Adam Armstrong

[spyinthesky]

1 hour ago, Saint_clark said:

Yep, always liked Shlong. People still romanticise players like Ormerod but for some reason Long gets a lot of hate, he's been a great signing for us all things considered. Well worth the money. 

I have to disagree with your comment re the.. 'lot of 'hate'.. directed towards Shane Long.

I think a majority of fans recognise the fact that Shane Long is a trier who always tries his best whenever on the pitch.

In recent times his influence has been greatest coming off the bench.

Primarily he can be described a 'striker' but does not have the capabilities nowadays to perform the task.

A mate of mine is a Hull City fan and was amazed and happy at the £12m fee Saints paid to sign him. I had to agree with this#.

[The Cat]

Love him for Liverpool away and all the times he's made me laugh by running into players and getting hurt.

On the flip side that vomit inducing song of his they used to play before kick off was a truly low moment in the history of the club. 

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, The Cat said:

Love him for Liverpool away and all the times he's made me laugh by running into players and getting hurt.

On the flip side that vomit inducing song of his they used to play before kick off was a truly low moment in the history of the club. 

I think my favourite Long moment was against Chelsea at home i think under Hughes. A cross came in and he was at a really tight angle, on first view it looked like he'd done an amazing bit of skill to somehow slide in, loop it up and over the Chelsea keeper, from the tightest of angles, onto the crossbar, really unlucky not to score a great goal. Replays showed as he slipped, mishitting the ball hitting it onto his standing leg and spinning it up into the air, for what would have been a piece of ridiculous luck if it had gone in.

[Dman]

16 hours ago, Turkish said:

It’s a shame as he’s been a good servant overall. Was a decent signing for the first 4 years or so

Long gets OTT criticism on here. Up until last season, he was a very useful player for the club and under koeman was very, very good. 

I can also understand the contract extension as when offered, he was keeping Adams out of the team and formed a pretty decent partnership with ings. 

He’s naturally dropped off a bit now given he’s getting older, but a great servant to the club. 

[Saint_clark]

1 hour ago, spyinthesky said:

I have to disagree with your comment re the.. 'lot of 'hate'.. directed towards Shane Long.

I think a majority of fans recognise the fact that Shane Long is a trier who always tries his best whenever on the pitch.

In recent times his influence has been greatest coming off the bench.

Primarily he can be described a 'striker' but does not have the capabilities nowadays to perform the task.

A mate of mine is a Hull City fan and was amazed and happy at the £12m fee Saints paid to sign him. I had to agree with this#.

That £12million has got us more goals and assists than Nathan Redmond in much less game time. It's got us a hat trick against arsenal, a worldy against Villa and an epic last minute cup semi final goal away to anfield. It's got us a player who has done a decent to good job for 7 years. 

With the attributes he has, if he was able to finish to the level of Ings there would be very little between them in terms of ability.

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

That £12million has got us more goals and assists than Nathan Redmond in much less game time. It's got us a hat trick against arsenal, a worldy against Villa and an epic last minute cup semi final goal away to anfield. It's got us a player who has done a decent to good job for 7 years. 

With the attributes he has, if he was able to finish to the level of Ings there would be very little between them in terms of ability.

When did this hatrick against Arsenal happen? He scored 2 when we beat them 4-0 but Martina and Fonte scored other two. Cant remember him ever scoring a hatrick. As well as holding the record for fastest goal he also set Mane up twice for his record breaking hatrick against Villa, then scored an amazing 35 yard goal later on.

Edited 11 August, 2021 by Turkish

[Saint_clark]

10 minutes ago, Turkish said:

When did this hatrick against Arsenal happen? He scored 2 when we beat them 4-0 but Martina and Fonte scored other two. Cant remember him ever scoring a hatrick. As well as holding the record for fastest goal he also set Mane up twice for his record breaking hatrick against Villa, then scored an amazing 35 yard goal later on.

