Gabby Agbonlahor

[maqroll]

He's useful as an 80th minute sub to come on and fly past tired defenders. Bent needs to be in the side until Benteke gets back.

[nick76]

He's useful as an 80th minute sub to come on and fly past tired defenders. Bent needs to be in the side until Benteke gets back.

might also be a kick up the backside for Gabby if this happened as maybe he believes he's an automatic choice

[thunderball]

I thought I read somewhere Gabby's on £57k p.w.?

Gets through more work than Bent, and it looks like we are to be a team based on graft. Really doesn't warrant a starting place for me. Can't wait for Benteke and Kojak to come back.

Can see us playing with 5 in midfield and 1 up top when they are back, hopefully Sanchez will replace Gabby, this would feel much more solid.

[HanoiVillan]

not worth 25k a week the way he is playing lately. Sad to say. Id keep him as a squaddie on a reduced wage. Dont think he will get much elsewhere.

 

A tour of Iraq would probably do him some good. 

[ViolaVillan]

Gabby seems to struggle with the basics. His finishing is woeful, I'd imagine that Bent, Benteke, Kozak or Weimann would have put his chance away. It's a shame because there is a good player in there somewhere. Lambert should bench him. Maybe knowing he hasn't got a guaranteed starting place might give him a kick up the arse

[Richard]

Get rid trouble is no one would take him

[Bunnski]

He is only effective on the wings. He gets the chance to go 1v1 and use his pace. He looked good playing there last season until he turned crap after xmas. That was a bad miss yesterday but at least he ran himself into ground and never stopped hassling the Stoke players. I'd be ok with him being a sub or starting wing forward when we get Benteke back.

[Dr_Pangloss]

Shit footballer who shouldn't anywhere near the first team. We'd benefit so much more from having a player with quality in his position. The only use for Agbonahlor is as a late sub. 

[OutByEaster?]

He improved in the second half yesterday but it wasn't a good performance - worked hard enough, but his awareness was very poor. The manager was screaming at us to play balls into the channel all through the first half, but everything was either in the air or to feet which suited Stoke down to the ground, that's not Gabby's fault, but he needs to make the runs that encourage those passes. It was interesting to see him and Weimann swapping positions for periods of the game and that seems to work.

 

We could do with Gabby finding some sort of form, I think it's too early for Grealish to be starting games and I wouldn't want to see us desperate enough to resort to the fat lazy mess on the bench.

 

I think he'll find himself under pressure once Benteke comes back; I think that might do him some good.

[ozvillafan]

I think he'll find himself under pressure once Benteke comes back; I think that might do him some good.

 

I'd put Kozak in front of him too, and perhaps even Bent.

 

I couldn't help but wonder during the game "Would Benteke, Kozak or Bent do any better?" and thinking they all would.

[The_Steve]

He's been off the boil for a long time.

[AshVilla]

I think Bent/Benteke/Kozak would have buried the chance he had yesterday

[Haito]

Said for a while now. Hes not good enough regularly enough to be a starter. I think he would be best utilised from the bench for the final 20 mins of matches.

[ROTTERDAM1982]

 That chance he missed yday summed up Gabby to me.

 

 He should havw scored, a good player would have score, but it was his lack of awareness/anticipation that summed him up.A good striker would have made a move and gave himself more space, or opened himself up better.Gabby did neither.

 

 For me he is a lazy player, that despite having some great attributes, hasn't worked at his game hard enough and has gone backwards.

[romavillan]

He improved in the second half yesterday but it wasn't a good performance - worked hard enough, but his awareness was very poor. The manager was screaming at us to play balls into the channel all through the first half, but everything was either in the air or to feet which suited Stoke down to the ground, that's not Gabby's fault, but he needs to make the runs that encourage those passes. It was interesting to see him and Weimann swapping positions for periods of the game and that seems to work.

 

We could do with Gabby finding some sort of form, I think it's too early for Grealish to be starting games and I wouldn't want to see us desperate enough to resort to the fat lazy mess on the bench.

 

I think he'll find himself under pressure once Benteke comes back; I think that might do him some good.

 

Yeah on song just having him on the pitch is enough to stop the opposition squeezing up with a high line. He was poor though for me yesterday, not just because of the miss, but improved as the gaem went on. I remember him cutting in from the right and being intelligent enough to keep the possession for us. Plus he helped us run down the clock at the end too. He needs to find soem form though and not disappear like he did in the first half, he has to be making those runs for people to play the ball through the channels and in behind. He wasn't showing that enough yesterday and looked better wide.

 

I love him to bits but he's got to play better than he did for most of the game yesterday to justify his place.

[poitier]

I don't think the miss was that bad, the defender was right at his feet blocking the line to goal. Yes, he should have got it on target, even though it would have been blocked, and a true quality player might have controlled it, let the defender sell himself then tap it in. But remember some of Benteke's misses last season, it's easy to say someone else would have scored it but that ain't always the case.

[rodders0223]

I don't think the miss was that bad, the defender was right at his feet blocking the line to goal. Yes, he should have got it on target, even though it would have been blocked, and a true quality player might have controlled it, let the defender sell himself then tap it in. But remember some of Benteke's misses last season, it's easy to say someone else would have scored it but that ain't always the case.

 

Heskey would have finished that chance.

Edited August 17, 2014 by rodders0223

[poitier]

 

I don't think the miss was that bad, the defender was right at his feet blocking the line to goal. Yes, he should have got it on target, even though it would have been blocked, and a true quality player might have controlled it, let the defender sell himself then tap it in. But remember some of Benteke's misses last season, it's easy to say someone else would have scored it but that ain't always the case.

 

Heskey would have finished that chance.

 

 

Only if it ricocheted in off the corner flag.

[myko]

I don't think the miss was that bad, the defender was right at his feet blocking the line to goal. Yes, he should have got it on target, even though it would have been blocked, and a true quality player might have controlled it, let the defender sell himself then tap it in. But remember some of Benteke's misses last season, it's easy to say someone else would have scored it but that ain't always the case.

You would have bagged that chance mate.

[DamsonwoodVillan]

Gabby played the lone striker role so well ages ago in the MON era when he had Milner and Young around him. I still think on-form he can play the role well enough with his strength and ability to run the channels, but apart from that he doesn't offer much more I'm afraid.

 

He hasn't got the intelligent football brain to create and bring others into it, and I don't think he'll ever be a prolific goalscorer.

 

Gabby's biggest asset, apart from raw pace, is that he does seem to turn up and offer something in big high-pressure games, or games against the big teams.   

 

Of course Benteke should be the man to occupy the position when fit, but for now I think Gabby (in combination with Weimann and Zog) just slightly edges out the challenge of Bent for his place. Don't feel confident enough to comment on whether Kozak would be picked over him. If everyone was fit and available I still think Lambert's preferred option would be Benteke through the middle with Weimann one side and Gabby the other.