Irreplaceable?

By Tom Bason
March 30 2011

On Saturday, my worst fears were realised. Kevin Doyle injured his medial knee ligaments and is out for the next 4-8 weeks. As Doyle is far and away our most important striker, I’m going to have a look at who could replace him.

Mick McCarthy was quoted in the Express & Star saying that we would continue to play one upfront:

“Of course, we can play the same way. It would be a sad indictment if we lost one player and had to change the way we played. The last Doyle was out, we didn’t have Jamie. It’s changed.”

“Doyle proved the best at that lone striker role but both Steven Fletcher and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake have played it and Stephen Ward is a handful when he does, so I’ve still got three strikers… Somebody has to do what Doyle does to the best of their ability.”

Personally, I’m delighted with this. Although we reverted to 4-4-2 when Doyle was last injured and won at Anfield, I think the midfield has a nice balance to it currently, and allows Matt Jarvis and Adam Hammill the freedom to create havoc on the flanks.

My initial reaction is that Steven Fletcher should be played. He played upfront by himself for Burnley early last season to with relative success. He hasn’t really had a run in the team this season – after starting four consecutive games, in September and October, he was a victim of the return to 4-5-1 against Chelsea. His last start was in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool, and despite scoring a late equaliser against Tottenham, he’s barely been since.

The other option, obviously, is Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. He’s without doubt a fans favourite, and despite twice winning the Championship Golden Boot, he hasn’t really set the Premier League alight. He has looked far more like his old self though this season, and his eight substitute appearances compared to Fletcher’s five suggests that he’s in the driving seat for a start.

                                                      Fletcher                                  Ebanks-Blake

Goals                                                    5                                              6

Starts                                                    8                                              8

Sub Appearances                                    5                                              8

Minutes                                               838                                         1213

Minutes per goal                                    167                                         202

Shots                                                    21                                           30

Shots per goal                                        4.2                                          5

Shots on target                                      57%                                        63%

Points earned by goals                            3                                              4

The stats don’t really suggest that one particularly has the lead over the other, so it is likely that it will come down to McCarthy’s personal preference. So, Stephen Ward it is then…