The strikers

[Salopian]

We were (again) poor, this time against Brighton. Some people have blamed the midfield presumably for not providing sufficient cover for out leaky back five.

I don't buy this entirely. We should have sufficient cover from Johnson and Tettey. I must admit that I much prefer O'Neill to Johnson, but whatever the case the BBC site counted that we had 23 chances yesterday, and managed to put only 10 on target. Stockdale played well, but aside from the three goals was not really troubled.

So what can be done about the strikers? I think now, as I did at the time, that we really did not need three more central defenders. One better standard one would have done nicely, even if it was risky. Ditto strikers. Grabban flattered to deceive with early goals but has scored few if any over the last several games. He doesn't even look like scoring. Goals seem to have dried up for Jerome as well.(Some have suggested that they cannot play together as a combination.)

Yet despite poor scoring, Hooper has been kept out - I know that he was injured for some time. It is surely time for him to be given a run of starts! I would make him the prime striker for a time, and see how one of the other two can play alongside him. In January, if we are still interested in promotion, we ought to buy a top flight striker, even if he costs £10m rather than the million or two for each of the two we signed this summer. 

In the meantime, I hope that Hooper can come good and deliver the goals.

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

Stockdale played well, but aside from the three goals was not really troubled.

Normally you would expect three goals at home to win you the game. In this game, not sure not scoring enough goals was the problem. Hooper should be amongst the best strikers in this league - he needs more game-time. Wouldnt have expected any of our other strikers to pull the trigger like he did yesterday, with the possible exception of Jerome, who has played above my expectations this season

 

[eatonparkboy]

We have four strikers to choose from so if one is off form then their is a replacement although I concede that could lead to a change in other positions. Gary Hooper, on current form is our best striker (he has scored). So the decision against Reading has to be who partners him and I believe it has to be Jerome.

 

[Din]

To be fair, with the exception of our goals, there was an Olsson free-kick that Stockdale saved, Redmond had a decent shot saved, Grabban went through and had his effort blocked by the keeper, and Johnson's 25 yard shot that Stockdale saved, apart from that we didn't really have a notable effort on goal. We may have had 23 shots but of those there were only a handful of proper goal-scoring opportunities.

 

[Wiz]

If Hooper looks poor his goal certainly didn't!

 

[Paul Handscombe]

Grabban is sh!t, there is no getting away from it and Adams stubbornness to keep playing him shows what an inexperienced, inept manager he is.  If Hooper doesn't start against Reading in place of Grabban he should be sacked on the spot.  At the very worst Lafferty should play up front, why when he comes on does Adams tell him to play on the wing he is a battering ram and should spearhead the attack.

 

[Yellow Fever]

Grabban is not sh!t, Paul, but he is out of form. I too think that it's time Hooper got a start and I'd play Jerome on the left and Redmond s just too easy to defend againston the right in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 with Howson in behind. A 4-4-2 is just too easy to defend against with a packed defence.

 

[Paul Handscombe]

Grabban is pony, we should have tried harder to get callum wilson.  Grabban has done nothing since Ipshit and I mean nothing, he doesn't make good runs he doesn't put a shift in like jerome does, when he does get a chance he misses it or a poor first touch takes it away.

Out of the 4 strikers we have he is 5

 

[hogesar]

Grabban is out of form but he's not a poor player.

Also to claim he doesn't put a shift in like Jerome is nothing short of plain wrong! One thing Grabban does always do is put in a shift. He's struggling at the moment but he puts in no less of a shift than Jerome.

 

[digsb]

Grabban is pony, we should have tried harder to get callum wilson.  Grabban has done nothing since Ipshit and I mean nothing, he doesn't make good runs he doesn't put a shift in like jerome does, when he does get a chance he misses it or a poor first touch takes it away.

Out of the 4 strikers we have he is 5

I love this - it's the equivalent of being envious of your mate's girlfriend because she has larger 'tracts of land' than your own, despite the fact you know full well that when given the opportunity she turned you down.

There is no guarantee that Wilson will continue to perform well, and certainly no guarantee that if we had bought Wilson instead of Grabban he would be doing as well.  What we do know is that Grabban had a very good season with Bournemouth and that he started this season well - even if some of his goals were a tad fortunate (you've got to make your own luck, be in it to win it etc etc).

The lad is struggling for confidence and is on a poor run.  I would like to see him dropped, not because I think he is a donkey, but 1) I think Hooper has done enough to warrant a start and 2) maybe some time away from the limelight could help relive the pressure on Grabban

 

[Din]

Grabban is far from a poor player, as proved last season when he scored 22 goals last season for Bournemouth. However he has failed to impress recently, and Hooper at this moment in time is the much better option.

I believe that a consistent run in the team and Hooper can easily score 20 plus goals this season. He's a superb striker at this level and him and Jerome could be potentially lethal.

 

[eatonparkboy]

Hooper must start and be assured by NA that if he doesn't score straight away but contributes to the team hopefully winning, then his position is safe. You just get the feeling that Grabban is an Adams signing and has been spared the whip.

I fact why didn't Adams say so rather than the tepid “He’s done his chances of starting in the next game no harm at all. 

 

[Yellow Fever]

Wilson is out with a hamstring injury and Bournemouth would like Grabban back on loan. Fat chance!

http://www.shoot.co.uk/category/team/could-grabban-return/

Bornemouth's small squad is suffering big-time now.