Yakubu

[ScouseFox]

Taraabt is a proper lazy fucker off the ball, but he scored and assisted a shed-load of goals for QPR, and they went up. One of the hardest working strikers in the division, Hume, finds himself at Preston, getting relegated for the second time in a few years. It's really not hard to see which one works, and which doesn't.

[Guest Col city fan]

As I stated, the 30k was pure speculation. 50k has been completely dismissed but lets be honest, he's on a prem wage. 30k was a guesstimate and again, I was just looking at where people draw the line.

I think 30k would be about what we'd have to pay...if he continues to score like he has been, the 2m/30k thing I guess is worth paying.

However, if paying Yak 30k meant we didnt have enough left in the wage kitty to assemble a good squad around him then I wouldnt pay it

[Webbo]

Wrong.

Yakubu - 10 goals in 19 appearances, some of which were in a team where not a single player peformed. Also chipped in with a fair few assists. Hardly runs around, appears disinterested and gets called lazy and fat, but has a strike rate of JUST better than 1 in 2. Potent.

Fryatt - 13 goals in 35 appearances overall, 12 goals in 31 league games (if you include the 2 playoff games). Around a goal every 2.5 games, closer to 1 in 3. What should be remembered is that 7 of his 11 (or 12, depending on how you look at it) league goals - an unbelievable strike rate I'll admit - had been scored by mid-September after his prolific League One season. When that tailed off, and taking into account the 2 and a half months he missed after the Donny game, in the five months he played from mid-September - the playoff games in May, Fryatt scored 4 (or 5) league goals in 23 league games - 2 of which came in the away win at QPR - giving him a strike rate extremely close to 1 in 5. Aside from the brace away at QPR, Fryatt also bagged two more braces, meaning there were far more games he didn't score in than did.

So you're judging Fryatt after twice as many games. What was his strike rate after 20 games last season?

If you'd have judged The Yak's strike rate after 12 games his strike rate would have been 1 in 4, not so impressive. In his 20 games he's only scored in 7 meaning he's not scored in 13 games, nearly twice as many as he has scored in.

Which just goes to show that statistics can prove anything.

[lcfc_jme]

So you're judging Fryatt after twice as many games. What was his strike rate after 20 games last season?

If you'd have judged The Yak's strike rate after 12 games his strike rate would have been 1 in 4, not so impressive. In his 20 games he's only scored in 7 meaning he's not scored in 13 games, nearly twice as many as he has scored in.

You're wrong there for starters, as he had 4 goals in his first 12, giving him a strike rate of 1 in 3. Yak's first 12 included that run where we as an entire team were shockingly awful away at Cardiff and at home against both Norwich and Portsmouth. Not to mention away at runaway leaders QPR. Interesting to note that we were still well on top of the wave of momentum after the League One romp for Fryatt's first 12, though. Don't let that hinder your perceptions of anything, though..

Fryatt had 9 in 19 league games last season, all as a result of his ridiculously good League One campaign. In Fryatt's first 19 last season (again on the back of that momentum, which when he lost, he was utter, utter shit) he failed to score in 13 of them.

I'm only counting 19 games as that's all Yak has played for us. He's not scored in 12 of his 19 so far - 1 less than an in-form, full-of-confidence Fryatt - but has 10 goals, 1 more goal than Fryatt.

Statistics slightly in Yakubu's favour again, really. And that's in the games which you wanted me to use and in which Fryatt was flattering to deceive.

Coincidentally, both runs of 19 included horrific performances away at Forest, as well. Not a statistic, just an interesting observation.

Now lets take another snapshot of 19 Fryatt games, shall we?

In Fryatt's 19 games AFTER his League One form dried up, how many did he score? I'll tell you: 4 (which came in 3 games, by the way, meaning he failed to score in 16 of them). A prolific 1 in 5.

Which ever way you look at the stats, Yakubu's numbers add up to better than Fryatt's. And that's without including numbers for assists.

But yeah, statistics. Useless.

[Webbo]

You're wrong there for starters, as he had 4 goals in his first 12, giving him a strike rate of 1 in 3.

Fryatt had 9 in 19 league games last season, all as a result of his ridiculously good League One campaign. In Fryatt's first 19 last season (again on the back of that momentum, which when he lost, he was utter, utter shit) he failed to score in 13 of them.

I'm only counting 19 games as that's all Yak has played for us. He's not scored in 12 of his 19 so far - 1 less than an in-form, full-of-confidence Fryatt - but has 10 goals, 1 more goal than Fryatt.

Statistics slightly in Yakubu's favour again, really. And that's in the games which you wanted me to use and in which Fryatt was flattering to deceive.

