Priority : Striker or CB ?

[Saint Garrett]

We weren't that bad defensively last season after about the first 10 games and under Pochettino we didn't let that many goals in - and we've strengthened.

 

I think our defence is good enough but we really need an alternative to Rickie when he's not on it. A top goalscorer could move us up a level. The defence will be ok. IMO.

[Pastor Patrón]

We weren't that bad defensively last season after about the first 10 games and under Pochettino we didn't let that many goals in - and we've strengthened.

 

I think our defence is good enough but we really need an alternative to Rickie when he's not on it. A top goalscorer could move us up a level. The defence will be ok. IMO.

 

Our defence isn't good enough until Hooiveld isn't anywhere near it.

[saint1977]

We need both but sticking to Alps' original Q I would have to say striker. As others have pointed out, Ramirez and Lallana would benefit from better movement ahead of them and also it gives us a counter-attacking option at home if teams sit in and go direct against us, as quite a few (notably QPR, Sunderland and WBA) did actually do successfully. Rickie has very much a role still to play but I feel that may be sitting deeper under MP's system and pulling onto the far post when opportunities arise. Trouble is, Rickie is the best finisher in the squad by several country miles and J Rod, whilst very promising and suiting our system well, isn't going to exceed 10 or 11 league goals for another season at least. Morgan might get forward again well though from MC with VW/JC holding, those goals really helped last year. It also gives us another impact player off the bench away from home if Mayuka doesn't cut the mustard this year.

[The9]

If it had to be one or the other I think I'd go with a superduper striker and make us a team that outscores the opposition.

 

But honestly I think we need both a stable first choice CB pairing AND a new and improved strike force.

[benjii]

Striker or good wide player/attacking midfielder.

 

I have never seen Lovren play but I assume he will be a starter and I am a fan of Yoshida and think he will improve with increasing experience. Hooiveld and Fonte are adequate third and fourth choices provided they have Boruc behind them and, ideally, Shaw to the left of them. We would need two or three simultaneous absences before our defence became inhibtingly cack.

 

We need another striker or wide player. Our wide options, other than Isgrove or A.N Other "youngster", are basically:

 

Puncheon - probably our most consistent attacking player last season; no problem with him being a regular feature at all

Lallana - question marks at PL level; brilliant ability but prone to poor decisions and minimal end-product;

Rodriguez - gives us a different sort of threat with his direct running and pace; no problem with him being a regular there but if Lambert got injured and we didn't sign another striker we would need him upfront;

Guly - has been an excellent signing but is generally less effective than the chaps listed above and is not really one for the "next level"

Mayuka - I'm not writing him off but he will do well to get more than bit-part appearances from the bench I expect;

Ramirez - not really a wide player; if we want to put faith in him then we need to be picking him in a central position.

 

So, to my mind, our wide starters on the first day of the season should be Puncheon and Rodriguez. In the hole should be Ramirez or, if we want to start with a more cautious approach, Wanyama or Morgan.

 

That leaves only Lambert, Mayuka or Guly as striking options which, frankly, is pretty thin. I'm not sure anyone would want to go with Mayuka or Guly as the talisman for a prolonger period but, as things stand, if Lambert were to get injured we would either need to do exactly that or to move Rodriguez central and become more one dimensional in our support play.

 

As noted, this assumes Isgrove is not ready to play a regular role - maybe he is, I don't know - but it seems to me we are only one absence away from being seriously weaker as an attacking threat.

 

I reckon we will sign Osvaldo or Damiao.

[Lighthouse]

Kenwyne Jones, he could do either.

 

If I had to choose though, striker. I don't think Lambert will score as many this season and I think some teams were starting to figure him out. JRod I think will be better but I can't see him banging in 20 and getting on the plane to Brazil just yet. Mayuka has yet to score at all and with only a handful of goals coming from midfield I think we need more firepower up front.

 

CB I am reasonably happy with, although I think we can do better than Jose and Jos.

[The9]

I'm not sure why people think we need a wide left midfielder - we have Lallana or Rodriguez who can play there, Puncheon has played some of his best football as a narrow left midfielder (though not for Saints), and Ramirez has also played there. So has Schneiderlin, but I wouldn't suggest moving him at the moment. Shaw is another option, if we signed a full back to cover him or Clyne. Isgrove has looked viable, but we've got a history of churning out short blond kids who have half a good game once then end up at lower league sides (Doble, Reeves, White etc), so I wouldn't want to get excited about him yet.

