The Conundrum

[Gruff]

Seeing lots of post on here about the benefits that a proven goalscorer (or two) will bring to the Stags promotion challenge next season. How brilliant our midfield is at creating and scoring chances, and how if we had finishers better than Bowery, Reid and Sinclair we would almost be unstoppable.

The conundrum, as I see it, is that the strikers we currently have play in a style that release the midfield and allow them to shine, so would a different type of striker upset the balance we currently have? We probably need to have players like our current strikers, who are willing o run the lines, close down, create space... but also have a bit more of the killer instinct in front of goal to keep that balance.

This is where the proven goalscorers like Maynard & Cook don't fit in (IMHO), but we've seen the benefit of the control\composure of Bowery and the pace\skill of Sinclair. So, forget the 30+ goals a season dreams, I would suspect a purchase of a Danny Rose style striker to try to keep the current balance, and not lose the impact of the midfield.

I'm pretty sure Cloughie knows what he's doing, so any uninspiring signing he makes this Summer is absolutely fine by me

[Cleveland_Stag]

Seeing lots of post on here about the benefits that a proven goalscorer (or two) will bring to the Stags promotion challenge next season. How brilliant our midfield is at creating and scoring chances, and how if we had finishers better than Bowery, Reid and Sinclair we would almost be unstoppable.

The conundrum, as I see it, is that the strikers we currently have play in a style that release the midfield and allow them to shine, so would a different type of striker upset the balance we currently have? We probably need to have players like our current strikers, who are willing o run the lines, close down, create space... but also have a bit more of the killer instinct in front of goal to keep that balance.

This is where the proven goalscorers like Maynard & Cook don't fit in (IMHO), but we've seen the benefit of the control\composure of Bowery and the pace\skill of Sinclair. So, forget the 30+ goals a season dreams, I would suspect a purchase of a Danny Rose style striker to try to keep the current balance, and not lose the impact of the midfield.

I'm pretty sure Cloughie knows what he's doing, so any uninspiring signing he makes this Summer is absolutely fine by me

I’m sure we can sign a striker or two with a good goal scoring record who also works hard and runs the channels - the two things aren’t mutually exclusive just because Cook and Maynard themselves weren’t tireless runners.

[natfromboza]

Seeing lots of post on here about the benefits that a proven goalscorer (or two) will bring to the Stags promotion challenge next season. How brilliant our midfield is at creating and scoring chances, and how if we had finishers better than Bowery, Reid and Sinclair we would almost be unstoppable.

The conundrum, as I see it, is that the strikers we currently have play in a style that release the midfield and allow them to shine, so would a different type of striker upset the balance we currently have? We probably need to have players like our current strikers, who are willing o run the lines, close down, create space... but also have a bit more of the killer instinct in front of goal to keep that balance.

This is where the proven goalscorers like Maynard & Cook don't fit in (IMHO), but we've seen the benefit of the control\composure of Bowery and the pace\skill of Sinclair. So, forget the 30+ goals a season dreams, I would suspect a purchase of a Danny Rose style striker to try to keep the current balance, and not lose the impact of the midfield.

I'm pretty sure Cloughie knows what he's doing, so any uninspiring signing he makes this Summer is absolutely fine by me

I’m sure we can sign a striker or two with a good goal scoring record who also works hard and runs the channels - the two things aren’t mutually exclusive just because Cook and Maynard themselves weren’t tireless runners.

A perfect example would be Matt Green in his prime. He ran the channels and scored plenty so it can be done.

[Richard Cranium]

If we had a striker scoring 20 this season we'd be top half

[part time pete]

Why do we need an individual goal scorer. Cheltenham have just won the league and their top goal scorer has just scored 8 (eight) league goals.

[old ram stag]

Why do we need an individual goal scorer. Cheltenham have just won the league and their top goal scorer has just scored 8 (eight) league goals.

Because we miss alot of chances and have been bottom half all season, read doesn't offer enough in the build up play to justify his goal return, so if just he as an example was replaced with a goal scorer, then that can only be a good thing.

[BH_Stag]

Why do we need an individual goal scorer. Cheltenham have just won the league and their top goal scorer has just scored 8 (eight) league goals.

I’d say because we’ve just had 2 strikers that have got around 8-12 a piece and we’ve just finished 16th and been bottom half all season. We all know the midfield is great and won’t be changed much (if at all) before next season, so something has to change going forward and it has to be to get some more potent strikers.

