Stylish Kid Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Is there something fundamentally wrong with Scottish players that result in this utter carnage of talent? I always thought that Goodwillie had the attributes (physical) to succeed down south but turns out he was a wrong 'un on many counts.... Riordan, O'Connor, Goodwillie.... Anyone remember Paul McMullen, a young Hearts Left Back? Again reputedly had troubles with alcohol..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGuerin Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 42 minutes ago, Stylish Kid said: Is there something fundamentally wrong with Scottish players that result in this utter carnage of talent? I always thought that Goodwillie had the attributes (physical) to succeed down south but turns out he was a wrong 'un on many counts.... Riordan, O'Connor, Goodwillie.... Anyone remember Paul McMullen, a young Hearts Left Back? Again reputedly had troubles with alcohol..... You get the same everywhere. It's hard to make it in football. We unquestionably have an issue with lifestyle in Scotland, but in any fitba country, there'll be a list of 'next big things' as long as your arm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotfree Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Craig Thomson... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torfason Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 6 hours ago, Flybhoy said: This will never cease to be cringeworthy and hilarious in equal measure. Out of interest, who did you play for? The guy arrived with his family, to earn a living, what exactly is wrong with that? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 7 hours ago, gannonball said: Fair enough but think getting over a decade at a decent level for a guy who relied on his pace kind of fits in with a drop off for me, a lot of wingers fall off a cliff late 20s in terms of level/contribution. It’s strange for me to be defending him tbh as I didn’t really like him as good as he could be for us. I'd be at my fastest falling of a cliff. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Darren mackie was utterly shite. It has to be said. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangemouth Bairn Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 10 hours ago, Flybhoy said: Steve Fulton broke into the Celtic side in 1989 and, after a pretty impressive first few showings was rather unfortunately compared to Roberto Baggio by Billy McNeil. A decent player who had a good few seasons with Hearts after a spell in England, unsurprisingly never scaled the heights of his Italian counterpart, the Baggio comment did him no favours and, from my recollection became a bit of a joke throughout his career, a rather unfair one in all honesty. Great shout. Stevie Fulton was an excellent player and one of the most talented midfielder I’ve seen playing for Falkirk. His range of passing and vision to see a pass was fantastic. The season he played fit us we had a brilliant team and finished 5th in the Premier League only 6 points off 2nd. We knocked Rangers out of the league cup at a Ibrox at a time when they were dominant domestically and his pass to Richie Cadette for the winning goal was sublime. You are spot on about Billy McNeill’s comments. I’ve no doubt McNeill’s comments were intended as complimentary but ended up being a burden on the guy. He did have a good career including captaining Hearts in a Scottish Cup final victory however I think he could have achieved more. His father Norrie was a top junior player with Pollock in the 80’s and his 3 sons all played professional football with Jay still playing for Swansea. Thanks for mentioning @Flybhoy mate - you’ve reminded me of some cracking memories of that season . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 On 24/12/2022 at 18:12, Clown Job said: Josh Walker? I used to live in Bangalore and he was playing out there at the time. He was seen as one of their best players, but the standard was rotten and they were one of the better sides. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul wright scores Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 3 hours ago, Grangemouth Bairn said: Great shout. Stevie Fulton was an excellent player and one of the most talented midfielder I’ve seen playing for Falkirk. His range of passing and vision to see a pass was fantastic. The season he played fit us we had a brilliant team and finished 5th in the Premier League only 6 points off 2nd. We knocked Rangers out of the league cup at a Ibrox at a time when they were dominant domestically and his pass to Richie Cadette for the winning goal was sublime. You are spot on about Billy McNeill’s comments. I’ve no doubt McNeill’s comments were intended as complimentary but ended up being a burden on the guy. He did have a good career including captaining Hearts in a Scottish Cup final victory however I think he could have achieved more. His father Norrie was a top junior player with Pollock in the 80’s and his 3 sons all played professional football with Jay still playing for Swansea. Thanks for mentioning @Flybhoy mate - you’ve reminded me of some cracking memories of that season . Once Steve Fulton got up to speed, usually by the end of September, he was an excellent player for Kilmarnock. His father was an excellent junior who unfortunately from my perspective scored the winner against Arthurlie in the 1981 Scottish Junior Cup Final at Hampden. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylish Kid Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 3 hours ago, Dons_1988 said: Darren mackie was utterly shite. It has to be said. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmain Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 3 hours ago, Dons_1988 said: Darren mackie was utterly shite. It has to be said. Dnipro equaliser tho...shoorly that one act can cover for a multitude of sins ?!? As for realistic contenders, was always a bit disappointed Gauld didn't make it with Sporting in Portugal. Last I heard he was considering playing for Canada if that's possible. For all I used to take the piss out of D Utd fans going apeshit about 'that' team being some sort of Brazil 1970 type machine, they did have a few talented young laddies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 20 minutes ago, Jimmain said: Dnipro equaliser tho...shoorly that one act can cover for a multitude of sins ?!? As for realistic contenders, was always a bit disappointed Gauld didn't make it with Sporting in Portugal. Last I heard he was considering playing for Canada if that's possible. For all I used to take the piss out of D Utd fans going apeshit about 'that' team being some sort of Brazil 1970 type machine, they did have a few talented young laddies. I have no gripe with the man. I would just like to think he’d not establish himself in a modern Aberdeen fc team, on account of the fact he was quite rubbish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 13 hours ago, Flybhoy said: This will never cease to be cringeworthy and hilarious in equal measure. Darren Mackie, of course, famously promoted kids’ reading programmes by picking a movie as his favourite book because he didn’t really read books. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 I throw Ricky Gillies into the debate, youngest player ever to play and score for us, highly rated but unfortunately tipped as AC Milan standard by Tony "Top6"Fitzpatrick, he seemed set for a move down south but failed to impress during a trial with Liverpool and came back to Saints. He moved to Aberdeen where he failed to shine and returned as a last day loan in March 2000 to help us get clinch the Division 1 title. He stood out (scoring 10 goals) in the mediocre squad that went straight back down in 2001 and was expected to move on that summer but it never happened. He stood out at times back in Division 1 but when Gus MacPherson took over as manager he was replaced by the incoming Andy Millen in what became a more, erm, robust midfield - hard to argue against the decision but Gillies still looked skilful in the few sub appearances he made before moving onwards and downwards. As I said all the skill but just lacking a combative edge. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Gauld has remained the same player throughout his career. Excellent touch and passing but without attacking cutting edge. This is a bit of a niche reference but his style was very similar to Anderson that used to play for Man Utd. Or, closer to home, Joe Newell currently at Hibs. (Note I'm comparing position and style only here, not the respective talent levels of Anderson, Gauld and Newell). It's a bit of an awkward role, a "no. 8" with quite a high starting position yet who tends to just hover and support rather than burst further forward. That's what Gauld became in Portugal because he lacked the attacking incision to play as a "no. 10" then lacked the defensive attributes to become a "no. 6". It was already apparent at Dundee Utd he was this type of player so I'd argue there hasn't been unfulfilled promise with him. If we go by early media portrayals of him then, yes, but those weren't accurate. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabFC Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 On 23/12/2022 at 16:55, Sugar_Army said: Not sure where Ryan Gauld would be in this. Great we player who was unfortunate to be tagged the ,"Mini Messi". Obviously he was never going to reach those heights but when he moved to Portugal i had hope he would reach new heights. Still carving out a ecent career abroad but unlikely to ever play for Scotland or a really high profile team now. There is definitely a talent footballer there but I feel he has not hit the height that his early footballing talent promised (ignore the press hype). Gauld is getting paid £40k/week and is a damn good player - Steve Clarke just refuses to call him up. He's more deserving than many players that get a chance. From United, I'd go for Jamie McCunnie. After a dozen games I was convinced he'd be Scotland's right back for the next fifteen years. Instead he ended up playing in Iceland and in the junior ranks. A leftfield choice could be Garry Kenneth (although not a great talent) - went from getting capped by Scotland to playing in the Dundee amateur leagues within a five year period. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGuerin Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 8 minutes ago, FreedomFarter said: Gauld has remained the same player throughout his career. Excellent touch and passing but without attacking cutting edge. This is a bit of a niche reference but his style was very similar to Anderson that used to play for Man Utd. Or, closer to home, Joe Newell currently at Hibs. (Note I'm comparing position and style only here, not the respective talent levels of Anderson, Gauld and Newell). It's a bit of an awkward role, a "no. 8" with quite a high starting position yet who tends to just hover and support rather than burst further forward. That's what Gauld became in Portugal because he lacked the attacking incision to play as a "no. 10" then lacked the defensive attributes to become a "no. 6". It was already apparent at Dundee Utd he was this type of player so I'd argue there hasn't been unfulfilled promise with him. If we go by early media portrayals of him then, yes, but those weren't accurate. He left United at 18, so the idea that by then it was too late for him to develop his game seems a hell of a shout. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Was Gauld not ineffective in the spl on loan at Hibs? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranaldo Bairn Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 Gary Smith. Came into an excellent Falkirk team at CB/Sweeper/RB at 16 years old and literally strolled it. Wandering around oncoming strikers with the ball in his own 6 yard box, hardly ever needing to break into a run, such was his superb reading of the game. Every single observer of his game was 100% sure that he was going to be a superstar for club and country for years to come. Aberdeen had previously signed defenders Stuart Kennedy and Brian Irvine from us and both obviously had excellent, long-lasting careers. So Smith went there and was... ok. Regular for a few years, suffered an unfortunate happening in a Cup Final, eventually left for Hibs after a year in France with Rennes. Hung around Easter Road for a while, quite competently before chucking it after a brief spell at the 'beath. Not a bad career at all, by any stretch, but not what everyone predicted, and he never even got a Scotland cap. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmain Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 1 minute ago, coprolite said: Was Gauld not ineffective in the spl on loan at Hibs? Think he was unfit due to injury when at Hibs, but maybe some Hibees itk can disavow me of that or otherwise. Hardly got any game time that I recall. I remember being interested to see how he'd fare and he hardly played at all... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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