Sorry yeah, misremembering things. I thought it was Long X 3 and Martina with 1.

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Sorry yeah, misremembering things. I thought it was Long X 3 and Martina with 1.

Someone else mentioned it as well, thought i'd missed it!

[saintwbu]

50 minutes ago, Turkish said:

When did this hatrick against Arsenal happen? He scored 2 when we beat them 4-0 but Martina and Fonte scored other two. Cant remember him ever scoring a hatrick. As well as holding the record for fastest goal he also set Mane up twice for his record breaking hatrick against Villa, then scored an amazing 35 yard goal later on.

Arsenal 4-0 and Villa 5-1 were two of the most amazing displays i’ve ever seen from a Saints team, and he was pivotal in both. I was completely underwhelmed when we signed him having sold Lallana etc, and started to think maybe the reports of a fire sale and impending relegation were true. He proved me so wrong, a great signing and servant to this club, and seemingly a great guy too.

[Turkish]

13 minutes ago, saintwbu said:

Arsenal 4-0 and Villa 5-1 were two of the most amazing displays i’ve ever seen from a Saints team, and he was pivotal in both. I was completely underwhelmed when we signed him having sold Lallana etc, and started to think maybe the reports of a fire sale and impending relegation were true. He proved me so wrong, a great signing and servant to this club, and seemingly a great guy too.

6-1 v Villa 😉

[whelk]

53 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Someone else mentioned it as well, thought i'd missed it!

Was me. Weird. I’ll always remember him for his brace then on Boxing Day. Could have easily had 3 though

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/10110989/southampton-4-0-arsenal-gunners-miss-chance-to-go-top-as-saints-stroll

[saintwbu]

14 minutes ago, Turkish said:

6-1 v Villa 😉

And that one too 😆

[kjurwi]

4 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

Yep, always liked Shlong. People still romanticise players like Ormerod but for some reason Long gets a lot of hate, he's been a great signing for us all things considered. Well worth the money. 

Agree with every word.👍

[Chocolate Box]

Have I missed something? You are all talking as if he has gone. Agree with most of the above by the way.

[SuperSAINT]

Classy

 

[fez]

Mouth watering after watching this Sky goals compilation

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12379087/adam-armstrong-greatest-championship-goals

[Badger]

3 hours ago, fez said:

Mouth watering after watching this Sky goals compilation

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12379087/adam-armstrong-greatest-championship-goals

Impressive. Hasdn't seen any of his goals from Barnsley or Bolton before only from Blackburn on youtube.

From that compilation you feel he should be wearing the 7 shirt for us after MLT and RL.

Edited 11 August, 2021 by Badger

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

3 hours ago, SuperSAINT said:

Classy

 

So easy to be classy its sad so many struggle to hit the right note.

 

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

11 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

That £12million has got us more goals and assists than Nathan Redmond in much less game time. It's got us a hat trick against arsenal, a worldy against Villa and an epic last minute cup semi final goal away to anfield. It's got us a player who has done a decent to good job for 7 years. 

With the attributes he has, if he was able to finish to the level of Ings there would be very little between them in terms of ability.

and a really good guy who would have made Saints a great dressing room to come into. I really liked Shane Long. 

[Sunglasses Ron]

3 hours ago, SuperSAINT said:

Classy

 

9/10 for class (1 point dropped for having less than 50% battery).   
 

 

 

[whelk]

2 minutes ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

9/10 for class (1 point dropped for having less than 50% battery).   
 

 

 

Not worrying about battery life is an indicator of strong under pressure 

[Patrick Bateman]

3 hours ago, fez said:

Mouth watering after watching this Sky goals compilation

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12379087/adam-armstrong-greatest-championship-goals

Very very nice. Whilst a couple of them he was given loads of space by non-Premier League standard defences, pretty much all the rest were first time, accurate and instinctive strikes without thinking. I think this guy could be good. 