 

All of them have been better at left mid than Cork has at RB, but somehow he's meant to be considered legitimate cover in that position.

[SuperSAINT]

I'm not sure why people think we need a wide left midfielder - we have Lallana or Rodriguez who can play there, Puncheon has played some of his best football as a narrow left midfielder (though not for Saints), and Ramirez has also played there. So has Schneiderlin, but I wouldn't suggest moving him at the moment. Shaw is another option, if we signed a full back to cover him or Clyne. Isgrove has looked viable, but we've got a history of churning out short blond kids who have half a good game once then end up at lower league sides (Doble, Reeves, White etc), so I wouldn't want to get excited about him yet.

 

All of them have been better at left mid than Cork has at RB, but somehow he's meant to be considered legitimate cover in that position.

 

Ha ha! - That's quality! - Can we add Simon Gillett to that list too?

[paulwantsapint]

A goal scoring cb who can dominate set pieces at both ends of pitch

Did we score from any corners last season except Fonte against Fulham?

[Smirking_Saint]

Without a shadow of a doubt and considering what Poch is building

 

Striker

 

Pretty passes and a dominant pressing game dont mean much otherwise

[Appy]

Fonte is not "pretty decent". He is a journeyman at this level, though I agree about hinm being 4th choice at the club currently.

 

But then that makes Jos 3rd choice....

 

Agreed Fonte isn't good enough, but do you rate him lower than Hooiveld?

[Saint Charlie]

Agreed Fonte isn't good enough, but do you rate him lower than Hooiveld?

 

I always change my mind on this. Based on last 3/4 months last season Hooiveld probably has more of a calamity in him but does tend to dominate strikers more.

 

They are both of a similar level - Top Championship/Bottom 5 Prem

[CeeBee]

Striker would be my preference. Would love to have John Terry for a couple of seasons at CB.

[positivepete]

A goal scoring cb who can dominate set pieces at both ends of pitch

Did we score from any corners last season except Fonte against Fulham?

 

Two out of every three goals in the EPL come from open play, and that average includes Stoke who score only 50% from open play.

[Appy]

A goal scoring cb who can dominate set pieces at both ends of pitch

Did we score from any corners last season except Fonte against Fulham?

 

Ramirez at Everton is the only other one I remember.

[70's Mike]

Striker for me, you need to win games to stay up

 

38 draws is relegation

[Window Cleaner]

Striker for me, you need to win games to stay up

 

38 draws is relegation

 

not last season though.

[Chez]

I always change my mind on this. Based on last 3/4 months last season Hooiveld probably has more of a calamity in him but does tend to dominate strikers more.

 

They are both of a similar level - Top Championship/Bottom 5 Prem

 

We argued all season abotu Jos, so I won't go over that old ground, but how do you rate Yoshida? Way overated on here for me, but I was very much in the minority that didn't rate his performances last season.

 

Has anyone seen Lovren yet? Is he someone that dminates in the air? If not the partnership of him and Yoshida fills me with dread.

 

With regards to OP, a striker would be high on the agenda of Mayuka is not going to get ay game time. Lee and Sharp are not even top championship class.

[gogo_saint]

I think Lovren will be the Killer to Maya's Claus. We then have Jos and Jose has back-up.

 

I also think JRod will have a good season. And, of course, we have SRL - but nobody else worthwhile up front.

 

So, given the choice Alpine set and the system we are likely to play, I would go for a striker.

 

Yup.

[DuncanRG]

Two out of every three goals in the EPL come from open play, and that average includes Stoke who score only 50% from open play.

 

Is that a reason not to work on set plays? One third of all goals is a hell of a lot. Don't know if a 'goal scoring CB' is the way to go though - they're rare. We've already added an aerial threat from set pieces in Wanyama, and we don't know how Lovren fares in that regard yet.

[aintforever]

Striker by a mile. We are light up front and were very lucky Lambert didn't get injured last season.

[Sour Mash]

Two out of every three goals in the EPL come from open play, and that average includes Stoke who score only 50% from open play.

