Best, Worst and the Youngsters

[stumigoo]

I have looked through a couple of threads that are similar to this but I wanted to start a separate one just to have it all in one place. I am looking for a bit of help for my blog. I am going to be doing a Christmas report card for each team and would like to include information about each club's best performer, worst/most frustrating performer and best young player so far this season. I have a few in mind for each club but wanted to a get a more general consensus from fans.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

For United I would probably go -

Best - Jaroslaw Fojut. He has been the player who has made the biggest difference to our squad. He brings aggression and leadership to the back four and is such a big presence in the team. Has had a very consistent season so far and is someone who I would have down as my first pick every week. Special mention to Chris Erskine though who has been a revelation this year, especially considering that 99% of United fans (myself included) had given up on him.

Worst/Most Frustrating - There are a couple of players that fall into the 'frustrating' category like Nadir Ciftci and Gary Mackay-Steven but these are still players (especially Ciftci) who can produce moments of magic and win us games. I don't like saying this but for me I would probably go for John Rankin out of our regular starters. I think he has been a great player for us and he does still bring something to the team but he has been a bit out of sorts this season and has been pretty inconsistent. I have also been pretty disappointed with Ryan Dow this season, especially after making such a big impact last year.

Youngster - We have obviously been pretty blessed with the number of great youngsters in our team over the last couple of years. This season the squad is a little bit more settled but we do still have new young players in Charlie Telfer and Blair Spittal. One player does stand out and it is someone who is a ready made replacement for Mackay-Steven when he leaves. Aidan Connolly has been very good in the games he has been given a chance in. He is physically still very small and lightweight (and will probably always be) but technically he is really impressive. This season is still very much a development season and more about giving him opportunities when possible, I think next year will be a massive year for him (and probably Telfer and Spittal too).

[The MAC]

Best - tony Andreu, what a player he is, not sure how we managed to get him for free, but we will certainly make a profit, when he goes because its inevitable.

Worst - its hard to pick a worst as we've made a tremendous start, but o will go for Stephen hendrie, he was the next big thing 18 mobths ago, hes been ok this season but still nowhere near where he should be compared to players who have came through at the same time. Danny redmonds been dissappointing to tho, he cant play more than 60\70 mins.

Youngesters - Eamon brophy will be the next big thing, but our u20s aren't top of the league for nothing, we have a few exciting young players, and our future is looking pretty bright.

[Radford]

Certainly in terms of consistency, Chris Millar has been our best player, although his standards have maybe slipped slightly in recent weeks. When he signed for Saints he was used on the right of midfield and although he did fine there and allowed Dave Mackay to bomb on, a lack of goals and assists is obviously an issue for a wide midfielder. In the last couple of seasons he's played in a deeper central role and that seems to suit him far more with his ability to nick the ball off opponents and work in tight areas. He's never going to make killer passes but he wins the ball, shifts it on and moves the whole team in the right direction. You look at both our goals scored in last season's Scottish Cup final and they come from Millar winning the ball and making the pass that starts the move.

Worst is easy enough as it's Adam Morgan, although you can question how much of a disappointment he's been as I'm not sure the bar was ever set too high. He's started one game and we were as good as a man down in it for the hour he was on the pitch. That was the third game of the season and since then he's only made three substitute appearances and hasn't featured at all since the end of September. He'll be best remembered when he leaves shortly for managing to get two bookings in the space of about 30 seconds in an U20 game, garnering sympathy from Ian Beale of Eastenders fame when he took to Twitter to apologise for it.

In terms of disappointment, both Lee Croft and David Wotherspoon had poor starts to the season when we were looking for the attacking midfielders to step up and help fill the goals void of Stevie May and Steven MacLean but both are beginning to find their form again. Liam Caddis hasn't really taken his chance and Murray Davidson is struggling to get back to the level we know and hope he's capable of.

Saints are trying to move in the right direction in terms of youth development but it obviously won't be an overnight process. Chris Kane has done well again on loan at Dumbarton (where he's scored 14 goals in 18 starts over two spells) and will hopefully make an impact with us next month but really only Scott Brown and Liam Caddis are properly involved in the first team squad currently. Brown did alright in the early weeks of the season but hasn't featured for what seems like a few months now. A lot of folk like Dylan Easton in the U20s but there's clearly some sort of issue with him as Tommy Wright quite often opts for less established young players on the bench.

[10menwent2mow]

Best - Ryan Jack. Just the best young midfielder in Scotland by a million miles. Only thing he could add to his game is a few more goals but is running the show every week now.

Worst - in the last 2 months I don't think we've had a failure anywhere. Pawlett set very high standards last season and hasn't perhaps lived up to them. Possibly through closer marking and also the fact he gets nothing from refs (admittedly perhaps his own doing) Taylor had a dodgy start but has been immense recently and now Clangers has been binned I can't moan about him anymore.

