Lafferty

[Making Plans 936]

Just scored an absolute screamer out of nothing for the Under 21''sAN were you watching?

[Yellowhammer 86]

Yes well overdue a chance in the first team

[Branston Pickle 3,632]

IMO Lafferty is worth a spot on the bench, not a lot more - he certainly isn''t better than Mbokani or Jerome.

[Making Plans 936]

The man scores goals & he''s the only striker we have that is doing that consistently. Yes you can question the quality of the opposition that he''s been playing against but the man can only show what he''s capable of when he gets the chance to play. To be honest, I haven''t seen Jerome, Mbokani or Grabban hit a shot like that all season.I was watching the stream and they showed AN in the crowd looking very happy after the goal went in.Surely, when we so desperately need a striker who knows where the back of the net is, he would be a fool to keep on ignoring a striker who is clearly at the top of his form.He deserves more than 10 minutes at the end of a game every once in a while.Not saying that he''s the finished article, that his all round game is great or that he''s the answer to our goal scoring problems but at the moment he looks like the best striker option we''ve got.

[morty 0]

What Branston said.

[Making Plans 936]

And how many goals have Jerome & Mbokani scored?For the record it''s a paltry total of 4 in a combined total of 20 league appearances What have we got to lose?

[Guest]

AN was at the game, so I imagine he was indeed watching.

[Yellowhammer 86]

Exactly

[Yellowhammer 86]

Good point making plans

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

[quote user="Making Plans"]And how many goals have Jerome & Mbokani scored?For the record it''s a paltry total of 4 in a combined total of 20 league appearances What have we got to lose?[/quote]Football matches. We could lose football matches.The old "can''t do much worse" argument. It always comes out when a players reputation gets enhanced by not playing. In reality, he actually could.Oh, and Mbokani has made a great start. 2 from 3 + 3. You might have an argument for Lafferty getting a chance ahead of Jerome, but to say we have ''nothing to lose'' starting him ahead of Mbokani is laughable in my opinion.Besides, our main problem so far this season hasn''t been at that end of the pitch. It''s been the other end.Goals scored: 16 (11th in the league)Goals conceded: 24 (equal 16th in the league)

[ellis206 0]

[quote user="Yellowforever"]Good point making plans[/quote]It''s a rubbish point. Lafferty has never scored more than 11 league goals in a season, he has played in the championship, scottish premiership and a poor italian league. Why will he suddenly set the premier league alight?

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"]Football matches. We could lose football matches.Besides, our main problem so far this season hasn''t been at that end of the pitch. It''s been the other end.Goals scored: 16 (11th in the league)Goals conceded: 24 (equal 16th in the league)[/quote]But the whole point is that we are already are losing football matches - more than half of those that we''ve played.We''ve tried just about every option/combination/formation that we''ve got in defence and we''ve still only kept 1 clean sheet out of 13 games and lost 7 games.It''s unlikely that we''re suddenly going to see a dramatic improvement at that end of the pitch, at least until January.Despite scoring 16 goals we''ve only managed to score more goals than the opposition in 3 matches. We have had plenty of opportunities to get something from games that we''ve lost but too many chances have been squandered by our strikers who have only managed to contribute a quarter of the goals we''ve scored. Based on our record, and our lack of ability to defend, the fact is that we need to score more goals than we are.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

At this moment in time, he offers less than ''Big Dave'' and Cam, (especially in our current system) plus he went off injured last night (look like he overstretched and hopefully only that, and not pulled a muscle)

[ellis206 0]

[quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"]Football matches. We could lose football matches.Besides, our main problem so far this season hasn''t been at that end of the pitch. It''s been the other end.Goals scored: 16 (11th in the league)Goals conceded: 24 (equal 16th in the league)[/quote]But the whole point is that we are already are losing football matches - more than half of those that we''ve played.We''ve tried just about every option/combination/formation that we''ve got in defence and we''ve still only kept 1 clean sheet out of 13 games and lost 7 games.It''s unlikely that we''re suddenly going to see a dramatic improvement at that end of the pitch, at least until January.Despite scoring 16 goals we''ve only managed to score more goals than the opposition in 3 matches. We have had plenty of opportunities to get something from games that we''ve lost but too many chances have been squandered by our strikers who have only managed to contribute a quarter of the goals we''ve scored. Based on our record, and our lack of ability to defend, the fact is that we need to score more goals than we are.

