Most underrated player in your team

[Fony Titz]

I thought Baird was excellent against Falkirk in our last fixture. A better CB to pair with him would be one of the best in the division. He seemed like he constantly had to cover for Buchanan throughout the game; I'm not sure if this is a regular occurrence or just an off game for your other centre back though.

Baird has taken a lot of flack from our fans in the last year even though most of the "mistakes" he's appeared to have made are generally when he's covering his more experienced partners.
I'd agree he is underrated.

I feel Ian McShane is under rated as well, a lot of Saints fans give him a hard time. He maybe stands out because he takes all our set pieces which lack the quality that Mallan produced but for me he never shy's away from the ball and never stops running.

On Eckersley I'm not sure he is underrated. I do like him but I think he may be slightly over rated by some Saints fans. A lot of us go over board about how important he is. He can also been prone to the odd fresh air kick since he came back this season and gifted a goal to Raith in the cup.

I'm not having a go at him by any means I'm just not sure he's under-rated, but maybe folks will feel that my comments mean I under rate him. Possibly.

[Livilion28]

Lithgow great shout to for us 

[Hawk]

Jacobs is definitely our unsung hero, does a lot of the dirty work that for some goes unnoticed.

[Poet of the Macabre]

I'd say Jason Talbot. He knows himself that he's the most talented boy but always puts in a great shift and has been very solid for a while now.

How AJ can play Aaron Splaine ahead of Dean Shiels, even if he's half-fit, is beyond me. Shiels is so composed on the ball and vital we get him back in the team pronto.

[SUPERSOUTH]

Kyle Jacobs my poy behind Dobbie last season and has started just as well this season.

[Monkey Tennis]

I don't see Jacobs as underrated.

People rave on here all the time about how wonderful he apparently is.

[kiddy]

Struggling

[Coventry Saint]

10 hours ago, MarkoRaj said:

Samson and Baird are shite. They're not underrated at all

When Baird  first appeared regularly in the Ian Murray team, he looked capable of going reasonably far in the game. I think being a young defender playing regularly in a terrible team for a season and a half (ie up to last January, at which point he was mainly dropped until Davis did his knee) since then has really damaged his confidence.

He's definitely been improving under Ross, albeit with the disclaimer that he still wouldn't have been playing if Davis and McKenzie were fit.

He's a more than decent backup and, as SN1F said, he's played 15 times this season and we're top of the league. 

I hope we get him on a long contract, tbh.

[The Moonster]

13 hours ago, Sonsteam of 08 said:

I'd say it would be Chris McLaughlin for us. A guy who's seriously inexperienced, yet slotted into the Daniel Harvie shaped hole in our defence with ease - and would be one of most people's first names on the teamsheet. He's improving defensively week-on-week and has a belting left foot on him. I suspect, even at this early stage, that he may well be following guys like Gregor Buchanan and Andy Stirling into full-time Championship football in the not too distant future.

 

12 hours ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:

Chris McLaughin or Dougie Hill.

Both arrived with fairly low expectations and both have been consistently good. As S08 mentioned above, if McLaughlin continues to improve I don't imagine it will be long until he finds himself back in full-time football.

I'm perhaps going to prove the point here but I really don't think Chris McLaughlin has been all that great. He's not been terrible, but I find his positioning is poor.  As I say, I don't think he's been anywhere near our worst player but I'm not sure he'll be waltzing back into full-time football in the summer.  He would be one of the first names on the team sheet, you're right there, but that's mainly down to us having absolutely nobody else that can play left back.  Excellent left peg and has a bit of pace, but I don't think he's good enough defensively to play for a full-time side yet. He has been improving though, I do agree there.

Dougie Hill was massively under-rated  by me at the start of the season, I was honestly expecting a hatchet man that didn't have the legs for it anymore but he's been pretty excellent, aside from being eased off the ball against Inverness for a goal.

[Skyline Drifter]

1 hour ago, Monkey Tennis said:

I don't see Jacobs as underrated.

