Think you're right. Strikers need to be confident - Harry Kane is obviously a top goalscorer but part of his success is that he's willing to try things that often come off and he knows he's not going to be dropped if they don't.
We don't have a striker as good as him but the ones we do have could at least try to score more often than they do.

Strikers can flourish depending on how their teams are performing around them.
In terms of Mitrovic he played for Newcastle in the PL 2015-16 and Newcastle were relegated.
In 2018-19, 20-21 he played for Fulham in the PL and they were relegated in both seasons.

One could argue that a dearth of goals contributed to the failures, however if the team is sub-standard then of course this limits the effectiveness of the strikers.
Nketiah is much improved but he is playing in a top-rated team, I very much doubt he would be the same at our club !

Edited by Willo (31 Jan 2023 9.19am)

The question is, would Nketia have been playing had Gabriel Jesus not sustained a lengthy injury ? Yes, he's done well but Arsenal had little choice but to give him that run.

As a team, Palace don't create too many chances. Both Mateta and Edouard feed off of scraps. When you look at their all round game aside from scoring goals, I don't think Mateta has the technical ability to be successful at this level. Edouard does I think, but he still looks like he's struggling with the intensity of the game.

If I was to give one of them a run in the team it would be Edouard. And that may well happen if Mateta leaves. And maybe he will prove himself then. But I wouldn't put money on it.

Old, Ungifted and White

Always thought Mitovic would do well in the Premier League. You simply can't score that many goals in the tier below and then have nothing to offer. Scott Parker just decided he wasn't the answer, and Fulham went down as a result. So I suppose that example proves the point.

I suspect that had Nketiah signed for us a couple of summers ago, he'd be in a similar boat as our other strikers. Perhaps a few goals here and there, in and out of the side, but rarely a commanding presence whilst on a constant rotation. He'd be getting maybe one chance a game if he's lucky.

I still believe Eduoard has it in him. We're an imperfect side. Scoring goals is difficult, we don't create much. Very few strikers would truly flourish. Realistically, what is a good output? 10 goals? 15 maybe. Eduoard will never get near this while starting one game in every five or six. We could sign someone else and I'm not sure they'd do much better.

It's all about the number of chances created by the team that determines the calibre of the striker. Not all goals are scored by an amazing dribble that leaves four defenders on their backsides. A great many are scored just by an intuitive understanding of where to be in the box, and frankly we don't put the ball in the danger area enough.

There's also creating space for others by running off the ball and dragging defenders out of position. Heskey was praised for doing this playing for England.