Striker

[Kevin Russell]

Buying a JV replacement has to be a proper project and we need to get it right. 
 

The key thing is to get a player with the basic attributes - we have seen with Perez and Kramaric that strikers without pace or strength are difficult for to utilise in the premier league. Kel and Slim have shown that carrying a goal threat, but being clumsy in build up carries a raft of problems.

 

In the modern game a striker needs to be explosive and powerful and technically sound - unfortunately the transfer market is high risk and strikers can be expensive mistakes.

 

Fingers crossed we get this right and we need to make our move in summer.

[nnfox]

Replacing Vardy is no easy task.  It can't be a case of Vardy announcing he's leaving one summer and that summer we start putting bids in.  At that point, it's too late.  We'd need a world class striker to come in and hit the ground running.  Imagine being the selling club!  When Leicester come knocking, you'd add £20-£30 million to the price tag just because you know how desperate we'd be.

 

I'd love us to go into the lower leagues, even non-league again.  Sign up 3 or 4 promising prospects with the raw attributes - pace, finishing and temperament, and get them training with the first team, watching and learning from Vardy all the time.  Involve them in cup games, get them on the bench in the prem.  It's surely got to be an 18 month project now.

[Lesta2014]

13 minutes ago, nnfox said:

Replacing Vardy is no easy task.  It can't be a case of Vardy announcing he's leaving one summer and that summer we start putting bids in.  At that point, it's too late.  We'd need a world class striker to come in and hit the ground running.  Imagine being the selling club!  When Leicester come knocking, you'd add £20-£30 million to the price tag just because you know how desperate we'd be.

 

I'd love us to go into the lower leagues, even non-league again.  Sign up 3 or 4 promising prospects with the raw attributes - pace, finishing and temperament, and get them training with the first team, watching and learning from Vardy all the time.  Involve them in cup games, get them on the bench in the prem.  It's surely got to be an 18 month project now.

The longer we leave it the less time they have to settle and we end up with striker nowhere near what we need. 

[Dahnsouff]

18 minutes ago, nnfox said:

Replacing Vardy is no easy task.  It can't be a case of Vardy announcing he's leaving one summer and that summer we start putting bids in.  At that point, it's too late.  We'd need a world class striker to come in and hit the ground running.  Imagine being the selling club!  When Leicester come knocking, you'd add £20-£30 million to the price tag just because you know how desperate we'd be.

 

I'd love us to go into the lower leagues, even non-league again.  Sign up 3 or 4 promising prospects with the raw attributes - pace, finishing and temperament, and get them training with the first team, watching and learning from Vardy all the time.  Involve them in cup games, get them on the bench in the prem.  It's surely got to be an 18 month project now.

It actually has a further reason to do it early, specifically it could allow us to prolong Jamie's career by rotate/resting him 

[murphy]

5 hours ago, Babylon said:

Slim and Nacho were 9’s when they signed,  if we decide to shoe horn then in that’s on the managers. But they were 9’s and Perez has played as a 9.

 

I’m not listening to every man and his dog moan about signing a 9 to play 10 for years and then have that switched around to suit. 

 

I’m not saying they were Vardy replacements In terms of long term replacements. I’m saying they are backups  and were signed as such, when people say “why haven’t we signed a striker”, we had four in the squad.

 

The financial constraints of that are pretty obvious. 

 

“Probably his [Perez’s] best position is more central…what I know is that he will score goals. He’s a natural goalscorer. He’s different to Jamie ”

Leaving Perez out of it ("Perez is that £30-£50m wide player" - B Rodgers), do you really think that £54m was s[ent on Slim and Nacho to play instead of Vardy rather than with him whilst persisting with Shinji at 10?  This was four years ago with no signs of Vardy slowing down.  Seems highly unlikely to me that would be money down the drain and the majority of times they have played they did indeed play with Vardy rather then displace him.  4-4-2 doesn't always require a withdrawn striker.

 

Slim and Nacho failed so it was money down the drain and if you had simply said that we have wasted £84m on two strikers plus Perez I would have agreed with you I was just questioning the fact that you called them Vardy replacements. 

 

[Marshall Cockney Fox]

This project is well under way. However it's clearly proving bloody hard, as I would have expected the replacement to be here already. JVs 34. So we're living on borrowed time.

[Babylon]

43 minutes ago, murphy said:

Leaving Perez out of it ("Perez is that £30-£50m wide player" - B Rodgers), do you really think that £54m was s[ent on Slim and Nacho to play instead of Vardy rather than with him whilst persisting with Shinji at 10?  This was four years ago with no signs of Vardy slowing down.  Seems highly unlikely to me that would be money down the drain and the majority of times they have played they did indeed play with Vardy rather then displace him.  4-4-2 doesn't always require a withdrawn striker.

