Stop projecting, please. Adults are trying to have a conversation. Don't like that response? Then keep things restrained at your end and I'll be obliged to do the same at mine. Yes, he's played a lot of games out wide, so shouldn't he have contributed several assists, say a half-dozen? Or is being fairly ineffectual out wide part of what makes him an upper-end Championship player? There are Championship strikers who play wide and have scored and/or assisted more. Significantly more. * Viktor Gyökeres: about 20% of his games on either wing; 21 goals and 10 assists * Joel Piroe: about 35% of his games at RW or CM; 18 goals with 2 assists * Nathan Tella: an RW/RM or LW/LM who often plays up top; 17 goals and 5 assists. That's just three. All true. In every league and in every season. That doesn't alter the fact that a player who, don't forget, was heavily courted by Bayer Leverkusen has had two seasons in England and notched all of 15 league goals and 3 assists in 66 league games. Last season's struggles could have been explained by playing for an overmatched team who'd concluded that his best position was out wide as what I called a "defensive forward". This season, he's in the Championship. It's a vastly lower standard and he's scored goals, but not at a level that makes him, not a standout, but simply a difference-maker; the kind of player that a serious promotion-chaser or an EPL relegation-struggler would spend money on as, well, "filler". No, it doesn't make him inadequate and I didn't say it did. It makes him "meh", AKA ordinary, unexciting, unexceptional or average at this level. He can't improve, of course, but if he wants out of the Championship before 2025, he's got to break 20 in goals and assists next season. Preferably 25. Otherwise, even if his transfer fee doesn't deter buyers, his wages will and if he stays at Norwich who stay in the Championship, then the Championship will be his level for the next 2 seasons. He'll also find it quite hard to latch on to the equivalent of Werder Bremen at the end of it.
And a lot of his problems this season can be ascribed to playing for a side that's struggled, badly, to recover from the disappointment of relegation after a season of lousy football (after the disappointment of the same the season before). That's quite normal - usually, 2 out the the 3 relegated sides don't make the playoffs and they restructure ahead of the second season, as Sheffield United did for this year. Next season, Pukki will leave and they will rebuild the squad. He'll have a good shot at being the default #9 or the SS and if they bring in a few good midfielders, he could post really good numbers and they could go up or he could be bought by a better side.
I remember when Jedi and Ream were EFL-for-life players. I am of the Josh is unexceptional (at the top level) camp, but he's also hardworking, reliable, willing to play where asked, and for the most part healthy. Those attributes in a serviceable, level-headed player who puts up decent numbers consistently can get you an opportunity or two. I would not be shocked to see Josh get a few bites of the apple. I don't think he'll ever be remembered as the Red Baron Ace striker of the Epl, but I would not be surprised to see him grab a season or two in a top flite league still.
As Individualeleven mentioned, he's got 9 goals in 19 starts as a striker. If played full time as a striker, at that rate, 20 is possible and not far fetched. I'm skeptical myself, but he's going to wrap this season with 13-15 goals already despite playing half the season in the midfield, getting another 5-7 goals when played as a full time striker isn't a stretch at all to imagine. Otoh, maybe they sign someone to replace him or to give him competition next year. I have given in to the idea that the Sargent I was expecting to develop circa 2017-2018 isn't coming, but this season has suggested he can be a double digit goal scorer when played int he proper position with a competent midfield for the given league, something he hasn't had since his very first appearances with Werder Bremen five or so years ago before that club imploded the following year.
The goal: Sargent is too good for Norwich now📹: @americanwigends https://t.co/Vpi19QTQdY— scuffed (@scuffedpod) May 1, 2023
Brother he’s struggled in every season and it’s always not his fault for some. People should just accept that he struggles because he’s a limited player.
Well, the one thing Sarge has is charisma. Plenty of people are ready to defend him no matter how poor he looks.
I don't see how this season can't be seen as a success. He's got to be in the top one or two considered for player of the year, no? He dropped off after the World Cup after an obscene start to the season, but that's at least a little bit understandable.