[Teddeer]

4 hours ago, fez said:

Mouth watering after watching this Sky goals compilation

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12379087/adam-armstrong-greatest-championship-goals

Wow, some sensational goals there and not a single tap-in!

[Convict Colony]

The big question.....

Put him as the value buy in fantasy football team ?

[Turkish]

30 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

The big question.....

Put him as the value buy in fantasy football team ?

No. You never have a Saints player in your fantasy team. You must always have an opposition player though so when we lose you can piss everyone off  by announcing at full time that "at least I've got xxxxx in my fantasy team" Which always helps soften the blow to everyone around you. 🤯

Edited 12 August, 2021 by Turkish

[hypochondriac]

10 hours ago, Sergei Gotsmanov said:

So easy to be classy its sad so many struggle to hit the right note.

 

It doesn't take much to be clearly genuine. I would say that's definitely written by him personally rather than a PR agency and it isn't a full page ad in the local paper like some arseholes... 

[Midfield_General]

On 11/08/2021 at 09:48, Turkish said:

I think my favourite Long moment was against Chelsea at home i think under Hughes. A cross came in and he was at a really tight angle, on first view it looked like he'd done an amazing bit of skill to somehow slide in, loop it up and over the Chelsea keeper, from the tightest of angles, onto the crossbar, really unlucky not to score a great goal. Replays showed as he slipped, mishitting the ball hitting it onto his standing leg and spinning it up into the air, for what would have been a piece of ridiculous luck if it had gone in.

There was another one like that - I think it was against Leicester. From memory, Shane went through, got pushed wide left by the keeper as he came out, but took it round him, stayed on his feet and slotted brilliantly with his left from an extremely acute angle. 'Bloody hell' we said, 'nice one Shane, didn't think you had that sort of composure in you'.

Then they showed the replay from the angle he'd scored from. It showed that he'd actually curled it behind the keeper but back away from the goal, Schmeichel had inadvertently punched it in with the back of his fist, and that it had been on course to go out for a throw-in on the far side. 

Bloody love Shane Long. 

[Badger]

4 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

It doesn't take much to be clearly genuine. I would say that's definitely written by him personally rather than a PR agency and it isn't a full page ad in the local paper like some arseholes... 

I don't think it was the means of communication in a local paper that was the issue though, more the insincere content and manner of leaving which he tried to conceal by his lavish 'media splash'.

That piece by AA does come across well, as do most of the genuinely felt replies from Blackburn fans.

[Convict Colony]

 

‘He shoots, shoots and shoots again’ – how and why Southampton signed Adam Armstrong

By Dan Sheldon 2h ago

Southampton’s pursuit of Adam Armstrong started long before Danny Ings was sold to Aston Villa in a £30 million deal.

The Premier League club’s technical and recruitment teams were unable to ignore the 24-year-old’s sheer output in a Blackburn Rovers shirt during the 2020-21 season.

Armstrong scored an impressive 29 goals in 43 appearances and was entering the final year of his contract.

Southampton viewed this opportunity as a no-lose: they could sign an up-and-coming striker in a cut-price deal due to the fact Blackburn wouldn’t want to lose him on a free in 2022.

But they weren’t his only suitors, with Crystal Palace and Norwich providing stern competition.

---

When Southampton first approached Blackburn earlier this summer with their opening offer for Adam Armstrong, believed to be £8 million plus an extra £2 million in potential add-ons, it became clear the two clubs were miles apart in their valuation of the player.

Rovers were seeking a figure closer to £20-25 million since they would have to pay Newcastle around 40 per cent of any fee they received from a sell-on clause.

Sources close to the deal have told The Athletic that at this point, especially with Ings still in the building, the Premier League side were happy to sit back and play a waiting game while pursuing other options.

Southampton suspected, even though they still tried, that signing Tammy Abraham on loan was a non-starter. It became clear Chelsea were only keen on selling the striker on a permanent deal. RB Leipzig’s Alexander Sorloth was also briefly considered but again, the club decided that it was not the deal for them.

