Despite Jerome scoring his first goal of the season against Bournemouth on Saturday, it is time to ask yourselves the question: Is Jerome Premier League quality?
Cameron Jerome unquestionably has been a bargain. In his first season with Norwich, in the Championship, he excelled. However, the real test is now. In the Premier League Cameron Jerome has so far found it considerably challenging to find the back of the net.
With Jerome comes a handful of positives. He is a hard-working centre-forward with an outstanding attitude. Week-in-week-out the striker covers more than enough ground and he deserves to be credited for doing so. The mix of his work-rate and astonishing pace makes him prolific in seeking a way in behind the opposition defence. Certainly a positive by all means for any footballer.
Jerome also provides a physical presence for a Norwich side that otherwise lacks height. He is a talisman as well as a target-man. His height allows Norwich flexibility in the way they play, offering several different dynamics. Jerome also helps to create play in the final third. He is decisive and crucial in stringing together Norwich attacks. He is regularly involved in Norwich City’s attacks, holding up the play, bringing the likes of Hoolahan in to the game.
However, all these positives are forgotten when the chances aren’t taken…
The problem is this: Cameron Jerome cannot finish. Simple. Well, that’s what I think anyway. It is a rule of thumb that a striker who cannot plant the ball in the back of the net at the level of football being played, is solely not cut out for the role. Don’t get me wrong, Jerome was exceptional in the second tier of English football. But when facing firmer and more sophisticated opposition in the Premier League, Jerome cannot deliver the goods.
His past record also suggests that he cannot perform to a high enough standard in the EPL. He has made 208 Premier League appearances, scoring just 37 times. So is he as ‘exceptional’ as some people are making out? Perhaps that is why he made a move to a Championship Norwich side because the step down would allow him to play conventional football by his own standards? It is time Norwich fans opened their eyes and looked past their love for the player to recognise the facts. And those facts establish that Jerome has never managed it in the top flight.
At the same time Norwich have attracted a player who possesses similar attributes to that of Jerome, but with one distinct difference. He can finish – he being Dieumerci Mbokani. The Congolese international arrived with an exciting record, netting 34 in 54 appearances for Belgian side Anderlecht, and 16 times in 33 for Kyiv. This certainly proves he has an eye for goal.
If you ask me, Mbokani is an enhanced variant of Jerome. That is how I wish to perceive it. He possesses everything Jerome does, and that killer instinct, although we’re yet to see it in yellow.
So to conclude; Credit where it is due, Jerome has served the club well with his 2014/15 campaign and his notably positive attitude. He is a player who works his socks off week-in-week-out for City, providing passion and power. However, we have to live up to the facts that Jerome has so far proven himself not good enough for the Premier League. With Mbokani posing a threat to his place, it seems almost certain that Jerome could soon drop to the bench. His goal versus Bournemouth will probably keep that first team position intact for another week.
I know many will disagree with me, but you must forget his Wembley heroics and open your eyes to the facts. Cameron Jerome has never proven himself in this league and I don’t expect that to change any time soon.
