maybe *MAYBE* it’s time up for Teemu

[The Real Buh 3,423]

It’s a very painful thing to admit as he’s been such a great asset and servant for the club but maybe MAYBE (massive maybe here guys) his time as our principle strike option is coming to an end.

I can’t shake the decent half chances and link up play we saw in the middle yesterday with Gilmour and Lee-melou and the wing play and not being able to translate that into clear cut chances. We just look like we lack the very final killer instinct to score. In the premier league you have to be willing to tear your body to pieces just go get a goal, especially against the bigger teams. I don’t think we were far away yesterday tbf but if we are at 90% on the killer instinct-o-meter it’s not going to be good enough. The margins are so tight in this league you can’t hesitate or anything.

There was a play yesterday where we put 2 balls into the area into decent positions 1 after another and we had nobody in the middle on both occasions. This worries me.

it’s always painful, but I think we need to think about using our options attack wise. Pukkis not done, not by a long shot, but I just don’t feel he’s our set in stone principle option anymore.

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Agree. I thought Liverpool knew how to stop him yesterday. Don't let him run through the middle. Everything was out wide. His chance in the first half should surely have gone across goal and not near post.

I think Sargent showed his mobility yesterday and might be worth trying. Especially if Omadebele is fit and we can go three at the back.

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

Oh do give me a ****ing break.

The guy has had COVID and there's an article on this website from just TWO DAYS AGO saying how he's still suffering from the effects of it. The whole team has suffered from the interrupted pre-season, so to start calling for the replacement of the guy who has fired us to two promotions in 3 years not to mention the 11 goals in the Premier League is utter, utter stupidity.

Edited August 15, 2021 by Terminally Yellow

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Don’t agree. He got in behind them a few times yesterday and it would have been more if Rashica was used to his runs. We need to get more support up around him. 

[Block Y Seat 176 80]

He seemed to have lost a bit of weight and  should have scored at 0-0. Sargent and  Pukki partnership could well work in the games ahead

[Haus 259]

Pukki game relies on timing his runs and someone timing the pass to him, with buendia going and new players coming in, combined with a reduced preseason, the understanding isn't quite there yet.  Give it a few weeks to click. 

[Midlands Yellow 3,944]

Sargent could be the option for some rotation. He looks like he can run with the ball around defenders. Pukki needs that killer pass and the man who supplied them isn’t here anymore. 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,680]

Oh no he couldn't score against a team that's won the champions league and the Premier leauge with one of the worlds best centre backs.. Is his career over?😏

[Worthy Nigelton 1,037]

Dont agree. He was up against one of the best teams out there after having covid a couple of weeks ago.

26 goals last year. People forget very quickly.

[RobertRosariosBeefTomatoes 31]

FIRSTLY he had an injury - THEN went to the Euros - THEN had COVID - THEN only had 5 training sessions - THEN played against one of the worlds best teams in a first game back at this level in a long time. What is it with people's need to blow things out of all proportion.

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,410]

Perhaps if he wasn't 100% recovered, perhaps he shouldn't have started 🤔

[Yellow and Green 334]

1 hour ago, keelansgrandad said:

Agree. I thought Liverpool knew how to stop him yesterday. Don't let him run through the middle. Everything was out wide. His chance in the first half should surely have gone across goal and not near post.

I think Sargent showed his mobility yesterday and might be worth trying. Especially if Omadebele is fit and we can go three at the back.

The OP has a decent point and I think you have touched on something that was exposed last time in the PL. Teams figured us out, sat deep and congested the middle of the pitch - nullifying Buendia and Pukki. 

Pukki has excellent movement and will be sure to get around 10 goals this year. There are, however, some things that he isn't so great at, which limits us sometimes. We have zero goal threat when the ball is in the wide areas - partially because of Pukki's lack of physicality and partially because we don't commit men forward. The emergence of Idah and Sargent is really important this season in order to stretch teams and make us more unpredictable. 

I love Pukki and am more than happy for him to start but we can't be reliant on his goals this season. 

[Alex Moss 2,165]

Everyone had a free hit for me yesterday, not because of the opposition, but because of the combined unusual and difficult circumstances that have led up to it - Covid can really knock you for six to say the least, so the fact Teemu and many others could run around like that a week later gets my full respect - I wouldn’t even fancy that 8 months after testing positive to be honest! Anyway, it took a few games last season to get up to the well oiled machine we can be, and once Rashica, Tzolis, Sargent and Lees-Melou etc are up to speed with the Norwich way, I reckon we’ll do alright. Timmy K had one of his off games for me yesterday, and a keeper of his quality would expect to do better with at least 2 of those goals - it’s nice to know there’s a good keeper in back up to push him for the Man City game now.

[Canary Jedi 578]

Pukki made some excellent runs but the pass never came. Missing the vision and creativity of Buendia. Pukki is fine, leave him alone!

[Peanuts 150]

Pretty sure if Farke and Webber had any doubts about Teemu this season we'd have found the extra cash for Armstrong to replace him. Sargent looked lively when he came on but he's clearly come in as backup and for the future.

I think we'll see more goals from midfield - Tzolis in particular has scored a lot of goals as in inverted winger/wide forward.

 

[Dr Greenthumb 746]

1 hour ago, The Real Buh said:

It’s a very painful thing to admit as he’s been such a great asset and servant for the club but maybe MAYBE (massive maybe here guys) his time as our principle strike option is coming to an end.

