denzel wrote:Maybe I am an optimist but I still see a Premier League player in RVT, someone who can play as an inside forward, a la Welbeck, for a mid-table team. His strengths are that he is unpredictable and is very good in the air when arriving at the back post. I believe that if he stayed injury free and played week in week out he could produce a bit of form and consistency.
I agree with TTS too he does add balance. We just don't get enough men in the box when we play with 2 out and out wingers like Downing and Jarvis. We need someone to play as an inside forward on the other flank. RVT could do a job like that and help us to finish around 12th-17th IMO, but if we're aiming higher then he should be on the bench.
A 100% fair and accurate assessment.
I'd add that there's little to choose between sides finishing 8th/9th and those finishing 12th really. But yeah, he's probably not quite of the standard you'd want from a forward at a side aiming for the top positions.
As you have said, I'd have liked his to have stayed injury free over the past two seasons. He does seem to take quite a while to get into his stride. He needs that consistency of selection to reach his peak. I personally thought he was outstanding in our Championship season, and started the first season back well until the shoulder injury. I think he'll get a bit of time to try and get some momentum going whilst we wait for Valencia to acclimatise, assuming that Allardyce has him earmarked for the inside forward role of course.