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I'm happy to be quoted on this - he is absolutely going to play for Scotland (or Australia) at some point. A big awkward nuisance of a striker in the Chris Martin type mould.

Given our lack of quality in the position, I think Clarke wants to use a centre-forward who will hassle and harass defenders to create openings for the attacking midfield players. It's why he picked Brophy against Cyprus (and called him up again last time), and it's why the ghost of Steven Naismith started the last two games.

Dykes is very much in that mould but also has more physicality about him, so I can see him being a useful option.

Edited by craigkillie
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30 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

I'm happy to be quoted on this - he is absolutely going to play for Scotland (or Australia) at some point. A big awkward nuisance of a striker in the Chris Martin type mould.

Given our lack of quality in the position, I think Clarke wants to use a centre-forward who will hassle and harass defenders to create openings for the attacking midfield players. It's why he picked Brophy against Cyprus (and called him up again last time), and it's why the ghost of Steven Naismith started the last two games.

Dykes is very much in that mould but also has more physicality about him, so I can see him being a useful option.

I would love to see Dykes play for Scotland but I just cannot see him choosing us over Australia.

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2 hours ago, craigkillie said:

I'm happy to be quoted on this - he is absolutely going to play for Scotland (or Australia) at some point. A big awkward nuisance of a striker in the Chris Martin type mould.

Given our lack of quality in the position, I think Clarke wants to use a centre-forward who will hassle and harass defenders to create openings for the attacking midfield players. It's why he picked Brophy against Cyprus (and called him up again last time), and it's why the ghost of Steven Naismith started the last two games.

Dykes is very much in that mould but also has more physicality about him, so I can see him being a useful option.

They aren't identical players but Dykes was available for nothing in the summer and signed for Livingston for probably 500-800 quid a week. McBurnie moved in the summer for £20m. He has the best pedigree of our strikers by some distance.

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1 hour ago, ArabAuslander said:

I would love to see Dykes play for Scotland but I just cannot see him choosing us over Australia.

I think he recently came out and said he would prefer Scotland did he not?

Just googled it: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/4991511/livingston-lyndon-dykes-scotland-australia/

"If I ever got the opportunity, I’d love to play for Scotland."

The idea doesn't particulalry excite me at the moment, but I could see him developing into a competent battering ram at international level over the nest few years.

As for the playoffs? No, I think it's the wrong time to bring in a brand new forward unless they are absolutely blitzing in goals and top performances in a strong league.

Edited by Gordopolis
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On ‎12‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 13:39, DAVIDB69 said:

 

 


Mcburnie is usually on the bench most weeks as i said earlier he hasn’t offered anything for scotland so far, not sure how long we persist with that .

 

He's started 9 matches in the Premiership this season for a side 6th in the table, scoring 4 goals.

He's got the best record of any Scottish striker by an absolute mile.

We persist with him until or unless there is someone better.

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On ‎14‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 10:44, AndyDD said:

Just look at how utterly abysmal McBurnie was when he came on against Cyprus away. 

It was frankly astonishing; he had done nothing to make you think he'd come on and do well, but my god, he couldn't pass the football, he couldn't control the football, he looked absolutely shattered for absolutely no reason... The difference in territory once he came on was stark and we kept going further and further back. He didn't even seem to put much effort in. 

Incompetent. Lazy. Ineffective. A truly honkin' performance.

We don't have the options to not include him in the squad, I suppose, but the difference in the game when we had Naismith Vs when we had McBurnie was startling. 

The link up, hold up, the winning of freekicks, getting us up the park and gaining territory, interlocking with the attacking midfielders, that all gave way when McBurnie took the field. Anytime McBurnie was passed the ball, his first touch was woeful and he either lost possession or, in one case, put it right out for a throw in off his own foot. A simple pass. 

He won nothing in the air, despite his height, and committed fouls rather than win free-kicks. He ended up getting a chance for a one on one charge at the goal but hesitated, struggled to get the ball out his feet again and then, when Burke raced through to supply him an option because it was clear McBurnie was not going to try running past anyone, the pass was played behind Burke, not in front. An abject attempt. 

He also looked absolutely knackered, despite being a second half sub who didn't seem to do much running. Ryan Jack wisely started playing passes to Palmer rather than waste the ball by trying to give it to McBurnie. The Cypriot goalie decked it on the ball but had all the time he wanted to clumsily get up and retrieve the situation. He needn't have rushed his recovery, either. McBurnie barely moved. 

I dearly hope the guy comes good and think he deserves some credit for our goal against Russia; that's who Fraser is trying to get it to and it's his attempt to slide in on the ball that puts the keeper off. That, however, is the only positive contribution he has made in all of his appearances so far. He has been dreadful for us and the difference in our side after he came on in Cyprus underlined it for me. 

