Get rid of Giroud ?

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Chamakh was a different level of crapness. With him starting you literally had zero threat up front. With Chamakh we were basically playing 4-5-0. At least with Giroud you have the smallest, remote possibility of a goal because he actually shoots (even if it flies over the bar). Chamakh didn't shoot.

[Power n Glory]

I don't agree that they would, it's not about current form...Giroud simply does not have the ability to do what we are asking of him.....we have no pace on the wing so when he's holding the ball up he's holding it up for the congested cluster of central midfielders where invariably the ball will be cut out by a deep lying defence.
Remy has a nice burst of pace but considering none of our midfield has he would not be much benefit to us on the counter attack as it will fizzle out by the time it gets to him as he doesn't have the strength or ability to take multitudes of players on the way a Higuain or Suarez could.
Balotelli is a very average striker for someone who would cause us so much trouble and completley destroy any dressing room harmony that we had. Bony and Ba we'd have the same problem as Giroud, both would be starved off service left holding up the ball in a congested midfield....and nothing to prove that they have the finesse to kill off the chances against the top sides any more than Giroud has.

It’s madness and goes back to what Blink mentioned in a previous post, there seems to be no forward thinking with these transfers. I have no idea why Wenger is going for these slow and bulky centre forwards who struggle to lose their markers over quick, nimble and mobile strikers. We play quick, short pass and move football. Why buy someone with a dodgy first touch, slow acceleration and poor movement to play up front? I think Remy would be a good shout but it’s not going to happen. The way Ozil and Cazorla were carving out chances is the way to go. Pace, players interchanging and confusing the opposition.

[IBK]

Controversial, but Giroud is probably one of the worst strikers we’ve had leading our line. Right now, he’s playing the sort of football that had everyone berating Chamakh and Bendy. It’s that bad. A poor touch, missing loads of chances whilst remaining immobile and not getting inside the box. It’s like a fusion of both Chamakh and Bendy to create this lump of shit on our pitch. It drives me mental to see him constantly coming towards the ball instead of making runs into the box. He always comes short but what makes him worse than Chamakh is that he’s always coming in with a heavy and clumsy touch. He loses possession a lot when he tries to come short. He’s dispossessed easily and his passing statistics aren’t good enough for him to keep coming deep. We’re talking 50/60% pass completion. We don’t need him coming short all the time just to flick it to the opposition. It’s not intelligent play. He needs a bench.

Mate, I often agree with you, but this time I think you are missing the relevant point, I really do. This is not a defence of Giroud's limited ability, nor overlooking Wenger's scandalous and inexplicable failure to provide his team with an even semi competitive front line.

But Giroud is a perfect example of the problem with Wenger's entire approach to the game. The manager knew damn well that he wasn't buying a modern striker - able to make runs into the box, and score from there, or from outside it. The reason he bought Giroud, IMHO was because of his obsession with playing the game from MF. In Wenger's mind, Giroud was a player who would bring his attacking MF's into the game by holding the ball up and laying it off - and if he scored himself it would be as part of a mobile triangle - if he happened to be on the end of a move. Any other goals he scored would be a bonus rather than the main event.

And when we had the mental and physical wherewithal, and the confidence to play in the manner that Wenger is obsessed with, to the exclusion of everything else, the system worked, and so did Giroud - which is why he is still 7th highest goalscorer, and 7th joint assister in the league.

The problem with Giroud (in addition to not being good enough as our main striker), is the problem with Wenger's system. I've said it before, but Wenger's short, passing, give and go game requires players to be 100% on form physically, mentally - and in particular confidence wise. If they are not on top form as a team (for example short of confidence as we are ATM), and there is no individually brilliant performance to hide our blushes then we struggle attacking-wise. And we cannot expect a player of Giroud's nature and ability suddenly to become the individual goalscorer that we all know our team needs so much.

We are flatlining ATM - Giroud along with several other players - and while its easy to point the finger at Giroud for what he is not. This is a systemic failure - both in terms of method and playing personnel as much as it is Giroud's. Wenger is also seeing even Giroud's undoubted ability to hold the ball up suffer due to him being chronically overplayed (I've heard that this is partially because although he feels Bendtner could deputise, the manager is reluctant to expose Bendtner to the abuse that he is likely to get from fans - which if true is staggering!).

It is interesting to note that Chamakh was a player in a similar mode to Giroud - a give and go merchant rather than a player with a true instinct for goal. He is not as good a forward as Giroud - but he does possess pace - which is why he would for me be a better option for us than Giroud, were he still here. Also, Chamakh was never intended to be our first choice striker - and with Wenger's comical pursuit of Suarez and Higuain, its easy to say the same about Giroud. The astonishing thing is why Wenger has settled for Giroud as basically all we have - and there can be no clearer indication that the manager's ambition lies no higher than 4th in the league.

[Power n Glory]

Mate, I often agree with you, but this time I think you are missing the relevant point, I really do. This is not a defence of Giroud's limited ability, nor overlooking Wenger's scandalous and inexplicable failure to provide his team with an even semi competitive front line.

But Giroud is a perfect example of the problem with Wenger's entire approach to the game. The manager knew damn well that he wasn't buying a modern striker - able to make runs into the box, and score from there, or from outside it. The reason he bought Giroud, IMHO was because of his obsession with playing the game from MF. In Wenger's mind, Giroud was a player who would bring his attacking MF's into the game by holding the ball up and laying it off - and if he scored himself it would be as part of a mobile triangle - if he happened to be on the end of a move. Any other goals he scored would be a bonus rather than the main event.

