Of course, that much is true. When he feels like it.
And to be honest, this is where the problems begin. I almost feel a bit silly picking on a player who has scored 14 goals this season including 10 in the league, strikes against Manchester United and Southampton, not to mention the first Premiership hat trick of this season; not only that, but a player who scored at the weekend so is still in the goals. But I think - as every fan must surely agree - that he's just not playing to the best of his ability. He's not the player we know he can be. There's no doubt that Yakubu's style is very much one of playing it cool, positional awareness and seizing on the moment when it comes. He's frequently been labelled "lazy" but a lot of the time that isn't true; unfortunately I really think it is getting to that stage now.
He doesn't seem as keen to chase down balls. He doesn't seem as keen to run with the ball. There's very rarely an end product to his play - it seems to be "let's find a blind alleyway" time. And I think what is most frustrating is that suddenly, for one game, he'll turn it on again and be fantastic. He looks eager and sharp and hungry for the ball, ready to petrify defences and terrorise goalkeepers. The referee blows the final whistle, and by the time he comes out for the next game he's the same old lethargic character.
The big question then - why? Is it the pressure of being the main striker? Thoughts of a big move in the summer? Is it the fact that no-one else seems to score and there's a lot of weight on his shoulders? The fact that our strikers all seem to be similar "head down and run" types, meaning there's no real partnerships being built up? The fact his old friend LuaLua has been out of the side? Or am I just being harsh and expecting too much of a man who is clearly a confidence player? Taking it back to last January, he had only scored twice in the league - in went the ball off his backside against Blackpool, and he tucked in another fourteen before the season was out. Perhaps a run of a few games with a couple of good performances and netting a couple, and he'll be back bang on form.
Stats can be deceiving things, I suppose. I still feel slightly uneasy about having a go at a player with a goal record of 40 in 76 games since he moved to the club back in 2003, but it really is a case of his performances not being up to scratch. He COULD have more goals, and really set himself up for the inevitable big club switch in the summer and sign off in style at Fratton. As it is, he seems to be irritating the fans and what's more, letting himself down by not playing as well as we know he can. Come on, Yak. Look interested.