TC’s goal yesterday and Leaburn’s bad miss rather levelled things up for our forwards, in what I imagine is a very strange fashion. Now 20 games into the league campaign, and in pretty much all of them we’ve been playing two up top, and each of the forwards – Leaburn, Olaofe, Campbell and Kelman – have registered one goal apiece, while the fifth, Godden, has yet to make it on the pitch. We’ve had plenty of seasons before when our leading goalscorer has been in single figures, and we do have Carey and Knibbs scoring, but I doubt we've had one when all of the forwards were stuck on one goal with nearly half the campaign over.
There are, for sure, mitigating factors. First and foremost, we don’t play in a freeflowing style that results in chances aplenty for the forwards. Coventry we are not, at the moment. So while Leaburn’s miss was a bad one, it’s not the case that the forwards have been wasting glorious opportunities (I’d suggest that a few one on ones not converted by Olaofe in particular are the exception). Most of the time they are feeding off scraps against tough, seasoned defenders. But even compared with last season we are missing key strengths. Godden is our best natural finisher, the best at sniffing an opportunity and getting in the right place to benefit. Kelman improved after a sticky start, scored his first, then got injured and has not been available since. Last season, when we needed a battering ram to change games, we had (sometimes) Aneke. We know why we didn’t retain him (and so far one goal in 10 games for Shrewsbury doesn’t look like a great return), just that neither Leaburn nor Olaofe can match his physical presence when that's needed for a final 20 minutes or so.
For all of the strikers we’ve had available this season the Championship marks a step up for them. And it’s fair to say that they have all struggled to have a significant impact, especially as without Godden and Kelman the opportunities for a rest/rotation have been very limited – and as Jones commented he’s been asking Campbell to play second forward, left-side wing-back, right winger. When Jones and his team strengthened the squad over the summer, in goal they brought in Kaminski, aged 33 and well versed in playing in the Championship. In defence they added Burke and Bell, later Bree and now Roussillon, all experienced players for whom the Championship doesn’t mark a step up. In midfield Rankin-Costello came in, while Docherty and Berry played for many years at this level. We did add Carey, Knibbs and Apter, for whom it is a step up. Up front, we did good business bringing in Kelman and Olaofe, but with Godden not available nobody playing for us up front has experience of the Championship. Leaburn is still learning how to lead the line at Championship level (and wasn’t a regular starter last season), Campbell how to adjust facing tougher opponents than last season.
So given all this it is perhaps not surprising that we have struggled in the forwards department. The question is what, if anything, to do about it.
First option as always is to do nothing. If Godden and Kelman are about to return, we will be back to having numbers and options. Second, if the agreements allow, Kanu and/or Mbick could be called back from loan. Kanu has notched nine goals in 16 appearances for Walsall, picking up the EFL Young Player of the Month award in September, on Saturday scoring again in a game against Aneke’s Shrewsbury. Mbick has so far scored five in 14 for Colchester. But they are on loan as part of their development process, to return to us as better players; and there would be a strong chance that moving up from League Two to the Championship would be challenging for them.
Third, we bring in one or two more. Where from? We know Jones doesn’t like loan players, but there’s a time and a place. Drafting in a promising youngster from a Premiership side surely has to be considered, since shelling out significant amounts in January for a forward is normally considered bad business.
I’m not paid to come up with the answers, but bottom line is we need more than we currently have, not least to help those being called on to play game in, game out. Either Godden and Kelman are back available, or Kanu or Mbick brought back, or we sign one or two, either on loan or permanent. If it is the last option, surely we will be looking for someone with either Championship experience or currently with a Premiership side.
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