But could Idah/Parrott/Connolly really have scored six in those three games?Originally Posted by ifk101
Robinson relieved a hell of a lot of pressure early in Baku when he just had a go from the edge of the box - no-one else was really taking that on. He had a ging again later in the half and the keeper dived over the ball - but if you don't shoot, you don't score. So I see Robinson as being the one forward we have at the moment who's shown he's not scared to have a pot.
Maybe they could have scored more? Robinson did miss a few scorable chances in Baku ....
Sure, he had a good game. But I see that as a product of how the team were set up to play and not equating to a reliance on Robinson to shoot/ score the goals.
But I don't see any evidence of that given how remarkably goal-shy all three have been in their careers to date.
Idah hasn't come remotely close to a goal as yet. Connolly has a bit of nip about him and was it him hit the post in Slovakia? Or was it Browne? And Parrott has done feck all except score against a tiring Andorra side.
I think the pressure that early goal in Baku relieved is a big factor in our recent uptick in form.
Which scorable chances did Robinson miss? And in any event, having a go is a percentages game - you score some, you miss some, but if you don't have a shot in the first place (like the others) then you definitely won't score.
Robinson had 1 goal in 20 odd senior caps prior to scoring in Azerbaijan. Remarkably goal-shy, no?
Hogan is worth another shot
He is fast and I would have him ahead of the rest of the lads in a one on one situation. I'm not saying he is better but in that scenario I would have him
True, but he was at least a regular starter and in-form as well, scoring 7 goals in 9 starts between the end of the PL season and the start of the Championship season.
Which puts him apart from the other three, who as I say have hardly come close to a goal at senior level except against a tiring part-time Andorra team.
Or put it this way - what changed between the dreadful 1-1 home draw performance against Azerbaijan in September, and the rather decent one in Baku? The front line is an obvious one - Idah/Connolly/Parrott started at home, and Idah/Horgan/Robinson started away. An early lead meant Azerbaijan couldn't sit back as much as they might otherwise have had too, which helped us - that was down to Robinson. And when Azerbaijan were starting to get back into things from the half-hour mark, Robinson again popped up to kill the game. Idah could have scored in those games too, but didn't.
Last edited by pineapple stu; 24/01/2022 at 11:14 AM.
I just got the feeling from Hogan that he just didn’t seem to think / show that playing for the Republic of Ireland suited him all that much and maybe because he had previous injury situations that he was a bit careful with himself ~ Maybe he was / is right. Is it really worth jeopardising your fitness to play International football ?
Robinson had not scored in the two months prior to Azerbaijan.
Maybe he was playing well at the time, but he wasn’t in goal scoring form and his international scoring record to date was remarkably goal-shy. Taken on individual merits, there was little suggestion he was on the verge of a goal scoring spree.
Or put it this way. What has changed to make a team not scoring goals to a team scoring goals? And does this equate to a reliance on Robinson who was part of both the team not scoring goals and the team scoring goals? Is it the choice of individuals or is it how the team is set up to play? Are the goals down to Robinson the individual finding a goal scoring touch (which his career to date suggests he does not have), or is he the coincidental beneficiary of the team’s approach/ set-up?
Is it beyond the realms of possibility that Idah/ Connolly/ Parrott are incapable of scoring/ replicating Robinson’s scoring against Azerbaijan/ Qatar/ Luxembourg? If a remarkably goal-shy player like Robinson can, why not the stated trio? Do you not believe they have the football ability to score goals against Azerbaijan/ Qatar/ Luxembourg?
As this is the Scott Hogan thread, I’d have no objection to Hogan coming into the squad but at the expense of Collins due to the similarities of what I believe they can contribute on the pitch. :-)
I think the thing is that Idah/Connolly/Parrott did play against Azerbaijan and didn't score. Idah in fact didn't score twice. They didn't even come close to scoring.
Why not? Well, it's a small enough sample - but one argument is that they're not good enough. Sporadic sub appearances making no impact at club level is less useful for us than someone who's a regular starter, even if his goalscoring record isn't stellar. It's why I don't really see why Hogan should come into the squad for Collins - why not Parrott, who's done bugger all for us and is struggling to make a mark in the third tier?