Youngsters - Jack again but he's nearly 23 now. Low and Smith have drifted in and out of the team and done fairly well when required. Shankland hasn't had much of a go. When you've got a settled team winning games though, you're not gonna chuck the youngsters in for the sake of it. We're doing ok in the u-20 or development league, whatever it's called these days, do they must be doing allright.

[RandomGuy.]

Hard to argue with Radfords list, tbh. Gary Miller is a possibility for worst aswell for me though

[Ludo*1]

Best - James McPake. Could have rattled off a few names here such as Greg Stewart, Paul McGinn, Paul McGowan, David Clarkson, GGH or Konrad but McPake has been an absolute rock at the back for us despite having a terrible reputation previously. Never let us down and puts his body on the line for us time and time again.

Worst - Phil Roberts attitude leaves a lot to be desired. Simply doesn't put enough effort in.

[Addie]

Best: Henrick Ojamma...and he is on loan until January. Has an excellent work rate and chips in with goals. I really hope he gets his loan extended as we really need some movement getting forward. One of the main problems I have when breaking forward is that Suttton isn't quick enough to get into the box (and he has a tendency to drift to the flanks) so we need a forward that can get up there at the same pace of Ainsworth. When Ojamma leaves, we don't have that.

Worst. I'm a bit of a happy clapper when it comes to the team tbh. However Simon Ramsden has been honking in comparison to an excellent season he had last year. He can play well in centre half or right back but this season seems out of sorts and gets caught in between. He's not alone though - most of the squad have been off form, but Ramsden is the most notable for me.

Youngster - my bugbear with the club is the lack of emphasis on youth. However there is plenty going on for the future but we wont see this on the pitch until a while later. However I think Lee Erwin will become good and he had a good performance against Celtic recently (albeit he missed a sitter). A big, tall striker who who would make an excellent target man. Perhaps a long term successor to Sutton? Other mentions to Jack Leitch. He hasn't set the world on fire since he started but I think he should have had more game time under McCall to get more experience so I won't hold that against him. Puts himself about and not afraid of a tackle.

Only seen the lad once, but Dom Thomas took his goals well against Celtic in a recent U20 game. Met him at a calender signing the other night and he isn't that well built though - so may need to bulk up a bit before the first team. Craig Moore has been plagued by injuries and David Ferguson is finding his feet in the first team of late.

[harry94]

Best (James McPake)

Just an absolute beast. Stewart close second.

Worst (Simon Ferry)

Going to go a bit different from Ludo and opt for Ferry. Although Roberts has had a shite attitude, he's actually contributed a bit more than it would seem this season. His delivery from set pieces is head and shoulders above anyone else at the club. In his first four starts (Raith, Celtic, St Johnstone, Dundee United) we scored goals from corners in the first three and we come close to one yesterday when he come on. Seems to get a brilliant spin and height on the ball for McPake to attack. Good few touches yesterday led to a lucky goal but his persistence paid off. Been worth a few points anyway. Hopefully he starts getting his head down and realises the opportunity on offer.

Ferry has been mostly injured (which to be fair, isn't really his fault) and hasn't really looked effective since returning to the team. Yesterday, Hartley decided to take him off and play McGinn in a totally new position in centre midfield which I think just emphasises how little we get out of him. Hopefully kicks on in the coming weeks anyway.

[mrcat1990]

Best - It's got to be big Abdul for me. I fucking love defensive mids and Osman plays the role excellently. The guy has great control, is hard as nails and generally always makes accurate passes. A perfect anchor. Big shout out for Seaborne and McMillan also.

Worst - Muirhead when he has featured has mostly been shite so it's him for me. Balatoni has had a few shockers also but he has also had some decent enough games also. The defensive giants of our title winning team we all expected so much from, now slipping out the first team frame.

Youngster - Our team are still relatively young but we don't have any real teens starting regularly. Fraser is only 20 though and pre injury was really damn good. So much potential. Although it was only a brief cameo against St Mirren, McDaid looked promising.

[Ya Bezzer!]

Best - Our best player this year by a mile has been Dan Twardzik. I don't know the stats but he must be up there for most saves made in the Premiership this season. He is pretty small though so he's never going to be strong on crosses but in terms of shot stopping he's been great. We've not had a consistently good outfield player this season, it's been that kind of season, but if you are going by raw talent, our best player is probably Henrik Ojamaa. On his game he's one of the best players in the league but he tends to be a little bit on the inconsistent side, great one week, not so great the next.

Worst - Simon Ramsden. Quite frankly he's been having a stinking season. He has a couple of decent seasons behind him at Fir Park but he had a serious injury last term and missed the whole of the second half of the season and then missed a bit at the start of this season. Since coming back he's just not looked the same player. He's cost us goals, been sent off and had about a dozen fresh air swipes trying to clear the ball.