To be fair to us, we haven’t had much of an issue scoring recently but we’ve creating 10 good chances and scoring 3 and Clough has said we don’t kill games off early enough so we just need the players in to drop that ratio a bit and be more clinical in the games where we might only get 2 or 3 chances.

I think Bowery and Sinclair offer something and will have a part to play, but we need some more natural finishers bringing in. I’m sure the midfielders can’t wait for us to up the quality in those areas - I certainly can’t!

[grufti]

Akins and Cole here next season?

[bear 73]

Clough has no problem with a midfield player being our top scorer, on sat we had 1 full back and 1 midfielder score in a 3-0 win, our centre forward could have been very well marked,
but they conceded 3 goals and lost, This concept of a 20 goal plus striker is not valid, it is a team game and who scores is not relevant, Bowery is a formidable force runs the line well
and is our first line of defence, Did Mansfield not have a good strike force in Cook and maynard looked good on paper, But Bowery and Reid brought the bacon home.
A comfortable 16th a reduced budget, and time for the club to focus on moving forward

[PaulG]

It is a conundrum. We've scored as many or more goals this season than half the teams above us, and that's after having got off to a shockingly bad start. In my view, Bowery's contribution has been immense, and I see him as a starter next season. Reid may turn into a decent striker, but it's his shortcomings (in his first season at a higher level) that meant we drew matches we might otherwise have won. Replace him with someone slightly more assured in front of goal, and we'd be ok. Bring in too many forwards, and you've got to start dropping people. I appreciate that, these days, it's a squad rather than a team, but there's no need to create avoidable problems. All we need is a Chris Greenacre. It's in defence that we need reinforcements.

[BH_Stag]

Clough has no problem with a midfield player being our top scorer, on sat we had 1 full back and 1 midfielder score in a 3-0 win, our centre forward could have been very well marked,
but they conceded 3 goals and lost, This concept of a 20 goal plus striker is not valid, it is a team game and who scores is not relevant, Bowery is a formidable force runs the line well
and is our first line of defence, Did Mansfield not have a good strike force in Cook and maynard looked good on paper, But Bowery and Reid brought the bacon home.
A comfortable 16th a reduced budget, and time for the club to focus on moving forward

No denying there’s more than 1 way to get promoted and of course it’s important to have a team that can score goals rather than just a striker, but it’s also undeniable that we need better finishers at the club. Thankfully Clough knows this and has acknowledged it on a few occasions.

Maynard and Cook didn’t fit in with Cloughs plans simply because they’re not mobile enough. They’re both comfortably better finishers than Bowery and Reid. But as has been mentioned, being mobile and being a decent finisher aren’t mutually exclusive so our challenge is to find somebody that fits the bill. It would help us massively.

[bear 73]

Akins and Cole here next season?

Akins is not a striker more of a winger full back, and do not jump the gun Burton will do every thing in their power to keep him, been there since 2014
A club legend on every fans post a player to keep, at 32 looking for a good contract, and maybe a coaching role with the brewers.
J_F_H has been known to fly if a better offer comes in,, Ben Robinson into his 70s, and his Daughter moved onto Wrexham as
C_E_O
Clough has full respect and highly rates him as a player, him and Bowery would upset many a defender with their tireless running .
This is something only Clough has a chance of pulling off, like January dont hold your breath

[Tippy Tappy Football]

Why do we need an individual goal scorer. Cheltenham have just won the league and their top goal scorer has just scored 8 (eight) league goals.

They have probably scored more from Ben Tozer's long throws!!

[Spiritater]

Akins and Cole here next season?

Akins is not a striker more of a winger full back, and do not jump the gun Burton will do every thing in their power to keep him, been there since 2014
A club legend on every fans post a player to keep, at 32 looking for a good contract, and maybe a coaching role with the brewers.
J_F_H has been known to fly if a better offer comes in,, Ben Robinson into his 70s, and his Daughter moved onto Wrexham as
C_E_O
Clough has full respect and highly rates him as a player, him and Bowery would upset many a defender with their tireless running .
This is something only Clough has a chance of pulling off, like January dont hold your breath

Who's Ben Robinson and what's his daugther going to Wrexham got to do with the thrust of Gruff's thread ?

[ParisStag]

Clough doesn't care about '20 goal strikers', he wants a team of hard workers who fit together. His Burton side won promotion from League 2 with 3 players joint top-scorer, on 12 goals.

