Last Chance For Lita?

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

I rate Lita as a finisher but to be honest when he misses the chances that he missed against Newcastle then you have to say that he deserves to be 4th choice striker on merit. Kitson is having a fine season and proving to be the excellent footballer we all knew he would be in this division, Doyle has been hit and miss this term but is starting to find the net again and Shane Long - raw and unpolished as he is - has been a more effective weapon from the bench than Lita has.

I would say that the lack of service from possibly the poorest midfield in the Premier League hardly helps but then again Kitson and Doyle have notched 4 each. Doyle - interestingly - has scored from 3 Shorey centres (incl. 2 set pieces IIRC) and 1 Murty cross; Kits has scored from 1 Shorey set piece, benefited from one goalkeeping error (Kirkland's spill of Doyle's effort) and 2 goals created entirely (and superbly) by himself. Shows how well our midfield has been performing.

What this seems to indicate to me as that Doyle and Kitson are better all round footballers and Leroy thrives off the service from other players as perhaps our best natural 'fox in the box' (for want of a better phrase)type finisher.....although frankly, going back to where I came in, if he misses chances like he did against Newcastle perhaps that theory is blown out of the water somewhat .

To be honest over the last few seasons I've started to rate Lita less as a finisher and more for his all round play. He's actually a pretty decent target man, wins the ball a lot, holds it up well and for someone who's accused of being lazy, works very hard. His finishing is so hit and miss. At times like Man City away he looks deadly, other times you know if he has to think about it, he's gonna miss.

[handbags_harris]

Seems a bit of unrest is creeping in the camp, as reports are stating that Lita has to prove his worth or the enivitable will happen. Lita hasnt really been given the chance this season, I could name a few other players who havent pulled their weight.
Not a good time for infighting when the results havent been good.
IMO Lita needs a run in the team, he is still one of are best young players who I think we wouldnt want to lose

How long do you consider a "chance" in terms of run in the side? Here's my own personal breakdown of Lita's season:

Injured for the first 3 games

Came on as a sub against Bolton after 73 minutes and didn't do a lot, although admittedly the whole side didn't either.

Started against Swansea and scored the only goal (his only goal to date this season) but likewise didn't do a lot else in a lacklustre team performance.

Started against West Ham and did nothing except fall over trying to win free kicks and get warranted stick from the West Ham fans, although admittedly a poor all round team performance.

Started against Sunderland and again didn't do a lot, and came off with about 20 minutes to go for Shane Long who, along with Fae, changed the pattern of the game in our favour at that point.

After the poor performances by the whole team some sacrifices had to be made for the Wigan game, with Lita being one of them and he was dropped from the 16 after doing nothing for his performances up to that time.

He came back in against Liverpool in the Carling Cup and again failed to impress, wasting his best chance with a tame header from 6 yards that fell straight to the somewhat dodgy Liverpool keeper. That day, even John Halls contributed more than Lita attacking wise!!

At Portsmouth he didn't come off the bench.

Against Derby, he didn't come off the bench.

To be fair Lita came off the bench at Blackburn at half time and looked lively, forcing Friedel into a great save soon after the break, and adding a much better dimension to our play, although that in part was due to the poor choice of tactics from Sir Steve in the first half where it was clear changes needed to be made.

His good performance at Ewood warranted a start with the Doyle right wing experiment however he blew his chance against Newcastle after contriving to miss two of the easiest chances he'll ever have, and fading badly in the 2nd half to be replaced by Bobby Convey. In hindsight, to not score against such a poor defensive line up as Newcastle had that day was not a good return and nobody can say he didn't have the chances.

At Fulham, an almost resort to type if you will, with an inoccuous performance around a much better team performance from the men around him.

Rightfully dropped from the 16 again against Arsenal.

And there you have it. Poor performances from a man who thrives off service have culminated in the situation at present. And when he's had the service he hasn't delivered.

[leon]

he's full of himself - but he doesn't really deliver. Not a Coppell sort of player - not sure he'll last the summer

[Scarface]

I had a conversation with a local hack who told me Lita is being sold at Christmas because Coppell has finally had enough of him, on and off the pitch.

Personally I think this is great news. I'm sure he'll go onto to have a successfull career, but IMHO the sqaud will be better off without him.

Nugent in, Lita out, happy days.

