals.

 

Not too much to ask...eh?

I know what you mean, see my point above about Eto'o, Henry and Villa

 

Cisse was spoilt during his time in France, Guy Roux totally destroyed Cisse, they laid everything on a plate for him had Cisse been here during his formative years he would have been more like Torres or Anelka than the kick and run striker he was in actuality - but he did score goals and that's the thing thats confusing. For a team like us ( the way we play) we need a striker that can do more than just score goals

hence I dont think someone like Trezeguet would do as well here as people expect. Our service to the strikers is patchy even Owen would struggle here at times ( in the past Owen seemed to create as many of his own goals as was laid on for him).

 

I've watched Bent a few times and I've never really seen him include players around him and play off them, seems to be a solo player - which is not a criticism as such just that I wonder how he would work for the team and whether in doing that it would take from his goal scoring skills - as seems the case with Kuyt ( I just wonder if Kuyt has a good enough game brain, working hard for the team should also mean getting into the goal scoring positions, not just chasing, harrying defenders... but people on here love him so I should be quiet) re Bent I also wonder how he would play when his pace is nullified by a packed defense, He's still young though and could adapt this side of his game.

 

With Torres I get the feeling that he's got a lot of the Tevez about him, maybe less of the close ball skilll but he can run with the ball under close control, take on players and score, he knows how to work defenders on his own, so the things he seems to lack are the things than can be tought, like looking to include his team mates more, bending his runs, knowing when to save his energy when to drift out wide or stay central - Away from home Torres would be a wonderful asset and an interesting alternative to Crouch, though together they would provide the perfect partnership for away games - two different methods of retaining the ball or outlets when under pressure

 

Given my doubts about Bent ( and his 18m price tag) I would be happy with Torres here ( same age more international experience not significantly more cost) and we could still get a finisher in Owen by trading Bellamy to NUFC

 

At home Torres and Owen would be an interesting combination too

 

In fact, it is drummed into all of the club's scouts that Benirez does not want flashy players but instead disciplines ones who are physically imposing. "He does not judge a striker simply by the number of goals that he scores. He wants players who are fair and tough. That is why Liverpool didn't have player sent off in the league.link

Edited June 13, 2007 by Magic8Ball

[bazz]

13 goals in 49 league appearances for us.

 

Very clever with your stats there - maybe have a look at them in more detail eh? Especially considering we do play in 4 competitions......or do you just want your striker to score in the league?

 

 

Club Season Premiership FA Cup League Cup Europe Others Total

App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals

Liverpool FC

2005-06 33 9 6 2 0 0 14 8 1 0 54 19

2004-05 16 4 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 25 5

 

 

Or 19 goals in 54 appearances in 2005-06 season (and how many of those games was here a) subbed b) a sub or c) playing on the right wing

 

He scored 19 goals in one season and we didn't rate him.........but we are screaming for a striker that will score us 20-25 goals in a season.

[_00_deathscar]

Very clever with your stats there - maybe have a look at them in more detail eh? Especially considering we do play in 4 competitions......or do you just want your striker to score in the league?

 

 

Yes.

 

We seem to do rather well in the other competitions even with poor strikers...

[Maldini]

Etoo, Henry and RVN are the 3 best forwards in the world and they're three very different players. The common characteristics are great acceleration over 5 yards and a cool head in front of goal.

[Extraordinary Swindle]

The problem with Cisse was he was/is a lazy git who refused to do as instructed by the manager.

[Bailo]

Bringbackonability is, for me, the key.

[Ronnie Whelan]

It depends.

 

It depends on who is playing in the same team as them or how that team is set up to play. For instance, there is no real point in playing Van Kneedestroyed up front on his own if the opposition are playing with the defence on the half way line, especially if there is not too much pace from midfield.

 

On the other end of the scale, a pacy striker is not fully exploited unless the defence play as mentioned above.

 

Of course, there are several imporant qualities that a striker must have such as first touch, pace, link up play, work rate, instinct, finishing etc, but what combination of those is required to bring us to the next level really IMO depends on who else is brought it in, or the striker will determine who else is brought in.

 

I dont think it was a fluke that we got our highest league points in a season when everything was geared towards Michael Owen's strengths. Our problem that season was that not enough goals were being scored from other positions.

Edited June 13, 2007 by Ronnie Whelan

[yellow jumper]

think the best out and out strikers are strong and skilful enough to hold the ball up with back to goal, but also have the pace, touch and movement to be able to turn and threaten in behind.

 

of the names we've been linked with - and if an out-and-out front man is what we're searching for - torres seems the closest thing to complete.

 

there is an argument that what we actually need is a creative, ball running second striker, in which case tevez would be a better choice.

[bazz]

The problem with Cisse was he was/is a lazy git who refused to do as instructed by the manager.

 

Completely agree with you.

 

But he did score the 20(19) goals in a season.

 

I think that what the original poster was getting to - was we seem to want a striker that can do the lot and not just be a "goalscorer" of which most people comment on.

[Flight]

What we might want and what Rafa wants from a striker is probably very different. Rafa wants more pace and more goals, but he will want to keep and improve on bringing our midfield into play in the final third amd holding up the ball.

 

Cisse isn't intelligent enough to learn what Rafa wants to teach him - he struggled even with the basics of timing his runs and curving to avoid the offside trap instead of just sprinting straight at the goal. This is the nail in any players coffin as far as Rafa is concerned.

 

I thought it was hilarious when the Chavs paid £24mill for Drogba, but blimey he has proved he is worth that and more. I suspect Rafa would take Drogba over Eto'o.

[_00_deathscar]

I dont think it was a fluke that we got our highest league points in a season when everything was geared towards Michael Owen's strengths. Our problem that season was that not enough goals were being scored from other positions.

 

Michael Owen wasn't at Liverpool in 2005-2006...

[yellow jumper]

Michael Owen wasn't at Liverpool in 2005-2006...

 

which, in fact, was the season in which we got a decent haul from midfield, and relied less on our strikers for goals.

[_00_deathscar]

Indeed - we had Crouchie playing up front by himself for most of the season - Garcia, Cissé and Gerrard added 55 combined in all competitions.

Edited June 13, 2007 by _00_deathscar

[Magic8Ball]

its a funny old time, LFC keeping shtum and the papers going wild : still behind the dust I suspect some can just about make out that something's going on, even if we're not sure what

 

Benayoun (for 1m) sounds weird, we have Voronin ( Veronin, whatever); Garcia why would we need Benayoun ? it doesn't make sense till you realise that we were also linked with Tevez and Silva

these players all seem to be link strikers, players who can play well in a 4231 or just behind a main striker

 

 

 

I've talked about Tevez and Torres being a good strike partnership - but Silva and Torres or even Torres and Owen would be pretty exciting

 

maybe it isn't about the striker at all though; It just looks like we're after an AM/Link Striker - Seems Rafa wants more goals from midfield next season ( can't disagree with that)

Edited June 14, 2007 by Magic8Ball