Scottish players in action 19/20

[mccaughey85]

10 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

Yeah, I wasn’t judging solely on value, as like you say, the English Premiership tends to spend ridiculous amounts of money on players.

I was judging on Sheffield United’s unbelievable season, and the large amount of those games that McBurnie has played in, that his signing has clearly been a success.

 

7 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

I don’t believe that the last two Scotland games are the most relevant factor in team selection, given that they were months and months ago. I think current club form is more relevant. You think recent Scotland form is more relevant. Both equally valid, although different, viewpoints, surely?

Sheffield United are having a great season but mcburnie has scored 4 goals in all comps albeit he's been a sub in alot of games. Hardly a stellar season. 

I think that how you play for Scotland is a good indicator of wether you should get picked again. I do agree that recent club form should be taken into consideration as well but I think that Naismith played well enough in the last two games and mcburnie has played so poor in all of his games that I would place more importance on that. Also Mcburnie has hardly been in amazing club form but tbf he is playing at a high level.

As I have said I ain't no mcburnie hater but I wouldnt start him in these upcoming qualifiers and I would much rather Griff or Naismith regardless of how much mcburnie cost or him playing epl football.

[mccaughey85]

21 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

Sorry, I should have been clearer. 10 games is not irrelevant, but it’s a much smaller sample size than the many successful games he has had for Swansea and Sheffield United. Those 70 games or whatever carry more weight than 10 games, as it’s a larger sample size.

You are suggesting he played well in those other 70 games. Did you watch those games. I can't watch all of mcburnies games same way I can't watch all of Burke's or McKenna's games. If a player is terrible in 10 or so games I watch then I am going to form an opinion that he's not very good. Are you telling me I have happened to catch all of mcburnies bad games, lol what are the chances of that. As I said many times I am willing to keep mcburnie in the squad and I accept that he is a good goalscorer at championship level and i am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he will maybe come good in a Scotland jersey but I would much rather Griff or naismith start in the near future. If mcburnie can keep on playing epl football and then play well in some future friendlies for us then he will secure the strikers spot.

[Texas Pete]

25 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

Lol I don't give a shit what those fans think, I base my opinions on actually watching a player and hes been terrible every time I watched him. 

McBurnie is a strange one. He certainly hasn’t impressed in a Scotland jersey but I’ve seen him have a couple of very good performances for Sheffield Utd this season and he obviously had a very good season in the championship last year. He isn’t exactly banging the goals in though.

I don’t think he’s particularly suited to playing the lone striker role and would benefit from a partner up front. Clarke is unlikely to play a 3-5-2 or 4-4-2.

I think Griffiths will start against Israel if he  makes himself available. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Callum Paterson in the squad as a striker if he continues his form for Cardiff. 

[dohadeer]

22 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

 

Sheffield United are having a great season but mcburnie has scored 4 goals in all comps albeit he's been a sub in alot of games. Hardly a stellar season. 

I think that how you play for Scotland is a good indicator of wether you should get picked again. I do agree that recent club form should be taken into consideration as well but I think that Naismith played well enough in the last two games and mcburnie has played so poor in all of his games that I would place more importance on that. Also Mcburnie has hardly been in amazing club form but tbf he is playing at a high level.

As I have said I ain't no mcburnie hater but I wouldnt start him in these upcoming qualifiers and I would much rather Griff or Naismith regardless of how much mcburnie cost or him playing epl football.

Probably an easy viewpoint to shoot down, but if I’m judging a striker who is playing for Sheffield United, or Scotland, I wouldn’t be basing much of my judgement on the number of goals they score. Sheffield United have had a ridiculously successful season (by their expectations), the goals are coming from wherever on the pitch they need them, and McBurnie is keeping a fairly regular place in that team. So I assume he is having a good season, if we give him the reasonable benefit of looking past more than just one statistic.

Again, our viewpoints clearly differ here, but for me it would be crazy to select a Hearts striker over a Sheffield United striker, given what the two teams are currently achieving. The difference in the levels that those two clubs are currently playing at is staggering.