Given that griffiths doesn't seem to be ever coming back, given that Fletcher clearly isn't interested any more, our best hope is that Naismith gets properly match fit between now and March. He at least brings something to the table.

McBurnie does not. He actively worsens our performances, prevents the gathering of any momentum and costs us territory and possession. There is no reason to expect this to change. 

So let's ignore a £20 million striker with 4 goals in 9 starts for a side 6th in the Premiership, a striker who scored 22 goals in the Championship last season, because, in your uneducated opinion, he wasn't very good coming on as a sub in a game you watched on the TV. :lol:

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14 minutes ago, Jeremiah Cole said:

So let's ignore a £20 million striker with 4 goals in 9 starts for a side 6th in the Premiership, a striker who scored 22 goals in the Championship last season, because, in your uneducated opinion, he wasn't very good coming on as a sub in a game you watched on the TV. :lol:

And yet that Shankland non-entity performance as a sub against Russia, where he didn't touch the ball or impact the game even slightly, is being held up as the second coming of Thierry Henry crossed with Batistuta.

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14 hours ago, Jeremiah Cole said:

So let's ignore a £20 million striker with 4 goals in 9 starts for a side 6th in the Premiership, a striker who scored 22 goals in the Championship last season, because, in your uneducated opinion, he wasn't very good coming on as a sub in a game you watched on the TV. :lol:

I was four or five rows from the front behind the goal, as it happens, albeit i'm not sure what relevance that has. 

Let's ignore him? Depends what you mean by that. I'd have him in the squad, sure, as an option if we need to chase the game and get desperate. I wouldn't start him because, in my uneducated opinion, he has been utter gash in every single appearance for Scotland. 

The fee Sheffield Utd were idiotic enough to pay for him is utterly irrelevant; the barometer that matters most is how he has played for us. His utterly abject performances in a Scotland shirt, particularly those that have been under the same manager, alongside the same or similar personnel and within the same system, outweighs his inflated transfer fee. If it didn't, he and Burke would be the first names on the teamsheet. 

If you've seen evidence in any of those 9 performances which suggests he warrants a place in the side in March, well, one can only bow to your obviously superior education... 

 

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On 15/01/2020 at 14:12, Marshmallo said:

They aren't identical players but Dykes was available for nothing in the summer and signed for Livingston for probably 500-800 quid a week. McBurnie moved in the summer for £20m. He has the best pedigree of our strikers by some distance.

No he wasn't.

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McBurnie is a better player than Dykes, but Dykes is probably a better fit for Scotland.

McBurnie seems better in a two, so he can link up and find space, when hes on his own for Scotland hes expected to get the ball under pressure, hold it, then move it in. Theres no space for him to operate in so he struggles to contribute.

Dykes is more suited to the isolated striker role, he ragdolled Celtics £7m defender this season through sheer physicality and work rate alone. I'd have him in the squad, if Naismith won't be fit enough. A total wildcard to put on the pitch to just cause absolute mayhem.

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If we carry on playing with a number 10 like we did the last few games it might give McBurnie a better chance to actually do something. McGinn likely being out is a blow but Fleck seems like an ideal replacement. Obviously they’re teammates as well so it could work.

2 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

A total wildcard to put on the pitch to just cause absolute mayhem.

There’s making a fair argument for including a fairly limited player in the squad, then there’s this 😆. Bit hyperbolic if you ask me.

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3 hours ago, Binos said:

Bit of a piss take but who's this Dunfermline striker Nisbet who's managed to score a ton of goals for a team that can't win a game

If shankland can get a call up why not Nisbet

He was the highest scoring Scottish striker last year, but he's not getting called up. He's had a fantastic 6 months at championship level but that's not enough, Shankland done it consistently for a year and a half. 

I reckon he'll move in the summer to Hearts and get called up from there, we play him as a lone striker and his linkup play is genuinely as impressive as his scoring records, it's a massive step up to Premiership, and then to international football though. 

Surely we're not that bereft of striking options? 

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7 hours ago, Grant228 said:

He was the highest scoring Scottish striker last year, but he's not getting called up. He's had a fantastic 6 months at championship level but that's not enough, Shankland done it consistently for a year and a half. 

I reckon he'll move in the summer to Hearts and get called up from there, we play him as a lone striker and his linkup play is genuinely as impressive as his scoring records, it's a massive step up to Premiership, and then to international football though. 

Surely we're not that bereft of striking options? 

We're not really but at the same time we are

Fletcher - refuses to play for us

Mcburnie - doesn't seem to suit our style

Naismith - good fit but definitely a has-been

Griffith's - gone

Shankland - at present only proven lower level

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