Do we really need Earnshaw.....

I admit, last season Robert Earnshaw's goals were vital to our survival in The Championship. This season however is a different kettle of fish. Earnie is no longer the main man as far as attacking options are concerned, with the arrivals of Dexter Blackstock, Radoslaw Majewski and David McGoldrick and from the performances i have seen from him so far this season they are much below the high standards of last season. A slack penalty miss against WBA and ambling off the pitch when being substituted against Blackpool when we were losing 1-0 are two moments this season which have caused me to question Earnie's desire.
When the transfer rumours started to fly, with Earnie being linked with Middlesborough and Newcastle, i asked myself the question would we really miss him if he was gone. The answer i came up with was no. Dexter has hit the ground running since his permanent arival from QPR, Mcgoldrick has bags of goalscoring potential and will get better the more games he gets under his belt and Majewski looks like one hell of a creative midfielder.

With these increased options, Earnshaw's chances of being in the starting line up are decreased and i find it hard to believe that he will settle for simply being an option on the bench. Also with the amount of fire power we purchased in the summer it has to be asked if Billy really does rate Earnie. We all know what happened at Derby, and i can't help wondering if Billy was only playing him last season because he simply had no one else.

It will be interesting to se if any offers come in for Earnie in January, and if Billy decides £4 million is too much money to turn down for someone who is in danger of becoming only a fringe player.