Now that Kayden Jackson is out and Oliver Hawkins is doubtful, this is the perfect opportunity for manager Paul Lambert to select Freddie Sears upfront and through the middle. It was more good luck than good judgement that found Freddie playing there is the second half against Accrington Stanley but what a world of difference it made; not only to our collective team performance but also the result! Of course, even in the first half, he broke away from the Stanley defence with an Alan Judge through ball only to be thwarted by their big defenders, and once again he had adopted a position that was much more central.
I was dumbfounded after this victory at Portman Road that our manager did not seem to realise he had an out and out striker in his midst. “Considering we had no strikers, it’s an incredible win. That’s the first time I think I’ve played without a striker!” Wrong Mr Lambert.Wrong. Freddie is indeed a striker and has been since he made his debut for West Ham United in the Premier League when he was just eighteen, scoring the winner just five minutes and 16 seconds into his baptism of fire.
Of course, Sears has been utilized out on the wing for so long now that it is easy to forget just how successful he was when he played down the middle with Daryl Murphy. He scored nine goals there in his debut season with the Blues, having been bought from Colchester for just 100,000 pounds by former boss Mick McCarthy.
I share the views of so many Blues supporters in believing that Freddie’s best position is as an out and out striker playing through the middle. This utilises his pace and guile and even at 30 years of age, he still has a terrific turn of pace and if he had been played here regularly, I think he might have eventually become another Jamie Vardy!
Getting his goal on Saturday will do him the world of good, and I just hope that some of the coaching staff at Town have had a little word in the ear of the gaffer and told him he does have another striker here after all!
Yes i agree with you to some extent Freddy should be played down the middle. But if you check out Freddy’s career he has never been a prolific goal scorer. People have short memories when it comes to a player that is popular with the crowd. Under Mick McCarthy he went over 30 games without scoring which resulted in Mick finding him a different role in the team which he carried out very well. Having said all that ive always admired Freddy’s footballing ability and hope he goes on for many more years.
Thanks, Keith for your studious reply. Strikers can’t be made. They either have it or they don’t and as you know, every striker has gone through a barren patch in their careers and Freddie is no different.
I am still of the view that if we want to get the very best out of Freddie then we must play him down the middle. He might not always score but he still has enough pace to panic defenders into errors and retains has the potential to rekindle some of his form of old.