Teams need pace, without pace our opposition are going to have a tea party.
Do we need a new striker?
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Teams need pace, without pace our opposition are going to have a tea party.
If we did need to look beyond the current main two, then it would be outrageous not to turn to Welbeck.
So no, we don't need to buy a striker.
So no, we don't need to buy a striker.
I'd rather bench Rooney and play RVP. At least he's half fit so he has an excuse, what's Rooney's excuse for being shite?
We need to handle the midfield problem first and foremost. We need Strootman come winter and hopefully Herrera, Carrick and Blind would have molded well together by then. Focus would then fall on a CB and CF during the next window. And while some may think the CB would be top priority, not signing a new striker next season will be the same as signing our own death warrant.
RvP is already too old and will only be getting older, Rooney is getting fat and old as well, Welbeck is not good enough and Wilson is too young to carry the team on his shoulders. We would need a good striker like Cavani or Immobile. Not doing that, we'd be even more toothless going forward.
Though it's definitely not a priority for this season. Rooney, RvP and Welbeck can struggle this through.
RvP is already too old and will only be getting older, Rooney is getting fat and old as well, Welbeck is not good enough and Wilson is too young to carry the team on his shoulders. We would need a good striker like Cavani or Immobile. Not doing that, we'd be even more toothless going forward.
Though it's definitely not a priority for this season. Rooney, RvP and Welbeck can struggle this through.
If our strikers were fluffing chance after chance then I'd agree that we do need to bring someone in. But they are feeding on scraps due to the utter dross behind them.
For now if we keep Welbeck we should be fine with Wilson hopefully getting a chance this season. Next season (or the one after) however we need to think of replacements for RvP and even Rooney. Unfortunately there are like 10 world class strikers and 10 in the next tier so it will be hard to bring anyone in. I'm hoping for some new gems to shine in the next couple of years.
No.
We could have Messi Ronaldo Benzema and and a 26 year old Alan Shearer up front, it wouldn't make any difference.
The problem is the midfield and wingers, and other teams knowing we only have one outlet for goals, and that's our strikers.
They effectively don't have to defend against any of our other players at the moment, because they know they won't try to commit, they won't run at them, they won't pass through them, they will get within 5 yards and pass it backwards.
We could have Messi Ronaldo Benzema and and a 26 year old Alan Shearer up front, it wouldn't make any difference.
The problem is the midfield and wingers, and other teams knowing we only have one outlet for goals, and that's our strikers.
They effectively don't have to defend against any of our other players at the moment, because they know they won't try to commit, they won't run at them, they won't pass through them, they will get within 5 yards and pass it backwards.
Keeping him fit would be a start. Each time I think he is going to play or be on the bench he is injured. Hope they can get that sorted.
We need to play Welbek. He's our only striker to offer us both help in build up play and genuine pace which helps stretch the defence. It's no surprise we played much better in preseason with him playing as compared to now.
Maybe, but someone like Cavani is not what we need. What made the formation work for the Dutch at the world cup was Robben as a forward player.
As we are not in fact using Di Maria as our Robben, instead using him as a midfielder, we still dont have that pacy dribbler who can make things happen up front and Cavani wont change that. Someone more like Robben or Aguero would be a much better fit. And again makes you wonder why we werent busting a gut to sign Sanchez this summer. He would have fit that role very well
As we are not in fact using Di Maria as our Robben, instead using him as a midfielder, we still dont have that pacy dribbler who can make things happen up front and Cavani wont change that. Someone more like Robben or Aguero would be a much better fit. And again makes you wonder why we werent busting a gut to sign Sanchez this summer. He would have fit that role very well
If the rumours about RVP needing knee surgery are true, then yes we do need a top quality striker.
People mentioning Falcao, are you for real 
? He's a great finisher alright but without service we'd playing like with 10 players.
? He's a great finisher alright but without service we'd playing like with 10 players.Depends what system we play. If we continue to play with 2 uptop and Welbeck and Hernandez leave, then yes. If not, then no.
We have got a front 3 that have no real running power, speed or dribling ability to beat a man. That's why I'd keep Wellbeck and play him left of a front 3 with RVP & Rooney. Then have Di Maria & Herrera as a midfield and for tough games Blind behind them and for easier games Mata in front of them.
Don't need a new striker imo, we've got two great number 9's, our problem is we only need one of them, particularly now with the first choice attack we could put out. Would be great if they were willing to alternate but both will want to start every game. Don't see the problem going away any time soon rightly or wrongly.
The injury problem at United is baffling. It seems like every season, we have a significant number of players out for long periods of time.
They're completely different problems. Van Persie's problem can be resolved by more minutes on the pitch whereas Shaw is being asked to bomb up and down the sideline for 90 minutes. If Shaw was a striker, his fitness would probably have never been in question, but for the job that Van Gaal is asking him to do he needs to be that little bit fitter.
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/do-we-need-a-new-striker.393145/
I had the exact same thoughts before the season started. None of our attacking players fill me with confidence.. the difference compared to the energy and style that Sturridge and Sterling bring to the Liverpool side is massive.
