2010/2011 Season Thread

[Guest idol_wild]

And for the record - that is not a prejudiced view of Chris Maguire - I'd suggest the same of 80% of the players in the SPL.

[Woodsinho]

Lee Miller is still in the Championship with Scunthorpe but you are right when you say he is crap.

[Guest idol_wild]

Lee Miller is still in the Championship with Scunthorpe but you are right when you say he is crap.

He played for Notts County in League One earlier in the season on loan. He looked shit and out of place.

[framheim]

i don't think chris clark was ever held up as a good spl player

[Alphas]

To be fair though, for all the players who have struggled after moving to England there are players who have done well for themselves - Graham Dorrans, Charlie Adam, Christophe Berra, James McCarthy, Steven Fletcher, Alan Hutton, Craig Gordon, Barry Ferguson etc all off the top of my head. Similarly there are several players who come up from England who struggle in the SPL so it certainly isn't a one way thing. Undoubtedly it is easier moving to Scotland but there are many cases of players carving out good careers and making a name for themselves in England.

[Guest idol_wild]

i don't think chris clark was ever held up as a good spl player

Personally, I thought he was chronic, but he seemed to have a solid reputation. He was honest and worked hard, at least.

[Guest idol_wild]

To be fair though, for all the players who have struggled after moving to England there are players who have done well for themselves - Graham Dorrans, Charlie Adam, Christophe Berra, James McCarthy, Steven Fletcher, Alan Hutton, Craig Gordon, Barry Ferguson etc all off the top of my head. Similarly there are several players who come up from England who struggle in the SPL so it certainly isn't a one way thing. Undoubtedly it is easier moving to Scotland but there are many cases of players carving out good careers and making a name for themselves in England.

These were all pretty much outstanding players in the SPL, aside from Dorrans and perhaps Adam. Though Adam always looked like he had natural ability, he just couldn't find form for Rangers. Thought he did really well at St Mirren, though.

I take your point, but I bet you'll struggle to find many other examples. And I can't think of many players who were successful at EPL or Championship level but failed at SPL level. In fact, I don't think I can think of any.

[Skacel]

I'm just an arsehole with an opinion, but I feel Maguire still has at least three years of SPL to play before going to the Championship or League One. I think he'd totally flop at Championship level; it's an extremely tough league with a lot of big clubs and very good players. There is just example upon example of players making the move from the SPL to the Championship or lower, and they hardly ever cut it. I don't see Maguire bucking that trend at all.

I agree with this. Boyd scored goals for fun in the SPL and struggled in the Championship - just one example.

Bebo doesn't even score goals for fun in the SPL. Best of luck to him though, if someone came along and offered me 5 or 10x my salary I wouldn't be turning it down.

[Guest idol_wild]

My favourite ever football player, Russell Anderson, even failed at Championship level.

I'm attributing his failure down south entirely to injuries, though. That man is a fucking hero.

[Alphas]

And I can't think of many players who were successful at EPL or Championship level but failed at SPL level. In fact, I don't think I can think of any.

Laurent D'Jaffo. Easy.

To be fair, if a player is a success down south then there won't be a great chance of them moving to Scotland. Tore Andre Flo is probably the best example I can think of and then you'd be looking at mid-table premiership players like James Beattie, Henri Camara, Marc-Antoine Fortune. I would actually say Scottish players' stock has risen over the last couple of years though. I think that was the point I was originally trying to make!

[Guest idol_wild]

Laurent D'Jaffo. Easy.

To be fair, if a player is a success down south then there won't be a great chance of them moving to Scotland. Tore Andre Flo is probably the best example I can think of and then you'd be looking at mid-table premiership players like James Beattie, Henri Camara, Marc-Antoine Fortune. I would actually say Scottish players' stock has risen over the last couple of years though. I think that was the point I was originally trying to make!

Yeah, I can't argue too much with this at all really - though the stock of Scottish footballers has risen thanks to some of those players you mentioned previously finding some good form for their respective clubs. Add Darren Fletcher to that list also. I think Robert Snodgrass at Leeds is a player I'd love to see play regularly for Scotland. He seems to have found the capacity to play well every single week now, which he previously struggled to achieve.

The cream of the crop of Scottish footballers are doing well for their clubs, but they are head and shoulders above the majority of the players playing regularly in the SPL, in my opinion.

[Alphas]

Yeah, I can't argue too much with this at all really - though the stock of Scottish footballers has risen thanks to some of those players you mentioned previously finding some good form for their respective clubs. Add Darren Fletcher to that list also. I think Robert Snodgrass at Leeds is a player I'd love to see play regularly for Scotland. He seems to have found the capacity to play well every single week now, which he previously struggled to achieve.

The cream of the crop of Scottish footballers are doing well for their clubs, but they are head and shoulders above the majority of the players playing regularly in the SPL, in my opinion.

Aye, I'd go along with that. I think the issue with the likes of Kris Boyd, Lee Miller et al is a case of thinking they've "made it" after getting a move to England. Moving to any league will require a degree of adaptation from a player, not just to fit into the league but also their new team's style of play. I wonder if the likes of Boyd moved to the Championship thinking it was going to be a walk in the park.

