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Strikers for 18/19


Dusic

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Pretty clear we have been dismal this season in this position, with none of Long, Austin, Gabbi or Carrillo ever firing and it was fairly similar under Puel, so clearly we need a change.

 

IMO you could make a compelling argument to get rid of all the strikers and totally start again:

 

Long - tries hard, hassles defenders but just doesn't score enough goals and is too unreliable.

 

Austin - will score but offers nothing outside the area, especially in games against the better sides that dominate possession. In each of his three PL seasons with us he has suffered major injuries and doesn't look fit/mobile enough.

 

Gabbiadini - very good player but as a lone striker doesn't work hard enough off the ball or win enough duels. Great moments in a Saints shirt but will probably go back to Italy.

 

Carrillo- Bizarre signing, doesn't look good enough and we will probably have to loan him out unless Hughes sees something in him with a full pre season.

 

For me we should try and move three of these four on and get some fresh players in with more rounded attributes. But that will be easier said than done.

 

If we go into next season with Long or Austin starting it will have been another poor summer window.

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Trouble we have is that all three of our strikers (I'm ignoring carillo) are lacking in quite essential areas - Austin cannot get on the end of passes unless he has a 5 yard head start, long struggles to finish one on one and Gabbi very rarely does anything unless it's played to his feet in the box.

Gabbi did show signs of being able to hold the ball up against Swansea, and Long is always a positive for the team with his ability to win balls in the air, hold the ball up, chase down, run the channels and win free kicks. Honestly if we had to sell them I'd sell Austin, Gabbi and then Long in that order. If we're keeping all three then we need to play two out of them all the time.

 

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OK, so far we have "keep Gabbi, Austin and Long". easy business.

 

Carillo: not sure whether he was a sop to the fans or to pellegrino, but has shown nothing unfortunately. I trust MH's judgement on this. Or whoever the manager is next season

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We have set an incredibly low bar. It seems Long working hard and defending from the front is now enough.

 

We've been too afraid to attack to start Gabbi. That was the original plan and we should have stuck with it. Play to his strengths, get some pace up there with him and we'll do well again.

 

For me, someone like Promes in the attack with Tadic and JWP behind Gabbi would be decent.

 

Austin is so slow, I don't know why we use him in games where we won't create much. He'll grab a few if we create plenty but I think he's looked a bit lost recently. Worth keeping though.

 

Carillo, I think people are a bit harsh. We haven't seen enough to judge. Couple of games at a time when the whole team was a mess. We could use an extra physical presence. Given he's 19m and we won't get it back, surely it's worth having a proper look at him pre-season before deciding?

 

But again, striker wouldn't be the priority signing for me. It's attackers around them. We can't make do with Redmond having a good game every 8 or 9 appearances.

I'm not saying long is enough- I would sell the other two and get two more in. I'm saying that if you look at what they each DO offer the team, then you have to admit that Long is very good at what he does and is an excellent option to have when you are struggling to keep the ball out of your own half.

 

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I'm not saying long is enough- I would sell the other two and get two more in. I'm saying that if you look at what they each DO offer the team, then you have to admit that Long is very good at what he does and is an excellent option to have when you are struggling to keep the ball out of your own half.

 

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He’s a championship quality striker at best, he just chases people and that’s it. His scoring record is absolutely pitiful and has been for most of his career. This is the premier league and what he offers is nowhere near enough.

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He’s a championship quality striker at best, he just chases people and that’s it. His scoring record is absolutely pitiful and has been for most of his career. This is the premier league and what he offers is nowhere near enough.
Rubbish. He holds the ball up well, passes well, wins the ball in the air far more than a man of his size should...he has plenty to offer when he's not scoring goals. The other two offer nothing when not scoring goals.

 

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We need a striker that can get those Cedric crosses that go 5 feet above everyone,

The same striker who can reach for those Bertrand low balls that are 5 feet too out of reach plus we need a striker that can win those useless high balls that get pumped forward in hope.

 

This is what we need.....

 

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Rubbish. He holds the ball up well, passes well, wins the ball in the air far more than a man of his size should...he has plenty to offer when he's not scoring goals. The other two offer nothing when not scoring goals.

 

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He also breaks down our own tracks fr too frequently by being offside or through poor control. The other two may offer nothing else but at least they do score goals.

 

I’m genuinely gobsmacked that people continue to defend a 2 goal a season striker. We have struggled for 2 years to score goals and he is a large part of the problem. There are no prizes handed out for work rate and winning throw ins.

