British Players That Should Have Done So Much More With Their Natural Talent - Football related - Discussion of non TA football - Tartan Army Message Board Jump to content

British Players That Should Have Done So Much More With Their Natural Talent


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Thought best do a UK one as there a few posters from "Doon South"

Only picking 5 as there have been countless others over the years.

Charlie Nicholas

Andy Ritchie (The Morton One)

Stan Collymore

George Connelly (My Old Man Raved About Him & He Was A Rangers Fan)

Lee Sharpe 

 

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30 minutes ago, Terry Munro said:

Paul Gascoigne is the one that springs to mind. 

 

That's a really interesting take on it. I tend to agree with you too. If it wasn't for the injury and the problems he had you wonder how good he could have been. 

I'd go for Paolo Di Canio. One of the most gifted and watchable players I've seen in the flesh. 

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I remember seeing Adam Strachan at 19 years old for Partick Thistle in the flesh and I was astonished at how quick he was.

He had everything, he was as quick as they come, he could beat his man and he wasn't a bad defender, either.

He should've had a career akin to Andy Robertson, as he had the same attributes, but he just went off the rails.

I remember reading an article he did in the Daily Record and he said that he didn't blame anyone but himself for the career implosion, but he would've welcomed a life coach, as well as football coaches. It's an interesting point. Look at the amount of kids that we've had that have went off the rails: Feruz, O'Connor, Riordan, Cummings, even going back to likes of Andy McLaren and Charlie Miller, etc.

Maybe our clubs should bring in life coaches/therapists.  If it's good enough for the likes of Ronny O'Sullivan, etc, it's good enough for our young sportsmen and women.

Edited by The_Dark_Knight
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Jim Baxter - Before my time but past it by 28 then retiring at 30

Charlie Nicholas - If he had joined Liverpool or Man U he would likely have been one of the greats

Derek Ferguson - a waster

Paul McStay - Should have left Celtic around 1990

 

 

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Kris Boyd - If he had worked harder on the pitch, kept in better shape and had more ambition then he could have played for a top European side.

Derek Riordan and Gary O'Connor - If these two living examples of a stereotypical ned had so much as an ounce of brain matter between them they could both have had amazing careers. The sad thing is I don't think either of them even care.

Tony Watt - Another wee ned who thought he had made it and didn't need to bother anymore.

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5 hours ago, RenfrewBlue said:

That's a really interesting take on it. I tend to agree with you too. If it wasn't for the injury and the problems he had you wonder how good he could have been. 

I'd go for Paolo Di Canio. One of the most gifted and watchable players I've seen in the flesh. 

British?

 

 

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1 hour ago, sbcmfc said:

Paul Slane

I actually listed him initially, but edited it. Mostly because I read an article where he said that when he joined Celtic it was one injury after another and that he never had a sustained period of fitness.

I wouldn't list anyone who was blighted by injury, even if it was self-inflicted.

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13 minutes ago, RenfrewBlue said:

How about John Fleck then? Definitely failed to fulfil his early potential. 

 

Or his potential was massively overplayed by folk desperate for the next old firm wonderkid...

He seems to be doing not too bad in England, I’d say he’s at about the right level just now, remains to be seen if he can go higher and compete in EPL?

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12 minutes ago, sbcmfc said:

Or his potential was massively overplayed by folk desperate for the next old firm wonderkid...

He seems to be doing not too bad in England, I’d say he’s at about the right level just now, remains to be seen if he can go higher and compete in EPL?

It's probably somewhere between over hyped and stand out talent. 

He was certainly the best young player in the country and should have been able to get into the Rangers first team. 

He's taken along time to get where he is now. 

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5 hours ago, Toepoke said:

Robin Friday...

super-furry-animals-the-man-dont-give-a-

There's some great stories about this guy. Apparently he'd spend the pre-matches, when at Reading, in the Spread Eagle pub, over the road from Elm Park (Reading's ground at the time), before the game and would be put in a freezing shower to sober him up. Once the game had finished, he'd walk straight through the changing room and back to the pub. 🤣

He also once kicked Mark Lawrenson in the face in the middle of a game - something I want to do every time he appears on TV.

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4 hours ago, Clyde1998 said:

He also once kicked Mark Lawrenson in the face in the middle of a game - something I want to do every time he appears on TV.

For which he was sent off and immediately left the stadium, but not before breaking into the opposition dressing room and taking a dump in Lawrenson's kit bag!

 

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