Is it time to drop Pukki

[Uncle Fred 526]

He doesn’t look 100 percent at the moment.

when Sargent has come on he has been full of life and getting stuck in

would like Josh to be given a start and give Pukki a bit of Time to get back to his best

[TIL 1010 4,722]

It will happen tomorrow night v Bournemouth.

[Midlands Yellow 3,946]

Away games at this level maybe. 

[Jsim1986 149]

8 minutes ago, Uncle Fred said:

He doesn’t look 100 percent at the moment.

when Sargent has come on he has been full of life and getting stuck in

would like Josh to be given a start and give Pukki a bit of Time to get back to his best

I do have to fully agree here. Pukki looks a million miles off the pace. You need pace and power in this league and with Cantwell and Pukki we look to light weight. I think we will have a decent attack if Farke stops being loyal to Pukki and get Cantwell off the wing. Cantwell does not have the pace or power to play there, much prefer to see him as the CAM. Tzolis and Rashica either side. Sargent up top. 3 out of the 4 there have genuine pace to burn with Cantwell to pick the passes so do think that could work well. 

[Capt. Pants 4,202]

Seems to have lost half a yard of pace to me. I wouldn't write him off just yet and I do wonder if Farke will start him against Bournemouth to try and kickstart his season and get his fitness levels back up.

Sargent has looked good off the bench but remains to be seen if he can finish as well as Idah.

Teemu is a good footballer and there could be a bit of mileage in him playing on a deeper no.10 role.

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by Capt. Pants

[cambridgeshire canary 6,680]

Will forever be a club icon and legend for us but I do agree that he might need a little rest.. Not looked the same since last time in the Prem when he broke his foot and was rushed back in not fully fit. That was two seasons ago and yet sadly seems he still has not recovered.

[Fiery Zac 1,066]

3 minutes ago, Jsim1986 said:

I do have to fully agree here. Pukki looks a million miles off the pace. You need pace and power in this league and with Cantwell and Pukki we look to light weight. I think we will have a decent attack if Farke stops being loyal to Pukki and get Cantwell off the wing. Cantwell does not have the pace or power to play there, much prefer to see him as the CAM. Tzolis and Rashica either side. Sargent up top. 3 out of the 4 there have genuine pace to burn with Cantwell to pick the passes so do think that could work well. 

Cantwell has always played as one of the wide 2. However he is not a winger as doesn’t play as such. He has the freedom to roam and mentioned as such in the 5live interview he did on Saturday.

The issue in the current system is (and it may be because we’ve played two of the best sides in the league) that we’re reliant on him and Rashica doing their fair share of defending which neither have looked good at (again could be due to opposition). In a 4-3-3 the front 3 look to be narrow which means the width is provided by the full backs (and is for us in a 4-2-3-1) so when we lose the ball, the opposition regularly have acres of space wide to exploit. The benefit in a 4-3-3 is theoretically there’s an extra man in midfield to drop back. So Todd will continue to be able to roam and create and be less relied on for defence. How we fare in the next few games will determine our strategy for the rest of the season I think. 

[Samwam27 519]

I've said it in other threads, but having signed Sargent for £8m plus, he's not been bought here to warm the bench.

He's a younger, hungrier Pukki, and offers aerial threat Pukki doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Pukki fan and think he must rank as one of the most successful transfers ever, even more so because he was free.

What I'd like to see is Sargent starting, with Rash, Tzolis on wings and Cantwell behind him. Let him run riot, and bring on Pukki as a super sub when defensive legs are tiring, and this could suit Pukki down to the ground

[nutty nigel 7,513]

67 goals in 128 games is a hell of a strike rate to discard after just 2 games against Liverpool and Man City

[Yellow Wal 314]

Am I the only one who sees Sargent as Pukki's No. 10?

[Jsim1986 149]

1 minute ago, nutty nigel said:

67 goals in 128 games is a hell of a strike rate to discard after just 2 games against Liverpool and Man City

I hear what your saying , but I don't think it's just that. You look second half of his season in prem last time (granted we were poor all round) but the Liverpool chance Pukki of old takes that he took an extra touch not needed and got caught. Not saying he is scrap heap but we do have to remember he is 31 and maybe his best days are behind him.

[hepphep 175]

The way we have been playing last two games as a team would've made Lukaku seem like Drmic, so perhaps a bit hasty judgement. Lets spare that for time when he starts to receive any service. 

[wcorkcanary 4,329]

36 minutes ago, Yellow Wal said:

Am I the only one who sees Sargent as Pukki's No. 10?

No. He can be a younger, faster, stronger Stiepermann.  

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

Far from the end of Pukki but Sargent deserves a start on the weekend I think, assuming he starts and plays well tomorrow which based on his cameos so far I believe he will. 

I really hope Farke doesn't persist with an out-of-form Pukki when we appear to have an option on the bench who should be pushing him for that 'number 9' shirt.

Its time to ring the changes!

[Alfie54 76]

Sargent and Idah to start

[lake district canary 4,531]

With Sargent and Idah - both strikers and both able to play wide, we have real options up front.  I can see Sargent being an excellent foil for Pukki, making runs and creating space for the Pukster to find good positions. Idah too.  We undoubtedly have good potential for doing damage this season, including Pukki - and Farke has good options.

[Naturalcynic 629]

Good in the Championship, but not at the highest level as was proven 2 seasons ago and this year in the World Cup.  Opposition defences find it easy to neutralise any threat he might have, and his goals to chances ratio is poor.