[soggy biscuit]

Some people on here seem to be completely over looking Lita's gash factor.

[weybridgewanderer]

Coppell was IMO rotating the strikers last season.

rotating the strikers last season?

Kitson missed most of the season
Long got a couple of games at the end when we were safe

it was doyle and lita most of last season

[weybridgewanderer]

he's full of himself - but he doesn't really deliver. Not a Coppell sort of player - not sure he'll last the summer

Just like ian Wright?

[SpaceCruiser]

Christ, another thread for people to say how much they don't like Leroy Lita.

Why don't those people go and create their own website about how they hate Leroy Lita? Then Royal Rother can frequent that more than this website.

[Riseley]

Lita is going to Pompey soon Spacey so you can then throw your protective arm around new boy Nugent.

[Dirk Gently]

It appears to me that recently his game has been much more about grabbing hold of the opposition defender and trying to drag him over or win free- kicks - instead of sort of single-mined goalscoring we saw in Feb/March this year - which was outstanding.

[Berry]

I had a conversation with a local hack who told me Lita is being sold at Christmas because Coppell has finally had enough of him, on and off the pitch.

Personally I think this is great news. I'm sure he'll go onto to have a successfull career, but IMHO the sqaud will be better off without him.

Nugent in, Lita out, happy days.

Who says Nugent can cut it at this level? Harry seems unsure. 5M for an unproven striker, I can see Mr Mad getting his cheque book out!!!

[papereyes]

Christ, another thread for people to say how much they don't like Leroy Lita.

Why don't those people go and create their own website about how they hate Leroy Lita? Then Royal Rother can frequent that more than this website.

Maybe, just maybe, if he scored a few more goals, then people wouldn't be having this debate. Again.

And while he's not scoring goals, comments as to his personal life and how that may or may not be affecting his professional life are to be expected, if not entirely justified.

If we sell for a significant sum and get in a decent centre mid, a decent right winger and a player in the mould of Hulse up front, then that's a good January.

[soggy biscuit]

Why don't those people go and create their own website about how they hate Leroy Lita? Then Royal Rother can frequent that more than this website.

http://www.spacey-hates-lita.com

Someone beat you to it

[Royal Lady]

SSN just reported that Copps saying Lita not playing well and that's why he's been dropped. I reckon he'll go in January - but we should ask for in excess of £3 million imho.

[Row Z Royal]

What we ask for and what we get are very different things. Nobody in the Prem are going to want to take him on given his form for us so he's going to end up at somewhere like West Brom or Soton or some other well-off CCC side.

Or Derby.

[RoyalBlue]

It appears to me that recently his game has been much more about grabbing hold of the opposition defender and trying to drag him over or win free- kicks - instead of sort of single-mined goalscoring we saw in Feb/March this year - which was outstanding.

Only recently didn't extend as far as the Newcastle game when he produced none of the old tricks he is often criticised for.

I really hope that Sir Steve isn't thinking of letting him go. I'm sure SC himself has said you need at least four very good strikers to compete at this level and I still rate Lita in our top three and a very good striker.

Are RFC really likely to manage to sign anyone better than him (I don't think Nugent is, even if we could get him)?

SC has already admitted to making a mistake in not strengthening our squad in the summer, I really hope he's not going to end up having to admit another one should he let Lita go.

[Irvinchangeyaname]

What we ask for and what we get are very different things. Nobody in the Prem are going to want to take him on given his form for us so he's going to end up at somewhere like West Brom or Soton or some other well-off CCC side.

Or Derby.

I can see Fulham gladly snapping him up.

[Hoop Blah]

I'm not a massive Lita fan but I do think he works hard for the side. I also think that he's out third best centre forward at the moment but I can understand Coppell's choice of Long over Lita for a place on the bench.

I don't see the issue surrounding the original discussion about how we keep him happy as he's paid to do whatever we want him to do and if he's not in the 16 then he needs to do whatever the manager wants him to do to get back in.

What I find most surprising is that Coppell has come out and criticised his own player in the public domain. Surely this is against one of the golden rules of management, that you publicly back your players to the hilt.

[RoyalBlue]

I reckon Birmingham might have a look.

[Berry]

[

What I find most surprising is that Coppell has come out and criticised his own player in the public domain. Surely this is against one of the golden rules of management, that you publicly back your players to the hilt.[/quote]

Totally Agree