Strikers? What strikers!

[fulwoodshrimp]

Our poor goal return has been an issue all season and has lost us valuable points. A problem is none of our players considered to be strikers have been prolific goal scorers at any time in their careers. Rhys Turner has scored 12 goals in 86 games in his career- roughly a goal every seven games. Adam McGurk has scored 32 goals in 210 games- about a goal every six and a half games. Vadaine Oliver has a slightly better return- 37 goals in 188 games, roughly a goal every five games(but not for us!) These are disappointing returns and indicate why we are struggling so much. Added to that, our midfield players don't contribute a healthy share of goals and you have the situation we are now in. In my opinion we need to increase our firepower in the transfer window, otherwise we are in a serious relegation struggle.

[black morse]

How many of our loan players are due back with their clubs in the New Year? If we lose a few of them maybe, just maybe, we could afford a new striker..........though we know they are hard to come by.

[KenH]

If we're paying for Osborne and Lang, they can go back and we can save a bob or two there. No point having them if they never get game time. If winnard is fit, then Muller can go back too as we also have Kenyon as a back up centre back. So that's potentially 3 saved wages to start with.

We've had a bigger squad this season but it's doing us no good at all, so time to get back to fewer but better quality.

[Freez]

It will be a young buck on loan from higher up the divisions or another injured and recovering out of favour forward in my opinion.
It's easy saying what we need, it's obvious to us all, harder to conjure up something.

On the plus side, we are not as leaky as last season, but perhaps that's another reason we aren't as prolific?
For me we create chances, but as a has been said, lack someone to put them away.

Anyway, they will be working hard to try and solve the issues.

[Shrimpy]

The problem with Oliver is that we're using him in a completely different way to how he was used at York.

We stick him up front on his own and expect him to lead the line and operate as a target man. At York he had Jon Parkin doing this role for him leaving Vadaine to play off Parkin either in a 4-4-2 or cutting in from out wide in a 4-3-3.

He quite clearly isn't good enough to do what we are asking of him at League 2 level so to try and salvage a player out of someone we paid a transfer fee for maybe we need to try him in a different role?

[BerlinWaller]

The old fashioned target men are hardly ever prolific. They are there to create and be a handful. The key to getting the best from a target man is supply. A good target man is at his best when he has crosses coming in from the flanks and a striker playing off him. Oliver has no supply from the flanks and nobody reacting to his flick ons. He spends most of his time chasing punts that are 20 yards over hit or going in to the corner.

[Christies Child]

It will be a young buck on loan from higher up the divisions or another injured and recovering out of favour forward in my opinion.
It's easy saying what we need, it's obvious to us all, harder to conjure up something.

On the plus side, we are not as leaky as last season, but perhaps that's another reason we aren't as prolific?
For me we create chances, but as a has been said, lack someone to put them away.

Anyway, they will be working hard to try and solve the issues.

One thing that nobody can argue against is the fact that our Management team don't work hard in their efforts to improve the clubs on pitch performances.

However it's always concerned me as to why we bring in loan players and then fail to make use of them on a regular basis.

Now that we have departed all the Cup games this season surely it's the time to give youth and the loan players extended runs in the first team rather than rely on the same formations that have failed so miserably (apart from the odd exceptions) this season.

The next transfer window is only a few weeks away so let's give youth and the loan players chance to prove themselves until the window opens as which time we will know if they have what it takes or not.


As for Vadine, I've posted before that he needs someone alongside him to take advantage of his ability to win almost everything in the air but it would appear that our manager and co are sold on having him operate on his own up front.

Spot on post from BerlinWaller.....

[marky No.1]

It will be a young buck on loan from higher up the divisions

Lifumpa Mwandwe ?

[bill ding]

is that anagram of something ???

[Shrimpy]

The old fashioned target men are hardly ever prolific. They are there to create and be a handful. The key to getting the best from a target man is supply. A good target man is at his best when he has crosses coming in from the flanks and a striker playing off him. Oliver has no supply from the flanks and nobody reacting to his flick ons. He spends most of his time chasing punts that are 20 yards over hit or going in to the corner.