But the reality is that Armstrong was always top of Southampton’s list, and he was the player they pictured as Ings’ long-term replacement. This meant they had to be strategic in appearing interested enough to not be forgotten, but also not showing too much desire so as to drive up the price.

 

Adam Armstrong is unveiled at St Mary’s as a Southampton player (Photo: Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images)

The club’s initial plan was to sign the 24-year-old, play him with Ings and Che Adams for a season, then watch him kick-on in 2022-23.

It’s understood there were another two to three rounds of conversations between Southampton and Blackburn, although a fee still couldn’t be agreed. After the £8 million offer, Southampton tried their luck with a £10 million plus £2 million bid. Again, though, it was rejected. This allowed the likes of Crystal Palace and Norwich to steal a march and it is believed the former thought they had a deal in place.

However, once Ings was sold to Villa, catching almost everyone off guard as the club were planning for him to stay on the south coast, there was a realisation Southampton would come back to the negotiating table.

One source close to proceedings explained how the other clubs thought Southampton would “come in like a train” to try and finalise a deal for Armstrong.

Matt Crocker, Southampton’s director of football of operations, is believed to have been a key influence in the deal, especially having previously known the striker well from his time spent working at the FA.

He was able to impart his knowledge of Armstrong’s character to Hasenhuttl, chief executive Martin Semmens, the scouts and other recruitment team members.

In terms of scouting, it was difficult for Southampton not to notice the number of shots Armstrong hit last season — and this, too, was believed to be a key factor behind their pursuit.

In recent times, Southampton have been accused of trying to walk the ball into the net, but that isn’t Armstrong’s game at all. He shoots, shoots and then shoots again.

Last season he registered 189 shots (85 on target), more than any other player in the English leagues.

Most shot-happy players

ENGLISH LEAGUES 2020-21	TOTAL SHOTS (INC. BLOCKS)
Adam Armstrong	189
Paul Mullin	169
Joe Pigott	160
Scott Twine	148
Mallik Wilks	140
Teemu Pukki	139
Harry Kane	137
Ivan Toney	135
Jonson Clarke-Harris	132
Aaron Collins	131

To compare that with Southampton’s attacking players, Ings had 57 shots (27 on target), Stuart Armstrong and Adams had 55 (11 and 31 on target) and Nathan Redmond was fourth with 45 (13 on target). Southampton’s squad as a whole had a combined 424 shots in the Premier League last year. Their newest signing had close to half of that figure on his own.

It was widely accepted that since they couldn’t sign a Premier League striker who could match Ings’ output in front of goal, which would have been financially impossible, then they had to go for the next best available option. And, to Southampton, that was Adam Armstrong.

So once Ings was out the door and on his way to Villa Park, their desire to sign Armstrong was escalated and Semmens worked day and night to get the deal done. Sources close to the deal suggest there were club-to-club talks between Southampton’s hierarchy and Blackburn’s owners to come to a resolution after two failed bids. It’s said that the Premier League club found “extra motivation” to spend an additional £2 million or so to land their target once Ings had departed.

In the end, it was an offer of £12 million plus £3 million in add-ons, which The Athletic is told are easy to achieve and will be met, taking the overall price to £15 million.

Once a fee had been settled on, Armstrong had to agree to personal terms with Southampton, and his meeting with Hasenhuttl was said to have gone “very smoothly”.

There was even time for Alan Shearer, the former Newcastle striker and columnist at The Athletic, to wish him luck. Much has been made of the fact Armstrong is following Shearer’s career in reverse by going from Newcastle to Blackburn and then to Southampton.

 

 

Southampton view this as a low-risk signing. It is hoped Armstrong will come in and hit the ground running, and it’s understood Hasenhuttl has already been impressed by his standard of finishing in training.

If the deal works out, then Southampton have replaced Ings with a player who can match, if not better, his tally of goals. But that is a big “if”, and a slow start to the Premier League will undoubtedly lead to people asking whether selling their best player was a risk worth taking.