That's a totally unsubstantiated opinion of mine but I'd see it being more likely that many of the players I originally mentioned, such as Dorrans, would move there and realise they need to knuckle down to become a success.

[Chris]

i don't think chris clark was ever held up as a good spl player

Aberdeen really missed him when he went. He was very good for us but certain sections of the Aberdeen support thought he was terrible for reasons that I can't fathom. I just assumed they were cretins.

Lee Miller was shit for 75% of his time at Aberdeen and most of his career in the SPL apart from a season at Hearts.

[Woodsinho]

On the plus side I think McManus has been good for boro when he's been fit and Barry Robson has been our best player this season by some distance.

[Guest idol_wild]

On the plus side I think McManus has been good for boro when he's been fit and Barry Robson has been our best player this season by some distance.

What do you make of Scott McDonald's contribution this season? He seems to go through small bursts of scoring form but never sustaining it. Always rated McDonald.

[Guest idol_wild]

Aberdeen really missed him when he went. He was very good for us but certain sections of the Aberdeen support thought he was terrible for reasons that I can't fathom. I just assumed they were cretins.

Lee Miller was shit for 75% of his time at Aberdeen and most of his career in the SPL apart from a season at Hearts.

Clark was a good team player, a good pro, and a very hard worker. His discipline was exemplary and he kept to the very basics. Sometimes too basic. Didn't think he had a great deal of football ability, in relative terms.

I think most players for Aberdeen over the years have certain sections of support singling them out for lack of ability or effort.

[Guest]

Clark was a good team player, a good pro, and a very hard worker. His discipline was exemplary and he kept to the very basics. Sometimes too basic. Didn't think he had a great deal of football ability, in relative terms.

I think most players for Aberdeen over the years have certain sections of support singling them out for lack of ability or effort.

Then how was he "chronic"? Agree with what you said above though, I really rated him.

Also agree with your statement about big Russ. Absolute hero, exemplary skill (for aberdeen) work rate and commitment to the club. Great captain and seemed a genuinely top bloke. Also my favourite player of all time, deffo the injuries that ruined it for him.

[Spoonie]

Amen. Anderson was the cat's pyjamas.

[Guest idol_wild]

Then how was he "chronic"? Agree with what you said above though, I really rated him.

He would frustrate me every game he played because he wasn't a very brave player. By that, I don't mean he pussied out of challenges (which he largely did, actually), but he failed to show bravery when on the ball - talking men on and committing them. He usually just tried to get rid of the ball, unless the byline was his only option. He was also a relatively poor crosser of the ball for a player so frequently deployed out wide. Come to think of it, the ability to get himself into threatening attacking positions evaded him too. Although a good and reliable team player, he wasn't especially effective and nor did he possess the ability to really influence a game.

In short, I thought he was chronic because he didn't really have the necessary skills to be an affective wide man, or central midfielder for that matter. He just worked very very hard and showed true professionalism.

[stuartmaxwell]

Teckle! HD is probably pushing it out there though...

Cheers!

You are more than welcome to head over to Fordoun: we have a fitba match against Bervie in the morning then it's darts and match in the Redhall....

[Lemonade]

Chris Burke at Cardiff took the Championship by storm after largely failing to make the grade at Rangers.

[Guest idol_wild]

Chris Burke at Cardiff took the Championship by storm after largely failing to make the grade at Rangers.

His first season was pretty good, but he's looked less effective this season for some reason. He's maybe been injured or something.

[Christy]

Phil, there are countless players who were far from standouts in the SPL but have done comparatively well in England. Your argument only takes into consideration the players who didn't find success down there, but you have to consider the flipside. Charlie Adam springs to mind. Stephen Crainey. Jason Scotland. Ross McCormack. Dorus de Vries. All off the top of my head, I'm sure there are plenty more. Some players succeed in England, some don't. Some get homesick, or find the style doesn't suit them, or x y or z. England is not the be-all and end-all; plenty of players the world over flopped there (veron, Shevchenko, Postiga, Crespo, Morientes bla bla bla) and were successful footballers overall. Don't believe the hype; England is not the yardstick against which all ability is measured.

I don't know how to convince you that your argument is fundamentally flawed, so I'll stop trying. I'll leave it with this; the SPL has its critics and its drawbacks, but the standard of League One and below is laughable. Most of the Championship is comparable to an SPL game, only we view the SPL cup as half-empty. Strip away the Sky and BBC hype and all you have is a piss-poor bunch of hammerthrowers in the English lower-leagues; no different to any nation in the world.

[Scorge]

Was along at the Hedge yesterday arvo, Brechin went utterly postal against Dumbarton, no post-cup fatigue there, no siree.

Good point at EEP for the Jags (again! How long since we've been a season unbeaten there?!).

[Gus Chamber]

Good point at EEP for the Jags (again! How long since we've been a season unbeaten there?!).

Spin doctor-tastic, for a "season unbeaten" read "two games".

Ah well, at least the raging, six-fingered, web-toed hoorbags did us a favour by cuffing the Wee Team but there's no way in hell they're getting thanked for it on principle...