The ScoutCast – Episode 109 – Two Men

Generating last minute love for Altidore 😉 :
Having done a video analysis of Carrick (http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2013/07/30/friendlies-round-up-monday/?hc_page=2#hc_comment_5130830), Van Ginkel & Bony (http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2013/07/30/friendlies-round-up-monday/?hc_page=9#hc_comment_5132117) and also Rooney & Soldado (http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2013/08/01/friendlies-round-up-wednesday/?hc_page=13#hc_comment_5185598), I thought I would move on to Iago Aspas and Altidore as they are mid priced strikers who have been brought in to freshen the strike force of their respective teams.

***Iago Aspas***

Iago Aspas is an import from the Spanish league that has an ambiguous past. Although he has scored an impressive 35 goals in 68 matches over the 2 most recent seasons, he only tucked the ball away 12 times in 33 games last season (3 of these 12 goals came from penalties). Even worse, although at a developing age of 23/24 (between 2009 -2011) he hadn't picked up in attacking threat until these recent years, scoring only 9 goals in 64 games in his previous two campaigns. The ambiguity of his FPL potential is compounded by the fact that he has been served to us with a price of just £7m. He could be outstanding attacking coverage for Liverpool and thrive in providing value due to his appealing price, or he could fail to live up to the club's name and dive under the already reasonably cheap attacking talent afforded to us in the form of Bony, Altidore, Fletcher, J Rod, Hooper, RVW, Berba etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdPVRbn5nB0

A. 00:16 to 00:23 (Good leap and strong header into bottom left corner from a reasonably admirable distance)

B. 00:29 to 00:50 (Cutting in from right wing position before taking a shot close to the keeper who's positioned in the middle of goal)

C. 01:44 to 01:48 (A decent volley from close distance into the bottom right corner of the goal, decent amount of time to set himself up and was waiting for the close quarter chipped pass before executing the finish)

D. 02:00 to 02:04 ( One on one and produces are good finish into top right corner of the goal)

E. 02:25 to 02:30 (Small chipped finish from close range over the keeper, from an angle)

F. 02:43 to 02:50 (Good control of a low crossed ball into the box, spinning quickly on the spot before displacing a shot into the centre of the goal before it is deflected beyond the reach of the keeper)

G. 03:03 to 03:06 (Powerful finish from just inside the left side of the box and across the grass to the bottom right of the goal)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuLktUtoCxE

H. 01:00 to 01:05 (Good low cross - whilst under pressure - from the left side of the box to the feet of an attacker on the right side for a tap in goal)

I. 01:23 to 01:35 (Good bit of control in the middle of the pitch before driving towards the box and providing a good short pass into the feet of the striker. POOR defending and a completely empty space in front of the defence which allowed him to drive forward)

J. 01:58 to 02:02 (Cute back-heel pass into the path of a team mate in the box to score)

K. 02:31 to 02:38 (Good bit of control and vision to supply a low crossed ball from the right hand side straight into the feet of the striker to tuck it away)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPTwrBp8IAU

L. 01:02 to 01:09 (Good bit of close control skill on the right side of the box before supplying a short and low crossed pass into the feet of the incoming striker)

So what do we learn from Aspas' most recent season highlights (previous season clips were hard to find)? Firstly, he is definitely not an out and out striker in the same way Soldado and Bent are, he is very much a man who likes to drift onto either wing just outside the box. There are a few problem which were highlighted when viewing his goals, one of which is the fact that Aspas has an almost unerring manner of shooting straight into the middle of the goal. I really am disappointed in the lack of clear variation in his shooting direction and for 2 of his goals I could clearly see the keeper cursing himself as Aspas shot toward the keeper himself and was lucky enough to be rewarded for his effort. With the likes of Begovic, Mignolet, Krul, Vorm, & Foster in the league (not to mention the top 5 team keepers), I do believe Aspas is going to find his first season in the PL a frustrating one unless he changes this.

Another very worrying issue is that all the skills showed by him on pitch could be classified under close control, he doesn't seem to be the type of player who has a variation of skill in his locker when taking on a defender. On a scale between McClean/Valencia to Adam Johnson/Nani in terms of skill when approaching a defender, I would put Aspas close to the middle but just about on the side favouring the first two players. It seems he is very much an attacker he just runs to get away from the defender and pushed the ball away from them if they lunge at him, this means he would find it extremely difficult if ever doubled up on or facing a truly organised defence.

