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The recent comments on Earnie''s conversion rate made me wonder if it really would be so awful if he left (for a good price - say £4m+ ). Is he the wrong sort of player for the current team? Is it possible that, with the likes of Hux, Croft & Chadwick supplying the ammo. a different type of main striker is needed? A big bloke with a good footballing brain to compensate for a lack of pace; experience too, with good leadership qualities. Now, where do we find someone like that ....

Seriously though, although Earnie is obviously going to get goals others aren''t, by virtue of speed & sharpness, a different guy might be more consistent & end up scoring just as many  - this sort of player might have done better against Palace, for example.

I know you all think I''m daft, but I seriously believe Norwich aren''t far off having a promotion team - squad depth is the biggest problem; well, second biggest, after total lack of confidence.

OTBC!

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I don''t think you are daft and I see your point.

Some strikers do bring other players into the game and yes perhaps we could benifit from looking elsewere.

Consider this though. Would another striker combine his goals and the amount of goals he creates for others to equal the amount of goals Mr Earnshaw scores? I don''t think so. I think we are far better putting our resources into finding a partner for Earnie to complement him and like you say bring other players into the game.

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I agree with you.

Take the money for Earnie and get Vine & Riordan and i think we would be in a better position.  Plus we would still have a bit of money left to strengthen elsewhere. 

 

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If the money brought it was reinvested in young players to bring a better balance to the squad then this is perfectly reasonable. Personally, I wouldn''t take less than £4.5m though, especially if Nugent isn''t going for £6m.

What under no circumstances can be allowed to happen (and due to the player not being Leon shouldn''t anyway) is Earnie going and no quality signings (eg 2 or 3) coming in, like August''s debacle. That would spell a very nervy few months...

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It''s an interesting point and I can certainly see your logic, but I think it would be a huge gamble.

Take Earnie''s 17 goals out of our current tally and we would be in deep, deep trouble. A target man, with a good footballing brain may well have created more oppurtunities for his team mates but he would also have to make up that deficit.

With the position we''re in at the moment you would have to rely on everything clicking from the first moment or the outcome could be relegation. Whereas if we keep Earnie and add a few more we should hopefully start to climb the league and at worst be in a position to build a chalenge for next year.

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Keep earnie and sign a big striker to go with him.

And then sign some decent central midfielders to push Grants preferred duo to better performances.

 

Then we will be heading in the right direction

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I like your thinking, andrew. I''d like to see a striker added to Earnie, but could accept a decent replacement. Trouble is the big guys seem to cost more - why is that? Do they come on a pound(£) for pound (lb) basis?£5mill is my minimum mark - with the Baggies sell-on clause and the likes of Gareth Bale and Ashley Young being valued at £5mill+. If Earnie left, we should be able to bring in at least the four faces that PG has asked for.

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ZLF and an earlier poster (sorry, too lazy to check who!) are right - we need more quality in central mid to go with a new striker. Rowan Vine would be fantastic and the sinking Hatters appear to be ready to cash in (see Carlos Edwards). Stephen Pearson would do the job for me in midfield - pay Celtic''s £1mill asking price and don''t fart about with haggling.I get the feeling that City''s negotiators have peed a few clubs off over the past few years and we aren''t in a strong position, so we should bite the bullet if we want to progress.

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Agree with the Barman and ZLF...

We need a big striker to play alongside Earnie plus another 2 or 3 signings minimum...

Unless an offer of £5million minimum comes in for Earnie then we shouldn''t even talk to any club wishing to buy him (even then we should be haggling for nearer £6million plus).

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[quote user="andrew young"]

The recent comments on Earnie''s conversion rate made me wonder if it really would be so awful if he left (for a good price - say £4m+ ). Is he the wrong sort of player for the current team? Is it possible that, with the likes of Hux, Croft & Chadwick supplying the ammo. a different type of main striker is needed? A big bloke with a good footballing brain to compensate for a lack of pace; experience too, with good leadership qualities. Now, where do we find someone like that ....

Seriously though, although Earnie is obviously going to get goals others aren''t, by virtue of speed & sharpness, a different guy might be more consistent & end up scoring just as many  - this sort of player might have done better against Palace, for example.

I know you all think I''m daft, but I seriously believe Norwich aren''t far off having a promotion team - squad depth is the biggest problem; well, second biggest, after total lack of confidence.

OTBC!

[/quote]

 Big bloke up front ? with a footballing brain , you mean Thorne don''t you ?

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[quote user="ray ducker"]

 Big bloke up front ? with a footballing brain , you mean Thorne don''t you ?

[/quote]

Ray Ducker sir, you are not so far off the mark as you may think. The Peter Thorne of his Stoke and Cardiff days would be perfect up front with Earnie. Unfortunately the forever injured, never fit Thorne that we have can''t do the job.

I see no advantage in selling Earnshaw unless there is an offer that we really can''t refuse. Of course if the player himself chooses to move there''s little we can do except get the best price we can. I see no reason why Earnshaw would want to move to many of the clubs that are reportedly showing interest, what possible reason would he have to sign for the likes of Watford. He may of course be tempted by a move to Blackburn if they were interested.

The original poster makes valid points about Earnshaws conversion rate and it should also be pointed out that no other player has weighed in with a significant number of goals. Huckerby has only scored 3 and his conversion rate is probably even worse than Earnshaws. This situation is a direct result of plaing Earnshaw as a loan striker and when we have been able to play 442 with Dublin beside him the signs are that they will make chances for eachother. Dublin has scored 3 goals and hasnt played many games as a striker, his conversion rate is therefore better.

I still believe our best chance of getting points in this league is to play 442 with Dublin starting up front beside Earnshaw and hopefully we can get 20 minutes a week out of the unfit Peter Thorne. I also believe a targetman who can hold the ball up, bring others into the game and score goals to be a priority in the summer. And the Board have to realise that these players cost more than £500,000!

 

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 "Big bloke up front ? with a footballing brain , you mean Thorne don''t you ?"

Nah, far too young. Besides, the bloke I''m thinking of has (allegedly) other qualities ...

Which I didn''t mention, ''coz I didn''t want to frighten the leidies!

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