[Archived] Nikola Kalinic

[colin]

Kalinic has been played up front by himself by SA when he is clearly unsuitable for the role.

I've no idea why SA does this as Kalinic is far too small/petite to bounce off a couple of burly central defenders and create anything for anyone else, especially when there is no one else following up after him.

Heavens knows what he thinks he has let himself in for by signing for Rovers, all the games I've seen him play he seems to just chase around after defenders before they clear their lines.

SA might as well have signed Andrex's labrador puppy to go gallumping around after the football in the opposition's half, for all the effect he has.

He needs someone like Roberts to create a bit of havoc in the opposition's penalty area so he can crack in a few opportunistic goals, but as SA ain't playing that way at the moment it doesn't seem likely to happen.

[Hughesy]

Why mention Kalinic but not Di Santo, or Sturridge?

[Amo]

Why mention Kalinic but not Di Santo, or Sturridge?

Are you even awake?

[Exiled in Toronto]

At the end of the day he'll be measured by league goals and so far he has 2 to his name. Hardly a big impact - how many did Stead score in his first half season?. Dickov was a better lone striker in my opinion - caused defenders a lot more trouble and scored more goals.

Maybe he will come good but at this stage he looks a poor 6 million worth to me.

[tony gale's mic]

At the end of the day he'll be measured by league goals and so far he has 2 to his name. Hardly a big impact - how many did Stead score in his first half season?. Dickov was a better lone striker in my opinion - caused defenders a lot more trouble and scored more goals.

Maybe he will come good but at this stage he looks a poor 6 million worth to me.

Quite a few folks have compared him to Matt Jansen in his style of play - in his first full season with us (in the league below) he scored 4 league goals in 30 games but we all knew from the way he played that he had bags of talent and would come good. Like Matty he's a young lad only he's also come to a new country and a whole new style of play too. He does have plenty to prove but if you can't see the potential there, or are comparing him with the likes of Dickov who was much older then you're missing the point entirely.

[Silencio]

Quite a few folks have compared him to Matt Jansen in his style of play - in his first full season with us (in the league below) he scored 4 league goals in 30 games but we all knew from the way he played that he had bags of talent and would come good. Like Matty he's a young lad only he's also come to a new country and a whole new style of play too. He does have plenty to prove but if you can't see the potential there, or are comparing him with the likes of Dickov who was much older then you're missing the point entirely.

I don't really see the Jansen comparison, I think he is a bit more orthodox than him. I am not sure about him yet, he is not suited to playing alone and he doesn't really have much pace but I do think that he would score a lot more if he had a real centre forward playing with him. He gets into good positions.

I think the help he needs is not service from midfield but a partner up front. If we focus everything on the midfield giving him chances as a loan striker I still think he will come up short because he lacks the pace and power to play like that. He looked lost on Sunday IMO but I think he has the talent to come good, I just wonder if it will be for us or for someone else...

[Exiled_Rover]

At the end of the day he'll be measured by league goals and so far he has 2 to his name. Hardly a big impact - how many did Stead score in his first half season?. Dickov was a better lone striker in my opinion - caused defenders a lot more trouble and scored more goals.

Maybe he will come good but at this stage he looks a poor 6 million worth to me.

That's because he's not a target man, it's just not in his skill set. He has all the attributes of a great striker, but he needs help up there (either a strike parter, or help from the wings/midfield - at the moment that help doesn't get there early enough).

As I've said before, put him in Arsenal's team and he bags 20 goals a season. His movement is fantastic and he reads the game very well. Get the ball to his feet in and around the box with support and he'll cause teams problems. Lump it upfield to him and leave him isolated against two centrebacks (and generally a defensive mid/full back) and the ball will be coming straight back.

[USABlue]

I'd like to see even if only for half a game, Kalinic and DiSanto up front. They had a brief stint together in one game and looked a promising duo. I'm sure it's been tried in training though and Sam doesn't like it. Anyway just to see I'd like it to happen

[67splitscreen]

As hard as the lad tries we are not getting the best out of him, or so it seems to me.

The lone striker is such a demanding role, most would fail with the lack of quality and support we give him.

He looks to me more of a Sutton type, get the ball up to him and let other players do the damage, we saw in videos he is well capable of hitting the back of the net, maybe the woodwork in the Prem is of a thicker grade than in his homeland.

[Silencio]

He looks to me more of a Sutton type, get the ball up to him and let other players do the damage

Not sure how you see he is anything like Sutton. Sutton could play with his back to goal better than anyone I have seen at Rovers, he was brilliant at flicking the ball on, taking it on his chest and holding it and he could finish well too. The only problems with him were he had a bit of a weak shot and was prone to injury.

He would have been great as a lone striker for us now, a lot better suited than Kalinic is.

What I see with Kalinic is very good movement, technique and positional sense. I think he could be great playing of a Sutton-type but he can't play to his best as one...

