12-04-2021, 05:42 PM
(12-04-2021, 02:58 PM)Strawberry Avenger Wrote:(12-04-2021, 01:53 PM)ThePromisedLand Wrote: Sadly I too believe that Taylor will be on his bike.
He’ll want regular first team football - if another club can match his wages.
No coincidence that Grabban, Taylor & Murray all struggle to score - so I don’t get the criticism of Grabban.
All three could thrive next season with better service - just a case of which one ( or two ) Hughton prefers / sticks with.
I guess the bonus is that - if Taylor does go - we’ll get a fee for him.
The delivery to our strikers hasn't been good enough. eg. Norwich have got a good, dynamic striker but the supply to him speaks for itself. Ivan, of Brentford fame, I've been really admiring the way he turns provider for some of Brent's goals. Superbly unselfish at times.
The lack of no.10 for half a season didn't help. The wingers delivery misfiring. Strikers that couldn't hit a barn door or make a goal for themselves.
It's picked up recently with the display vs QPR being a real highlight. And the 1st half vs Bristol City, whilst captivating and some of Forest's best 'team' work this season highlighted problems that will need to be addressed in the Summer.
Taylor and Grabban have scored some brilliant quality goals this season when the planets aligned for better delivery to them. But it's been nowhere near enough. But you have to have strikers who are in the right position. Ivan of Brentford is a master at getting into the right position. But then again, he's got players who can put it on his head. Brentford, when they're scoring make it look real easy.
But 34 (36?) goals in a season being the worst Forest outlay in 100 (?) years tells it's own story.
We need better wingers. We need better strikers. Up the level of competition from under performing areas. I'd expect at least one of each to come in this Summer. Whether our current strikers stay or go might depend on how many strikers come in.
Just bringing in a quality left back, winger and a younger prime time striker would probably turn many of the tight results in our favour and the league position would be very different. Similarly, if we keep Krov' and add Brennan to the mix for the no.10 role, that would really help for next season.
SA.
I think the criticism of Grabban has been incredibly harsh this season.
He went through last season as the only viable forward in the whole squad; and playing the lone striker role is a physically demanding one - even more so when we had two wide players in Lolley and Ameobi who made no attempt to get close to him or even get into the box to offer support.
He started the season looking lifeless, which was hardly surprising given last years exertions with little or no rest in between last season and this; and it was no surprise that injury followed on from his inauspicious start.
Given the issues he has faced it is no surprise his confidence has all but disappeared.
Judging by his remarks, and those of Hughton, he will definitely be with us next season; if so, that gives us the perfect opportunity to let his replacement have a year to settle in, and possibly give Swan the chance to learn at the side of him.
Taylor is a different kettle of fish; he has not looked right since day one - he does not fancy the physical side of things and spends more time on his arse than he does on his feet, he is dispossessed far too easily and when that does happen he waves his arms around like a drama queen rather than try to win back possession.
You could rightly say that he has not had the best of service, but that is no excuse for some of his antics.
Our goal scoring record this season has been an embarrassment but the emphasis has been on making us hard to beat, which has been one of the few successes we can talk of this season.
The conjecture on how we line up next season will form an interesting debate that will last all through the summer, but Hughton has given us a few clues to stoke that debate.
Will we play with wingers for instance?
I would say that the clues point to the answer being no; Hughton likes to get his width from the Full Backs - Christie has looked very good on that front and Blackett has not looked too bad either, although he lacks the defensive side to go with it.
The other clue is the way he has Mighten tucking in the support the forward; Knockheart has been half decent at creating the space for the Full Backs to push into and even Joe Lolley started cutting in more - Joe looked like he was definitely getting his form back prior to his injury, and a Joe Lolley from two seasons back is something to look forward to.
Another clue is how young Brennan has been playing for Lincoln; the general perception is that Brennan has played all season as a 10; he has not, he has played most of his games swapping around between the wider positions in the three behind the forward, and played very well in that role.
The one thing we failed to do last season and for the best part of this season was getting players into the box; well that has been changing over the last two or three Months and that will hopefully carry on into next season; it will need to or we can forget the Play Offs.
At least with Mighten, Johnson and Lolley we already have three players up to the job, but we do need to add competition, and we also need someone to pull the strings behind them; that player has to be Krovinovic.
He needs to be at the very top of our target list for the summer, and he is affordable on both wage and fee fronts; he also appears to be happy to be here.
I would not describe him as an orthodox 10 but he is extremely effective in what he does; he is more like a 10 plus with his movement and aggressive, competitive nature and he was just what the Doctor ordered when he arrived.
It will be interesting to see how we compare with other Clubs, particularly the ones who are looking like going up this season; if we are going to emulate any of the sides up there at the moment it would be Norwich for me.
Pukki is not only a good goal scorer but his movement is first class; he drags defenders out of position and Norwich have the players to capitalise on that; when you have that movement it is always a nightmare to defend against.
Not only that, but it is highly entertaining, and it is a good while since we had the pleasure of entertainment.