What is wrong with Hooper?

We need to stop isolating him upfront. Hooper wants balls played through/over the top and we simply don't do that. We prefer to look wide and expect our strikers to have moved wide to recieve the ball, this in turn leaves nobody in the middle to recieve a cross.

Play him with stokes behind him and let the wingers actually do their job and get up and down the line. Too often I see stokes going wide to get the ball, Sammy is guilty of it too. I'm not sure if this is some sort of tactic from Lennon, but it leaves us with one up front at any given time during an attack. Hooper then has to look to midfielders such as Ledley and Ki bursting forward to help him.

He looks very frustrated at times.. and I don't think that's helping. Last year in the Scottish Cup he looked dis-interested and I was very disappointed with him, but again, he was isolated in that position.

We seem to be playing a 4-5-1 when we get in to the opposition half. Because the only natural winger we've been playing with is commons, it's making stokes pull wide left to recieve the ball, effectively making him a winger rather than a striker.

 

You are.

 

Look every striker has a time when there out of form. What makes a good stiker is how they recover and get them selfs back in form.

 

2 tough away games. give him a few chances at paradise next sat and we'll see who just cant get enough

 

We'll see. If we qualify of course.

 

This is what I believe is part of Hoopers "problem". He has become too comfortable. It also does not do Stokes' confidence any good.

 

If I has my way, and if we could afford it, I would bring in a number 1 choice striker, and let Hoops, Stokes, Sammy and Murphy battle it out as his partner.

 

I agree with that, is there ever a time where he takes Hooper off before Stokes?

It could be possible that he's become to complacent and that he knows that he's first choice striker and he is pretty much impossible to drop because if we do drop him we are left with Sammy, Stokes and Murphy.

 

He will score minimum of 20 goals this year am sure of it

 

I rate him, and think he'll be fine. The point about him being too comfortable is a valid one tho, as that was ultimately the problem wae Big Artur. Competition for places = sharpness!

I'm actually more worried about Commons. Compare footage of his debut with footage from yesterday's game. He looks 14lbs heavier!

 

Why is everyone getting on hoopers back so much. We are 2 games into the season! He scored 2 last weekend in that Dublin cup. Leave him be and he'll shine like he did last season. He'll score 2 next weekend. Come on guys we should be praising him not sitting moaning our arses off about him!

 

I noticed this when the picture came out with ki,commmons,hooper,leadly with teh new away top. If they are going to be anything like last year then they'll have to lose that fat aand sharpen up, im suprised lennon hasnt pulled them about this .

 

He said he's been hitting the gym in the summer, he does look massive compared to January though

 

I don't think anyone is getting on his back, I think everyone is more concerned about his form, we aren't talking about since the start of the season, this form has been since early March.

 

He was a bit isolated yesterday. I am sure once Stokes is back alongside him, he will start scoring again. Plus we seemed to adopt a shoot on sight policy yesterday. We probably had more efforts from midfield than any other game in recent memory.

 

He still did score at the end of last season. After a another game or two he will start banging them in again.

 

I think it is down to Hooper's level of fitness to me, it is not as sharp
and brisk as it was last year, and I have to put that down to the player's lifestyle and willingness to train professionally. The same could be levelled at Kris Commons who looks to have bulked up considerably from last year.
Both Hooper and Commons should be encouraged by our coaches and sport's physios to adopt a new fitness regime which will streamline them more and sharpen their reflexes. mobility and responses to a higher level

 

He has been a bit rusty. He'll get there soon. I think with the change in tactics, i.e, Commons out on the right and Ledley on the left, leaves Hooper with little service. I think Commons and Ledley have been a lttle off mainly because they're out of position, Ledley should be in the middle and COmmons on the left. They are far more effective that way.
Lenny is going to have a real headache next game with Brown being back. Plus I can't see how Lenny can keep Forrest on the bench the next match, he's changed the game both times he's came on.
Anyway tangent back on track, these are just a couple of things that if put in place Hooper will get more service creating bettter opertunities.