where the goals will come from next season

[Molby]

to win the PL we will need to score more goals, obviously

 

our defence is solid and we have great protection in midfield

 

but it's coming to crunch time now. It's great that we're hopfully signing Torres but if you look at the make up of our midfield, that's where we need to get more goals. I just don't see any other way in which we can make the leap to be able to challenge for the PL unless we get about 50 goals from the strikers, and that's too big an ask - certainly an unrealistic way of setting out your stall

 

last year Man Utd scored 39 Prem goals from midfield

Chelsea got 24

We got 18 - 3 from Garcia who is most likely on his way

 

can anyone see our current midfield improving their aggregate haul? I'm not sure I can

 

and of these 18 goals, we got 5 from wide positions , including Kewell''s last day pen - Ronaldo got 17 goals on his own

 

so if we didn't sign anyone else (and even if we did) I would see Kewell and Gerrard on the wings - if they got 20 between them, I could see us being champions

 

the alternative would be to sign a goalscoring winger and play Kewell in the hole, squad rotation and injuries notwithstanding

[Guest Anders Honoré]

it's one of the reasons I would like to see Gerrard play centrally. We need the extra attacking option in many games. Him, Kewell and someone like Simao would represent a strong goal threat from midfield to supplement the strikers. and to be fair, Xabi gets a fairly decent haul for a holding player.

 

Rafa mentioned he wanted to see someone like Lucas score goals so I guess that's another potential threat from midfield.

Edited July 2, 2007 by Anders Honoré

[Gilps]

it's one of the reasons I would like to see Gerrard play centrally. We need the extra attacking option in many games. Him, Kewell and someone like Simao would represent a strong goal threat from midfield to supplement the strikers. and to be fair, Xabi gets a fairly decent haul for a holding player.

 

THat depends on who we bring in though. Based on last season's squad, playing Gerrard centrally means Pennant at right mid, who is not significantly more of a goal theat than Mascherano/Sissoko.

[surf]

it's one of the reasons I would like to see Gerrard play centrally. We need the extra attacking option in many games. Him, Kewell and someone like Simao would represent a strong goal threat from midfield to supplement the strikers. and to be fair, Xabi gets a fairly decent haul for a holding player.

 

Rafa mentioned he wanted to see someone like Lucas score goals so I guess that's another potential threat from midfield.

 

If Gerrard plays centrally then only one of Alonso, Sissoko, Mascherano and Lucas can play, unless we play with one striker.

 

I'd be happy with Gerrard playing on the right, but we'd need someone like Kewell to be back to his best or a left sided winger that gets a few goals.

[sutty]

Torres, Kuyt and Crouch will each score 20 league goals.

 

They won't though, obviously

[Falconhoof]

We need to get more players forward.

[surf]

yuo can get pennant & sissoko as far forward as you like, they still won't score.

 

slight exaggeration, but it depends on the players as much as anything

[Rich Gobey]

I mis-read the title of this thread as "Where will the goats come from this year"

 

I was thinking "the Zagros Mountains of Iran"

[matty]

3-5-2

 

You have been warned.

[Stevie H]

yuo can get pennant & sissoko as far forward as you like, they still won't score.

 

slight exaggeration, but it depends on the players as much as anything

pennant should be far more of a goal threat than he's proven in the first season.

[Gilps]

pennant should be far more of a goal threat than he's proven in the first season.

 

Nothing in his career so far* to suggest so.

 

* hat trick on debut notwithstanding.

[Falconhoof]

I hope we have a better option than Riise for the left side, then we won't have to rely on Pennant as the only player in our side who can run with the ball. We'd be far harder to defend against with a proper balance of attacking players. Either Tevez through the middle or an attacking left midfielder. At the moment, our link between midfield and attack is too often Kuyt and he's just not up to it.

[Knox_Harrington]

Again, think the players need to improve, or be improved upon, but the mentality, from the start of games, especially away from home, needs to improve as well.

[sutty]

We need to get more players forward.

 

I agree

[anfield]

Time and again we've seen the lack of mobility from our midfield. Ball goes into opponents box, our strikers are there but our midfielders are busy dawdling around their holding position. There is zero support for the forwards which to me explains why so many of them fail here. Signing Torres is not going to solve thsi problem. Its been an issue since the time of Houllier and Benitez doesnt seem to have managed to change that. Playing two defensive midfielders doesnt help either. Neither Masch or Sissoko look like they will ever score and Alonso is not exactly prolific either. We need to focus on playing only one of Masch, Alonso and Sissoko in the center either with Gerrard or with another creative player. And this is regardless of whether we get wingers or not.

[surf]

pennant should be far more of a goal threat than he's proven in the first season.

 

He's scored 1 goal for us in 47 games and 3 for Birmingham in 61 games.

[Bootle Buck]

Tevez! He could be the player we need most. He can go at defences and create his own opportunities. He was scoring for fun at the end of last season.

[fred milne]

Can anyone see our current midfield improving their aggregate haul?

I can.

 

For one thing, I doubt the likes of Pennant, Sissoko and Aurelio will get as many games in midfield next season. (Zenden obviously won't.)

 

Also, Gerrard's goal tally was very disappointing last year - 7 in the league. Surely, with a good summer's rest behind him, he will do better next time out.

 

Alonso got 4 league goals last season and I reckon will get more if he has greater licence to get forward with Mascherano alongside him. (There were encouraging signs of this in the tail end of last season.)

 

Finally, you have to hope that the player to be brought in for LM will know where the goal is. Failing that, Kewell is a decent goal-threat assuming he can stay fit.

[Extraordinary Swindle]

We don't need to sign a 17 goal a season player for midfield in order to win the league. If the team took a more positive attitude on to the pitch in Away fixtures the away form would be better. Also not rotating the starting line-up too much at the start of the season in order to build up a bit of form might help things.

[johngibo YPC]

I suppose i could try and knock in a few

[Stevie H]

He's scored 1 goal for us in 47 games and 3 for Birmingham in 61 games.

that's pisspoor. i'd fine the c***.

[Stevie G]

Its all about our style of play. We hardly commit many players when going forward hence why we are so hard to score against but it also means its harder for us to score. I don't truely believe we have found the right balance between being defensive and attacking.

 

Also, i know its debatable but i just believe that Gerrard should be in the middle. He's our best CM by a mile and should be in the middle with mascherano. Sorry i like Alonso but he's not better than gerrard or mascherano in my opinion as i find him too slow and not strong enough. What is needed is two quality wide players as i don't really rate pennant and we can't guarantee a fit season from kewell either. Gerrard could match fat frank for goals if he played a whole season in the middle with mascherano next to him. Then we would have a good balance because both can tackle and have pace. Plus gerrard can get forward knowing that mascherano can cover him unlike Alonso.

[Herbie von Smalls]

time for aurelio to step up and prove himself to be the set-piece specialist we could do with.

[Guest Kaizer]

Nothing in his career so far* to suggest so.

 

* hat trick on debut notwithstanding.

 

Is right, you should get more than 1 in 52, but sadly his career average is about 1 in 20-25, so I dont think we should get our expectations to high when it comes to Pennants goal return, hoefully he can get about 3-4 in the league, it should be managable.

[josemisuncle]

Is right, you should get more than 1 in 52, but sadly his career average is about 1 in 20-25, so I dont think we should get our expectations to high when it comes to Pennants goal return, hoefully he can get about 3-4 in the league, it should be managable.

Torres, Simao and Gerrard will make up the difference. Torres and Kuyt will score much more than last year.