Coincidentally, both runs of 19 included horrific performances away at Forest, as well. Not a statistic, just an interesting observation.

Now lets take another snapshot of 19 Fryatt games, shall we?

In Fryatt's 19 games AFTER his League One form dried up, how many did he score? I'll tell you: 4 (which came in 3 games, by the way, meaning he failed to score in 16 of them). A prolific 1 in 5.

Which ever way you look at the stats, Yakubu's numbers add up to better than Fryatt's. And that's without including numbers for assists.

But yeah, statistics. Useless.

First bit, my bad you're right.

Secondly Fryatt scored those goals in the championship so the fact of where he scored his goals the previous season is irrelevant.

Thirdly, nobody know how many goals Yakubu will score in his next 19 games it might be none so that is a totally unfair comparison.

Also Yakubu has suddenly hit a vein of form just as he's looking for a contract, something people used to accuse Fryatt of but don't seem to be making that connection now.

Personally I doubt that Yak will score anything like 1 in 2 next season, so I'd rather we didn't sign him for the wages and the length of contract he's bound to demand, but that's Svens decision not mine. I'll trust his judgement.

[lcfc_jme]

Fryatt scored those goals in the championship so the fact of where he scored his goals the previous season is irrelevant.

Thirdly, nobody know how many goals Yakubu will score in his next 19 games it might be none so that is a totally unfair comparison.

Also Yakubu has suddenly hit a vein of form just as he's looking for a contract, something people used to accuse Fryatt of but don't seem to be making that connection now.

Personally I doubt that Yak will score anything like 1 in 2 next season, so I'd rather we didn't sign him for the wages and the length of contract he's bound to demand, but that's Svens decision not mine. I'll trust his judgement.

I'd say that the bit about Fryatt continuing his previous seasons' form was fair, to be honest. When that momentum dried up he was awful - there's no escaping that fact. It's no coincidence that he was unbelievable for us whilst we as a team were on a high after achieving an emphatic promotion, but when the effect of that momentum began to wear off and the going got tough for us, he became awful and seemingly forgot where the goal was.

Say for speculation's sake that Yakubu only scored a single goal in 7 (the amount of games he scored in during this current spell of 19) of his next 19 games, it'd put him on 17 goals in 38 games for the league campaign, giving him 8 more games to break 20. Again, that's just (semi-educated) speculation, and agreed that nobody knows for certain how many the Yak would actually score in his next 19, but if we had 19 games left this season I'd be willing to bet a substantial figure of money on him getting more than the 4 Fryatt got in the same time-frame. I'm probably not alone in that, either.

Yakubu doesn't NEED a contract - he'll almost certainly be back in the Premier League next season if we don't keep him. I also doubt that if we were to pick him up in the summer that he'd be on more wages than if he stayed rotting away at Everton, so there's not necessarily a financial incentive for him to start scoring.

Bearing in mind we're actually going to have a pre-season next season and as such will be fit enough and familiar enough with each other before the campaign starts, I'd suggest that Yakubu would definitely get 15, but would finish closer to 20, and weigh in with at least 7 or 8 assists as well. Either way, he alone would provide us with more than 20 goals next season were we to sign him - I'm sure of that - and that's the sort of return you need for promotion.

Playing Yakubu and Vassel through the middle in a 4-4-2 in this league would almost certainly yield a goal-haul worthy of promotion.

I personally would like to see it and I wouldn't be upset to see it happen, nor would I be upset to have the big man here next season anyway.

[acooling08]

Taraabt is a proper lazy fucker off the ball, but he scored and assisted a shed-load of goals for QPR, and they went up. One of the hardest working strikers in the division, Hume, finds himself at Preston, getting relegated for the second time in a few years. It's really not hard to see which one works, and which doesn't.

Can't we have both?

It may be worth mentioning that Yak has missed many good chances too so he isn't exactly lethal in front of goal.

[Fox92]

It may be worth mentioning that Yak has missed many good chances too so he isn't exactly lethal in front of goal.

I think that can be said about any striker at any level.

However, to say that Yakubu is not lethal in front of goal is abit ridiculas, I mean, the man has scored 10 goals in 19 games which is good enough at any level of football. Try and find a striker who would be willing to join Leicester that has a better record. Many keep referring to Danny Graham (and yes I'd obviously have him), but he has 38 goals in 87 games throughout his Watford career, which isn't as good as Yakubu's record here, at Leicester.

I don't know what more you want from him!! Every team in the division would want Yakubu in their team, as well as most teams in the Premier League.

[hackneyfox]

Striker misses chances SHOCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only strikers that don't miss chances are those that hide on the pitch, something I have seen both Fryatt and Waghorn do this season.