Yet many feel the club could have a Premier League star on their hands, which may one day see them land a tidy profit if Armstrong is as prolific in England’s top flight as he was in the Championship.

[tajjuk]

Everything I have seen about him and read about is very positive. Even his like interviews and his good bye to his old club he seems a good character. 

Pacey, works hard, good movement, shoots of either foot, can score long shots, takes a good pen. 

[egg]

38 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

 

‘He shoots, shoots and shoots again’ – how and why Southampton signed Adam Armstrong

By Dan Sheldon 2h ago

Southampton’s pursuit of Adam Armstrong started long before Danny Ings was sold to Aston Villa in a £30 million deal.

The Premier League club’s technical and recruitment teams were unable to ignore the 24-year-old’s sheer output in a Blackburn Rovers shirt during the 2020-21 season.

Armstrong scored an impressive 29 goals in 43 appearances and was entering the final year of his contract.

Southampton viewed this opportunity as a no-lose: they could sign an up-and-coming striker in a cut-price deal due to the fact Blackburn wouldn’t want to lose him on a free in 2022.

But they weren’t his only suitors, with Crystal Palace and Norwich providing stern competition.

---

When Southampton first approached Blackburn earlier this summer with their opening offer for Adam Armstrong, believed to be £8 million plus an extra £2 million in potential add-ons, it became clear the two clubs were miles apart in their valuation of the player.

Rovers were seeking a figure closer to £20-25 million since they would have to pay Newcastle around 40 per cent of any fee they received from a sell-on clause.

Sources close to the deal have told The Athletic that at this point, especially with Ings still in the building, the Premier League side were happy to sit back and play a waiting game while pursuing other options.

Southampton suspected, even though they still tried, that signing Tammy Abraham on loan was a non-starter. It became clear Chelsea were only keen on selling the striker on a permanent deal. RB Leipzig’s Alexander Sorloth was also briefly considered but again, the club decided that it was not the deal for them.

But the reality is that Armstrong was always top of Southampton’s list, and he was the player they pictured as Ings’ long-term replacement. This meant they had to be strategic in appearing interested enough to not be forgotten, but also not showing too much desire so as to drive up the price.

 

Adam Armstrong is unveiled at St Mary’s as a Southampton player (Photo: Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images)

The club’s initial plan was to sign the 24-year-old, play him with Ings and Che Adams for a season, then watch him kick-on in 2022-23.

It’s understood there were another two to three rounds of conversations between Southampton and Blackburn, although a fee still couldn’t be agreed. After the £8 million offer, Southampton tried their luck with a £10 million plus £2 million bid. Again, though, it was rejected. This allowed the likes of Crystal Palace and Norwich to steal a march and it is believed the former thought they had a deal in place.

However, once Ings was sold to Villa, catching almost everyone off guard as the club were planning for him to stay on the south coast, there was a realisation Southampton would come back to the negotiating table.

One source close to proceedings explained how the other clubs thought Southampton would “come in like a train” to try and finalise a deal for Armstrong.

Matt Crocker, Southampton’s director of football of operations, is believed to have been a key influence in the deal, especially having previously known the striker well from his time spent working at the FA.

He was able to impart his knowledge of Armstrong’s character to Hasenhuttl, chief executive Martin Semmens, the scouts and other recruitment team members.

In terms of scouting, it was difficult for Southampton not to notice the number of shots Armstrong hit last season — and this, too, was believed to be a key factor behind their pursuit.

In recent times, Southampton have been accused of trying to walk the ball into the net, but that isn’t Armstrong’s game at all. He shoots, shoots and then shoots again.

Last season he registered 189 shots (85 on target), more than any other player in the English leagues.