[dohadeer]

18 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

You are suggesting he played well in those other 70 games. Did you watch those games. I can't watch all of mcburnies games same way I can't watch all of Burke's or McKenna's games. If a player is terrible in 10 or so games I watch then I am going to form an opinion that he's not very good. Are you telling me I have happened to catch all of mcburnies bad games, lol what are the chances of that. As I said many times I am willing to keep mcburnie in the squad and I accept that he is a good goalscorer at championship level and i am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he will maybe come good in a Scotland jersey but I would much rather Griff or naismith start in the near future. If mcburnie can keep on playing epl football and then play well in some future friendlies for us then he will secure the strikers spot.

There is a clear discrepancy between McBurnie’s club performances and international performances.

For me, it comes down to, which is more likely:

A good player, who happens to have had up to 9 poor performances for Scotland (as claimed by people on here.)

OR

A poor player, who has managed to fluke being top scorer in the English Championship, conned the Sheffield United scouts into a £20 million transfer, and managed to hide how poor he is, and play regularly for them, as they’ve competed at the same level as Chelsea, Tottenham, Man United and Arsenal, for two thirds of a season.

I know which one of those scenarios seems more likely to me. I’m not arrogant or self-centered enough to think ‘Every time I’ve seen him, he’s been poor, so he must be a poor player and the Sheffield United staff are wrong about him.’ I’m only going on weight of evidence here.

[mccaughey85]

12 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

Probably an easy viewpoint to shoot down, but if I’m judging a striker who is playing for Sheffield United, or Scotland, I wouldn’t be basing much of my judgement on the number of goals they score. Sheffield United have had a ridiculously successful season (by their expectations), the goals are coming from wherever on the pitch they need them, and McBurnie is keeping a fairly regular place in that team. So I assume he is having a good season, if we give him the reasonable benefit of looking past more than just one statistic.

Again, our viewpoints clearly differ here, but for me it would be crazy to select a Hearts striker over a Sheffield United striker, given what the two teams are currently achieving. The difference in the levels that those two clubs are currently playing at is staggering.

So you would start mcburnie as long as he's getting game time at Sheffield United even if plays terrible every time you start him. 

[mccaughey85]

6 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

There is a clear discrepancy between McBurnie’s club performances and international performances.

For me, it comes down to, which is more likely:

A good player, who happens to have had up to 9 poor performances for Scotland (as claimed by people on here.)

OR

A poor player, who has managed to fluke being top scorer in the English Championship, conned the Sheffield United scouts into a £20 million transfer, and managed to hide how poor he is, and play regularly for them, as they’ve competed at the same level as Chelsea, Tottenham, Man United and Arsenal, for two thirds of a season.

I know which one of those scenarios seems more likely to me. I’m not arrogant or self-centered enough to think ‘Every time I’ve seen him, he’s been poor, so he must be a poor player and the Sheffield United staff are wrong about him.’ I’m only going on weight of evidence here.

He wasn't the top scorer in the championship, he was 5 or 6th I think. Epl clubs have more money than sense and end up paying stupid money for players, just look at how much west brom paid for Burke or how much che Adams went to saints for. He's also not been amazing this season, he's scored 4 goals in total. 

Apart from all this the most relevant point is that he's been brutally bad for Scotland. Do you just keep playing a player who plays poorly for Scotland just because he's playing in the epl?

[dohadeer]

3 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

So you would start mcburnie as long as he's getting game time at Sheffield United even if plays terrible every time you start him. 

We hardly have any striking options. Griffiths is the only one who even comes close to challenging McBurnie. We’ve been crying out for years for an attacker of McBurnie’s quality. 

So, yeah, it would take a lot more than 9 poor international games - if that’s even accurate - for me to think he should be dropped (assuming he is still proving at club level that he is a good player.)

I wouldn’t even consider a current Hearts attacker as an option, while we had a current Sheffield United attacker, due to the difference in current success levels of those teams.

Yeah, I would judge him on club form over international form. I don’t know off the top of my head who all McBurnie’a caps were against, or how many minutes he played - I will probably research it now - but his Scotland career has started at the time when Scotland have been just about the weakest they have ever been. I’m not going to judge him too harshly for that over 9 caps. I’m going to assume given his club credentials that he is a decent player, and give him time to grow into a decent player for us too.

As discussed elsewhere, Northern Ireland and Wales, who have both punched well above their weight in recent years, have an abundance of players with over 50 caps. We have one, who scrapes in with 51. We have to be patient enough to let young players grow and develop into international football - especially £20 million strikers, as we won’t find one of those anywhere else. We’re not in a position to ditch a £20 million striker after 9 games. We have to persist and be patient.

