Which is more important: a top striker or a top right-winger?

eire-red

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I think we can get by with having a quality winger, it's more important that they're naturally comfortable out wide. They don't necessarily have to be top, top class.

In regards to a striker though, yes I think whoever is leading the line for us needs to be world class for us to challenge again. Mourinho is showing with Spurs how important it is to have a top CF to take your chances when you get them.

I think we can fix the right wing without necessarily buying the 'best in class', but to be a top team you need a world class striker. Cavani, Lewandowski, Suarez, Benzema, Aguero. All the most successful clubs over the last decade have been characterized by a world class CF, a world class midfield, and a top CB pairing. If the spine of your team is strong, I think it's easier to fill out the gaps around that.
 

AneRu

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Don`t forget Pellistri and Diallo as well. The former is starting to settle well into England and likely to start featuring in cup games from January while latter is more talented than people think, out of all the young upcoming players we`ve scouted(U20 to U18 range) he had the highest ratings amongst everyone from our scouting department we wouldn`t have paid over the odds if it wasnt the case. We have options on the RW they aren`t as established as the Sanchos of this world yet but there`s potential and at least one of them is likely to give us a permanent solution from within.
On the other hand we constantly have to play 2 DMs because none of our options there are solid anchors on their own or possess the quality to be anchors while our CB partnership albeit solid lacks pace and quality to enable us to play a high line. I genuinely believe the right players in those positions will propel us to another level ala 17/18 Liverpool
Right on, if neither of Pellistri and Diallo can make an impact over the next 24 months then we should sack our scouts. We have committed at least £30m on those two and it has to be justifiable.

In 2003 we lost Beckham and replaced him with an 18 year old Ronaldo who was nowhere near the player that went on to achieve great things. We spent the next three seasons rotating between Ronaldo, Ole and Fletcher a d while we didnt achieve great things we were ok.

Right now we aren't ok, we are conceding soft goals all over the place and have to play limited players like Fred and McTominay because the only natural and technically gifted DM we have is on his last legs. On Saturday, a better team than West Ham would have been 4 or 5 up at half time, even a two goal deficit could have been to steep a cliff to climb. The team can't progress with such vulnerabilities and we all know that we aren't having a window where we will spend £200m. We have to prioritize and look to develop our own RW then maybe spend in 2022 if they all fail.
 

Volumiza

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Definitely a striker for me. Striker is a very specialized position. And I think we’ve seen that you can’t just throw any attacker in that position and expect returns.

We need someone with a bit of predatory instinct. It’s getting really frustrating watching the likes of Martial never quite being where he needs to be.
Absolutely. We've already seen how much of a difference Cavani has made but he won't be able to play every match. Another striker is very important. Greenwood, although I'm sure he'll be a future star, and potentially as a 9, isn't quite ready yet and may not be for another couple of years.

I'm happy with Rashford and Martial playing on the flanks for now but I can't help but feeling we really should be looking at getting somebody in to replace Martial, or at least compete with him.

We really shouldn't be in a position where our only reliable CF is 33 and has had injuries and we keep playing Martial even when he's not in form simply because we don't have any suitable options
 

AneRu

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I think we can get by with having a quality winger, it's more important that they're naturally comfortable out wide. They don't necessarily have to be top, top class.

In regards to a striker though, yes I think whoever is leading the line for us needs to be world class for us to challenge again. Mourinho is showing with Spurs how important it is to have a top CF to take your chances when you get them.

I think we can fix the right wing without necessarily buying the 'best in class', but to be a top team you need a world class striker. Cavani, Lewandowski, Suarez, Benzema, Aguero. All the most successful clubs over the last decade have been characterized by a world class CF, a world class midfield, and a top CB pairing. If the spine of your team is strong, I think it's easier to fill out the gaps around that.
Whilst I agree with that sentiment I also think that our defensive core is weaker than our striking options. Before Cavani it was desperate because it was Martial or bust but now we have him and he is hungry as ever whilst Greenwood is coming up so I think it's a decision we can postpone for the next one and half seasons but the clusterfeck in defense and midfield will derail whatever we want to build. It's a clear and more urgent weakness to address.
 

justsomebloke

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Personally, I think the biggest need up front is for a player who can both deputise credibly for Bruno as no 10, and play either wing at least roughly as well as our current first choices in those positions. Donny was supposed to be the no 10 deputy, but judging by the first half against West Ham, that may have been overly optimistic. Hence, we are totally reliant on Bruno, which is the most critical weakness of the squad. He can't play every game, and he can get injured, like anyone else.