What changed to make a team not scoring goals to a team scoring goals? One key thing for me is that Robinson scored so early (7th minute) that it changed the nature of the game. Azerbaijan couldn't sit back, frustrate us, and hit us on the counter - instead, they had to come forward a bit and leave gaps for us to exploit. He did the same thing against Qatar. We only really out-played Luxembourg once we went 1-0 up (albeit much later on - and after the ineffective Idah had been subbed)
But to go 1-0 up more regularly (and even if you take it that Robinson's international spree was a continuation of club form, it's clear we can't rely on it longer-term - he mayn't have scored in the two months beforehand, but he was still our in-form striker), we need better striking options than we have now. So I think we need to cast the net wide here and not keep hoping the same young players are suddenly going to come good.
Last edited by pineapple stu; 25/01/2022 at 1:31 PM.
If Kenny does call up Hogan, and he scores and/or looks a genuine attacking threat, then great! I'll happily eat my words and forgive him for his previous half-arsed displays.
But if he gets called up, and continues to be as ineffective as he was in his previous caps, and Keane doesn't turn out to be up to the pitch of international football either, what happens? Do we give them another 5-10 caps to find their feet? Do we back Idah, Connolly and Parrott again? Do we go even younger again, to Odubeko, Oko-Flex and Ferguson?
Or do we keep scraping further down the barrel of grizzled, journeyman strikers, in the desperate hope that something might fit? Padraig Amond? Cillian Sheridan? Conor Sammon?
Please stop trying to make Scott Hogan happen.
That I don't know. But we can't really depend on Callum Robinson keeping in form, and no-one else (bar Shane Duffy actually) is really delivering the goods.If Kenny does call up Hogan, and he scores and/or looks a genuine attacking threat, then great! I'll happily eat my words and forgive him for his previous half-arsed displays.
But if he gets called up, and continues to be as ineffective as he was in his previous caps, and Keane doesn't turn out to be up to the pitch of international football either, what happens? Do we give them another 5-10 caps to find their feet? Do we back Idah, Connolly and Parrott again? Do we go even younger again, to Odubeko, Oko-Flex and Ferguson?
Or do we keep scraping further down the barrel of grizzled, journeyman strikers, in the desperate hope that something might fit? Padraig Amond? Cillian Sheridan? Conor Sammon?
Scully at Lincoln is the probably obvious next one to look at. Of course you're keeping an eye on the younger guys to see if they break through at club level, but there's no point trying to force that.
Though as you mention UCD forwards, why not bump Colm Whelan up from the 21s?(OK, don't do that quite yet. But we are in dire straits at present)
Why? He's our top scorer in The Championship, four ahead of CR7, looking like he'll put up a number comparable to an average Patrick Bamford season at that level.
To be fair, Scott Hogan should be asked to stop trying to make Scott Hogan happen. He’s doing really well. He should be back in the running if he fits in the formation; I don’t think we’re building a team around or anything!
I don’t think we’re in dire straits, P-Stu. If the trio you talk about weren’t such high potential I would agree but we can assume one or two of them will come good in the next year or so and we seem to be able to rely on Robbo, Ogbene and Duffy to keep us ticking over on the goal scoring charts. For now.
The goal last night was typical of what a Scott Hogan/ James Collins brings – the fox in the 6 yard box type :-). TBF I don’t see Idah/ Connolly/ Parrott getting those goals so there is a value there. The question is their overall contribution to the team and whether there is a need to have more than one of a Scott Hogan/ James Collins type in the squad.
He is 29 and in his prime
He is worth another look and lets be honest we have none scoring regular at that level or above
Well there's a few assumptions in there in fairness!
By this time next year we could be relegated from the Nations League for example. Can Robinson keep up his scoring run? Hopefully, but his club stats suggest it may have been a purple patch (against weak opposition). Ogbene - lively, but that goal in Azerbaijan was farcical keeping and I'm not sure he has the consistency yet to be a regular scorer.
We're not far away from a record run of seven matches in a row without scoring so I don't think we can be complacent quite yet...
How come generally, Foxes in the Boxes are rarely as profligate as Foxes in Chicken Coops ?
to be fair... i took your assumptions, countered with a couple of assumptions of my own which resulted in the above response that is laden with assumptions
We might score plenty, we might not. A fair summary.
Might get a game against Lithuania with Kenny talking about developing depth within the squad. But can also see us bringing in lads who'll most likely play as one of the two behind the CF (Harness, Sykes, and Ronan), and you'll see Robinson being pushed up to replace Idah mid game like in Luxembourg when Knight came on and in Azerbaijan when Chiedozie came on for Idah.
In Qatar and Portugal games Robinson was trusted with being that CF after finding his shooting boats in October. We didn't even have an out and out 9 in the November squad but could change now that one is finding a bit of form and scores a couple of goals every couple of months.
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