Stats don't lie on offensive output (at least in this case)

Our offense is weak so far, and thats because its too dependant on only Austin. According to the PL as of today, only Dafoe from Sunderland is a higher % of a his teams offense than Austin (and we all know how good Sunderland is doing). The current list is like this:

Dafoe - 53% of his teams scoring

Austin - 46%

Zlatan - 42%

Lukaku - 41%

Costa - 34%

Aguero - 33%

Sanchez - 32%

Kane - 30%

I don't think its a coincidence that the two guys on here close to 50% of their teams offense, have teams that are struggling offensively. One player in the PL can not score enough to support a team, and its easy for a good defense to shut down any one player. To fix this the answer isn't benching Austin, thats cutting off your nose to spite your face (so to speak). The answer is

1) getting and keeping Long on the pitch with Austin -we need his 10 goals desperately, so we must do everything possible to get him going

2) keep attacking mids on the field - some scoring needs to come from here, and also they need to create easier opportunities for the forwards

When I watch the matches it seems to me that we are playing defensively, and just continue to loft balls into Austin once he gets into position. I am a big Austin fan and believe he brings a necessary component to our ream, however this isn't a sustainable offense on its own.

IMO the answer will never be Long and Austin playing together because for one we don't play with two central strikers and neither can do a job out wide and secondly because neither have very good technique to keep the ball and assist others, which goes against the whole way Puel wants to play.

To me the answer is that Austin whilst being an effective goalscorer does hamper out attacking play to an extent with his lack of movement or creativity (he is effectively a box player).

Long term solution is the signing of a striker with a more allround game, all of the ones we currently have each possess some big upsides but also equally big weaknesses - the type that will always be in their game rather than things you can improve.

I can see Puel taking offence to these offensive statistics. He'll be mortally offended.

For a player who prides himself on his finishing, I generally think Austin has been pretty wasteful this season. It's all the more important as his all round game is distinctly average.

I think these stats are totally meaningless. Total goals is, and we simply haven't scored enough of them. Long has 0, JRod has looked a shadow of his former self and also has 0, Tadic had missed a bunch of games, Boufal hasn't scored in the Prem yet. We don't get much from midfield, JWP has missed a bunch of sitters and Davis has never contributed many. We need another striker to take the pressure off Austin, whether that is a player who has been injured (Long, Tadic), a player who's been off form (JRod, Long, Redmond), or a new player that we bring in, we need more goals.

If it's offensive output you want, you've come to the right place.

We need a new striker in January.

IMO the answer will never be Long and Austin playing together because for one we don't play with two central strikers and neither can do a job out wide and secondly because neither have very good technique to keep the ball and assist others, which goes against the whole way Puel wants to play.

 

To me the answer is that Austin whilst being an effective goalscorer does hamper out attacking play to an extent with his lack of movement or creativity (he is effectively a box player).

 

Long term solution is the signing of a striker with a more allround game, all of the ones we currently have each possess some big upsides but also equally big weaknesses - the type that will always be in their game rather than things you can improve.

I don't see us playing with a central striker. I see three guys upfront who rotate around. Austin and Redmond are outside as much as inside. I don't see why Long can't be upfront with Austin and Tadic (for example)

Have we even scored a good goal in the league this season? i.e a non opposition gift, tap in etc.

Maybe Austin at West Ham is the best unless I have forgotten one?

At the end of the day, if you wanted to set a team up to play the way Puel wants us to play you wouldn't choose to have Long or Austin in it.

Rodriguez would be a much better fit but he's buggered.

We also need to get Boufal a decent run of matches. Doubt that will happen until Feb now though.

We need to sign a mobile stirrer with a decent first touch in Jan. And ideally a central midfielder with some sort of threat in the opposition box.