Gudjohnsen must be a bleedin' elephant! How long has this deal been in gestation? We go back to Turds don't we, with rumours then that we were signing the Icelander based on the ownership of the club? Now, it seems, his friendship with Clarke and Zola have convinced him to make the switch - on a 4 month loan deal.
Now beggars can't be choosers and given our desperate need for striking reinforcements, I am certainly not going to slam the deal, but I think a few cautionary words are necessary before the dancing starts in Green Street.
Firstly, Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen hasn't exactly been busting a gut to join us has he? He may be mates with Zola and Clarke but that friendship wasn't enough to persuade him to join us ahead of Monaco was it? He chose the easy life in the south of France, although the easy life hasn't proved as easy as he thought.
Since making the switch, Eiður has not been very prolific, in fact he failed to score in his first ten appearances. And his goal scoring troubles didn't start with the move to Monaco. In 72 appearances for a brilliant Barcelona team, he managed just 10 goals! Now I know he was used as a substitute a lot and was also played in midfield, but that misses the point. As Owen is showing at Manchester Olympic, scoring is a habit and once you have lost that habit, it doesn't return easily. It is four years now since Eiður was scoring prolifically. If we have signed him for his goals, we could end up very disappointed.
If Eiður is the first of two signings, great. If he is the only forward we sign, then I predict trouble. I see him as a Di Michele, creating chances for others; I don't see him as the out and out striker we need.
One last thought, if you saw Eiður (the Icelandic spelling) written in a book and tried to read it aloud, how would you pronounce it? Eeyore? Let's hope Gudjohnsen isn't our latest striking donkey! If we get him of course; Liverpool may yet come in with a better offer.
For the 1st time I can agree with you on this, not bad how long has it taken you to talk sense?
ReplyDeleteHello Hammersfan. Holidays over. Yep, Gudjohnsen isn't the answer to our immediate problems & certainly not at top dollar either.He really plays a similar role as Cole, an assist striker. I don't think that Van Nistlerooy was either. When you get into your thirties, you lose that edge in speed off the mark. Especially if you have not been playing constantly at the top level.That's just the way it is. Even Shearer lost that acceleration later on. No, if we are prepared to pay big bickies, we need somone mid twenties who can poach & is clinical. It is not like we play with a ball made out of cow skins now. We are not asking for Rooney but it is neither of those fellas. I don't know who would be available this time of year, difficult. None the less, if we are going to find someone, they better get a wriggle on. No time for sleep. We should pay a basic wage then pay a bonus per goal. Now that would be an incentive.
ReplyDeleteyou pronounce the ð like th in the word "this"
ReplyDeletethe á in Smári is like "ou" in the word "out"