I was amused yesterday when Gabby Agbonlahor threw his name into the hat as a solution to our striker problem. The idea is tempting in a crazy sort of way, and the media response to it has taken it more seriously than I would have thought.
If Celtic announced this there would be no rash of stories telling us that the idea was crazy.
I do understand the upside to this. In other words, I do understand that the idea has an upside. He’s got a good reputation, he’s an ex-England cap, and if Griffiths is injured, we’ve got one fit striker. He would give us an option, as cover.
But you know what? Dembele spent so long on the treatment table that if we’d kept him we might well have had one fit striker anyway. Injuries happen to all clubs. On top of that, Agbonlahor can’t be match-fit even if he has been working hard behind the scenes … so if we signed him today you know what? One fit striker although there would be three on the books.
This is one of these ideas that sounds better the longer it remains just an idea. In the same way as certain players get better the longer they are out of the team.
You can imagine all sorts of scenarios where the guy is a huge hit and scores barrow loads of goals … you can equally anticipate him becoming another Carlton Cole or Colin Kazim Richards; a drain on the wage bill for whom we get very little in return.
There will come a time during the next few months when signing this guy will look like an act of genius, but I am guessing that’ll only happen if he’s not on the books. Media – both MSM and new – will say what a great move it would have been. I am not so sure that any such stories would ever be written if we actually took the plunge and did it.
It sounds like a good idea, but a lot of things do when they are at the pitch stage. This one isn’t going to happen. He might like the notion and he might well discuss it with Brendan, but I’d be amazed if this went beyond the point of a civil chat.
We have two strikers, going towards Christmas. That’s how it’s going to be. The die is cast, and we’re not going to make a desperate grab in the dirt. We could have done that on the night, and we resisted. I don’t think we’ll do it now, and nor should we.
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