I simply cannot take the credit for the title of this feature. That goes to fellow EPL Roundtable podcasters Sean Whetstone and Scott Mackay.
The title was liked so much by the team at TEB HQ that we just had to create a brand new feature for the site featuring our very own goal hungry striker Dwight Gayle. This opening article on the young striker is merely an introduction but we will continue with regular updates from the life of Gayle throughout the season which will hopefully feature some of his tweets.
It seems every Palace fan out there wants our Dwight to be leading the line this season instead of the much criticised striker Frazier Campbell who joined from Cardiff City in the summer. Much has been said of the traveled striker but so far he has impressed many with his work ethic which has meant that Dwight has had many an afternoon warming the bench.
As we all know, Gayle signed a four year deal to join Palace from Peterborough United in 2013 for an undisclosed fee which was rumoured to be in the region of £5 to £7.5 million. His last appearance in a Peterborough shirt was at Selhurst Park on the final day of the 2012/13 season.
Number 16 – Dwight Gayle’s squad number
After starting his career in the youth set up at Arsenal, our very own number 16 moved on to Dagenham & Redbridge. While there he had a couple of loan spells at Bishops Stortford and Peterborough United. It was the latter where he impressed most and he signed for the Posh in 2013. The interest from Palace was soon evident even though he has made less than 30 appearances for Peterborough scoring 13 goals, a ratio of a little under a goal every two games.
Last season was a learning curve for all at Palace including Gayle. He managed to score important goals including the late winner at Villa Park, against Liverpool in that famous comeback and against Fulham on the final day of the season. Goals even though he was rarely a starter.
As a Premier League player here are Dwight’s statistics;
- 2014/15 (to date); 7 appearances; 5 as a substitutes; 1 goal
- 2013/14: 23 appearances; 15 as a substitute; 7 goals; 1 yellow card
- Total; 30 appearances; 20 as a substitute; 8 goals 1 yellow card
This season has started with a familiar theme for Gayle as he has seen plenty of bench time so the big question is whether he can make it as a starter or even be regarded as such. The majority of goals that he has scored in his Palace career so far have been from the bench. A true impact player given the time. There have been fleeting glimpses this season with an opening minute goal in the draw at Newcastle and a hat-trick at League One Walsall in the League Cup but just like Pulis, Warnock does not seem to fancy him as a starter just yet.
It is clear that Frazier Campbell is a tried and tested lone striker with one behind which is usually the role for Chamakh. Maybe he is only destined to be an impact player but a player of his promise and calibre will be wanting and perhaps deserves so much more.
There are plenty of options with the squad of players that we have at our disposal this first half of the season. A formation with two up front to find a role for him, alongside Campbell or Chamakh. Or maybe even the return of Glenn Murray from Reading in January an option to partner him (interesting to see the tweet from Dwight when Murray left for his loan spell at Reading).
One thing Warnock has stuck with from the Pulis era is consistency with the starting eleven. Not making changes for the sake of it. Not chopping and changing the team from game to game like some managers do and have done particularly when a team is struggling in the lower reaches of the table.
Just eleven games in and Dwight has seen just 205 minutes of playing time and scored 5 goals in all competitions. He has a 0.6 shots per game ratio in the Premier League and a pass success of 73.6%. He has won 1 aerial dual with an average rating of 6.24. Statistics courtesy of Who Scored.
Check the site regularly for updates from our new regular feature for the 2014/15 Premier League season E-Gayle’s Beak – A Dwight Diary. We thank Sean and Scott for the inspiration.