Most shot-happy players

ENGLISH LEAGUES 2020-21	TOTAL SHOTS (INC. BLOCKS)
Adam Armstrong	189
Paul Mullin	169
Joe Pigott	160
Scott Twine	148
Mallik Wilks	140
Teemu Pukki	139
Harry Kane	137
Ivan Toney	135
Jonson Clarke-Harris	132
Aaron Collins	131

To compare that with Southampton’s attacking players, Ings had 57 shots (27 on target), Stuart Armstrong and Adams had 55 (11 and 31 on target) and Nathan Redmond was fourth with 45 (13 on target). Southampton’s squad as a whole had a combined 424 shots in the Premier League last year. Their newest signing had close to half of that figure on his own.

It was widely accepted that since they couldn’t sign a Premier League striker who could match Ings’ output in front of goal, which would have been financially impossible, then they had to go for the next best available option. And, to Southampton, that was Adam Armstrong.

So once Ings was out the door and on his way to Villa Park, their desire to sign Armstrong was escalated and Semmens worked day and night to get the deal done. Sources close to the deal suggest there were club-to-club talks between Southampton’s hierarchy and Blackburn’s owners to come to a resolution after two failed bids. It’s said that the Premier League club found “extra motivation” to spend an additional £2 million or so to land their target once Ings had departed.

In the end, it was an offer of £12 million plus £3 million in add-ons, which The Athletic is told are easy to achieve and will be met, taking the overall price to £15 million.

Once a fee had been settled on, Armstrong had to agree to personal terms with Southampton, and his meeting with Hasenhuttl was said to have gone “very smoothly”.

There was even time for Alan Shearer, the former Newcastle striker and columnist at The Athletic, to wish him luck. Much has been made of the fact Armstrong is following Shearer’s career in reverse by going from Newcastle to Blackburn and then to Southampton.

 

 

Southampton view this as a low-risk signing. It is hoped Armstrong will come in and hit the ground running, and it’s understood Hasenhuttl has already been impressed by his standard of finishing in training.

If the deal works out, then Southampton have replaced Ings with a player who can match, if not better, his tally of goals. But that is a big “if”, and a slow start to the Premier League will undoubtedly lead to people asking whether selling their best player was a risk worth taking.

Yet many feel the club could have a Premier League star on their hands, which may one day see them land a tidy profit if Armstrong is as prolific in England’s top flight as he was in the Championship.

Thanks for posting, that's a good read. Interesting that Matt Crocker has probably helped influence this move. I suspect his presence has also helped us to get Simeu and Livramento, which in turn has helped get Broja. He and Semmens are good news. 

 

Edited 13 August, 2021 by egg

[Sunglasses Ron]

The key bit form that article is:

Matt Crocker, Southampton’s director of football of operations, is believed to have been a key influence in the deal, especially having previously known the striker well from his time spent working at the FA.

As some of us have previously said, you'd think that private conversations may have taken place between the club and striker / his agent a while back along the lines of "hold tight, insist that you'll only move to Saints and we'll make it happen for the right price".  Maybe a generous signing on fee was provided in return. 

Edited 13 August, 2021 by Sunglasses Ron

[ozzmeister]

I hope we dont coach out of him running at defenders and having a shot from out the box (like the type of goals in the compilation video). I remember when Gabi joined he was great for three games - but then started to try to play the ball into the net and his goals / unpredictability dried up!

[Disco Stu]

One positive is Armstrong really did well today. Really suits the way we play and showed some great understanding with Adams.

[Teddeer]

1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

One positive is Armstrong really did well today. Really suits the way we play and showed some great understanding with Adams.

Yeah, give him the service and he'll bang in the goals. Trouble is, we have very little creativity.

[S-Clarke]

2 hours ago, Teddeer said:

Yeah, give him the service and he'll bang in the goals. Trouble is, we have very little creativity.

This is the biggest worry for me. Redmond, Theo, Moussa just do not cut it in those '10 roles'. We needed a 10 this summer, because from what I can see we're relying on Adams using his physical presence against defenders and nicking the ball from the press in order to create chances. We seem incapable of providing opportunities from the wide areas.

