What to do with Grabban

[brhdodds]

Everyone will probably agree that the most surprising inclusion in the starting XI was Grabban up top.

Positives: Good control, turn and finish for his goal. Ran the channels well and looked a pretty decent player overall.
Negatives: Didn't look fussed in the opening 15/20 before his goal and didn't really celebrate when he did score. 

What are people's thoughts on him now, keep and play, keep in his current role as mainly backup or cash in?

 

[eatonparkboy]

I hold nothing against him for his early season tantrum. Bassong is back in the fold and if Grabban has apologised then that is the end of the matter for me.

I do take issue if he is still not living in the area. We have suffered in the past with this domestic problem, even in the seventies.

Personally, I don't rate him that highly. Many thought thought he did well yesterday and yes he did score a good goal (well any goal is good, and Gabriel's misplaced header would have been a brilliant goal). But in his defence, he didn't get much support early doors as we automatically assumed Arsenal would push us back so we retreated anyway. But when he did get support I still don't think he links play as well as Jerome and I wanted  to scream at him in the 2nd half when Dorrans bust a gut to get up the left side and support him against a lone defender and he gave the ball away. Games hinge on moments like that. Cech's save was another pivotal moment but that wasn't in our own hands.

But as I said on a different topic, I'm not the manager ( thank goodness) and AN's hunch (I still believe it was) paid off. Who can argue with that? A lucky manager is as good as thoughtful one. And if Grabban continues in the side and keepsscoring then humble pie will be on my menu.

And that is the point of this forum. If we all agreed with the OP we could call it the StepfordTalk forum.

 

[ZLF]

Struggled early but we sat too deep and showed too much respect until they scored;    during that time he had no service and whether it was dave, jerome or lafferty up front we wouldnt have seen much different.

Once we started pressing higher up the pitch his game and effort improved and timed his movement perfectly before slotting home coolly for the goal.

I do think he is a better alternative than lafferty in the long run,  and Dave as abject at stamford bridge.   Good to keep some options!

 

[Suffolk Canary]

I've honestly never rated Grabban, even when he scored 4 in 4 at the start of last season. But i have to admit on sunday he did look very..capable. Even though it slightly pains me to say it, I think after that performance (not just him, as a team) you can't make many changes for Watford. 

But there were a few signs of the Grabban we know, such as that basic pass which somehow went straight to Cazorla.  So keep Grabban in for now, but any hint of him going back to his old ways and Mbokani should be straight back in there 

 

[GJP]

What are his old ways?

His performance against Arsenal was the type of performance I associate him with.

 

[Canaryboy]

I think it depends on whether there is still a big offer on the table from Bournemouth in January, and whether any replacement we could purchase would actually be an improvement on what we already have.

Dwight Gayle feels like a sideways step, Walters is probably better but he is 32 so for how long? 

Remains to be seen whether Bamford could do the business at this level as he isn't really getting any starts at Crystal Palace, but he is much younger so potentially a player who would be a better long term investment.

If we could get £6m for Grabban and Chelsea would sell us Bamford for £6m then I think I'd be tempted enough by that to sell, Bamford is only 22 and I think he's got a bright future. 

Will Bournemouth still want Grabban though? They may decide not to spend but to go down with as much money as possible, with four long term injuries and Callum Wilson now out, I doubt £7m on Grabban will keep them up, I think they may decide to just cut their losses. 

 

[brhdodds]

If we could sell Grabban for £7m (if their £6m summer offer is to be believed) and get say £4m for Lafferty, we could get a decent player for £11m. Austin?

Austin, Mbokani and Jerome is a fearful sounding forward line and all offering very different things.

 

[eatonparkboy]

If we could sell Grabban for £7m (if their £6m summer offer is to be believed) and get say £4m for Lafferty, we could get a decent player for £11m. Austin?

Austin, Mbokani and Jerome is a fearful sounding forward line and all offering very different things.

That's a good shout. Maybe not that much for Lafferty perhaps.

Would Austin pass a medical at the moment is the only thing that might take the sheen off that one.

 

[KeiranShikari]

Austin won't come here. He'll be leaving on a free in the summer and getting a huge pay packet ans signing on fee at a much bigger club.

Wouldn't want us to sell Grabban really, just in case we go down.

 

[Din]

As long as he continues to play well and score goals he should be in the team.

I don't understand people who are still holding what he did before the Rotherham game against him. We forgave Holt after he handed in a transfer request, we forgave Hoolahan after he did the same and called us a 'f*cking sh*t club', and we forgave Bassong after he threw his toys out of the pram after Hughton was sacked. Why can't people do the same for Grabban?

 

[dj161]

I dont understand people that still hold a grudge against him, if Alex Neil is happy that the issue is dealt with and that Grabban is going about his job in a proffesional way then thats good enough for me

There was a guy sitting in the row behind me on Sunday, celebrated the goal with everyone else, then when they announced Grabbans name as the goal scorer over the PA system this guy decided that he had to a boo as loud as humanly possible, I just felt like really cant you just enjoy us scoring a goal against a champions league side, who cares who scored it and what they did 4 months ago

 

[brhdodds]

That's a good shout. Maybe not that much for Lafferty perhaps.

Would Austin pass a medical at the moment is the only thing that might take the sheen off that one.

Or Afobe? Wolves aren't going anywhere this season so can't demand the same they allegedly did in the summer. 

 

[GJP]

Or they might because they aren't going to have the Premier League riches to look forward to.

 

[eatonparkboy]

He seems to have matured into a very good striker. Why Arsenal don't persevere with players is beyond me especially as they aren't blessed in the striking department.

Will Kenny Jackett be the manager in January? They are really doing very well and they need to put in a good run to catch even the play off hopefuls. If he is still there then they have written off this season and might well cash in on Afobe.

 

[GJP]

Why Arsenal don't persevere with players is beyond me es

Bellerin, Gibbs, Coquelin, Wilshere, Ramsey, Ox, Theo.

 

[eatonparkboy]

Bellerin, Gibbs, Coquelin, Wilshere, Ramsey, Ox, Theo.

Only one striker out of that list and four of them are sick notes.

 

[eatonparkboy]

By the way in my post about Wolves I should have put they are NOT really doing very well.

I was never good at knots.

 

[GJP]

Only one striker out of that list and four of them are sick notes.

But they have persevered with all of them.

As for the strikers, if all were fit they'd have Giroud, Welbeck and Walcott which is pretty good so I can see why they didn't keep Afobe. However, the argument would be that they still need that one real top calibre striker.

 

[eatonparkboy]

I just think a club like Arsenal and Chelsea no doubt, would never go for a player like Vardy no matter how many goals he scored. I suspect some of these teams, expecting to be in the Champions League each year. look for something different. Which is one of the reasons Holt did so well, under Lambert, in the Prem.