It's got to be someone with versatility, because if he's good enough to deputise credibly for Bruno, he's also too good to only deputise for Bruno. Such a player would address both that, and our general shortage of quality depth up front. That would be better than either a pure winger or a pure striker, in my opinion.

In other words, we basically need Jack Grealish.

However, none of that (or any other concern) matters if we have a chance to get Haaland. ESPN just ranked him the second best striker in the world, at age 19, in their annual top 100. He's just scary good, not like any striker I've ever seen, and he may have 15 elite years ahead of him. Moves relentlessly like Cavani but with twice the speed, and even better scoring acumen. The thought of what he could do in combination with Bruno and Rashford....
 

RkkMan

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Right on, if neither of Pellistri and Diallo can make an impact over the next 24 months then we should sack our scouts. We have committed at least £30m on those two and it has to be justifiable.

In 2003 we lost Beckham and replaced him with an 18 year old Ronaldo who was nowhere near the player that went on to achieve great things. We spent the next three seasons rotating between Ronaldo, Ole and Fletcher a d while we didnt achieve great things we were ok.

Right now we aren't ok, we are conceding soft goals all over the place and have to play limited players like Fred and McTominay because the only natural and technically gifted DM we have is on his last legs. On Saturday, a better team than West Ham would have been 4 or 5 up at half time, even a two goal deficit could have been to steep a cliff to climb. The team can't progress with such vulnerabilities and we all know that we aren't having a window where we will spend £200m. We have to prioritize and look to develop our own RW then maybe spend in 2022 if they all fail.
I wasn`t watching football then but were we actually using Ole and Fletcher on the RW??!:houllier:
 

AneRu

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I wasn`t watching football then but were we actually using Ole and Fletcher on the RW??!:houllier:
In Beckham's final season Fergie benched him for Ole for significant periods then Fletcher and Ronaldo shared the RW for two seasons I think.
 

Strelok

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Perisic is a LW and for a club that is known for giving youth players chances isn`t it counter productive to sign a then 32yr old winger(who`s actually a LW and you`re complaining that we use Greenwood out of position even though he scored 17goals from the RW) to take up the minutes of two promising RWs that will be ready to play in the first team come January? It completely goes against our philosophy and a waste of money(look at Bale at Spurs on 300k a week playing a bench role which Lucas Moura was already doing) I mean Jadon Sancho who people here clamor for had zero minutes of top flight football at City and instantly showed his potential at BVB when he was given the chance. If you`re good enough you`re old enough and shoring up our defence with a CB and CDM will improve our chances of having a cohesive attack without needing to sign another attacker
Yeah so should we stop playing Cavani and start Greenwood now as our main #9? So it's not counter productive.

Perisic is a L/RW, he's too footed and play well on both wings. He's only a fill in for 6 months while we settle Diallo in.

Tbh I started to get tired with those discussions. All teams double defend their left and let their right open. Do you guys see how crowded our left side any bloody match we play?. It's like playing a boxing match with one hand tied behind your back. We have no RW for 5,6 years and our fans are against loaning a RW for 6 months??? That's fecking crazy tbh. I'm out.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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I wasn`t watching football then but were we actually using Ole and Fletcher on the RW??!:houllier:
I can confirmed it to you, we did. I have even seen Fletcher playing on the right with Scotland before.
 

eire-red

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Whilst I agree with that sentiment I also think that our defensive core is weaker than our striking options. Before Cavani it was desperate because it was Martial or bust but now we have him and he is hungry as ever whilst Greenwood is coming up so I think it's a decision we can postpone for the next one and half seasons but the clusterfeck in defense and midfield will derail whatever we want to build. It's a clear and more urgent weakness to address.
Yes I'm definitely with you there. We need to address the RW position absolutely, but we don't need to be allocating a significant portion of our budget for it. A top CB, CM and CF should be where we are allocating the majority of our resources towards over the next 2/3 windows, and hopefully plug in a couple gaps here and there with more 'shrewd' signings.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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I should say a wide creative player or a creative winger. Someone with instinct of creating assists or chances not wide goal scorer.

I think we can stick with Cavani, Greenwood & Martial for now as striker option. In my opinion our XI template should be the Everton game and we need to replace Mata with another creative player.
 

Gabagoo

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Right winger, and it's only been that way for about 6 years, so well worth the thread.
 

Sea-Cow

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Absolutely. We've already seen how much of a difference Cavani has made but he won't be able to play every match. Another striker is very important. Greenwood, although I'm sure he'll be a future star, and potentially as a 9, isn't quite ready yet and may not be for another couple of years.

