Come and have a Jones if you Think you’re Rich Enough

This whole panic surrounding Kenwyne’s future at the club is now getting a little tiring. What baffles me further is some of the fans’ reactions to all of this speculation. The whole situation simply comes down to this: Bruce wants £40 million for him and nobody will pay that for such an inconsistent talent. Add to this the fact that the most interested club seems to be Stoke, sitting a solitary point above us in the table; the result is Jones going nowhere.

Of course if someone was either stupid or rich enough to offer £40 million there’s no way we could say no to that amount of cash. That’s a whole summer’s transfer kitty in one bid. People do, however, seem too over enthusiastic to see the back of Jones which is something I really can’t decipher. Even if he is one of these players that whenever being discussed the conversation always starts with the prefix “when he turns up.” This is the fundamental argument in favour of his sale – the fact that he is so inconsistent. The next question you have to ask yourself here is once Jones is sold and say that we miss out on a striker in January, who is going to come into his place? Who is going to “turn up” and do a better job than Jones when he is on top of his game? Healy? Murphy? Whoever thinks that they can do as good a job as Jones up front needs to take a long hard look at the stats.

The other point that never seems to come up even though it is a major issue is that maybe its not all Jones’ fault that he seems to be so hot and cold. Imagine what his goal tally would be if we had someone who could put a decent ball into the box. Placing all of the blame at Jones’ doorstep is harsh as half the time the distribution he has to work off isn’t exactly a strikers dream. Even if he was having a torrid game, whipping a good cross in to the area could see him get two goals even if he hadn’t turned up for half the match. So is it a problem with the flanks? Or is it a problem with the forwards?

Bent’s goal tally seems, at first sight, the only anomaly within the argument that the quality of the flanks is below par. That is until you actually look at the 13 goals he’s clocked up so far. The majority of them have had nothing to do with help from the wings. A few have been from the penalty spot, couple of goal line scrambles, some good individual work and some very fortunate ones. The problems lie more with the right wing than the left and this is apparent in the fact that Reid has pitched in with six assists with Malbranque halfway behind. This still doesn’t get away from the issue of crossing which neither winger can execute with great quality. Jones doesn’t have the attacking finesse and skill that Bent possesses with the ball at his feet, but he is a major threat in the air – something we manage to make null and void due to poor deliveries into the area.

So the choice is simple: get rid of Jones and bring in at least two strikers or sort out the wings and bring in another striker that would provide able back up. This is having not even touched upon the ability Jones has in holding up the ball and pulling defenders away from his partner up front. We are in no position to be letting such players as Jones go. I don’t know what sort of squad the fans who want him gone think we have, because it’s nothing more than wafer thin. It doesn’t even seem a choice really, that is unless someone comes up with 40 million quid. Get rid of Jones? I don’t think we Ken.

What is your view on this story? Have your say below - You DON'T need to register in order to post your comment