Adam Armstrong

[DeeCee]

Maybe change the "out" to  "from goal"?

[chaddyrovers]

He needs to be given a new contract asap. 

[roversfan99]

Definitely needs to be a priority to try but I cant see from his point of view why he wouldnt be better served holding off. If we went up somehow, perfect. If not, hes in a powerful position if and when bigger teams start sniffing around.

Million dollar question is how do we get Dack in the same team. If we do and get it right we have 2 superb attacking players at this level.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 minute ago, roversfan99 said:

Definitely needs to be a priority to try but I cant see from his point of view why he wouldnt be better served holding off. If we went up somehow, perfect. If not, hes in a powerful position if and when bigger teams start sniffing around.

Million dollar question is how do we get Dack in the same team. If we do and get it right we have 2 superb attacking players at this level.

Armstrong had one of those days you dream about as a striker. He could run faster backwards than the two guys he was up against. It won't be like that every week.

[roversfan99]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Armstrong had one of those days you dream about as a striker. He could run faster backwards than the two guys he was up against. It won't be like that every week.

Very true. The 2 times he ran through (as well as when Brereton did) in the second half was obviously down to pace but also woeful dithering by their defenders to begin with.

One thing that pleases me is 4 goals being a tap in, a penalty, a one on one (although he should have had 2) and a good finish in the box last week. My worry was that his ability to score screamers was undoubted but they are the goals that get the numbers up.

[JacknOry]

He must be brimming with confidence after last season and his start to this one so far. Especially when you consider that his Championship stats were not that great when loaned out previously. Starting to really come on now and although he still has a few faults, if he continues to bang them in at the rate he is now, and we then get Dack to help on that front, we are laughing.

[chaddyrovers]

25 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Definitely needs to be a priority to try but I cant see from his point of view why he wouldnt be better served holding off. If we went up somehow, perfect. If not, hes in a powerful position if and when bigger teams start sniffing around.

Million dollar question is how do we get Dack in the same team. If we do and get it right we have 2 superb attacking players at this level.

His working relationship with Mowbray and the fact he is playing the number 9 role finally which teams in Premier League probably wouldn't do cos of his size. So which bigger teams do you see being interest in him? 

Also I don't see this obsess with Dack coming back into the team. He is weeks away from being back in 1st team picture and I wouldn't be changing the formation just for Dack cos its really suiting us more, and our front 3 and midfield 3 are performing very well/excellent. Holtby is suiting this deep role and Rothwell produce 2 assists today. I wouldn't be moving Armstrong from 9 role either. 

[joey_big_nose]

6 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

His working relationship with Mowbray and the fact he is playing the number 9 role finally which teams in Premier League probably wouldn't do cos of his size. So which bigger teams do you see being interest in him? 

Also I don't see this obsess with Dack coming back into the team. He is weeks away from being back in 1st team picture and I wouldn't be changing the formation just for Dack cos its really suiting us more, and our front 3 and midfield 3 are performing very well/excellent. Holtby is suiting this deep role and Rothwell produce 2 assists today. I wouldn't be moving Armstrong from 9 role either. 

I think like Dack we've got a good chance of keeping him and tying him down long term. Neither player look standout Premier League quality, maybe worth a gamble at £5-£8m to a Prem team but not the £15-£20m we would want to let them go.

Armstrong could try and run down his contract, but we will probably offer him +50% what he is on and it would take a strong man to turn that down. If he tried to ride it out he is running the risk of getting a significant injury or falling out of form.

He's in contract to August 2022, I think we could extend that to 2024.

Flip side is do Rovers want to do that just now or wait till early 2021 to see how things develop. I personally would just get it done now.

[chaddyrovers]

4 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

I personally would just get it done now.

I would make him the highest earner at the club and on 4 years contract

[Butty]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

He needs to be given a new contract asap. 

Yep, get him tied down!!!

[roversfan99]

29 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

His working relationship with Mowbray and the fact he is playing the number 9 role finally which teams in Premier League probably wouldn't do cos of his size. So which bigger teams do you see being interest in him? 

