Tonight's Striker Battle - from the Pink'un homepage

[AJ 1,218]

Will be interesting to see what happens tonight, assuming we''ll be starting with the same formation under AN with one striker up top.

What was even more interesting was his comments on his reluctance to bring on Mbokani over Grabban towards the end vs Liverpool because he is in essence an ''unknown quantity''. It strongly suggests he wouldn''t have come on against B''mouth had we not been winning by a margin.

Who''s going to draw the short straw tonight?

Personally I would expect, reading through the lines on AN comments, that Grabban may well start. But how do you let Hooper, Lafferty and Mbokani have a chance? Nice for us to finally have such a big striker headache though

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

Interesting but I really hope it''s Mbokani - how else is he going to become a "known " quantity?

[smooth 114]

For me Mbokani put in a great performance once he came on.

He changed our attack and put in a performance that warranted a sub appearance for me at Anfield as he showed he could create from nothing and take that snap shot. He will no doubt get his chance but I felt he would have relished attacking the Liverpool centre halves.

I can agree with AN but as of yet no club would have run their eyes over Mbokani yet, however Grabban there is plenty of film of him.

I do feel Mbokani is a more rounded forwarded and can perform well in this league. I do feel he should be ahead of Grabban on ability not on what has happened this summer.

But again we have competition. If Lafferty does not get game time then I feel he will be very disgruntled, especially if AN has said he is part of the squad.

Should be a good game, hopefully not too many changes and no need to play Wes in a game where we need him for the weekend. See what our plan B looks like. I hope Mbokani gets his chance, either starting or from the bench, as he deserved it from his appearance against Bournemouth. Either way I expect once AN is more comfortable with him we can then expect to see him above Grabban

[Guest]

I expect Mbokani to start if we''re only playing one striker.

Grabban will probably come on with 15/20 mins to go once again. Lafferty will only get game time tonight if we''re chasing the game and need to throw on a second striker.

Hooper''s injured, so no worries there.

[Official Joe 0]

Agree with Smooth in that;

"I do feel Mbokani is a more rounded forwarded and can perform well in this league. I do feel he should be ahead of Grabban on ability not on what has happened this Summer. "

Tonight is the ideal game to have a look at Mbokani. I am sure we are paying good money for him.

A home Carling Cup game against WB does not attract the same degree of importance as an away, Premier League game, at Anfield. Take a look at Mbokani without the Premier League pressure, and take a call on throwing him in during league games.

[chicken 0]

I could be really wrong here, but I sort of wonder around a couple of things with Grabban.

Thinking about it logically, the best place to re-introduce him onto the pitch after all of the horlix that has gone on recently, is away from home, where the fans are more die-hard and vocally supportive.

It could be that a cup game is seen as a better bet to get him running at home as well? Who knows. Mbokani is not that much of an unknown quantity if he is rated highly enough to have been on the bench and get a sub role Vs Bournemouth. It''s more about bedding in and taking on board the ethos of the team and how AN wants him to play.

I wonder if he''ll play Grabban in the Hoolahan role?

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

To me it''s the perfect match to use Mbokani from the start.

The crowd would surely want to get a proper look at our new and expensive striker and crowd-pleasing does come into it. We did wait a long time, and with baited breath, to get him signed up after all.

I should think Jerome would be rested and it might well be a tough re-start for Grabban.

The other striker used would be Hooper for me, that is if it is intended that he remain at the Club for the time being.

We either have a strike-force worthy of the Premier League or not, but even so a win is not vital in the grand scheme of things.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

Hooper is injured and out for a few weeks

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

"Hooper is injured and out for a few weeks."

Thanks missed that. I had wondered why he hadn''t been included at all recently.

For a player who doesn''t get too much playing time Gary Hooper does seem to get injured a lot.

I am beginning to think that we will never get to realise how effective he might have eventually been at Carrow Road the way things are panning out.

Pity really I, for one, had high hopes of him.

[Barclay seats 4849 the 3rd 0]

After all this time ,, I still fail to see any value in Grabban''s contribution.

