Originally Posted by
the other bob wilson
I think it's fair to use the way we play as a reason to defend many striker who have played for us in the recent past. I did say that other than Kieffer Moore, no striker has prospered at City since maybe Kewynne Jones, but, on second thoughts. if the criteria of judging how good or bad a striker is comes down to how many goals they score, then Sory Kaba could be included as well - there can also be a direct comparison between Etete and Kaba because they were at the club a the same time and I'd say Kaba wins that one.
However, we have seen experienced and, in some cases, proven strikers struggle to make an impact with us. Looking back, I'd say Etete is in line that includes Glatzel, Harris, Watters, Collins, Ikpeazu, Hugill, Wickham, Meite and Ugbo from recent seasons as strikers who found it hard to make an impact at Cardiff.
Someone like Wickham was a quality player in his day and was over the top by the time he came here, but the rest of them were older than Etete and of an age where they could not be said to have been on the brink of retirement. I'd also say that, for as long as I can remember, City have insisted on playing with a "big guy up front", a traditional target man who will battle for high balls knocked up to him. All of the players I've listed, plus Etete, have played as a target man for us even though it's not a role they're best suited for - I'd put Glatzel, Harris, Watters, Meite and Etete in that category.
Although, there a clear differences between them, I see some similarities between Etete and Kenneth Zohore in that they're big blokes up front who are far happier to have balls played into their feet rather than their heads because neither of them are very good at heading the ball. It's not a coincidence that Etete's most effective piece of target man play on Saturday came when the ball was played into his feet and he set up Colwill for a shot which didn't miss by that much, I think Etete has shown when he's more confident that he probably is now that he has quick feet for someone of his size and, for me, this is a skill of his that City have failed to utilise as we continue to treat him as someone who is going to win a lot of headers.
Etete was poor in pre season games and that carried into the first week or two of the season, but it's a fact that he'd scored five in his first ten appearances (six of them were as a sub), before he picked up a hamstring injury which kept him out for almost a month. He's not scored since then and his confidence in front of goal is suffering s he's snatching at chances and making wrong decisions, but I'd say his goals at Watford last season and against Coventry and Blackburn (in the League Cup) this time around show that he can be a good finisher.
It's not Etete's fault that we've spent the first half of the season without a quality Championship level striker and i would appear in recent weeks that Bulut has settled on him as the most reliable of the three strikers we had during that time. Diedhiou will surely become first choice once he's settled in and that may benefit Etete who will be coming on in the last half hour of games.