[/quote]Welcome to the Premier League.....Leicester have only kept 2 clean sheets, last one being this saturday, and they are sat top of the league, yet to see any of their fans moaning about clean sheets. We kept loads of clean sheets under Hughton and people were moaning (and rightly so) about the lack of goals, start of this season we were scoring for fun but conceding, people were moaning about lack of clean sheets. Can''t win

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

[quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"]Football matches. We could lose football matches.Besides, our main problem so far this season hasn''t been at that end of the pitch. It''s been the other end.Goals scored: 16 (11th in the league)Goals conceded: 24 (equal 16th in the league)[/quote]But the whole point is that we are already are losing football matches - more than half of those that we''ve played.We''ve tried just about every option/combination/formation that we''ve got in defence and we''ve still only kept 1 clean sheet out of 13 games and lost 7 games.It''s unlikely that we''re suddenly going to see a dramatic improvement at that end of the pitch, at least until January.Despite scoring 16 goals we''ve only managed to score more goals than the opposition in 3 matches. We have had plenty of opportunities to get something from games that we''ve lost but too many chances have been squandered by our strikers who have only managed to contribute a quarter of the goals we''ve scored. Based on our record, and our lack of ability to defend, the fact is that we need to score more goals than we are.

[/quote]You''re right. We have lost more than half our games. If you expect to do much better than that in this league this year, you need to look at your expectations instead of striking options.The 2012/13 season we finished 11th in this league. We won just 10 games. That''s just over a quarter of our games. Our current record of 3 from 13 is only just below that (23%).If you look at the points we''ve ''dropped'' from winning / drawing positions;* Palace - $hite ref decision.* Stoke - poor loss of concentration in defence* West Ham - Poor defending from a set piece* Man City - Goalkeeping error* Chelsea - poor loss of concentration in defenceLooking at those ''issues'', you want to change first-choice strikers to someone - as previously stated by someone else - has never scored more than 13 in a season in a lesser league, using the argument ''he can''t do any worse''?Sorry, I can''t agree with that.

[FenwayFrank 2,450]

Is Lafferty better than Bechio ?

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Well he would help with the set piece issue. For me, Mbokani is 1st choice but laff deserves at least a decent go off the bench or even played alongside mbok with Redmond and Brady getting crosses in

[Paul Spector 0]

Think some people place too much importance on what a player has done in the past, and how many they have scored in previous seasons.

Form/confidence can make such a huge difference, particularly for a striker. Just look at Jamie Vardy - prior to this season he''d not really ever done much at any level above the conference - yet now, he looks so confident that you think every shot he takes is gonna hit the net.

Lafferty is clearly very confident, and has proven that at the moment he knows where the net is.

I don''t think he is as good as Mbokani, but i''d certainly be using him off the bench more than we are at the moment.

[Grant Holts Moustache 105]

Vardy has done plenty before now Jim. Last season their inspired run to survival was off the back of Vardys form and he was nominated for premier league player of the month. When they got promoted he scored a hat full of goals and was their player of the season too. It''s a poor comparison to make when Vardy has only played 3 and a bit seasons of league football and already outscored Laffertys best season in two of them.

This seems to be Cody McDonald syndrome all over again where when the guy played, most could see he wasn''t the best we''ve got but the minute they have been out of the team a while they turn into world beaters. I saw enough of Lafferty last season to know he''s not on the same level as Jerome. Mbokani looks to be raising that bar again. Bench at best for me but come January give him the move he has been agitating for and and bring in better.

[Yellowhammer 86]

Love it when people judge players on a few appearances, given him a chance ,full of confidence and the only striker who seems to know where the goal is

[morty 0]

[quote user="Yellowforever"]Love it when people judge players on a few appearances, given him a chance ,full of confidence and the only striker who seems to know where the goal is[/quote]Apart from Mbokani....

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

Lafferty is an average striker with an average goal scoring record for many average teams in many average leagues.