I would much prefer to see both lafferty and mbokani get some time on the pitch , maybe one or other is what we need ,,, continually watching Grabban amble around missing sitters has convinced me that he is not .

Simply baffled as to what AN sees in training , because it rarely appears during a match day .

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Barclay seats 4849 the 3rd"]After all this time ,, I still fail to see any value in Grabban''s contribution.

I would much prefer to see both lafferty and mbokani get some time on the pitch , maybe one or other is what we need ,,, continually watching Grabban amble around missing sitters has convinced me that he is not .

Simply baffled as to what AN sees in training , because it rarely appears during a match day .[/quote]

Grabban - at his best - is a handful for any defence.  He simply needs to produce it when he gets a chance to be in the team.  If he doesn''t, he won''t stay in the reckoning long.  Apart from that I can''t see anyone likely to play on Saturday having a full

match tonight - maybe 45 minutes. So in that respect, I would expect

Mbokani to start and do a good 45 minutes, with Grabban coming on after

half time.  Lafferty could well start the game on the left (where he has

spent a large part of his career) and play a full game, so all three

strikers will have a run out.   If it goes well, Mbokani and Grabban will have gained some fitness and I hope confidence which could set them up for Saturday, if they are picked or appear from the bench.  Lafferty needs game time and will benefit from 90 minutes in his longer term aim to get in the first team. If he does really well, he may set himself up for a sub appearance against West Ham.  

[chicken 0]

"quote Barclay seats 48/49 the 3rd" After all this time ,, I still fail to see any value in Grabban''s contribution.

I would much prefer to see both lafferty and mbokani get some time on the pitch , maybe one or other is what we need ,,, continually watching Grabban amble around missing sitters has convinced me that he is not .

Simply baffled as to what AN sees in training , because it rarely appears during a match day ."

This would be why AN is the manager and you are not.

That may sound a bit harsh, but this argument has been had time and time again.

I believe the last time it came up, the statisticians provided statistics that suggested that whilst Jerome has a better striker ratio in terms of shots resulting in goals, Grabban has more shots.

He offers something different, brings players into the game - as someone who has played a lot of his career as a winger, he sometimes finds passes that others may not.

So to me, whilst he may not be as prolific, his all round game is pretty decent and he is quicker in acceleration at least, than Jerome.

If you fail to see "any value" in what he gives to the team, it''s not his or AN''s fault . . . .

[Katie Borkins 1]

On the basis that I couldn''t give a monkey''s about the league cup, suggest we start Mbokani tonight to see how he does and sub him if he''s rubbish.

[Samwam27 519]

[quote user="chicken"]"quote Barclay seats 48/49 the 3rd" After all this time ,, I still fail to see any value in Grabban''s contribution.

I would much prefer to see both lafferty and mbokani get some time on the pitch , maybe one or other is what we need ,,, continually watching Grabban amble around missing sitters has convinced me that he is not .

Simply baffled as to what AN sees in training , because it rarely appears during a match day ."

This would be why AN is the manager and you are not.

That may sound a bit harsh, but this argument has been had time and time again.

I believe the last time it came up, the statisticians provided statistics that suggested that whilst Jerome has a better striker ratio in terms of shots resulting in goals, Grabban has more shots.

He offers something different, brings players into the game - as someone who has played a lot of his career as a winger, he sometimes finds passes that others may not.

So to me, whilst he may not be as prolific, his all round game is pretty decent and he is quicker in acceleration at least, than Jerome.

If you fail to see "any value" in what he gives to the team, it''s not his or AN''s fault . . . .[/quote]

Chicken I don''t get your point. If Grabban has 100 shots a game and doesn''t score, what is his value. If Jerome has one shot and scores, is Grabban still more valuable.

We play strikers for one reason. To score goals. I''m personally disappointed Grabban is back in the fold so quickly. He should have earnt his place. Feel sorry for Laffs that he does so well for NI and doesn''t get a shout here. Still hopefully Grabban will get lots of shots tonight and we''ll all be happy!

[Samwam27 519]

ooh. Grabban has lots of shots tonight. Fails to score.

Laffs has 10 mins and grabs a goal. Know who''s more valuable