ClaretandHugh’s NIALL McDONALD takes a look at the “striker crisis” and finds this really is nothing new for us Irons!
We’ve entered November without a striker goal to our name and today’s clash with Stoke City gives our motley crew their latest opportunity to get off the mark.
Slav’s confident the goals are coming, but so is Christmas and our recent history suggests that when they arrive, we aren’t going to see many of them from our frontmen.
I looked back at the last 10 Premier League seasons to see how many times our leading strikers have hit the back of the net. The results make depressing reading, and if you’re anything like me you’ll remember how hard we had to work for virtually every one of these goals!
Here’s the roll of honour:
2015-16 Andy Carroll 9
2014-15 Diafra Sakho 12
2013-14 Carlton Cole 6
2012-13 Andy Carroll 7
2010-11 Carlton Cole 11
2009-10 Carlton Cole 10
2008-09 Carlton Cole 7
2007-08 Dean Ashton 12
2006-07 Bobby Zamora 11
2005-06 Marlon Harewood 14
So our top marksman delivers an average haul of just 9.99 goals and even with 28 PL matches to go Marlon Harewood’s 14 from 2005-06 looks unlikely to be surpassed this season.
The old striker’s adage that we just need one to go in off any part of anyone’s body has never been truer – hopefully today that elusive goal will become a reality and the floodgates will finally start to creak open!!