So one in three comes from some sort of set piece. I'd imagine a lot of those are pens, but that still suggests it's something worth working on. Going forward our problem was more about delivery of set pieces rather than anyone to get on the end of them.

[DuncanRG]

We argued all season abotu Jos, so I won't go over that old ground, but how do you rate Yoshida? Way overated on here for me, but I was very much in the minority that didn't rate his performances last season.

 

Has anyone seen Lovren yet? Is he someone that dminates in the air? If not the partnership of him and Yoshida fills me with dread.

 

With regards to OP, a striker would be high on the agenda of Mayuka is not going to get ay game time. Lee and Sharp are not even top championship class.

 

Lovren is big and strong, good in the air. I think you're being quite harsh on Sharp as well, considering how many important goals he scored in our promotion season!

[Smirking_Saint]

So one in three comes from some sort of set piece. I'd imagine a lot of those are pens, but that still suggests it's something worth working on. Going forward our problem was more about delivery of set pieces rather than anyone to get on the end of them.

 

Indeed, Lallana was terrible and Ramirez even worse

 

For two players who are so good on the ball I struggle to understand how they can be so poor

[Saint Garrett]

I struggle to believe professional footballers can't put a ball in the box.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

You could argue that purchasing one makes the need to sign the other less urgent thus it would be very hard to prioritise.

 

But if I had to guess at the way the club is thinking and from all of the transfer rumours, I think it is clear that Pochettino wants one of those fashionable mobile big men up front and I suspect we'll end up with a striker one way or another.

[wightman35]

Alpine's question is, in my opinion, very thought provoking as most of us see a need for two or even three. To answer, though, I would pick STRIKER as it seems to me that we lack firepower/bite or what you will-an ability to take chances and half chances. This makes even an odd defensive error so costly. A creative winger/midfielder who knows how to score a goal would be a bonus, but striker would be my first choice.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

Good op. certainly an interesting, and worthwhile debate.

 

I absolutely understand an empathise with those that plump for a new CB, and there is certainly a strongly and valid argument there.

 

However, personally, I think we have stronger depth at CB than we do at centre forward at present. Like most, I love sir Rickie, and still think he has a huge role to play. However, I do have concerns just how effective he can continue to be in our system, and with the players playing off him.

 

I'd really like us to add a real direct, energetic and mobile striker to add us another option, and one that may look to run on behind more than SRL currently does. The work SRL does is priceless, but at times with him dropping off we can be a bit stunted in attack, with little options open to the flair players (gaston) who look to play the killer ball in behind. I have real doubts as to whether gaston and SRL are a good fit for each other.

 

Please do not misinterpret this as a criticism of SRL, as someone who missed most of mlt in his prime, SRL certain,y ranks amongst my favourite and most influential saints players, I would just like to see another quality alternative upfront, before additional defensive cover is added. Saying that, I think I would rather a versatile FB, capable of doing a solid job on both sides before we signed another CB, again just my opinion.

[Chez]

Lovren is big and strong, good in the air. I think you're being quite harsh on Sharp as well, considering how many important goals he scored in our promotion season!

Glad to hear Lovren is a ball winner. Yoshida is very average in the air so he sounds an ideal foil.

 

Sharp is a middle of the road championship player, no more no less. Putting to one side what a nice guy he might be and concentrating purely on what he does on the pitch, he is crap in the air, the slowest non big man I've ever seen, has an average touch for a forward player, has no trick, doesn't dribble or hold the ball up all terribly well or link the play. He does have a good strikers instinct, gets in good positions and isn't a bad finisher, although he's more of a tap in merchant than a scorer of worldies. He did a good job at our place, his 9 goals were certainly handy, four of them (Doncaster and Peterborough) match winning, but if he was anything more than a mid table championship player Forrest would have snapped him up by now. He couldn't get in their side once Davies came back, with him preferring a Simon Cox/Hendersen partnership.

[Chez]

Indeed, Lallana was terrible and Ramirez even worse

 

For two players who are so good on the ball I struggle to understand how they can be so poor

 

bring back Chamberlain. The best corner taker we have ever had.

[Roger]

bring back Chamberlain. The best corner taker we have ever had.

 

Le tiss was by miles.