I'm happy with Rashford and Martial playing on the flanks for now but I can't help but feeling we really should be looking at getting somebody in to replace Martial, or at least compete with him.

We really shouldn't be in a position where our only reliable CF is 33 and has had injuries and we keep playing Martial even when he's not in form simply because we don't have any suitable options
Unless something drastically changes I'd worry about Martial if we brought in a potted-plant for competition.

Right now Martial should not be in consideration unless its a cup game against a championship side, either as a striker or out wide. And I think Greenwood could potentially develop into a number 9, but right now he is just too slight and isn't physically developed enough to lead the line. He needs to be involved in a fluid attack where he can ghost around and try to find space, instead of going up against CBs directly as we would want in a target man. The same goes for Rashford. Can be useful when floating around in a fluid attack, but is useless as a target man. He wants to constantly use his speed and make runs, not fighting for balls into feet.

So yes, incredibly, that means we have a 33 recently unemployed CF as our only option.
 

marktan

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Yeah so should we stop playing Cavani and start Greenwood now as our main #9? So it's not counter productive.

Perisic is a L/RW, he's too footed and play well on both wings. He's only a fill in for 6 months while we settle Diallo in.

Tbh I started to get tired with those discussions. All teams double defend their left and let their right open. Do you guys see how crowded our left side any bloody match we play?. It's like playing a boxing match with one hand tied behind your back. We have no RW for 5,6 years and our fans are against loaning a RW for 6 months??? That's fecking crazy tbh. I'm out.
People just go for whatever is the flavour of the month without actually looking at what we need as a team.

Maguire has a bad game, we need a new CB to challenge, Shaw has a bad game, we need a new LB, Martial starts slow, we need a new striker.

I mean sure we can upgrade each position, but it's no guarantee that you'll get someone better when the level is already high - Telles doesn't look better than Shaw.

What no one can dispute is that we have no one that can actually play RW well. Over the last 5 years we've gone through the likes of Greenwood, James, Lingard, Lukaku, Mikhi playing there - none of these are actual RWs. A player like Nani, Sane, our team would look so much more balanced.
 

Volumiza

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Unless something drastically changes I'd worry about Martial if we brought in a potted-plant for competition.

Right now Martial should not be in consideration unless its a cup game against a championship side, either as a striker or out wide. And I think Greenwood could potentially develop into a number 9, but right now he is just too slight and isn't physically developed enough to lead the line. He needs to be involved in a fluid attack where he can ghost around and try to find space, instead of going up against CBs directly as we would want in a target man. The same goes for Rashford. Can be useful when floating around in a fluid attack, but is useless as a target man. He wants to constantly use his speed and make runs, not fighting for balls into feet.

So yes, incredibly, that means we have a 33 recently unemployed CF as our only option.
I was trying to word it gently so as not to upset the delicate sensitivities of the Martial and Rashford fan clubs.

I think currently Martial is next to useless until he finds his form but even when he does he’s shown he just isn’t reliable. Rashford? He’s better than Martial no doubt but I really think we need a top CF and another top attacker.
 

Raveneye

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Personally, I think the biggest need up front is for a player who can both deputise credibly for Bruno as no 10, and play either wing at least roughly as well as our current first choices in those positions. Donny was supposed to be the no 10 deputy, but judging by the first half against West Ham, that may have been overly optimistic. Hence, we are totally reliant on Bruno, which is the most critical weakness of the squad. He can't play every game, and he can get injured, like anyone else.

It's got to be someone with versatility, because if he's good enough to deputise credibly for Bruno, he's also too good to only deputise for Bruno. Such a player would address both that, and our general shortage of quality depth up front. That would be better than either a pure winger or a pure striker, in my opinion.

In other words, we basically need Jack Grealish.

However, none of that (or any other concern) matters if we have a chance to get Haaland. ESPN just ranked him the second best striker in the world, at age 19, in their annual top 100. He's just scary good, not like any striker I've ever seen, and he may have 15 elite years ahead of him. Moves relentlessly like Cavani but with twice the speed, and even better scoring acumen. The thought of what he could do in combination with Bruno and Rashford....
Having an attacking version John O'Shea would be great for sure. And you've highlighted to me why Ole may have wanted Graelish over DVB. DVB is not a creative player, so talk of him as a no. 10 has always confused me. He has discipline, a crisp first touch, a good short pass, reasonable mobility, excellent off the ball movement and an eye for goal. To me that screams offensive member of the pivot or one of the middle midfielders in other formations. Great for pass and move football, but DVB can't be expected to create chances from nothing the way Bruno and Pogba can.
 