Also I don't see this obsess with Dack coming back into the team. He is weeks away from being back in 1st team picture and I wouldn't be changing the formation just for Dack cos its really suiting us more, and our front 3 and midfield 3 are performing very well/excellent. Holtby is suiting this deep role and Rothwell produce 2 assists today. I wouldn't be moving Armstrong from 9 role either. 

Dack has to come in when he is fit as our best player. He along with Armstong are the 2 guaranteed starters in the attacking position. There is room for the pair of them but it might take a bit of trial and error beforehand. The options will presumably be either in the 433 with Dack central and dovetailing with Armstrong coming inside from the left. Or 4231 which doesnt have to involve a change in style but would mean our number 10 and number 9 are both prolific scorers. Question would then be which way you play the other 4 around them.

You can be as naive as you want about this working relationship but im saying as someone in his position I would hold off. If he has a really good season, we dont finish top 6 and a Premier League club offered him not only the opportunity to play at a higher level but probably double or triple his wage, no amount of respect for the manager or even a guarantee of playing in a certain position would stop that.

You look at young English players like Bowen and Eze who had a couple of stand out seasons in the Championship and got big moves. He has only scored regularly for 6 months, if he makes it 18 and we dont go up and Premier League clubs circle, with a year left our hands would be forced to sell. Conversely, if we went up or indeed he didnt have quite as good a season as we expected, he could still sign a new deal here then.

I would love him to sign a long deal as I would Dack and Nyambe but I wouldnt rush to do so if I was him.

 

[Mattyblue]

‘His working relationship with Mowbray’, behave yourself 

Club comes in who can offer PL football and double/treble the wages, he’s off.

That’s no slight on Rovers or Mowbray, just the way it is.

[Wood26]

I can’t see a Prem league side buying him and playing him down middle as their main striker. Much to our benefit.

[Oldgregg86]

I think it’s going to be the recently relegated and top end clubs of our division we are going to have to worry about pinching our players. No one as of yet shines Stand out premiership class yet at least

[Exiled_Rover]

2 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Dack has to come in when he is fit as our best player. He along with Armstong are the 2 guaranteed starters in the attacking position. There is room for the pair of them but it might take a bit of trial and error beforehand. The options will presumably be either in the 433 with Dack central and dovetailing with Armstrong coming inside from the left. Or 4231 which doesnt have to involve a change in style but would mean our number 10 and number 9 are both prolific scorers. Question would then be which way you play the other 4 around them.

You can be as naive as you want about this working relationship but im saying as someone in his position I would hold off. If he has a really good season, we dont finish top 6 and a Premier League club offered him not only the opportunity to play at a higher level but probably double or triple his wage, no amount of respect for the manager or even a guarantee of playing in a certain position would stop that.

You look at young English players like Bowen and Eze who had a couple of stand out seasons in the Championship and got big moves. He has only scored regularly for 6 months, if he makes it 18 and we dont go up and Premier League clubs circle, with a year left our hands would be forced to sell. Conversely, if we went up or indeed he didnt have quite as good a season as we expected, he could still sign a new deal here then.

I would love him to sign a long deal as I would Dack and Nyambe but I wouldnt rush to do so if I was him.

 

I think the problem you've got with Armstrong is he's a L1 wide player. He doesn't have the footballing brain to play there. Conversely he's a very good Championship 9.

Talk of him 'dovetailing' with Dack doesn't fly as Dack isn't mobile enough to play in a front 3 - you'd have to shift back to the 4-2-3-1 formation, except our CMs aren't good enough to play that. 

[47er]

3 hours ago, JacknOry said:

He must be brimming with confidence after last season and his start to this one so far. Especially when you consider that his Championship stats were not that great when loaned out previously. Starting to really come on now and although he still has a few faults, if he continues to bang them in at the rate he is now, and we then get Dack to help on that front, we are laughing.

Reading Newcastle United fans comments, I think they have it right. He's a very good Championship striker but would struggle in the Premiership.

