I have always backed our frontline, feeling that we had four decent and fairly different strikers. Wood being good for 10-15, and the other three to contribute quite a few between them.

The stats speak for themselves. Wood has two, the rest haven’t scored (league only). I don’t want to cast anyone aside as I rate them all in some manner. I have always felt we needed a right back and winger as priority positions, but a striker to replace one of these is starting to push up the priorities for me.

I’d be pleased if we could offload one in place of a bit more quality and threat.

We need three plus a couple of midfielders

I think lack of decent service is more the issue. But i do also think we need to be upgrading on Vydra and Barnes in the next year or so.

Yes but there are other priorities IMO

Winger
CB ( if Tarky goes )
RB
Forward
CB if Tarky stays

No, we need a midfield which offer some creativity and supply our forwards.

Wood will come good , he always does . I’m delighted we are picking up so many points when he is on one of his barren runs.
I would never write off JayRod, some great goals to come from him this season , for sure.
Vydra’s season may end up being in a short window but it will bring some points.
I think all eyes are on Barnes

I think it's too coincidental that the stats for all of our strikers are similar (i.e. low numbers)... it's the lack of service that's the problem. We could do with a midfielder than can pass forward and make a killer pass, rather than relying on the odd poor cross being enough

Dyche just answered this very question with a resounding “no”.

Dunno whether to relax and let him get on with it as he knows what he’s doing, or bang my head against a wall as we could play til next Xmas and still not score from open play with things as they are.

Perhaps he’s confident they will play themselves into form.

Wood is the big problem. He is missing chances he normally scores, but is also pressing much less, as highlighted in the brilliant article in The Athletic recently. He is a big unit, so maybe the unusual year is affecting him fitness wise, or maybe he is simply low on confidence?

This then gets more problematic by Dyche’s refusal to sub him. Jay and Vydra did well last year, so when Wood is out of form that would seem the ideal 1st sub, instead we then get Wood and Barnes for a bit.

So I’m not convinced we need new strikers (although it never hurts) but we certainly need Dyche to be a bit more creative in remedying the lack of goals.

2 new strikers

Mentioned this in a new thread but surprise surprise it's been deleted

Perhaps a new striker is more a priority than a right back .
Imo Lowton and Bardsley are as good as any right back in premier league apart from the top 8 or so clubs
Lowton getting the odd 5 or 6 tonight although he along with the other members of our back 5 kept another clean sheet
Think if lowton scored 3 and cleared another 3 off the line some posters would still give him a 5

We have no creativity in midfield supplying the strikers, we need to be less predictable, basically the new defour is much needed

Probably a better idea to look at the number of chances we create first and foremost.

No striker in the world is gonna score if the ball isn't getting to him.

Belial wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 8:51 pm

I think it's too coincidental that the stats for all of our strikers are similar (i.e. low numbers)... it's the lack of service that's the problem. We could do with a midfielder than can pass forward and make a killer pass, rather than relying on the odd poor cross being enough

Fair point. Last five there we had a great dead ball shout and Dwight walloped it into the stand. With the chances from open play very few and far between, that ball has to trouble the defenders every single time. Not a criticism, an agreement that although the strikers get the blame, supply isn’t great.

I posted earlier. In summary Vydra is not a PL striker, with 3 league goals since he joined. Ashley is a shadow of what we know, and Jay surprisingly has had two poor games on the bounce. Yes you can blame it on service. McNeils crosses this year have been really poor-last year he was whipping it into the 6 yard box first time, this year his crosses are not getting past the first defender. So we need a right footed winger (Walcott has proved a great loan), and we need someone like Josh King who basically is a handful and quick, and perfect for our style of play. If Vydra got moved on I would not be losing any sleep.

it must be tough for Dyche at the moment deciding which one of the three to leave out when they all deserve to be on the subs bench

Definitely need a striker without doubt. Can't argue with some creativity neither however we need our CMs as they are and brady and mcneil should be capable of creating chances. A decent striker up top though is essential as the current lot aren't good enough especially barnes

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 8:56 pm

Probably a better idea to look at the number of chances we create first and foremost.

