I can see trouble ahead. Keane is a very good, very experienced striker, but he is not the easiest to partner up, as both Rafa and 'Arry have discovered. He doesn't take kindly to working the flanks in a 4-3-3 formation and isn't a target man. Play him and you effectively confine yourself to 4-4-2, ideally using a target man to feed him.
So, Piqionne or Cole would appear to be Keane's perfect partners. In which case, what do we do with Obinna and why have we signed Ba? Ba seems to think he is here to fire us to safety, which assumes he will be starting games, but I can see him being disappointed. If Keane gets off to a good start alongside of one of Cole or Piquionne, the first choice partnership would be established and Ba may be confined to cameo substitute roles.
Obinna? It looks as if he could be asked to play wide left as we still have nobody to play down that flank. So Hines might as well go out on loan if Collison is back in training.
Of course, there is still time to sell somebody. Piquionne would appear to be the favourite with Sunderland rumoured to be interested and £5million being mooted. That would mean we could sign Keane, effectively, for £1million in the summer should we stay up. Would Ba and Keane work? Or Obinna and Keane?
There's not long to sort this out. We have to win on Wednesday in what is now a Premiership donkey derby.
18 comments:
I'm asking for a lot here but here goes.... I hope someone comes in for Cole. If Woy hadn't got the sack then I was very hopeful that he'd buy Cole. We need Piq as he is our only threat in the air from both set pieces and Green's punts upfield.
You should have summed your initial question up with a 2 letter work...NO.
Piquionne has been one of our most consistant strikers in terms of performances. He's been far from perfect in some games but still he's also one of our mor reliable strikers, so no, I would put money on it that Piquionne would not be sold only 5 months into his contract!
Also with regards to your comment: "Cole, Keane, Ba, Piquionne and Obinna, not to mention Hines, Sears and McCarthy; the question is, why do we need five, six, seven or even eight players to cover at most three positions?"
It's not though is it? At most it's 4 positions. We don't HAVE to stick strictly to a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3, maybe the amount of attacking options will give us freedom to play more of a 4-4-2, especially since Sears, Hines and Obinna have played more on the wing than they have up front. Plus, MacCarthy can't really count as a striker, I wouldn't be surprised if he was even left out of the 25 man squad.
They've done it to me again. Against all judgment and historical perspective, I feel......hopeful. Optimistic.
That sucks.
Because it never works out the way you hope it can. The song tells us that fortunes are always hiding.
So HF, Stani, Sav, all you Hammers whom I enjoy reading during what little free time I have, set me straight. Because I now EXPECT to stay up. I see Keane as our Irish DiCanio. A player that will get in his team-mates face and tell them whats what. The veritable coach on the field.
I know I must be wrong.
Never rated Keane personally for that very reason but he is still a more natural scorer than any of our current bunch. We need goals and he is odds on to provide.
Obinna looked great yesterday but lets not get carried away. He got lucky with the second (his own words) and banged in a penalty. I hope i am wrong but i am guessing he has not changed overnight and will be back to making poor decisions on the ball come wednesday.
Please, let me be wrong!
Cole, McCarthy, Hines, Obinna, Sears, Nouble, may be strikers but they certainly have not been taking the chances and scoring goals in the premiership this season.
Piquionne is brilliant in the air and scores enough to be useful, but more goalscorers are definitely required.
Keane has proved himself as a goalscorer over the years and I think he is a good acquisition.
Not having seen Ba play I can't comment but I have a feeling he will be good for us.
I have already said in previous posts I think Obinna will come good.
I am not sure how good the moody Cole is for the team and think he is worth offloading for 5 million if anyone offered it.
So out of the nine, there are three or possibly five attacking players we can use, not excessive.
Of the other four get rid of McCarthy, and send the youngsters out on loan.They will not help us stay up this year.
Dave,
We have a great chance. Surely not even Grant can cock this up!!! For the first time in a while I'm feeling excited.
Chunky,
Yes, Obinna is still unrefined potential but we need to remember this when he plays bad too. Long way to go for him, but not a player that a club like ours should be letting go of.
I think Keane will be brilliant for us. None of our current strikers have touch or guile and that is what he brings.
Yes - it will be interesting to review the striking options tomorrow morning when the window closes. Hopefully someone will be desparate enough to take 2 Bennies. Cole to Newcastle (to replace Carroll) looks like the most likely option.
Keane needs to play as the second striker or in the hole so when he plays it is likely to be a 4-4-2, or a 4-4-1-1. 4-3-2-1 may also be interesting with Keane and Obinna behind Ba/Cole/Piq.
Hoffenheim play 4-3-3 and Ba can play wide. Obinna/Piq/Ba is another possibility if Keane does not play.
