Leon, Matty, Johnson? I got a better idea...

[a1canary 0]

Consistent goal scoring strikers for Norwich in the last three of four years (i mean more than 10 or 12 a season) - name them.

Well there aren''t many are there?

Hucks last year obviously.
The big man himself, now down in Kent
Good ol'' bellars (hell has he met his match in Graeme Souness!)

And that''s about it. But there is one missing from the list, between Iwan and Bellars, still playing for us. Do you know who it is yet?

Yes, WLY himself! Remember the goals he scored for us when he played up there with Iwan? 2001/2002 i think. He has the technical ability that should serve him well when through on goal and when faced with goal chances. In fact, i don''t remember why he was ever moved out to the wing in the first place. There was a reason but i can''t remember it!

Ok he''s short but i''d like to see Hucks in the midfield and WLY could play up with Leon or Svensson. Until we get that mystery striker in Jan (Malcolm Christie or Dean Ashton please Santa) we have got to find someone who can finish. I think Zipper is as an accomplished finisher as anyone else at the club, along with Hucks and maybe Bentley.

The McVeigh for striker campaign starts here!

[bananaman 0]

I love Paul McVeigh.

And it IS quite alright that he should be played up front despite his lack of height.

[westoncanary. 0]

I don''t think he is physical enough to play upfront, maybe behind the front two he would do a job. He is quality in front of goal & he does cause defenders problems so I do think he should be accomodated somehow.  We need to stick with Leon IMO, he is getting in there and the way he set up Huckerby''s chance was class, showing his never give up attitude and vision and touch with the through ball.  

[KeelansGlove 0]

A1 your idea is simply A1,  I have been calling for it for a while lets hope we can get a bandwagon rolling, lets be honest the way he took his chance at Man U was more clinical than any of our other "strikers" and I also agree that Hucks would be more effective in a deeper role.

Fingers crossed someone starts to find the back of the net soon.

 

[Ayrton Twigge 0]

At this moment, Leon deserves more games. He has been close to scoring for the last two games, harries defenders, wins a reasonable share of headers, and creates openings.

Bearing in mind he has only had 2 premiership starts, in my book he has done well. So I would play him.

Its any from McVeigh, Bentley and Jonson for the other two forward midfield spots - as things currently stand McVeigh coming off the bench is a good option to have.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

I have to say I''m with Weston here.  I don''t think WLY has enough of a presence to play up front.  He''s a good midfielder but has he got the right atributes for a striker?  Lightening pace? No.  Hold up play? Nope.  I like McVeigh in the midfield to be honest.

[Robbo007 0]

Um...next thing you''ll be doing is campaigning for the return of Mr "eyes down and run for your life" Nielson. There''s a bit of a difference between scoring 10-15 goals in div1 compared to the Premiership. You must remember that the only reason Mcveigh got stuck out on the left was because we needed more presence of front. I say stick with McKenzie and Svensson

[a1canary 0]

lol, that''s funny robbo!

but i thought we''d already appreciated that being a big oaf is not a pre-requisite to being a premiership striker. Look at the other teams in the league. There''s no reason WLY could not have been on the end of all of those chances against WBA and if he had been i would have backed him to bury ''em. yeah yeah hindsight blah blah but the guy is a striker. Always was, always has been. And yes he scored goals in div 1 but he''s already scored in the prem which is more than all but one of the rest of our out and out strikers have done (that doesn''t include Doherty).   

I''m not suggesting he neccessarily be made the club''s new striker. Give the side that played at WBA another go or two as they did earn that and if still no luck, get him up there as he is as good an option as any.

[bananaman 0]

Here is a list of effective Premire strikers - let''s play "Spot the Giant"...

Robert Earnshaw.
Darius Vassell.
Craig Bellamy.
Jermaine Defoe.
Robbie Keane.
Andy Johnson.
Mikael Forsell.
Tomas Radzinski.

