Strikers

[Mumbo]

We've been brilliant at the back this season and it's served us really well.

We've played 29 and only conceded 25 goals. Only Liverpool have done better, which is phenomenal when you consider we're playing the same players who took us up.

However, things aren't so rosy upfront. We've only scored 30 goals in the Premier League. You have to go down to Palace for the next team who have scored less. And then Newcastle, Watford, Bournemouth and Norwich.

It's clearly an area Chris knows he needs to improve drastically, having already spent big on Moussett, McBurnie and Robinson.

Currently we have:

Sharp 3
McBurnie 4
Didsy 0
Mousset 5
Clarke
Zivkovic
Robinson (on loan?) 1
Smith

Next season, I'm guessing we'll still have:

Sharp
McBurnie
Didsy
Smith

I think he'll try and sell

Mousset
Robinson

and Clarke and Zivkovic will have left/returned to their parent club.

Clearly, we need to be better upfront. Sure, we're 6th (which is brilliant) but I doubt we'll be able to keep it up at the back as well next season. Plus, assuming Lunny is going (5 goals) and if Mousse goes (5 goals) we'll have lost over 3rd of out goals.

I don't think we'll have anywhere near as much money to spend next season (unless we sell) but yet again upfront is likely to be a priority. We'll likely need to bring in 2/3 new players in those positions (assuming we sell Mousset and Robinson) and given Sharp will be 34 and Didsy will be 32 at the start of the season, we can probably expect less of a contribution in game time from them both.

It will be another busy summer ahead for wheeling and dealing.

It’s not always the strikers,
Every game without exception that Billy Sharp plays I see him making wasted runs into the box often in space and more often the not pretty
central in the area.He did it against Villa and I was screaming for an early ball to Sharp Via a clever little through ball from midfield but one never came because we seem fixated on getting it out wide.
I’m not moaning we are 6th but watch Sharp the next time he plays and watch his wasted runs into the penalty area.

 

[Chabuddy G]

We don’t really create chances for them. It’s that simple.

We base our game on being defensively solid and there’s nothing wrong with that but it’s meant very little service for the strikers for the majority of the season. It’s not down to their quality.

 

[robbiez666]

The point I'm making about Mousset is that, for whatever reason, he is not starting games. Most of his appearances have come from the bench.

Common sense tells me that McBurnie and Mousset are the most likely strike force but that's not happening. Chris might start him next season but he isn't at the moment. Depending on the reasons, the player himself may not be happy. If Chris doesn't fancy him as a starter, logic dictates that he might need to try and get most of his money back to spend on someone else.

And agree that this is not simply an issue with the strikers. We don't create anywhere near enough chances so when they come strikers get castigated for missing them. The way we play is intended to be solid but we need to move the ball quicker going forward and put in earlier crosses. Too much of the overlapping is too slow and allows the opposition to flood the box. Midfielders and wingbacks need to be better with their final delivery. Defenders need to chip in more from set-pieces.

 

[DronnieBlade]

We will have at least 4 of the current strikers on the books next season.

DMc (debatable he isn’t an out and out 10).
BS.
OMc
LM

Tyler Smith maybe as a development player but may struggle to get a PL squad number.

So if as folks are saying we need perhaps 2 more to come in, who moves out ?

I’ll start.

Categorically.
100%
Without hesitation.

Oli McBaffling.

NGE and never will be for the required level and standard we MUST aspire to.

UTB

 

[Sam64]

We will have at least 4 of the current strikers on the books next season.

DMc (debatable he isn’t an out and out 10).
BS.
OMc
LM

Tyler Smith maybe as a development player but may struggle to get a PL squad number.

So if as folks are saying we need perhaps 2 more to come in, who moves out ?

I’ll start.

Categorically.
100%
Without hesitation.

Oli McBaffling.

NGE and never will be for the required level and standard we MUST aspire to.

UTB

lol

 

[Brian Deane]

Feck me. 1 game back and its not kneel on the knee its a fecking knee jerk for the Moose after what he's been through so far this season I'm surprised he can focus on what he's supposed be doing.....Is there ❄❄ forecast for the weekend

 

[PokerBlade]

It's not as simple as signing a goalscorer. The way we got up here the bulk of our goals were tap ins and well worked shots in the area. Two things have changed for us in this regard. One is that we hold far less of the ball. This means we can't work as many opportunities. The second is, because we've moved to the flat three in midfield, minus the Duffy role, we're far more prone to having too much distance between the front two and the midfield, forcing us to go long more often. The solution to that problem has been McGoldrick. He's the one who drops deep to build passing moves, and the one who comes back to turn over possession in the middle of the pitch.

So the issue for me isn't that Sharp or McBurnie can't/won't score enough goals. The problem is that the two of them together lead to us being far more direct and far less controlling of the game. Without Fleck vs. Villa, this problem was even more pronounced (Freeman should start over Berge against Newcastle if Fleck's still unavailable imo).

Mousset looks like he could be a fantastic player for us. Sharp will score goals as long as you make chances. McBurnie looks similar, if a different build to Sharp. The thing we need is a young version of Didzy.

 

[CentralQuay]

We will have at least 4 of the current strikers on the books next season.

DMc (debatable he isn’t an out and out 10).
BS.
OMc
LM

Tyler Smith maybe as a development player but may struggle to get a PL squad number.

