We are supposedly in for an attacker with the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Mattia Destro being linked. And I’m kind of left wondering why?
Because the reports are made up? Most likely but lets have a chat about our attacking options anyway. From the first game of pre-season and from how Southampton played last year it looks like we are going to have 3 midfielders behind a solo striker. Given we have 3 strikers I’m kinda cool with this and believe we should keep our money in our pocket.
Adebayor in spite of his blowing hot and cold I would certainly want to keep at the club rather than see him go.
Soldado showed glimpses of real class last year and for some better management he may have scored a few more. Starved of service for one half of the season then had a manager who showed no faith in him for the other half. And all that on top of his well documented problems at home. I believe he will surprise a lot of people this year.
Kane I honestly believe is going to be a really top PL striker. He has good movement, works hard and technique to boot. He is young and needs a run of games but I honestly think he will come good. I’m really hoping this will be his breakthrough season.
So for me we don’t need any strikers. In the number 10 role we have Eriksen. Oh how we fawn over Eriksen. Ahh he’s so dreamy. Enough said. As back up Holtby could do a job there. I believe he is better when he has a bit more time and space further back, a la Modric, but still think he’d be ok there. Then there’s always Tom Carroll who is an unknown quantity at the top end of the PL so we can always hit and hope. But for my money unless we sell Holtby we are fine here.
On the right we have Lamela and Lennon. The trickster and the speed demon. If Lamela hits this season with the kind of enthusiasm that is coming out of his social media and becomes a little more consistent then we could have a hell of player on our hands. We saw sparks now we want to see some fire, so to speak.
Lennon is well Lennon. We know what we are going to get. When he is freed of defensive responsibilities he can still be a threat down the right. His delivery isn’t as poor as everyone makes out. He clips it up the the near post or the back post. Occasionally will pull it back if he sees someone there but not often. He is proven in the PL and much like Adebayor I’d rather see him with us than somewhere else.
On the left is where things get a little trickier. And I’m going to get slated but Townsend is the answer for me on the left hand side. He’s left footed, quick, has a good cross on him (even if his shooting is terrible). Needs to improve his decision making but there are a few less decisions to make when you are at the byline than on the edge of the box. He works hard for the team and is athletic enough to get up and down the pitch for 90 minutes. When you look at his stats most of his best work was down the left flank for us last season. I say knock this ‘I’m a right winger’ nonsense out of him and get him isolated with a left back every now and then and well see an effective winger. Nothing more, nothing less but its exactly what we need.
On top of that we have Chadli to play there as back up. For me Townsend brings balance, pace and width to a midfield which could potentially get very congested. We need that outlet out wide. We were crying out for it last season. Townsend is the only one in the squad currently capable of providing it in midfield. I don’t know why we need to spend another 20-30 million on an another untried foreign player with a fancy name. We had a few of those last year and well our season didn’t exactly pan out great.
Perhaps the answers lay within. I certainly think so. Do you?
Written by Greekos
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