Rudy Gestede - GONE

[LeeB]

He might be a bit limited, but the headers he scores are the football equivalent to porn for me.

[supertom]

If we play to Rudy's strengths and help him out a bit he's going to be an asset. To be honest I'd like to see us rotate him and Ayew up top, dependant on oppostion. Yesterday was perfect for Rudy. I felt he bullied Sako all game. Other games will require the movement and pace of Ayew.

Playing floating air balls, or long punts up to Rudy does him no good. We seem to try to hit it to him early too often. Most times he has no support, or he's been out the game for 5 minutes and his touch gets rusty. If you're not in a good crossing position. Don't cross the fucking ball. This is something we're really guilty of. We were under McLeish. We were under Lambert. A fullback gets about 40-50 yards out. Has no option but to go back or throw in a deep cross. 9 times out of 10 you'll get no joy chucking in a floating, hopeful cross that the defenders will eat up, the keeper will claim, or if the striker gets his bonce on, will often struggle to get enough purchase on it.

But as we've seen in the last couple of games with Rudy. Whip in a good ball, give him something to attack and he's a menace. The second goal was class.

4 goals thus far is a good return. I don't ever see him being the sort of forward you'll remember as having played particularly well. But he just needs the right ball just once in a game and he can make a difference. He's an asset. He shouldn't be starting every game though.

[Toronto Villa]

He might be a bit limited, but the headers he scores are the football equivalent to porn for me.

All three of the headers he's scored and most certainly the one yesterday have been superb. Proper centre forward stuff. It was encouraging that he got one on the deck yesterday too from a cross. I can see what Sherwood is trying to do but when it doesn't work it becomes so one dimensional as an approach.

[darren woolley]

I think he's really good in the air so we've just got to supply the right balls in the box for him.

[Smithy]

Rudy is a strange one, because he is clearly quite limited as a footballer with the ball on the ground, and he's never going to score the sort of goals Benteke did last year, but I have the feeling his goals are going to be incredibly important for us this year.  He should be well into double figures at this rate.

Anyone who can have a pretty average game and still bag two goals is ok with me.

[Villafirst]

Doesn't bother me one bit his lack of mobility, he's a goalscorer with a 1 in 2 ratio. He just needs decent service. He's still getting match fit - judge him when he's fully up to speed.

[N'ZMAV]

give him service and he'll score goals.

[brontebilly]

His three headed goals have been crackers, yesterday the best of the lot. His hold up play and showing for the ball must and will improve too.

 Ayew up top, on the form of the Blues game, might suit our schemers Gil, Grealish, Traore, Sinclair even Gueye better.

Only players in our squad that fiz in pacy crosses are Amavi and Bacuna. It's the classic stick and twist, do we go with wingbacks to suit Rudy or seek to integrate Ayew's better running power and mobility behind a trio of supporting forwards. 

[Dante Lavelli]

Doesn't bother me one bit his lack of mobility, he's a goalscorer with a 1 in 2 ratio. He just needs decent service. He's still getting match fit - judge him when he's fully up to speed.

I banged on enough about how *just* scoring wasn't good enough to Bent so that rule should also be applied to Gestede.  Luckily for him he cost a fraction of the amount and with his height it would not be hard for him to add something extra (even if that is just defending corners).

[john e]

It's a difficult one, he's absolute pants on the floor,
First half against Blues I actually felt embarrassed for him, then he scores

His heading is top class, but there it ends, that's your lot, if you can play to his strengths when he's on the pitch that would be great, but very limiting

[supertom]

The sort of headers he's scoring though, he's making the runs, overpowering the CH and putting bullets past the keeper. It's a case of giving him good service and he's almost unstoppable in the air. There's probably half a dozen CH's in this league you could put on him who could keep him relatively quiet, but even then, it just takes one good chance. He certainly had the better of Sako yesterday.
It's about getting the right service though. But I think you need a mobile partner with him and you need to mix your play so that teams don't set up to concentrate on nullifying wide service.

[peter w]

I've said this before, there are 2 types of strikers, ones who can play with their back to goal and ones that can't.  All the other differences are largely insignificant in terms of play style, you either have a striker you play off who has his back to goal a lot and can bring people into play and be a focal point or you have a striker that you work around and play balls into his path.  The issue is Gestede, like Kozak, looks like he should be one of the former but he's not, get the ball in front of him where he can attack it and he scores goals, he has 4 which highlight that perfectly.  Play long punts up to him and expect him running into corners or winning flickons and you'll be disappointed.

Although I get your point what you are describing are just players with two different playing styles. Such as a Withe and Shaw. Both players, and ALL forwards, can play with their back to the goal as they do it for the vast majority of the 90 minutes. Where they do their best work is what you're getting at and asking Gary Shaw to win balls in the air is never going to be his forte. But every forward knows how to receive the ball with their backs to goal because they've been doing it their entire career.

[Risso]

It's a difficult one, he's absolute pants on the floor,
First half against Blues I actually felt embarrassed for him, then he scores

His heading is top class, but there it ends, that's your lot, if you can play to his strengths when he's on the pitch that would be great, but very limiting

Yes, it's a very strange situation.  He looks incredibly poor at everything he tries to do except head the ball, but is our top scorer.

[silhillvilla]

I think he will improve over time, could be said for a lot of our new players, crux is though do we have time to spare if we aren't grinding out points.
A gap is opening up already after just 7 games.

[ozzjim]

We are 3 points behind where you would, if hoping to scrape by, ideally be. We need a win badly next week, and our best route to goal seems to be the head of Rudy.

As such I would go 3-5-2 and get wing backs, 3 centre halves and put Ayew up top with Gestede through the middle. Then have Grealish, Gana and Sanchez in the middle and play with width.