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Is it time to drop Mwaruwari?
While the events of this weekend will cheer up Pompey fans, we are still in trouble yes West Brom have got a run of hard to win games ahead of them which may see us close the gap with them unless we get goals Pompey cant get the points needed to keep us up.
Current we cant buy a goal from our strikers, most people would think that 4.1million will buy a better ratio than six starts 0 goals, while LuaLua isnt really any better at least he is assisting.
We need someone who can pull their weight, perhaps Mwaruwari is the person but we dont have the time to wait for him to come good and perhaps a spell in the reserves is what he needs to give him some confidence and help him find the back of the net.
Trouble is who do we get to play up front?
Collins Mbesuma, keeps on scoring for the reserves but his fitness still seems to keep him away from even warming the bench.
Azar Karadas, short term seems not to be an option up front as he's busy filling in as a full back, with that flexiblity and the fact he's actually scored this season should earn him at least a place on the bench.
Ivica Mornar, so far blighted by injuries this season but has looked good when fit.
Emmannual Olisadebe, when he joined the club it was said that he would be a great player if he stayed fit, which is something he's not managed so far.
None of these players have really featured in the first team apart from Karadas and thats been mostly in defense, still he has more goals than Mwaruwari.
Toddy would look most likely and we tend to look more dangerious with him on the field.
Could we even go more radical than changing Mwaruwari, we could possibly even drop LuaLua to the bench and try a completely new pairing, after all most of the players above have been playing together in the reserves, could that be a better move than bringing in players who dont normally play together?
One thing in my mind is certain though, without goals we go down, so far our midfield is doing their best to provide them, and if Mendes keeps scoring wonder goals like he did this week we may well yet avoid the fizzy pop league for another season.
Please leave a comment below with who you want our strike pair to be, or even should we go 4-5-1.
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I remember when Yakubu first joined us and could not find the back of the net for some time. Everyone started to get on his back and asked the same question 'Is it time to drop him?' Yakubu ended up coming good for us that season and everyone knows the rest.
The difference with Benjani is that he was bought in January not in the summer and in difficult times, so doesn't have the luxury of gelling in that Yakubu had. It's a shame because I think he does have some quality, but Pompey fans are so desparate for goals we don't want to have to give him time as we don't have that luxury. Few strikers come in and start scoring immediately, particularly in a team where you are not getting goals anyway. Look at Liverpool with first Crouch and now Fowler.
I say, drop Benjani to the bench and bring him on later as a sub, try using Toddy up front with Lua Lua and when/if that doesn't work out, bring on Benjani for one of those two. I'm sure that when he gets his first goal he is going to come good, but in the meantime, Toddy is the bigger threat.
As an aside point, I think Lua Lua is a bit of a luxury for a struggling team. I know he has flashes of brilliance, but he can be very frustrating...I wonder how players like Benjani feel about not getting the simple pass from him when a shot is on?
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Good points Andy. I agree with you that Benjani does show some quality and if he had joined in August he may be at the point Yakubu was but as you also say we dont have the time for him to find his feet which is why I suggested the reserves for a game or two may do his confidence good which in the end will do Pompey good since he may score when called upon in the first team.
I'm certainly not suggesting drop him and never bring him back as he is definately too valuable for that.
I also agree with you about Lua Lua, pretty much since he joined us people have been saying loose some of the tricks and you may actually score more, from some of the reactions to Lua Lua on Saturday from his own team mates I would imagine they agree.
Perhaps getting someone Luther Blissett back to do for Benjani and Lua Lua what he seemed to do for Yakubu wouldnt be a bad idea.
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Hi Pompey fans
Yes time to give Benjani a rest. I saw him in his first game and he looked strong and skillful although he did not have any clear-cut chances LL is up for it but in terms of goal scoring? We must go for Toddy I think.
"Perhaps getting someone Luther Blissett back to do for Benjani and Lua Lua what he seemed to do for Yakubu wouldnt be a bad idea" - Yes! of course we should come on Harry.
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i hope your strike partnership is titus bramble and linvoy primus. then you won't score any goals and will get relegated. HA HA. then West Brom will stay up again. Yipeeeee! Boing! Boing! Boing! Come on you Baggies!
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Well Tom, certainly would be an interesting strike partnership considering Bramble is a Newcastle player. Even if Bramble was a Pompey player such a partnership would pretty much score as many goals as our current partnership.
While I would love to wish you luck in the staying up department only one of us will be safe and this year we aren't going to do you any favours, not that we did last year of course ;-)