I can’t shake the decent half chances and link up play we saw in the middle yesterday with Gilmour and Lee-melou and the wing play and not being able to translate that into clear cut chances. We just look like we lack the very final killer instinct to score. In the premier league you have to be willing to tear your body to pieces just go get a goal, especially against the bigger teams. I don’t think we were far away yesterday tbf but if we are at 90% on the killer instinct-o-meter it’s not going to be good enough. The margins are so tight in this league you can’t hesitate or anything.

There was a play yesterday where we put 2 balls into the area into decent positions 1 after another and we had nobody in the middle on both occasions. This worries me.

it’s always painful, but I think we need to think about using our options attack wise. Pukkis not done, not by a long shot, but I just don’t feel he’s our set in stone principle option anymore.

He’s a good player, he needs more support up there. Hoping Sargent is the answer!

[king canary 7,580]

Thought he struggled yesterday- didn't seem fit enough to trouble Liverpool with his runs in behind, didn't have any physical presence when we got into positions where we could put a ball into the box and isnt able to play with him back to goal and hold the ball up when we needed an out ball when Liverpool had us pinned deep.

I think it was probably a perfect storm of a lack of fitness, lack of familiarity with the new players and playing against an excellent team.

He's far from finished and has a huge role to play this season but I'm not convinced he should be an automatic starter every week.

[1902 1,167]

1 hour ago, Wings of a Sparrow said:

Perhaps if he wasn't 100% recovered, perhaps he shouldn't have started 🤔

So do you play the man who has arrived about three days before the match or the guy with hardly any appearances (in the championship) to his name. There werent any good options yesterday, which is nothing to do with squad management and everything to do with circumstance.

Edited August 15, 2021 by 1902

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Its OK saying he needs support but where is it coming from?

He hasn't gone bad overnight but has been a bit of a one trick pony for three years. He isn't going to win headers, he isn't going to win 50/50s. His expertise is running on the shoulder and finishing.

He might well get those chances against lesser teams but he has does have competition at long last.

[Capt. Pants 4,202]

The OP has a point but equally there are good reasons and excuses. 

We will see how we go and I'm sure Teemu will get every opportunity to regain fitness and form as will Idah and Sargent to take that place off him.

The key thing is we have competition for our striking and wing options. Farke has no excuse for flogging a dead horse now.

Whilst there are lesser teams in this league they're a millions miles away what we were facing in the Chump and there's very little time to carry underperforming players.

 

[Big Vince 318]

3 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

The OP has a point but equally there are good reasons and excuses. 

We will see how we go and I'm sure Teemu will get every opportunity to regain fitness and form as will Idah and Sargent to take that place off him.

The key thing is we have competition for our striking and wing options. Farke has no excuse for flogging a dead horse now.

Whilst there are lesser teams in this league they're a millions miles away what we were facing in the Chump and there's very little time to carry underperforming players.

 

Pukki was worked out by Prem teams two years' ago. Is it realistic to think they will forget?

[The Real Buh 3,423]

Note to everyone, I said maybe Pukki isn’t our set-in-stone PRINCIPLE striking option. Not that he’s finished. Not suggesting he’s **** or anything he’s still an excellent striker.

[1902 1,167]

3 minutes ago, Big Vince said:

Pukki was worked out by Prem teams two years' ago. Is it realistic to think they will forget?

You might not be wrong but he was also injured and carrying the whole goal scoring burden on his shoulders, so we have no idea what was caused by A and what by B.

[1902 1,167]

2 minutes ago, The Real Buh said:

Note to everyone, I said maybe Pukki isn’t our set-in-stone PRINCIPLE striking option. Not that he’s finished. Not suggesting he’s **** or anything he’s still an excellent striker.

That's fair, I'm happy that we have another option that looks like he offers something different. I don't think we could go into the season with only one approach a second time. I think Pukki is going to score goals this season, but some teams will not find it challenging to defend against him.

[Upo 91]

So apparently the boffins here have determined that after losing 0 - 3 the problem was we didn't score enough. And were particularily taken by the energy Idah and Josh brought on field. Almost like they were fresh off the bench...

Seriously though, Emi seemed to struggle a bit with AV. Perhaps Villa would be interested in signing Teemu so Emi has someone he can pass the ball to? It is something worth thinking about while we can get anything for him. Perhaps loan him to Villa? Then run out the contract so he can retire in Bundesliga.

[Matt Morriss 69]

His time is definitely not up.

But the Pukki love in has got to stop.

I was annoyed with Farkes comments after, basically saying Pukki wasn't fit, hardly played pre season, Covid etc.

It showed as Pukki looked like the injured/exhausted Pukki of the 2nd half of the last prem season.

Josh Sargent on the other hand, who has had 2 weeks of Bundesliga action plus presumably a full pre season, came on and looked ready to go. Pace and strength and on the front foot trying to hassle Liverpools defence.

Idah also looked sharp.

But if Farke continues this season with a half fit Pukki, or a Pukki out of form and low on confidence with 0 goals in 10 games, ahead of a Sargent or an Idah, we will go down again.

 

[Mello Yello 2,281]

I see a bright future for Josh Sargent......

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

I was actually worried that selling Emi would leave Pukki isolated and useless, and was pleasantly surprised that we manage to put him through a couple of times.

A bit of poor decision making, not putting that shot across the goal and then the other time playing the ball across when he probably had time for a touch and shot, but writing a player of his calibre off after one game is just silly talk.

I do think we should rotate him more this season though, manage him instead of just burning him out like last time, and that should mean the odd game off the bench especially during periods of fixture congestion. 

[Ken Hairy 3,760]

I saw enough from Sargent to suggest Pukkis place is certainly under threat at the very least right now. 

[FenwayFrank 2,457]

But Sargents stats .....