We saw the best of Charlie Wyke on Saturday with two goals against Lincoln. That moves his goal tally up to seven for the season and puts him in the top five scorers chart in League One. After the game, Charlie talked about the impact that Lee Johnson has had since his appointment just over a week ago and how he sees himself in the manager’s plans.
"Obviously it's a great result," said Wyke. "The gaffer has come and implemented his style straight away and it couldn't have gone any better really. It was really enjoyable and we punished the opposition and got a few early goals, and we all enjoyed it. We have done a lot, like video analysis and stuff. He's really drilled it into us how he wants to play and today it's worked. He's big on getting numbers in the box which is obviously going to suit me and will suit other players as well getting on the end of things. But it's only a week so we're excited to see what comes in the next few weeks because we've only had a few days to work on it and can do a lot more in the next few weeks. It's really enjoyable at the minute. Four goals against a good side, you can't complain. We've been on a bit of a bad run so to come here and win 4-0 is brilliant for us. Let's just take the momentum into the next few games. It's only early doors in the season really - so we have to take this game, work on it, and hopefully play even better in the next game. I just wanted to come in, score and play well really - and it's more important to play well and show the new gaffer what I can do. I'm just pleased to get two goals. Obviously, it's a confidence boost straight away. You don't want a new manager coming in and not really knowing what you're about, so it's obviously nice he said that and I just want to do well for him. Obviously, it's a bit frustrating to come off but I haven't played much in the last two games and haven't trained much in the last few weeks. I knew it was coming and he said before the game he'd be happy to get a good 60, 70 minutes out of me. I'm just happy to get two goals and the win."
Wyke’s performance will certainly keep him ahead of Will Grigg and Danny Graham in the pecking order and it will be making the pair wondering what the future holds for them at the club. Graham arrived at the club on a free transfer during the summer but has only found the net against Aston Villa u21s. Whereas, Grigg is yet to find the net this season. It is looking likely that the club will try and move them on in January to make room for a striker who can offer some pace to accommodate Wyke’s physicality.
For me personally, I think that Graham’s time at the club is already up. Every time I’ve seen him play; I have to remind myself that he is striker because of his lack of attacking threat. Grigg on the other hand, I believe that he could still have a future at the club I he can rediscover his best form. But the playing opportunities will now be limited for the Northern Irishman with Wyke scoring goals, so it will be interesting to see what happens once the January transfer window for Grigg and Graham. Graham looks to be third choice striker to Wyke and Grigg so moving on from the club looks to be the best course of action for him, given that he isn’t expected to command a substantial fee, perhaps he will be snapped up by a lower league club to rediscover his form.
