The thing is, we actually scored enough goals last season. If we were to play 2 up front in a traditional 442 then we would be opening up the midfield and would run the risk of teams dominating us in the center, putting extra pressure on our back four.
If we score the same amount as last year and can just concede less then we should be in contention for the top 4.
If we score the same amount as last year and can just concede less then we should be in contention for the top 4.
Last season Smeltz scored 9 of our 25 goals including 1 penalty. Excluding penalties our next best scorers were; Aloisi and Filipe with 3 each - both gone, then Daniel with 2.
We are very reliant on Smeltz to score and our 2 next highest scorers from last season have both gone. We have replaced Filipe and Ross with very talented players but players who don't have a track record of scoring goals.
We need a second striker who can score 5 or 6 to take pressure off Smeltz and offset the loss of Filipe and Ross's goals.
So we need, to partner Smeltz, a Porter or Kwasnik or ??? and they must be good enough to be in the starting 11. You then build your playing formation around your defensive line up (4 not the disastrous 3 forced on us last year) and your striking partnership.
You can't just go and discout penalties first of all, its not like we won't receive any this coming season! Secondly, who would have thought Ross would have scored those goals, he hardly had a pedigree for scoring when he joined us. You can't base everything on a players track record. I am actually pretty confident that the likes of Daniel, Bertos and Gao in particular will come up with some goals, with further support from Ferrante, Costa (off the bench) and our center backs from set pieces.
I have no problem with signing Kwasnik, we need him to provide cover for Smeltz or as an attacking substitute if we are chasing a game. You seem to be arguing that we need to play with two strikers up front though. If that's the case, who will you drop to the bench? You can't play 2 up front and also have all of Gao, Daniel, Bertos and Ferrante on the pitch at the same time. I'd say dropping Ferrante would be a bad idea because he is a genuine central midfielder. Bear in mind that you need to fit a holding midfielder in there as well. That leaves one to drop out of Bertos, Daniel and Gao, and frankly, I doubt we can sign somebody more deserving of a place in our starting XI than any of them.
KTBW2008-06-21 15:03:31