[Lord Duckhunter]

You have to say that finish was pure class. Clinical, never in doubt. Quick look up to pick his  spot and perfect execution. One of the classiest debut goals I’ve seen 

[Whitey Grandad]

1 hour ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

You have to say that finish was pure class. Clinical, never in doubt. Quick look up to pick his  spot and perfect execution. One of the classiest debut goals I’ve seen 

Yes indeed, pure brilliance. Certainly not the sort of finish that we’re used to at Saints.

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

You have to say that finish was pure class. Clinical, never in doubt. Quick look up to pick his  spot and perfect execution. One of the classiest debut goals I’ve seen 

It was. MOTD probably didn’t show it. It there was another half chance he got, really right angle never really had a chance of scoring but took it first time, was heading top corner but Pickford saved it, albeit quite comfortably, but it was an instinctive strike that made the keeper work and won us a corner when other players we have would have tried to control it fuck up and give it away. We’ve got a player here, really impressed with him, better than I thought he’d be

[Patrick Bateman]

2 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

You have to say that finish was pure class. Clinical, never in doubt. Quick look up to pick his  spot and perfect execution. One of the classiest debut goals I’ve seen 

Absolutely. Anyone watch MoTD and listen to what they said about him? I saw the first half on a stream, then ditched the second half and returned to gardening, but on the first half showing he looks decent. 

[Convict Colony]

He isnt afraid to shoot based on yesterday and is alot faster than we thought based on him closing down keane etc.

[bangkoksaint]

7 hours ago, Turkish said:

It was. MOTD probably didn’t show it. It there was another half chance he got, really right angle never really had a chance of scoring but took it first time, was heading top corner but Pickford saved it, albeit quite comfortably, but it was an instinctive strike that made the keeper work and won us a corner when other players we have would have tried to control it fuck up and give it away. We’ve got a player here, really impressed with him, better than I thought he’d be

Hold on to your hat…….that’ll be coached out of him before you can shout ‘Sack Ralph’!

[swannymere]

Keep watching his goal from Saturday and it reminded me of Marian or Shearer, i don't think we've had a striker with the instinct to go directly towards goal since those two, maybe Beattie but not really. 

[Saint_clark]

5 minutes ago, swannymere said:

Keep watching his goal from Saturday and it reminded me of Marian or Shearer, i don't think we've had a striker with the instinct to go directly towards goal since those two, maybe Beattie but not really. 

Barnard was very direct, albeit lower quality obviously.

[swannymere]

3 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Barnard was very direct, albeit lower quality obviously.

Forgot about him, could and should have been great; not sure what went wrong.

[Saint_clark]

Just now, swannymere said:

Forgot about him, could and should have been great; not sure what went wrong.

Nothing went wrong, he was fantastic for us in league one which was his level.

[Saint Garrett]

11 minutes ago, swannymere said:

Keep watching his goal from Saturday and it reminded me of Marian or Shearer, i don't think we've had a striker with the instinct to go directly towards goal since those two, maybe Beattie but not really. 

David Connolly scored a few goals like that, great finisher in L1

[swannymere]

1 hour ago, Saint Garrett said:

David Connolly scored a few goals like that, great finisher in L1

Hold your hats, a first for this forum. I admit i was wrong. You could probably add Billy Sharp to that. I'm going for a lie down.

[Fan The Flames]

1 hour ago, Saint_clark said:

Nothing went wrong, he was fantastic for us in league one which was his level.

It did go a bit wrong for him as he never again hit the heights that he did in those couple of seasons with Southend and us. He went out on loan at 28 and dropped down the divisions, never hitting double figures again.

[Dusic]

2 hours ago, swannymere said:

Keep watching his goal from Saturday and it reminded me of Marian or Shearer, i don't think we've had a striker with the instinct to go directly towards goal since those two, maybe Beattie but not really. 

I remember that lad who we sold to Villa played like that too.

Danny something.