[dohadeer]

9 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

He wasn't the top scorer in the championship, he was 5 or 6th I think. Epl clubs have more money than sense and end up paying stupid money for players, just look at how much west brom paid for Burke or how much che Adams went to saints for. He's also not been amazing this season, he's scored 4 goals in total. 

Apart from all this the most relevant point is that he's been brutally bad for Scotland. Do you just keep playing a player who plays poorly for Scotland just because he's playing in the epl?

Sorry, I was under the impression he was top scorer, when Sheffield United signed him. Don’t know where I got that from. Sorry for stating that completely incorrect information.

22 goals apparently, which is still a very successful season, in a very competitive league.

[mccaughey85]

11 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

We hardly have any striking options. Griffiths is the only one who even comes close to challenging McBurnie. We’ve been crying out for years for an attacker of McBurnie’s quality. 

So, yeah, it would take a lot more than 9 poor international games - if that’s even accurate - for me to think he should be dropped (assuming he is still proving at club level that he is a good player.)

I wouldn’t even consider a current Hearts attacker as an option, while we had a current Sheffield United attacker, due to the difference in current success levels of those teams.

Yeah, I would judge him on club form over international form. I don’t know off the top of my head who all McBurnie’a caps were against, or how many minutes he played - I will probably research it now - but his Scotland career has started at the time when Scotland have been just about the weakest they have ever been. I’m not going to judge him too harshly for that over 9 caps. I’m going to assume given his club credentials that he is a decent player, and give him time to grow into a decent player for us too.

As discussed elsewhere, Northern Ireland and Wales, who have both punched well above their weight in recent years, have an abundance of players with over 50 caps. We have one, who scrapes in with 51. We have to be patient enough to let young players grow and develop into international football - especially £20 million strikers, as we won’t find one of those anywhere else. We’re not in a position to ditch a £20 million striker after 9 games. We have to persist and be patient.

But he's not quality, every club game I have watched mcburnie has been terrible. I am also taking into consideration his terrible u21 performances as well which I am pretty sure we're against minnows or opposition that Scotland could beat. He's scored 4 goals this season so he's hardly tearing the epl up. 

As I said he should always be in our squad and I haven't said we should ditch him as we don't have a great deal of striking options playing at a high level but due to Naismith playing well in the last two games and mcburnie being terrible in a Scotland shirt then I would have to go with Naismith which is what Clarke has done in the last two games in which we won and played reasonably well. Do you think Clarke cares how much mcburnie cost, perhaps he should start Burke over forest based on Burke being bought for 15m. 

[dohadeer]

10 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

But he's not quality, every club game I have watched mcburnie has been terrible. I am also taking into consideration his terrible u21 performances as well which I am pretty sure we're against minnows or opposition that Scotland could beat. He's scored 4 goals this season so he's hardly tearing the epl up. 

As I said he should always be in our squad and I haven't said we should ditch him as we don't have a great deal of striking options playing at a high level but due to Naismith playing well in the last two games and mcburnie being terrible in a Scotland shirt then I would have to go with Naismith which is what Clarke has done in the last two games in which we won and played reasonably well. Do you think Clarke cares how much mcburnie cost, perhaps he should start Burke over forest based on Burke being bought for 15m. 

What relevance do his performances in the specific games you have watched have? I’m not seeing how that’s relevant.

Edited February 16, 2020 by dohadeer

[mccaughey85]

2 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

What relevance do his performances in the specific games you have watched have? I’m not seeing how that’s relevant.

Really? How else do I form an opinion about a player. 

Why do you think Clarke started Naismith over mcburnie in the last two games? Genuine question. 

Also who do you think Clarke will start up front in our play off game and why?

[csinclair]

I've watched a handful of Sheff Utd games this season and whilst he'd only scored 4 goals, McBurnie has been involved in the build up of more and tbh he's been unlucky not to score more himself. He's also been impressive at helping defend set pieces. 
I'd still prefer Griff up top against Israel but McBurnie has definitely earned a squad place and tbh I do think there are some people on here who would still call him shite if he got the winning goals in the next 2 games and took us to the Euros with Man of the Match displays.

