The Centre Forward Stop-Gap Market
- Thread starter Sparky Rhiwabon
- Start date
Sport is a horrible source as it's basically concocting Barca company line fan fiction, who want to get rid of Depay since he flopped there rather badly and also receives wages from them, which is something they object to.
Most definitively it would be not a good move at all to sign him. He's not a great player. Not to mention it already went wrong once.
Most definitively it would be not a good move at all to sign him. He's not a great player. Not to mention it already went wrong once.
Can't see why not. He's available.
The alternative option is Rashford regularly starting centrally if Martial can't stay fit.
The alternative option is Rashford regularly starting centrally if Martial can't stay fit.
With the upcoming sale of the team — I think a stop gap loan/signing is more likely.
Any new owner coming in will want to make a big splash on the transfer market, right? Glazers aren’t picking up the tab for any January signing, never have before. We don’t have the cash, they would draw on the credit line. Any buyer will 100% take over the debt. If we spend 100m in January, it’s 100m less to be spent by the new owner in the summer.
Against that, it’s of course huge for the club — and the new owner — to have a club in the CL in 23/24. So I don’t expect the directions from the Glazares will be ‘to do nothing’. Right?
I am just speculating, but it would surprise me if we spent big in January.
If Martial isn’t fit, will Rashford play 3 games a week for 5 months in a row?
Ideally, you want three fit strikers going into a stretch like this. The striker is the most sub position. One guy gets hurt, you can put one guy on the field and one guy on the bench.We have what, 0.5 fit strikers? One striker that cannot stay fit. One LW who can play there. Elanga.
We needed a striker before Ronaldo left, ideally we need two now.
I don’t think the talk — about how we should not get one stop gap striker because he would be average anyway — really is in touch with reality given how our schedule will look as of the ball is kicked off in the Caraboe Cup game against Burnley.
What’s Cherno Samba and Julius Aghahowa up to these days ?
Feck that, just get To Maderia.
I played that version of Championship Manager for years, as I wasn't as fond of the more complexed later versions that took ages to play even one season.
Maxim Tsigalko, Kevin Kyle and Wartan Ghazarian were always quality as well.
Yeah definitely matured in last few years
Yeah, that's true. We've seen almost our worst defensive game without Martial up top (though to be fair we're not keeping clean sheets with him in the side either) so it probably increases our rates of getting ripped apart.
Relatedly, everyone is down on Jonathan David (including me, he didn't get into the box enough to get on the end of crosses) after the Belgium game but I bet if I rewatched it I would think a big part of Canada being able to break up Belgian play so often quite high up the pitch involved his work. Whenever I see him I'm struck by how his stance and decisions defensively seem to be that of a midfielder and not a forward.
Dont forget Nikiforenko
I played that version of Championship Manager for years, as I wasn't as fond of the more complexed later versions that took ages to play even one season.
Maxim Tsigalko, Kevin Kyle and Wartan Ghazarian were always quality as well.
Cant do it week in week out though, but it might work for a season if rotating a bit / subbing him
Mitrovic if available for me, or else a loan with option to buy for Depay where we pay something for the loan for 6 months. Just to see if he floats. If he does, he could be a shrewd signing
We've had our share of wife cheaters, thanks.
Pellestri, Amad, Hannibal, Sancho.....we are over loaded with players can play there even if several are on loan.
Name a striker from your descriptions that is a stop gap and helps us get in the top four against the current competition? Sure there may be some, I cant think of any though
Second one for me as Fulham won't sell Mitrovic
Depay would surely be better as a stop gap than Ighalo, who is such a nailed on candidate for future "players you forgot who played for United" threads, I had to recheck the spelling of his surname...
Yeah he definitely would be,problem with buying Gakpo is no money for striker in summer
Just not a fan of players returning. Maybe it’s just because of what happened with Ronaldo & Pogba in recent years.
Yeah, I hear that, but I really think we need someone now. Best solution would be going balls out for ten Hag's first choice in Jan.
Mark Hughes?
I get that but what happens if a Kane/Osimhen/Sesko/Vlahovic suddenly becomes available in the summer
Wonder who ten Hag's first choice would be?
Maybe Kane IF he was available
I think we have to agree to disagree here.
From a striker, ETH — besides all ‘spectacular things’, presence in the air space, dribbling/shooting, counter attack ability — wants:
(a) the ability to press, to have the defender just clear the ball so that we can regain possession instantly, and
(b) the ability to take a pass high up the field, shield of pressuring defenders, to keep possession of the ball.
Right? When Ronaldo have played we didn’t get the press and when Rashford played we didn’t get the hold up ability — and it has shown a lot. With Martial we get both, and it helped us a lot.
