Libor Kozák (confirmed post #190)

[RussellC]

I'm not quite sure why everyone's so surprised by this one. The reality is that if Benteke gets injured / suspended / tired / out of form, we simply don't have an able deputy to come-in for him.

With the squad as it is, this would effectively mean changing our entire system due to the loss of one player. By the looks of things Kovac will give us the option to simply bring in a like-for-like player to Benteke (even if not as good), as-and-when needed.

If he proves to be a hit, it'll also give us a ready made replacement for when we cash-in on Benteke. If not, then I'm sure he'll still be a better squad option than Jordan Bowery.

[supertom]

For me Helenius is very different to Benteke. It's why I think they could actually do quite well together if and when that happens.

I do think Benteke's physicality is important to how we play. As the focal point up front he wins most of his headers and holds the ball up well. That's I guess why Kojak might be a better option as a direct replacement if Injuries dictate.

It's a lot of money though. What you could argue is that he's more suited to the English game than the Italian game. He had an impact in the Europa league last season clearly, so he can't be a bad players.

I would guess if Kojak does arrive. Then we may well see Helenius go on loan temporarily. A month or two.

[john e]

I'm not quite sure why everyone's so surprised by this one. The reality is that if Benteke gets injured / suspended / tired / out of form, we simply don't have an able deputy to come-in for him.

With the squad as it is, this would effectively mean changing our entire system due to the loss of one player. By the looks of things Kovac will give us the option to simply bring in a like-for-like player to Benteke (even if not as good), as-and-when needed.

If he proves to be a hit, it'll also give us a ready made replacement for when we cash-in on Benteke. If not, then I'm sure he'll still be a better squad option than Jordan Bowery.

i'm surprised, all seems a bit odd to me
you would think that its getting to late now for a monster bid for Benteke,
 but i'm a bit of a worry wort and cant help fearing the worst

[RussellC]

If the amount of bookings we've picked-up in the first few games is an indicator of what's to come, we're going to need at least 2 players for every position in order to cover suspensions.

[Concrete John]

Put it this way: Bowery or a Czech international?

This is probably the only way it makes sense to me.  Lambert's decided Bowery isn't good enough, or just not ready yet, and is bringing this guy in as an upgrade.  If so, then I'd expect to see Jordan go out on loan, but the window for Championship loans doesn't close today, so this may happen after the other guy comes in.

Presuming there's any truth in it, of course!

[paul_e]

This is a strange 1 but maybe PL sees Helenius as the 10 we need.  On top of that maybe Benteke wants to play a bit deeper and can be the number 10?

[LeeB]

"Kozák finished the season as the top scorer in the Europa League with 10 goals throughout the competition."

According to Wikipedia. So he's obviously no mug.

[Concrete John]

This is a strange 1 but maybe PL sees Helenius as the 10 we need.  On top of that maybe Benteke wants to play a bit deeper and can be the number 10?

We tried N'Zogbia in that role last season, but his lack of tracking back and work rate left us exposed as we weren't strong enough in midfield to cope with just having 2 there.  Now, we may have improved and I like Westwood and Delph, but I still think any player infront of them needs to put a shift in.  You tend to get that from a midfielder playing further forward than you do from a striker playing deeper.

I think Helenius, from what little I've seen of him, is suitable to it from an attacking perspective, but I do worry about us defensively if he did.

[dave.woodhall]

This is a strange 1 but maybe PL sees Helenius as the 10 we need.  On top of that maybe Benteke wants to play a bit deeper and can be the number 10?

When you've got the best goalscorer in Europe it'd be a bit stupid to have him playing deeper.

[supertom]

This is a strange 1 but maybe PL sees Helenius as the 10 we need.  On top of that maybe Benteke wants to play a bit deeper and can be the number 10?

He's capable. More than capable. Even if we played him wide as well you'd more than fancy him to come up with a goal or two. He looks great hitting the flanks, and he looks great dropping off. If we want to bombard teams a bit, then we could conceivably play Benteke off of Kozak.

Kozak to me seems a more immediate option. Perhaps Lambo's thinking is that Helenius isn't quite ready to be the main man if he gets thrown in if Tekkers is injured. Likewise whether Wiemann is a 15 goal striker is also up for debate, if he were to move more centrally. At the moment, if Benteke went out injured I'd worry about playing Wiemann as the middle man. He's not quite got the nous just yet. Gabby could play there effectively but doesn't score enough.

[ozzjim]

Still struggling to see the point. Much prefer an Ince or Fisher type player than a big lump who seems to cost a lot!

[supertom]

This is a strange 1 but maybe PL sees Helenius as the 10 we need.  On top of that maybe Benteke wants to play a bit deeper and can be the number 10?

When you've got the best goalscorer in Europe it'd be a bit stupid to have him playing deeper.

If he dropped off he'd still score most of our goals to be honest. He's that good.
I would also imagine this wouldn't be a first option but perhaps an option in certain games, or during certain games. Throw Kozak on, have Benteke play just off him.

[Damo70]

"Kozák finished the season as the top scorer in the Europa League with 10 goals throughout the competition."

According to Wikipedia. So he's obviously no mug.

He also has a record of one goal every four games. That doesn't sound great but that is in Serie A and for the national team.

[eamonn]

It's nice that people are trying to see the good side of it but I don't remember reading many "we need a big, burly fella to cover for Benteke" posts prior to yesterday, especially one with an unimpressive scoring record.

As Rich says, it's a bit of a headscratcher akin to Harewood. MON had a lot of goodwill from the fans at the time so we didn't make a huge deal about it. Likewise "In Lambo We Trust +1" so I think people are going out of their way to make sense of it. The main difference I guess is we had loftier ambitions in 2007 and Harewood was less of an unknown quantity.

[paul_e]

This is a strange 1 but maybe PL sees Helenius as the 10 we need.  On top of that maybe Benteke wants to play a bit deeper and can be the number 10?

When you've got the best goalscorer in Europe it'd be a bit stupid to have him playing deeper.

If he dropped off he'd still score most of our goals to be honest. He's that good.
I would also imagine this wouldn't be a first option but perhaps an option in certain games, or during certain games. Throw Kozak on, have Benteke play just off him.

It's worth noting I mean a genuine 10 (playing 5-10yards behind a main front man) rather than an attacking midfielder.  We've seen that Benteke can bring players into the game and pick a pass, we know he can find space in the box, behind another target man who is occupying the defenders he could be superb there in short spells (the last 15-20minutes of a game when we're hunting for a goal).  If you want to play someone there for 90 minutes then you need a midfielder instead but for short stints I can see the value of having the option.  I'd like to see a midfielder in the mould as well (Will Hughes has been my choice all summer) but I can understand how another big centre forward gives us options.