Article by Brent WeberI was excited in the summer when Roberto Soldado signed. Although Benteke was my first choice (“The Better Striker Option”), Soldado was second on my wish list. He was a proven, high quality striker with a consistent track record for scoring goals in a strong league. I thought Soldado was the missing ingredient to Champions League qualification. Earlier in the season, I wrote an article defending Roberto’s performances and his lack of production because he wasn’t getting the supply needed to succeed (“Just Give Me The Damn Ball”). Since then, my opinion of Mr. Soldado has changed and I have realised that supply is not the only issue with Soldado. It is time for him to either start producing or start watching from the bench.
Before harping on the negatives, I will start with the positives of his play. Soldado does many things really well. First, he is great at hold-up play. Second, he is a solid passer and distributor of the ball. He is extremely skillful with the ball at his feet. He has great vision and sees plays developing quickly and naturally. We cannot forget his ability to score from the spot which has been our saving grace this season. In almost every match this season, he has shown flashes of brilliance, skill, and quality that leave fans and probably the manager begging for more.
The problem is that we only see flashes! He has yet to show the consistent, quality play that the club invested big money to see. In my opinion, he appears lazy and unmotivated on the pitch. There are times when I hardly notice him on the pitch because he is uninvolved in the action. He doesn’t work hard enough for the ball in or around the box. Quite often, he stands still in the box, waiting for something to happen. I rarely see him make a hard, high intensity run to get behind the CB’s to create scoring opportunities. Top strikers don’t stand still. Top strikers constantly move and work relentlessly to get the ball in scoring areas.
Along with his less than desirable work ethic, he doesn’t appear to be a physically gifted athlete. The few times he has had the ball in the open field with scoring opportunities, he has been unable to drive past the defender or create good scoring chances. He lacks natural pace to consistently create on his own.
In La Liga, he was known as a top quality finisher. Since Sherwood’s appointment and the change to two strikers, he has had more chances in the box and better supply but he has failed to finish those chances. Essentially, we have a striker that isn’t working hard and isn’t finishing!
I don’t think talent is the issue. There is no doubt that he has talent and skill. I think the bigger issue is motivation and desire. He has little competition on the roster and now has even less with Defoe’s departure. It was clear that AVB was not going to play Adebayor, so Soldado was essentially handed the starting role regardless of production.
Sherwood must find a way to motivate Soldado so he starts performing. I strongly believe that his production will be the key factor to whether we make the top 4 or not. I would love to see an experienced goal-scoring striker from the Premier League brought in before the window closes. Another hungry, hard working striker on the roster could push Soldado and create needed competition at the ST position. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is going to happen.
Rumours suggest that Sherwood is planning to use Lamela up front as a striker. I love this idea for two reasons. First, it gets Lamela on the pitch. Second, it could be great motivation for Soldado, especially if Lamela can score a few goals while Soldado watches from the sideline.
Sherwood could also go back to one striker with a creative player supporting. That one striker would be Adebayor right now and not Soldado. I would love to see Eriksen at the 10 behind Adebayor with a true winger on the left.
Regardless of method or tactics, Sherwood must get production and results from Soldado. Soldado must be more consistent. I’ve seen flashes but I want to see consistency and hard work. He has to play with a stronger desire, higher work rate, and with a sense of urgency. If his position is threatened, I believe he will respond. He has to become the consistent goal scoring threat that we so desperately need or we will not qualify for Champions League.
I’m done waiting. I want production!
COYS!
@BrentWeber73
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dont say this often but good article!
ReplyDelete- @tayr93
Agree totally, very good article, well written.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it's lack of motivation, I think he lost confidence after not scoring enough under AVB. So being dropped may not help, it could make it worse!
ReplyDeleteDid anybody play well under portoplonker?I think soldier Bobs problem is he's trying to hard,he needs to be more relaxed,couple of goals should bring that about.Try him with a bit of yoga Tim.
ReplyDeleteSeeing Negredo doing so well for City surely isn't helping.. His spot in the Spain squad is more or less gone and I think he's just given up the fight he doesn't look like a happy boy a hat trick against Swansea could change all that tho haha wishful thinking but totally agree we need more competition for his place in the team Lamela off Ade or even off Soldado could be a good combination but we should wait and see how Ade Soldado partnership goes for next few games
ReplyDeleteif you watch Soldado's goals last year you will see that nearly all of them were the same - a good cross volleyed beautifully into the net. The problem with Spurs is - no one can cross accurately. Even Eriksen has been poor.
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