Plymouth Red

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Striker without a doubt, as I see it. We’d want a winger to create chances but, Cavani accepted, we have no one in the box who can be relied on to convert them. We have players who can do a job on the wing, even if it’s lacking in consistency. That’s a team wide issue, however, which won’t be cured by a new winger.
Not forgetting, of course, that we will have two new wingers in January, albeit new faces and unproven.
 

justsomebloke

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Having an attacking version John O'Shea would be great for sure. And you've highlighted to me why Ole may have wanted Graelish over DVB. DVB is not a creative player, so talk of him as a no. 10 has always confused me. He has discipline, a crisp first touch, a good short pass, reasonable mobility, excellent off the ball movement and an eye for goal. To me that screams offensive member of the pivot or one of the middle midfielders in other formations. Great for pass and move football, but DVB can't be expected to create chances from nothing the way Bruno and Pogba can.
Agree 100%. Grealish is just the ticket. Perhaps even more so than Sancho, although he may not ultimately be as good.

And from we've seen so far, I think you're right about DvdB. Which kind of raises the question of why we bought him. I suppose it would enable us to sell Pogba without replacing him.
 
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P0GBA

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Striker for me. I would much rather spend big money on Haaland than Sancho. I don't think Sancho would make much difference to us as our strikers don't finish their chances.
 

justsomebloke

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Striker for me. I would much rather spend big money on Haaland than Sancho. I don't think Sancho would make much difference to us as our strikers don't finish their chances.
I would much rather spend big money on Haaland than on anyone, regardless of what we need. He's that good.
 

sunama

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Fergie used always go for a top striker. He did it time and time again.
Andy Cole
Dwight Yorke
RvN
{he offered a World Record transfer fee for Shearer}
RV Persie
Tevez
etc.
He never held back when it came to a striker.
Based on this, if we have money to spend, I'd spend it on a CF.
 

Jonesno.8

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DCM or RW for the rest of this season but ye we need an actual fox in the box, pot shot out and out CF. This season we have a Cavani not perfect but realistic CL is key again.
 

SadlerMUFC

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I honestly think Rashford is the right winger everyone is looking for. Of course I'd like someone else in to give added squad depth, but we have only seen one game with a front 3 of Martial, Cavani and Rashford and they were fantastic. Throw Bruno in the #10 and DvB in the #8/6 and we have a fantastic attacking threat. And maybe Martial and Greenwood will learn from playing along side a great player like Cavani. So for me, these attacking positions aren't our most important needs. I would much rather have a quick, left footed central defender to partner Maguire and a top class DM to replace Matic as he's our only true #6...
 

Vidyoyo

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A winger. A proper skillful one who's better at playmaking than cutting inside.

A big weakness in our current game is how all our wingers like to play as inside forwards, and who look more comfortable moving towards the box than playing balls into it.

Rashford isn't technical enough to put in good crosses consistently (he can sometimes but it's not his best asset). Martial has never played a ball further than 10 yards in his life. It makes our play one-dimensional and, while intricate play in and around the box is nice when it comes off, it doesn't work in every game. Hence also why we're better at counter-attacking.

I'd be quite happy with somebody like serial partyboy Jacques Grealish on the left with Rashford switched to the right. It's not his best position but he and Greenwood can rotate.

Cavani sits the middle for the time being with Martial deputising for that stunning one game in three he's known for.

Also, I can see why James was bought as I believe he was supposed to be this guy. Unfortunately, he's just not very good at it.
 
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Ddannidom

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I would go all in for Harry Kane. I'd always felt like he is supposed to be playing for us not for spurs.

The guy is all we need to challenge for top honours.
 

Cnaiür urs Skiötha

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I honestly think Rashford is the right winger everyone is looking for. Of course I'd like someone else in to give added squad depth, but we have only seen one game with a front 3 of Martial, Cavani and Rashford and they were fantastic. Throw Bruno in the #10 and DvB in the #8/6 and we have a fantastic attacking threat. And maybe Martial and Greenwood will learn from playing along side a great player like Cavani. So for me, these attacking positions aren't our most important needs. I would much rather have a quick, left footed central defender to partner Maguire and a top class DM to replace Matic as he's our only true #6...
Exactly, CB and a mobile top CDM should be priorities.
Playing with a back 7 like against Leipzig is a joke and a result of not having good enough CBS and no CDM fulfilling all requirements.
If we can free those 1-2 places up and throw in our more creative and attacking oriented players we will automatically create and score more.
Donny is not a CAM and not a winger, he seems to me like a classic 8 and as the replacement for Pogba.
That is not to say he could not learn to also fill in for Bruno or also in a more defensive role, but for that he should be given time and not judged on half a game.
 