So if as folks are saying we need perhaps 2 more to come in, who moves out ?

I’ll start.

Categorically.
100%
Without hesitation.

Oli McBaffling.

NGE and never will be for the required level and standard we MUST aspire to.

UTB

Mcburnie not good enough, but Billy Sharp is?


The strikers don't really impress me individually, i'm not convinced many sides in the league would take many (if any) of them......
The larger problem is how isolated they get because of a lack of creativity. I wouldn't be surprised to see an alternative system next season.

 

[jt64]

Mcburnie not good enough, but Billy Sharp is?


The strikers don't really impress me individually, i'm not convinced many sides in the league would take many (if any) of them......
The larger problem is how isolated they get because of a lack of creativity. I wouldn't be surprised to see an alternative system next season.

Struggling to reconcile sixth in the league with system not working

 

[Revolution]

Struggling to reconcile sixth in the league with system not working

it’s not complicated- our defence has been fantastic.

 

[Ricky]

We minimise risks massively. I really wish we could be more expansive and attack minded.

But as long as we're in the position we are, I can't bring myself to ask for any more.

I'm sure we'll aim for a better attack/defence balance next season though. But how to do that is a challenge, aside from throwing money at top strikers.

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Once again some posters on here seem to be complaining that SOME of us ALSO want a go to centre forward who has the ability to be a 15-20 goal a season striker as well as the other 10 contributing.

Everything about a football team should be about progress and have other options - like a regular, I pick myself centre forward as I put the ball in the net on a consistent basis so as to take the pressure off the defence type of player.

This thread is once again starting to go down hill because SOME want to IMPROVE the team with better striker(s).

Bonkers, just bonkers - some simply haven't seen us play at Halifax in the 4th division.

We're not some sort of sanctuary for have a go centre forwards, because that type of standing still mentality will very quickly turn into a poor season - it won't take much at this Premier league level and we've been very very fortunate with injuries which numerous seem to forget.

Progress for Sheff United will be to find better striker to go with the incredible attributes the rest of the team have.

We chased Berge for a reason - we're also chasing Dennis for a reason (and probably some others we've not heard of yet). We've also got the Dutch kid to see if his initial break through in Holland was justified or not.

It's all about progress and not standing still.

UTB

 

[Sithblade]

I suspect our excellent defensive form this season will not be repeatable next season, particularly if there is no Henderson. Fleck and Lundstram have also done well with goalscoring but you wonder again if that is sustainable.

In which case, the forwards must score more goals.

Sharp has done about as well as could be expected.

Mousset started really well but hasn't scored in ten games or so.

McBurnie's output is disappointing.

McGoldrick is having a historically bad season in terms of goalscoring.

Robinson did not look good enough.

I was really surprised to see both Sharp and McGoldrick get 2 year deals. I hope there is room in the budget for another goalscorer. We need one.

Similar to when we gave Clarke another contract when he still had another season left on his original one and subsequently he's only played a handful of games the last two years.
As great as Sharp and Goldy are we could have seen how they go on next season and make a decision then, as opposed to now having them confirmed for the next two when they could really drop off in next 12 months.

 

[BushBlade]

We’re playing a back five and we’re hitting long aimless balls out of defence whenever we’re being closed down. And we’ve only got Didsy who can play as a target man. In theory, it shouldn’t work at all but theory can be bollocks in football. This season we’ve tended to go long in the first 20 minutes or so until the opposition stops pressing us and then we tend to start getting control of the ball, knocking around and doing our thing. Against Villa, we did a bit but a lot of our passing was below normal standards. Understandably.
But unless Didsy plays, every time we hit it long it just comes straight back, we’ve barely time to clear our lines and push up.

I don’t want to see us fannying around at the back trying to play it out under pressure and then losing it in dangerous areas and I get why we keep going long so, for me, we need another striker who can play with his back to the goal, we can’t just rely on Didsy.

 

[robbiez666]

We’re playing a back five and we’re hitting long aimless balls out of defence whenever we’re being closed down. And we’ve only got Didsy who can play as a target man. In theory, it shouldn’t work at all but theory can be bollocks in football. This season we’ve tended to go long in the first 20 minutes or so until the opposition stops pressing us and then we tend to start getting control of the ball, knocking around and doing our thing. Against Villa, we did a bit but a lot of our passing was below normal standards. Understandably.
But unless Didsy plays, every time we hit it long it just comes straight back, we’ve barely time to clear our lines and push up.

I don’t want to see us fannying around at the back trying to play it out under pressure and then losing it in dangerous areas and I get why we keep going long so, for me, we need another striker who can play with his back to the goal, we can’t just rely on Didsy.

We used to be pretty good on hitting the channels. Make the defender put it out for a throw in and move all the way upfield.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

The problem with the McBurnie and Sharp partnership is a distinct lack of pace and link up play.

 

[CentralQuay]

We minimise risks massively. I really wish we could be more expansive and attack minded.

But as long as we're in the position we are, I can't bring myself to ask for any more.

I'm sure we'll aim for a better attack/defence balance next season though. But how to do that is a challenge, aside from throwing money at top strikers.

You minimise risks because you have a competent manager, unlike that guy at Norwich who is for some reason trying to make Pep's Barcelona look like a kick and run team from past decades.