Jordan Rhodes

[pub car king]

I think he would be better served miving to germany

[Savage Henry]

I'm sure I heard on SSN that Rhodes would be staying at Blackburn next season. And I think it would be wise for him to continue to grow. Players like Holt and Lambert show that taking your time developing in the lower leagues will serve you better when you're in the EPL. Rhodes will be in the Premiership in the next 3 years

He'll be 27 in three years time. Holt and Lambert are rarities, most established BPL players start playing there in their early 20s. I think Championship might be his level, actually. There seems to be too many people scared to give him a shot to make it coincidence.

[RandomGuy.]

He'll be 27 in three years time. Holt and Lambert are rarities, most established BPL players start playing there in their early 20s. I think Championship might be his level, actually. There seems to be too many people scared to give him a shot to make it coincidence.

27 is when he should be entering his prime. Most players "established" in the EPL are eithr exceptional or have never been out of the Premiership. His lack of pace probably puts a few teams off him

[Gordopolis]

Pace? He ain't jet heeled, but he's not hugely slow either. I think the only drawback is that he doesn't have a change of pace/great acceleration. This isn't a bad thing, as strikers famed for their pace are usually Donald Ducked by their mid-twenties anyway (Michael Owen being a prime example)

His level? Until he plays above the Championship, nobody can assert that he's EPL quality or not. What we can say is that he has romped it at Championship level (30 domestic goals in his first season in a new, higher league at a new club in utter turmoil is very, very impressive).

Prem clubs? The top 4 (of recent years: Man U, Man C, Chelsea, Arsenal) don't need him (tiniest sliver of a chance of Arsenal as Wenger was talking him up a while back). Realistically, it's all about those below the top 4 who need goals and can risk the worst case of paying £8-10m for him only for him to flop at EPL level. I'd say this means West Ham, Spurs, Fulham and maybe Newcastle or Sunderland.

Should he wait a few years before moving up to the EPL? My opinion is absolutely not - if the opportunity arises at the right EPL club. I understand the fear that he might crash and burn, but opting to stay in the comfort zone of a lower league would be indicative of a player with a flaw in his character. Rhodes is a quiet, down to earth chap when being interviewed, but I reckon under that facade he's pretty determined to go to the top.

EDIT: if he was to move to a top flight abroad I would be very pleased indeed

[Loki]

He'll be 27 in three years time. Holt and Lambert are rarities, most established BPL players start playing there in their early 20s. I think Championship might be his level, actually. There seems to be too many people scared to give him a shot to make it coincidence.

I think the price stopped more clubs taking the chance. Blackburn will want at least 10m for him. So I think he will be there for the next couple of seasons. It isn't a bad thing. He will play every week and continue to score goals at Championship level.

[Savage Henry]

I think the price stopped more clubs taking the chance. Blackburn will want at least 10m for him. So I think he will be there for the next couple of seasons. It isn't a bad thing. He will play every week and continue to score goals at Championship level.

That's fair. It could certainly just be the money thing.

[Gordopolis]

The ball is in Blackburn's court. If they try to buy promotion next year then rhodes is staying. If they try to balance the books then I could see them selling for what they paid

However, I dont think staying would be great, cos as long as he's in the championship, the old 'he can't do it at the top level' argument will be rolled out ad nauseum (graham spiers was trotting that line out the other week - unsubstantiated pish) and he'll be restricted to a bit part for Scotland

[RobbieD]

He'll be 27 in three years time. Holt and Lambert are rarities, most established BPL players start playing there in their early 20s. I think Championship might be his level, actually. There seems to be too many people scared to give him a shot to make it coincidence.

Key word being most. Not all. And if anything, the guys who have scored for fun in the Championship generally have scored goals as expected in the Premier League. There's been players worse than Rhodes who played in the Premier League for donkeys years too.

[PrestersKTID]

Blackburn won't be getting relegated anyway, so I'm not sure why that's important.

They were struggling though and the post I originally responded too, mentioned Blackburns plight at the foot of the table. I was merely suggesting that in the event of Blackburn going down, they could keep Rhodes without having to sell.

[Lex]

However, I dont think staying would be great, cos as long as he's in the championship, the old 'he can't do it at the top level' argument will be rolled out ad nauseum (graham spiers was trotting that line out the other week - unsubstantiated pish) and he'll be restricted to a bit part for Scotland

The facts are he has never done it at the top level and he is 23. How is saying he can't do it at the top level ' unsubstaniated '? If he could, he would have by now.

I think the comparison with Lambert and Holt may be valid. He may end up scoring a few goals in the EPL, it will be for someone like Southampton or Norwich though. These players are decent strikers, so is he. They will never do it at international level, neither will he. He will never play for a top club and he will never play in the Champions League, simply because he isn't good enough.

He's the latest in a long line of bang average strikers to play for Scotland. The fact he is so highly regarded amongst the Tartan Army shows how far we have fallen. It's no wonder we are one of the worst sides in Europe at the moment.

[Bully Wee Villa]

I don't see anyone in the Premier League making a huge bid for him. The goal-poacher seems to be a dying breed. Clubs are going for big fuckers who can bring the midfield into play. This is especially important with 4-4-2 going out of fashion. Bent can't get a game for us, the utterly atrocious Reading still won't give Le Fondre a start and Man U have consistently picked Welbeck ahead of the infinitely more talented Hernandez.