Champ

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Whilst not a direct answer to the question given, I feel both are of equal importance to the team.
It seems pointless buying a quality striker to then leave the right side exposed and with zero creativity coming from it.
A top striker needs quality delivery from all angles.
 

Loon

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Goals. We need a proper goal scorer.

"Get the ball to him (Van Persie) whenever you can. He'll win us the league."
--Ferguson
 

georgipep

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I honestly think Rashford is the right winger everyone is looking for. Of course I'd like someone else in to give added squad depth, but we have only seen one game with a front 3 of Martial, Cavani and Rashford and they were fantastic. Throw Bruno in the #10 and DvB in the #8/6 and we have a fantastic attacking threat. And maybe Martial and Greenwood will learn from playing along side a great player like Cavani. So for me, these attacking positions aren't our most important needs. I would much rather have a quick, left footed central defender to partner Maguire and a top class DM to replace Matic as he's our only true #6...
I agree with you and on top of that we have Pellistri and Diallo to try out on the wing. Not too sure about CB myself but would definitely love us to get a top class DM. I don't think anyone in the youth teams is able to step up yet and we need that role to be filled with a reliable, mobile midfielder to truly unlock the diamond for us.
 

Lebo

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Personally I’ll buy a quality RB. and an all action CM to partner Fred.

The fact that teams don’t even bother marking AWB in most cases is some of the reasons why that side of the pitch is always empty. You can’t bring a winger to play 1-2 with AWB.
If you put Greenwood with Prime Alves, Maicon, or even Rafael of 2010 you will see a completely different team.
The reason why we look better in defense with McT and Fred in midfield is because we can actually win the ball there instead of hoping for last ditch tackles from CB. So we just need to upgrade on one of Fred and McT with a more progressive but not defensively inept Midfielder .
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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The problem is that there is no top striker available. We will just have to put our faith in Martial, Rashford & Greenwood, develop them and make them better players and more consistent players. Ideally you want RVP signing type of striker but that’s unrealistic at this point.
 

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Haaland needs to be signed in January.

We will win the PL this season with him
 

Jeffthered

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Apologies if this may not be appropriate to this thread, but my concerns aren't with our front line. It isn't perfect and we definitely need a leading No 9, long-term, a real inspirational champion to spearhead our team and club. It will cost big money, and dependant on who's out there (who are our scouts btw...??). Cavani should play for now, with Rashford and Greenword, that's a very good front three. Very good.

I think we HAVE to get at least ONE TOP Centre Half and a better Right Back, who has more quality. We have three Left Back's now and OGS has to sort that out between the three of them ffs.

Shame is, I doubt whether we will see much business in January.. the season is proving challenging for players, and only crazy managers will move on their better players who are performing well.
 

CM10

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Right winger, without a doubt. We have 3 or 4 players who can play up front to at least a reasonable standard. We don't have one natural right winger in our squad right now.
 

OleTheGreat

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Just no. No more wingers in right backs, no more CM in DMC, left wingers on the right, wide forwards as number 9. We should stop shoe horning people for the sake of it. Sign a established winger and let this rashford, martial, greenwood and maybe cavani compete for striker and one left winger role. Then as we phase martial and cavani out, we will need a left winger to compete with rashford. Move greenwood up top, and sign a striker few years down the line as he matures.
This club needs to stop shoe horning people and start getting players for right positions to compete at the top again.
Well said mate! I think you have properly pointed out what I mentioned on another thread. If the system right now is 4-2-3-1, we need players suitable for the positions. I don't think we have players in the squad who actually qualify to fill those positions and if they do, they're old or not good. We need a CB, DM, Wingers and in the future a proper striker. It will take sometime for us to really build a championship winning team but what we have right now is not so bad either.
 

r0663664

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Always a striker unless you get Salah or Mane who can score more than 20 goals a season else I will prioritize a striker over right winger.
 

Reddevil1978

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A decent right winger to stop Wan Bissaka being targeted. Someone who can receive the ball from Wan Bissaka drive up the wing put a decent cross in. Think this would help balance the team more I feel.

And for the love of God a winger who can beat the fullback. So fed up of Rashford driving up the wing to stop pass back or pass sideways. He used to take the fullback on regularly.

Then maybe we could see the return of fullbacks making overlapping runs.