I thought it was Birmingham for some reason. It was some team Northish before he signed for Reading, when he was on a scoring spree, sometime in the mid Noughties.

If you have ever managed or coached football, you will know that strikers, unless blessed with great technical ability, typically needs a style that suits them and many are in the main, confidence players. I would just have to disagree that "just not that good", even if he was limited. He played for a few sides that scored goals before Reading as well as Reading and he was always popping up on television as a regular scorer. Clearly he could score goals. In my view his prior record confirms his ability to score. To me it was style issue, which then turned into a confidence issue. Why he never discovered his old form since could be anything. A minor injury which repeats (Sturridge), loss of motivation, poor diet or maybe poorly managed. It could be anything.