The fact 3 of his goals came from penalties, 1 from the goalkeeper's hand not being strong enough and another from a deflection hardly inspire confidence. Taking those away reduce his season tally to just 7 goals, and even 1 of those was a simply shot down the middle with a goalkeeper cursing his weak ability to handle a one on one situation.

I would steer clear of Aspas unless he began to show why he managed 23 goals in one of his previous La Liga seasons, considering he has lost penalties to Gerrard and will be on the wing as opposed to the central area, he is at a clear disadvantage to the likes of Berbatov or Lambert when weighing up your options.

***Altidore***

A new young addition to the Di Canio revolution at Sunderland, Altidore also has an impressive tally across his previous 2 seasons with 38 goals in 68 appearances from the Eredivisie. His goals are spread across a little more evenly with 15 and 23 goals scored respectively in his most recent consecutive seasons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdvcYCBi0YU

A. 00:28 to 00:36 (Great link up play with his team mate by using a back heel & spin before producing a strong finish into the roof of the goal's corner)

B. 00:37 to 00:43 (Classy & smart back-heel assist completely throwing off the defenders and allowing his team mate to score)

C. 00:44 to 00:49 (Stops suddenly whilst driving into the box to completely throw off the two defenders blocking him, then produces a strong finish into the bottom left of the goal)

D. 00:52 to 00:58 (Again some great link up play, spinning behind the defender before producing a smart finish to the bottom left of the goal)

E. 00:59 to 01:04 (Good turn before producing a smart finish into the corner of the goal)

F. 01:04 to 01:14 (Brilliant display of skill before again tucking the ball away into the corner)

G. 01:25 to 01:30 (A show of great strength and composure to shrug off a challenge and produce a classy finish beyond the reach of the keeper)

H. 01:34 to 01:38 (Flicking the ball over his own head before using a sumptuous half volley)

I. 01:49 to 01:52 (Good chipped finish, after adjusting his body whilst running, over the standing keeper)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6bfGp84h0I

J. 00:33 to 00:37 (Beautiful finish using the outside of his right foot into the top left corner)

K. 00:40 to 00:43 (Another great link up back heel before sprinting to get into position to shoot on goal)

L. 01:02 to 01:05 (Comfortable finish into the bottom corner)

M. 01:12 to 01:16 (Another great finish into the closest corner of the goal from distance)

N. 01:58 to 02:02 (Good close control skill to avoid a lunging defender before tucking the ball away into the corner)

O. 03:02 to 03:09 (Composed chest control before producing a good shot into the top corner)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SiW43iJwMs

P. 00:41 to 00:45 (Comfortable volley into the top right corner of goal)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ABJl7hMVjw

Q. 02:34 to 02:38 (Plucks the ball out of the air with good control of the ball before tucking the ball away into the corner)

R. 02:47 to 03:00 (Another example of his strong heading ability)

Really wasn't expecting this, but after watching these clips I'm so very excited to see Altidore in the PL and am considering him as a differential striker for my team. He's a striker with a strong heading ability as I've seen from multiple clips (in a similiar fashion to Bony), he also has brilliant link up play ability (also similiar to Bony), however, what separates him from the fellow newcomer is the fact that he really knows how to use his feet to throw defenders off him.

Add a good level of strength, complete composure when under pressure and a fantastic finishing ability to the mix, and you have a very exciting prospect in your hands. Altidore can score in a variety of ways and in my opinion is head and shoulders above Aspas in terms of goal threat (both come in at a tempting £7m).

Almost all the goals I've seen show him shooting into the corners and so he is a very lethal finisher, in fact my doubts about the weakness of his league have subsided as the quality of his finishing and skill has been at such a level that I feel these goals would easily translate to the PL against better defenders. He really does seem to be an all round striker who is developing at a fast pace with consummate ease. I feel this season will see Altidore shine in the same way Benteke and Lukaku have previously (both these strikers also came to the PL from "weaker" leagues), although Sunderland really will need to step up to provide him the chances to thrive as he is a player who relies on his team to provide him with opportunities to score (similiar to both Bony & Soldado).