No striker in the world is gonna score if the ball isn't getting to him.

True if supporters can see that why can't the management.

Giftonsnoidea wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 8:55 pm

We have no creativity in midfield supplying the strikers, we need to be less predictable, basically the new defour is much needed

Nail on the head.

No.

We need players who get the ball to our strikers

The strikers must be doing something in training. And we all know all are capable.

For me I wouldn’t be too disappointed if we shipped Barnes and Vydra. I love the former. And want the latter to work. But it’s clear that Barnes is past it and Vydra was never wanted.

If we could then bring in a right winger and striker with the money I wouldn’t be too disappointed. Granted it leaves us one less option up top.

But we need the creativity as much as the strikers. All four we have can score.

What have we got coming through the under 23s? Anyone who could get a start off the bench ?

Longsider wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:03 pm

What have we got coming through the under 23s? Anyone who could get a start off the bench ?

Good point, you'd like to think so. Mumbongo seems to be doing well

lancastrian wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 8:48 pm

We need three plus a couple of midfielders

No pace or creativity in midfield so the forwards feed on scraps. Example in the first half we broke 3 on 3. By the time we reached the edge of their box it was 3 on 6, as 3 Villa players had got back to cover. McNeil had no option other than to try to go on his own and ultimately lost the ball. We are way too slow.

Benson would have been a good shout to replace Brady for last 20 mins today

Most strikers have a quiet spell.
Wood is getting into the right positions, they just aren't going in.
All our strikers are working off scraps anyway, so a change would make little if any difference.
I've said a lot lately that our football is too negative, perhaps change that to conservative. When the options come to go on the offensive we play safe, and go backwards or sideways. We are consistently outnumbered in midfield, making it difficult to stem the tide or create much, and our wide men end up doing more defending than attacking. The vicious circle.
We have shown many times in the past, that when we do keep the ball on the deck, we can pass the ball around nicely. We just need someone on the pitch to take control of the game and help us play that way. A Steven Defour if you like. I like Westy and been impressed with Brownhill and he will get better, but neither are a Defour.

The goals will come, and hopefully when they do , they'll come in a glut.

UTC

I'd rather we look around for an attacking midfielder to fill the gaps between Brownhill / Westwood and our forwards, than a typical striker. Nothing wrong with those two in midfield but when they have the ball they have nowhere to go with it, it's not that they can't be creative as such. In fact I'd say our two in midfield are going along nicely. I've no problem with 442 but when teams have three in midfield, they can double up on our wingers and stop balls coming in as well as get between our lines to attack, because they know our two midfielders won't gamble much when we're attacking. We don't have much else going for us attacking-wise other than hammer it up front so another midfielder in there would give us a chance of building forward as well as from out wide.

I've done well to forget the last transfer window but links to Ryan Christie, Harry Wilson, and was it Quaisson or someone, suggest Dyche might have been thinking the same.

Thinking positive, a decent attacking midfielder with a right winger could turn us into a really tidy team. A right back is ideal but could wait until Summer, and then maybe shuffle the forwards.

I think we need something a bit different up there as an option. A bit of pace would be nice.

But ball retention and creativity are the bigger issues.

No, we need service.. Our strikes force as good as any on crosses

Jakubs Tash wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:24 pm

I think we need something a bit different up there as an option. A bit of pace would be nice.

But ball retention and creativity are the bigger issues.

A bit of raw energy.

No particular issue with the strikers.

We need midfielders who can create chances. We need a right winger with raw pace and and a right sided midfielder that can create chances.

It’s ok playing two up front to “try and give the opposition something different to think about” (as Dyche often says) but when the ball isn’t sticking up there and they are as ineffectual as they were tonight we really should try something different.

Our tactics with the 2 up front reminds me of the 70s.