Hasn't got the physique. Dack is short but strong and hard to shift.

I think we should just enjoy Arma in the Championship and let the future sort itself out. If we get promoted Armstrong would have earned the right to start but I wouldn't be optimistic personally.

Very big "if" though, not getting carried away with today's result.

[bluebruce]

30 minutes ago, Wood26 said:

I can’t see a Prem league side buying him and playing him down middle as their main striker. Much to our benefit.

I don't think not wanting to play him as their main central striker is going to stop them being interested.

Edited September 19, 2020 by bluebruce

[roversfan99]

27 minutes ago, Wood26 said:

I can’t see a Prem league side buying him and playing him down middle as their main striker. Much to our benefit.

Theres no way that if a Premier League club failed to promise him regular football as a number 9, that it would overrule the benefits to him of playing at the highest level and a massive pay rise.

1 minute ago, Exiled_Rover said:

I think the problem you've got with Armstrong is he's a L1 wide player. He doesn't have the footballing brain to play there. Conversely he's a very good Championship 9.

Talk of him 'dovetailing' with Dack doesn't fly as Dack isn't mobile enough to play in a front 3 - you'd have to shift back to the 4-2-3-1 formation, except our CMs aren't good enough to play that. 

We cant justify leaving out Dack, such a regular source of goals and such a catalyst to us. Him and Armstrong are so far ahead of all of our remaining attackers in that they are regular sources of goals. We have to make it work.

The 4-2-3-1 wouldnt have to be as rigid and direct as we played when Graham was in the side. We could still have similar flexibility and high pressing as we do now but a secondary potent goal threat added.

[Wood26]

3 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

I don't think not wanting to play him as their main central striker is going to stop them being interested.

Which is true. But playing wide, compare him to Benrahama or the Bournemouth guy who scored against us is night and day to me.

I see Benrahma live and I shit my pants every time he got the ball. When Armstrong gets it I’m just hoping somehow he does something good on wing.

[DE.]

Arma's best moments on the wing have been where he cuts inside and smashes a long-ranger into the net. Otherwise he's not very good at crossing, not great at tracking back to help his man defensively, not very good at holding position (always drifting inside) and his pace is only useful if up against a very slow fullback as he doesn't have the tricks necessary to beat a man on the flank - he can only knock it past them and beat them for pace - and he's almost always trying to cut inside which makes him predictable as a wide man.

When he plays centrally, however, pretty much all of these weaknesses are negated. He doesnt need to worry about crossing. He doesn't need to worry about tracking back to defend. He doesn't have to worry about holding a wide position. He doesn't have to worry about using tricks to beat people, as his job is to get behind them and leave them for dead with his speed. It won't work against every team - there will be times when we need a target man and that's when we are going to need Gallagher to step up - but more often than not Arma will cause defenders nightmares with his speed and movement. It's a very useful asset for a team like us to have - particularly if we can get the likes of Rothwell, Dolan, Buckley, Dack and Holtby playing smart passes behind the defence for Arma to prey on.

[roversfan99]

Playing on the side of a front 3 carries far less responsibility and would be easier for a striker like Armstrong to play than out wide in a 4231 which needs more tracking back. Weve seen albeit from a player who cant score goals that with Brereton. But Armstrong undoubtedly is best down the middle. Theyve never been played in a system whereby they could both thrive in tandem, but its not as if Dack is a big brute, hes a very technically gifted player who could compliment Armstrong within a more technical and pressing based set up.

That being said, it takes a short memory to not be desperate to get Dack back into the side when fit. There is no reason why we cant play both as a 9 and 10 whilst still pressing high and ultimately Dack would be brilliant in terms of playing Armstrong in. Either way, we have to try and fit them both in because with one consistent goalscorer proven over his 18 months into the Championship, and another who has developed into one in 2020, having two regular goalscorers gives us a massive leg up over most teams in this division. When we have had them together in the past it has always been with Graham in a far more rigid style.

