Forwards

[GrahamC]

2 minutes ago, Edgy Red said:

I applaud your positivity, but sadly our current forwards aren't good enough.

If that team tonight had Semenyo and Kodjia in it, then we would have got something.

I fully appreciate that quality forwards cost a lot of money, but we are lacking at the top end of the pitch.

Look, I don’t think all of them are, either.

We sold both Kodjia & Semenyo for 8 figure fees, (£13m & £10m) & we then spent £300k on Cornick, so we would do incredibly well to find more like them with the transfer budget we apparently now have.

[Top Robin]

1 minute ago, GrahamC said:

So when Nahki Wells comes on as a sub at Watford under Holden when we are 5- 0 down in a 6-0 defeat with only 4 minutes to go, you can’t see how that is completely different to him playing a full game?

You don’t think the fact that Conway scored more goals in the Championship last season than anyone of his age apart from a kid who was on loan from Man U is impressive?

Ok then.

I admire your loyalty but you're wrong.

Conway showed his inexperience tonight - he is good but not good enough yet.

We need a proven goalscorer up front and it's not Wells or Conway.

[BCFC31]

5 minutes ago, BLRed said:

League one loans beckon for Conway and bell IMO. We’re too reliant on academy products that simply don’t have the experience or quality currently when needed in a league that is already extremely competitive and high in quality. They need to go away and fine tune their trade as their current inability is costing us.

 

tin hat firmly on

We seem to shoe horn alot of our academy lads into the 1st team in the hope they will come good and we can get a other success story like scott. Pearson was made to soly rely on these kids at times which just isn't going to get you competing in this leauge. Tinion is behind alot of it as if he had his way he would probably just field our entire u21s team in the championship.

Edited November 29, 2023 by BCFC31

[GrahamC]

1 minute ago, Top Robin said:

I admire your loyalty but you're wrong.

Conway showed his inexperience tonight - he is good but not good enough yet.

We need a proven goalscorer up front and it's not Wells or Conway.

Who’s that then & where’s the money coming from?

We sold a forward for £10m, released Martin & then spent £300k on the replacement.

Coventry sold their striker for £20m & spent £16m on replacements, see the difference?

 

[Better Red]

10 minutes ago, BLRed said:

League one loans beckon for Conway and bell IMO. We’re too reliant on academy products that simply don’t have the experience or quality currently when needed in a league that is already extremely competitive and high in quality. They need to go away and fine tune their trade as their current inability is costing us.

 

tin hat firmly on

Conway is not going out on loan that’s a none  starter as a discussion.

[maxjak]

45 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

He’s a very good co-commentator, understands the game very well.

I believe that we would see an improvement in TC........if Wells was in the side?   That's my hope?

[Top Robin]

2 minutes ago, maxjak said:

I believe that we would see an improvement in TC........if Wells was in the side?   That's my hope?

Oh ffs

[maxjak]

Just now, Top Robin said:

Oh ffs

And your point is?

[DaveF]

1 hour ago, BCFCGav said:

Struggling this season aren’t they? Really good set of options on paper but just not happening for any of them. 
 

Bell is anonymous when on the pitch of late, and Conway is really struggling to find his killer instinct from last season. Mehmeti can also really struggle to get into games. You’d be forgiven for not realising when Weimann has come on!

I’d say Sykes and Cornick are the the ones whose levels have more or less held from last season, and I’d be giving Cornick a start on Sunday.

I wonder - does Wells bring out the best from those around him? I think we miss him more than some realise.

Bells form has been so good it's got him into England under 20s?

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, JoeAman08 said:

Few of us got stick on here about saying we needed forwards in the summer. Was happy with the central 2 in Wells and Conway. Conway been real poor and while I think Wells improves us, it won’t be to competing in the top 10 type levels. 
 

Sykes I really like. Can score and is creative. Can also beat a man with his agility and has a few tricks. You’d want better long term but they cost and he is the last one needing replaced imo. 
 

