Player Watch Player Watch: Dominic Solanke

[Hoddlegenius]

He runs non stop - exhausting just watching him!

 

[paddieu]

It would be interesting to revisit his goals for Bournemouth and see how many were headers etc and what kind of service he got for them. Our obsession with byline low crosses a gnats chuff from the goalpost with 4 defenders stood there doesn’t strike me as the way to create opportunities for him !

 

[SaiboT]

I'm not sure if you're being harsh on him but he is a pressing machine, and allows the rest of the team to get higher up the pitch.

Absolutely thankless task

He has crazy physic and stamina absolutely and he does the pressing well but that doesnt make him a good footballer and especially for that amount. I see multiple people banging the Solanke drum about him being so so important to the team but i just cant see how.
when he was injured for example we didnt need his ”importance” to trash Everton 4-0 (yes everton is everton) and where and how was he important against for example Palace or any other matches where he didnt even get a shot?
And also when the wingers have the ball on their flank to cross the ball it seems like Solanke more or less hides behind a defender, he doesnt take the runs infront defenders. He also takes alot of time to shoot when he actually gets a chance.

 

[tobi]

They need to run some plays for him that get him into shooting positions.

He's doing a lot for the team but Johnson and Son/Werner get into shooting positions more than him. That balance isn't right.

 

[allatsea]

Working hard but just can’t get involved in the goals

He isn't a natural striker. He has made himself into a very good player through his work rate, and his application, but he is not top class striker.

 

[BigVic]

I think a lot of people are in denial here. Yes his work rate is great, but we DO need more from him, we signed him to score goals and he hasnt had a shot in about 4 games. The money we have spent work rate is simply not enough. Mikail Antonio works hard, and you wouldn’t lay out £65m for him.

 

[GutBucket]

Expected him to be a classic poacher but so far looks more like Morata, somebody who can Influence the game besides scoring, but fans will want goals. We won't see it until our xg improves though.

 

[Haddock]

I think a lot of people are in denial here. Yes his work rate is great, but we DO need more from him, we signed him to score goals and he hasnt had a shot in about 4 games. The money we have spent work rate is simply not enough. Mikail Antonio works hard, and you wouldn’t lay out £65m for him.

Solanke scored what? 19 goals for Bournemouth? We know he can score a lot golas if given the chances.

I get the impression that the role he’s asked to play slightly hinders him from getting in to scoring position.

It’s just been a coupe of months. He’s in a new team, at a higher level, under a new manager, and he’s already fitting in really well. Let’s have some patience.

 

[spurs mental]

I think a lot of people are in denial here. Yes his work rate is great, but we DO need more from him, we signed him to score goals and he hasnt had a shot in about 4 games. The money we have spent work rate is simply not enough. Mikail Antonio works hard, and you wouldn’t lay out £65m for him.

Antonio wouldn't do the job that Solanke does for our team, not even close.

I don't think you're understanding the role he plays for the team or how much he contributes outside of goals. His hold up play allows the other players to get forward and involved, getting us up the pitch.

There was a similar conversation about Deki earlier in the season too about him not getting enough numbers on the board but that's all gone quiet now because people are seeing what he contributes overall.

Dom will improve more and the goals will come. I thought he was excellent last night and against the best team in the league he contributed plenty to the team structure. If he wasn't a willing runner and absolute trojan at pressing we wouldn't have won last night.

 

[SUIYHA]

It's a weird one. I think it's clear he's improved our attack and is offering something in CF that Son and Richarlison do not, but it's not that he's just not scoring, he's not even getting chances to score.

Liverpool seemed to do ok with Firmino as the "defensive forward" as long as Mane and Salah were scoring goals, so I guess it's not a big deal as long as we're winning matches.

 

[BigVic]

Solanke scored what? 19 goals for Bournemouth? We know he can score a lot golas if given the chances.

I get the impression that the role he’s asked to play slightly hinders him from getting in to scoring position.

It’s just been a coupe of months. He’s in a new team, at a higher level, under a new manager, and he’s already fitting in really well. Let’s have some patience.

Possibly, but I think some of the praise others are giving him is way over the top and is based on the fact he is a shiny new signing and can do no wrong yet.

 

[danielneeds]

He gives the team a lot and is definitely a really good all-round footballer. I just worry that he’s the kind of forward that managers and team-mates love because of all donkeywork he puts in, but last season will prove to be an outlier in terms of goal-scoring. He reminds me of a Wellbeck or Morata, really good players but not prolific goalscorers.

 

[TPdYID]

but not prolific goalscorers.

How many prolific goal scorers are in the EPL? Or European football in general?

