Promising rumours

[Sebastian Asspong 0]

I think some of the rumours so far are really promising. For instance it sounds like Mulumbu ans Yedlin are done deals now and Robbie Brady is just the kind of player we really need.

I think if we sign all three we would be in a very strong position. In my opinion we need to get rid of Ricy while we can still get a Bit of money for him. Id also like us to sign a striker in replacement and as Saint Etienne are a bit picky id put in a 3m plus Ricky for Max Gradel. I think we need to get rid Grabban though as he was not great in the Championship so he''ll have no chance in the Premiership.

And finally i think we need to spend a bit of cash in a cb. Kaboul isn''t a bad shout but i''d prefer Curtis Davies as i think he''s a better fit for our squad.

[BroadstairsR 2,135]

Gradel isn''t a bad shout, although he has never been tested at the highest level.

I wouldn''t dismiss Grabban so readily, nor any other player who played their part in our promotion season. They all deserve a chance, IMO.

I like Curtis Davies as well and always wondered why Hughton didn''t seem to want him here. He was linked.

[chicken 0]

You lost me when you said Grabban strugged/is poor and that we should get rid of him.

Our second highest scorer last season? If he struggled and we should get rid then effectively every striker bar Jerome should be sold.

Just plainly idiotic.

[Sebastian Asspong 0]

Well no mate. The only striker who could challenge him was Hooper. And look how much time he got. So we need to get rid of Grabban. I think we should get a 5m forward proven in the Premier League aswell as a young promising player.

[mrs miggins 0]

btw you''re not idiotic to suggest Grabban should be sold. Although I think we should keep him and simply splash the cash on a striker, its quite reasonable to suggest Grabban won''t cut it.

Grabban scored 12 goals last season (I think), the same as Hooper, yet Lewis also had more minutes and started more games on the pitch. However, being a striker is not just about scoring goals (which Grabban did do with Bournemouth) Grabban can play up top on his own, which Hoops can''t do, and lets not forget that he''s also got a bit of pace on him. Personally I still think Grabban has still got something to offer next season, however I would expect us to get rid of him the following season.

[BroadstairsR 2,135]

Your dismissal of Grabban is not "idiotic" OP. Just put that down to a worrying need by some contributors on this forum to insult those who have views different from their own.

 

You would seem to echo the views of many on here.

 

Personally, I feel that Grabban has done enough, and has enough attributes to deserve his chance. It would appear that he has some way to go in order to establish himself at Premier League level though. He is very much a confidence player and a confidence striker, dismissal such as you suggest would help neither his cause or the cause of the Club. 

 

The worst scenario is that he finds himself back at a Championship club eventually, but he would not go on the cheap.

[mrs miggins 0]

If we sold him now he would go for less than we paid for him

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

Grabban is AN''s first choice striker and I honestly wouldn''t be surprised if that carried on into next season.Certainly more of a wildcard going into the league than our other forwards but I wouldn''t write him off now.

[mrs miggins 0]

"Grabban is AN''s first choice striker"

Thats a big claim KS, I guess we''ll see.

[TheTetteyRole 0]

I know he had just returned from suspension, but remind me, who did AN chose to start up front for the final?

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

He had just returned from a suspension and before that an injury. He hadn''t played proper football in ages and Jerome had just put in 2 good performances against Ipswich.

I still think Grabban is AN''s number 1 but Jerome isn''t far behind.

[FCC 76]

I believe a major factor in our promotion was the togetherness of the squad. I always think those who were prepared to play for us in the Championship deserve to have that loyalty rewarded with a chance at the Premier.

Better players don''t always make a better team, commitment to the cause will be vital next season - so I hope we don''t get to many loan players.

[CANARYKING 634]

I hope AN doesn''t do a Worthington and rip up last seasons team sheet. Dumping players like Roberts, Edworthy, Malky etc led to a team of miss fits who played like it, end result relegation. Those players deserved a least one season IMO.

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

We won''t be doing that. McNally has already stated that there won''t be a major overhaul. I believe he said 6-8 players in and some of those will surely be youngsters/competition.

[The Voice Of Reason 0]

Grabban himself said that his strike rate wasn''t special, even said that if it was alot better he would be playing for Barcelona.

However he was played because AN wanted to use a system which had a busy striker who harried defenders & keepers and chased everything down, then midfielders coming on second / third runs and scoring.

This system accommodated a hardworking if not prolific striker, and resulted in midfielders scoring more goals.

Is the same setup gonna be used in the Prem? Answer that and you will know if Grabban will be used much or not.

[chicken 0]

Sorry, but it is idiotic.

Strikers that we currently have on the books:

1) Jerome

2) Grabban

3) Hooper

4) RVW

5) Loza

Now looking at that - our first choice striker is either Jerome or Grabban. Why would you even contemplate selling either of those - it would weaken the squad, not strengthen it. If you are going to bring in a better striker then you would be looking at the likes of RVW, Loza and even Hooper before either Grabban or Jerome. It is that simple.

He is clearly rated by AN as he has been chosen, ahead of Jerome, for most of the games where he has been available. Only a complete tool would have left Jerome out of the final after his efforts against Ipswich. But having said that he offers something different to Jerome - more pace and better movement. His finishing isn''t as good - but as the stats prove, his game makes him more chances than Jerome.