Mehmeti it just isn’t happening for. Think the ability is there but unfortunately it might be the size and athleticism that holds him back at this level. Maybe centrally(behind the striker)he can do something but that would last chance. Might be games he can get at a less athletic rb but they are a bit rare nowadays. 
 

Weimann older and been through plenty of injuries was always going to slow down. Never been that good technically and now that he has lost a step the level seems too much. Good servant but luckily we can let him walk at seasons end. Not sure he is a capable squad player anymore and another year not going to help his case. 
 

Cornick is what he is. Happy to chuck him on off the bench but that’s about it. Bit of a waste but you need experience too. 
 

Bell I just don’t see it. He isn’t pacy for the league. He looks pacy because we are so slow. Good finisher but can’t go past anyone and can’t cross. Lower league player imo. 
 

Yeboah has real pace. Works hard but team raw and doesn’t look technically very good. Like to see him as an impact sub some more but has a lot of work to do to be a future player at this level. You could say loan but I’d probably play him over one or two mentioned above. See if he develops here. 
 

Benarous may have ended up being similar to Mehmeti. Ability but smaller than you like and not super quick. More aggressive than Mehmeti though. Not sure we can expect much after the injuries he has had

All in all, we need to hit the forward line hard over the next few windows. Hated seeing players like Whittaker and Philogene go for relatively low fees when we had the funds to compete for their signatures. Not even sure wages would have been a big problem on them two. Maybe higher earners but not sure structure breaking. 

We had a list of priorities in the summer.

Then we found out we also had a budget maxed out too.

You can always improve any position if you have money to spend.  We didn’t.

Philogene cost Hull £5m btw.  Whittaker a good player, good fee too, but we had Sykes….and a budget.

[CityCiderEd]

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

It will cost a lot to bring in a proven forward in January, I’d rather persevere with Conway & hope Wells is back soon.

We need to use the loan market in January not worry too much about a permanent signing. There will be players available to get and we have a decent record of bringing the best out of them over the years. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

14 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

We had a list of priorities in the summer.

Then we found out we also had a budget maxed out too.

You can always improve any position if you have money to spend.  We didn’t.

Philogene cost Hull £5m btw.  Whittaker a good player, good fee too, but we had Sykes….and a budget.

In an ideal world we would have another GK to compete with O'Leary, a 4th CB preferably left footed, a creative carrying type in midfield and maybe icing on the cake a forward of just the right age.

Gardner-Hickman and Knight could combine very nicely over the coming years age very much on their side but.. 

Post Scott I mean. Budget though as you say.. 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, Balloon dOr said:

Unless there’s a realistic target out there on city’s transfer radar who can play up top on his own, I’d be looking to change the system to play Conway in a pair. His best form came from playing alongside Wells, and whether or not that was down to Wells in part, Conway is a real asset (now or as  a future nest egg enhancer ) and we should be shaping the front line to his strengths.

Play him alongside Cornick (or even Weimann) until Wells comes back from injury, whilst looking to bring in someone else to compliment Conway in the next window if feasible. 

Conway contract as it stands is up in summer 2025 so that transfer dilemma or nest egg enhancer could be coming sooner than we think sadly.

Okay no immediate hurry, but when players enter the final 18 months of their contract...

Edited November 30, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[Cityboy1954]

1 hour ago, Balloon dOr said:

Unless there’s a realistic target out there on city’s transfer radar who can play up top on his own, I’d be looking to change the system to play Conway in a pair. His best form came from playing alongside Wells, and whether or not that was down to Wells in part, Conway is a real asset (now or as  a future nest egg enhancer ) and we should be shaping the front line to his strengths.

Play him alongside Cornick (or even Weimann) until Wells comes back from injury, whilst looking to bring in someone else to compliment Conway in the next window if feasible. 

For 2million quid we missed out on that whittaker that went from swansea,to plymouth

[Shauntaylor85]

2 hours ago, Full nelson said:

Strikers in January are at a premium and I think we're stuck with what we have for the season. Hope they find form.

We lack a decent midfield creator as always, but have been saying that since the days I wanted Graham Kavanagh, it hasn’t changed. 

59 minutes ago, DaveF said:

Bells form has been so good it's got him into England under 20s?