And when we had the mental and physical wherewithal, and the confidence to play in the manner that Wenger is obsessed with, to the exclusion of everything else, the system worked, and so did Giroud - which is why he is still 7th highest goalscorer, and 7th joint assister in the league.

The problem with Giroud (in addition to not being good enough as our main striker), is the problem with Wenger's system. I've said it before, but Wenger's short, passing, give and go game requires players to be 100% on form physically, mentally - and in particular confidence wise. If they are not on top form as a team (for example short of confidence as we are ATM), and there is no individually brilliant performance to hide our blushes then we struggle attacking-wise. And we cannot expect a player of Giroud's nature and ability suddenly to become the individual goalscorer that we all know our team needs so much.

We are flatlining ATM - Giroud along with several other players - and while its easy to point the finger at Giroud for what he is not. This is a systemic failure - both in terms of method and playing personnel as much as it is Giroud's. Wenger is also seeing even Giroud's undoubted ability to hold the ball up suffer due to him being chronically overplayed (I've heard that this is partially because although he feels Bendtner could deputise, the manager is reluctant to expose Bendtner to the abuse that he is likely to get from fans - which if true is staggering!).

It is interesting to note that Chamakh was a player in a similar mode to Giroud - a give and go merchant rather than a player with a true instinct for goal. He is not as good a forward as Giroud - but he does possess pace - which is why he would for me be a better option for us than Giroud, were he still here. Also, Chamakh was never intended to be our first choice striker - and with Wenger's comical pursuit of Suarez and Higuain, its easy to say the same about Giroud. The astonishing thing is why Wenger has settled for Giroud as basically all we have - and there can be no clearer indication that the manager's ambition lies no higher than 4th in the league.

Sums up the frustration I have with the manager and player.

[Fist of Lehmann]

What is adequate for our needs though?

Well, this is my honest amateurs opinion.

Given his attributes Sanogo's role would bear similarities to that of Giroud or Bendtner.

To play that role he needs to:

1) Possession
Receive the ball (usually under heavy pressure), lay it off accurately, and win a decent percentage of aerial duels.

2) Shape
Make intelligent attacking runs/take up dangerous positions, show for the forward pass and close down centrebacks.

3) Goal Threat
Take shots/headers and get them on target.

From that it seems clear why we need a better striker and why Walcott and Podolski are only used there in extremis.
Walcott is strong in 3, decent in aspects of 2 and has the great advantage of pace, however his 1 is poor.
Podolski is also strong in 3, has decent touch and link up for 1, but his 2 is weak.

Giroud doesn't do enough of 3, but is brave, extremely hard working, and takes up smart defensive positions at set pieces.
Of the three he could be regarded as just about adequate for our needs.

Sanogo, based on what I have seen of him last summer, is still something of a callow youth - too slight to hold his own against aggressive Premiership CBs, an erratic first touch, and without real speed or little bit burst, he is unlikely to outskill, outpace or overpower any half decent CB.

Of course, he is young, and young guys can develop physically and improve technically very quickly. If he is to be any use to use this season, he will have needed to do that substantially from the summer.

[AFC Leveller]

Giroud shoul be back up to a proper striker. If our number 9 is having a bad game Giroud can come in and cause havock with his strength and aerial ability. However, right now one of the reasons we are soe asy to defend against is because he is playing. He doesnt have pace, a good turn or even a decent shot so his best hope of a goal is when cross come in or in set pieces. As a team, we are frustraingly boring and slow and any half organised team can stifle us.

If we dont sign a striker in the summer then the manager simply has to go because its pure neglect on his part.

[Bergkamplegend]

I still don't get why wenger has more trust in Giroud than in Poldi.

Giroud has become a disaster as a striker, and now he's also in the trash papers...

[Fist of Lehmann]

The astonishing thing is why Wenger has settled for Giroud as basically all we have - and there can be no clearer indication that the manager's ambition lies no higher than 4th in the league.

Sub, in your opinion, had we managed to sign a CF for £42m instead of signing Ozil, would that have been any clearer sign of ambition than what we actually did?

[LDG]

Well, this is my honest amateurs opinion.

Given his attributes Sanogo's role would bear similarities to that of Giroud or Bendtner.

To play that role he needs to:

1) Possession
Receive the ball (usually under heavy pressure), lay it off accurately, and win a decent percentage of aerial duels.

2) Shape
Make intelligent attacking runs/take up dangerous positions, show for the forward pass and close down centrebacks.

3) Goal Threat
Take shots/headers and get them on target.

From that it seems clear why we need a better striker and why Walcott and Podolski are only used there in extremis.
Walcott is strong in 3, decent in aspects of 2 and has the great advantage of pace, however his 1 is poor.
Podolski is also strong in 3, has decent touch and link up for 1, but his 2 is weak.

Giroud doesn't do enough of 3, but is brave, extremely hard working, and takes up smart defensive positions at set pieces.
Of the three he could be regarded as just about adequate for our needs.

Sanogo, based on what I have seen of him last summer, is still something of a callow youth - too slight to hold his own against aggressive Premiership CBs, an erratic first touch, and without real speed or little bit burst, he is unlikely to outskill, outpace or overpower any half decent CB.

Of course, he is young, and young guys can develop physically and improve technically very quickly. If he is to be any use to use this season, he will have needed to do that substantially from the summer.

You wrote good

If RVP wasn't such a complete cunt, we would have had the exact player we needed!

[Fist of Lehmann]

You wrote good

If RVP wasn't such a complete cunt, we would have had the exact player we needed!

Rvp couldn't stay tbf. He didn't like the direction the club was going and he had a little boy up inside him.