Bobby Zamora played an important role as Fulham qualified for the Europa League last season, but his goalscoring record is so pitiful that Roy Hodgson must soon make a decision on whether he can afford to keep faith with him.The forward has managed only three goals from 40 league appearances since switching to Craven Cottage from West Ham in a £4.8m transfer in the summer of 2008.
The argument can be made that his impressive hold-up play goes a long way to compensating for his dreadful goals-to-game ratio - but Fulham are finding it more difficult to hit the net this season and their manager needs a front pair who can deliver.
England international Andrew Johnson does not seem to be thriving under the current system, so the best solution may be to use January's transfer funds to buy a reliable goalscorer - and send Zamora on loan to a Championship club.
Looking back on a career that began in 1999 at Bristol Rovers, it is in the lower leagues where he has been most impressive. Zamora joined Brighton on a loan deal in 2000 that saw him score six goals in as many league outings, and the form convinced the Seagulls to sign him on a permanent £100,000 transfer.
The three- year period up to 2003 was the best Zamora has ever known. He averaged better than a goal-per-game by scoring 75 times in 130 appearances, and is still considered a legend at the club.
A £1.5m move to Tottenham did not work out as his only goal came in the League Cup, so he soon moved on to West Ham, where he managed a total of 30 strikes in 130 matches.
These statistics prove damning against Zamora. He simply cannot score goals consistently in the Premier League.
But why not? Aged 28, he still has pace, his physical build is fine, and his manager has given him nothing but support. It seems that his decline can be partly attributed to a lack confidence.
Delving back into goals he scored in the Championship, League One and League Two on YouTube seems to show that Zamora's success came when he was playing a different style of football.
So often these days he has his back to goal, laying the ball off to midfielders or pushing passes on to the flanks.
Yet a glimpse of his goals in a Brighton shirt exposes a different side to the striker. A player who runs quickly at defenders, cuts inside and sends rasping, accurate shots into the corner of the net. He even found himself on the end of crosses to head home - a sight Fulham fans have been denied over the past year.
Hodgson is not going to see this side of him unless Zamora is given the chance to go away and remember why he earned a reputation in the lower leagues as a lethal front man.
It would be in everyone's best interests for Zamora to return to the Championship for a few months, start enjoying himself again, and rediscover that instinct for goals.
By the end of the season, he could yet be hitting the target again in SW6.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
play him on last defender n allways aim for him if crossin he will score more goals
Watching Bobby at the Cottage is a trying experience. He has a deft touch, holds the ball up strongly, passes well, is good in the air and has a strong shot. He just doesn't seem to have the legs to beat Premier League defences or the ability to buy himself enough time to hit the target. More worryingly his lack of pace seems to be also hindering Johnson, who isn't exactly banging 'em in either.