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YankeeCanary

Dean Ashton - Lower The Expectation

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It will be all too easy for many of us to realize that we should be patient with this young man, and then forget that in upcoming matches because of our desperate need for points. Of course, our impatient observers will think we have the latest and greatest and will quickly become disgruntled if immediate success is not forthcoming. Therefore, I will say once more, Dean is a building block for the future, not an immediate saviour. Let''s be realistic as to what he ( and we ) have done to date. Dean has played in 24 league games, during which he has scored 17 goals, just over a .7 average strike rate. However, he has not scored in 15 or 63% of those league games, many of those games being against teams better placed than Crewe. The situation with Norwich will obviously be even tougher because a) he is attempting a huge step up in class more than midway through the season and b) 85% of the teams in the Premier are better placed than us. Even if we take those factors into account and still project, optimistically, that he could achieve a strike rate of .5 in the 16 games we have remaining, that will only yield 8 goals from Dean. That would be a tremendous achievement on his part but would hardly save the day for us. Other goal scorers will have to step up and the defence will need to stop the leaking. Bottom line, lower any expectation you may have for Dean between now and the end of the season and, if he pops one in, be thrilled for him and us.

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Not really fully on the posted topic but just saw this on Chris Kamara''s Review of 2004 on sky sports site. Thought it was quite interesting saying his strengths and weaknesses  

 

"Dean Ashton scored 20 goals last season and has already scored 19 in all competitions this campaign. I have had a few Premiership managers asking after Ashton and they all seem to have the same consensus: there is no question about his ability or finishing, but there are doubts about his work rate and his commitment to the team. Personally I put that down to his age. He is only young and he is still learning, maturing and improving all the time. Ashton is not just a goal scorer, he is also very good at making himself a nuisance and, with the right education, he could become the complete striker. It is testament to his talent that he has scored so many goals in the team he is playing in."

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Pretty much sums up what I said here last night:

http://new.pinkun.com/forums/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=63&MessageID=78920

If Ashton can get us 10 or so goals, win us 3 or 4 games before the end of the season then we''ve had a right result as far as I''m concerned, whether we stay up or not.

Looking at the table tonight, theres a hell of a lot of battles still to come and I think we''ve as good a chance of any of the promoted teams still. Not forgetting theres one or two others that are struggling.

OTBC.

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YankeeCanary, whilst I agree with what you''ve posted, wouldn''t you agree that the affect that Ashton has in joining us may invoke other players to up their own game by 5-10% and so therefore drive the whole team on to perform at a greater level than they are presently?

I agree that Ashton alone will not save us from the drop, but the impetus generated by his arrival should increase our likelihood of survival. Even if Ashton only gets us say 7-8 goals between now and May, surely those goals will prove to be of benefit, coupled with the continued contributions from Hux and Damo and, to a lesser degree, the rest of the team.

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Couldm''t agree more with all of that.  It''s a bit worrying to hear so many superlatives being used about Ashton on this board, which makes me worried what the reaction will be if he doesn''t score in the first few games.

He is another piece of puzzle for NCFC not the complete solution!

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Hmm...doubts about his work ethic????

I think Worthy wil deal with that, the work ethic in the squad througout our last few seasons has been great.

As long as he scores those vital goals, i just don''t care.

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talkin to 2 crewe fans I know, they say that his work ethic was questionned in the past but most of last season and this one he''s knucked down and become the player they all thought he would be, top class. We have someone with serious potential, he may not keep us up and we shouldn''t expect it single handed but it looks like good business and the everyone is being rightly congratulated for showing the ambition we want from the club.

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Anderz, I agree that there could well be an uplift to the team overall, particularly if they see chances being put away that were being wasted previously. I also think that there are other positives to be gained at the moment. Some of our other youngsters are seeing opportunity because of injuries and, with a young talented player being injected into their midst, have no greater incentive than to show what they are made of. For me however, I have this inner feeling that one of the biggest beneficiaries, if given the opportunity when fit, could be McKenzie. he has run his heart out up to now, had a good first touch when trying to beat a man before messing it up with a second and third touch and obviously lacked the finish we need. I think he was trying to do too much and failing. I personally feel there is more to come from Leon. He is committed, has pace and can turn quickly to create problems for most defences, is unselfish around the goal area. I''d like to see he and Ashton on the pitch at the same time. Bentley''s loss is disappointing but if we can move the ball out of midfield with purpose, with the option of pushing down the right or left with Jonson and Huckerby respectively, or sending the ball down the channels to Ashton and McKenzie, I think we can now start to look more threatening.

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I think YC is 100% spot on.  I saw today that Deano has already been nicknamed "Aspirin" as he will be the answer to our goal scoring headache!  We can''t put too much pressure on the lad.  I want him to bang goals in left, right and centre.  But if he doesn''t we must be patient.

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