Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Worst Signings of the 2020/21 Premiership season (part 2)

The initial countdown from 25 to 11 can be found here.  

This is the ninth time we've done this. The eight previous 'winners':

2012/13: Rory Boulding (Kilmarnock)

2013/14: Stephane Bahoken (St. Mirren)

2014/15: Jim Fenlon (Ross County)

2015/16: Rodney Sneijder (Dundee United)

2016/17: Joey Barton (Rangers)

2017/18: Eduardo Herrera (Rangers)

2018/19: Umar Sadiq (Rangers)

2019/20: Madis Vihmann (St. Johnstone)


You'll note that we've never previously named a Celtic player at the top of this list. It won't surprise anyone that this is about to change...


10. MICHAEL O'CONNOR (ROSS COUNTY)

County took a flier on talented but troubled Irish striker O'Connor, whose gambling problems had scuppered big moves previously. He signed a two year deal in September and lasted less than three months, making a single sub appearance in the League Cup. What was particularly curious was the club's statement regarding his exit, where they stated he had "resigned". I mean, since when has a player resigned? This raises more questions than answers...


9. DREY WRIGHT (HIBERNIAN)

When I put out feelers on Twitter for potential candidates for this list, about a million (approximately) Hibs fans named Wright, signed from St. Johnstone last summer where he had impressed on the wing. Perhaps Jack Ross' tendency to use wing-backs rather than wingers has limited Wright's opportunities, but he's played just a single minute of league football in the last three months as he has become increasingly distanced from first team opportunities.


8. JORDAN WHITE (MOTHERWELL)

White has markedly improved since joining Ross County in January...which wouldn't be hard. Many (including myself) were dubious as to whether he could make the step up from the Championship, and by the end of August he had gone from ineffective starter to being an impact sub who made no impact. He failed to score or assist in any matches for the Steelmen and discounting the first half of his first start, they went onto score only one goal - a late consolation in a 5-1 defeat - with him on the pitch. In Dingwall he has at least come up with a winning goal against Celtic.


7. REGAN CHARLES-COOK (ROSS COUNTY)

Wideman Charles-Cook was seen as an exciting acquisition from Gillingham, and clearly he has something in his locker as both Stuart Kettlewell and John Hughes have given him more opportunities than other wingers in the County squad. But he's managed zero goals and zero assists in the league and the website WhoScored.com rates him as the worst outfield player in the Premiership this season. Many County fans are bemused that Jermaine Hylton in particular has had far fewer chances to impress.


6. JAKE HASTIE (MOTHERWELL)

That golden four months at the end of the 2018/19 season seem long ago now. Motherwell got £350,000 in compensation from Rangers for him that summer and got the player back - on loan - a year later. Still only 22, Hastie looks a shadow of the starlet he once was, starting just four games and carving out a role only as an unused sub. He still has two years left on his Ibrox deal, but it's clear he is in danger of not fulfilling his potential.


5. COLLIN QUANER (ST MIRREN)

It's only three seasons since Quaner was playing regularly in the Premier League with Huddersfield Town, and his arrival at St. Mirren looked like a potential coup. But the German forward had been without a club for six months before joining the Buddies in January and was subbed off with an injury on his debut only 20 minutes after coming on. He managed two more appearances, winning a very, very, very, very etc. soft penalty against Ross County before a fruitless start at Ibrox, and then got injured again with Jim Goodwin confirming that his season - and probably his career in Paisley - are over. 


4. AARON CHAPMAN (MOTHERWELL)

Motherwell signed Chapman as "experienced cover and competition for Trevor Carson" - their words. Well had so much confidence in him that when Carson got hurt they went out and signed another keeper, Jordan Archer. When Archer left at the end of December and Carson got injured yet again Chapman had to start a derby at Hamilton where in a 3-0 defeat he frankly looked like an outfielder playing in goal. He had actually started three other league games prior to that where he looked confident, but that Accies match will be all that Motherwell fans remember of him.


3. ANTHONY STOKES (LIVINGSTON)

This one can be filed under 'farce'. The veteran forward joined Livi in August, only to leave within a few weeks because he couldn't cope with training on astroturf. You'd think that would be the sort of thing you'd check out before you signed the player? He never played a game for the club. Since then, Stokes has been charged with headbutting a man, put on an anti-domestic abuse course and been accused of stalking his ex-partner, so perhaps Livingston dodged a bullet here.


2. VASILIS BARKAS (CELTIC)

Is Barkas salvageable? That'll be one of the big early questions for Celtic's new permanent manager, but recent reports suggest he will probably leave this summer. It's true that it can sometimes take foreign keepers a bit of time to adjust to British football, but for £4.5m Neil Lennon was entitled to expect the Greek to get the hang of it much quickly. Instead by December he was ditched for the Scottish Cup Final in favour of Conor Hazard (!), and every time he was recalled he seemed to quickly blot his copybook. Lennon hardly helped, seemingly scapegoating him when results are bad; after one disappointing performance he told the press of the need to build Barkas' confidence up with a run of more straightforward matches...and promptly dropped him for the next game, at home to Hamilton. It has been a complete and utter disaster for club and player.