What is all this junk about size? Size is totally irrelevent, skill and positional play is what we need and Paul has it in abundance. Forsell was one of the players of the season last year, and is 5''7" and NOT that quick.

Paul McVeigh is a striker.

He was NEVER as good in midfield as he was up front, but sadly he was the best player at the club by such a long way at that point, he could have played anywhere in the front 6 and played better than the player he replaced.

I''m not saying swap him and Leon now, but if we''re looking for a striker, McVeigh is the best we have had since Mark Robins.

[Kenny Powers 0]

All the strikers you have named play with a big man though. (except Defoe and Keane) As much as I like Paul he is not in the same class as those 2. I believe he is too small to play up front unless with a big target man and we do not have an abundance of those.Northern Ireland have less striker options than us and even they don''t play McVeigh there. McVeigh out on the wing or cutting in is his best position.Also how many goals have Forsell, Radsinski, Earnshaw and Vassell got this season?

[Worthy Nigelton<br><br><br><br><br>Evening News Sports Page Headline 8th August 2007:<br><br>Henderson joins Dereham Town. 0]

Bananaman you are a legend. Totally agree, size, height and physical presence is a load of rubbish - look at people like Gary Linekar, Michael Owen etc... I could go on and on. Just because you''re small doesn''t mean you can''t play up front.

I am a BIG fan of Paul McVeigh (excuse the pun), however, I do feel that Leon should be given a bit of an extended run as he has a proven record all through his career and we''ll never know whether he can cut it in the Premiership or not until he''s given a chance. I also think he''s done pretty well in his 2 starts.

As I mentioned I like WLY. I think he has the right qualities to play at this level and at the moment IMO he is ahead of both Bentley and Jonnson for a starting berth either on the right or left flank, but obviously Worthy doesn''t think so. Maybe as the season goes on if we are still struggling to find the net then WLY will be given his chance up front or out wide - I would just like to see him in the side somewhere.

[StevenageFan 0]

I think we should be thinking about 2 striker positions because I don''t think Hux is going to make it as a goal scorer in the Prem.  God I hope I am wrong and I would be the first to admit it.  However, I think he is much better coming forward with the ball from deeper positions, a perfect left winger as I have said in another thread.  Okay his defensive qualities are suspect, but I am sure he could improve there.

Anyway that leaves Leon and WLY upfront.  Imagine that with Hux and Helveg on the wings and Francis and Safri or Holt in the middle, quality my son.  Good balance of defenisve midfielders and fast attacking midfielders with some nippy little strikers.  McVeigh has got the finishing ability that we are lacking and Leon does all the hard work, add Hux running the RB ragged and Helveg supplying neat crosses from the right flank........pure genius.

[a1canary 0]

as post author who then followed up with another about not needing to be big to be a prem striker, i''m feeling decidedly left out in the legend stakes. can i be a legend, please!

although i have to say banana, i think you may be jumping the gun a bit by putting Robbie Earnshaw at the top of your Effective Premier strikers list!! All he''s done so far is miss a pen! Although i''m sure he will prove to be effective in time, i wonder if it will be with route onewich albion!

[bananaman 0]

Good point about Earnshaw, but the point I was (badly) making is that everyone likes to reach for the cheque book when it may not be necessary. Paul McVeigh is the best goalscorer we have at the club, has a great touch, can play people in, good control and fantastic awareness. If Leon has scored 30 goals in Div 2 and 10 in Div 1, why should he be picked over someone who has scored 50 odd goals in Div 1 and most of them from midfield?Paul rules, and this time last year (or shortly before) he was the only player playing well before the loanees arrived.Leon deserves his chance, but I hope that Paul gets the recognition he deserves as a striker from the fans and from the manager. He''s only a midfielder because he has the talent to adapt and digs in well.

[Worthy Nigelton<br><br><br><br><br>Evening News Sports Page Headline 8th August 2007:<br><br>Henderson joins Dereham Town. 0]

A1 Canary, you too are a legend.

[a1canary 0]

wahey, i''m a legend!!