[Branston Pickle 3,638]

I did wonder if Pukki might start tomorrow to try to get some match-sharpness after two games if barely touching the ball, but under normal circumstances would expect him to be rested.

[It's me, it's Tettey 4]

I do think he can perform at prem level but thrives on running onto through balls. Without Buendia and seemingly Dowell slipping down the pecking order, Sargent seems to fit a 433 better. If we get a strong DM and play them in a pivot and a proper number 10, can see Pukki being useful again. 

[Upo 91]

 

4 hours ago, Jsim1986 said:

I hear what your saying , but I don't think it's just that. You look second half of his season in prem last time (granted we were poor all round) but the Liverpool chance Pukki of old takes that he took an extra touch not needed and got caught. Not saying he is scrap heap but we do have to remember he is 31 and maybe his best days are behind him.

30 goal involvements last season. One less than his age. Can't blame him too much for not getting any service. Rashica needs to find him or we need to find someone who can. I am not joking.

[Canary Jedi 578]

I agree that Pukki is probably not quite 100% yet, however it’s not like he was given 20 fabulous passes to run onto is it? So it’s difficult to know if he is off the pace or if it’s just that we played two of the best teams in the world.

[El Convento 14]

I know this won't be a popular opinion - I've got my tin hat on.
I don't think Pukki has been firing properly since half way through the last prem season.
Obviously he netted a decent tally last year, but I recall a plethora of straightforward chances missed.  How many one-on-ones were presented to him by Buendia et al last season that went begging?  Despite his tally, his conversion rate wasn't great. The service he received was unprecedented in my memory of the champs.  Chances in the prem are fewer, and only reliable finishers succeed. I fear Pukki's best years are behind him, and we should have looked to strengthen urgently - we should have spent the available funds on a quality striker and a CDM rather than diluting them with too many buys.  Given where we are, I'd probably start Sargent - I'm not sure that Idah is ready for this league. Perhaps Sargent isn't either, but Pukki was seriously found out last time in the prem, and he's a year and a half older now.
I'd dearly love to be proved wrong.

[AJ 1,218]

I think we'll hopefully see what Sargent, Tzolis and hopefully Rashica have to offer tomorrow night

[Canary dwarf 221]

22 minutes ago, El Convento said:

I know this won't be a popular opinion - I've got my tin hat on.
I don't think Pukki has been firing properly since half way through the last prem season.
Obviously he netted a decent tally last year, but I recall a plethora of straightforward chances missed.  How many one-on-ones were presented to him by Buendia et al last season that went begging?  Despite his tally, his conversion rate wasn't great. The service he received was unprecedented in my memory of the champs.  Chances in the prem are fewer, and only reliable finishers succeed. I fear Pukki's best years are behind him, and we should have looked to strengthen urgently - we should have spent the available funds on a quality striker and a CDM rather than diluting them with too many buys.  Given where we are, I'd probably start Sargent - I'm not sure that Idah is ready for this league. Perhaps Sargent isn't either, but Pukki was seriously found out last time in the prem, and he's a year and a half older now.
I'd dearly love to be proved wrong.

I hope you are proved wrong , but sadly I think your right he had so many chances last year , probably more than any other striker and not many assists either , should we be using him like Cambridge use wes.otbc

[Crispy 4]

These two games have basically been our extended pre-season sadly especially for Pukki. Let's judge him after Leicester and Arsenal where he should get more chances on goal. 

[FatCanary 249]

It is the sad rite of passage for our goal scoring legends that you have to be written off every time you don't score for a couple of games.

Respect Pukki.

He is one of our greatest strikers of all time.

He needs more minutes, not less, to get up to speed right now.

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,251]

Pukki needs the right players around him to excel. 

Pointless playing him upfront on his own away to Man City. He needs three behind him, with a number 10. Pukki hasn't lost anything, but 4-3-2-1 is not playing to his strengths. 

Put Sargent in a three behind Pukki, and I think he scores for fun again. Sargent seems to have very good link up play, and is an outlet if we need to go a bit longer. We need possession in the final third to bring Pukki into it. Tzolis, Sargent and Rashica behind Pukki has legs IMO, and plays to ours and Pukki's strengths. Just need to sort the two CDM! 

I certaily don't think its Sargent or Pukki. I think it's both. I'd drop Cantwell for now. 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Creedence Clearwater Couto

[ZLF 271]

Not yet I dont think;  the service has been woeful and he has had a thankful task so far.  I would like to see Lees-Melou take the emi role and feed some through balls but he may be too deep to do that - i cant see Rashica doing that and todd hasnt yet had the opportunity too.

 

As for Sargent he has had a good cameo playing off the flank v Liverpool but frankly was as anonymous against Citeh as Pukki was,  no criticism in him for that as there was no service or support;   Too soon to suggest he will prove any better (or worse) add in his goal scoring record isnt great and its a bigger leap of faith to go with him than sticking with pukki right now.

 

Same applies to Idah,  he has always impressed me more when part of a striking pair rather than the lone striker.  

[fredherring 136]

"is it time to drop Pukki?" 

Yes.

He's past his best and injuries have caught up with him. 

I see him as an impact sub by the end of the season. 

Its always funny to see people clinging onto hope about players anyone with eyes can see is past their peak. 

Same with tettey.  Some wishing he was still here! 

No sentimentality in football. 

This is Pukkis last season. He's 32 and has looked it. 

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by fredherring