Well thats kind of my point, we're using Oliver as a target man and he isn't one.

[BerlinWaller]

The old fashioned target men are hardly ever prolific. They are there to create and be a handful. The key to getting the best from a target man is supply. A good target man is at his best when he has crosses coming in from the flanks and a striker playing off him. Oliver has no supply from the flanks and nobody reacting to his flick ons. He spends most of his time chasing punts that are 20 yards over hit or going in to the corner.

Well thats kind of my point, we're using Oliver as a target man and he isn't one.

I disagree. I think he could be effective as a target man, he has all the attributes. We have the ingrediants for a decent strike force but I feel Jim doesn't give them a chance. He chops and changes too often which means nobody gets the chance to hit a bit of form or strike up a partnership. It is easier to blame a misfiring striker rather than your tactics.

[Ntini]

Our poor goal return has been an issue all season and has lost us valuable points. A problem is none of our players considered to be strikers have been prolific goal scorers ... These are disappointing returns and indicate why we are struggling so much. Added to that, our midfield players don't contribute a healthy share of goals and you have the situation we are now in. In my opinion we need to increase our firepower in the transfer window...

Tell that to 70 other Football League teams!

Proven goalscorers cost money. We therefore have to go down the route of taking a punt on an out-of-form League player or looking to non-league and hoping they step up to the plate.

When we do find decent players, they're either poached by bigger clubs (Barkhuizen/Redshaw) or tempted away by bigger wages (Miller/Devitt/Edwards/Alessandra). Newsflash - this will always be a problem for us and many other clubs!

[BerlinWaller]

Our poor goal return has been an issue all season and has lost us valuable points. A problem is none of our players considered to be strikers have been prolific goal scorers ... These are disappointing returns and indicate why we are struggling so much. Added to that, our midfield players don't contribute a healthy share of goals and you have the situation we are now in. In my opinion we need to increase our firepower in the transfer window...

Tell that to 70 other Football League teams!

Proven goalscorers cost money. We therefore have to go down the route of taking a punt on an out-of-form League player or looking to non-league and hoping they step up to the plate.

When we do find decent players, they're either poached by bigger clubs (Barkhuizen/Redshaw) or tempted away by bigger wages (Miller/Devitt/Edwards/Alessandra). Newsflash - this will always be a problem for us and many other clubs!

The bigger concern is that we can hardly ever get these players to commit to any kind of deal to enable us to profit from them. How many players have moved on for any decent money? Redshaw was probably the last one we could dictate, we sold the family gold when we let Barky go. We have lost out on hundreds of thousands of pounds in transfer fees over the years.

[Freez]

By the same token, at the start of these sort of players careers at Morecambe they are mostly unpolished or injury prone, or sometimes both.
For instance, Adam McGurk, one injury riddled season with Pompey, one with a manager (Derry at Cambridge) who quickly mad up his mind he was crap, with hardly any appearances or goals. This following a purple patch at Burton in a promoted team.
Adam has been good for us, looks a decent signing and is a good character who fits in. He is now rebuilding his career with us and will most likely be catching the eye of other clubs.
He is on a one year deal, as in the past we have dished out two year deals to Adam Rundle, Marcus Marshall etc who have been lead swinging half wits.
So, the rule now tends to be one year deals if they are a risk?
Some pay off, like Miller and Devitt, others like Dugdale do not. However, there is always that element of risk.
The Barkhuizen deal was opportunistic from Preston, but lets be clear, they could have offered 50K and we would have still have had to take it as we were in the mire with off field problems, so 150K with a 15% sell on is better than nothing.

The problem is keeping the players we rehabilitate, the good ones, anyway!! Even Cole Stockton was on the verge of quitting until Jim n ken got hold of him. look at him now!!

[sandgrown]

Our poor goal return has been an issue all season and has lost us valuable points. A problem is none of our players considered to be strikers have been prolific goal scorers ... These are disappointing returns and indicate why we are struggling so much. Added to that, our midfield players don't contribute a healthy share of goals and you have the situation we are now in. In my opinion we need to increase our firepower in the transfer window...