Without adding a striker we will with Rashford, Elanga, Diallo, Antony, Eriksen, Bruno and co not get the hold up ability. PL defenders are merciless when pressing an attacker in those situation. If you aren’t good in those situations, you will sit there with 4-5 bags of ice and a ton of lost balls after 90 minutes. You don’t have to be John Hartson 2.0 to get it done, Jesus handles it perfectly, but it’s not easy.
From my POV, having a player at a position that doesn’t meet the minimum requirements in essential areas, is very costly for a system oriented team like ours. I for example think it’s more important for ETH to have a striker that can hold up the play and press really well — but that has zero flash and dash — as opposed to having someone there who can dribble really well but will go into hiding the very second a PL CB pressures him from behind, or a great finisher that can’t press and so forth.
And I mean, this is surely the reason for why a team like Bayern carry a striker that was a failure at Stoke, and PSG carried the same striker before them, in Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, right?
Martial and Rashford starts a game. We are up 1-0 with 20 minutes to go away against a mid tier PL team and both are really tired. Who do you sub on, tell me that? Elanga at striker and Sancho at LW? Garnacho? You can’t play up the ball on any one of the available striker options, to get some rest and get up field. The striker is the most subbed position. With the schedule we have, should Martial play the full 95 minutes no matter the score? He should come of when he can. We don’t have anyone who is a good fit if he comes off. And imagine if Martial keeps getting hurt, like he constantly have. Then you have a miss-fit there, and no sub for the misfit.
So I believe that someone like Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting could help ETH. Could come in as a sub on occasion. Could start when Martial and or Rashford can’t. And so forth. Definitely think he can help us to get pts.
I don’t pretend to have up to date correct views of the Choupo-Motings of the football world, that might be available on loan or cheap. Per definition, it’s hard to have great track of these guys since they aren’t playing a ton presumably. I can only mention some names on which I don’t have updated info on, haven’t seen in a year or two, or whatever.
How about a Yussef Poulsen? Don’t know his current status, but he isn’t playing much. Like 120 minutes in the Bundesliga and I think I saw him on the bench for Denmark meaning that he is healthy. Would Milan loan us Divick Origi? I would bet that Zlatan is done, but he is rumored to be back for Milan and they already have Giroux. What is Origi’s status?Former Bournmouth striker Jousha King was always a bit of a coach’s dream. Someone said he is done, I don’t even remember the last time I saw him. He was really could for Norway in a game I saw, but don’t remember if that was 1 or 2 or even 3 years ago. They upset a bigger nation IIRC. He could be in worse state than Suarez was for Uruguay for all I know, who obviously don’t even remotely got it anymore. But he is only 30, if he is not done he would help. There are many guys like that out there.
Last edited:
Cavani again for the remainder of the season anyone?
Absolutely not. Have you forgotten he spent his last season with us pretending to be unfit then turned out for every Uruguay game.
The upside is his versatility. Gakpo is as much depth at striker as he is depth at AMC or LW (which isn’t needed).
If we get Gakpo, we can surely sell Donny for example, for what 20m?
Firmino?
Richarlison?
Swoop in when Tony O’cnuty implodes
Swoop in when Tony O’cnuty implodes
Got to admit…not just based on yesterdays performance…Richarlison at 9 with Antony and Rashford either side would be an exciting prospect…not least because of the work ethic and shithousery from the Brazilians. Martial Garnacho and Sancho backup.
tasty.
tasty.
Club official statement read he was injured but for you to say this that's a big claim.
Anyways Watched him come on yesterday for Uruguay against South Korea and is hold up and link up play was very good not to mention he's a very good finisher.
Sad injury and other things ment we had to let him go but other than that I'll take him right now for 6 months.
Enner Valencia...
Enner Valencia? To take the no7 like his compatriot and country legend Antonio. 
Haha you beat me to it.
Still 33. Perfect age for us
Suddenly reappered after his 4 year hibernation.
Whether we believed him about his fitness or not it is fair to say that ship has sailed. He was pretty adamant at the end of last season that he wanted to experience playing in La Liga and he only signed a 2 year deal with Valenica in August so it is fair to say he is not going to be available unless we offer a daft fee. Of course paying a transfer fee for a player we released on a free a few months ago wouldn't be the craziest thing we have done in recent years.
I would personally cast my vote for Dembele. He fits the system and with only 6 months left on his deal Lyon may well be happy just to get a nominal transfer fee at this point. I would think he would be reasonably willing to accept a squad role with us and so it would not rule out moving for a bigger target in the summer.