Not much credits going to andre and his continued improvrment at premiership level....a previous thred questioned his ability at this level,he took a confident penalty today and scored a quality second.sureley we need to be singing this guys praise instead of bemoaning certain aspects of his game,we seem to be moaning about robinson and other negatives on todays result at swansea.with out him we would be buggered.

I think there's a ban on giving him credit on here.

His detractors aren't going to give him any for scoring twice today it seems.

He must read this forum Hungry,I'm sure he cupped his ears to the Burnley fans after scoring today.

The last 2 games have been the best in his last 6-8. Ironically it has also been the ones where his touch and control has been excellent.

If he gets the ball under control the rest of his game becomes easier.

Steve, it's better than cupping his wotsits!

Gray is the difference between us staying up and sinking, he is a prize asset.

Archie Claret wrote:Steve, it's better than cupping his wotsits!

ablueclaret wrote:Gray is the difference between us staying up and sinking, he is a prize asset.

Indeed he is,although a lot of people on here think Peter Crouch is a better option.

Steve1956 wrote:He must read this forum Hungry,I'm sure he cupped his ears to the Burnley fans after scoring today.

Mmmm....spotted that. Having seen threds on our supposed 'worst players' another negative on players whos value was nothing but then again so were their wages no doubt .i think we need to focus on the quality we have going into next season. Sean dyche is the best thing to happen to burnley in years.andre gray is imo a quality striker and can cut it in the premiership.lets give him the praise he deserves.next season will bring new faces and some will depart, but the players we have have ,have all played a part this and other seasons and got us where we are no matter how **** you think they are.utc

I thought he was saying 'I can't hear you' to the fans when he scored, he also spent a lot of time looking up to a private box during warm up. Might have turned up his performance for his missus or posse of mates?

Did well today, it would be amazing to see all our strikers flourish , as I'm sure they would with better service. Vokes isn't worth playing if we don't get crosses in to him and gray needs low balls through for him to chase, we do neither.

Yep scored the penalty and prior to that his deflected shot on the turn forced Fabianski into a fantastic save. Also had a good headed chance as he got in front of his marker but heading is not really his strong point. Scored a great goal and almost set up Vokes with a ball across the six yard box. Kept the Swansea centre backs pretty well occupied and closed down relentlessly for most of the game. Great performance and almost squeezed us a point or three.

Someone alongside him who could accurately play the ball into channels for him to run onto would really be an asset.Real potential.

Watching the the championship on tv and steve mclaren bleating as per usual,to think we played derby in a massive championship game in our first under sd promotion and spanked em at home ...been relegated and bounced back up since while they and others are still floundering,same old same old from mcarthy and holloway two good guys but yesterdays men now.oh happy days, long may it continue. In sd we trust!

He' the best striker we have. Wish we had a better midfield to set him up more often and another striker who could score as many.

Stayingup wrote:He' the best striker we have. Wish we had a better midfield to set him up more often and another striker who could score as many.

Im sure sd will have someone lined up.. sam could have made it 1..3 off andres pass.

Brilliant today and he was the only one who was decent. First half he closed down players whereas cokes just walked around. Unlucky with his deflected shot. 2 goals were deserved and he was the only one who didn't deserve to be on the losing team. Hopefully confidence back for end of season, important for us staying up

I have been very critical about Andre this season with his ball control.
Today's game at Swansea was his best game this year.
Held the ball up well and ran his socks off all the game.
Well done Andre my hats off to you

His ban was the best thing that happened to him. Before the ban his hold up play was hopeless but after sitting out and figuring his tactical issues his hold up play on the whole has been excellent considering the scraps he feeds on. Would it be better if he had better control and could pass more accurately, of course, but then he wouldn't be playing for us.

Me too California. And I didn't see the whole game yesterday, just the goals here in goa.

Delighted for him if he's had a good game. Scoring from open play will do wonders for his confidence. Hope he continues in this form. As already pointed out, if we want the best from him, we have to play to his strengths.

A little out of touch here, but someone mentioned crouch would be a better option? Can't see it myself, if we can't play to grays strengths most of the time, or vokes', then can't see us changing things to suit crouch.

As an aside it seems we struggle to know exactly what to do with both vokes AND gray on the field. Play the wrong ball to gray, and no width for a decent cross for vokes. Maybe the solution is a replacement for either???

Anyway, well done Andre, keep it up lad.

Thought he was our best player today...at times the rest looked like we were just chasing shadows.

Said it for weeks - we need to get Andre tied down to a longer contract.

Get someone playing off him in the Sheringham mould who can play him in, perhaps get Defour at his best next season too, and Gray has all the tools to 'do a Vardy'.

Tottenham interested in buying him at the end of the season. They obviously see his potential.

clentclaret wrote:Brilliant today and he was the only one who was decent. First half he closed down players whereas cokes just walked around. Unlucky with his deflected shot. 2 goals were deserved and he was the only one who didn't deserve to be on the losing team. Hopefully confidence back for end of season, important for us staying up

He had a great game again today considering that once again the supply was really poor. I am big fan, he is strong, fast, and a natural goal scorer. Been saying for a while, that he will easily finish in double figures, despite his disrupted season, poor service and his first in the prem - impressive.

The point that he closed down players is good one, this is part of his game and he unsettles defenders with his hard work. Hoping we can find a quality strike partner for him next season which could help him develop into an even better player. He will score a big number and be worth a awful lot of money. Buying Andre was a great piece of business.

