Fair enough , I actually think he could potentially be a step up on what we already have here , although I accept he is unproven in this league , but has scored goals in the Greek superb league , champions league and international level , I rate Gayle and want to keep him , but feel maybe 40+ games in the championship will help develop his game further than , 20 mins here and there for us , and if we can get mitroglou on loan while he's gone that would leave us with him , Murray , bamford and wickham all capable of player the loan striker role , 4 good options in my opinion.

I would argue that Liverpool (3-3) aside, Gayle has NEVER looked like the player to do this.

Infact id love to know his goalscoring stats as a substitute.

And how have you come to the conclusion he is pony? even Fulham fans have no idea of his quality because he played so few minutes, like I said 1 start two substitute appearances , unless of course you watch the Greek super league , like I do , where he has a 1in2 record , wouldn't say that is pony. He also after Zaha looked the best player on the pitch when he came on against us on Saturday.

Just a thought:

What about Gayle of the shoulder of Wickham and Banford in the hole?

Gayle = pace
Wickham = Strength
Banford = playing them both in.

I think Gayle going on a short term loan is sensible. A season-long deal would be madness though. I can see the value in him getting gametime elsewhere while we have Murray/Bamford/Wickham all available but he is the sort of player it would be useful to have back in the thick of things if injuries start creeping in later in the season.

His stats quickly put paid to a myth that was essentially forged on a single night a year and a half ago against Liverpool.

In the season before last, Gayle made 15 appearances off the bench and scored 4 goals (two on the aforementioned in front of the Sky cameras). He totalled 262 minutes played meaning he averaged around 17 minutes on the pitch per game. Only in two of those 15 games did he play 5 minutes or less; in other words, he invariably had time to make an impact as a sub.

Last season, Gayle came off the bench 14 times playing a total of 265 minutes. This averages out to about 19 minutes per game. Again, only twice he came on for 5 minutes or less. He scored 0 goals as a sub last season.

In short, in 29 subs appearances Gayle has scored 4 goals in 3 games (two of the goals coming in the one game against Liverpool). Put another way, remove that one-off night and he's scored 2 goals in 28 games as a sub for Palace.

So I think we can forget the popular notion, founded entirely on one match in front of the Sky cameras, that Gayle is any kind of supersub.

This is not to have a go at him. It's just to be realistic.

Edited by sydtheeagle (04 Aug 2015 4.50pm)

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.