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He also breaks down our own tracks fr too frequently by being offside or through poor control. The other two may offer nothing else but at least they do score goals.

 

I’m genuinely gobsmacked that people continue to defend a 2 goal a season striker. We have struggled for 2 years to score goals and he is a large part of the problem. There are no prizes handed out for work rate and winning throw ins.

He was here for the two seasons before that too, in which we finished 7th and 6th respectively.

 

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I think Austin should go. Like him but against his total lack of mobility is painful

 

Carrillo. Out

Gabbi our sadly

 

That means keeping long :-/

 

Agree about Austin, I think his numerous injuries have caught up with him. On the other hand I would ship out the whole forward line including Long.

I love Longs work rate but whats the point of a striker who's only use is to harrass rather than score.

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Pity there’s such a huge release clause

On Icardi at Inter Milan

Dzeko worth a go

 

Austin - past it now

Gabbi - deffo keep

Long - Keep

Carillo - bye bye

Gallagher - bye bye

 

Icardi and Dzeko? :lol: Give me strength

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Personally I think Long is brilliant at tiring the defenders and I think hed be a nightmare for a defender to play against. Hopefully MH can give him the confidence to start scoring again

 

I can’t wait for them to hand out those extra points for making defenders tired, perhaps we’ll be top half when they’re added on. These are some of the best defenders in the world for crying out loud, they play against Kane, Lukaku, Hazard, Salah, Aubameyang, Aguero, Jesus and Mané every week. The idea that they have nightmares about Shane Long is laughable.

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Austin - Physically shot (I will choose to believe that he is off to Villa)

Long - Technical ability non existent

Gabbi - Best of the lot (no great accomplishment )but looks like going to Torino

Gallagher - Championship standard at best

 

That leaves... we aren't getting our money back so we might as well keep him as a squad player. Rather keep him than Long, if only because I know exactly what Long offers (or more to the point, doesn't offer).

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Long and Austin are fine, they are legit PL strikers and both have shown they can get double digit goals. Sure it would be great to have Salah or Arguello, but they don't exactly grow on trees. I'd be ok with all of Gabbi, Long, and Austin returning. They are all as good as most other PL strikers.

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Would keep Gabbi and Austin, sell Long and Carrillo. Think Gabbi might go though. Austin needs to move to being a bit part player, be a good option to bring on in the last 20 needing a goal. Need to spend big on a starting striker

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Long and Austin are fine, they are legit PL strikers and both have shown they can get double digit goals. Sure it would be great to have Salah or Arguello, but they don't exactly grow on trees. I'd be ok with all of Gabbi, Long, and Austin returning. They are all as good as most other PL strikers.

 

I like Long, but come on! He’s scored double digits once in the Prem and that was a grand total of 10! In 9 seasons....

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Long and Austin are fine, they are legit PL strikers and both have shown they can get double digit goals. Sure it would be great to have Salah or Arguello, but they don't exactly grow on trees. I'd be ok with all of Gabbi, Long, and Austin returning. They are all as good as most other PL strikers.

 

You are clearly not qualified to keep your username, sir.

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Long and Austin are fine, they are legit PL strikers and both have shown they can get double digit goals. Sure it would be great to have Salah or Arguello, but they don't exactly grow on trees. I'd be ok with all of Gabbi, Long, and Austin returning. They are all as good as most other PL strikers.

Sorry Les, you were wrong about that for the last two seasons, and you're wrong again now.

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Austin's strike rate is pretty good. Injury is the issue.

 

I'm pro-Long, but he isn't going to score a hatful in normal situations.

 

I have no idea how we can improve on the present bunch without gambling on a £25m CF.....a gamble (like Carrillo) that might not pay off.....

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Charlie Austin is 28.

 

He might be too injury prone for some people’s liking, but please can we stop with the “past it” comments as if we are keeping a 40-year old on the books...!

 

I think it is because he plays like a 40 year old. I like him loads but his absolute lack of mobility is alarming as we have set up more defensively. Maybe he could stay as a squad player? Whether he would be happy with that at this stage in his career? Doubt it!

 

Could well be off

 

Reckon Long is a Hughes type of player to have around.

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I think it is because he plays like a 40 year old. I like him loads but his absolute lack of mobility is alarming as we have set up more defensively. Maybe he could stay as a squad player? Whether he would be happy with that at this stage in his career? Doubt it!

 

Could well be off

 

Reckon Long is a Hughes type of player to have around.