Sears and Hines likely to be fringe players. Nouble has been loaned to Barnsley.
There should be some goals to come from somewhere.
Stani, i totally agree with that. Obinna looks like he may well develop into a gem but at the moment he does make far too many prro decisions. Ideally, he needs a mentor or some personal coaching to correct this. With this training he would no doubt become our best player.
Personal coaching definitely Chunky. If they hadn't p*ssed about with Zola so much, they could have called him back as a consultant for Obinna (and the likes of that new youngster we signed) of some sort and I'm sure he would have said yes.
Oh yes, that would be the same personal coaching that saw Cole score once in his last 13 games under Zola! And the same personal coaching that turned Savio from potential superstar to dead loss. And the same personal coaching that saw Noble lose his way. And Behrami. And Upkins. And Tomkins. It would be the same personal coaching that identified Spector's potential, you know that personal coaching that saw Specs repeatedly played as a left back! And the same personal coaching that has seen Parker look so much better this season under Grant than last under Zola. And the same personal coaching that failed to find a role for Diamanti. Oh and the same personal coaching that saw him try Etherington on the right flank before giving up on him and selling him at a knock down price to Stoke. Yes, we urgently need THAT level of personal coaching.
Given Zola's amazing personal coaching ability, aren't you amazed that he's not yet back in football Stani? Surely clubs should be falling over themselves to recruit him based on the evidence of his personal coaching ability at West Ham shouldn't they? Just because he's a bloody Catholic!
Who's Upkins HF?
Cole was injured during that period. There is such a thing as finding form. Everybody knows the improvement Zola made with Cole yet you carry on quoting that one thing as if it is proof that Zola had no affect and ignore the rest of his performances under Zola.
Savio had issues unrelated to his football ability.
As for the other players you mentioned...Upkins included, I was talking about strikers.
Lots of managers are not back in football. We are not privy to offers Zola may have received and turned down. Clarke's at a bigger club and you criticised him just as much. I see you've stopped mentioning him. You must have hated it when Dalglish signed him up.
Upkins? That's the product of Zola - the worst bits of Upson and Tomkins combined! He turned an England player into a donkey!
I had no problems with Liverpool signing up Clarke in a coaching role. I don't believe he has anything like the same level of authority he was given at West Ham. Bloody hell, even Mini Me Sammy Lee can hold down a job as a coach at Liverpool!
That said, Liverpool have lost at Blackpool and only narrowly defeated Fulham at home. They were lucky to scrape a draw against Everton too. We looked better at Goodison against the Toffees than Liverpool did at Anfield and got exactly the same result. But we had 10 men on the pitch after taking the lead! The only good performance since Clarke's arrival was against Wolves and even Grant can beat them! So...?
"even Grant can beat them!"
Did you slip up there? Naughty. One day you may actually write what you really think on this site HF.
In Zola; are you saying one of the best strikers to grace our league would be of no benefit to the likes of Obinna and young McCallum?
An ironic comment aimed at you Stani. Surely you understood that!
I'm say what I mean 85% of the time on this site Stani. 15% of the time I take the piss.
What use was Zola to Sears exactly?
You can still take the piss and 'say' what you mean HF. Hence, you should be saying what you mean 100% of the time. You dont of course.
Sears was sent out on loan and was clearly a long way from first team premier league action. It was only right the manager concentrated his efforts elsewhere.
Say what I mean 100% of the time? I would be arrested!
Sears was selected by Zola which kind of blows a hole in that argument. It took that great personal trainer Neil Warnock to see his potential as a wide man.
Shit, you have a point about Grant not making it as a player! Bloody hell I didn't realise that Stani. Bugger me, this is madness! How can you appoint somebody to manage a football club who hasn't made it as a player? Absurd! Ridiculous! Crazy!
Er Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho anybody? Not to mention a certain John Lyall of course. You REALLY are an arse sometimes! Now, what great argument are you going to come up with next exactly?
Zola had to try Sears before making judgement obviously.
My point about Grant was in context to your comparison with Zola!!! My point was at least Zola has played the game. Nevertheless, Wenger and Mourinho DID play the game. So who is the arse HF?
Stop behaving like a little child and personally insulting me, I didnt insult you. It's a clear sign you are losing the argument. Act your age.
Wenger spent much of his youth playing football and organizing matches at the village team, FC Duttlenheim, where he made the first team at 16 and was subsequently recruited to nearby third division club AS Mutzig.
Mourinho wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father by becoming a footballer and he joined the Belenenses youth team. Graduating to the senior level, he played at Rio Ave (where his father was coach), Belenenses, and also Sesimbra. By 23, he had realised his limits as a player. ‘I’m an intelligent person. I knew I was not going to go any higher. The second division was my level."
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