 

Slim and Nacho failed so it was money down the drain and if you had simply said that we have wasted £84m on two strikers plus Perez I would have agreed with you I was just questioning the fact that you called them Vardy replacements. 

 

Can you find that quote, because I don't think for one minute that came out of Rodgers mouth mentioning money. He was signed for both, he's played both. 

 

I think £54m was spent desperately trying to find someone to step in if anything should happen to Vardy. You don't sign a 9, known for goals, heading in crosses and then play them at 10. We were just fitting people into the team. 

 

 

[sacreblueits442]

2 minutes ago, Babylon said:

Can you find that quote, because I don't think for one minute that came out of Rodgers mouth mentioning money. He was signed for both, he's played both. 

 

I think £54m was spent desperately trying to find someone to step in if anything should happen to Vardy. You don't sign a 9, known for goals, heading in crosses and then play them at 10. We were just fitting people into the team. 

 

 

...I believe Slimani was initially perceived  to be The Vardy replacement  and was erroneously signed but Nacho was brought in to play alongside Vardy!!!

[HybridFox]

How we could do with a Leonardo Ullloa 

[murphy]

6 hours ago, Babylon said:

Can you find that quote, because I don't think for one minute that came out of Rodgers mouth mentioning money. He was signed for both, he's played both. 

 

I think £54m was spent desperately trying to find someone to step in if anything should happen to Vardy. You don't sign a 9, known for goals, heading in crosses and then play them at 10. We were just fitting people into the team. 

 

 

Well whether they were 9s or 10s doesn't really matter to me.  A big un and a little un up front has been the mainstay of 4-4-2 for many years although fallen out of favour these days and let's not forget that Shinji was a 9 for Mainz and Japan.  Perhaps we were looking for another goal threat that Shinji couldn't provide.   I'm just saying that they were bought to play with JV not replace him.  More likely replacements for Shinji and Ulloa (another nine).  The main point is that we have failed pretty badly when bringing in new strikers in which I think we both agree.

 

As for Ayoze, I'll look for the quote when I get some time but I remember it very well.  I often quote it when people say that Perez is played out of position despite being brought in to play wide right and having played there for Newcastle.  You have often argued the same point but now you seem to be claiming the opposite?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 1 February 2021 by murphy

[UHDrive]

16 hours ago, splinterdream said:

Yes the consideration is you sign another striker its a massive slap in the face to £60m worth of assets we have. To the club, they want those players to be given every opportunity to shine otherwise move them on before we sign someone else, the reason we're after an attacking midfielder is because demeria has gone but I'd bet wages are limited to what demeria was paid aswell

If you are referring to nacho and perez I think they've had every opportunity to shine and you cant just "ship vardy along" but nacho I'm not not sure of in terms of transfer position. It's not Demarai Gray, hes a right winger, its Praet who's the attacking midfielder who is sidelined. 

[UHDrive]

15 hours ago, st albans fox said:

I’m afraid that there are a lot of deluded people out there with some of the players mentioned on here. 
 

a) we aren’t a top six club yet

b) we aren’t in a sexy part of the country 

c) we don’t pay big wages

d) we are looking for someone to sit on the bench in all the important games 

e) we have a nice training ground 

A lot of people say that we dont pay big wages but I actually think that with a lot of players between £60-140k then we cant be that far down the table? I'm not an expert on other clubs but have seen a bit.

[UHDrive]

11 hours ago, Nod.E said:

All OP ever does is moan that we should be signing more players. Better players. More expensive players. It's tiresome. If we bought a player every time he said we needed one, our squad would be 78 players in size and we'd have a wage bill to fund the whole league. And he'd still want another shiny new player.

 

I find it really odd and yes, it probably annoys me more than it should. After every poor result he pops up somewhere demanding we need to sign a player. Anyone is perfectly within their right to be unhappy at something after a loss, but if there's one thing we have become famous for as a club, it's our exemplary record in the transfer market. So much so that if a drinking game was devised for a televised game of ours, the word 'recruitment' would result in a two finger punishment. So perhaps, just maybe, OP can put his boredom to one side and recognise that before the next time he's tempted to start a new thread about the latest position he wants us to sign a player in?

 

As many have already said, any striker that rates himself isn't coming here because he knows the only games he'll get are when Vardy is injured. Which, based on his record, is not going to be very often.

 

The notion that we can just go and buy a multimillion pound striker to sit on the bench and expect them to be any good is Football Manager stuff.

Are fans oblivious to the last two seasons? Are fans so forgetful of how we messed up on CL qualification because of vardy out injured,  along with other injuries (some we managed to fix in the transfer window thankfully and of which have turned out to be great signings?

 

Foresight is what is needed. There can be no qualms with our club openly stating European football but the fact is that we might've well missed out last season and most fans on here were openly critical of this. I believe our squad depth is so much better and has been widely praised because of the signings we made last summer.