Bell is playing out of position, that’s the issue. 

[Balloon dOr]

8 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Conway contract as it stands is up in summer 2025 so that transfer dilemma or nest egg enhancer could be coming sooner than we think sadly.

Okay no immediate hurry, but when players enter the final 18 months of their contract...

Agreed, and potentially a reduced nest egg enhancer if he keeps firing blanks!

If reading into his change in body language post Pearson (and possibly post Scott) departure is anything to go by, I’m worried he’s not going to be rushing to renew, but hopefully it’s just down to his baron spell. 

Fingers crossed Manning can get a tune out of him in the second half of the season 

[GrahamC]

8 hours ago, Cityboy1954 said:

For 2million quid we missed out on that whittaker that went from swansea,to plymouth

It was £1m & we spent the money we had on Knight, there wasn’t enough made available to sign both.

[tin]

10 hours ago, petehinton said:

Have to find a way to go 2 up top. Knight has been closest to the striker at all times in each of Manning’s games so far. I’d love to see Conway & Cornick up top together. 
 

I think Liam will have seen enough to realise we need to be 2 up top moving forward. 

With Wells out, that’s our best option up top right now. 

Conway isn’t ready physically (and I think there is development to come with that) to play on his own and he looked on his arse after about 50 minutes last night. He needs a partner to play alongside at this stage.

What that does to the rest of the XI, I don’t know. It probably looks like a 3-5-2, but that will put the focus on our wing backs. 

[JoeAman08]

8 hours ago, Davefevs said:

We had a list of priorities in the summer.

Then we found out we also had a budget maxed out too.

You can always improve any position if you have money to spend.  We didn’t.

Philogene cost Hull £5m btw.  Whittaker a good player, good fee too, but we had Sykes….and a budget.

We said we had a budget. We didn’t want to back Pearson for whatever reason. We’ll all see that in the coming windows I am sure. If they still spout lack of money in the coming windows then we know the promotion talk is just that. 
 

As far as fees I thought I read it was closer to 2m upfront but that said 6-7m and say an average of 15k a week was easily affordable. If you are going to spend, do it on goals imo. Creating or finishing. Truth is we relied far too heavily on existing options. We needed one more option at the time. I preferred a left footed right winger with pace and skill during the summer to add to the options. We still need that imo

[DT The Optimist]

A few days back I put up a post here about what a good player the Boro No 25 at the Gate was...Matt Crooks (or Crook), I was not suggesting for one moment we should buy him, but it that 'type' of forward player we are missing so much... a pacy, skilful physical presence.  

With SB, TC & NW we have pretty decent players but they are smaller  diminutive players who would thrive alongside such a player.  Boro got Crooks for £1.3M.  Labour as much as our forwards do, it like they are always feeding of scraps... which is perhaps why we have scored so few goals.  

Some years back Aden Flint said one of the most difficult opponents he played against, was Chris Martin.  Of course we later had him at the end of his career when he had lost a bit of his pace...Not as effective.  I would like to see some wheeling & dealing this Jan...interesting watch I think..

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by DT The Optimist

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, JoeAman08 said:

We said we had a budget. We didn’t want to back Pearson for whatever reason. We’ll all see that in the coming windows I am sure. If they still spout lack of money in the coming windows then we know the promotion talk is just that. 
 

As far as fees I thought I read it was closer to 2m upfront but that said 6-7m and say an average of 15k a week was easily affordable. If you are going to spend, do it on goals imo. Creating or finishing. Truth is we relied far too heavily on existing options. We needed one more option at the time. I preferred a left footed right winger with pace and skill during the summer to add to the options. We still need that imo

Our budget, if maxed out in the summer, allowed us to spend £3.5-£4.0m on 5 players (I’m ignoring Luke Thomas) and I susoect less than £15k p.w. average.

If we’d spent it on goals, maybe two players, we’d have an even thinner squad than we have.

Personally I think our attacking options, personnel wise, are ok.  I know you and others will disagree.  And it’s fine if you’d have prioritised “goals”, but that would’ve been at the expense of something - whether that be players or maybe defensive capability.

