Poll: Best Striker in the PL?

Best striker in the PL?

  • RVP

    Votes: 70 46.7%

  • Bent

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • Jelavic

    Votes: 5 3.3%

  • Suarez

    Votes: 6 4.0%

  • Aguero

    Votes: 17 11.3%

  • Tevez

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • Rooney

    Votes: 34 22.7%

  • P.Cisse

    Votes: 8 5.3%

  • Adebayor

    Votes: 2 1.3%

  • Other

    Votes: 6 4.0%
  • Total voters
    150
Movement is often an underrated/unnoticed skill in strikers, for example Owen was often viewed as being just about pace topped up with a few tapins but he actually moved really intelligently. Shearer once pointed out his near-post darts with gave him quite a few headed goals, and I always noted the fact that he follows in shots on goals, most of his "lol tapins" were because he was the first to react in the box, putting himself in positions where if the keeper parries a shot or there was a ricochet he'd be on hand to stick it in the net. Many players are caught on their heels, an 'ugly' goal is often no less well thought out and than a 'beautiful' one.

Same goes for these Alex Song assists, RvP volleys etc, it isn't just about the finishing technique but also about getting into that position in the first place. Fabregas and RvP had a great understanding in that regard, a visionary passer needs an intelligent runner to supplement their skills.
 
HangTime said:
Movement is often an underrated/unnoticed skill in strikers, for example Owen was often viewed as being just about pace topped up with a few tapins but he actually moved really intelligently. Shearer once pointed out his near-post darts with gave him quite a few headed goals, and I always noted the fact that he follows in shots on goals, most of his "lol tapins" were because he was the first to react in the box, putting himself in positions where if the keeper parries a shot or there was a ricochet he'd be on hand to stick it in the net. Many players are caught on their heels, an 'ugly' goal is often no less well thought out and than a 'beautiful' one.

Same goes for these Alex Song assists, RvP volleys etc, it isn't just about the finishing technique but also about getting into that position in the first place. Fabregas and RvP had a great understanding in that regard, a visionary passer needs an intelligent runner to supplement their skills.
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I don't think anyone could disagree with any of that.
 
Tom84 said:
The way these polls are going there's not actually going to be one Man Utd player in the team at the end, I guess that's a discussion all of it's own....
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It's quite simple really for this poll at least. Generally:

If you support Man Utd, you go for Rooney. There is no viable justification for anyone being better than he is at this moment in time.

If you don't like Man Utd (loads of people :p), you go for RvP as his form last season was excellent and he was the top scorer.

There's not a huge amount between RvP/Rooney and Aguero as mentioned. Personal preference is bound to play a part.
 
HangTime said:
Movement is often an underrated/unnoticed skill in strikers, for example Owen was often viewed as being just about pace topped up with a few tapins but he actually moved really intelligently. Shearer once pointed out his near-post darts with gave him quite a few headed goals, and I always noted the fact that he follows in shots on goals, most of his "lol tapins" were because he was the first to react in the box, putting himself in positions where if the keeper parries a shot or there was a ricochet he'd be on hand to stick it in the net. Many players are caught on their heels, an 'ugly' goal is often no less well thought out and than a 'beautiful' one.

Same goes for these Alex Song assists, RvP volleys etc, it isn't just about the finishing technique but also about getting into that position in the first place. Fabregas and RvP had a great understanding in that regard, a visionary passer needs an intelligent runner to supplement their skills.
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Bingo Hallelujah and god bless Jesus,Mary, Joseph and The Orphans. At last we have somebody who actually looks beyond the stats to asses whether a player is good or not. Pretty much in the way that Xavi can keep the whole tempo of the Barca/Spain team going with the space he takes up, how he can play the ball 1st time and keep posession. None of which you will ever see in any stats or table
 
Moses said:
(Ignore the emphasis, for now!)

Just no. As you then said,

And, re: the bit in bold,
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You seem to have missed that the part in bold was aimed at Man Utd fans. No Man Utd fan is going to think RvP is better than Rooney because he isn't, at least not in the same way that Messi is obviously better than Rooney.

The point I'm getting at is that we can argue all day long over the three of them. RvP was better last season (but not before), Aguero will be better than both of them in future most likely, and so on.

The only thing that drives the vote is personal preference and what factors you take into consideration.
 
Loki said:
Pretty much in the way that Xavi can keep the whole tempo of the Barca/Spain team going with the space he takes up, how he can play the ball 1st time and keep posession
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It was particuarly noticeable for me last night (probably because there wasn't a lot else to write home about :P) what he was doing AFTER he passes the ball. Seriously next time he plays people who haven't done so before should watch him but don't follow the ball when he makes a pass, follow Xavi's movement. He passes the ball and then moves into a position where he can receive it again - sometimes that means drifting out wide, sometimes it will be a surging run, often it may actually be taking a couple of steps BACKWARDS to get some space. Everyone take 10mins out of the Portugal game to do this. One of the reasons Xavi dominates completed passes stats is not just because of his passing ability, but because he makes himself available - you can't pass the ball if you don't get it in the first place.

I know that is a bit of a "no ****, sherlock" observation but it comes so naturally to him that often it just washes over you and you don't notice. Many many very good professional players get caught up in the moment and are striving to press forwards which may mean getting too close to opponents, or they just 'rest on their laurels' after making a pass which means there is probably somebody closeby who has just moved in to close them down. A 3 yard trot into space at the right time can be more effective than a predictable 30 yard sprint down a defender's throat.
 
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One More Solo said:
I remember I criticised van Persie's finishing earlier in the season and got slaughtered for it, you're next jakeke. :o
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It's not his strong suit, you can tell he's a converted no. 10 as he isn't naturally clinical. As I said before, he scores so many as he makes loads of chances for himself, he's not really outstanding at chance conversion (in my opinion). It's great to spend a game watching RvP, he's so good at standing between the CB's so it seems like he's double marked, then within 3 seconds he is marked by nobody and through on goal, unfortunately he does this 15 times a game but our dodgy midfield find him about twice
 
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Loki said:
Pretty much in the way that Xavi can keep the whole tempo of the Barca/Spain team going with the space he takes up, how he can play the ball 1st time and keep posession. None of which you will ever see in any stats or table
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Except it does show up in the stats: possession %, pass completition %, number of passes, etc. His stats are phenomenal.
 
Shamikebab said:
It doesn't though. Carrick's stats are often superb as well. It's easy to show possession, it's not easy to show effective possession.
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It's easy to show passes forward, passes in the final third of the pitch, passes that lead to goal-scoring chances...

And didn't Carrick play a lot of football last year for Manchester United? Ferguson obviously rates him.
 
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