Strikers

[Elgindon]

 

Lets assume we dont get anyone else in til January.How do we get more out of what weve got....

 

 

 

Rooney -  Is it a loss of form/confidence with him,or,are we playing a different way that doesnt suit him,eg was it a 4-4-2(am no tactics expert) we were playing in DMs early days.Great positioning and anticipation in this clip,surely a way we can  get that back somehow? 

 

Stockley - Am no fan,but he wasnt that bad with ball at feet bringing others into play when he first cam here.Unfortunately he seems to become someone the others lump the ball up to(whether instinctively, or told to)but its grim to watch,and a header on target every 4 games is a poor return for that strategy.Think if we could try and involve him more in the game in other ways,it might brighten up his ideas a bit?

 

Maynard - Not sure yet about this guy.A goal might set him off.Just lacking a bit of aggresion to his play so far.

 

 

    Any other ideas?

[Reidzer 1314]

Give Storey a run of games, there is definitely a player in there and his running and pace up top could be the type of thing we need at the moment.

 

Stockley should be shipped out ASAP.

[manc_don]

Give Storey a run of games, there is definitely a player in there and his running and pace up top could be the type of thing we need at the moment.

 

Stockley should be shipped out ASAP.

 

Absolutely agree with this, but I think we need to push the boat out on Moult.  Fannying about has cost us potential trophies / places before and with both hibs and the huns strengthening it's worth taking that punt.  I like the look of Maynard, but he's off pace and you can see why he hasn't scored many goals of late.  Probably why it's only a one year deal he's on.  Get stockley out as an absolute minimum.

[RicoS321]

Give Storey a run of games, there is definitely a player in there and his running and pace up top could be the type of thing we need at the moment.

 

There definitely isn't a player in there. He lacks basic football skills. I'm not sure why everyone can't see this. Just after he scored, he was through in a similar position and he just didn't know what to do so he passed it directly to the opposition. He's basically a shitter version of Mackie, or Magennis, or any other guy we've had over the years. He's Dougie Imrie of Hamilton, shite but fit. Rocky Fister, Martin Waghorn anyone of that ilk. Ten a penny.

 

That said, Maynard (so far) appears to be masquerading as a non-rapey David Goodwillie*. A guy who's past transfer fees are holding him above the drop zone of semi-professional fitba. He's Josh Parker without the Come Dine With Me fame. A striking version of Jeffrey Monakana. 2017's Mo Chalali.

 

Stockley is a fucking horses arse. Can only header the ball in the direction he's facing. Slower than Alan Tait with the touch of Ash Taylor. His jumping coach is Nigel Pepper.

 

All three need to be ditched before the end of the window**, with a proper striker brought in instead if we're serious about finishing second. The hun didn't look like world beaters against Motherwell, but they've got enough about them to beat the other teams. I don't think Hibs have the squad to finish top 3 but they will be taking points off us and the hun this season. If we dick about with these 3 tits, we'll drop points.

 

Of the 3, I'd go Storey tomorrow night. Simply because he scored a goal and will tank about the place. On at least one occasion he'll fail to control a simple ball and kick it out of play.

 

 

*I don't mean he's rapey, I mean he's of the same footballing quality.

 

**Or choose one to keep just for posterity. The nicest one to have about the place. Get Derek Young to choose - he kens.

[Nips_and_Tatties]

I guess you could use the old cliche towards Tons of strikers we have had that there's a player in there.

 

I've hoped that many have come good and although not shite, didn't get enough goals over the years.

 

Just shows you how hard a job that is to find one eh.

 

Having said that...I agree that Storey is decent.he tries very hard, has tons of pace and skill and I think he will be very effective for us this season.

 

I also believe that with Maynard.if you watch him, he has a sniff for the goals..he has the technique and ability shown against Hamilton with his snap shot from the edge of the box.i like this guy.

 

Stockley has potential and lays the ball off well enough but I'd put the others before him.hes had his chances and just not produced the goods.

 

Rooney may come back from injury to some of his old best.i really hope so.

 

 

We need a striker to start scoring I agree, but the midfield is doing a superb job and doing the strikers jobs for now.

 

i think we just have to put faith in Maynard and Storey for now. Let them keep plodding away.

 

I would play both of them for the next few games.

 

Wright, Christie and GMS must start from now on with Shinnie. Drop McLean from the start.let him come on after 70 mins.

 

Logan OConnor Arnie and Conso as back 4.

