Where is Pukki's back up ?

[Mullet 293]

I cant believe with only 12 days to go we haven't learned our lesson and found another striker to compete with Pukki.

If we fail to get a 15-20 goal striker soon its going to be a very long season and surely end the same way. We have Hugill as second choice striker that is really embarrassing.

Why is this club of ours so lame in giving the premiership a real go 

 

 

[KeiranShikari 1,446]

I think only 5 or 6 teams had a 15 goal striker last season.

Also Idah is our second choice, not Hugil.

[overthebordercanary 142]

Good strikers cost money....money we are not willing to spend either in a transfer fee and/or wages.

Case in point Blackburn putting a inflated transfer fee on Adam Armstrong

And secondary we have recently been burnt with Van Wolfswinkel and Naismith both being expensive flops.

 

[A Load of Squit 5,221]

Squad number 9 & 35.

 

[Krul Mistress 36]

1 hour ago, A Load of Squit said:

Squad number 9 & 35.

 

Number 9 we are open to offers, number 35 will 100% be here come September.

[AJ 1,230]

Idah is a good prospect and hasn’t really had the chance to break into the team. I agree we look very lightweight in depth there but we’ve made an effort to sign players who can score goals from elsewhere, such as le moo and raschida 

[Uncle Fred 526]

We have a very weak team going into the season

once again Farke is going in without the correct fire power at his disposal 

[Chelm Canary 404]

8 minutes ago, Uncle Fred said:

We have a very weak team going into the season

once again Farke is going in without the correct fire power at his disposal 

We've lost Buendia and Skipp which will hurt is, but I couldn't describe the team as very weak and there are more deals to be done.

I wholeheartedly believe we will be competitive this time around. 

 

 

 

[KiwiScot 1,461]

59 minutes ago, AJ said:

Idah is a good prospect and hasn’t really had the chance to break into the team. I agree we look very lightweight in depth there but we’ve made an effort to sign players who can score goals from elsewhere, such as le moo and raschida 

You have to wonder if Pukki will be playing a different style without the supply Buendia provided. I am curious whether we get another striker or not.

[Nuff Said 5,178]

47 minutes ago, Uncle Fred said:

We have a very weak team going into the season

once again Farke is going in without the correct fire power at his disposal 

You do realise you are going to look like (even more of) a complete idiot when we stay up?

[LondonCanary 12]

Agree a 20 goal premier league striker who is happy to sit on the bench and is affordable would be lovely. 

While we’re at it can we also get younger and affordable versions of Kante and VVD.

 

[Mullet 293]

19 minutes ago, LondonCanary said:

Agree a 20 goal premier league striker who is happy to sit on the bench and is affordable would be lovely. 

While we’re at it can we also get younger and affordable versions of Kante and VVD.

 

There must be plenty of decent strikers in championship teams that we could have got. Admittedly we would have to pay over inflated prices but on the flip side we demanded over inflated prices for Godfrey, Murphy and Buendia. You can't have your cake and eat it. 3 players there sold for £60 + million ( no way were they worth that) and yet we are not willing to pay a bit over the odds for a decent striker to give Farke at least a chance. Sounds like we a going into a gun fight with a knife yet again

Edited August 2, 2021 by Mullet

[daly 510]

4 hours ago, KeiranShikari said:

I think only 5 or 6 teams had a 15 goal striker last season.

Also Idah is our second choice, not Hugil.

Should help having a couple of Division 1 strikers as standby

 

[Yobocop 1,105]

1 hour ago, Uncle Fred said:

We have a very weak team going into the season

once again Farke is going in without the correct fire power at his disposal 

Season is still just under 2 weeks away pal 

[wcorkcanary 4,337]

40 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

You do realise you are going to look like (even more of) a complete idiot when we stay up?

Is that possible?....the idiot bit.

Edited August 2, 2021 by wcorkcanary

[Don’t be Krul 399]

Farke and Webber have indicated that they see Idah stepping up this season. They've got the majority of these calls right, so in Farke / Webber I trust

[Yella Army 57]

I think this could be Idahs breakthrough season despite us being in the Prem. If he can get himself 6-8 goals to compliment Pukki's 12-14 goals then that would be a fantastic return from our front two strikers. What we then need is around 18+ goals to be scored from the rest of the squad to ensure we bag ourselves 38+ goals, thus averaging a goal a game. Imo that would ensure we stay up provided our defensive play isn't a total shambles. If Cantwell can provide 5-6 goals like he did the previous time and Rashica/Dowell/New attacking signings chip in with similar 4-5 goals then we have a great chance.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Yella Army

[TheGunnShow 6,010]

8 hours ago, Mullet said:

There must be plenty of decent strikers in championship teams that we could have got. Admittedly we would have to pay over inflated prices but on the flip side we demanded over inflated prices for Godfrey, Murphy and Buendia. You can't have your cake and eat it. 3 players there sold for £60 + million ( no way were they worth that) and yet we are not willing to pay a bit over the odds for a decent striker to give Farke at least a chance. Sounds like we a going into a gun fight with a knife yet again

They weren't over-inflated prices if another club voluntarily paid them. Heck, you're one of the few who thinks Buendia's price was over-inflated, most seem to think it was a bit low (which is the same odd fallacy in reverse).

Pukki will be number 1, Idah (who's already scored a couple of times in pre-season and is looking sharp) will be number 2, Hugill number 3 if he stays, and Rashica is the emergency who knows what he's doing up there if we end up with a crisis.

As @Don’t be Krul noted, Farke's record for getting it spot on with youngsters is excellent. If he reckons Idah and Omobamidele can make the step up, I reckon he'll be close or thereabouts.

