The end of the traditional No9?
It almost has a mystique around it, and it comes with an expectation that strikers can either revel in or crack under.
The names of Jackie Milburn, Malcolm MacDonald and Alan Shearer will always be remembered, for being heroes of their generation at Newcastle. Right now, however, the jersey stands vacant, and there doesn’t seem, to me anyway, to be too many names out there big enough to fill the shirt.
We have had this ideal as a club, to build the team around a big number nine focal point, creating chances for him to bang away in the hope of creating another legend – but does the modern game allow for this?
Looking at the greatest teams in the world, they all have great strikers. But are they in the same mould that great strikers have been in the past? I don’t think so.
Barcelona, have the likes of Lionel Messi and David Villa – two exceptionally technically gifted, quick strikers. They attempted the big target man in Zlatan Ibrahimović, and although he scored goals, he never quite fitted in with a fluid one touch, pacey style they play.
Manchester United have Wayne Rooney, who most certainly is powerful, but I wouldn’t call him a target man as such. He has vision and pace and drops deep to create chances for team mates.
Manchester City’s new revelation, Sergio Aguero is certainly no target man, and is very much in the same mould of a Messi or Rooney.
So what exactly are we looking for when it comes to finding our new Number 9?
The closest we have come to filling the void left by Alan Shearer was Andy Carroll, who grew into the role very nicely, but I have to be honest, although extremely effective his strengths are only really effective when the entire team plays around him.
I would hate to see us bring Andy Carroll back now, because I think it would be a waste for the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye to be pumping long balls to a target man. Players like Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan were very effective in this strategy because although talented, they perhaps lacked the technical ability to play any other system.
We now have players with fantastic technical ability to keep the ball on the deck and still be extremely creative, and as such, I don’t believe we should be trying to play around a certain focal point historical Number 9 type striker, but rather play as a team, with perhaps our most creative midfielder, Ben Arfa, being the focal point of attacking moves, much like the role Messi plays for Barca.
If that is the case I can see why Alan Pardew has been targeting that quick, mobile powerful striker like to fill the Number 9 shirt.
It may not be what we, as Toon fans are accustomed to, but it could well turn out to be a positive chance in an expired mentality that has been a long time coming.
The question is, what is more important?
Having a new legend to play in the Number 9 shirt? Or having a player to fill the shirt that fits in with the team and adds to a new and exciting brand of football?
Let’s not put too much of a stigma on the Number 9 shirt. Let’s think more about the team, and who knows, our new hero could well come from somewhere else in the squad ranks.
The legendary Number 10 Toon shirt perhaps?
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The question is, what is more important?
Having a new legend to play in the Number 9 shirt? Or having a player to fill the shirt that fits in with the team and adds to a new and exciting brand of football?
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IMO, the latter is clearly more important. Not sure we have found that player yet as Ba seems to still be settling (or is not up to it) but the point is well taken.
JJ have exactly the same thought i have been carrying for past few weeks.
Every club have their famous No. shirt. No. 7 in liverpool,No. 9 in newcastle,etc.
Historically,newcastle No. 9 legends has been more of a targetman,but why not make a new page towards the history,and change towards a different type of No.9.
And also,Newcastle can also make a new history with other number as well,A legend in No.10 maybe?
I really hope that Pards gets a new striker. Someone with pace, prowess, that ability to just light up the game. Not the large lump like Carroll. Someone who would still allow us to play our fantastic football. But let’s hope this team becomes legendary, and not just individuals!
Ye, a lot of people have mentioned taking Carroll back. I wouldn’t in a million years.
Firstly, because he’s a w£nker, and secondly, because he promotes a negative brand of football. And I don’t want our club to be like Stoke and Blackburn.
It may be effective, but it certainly isn’t pretty and I don’t see it ever taking us into the Champions League one day, because I don’t think the top players want to play that brand of football either.
@ JJ – 4
Totally agree. If you look at the teams in the Champions League, I doubt you’d find many who would just pump it up top time after time.
