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2019/2020 season striker stats


philmpv

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3 hours ago, Rampant Zebra said:

At the age of 28 Bennett has scored 19 league goals....

Pope was 27 at the start of the 2012/15 season with a dreadful goals per game ratio and not an awful lot more goals the Bennett has. Its what someone is going to do that is important.  Pope has only scored 15 or more league goals on 2 occasions, he averages about 10 goals a season. 

I'm in no way advocating Bennett or Pope as I see what both bring to the side. But overall Pope isn't a prolific goal scorer, it's his general play holding up the ball which has made him a valuable player for 12 of his 14 seasons as a professional. 

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34 minutes ago, Rampant Zebra said:

Pope scored 17 league goals for Crwho? as a trainee..

Pope was never a trainee at Crewe they took a punt on him from Biddulph, having had him in their Academy as a youngster. He then had 2 unproductive years at Rotherham and 2 at Vale; in terms of goals. There are facts and fiction. At the age of 27 Pope had scored 29 league goals in 163 games. There was nothing to suggest he was going to have the season he had and OVF was full of people saying he was dreadful. I got slated for my prediction he would score 15 goals just before the season started; but the rest became history.

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Thank you for the opening analysis. It is really helpful to start debate from there. What I take is there are three players that have advantages and disadvantages in certain types of game and against certain opponents. 

I do watch top level football live a few times a season; so this year I have seen Liverpool twice in the Champions League and Barcelona in La Liga. It gives me some sort of basis to measure and possibly also so does having watched Port Vale for 42 years when I can remember our players at higher levels and particularly Championship level. 

So technically I see Cullen as a Championship level player potentially. Pope is harder to judge, but technically a League 1 level player, needs to adapt to end of career circumstances and more vulnerability to injury. Bennett is a League 2 / National League level player. 

In our squad Worrall is also a Championship level player technically. Brown is a Championship level goalkeeper. Smith is improving, could play higher soon. Joyce could play at League 1, but he will be exposed when asked to play at a higher tempo. Taylor is improving and has a goal scoring threat which makes him really valuable and should see him at Championship level eventually. 

Everyone else I see as in the right place - League 2. 

Going back to strikers, to push for the top we need to get Cullen in the side. There must be a reason why this isn't happening. Pope is really useful and we should extend his career as far as possible - we won't be able to sign anyone as good with his attributes easily at our level. Bennett is useful when we want a mobile attack but still with some physical presence. He does a lot well, but he doesn't have a big technical playbook, especially he could be better back to goal and shooting on target. 

But all these guys try hard and want to play for Port Vale; and that counts for a lot. 

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8 hours ago, MelbourneValiant said:

Pope's had trick at Cheltenham has earned the club upwards of 250k. That shows his importance.

 

No matter who plays up front I think we would be better with two out and out strikers who can read and feed off each other. 

Pope's record alongside another out and out striker is mixed. He only really scored regularly with Maynard for half a season at Crewe. He only scored 2 goals when partnered with Hughes. He scored a hat trick against Cheltenham after Hughes went off early with a knock and a goal in the following match towards the end of the promotion season when Hughes was injured. When he plays with another out and out striker he tends to drop deeper or run the channels. He tends to score more with a number 10 or someone like Williamson who naturally run the channels.

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Hughes was a Premier League standard player. He may have been right at the end of his career when at Vale Park, but he was an immaculate finisher. So Pope took the weight up front from him keeping the defenders occupied. I hope that if Pope was partnered with Cullen that is what would happen. 

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8 minutes ago, Warren said:

Hughes was a Premier League standard player. He may have been right at the end of his career when at Vale Park, but he was an immaculate finisher. So Pope took the weight up front from him keeping the defenders occupied. I hope that if Pope was partnered with Cullen that is what would happen. 

At 34 Pope isn't really that suited to running the channels anymore. For me he's either the focal point or something different off the bench. They've tried fitting Cullen in as a number 10 a couple of times off the bench.

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