 

However, that cannot detract from the fact that this striker problem, that many fans over the last couple of seasons have had issues with, is the last to be addressed. If you cant score goals you dont win games.

 

I think you do our club an injustice. Most clubs have 2 strikers of a decent standard and they, to a degree, get rotated, but one is more than often better than the other. We are a top club now and its frustrating when people play down our European aspirations with "no one will come here as a decent and/or backup striker". 

 

Casing point is you need foresight. If I could pick 3 main points it would be the signing of Perez, foresight for lack of strikers and injuries and shipping out nacho sooner for a replacement. We worked hard for the signings we've done from JJ to Fofana, however it seems to me like some of that focus, even a little, should've been put into looking at the striker issue because if vardy keeps picking up injuries then our dreams of European football are over again. 1 player and it's over.

[Nod.E]

1 hour ago, UHDrive said:

Are fans oblivious to the last two seasons? Are fans so forgetful of how we messed up on CL qualification because of vardy out injured,  along with other injuries (some we managed to fix in the transfer window thankfully and of which have turned out to be great signings?

 

Foresight is what is needed. There can be no qualms with our club openly stating European football but the fact is that we might've well missed out last season and most fans on here were openly critical of this. I believe our squad depth is so much better and has been widely praised because of the signings we made last summer.

 

However, that cannot detract from the fact that this striker problem, that many fans over the last couple of seasons have had issues with, is the last to be addressed. If you cant score goals you dont win games.

 

I think you do our club an injustice. Most clubs have 2 strikers of a decent standard and they, to a degree, get rotated, but one is more than often better than the other. We are a top club now and its frustrating when people play down our European aspirations with "no one will come here as a decent and/or backup striker". 

 

Casing point is you need foresight. If I could pick 3 main points it would be the signing of Perez, foresight for lack of strikers and injuries and shipping out nacho sooner for a replacement. We worked hard for the signings we've done from JJ to Fofana, however it seems to me like some of that focus, even a little, should've been put into looking at the striker issue because if vardy keeps picking up injuries then our dreams of European football are over again. 1 player and it's over.

Only Welbeck, Jay Rodriguez, Giroud, Mitrovic, Gabriel Jesus, Dwight Gayle, Andy Carroll and Shane Long have more Premier League goals than Iheanacho and can be classed as second choice striker.

 

All bar Mitrovic and Jesus are in their 30s. Would you be happy with a Welbeck? A Dwight Gayle? I doubt it. Or are you expecting a Cavani to join Leicester?

 

Strikers capable of succeeding in the Premier League are a rare breed and they don't come cheap. If you're good enough to be prolific in the Premier League (which is what you're asking for), you're also good enough to start and be the star man for teams in this country and abroad. Perhaps you move to a bottom half team, bang in 20 goals and get a big move. 

 

We've had Kramaric, Musa, and Slimani in recent years, all of which have good records elsewhere and failed to make their mark here. You want another one of those to add to the pile? To add to our (not finite) wage bill and restrict us from signing players in other areas? 

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm losing patience with Iheanacho, too. But if you're expecting someone to replace him and do a significantly better job, you better prepare to be disappointed. For all his flaws, he offers creativity and is a good finisher. 

 

It's also worth noting that I do think Brendan has lost trust in Kelechi, which is why we're seeing Perez play in that position. Perez himself has twice as many Premier League goals than Iheanacho! Meaning we have both the 9th and 5th most prolific reserve 'strikers' in the league. Talk about depth. No, it probably isn't Perez' best position but also he hasn't been as poor as some would have you believe. On another day he'd have bagged a couple yesterday.

 

That's just the reality of the situation. When Iheanacho leaves (which I believe he will soon enough), I'm sure we will bring somebody in, but the chances of that player displacing or even competing with Vardy before his time are slim to nil.

 

You can just accept that or keep pining for a player that doesn't exist.

 

Editing to add that Perez and Kelechi cost a combined 54 million pounds, and you want better than the goals they bring. Stands to reason that you want to spend c. £30 million+ in order to get a better option. In other words basically a record signing on a second string player. And that's before we get on to the feasibility of a player that price wanting to come to be second choice.

Edited 1 February 2021 by Nod.E

[Les-TA-Jon]

Every club in world football is constantly looking for a reliable goalscorer. It's the hardest position to sign a player in. It's the most expensive. And the kinds of players we would be interested in also attract the attentions of all the much bigger clubs. 

 

Anyone with basic knowledge of the sport knows this, so I'm surprised to see so many people in this thread outraged that we haven't simply gone out and signed forwards/strikers to replace/compliment Vardy. And if the expectation was for us to do it in this January window, in the wider context of a global pandemic that has ravaged our income and that of our funders then I don't know what to tell you. 