[67splitscreen]

Not sure how you see he is anything like Sutton. Sutton could play with his back to goal better than anyone I have seen at Rovers, he was brilliant at flicking the ball on, taking it on his chest and holding it and he could finish well too. The only problems with him were he had a bit of a weak shot and was prone to injury.

He would have been great as a lone striker for us now, a lot better suited than Kalinic is.

What I see with Kalinic is very good movement, technique and positional sense. I think he could be great playing of a Sutton-type but he can't play to his best as one...

Scratches head, "Not sure how you see he is anything like Sutton" but "I think he could be great playing of a Sutton-type "

Agree he is not at his best on his own, how many times did Sutton play the lone striker role? answers on a postage stamp please.

[Silencio]

Scratches head, "Not sure how you see he is anything like Sutton" but "I think he could be great playing of a Sutton-type "

Agree he is not at his best on his own, how many times did Sutton play the lone striker role? answers on a postage stamp please.

I meant to write playing off a Sutton-type of player.

Sutton never played up front on his own for us as we always had a front two but he easily could have done.

Tell me how Kalinic is anything like Sutton, I can't see it...

[47er]

I feel very sorry for him at the moment. When he came back into the side I was impressed by his ability to turn an opponent and create shooting chances for himself. Now he seems to be running around like a dervish but hardly ever seeing much of the ball. If he carries on like this he will lose whatever confidence he had,not to mention his love for the game. If we can't make better use of him we should sell him (for a profit) to someone who can.

[M2XLY]

Niko has lately been doing nothing except chasing shadows. He defo needs to have a Roberts or someone up with him so he can play off them. I think that Roberts has been doing a fantastic job doing the holding role, but he isnt a finisher. Play them both and we will start banging the goals in. Play just one of them and we will be the kings of the 0-0 draws.

[DP]

So the general concensus seems to be that Kalinic can't play as the lone striker. I would agree with this.

So this means he needs to be sold then as Sam has stated he wants to play 1 up front?

I've always believed that you pick the system to suit the players you have, not the other way round. Our manager doesn't appear to agree.

[alexanders]

I don't agree. NIko can work as a lone striker in that he is very good at getting the ball on the deck and pass it. We saw examples of this against the Mancs. With Olsson and a quick RW (Dindane/Hoilett) it will suit him much better.

[unluckymorton]

So the general concensus seems to be that Kalinic can't play as the lone striker. I would agree with this.

So this means he needs to be sold then as Sam has stated he wants to play 1 up front?

I've always believed that you pick the system to suit the players you have, not the other way round. Our manager doesn't appear to agree.

You're having a laugh right?

As Sam slowly improves the squad you will see more and more out of Kalanic.

[cesus]

Yes Niko is talented with the ball at his feet, unfortunately the game we play is balls up to the striker at head/chest height which really doesn't play to his strengths. He was bounced of the ball so many times against utd it was almost embarrassing, I'm not saying he is a bad player infact I think he is a good player and if we gave him chances he would score the goals. I just think for aslong as we play one up front with little or no support he will struggle.

[Hughesy]

So this means he needs to be sold then as Sam has stated he wants to play 1 up front?

I've always believed that you pick the system to suit the players you have, not the other way round. Our manager doesn't appear to agree.

Got a quote for that? I seem to remember OUR manager saying he wanted to play 4-4-2 this season but Dunn's form swayed his decision....

[den]

More proof that goal.com is full of rubbish.

Kalinic does have a bit to prove next season but he's still so young that it was always going to be one for the future.

Ah yes, so young. Same age as Messi I believe.

[alexanders]

Ah yes, so young. Same age as Messi I believe.

[M2XLY]

Niko had an awful game againts utd. Has to be one of his worst performances, it looks clear to me that he is really lacking in confidence. I still think that we should have JR in that holding role. He is strong, has pace and creates alot more for them around him than Niko ever will.

[LeChuck]

So the general concensus seems to be that Kalinic can't play as the lone striker. I would agree with this.

I think he can do it with the right attacking midfielders behind him, unfortunately the ones we have now don't make runs beyond him, with the exception of maybe Olsson.

I know Dindane wouldn't be a popular choice, but he'd certainly support Kalinic from a wide right position, he's been doing that rather well for Pompey this year.

[Blackburn Ender]

Against Utd he was on his own against the best defence, (least goals conceded) in the league, including Ferdinand, Vidic, Neville and O'Shea.

It's worth pointing out Sam has identified a striker as his number one priority this summer.

Does this mean, if he finds one, we'll play 2 up front next season? I don't know.

Most, if not all, of Rovers recent past strikers played in a partnership.

So, we are asking a helluva lot of the young lad in his first season in the Prem.

Also worth pointing out that Slavan Bilic rates Kalinic very highly.

[Amo]

It's not Kalinic playing as a lone striker that's the problem, it's the midfield which lets him down. At the moment, our gameplan largely involves lumping it into the final third and hoping we'll win a set-piece. We play for percentages, everybody knows that. Because we don't get the ball out quickly enough (or accurately), Kalinic is left chasing lost causes or crowded out by a lack of support.