Along with Keane and Mee the only one to come out with any credit yesterday.

Heathclaret wrote:Tottenham interested in buying him at the end of the season. They obviously see his potential.

Let's hope that doesn't happen. We need to build the team around him.

A very good player showing real signs of achieving his potential at this level.
He shouldn't be too disturbed by being heavily criticised by some of the oh-so-loyal and oh-so-knowledgeable posters on here, he's in good company:
Robinson, Heaton, Ward, Mee, Lowton, Flanagan, Defour, Hendrick, Boyd, Brady, Marney, Westwood and, yesterday, Vokes have all been decreed as being poor players at some time or another this season.

3putt wrote:Let's hope that doesn't happen. We need to build the team around him.

TBH, like Vardy, I don't think he's good enough for a top six side, but he's certainly good enough for a team in the top half.

Heathclaret wrote:Tottenham interested in buying him at the end of the season. They obviously see his potential.

Not just Tottenham, apparently...

http://londonfootballnews.co.uk/transfe ... uthampton/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gray has done ok this season but he'd have to improve a lot to be anywhere near Spurs' starting eleven.

Heathclaret wrote:Tottenham interested in buying him at the end of the season. They obviously see his potential.

And I think this is exactly why Andre Gray attracts more than his fair share of criticism on here. He undoubtedly has potential. We know he can score goals. We know he is quick. But therein lies the problem. We know he CAN do it, but it has been all too inconsistent. In pre-season he scored an absolute belter against Rangers. Against Sunderland at home he looked like he wouldn't miss. He scored an excellent goal against Liverpool, and took his chance excellently yesterday against Swansea. The official stats on his pace are there for everyone to see. He's in the top 10 of PL players.

But mixed in with all this is the all too regular sight of him being beaten to the ball by a slower player. Losing the ball consistently when it's played into him. Missing chance after chance when you know someone like Jermaine Defoe would have bagged a hatrick.

He is now 25, although he is only in his 3rd season at a league club, and obviously his first in the premier league. Despite that, it is easy to see why so many fans, myself included get frustrated with him. He often seems to start his run a second late, making it easy for slower players to get ahead of him. He strays offside way too often. His touch in general is just as bad as it was 18 months ago. His finishing consistency hasn't changed. At 25 you would expect most strikers to be really crafting their game, ready to hit their peak in the next 2-3 years.

For all the raw ingredients Gray has, we are still to see the final dish. He has mitigating circumstances, accepted. But all too often it appears as if the raw ingredients are still raw ingredients. You occasionally get a whiff of what it might become, but a week later it disappears.

I know there will be plenty who disagree with this, and frankly, I think the coaching team and our tactics are mainly responsible. But I stand firm when I say that the reason Gray gets so much attention on this board is because he frustrates people. Not because he is a bad player, but because he could be so much better.

Agree he frustrates at times but he is a very good goal scorer as his record shows. Plus he himself openly admits the areas he needs to work on.

Well along with others I like to think I can spot a good un! And some days we all have a bad day at the office.

Is Deeney any taller as he seems to score a number of headers which Gray doesn't?

We have vokes and keano for that it's part of their game...Andre plays it on the floor that's his strength heading not in is locker really is it.

Deenie 5cm taller according to Wikipedia. Even so, being a good header of the ball is not about height. It can help, but it's mostly about timing.

We have two very good strikers in Andre and Vokes very different players,ones got good pace and power and is good with his feet.
The other is powerful and strong in the box, good header of the ball and is good at tracking back to help out cause we have to
Problems are they dont often get the service they deserve and you cant criticize them cause if the pair get the quality of service that established premier league teams supply then it makes them.
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Steve-Harpers-perm wrote:Agree he frustrates at times but he is a very good goal scorer as his record shows. Plus he himself openly admits the areas he needs to work on.

Gray is our best option for goals st this level. Only option really. We need another good striker with him and we need badly and have done for ages s good defensive midfielder.

What frustrates me is conceding late headed goals.

A great headed goal yesterday tbh...even though there was a push on ben mee..and again he put in a good shift!

Agree with Stayinup (post 2, I think) that Gray is our best and only option in terms
of scoring goals.

I feel we don't create enough chances for him and he's still learning but improving
albeit prone to getting frustrated.
But he's the one that is likely to bag a winner for us and keep us up.
I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with a dozen or so goals which for his first season in the
Premier League would be a pretty good.

I do hope he doesn't leave and we can hold onto him and get a few more in who
can play alongside him and/or create a few more chances for him.

If we do manage to stay up then I'm sure Dyche will improve the team.
We need another forward, pace and a couple of decent wingers for starters.

If he did manage 12 goals or so then I wouldn't let him go for less than 20m.

Roosterbooster wrote:Deenie 5cm taller according to Wikipedia. Even so, being a good header of the ball is not about height. It can help, but it's mostly about timing.

Exactly. Watch Ben Mee get up and head it. Timing.

Longside4evr wrote:We have two very good strikers in Andre and Vokes very different players,ones got good pace and power and is good with his feet.
The other is powerful and strong in the box, good header of the ball and is good at tracking back to help out cause we have to
Problems are they dont often get the service they deserve and you cant criticize them cause if the pair get the quality of service that established premier league teams supply then it makes them.
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

I like a lot about Sam Vokes but not a good enough finisher at this level.

Stayingup wrote:I like a lot about Sam Vokes but not a good enough finisher at this level.

Tell that to the National Belgian team with the proper service he will hit the onion bag