1. SHANE DUFFY (CELTIC)

Until he came north, Shane Duffy was not a bad footballer - you don't play a hundred Premier League games and win forty caps for Ireland by being crap. But he was an old-fashioned big, strong, no-nonsense centre-back with not much pace, which made him an abysmal fit for a Celtic team that plays a high line and passes the ball out from the back. After he scored in his first two games one journalist quipped that Duffy might end up with a superior goal difference on his own to the teams he played against; as it stands that record is currently minus-30. His confidence is shot and his stock has fallen so far that he has been replaced by Stephen Welsh for the last couple of months as he awaits the end of his nightmare loan spell. He has cost Celtic more than £3m in loan fees and wages.


Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

A far-too-early attempt at predicting Scotland's Euros squad (take two)

 We already tried this in January, but it seems reasonable to update it after the recent international break. Not that there are many changes - the number of 'certainties' has gone up from twelve to sixteen, mind - but the emergence of Che Adams was the big talking point.


It will be interesting to see what strategy Clarke uses when putting together his twenty-three man squad. Many international coaches have in the past just picked two players for every position, but a more progressive plan would be to call up versatile players in order to free up squad positions for players - particularly attackers - that could offer different sorts of threats. Most likely the manager will stick with the core that has got him this far. The only outfield squad members not to even get off the bench in those three matches were Declan Gallagher, Andrew Considine and Greg Taylor.


So here's how I see the current state of play...


GOALKEEPERS

CERTAINTIES: David Marshall, Craig Gordon

PROBABLES: Jon McLaughlin

MAYBES:

LONG SHOTS: Liam Kelly, Scott Bain


Given there's little reason for Clarke to ditch McLaughlin as the third choice keeper - there isn't an exciting youth project to take along for the ride instead - I could have put him as a certainty as well, but where would be the fun in that? Marshall could be blamed for goals in both the Austria and Israel games and he seems to have lost his place in the Derby County team in the last few weeks, and so his position in the starting lineup is very much under threat from Gordon. It is depressing to think that Scotland's best goalkeeper is actually 39 year old Allan McGregor, who retired from international football two years ago.


FULL- BACKS

CERTAINTIES: Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Stephen O'Donnell

PROBABLES: Liam Palmer

MAYBES: Greg Taylor

LONG SHOTS: Paul McGinn


Aaron Hickey would have been an intriguing wild card option had he not wrecked his shoulder recently. Tierney is listed here but if Robertson is fit he will start as a left-sided centre-back; that could lead Clarke to pick Taylor as 'backup left-back' but personally I think that would be overkill. Right-wing back continues to be an area of weakness. Ryan Fraser started there against the Faroes but using him in that role against quality opposition would be more cavalier than we would expect from Clarke. Would James Forrest, who has played that role more often at club level, be an alternative? More likely the boss sticks with his beloved O'Donnell who rarely impresses but also rarely lets Scotland down. Palmer is likely to come along as the backup, though could be a casualty in order to fit in a more versatile player like Callum Paterson.


CENTRE-BACKS

CERTAINTIES: Grant Hanley, Scott McTominay

PROBABLES: Scott McKenna, Liam Cooper, Jack Hendry

MAYBES: Declan Gallagher

LONG SHOTS: Andrew Considine, Paul Hanlon, Ryan Porteous


This is the position I've reshuffled most since the last time I did this exercise. Gallagher has dropped all the way from 'certainty' to 'maybe'. He hasn't started a club game since the end of January and that's come at the worst possible time for his international aspirations. Clarke seems to like a powerful guy who's good in the air in the centre of his back three and Grant Hanley looks very much like the first choice in that role right now, with McKenna probably the second. Is it really necessary to take Gallagher as well? Tierney and Liam Cooper would sort out the left-sided role, which would leave team mascot-extraordinaire Considine on the sideline. Given he started two of the recent qualifiers, one would have to assume Hendry is very much in the equation, though he'd be a sub if McTominay plays in defence rather than midfield.


MIDFIELDERS

CERTAINTIES: John McGinn, Callum McGregor, Ryan Jack, Kenny McLean

PROBABLES: John Fleck

MAYBES: David Turnbull

LONG SHOTS: Billy Gilmour


Jack dropped out of the recent games because of injury, and Scotland seemed to particularly miss him against Israel. I would still expect him to start alongside McGregor and McGinn in midfield for the opening Euros game. McLean played well against the Faroes. Fleck's club form has improved considerably over the last few months and he is the closest we have to a direct replacement for McGregor. Turnbull is unlucky that this area is a relative strength for Scotland but a strong finish to the campaign could yet swing things in his favour.


ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS/WINGERS

CERTAINTIES: Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie, Ryan Fraser

PROBABLES: James Forrest

MAYBES:

LONG SHOTS: Ryan Gauld


If Forrest can get in half a dozen matches for Celtic between now and the end of the season then he's too good to leave out. The other three are sure picks, though it's still not clear how to get the best out of Armstrong in the current system. For all the plaudits Gauld is getting for his performances in Portugal, he's still not getting picked for his country.


FORWARDS

CERTAINTIES: Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes

PROBABLES: Oli McBurnie

MAYBES: Kevin Nisbet, Leigh Griffiths

LONG SHOTS: Oli Burke, Callum Paterson, Lawrence Shankland


Adams quickly showed that he is by some distance our most talented forward. Dykes is still the target man of choice, but he was better at doing the defensive work than providing a goal threat in the recent qualifiers. Clarke continues to show faith in McBurnie, but the Sheffield United man is utterly bereft of confidence. If I were the manager I would be thinking about which forwards I would want to have on my bench if I needed a goal late in the game; for that reason alone I think Griffiths should be picked but Nisbet seems to be ahead of him in the queue. Burke, Paterson and Shankland have work to do after missing out on the last squad.



Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.