Missed opportunity for striker reinforcement?

[Feedthewolf 4,844]

I would have serious concerns about Sinani being considered as a striker. He seems to have played largely in attacking midfield roles, but I think playing in the Luxembourg top flight will have made him used to being able to dominate opponents (as well as being given the liberty to make things happen wherever he likes). Obviously Farke knows a lot more about him than I do, but it'd be a hell of a gamble. 

But anyway, a lot of time to go until the restart, and a lot of time for players to arrive and leave before then.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

1 hour ago, Indy_Bones said:

Do you really think we need more wingers at this point TJ?

Our priority has to be replacing Drmic with a geninuely good striker who can challenge/replace Pukki, and ability to play on the wing doesn't factor into this equation for me.

Not saying Roofe wouldn't have been a decent consideration, but role flexibility has to take a back door to performance in the key position, otherwise we end up with a team of McLean's and Rupp's instead...

I guess, I meant more for them to be able to moonlight with a few mins off the bench if needed. Personally, I think we should just get Rhodes back and crack on.

[HazzaJet 252]

Just like everyone else has said, I think we need to find an experienced striker ready for the Championship next season. Here’s my views on our current squad:

Pukki: Ok, last season was his first season in the championship and he was the top scorer but what caused his goal drought? He got off to a flying start in the PL this season then since his toe injury he hasn’t scored a single goal from open play. How will he do next season? Was he just not good enough for the PL or is he carrying a permanent injury? I’m 50/50 with him for next season as I‘ve got no idea how he do

Idah: Got a hat trick on his senior debut against Preston but do bear in mind that was the cup so were Preston fielding a weaker squad? Got a little bit of PL experience but they were really 10 min substitute appearances, although got a whole game at Old Trafford. Due to his lack of first team experience I’m afraid I have big doubts on him and if we do go straight back up next season I don’t think he’ll be good enough for the PL, although I’d love to be proven wrong 

Drmic: A free agent last summer. Thought he was going to be a great signing at first but was proven horribly wrong. On £50k this season but £25k next season. Even so, we know the club wants to get rid of him as he’s turned out to just be a waste of space. Might be good enough next season but have big doubts 

Sinani: Can’t see him playing up front - I thought he’s supposed to be a winger too. I also don’t think the Luxembourg top flight is very strong in comparison to the English top flight - l mean look at RvW. Was the top goal scorer in the Portuguese top flight wasn’t he? Scored on his PL debut for us and didn’t score again all season. Think he also only ever scored once more for us, in a cup fixture a few years later

As I’ve said, I’d love to be proven wrong on any negative views I have on our players but it’s just going to have to be a whole case of wait and see

[Indy_Bones 441]

9 hours ago, HazzaJet said:

Pukki: Ok, last season was his first season in the championship and he was the top scorer but what caused his goal drought? He got off to a flying start in the PL this season then since his toe injury he hasn’t scored a single goal from open play. How will he do next season? Was he just not good enough for the PL or is he carrying a permanent injury? I’m 50/50 with him for next season as I‘ve got no idea how he do

Pukki showed in the first half of the season that he absolutely was good enough for the PL. You don't score 11 goals in half a season if you're rubbish, and had his scoring continued at that rate, he'd have been challenging the likes of Vardy for the golden boot ffs!

What happened in that second half of this season was very reminiscent of the relegation season under Hughton, in that good supply to the striker simply wasn't there most of the time, which then put pressure on the striker to try to make something happen, and it all devolved into a downward spiral because that supply issue was not resolved.

I'm not saying his toe injury didn't play a part, but you only have to look at the difference in how we played as a side post-lockdown (and after the Jan transfer window) to realise that Pukki's dip in form was primarily caused by the support he was getting from behind him, rather than him suddenly failing as a footballer.

I have no concerns that he can easily score 15-30 goals a season in the Champs if we get back to playing how we did before promotion, what does worry me is the lack of options should he be injured and we're then having to rely on a still young Idah (who may do well), or a completely unproven Sinani (assuming that Drmic is leaving of course).

