While United’s striker issues this season have been telling, it is hardly a new occurrence at Hindmarsh Stadium.
In reality, the Reds have never had a forward who has scored at a rate better than a goal every other game, and only twice in the club’s history has an Adelaide target man found the back of the net at an average better than a goal every 2.5 games in a season.
The best marksmen in the league are scoring at a ratio better than a goal every other game.
This season in the A-League home and away rounds, Eugene Dadi scored 10 goals for Perth in 16 games (1.6 games per goal) and Sergio van Dijk scored 11 for Queensland in 20 games (1.81 games per goal). Over the course of two seasons with the Phoenix, former Adelaide player Shane Smeltz has scored 21 goals in 39 appearances (1.85 games per goal).
Adelaide’s most consistent scorer in a single season was Bruce Djite during the 2007/8 campaign, scoring 10 times in 20 games in all competitions – a goal every other game.
To find the next best games per goal ratio, we have to go back to Adelaide’s first season as a club, when Carl Veart found the net 12 times in 27 games (a goal once every 2.25 games) in the old National Soccer League.
The third best record belongs to Fernando Rech, scoring 7 times in 18 matches (2.57) in the inaugural A-League season.
The best of the rest include Michael Brooks’ cameo at the end of the 2003/4 season, which yielded 3 goals in 8 games (2.67); Paul Agostino managed 4 goals last season in 11 games (2.75) and Fernando Rech scored 9 in 25 games in the 2006/7 season (2.78).
So far this season Cristiano has notched 12 goals in 33 games (2.75). However, the other two strikers on Adelaide United’s books have yet to trouble the scorers.
Robert Younis (no goals in 17 games) and Paul Agostino (no goals in 10 games) need to have a fruitful Finals campaign if they are to avoid joining the ranks of Reds strikers to score one or none in a season. Adelaide’s gallery of goal-deprived front men includes Elias Demourtzidis and Chad Bugeja, who both failed to score in 12 games. Dez Giraldi managed one goal in two injury-plagued seasons from 21 games.
Nick Budin scored once from 19 games in 2003/4. A young Shane Smeltz was one from seven in 2003/4. Finally, in 2006/7, Bruce Djite scored once in 15 appearances and Shengqing Qu hit the back of the net once in 8 games.
Whilst every football club in the world has had strikers who have struggled to score goals, the statistics presented above show that no Reds forward has ever been amongst the top players in the country, apart from Bruce Djite.
Emphasising this point is the fact that right-winger Travis Dodd is currently the club’s all-time leading scorer with 30.
For the Reds to be successful next season it is vital that they sign a marquee striker capable of matching the best in the country and scoring at a rate of less than two goals per game. Depth in the position is clearly also an issue that needs to be addressed.
Otherwise it is likely that Adelaide will continue to be place an unnecessary burden on its midfield to produce goals and the team’s overall play will suffer as a result.
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dasilva said | February 3rd 2009 @ 6:57am | Report comment
Great article
However I do believe that Cristiano would have been good enough to be a goal in every other game striker if he weren’t the sole striker and isolated up from. I think if he have a partner to play off with and relieve our reliance of goals from him then he will score more.
Kazama said | February 3rd 2009 @ 7:17am | Report comment
Thanks dasilva.
I agree that Cristiano would be scoring more goals if Vidmar played two up front as I feel he is more of a poacher than a go-to man. However I raised the point of needing depth in the position, as IMO neither Younis or Agostino have made much of a case for Vidmar to change the system.
dasilva said | February 3rd 2009 @ 7:37am | Report comment
Perhaps
I do agree that we need more depth in the strikers position.
However I think Younis recent performance against Central coast Mariners leading to a goal from Cristiano means that it’s worth a go trying out two strikers and changing the system.
Midfielder said | February 3rd 2009 @ 2:40pm | Report comment
AU play a counter attack game and are going to have less shots than others given the style of match they play … and the goals will be shared around with this sorta of style … AU are a very successful club they do score but the goals are shared.
Kazama said | February 3rd 2009 @ 3:59pm | Report comment
Midfielder
Thanks for your comment.
Adelaide is a successful club, but I think they would be even more successful if they had strikers who scored more regularly and took some of the burden off the midfielders to score goals – Dodd has actually had more shots than any other United player this season. In fact he’s had more than either Eugene Dadi or Shane Smeltz. Cristiano has had almost the same amount of shots as Eugene Dadi and Shane Smeltz have so we really can’t say United’s style is retarding the number of attacks the Reds make.
——
A correction: “…scoring at a rate of less than two goals per game.”
This should be “scoring at a rate of less than two games per goal.”
Apologies all.
Pippinu said | February 3rd 2009 @ 4:07pm | Report comment
Kaz
I haven’t left a comment on here today because, well, as a Victory fan, what can you expect me to say – other than:
you’re damn right!
But good article.
Am I allowed to come here to talk FM?
Kazama said | February 3rd 2009 @ 5:03pm | Report comment
Thanks Pippinu
You can talk FM here all you like mate.
I’m no longer manager of Adelaide, by the way. Some awful performances and humiliating results led me to pull the pin and leave Frank Farina to take charge of the sinking ship, currently 7th. I won my first game as UAE manager so all good there so far. I’m looking for another club job because the internationals are few and far between and there isn’t as much to do. I’ve got an offer from Ebbsfleet but I think I will look elsewhere.
dasilva said | February 3rd 2009 @ 7:48pm | Report comment
Rostyn Griffiths is joining Adelaide United as an injury replacement player. Not a striker but another midfielder. He’s a Blackburn reserve player. Another EPL reject like Scott Jamieson.
Hopefully he’ll do well. You know Scott Jamieson being the best left back in the A-league despite zero matches for Bolton and Griffiths having zero caps for Blackburn.
If Rostyn Griffiths excel, him and Jamo may prove Pim right about training in europe
Ryan Steele said | February 4th 2009 @ 12:21am | Report comment
I completely agree, and I recall Christiano doing the same thing, pre-season. He stated from the start that he relies on a two-man attack, as he needs someone to work off. He’s had to adjust to situation quicker than he would have liked.
It is likely that the new marquee will be a striker, or at least someone to play halfway (offensive midfield/shadow). It will be an idea to find someone who is playing regularly, and most likely from an international league, where they would be intrigued to play in Australia (meaning it wouldn’t necessarily be someone from Europe, where they can make larger sums). This is more or less mirroring a previous article, though it would be superb if they searched outside of the regular international hot spots (Brazil and Europe), and perhaps risk searching through the lower-division scrapheaps, where the produce could still be of better quality than what’s currently available. Considering the A-League and Adelaide’s overall style, a popular choice would be African talent, even if it’s not on a marquee signing.
Kazama said | February 4th 2009 @ 8:22am | Report comment
Thanks for your comment Ryan.
I agree that Africa would be a good place to look for new talent as I think there’s a decent chance of finding a player who can combine skill with strength there, and they probably wouldn’t cost as much as a signing from Asia, Europe or South America.
For the marquee spot, and I know this is pie-in-the-sky stuff, I’d love to see Adelaide go after Josh Kennedy. Kennedy apparently isn’t happy at Karlsruhe and if the Gold Coast can convince Jason Culina to come home I guess it opens the door for other current Socceroos to be offered opportunities in the A-League. It’s highly unlikely that he’d come here, but he’d be just what Adelaide needs IMO.