I had the exact same thoughts before the season started. None of our attacking players fill me with confidence.. the difference compared to the energy and style that Sturridge and Sterling bring to the Liverpool side is massive.
But we've got that in Di Maria and Januzaj, two players with pace, skill and intelligence. We've got strikers who when fit could thive on the service they provide and a playmaker in Mata who too could excel with those players making ambitious runs towards the box, or coming centrally to link up. I don't think you can objectively look at the pool of players we can chose from in the attack and say it now needs more investment. What you can question is if so far we've made the best use of them and going forward will we make the best of them without a change in approach.
My worry is we're being left behind. Most of the other teams have a top midfield.. and then wide players and forwards who can beat players/score goals, as well as thrive on service.
Barca: Messi, Neymar, Suarez
Madrid: Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema.. add Falcao (although he's more of a penalty box striker, so doesn't count)
Bayern: Ribery, Muller, Robben, Lewandowski (definitely can beat a man)
Chelsea: Hazard, Costa, willian
Liverpool: Balotelli, Sturridge, Sterling
Di Maria is not a proven goal-scorer and we need him in midfield. Januzaj isn't being given game time and we don't know if he can score goals regularly at the highest level. Sterling is ahead of him in terms of development and has serious pace, Januzaj is nowhere near as quick.
Our only modern striker is welbeck, who can run at defenders but he can't score goals and is being sold?
I genuinely think wilson/Januzaj need to make the step up and give us some energy up top or we will see signings in this area this jan or next summer. Desperately need players who can stretch the play and give us some breathing space on the ball.
Well we're not gonna match Barca/Real/Bayern any time soon that's true, think we need to focus on the EPL for now.
And there I think whilst we're behind others, right now it's notthat bad. Di Maria might not score loads but no reason he can't but more importantly he can get a huge amount of assists. Mata/Rooney playing of RVP/Rooney can get all the goals we need in the right set up.
I don't think midfield is quite so bad now, need an extra player in there but if Herrera stays fit than he and one of Carrick/Blind can give us the right base and we've got a much better set up ahead of them. As poor as the midfield have been it will also help them massively having clear upgrades on Valencia/Young to work with.
I think if they get playing then that attack is the match for anyone with the problem being more that it's not familiar with each other. With time though it'll get there.
Then most the players are young/relatively young, mata, di maria, herrera, blind, januzaj, welbeck if he stays can be playing together for a long time. Even if we don't have the best individual players when the team is well gelled and enough quality there's no reason we can't compete with the best over time.
Posted this in the Twitter Discussion thread, but it's more relevant here:
How good actually are our strikers?
Serious question. What chance do you give all three of them of scoring 20 goals this season, or even as many as Sturridge?
This time next year we'll be saying again "Our strikers are great. Nothing needed there", but I'm not so sure myself. Personally, I wouldn't go for Falcao at his age and price, but I can understand going for a top bracket striker.
I'd have pressed for Lewandowski instead of van Persie a few years ago. I don't really see many other options right now though. Lewandowski's unavailable obviously and Cavani can't really beat as man, and doesn't make runs like Lewandowski or Falcao. He'd be too static to improve us.
But I'm possibly alone here in not thinking our strikers are all that great any more.
And there's definitely room for a striker who can make better runs, dribble past people, and really attack the ball. And boy does Falcao attack the ball.
How good actually are our strikers?
Serious question. What chance do you give all three of them of scoring 20 goals this season, or even as many as Sturridge?
This time next year we'll be saying again "Our strikers are great. Nothing needed there", but I'm not so sure myself. Personally, I wouldn't go for Falcao at his age and price, but I can understand going for a top bracket striker.
I'd have pressed for Lewandowski instead of van Persie a few years ago. I don't really see many other options right now though. Lewandowski's unavailable obviously and Cavani can't really beat as man, and doesn't make runs like Lewandowski or Falcao. He'd be too static to improve us.
But I'm possibly alone here in not thinking our strikers are all that great any more.
And there's definitely room for a striker who can make better runs, dribble past people, and really attack the ball. And boy does Falcao attack the ball.
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As LVG said, our issue is our build-up play and creating chances for the strikers rather than our strikers not being able to put the ball in the net.
What?
He is very mobile (otherwise he wouldn't be playing on the wing for PSG), surely more mobile and versatile than Falcao. Not as good at finishing, probably
That type of goal isn't really a regular thing for him, whereas Falcao scores goals of that kind numerous times a season.
I'd say they're about as mobile as each other, but Falcao has better movement and is less predictable with the ball at his foot. Falcao is more direct, whereas Cavani tends to kill the ball and slow play down quite often.
Plus, we don't need another versatile striker.
He does ? I haven't seen many of them tbh.
Okay, I've exaggerated there... quite a bit.
ok
I don't like strikers like Cavani and Falcao for different reasons. I hope we don't sign any of them but add another midfielder so that ideally not even Carrick would start anymore for us.Midfield is a more pressing concern, for sure. I agree we should sign enough quality to relegate Carrick to a squad role, to be used for certain games.ok
But I don't see any of our strikers scoring 20 league goals this season (each for different reasons) I think we could do with a top striker (who makes better runs, can beat a man and attack the ball) as early as this season. I've heard a lot of "Our striker force is great" comments, and while Rooney and Van Persie are huge names and were scoring for fun a year or two ago, I don't back either to match Sturridge or even Lukaku this season. And they'll be less effective/effecient the season after. It's something that'll need addressing.
