Marouane Chamakh on a free

[Bex 4]

This is the final straw for me. We are a joke club. Give our youth boys a chance like Morris. Or go looking for a #1 striker who''s going to contribute big time to getting us promoted. You''ve had 18 months to find a striker and this is what you come back with. Marouane Chamakh on a free?

It''s an absolute insult. Fkin pathetic. Last few days has been as frustrating as the Roeder days. What the f ARE WE DOING UP TOP?

CHAMAKH IS FKIN USELESS.

F OFF ED BALLS U DANCING NONCE

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

Imagine replacing Murphy with Leon Best. hahaah

[Essjayess 307]

Calm yourself Bex, no  need to shout insults is there? We all know whats happened with the window, but it is what it is. Free agents will nearly always be guys who have been around the block, but we do not know the full facts yesterday, as fans we just see the result when the window shuts.Credit at least for City  responsibly acting the very next day giving this guy a trial, tis better than doing nothing and going with random luck that Cam and Nelson can cover the next few months.Chamakh is available, has kept up his training, no transfer fees to worry about, so if Alex thinks him ok, he will do a job for us. A decent enough guy as 3rd option, cant be any worse than Naismith  at Brum for sure.

[Fromage Frais 10]

[quote user="Essjayess"]Calm yourself Bex, no  need to shout insults is there? We all know whats happened with the window, but it is what it is. Free agents will nearly always be guys who have been around the block, but we do not know the full facts yesterday, as fans we just see the result when the window shuts.Credit at least for City  responsibly acting the very next day giving this guy a trial, tis better than doing nothing and going with random luck that Cam and Nelson can cover the next few months.Chamakh is available, has kept up his training, no transfer fees to worry about, so if Alex thinks him ok, he will do a job for us. A decent enough guy as 3rd option, cant be any worse than Naismith  at Brum for sure.[/quote]

in the unlikely event he regains some form his best days were playing as a hold up man for a 3 man attacking midfield before Arsenal signed him.

Considering how we play that''s not a bad fit albeit a few years late.

After the Birmingham game any person who can hold a ball up will do atm otherwise what''s the point of all the AM''s they will just not have anyone to play off.

[norfolkngood 1,086]

Can you imagine if this was Ipswich

We would be laughing for weeks even months over this !

EMBARRASSING !

[Guest]

Pretty sure this would be a top-drawer signing for Ipswich. Don''t forget Leon Best is their new number 9.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

This potential signing has, for the first time, question Alex Neil''s suitability as manger.

Chamakh is a player who''s ability is rapidly declining with age. At best he was average, today he is just awfull.

This really is a depressing signing.

[Haggerdoo 6]

Really can''t believe the level of moaning and whinging on here in the last 24 hours - yes maybe it''s frustrating that we didn''t spunk £14m on a top chumps striker but we still have a strong squad and a decent chance of getting back up - if you''te that p*ssed off then just don''t go anymore or perhaps resort to booing again because it''s just not fair.Some of the posts on here have seen me bend the needle on my c*ntometer to beyond max

[Tetteys Jig 830]

A bit harsh. At best he was an incredible forward! Injury etc caught up with him though so I wonder if there is anything left in the tank. Hopefully more of a dion dublin than elmander mach 2!

[ron obvious 1,502]

Fantastic in the air apparently. Something we haven''t had in a while.

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

I agree. Marouane Chamakh as a 3rd striker on a free seems reasonable to me. His strength is in link-up play, which, with the range of AMs we now have, would give us another option, both as a starter and as an impact sub.

[Johnny Stump 1]

Lincoln Canary wrote...

This potential signing has, for the first time, question Alex Neil''s suitability as manger.

Well that is feckin bull5hit right there...

[Guest]

So the guy is a full international, has played most of his career at an extremely good level, has Champions League experience (and holds the record for scoring in 6 consecutive Champions League games) and is generally regarded as a quality, hard-working player who is seriously injury prone.

Surely it''s a pretty ideal signing as a third striker to give the squad some more experience and provide competition to Jerome and NO? Considering it''s likely to be a freebie available outside the window I find it difficult to see how anybody can be against this.

[Grant Holts Moustache 105]

Really don''t see the issue in signing him as competition. Will give us more choice and if one of the others gets injured we won''t have to rely on Morris or Lafferty to yet through until January. We then have some money in the bank to look at another option next window where one of AN preferred targets maybe available.

