Beckford

Is it just me who thinks Beckford is not a natural finisher??

We seem to be comparing him to someone who if given a chance would score. Beckford is a 1 in 4 man for me which is really frustrating because when he's not given any time to think he sometimes shows what an instinctive striker he can be.

But clinical, anything but!!

Waghorn for me. It's been mentioned that he runs around like "a headless chicken" or drops into midfield to get the ball.
He harasses players - good trait.
He has to come back for the ball - midfield ain't doing it!
He hasn't scored many last 18 months or so..................he's been injured and played out of position for god sake.
Lazy player who can score or 1 that runs his nuts off to get a scrap out of a poor game? Waghorn for me.
Waghorns first season here...........he done the business. For a reserve who tried to get us up and running, he did a fab job. Well done Martyn.

Waghorn has lost his edge and can't seem to score. Send him out on loan to a div 1 side to get some goals.
As for Beckford if you don't get his talent you don't get football but he's a pain in the A%se

What convinced me about Beckford was his hat-trick against Forest. Admittedly a make-shift defence, but one of his goals (the second I think) was a gentle lift past the advancing keeper - that comes naturally and makes me believe he could be the real deal.

Waghorne (on the other hand) could be made into an attacking midfielder but is not in IMHO a natural striker.

I think with Beckford, as with any other striker, to get the best out of them the team need to play to their strengths, which in Beckford's case is a ball in behind the defence not aimed at his head to flick on or into his body to hold up.

I know why Beckford gets frustrated because I do too. I'm over 6ft and I often get the ball launched at my head and while I do win a fair amount of headers, it's not my game. I also want the early ball in behind the defence but all to often the ball goes sideways or out wide and I get annoyed because the option is there to put the ball in behind and one one one 9 out of 10 times i'll score (as those that have played with me will know).

The question is though do we have the players that can select the 'right' ball to Beckford because if we don't then we might as well sell him because his talent will be wasted!!

As for work rate, I again don't think this should really be a factor for a goal scorer. Yes you need a player up top that will chase the balls into the corner but then you don't want both strikers doing it, not all the time anyway. As long as he scores goals, as Yakubu did, I personally don't care about his work rate as long as he makes the right runs and gets into the right positions and scores goals then his job is done in my opinion!!

It's an interesting point you touch on there arro - that a pairing of one worker and one poacher can work well.

Maybe it's not one or the other with Beckford and Waghorn - maybe we can play them as a partnership...?

Don't go there DM. Nugent's name should be one of the first on the team sheet.

But arro's comments uncover everything that is wrong with the British game. Long ball to striker who occasionally finds his partner but more often finds the opposing centre-half. If coaches take anything from the Euros it should be shorter passing, possession through the mid-field and the ball through on the ground to the front man.

This approach would suit Beckford better but as arro rightly says, we may not (yet) have the mid-field to match and I would also question whether most manager's in this country are forward-thinking enough.
We did try it (with Sven and Sousa) but lost our nerve and our patience.

prawn - It's very difficult to find players good enough to do that and willing to play in the Championship, and unless you have genuinely class technique through the squad, you end up losing the ball.

I'm sure Swansea would be cited, but even they needed the playoffs to go up. Most of the promoted teams from recent years have been teams that dominate their opponents through having more in the tank and being stronger. In tis league it comes down to earning the rigt to play - once you have half a yard on your opponents you generally start to look like you're playing good football anyway.

I agree that shorter passing should be incoporated more in to the English game, but I don't want it to completely take over. I would probably say what makes the Premiership the most entertaining top division in the world (IMO) is how dynamic it is.

But yes, quality of passing does need to improve, and I think this is gradually being implemented. Unfortunately another British trait is the 'fast food society' attitude of wanting things now, now, now. Improving upon technique to a significant and noticeable level will take generations of football and as pointed out above, within the second tier it is going to be even more difficult because of a) lower quality b) having to adapt in the interim to what type of football most opponents play.

Re: Beckford. I'm not sure an ultra passing game would suit him. His goals at Leeds and feedback from their supporters seems to be he is best with balls over the top and flick ons/quick knocks from a 'big man' partner up front. I don't think it's a coincidence he played better under Pearson's more direct game than Eriksson's 'passy passy' (as I mentioned though, not that I am against [in the long-term] trying to incoporate this into our football ethos at Leicester and generally within England.

Don't get me wrong guys, I know it will take a generation or more to change the mentality in the British game - more's the pity.

If the only way to play Beckford is ahead of a big target man (Futacs) then Nugent has to play out of position, which must not happen.

I wonder whether NP is looking to move away from the old fashioned flat 4-4-2 ?