Hughes has made it patently clear that he wants a target man who can put his weight about, hold the ball up, challenge for balls in the air and score his share of goals. He THINKS RSC is that guy, but he will not be here until summer.
So, in the absence of RSC, and recognizing that Jo (natural choice?) has gone to the Toffees, who will be the lone striker in the proverbial 4-5-1 that we will play for most (all?!) of the second half of the season?
Personally, I would like to see Sturridge be given a run of games to see if he REALLY has the ability he threatens to have. If he does a decent job, give him whatever he needs and forget about RSC. In addition, I would like to see Caiceido come on for the last 20-30 mins of games where Sturridge is not having much effect, so we can see exactly what we have there, too. Either way, by the end of the season, we need to have a decision whether they can both do the business or not in the "balance" Hughes is looking for.
Oh, and for the record, I think Robinho probably does NOT fit into Hughes' long term plans for his team and will be on his way at the end of the season.
Second half of season First XI:
................................Given
Richards...........Dunne.......Kompany............Bridge
................Zabaletta...............De Jong
....SWP....................Ireland..................Robinho(Bellamy next season)
..........................Bellamy/Sturridge
Thoughts?