People rave on here all the time about how wonderful he apparently is.

This. Jacobs is terrific for us, absolutely terrific, but there's nothing "unsung" about it. People constantly go on about how good he is.

I'd probably nominate John Rankin in the current side actually. He got a lot of bad press last season but he's been much, much better this season but nobody seems to mention it (though they have generally stopped criticising him).

Failing him Callum Fordyce or currently Jason Kerr who don't get a lot said about them but have both been outstanding since joining up.

[Fae_the_'briggs]

1 hour ago, Skyline Drifter said:

This. Jacobs is terrific for us, absolutely terrific, but there's nothing "unsung" about it. People constantly go on about how good he is.

I'd probably nominate John Rankin in the current side actually. He got a lot of bad press last season but he's been much, much better this season but nobody seems to mention it (though they have generally stopped criticising him).

Failing him Callum Fordyce or currently Jason Kerr who don't get a lot said about them but have both been outstanding since joining up.

Kyle Jacobs certainly puts in a hard shift in every game but frustrates me a bit with his distribution.  He'll win the ball and instead of looking up to see where a pass is on he often  hits it away aimlessly.  He also must think he is about six inches taller as he jumps for headers he has no chance of getting instead of anticipating the flight or bounce of the ball better. Having said all that he would be an automatic pick for me. 

Rankin is another hard worker but gives the impression that he drifts out of games for periods at a time.  He also has an infuriating habit of going to ground when going into a tackle.  I wouldn't say he was underrated but is probably worthy of mid-rating.  Jacobs before Rankin for me.  

I don't think very many underrate Fordyce,  he is probably regarded  as one of the best,  if not the best, of the new players to come in this season. 

[Skyline Drifter]

53 minutes ago, Fae_the_'briggs said:

Kyle Jacobs certainly puts in a hard shift in every game but frustrates me a bit with his distribution.  He'll win the ball and instead of looking up to see where a pass is on he often  hits it away aimlessly.  He also must think he is about six inches taller as he jumps for headers he has no chance of getting instead of anticipating the flight or bounce of the ball better. Having said all that he would be an automatic pick for me. 

Rankin is another hard worker but gives the impression that he drifts out of games for periods at a time.  He also has an infuriating habit of going to ground when going into a tackle.  I wouldn't say he was underrated but is probably worthy of mid-rating.  Jacobs before Rankin for me.  

I don't think very many underrate Fordyce,  he is probably regarded  as one of the best,  if not the best, of the new players to come in this season. 

Jacobs main asset to the team is what he does when we don't have the ball. He gets everywhere and wins the ball back and his ability in the air is much better than it should be for someone of his height. I disagree with your assessment of his ability in the air. However, he's clearly limited in what he can do when he actually has the ball. If he was better on the ball he wouldn't be playing at this level. However, I think most would agree he's not under-rated. Supporters regularly sing his praises.

I'm not saying I rate Rankin above Jacobs, I'm not comparing them at all. Just that Rankin generally seemed to get a lot of criticism last season but has really stepped up his game this season and I think he's probably under-rated based on most people's first impressions.

You could well be right about Fordyce. I agree that he's settled in brilliantly and it may be he's not under-rated, I just rarely see a lot of comment about him unless it's to say "he's not a full back" which some have done. He's not but he's done a very decent job there too.

[niketon]

Gary Harkins

[LIVIFOREVER]

You know what you're getting with a Jacobs, total commitment and work rate off the ball is 2nd to none, all four of them were like that anytime I saw them play. Ferocious tacklers too, sometimes a bit too much so, esp Kyle.

[palmy_cammy]

I don't think anyone particularly fits the bill for us.  In the main I feel our fans generally seem to have a good appreciation of our players when they do well.  I would say we can be over the top with our criticism of the under-performers, sometimes ridiculously so, but that isn't the same as underrating.