[mccaughey85]

5 minutes ago, csinclair said:

I've watched a handful of Sheff Utd games this season and whilst he'd only scored 4 goals, McBurnie has been involved in the build up of more and tbh he's been unlucky not to score more himself. He's also been impressive at helping defend set pieces. 
I'd still prefer Griff up top against Israel but McBurnie has definitely earned a squad place and tbh I do think there are some people on here who would still call him shite if he got the winning goals in the next 2 games and took us to the Euros with Man of the Match displays.

I would love mcburnie to score the goals that take us to the euros. I honestly have nothing personal against him.

[dohadeer]

2 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

Really? How else do I form an opinion about a player. 

Why do you think Clarke started Naismith over mcburnie in the last two games? Genuine question. 

Also who do you think Clarke will start up front in our play off game and why?

Presumably, you are intelligent enough to form an opinion based on how his career is going?

It wouldn’t be possible for a player as poor as you describe to be in the position he finds himself in. He would have been found out long before now. Sheffield United wouldn’t be sitting sixth in the English Premiership, if Oli McBurnie was the dud that you claim. Oli McBurnie wouldn’t have scored 22 goals in a Championship season, and caused a small club to spend huge money on him if he was the dud that you claim.

You must know, because you seem intelligent, that the amount of scouting that would be done, for a team like Sheffield United to spend £20 million on a player, would involve far more camera angles, analysis and matches, than the number of games you’ve watched him play and would be carried out by people with far more football knowledge than you? You don’t seriously believe that the Sheffield United staff have got this wrong, and you know better than they do about Oli McBurnie? Surely their league position proves them right on that one. They are probably having the most successful season in the whole of Europe (perhaps along with Liverpool) in terms of how far they are punching above expectations.

If I was to judge Oli McBurnie only on matches that I’ve seen, I would have a similar opinion of him as you do. However, surely we are both intelligent enough to take other evidence into account, and also to know that the Sheffield United staff know far, far more about it than we do?

 

I don’t know why Clarke chose Naismith over McBurnie. It could have been a 51/49 decision, it could have been one reason, it could have been a hundred.

I think that he will start McBurnie in our playoff games, due to the successful season he is having at the top end of the English Premiership. However, I trust that Steve Clarke is the best man to make the decision, and will be basing it on far more insight than you or I could possibly have, so if he goes with somebody else, then I’m happy with that decision.

[mccaughey85]

11 hours ago, dohadeer said:

Presumably, you are intelligent enough to form an opinion based on how his career is going?

It wouldn’t be possible for a player as poor as you describe to be in the position he finds himself in. He would have been found out long before now. Sheffield United wouldn’t be sitting sixth in the English Premiership, if Oli McBurnie was the dud that you claim. Oli McBurnie wouldn’t have scored 22 goals in a Championship season, and caused a small club to spend huge money on him if he was the dud that you claim.

You must know, because you seem intelligent, that the amount of scouting that would be done, for a team like Sheffield United to spend £20 million on a player, would involve far more camera angles, analysis and matches, than the number of games you’ve watched him play and would be carried out by people with far more football knowledge than you? You don’t seriously believe that the Sheffield United staff have got this wrong, and you know better than they do about Oli McBurnie? Surely their league position proves them right on that one. They are probably having the most successful season in the whole of Europe (perhaps along with Liverpool) in terms of how far they are punching above expectations.

If I was to judge Oli McBurnie only on matches that I’ve seen, I would have a similar opinion of him as you do. However, surely we are both intelligent enough to take other evidence into account, and also to know that the Sheffield United staff know far, far more about it than we do?

 

I don’t know why Clarke chose Naismith over McBurnie. It could have been a 51/49 decision, it could have been one reason, it could have been a hundred.

I think that he will start McBurnie in our playoff games, due to the successful season he is having at the top end of the English Premiership. However, I trust that Steve Clarke is the best man to make the decision, and will be basing it on far more insight than you or I could possibly have, so if he goes with somebody else, then I’m happy with that decision.

I understand that Sheffield United will have studied him alot before splashing 20m on him but they can still be capable of mistakes and picking wrong players. This happens all the time and English football has ridiculous amounts of money that they can afford to sign average players for 20m. Why has Clarke not started this 20m star in our last two games or most of the games he's been incharge. Surely Clarke knows more about football than you or I. Fact is Clarke can't afford the persevere with a player who has been so terrible in a Scotland shirt. Clarke has seen what 90 percent of us have seen from mcburnie and that's a guy who can't control a ball or do the basics required.