Youngster - Unfortunately I've not been very impressed by most of the youngsters that have come through our youth system recently. The best of the bunch so far has been Lee Erwin. He's not played many matches in his proper position as striker though and perhaps hasn't been as effective as he could have been. Still, he's big strong, pretty mobile and scored against St. Mirren in the opening match of the season. Dom Thomas has been much talked about for a couple of seasons now as the shining star at U20s level but he only made his debut yesterday.

[stumigoo]

Cheers for the responses so far! Most of the players mentioned are ones that I had in mind and there are a few that I hand't thought of too. Not sure if any team has too many breakthrough youngsters this year, most sides have quite young teams now so maybe there are fewer really young players making an impact.

[stumigoo]

Just a wee bump for this, I have completed Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, United and Hamilton (still to post them) so if anyone else has any opinions on the other teams then please feel free to put them in here! Thanks.

[bhoy who invented weetabix]

Best. Craig Gordon by some distance, we are only still in Europe thanks to his heroics. Honourable mentions to Johanssen who has come on leaps and bounds after a poor start to the season and John Guidetti although he has been a wee bit off the boil past couple of games

Worst. Toss of a coin between the embarassingly bad Jo Inge Berget and Aleksander Tonev. Even aside from the racism row the Bulgarian has contributed next to nothing to the side while the bearded Norwegian looks like another of those signings you actually laugh at how chronic they are, summed up by being hooked after 35 minutes at Dens Park in September

Youngsters. Only one to get a decent run in the side so far has been Callum McGregor, looked the real deal at the start of the season although his form, like one or two others has shaded a bit of late

[GrahamJags]

Best - Osman or Seaborne. Would say Seaborne shades it, just because he's managed to make our woeful defence from last season look half-decent from the moment he joined. Osman has been an absolutely cracking signing though, never shies away from wanting the ball or putting his body on the line to make challenges. Had Frederic Frans joined in the summer and avoided injuries, he would most likely be the name I gave for best player though.

Worst - Since Ryan Stevenson seems to have finally come good, it has to be James Craigen. Nice lad and always works hard every game, but just not good enough at this level.

Best youngster - Gary Fraser wins this by a mile, as he's only 20. However, since he is a first-team regular already, I don't know if you're looking for someone who looks like they will be establishing themselves in the first-team in the future. If that's the case then Declan McDaid has looked good in his brief cameos, including setting up our winner at St. Mirren Park. Liam Lindsey also looks like a good prospect.

[cowboy]

best- mark Connolly, not much competition in this category tbh had a few blunders but is generally a strong centre back

worst- samson, pascalli, miller and cairney all vying for this one. going to plump for Samson, he's just shit

youngster- muirhead by a mile

[Quitongo's Left Peg]

best- mark Connolly, not much competition in this category tbh had a few blunders but is generally a strong centre back

worst- samson, pascalli, miller and cairney all vying for this one. going to plump for Samson, he's just shit

youngster- muirhead by a mile

Connolly the best, Pascali the worst, Muirhead as the youngster. Miller and Cairney have barely featured, so harsh to label them alongside two who have featured for most of the season.

[Adrian Madaschi]

Best- between Seabo or Osman, both have been outstanding, Gallacher and McMillan get shout outs too. Also, he hasn't been our best player, but a wee mention to Elliot who has had a few stand out games this season, despite being poor last season.

Worst- I'll go for Craigen over Muirhead as Craigen still gets a lot of game time despite being shite

Youngster, Fraser hands down, shout out to McDaid, hope he gets a run in the 1st team soon, especially over Craigen.

[banana]

Quality writeups.

Best - Big Jarek followed by Erskine who, stumigoo, I hadn't written off at the start of the season, I forgot he even existed. Ciftci next, the demise of whom I think has been overstated.

Frustrating - Dow hasn't made enough impact since the Dens derby, Souttar hasn't kicked on, Bilate has been frustratingly injured, Telfer given few chances, GMS injured and ill impacting his game. For me, Armstrong wins this, he's not imposing himself on games nearly enough.

Youngster - Connolly followed by Spittal.

[NorthBank]

Best: Jim Goodwin. Goody is a great player for us and despite the moanings of other fans most teams would have him in their midfield. Thommo has been out all season or he would be in this list and McLean and McGinn has been part of the general malaise since the start of the season but both are excellent players.

Worst: Easy to pick - any of the so-called 'strikers' that TC signed in the summer. I give you Callum Ball, James Marwood, Ross Caldwell. And there are several other contenders for this accolade.

Youngsters: the backbone of out team these days is our Academy players. On Saturday we had Naismith, McAulsand, McGinn, McLean, Mallan, McLear starting - all graduates from our Academy. With 1 more graduate coming on later Reilly and Kelly on the the bench. Some of these have been playing for a couple of seasons now although they are still around the 20 mark. But new faces for me would be Stevie Mallan who has only played two games and looks like another John McGinn and a centre-half called Jack Baird who looks very capable.