 

The restrictions we've been operating under have been clear to see:

• We play with 1 striker
• Vardy's high levels and consistency keep other forwards out of the team
• Needing a player good enough to play and score but happy with bench warming

Also let's not forget - we have actually signed forwards - Slimani, Musa, Nacho, Perez - so it's not like the club aren't trying. Or is it demanded that every singing the club makes should be a roaring success? 

[foxinsocks]

For us the striker does two things. 1. Scores goals and 2. Offers a speed threat so that centre backs are pushed back creating space for maderson etc.

Imo while under would not be idea, he can do the second of these.

Yesterday ayoze tried very hard... but madders wasv pushed out if the game.

[moore_94]

 

Edited 1 February 2021 by moore_94

[Stadt]

Such a self-defeating mindset to think it just isn't possible. 

 

Globally, we're in the top 1% of football clubs - we're more attractive than almost every club on the planet bar maybe 20 or 30. Wages wise we can offer more than what 99% of footballers are earning currently. Vardy averages 0.43 non penalty goals per 90 minutes in the PL, that's a replaceable number. We'll lose his talismanic and totemic aura but we have an opportunity to perhaps replace the goals and add another dimension to our play. 

 

Vardy is our greatest ever player but he's not without his flaws, if we can sign a player that scores at a similar (even if it's slightly less) rate but is more of a threat in the air, a better distance shooter or has better link up play generally we could potentially go up a a gear or two as a club. There's a lot of hypotheticals here but Vardy only feels like such a blow now because our other options are square peg player in Perez and Iheanacho who just isn't cut out to be a lone striker.

 

If we're switched on we're now in a position to nab the next Håland before that sort of player makes their move from a provincial league (or club) to a sub elite one.

 

Something I'd like us to become better at is picking up South American players, work permits seem to be easier to acquire for non EU players now so establish a partner club in South America to really have our ear to their ground there.

[SemperEadem]

The pressure on who ever we sign as Vardy’s ‘replacement’ will be off the scale.

[Guest Hansifüx]

Let's be a bit creative ... how about exchanging  Maddison and Mason Mount (Chelsea) ?  Chelsea needs someone like Maddison and Mount could potentially fill long term the gap of  Vardy?

[GorlestonFox]

1 minute ago, Hansifüx said:

Let's be a bit creative ... how about exchanging  Maddison and Mason Mount (Chelsea) ?  Chelsea needs someone like Maddison and Mount could potentially fill long term the gap of  Vardy?

So we need to replace Maddison?

[Guest Hansifüx]

Just now, GorlestonFox said:

So we need to replace Maddison?

if there is option without giving up on Maddison would be great. But I think it is easier for us to replace Maddison than Vardy 

[Nod.E]

5 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Such a self-defeating mindset to think it just isn't possible. 

 

Globally, we're in the top 1% of football clubs - we're more attractive than almost every club on the planet bar maybe 20 or 30. Wages wise we can offer more than what 99% of footballers are earning currently. Vardy averages 0.43 non penalty goals per 90 minutes in the PL, that's a replaceable number. We'll lose his talismanic and totemic aura but we have an opportunity to perhaps replace the goals and add another dimension to our play. 

 

Vardy is our greatest ever player but he's not without his flaws, if we can sign a player that scores at a similar (even if it's slightly less) rate but is more of a threat in the air, a better distance shooter or has better link up play generally we could potentially go up a a gear or two as a club. There's a lot of hypotheticals here but Vardy only feels like such a blow now because our other options are square peg player in Perez and Iheanacho who just isn't cut out to be a lone striker.

 

If we're switched on we're now in a position to nab the next Håland before that sort of player makes their move from a provincial league (or club) to a sub elite one.

 

Something I'd like us to become better at is picking up South American players, work permits seem to be easier to acquire for non EU players now so establish a partner club in South America to really have our ear to their ground there.

Let's just call R9 Ronaldo and see if he fancies coming out of retirement. 

 

The all rounder you're describing is world class and isn't coming to Leicester to play second fiddle.

 

One day, yes. Everybody knows Vardy will not be replaced yet.

[Stadt]

1 minute ago, Nod.E said:

Let's just call R9 Ronaldo and see if he fancies coming out of retirement. 

 

The all rounder you're describing is world class and isn't coming to Leicester to play second fiddle.

 

One day, yes. Everybody knows Vardy will not be replaced yet.

Yes this was exactly the point I was making 

[Nod.E]

6 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Yes this was exactly the point I was making 

The point you made was that we should just replace Vardy now.

 

Werner at Chelsea is but one example of why it isn't that simple.

 

We have a proven world class striker who will not be replaced until his body fails. Meanwhile a world class player isn't coming to act as back up. Simple enough to understand.