maddog Posted 19 October 2009 Posted 19 October 2009 poh!forward or striker, whatever you want to call it, i would expect midfielders and defenders to score goals, howard has no excuse... he's had plenty enough chances, but he fundamentally has issues hitting the target... in 2003/04 season, as a comparison, les ferdinand hit the target 30 times putting only 13 wide, and still won some flick ons, in 04/05 even mark devries managed to get 10 on 13 off, not great but still more consistant than the lauded howard and that season the heavily criticised dublin was 50/50, in the following season the apparently dreadful elvis hit the target 30 times putting only 9 wide, and even momo sylla had greater shot accuracy than howard has this season, hammond again had an over 50% accuracy the following season as did geoff horsfield these players are routinely slated on this board, perhaps for certain elements of their game rightly so, but as strikers, where being able to hit the target is an essential part of their job, and as far as devries, dublin and horsfield are concerned, all were employed in a similar way to howard, they are all (statistically) far more accurate than howard... and at this level you can't afford to be not forcing the keeper to parry or force corners from ontarget shooting and howard's problem perhaps isn't just a blip in form, when he arrived, his first season he had only 22 on and 31 off, yes he did improve last season with 69:59 (incomparable to fryatt's 98:54), and this season, so far, 11 on 17 off.... and 19 goals in 70 odd games... as another comparison, cov's leon best has 1 less assist than howard, but 6 goals and has hit 24 on target with only 9 off target this season lets face it he is a very limited player, nice bloke i'm sure and has been known to graft, but surely it is time to see if someone else can provide the things howard does and, more importantly, the things he doesn't. Excellent post. Great statistics. Also backs up my theory theres no reason to rate Steve Howard as a better target man than Mark De Vries. He was crucified while he was here, and the stats clearly show he was more accurate. Steve Howard has definitely cast some sort of spell on LCFC fans especially on here into thinking he's actually a good player and does a great job. Fook knows how he did it.
AjcW Posted 19 October 2009 Posted 19 October 2009 Howard supporter: I come in peace The job he has been asked to do this season is slightly different to last in my opinion. He sits much deeper, almost as an AM target man, and pearsons instructions are, if you get it to matty/waghorn, they will do the important part. Not your a striker then a target man and you are expected to score every two to three games to support matty. It seems to me that pearson at the start of the season was relying on matty and the midfield to get forward and feast on howards knock downs and flick ons, because lets be honest he wins every header and 9 times out of 10 puts it on a plate for another player to carry on the move. So thats the part of my argument that says all the stick is unnecessary. However I do feel he needs a 3 weeks to a month out of the team to regain fitness and work on his finishing, and we signed perfectly adequate cover in kermo. In this situation I think the villain is hangover from last season, and not howard himself. Pearson is god in my eyes, BUT he must stop this favouritism and living in the past if we are to be successful.
Tilley Posted 19 October 2009 Posted 19 October 2009 Steve Howard in League One is useful. Steve Howard in the Championship is the same level as MDV and the other tripe we've had. I'd take Leeds' front line over ours everyday of the week. Drop Howard, drop Fryatt who hasn't scored in a while. Give Waghorn the start he deserves, give DJ a chance, give Gallagher a place up front or even Kermo.
AjcW Posted 19 October 2009 Posted 19 October 2009 Steve Howard in League One is useful.Steve Howard in the Championship is the same level as MDV and the other tripe we've had. I'd take Leeds' front line over ours everyday of the week. Drop Howard, drop Fryatt who hasn't scored in a while. Give Waghorn the start he deserves, give DJ a chance, give Gallagher a place up front or even Kermo. Agreed. I just thought the abuse he is receiving is unfair, as its not his fault the gaffer has a love affair with him.
maddog Posted 19 October 2009 Posted 19 October 2009 Steve Howard in League One is useful.Steve Howard in the Championship is the same level as MDV and the other tripe we've had. I'd take Leeds' front line over ours everyday of the week. Drop Howard, drop Fryatt who hasn't scored in a while. Give Waghorn the start he deserves, give DJ a chance, give Gallagher a place up front or even Kermo. I definitely agree with Tilley on this one. Still i'm glad this Howard thread has turned up for a bit of endless, repetitive debate about him to fill the gap until Tuesday night. These are just the sort of endless repetitive debates i love on this forum. Quality.
Lillehamring Posted 20 October 2009 Posted 20 October 2009 Not your a striker then a target man and you are expected to score every two to three games to support matty.It seems to me that pearson at the start of the season was relying on matty and the midfield to get forward and feast on howards knock downs and flick ons, because lets be honest he wins every header and 9 times out of 10 puts it on a plate for another player to carry on the move. Really? Agreed. I just thought the abuse he is receiving is unfair, as its not his fault the gaffer has a love affair with him. i think it's more just frustration and trying to raise awareness that he is very limited and there are other players - howard isn't the only player who can head a ball... it is certainly nothing compared to the shit other players get...
MPH Posted 20 October 2009 Posted 20 October 2009 Steve Howard in League One is useful.Steve Howard in the Championship is the same level as MDV and the other tripe we've had. I'd take Leeds' front line over ours everyday of the week. Drop Howard, drop Fryatt who hasn't scored in a while. Give Waghorn the start he deserves, give DJ a chance, give Gallagher a place up front or even Kermo. Well if Gradel is a roaring success at leeds, which I fully expect him to be, i wonder if we will suggest a cheeky swap deal of gradel plus cash for Beckford....
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.