With £25m to spend, who might be on Harry Redknapp's shopping list of strikers for To

[Dan Ashcroft]

I think some of the money should be spent on wages for older players with low/free price tags like Ballack etc. Up front I think change will mess us up as much as it will help.

Harry bought Defoe and Crouch back. Play them.

It is time to stick with a pairing up front and actually give it time to gell.

We need to sell fringe players, bring in old heads, and put more focus onto the training ground to make this great young team we have a TEAM and not a collection of gifted players.

Crouch and Defoe isn't a good partnership though; and I would also say they are individually two of our weakest first team players.

The big problem with them is that neither have any movement whatsoever. That means against good defences there's no intelligence or guile to implement plan bs in their play. They actually work against our creative AMs like Modric (who is always more effective when Gudjohnsen or even Pav are on the pitch). It's why Defoe and Crouch score heavily against the bottom sides but are relatively ineffective (compared to our midfield superiority) against better sides.

Crouch and Defoe are perfectly fine impact subs and 3rd and 4th strikers for bottom 6 or carling cup games, but we need a strikeforce that is as good as our midfield and defence if we want to consolidate in the top 4 and give a good account in the CL.

 

[brasil_spur]

I agree that Crouch and Defoe aren't good enough to be first choice strikers if we want to mount a serious effort in the CL or in trying to retain our 4th spot in the prem.

 

[brasil_spur]

Kiessling is the one out of your list there Dan that i think we should take a serious look at.

 

[joey55]

Petric might be another possible option. Would be a good foil for Defoe or Crouch.

Apparently he's not happy with the money he's on at HSV, so he's a possibility. Like Guerrero he's another that is judged by his goal record, rather than his ability. People forget he was largelly a ACM until he was about 26. He's also had niggling injuries. In the 2008/9 season I'm sure he'd have been amongst the candidates for Bundesliga player of the season had he not had such a stop/start season. Far less talented players have been mentioned in this thread, that would cost far more than Petric.

 

[gibbs131]

Crouch and Defoe isn't a good partnership though; and I would also say they are individually two of our weakest first team players.

I disagree. They really linked up well at Portsmouth. In a crap team they had a respectable return.

Our problem is we mess Crouch around. We play him a few times, and we then drop him for a few weeks, then we have to wait for the gelling period to begin again.

A problem BIGGER than our strike/goal return is the lack of goals and assists from the midfield. We address that, stick by a partnership like we did Keane and Berbs, and I think we will push on without putting our future in jeopardy.

Our strikers were like musical chairs. Gud, Pav, Crouch not given any time to settle.

As we speak Crouch and Defoe are training together at an International level. I think it is time to reap the rewards of a bloody good players, who are having a lot of good training.

 

[DC_Boy]

i think crouch and defoe are a good start - but we do need at least one more striker (depending on how many we sell) to enable us to play 4-5-1 as well as generally boost the striking pool

if we simply replaced keane with agbonlahor and kept pav and eidur that'd do me, but if pav wants out - then obviously need another one too

 

[michaelden]

I disagree. They really linked up well at Portsmouth. In a crap team they had a respectable return.

And Bent did wonders before Spurs. You forget that in a weaker side you tend to get more space upfront, with fewer chances. Bent's lack of control became blatantly obvious as soon as he was playing against sides that defender deeper and tighter. The same could be said of Crouch although he has a much better touch than Bent, its more to do with effectiveness. Crouch isn't built for quick 1-2 passes or for strength so under pressure he struggles to release early accurately or power through.

 

[Dan Ashcroft]

I disagree. They really linked up well at Portsmouth. In a crap team they had a respectable return.

Our problem is we mess Crouch around. We play him a few times, and we then drop him for a few weeks, then we have to wait for the gelling period to begin again.

A problem BIGGER than our strike/goal return is the lack of goals and assists from the midfield. We address that, stick by a partnership like we did Keane and Berbs, and I think we will push on without putting our future in jeopardy.

Our strikers were like musical chairs. Gud, Pav, Crouch not given any time to settle.

As we speak Crouch and Defoe are training together at an International level. I think it is time to reap the rewards of a bloody good players, who are having a lot of good training.

