Pochettino - Why do we need a striker?

All and sundry, well apart from me, have been shouting that we need another striker when if fact we have Clinton Njie who played more games as a striker in France than as a wide player and Son Heung-min who is a wide attacker but can still play in the middle.

Fans are often stuck in their mindset of what a position is, many have not caught up with the role of full-backs in modern day football claiming they are out of position when in fact they are where the head coach wants them to be. Many believe a winger should cross a ball for a striker to head into the goal. These traditional days have been replaced by inverted wingers and mobile strikers with heading ability almost an afterthought.

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is the model for strikers these days, Lionel Messi doesn't win many headers, in fact in the top 5 leagues Gareth Bale has scored the most headed goals with seven, you wouldn't call him a traditional centre-forward either. It all goes to show that a different type of striker is needed and players like Njie and Son fit the bill.

While Njie is injured so isn't going to get much football this season he will be fit for next season and Son can score goals and play as a lone striker if we need, just as Eric Dier can play centre-back if needed. There is no point buying a player to make up the numbers, he has either got to add something to the squad or have the potential to become an excellent player. 

Those players are not easy to get hold of mid-season as clubs have to find replacements. All loan deals do is delay one problem until the summer while causing other problems, often while reducing their value to the shortening of their contract.

Son has 5 goals in 21 appearances but that doesn't really tell the story because he hasn't had 21 full games. He has played 503 minutes of Premier League football scoring 2 goals with 1 assist, 266 minutes in the UEFA Europa League where he has scored 2 goals and has 3 assists plus 1 goal and 1 assist in 179 minutes of FA Cup football. He has also played 23 minutes in the League Cup.

That is a total of 971 minutes for 5 goals and 5 assists, a goal every 194 minutes and a direct hand in a goal every 97.1 minutes. Harry Kane has a goal every 160.13 minutes this season and a direct hand in a goal every 141.29 minutes.

There is this incorrect assumption that if we had signed a striker previously when we were in a good league position we would have gained UEFA Champions League football, yet there is no proof of that. That is just an assumption that a purchase will be successful immediately, won't detract from what the side is doing while they adjust to a new player and that he will score goals, Roberto Soldado didn't, Emmanuel Adebayor wasn't, Erik Lamela took 2 years to get his head right, Chadli a year. 

Having a player is no guarantee of success, any signing could just as easily detract from a side rather than add to it. There are a few out there who look upon the situation the same as I and it seems Mauricio Pochettino is one of them.

"It was important for him to score against Leicester. We want him to fight for a place in the starting 11. 
"I don't know why we would have maybe more opportunity to win the league if we added another striker. I think that we have enough quality already. 
"If we started the season happy with the squad we have, why now do we have to add new players? 
"If we find the right profile and we are sure that it would help us improve the squad, we'd sign someone, but we are very happy with the squad we have."

As far as I am concerned Mauricio Pochettino has earned our trust. If you perform for him he sticks by you if you don't he gets rid of you. Not all signings are successful, Stambouli and Fazio are a testimony to that, but he insistence we must sign Dele Alli at all costs has proved to be right and he has successfully moved Eric Dier into midfield.

Signing a player who can improve us will be done if the price is right and the circumstances are right, a selling club has to replace a player, a player must want to come, fans seem to forget players do have a choice of where they play.

There can be no doubt we have improved and are improving despite what the diminishing anti-Levy knot would have you believe. It is incredible how people like to cling to beliefs that are so obviously wrong.

In Poch we should trust, he has earned that.

COYS

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