For me, in an ideal world, we'd have signed Lewandowski a couple of seasons ago. What type of striker do you like?
Lewandowski is the perfect striker for me, his hold up, his protection of the ball are spot on in terms of technique and strength. Plus he is a good passer when he wants to and has been part of many great team goals at Dortmund, he's a clever player.
I'd also mention Benzema for all the work he does except his inconsistent goalscoring, the only thing holding him back from being one of France's greatest ever striker.
Don't need versatile striker? Who do you want then? We are struggling because Mata, Rooney and RVP are not versatile enough. I, personally, don't think that we need another number 9 at all - so both Cavani and Falcao seems as a very poor choices for me. Lewandowski is much better as he has the better movement and intelligence out of three (but, again, I don't think that we need another WC striker if we are not selling one of Rooney/RVP, not with our midfield and defense).
I genuinely don't have clue. There aren't many strikers around, to be honest. Lewandowski was the one; the one we should have signed when we signed van Persie. But he was probably always destined for Bayern, even when we had Sir Alex.
I can't see anyone who we should really really be going for, but I still think a top striker with better movement and who attacks the ball better would make sense. And Falcao would do that. I think we've seen the best of the two senior strikers we have and they contribute to the poor play and lack of chances.
Falcao's age is definitely a drawback. But if he comes he improves us, in my opinion. He's going to score tons for whoever he joins.
I can't see anyone who we should really really be going for, but I still think a top striker with better movement and who attacks the ball better would make sense. And Falcao would do that. I think we've seen the best of the two senior strikers we have and they contribute to the poor play and lack of chances.
Falcao's age is definitely a drawback. But if he comes he improves us, in my opinion. He's going to score tons for whoever he joins.
We can't solve all our problems in one summer transfer window. For this summer, the more immediate problem to solve was midfield and back line. We've done Herrera and Blind, which is great, and hopefully we land Vidal as well. But it's pretty obvious now that RvP and Rooney is a partnership that's never going to work and with both getting older and slower a new striker has to be given serious consideration.
I'd love to see Welbz come through but fukk me the man has to start converting on his chances.
I'd love to see Welbz come through but fukk me the man has to start converting on his chances.
The two signings who would just exacerbate our current issue with strikers is Falcao and Cavani.. they're not dribblers and they're similar to the way Rooney and RVP are now, only difference? they're more aggressive and better at holding the ball up. Madness if we were to sign Falcao and not address the other areas of concern... sounds stupid but i'd rather get De Jong in then a Falcao.
Getting new forwards won't solve much for us. The reason why they aren't performing well is because the supply to them is limited along with the fact that our very slow-paced, low-tempo football allows the opponents to set their shape and prevent our forwards from doing much.
Rooney and van Persie play too centrally for a 3-5-2. For a setup to be successful, it must allow for situations where two players are out wide, thus stretching the opposition and creating gaps in the middle. So far, that has rarely happened (2nd half against Swansea until Herrera left and MK Dons until Kagawa left was when it happened). We played better when di Maria was around because he would drift towards the left channels and create spaces in the middle for our central attacking trio to capitalise on (still didn't work as our overall play was slow, tempo was low, and we played too many long balls).
We are badly in need of width to create space in the middle. With the 3-5-2, only our wing backs are doing it. Mata's movement isn't that great as he only demonstrates vertical movement, and likewise for Rooney and van Persie. This creates congestion in the middle, and Young and Valencia are no longer threatening from the wide areas.
Once we get injuries out of the way and play someone better than Fletcher in the deeper midfield role, our strikers will perform better as shown in pre-season.
Rooney and van Persie play too centrally for a 3-5-2. For a setup to be successful, it must allow for situations where two players are out wide, thus stretching the opposition and creating gaps in the middle. So far, that has rarely happened (2nd half against Swansea until Herrera left and MK Dons until Kagawa left was when it happened). We played better when di Maria was around because he would drift towards the left channels and create spaces in the middle for our central attacking trio to capitalise on (still didn't work as our overall play was slow, tempo was low, and we played too many long balls).
We are badly in need of width to create space in the middle. With the 3-5-2, only our wing backs are doing it. Mata's movement isn't that great as he only demonstrates vertical movement, and likewise for Rooney and van Persie. This creates congestion in the middle, and Young and Valencia are no longer threatening from the wide areas.
Once we get injuries out of the way and play someone better than Fletcher in the deeper midfield role, our strikers will perform better as shown in pre-season.
Miserable twat. Falcao!!
FALLLCAAAOOOO
My poor cock, first Jennifer Lawrence now this 
Partly because of our strikers and their lack of movement. Falcao's movement is better, he's more of a live wire and a complete handful, which the other two aren't these days. He also attacks the ball better than anyone we have. The passes wont need to be as precise.
He'll solve part of the problem, in my opinion.
Great striker.
My poor cock, first Jennifer Lawrence now this
I'm going to wank myself into a coma.