Ye, at the higher levels its all about possession, and then working your socks off to get it back if you lose it.
The other team can’t score if you have the ball, and you can’t score without it.
You can only do that with a short quick passing game. Which a big number nine doesn’t promote. Shearer I believe could have played in any system, but players like him don’t come around every day.
My nomination for the number 9 goes to……. LEON BEST!
You never know Spence, of all the strikers at the club right now, he’s the one putting his hand up.
But lets wait till January incase we can use it as a lure.
The concept of an old fashioned centre forward is outdated and none of the top teams have one, today’s game is about speed, agility and the ability to play the ball, retention is key and I’m afraid hoofing it up to a big old lump means that you lose the ball more often than not
what about Shola?
Quick, technically gifted, never gives the ball away and scores loads of goals………….oh wait
Unless the striker we sign is an obvious step up in class on those we already have, what’s the point in spending 7-10M€?
I’d rather see us buy Pieters in January.
He’d give us cover at LB & CB and because Santon can play RB or LB there would instantly be competition for places right across the back four.
Let Mr Llambias have 11 more months to find us a top quality striker with the missing millions.
The number 9 doesn’t have to be a target man as long as he gets goals IMO.
It shouldn’t be given to any of our strikers until they’ve earned it and at the moment Best is in the driving seat but must keep it going until next season.
give it to Ben Arfa. why not give it to someone that excites the Geordie faithful
Troy where you been trolling other blogs?
I’ve missed your positivity on here, some bloggers are right negative bastards
Mark, why does the best player have to wear number nine? Thats my point… its just a number that has been given far too much significance because of the club’s history.
Why not a legendary number 10? Does the shirt have to be significant to the individual or is the team more important?
the best player doesnt have to wear it. The club created this ‘heavy shirt’ tag.
But following history why not continue it with decent strikers. Might never happen under Ashley. I doubt Maiga would get excited by wearing the famous No9 when his pay related pay is peanuts.
I would love to see a creative midfielder wear it but tbh I’m not that fussed with numbers, give it to Krul
*play-related..
@JJ
If you can’t see the significance of the no 9 shirt which is an important part of their history, built by toon legends, then I question your common sense.
The reputation is there and it should be a privilege to wear it on merit.
JJ at 15. Agreed
Troy
There have been some legend who have worn the shirt I agree.
And I wouldn’t want just any player to wear it. But in the past our teams have been build around these names. I’m just saying, I think it has been hyped up to such a degree, that it has almost become untouchable.
Especially for a team with our current ambitions. It needs a hero, and tht is a lot of responsibility.
Too much for some. I personally think the team should come first. And I wouldn’t want the number nine to be seen as more important than other top players at the club.
In short, what comes first. Traditional pride of an individual or overall team performance?
Troy, I question your logic?
Why does this sound so familiar to me ?
Possibly because i have been advocating, the very same approach for some time on various blogs.
If one looks at both Manchester sides, plus the undoubted best team in football at present Barca., it’s not difficult to figure that goals come from a variety of sources, both forwards (naturally) and midfielders.
We have at the club right now, two decent forwards in Best & Ba, either who can team up with Ben Arfa or as a pair, depending on who we are up against, (horses for courses)
The same applies to midfielders, again horses for courses, we being lucky enough to have quality in depth in our midfield .
We also have versatility, where certain players can play the wing, inside or behind the striker, this should be encouraged, as it is the future of the game, that is the modern game, that is’nt dependent on wingers supplying a big center forward only, but the interchanging of positions, the way N’Zogbia and Duff did, confusing defenders.
Att present we have a decent group of midfielders, with good technical skills, who if utilized properly, could end up terrorizing certain teams and getting their fair share of goals between them.
The down side is we need quality backup across the back four, but thats another story !
Be back tomorrow to see your reply. Off to a mates bday now. So gonna be a rough Friday morning.
I agree JJ. I watch a fair bit of NHL and in that and I believe many American sports they retire the jerseys for legends of the game/organisation. I’m not suggesting that as it would be a tragedy never to see it again but why not leave it empty for a few years if needs be until someone’s earnt it.