Tell that to 70 other Football League teams!

Proven goalscorers cost money. We therefore have to go down the route of taking a punt on an out-of-form League player or looking to non-league and hoping they step up to the plate.

When we do find decent players, they're either poached by bigger clubs (Barkhuizen/Redshaw) or tempted away by bigger wages (Miller/Devitt/Edwards/Alessandra). Newsflash - this will always be a problem for us and many other clubs!

The bigger concern is that we can hardly ever get these players to commit to any kind of deal to enable us to profit from them. How many players have moved on for any decent money? Redshaw was probably the last one we could dictate, we sold the family gold when we let Barky go. We have lost out on hundreds of thousands of pounds in transfer fees over the years.

it always annoys me that we seem to just grab the first offer that's on the table, we never seem to hold out for a better offer.

all our sell on's seem to be a heavily guarded secret as to what we actually received !

[Christies Child]

Maybe we can strike lucky and get someone in during the coming transfer window who can provide those much needed goals...or someone a wee bit more creative than the current midfield crop.

I'd be delighted if Jamie Devit could find his way down the A6 on loan as he provided more assists than any player we've had before or since.

For me if we could get someone who could create something then maybe, just maybe our current strike force could receive the service they need to provide the much needed goals.

Ideally a successful striker would be a priority but as we all seem to agree, they cost money....which is something we ain't got....at the moment

[black morse]

Rashford hasn't scored in 9 games...maybe United would loan him out to us to gain experience? Naw, he hash't scored in 9 so he's not what we're looking for!

[marky No.1]

Rashford hasn't scored in 9 games...maybe United would loan him out to us to gain experience? Naw, he hash't scored in 9 so he's not what we're looking for!

He must have heard you

[black morse]

Yes, just the thought of having to play for Morecambe

[Westgate Wanderer]

Rashford hasn't scored in 9 games...maybe United would loan him out to us to gain experience? Naw, he hash't scored in 9 so he's not what we're looking for!

He must have heard you

could he be converted into a centre half?

[Ntini]

Maybe we can strike lucky and get someone in during the coming transfer window who can provide those much needed goals...or someone a wee bit more creative than the current midfield crop.

I'm not sure we can rely on finding someone to hit the ground running with goals and assists. The January window is to plug a gap, have a look at someone for next year (as we did with Wildig) or give the current squad a kick up the backside for their starting spots. The only ones to get us away from the drop zone are the current squad, it's down to them and nobody else.

I'm not sure we have any big gaps given the size of our squad this year, so we would only really be looking to planning for next year. We also have Muller, Osbourne and Lang (don't think I've missed anyone?) on loan, so I imagine someone would need to go back/out on loan to get anyone else in.

[seasonsinthesun]

I am baffled why Jim doesn't start with Lang and Osbourne.
What is there to lose? If it doesn't work, take them off.
He has a habit of bringing in players on loan, and then not using them enough.
Has he got too much loyalty to Thompson and Ellison?
We need to start scoring, otherwise there is only going to be one outcome at the end of the season.

[Christies Child]

I am baffled why Jim doesn't start with Lang and Osbourne.
What is there to lose? If it doesn't work, take them off.
He has a habit of bringing in players on loan, and then not using them enough.
Has he got too much loyalty to Thompson and Ellison?
We need to start scoring, otherwise there is only going to be one outcome at the end of the season.

You, me and probably a growing number of others are baffled as to why he doesn't start with at least one of them and preferably both but he's too loyal to some players which is admirable but in our current situation of not scoring goals we've got to try something different....surely

[Westgate Wanderer]

I'm just baffled!!

[red shrimp]

I am baffled why Jim doesn't start with Lang and Osbourne.

Especially Lang, he's the next best thing according to Wigan fans, but for some reason Jim doesn't play him. I don't see why he brings promising players in on loan and just freezes them out.

Just another Jim masterclass! pfft.