[Street red]

1 hour ago, Balloon dOr said:

Agreed, and potentially a reduced nest egg enhancer if he keeps firing blanks!

If reading into his change in body language post Pearson (and possibly post Scott) departure is anything to go by, I’m worried he’s not going to be rushing to renew, but hopefully it’s just down to his baron spell. 

Fingers crossed Manning can get a tune out of him in the second half of the season 

Pearson had a massive influence on these lads the clubs going to regret it think they looked up to him a proper father figure and i just don't think manning has that unless he can influence them in a different way.

 

[Harry]

I believe Manning said at the fans forum that he was after “attacking” players. 
I read this as an attacking midfielder or number 10, not a striker. 
I think with Wells, Conway and Cornick competing for the lone striker role, what we are desperate for is that number 10 who is the creative influence but who will also get goals. 
As I continue to allude to, Manning had Twine at MK and Rodrigues at Oxford fulfilling this role. It’s a huge hole we have in our squad and I think Liam has already spotted this and will be wanting an AM, not a striker. 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Harry

[JoeAman08]

3 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Our budget, if maxed out in the summer, allowed us to spend £3.5-£4.0m on 5 players (I’m ignoring Luke Thomas) and I susoect less than £15k p.w. average.

If we’d spent it on goals, maybe two players, we’d have an even thinner squad than we have.

Personally I think our attacking options, personnel wise, are ok.  I know you and others will disagree.  And it’s fine if you’d have prioritised “goals”, but that would’ve been at the expense of something - whether that be players or maybe defensive capability.

No i am arguing they lied about money available. We most certainly have money to spend ffp wise. Not advocating maxing it just that there is room after the scott sale and covid years dropping off. One forward player was a must as well as those we brought in. 
 

The options are okay if the goal is to be a plucky championship side who can beat anyone but fall short over a season. One catalyst can make the difference in these cases. I think we need to attack that area of the team until we find that one special player. Doesn’t mean sign 8 attackers. Means get one in like Mehmeti and see if the step can be made or keep an eye out for someone who has fallen through the cracks for whatever reason like Whittaker. No guarantee with any transfer but until we find a 20 goal involvements player we can rely on, we won’t be a top 6 side. Which is what they say they want. So what they say and what they do are two different things I know. We’ll find out how serious or deluded they are in January. However Manning mentioning it gives me hope. 

[George Rs]

For some reason, I really want to see Conway either behind the striker or either side of one. Feels like it makes better use of his traits. 

[Engvall’s Splinter]

14 hours ago, DaveF said:

Bells form has been so good it's got him into England under 20s?

To be fair (not saying I agree) but England are picking Kalvin Phillips. How’s his form?

[E.G.Red]

My choice is Conway & Wells. I like Harry, but I'd rather he started a game than come on as a sub, when his heart rules his head 

[bcfc01]

15 hours ago, IAmNick said:

Whoever is up front just looks so isolated to me game after game.

Isolated or lack of movement ?

[George Rs]

7 minutes ago, E.G.Red said:

My choice is Conway & Wells. I like Harry, but I'd rather he started a game than come on as a sub, when his heart rules his head 

Sadly, I just haven’t seen anything from Cornick that I think suggests he should start or be subbed on unless we are defending a lead and need fresh legs. 
 

His off the ball workrate and aerial ability are probably the best of our three strikers, but he reminds me of Nagy on the ball. Looks like Bambi on ice. Maybe some confidence will change that but currently I’m utterly unsold on him.

[GrahamC]

5 minutes ago, George Rs said:

Sadly, I just haven’t seen anything from Cornick that I think suggests he should start or be subbed on unless we are defending a lead and need fresh legs. 
 

His off the ball workrate and aerial ability are probably the best of our three strikers, but he reminds me of Nagy on the ball. Looks like Bambi on ice. Maybe some confidence will change that but currently I’m utterly unsold on him.

Nagy? 

The bloke who is a regular for his country that has just qualified for the Euros topping their group?

What a random & strange comparison.