There’s nothing wrong with it being put on a pedostal if you really make players earn it and make it reward for a worthy achievement ie scoring 50 goals in three seasons with the club and showing loyalty. As it is, its built up to be a huge weight but then given away willy-nilly to players unable to bear it (for whatever reason in a given case).
I say leave it unused until the player shows they deserve the status, not so much for romantic reasons but for the incentive and the legacy
And realising this was more about the stereotype, no it doesn’t need to be, and in the current state of the game, shouldn’t be your typical ‘big man’ striker
I watch a fair bit of NHL
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Now there’s a good man…
Some sport MDS
always nice after watching the fairies of our game dancing and diving to see a bit of aggression and skill. Was living in Canada for a few months and got hooked during the playoffs
@27. I used to have season tix to the Philadelphia Flyers until the drive home from midweek games became a bit much. The canadians go pshycho over it though don’t they?
And Montréal more than any
and it was last year in when they came back from 3-1 downs against the caps to win the series. Talk about partying on the streets. Lost to philly in the eastern finals though of course. You still in the US? Say its a nightmare to follow if your not local with 3/4 games a week and driving through the night
Yeah, we always beat Montreal:) Still in the states mate. Get to 4-5 games on TV an dwatch the rest on TV. Was actually watching preseason last night.
“get to 4-5 games in person” I meant
Habs look a bit tougher this year (hopefully) and you guys have lost a few so we’ll see. Still have Pronger though and JVR’s gonna keep getting better. How are your guys looking? Habs split into three teams so hard to judge so far, just having a look at prospects etc
Haha, prospects, start talking hockey and the lingo changes
I know- I have to be bilingual on this site! Flyers got rid of a couple of really good players and brought in some highly rated, relatively unproven youth (sound familiar?) but I think they will contend this year as they finally signed a top goalie and as you say, JVR is coming into his own.
Toonsy
I have just sent you a message via the ‘Contact Us’ form. Please get back to me as soon as.
Cheers
Haha yeah, pacioretty seems to be back from his fractured vertebrae with no ill affects, PK looking good, just need price to repeat last season, cole to fit in and gomez to improve from his worst ever season lol. Third line looks good with Eller Kostitsyn. Biggest question is Markovs health but that sounds familiar too. It takes so long in hockey to recover from a couple of years of bad trades it seems, no quick-fixes. Amazing how understanding fans are of how teams go through ups and downs though compared to a lot of sports.
@36. Gomez need to step it up. The salary cap kills you in North American sports. You can’t just spend your way out of mistakes. It takesa five year plan……:)
p.s XXXX
ALE BARCELONA’S FORMATION
================KRUL==================
R.TAYLOR/====S.TAYLOR==COLO======SANTON
SIMPSON
================TIOTE=================
========GOSLING*=========CABAYE========
===============BEN ARFA===============
=====OBERTAN^================MARVEAUX==
*Ahbeid, Guthrie
^Sammy, Vukcic
in 2012 famous becomes #10 shirt,because Ben Arfa
ends up season as top scoring player,
24 goals, 13 assists.
Hasn’t Ben Arfa only scored like 17 goals his whole career?
Unless he has got about 400 assists, I think we’re expecting too much from him in terms of goal threat.
We haven’t always gone for the traditional #9. One of the greatest (imho) was Len WHite who was a fast, ball-playing ex-right winger who had a wonderful partnership with George Eastham and had one of the best scoring records of any wearer of the shirt.
@38 haha new extreme
no traditional number nine to no recognised striker
FJ- hes played a lot of that on the wing, fair point and I can see where you are coming from, but he will probably pop up with a few more playing freely.
GV,great mems,len was my hero as a kid,along with the player that hit the post/crossbar more than any one i knew allchurch
FJ i think there is a lot expected of HBA but i think the stats are misleading. I don’t think his main contribution will always be reflected. I’d like to see what this new key passes stat would look like for his career.
