West Ham’s striker problems continue to dominate the agenda among the club bosses and fans with our inability to attract a 20, or even 15 a season man at the root of our current problems.
The failure to bring in a goalscorer in the summer – even with an apparent willingness to pay up to £30 million plus – suggests that we are looking in the wrong places and that the days of getting into tug of wars for over-priced foreigners should be ended.
Michy Batshuayi has hardly torn trees up at Chelsea despite a £40 million price tag and neither Carlos Bacca or Alexandre Lacazette have shown themselves to be anything better than average.
And it’s hardly a scouting system when you simply find the most expensive players in Europe and try to buy them is it?
Here’s my point! With the exception of Dimi Payet, our best signings over the last two or three years have been a couple of Englishmen – Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio who cost us £7 million each.
And with a brains trust of recruitment officers such as Slaven, Tony Henry and an army of scouts, surely somewhere in the English leagues decent prospects must be available.
One name becomes more prominent than most when you look into the Championship for example where former Crystal Palace striker Dwight Gayle has managed 11 goals in 13 games since joining Newcastle who bought him for £10 million. Others who are scoring regularly are Cameron Jerome at Norwich (6), Kyle Lafferty (5).
Now I’m not suggesting any of these are the answer to our problems but what I do believe is that we have – over a number of years – been brainwashed into believing that you need to spend a fortune on foreigner. Players such as Michail Antonio and Charlie Austin (eight so far in all competitions) and the youngster – Tammy Abraham (12 in 20 at Bristol City on loan from Chelsea) show that there are players much closer to home who are capable of doing the business.
Let’s hope that our scouts have nailed a real prospect this winter because by God we need one!
Lacazette has 10 goals in 8 games this season. I’d say that is better than average.
Agree entirely Hugh.
Don”t know if you ever look at the Squawka app. It has Opta stats that are quite interesting. Good news bad news.
The good news is on ‘performance ranking’ we come in way above our league position. That could just be because the system is rubbish, but most clubs do end up close to where their actual points put them. So my theory would be that on most things we compare well to top ten sides, but something lets us down. When you look at the stat breakdown we are OK on possession, pass completion, even shots on goal. The big letdown is shot accuracy 28% which is way below most sides.
No great surprise I guess,but it sort of confirms your theory. Even when we have been close to getting decent uk based strikers recently we have messed up at the final hurdle. I was always doubtful about Zaza . I looked up his record. Lots of goals but mainly in Italy second tier. Surely somebody at the club looked at that?
Looking on the grim side. Even those stats might not look good by the time we have played the next few games! But it does give a bit of hope. Maybe..
Seems to me that most of these Championship strikers fail to make the grade in the Premiership.Gayle and Jerome came down from the prem having not done it.There may be a star hiding in the Championship,but trying to find him is not easy.A number of so called foreign strikers are failing in the top flight.Apart from Zaza and Calleri there is Batshuayi,Janssen,Borja,Ighalo,even Ibra has struggled and Vardy’s goals have dried up.Foreigners no,English has to be yes.
The way the game is played at the moment with very much a high pressing game, it doesn’t lend itself to traditional strikers scoring goals for fun. The space is there only for the most mobile strikers we can see more and more it is midfielders playing one two’s or being the third man running from deeper positions that are having the clear chances and the strikers are often relied upon to occupy defenders or play the link man with reverse passes or balls around the corner to play those running midfielders into goal scoring opportunities.
Dembele from Celtic???
I like Berardi and Gabiadini, both intelligent players with a goal scorer’s instinct. It’s always a risk taking a player from the championship – some work out, some don’t.
On a slightly different issue…just read somewhere online that Ravel is available for £600k. If that is remotely true, surely Slaven could do something with the lad? He’s still only 23 and is a risk worth taking again at that price. Fergie said he was the most naturally gifted footballer he had ever seen.
I’m with you Markro.
Hugh sorry mate you’re wrong about Lacazette and Bacca! Like someone said Lacazette has 10 goals in 8 league games – he’s also missed a month through injury! Bacca has 6 goals in 12 games both considerably more than any of our strikers!
I’d definitely look at Tammy Abraham 12 goals in 20 games 9 of them in the league for Bristol City however although he’ll be quite an expensive youngster we’d also need to get someone else. Would anyone think Mitrovic would be a good signing? Scored 9 goals for Newcastle in a season where they got relegated. He’s a bit crazy he seems but we love that type of personality at West Ham. He’s always got goals no matter where he’s been! Scored the other night for Serbia also.
Marko wouldn’t it be great to get Ravel back. I would love that
Just wasted 7 mill plus on Zaza and Tore. 600,000 on Ravel is peanuts, and if he comes good we have an absolutely brilliant play er for crabs. Go get him
We should have taken on Austin a few years back, he is a proven goalscorer. We Should have given Fletcher more of a run with out two “strikers” out for so long this year. As much as I love Slaven you just have to ask why he keeps on putting round pegs in square holes and does not give the guys who are waiting in the wings a chance.