 

4-4-2

 

 

 

 

[Ten Caat]

Sad to say but I think we have seen Rooney's best days. He is collecting ever more frequent injuries and really offers nothing other than tap in goals. On days when we are up against it.....0-0 away from home and the home team are playing better than us he is effectively like us playing with 10 men.

 

Stockley I liked when he first came in. Offered a different option, especially in situations like that mentioned above but his flying elbows mean hes a a red card in waiting every time he takes to the field. He tries his heart out but just isn't very good and slower than a wet weekend in Lochgelly.

 

Storey....seen so little of him that it's difficult to assess him other than we know he has electric pace, but seems to have the touch of a kangaroo wearing high heels. And there will always be "that" miss...

 

Maynard....Early days yet but his recent history elsewhere doesn't inspire confidence. Does seem to link up play better than any of the other 3, but needs to get a goal soon....for his confidence and it's what strikers are paid to anyway.

 

I think we really do need to get Moult and May in asap. However I think if we get one of them in during this window we will be doing well. I'd prioritise Moult in that instance and try to ship Stockley out, paying up his contract if necessary. Should miracles happen and we get May in too then Storey can follow. I think because of his genuine pace alone there will be clubs out there happy to take over his contract, maybe even pay a nominal fee.

 

If we get nobody in......we should score enough to keep us top 4 but I wouldnt bet against sevco and Hibs finishing above us 

[SeeBass]

Does anybody aspire to the notion that with Hayes and McGinn now gone Rooney will miss his two buddies more than we think and maybe seek a move away himself??  I heard locally when up at weekend Hibernian was his next destination. 

[DollyLongstaffe]

Sadly I think Rooney is in decline.  He's always been a player whose scoring record justified a limited contribution elsewhere, but even that contribution has diminished significantly as he looks physically more sluggish.  His haul of 21 goals last year looks good on the surface,  but his goals per game stat is well down on previous seasons, and if you dig into it it starts to look even less good.  52 appearances, a number of goals from pens, goals clustered in easy wins against lesser opposition (and 3 in the the Motherwell rout).  In his final 17 games last season he scored 4 times.  His scoring return would still have been respectable for a player making a good contribution elsewhere on the park, but for a guy who does so little else 4 goals in 17 makes him look like a luxury we can't afford.

 

I also think we pay the price for our one up front policy.  With 4 strikers at the club that's 3 getting very little game time, and confidence is bound to be affected.  Stockley and Storey both look well short of confidence.  I doubt Stockley will ever score enough to be a first pick, and although I think Storey is a much better player than a lot of our fans give him credit for, he's better suited to a more counter-attacking team.  I wouldn't be surprised if he resurrects his career at a lesser SPL club where he gets more chance to exploit his pace on the counter.

 

Maynard just looks a huge gamble.  He's shown in flashes he's an intelligent player with ability, but he's another guy who looks like his confidence is completely shot.  He's reminding me a bit of Goodwillie, a class above most SPL players in terms of talent but buried under a shitload of self-doubt.  He could come good, but I don't think we can rely on it.

 

We desperately need one proven striker and if possible to offload one or two and bring in a second.

[Elgindon]

  Would love to see us drop our striker and allow Christie,GMS et al to do their own thing (as mentioned elsewhere).Ie instead of Rooney/Stockley bring in eg Stewart alongside Wright,Christie,GMS etc

They all know the route to goal anyway,plus they have so much more in their locker for getting thru defences,and(based on nothing)get the impression they would be more likely to 'click' as a unit

[KennyFuckinPowers]

I have defended Stockley on here previously, and I can certainly understand his presence in and around the team for what he brings, or what he's supposed to bring, but sadly, he's not delivered. He's bizarrely a liability due to his elbows, deliberate or not. So he needs moving on.

 

Rooney is still Rooney, and what some are saying now is what some have been saying for a long time, the guy is our main threat in the box, no question, but he does very little else. He has no pace, his aerial prowess is non-existent and he's fairly abysmal at holding the ball up. Just facts there, not putting him down, because he's still a key player is sluggish games.

 

Storey is extremely curious, I can't believe some have written him off despite the guy barely featuring. Albeit the manager sees him in training every day, but we all know McInnes is quite stubborn when it comes to changing one of his favourites, and in this case, that's Rooney. Storey is entirely different to anything we have in that he's pacey, clever and proved he can score whilst at Caley Thistle. Needs more of a chance before I would completely write him off.

