Hayes chomping at the bit

Beesotted’s man in Charlton – ‘Valleyboy’ gives us the low down on our new striker:

After a promising start to the season, Paul Hayes never really got much of a look in after Yann Kermogants arrival at The Valley in September. His 3 goals for Charlton came from 19 appearances with 7 as a sub in the early part of the season.

Hayes isn’t just about goals though – he also got a lot of assists for Bradley Wright-Phillips in the early weeks of the season.

Bees fans might want to reflect more on his exploits at Wycombe Wanderers on loan last season in League 1. With 6 goals in 6 games, he struck up a formidable partnership with Stewart Beavon. The pair, seemed for a while to be pulling Wycombe away from the League One relegation zone.

The partnership was ended at short notice by Chris Powell as Charlton were getting short on strikers. However, after being recalled, Hayes then spent most of his time out of the Charlton team waiting for an injury to one of CAFC`s established strikers which never came. He made just two appearances in the team as a sub during this period.

At the time, Chris Powell`s action in bringing him back to Charlton at short notice was interpreted that the Charlton boss would always act in the best interests of the club and not of a single player. Hard on Hayes but good for the Addicks. To his credit, throughout it all, Hayes just got on with it without any public complaints.

It is apparent with Hayes that he is most effective when supporting a strong running, mobile strike partner (like Beavon). Hayes has good control, can shield the ball and lay it off for others to get them into the game. Just don`t expect him to outpace the defence, score with 25 yard attempts or lead the front line on his own.

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Beesotted’s view – it sounds like Hayes success at Griffin Park should not be judged on just his own goal return but that of the team. Reports from Wycombe described him as brave and focussed – attributes that should strike a chord with the Bees faithful.

We’ve had some great players over the years who have both scored and provided goals – let’s hope Hayes will be mentioned alongside the likes of Robert Taylor, Ben Burgess and Deon Burton in future years.

Perhaps Hayes can yet bring the best out of Clayton Donaldson who has desperately needed some support up front for his keen running, certainly since the departure of Gary Alexander. Or perhaps it’s Farid El Alagui who will profit most from his arrival. Time will tell I guess.

We’d also like to see a (perhaps young) nippy striker signed to complete a striking quartet but we’re hoping Uwe already has the best striking options that we’ve seen at the club for many years.

Come on you Reds.