He had a few passes in the forest game the split the defence but no assist; like the one to marveaux that set up the first for lovenkrands. Great vision and execution. By being so good on the ball he draws defenders in and creates space for others and the team as a whole more threatening. I don’t think his overall contribution tells when u look at assists. Still, I think he should be given time (and preferably lowered expectations) on his comeback
I am certainly not knocking Ben Arfa, I still find it hard to believe we managed to sign his quality (and Santon).
I just fear that not just the fans, but the club itself, are openly putting almost our entire future for the next four years into his responsibility. It’s like we’re now Ben Arfa FC with supporting assistance.
No player can handle that.
The Kid – I’m at work at the moment so I’ll catch it when I get home. Is it more porn?
I do think Pardew has come out a few too many times saying what a difference he’ll make but it doesn’t seem to be affecting him too much at the moment and he seems to have the self confidence to bear the pressure.
I’d say the letters of support he got when he was injured may help as well in that he knows he’s appreciated which seems important with his history. We’ll see how he handles it and the team if he has a prolonged dip in form anyway; hopefully the rest will chip in.
Agree with this article. Carroll looked better once Ben Arfa was injured.
Obviously a back four with Tiote sitting in front, then how to incorporate, Cabaye the playmaker/goalscorer, alongside Ben Arfa, Marveaux and either Obertan/ Jonas?
For once we have a bit of depth in the midfield, with Gosling designated to fill in for Tiote following too many cards, though doubt if he can fill the role anywhere close to our hard case stopper, see him as more of a Cabaye type player.
That kinda leaves Guthrie out in the cold, but he will get some time no doubt due to injuries, which are inevitable.
As for Sammi & Ferguson, same thing, will have to be patient and hopefully get some time in the latter stages of certain games.
Though Lovenkrands got on the scoreboard against Forest, cant see him getting many starts, same with Shola who is not playing well.
Our best two up front are Ba and Best, or either one playing as a sole striker with five in the midfield.
Personally like the idea of a five man midfield with perhaps Cabaye or Ben Arfa, playing just behind the striker, lotta skills there.
Hoping Ben Arfa can be our new Pedro and Cabaye and our striker get a few goals out of it.
Well we at least have something to look forward to in the way of attractive football.
I think we need to loan or sell a midfielder in January.
Smith is going next summer, but Gosling has taken Guthrie’s role and Sammy Ameobi has shot up, so that’s another place taken on the bench.
I really like Guthrie but I don’t think he is gonna fit in here anymore, despite our alleged future style fitting in a lot more with Guthrie’s play than what we did when he actually got match time.
FJ I too like Guthrie but same here I dont see where he will fit in, he would be better off moving as he will waste away here.
I am a bit old fashioned and think that the No 9 is a real important shirt to us and it needs the right person to fill it, no it doesn’t have to be a big lump of a centre forward either, it just has to be someone that deserves it and will serve it well, and will know what it means.
If it puts to much pressure on the wearer then imo its the wrong person wearing it, top quality players thrive on pressure.
I’d give Hughton a call tonight and say “want Ranger and Guthrie on loan for the season?” and at least try and make up for the demented way we got rid of him.
Hughton’s had a decent start considering his squad consists of Marlon King and 15 teenagers and the old Birmingham squad was entirely sold off.
If they do well in the FA Cup and Europa League on top of the Championship, they have the potential of a near 60 match season, do they not? Insane for such a small squad.
Dave I agree the number nine is full of pride and passion it would encourage the player to play heart and soul for his team even more it carries extra meaning.
I don’t care if its filled by someone who we are unsure of it means that whoever it is gets that pride and honour from wearing the shirt and plays even better.
Of course there is huge pressure but it has huge responsibility. As much as it hurts we haven’t got anyone to fill that but come jan I think we should be buying someone to fill it.
I think i could take on the no.9 shirt, despite being a CB.
