Well we sent the poor sod into the arms of Neil Warnock and that didn't work. He scored a goal but the referee struck it off, not realising it had hit the back of the net; and that was it. In January we called Freddie back and Zola brought him onto the field of play as a substitute - desperate times call for desperate measures it seems.
But then in came the Davids and some proper strikers were signed: well Ilan has scored some goals and Mido and McCarthy have added some balance to the bench, like two fat kids at either end of a see-saw! So Freddie was surplus to requirements again and was given the ultimate cold shoulder treatment, he was sent to Coventry - literally!
Surely this move would work out for our future England striker; surely now the goals would flow? Well sadly, although now playing for Coleman, Freddie's performances have still been some way short of mustard and that long awaited first Championship goal is still, well long awaited. Coventry have been on a losing run that even Zola would envy and still Freddie isn't considered good enough to get a kick of the ball! And now, with the season over, even Coventry are sending Freddie to...well back to West Ham as it happens.
It's beginning to look as if the pup is precisely that...a pup. Shame. I wonder who he won't score for next season?
12 comments:
Give him to sheff utd no lose situation when he fails to score for them all season hopefully playing every game for them
bring him home
Umm, Anon 23:00, point of order...none of our players get given to 'that club'!!
Unless things change, Freddie will be a West Ham player until at least 2013 after being given a 5yr contract in 2008 as a reward for his goal-scoring prowess in the 2007/08 season for the youths and reserves scoring 25 in 24 games!
FS is still only 20. OK, he's slight and diminutive in stature, but he's damn quick and a natural finisher! Maybe we should give Barca a ring and ask what they injected Lionel Messi with when they acquired him as a raw, stunted kid?! (Allegedly they gave him growth stimulating injections to accelerate his development)
Enjoy the world cup folks because when next season comes around it will be worse than this season! We need to sell most of the present team and of course sign some fresh talent to be competitive. I have my doubts that we will happen, only green,upson and cole will leave. We will be left with spector and the rest of those lazy spineless prats. So enjoy the world cup!
I still think he has potential. He would be scoring many goals if he was playing a fast paced team (e.g. Barcelona or Arsenal). He is not much different from Bojan. If Bojan was to play for Coventry or Crystal Palace, I guess he also would not be scoring too many goals. Don't give up on him yet.
kevin in Manchester writes..
I think the fact that he was scoring for fun in our youth , while not a guarantee that he would progress in a similar vein as a senior, does suggest he has talent. It would be churlish to laugh him out of a career. I think he needs to feel wanted and someone needs to work with him and his confidence. Hf you have quite rightly pointed out that one of Zola's biggest failings is to play footballers out of position and it seems to me that Sears has been played out of position since he scored that fated goal against Blackburn. As I understand it he was used out wide by Warnock, whenever i have seen him come on as sub , he's been out on the right- dont know what Coventry did with him but i suspect he was huggng the touchline. It seems to me he's a fox in the box sort of character and they feed on confidence, somethng in short supply, obviously. perhaps he will always be a might-have-been and the new manager, whoever he be, may have bigger fish to fry than ressurect his career but I feel in as much as a bunch of tossers like us can make any difference at all we should think positive thoughts about him and hope for the best.
Totally agree with Kevin's assessment on Sears. The kid has a natural talent for scoring goals if used in the right position and he gains confidence. Zola is the last man to make that happen. Maybe a new manager next year can make this happen for him and West Ham.
Yes, as he is on a long term contract maybe a spell with the reserves and a decent bit of one to one coaching will prove whether or not he actually has the ability we all hoped for.
More to the point, what's going to happen to Super Scotty Parker?
But is he such a natural scorer? Lampard doesn't play up front but returns 20 goals a season because he knows how to time a run and which space to hit. The disappointing thing about Freddie is that, even when paired with Bellyache, he didn't time his runs or choose his positions in the box to facilitate goal scoring. People put it down to his slight physique but, for me, it was more down to his not being able to read the game. That fateful goal was just a route one goal, lump to Ashton, headed down, Sears running on to it. I've no doubt Freddie can score those sorts of goals but you need more guile than that as a rule in the Prem. Does Freddie see space and understand when to go and when to hold back? You don't learn that, it comes naturally.
Of course you can learn how to time your runs, just like you learn to place shots or dribble with ball at your feet. One thing that did impress me about Freddy is that we always wants the ball, all we need now is someone to show him how to be more effective when he has it. He's not got the technical ability or strength to go past a central defender and I guess that's why managers are using him as a winger. Good lucky Freddy!
Great strikers like Greaves, Lineker, Fowler, Muller and Owen did it by instinct. I heard Linekar saying recently that you can't teach the skill. He was talking about Rooney and saying that Rooney was scoring more because his position had changed, not because his ability had changed. In Lineker's view, the ability and instinct were always there.
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