Sure, it'd be nice to have strikers that finish better than Reid and Bowery, but the link up play, pressing and chasing balls that those two put in is more valuable. Any new striker will have to do all of that to fit into a Clough team.

[Parkinsons Perm]

Clough doesn't care about '20 goal strikers', he wants a team of hard workers who fit together. His Burton side won promotion from League 2 with 3 players joint top-scorer, on 12 goals.

Sure, it'd be nice to have strikers that finish better than Reid and Bowery, but the link up play, pressing and chasing balls that those two put in is more valuable. Any new striker will have to do all of that to fit into a Clough team.

Bloody hell, let's stick with them two then and hope the midfielders don't have a dry spell

[part time pete]

The two teams that have over achieved massively in the xG charts are Cambridge and Leyton Orient.

Both have had a brilliant goal scorer in Paul Mullin and Danny Johnson.

[Tippy Tappy Football]

Danny Johnson has only scored 3 goals since 2nd January. Two of those were against the Stags.

[ParisStag]

Clough doesn't care about '20 goal strikers', he wants a team of hard workers who fit together. His Burton side won promotion from League 2 with 3 players joint top-scorer, on 12 goals.

Sure, it'd be nice to have strikers that finish better than Reid and Bowery, but the link up play, pressing and chasing balls that those two put in is more valuable. Any new striker will have to do all of that to fit into a Clough team.

Bloody hell, let's stick with them two then and hope the midfielders don't have a dry spell

Not what I said is it?

I said it would be nice to get better finishers, but Cloughie won't sign anyone who can't do all the running too.

[Gruff]

Like I said, it's going to be very interesting... and the hype around a "big name" striker that some are calling for may well leave some supporters feeling rather subdued during the Summer transfer window, but then again, I may be wrong.

Tick-tock, Cloughie...

[bux46]

I M H O ...Danny Rose would fit into our side in an instant

[Cleveland_Stag]

I M H O ...Danny Rose would fit into our side in an instant

Isn’t he just another hard working striker who doesn’t score enough goals, like what we’ve already got?

Rose has scored 22 goals in 123 games over his last three seasons - 1 goal every 5 and a half games.

He’s also devoid of pace and doesn’t hold the ball up well, attributes you’d be looking for from a striker who doesn’t score many.

I know Clough wants hard working strikers but we can do better.

[bear 73]

Akins and Cole here next season?

Akins is not a striker more of a winger full back, and do not jump the gun Burton will do every thing in their power to keep him, been there since 2014
A club legend on every fans post a player to keep, at 32 looking for a good contract, and maybe a coaching role with the brewers.
J_F_H has been known to fly if a better offer comes in,, Ben Robinson into his 70s, and his Daughter moved onto Wrexham as
C_E_O
Clough has full respect and highly rates him as a player, him and Bowery would upset many a defender with their tireless running .
This is something only Clough has a chance of pulling off, like January dont hold your breath

Who's Ben Robinson and what's his daugther going to Wrexham got to do with the thrust of Gruff's thread ?

Ben Robinson is the Chairman of Burton Albion Fc since 1975 and gave Clough the job of player manager in 1998. And his daughter Fleur Robinson who has developed Burton with her dad and was expected to become Burton Albion.. Chairman when her dad retired.
I was just looking into the changes at Burton, Fleur leaving, Ben now into his 70s, reflecting what might give Akins reasons to jump ship.
Edwards Players player of the season==fans player of the season, not signing a new contract, looking at his options, another plus perhaps in our attempt to sign Akins.

[diablo]

Clough has no problem with a midfield player being our top scorer, on sat we had 1 full back and 1 midfielder score in a 3-0 win, our centre forward could have been very well marked,
but they conceded 3 goals and lost, This concept of a 20 goal plus striker is not valid, it is a team game and who scores is not relevant, Bowery is a formidable force runs the line well
and is our first line of defence, Did Mansfield not have a good strike force in Cook and maynard looked good on paper, But Bowery and Reid brought the bacon home.
A comfortable 16th a reduced budget, and time for the club to focus on moving forward

Reid is not the answer , Sinclair is far far better than Reid..unfortunately Reid is non League at best..Sinclair will play at a higher level possibly Championship

[Bradders]

Clough has said that the strikers are inadequate, so it would be a surprise if Reid and Bowery both retained their starting places. Whether you think we need a proven goalscorer or not, a striker with composure, skill and strength would certainly be an asset. Wasting good chances has arguably held our results back more than the well-documented defensive lapses.