Playing up top next week for sixth form like
DAVE i agree real good players thrive on pressure its like a drug they need it to perform to there best trouble is there becomeing a rare breed,but there is still some out there
I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. A lot of people are now saying we don’t need a good striker who could become a no.9. But what happens if the early good start fades away and we find ourselves somewhere around 12th-14th by the end of November? Will everyone still be satisfied that we don’t need to bring in another striker in January? I doubt it and I think aside from another good central defender the most important addition to the club would be a target man. That doesn’t mean we have to “lump” the ball up the field at him. We should continue to play the short passing, control game, but if the last pass is a short cross or pass in the air and it ends up in the back of the net what is wrong with that?
GeordieTwo@56-
I agree. I don’t think the idea of a target man is necessarily obsolete, but the “target” is changing. There’s a big difference between booting the ball up the field as soon as we get it vs. playing nice passing football to set up crosses into the box. That approach would actually give us some versatility – if defenses collapse into the box, you’ve got players like Ben Arfa, Cabaye and Marveaux able to make plays with their footwork; if defenses step out to close them down, a target striker would be able to find room to get free for headers.
GT – short cross or pass in the air
let them give an inch, take a mile
I don’t think anyone would argue that we could do with another striker, but it should be one that improves on what we have. At the moment with best in form of course the need doesnt seem so urgent, whether that’s temporary or semi-permanent we’ll find out by the time we’d be able to do anything about it in January.
So i don’t think anyone would say no to a striker that scores goals but i think the question is more the type of striker that is more likely to get goals as a part of this team. With the way we are expected to play, is that not more likely to be a nimble fast forward to get on the end of through balls and make intelligent runs? It’s not that a big striker can’t be effective but that is less likely to be as much so in this team
STT kna you could never pull a b/w shirt on ever! you bet against your own team,you couldnt be trusted to wear a shirt for real your likely to throw the game for money
GeordieTwo thats easy one for me to answer, we need a top quality striker no matter what.
,
Ice you are spot on I know lately I have been thriveing on pressure when im playing golf
Spence is it not called goal defence in net ball
I would love a young M Owen or Bellamy type striker
I could go upfront!!! ahaha
I agree as well. I think we need a Suarez type of striker, not a Carroll type as Liverpool are finding out. I wonder what they would do now if they had that 35M back? I think Carroll would still be playing for us but hindsight is 20-20. Is Maiga a Suarez type striker? It sounds like he still wants to leave his club and come to us but would he be any better than Best?
How are you up front Zoe? No pun intended of course!
No name we were linked with in the summer would fit the current version of ‘Number 9′ for us.
Only one man could in football at the moment and he was sold for 35 million.
You need a huge buy to fill that shirt and considering we don’t spend over £5 million you can’t buy the quality to fit it.
Just leave it empty until we get some owners with ambition.
DAVE the nearest that you would get is young sturridge,i think he would have grown into the way pardew wants to play
….or give it to Shola.
Hopefully break the power this shirt number seems to sway over people.
How many brilliant number 9′s have we had compared to shite ones anyway?
I think we could bring in a good striker for 12-15 M pounds if the owner is willing. That is not beyond our budget but might be beyond the owner’s ambition. Look at Chicarito for ManU, he didn’t cost anything like that. I think is as good a scout as any so who’s to say our next number 9 is not going to be available at a reasonable price. Sorry for the attempt at humor Zoe, no offense intended! Have a good dig at me. I’ve taken my lumps on here several times and have to admit deserved them as well.
Sorry that should have said our Graham Carr is as good at picking talent as any.
Before my time (thank God) but was Hughie Gallacher a number 9? The famous 3 are Milburn, Super Mac, and Shearer I would think. As far as scoring goals Gallacher could have given any of the others a run for their money. Is there a young Gallacher running around up there in Scotland now and would we be sharp enough to spot him?
Goodwillie is Scotland’s brightest talent. Blackburn did well to snap him up cheaply
Geordie,
David Goodwillie has potential to be the next Scottish goal getter but Blackburn took the punt on him for about £2m. I touted him for a long time, he is a movement based poacher. He has social problems though, he is like a dinky Ranger in that respect.