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

On 05/08/2020 at 09:56, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

Had a poor season in Belgium apparently.

Just spent most of it out injured. 

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

Personally I think Ivan Toney will be the missed opportunity when he moves for a similar fee to the £6m Rangers are said to have paid for Roofe.

[Mr Angry 1,547]

16 hours ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

I think the key change was the goalkeeper though who made mistakes for two of Idah’s goals. 

Idah also played against Crawley and look well off the pace that game. That doesn’t mean he’s not good enough for League 2 in the same way a good performance against Preston means he’s good enough for the Championship.

He looks a good prospect, but no one can say with any confidence right now whether he’s ready to be Norwich’s 2nd choice striker for a season in the Championship. Hopefully he can get some serious game time under his belt this season and show what he is capable of doing. But I would be nervous of going into the season with just Pukki, Idah and Sinani as the strikers. 

I’d forgotten about the keeper- but I still think he’s got enough to be back up to Teemu-I’m expecting TP to rediscover his scoring touch anyway but we’ll definitely need a second first choice striker due to the number of games in a shortened time frame.

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

On 05/08/2020 at 15:20, Mr Angry said:

Adam Idah is capable of playing in the Championship as his hat trick at Preston in the FA Cup shows.

Remember that he's very oung and playing this season without pressure.

Whether he'd cope with the intensity of regular football in a tense promotion battle is another question, and I'd argue that whilst we need to give the opportunity to break into the side we also need to ensure that we aren't too reliant on him for goals. 

The problem with getting into that position is that we'd risk a spell of bad form wrecking his confidence by the time he sees criticism on twitter/facebook/instagram from some of our less intelligent fans. 

I think we should plan on him being a squad player with opportunities from the bench, and celebrate anything more than that as a major bonus.

Also, cup games and league games are simply not the same. Drmic has scored 66% of his Norwich goals in cup competitions, Van Wolfswinkel 50% of his. 

Idah needs plenty of opportunities to impress but he doesn't need pressure. We need to go into this season with at least 3 strikers including Idah, preferably with Drmic not being one of them. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by TeemuVanBasten

[Mr Angry 1,547]

3 hours ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

Remember that he's very oung and playing this season without pressure.

Whether he'd cope with the intensity of regular football in a tense promotion battle is another question, and I'd argue that whilst we need to give the opportunity to break into the side we also need to ensure that we aren't too reliant on him for goals. 

The problem with getting into that position is that we'd risk a spell of bad form wrecking his confidence by the time he sees criticism on twitter/facebook/instagram from some of our less intelligent fans. 

I think we should plan on him being a squad player with opportunities from the bench, and celebrate anything more than that as a major bonus.

Also, cup games and league games are simply not the same. Drmic has scored 66% of his Norwich goals in cup competitions, Van Wolfswinkel 50% of his. 

Idah needs plenty of opportunities to impress but he doesn't need pressure. We need to go into this season with at least 3 strikers including Idah, preferably with Drmic not being one of them. 

Yeah, I said later on that I expect Teemu to find his scoring touch again, but good point about not putting too much pressure on him. And it’s sad that we have to worry about how the negative reaction on social media might affect a player. Years ago, criticism would come from the crowds at the game-and if the criticism was out of order, other fans would put them straight. Now it’s from faceless people who have no accountability and may not even have been watching the game.

[Creative Midfielder 1,985]

22 hours ago, Bill said:

Pukki has been a shadow of his former self and were he to be injured I cannot say I would be overwhelmed by only have Idah and Sinani, both unproven at senior level.

 

Don't agree Pukki that has been a shadow of his former self - clearly he has been well off his best form but as @Il Pirata has said, it's all about the supply.

Pukki has been feeding off scraps for half a season and it shows. Hopefully next season we will see much more of Vrancic and perhaps Emi, if he is still here, will also find his form - if so, I'm pretty confident Pukki will tuck a fair share of his chances away.