 

Maybe so, but it still irks me the way that people say it, it implies they think he is old. I met a fellow Saints fan in the office a while back who said "Charlie Adam is getting on a bit now". Not only did he get his name wrong, but it was a typical misconception about his age. Either he isn't good/mobile enough, or injuries have taken it out of him and he has "lost it", but he's not too old. I'm more flagging it up for anyone who might think he is!

 

Because you can't rely on him being fit, and no-one else is capable of being a target man (even Austin isn't great at it, but he's better than everyone else), I think we need another striker. It's a difficult situation though because if all four are fit there's bound to be some unhappy players about. I'm sure Hughes would have liked to give Gabbiadini a chance yesterday, for example, but because Long was the most different from Austin, he was the better replacement. If you're needing to change things around, ironically you might find the best "all round" striker is the one who gets the least time on the pitch. And that's just with 3 of them!

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Depends how we plan to play next season. If we continue with Hughes and he continues

with five at the back then we need more pace and mobility than Austin offers. Shane long fits the system better but he couldn't score in a brothel.

 

Personally I'd like us to go back to playing more on the front foot and have a proper big CF that can score goals, win balls in the air, hold the ball up and play with his back to goal. We had it with Lambert and Pelle and haven't had I the last two seasons.

 

Interestingly though Burnley have finished best of the rest scoring 36 goals one less than we managed..

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Austin has never been fast even when he was younger, but he makes up for it with quick thinking and this usually allows him to beat a defender and get a shot off even from very tight angles. If a nice ball isn't played in he will create a chance for himself. He does need some support though, he's a great header of the ball yet how many decent crosses has our fullbacks put in? And yesterday, how many times did he get into a decent position only for Redmond to just give the ball away? He can't do it all. Then JWP comes on, one of the few that can ping a ball in and Austin comes off. Instead of replacing him how about replacing some other players that can actually feed the strikers? We moan about lack of support for Gabbi, well it's the same thing surely?

 

If he does go it will be to another Prem team. I would be very surprised to see him in the Championship next season. I hope he stays.

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Austin has never been fast even when he was younger, but he makes up for it with quick thinking and this usually allows him to beat a defender and get a shot off even from very tight angles. If a nice ball isn't played in he will create a chance for himself. He does need some support though, he's a great header of the ball yet how many decent crosses has our fullbacks put in? And yesterday, how many times did he get into a decent position only for Redmond to just give the ball away? He can't do it all. Then JWP comes on, one of the few that can ping a ball in and Austin comes off. Instead of replacing him how about replacing some other players that can actually feed the strikers? We moan about lack of support for Gabbi, well it's the same thing surely?

 

If he does go it will be to another Prem team. I would be very surprised to see him in the Championship next season. I hope he stays.

 

Agree. Offloading the one player who we know can score goals (ok, sure, not enough, and has spent too long injured, but he is still our top goalscorer, where would we be without those goals?) without having a proven replacement would be crazy. It's not like we could get much money for him either. He seems like a popular character in the squad, so other than saving on wages what would we really have to gain by offloading him? Even if we sign someone from abroad, should we assume they are going to be a success and get rid of Austin? Bit risky, sticking the ball in the net is the hardest and most sought after thing in football!

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How many clubs outside of the top six have awesome strikers. How many awesome strikers want to come to a club who just avoided relegation? Its going to be a slog to rebuild the club's attractiveness and reputation.

 

+1. Salah doesn't grow on trees. Austin, Long, and Gabbi (although I think he's leaving) are normal PL quality. Think through all the 20 teams, you can pick the better stirkers than Austin on your fingers (less than 10 for those counting impaired). Austin isn't slow, he isn't quick. Once he gets going he's actually go speed. However he makes good runs, and opens up space for others even if he's not getting the ball. This was pointed out by Hughes numerous times, and an example is Redmond's goal against Everton. In addition the guy gets shots off consistently, who else do we have you can say that about. You know in a full game Austin will get 5 or so quality attempts no matter what.

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Austin is by far our best striker, he is the most reliable source of goals we have, he just gets injured.

 

But if he had been played from the start of the season, he would have played way more games had over 30 league games this season.

 

Pellegrino didn't start him in the league until the 4-1 win over Everton (where he scored twice), so he was fit and available for 11 league games before that and barely played, coming off the bench a handful of times.

 

I also get the impression Huges likes Long so he'll stay.

 

Gabbi will be down to whether he wants to stay I reckon and any family problems.

 

Carrillo we will struggle to give away, might get him to go on loan.

 

I reckon next year we'll still have Long, Austin, + one new striker and maybe still Gabbi.

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