Now, I am not intending to pick the manager’s brains – or indeed try to persuade him to do something against his will, but I do think it is time that Kieran McKenna selected striker Macauley Bonne from the start. All strikers need to gain some confidence before they perform at their best. This would help him immeasurably.
James Norwood is not a lone striker. He drifts all over the place to pick up a ball, and this is because he thrives on involvement. In a way, it’s good to see such blind ambition, but it does mean that he is often in the wrong place at the wrong time, when he should be at the focal point of our attack. Former Town captain and living legend Mick Mills said as much, as he discussed our forwards on the BBC Radio Suffolk after-match show Final Whistle, with Graeme Mac. When asked whether Macauley Boone warrants more game time before the end of the season, this is what he said.
“Yes, I think we discarded him too quickly. I think that we didn’t give him enough time. Very few players sort their game out by sitting on the subs bench and just watching a few matches. You really just have to be out there all the time, and I think you can play through a bad spell. I thought that his first half of the season was so good that he had deposited so much money in the bank that he’s got a lot to draw off, and I think he warranted a bit better treatment than he received. I do still feel that as far as a lone striker is concerned, he is equipped better than anyone at the club to do that role because it’s a variation of qualities that you need to be a lone striker.
I am inclined to agree. Some of the goals he scored at the start of this campaign were outstanding, and who can forget that fourth strike against Doncaster Rovers, when he chested the ball down before volleying into the net- or his first against MK Dons last August, when he wrestled the ball off a defender, before smashing the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle! Macauley Bonne is essentially the same player, but sadly McKenna has still not seen the best of him. He has quality in abundance, both on the ground, and in the air, and he will not so easily vacate his central striker position. The only thing he lacks right now is game time. McKenna is full of surprises concerning his team selections, so I just hope he will give us all a very early Easter present tomorrow afternoon and pick Bonne. After all, he is still our top goalscorer!