Oli mcburnie hasnt played a huge part in Sheffield uniteds success this season, it's mostly been a team effort with from the guys who start every week. 

Now to be fair I understand that the guy might have just been shite in the games I watched and he is capable of scoring at championship level so I am willing to keep him in the squad and let play in friendlies or come off the bench in certain matches. He deserves a chance to prove himself due to him playing at a high level but the fact is I  very much doubt he will start in our play off game. This is down to him being absolute drivel in the game time Clarke has given him whereas Naismith has been relatively good in the last two games. Money has zero relevance to Clarke and thankfully we have a manager who will play players who play well as opposed to guys who happen to get bought for big money in a league where teams can afford to splash stupid money on average players.

I will be shocked if mcburnie starts for us in our upcoming Israel match. I think he will go with Griffiths or Naismith.

 

[Super_Scotlandfan]

Grant Hanley given Norwich’s player of the month award. 
Realise they’re bottom of the league but it’s still a positive. 
He’s obviously playing relatively well against the level of strikers we’ll be playing in the play offs. 
He’d be my first choice centre back but I’m not sure if Clarke is going to drop either McKenna or Gallagher. 

[mccaughey85]

3 minutes ago, Super_Scotlandfan said:

Grant Hanley given Norwich’s player of the month award. 
Realise they’re bottom of the league but it’s still a positive. 
He’s obviously playing relatively well against the level of strikers we’ll be playing in the play offs. 
He’d be my first choice centre back but I’m not sure if Clarke is going to drop either McKenna or Gallagher. 

It would be good if another epl team bought Hanley when Norwich go down. He's looked decent in his games for Norwich so he would be worth calling up for future squads.

[Texas Pete]

2 minutes ago, Super_Scotlandfan said:

Grant Hanley given Norwich’s player of the month award. 
Realise they’re bottom of the league but it’s still a positive. 
He’s obviously playing relatively well against the level of strikers we’ll be playing in the play offs. 
He’d be my first choice centre back but I’m not sure if Clarke is going to drop either McKenna or Gallagher. 

I thought he was very good against Liverpool (albeit Liverpool were quite poor by their standards).

I'm not sure why people are so down on him. He's not exactly Van Dijk but he's about the best we've got at the moment.

[mccaughey85]

4 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

I thought he was very good against Liverpool (albeit Liverpool were quite poor by their standards).

I'm not sure why people are so down on him. He's not exactly Van Dijk but he's about the best we've got at the moment.

I think the guy deserves another chance, he was relatively young when he was playing for Scotland and he has played reasonably well for Norwich. He's no worse than our other cb options.

[Super_Scotlandfan]

3 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

I think the guy deserves another chance, he was relatively young when he was playing for Scotland and he has played reasonably well for Norwich. He's no worse than our other cb options.

Yeah if Norwich had signed McKenna in January I can’t imagine him playing ahead of Hanley. That goes for any Scottish centre back playing in the SPFL, they’re not quite good enough yet. 
 
Who he plays with is a good debate though. 

[dohadeer]

1 hour ago, mccaughey85 said:

I understand that Sheffield United will have studied him alot before splashing 20m on him but they can still be capable of mistakes and picking wrong players. This happens all the time and English football has ridiculous amounts of money that they can afford to sign average players for 20m. Why has Clarke not started this 20m star in our last two games or most of the games he's been incharge. Surely Clarke knows more about football than you or I. Fact is Clarke can't afford the persevere with a player who has been so terrible in a Scotland shirt. Clarke has seen what 90 percent of us have seen from mcburnie and that's a guy who can't control a ball or do the basics required.

Oli mcburnie hasnt played a huge part in Sheffield uniteds success this season, it's mostly been a team effort with from the guys who start every week. 

Now to be fair I understand that the guy might have just been shite in the games I watched and he is capable of scoring at championship level so I am willing to keep him in the squad and let play in friendlies or come off the bench in certain matches. He deserves a chance to prove himself due to him playing at a high level but the fact is I  very much doubt he will start in our play off game. This is down to him being absolute drivel in the game time Clarke has given him whereas Naismith has been relatively good in the last two games. Money has zero relevance to Clarke and thankfully we have a manager who will play players who play well as opposed to guys who happen to get bought for big money in a league where teams can afford to splash stupid money on average players.

