Posts Tagged ‘Striker’
From back-up to Leed
With Jermaine Beckford leaving for Everton, the race was on for Leeds to replace the striker. Not the easiest job when you take into account Beckford’s 72 goals in 126 appearances for the Yorkshire side.
Billy Paynter was brought in on a free transfer from Swindon. Although Paynter scored 29 goals last term, he is more of a target man than an out and out goal scorer. Championship betting suggests that Lucciano Becchio won’t get 30 goals in a season but he will work all day to supply other people.
Many players have been mentioned in the press, to replace 30 goal Beckford. Billy Sharp, Leroy Lita and Gary Hooper have all been linked. Hooper, who enters the last year of his Scunthorpe contract this season, has been linked with Leeds for over a year. Celtic, Burnley and Middlesbrough are all supposedly in the hunt for the 22 year old. Scunthorpe are apparently asking for £3 million for Hooper, which may be too steep for Leeds. Chairman Ken Bates isn’t renowned for splashing the cash.
Leeds manager Simon Grayson might be confident enough in what he has already to impact on the Championship and even Carling Cup betting.
American striker Mike Grella, has been used sparingly by Grayson over the past couple of season. It’s been reported that many in the Leeds squad view him as their most skilful player. He has looked promising whenever he has been used and this could be a big season for Grella.
Perhaps the most promising find of last season was South African forward Davide Somma. After signing for Leeds in September 2009, he joined Chesterfield on loan before injury cut his spell short. He was then sent to Lincoln at then end of last season to gain more Football League experience. During his 14 games at Lincoln he scored 9 times. The quality, as well as quantity of the goals impressed Grayson enough, persuading him to hand Somma a one year extention to his current deal.
In Beckford’s early Leeds career, he spent time on loan in a lower division. When he returned from a successful spell at Scunthorpe, he brought that confidence back to Leeds and became an Elland Road hero. Many in West Yorkshire will be hoping Somma follows suite.
Tags: Ascii, Burnley, Cambria, Carling Cup, Div, Family Auto, Font Definitions, Font Format, Football League, Footer, Gary Hooper, Goal Scorer, Grayson, Ken Bates, League Experience, Leeds, Leroy Lita, Lincoln, Lt, Middlesbrough, Mike Grella, Mso, Orphan, Paper Source, Paynter, Pitch, Props, Sans Serif, Signature, Somma, Striker, Style Definitions, Style Name, Style Type, Swindon, Target Man, Theme Font, Times New Roman, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Side
Return of Robben crucial for Holland’s World Cup hopes
Whichever team wins the World Cup is likely to have plenty of things go their way in the next few weeks.
This could be a referring decision, a deflection to create a goal, or a player returning from injury earlier than expected.
It is the third example mentioned that could apply to Holland’s chances of success according to one of their star players Robin van Persie. The Arsenal striker is aware how important Arjen Robben is to the team and has expressed how keen he is for the winger to return to action sooner rather than later.
Holland have come in dramatically in the fixed odds betting lately, reflecting a surge of support from punters, but the winger’s fitness could be vital to the team’s chances.
The former Chelsea man is suffering with a hamstring injury at present and this will keep him out of the first match of the tournament against Denmark on Monday. However, they are hoping he will return for the clash with Japan five days later.
Van Persie would welcome Robben’s return with open arms as he describes his team-mate as an “awesome player” with a playing style that has “a lot of weapons”. He has been in fine form for Bayern Munich in the Champions League this season, after all.
It was then a bitter blow for Holland to learn that he had suffered a tear in his left hamstring and there was an anxious wait to see how long he would be out for. Van Persie has revealed that Robben has been “working really hard to join the squad next week”.
As for Van Persie’s views on the Holland team as a whole, he says that the “mood is great” inside the training camp after previous tournaments were overshadowed slightly by rifts inside the squad.
The best betting site odds make the Dutch 10/1 shots to win the tournament, and there is an expection they will win their first World Cup this year.
The good feeling in the camp, along with the potential return of Robben and the rest of the talent in the Holland team certainly puts Bert van Marwijk’s men in a decent position ahead of their games against Denmark, Japan and Cameroon in Group E.
Tags: Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Bert Van Marwijk, Betting Site, Bitter Blow, Champions League, Chelsea Man, Clash, Deflection, Expection, Holland, Odds, Punters, Rifts, Star Players, Striker, Team Mate, Training Camp, Winger, World Cup
Zamora for England? Maybe, just maybe!
Just a few short months after he was barracked by his own fans, the chances of Fulham striker Bobby Zamora securing a place in England’s World Cup squad seem to be improving rapidly.
Zamora was seen as a bit of a joke figure at Craven Cottage in the run-up to Christmas, with his boss Roy Hodgson at something of a loss to explain why they would be turning on one of their own players.
But the 29-year-old has proved to be something of a revelation in the three months since that low point, taking his tally to nine goals in his last 15 games when he scored the match-winning free-kick in the 2-1 victory over Birmingham City on Sunday.
Zamora has goals in each of the last four games and suddenly it is not just Hodgson clamouring for him to get a chance in Fabio Capello’s squad – and it is interesting that the Italian was at Craven Cottage to see Sunday’s match with only Zamora and Birmingham keeper Joe Hart as serious possibles for his squad on show.
Sadly for Zamora, Capello had already left his seat by the time Zamora scored, but Hodgson felt his overall performance would have done enough to impress and could be enough to earn him a call-up for the first pre-World Cup friendly against Egypt on March 3.
What of the competition? Well, if we split the striking options up, it seems almost certain that Wayne Rooney (100% certain if fit) and Jermain Defoe will go to South Africa, while Peter Crouch has often been favoured by Capello as the main target man.
Much will, then, depend on the make-up of the squad. If Capello takes only four strikers, as has been mooted, then Zamora will be contending with the likes of Emile Heskey (probably still the favourite), Carlton Cole, Darren Bent (disappointing recently) and Gabriel Agbonlahor for just one spot on the plane.
On this season’s evidence, Zamora and Agbonlahor would be the favourites with World Cup Betting, with Cole unable to find the net regularly or stay fit, Heskey having scored only five times and Bent having hit the wall since a fast start to the campaign.
Far-fetched it might still be, but you certainly can’t fault Zamora for his effort as he tries to score his way into the squad. Something World Cup Picks are far from ruling out.
Tags: Birmingham City, Bobby Zamora, Cambria, Craven Cottage, Emile Heskey, Fabio Capello, Fareast, Favoured, Font Definitions, Font Format, Four Games, Free Kick, Fulham, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Jermain Defoe, Joe Hart, Mso, Orphan, Panose, Paper Source, Peter Crouch, Roy Hodgson, Sans Serif, Striker, Strikers, Style Definitions, Style Name, Style Type, Tally, Target Man, Theme Font, Times New Roman, Wayne Rooney, World Cup Squad
Klaas Jan Huntelaar AC Milan football shirts
We have just taken delivery of the new AC Milan home shirts and they are now available with the printing of all your favourite players, including summer signing Klass Jan Huntelaar.
Klass Jan Huntelaar was the main summer signing for the Milan giants and will be hoping to make a big mark this season after failing to settle at Real Madrid. The striker has a great goal record even at Madrid but he found it difficult to settle in Spain so he will be hoping to settle better in Italy and hit the goal trail.
The shirt is priced at £54.99 and is available for immediate dispatch. Click here to buy the Klass Jan Huntelaar AC Milan shirt.
Tags: Ac Milan Football, Football Shirts, Giants, Goal Trail, Italy, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Klass Jan Huntelaar, Real Madrid, Spain, Striker