Upon the first weekend of the new season, every supporter across the length and breadth of the country will be confident about their squad. It’s a familiar scene when fans ‘big-up’ their supposed stars to others, comparing the quality of every single player, making their own personal assumptions on the failures or the successors of the league.
The npower Championship is definitely no different. A plethora or ex-Premier League veterans and up and coming local stars, you are assured of quality in every single team you’ll see this season. However, you’ll always have the minority of supporters who aren't totally happy with their side, and believe a couple of additions would bolster their squad.
Reading popular BHAFC forum North Stand Chat led me to a thread which asked the question, “If you could add any two current Championship players to our squad, who would they be?”
Now, upon reading the answers, the names people suggested were hardly surprising; Rickie Lambert, Ross McCormack, Michael Chopra, Kevin Phillips and more notably, Glenn Murray. Notice the trend? I do too, they’re all strikers. I hope that I’m not alone when I say just because strikers score all the goals, it doesn't mean they are necessarily the best players.
However, in Brighton’s case, strikers are the problem, so I do actually empathise with these answers. We lack the killer instinct upfront that will provide the final finish to our free flowing moves, a big lump that’ll put themselves about and attempt to win the ball in the air. Massive respect to Craig Mackail-Smith for trying, however at only 5ft 10”, he’s unlikely to compete with some of the towering talent in the Championship defences of this season.
Back to the point though, reading this question made me think about it myself. Aside from strikers, what else are we missing? I've come up with two players that I think would fit quite snug into our currently faltering side. These two are players who would restore the belief and the much needed assurance to get the confidence back and get us playing the football we are used to.
Kevin Nolan – Formerly of Bolton and Newcastle fame, West Ham’s captain Kevin Nolan is a Scouse powerhouse that shouldn't be confronted, unless of course you want a heated exchange. Scoring 73 goals in his 394 league appearances, it is obvious that Nolan is a player who likes to get forward and attack the defence. Having only playing West Ham recently, the memories of Nolan’s performance are still strong in the mind.
Putting 110% from the first whistle to the last, Nolan provided the strength in the middle to break up attacks, and then was easily capable of pouncing on the counter-attack. It was no surprise that when Liam Bridcutt slipped in possession and Nolan took control of the ball that he would take advantage of the surprised Steve Harper in goal to drive the ball away from his ex-Newcastle team-mate into the corner of the goal. His celebration afterwards did raise a question of being over-zealous, but at the end of the day that’s just the character that Nolan is.
Linking up with ex-Magpies boss Sam Allardyce at Upton Park, Nolan has definitely bolstered the Hammers midfield with real character. Some fans have been questioning his performances since the start, but recently Nolan has shown real improvement in his game. In my opinion, Nolan is one of them players who I like to call a ‘wind-up merchant’ He’s there to obviously play the game, but at the same time, a bit of banter with the oppositions fans is exactly what Nolan thrives on. He’s a Marmite player, you love him when he plays for you, but when you’re against him, he’s your worst enemy.
Ibrahima Sonko – Senegalese international Ibrahima Sonko sits at the heart of the Ipswich defence like a skyscraper above the city. At a towering 6ft 3”, any Championship striker will have their work cut out to out-muscle the centre-half.
Joining Town on a free transfer in the summer of 2011, Sonko’s career hung in the balance after two consecutive loan spells from his parent club Stoke City, he was released at the end of last season. Sonko was a presence on the pitch, dealing with crosses and passes with ease whether it be on the ground or an aerial threat.
When we faced off against Ipswich early in October, it was obvious that CMS and Barnes would be up against it from the start. Crosses were played in, but Sonko’s towering presence was too much of a match for our strike-force, and we were powerless to resist when Sonko also towered above the rest of the team at an Ipswich corner to put them into a 2-1 lead. He provides an aerial threat whether it be in defence or in attack, and I believe alongside our captain marvel Gordon Greer, Sonko would provide the perfect partner in crime.
Our line-up has always struggled for the height and power and times where it is most necessary, and I believe the addition of players such as Nolan or Sonko could really make a startling difference to our team. Now, that’s only my opinion, but what do you think, whichever team you support, which two Championship players would you add to your team?
Answer in the comments section who you would add...
No comments:
Post a Comment