Striker required
But is that it?
Another decent result to keep our unbeaten start going, but the weakness is clear.
Striker required…
It was a classic game of two halves on Saturday, with Burnley pretty poor before the break and much better afterwards, but it was fairly obvious where the team is lacking.
While Ashley Barnes has technically created both of the goals we have scored so far, his brace of (accidental!) assists are just about the sum total of his contribution.
I have nothing against Barnes in particular - though he seemed to get off with his drink-driving charge last year very lightly - but we know what we will get from him.
His build-up play is OK, he will win some cheap fouls and he puts a good shift in. Barnes isn’t going to score goals regularly. In the past decade, he has managed double figures in the league just once. At 32, it is asking a lot for him to do it again.
He had three shots on Saturday, with none on target, including missing the late sitter that would likely have given us the win. Barnes also had the most unsuccessful touches of anyone on the pitch at four and his 70% passing accuracy was our lowest.
Barnes is a poor fit for Vincent Kompany’s attack and he isn’t going to develop his game enough to change that. With so much pace and fluid movement around the midfield having a slow, static striker up front just sticks out like a sore thumb.
Jay Rodriguez looks a better fit on paper. Jay’s movement is better than Barnes’, he is better in the air and his hold-up play is a level above too. But Jay has some of the same weaknesses, namely a lack of pace which will be exposed on a regular basis.
Kompany spoke after the game about working on more signings - it is now 10 new arrivals at the last count, we are out of fingers and thumbs - and a striker must be right at the top of his list. After a deal for Jackson Muleka fell through it has all gone a little quiet on the striker hunt, but two games with large periods of possession but only two goals to show for it should sharpen the intensity of our chase this week.
If we don’t bring in a new striker before Friday, or if Rodriguez or Scott Twine are not ready to play, I would be tempted to try Dara Costelloe down the middle at Watford.
Costelloe has taken up a wide position as the second striker in both matches so far, making a positive impression in each game with a good first touch and decent pace.
His movement looks really impressive for a young player and he would pose more threat in behind than Barnes, though the way he snatched at his chances against Huddersfield suggests he lacks a bit of composure in front of goal, which is expected. He also should have attacked the excellent cross Manuel Benson delivered not long after he came on, if I’m being really picky, but that instinct will come with time too.
The faith Kompany has put in youth so far is worthy of praise, but Costelloe has earned even more confidence from the Burnley boss after a couple of strong showings.
Nevertheless, a new striker has to be a must. It’s easy to say we need a striker who ‘guarantees’ at least 15-20 league goals, but they are not easy to find - or afford. That’s not to say it is impossible. Sunderland plucked a young lad on loan this week, Ellis Simms, and he scored twice on his debut to help them earn a win away at Bristol City.
At the moment, a new quick striker who knows how to score is the missing piece.
…But is that it?
A lot of the post-match reaction has seemed to focus on what we still need to do in the transfer market, especially as Kompany has made it clear we are far from finished.
I’m not sure we need to sign many more, though. In fact, if we get the right striker in I think I would be pretty happy. After all, 11 new signings would be an entire new team.
Kompany’s stated aim of having two good players for every position is already close. A few of the new lads he has signed, such as Vitinho and CJ Egan-Riley, are capable of covering a few different positions, which makes them ideal to have on the bench.
Our lack of depth has been exposed in the two games so far with Kompany short of options to change things, but to be fair we had four players injured at the weekend and Matt Lowton was suspended. Being without five players will stretch any team.
Even in attack, where a new signing is a priority, we have Twine and Rodriguez yet to feature this season and, while it might be a big if, if Johann Gudmundsson can get fit he looks to be a strong option in one of the attacking midfield roles in the VK system. Benson looked sharp on debut against Luton and will presumably be a regular starter.
VK has said new signings need to improve the XI, so someone like Samuel Bastien could be vulnerable to losing his place. Bastien is perhaps more suited to one of the defensive midfield roles, but I wouldn’t be changing the Jack Cork-Josh Cullen axis.
A ‘strongest’ XI might look something like this: Muric; Roberts, Taylor x2, Maatsen; Cullen, Cork, Brownhill, Benson; Twine, NEW. That leaves a few good options on the bench: Bastien, Vitinho, Rodriguez, Barnes, Costelloe and so on. The big picture is the injured lads will be back, hopefully before too long - we can’t forget them.
We now have 23 outfield players, which includes some who need a loan like Bobby Thomas and others like Adam Phillips and Kevin Long who likely won’t feature much.
But with a shorter bench than in the Premier League with only seven substitutes allowed to be named not nine, more new signings would mean a few players sitting games out entirely when everyone is fit. We could be left with some spare parts. It’s fair to say squad depth is important with five subs allowed to be used and a lot of games packed into a short schedule due to the break for the World Cup, but there is a balance to be struck. We don’t want to have too many players who aren’t contributing.
I don’t think it sends the right message if, for example, we were to sign yet another centre-back and then perhaps Luke McNally, who cost us £2 million remember, may not even make the squad. I’m not fully convinced by the two Taylors yet but we have enough centre-backs to pick from. It’s just finding the right pair. Rumours of Sepp van den Berg joining on loan from Liverpool would leave us with him, THB, McNally, Thomas and Long at centre-back, plus CJER and Charlie Taylor. It’s too many.
There ought to be money to spend after Maxwel Cornet’s sale to West Ham, but we should resist the temptation to embark on a mad trolley dash with the proceeds. One top striker, of a similar profile to when we bought Andre Gray the last time we were in the Championship, would have a transformational impact on Kompany’s young side.
Letters
Mark got in touch after the Luton game with his views on the match:
It was a good day possession-wise but to concede so early a bad goal due to schoolboy defending, I thought Kompany was meant to be a defender, well he needs to sort out the errors. Second half was better, not Brownhill’s greatest fan but what a strike and goal, have watched it a number of times. We have some positive things to come out of the game, Maatsen looks a class player. The midfield are doing well and look solid with Cork being captain.
But we need a striker desperately to convert our chances we’re making: Barnes isn't good enough - we won't win the league or get in the play-offs with Barnes. We need some who's hungry and can get 15 to 20 goals a season. I don't understand how Kompany can say we don't need one when us fans clearly know we do. I'm not his biggest fan and will make my mind up about him at Christmas, but he'd better pull his finger out and sign a front man.
Kompany isn’t wholly responsible for our transfers I would guess, though deals like Benson and Cullen certainly suggest a high input. I’d take his comments with a pinch of salt to be honest, he isn’t going to come out and say ‘yes Barnes is rubbish and we need a new striker’ for plenty of good reasons. But I am fairly sure we will sign one!