IIRC Crouch and Defoe only played together about 6 times for Portsmouth. It did coincide with one of Defoe's biennial purple patches, but wasn't enough to judge them on.

Our midfield is incredibly creative, but Crouch and Defoe don't make the most of this because of their lack of movement. Put a really good forward in front of Modric, Lennon, Huddlestone and Krancjar and they'll hit 49+ goals like Clive Allen in 86/7.

 

[mil1lion]

I disagree. They really linked up well at Portsmouth. In a crap team they had a respectable return.

Our problem is we mess Crouch around. We play him a few times, and we then drop him for a few weeks, then we have to wait for the gelling period to begin again.

A problem BIGGER than our strike/goal return is the lack of goals and assists from the midfield. We address that, stick by a partnership like we did Keane and Berbs, and I think we will push on without putting our future in jeopardy.

Our strikers were like musical chairs. Gud, Pav, Crouch not given any time to settle.

As we speak Crouch and Defoe are training together at an International level. I think it is time to reap the rewards of a bloody good players, who are having a lot of good training.

Crouch and Defoe aren't good enough at times. Our biggest problem last season was when teams got behind the ball and prevented us from scoring goals. We actually got plenty of goals from all over the pitch last season. The problem was with the strikers not scoring enough times in crucial games.

We need at least 1 big game striker like we had with Berbatov.

 

[Gilzeanking]

Terrifying thought.....we get no new striker in for next season ...Eek

 

[Benspur]

We need a beast of a striker, who can play upfront on their own if needed. Someone like a Rooney or a Drogba with power and pace. I know that they don't grow on trees, but I we already have a small striker in Defoe, a tall long ball guy in Crouch, a shoot on sight Russian in Pav and 2 link players in Keane and Gudjohnson (if he signs). Who is out there of that type?

 

[onthetwo]

Terrifying thought.....we get no new striker in for next season ...Eek

Is it really that terrifying? Fabiano and Iaquinta havent exactly caught the eye thus far so im increasingly inlcined to think that we should keep our powder dry for someone in the £10m+ range....Berba, Santa Cruz, Bellamy.

 

[Dan Ashcroft]

Terrifying thought.....we get no new striker in for next season ...Eek

Then I think we'd be relying on Arsenal to implode over the Fabrigas issue if we want to compete for 4th again. We'd certainly not be helping ourselves to consolidate if we don't address our major weakness.

I also think we'd be looking at bottom of our CL group (rather than a more respectable 3rd, or a fantastic 2nd) without a higher calibre and more adept strike force.

 

[Benspur]

I've got to agree with Dan and with hopefully the prospect of CL games we should have a better chance of getting a top class forward.

 

[mil1lion]

Terrifying thought.....we get no new striker in for next season ...Eek

At worst we keep Keane, Pav, Defoe and Crouch as our 4 strikers and hope they do great. They're certainly capable.

 

[spurslenny]

Arthur scargill, now he was a bloody brilliant striker back in
the day.

 

[joey55]

And Bent did wonders before Spurs. You forget that in a weaker side you tend to get more space upfront, with fewer chances. Bent's lack of control became blatantly obvious as soon as he was playing against sides that defender deeper and tighter. The same could be said of Crouch although he has a much better touch than Bent, its more to do with effectiveness. Crouch isn't built for quick 1-2 passes or for strength so under pressure he struggles to release early accurately or power through.

I'm pretty sure his striker rate at Spurs was the same as at Charlton.

 

[michaelden]

I'm pretty sure his striker rate at Spurs was the same as at Charlton.

Then I can only imagine Charlton provided him with far more chances than I anticipated. He is a finisher but his general ball control and close play is shocking for a top striker. As mentioned by one commentator, "his second touch is usually a tackle".

 

[littlemandefoe]

Aguero is the man for me!

1. Aguero
2. Robinho
3. Dzenko

Any of them would improve our team fantastically. I've always liked Robinho, we should go for him as he would be a little cheaper? Great player!

 

[diegooners]

We should go and bid 12 for Gignac. I reckon Toulouse would take it he had a pretty poor season but he's perfect for the Prem. Think Teddy with more power.