Gary Hooper would be perfect for the striker Pardew wants, but he plays for Celtic and the Scottish connection instantly makes him woeful in people’s eyes, despite what the numbers say.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Goodwillie FJ. I thought Hooper would have been worth a bid before he went to Celtic as well. I can’t remember what they paid for him but I always thought he had a good eye for goal. Gallacher was a once in a lifetime player, like Shearer and Milburn so we aren’t likely to see someone of their quality in the near future. I hope to be proved wrong though!
Goodwillie won’t thrive at Blackburn with the style of play they have. The only reason they took him is Steve Kean knows the score with his potential.
Celtic signed Hooper for £2.5m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolbeinn_Sig%C3%BE%C3%B3rsson
would be mint…does ajax need money?
£9.7 million. is not that much for this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%27Baye_Niang
I think the view is that most Dutch clubs “need” money, their national league is similar to the Scottish one in that the clubs are quite small (outside the few huge teams) and always need to sell. Only difference being the huge numbers of talent Holland produces.
Ajax just bought him this year though so any team getting him will have to pay top dollar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Salom%C3%B3n_Rond%C3%B3n
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9nero_Zeefuik
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1_Necid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khouma_Babacar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Kadlec
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaya_Sanogo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamadou_Sakho
what do you think?
I’d let ben arfa take it to be fair! See how he gets on till Xmas I’m sure he won’t disappoint in anyway what so ever! Iv watched the lad for a few years! Watching him actually gives me goose bumps. On an average day he’s still unreal an on his day well in my opinion one of the best players iv seen in many years. This lad playing for Newcastle and being fit will be a dream to watch especially teaming up with the lads we have got I think we are in for a particularly good season
Would be great to have a player who scores a lot of goals wearing the shirt, not too sure if it really makes a difference if it’s a target man or a speedy forward.
Anyway, who’s seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJaD8zPcqtY
Stadium filled with women. Pretty cracking atmosphere if you ask me. Great stuff. Well done, turkey!
JJ one of the players you described who wore the number 9 was a quick, mobile powerful striker who we found in the lower leagues ,Imagine a young Malcolm MacDonald plying his trade in Pardew’s team. Please Alan can you get me one for Christmas,I know I will have to wait till January,so i will try to be good.
Anth sounds like you want Benny to get the shirt, but I really dont see him as the goal scoring No 9 type player that lots of fans seem to think he is, well not going by his goal tally in the game anyway.
I think Benny will be the scorer of great goals but not a great goal scorer.
I don’t think there is anyone out there within this “blueprint” that will fit the fan ideal there seems to be of a No9. Keep it vacant or let someone earn it. Mind you, there is always the thinking that giving it to someone could be the making of them ala Carroll.
CSKA’s Doumbia is having another great season not sure how me he is on wages wise though.
What almost be inclined to wait for airey….he was scoring goals for fun in reserves really hope he makes it
Toonsy imo there is 2 types of No9′s for us.
1 A top quality proven striker that you bring in, that would be good enough to wear it, or the shirt might be one of the reasons for him to want to join.
2 Or give it to one of our own players when they prove over the coarse of a season that they are the right fit for the shirt.
I dont think that Best is our answer but have to admit that he is changing my opinion of him, and I would like nothing more than for him to earn the shirt.
Dave – i agree if best finished the season with 20 goals surely he deserves the number 9?
Give the shirt to the mighty Leon….just putting it out there
Lace – Quite a bit I’d imagine. Those Russians throw money about these days. How much is Etoo on?
Toonsy according to ‘reports’ £350,000k a week …. madness
Where he has gone is one of the most poverty stricken parts of russia aswell! Wouldnt want to flash my cash there
We do need a better striker than what we have.
We seem to have a lot of average strikers.
Id give cisse the No 9 shirt in a shot ,
Him or loic remy ( I know ,)
I can dream
well in the last few seasons our strikers have been starved of service from both the midfield and the wings. Exception being carol for half a season with Nolan.
