Father Fred wrote:
Joe C wrote:
Fred, do you not remember him being played as a striker for a run of games and being so shit at it we opted to play without one instead?
Yes.

Both yourself and aka seem to be forgetting that there are all sorts of strikers.  A full back might be a bit more attacking or a bit more defensive, but they are basically a full back.  A striker could be anything from a Carroll to Cottee to Maradonna to CR7... it seems to me that Maiga's strengths - running at full speed at the goal - are totally and utterly different from the strengths of the bloke he was back-up to.  I'm not saying Maiga is great - far from it - but I expect that he'd tell anyone who will listen that he's a shit load better than his West Ham performances suggest, and I'd believe him. 


I'm perfectly aware there are different types of striker - Maiga is in the 'absolutely honking' category