For me, it doesn''t even matter if you believe Jerome is better, he may well be, but you don''t sell you 2nd best striker and keep your 3rd,4th and 5th ahead of them unless that player is demanding a move.

Too many FIFA and Football Manager game experts on here . . . .

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

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[mrs miggins 0]

nah it''s not idiotic. As I say, I''d prefer to keep Grabban who is a pacey lone striker who puts pressure on defenders, however his finishing has a lot to be desired. For the amount of games he played, is 12 goals in a lower division really good enough to play in the PL. When you think Darren Bent didn''t even arrive at Derby until halfway through the season yet scored the same amount of goals! perhaps he would''ve been a better 2 choice striker? Or what about Antonio at Notts Forrest (14 goals) or Britt Assombalonga?

You don''t have to play fifa to know who these players are (I hope).

There are many strikers who could replace Grabban as the pacey, hustling striker who is also better than than him. In fact come to think of it, with the money we have now, why don''t we? It''s a bit like the Van Dijk rumour going around which would act as an upgrade to Martin. He''s a ball playing CB which we need (see Parma''s tactical blah blah for that), but who can also defend much better than Martin.

If we were to buy a better pacey striker who can also finish (important when in the PL because you get less chances) why would there be any need for Grabban, who would then be 4th choice striker (assuming at least one lone striker is fit). I suppose someone needs to be 4th choice.

[Nuff Said 5,079]

Eh? How would Grabban become 4th choice if he''s currently 1st or 2nd and we buy one extra striker?And IMHO he was Neil''s first choice before getting a little too "handy" at Rotherham.

[mrs miggins 0]

As I say in my post, Grabban is our pacey striker and if we were to get another striker with similar attributes he would go far down the pecking order (reference of Van Dijk/Martin). The order of strikers atm is (or could be said to be):

Jerome

Grabban

Hooper

If we were to replace/buy another pacey striker this would not mean Grabban simply drops behind the new striker basically identical to him, like so:

Jerome

New Grabban upgrade

Grabban

Hooper

It would realistically mean Grabban drops below Hooper

Jerome

New Grabban upgrade

Hooper

Grabban

Our strikers have different skill sets. Jerome is more of a target man (although he is much more than this imo and don''t think he should be reduced to this title, but has been). Grabban is a hustling, pacey lone striker, and Hooper is striker which needs someone to play with him up top, but can finish like the best players can.

If Jerome got injured, the lone striker, we''d replace him with the new ''upgrade'' wouldn''t we (lets just say Callum Wilson for example)*

Now if we were to bring on another striker, who would we bring on? It wouldn''t be Grabban because you''d have two of the same strikers on the pitch, you''d have Hooper because he offers something different and would compliment the team. Thats why most teams have different types of strikers if they play in a two.

*I know Callum Wilson wouldn''t come here having just come up with Bournemouth, but its just an example

[chicken 0]

You sort of contradict yourself miggins.

If AN wants to persist with the way he has set the team up then Hooper is clearly 4th choice because he is is better playing as one of two strikers.

Grabban can play as one of two, on his own or as a winger. He therefore offers more to the squad.

As for Grabbans appearances to goals ratio - anyone know stats site that gives minutes per goal? I seem to remember looking up how many games each player actually started and being surprised at how relatively few Grabban started of the 36 appearances.

As I said before and stand by it, it is idiotic to consider replacing your 2nd highest scorer whilst there are three players at the clu who were not deemed as good as him in the current way we set the team up and not just by one but both managers last season.

[mrs miggins 0]

I''m afraid I''m not, though you may wish to read the post again. If you play two strikers,if everyones fit, it''s got to be Jerome and Hooper. They are a pretty awesome partnership because Hooper is a better striker in a pair compared to Grabban. Throughout the season partnerships have been tried, Jerome/Grabban worked well for spells, Hooper/Grabban also did ok for a time, but the Jerome/Hooper partnership looked like it had some legs before Hoolahan hit some amazing form and we continued with a lone striker with Wes just behind. If we bought simply a better version of Grabban e.g Wilson, why would Hooper be last choice? He''s last choice now because we normally play with a loan striker with 3 strikers overall, but if we were to buy this ''upgrade'' then the dynamics of our attacking force changes doesn''t it. You''re telling me 2 of our lone strikers are going to be injured at the same time in order to prove Grabban would be higher up the pecking order than Hooper? No, Hooper would get more games because he plays up front in a two, he''s the natural finisher, the natural second striker, not Grabban so he''d be preferred. He''d be the 3rd striker and Grabban the 4th.

It would be idiotic to sell Grabban if we got a striker in with attributes different to what he has, however its wrong to say its idiotic to sell Grabban full stop when there are indeed better options who do the same job as him.

"As for Grabbans appearances to goals ratio - anyone know stats site that gives minutes per goal? I seem to remember looking up how many games each player actually started and being surprised at how relatively few Grabban started of the 36 appearances."

With this statement you could make a greater point for Hooper though.

[TheTetteyRole 0]

Hooper - 122

Jerome - 162

Grabban - 172