EASTWOOD GOES TONIGHT OR TOMORROW

[sufcintheprem]

I'm getting to the point where I feel if he stays we may well go down. We possibly need more of a poacher than someone with extravagant talent outside the area and with at least two of our strikers looking more comfortable outside the box than getting past the penalty spot. £2.5m can buy a lot at this level and I'd be inclined to accept it.

 

[Jam_Man]

Quote[/b] (royfox @ Jan. 05 2007,09:35)]Personally I hope he stays. If he goes we're going down. Does the poor form include the goals against Man U and Southampton?

Me too, if no offers come in and he stays that would be great and I cant see us surviving without him. However if offers do come in we have to let him go.

As to form, Man Utd was 2 months ago ! He showed his class with the goal against Southampton but overall he hasnt been playing as well as we know he can over the last month, his touch etc dont seem quite as good as normal etc.

I dont buy this claim he doesnt care or isnt trying, I just think the struggling team has had a knock on effect and too much is on his shoulders.

Dont get me wrong, unlike some people here I dont want him to leave because he has "done f all", Id rather he stayed and hopefully the team playing better would help him regain his form but it doesnt look likely.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Quote[/b] (Uxbridge Shrimper @ Jan. 05 2007,10:26)]

Quote[/b] (EastStandBlue @ Jan. 05 2007,10:23)]Fulham now have Helguson, McBride and Montella after Collins John leaves. Although Fulham have refuted the Eastwood talk and we say we've had no offers, Id still be extremely surprised if this wasn't Freddy's destination come the end of today, or next week at the latest.

Put like that though, Freddy will struggle to get a game at Fulham won't he?

I certainly wouldn't play him ahead of Montella (second highest Serie A scorer among active players) or McBride. A long time on the bench would beckon, although that may not necessarily be a bad thing, provided he's learning off his team-mates in training.

Montella won't be available for Tomorrow and i can see Coleman wanting to push Freddy through in time for next season... Montella will be gone (Hes only at Fulham to regain fitness) and i can see McBride returning to the MLS to see out his career.

Why pay £4.5m+ after Freddy's scored a few more goals and have to compete for his signature when you can land him now for £2.5-3m whilst other clubs chase other strikers....

 

[sufcintheprem]

Quote[/b] (SW17 Blue @ Jan. 05 2007,10:17)]And Freddy doesn't seem to be anywhere near top of Curbishley, Redknapp or O'Neill's shopping lists.

A little worrying really - may end up selling him for peanuts at the end of the window or carrying an unhappy player for the rest of the season with his price diminishing all the time.

If we're in the business of speculation then Kanu's publicly stated that he wants to leave and Redknapp has given slightly stronger signals than most that he's an admirer of Fred.

As for the second bit, I don't really think that will happen. I think Fred will continue his class this season and his value will probably stay at slightly lower level.

From a fan's perspective, the prospect of Eastwood staying til the summer is an exciting one.

 

[Rusty Lee]

Quote[/b] (Uxbridge Shrimper @ Jan. 05 2007,10:26)]

Quote[/b] (EastStandBlue @ Jan. 05 2007,10:23)]Fulham now have Helguson, McBride and Montella after Collins John leaves. Although Fulham have refuted the Eastwood talk and we say we've had no offers, Id still be extremely surprised if this wasn't Freddy's destination come the end of today, or next week at the latest.

Put like that though, Freddy will struggle to get a game at Fulham won't he?

I certainly wouldn't play him ahead of Montella (second highest Serie A scorer among active players) or McBride. A long time on the bench would beckon, although that may not necessarily be a bad thing, provided he's learning off his team-mates in training.

IF Freddy goes and gets off to a good start he will play week in week out. He has the ability.

As for Southend being better off without him and with 2.5m in there pocket, im afraid this is complete rubbish, Freddy pretty much got us promoted single handed, and in my eyes that it makes him priceless to us.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ Jan. 05 2007,10:32)]From a fan's perspective, the prospect of Eastwood staying til the summer is an exciting one.

Not as exciting as Tilson having around £1.5m to spend on replacements In my opinion.

Freddy's being marked out of games. Teams come here knowing if they can shut Eastwood down, we will struggle to score. If Eastwood goes, it paves the way for 1 or 2 new strikers to come into the club and, knowing Tilsons eye for talent, they will be capable of scoring at this level.

The talk of us being doomed to relegation without Freddy is nonsense. Freddy has been with us all season and it's not as if we're free scoring even though we're bottom... Sure his ability would help us a great deal, but we'd need a new forward who can actually score for him to be effective.