[Capt. Pants 4,278]

I have a sneaky suspicion that come the end of the season Pukki won't be our first choice striker.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Tzolis is on his way to help

[Thumbbass 322]

It's funny that there is this total pant wetting going on. We've been one of the busiest PL clubs transfer wise for incoming players and we're still 2 weeks away from a competitive game. Take a look at Burnley and Newcastle. The usual bedding in period in the summer has been delayed due to multiple reasons and we have capable backups. It's nice that it all feels a little more strategic than some panicked manager with cash burning a hole in his pocket and agents in his ear.

[WSM 62]

14 hours ago, Mullet said:

If we fail to get a 15-20 goal striker soon its going to be a very long season and surely end the same way.

Players with over 15 goals in the Prem last time we were there:

Vardy, Aubameyang, Danny Ings, Sterling, Salah, Mane, Kane, Rashford, Martial, Jimenez, Ageuro, Tammy Abraham

Who out of those could we afford/would want to come here?

Good strikers cost a lot of money

[AJ 1,230]

11 hours ago, KiwiScot said:

You have to wonder if Pukki will be playing a different style without the supply Buendia provided. I am curious whether we get another striker or not.

I think it is likely the system, in the final third at least, will be a bit different but the logic will probably be similar. Rashica has certainly played a lot further forward than any other number 10 or wide-man in a Farke set-up, so wonder if he'll be utilised as more of an SS than a CAM or LWF. If so, that would mean there is an expectation for him to go for a goal perhaps a lot more than we'd have expected Cantwell or Buendia to do given they were sat much wider/deeper behind Pukki

Tonight will probably be the first time we will see what is much closer to the starting XI so will be interesting to see

[Dean Coneys boots 1,406]

38 minutes ago, Thumbbass said:

It's funny that there is this total pant wetting going on. We've been one of the busiest PL clubs transfer wise for incoming players and we're still 2 weeks away from a competitive game. Take a look at Burnley and Newcastle. The usual bedding in period in the summer has been delayed due to multiple reasons and we have capable backups. It's nice that it all feels a little more strategic than some panicked manager with cash burning a hole in his pocket and agents in his ear.

It isn’t at all strange. Anyone who isn’t blindly optimistic will recognise that, unlike other teams, we have HAD to be busier than most because we sold/lost our best two players before we even started. 
 

A neutral would also recognise reasonable grounds for concern in the fact that Buendia has been the MAIN maker of chances and goals which leaves us a little short of creativity 

Most neutrals would also suggest our current team is not as strong as the ones which ended the season. And whilst you blithely suggest all is just peachy because incoming players are on their way- a fair and reasonable person might also point out that, historically, we have really struggled to land our targets in this division and that this situation tends to worsen the closer to deadline day deals are done. 
 

so whilst all MIGHT yet come good- right now in reality things are concerning and there is no question we are far short of what is needed to compete at this level. Hoping a teenager comes good is not the best plan for the best division on earth when your main striker has played lots of games recently and isn’t getting any younger 

[Thumbbass 322]

34 minutes ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

It isn’t at all strange. Anyone who isn’t blindly optimistic will recognise that, unlike other teams, we have HAD to be busier than most because we sold/lost our best two players before we even started. 
 

A neutral would also recognise reasonable grounds for concern in the fact that Buendia has been the MAIN maker of chances and goals which leaves us a little short of creativity 

Most neutrals would also suggest our current team is not as strong as the ones which ended the season. And whilst you blithely suggest all is just peachy because incoming players are on their way- a fair and reasonable person might also point out that, historically, we have really struggled to land our targets in this division and that this situation tends to worsen the closer to deadline day deals are done. 
 

so whilst all MIGHT yet come good- right now in reality things are concerning and there is no question we are far short of what is needed to compete at this level. Hoping a teenager comes good is not the best plan for the best division on earth when your main striker has played lots of games recently and isn’t getting any younger 

Given the delay to the football transfer economy to begin due to the Euros and Covid, and the fact that we are at least at pace with our rivals in the PL (or ahead of them in the cases of Newcastle and Burnley) I'm not concerned. As we have capable backups (Idah, Hugill), who OK, may not be of the standard required to make a difference across the whole season, but will ease us into the new season as settled players. It doesn't matter if we play the waiting game. Being a selling club our budget is fluid currently, it could be £10m or £40m so why would we over or under-commit when in week or so the whole picture will become a lot clearer.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,406]

The budget only rises if we sell another of our best players - to be replaced with someone less expensive. When will people realise that this doesn’t equate to being “at pace with our rivals” who are not offloading their better players? 

[The Bristol Nest 517]

If the Buendia money gets us Rachica and Tzolis, what is the problem?

[Thumbbass 322]

7 minutes ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

The budget only rises if we sell another of our best players - to be replaced with someone less expensive. When will people realise that this doesn’t equate to being “at pace with our rivals” who are not offloading their better players? 

£ - doesn't necessarily correlate with ability and there are plenty of examples but that's just old ground being dug over. 

And one of our best players will be replaced by another capable player or two or three.

Your argument appears to be that the club needs to fund transfers by not selling players and gambling with debt? again old ground that doesn't need to be dug over but there are plenty of examples where that has failed and left clubs in a mess and on the brink. 

[Dean Coneys boots 1,406]

It is possible that Rashica ends up as good as Emi - but also possible he won’t. Transfer values don’t always tell the story but they do more often than not. 

[Mello Yello 2,303]

My crystal balls tell me Tzolis.....is a maybe......