Reality Check

Quoted from buckstown

Difficult to comment with great accuracy because I've only been to Wealdstone out of the last 3 games. However, the issue there wasn't that we failed to convert our chances into goals, it was that we failed to create chances
Whilst I think it would be great to sign a new striker is that really our number one priority?

Depends if you want to reduce the role of a striker down to someone who’s only there to prod the ball in after having it dished up to him in the box. We seem to have one way of creating from free play and when it works it works very well, when it doesn’t we struggle. The Taylor/LJL role is usually the focal point & everything revolves around it.

Think we need a different kind of player up there, someone more direct in a harrying/hassling way who might get defenders facing their own goal or be an option over the top or into the channels. I didn’t think a great deal to him, but someone like Owen Windsor’s style last year.

Hypothetically, if Hurst brings in a replacement for McAtee and someone to bridge that gap between Taylor getting back to fitness and LJL not looking quite up to scratch, what happens in a months time when our two main attackers are back fit and raring to go?  

Competition is great to have.  But you can have too much of it.  At this moment in time injuries, suspensions etc. are limiting what we've got but I'm not convinced the answer is just to go out and bring someone in for a few games.  That said I think it has been clear from the beginning of the season how important McAtee was and we've got no-one capable of taking his role.  A lot of people called that the style of play he has will result in fatigue and/or injury.  The issue is that the back-ups to him are Sean Scannell and Joel Grant.  Unfortunately we're absolutely lumbered with two blokes who've contributed sod all so far this season.  I don't want to go in on them because injuries are injuries, sometimes you can't help them.  But when it comes to both the harmony of the squad in terms of numbers and your budget (which I don't actually think is an issue) having two supposedly key players permanently injured is far from ideal.

My personal view is that Hurst does need to take the plunge a little and see what's available on a short-term loan.  If that player turns out to be an absolute star and we've got the option of keeping them for a bit longer to compete with someone like McAtee, well the conversation then begins with Scannell/Grant as to what their role is moving forward.

I'm not overly worried because we've lost 3 on the spin.  All teams have a blip and I think this might just be ours.  But we've definitely lost a bit of our oomph with McAtee and Taylor missing, Clifton struggling, Hunt probably needing a rest, not having Efete available to bomb on from the back....could be a energetic youngster from the Under 23's somewhere could be the spark we need.  Sort of like a Martin Paterson impact.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Hypothetically, if Hurst brings in a replacement for McAtee and someone to bridge that gap between Taylor getting back to fitness and LJL not looking quite up to scratch, what happens in a months time when our two main attackers are back fit and raring to go?  

Competition is great to have.  But you can have too much of it.  At this moment in time injuries, suspensions etc. are limiting what we've got but I'm not convinced the answer is just to go out and bring someone in for a few games.  That said I think it has been clear from the beginning of the season how important McAtee was and we've got no-one capable of taking his role.  A lot of people called that the style of play he has will result in fatigue and/or injury.  The issue is that the back-ups to him are Sean Scannell and Joel Grant.  Unfortunately we're absolutely lumbered with two blokes who've contributed sod all so far this season.  I don't want to go in on them because injuries are injuries, sometimes you can't help them.  But when it comes to both the harmony of the squad in terms of numbers and your budget (which I don't actually think is an issue) having two supposedly key players permanently injured is far from ideal.

My personal view is that Hurst does need to take the plunge a little and see what's available on a short-term loan.  If that player turns out to be an absolute star and we've got the option of keeping them for a bit longer to compete with someone like McAtee, well the conversation then begins with Scannell/Grant as to what their role is moving forward.

I'm not overly worried because we've lost 3 on the spin.  All teams have a blip and I think this might just be ours.  But we've definitely lost a bit of our oomph with McAtee and Taylor missing, Clifton struggling, Hunt probably needing a rest, not having Efete available to bomb on from the back....could be a energetic youngster from the Under 23's somewhere could be the spark we need.  Sort of like a Martin Paterson impact.

I don't personally see the problem if we have 3 strikers vying for one place. Especially when your two options at the moment are relatively injury prone, something we all knew at the start of the season and was a big part of why people screamed from the rooftops that we needed one.

If all 3 are fit then great, they can fight for their place knowing if they don't perform there's somebody else waiting in the wings.

I'm also with Ska Face on this, we're shooting ourselves in the foot trying to get the perfect player in and suffering massively because of it. How bad can those peer reviews of the Championship/L1 striker have been that the better option was to go without and not score a single goal in 3 games? At some point you have to bite the bullet and take the risk, how risky can a short term loan possibly be?

The biggest frustration for me is that yet again, the fans deemed as 'moaning' about a striker have been proved absolutely 100% correct and it was a completely avoidable sutuation.

Quoted from ska face

What the fúck are you blathering on about? People, including Hurst, have wanted another striker since the summer when it was clear we were light.

We’ve done nothing about it and now coming into a run of games where we play 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th (twice), 6th, 8th and Wrexham away all in a few weeks, hoping to make do and praying none of the 3 strikers are out of form or injured.

People like you are just as prone to catastrophising as anyone else, making out that ANY potential signing is going to upset the apple cart, ruin team spirit, wouldn’t be any good, would have a bad attitude, would cost too much, etc etc etc.

How do you know we have done nothing about it? As you say, PH made it clear in the summer that he wanted another striker. Do you have knowledge of all the players PH has enquired about, checked up on, sounded out or actually approached? The only thing you know for sure is that we haven't signed anybody that is suitable for what he requires.

Quoted from forza ivano

think the return of Grant is clouding the issue. TBH if he is anywhere near fitness then he is probably the solution - he's exactly the type of player we'd be looking to bring in. if he's retained his ability and desire he'll improve us enormously

I'm fairly sure that I read somewhere that Grant is NOT a striker.  He was considered more as a backup striker and played a lot on the wing or as an Inside Forward.

Quoted from rancido

How do you know we have done nothing about it?

Quoted from rancido

The only thing you know for sure is that we haven't signed anybody

Quoted from 123614

I'm fairly sure that I read somewhere that Grant is NOT a striker.  He was considered more as a backup striker and played a lot on the wing or as an Inside Forward.

Can even do a job at half back, if needed.

Quoted from ska face

Skaface, not doing anything about it and not signing somebody are two different issues. I could write off 35 job applications and not be successful in any of them. It doesn't mean I wasn't actively seeking a job.

You know, I'd suspect that a club like Grimsby, batting at the right end of the table, top for the majority of the season so far, would be a great attraction for plenty of strikers. Be that proven goalscorers at our level, those that are decent strikers but maybe not quite in the prolific category a bit higher up, or even young well through of strikers at clubs higher up that would benefit from coming on loan.

So I can only really think that our manager has decided not to give any of those possibilities a roll, as I don't think he will be short of offerings.

Yes, maybe he is being choosey and a bit fussy about what he wants for us. That isn't a bad thing in some respects, as it's great to have a manager that wants the best for us.  But the need is right now and urgent, and the dropped points could be telling at the end of the season.

it's a generation thing.
Years ago if you wanted something you had to wait and save, now its on the never never.

Really! I'm 82, bought my first car an Austin 7 when I was 17 on HP for £2:17/6 per month over 2 years,  it was £50 cash