Kyle Lafferty To Sign

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

[quote user="Billabong"]At first glance I thought - Perhaps a decent target man but an average of one assist every 15 games would seem to suggest otherwise A total of 20 assists over a 10 year career is extremely low for any front man![/quote]

 

Where are you getting your figures from? A lot of leagues don''t have any record of assists so hard to know how reliable those figures are. Also, assists is the most meaningless of all the figures in my opinion - the ball could banjo off the back of his head and luckily fall for a team mate who scores, whereas a pefect 60 yard pass to someone who then passes 5 yards to assist the goal isn''t recorded.

 

Lafferty has done well at Palermo and Sion and would offer a different option to Norwich''s current strikers - he is certainly no worse than Sam Vokes who scored a hatful in the league last season.

 

Both Lafferty and Gabban strike me as the type of signings Lambert who have made when Norwich were in the Championship - which served Norwich very well in the past.

[Yellowbeagle 0]

He''s a target man and we are going to need one in the squad. He might not be a brilliant player but I just don''t see that many target men out there who look even decent prospects.

[Sussexyellow 55]

Bethnal, I just went to his wiki page.

Agree assists is an inexact science. But even if it is out by a factor of 2 or 3 it is still surprisingly low.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

I wonder what Gary Hooper would make of him? He''s ex Rangers and everyone in Scotland hates him! I''d imagine footballers are not particularly bothered about silly little fan rivalries after they have left a club but you never know. I''d imagine if I had to line up with Kevin Muscat or someone like that i''d be a bit put out. I''d rather be on his team mind!

He looks a clever player but a little selfish. Not neccesarily a bad thing, but I don''t think he''s going to be assisting lots of goals directly. I''m not entirely sure what counts as an assist and what doesn''t anyway. His height and power might just ease the pressure on the midfield and back four if he can hold the ball up well though.

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

Lafferty would be a good signing. In itself, as a sign that Adams already has a plan, and that he is being backed.

[Syteanric 1]

His Wikipedia page has been amended to say he has signed for us... who ever did it should probably wait until confirmed.

[morty 0]

I''d certainly rather have Lafferty than Becchio...

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

Lafferty is more than a target man or a penalty box striker, as he can play a bit as well. As for the Celtic-Rangers rivalry, it doesn''t seem to have been a problem for Whittaker and Hooper.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

He''s more a Peter Crouch front man than Rickie Lambert but as Morty says I''d rather have him over Becchio. Lafferty has just had his best ever season, Becchio has barely kicked a ball for 18 months.

 

YouTube scouts can use this to get an idea about him at Palermo.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGyt_wZ0bXI

[Tetteys Jig 830]

It may not bother Whitts and Hoops, but Lafferty proper ruffled a few feathers up there. Lots of hate for him in Scotland.

[Cheap Cheap Cheap Canaries 0]

No Jordan Rhodes is he , the two signings so far point to an extended stay at Championship level and somebody really should point out to our rookie manager that there are other positions on the field other than strikers .

[Move Klose 303]

Worrying signings. Settling for the championship then. At least we are debt free tho.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Rhodes may have more goals, but Lafferty has played at a higher level and is probably a lot cheaper than Rhodes who''ll probably end up in the premiership.

[(Northern) Irish Canary 48]

Hey guys, being a Northern Ireland season ticket holder I thought I''d throw in my opinion on "Big Laff"....

The guy is undoubtedly talented. Big, strong, surprisingly nimble and has a decent turn of pace. He is obviously not an out-and-out striker, instead more the traditional target man who was a perfect foil for the likes of David Healy. I remember being in Sweden and he scored a decent enough goal (link below), this is pretty typical of his type of finish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOBTMM6Sanc

On the down side, the man is a complete liability: poor disciplinary record on and off the pitch, pulls out of lots of NI squads and simply does not understand the offside rule.

My concern is that we are focussing too much upon bringing in strikers when we need to strengthen and defence and midfield.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Seems fair NI canary, maybe the MF and DF''s are next.

[Bill 1,788]

"Also, assists is the most meaningless of all the figures in my

opinion - the ball could banjo off the back of his head and luckily fall

for a team mate who scores, whereas a pefect 60 yard pass to someone

who then passes 5 yards to assist the goal isn''t recorded"spot on !in fact almost all these nonsensical ''statistics'' are meaningless as they do not take into account any other variable................. which actually plays a big part in making the game what it is(nothing more than po rn for saddos)

[Bury Green 0]

To my mind he''d make a very useful addition and would, almost certainly, provide us with an option that''s been sadly lacking since the departure of Holt.

As for the whole ''statistics'' shenanigan, I can only echo what''s been said elsewhere, namely it''s pretty bloody meaningless when you factor in the umpteenth variables that makeup a successful squad.

Being able to see through all this is what constitutes management, a classic example was when Lambert introduced Wilbraham to the team. Many questioned quite what he was up to but lm sure most would agree he played a vital ''bit part'' in our promotion.

On pure statistics there''s no way on earth he''d have been a wise acquisition, he was however a pretty valuable one.

[Mason 47 1,373]

Might be an astute signing, could be a flop.

