Ebanks-Blake scored a lot of goals in this league for both Wolves and Plymouth, I seem to remember. Good, powerful, Strong and quick, I think he'd be brilliant.

I'd maybe like a Cameron Jerome bid put in as well - always rated him.

As for Maynard, He scored 20 goals the season before last, but was it just a flash in the pan? 5 mil is too much of a risk for me, when you could get EB for around 2 mil, or Jerome for probably about 3-3.5

I've nothing against signing another striker, whoever it might be, but I think the panic about the line-up we have at the moment is laid on slightly thick – partly driven by the universally held 'truth' that you need a 20-goals-plus striker to be promoted. It is also possible to do it from what KTF1 describes above as "all over the shop".

Here's a little puzzler for you. Which striker scored 20+ league goals in the season that last saw us promoted to the top flight? To save you thinking too long and hard – because I have another question to put to you – the answer is: nobody. Our top sharpshooters got 17 and 13.

Here's the other question. Our strike force that year was: Dickov, Deane, Scowcroft and Benjamin (theoretically plus Tommy Wright, but he only started two league games). Does everyone really feel, as they seem to, that our current line-up of Vassell, Nugent, Gallagher, Waghorn and Howard is a great deal weaker than that? Or are we panicking for the sake of it because we know the money is available?

And BTW: we had nothing like an Andy King that year either – the biggest midfield contributor was Muzzy, with four goals. What landed us 12 points clear of third-placed Sheff U that season was having the meanest defence in the league. Just food for thought, guys…

I agree Fatfox - Infact, I believe it's less than half of the last 12 teams to be promoted have had a striker scoring 20+ goals.

would be nice though.

It would indeed

Interesting point. And I'm kind of surprised (without ever knowing the stats) that Muzzy only scored 4 league goals that season.

He was still a class apart though.

Almost as good as Yann Kermogant's gonna be this year .

Seriously think he's our 20+ goals man.

Remember that screamer against Boro?

Bring on the Yan.

I'm getting Kermogant on the back of my shirt.

To think, this time last year his name was a euphamism for something you'd rather wash off the back of your shirt.

20 goals a season is just a term. You need someone getting near it though. Or two strikers that are going to get about 15 between them. Nugent is one of them. I really don't see any of the others getting over 10 though. I also think the championship is MUCH harder than it was last time we went up. I agree our strike force is better, but equally the teams we're playing agaist have better defences

Also, I can't believe Muzzy only got the four goals..very surprising stat that one for me.

There is never usually more than 2 or 3 players who get 20 or over in a season at this level, meaning at least half of the teams finishing in the top 6 wont have one of these 20 goal super stars.

I agree that yes, you will have at least one striker getting near this figure purely as a consequence of the amount of chances produced by one of the better teams in the division - I would be confident that if any of Howard, Waghorn, Vassell, Gallagher, Nugent (and possibly others) were played up front consistently in a 4-3-3 and the team performed to a high standard, the player would get at least somewhere between 10 and 15.

In fact, I'd be happy to have a bet (and I may do if I can get some odds on it), that, again under the assumption that we are playing well as a team, at least 3 players will hit double figures this year.

I guess for me, this says that if we are going to add a striker to our squad, its not really worth paying £5m for a forward who can score when we are creating lots of chances and playing well, as I feel we have members of the team who will already do this.

However, £5m for a player who can consistently stick them in when the team in general is going through a bad patch and the pressure is on to score goals that still scrape together the 3 points, is much more appealing. Is this Maynard? I don't know, but I guess you always take a punt with strikers from this perspective, hence the offer of cash plus add ons if the player lives up to the hype being promoted by the club selling him.

DM: Muzzy was indeed a class apart, but never a prolific goalscorer.
I think his best season's tally was eight.

Would it cheer you all up if I reminded you that he topped the assists list that season?

It seems like both our boards are stained with Maynard threads right now!

Our position seems to be 'if you want him, you will have to pay' - although the official line is 'he's not for sale' we all know that its just a case of naming the right price.
NM is keeping his cards close to his chest and he is in no hurry to play them. He has guaranteed work for one more season ans as long as he delays signing for anyone he increases his chances of being able to go anywhere at short notice.

For those who are wondering what all the fuss is about, check out the goal of the season v QPR season before last, or the goal v Coventry, or just any of his goals last season.

The lad just knows where the goal is - he is VERY good, but like some of you see he has had trouble with his knees.

He doesn't get many headers - we have Pitman for those, but he brings a bit of magic to a game and gets us all excited when he is on the ball bearing down just outside the box - you just don't know what he will do!!

We don't want to lose him, so we will make it as difficult as possible. Not personal, just business.

I think BCFC want to keep him, more than we want to buy him, particularly with the ridiculous valuation, from a business perspective, the chairman has put on him (although maybe this is all talk to up the price). The only thing that would sway this would be if the player desperately wanted to join us - which he clearly doesn't.

Perhaps in add ons he is worth a million or two because of his potential, but as a lump sum figure, if we were to pay over £4m from an ethical perspective, I would be a little disappointed (there is no way on what he has done in his career so far he is worth more than this and 4m would be stretching it) , but I guess as it isn't my money or a debt to the club I would get over it!

I personally do not like at all the way he has treated his current club, staying quiet for so long, and then producing a statement, clearly tailored by his agent, that didn't really confirm anything.

If a Premiership club came in for him, I don’t think it would be the worst thing to happen for both clubs, and we could all move forward knowing the next contract he had signed wouldn't have any repercussions on either club next year.

Sound, sensible talk from both of you, I think. I'd add three things:

1) In these situations, the prospective selling club's fans always shriek at their directors: "Don't let him go for less than £5-6m". Rewind the tape to July 2009 (or, indeed, January 2010) and that's *exactly* the refrain Leicester 606 was echoing to every time there was a faint rumour of a Premiership club sniffing around Matty Fryatt. So let's recognise that the same thing happens when the boot is on the other foot, and (continue to) avoid a slanging match with the Robins. Especially because, as KTF1 comes close to saying, it is the player who is forcing the situation in this case, not his club.

2) It may be that the market has already overheated for this player, and that we are offering too much. What will be the price on his head come January if his form has been spluttering? (Hint: what was the best offer we received for Fryatt in the end?)

3) There's a Premiership/UEFA squad cap. As well as the habitual U-21s who need to be sent out on loan, some clubs will also find themselves reluctantly needing to exclude experienced players. Last season, strikers as good as, say, Robbie Keane needed to go out on loan just to get a game. If we haven't bought Maynard, we will be sitting there with enough budget to take on the wages of a player of that calibre.

Parent clubs will prefer their experienced players to go to a Championship club rather than help out a Premiership rival. And they will want their U-21s to go to a club where they can learn from a good manager and some decent players around them. This season we clearly fulfil all of the requisite criteria. If Sven thinks that we don't have enough permanent strikers, I don't think he's going to find it all that difficult to borrow one.