 

[Jam_Man]

Quote[/b] (EastStandBlue @ Jan. 05 2007,10:35)]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ Jan. 05 2007,10:32)]From a fan's perspective, the prospect of Eastwood staying til the summer is an exciting one.

Not as exciting as Tilson having around £1.5m to spend on replacements In my opinion.

Added to that if Freddy stays to the summer he then only has 12 months left on his contract and from then on his value plummets.

 

[Rusty Lee]

Quote[/b] (EastStandBlue @ Jan. 05 2007,10:35)]If Eastwood goes, it paves the way for 1 or 2 new strikers to come into the club and, knowing Tilsons eye for talent, they will be capable of scoring at this level.

Yeah Bradbury, Harrold and Paynter there banging them in for fun

 

[stickyboy]

Quote[/b] (EastStandBlue @ Jan. 05 2007,10:35)]If Eastwood goes, it paves the way for 1 or 2 new strikers to come into the club and, knowing Tilsons eye for talent, they will be capable of scoring at this level.

Billy Paynter??

 

[stickyboy]

Quote[/b] (Rusty Lee @ Jan. 05 2007,10:46)]

Quote[/b] (EastStandBlue @ Jan. 05 2007,10:35)]If Eastwood goes, it paves the way for 1 or 2 new strikers to come into the club and, knowing Tilsons eye for talent, they will be capable of scoring at this level.

Yeah Bradbury, Harrold and Paynter there banging them in for fun  

you beat me to it!

 

[sufcintheprem]

In fairness, Clarke had a rough time settling in but given he's now finding his feet. Paynter's been injured since Leeds and hasn't had the same opportunities.

Harrold, fair enough, but as someone else mentioned, I don't think he was ever intended to be first or second choice. He's also got 3 in 11 starts which isn't actually that terrible in a struggling team built around a striker who isn't you.

The striker whose goalscoring form does seem inexcusable is Bradbury but the rest of his game seems pivotal to us actually gaining attacking possession in matches.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Harrold is Brush's buy if you ask me... Bradbury is more of a midfielder and if you think Paynter has had a fair crack of the whip you're seriously deluded...

 

[Bielzibubz]

Quote[/b] (Rusty Lee @ Jan. 05 2007,10:32)]As for Southend being better off without him and with 2.5m in there pocket, im afraid this is complete rubbish, Freddy pretty much got us promoted single handed, and in my eyes that it makes him priceless to us.

That argument really doesn't hold water. Yes, I agree with your comments about last season but what makes you think for one minute that should he stay that he is going to start banging the goals in left right and center the way in which he did last season and the season before that?. This is the Championship now, defenders know exactly how to negate his talents and we have all seen him struggle to make any sort of impact so far.

Regardless of past exploits (including Man U and Southampton) he is in no way indispensable to our future at this level. When you step up to another level you can only judge a player and his ability on the way in which he performs at that level over a sustained period of time, not on how he played previously against inferior opposition.

 

[loz]

Quote[/b] (D62SUBOY @ Jan. 05 2007,11:12)]

Quote[/b] (Rusty Lee @ Jan. 05 2007,10:32)]As for Southend being better off without him and with 2.5m in there pocket, im afraid this is complete rubbish, Freddy pretty much got us promoted single handed, and in my eyes that it makes him priceless to us.

That argument really doesn't hold water. Yes, I agree with your comments about last season but what makes you think for one minute that should he stay that he is going to start banging the goals in left right and center the way in which he did last season and the season before that?. This is the Championship now, defenders know exactly how to negate his talents and we have all seen him struggle to make any sort of impact so far.

Regardless of past exploits (including Man U and Southampton) he is in no way indispensable to our future at this level. When you step up to another level you can only judge a player and his ability on the way in which he performs at that level over a sustained period of time, not on how he played previously against inferior opposition.

i think 'struggle to make any impact' is really harsh. he's scored at a decent rate (Stoke, Palace, Man U, Southampton, Cov + doubtless other games i can't remember)... also was inches away from winning us the luton game recently, made the other goal against southampton, would have made one for Barrett against WBA but for an amazing save.... still looks a cut above anyone else on our team, better defending against him notwithstanding.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

If Freddy dos'nt go today then dont expect anything to happen for a couple of weeks, as most players looking for a move will be happy to wait and see which clubs are interested in them and go from there, as they have 3+ weeks to negotiate the best deal possible.