Despite that, I'd like to see Scotland play him alongside Fletcher and just try to attack teams. Our defence is garbage but we do have some decent forwards and wingers. f**k it, just try to score more than the opposition.

[Supras]

The facts are he has never done it at the top level and he is 23. How is saying he can't do it at the top level ' unsubstaniated '? If he could, he would have by now.

I think the comparison with Lambert and Holt may be valid. He may end up scoring a few goals in the EPL, it will be for someone like Southampton or Norwich though. These players are decent strikers, so is he. They will never do it at international level, neither will he. He will never play for a top club and he will never play in the Champions League, simply because he isn't good enough.

He's the latest in a long line of bang average strikers to play for Scotland. The fact he is so highly regarded amongst the Tartan Army shows how far we have fallen. It's no wonder we are one of the worst sides in Europe at the moment.

Really? I'm sure Moldova, Faroe Islands and Andorra might have something to say about that.

We're pretty standard to be honest, we've performed poorly against Wales but we're not far from where our population dictates we should be. It's a temporary blip anyway, for most of the last decade we have performed as well as you can expect from a nation of our size.

[Lex]

Really? I'm sure Moldova, Faroe Islands and Andorra might have something to say about that.

We're pretty standard to be honest, we've performed poorly against Wales but we're not far from where our population dictates we should be. It's a temporary blip anyway, for most of the last decade we have performed as well as you can expect from a nation of our size.

There's nine European teams who are bottom of their group just now, we are one of them. Its a shame we can't even get close to the recent achievements of a country like Croatia, who have a smaller population than ourselves.

That's not the real problem though. The real problem is we are now getting beaten by countries with a population less than half our own. Football isn't even Wales' most popular sport for goodness sake, yet they deservedly beat us home and away.

Their great young hope? 23 year old Gareth Bale. Ours? 23 year old Jordan Rhodes. Temporary blip?

[Bully Wee Villa]

It is a bit annoying we never seem to produce a World class player. Even with a small population, just by pure luck you'd think we'd get one sooner or later.

Who was the last genuinely World class player Scotland had? You could, at a push, suggest Hendry or McCoist but I'd probably say Dalglish or Hansen would be more accurate.

[Gordopolis]

The facts are he has never done it at the top level and he is 23. How is saying he can't do it at the top level ' unsubstaniated '? If he could, he would have by now.

I think the comparison with Lambert and Holt may be valid. He may end up scoring a few goals in the EPL, it will be for someone like Southampton or Norwich though. These players are decent strikers, so is he. They will never do it at international level, neither will he. He will never play for a top club and he will never play in the Champions League, simply because he isn't good enough.

He's the latest in a long line of bang average strikers to play for Scotland. The fact he is so highly regarded amongst the Tartan Army shows how far we have fallen. It's no wonder we are one of the worst sides in Europe at the moment.

Err...it's unsubstantiated because he hasn't played at EPL level? If he went to the EPL and failed miserably, then it becomes substantiated. Until then, it's unsubstantiated. Simples.

Lambert and holt will never do it at international level because they will never be picked (Rooney, Wellbeck, Sturridge etc all playing at bigger clubs and well ahead in the pecking order), so the analogy collapses there I'm afraid.

[Gordopolis]

It is a bit annoying we never seem to produce a World class player. Even with a small population, just by pure luck you'd think we'd get one sooner or later.

Who was the last genuinely World class player Scotland had? You could, at a push, suggest Hendry or McCoist but I'd probably say Dalglish or Hansen would be more accurate.

Oof - that's a bit of a push! I suppose though you could argue the case for Hendry when Scotland had, for a wee while, statistically the best defence in the world.

[drs]

f**k me that would have to be a massive push for Hendry or McCoist to be considered world class.

[PrestersKTID]

Mcfadden/fletcher are the closest we've had to World class in the last 15 years. Faddy can produce brilliance if he wants. And Fletch can be as solid a midfielder as you can get, not as much for Scotland as Man u but still a player.

[Savage Henry]

Considering what he achieved, Darren Fletcher would probably have to go down as "world class", whatever that means. The last player we could genuinely say was as good as anyone in his position was Goram. Craig Gordon could have been great, if he had chosen a better club to join and not been so injury prone.

Colin Hendry and Ally McCoist were never, ever in that class - although both light years ahead of anyone in their respective positions in the current squad.

World class is a ridiculous term. I'm presuming what people mean is not the elite like Messi, Cruyff, etc (Scotland has never produced one of those), but that tier of player who could get a game for any of the top fifteen or so European club sides. So yeah, Goram, and possibly Fletcher when he was at his peak.

[Gordopolis]

Considering what he achieved, Darren Fletcher would probably have to go down as "world class", whatever that means. The last player we could genuinely say was as good as anyone in his position was Goram. Craig Gordon could have been great, if he had chosen a better club to join and not been so injury prone.

Colin Hendry and Ally McCoist were never, ever in that class - although both light years ahead of anyone in their respective positions in the current squad.

World class is a ridiculous term. I'm presuming what people mean is not the elite like Messi, Cruyff, etc (Scotland has never produced one of those), but that tier of player who could get a game for any of the top fifteen or so European club sides. So yeah, Goram, and possibly Fletcher when he was at his peak.

Yeah, the term is overused and misused. If it means the best 11 players you could put out in an Earth XI, then fair enough.

I was going to suggest John Collins, but on reflection, he stood out for us simply because he was technically competent. Don't get me wrong, he was a cracking player, but he played for Everton and Monaco, not Real Madrid and AC Milan.