[Canary Poirot 1]

Apparently he''s scored 15 goals in the last 6 years. So he''ll fit right in.

[Davo 0]

Pay as he plays only contract maybe???

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

Doubt it. Probably a year with another another year if the club trigger it.

[Chemical Bro 0]

Beggars can''t be choses people

[Indy 3,297]

Why not, nothing to lose, won''t cost in fees and will probably accept lower wages to play for a season, always good to have options.

[Cantiaci Canary 556]

I would be happy with this (now the window''s shut!).

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

He may well suit our style of play, he''s a tidy footballer that probably fell out of favour at Palace due to the Crash,Bang, Whallop! nature of their footy until Pardew came along, by then he is bit out of the loop to make an impression in the Prem. If he is still sharp, fit and willing he could do very well for us.

Not a big risk but potentially a brilliant, and i mean that, signing.

[My spoon is too big! 21]

I saw him play at Stade Chaban Delmas (amazing 30''s concrete stadium shrouded in clouds of pot smoke) when I lived in Bordeaux for a year in 2008. They won Ligue 1 that year, with Chamakh knocking in 14 goals. The street party was INSANE.

The match I remember best, Bordeaux beat Toulouse 2-1 and Chamakh looked hard-working. He, and everyone else, was outshone by Yoann Gourcuff, a very exciting attacking midfielder who was on loan from AC Milan. Chamakh was the second or third best Girondins player that day.

A quick scan of the stats from his golden years at Bordeaux shows he mostly scored with his head.

Here''s an article from an Arsenal blog that analyses his style of play. It''s pretty fair based on what I saw that season.https://arsespeak.com/2010/07/14/maroune-chamakh-his-playing-style-analysed-in-detail-bordeaux-arsenal-scouting/

If you give it a read, it might please the doubters to see how he''s apparently best deployed in front of three attacking midfielders, which is a formation we''re set up to play.

I was underwhelmed when he went to Arsenal. Not quite the calibre of player they were used to up front, and I couldn''t see how Wenger would change that. But if he''d moved to Norwich in his mid 20s it would have been a big deal for us.

[My spoon is too big! 21]

Wow. I''d forgotten how primitive the technology on this board is. Apologies for the post looking weird.

[Duncan Edwards 2,231]

Shaking my head but I''d prefer him to the loan link from Watford who has barely kicked a ball professionally.

Now for Bendtner and Aliadiere....

[Katie Borkins 1]

His most prolific (ahem) season was years ago for Bordeaux when height scored thirteen goals.

I remember him being decent in the air for Arsenal but less so with his feet.

Still, beggars can''t be choosers.

[John C 0]

What concerns me about our interest in a 32 yeard old nondescript striker is that for Chamakh to be at Colney yesterday morning, our club must have been in talks with him before the transfer window shut.

[Huh?! 0]

You cannot comment on his scoring record without first looking at what type of player he is...

He''s not a fox in the box. He''s not a striker who will stand in the 18 yard area waiting for the ball to come to him and finish it top corner. He also isn''t a striker who just thrives off crosses all the time. He has a lot more to his game, and if you ask Palace fans about his performances before last year a lot will say he was very decent...! There are loads of strikers like him around who I''m sure you would piss your pants over.

Saying his scoring record is terrible is a very naive way of looking at it. Before questioning that, look at what sort of striker he is. He can hold up play, allowing attacking MF''s to join in and even get in behind him. Something we currently do not have. How many times do we see Jerome run the channels, only for NOBODY to be in the box waiting....

Before you slate, wait to see him. Before questioning his scoring ability, take actual facts about his playing style. To make some of you even more happy, I don''t think signing him is a bad thing. Much better option than Jerome Sinclair imho.

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

Never a bad idea to have a Plan B. As a third option striker, he''d offer something different to the ones we have. None of ours are that accomplished at heading and Chamakh is known to be hard-working and good at link-up play which coud fit well with our AMs. Little risk and it could make a difference this season.

[Capt. Pants 4,225]

If he does ok in a trial and proves his fitness, comes through a stringent medical then why not.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

[quote user="Capt. Pants"]If he does ok in a trial and proves his fitness, comes through a stringent medical then why not.[/quote]

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