Either way I would bet on at least one of our current club (excluding Grabban) to stay and most likely be the number 1 or 2 choice striker, which would place him as a backup. Good enough as a backup I feel.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Well looking at the stats, he looks like a good buy to me. 6''''4'' about 10 goals a season in similar standard leagues and not the usual penalty taker.

[MancCanary 0]

LAFFERTY REVIEW FROM A BURNLEY FAN - My colleague at work is a massive clarets fan, and had this to say about Lafferty:

Very good technically & has quick feet for a big guy.

Good at holding up the ball, and has an eye for a pass.

Good target man, but headed goals weren''t his strong-point at Burnley. Has since improved this side of his game.

Is "thick as two short planks" apparently. Not the brightest lad but good footballing brain.

Sounds like a good player to partner Hooper, and perhaps Grabban/RVW.

I hope it''s less than 5m euros though!

[ZLF 271]

hard to get too excited by a 26 yo who has yet to play in a top league (SPL, Serie B and the swiss league after the 10 goals in 86 in the champs is hardly a benchmark) and frustrates the hell out of his national manager and changes clubs as often than rory mcilroy

He clearly has some talent and if Adams and co can get him to focus and consistently apply himself then we may have a bargain. thats a not insignificant if.

My overwhelming responses are he is not demonstrably better than we have and meh.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

His missus ain''t bad though!

[mrs miggins 0]

star_manic wrote the following post at 23/06/2014 10:57 AM:

How do you come to that conclusion. I suggest you look at his stats for the last four seasons. In three of them he averaged a goal in just over two games, which makes our strikers no better, not as your apparently biased statement suggests.

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The stats I was looking at (all in the league) stated that in the 2013/14 season he scored 11 goals in 33 games for Palermo, 5 in 25 games for Sion the season before, then the 4 seasons before that playing for rangers goes:

2008/9= 6 goals in 25 games

2009/10= 7 goals in 28

2010/11= 11 in 31

2011/12= 7 in 20

These are pretty woeful stats considering what we have already at the club and the poor league/teams he''s playing in.

It also states the highest amount of goals scored in the championship (the league we''re in) was 5 goals by him in 37 appearances...now thats poor.

If these stats are wrong could someone tell me the right stats (mainly to feel a little more positive about it)

[MancCanary 0]

When at Burnley he played out wide left half of the time. He may have also done this at other clubs, hence the low strike rate?

[zemas tendon 0]

Why oh Why, are we getting tied up in all this stats business!!!! Makes no odds, did Fergie worry about stats when signing Cantona or Bebe!!! Makes no difference, has he ever played with two outright wingers, or be told to play up front on his own!!Dont worry your plastic little scarfs over it!! If contributes and gets us promotion that will all that matters!!! Or if he scores a double against the Scum!!

[mrs miggins 0]

zemas tendon wrote the following post at 23/06/2014 2:18 PM:Why oh Why, are we getting tied up in all this stats business!!!! Makes no odds, did Fergie worry about stats when signing Cantona or Bebe!!! Makes no difference, has he ever played with two outright wingers, or be told to play up front on his own!!Dont worry your plastic little scarfs over it!! If contributes and gets us promotion that will all that matters!!! Or if he scores a double against the Scum!!

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oh dear

[Darth Catbeard The Old 0]

I''m happy with this signing. We badly needed a target man and should chip in with 10 or so goals. I do hope we haven''t paid over a million though, at least up front. I also agree with others who have said it appears Adams is being backed to build a team in his style. Grabban and Lafferty are very Lambert like signings

Btw Becchio is not a target man! He rarely wins anything in the air, doesn''t link up well and isn''t very strong at all! He''s a poacher just like RVW and Hooper, he''s just taller.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Some reports of 6 million euros! I bloomin'' well hope not! Maybe for half that at best! If it is £4.8m then maybe it''s performance related.

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="Darth Catbeard The Old"]I''m happy with this signing. We badly needed a target man and should chip in with 10 or so goals. I do hope we haven''t paid over a million though, at least up front. I also agree with others who have said it appears Adams is being backed to build a team in his style. Grabban and Lafferty are very Lambert like signings

Btw Becchio is not a target man! He rarely wins anything in the air, doesn''t link up well and isn''t very strong at all! He''s a poacher just like RVW and Hooper, he''s just taller.[/quote]we have signed himwell fair play to you for knowing about this before others

[Yellowbeagle 0]

[quote user="Darth Catbeard The Old"]I''m happy with this signing. We badly needed a target man and should chip in with 10 or so goals. I do hope we haven''t paid over a million though, at least up front. I also agree with others who have said it appears Adams is being backed to build a team in his style. Grabban and Lafferty are very Lambert like signings

Btw Becchio is not a target man! He rarely wins anything in the air, doesn''t link up well and isn''t very strong at all! He''s a poacher just like RVW and Hooper, he''s just taller.[/quote]

Agree abit like he earlier posts where some were saying "he''s no Rhodes". Makes me wonder if anyone has seen Rhodes play yes he''s 6ft and a good player but he''s not a target man by any stretch of the imagination.