 

Maynard is a new arrival and I am making no comment until he's been given an opportunity.

 

The kid Connor McLennan for the Under's seems to have the desired physique and he's certainly pretty quick, he could be the next Scott Wright in terms of featuring sporadically for the first team.

 

Adam Rooney,  Miles Storey, Nicky Maynard & Connor McLennan would be a decent pool to call upon considering we play 1 striker. Cheerio to Stockley.

[BobbyBiscuit]

we all know McInnes is quite stubborn when it comes to changing one of his favourites, and in this case, that's Rooney.

 

Is he though? Every season McInnes has tried to replace him/provide competition for him, and every season it has been clear that the person brought in to do that hasn't been up to it.

 

Rooney looked sluggish last year, which I thought at first may have been due to the injury he suffered in February 2016. I hope he gets his sharpness back, he scores goals for us. Last year was disappointing by his own high standards, but even then, I wouldn't have thought any of the other strikers at Pittodrie right now, or any of them who have been in to challenge him over the last few years, would have scored as many as he did last season - penalties or not.

 

I think Rooney has been a good enough player for us to show him a bit of loyalty and patience.

[RicoS321]

Here's our strikers since McInnes came (and inherited):

 

Maynard,Stockley,Storey,Church,Goodwillie,Parker,Zola,Vernon,Magennis,Burns,McGinn,Smith,Fallon(?)

 

He inherited Vernon and Magennis (and ditched Fallon sharpish, so let's ignore him). Smith can probably be ignored as he didn't feature as striker often, neither Burns or McGinn

 

Ever since that point, he's been trying to replace them two. Vernon was a finisher and Rooney immediately replaced him. Magennis was a battering ram who was decent in the air and fast. If we were to categorise them:

 

Strikers only: Rooney, Vernon, Church

 

Target men: Stockley, Zola, Magennis

 

Quick or creative men: Maynard, Goodwillie, Parker, Storey

 

Of that list, Rooney is the only stand out. Of those he inherited, Magennis and Vernon probably sit above any of those that have come after. Magennis is better than either Zola or Stockley. Vernon would have had a better return than any of the others and been more useful generally, probably.

 

It shows us a couple of things. First is that the vast majority of our striker signings have been punts. We're operating in a market where we expect a high turnover of players for that role due to them not necessarily featuring every week and thus we budget for that role accordingly. Second is that we're not generating the youth challenge that we should be in this role. We should be looking to produce youth strikers at least as good as Storey, Parker, Zola etc. However it could be that we're just not giving our youngsters opportunity because we feel like we need to give these guys a chance. 

 

Overall, the signing policy for this role isn't working. We're taking punts on players that we're hoping we can fashion something out of. It's having a detrimental effect on youth (would anyone argue that giving Smith more game time than Parker, or Shankland more time than Goodwillie/Zola - even Stockley - would have had a huge effect on results?). It's also having an effect on each player that gets signed. We're experiencing that now with Storey and Maynard. Maynard is being given game time because Storey has already been deemed surplus to requirements. Each year, or half year, we're having to try to force a player who isn't good enough into some sort of form or role in the team. Repeatedly. Something has to change. We either give that same opportunity to a youngster (let's say McLennan) in order that we benefit long term (or not), or we up our budget, pool our resources and put some weight behind the importance of that position - for example, ditch Stockley and Storey (and Maynard in Jan) and get in Moult or another. Plodding along hoping we might get lucky doesn't suit McInnes' recruitment style or ability.

[SeeBass]

Totally agree with you Rico.  Lack of youth players in any position progressing into First Team last ten to fifteen years has been nothing short of embarrassing.

[Elgindon]

Blimey,hope its not a hoax.4 year deal ?   https://www.pnefc.net/news/2017/august/stevie-may-joins-aberdeen-on-permanent-deal/

[KennyFuckinPowers]

Here's one for you all.

 

We all know now that we play with one striker, and with Stevie May here now, looking hungry and keen to impress, does this spell the end of Adam Rooney as our main front man?

 

Will be very interesting to see how this transpires over the course of the season. Rooney has scored 20+ goals consecutively for the last 2-3 seasons and won't, in my opinion, accept sitting on the bench.

 

I have maintained in any discussion I have entered that whilst Rooney has several flaws, he's still our main goal threat and has won us points and progressed us into next rounds of cups with his goals.