Consistent goal scorers are the hardest position to recruit, hence why they end up fetching so much ££ if (rarely) available.

A prolific anything is going to cost a fortune and be hard to acquire, a prolific goal scorer is going to be next to impossible to sign.

We’ve been spoilt with Kane for all those years. But you ask Chelsea how much joy they’ve had since Drogba? Or Arsenal since Henry.

 

[Danny1]

Any criticism of him needs to be matched with watching the James Allcott video on Kulusevski. James goes into some detail about how good Solanke is at pressing from the front, far far far better than any other striker in the Premier League.

Creating chances for our team is really not an issue. Putting them away is and has been this year. The way we are playing it is going to mean that Solanke is the foil for our wingers. Take last night as a perfect example, Dom kept both Dias & Stones very very busy which is no easy feat and it resulted in us having really clear chances to score. He also has good ability with his passing, he put Werner through on goal last night and his pass for Johnson against Brighton was absolutely brilliant.

We aren't really set up to create chances for our main striker, our goals are coming from our wide men & our attacking midfielder which is why we have missed Sonny so much. The one game Sonny has played lately we win 4-1 and Sonny was instrumental in them.

 

[newbie]

He has crazy physic and stamina absolutely and he does the pressing well but that doesnt make him a good footballer and especially for that amount. I see multiple people banging the Solanke drum about him being so so important to the team but i just cant see how.
when he was injured for example we didnt need his ”importance” to trash Everton 4-0 (yes everton is everton) and where and how was he important against for example Palace or any other matches where he didnt even get a shot?
And also when the wingers have the ball on their flank to cross the ball it seems like Solanke more or less hides behind a defender, he doesnt take the runs infront defenders. He also takes alot of time to shoot when he actually gets a chance.

he played very well last night, kulu, and Dom put in super human shifts.

let’s give him time

 

[FibreOpticJesus]

Let’s not get into talkshite territory. Dumb and Dumber were at it last night saying is he a flop for not scoring blah blah dross dross. I had to turn it off. Goals will come when the rest of our team learn to put the balls in the right area and stop treading on his toes in the penalty area. We had a number of chances last night but Werner and Johnson were in the same areas as Dom and we ended up with nothing. He was my mom yesterday as he worked his socks off creating space for others and closing down their gk and defence. You could see he was physically shattered with 10 minutes to go but still put in a shift. He is a quality player playing a new role under instruction to suit the TEAM. Get off his back.

 

[danielneeds]

How many prolific goal scorers are in the EPL? Or European football in general?

Consistent goal scorers are the hardest position to recruit, hence why they end up fetching so much ££ if (rarely) available.

A prolific anything is going to cost a fortune and be hard to acquire, a prolific goal scorer is going to be next to impossible to sign.

We’ve been spoilt with Kane for all those years. But you ask Chelsea how much joy they’ve had since Drogba? Or Arsenal since Henry.

And maybe we don’t need him to be a prolific scorer. Plenty of teams Morata’s been on have had success, for instance. But it does put pressure on the likes of Son, or his successor, Johnson to be regular scorers too.

In some ways the amount of work he’s putting in probably is detrimental to him trying to be a killer infront of goal. I guess unless you’re paying top dollar, which we never will under Levy, you can’t have everything.

 

[thebenjamin]

Let’s not get into talkshite territory. Dumb and Dumber were at it last night saying is he a flop for not scoring blah blah dross dross. I had to turn it off. Goals will come when the rest of our team learn to put the balls in the right area and stop treading on his toes in the penalty area. We had a number of chances last night but Werner and Johnson were in the same areas as Dom and we ended up with nothing. He was my mom yesterday as he worked his socks off creating space for others and closing down their gk and defence. You could see he was physically shattered with 10 minutes to go but still put in a shift. He is a quality player playing a new role under instruction to suit the TEAM. Get off his back.

Listened to Jason Cundy for 5 minutes on the way home and had to turn it off. Mentally sub human. How anyone could find that entertaining is beyond me.

 

[hughy]

Our attacking play is much improved on last season, and I think a large part of that is down to him. I'd take him finishing with 10-15 league goals this season as long as we keep attacking with intent.

We have far bigger concerns in the team than him not getting goals.

 

[allatsea]

Solanke scored what? 19 goals for Bournemouth? We know he can score a lot golas if given the chances.

I get the impression that the role he’s asked to play slightly hinders him from getting in to scoring position.

It’s just been a coupe of months. He’s in a new team, at a higher level, under a new manager, and he’s already fitting in really well. Let’s have some patience.

How many did he score in his other seasons ?