The rest of our attacking players, Rothwell, Dolan, Rankin Costello, Chapman, Brereton, even Gallagher, theres plenty of pace and promise there but im not sure how much substance over the course of a season. Even if one of Armstrong or Dack would be slightly compromised by having them both together positionally, they would still be far more of a goal threat than any of the above players.

[Tom]

He’s become a £15-£20m man, come on leaps and bounds, a few more goals and there may be bids at the end of this window!

[K-Hod]

14 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

His working relationship with Mowbray and the fact he is playing the number 9 role finally which teams in Premier League probably wouldn't do cos of his size. So which bigger teams do you see being interest in him? 

Also I don't see this obsess with Dack coming back into the team. He is weeks away from being back in 1st team picture and I wouldn't be changing the formation just for Dack cos its really suiting us more, and our front 3 and midfield 3 are performing very well/excellent. Holtby is suiting this deep role and Rothwell produce 2 assists today. I wouldn't be moving Armstrong from 9 role either. 

You don’t see the obsession with getting our best player back into the team? 
Why ever not?

[chaddyrovers]

13 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Dack has to come in when he is fit as our best player. He along with Armstong are the 2 guaranteed starters in the attacking position. There is room for the pair of them but it might take a bit of trial and error beforehand. The options will presumably be either in the 433 with Dack central and dovetailing with Armstrong coming inside from the left. Or 4231 which doesnt have to involve a change in style but would mean our number 10 and number 9 are both prolific scorers. Question would then be which way you play the other 4 around them.

You can be as naive as you want about this working relationship but im saying as someone in his position I would hold off. If he has a really good season, we dont finish top 6 and a Premier League club offered him not only the opportunity to play at a higher level but probably double or triple his wage, no amount of respect for the manager or even a guarantee of playing in a certain position would stop that.

 

I would love him to sign a long deal butt I wouldnt rush to do so if I was him.

 

So you want to move the club best striker in Armstrong wide in front 3 when he already scored 4 goals from the 9 position. Why would anyone do that? 

I wouldn't be changing formation either. This 4-3-3 formation is working and the performances are very good this season. Holtby is in form and Rothwell has produce from the role. 

I would use Dack from the left of the 3 man forward line with Armstrong centre and Dolan right. Plus all this Dack is all back on when he will be back which won't be the next few weeks so why we are so concern about how we get Dack in the team at the point is mooted. Plus Dack is going to need a few under 23''s games aswell, so you are looking at November time before he is available for 1st team selection. We should be performing on players available and get results. If the front 3 keep playing well why would Mowbray drop any of them? 

on the subject of new contract, working for a manager who has develop him and is now playing him in his favour role of striker should count for something, it probably doesn't for most players in current football

 

14 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

You don’t see the obsession with getting our best player back into the team? 
Why ever not?

we have no idea the type of player he will be when he back. He had a set back so I wouldn't be relying on him pre Christmas time. 

[AshleyClifford]

17 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

So you want to move the club best striker in Armstrong wide in front 3 when he already scored 4 goals from the 9 position. Why would anyone do that? 

I wouldn't be changing formation either. This 4-3-3 formation is working and the performances are very good this season. Holtby is in form and Rothwell has produce from the role. 

I would use Dack from the left of the 3 man forward line with Armstrong centre and Dolan right. Plus all this Dack is all back on when he will be back which won't be the next few weeks so why we are so concern about how we get Dack in the team at the point is mooted. Plus Dack is going to need a few under 23''s games aswell, so you are looking at November time before he is available for 1st team selection. We should be performing on players available and get results. If the front 3 keep playing well why would Mowbray drop any of them? 

on the subject of new contract, working for a manager who has develop him and is now playing him in his favour role of striker should count for something, it probably doesn't for most players in current football

 

we have no idea the type of player he will be when he back. He had a set back so I wouldn't be relying on him pre Christmas time. 

We have a great wealth of options now. Imagine being strong enough to have to have Dack on the bench. If we are winning regularly without him when he comes back, he will need to earn his place in the team. Armstrong over Dack as centre forward for me