Don't knock the strikers they get know service

NewClaret wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:28 pm

No particular issue with the strikers.

We need midfielders who can create chances. We need a right winger with raw pace and and a right sided midfielder that can create chances.

Totally agree.. there's a few players we could get on loan (gray from Leicester, lingaard from utd)

Top Claret wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:35 pm

Don't knock the strikers they get know service

Like I said.
We don't get in behind the opposition.
Also we don't have the skill to unpick a defence.
When was the last time we laid on a tap-in? It just doesn't happen.

lancastrian wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:00 pm

True if supporters can see that why can't the management.

They probably can, however we are in the middle of a takeover, they've been waiting to see what Brady will be like upon his return and Joey is still about.

We would need to move someone out to make space.

In short, yes.

In a perfect world Id like a right back, a centre back, a midfielder and a striker. Unfortunately I realise that's unlikely.

Lots of poor comments on the site about Barnes who is still coming back from a long injury.

I thought he did exactly what Dyche asked of him. He came on and must of won us at least 6 free kicks in the last 20mins. It was clear that we wanted to go for a set piece smash and grab.

A bit of quality on the free kicks and we would be talking about a classic away win.

We’re setting up not to lose which means we are scared to take risks and hence there is no supply to the forwards. How many times do we win the ball in the opposition half only to eventually pass it back to Pope who then lumps it up field and we lose possession. Unfortunately, when you have had a bad start like we have the first thing you have to do is stop conceding and hence losing. Then you hope confidence builds and you can be more expressive. We are simply not there yet but if we continue keeping clean sheets it will come. It’s not like the strikers are missing loads of chances, they’re just not getting very many at the moment. So I don’t think we need new strikers, we just need to play with more confidence and to take a few more risks.

I’ve been saying it for a while I think one of our biggest problems at the moment is CM. I like Brownhill and I like Westwood I’m not sure they compliment each other. Hence why McNeil is having to come inside so much. We desperately need someone in the defour mould that can pass but also push forward with the ball. Neither one of our current midfield can run forward with the ball and create space.

January is a big window for the clarets. you could argue we need 5 signings.

beddie wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:41 pm

In a perfect world Id like a right back, a centre back, a midfielder and a striker. Unfortunately I realise that's unlikely.

No wingers???

Crying out for a quality forward with pace.

We need this takeover, or else there will be no new strikers

Newcastleclaret93 wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:45 pm

I’ve been saying it for a while I think one of our biggest problems at the moment is CM. I like Brownhill and I like Westwood I’m not sure they compliment each other. Hence why McNeil is having to come inside so much. We desperately need someone in the defour mould that can pass but also push forward with the ball. Neither one of our current midfield can run forward with the ball and create space.

January is a big window for the clarets. you could argue we need 5 signings.

We need someone in the Defour mould - Buendia, for me. Now linked with Arsenal so highly unlikely but he, or an equivalent player, is exactly what we need. It’d transform us.

Re: 5, I see your point, but that type of upheaval would not be good for us. As Dyche says, we need to evolution not revolution. I’d be perfectly happy with 2 (a quality right-sided attacking midfielder and wing cover/competition).

Sadly, unlikely to get either unless ALK buy quickly. We’ll end up with Joe Worrall!

lancastrian wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:00 pm

True if supporters can see that why can't the management.

They probably can but he had £5 to spend this summer, and 2 wingers that seemed forever injured. We have played 6 different players on the right so far this season and we are only in December.

Hopefully Brady is getting back into some sort of form, but we are forever cutting back inside which slows play down and is easier to defend. I cant recall any of our wingers getting to the dead ball line this season.

MACCA wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:55 pm

I cant recall any of our wingers getting to the dead ball line this season.

McNeil literally did it twice in this match...

Oh and Brady created one of our best chances in recent memory by cutting inside at Arsenal to cross for Wood, who should have scored.

The obsession with people wanting wingers having to get to the byline to cross baffles me.