)
I see things changing this season. We seem to have a couple good wingers and a midfield with good technical ability.
What we need now is a forward/striker with the ability to stick the ball in the net.
Have to admit Besty gets into the right place at the right time, but his finishing isn’t great. His confidence must be well up tho, so that should help him.
I wouldn’t give him the No9 just yet tho. Make the forwards fight for the right to wear it, over this season. If any get close to 20 goals then they will have earned it for next. (Unless we then sell them
I can actually see our midfield getting us a lot of penalties this season, so we need a good penalty taker also. (Shola ???)
Oh if besty hit 18 this season id give it to him
Stuart @ 92. There’s nowt wrong with average strikers, if they are prepared to work hard. Our problem tho is the static ones who are lazy, always offside, cant keep posession and have no pace/movement.
You mean like Best?
Lovenkrands does all of what you’re asking but he just doesn’t score goals in the PL.
“Have to admit Besty gets into the right place at the right time, but his finishing isn’t great.”
:S
He puts the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis…Even if he scores a hat-trick tomorrow there will be some that still won’t accept he is a good striker.
Beardsley-you don’t like Best’s finishing? Honestly I think he’s the most natural finisher we have, and coupled with he’s got the best positional sense or sheer luck of being in the right place at the right time.
Moreno. Got some Best stats for you. Hang on…
Sy, was gonna ask you what’s his goals in prem league minutes actually…you being the stat king and all
Best has the highest shots to goals ratio of any player in the Premier League
Only Rooney has a better goals per minute ratio so far this season
Best also has the second highest percentage of shots on target with 86% reaching their desired destination.
All from the Chron yesterday. They also say that Best is in the top 20 Premier League performers so far this season. Yet still nobody gives the lad a break, or if they do they damn him with faint praise
Moreno – Somebody posted them the other day. Hang on…
Haha!
Never has the phrase “There’s proof in the pudding” ever been so relevant.
Any chance we can dig out Best’s total Prem League minutes played (this season and last) / Goals?
I’ll have a look too.
Moreno – Got it.
Never played a full 90 minutes for us. Tital minutes = 996 minutes.
996/9 = 1 goal every 110 minutes.
Got it from a comment someone posted the other day.
____________________________________________
Toonsy,
I posted on another blog this week regarding Best’s stats so I don’t know if this is interesting to you guys but I went through his Premier league minutes based on his 15 appearances.
He has never played a full 90 minutes in any of his 15 appearances. In total he has 996 minutes on the pitch which works out at 11.06 full 90 minute periods so based on that stat his goal ratio is, hypothetically speaking, 9 goals in 11.1 matches if you round it up.
If you also take in to consideration the goals he has had disallowed, and I believe with no bias whatsoever that some of these were incorrectly disallowed, then his ratio should be even better. Possibly nearing one goal a game if luck had gone his way.
True about the dissallowed goals as well. Even with his finishing (which isn’t great) he has hit the back of the net twice more that I can remember which were wrongly chalked off…
A goal a game striker?
So Best has the same goal to game ratio as a certain Mr Owen has for his new wonderful club….according to many Owen is now a certainty for England, and half our fans wouldn’t be happy with Best on the bench. Show’s the deluded nature of both England and ourselves as fans perfectly I think..
Difference being, next week it’s a full year since Owen appeared in the Premier League
OK well in fairness I never actually said Best was crap or owt, but whatever.
I agree that Loverhands does a lot of work/movement, but scores even less.
Stats are great aren’t they.
judging by how the press have been creaming over Owen Hargreaves, I’d say he was a shoe in for England n all
best or airey (sad but, he is not given a chance at hibs…) is our most likely new nr9. if best scores 18 i would give him the shirt. Airey was unstopable in reserves, he should have been given a chance in in first team, he is better than ranger, loverkrands or shola in my eyes.
best is the best we have atm.
Beardsley-Yeah, Hargreaves is/was a great player, but one goal and then into the England squad? Madness.
Saying that, I’d put him in over Lampard right now in a heartbeat.
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