 

[Bielzibubz]

Quote[/b] (loz @ Jan. 05 2007,11:24)]

Quote[/b] (D62SUBOY @ Jan. 05 2007,11:12)]

Quote[/b] (Rusty Lee @ Jan. 05 2007,10:32)]As for Southend being better off without him and with 2.5m in there pocket, im afraid this is complete rubbish, Freddy pretty much got us promoted single handed, and in my eyes that it makes him priceless to us.

That argument really doesn't hold water. Yes, I agree with your comments about last season but what makes you think for one minute that should he stay that he is going to start banging the goals in left right and center the way in which he did last season and the season before that?. This is the Championship now, defenders know exactly how to negate his talents and we have all seen him struggle to make any sort of impact so far.

Regardless of past exploits (including Man U and Southampton) he is in no way indispensable to our future at this level. When you step up to another level you can only judge a player and his ability on the way in which he performs at that level over a sustained period of time, not on how he played previously against inferior opposition.

i think 'struggle to make any impact' is really harsh. he's scored at a decent rate (Stoke, Palace, Man U, Southampton, Cov + doubtless other games i can't remember)... also was inches away from winning us the luton game recently, made the other goal against southampton, would have made one for Barrett against WBA but for an amazing save.... still looks a cut above anyone else on our team, better defending against him notwithstanding.

Ok, yes that was harsh and in retrospect a little over the top but I stand by the general points I made.

Perhaps I should have said struggled to perform to expectations

 

[Rusty Lee]

Quote[/b] (D62SUBOY @ Jan. 05 2007,11:12)]That argument really doesn't hold water. Yes, I agree with your comments about last season but what makes you think for one minute that should he stay that he is going to start banging the goals in left right and center the way in which he did last season and the season before that?. This is the Championship now, defenders know exactly how to negate his talents and we have all seen him struggle to make any sort of impact so far.

Regardless of past exploits (including Man U and Southampton) he is in no way indispensable to our future at this level. When you step up to another level you can only judge a player and his ability on the way in which he performs at that level over a sustained period of time, not on how he played previously against inferior opposition.

I've read some rubbish on this site but that post is up there with the best.

Defenders know how to negate hes telents? Do you watch the games, Freddy has the talent to beat and make a goal from nothing in this league and has done on numerous occasions.

No player is indispensable but like Collymore before him he will leave a huge vaccum.

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

Quote[/b] (southend4ever @ Jan. 04 2007,17:56)]

Quote[/b] (EastStandBlue @ Jan. 04 2007,17:55)]Fulham... Zakuani on loan?

yep. not sure about the player they r giving us.

A bit off-topic, but I doubt it wold be Zakuani. Fulham have only got three fit centre backs, and to be honest I'm surprised he hasn't forced fatty Ian Pearce out of the starting lineup yet.

 

[Bielzibubz]

Quote[/b] (Rusty Lee @ Jan. 05 2007,11:41)]

Quote[/b] (D62SUBOY @ Jan. 05 2007,11:12)]That argument really doesn't hold water. Yes, I agree with your comments about last season but what makes you think for one minute that should he stay that he is going to start banging the goals in left right and center the way in which he did last season and the season before that?. This is the Championship now, defenders know exactly how to negate his talents and we have all seen him struggle to make any sort of impact so far.

Regardless of past exploits (including Man U and Southampton) he is in no way indispensable to our future at this level. When you step up to another level you can only judge a player and his ability on the way in which he performs at that level over a sustained period of time, not on how he played previously against inferior opposition.

I've read some rubbish on this site but that post is up there with the best.

Defenders know how to negate hes telents? Do you watch the games, Freddy has the talent to beat and make a goal from nothing in this league and has done on numerous occasions.

No player is indispensable but like Collymore before him he will leave a huge vaccum.

We are all entitled to our opinions and I respect yours.

I don't doubt, and never have doubted Freddy's mercurial talents, and yes, he can turn a game and make something out of nothing but I truly believe his leaving will not leave the vacuum you describe.

 

[sufcintheprem]

I think it's also fair to say that were it not for a few inches against Luton and Preston, he would have had another couple of stunning goals to add to his collection. I know every player has the same goalposts but those two strikes were incredible and unlucky not to have got the goal they deserved.

I definitely wouldn't say that defences have learnt to deal with him. They have learnt to deal with him better but he has shown that he can still create match-winning chances regardless of the defence. I think that's what makes him more valuable than most 'hot prospects' around.