I guess it depends on what your expectations for Josh were, but I think for most folks in the wide “realistic” range, Sarges output has to be pretty acceptable if not reasonably impressive. Top scorer on his team, regular utility starter, dependable. If anything Norwich’s overall performance is disappointing, but much of that seems down to Pukki losing a bit of mojo back in the winter. Would have been impressive if Josh could have stepped in and dragged the team with him, but hard to see this year as a failure.
Some try to gaslight us with the idea that the Championship is a top league. It's not. Sarge may be doing ok there, but for the NT he's only scored, in non-friendlies, against Cuba. At least Pepi has scored against Jamaica, Honduras and El Salvador, in about half the minutes.
It's a brutal league. It's not full of a ton of top level players and teams, but it is a very difficult league to perform well in, and there are a decent number of very good players and some good teams.
I watched him play quite a bit this year and he was pretty inconsistent. He had a precipitous drop in form following the WC and it lasted for quite a while. Based on the last few games It looks like he might be getting a bit of the mojo back that he had early in the season. It would be nice if he were at a level where he could take a middling championship team and put them on his shoulders but he is clearly not there at this point. Long term I still think he could end up as a decent 9 for the right mid-table Bund side. I don't like him as a striker on a bottom of the table Prem. team at all. He needs to be on a team that is on the front foot a decent amount of the time. He is not the kind of player that creates a lot of chances on his own, particularly against very high level defenders. Short term, he needs to put together a full season at Norwich next year where he is consistent through the entire year. Hopefully Wagner sees him as his man in the 9 spot next season. I'm no expert on Norwich by any means but the thing that worries me about them is that, from what I can gather, they appear to be a bit off a mess from a financial perspective ATM. That without an influx of cash they might be looking at the same level of disfunction again next year. Maybe Josh get's sold (albeit for a loss) as he seems to be one of their few marketable assets right now. If we have any Norwich experts on here maybe they can chime in??
I think he played at his level this season. We see exactly who he is, which is a good second division striker at times who will also go through slow spells. Ultimately that translates into being a poor first division striker.
Nothing about his play has indicated he can be a "decent" number 9 for a mid-table Bundesliga squad. He's not strong, not big, not fast, not a great dribbler, a passable passer, and a mediocre finisher. He does have a good engine and tries hard. You see him score goals in the second division because he has more time and space but he can't do it under Bundesliga-level pressure when there's half a second less to find the goal.
I hear what you are saying but he showed flashes as a teenager at that brutal Bremen team. I think he is decent at a lot of things but does not excel at anything, if that makes any sense. It would have to be the right situation, with the right cast around him, but I always got the feeling that mid-table Bund was his ceiling. Clearly you disagree and you might be right. What really matters to most of us here anyways is whether he could lead the line for the US. Personally, I have him in the number two spot behind Pepi at the moment, but really that is more of an indication of how poor our striker pool is than anything Josh has done for country.
Repped primarily for using ATM in close proximity to cash. Repped for admitting you are not an expert. Repped for watching Josh a lot this season. I only watched the (inadequate) highlights. A rare triple rep!
Also, I suspect Sargent was hindered (for a while) by his World Cup injury (after he returned). Guys definitely get rushed back in, I feel. Witness Duane Holmes this season. I recall Mason Mount spraining his ankle so badly he could not walk off the field under his own power. Then he started the very next game. (Months later he was showing a reporter his ankle - still swollen). Sports are so ultra competitive, you have to protect the players from themselves.
It sounds like you've significantly raised your opinion of him, so I wouldn't put it past him to make you change your evaluation again.
Without even looking I’ll go on a limb and wager no other league has provided more players to the EPL than any league. It is not all that difficult to get a general sense of what a player needs to do to get up to the “top four.” Performances like Josh this year are generally good enough if your team get promoted or you are on loan from an EPL team and are very young. It is unlikely he’s done enough to generate an offer that Norwich would accept, in my opinion.