[Hack]

It's quite simple.

Yakubu is exactly the kind of player you need to get promoted from this division. He may not be the hardest worker or the quickest, but his first touch, ability to read the game and finishing ability will get him goals when he wants to score. The fact that he is an absolute unit, NOT fat, means that only the most monstrous of centre-halves will be able to muscle him off the ball and his sheer size will cause defenders to focus on him even if he isn't scoring. His rather low workrate means he is a luxury player and you do need a worker next to him but with a pacey grafter next to him up front in the mould of Maynard for example, that will be one hell of a strike force. It's all very well playing two hard working strikers up front like Howard and Waghorn but they simply are not prolific enough. I like to see effort from a player I really do, but I'd prefer to see goals.

Iain Hume always put in bags of effort for us but the man couldn't score in a brothel with a fifty wrapped round his cock most weeks and we went down. I think everyone would have bit your hand off for a lazy bastard who actually knew where the net was then. Waghorn, as much as I like the lad, is similar. Howard has never been prolific for us. Would I exchange their workrate and the 10-15 goals a season between them for 'lazy' Yakubu's potential 25 a season? Fuck yeah I would. A strikeforce of Maynard and Yakubu next season? I'd eat my hat if they scored less than 40 goals between them, a pretty good tally considering King and Gallagher have 14 and 11 respectively, not to mention the goals the rest of the team will weigh in with.

£2m for Yakubu would be an absolute steal. He'd frustrate you one week for being a passenger, then score a match winning hat-trick the next. Overall, there's no doubt in my mind he would make a major positive difference to the team and I can't believe that people are seriously saying fuck off to a striker WE KNOW can score 1 in 2 when the team is out of form.

The post with the most sense in it. A muture and well thoughtout view of the situation.

A player with the work rate the doubters are talking about and a goal scoring rate the equal of the Yak is worth many 10's of millions not 2 mil.

[cc_star]

£2m is a steal for 20+ goals a season man

I am uncomfortable with his wages and would much prefer it if his total package was the same amount, but it was heavily loaded to a promotion bonus rather than an ongoing commitment.

It's unlikely we're going to pull a Graham, Long, Holt out of thin air, and they'd probably cost comfortably in excess of £2m anyway albeit on a much lower remuneration.

Whichever way you add it up we need someone who can score over 20 goals & Yak has shown he do that over the past few months, so I'm voting yes...

[Joe.]

He said "I don't know yet, May be we will try (to sign Yakubu), may be not. We have to start to talk about that.

Did a chimpanzee write this on the Mercury website?

[acooling08]

I think that can be said about any striker at any level.

However, to say that Yakubu is not lethal in front of goal is abit ridiculas, I mean, the man has scored 10 goals in 19 games which is good enough at any level of football. Try and find a striker who would be willing to join Leicester that has a better record. Many keep referring to Danny Graham (and yes I'd obviously have him), but he has 38 goals in 87 games throughout his Watford career, which isn't as good as Yakubu's record here, at Leicester.

I don't know what more you want from him!! Every team in the division would want Yakubu in their team, as well as most teams in the Premier League.

True, I would definately take Yak for 2 million but I just think 30k is a bit too much for our level of income. It's just so frustrating when he doesn't jump for a header or run for a pass but if he can keep up the 1 in 2 for next season, we'd be silly to reject him.

[Number 6]

After watching the way he defended for Hoolahan's goal at The Walkers I was ready to say bye bye. But, looking at the stats: 10 in 19 then I would have to say yes. He's clearly capable of a 20+ goals season in the Championship, we just might have to put up with a few lazy performances and hope Sven is prepared to sub him.

[Jakemoore]

He's lazy but 10 goals in 19 games is epic

[Donut]

He is in the team to score goals.

He scores goals.

A lot of goals.

Sign him up 100%

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

A steal, if the figures quoted are accurate!

[Fox92]

He is in the team to score goals.

He scores goals.

A lot of goals.

Sign him up 100%

This is a simple explination of Yakubu, and I agree.

Yakubu may be on a reported £30k a week, or more, but in the long run his goals will help us get promoted.

His goals ratio is better than most strikers in the league, and we need to sign him.

[ozleicester]

In a second.

He probably wouldnt finish with the 1 in 2 rate... but hes quality

[SMX11]

Stringer says that he is happy at Leicester and happy to play in the championship. He needs a good pre season and lose a bit of weight to gain a bit more mobility and he should score 20+ next year. Assuming Sven wants him that is.

[CloudFox]

Yakubu ready to leave Everton for Leicester: 'I feel like I've been here for three or four years'.