Neil Adams nor Alex Neil saw nothing in him to pick him up front in the Championship last season (he was then shipped out to a mediocre Turkish second tier side and got 2 in 14). Cameron Jerome had an excellent season with over 20 goals meanwhile.

Kyle Lafferty is an OK player but Jerome and Mbokani are better, and in reality Grabban probably is too (as his goal record last season proved). And forget all this guff about him being played out of position on the left - if our two managers who he''s worked with thought he was a better option up front they would have played him there.

He''ll be gone in January anyway.

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

[quote user="Yellowforever"]Love it when people judge players on a few appearances, [/quote]You mean the guy who started 11 times and made 7 sub appearances in the league last season, for the return of one goal?While the whole time looking like a red card waiting to happen?People can be so judgemental.

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

* the Turkish club was top tier but who really cares

[Paul Spector 0]

[quote user="Dead Canary"]Vardy has done plenty before now Jim. Last season their inspired run to survival was off the back of Vardys form and he was nominated for premier league player of the month. When they got promoted he scored a hat full of goals and was their player of the season too. It''s a poor comparison to make when Vardy has only played 3 and a bit seasons of league football and already outscored Laffertys best season in two of them.

This seems to be Cody McDonald syndrome all over again where when the guy played, most could see he wasn''t the best we''ve got but the minute they have been out of the team a while they turn into world beaters. I saw enough of Lafferty last season to know he''s not on the same level as Jerome. Mbokani looks to be raising that bar again. Bench at best for me but come January give him the move he has been agitating for and and bring in better.[/quote]

Vardy scored 5 goals last season in 30+ appearances. With a record like that, most on here would be writing him off! In his two seasons in the Championship he scored 4 in 26, and 16 in 37. Whilst the latter is a decent return, its no better than Jerome for us last season. I don''t think its unreasonable to say that Vardy hasn''t done much prior to the last 7/8 months. He is now looking unstoppable, playing at the highest level. Confidence plays such a huge part for a striker.

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

Lafferty''s ''injury'' last night was more a precaution according to the PinkUn:

"Halajko insisted the injury scare was nothing to worry about however, ahead of City’s home Premier League clash with Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, saying: “A little bit of a tight groin, nothing major, more of a precautionary thing then anything to worry about we think.”

He has fought his way above Grabban in the reckoning, IMO, but Mbokani and Jerome are still ahead of him.

[Grant Holts Moustache 105]

It is unreasonable to say that Jim, scoring 16 league goals and firing your team to the championship title whilst picking up player of the year is a huge achievement in any players career. You shouldn''t discount it so quickly. It''s more than Lafferty has ever achieved at that level. As for confidence playing a factor I agree it does but it doesn''t matter how confident you are if you don''t have the ability to play at that level.

Lafferty doesn''t have a career that portrays him as a goal scorer. He has scored few goals pretty much everywhere he has been and in leagues nowhere near the standard he is at now. In Scotland his record is average at a team where you battered teams most weeks and pales in significance to Hooper, Switzerland he barely scored, Turkey the same. Italy was probably his most productive in the Serie B and this was all playing on the left of a front 3 not as a lone striker. So you would presume he came here full of confidence after that season and well he didn''t exactly fire them in for us. Last season most would have agreed that he was behind Jerome, Grabban and Hooper I don''t see how scoring for Northern Ireland has suddenly made him a player who has improved enough to go above those 3 players in the pecking order.

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

That''s exactly my opinion Dead Canary. It''s the opinion I have, though you probably put it more eloquently. His Euro 2016 aside, he''s been an average player at a lower level.

[Mr Angry 1,542]

He has been playing up front for Northern Ireland as a lone striker and has been scoring. Therefore the logical thing to do would be to play him as a lone striker and see if he scores.

Judging him now by looking at his previous scoring record makes no sense-that was then, this is now-or, as the financial institutions say, "past performance is no guarantee to future performance" or something like that.

Then we can put it to bed for once and for all.

[lowlyfendweller 0]

Is it logical though? If the strikers ahead of him are better? A manager can''t afford to play a weaker team, even for 1 game, just for the sake of giving someone a go (cup matches aside). Barring injury he''s 3rd or 4th choice and rightly so.