Our best striker

[TJHValiant]

Much as I have often lamented Pope these days, there is no doubt that he is the best actual striker we have. No other player in league 2 could probably score the goal he did against Man City. It was technically perfect. 

Although of course he can’t start every game.

Bennett can play on his own, but Cullen simply cannot. He isn’t big or strong enough. He also seems to lack the pace he had pre injury. 

Naylor was another level of player to what we have today. Small and fast, but with the finishing and touch of Pope. Comparing him to our modern day 4th division strike force almost seems disrespectful. 

 

[fuzzyvalefan]

Would still be Pope for me but they are all different so it very much depends on who we are playing as to which is the best option.

[Playa Amodores]

We all see things differently which then allows us to form our opinions. Bennett had a very good second hand against Exeter so I knew he’d be starting on Saturday, which is fair enough. I’m usually filled with dread when on my way to matches I hear that he has made the starting 11. So Saturday I was more enthusiastic, I did see a better performance from Bennett and applauded him on a couple of occasions,one being a ball to Worrall on the left in the first half. The reason he gets such a rough ride is that he doesn’t give the opposing defenders a rough ride. He very rarely jumps to head the ball and is beaten in the air by players a lot shorter than him, his first touch and holding up the ball leaves a lot to be desired. If I was an opposition fan when I saw him on the pitch I’d be thinking our defenders will have a tough game today, but it’s not the case. He’s probably a nice person but that person stops when you leave the dressing room at the start of the game. I agree with the comments made regarding Pope who struggles to have an impact on the game if he doesn’t start, but he gives you all that he’s got. His mobility is an issue and stands out when he comes on as a sub. I know he had 20 minutes on Saturday but he needs at least 30 IMO, to have an impact. Saturday was all about the shot he had on the turn but it was an good and unexpected effort. Bennett was signed very early on in the closed season, because that’s where PVFC were at the time, virtually no one would come to us, so we brought in players that were on the cheap and who wanted job security, a summers pay packet. As you are all aware the best players sit it out so they can get the better deal, which is what we’d all do in their position. They all know who is interested in them and where they want to go, some through geographical locations, ie Worrall and Brown, others through a teams success and then wages that their agent promises to get them. A bit like a compensation claim, you never take the first offer. We are in a far superior position now and when our owners have their first fully closed season I’d imagine at least one of our current forwards will not be at the club. For me that person is Bennett, however Pope might go for his social media exploits and Cullen may go through his own choice due to lack of first team opportunities.

[darren1810]

On 01/02/2020 at 19:59, Old fort said:

Totally depends on who the opposition is,  but Pope should always be 60-70 minute sub, if required  Today his introduction  changed very little apart from he wasn't castigated for losing the ball or not winning his headers in the same way that Bennett was. 

Spot on mate. As soon as he came on there was a punt down Lorne street side, Pope glanced over his shoulder looked at his man, made no attempt to get the ball and gave away a needless foul as he often does. No problem with that apart from as you say Bennett would get pelters for doing the same.

[JohnJames]

With two up top this wouldn’t have happened which is a good excuse to post it 😃

Goaaaaal

[Bald Eagle]

On 02/02/2020 at 10:22, Joe B said:

I mentioned the same. If Bennett had come on on 70 and given the ball away + got beaten in the air as much as Pope there would be audible groans in the stand. Its difficult coming into a game late on but Bennett would have been lambasted. Someone made the point that Pope's lack of mobility allowed the Salford back-line to push further up as they had no concerns about him getting in behind, allowing them to play much higher up the pitch.

I understand that we give Pope some slack due to his achievements but we can't hide from the fact that one, the system that serves the team so well doesn't suit him, and two, at 34 he is understandably losing his physical edge in aerial battles. Neither of these claims are a slant on Pope.

Agree with this.  The question should be who fits the system, not who is the best.

Thought Bennett was giving them far more problems than Tom did when he joined the action.  Tom is now such a static target that if he cannot win the physical battle (he has mentioned himself all the powerful meathead centre halves in Lge 2 who just want to beat you up) then he has little else to offer.  
 

Askey is clearly going to continue with  4-3-3, why not as it has served him well over the years.  The key to this system working is mobility.  On this basis Bennett  For me of the current strikers, but someone with his mobility but greater physical strength would be the ideal.

Tom has undoubtedly been the best of these 3, but in 2020 I do not believe this is now the case. 
 

what I do know is that if we pin our hopes on a fading soon to be 35 year old  who is reliant on perfect crosses to have any meaningful impact on the game then we will not build on the significant progress of this season

[onestepatatime]

38 minutes ago, Bald Eagle said:

Agree with this.  The question should be who fits the system, not who is the best.

