🎙ToffeeWeb Podcast: ‘Riding the Crest of a Gana Garner Wave’

I'm writing this post derby: excellent showing: we actually competed for once AND could easily have won

Maupay did exactly what I thought he would: provided a good focal point, showed good energy but fluffed 2 half chances and 1 great chance.

If we had a top striker then we could have won. How do we attain a top clinical striker? We struggled to get 1 in the 2 months since last season. How can we get 1 in January? I don't know but if we don't then we'll continue to struggle for wins.

I'm writing this post-derby – excellent showing, we actually competed for once and could easily have won.

Maupay did exactly what I thought he would: provided a good focal point, showed good energy but fluffed 2 half chances and 1 great chance.

If we had a top striker, then we could have won. How do we attain a top clinical striker? We struggled to get one in the 2 months since last season. How can we get one in January? I don't know but – if we don't – then we'll continue to struggle for wins.

There are, I think, 3 ways to get hold of a top class clinical striker.

1. Buy one ready made

As we've seen this summer. They are in short supply. The fees paid for Haaland, Nunez etc are way beyond our means - and even if we had the money, any star striker will have much better offers.

2. Develop one

A couple of seasons ago Almeria in Spain bought a promising Uruguayan striker for £13m after he impressed at the u20 World Cup. The same Nunez who lined up against us yesterday. Similarly Isak was hiding in plain sight in Sweden and Dortmund's reserves, giving us two bites at that particularly promising looking cherry. We can afford this and the players are always out there.

3. Get unbelievably lucky

Vardy suddenly emerges in his mid-twenties as a top class striker after playing non-league. Don't count on this.

So in my view there is only one route available to us, but we seem to continually spend fairly large sums in the vain hope we'll get lucky (or perhaps that the player will be just about good enough).

Hopefully, having stabilised the squad this summer, we are ready now to buy top class potential from S.America, France, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia etc.

Great answer: I think you're right

(As a quick aside I feel like we've developed Calvert-Lewin as a mid to top striker…. Why do I say that? He's easily a 10- to 15-goal-a-season striker and I think he's still able to get better. But I digress….)

Developing one: I think Frank put all his eggs in the Broja basket… he's 6ft-3in, quick, can dribble and scored 9 goals in his first full season. Not brilliant but he has the tools, the facets, the characteristics to improve hugely. On reflection, I think Frank wanted Broja for today and tomorrow.

It feels like there was no real Plan B. Ben Brereton Diaz is probably as good as he's going to get (unless he does a Mitrovijic who appears to be blossoming).

Jaeo Pedro was probably too much potential… especially for the price…. 㿊M for a non-goal-scoring striker is beyond us at the moment.

I suppose Frank's dilemma or concern was who can do a job today and develop into a top player tomorrow (eg, Onana, Garner).

I think we needed someone who could do a job today just because of what happened last season (eg, Gana Gueye).

But I'm open to that idea. I'm scarred beyond belief (as the panel on the pod said) by what happened last season. But until we get some wins (I think we need 15-20 points before the World Cup), I remain in the belief we needed someone now.

Even if only on loan….

Anyway, onwards & upwards….

However, we don't have a Tim Cahill or a Gary Speed or a Fellaini.

If our full-backs contributed 2-3 each a season and centre-backs 3-4 each and the midfield collectively gave us 15+ a season I'd be less worried.

However, it seems to be only Gordon and Gray scoring (at the moment).

Hope we're working on our attacking set -pieces (though it doesn't look like it!)

ps: Adam Armstrong did score against EFC at Goodison in the opening game of last season. He actually ended up with one more versus Villa. He has also scored this season against Chelsea. 3 goals in 35 games. This after scoring 64 goals in 160 games for Blackburn. He cost Saints 㾻m.