Andy Cook

Wright did the exact same thing with his one on one.

 

Not bad stats for a fake striker!!

 

no wait till the know it all’s come out with there stats ffs 14 goals in some many games etc etc ......... I feel for him the poor sod the guy is doing an amazing job tbf in a team that just doesn’t use him

 

Chapman, with one of the best dribbling runs i've seen at Valley Parade, puts the early chance on a dinner plate with all the trimmings for Cook. Shocking miss. After that anonymous. He would have put that chance away a few weeks ago.

 

He’s the weakest link in the team, 90% of the time he seems to be in no mans land.. and when he is in the box he seems to miss more than he scores. last 2 games he has been terrible, in fact last 2 games city might as well have been playing with 10 men!

He should not be starting

 

Earlier in the season Lewis would find Cook with a long ball but I've not seen that for a while now.
It must be frustrating for him when we fanny about at the back and none of the attackers know when to expect the ball and end up running around in circles for nothing. That said, Cook's inability to win the ball and keep it means when we do go long it comes straight back. Hughes obviously doesn't trust Oliver enough to start him which means we'll have to watch him struggle for a while yet. Isn't it time to give Angol a try in his favoured position?

 

My granddaughter asked during the warm up, who the number 9 was because he looked fat and was he a supporter.. He does look to have put a bit on again. I hope this isn't history repeating when he admitted last season he didn't have the competition to oust him so he let himself go a bit.

 

I must admit, I thought on Tuesday that he had put some timber on recently

 

Goal scoring wise he carrying the whole team.

 

I'm not sure Sparkie would play him if he and his backroom staff know he was put weight on, leading scorer or not.

 

imagine what would happen if we actually created plenty of chances for him ............. I put in here weeks ago that he should be dropped because in all fairness he’s wasted in that team ................ teams have sussed him and that team out ............ just do a high press on us hoping we will knock it long and hey presto they win it back again .............. seriously is it such a big effort to actually give the bloke a helping hand ????? Why not stick somebody else up top with him and actually help him get in the game more .............. if Oliver was brought in to be our main striker then why not give him a few matches ?????

 

We're just going over old ground here, Cook will go through a lean spells maybe you think only 1 goal in the last 4 games is a lean spell (I don't) as he is still getting into positions to score, Swindon and Crawley as examples unfortunatly he did hit the target.
Did you see Oliver put through in the game yesterday and the first thing he did was look up for support he was clear on a run in to goal, that suggests to me he didn't have the confidence in his own ability to go one on one with the Crawley keep, I believe given the same chance Cook wouldn't have been looking for a option to pass to a team mate and that's the difference IMO.
I'll be very suprised if Sparkie starts Oliver up top against Harrogate on Saturday but time will tell.

 

That passage of play you mention when Oliver was facing goal in that position and proceeded to turn and go back and give the ball away was almost as shocking as a free kick we had in the first half on the half way line, and instead of launching it towards their penalty area, we went backwards and ended up conceding a corner.

Unforgivable and frustrating in equal measure

 

Thank you I was begging to worry I dreaming with regards the Oliver effort, glad someone else saw it for what it was.
Again would it have been a disaster to bring Oliver on along side Cook for the last 15/20 minutes of the game.

 

With Olivers stats from last season he should be given the same length of time to find form as Cook has to rescue his. Its obvious Hughes doesn't want to play 'the get balls into the box from out wide' style of play, which Oliver would thrive on and seems to prefer the short passes around the area. It has to beg the question why he brought him in. Any other manager in this league with Oliver in his squad would have him play with a second striker alongside. We did this with Doyle and it seems we're doing it again with Oliver. I think @Jordan posted when Hughes was appointed that he changed his forward line on a regular basis. That doesn't seem to be the case this time around.

 

I agree with most of that we signed Oliver because of his passed goal scoring at Northampton you would think by signing the lad he would benefit from the way Sparkie set up the team but it looks like he prefers the one striker.
Not sure we can give anyone time to find their form Oliver has had the same pre season Cook did he started the first 2 games unfortunatly for Oliver Cook took his chance at Barrow and scored, but Sparkie dropped Cook for the Colchester debacle and Cook has started ever since.

 

Where was harratt yesterday? Has he dropped off the radar for good?

 

On paper, Harratt and Oliver are good signings at this level. As @Bronco mentions, the difference is so far Cook is the only forward to take his chance by scoring the goals he has, whilst (and let’s be honest) not actually playing outstandingly well.

There’s still a lot of the season left. With Banks coming back in as well I see Oliver having more chances but only if he improves his own performances, which he significantly needs to.

 

Huffing and puffing after 10 minutes, probably piled the weight back on. Idiot.

 

Its a cup match so he might.

You stated earlier Cook is carrying the team in terms of goals but that’s the problem Cook isn’t suited to how the team. Yes, he has scored a few goals but the rest of the team kind of suffers because he can’t do the basics - movement-poor! Holding the ball up - poor! Passing - poor!

It is no shock other teams have let him go.