Michail Antonio has not looked the same player (to me anyway) since he returned from his latest spell on the sidelines.
And I believe there is a very simple reason for that which sadly isn’t at all easy to solve.
David Moyes, understandably, has made it clear that he will need to nurse his hamstrings via a special programme and during games.
Sadly nursing is the key word and given the way Mikey has always played the game is possibly the problem in itself.
I say “possibly” – I actually believe probably is a better one – this is not a guy who can be asked to play at 80 or 90 per cent of his normal aggressive game.
He is at his best when fully at it – that’s the way he operates and at 31 years of age in March nothing is going to change much on the hamstring front.
It’s a problem and the reason I sway to the view of those who reckon we needed a back-up striker.
With the problem unlikely to go away – indeed possibly worsen as he gets older – truth is we probably need two n ew front men
I wait to be proven wrong and that Jesse Lingard – along with Said Benrahma – are some sort of answer but let’s remember the Manchester United attacking midfielder he is only on loan and will cost a few bob to bring in permanently should he prove a success.
Regardless of that dough will have to be found in the summer to find the answer to the Antonio problem.
The problem is every club knows we are desperate.
Every time we look at a player they probably slap another 10m on the price.
This comes from years of poor planning and no transfer strategy.
How a team in the premier league can end up with not one senior forward on its books is unthinkable really, most teams have 3-4 plus u23’s.
Remember Antonio was never bought as a forward and we got away with him.
It’s unthinkable / disastrous that a club can leave itself in this position.
Haahah I cant believe what I m reading. We all demanded answers during the window. There is only one. Moyes was not backed the way he should have been. Not enough money to buy a striker to compete, not to play second fiddle or a sully special.
But it is what it is. Trousering money to own pockets. 2023 could not come faster.
Litigious, scandalous, unbacked by any quotes, fact – just pure ignorance. You are history.
2023. You think they are leaving. Bye fool
Here here Tom, couldn’t agree more
We need 2 new strikers in the summer for sure. Honestly not buying one in this window was a mistake, maybe the club thought the prices would be cheaper in summer but now we have no strikers. Look i am willing to play for free, im not a sissy millenial so theres that…
Agree with a lot said in the above comments. To be left with one striker thats actually a winger is pretty indicative of the lack of strategy and planning under the current regime.
When Haller was sold so quickly I thought that must mean we have a player lined up ready how wrong i was and now we are left incredibly short which could see our great first of the season fizzle out.
@hugh regarding Mr Dildos comment above from what I’ve read via exwhu employee. The reason we didn’t get anyone was due to not being able to get the players Moyes wanted whether that was due to the players not being interested or us not offering enough it must have been one of those reasons or a combination of both. Ex also commented that sulli had gave Moyes options on who he would bring in but Moyes didn’t want any of his suggestions.
If the above is true thats pretty poor and I can see why fans get the impression the owners were happy that we were just safe so didnt feel it as necessary to invest.
Also Moyes come out and has said a few times about building some from of infrastructure within the club stating that we only had 1 scout which is pretty awful.
We were on a wing and a prayer before Yarmo’s injury against Man U in the Cup. Now, the decision not to invest in the January window, looks very poor. Ironically, in a season where we’ve shown so much promise, it appears we’ve thrown away the chance to play in Europe next season.
Worst of all is the failure to recognise that opportunity and settle for mere survival. ‘As long as we’re competing in the top flight next season’ seems to be the attitude. Our top players won’t stay for long if their ambitions are stolen by this oh, so familiar penny pinching vision
of running a football club. Maybe, it’s fortunate for some that fans aren’t allowed in the stadium. The noise of disapproval would be deafening.
We need 2 midfielders and 2 strikers as a minimum in the summer.
We could do with a left back and a keeper top. If Balbuena or Dawson aren’t here, then a defender too.
If Lanzini or yarmolenko or Lingard don’t stay, then another attacking midfielder.
It’s a massive massive requirement.
Oh and we should have got a loan striker. Deeney, Long, Austin, anyone for 6 month. Absolute dereliction of duty.
Like several other clubs in this league you have to find them to buy them and no one could in January.
Price is not the problem, its players willing to move and their clubs willing to let them mid season.Brexit hasn’t helped either!
Could have held on to Seb Haller till summer maybe?
For all those who think we should have bought in January, please help me out and give some real recommendations?
El Nasyri? Nope. He wasn’t interested.
Boulya Dia? Didn’t seem overly interested either.
Hee Chan? His manager said “NO”.
Josh King? When did he last score a goal?
Arnautovic? Can you see him playing as a back up striker?? Could you see the dressing room welcoming him back???
I think we’re looking at the issue all wrong. We don’t need a back up striker. We already have an awesome one. As much as I love Antonio, he’s more likely to be effective as set of fresh legs in the last 20-30min.
Now if we’re serious about getting a good CF or 2, we need to give them a strong chance of starting games or they won’t come on board. Simple as that. Getting to Europe would help too.
Have you lot looked at the table? With Liverpool losing again we have a chance to go 4th on Monday. That’s 4th from top not the bottom. Show some appreciation
No one is overlooking that opportunity but if you think that the club hasn’t been negligent in not replacing Haller and leaving us with a player who has never played more than 30 games in a season and 23 in the last few seasons then you are seriously deluded. This is not something any efficiently run club would allow to happen other than a club run by GSB.
We need a free agent Striker and we need one now.
People can dream Hugh. Whether you like it or not. A tipping point has been reached for a large percentage of fans when it comes to the owners and it’s probably impossible for them to win them back over.
Unfortunately the poor Public Relations decisions taken by Mr Sullivan previously over the last decade means that many will never take at face value whatever the board does.
It’s obvious that they didn’t think it was financial prudent to buy a striker in the January window as we didnt face the threat of relegation. It’s a logical financial decision from a balance sheet perspective. But a awful one for supporters who were hoping for a bit of excitement in the second half of the season
I agree with most comments about a striker. Antonio has maybe one more season as a threatening striker. After that hamstrings and age decree he will only be an impact sub. So we need one good striker and another young “learner”. But easier said than done. I have sympathy for Sullivan & co – in the pandemic money is not easy, and I agree also that it is known we are on the look out so the pricescar extraordinary. Poor Haller found the physicality of The Premier too much, so we need someone who can cope with the tough demands. I would go for a Adam Armstrong and or Dykes of QPR and someone out of League One or two as a “learner”