Of those suggested, Jacobs clearly isn't in the required category as already pointed out.  If anything he should be classed as a "fans favourite", and rightly so.  Guaranteed 7/10 or above every week.  His lack of passing ability is a frustration, but as SD says if he could pass the ball he'd be playing at a higher level (see Stephen McKenna).

The above applies for Jordan Marshall as well, almost word for word.  Just replace passing with crossing.

I don't think Fordyce or Kerr are especially underrated, it's been pretty widely acknowledged they have both been great additions, and upgrades on last season.  I dread to think what our goals against column would have looked like had Dowie and Higgins been playing in front of an injured goalkeeper.

I tend to agree with SD that the closest I can think of would be Rankin.  He rarely receives praise despite being a solid player.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

  I dread to think what our goals against column would have looked like had Dowie and Higgins been playing in front of an injured goalkeeper.

Just thank your lucky stars you don't have to watch Dowie playing infront of poppadom hands Gallacher every week.

I'd take a cactus up the farter for Alan Martin and Gregor Buchanan back.

[bigmacDFC]

Sam Wardrop.

His ability to drive us forward from full back is so vital for us due to our lack of midfielders to do that. His positioning is very good and his use of the ball is very impressive, rarely loses it, almost always playing the correct pass.

[Afro]

Alan Lithgow is an excellent shout for us. Was very skeptical when he (and Sean Crighton) signed last summer, and even at that he wasn't a particular stand-out for most of last season. It even got to the point where a number of fans were bewildered he was being shoehorned into the side at LB for a good few months. The tide probably turned for him away to Airdrie in the spring, when he showed a delightful piece of skill deep in his own half and pinged the ball a good 70 yards out to the opposite wing in the Airdrie half to set up Danny Mullen's goal. Personally, I thought at the time that was as good as it was going to get from him; this season though, he's been comfortably better than Gallagher and doesn't look out of place in this league at all. A definite shout for PoTY if we continue our form, and he keeps digging great balls forward like a QB.

[Sloop John B]

I'd echo what what's been said about Rankin, whilst a lack of creativity in the middle of the park is our main downfall at present, he's someone that takes responsibility and leads. As a team that perhaps has less quality than others, we've executed the basics a lot better and built from being hard to beat and you feel that Rankin has contributed to that.

Fordyce has been shunted all over the back four  and for someone who isn't particularly mobile, holds his own largely against quicker players and gets on the ball. With a small squad someone who is versatile is essential.

Martin even when he hasn't been 100%  gives me a lot more confidence at set pieces and crosses than Robinson ever did. Even in his throwing and distribution which was meant to be a downgrade is a lot better.  I definitely believe that a good defence starts at the goalkeeper and whilst the back four has largely protected him whilst he was hurt, he definitely gives them more confidence in him claiming the ball than someone who is glued to the line.  Now he's starting to move less like a pensioner at shots he'll start to be more like he was at Dumbarton.

[sergie's no1 fan]

10 hours ago, Coventry Saint said:

When Baird  first appeared regularly in the Ian Murray team, he looked capable of going reasonably far in the game. I think being a young defender playing regularly in a terrible team for a season and a half (ie up to last January, at which point he was mainly dropped until Davis did his knee) since then has really damaged his confidence.

He's definitely been improving under Ross, albeit with the disclaimer that he still wouldn't have been playing if Davis and McKenzie were fit.

He's a more than decent backup and, as SN1F said, he's played 15 times this season and we're top of the league. 

I hope we get him on a long contract, tbh.

It's worth bearing in mind as well when Ian Murray was manager it was Baird's first full season, I know he had a few games in the top league too,  he really was thrown into the deep end at such a young age. It's easier for guys like McGinn, Mallan, McLean to break into the team and make a good impression because they are midfielders but if Baird makes a mistake it more than likely will cost us a goal. 

Baird, like any other young player needs at least 100 games under there belt before anyone can fairly criticise them, and that's normally the time they get a bigger move when they have cemented themselves in the team.