2014/15 Transfer rumours in and out

[SiMamu]

There isn't another prolific goal scorer available is there? We need to become a team of scorers not a team that looks to one player. That approach was tried last season, it almost cost us our place in the championship and served only to enhance Ross's reputation at our expense. Goals from all over the pitch required. Big ask mindst.

Every team has a main goalscorer. No one has a team of goalscorers. In order to win things, players from the midfield need to chip in, but every team has a main goal threat. Man City have Aguero, Chelsea have Diego Costa, Liverpool have Sturridge, Man Utd have van Persie and Arsenal have Walcott. You need someone who will put chances away if they are presented with them. Every team has a goalscorer, hence Chelsea and Arsenal's clamour for one.

We had the leagues top scorer, we changed the formation almost weekly to accommodate him with the result that no one had a clue what system we were playing at times and teams knew that snuffing Ross out meant snuffing lufc out. We need a balanced side of hungry, committed players.

How many goals did Walcott score just out of interest bearing in mind Smith scored 13. City didn't have a single goal scorer over 20 and their top scorer played in midfield, Liverpool had 2 including the league's best.

We need to replace Ross with a team.

Aguero scored 17 in 23 appearances, 28 in all competitions. He would've hit around 25 if he wasn't hit by various injuries. But Man City had strength in depth, with Dzeko, Negredo and Jovetic. Aguero is their goalscorer, it's jut he wasn't available enough to hit big numbers. Dzeko got 16 in the league (26 in all comps), Negredo got 9 (23 in a comps, whilst Jovetic got 6 goals in 16 appearances in all competitions - also plagued by injuries. Man City were just lucky that Yaya Toure stepped up when Aguero was injured.
We weren't changing the system to fit Ross, we were changing the system to try and win, with McCormack, understandably, always fitted in somewhere, because he was our top goalscorer, main creative outlet and main goal threat, as well as captain. We almost got relegated because our team lacked a strong mentality, with our heads dropping once we went a goal or two down and then we conceded further - we lacked leadership until Brown came in. McCormack was the only thing keeping us afloat, not what almost relegated us.
Walcott got 6 goals in 18 appearances, across all competitions, but was only available for about 3 months due to injuries. The season before he got 14 in the league, 21 in all competitions, whilst only being a starter for about 2/3 of the season. Luckily Ramsey became a goal threat and Giroud bagged 22. Giroud's the obvious main goal threat, but he isn't a natural goalscorer, like Walcott. Arsenal play a similar system to Man City, two strikers (Dzeko + Aguero, Giroud + Walcott), two attacking midfielders (Silva +Nasri, Ozil + Cazorla), with both missing their main goal threat but luckily had a midfielder replace them with goals - it's just Man City's midfielder didn't also pick up an injury for two months.
Every big team has a main goalscorer, along with several others chipping in.

[SiMamu]

Arsenal are on the verge of signing Calum Chambers from Southampton, [url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/ ... ds-3284575]in March] Southampton were linked with Byram as a potential replacement. Merde. Hopefully, Southampton go for a Dutch player.

[jslufcAUS]

Look at teams at the foot of the EPL or almost any league, they always have a standout player and the rest of the team is shuffled around to accommodate. We need unpredictability/variety upfront, and you'd be surprised what players are capable of being on the end of the move and banging it in the net.

[Mellor]

Look at teams at the foot of the EPL or almost any league, they always have a standout player and the rest of the team is shuffled around to accommodate. We need unpredictability/variety upfront, and you'd be surprised what players are capable of being on the end of the move and banging it in the net.

Agree, the ability to change the angle of attack is key. 'Feed the goat and he will score' is ok as far as it goes but a feast for all is the real requirement. And a bit of confidence (fans can help or hinder here) goes a long way.

[SiMamu]

Either way we need a finisher. But a striker who does more than finish would be helpful. A striker who creates space for others and makes chances for midfield runners. We're not going to be like Spain at euro 2012 and gave a midfielder up top, we're going to have a striker and strikers are expected to score. But we need a striker who fits into multiple systems and doesn't only thrive when played with a strike partner, aka McCormack, to give us tactical versatility.

[Viduka95]

Either way we need a finisher. But a striker who does more than finish would be helpful. A striker who creates space for others and makes chances for midfield runners. We're not going to be like Spain at euro 2012 and gave a midfielder up top, we're going to have a striker and strikers are expected to score. But we need a striker who fits into multiple systems and doesn't only thrive when played with a strike partner, aka McCormack, to give us tactical versatility.

The most recent strikers we have been linked to are Delort and Delfouneso who do not fit the category of creator. We need someone like Delort or Delfouneso, ideally Delort and then someone similar to McCormack as well

[Pecky10]

I think we have a 'finisher' in Smith; not just with his head but he's also shown he can use his feet. He strikes me as similar to Lineker, famous for hogging the penalty area and unlikely to score too many screamers from 25-yards but that didn't do Lineker much harm - what we desperately lack is somebody to give him the damn ball!

[massimomilitia]

This lad from villa he must be rubbish if villa release somone hope im wrong if we get him in

[isrodger]

We do need a natural goalscorer, hunt runs about a lot and harries, Morrison has lost his mojo, whilst smith lacks composure and is clumsy particularly when given time to finish. It's funny seeing certain players in one on ones, a Rhodes, etc relish the challenge, others get phsyscked out. It's also a confidence thing, arrogance in many respects.

[alwaysleeds]

If we don't get a natural goalscorer, I don't see any crisis anyway. We have young players like Robbie McDaid and Munya Mbanje in the Development squad that can come through and do the work. Both of them are already interesting to places in our squad. It's not always so that stars can be bought, sometimes it's perhaps even better to look into our own ranks.