Thought Bennett was giving them far more problems than Tom did when he joined the action.  Tom is now such a static target that if he cannot win the physical battle (he has mentioned himself all the powerful meathead centre halves in Lge 2 who just want to beat you up) then he has little else to offer.  
 

Askey is clearly going to continue with  4-3-3, why not as it has served him well over the years.  The key to this system working is mobility.  On this basis Bennett  For me of the current strikers, but someone with his mobility but greater physical strength would be the ideal.

Tom has undoubtedly been the best of these 3, but in 2020 I do not believe this is now the case. 
 

what I do know is that if we pin our hopes on a fading soon to be 35 year old  who is reliant on perfect crosses to have any meaningful impact on the game then we will not build on the significant progress of this season

Absolutely agree mate.  This is the best post yet on the subject. It appears not only me see problems for next season up front.

[philmpv]

1 hour ago, onestepatatime said:

Absolutely agree mate.  This is the best post yet on the subject. It appears not only me see problems for next season up front.

To be fair, I think Askey has also recognised the issue, hence the not playing Pope regardless and, also more recently, making enquiries as to Kurtis Guthrie. I've no doubt that if we'd got Guthrie, none of the other strikers would have had a look in for the rest of the season, barring bad form/injury on the part of Guthrie. Think next season he will make a first choice striker his absolute priority

[vale victory]

Agree with this.  The question should be who fits the system, not who is the best.
Thought Bennett was giving them far more problems than Tom did when he joined the action.  Tom is now such a static target that if he cannot win the physical battle (he has mentioned himself all the powerful meathead centre halves in Lge 2 who just want to beat you up) then he has little else to offer.  
 
Askey is clearly going to continue with  4-3-3, why not as it has served him well over the years.  The key to this system working is mobility.  On this basis Bennett  For me of the current strikers, but someone with his mobility but greater physical strength would be the ideal.
Tom has undoubtedly been the best of these 3, but in 2020 I do not believe this is now the case. 
 
what I do know is that if we pin our hopes on a fading soon to be 35 year old  who is reliant on perfect crosses to have any meaningful impact on the game then we will not build on the significant progress of this season

This is spot on agree entirely

[TJHValiant]

50 minutes ago, philmpv said:

To be fair, I think Askey has also recognised the issue, hence the not playing Pope regardless and, also more recently, making enquiries as to Kurtis Guthrie. I've no doubt that if we'd got Guthrie, none of the other strikers would have had a look in for the rest of the season, barring bad form/injury on the part of Guthrie. Think next season he will make a first choice striker his absolute priority

Guthrie misses countless chances. He looks much better than he actually is. He was a reason Stevenage are bottom. Maybe it was a confidence thing but honestly his shots to goal ratio is dreadful. 

[philmpv]

5 minutes ago, TJHValiant said:

Guthrie misses countless chances. He looks much better than he actually is. He was a reason Stevenage are bottom. Maybe it was a confidence thing but honestly his shots to goal ratio is dreadful. 

Our current strikers aint much better, if at all! He has scored 5 this season, which for a team bottom of the league isn't that bad, particularly when compared to ours! My point was that clearly Askey does not see Pope as the be all and end all, and therefore he'll be looking for a first choice striker come the end of the season.

[philmpv]

3 hours ago, Bald Eagle said:

what I do know is that if we pin our hopes on a fading soon to be 35 year old  who is reliant on perfect crosses to have any meaningful impact on the game then we will not build on the significant progress of this season

The scary thing is that Aspin was intending to do just that.

[osprey]

Agreed ,the main problem is they are the guys that cost money....Big money; perhaps thats why Askey has kept his hand in his pocket this transfer window. 
How you drop on a 20 goal plus striker in the summer I don't know

You loan one from Bradford

[TJHValiant]

3 hours ago, philmpv said:

Our current strikers aint much better, if at all! He has scored 5 this season, which for a team bottom of the league isn't that bad, particularly when compared to ours! My point was that clearly Askey does not see Pope as the be all and end all, and therefore he'll be looking for a first choice striker come the end of the season.

Stevenage are bottom but as we saw in the fixture against them recently, they do create chances. Their poor strikers don’t take them. 

[Joe B]

Interesting that Kwame Thomas, a lad we had on trial over the summer and looked absolute rubbish, was picked up by League 1 playoff chasing Doncaster, scored 3 in 10 in the league (5 starts) and has now been picked up by fellow League 1 playoff chasing Burton Albion.

Despite this, Doncaster fans think he's absolute rubbish too but an interesting couple of moves nontheless.