 

What's your thoughts? Will May be the main striker this season? Is Stockley still here in case Rooney moves on, knowing he's going to be second fiddle? Am I over thinking this? ( Please don't answer that last one  )

[rocket_scientist]

Great question.

 

Rooney, fuck off. You're useless.

[LA-Don]

Rooney scored goals cos he got a shit load of chances, plus he also scored penalties. People tend to forget that he missed way more than he scored. I think his numbers are as much credit to Hayes, McGinn, and co for setting him up. Don't recall him ever scoring a goal like the one May scored yesterday and I think in May we've got a guy who'll score the Rooney goals and more. If he did score such goals, it didn't happen too often.

 

Rooney is a poacher, he did well for us. Now we've upgraded. I'd keep him as back up for now, plus I'd keep fans favorite Stockley. He's a big physical fucker than can come in handy sometimes. The odd man out for me is Maynard, he's yet to prove he can do more than Rooney. If he does then I'd punt Rooney.

 

Rooney banged in the goals for us but no bigger club came in for him because he's limited. If he moves it will only be to a lesser club, maybe a Hibs or Hearts, which is why he may be happy with a role off the bench.

[MálagaSheep]

A very good situation to be in for a change, a choice of Strikers!

 

Am more worried about our slow, ageing, piss poor defence!  Thank fuck for Joe Lewis. Who was brought in for his cover?

[BigAl]

A very good situation to be in for a change, a choice of Strikers!

 

Am more worried about our slow, ageing, piss poor defence!  Thank fuck for Joe Lewis. Who

was brought in for his cover?

 

Danny Rodgers

[donsdaft]

Moult still to come in before the end of the month.

 

Rooney and Stockley to go.

 

 

 

 

 

Rooney has done us a great service, doesn't deserve any slagging.

He'll definitely score against us if he stays in Scotland.

[Nips_and_Tatties]

Great question.

 

Rooney, fuck off. You're useless.

 

Troll

[manc_don]

Here's one for you all.

 

We all know now that we play with one striker, and with Stevie May here now, looking hungry and keen to impress, does this spell the end of Adam Rooney as our main front man?

 

Will be very interesting to see how this transpires over the course of the season. Rooney has scored 20+ goals consecutively for the last 2-3 seasons and won't, in my opinion, accept sitting on the bench.

 

I have maintained in any discussion I have entered that whilst Rooney has several flaws, he's still our main goal threat and has won us points and progressed us into next rounds of cups with his goals.

 

What's your thoughts? Will May be the main striker this season? Is Stockley still here in case Rooney moves on, knowing he's going to be second fiddle? Am I over thinking this? ( Please don't answer that last one  )

 

I think this must be the first season that DM has a viable option B.  Whether he chooses to use it correctly remains to be seen, but the options are there to completely change the way the team can play.  I'd like to see us keep Rooney but as you say, it does make the Maynard signing all the more perplexing and can't see us playing two up front unless he punts Rooney on the wing, which we know, doesn't work.  Is Stockley really a fans favourite?!? I can't see anything in his style of play or ability that makes me think he adds anything positively.  I know he scored a peach against Partick last season, but he misses a hell of a lot of chances, if he's even there in the first place! 

[ayrshire_don74]

May looks like a huge improvement on Rooney, his goals on Saturday were top quality , Rooney does not have that in his locker. The header was very good.  However Rooney should be able to do a job v bottom 6 fodder, I would punt Stockley

[RicoS321]

Maynard is gash and shouldn't have been signed. I suspect it was a stop gap in case we didn't get in another striker. Would like to see him moved on as he's taking up game time that would be better served for others (Wright should have been on way before him at the weekend for example).

 

Rooney will be here for as long as is required. Two good strikers fighting for one position is fine. Punt Stockley and promote youth. Given May's injury record over the last couple of seasons, I'd expect to see lots of Rooney this season. Unfortunately, I think McInnes will continue with the Rooney wide left shite for some time to come as he tries to keep him happy and fit with some game time.

[Nips_and_Tatties]

It's time the other strikers started scoring goals as they're supposed to.

 

It's good they hold up the ball...make layoffs blah blah but ffs start scoring.

 

This is where May has done more in 1 game than the other strikers in about 20.

 

He has everything we need.

 

 

 

I like Maynard, I think he WILL score and be an asset.

 

I think Rooney and Stockley will feel a bit jealous by May's arrival.