I will be shocked if mcburnie starts for us in our upcoming Israel match. I think he will go with Griffiths or Naismith.

 

A quick check shows that McBurnie has played 459 minutes for Scotland. I’m not the type of person who would judge someone on 459 minutes of football, rather than their whole career.

 

You’re making a ridiculous leap from ‘I’ve seen him mis-control the ball,’ to ‘a guy who can’t control a ball.’

Going by your previous posts, I guess that you’ll insist that every time you’ve seen him, he’s been unable to control the ball, but even if that were true, you’re being disingenuous. You know the same as me, that there’s no way that a 12-year-old would be on the books at an English Premiership side, if they couldn’t control the ball, let alone a professional in the first team squad.

Edited February 17, 2020 by dohadeer

[Texas Pete]

3 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

A quick check shows that McBurnie has played 459 minutes for Scotland. I’m not the type of person who would judge someone on 459 minutes of football, rather than their whole career.

 

You’re making a ridiculous leap from ‘I’ve seen him mis-control the ball,’ to ‘a guy who can’t control a ball.’

Going by your previous posts, I guess that you’ll insist that every time you’ve seen him, he’s been unable to control the ball, but even if that were true, you’re being disingenuous. You know the same as me, that there’s no way that a 12-year-old would be on the books at an English Premiership side, if they couldn’t control the ball, let alone a professional in the first team squad.

I think a lot of people have taken against McBurnie because of his inconclusive banter with John Fleck and are not willing to give him another chance to prove himself in a Scotland jersey (I'm not suggesting this is the case with @mccaughey85 ) but luckily it will be Steve Clarke that picks the team and nobody on this board. 

TBH though I think Griffiths will start against Israel and I wouldn't be surprised in Steven Fletcher wants to be involved again all of a sudden. I do think McBurnie will be a big player for us for the next few years though as we don't exactly have a lot of young strikers coming through that are playing at his level.

[vanderark14]

13 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

I think a lot of people have taken against McBurnie because of his inconclusive banter with John Fleck and are not willing to give him another chance to prove himself in a Scotland jersey (I'm not suggesting this is the case with @mccaughey85 ) but luckily it will be Steve Clarke that picks the team and nobody on this board. 

TBH though I think Griffiths will start against Israel and I wouldn't be surprised in Steven Fletcher wants to be involved again all of a sudden. I do think McBurnie will be a big player for us for the next few years though as we don't exactly have a lot of young strikers coming through that are playing at his level.

 I agree, griffiths being back will push him to the top of the queue. 

It might be harsh on naismith but if i had to pick one of those to put a chance away, id pick griffiths. He needs proper support though, christie, mcginn , armstrong and fraser behind him would be perfect

Fletcher would divide opinion, personally.i dont think he should be considered. It would be great if he was on form and committed to scotland but he clearlynisnt committed.

[mccaughey85]

19 minutes ago, dohadeer said:

A quick check shows that McBurnie has played 459 minutes for Scotland. I’m not the type of person who would judge someone on 459 minutes of football, rather than their whole career.

 

You’re making a ridiculous leap from ‘I’ve seen him mis-control the ball,’ to ‘a guy who can’t control a ball.’

Going by your previous posts, I guess that you’ll insist that every time you’ve seen him, he’s been unable to control the ball, but even if that were true, you’re being disingenuous. You know the same as me, that there’s no way that a 12-year-old would be on the books at an English Premiership side, if they couldn’t control the ball, let alone a professional in the first team squad.

I am not basing my opinion just on his Scotland senior performances. I watched a fair few of his performances when he got on for Swansea in the epl. I also watched him for Scotland u21s as well. I am not suggesting that he never ever controlled a ball but I genuinely was left wondering how a guy whos touch was so poor 60 percent of the time could possibly get to the level he has. Now fair enough I actually have been impressed with some of his goals for Barnsley and Swansea when he was in the championship so I do believe there is maybe a player in there somewhere and we should persevere with him by giving some more opportunities in the future but his performances for Scotland have been that poor that he wouldn't be a starter if I was picking the side for this upcoming match/matches.

I guess the main thing we disagree on is wether he should start in our play off games. I respect your opinion that you think mcburnie should start but I personally would much rather Naismith or griffiths.