What Is "a Natural Goal Scorer"?

[Tontospal 1,116]

It is a good question.

McCoist, Negri and Boyd (1st spell) are probably the most natural goalscorers we have had in the last 30 years. We've had plenty of players who have chipped in their share of goals but these 3 players were expected to score every game they played and at times they didn't disappoint.

Waghorn's return of goals and effort have been fantastic and whilst he has scored some great goals the others were great goalscorers.

[NeoGeo7 11,285]

Well he stopped scoring when he went down to one eye

Hahaha, nice one.....always remember him having a shot without even looking up, think the whole porrini incident messed his head up not just his eye.

Correct, but would you swap him for waggy who is not a "natural " goal scorer

I'd sooner have waghorn in the team. It's easy to think a goal scorer would be the better choice but waghorn can create as well as finish. He contributes much more to the team than a goal scorer does.

[KeyserSoze 15,281]

Waghorn's return of goals and effort have been fantastic and whilst he has scored some great goals the others were great goalscorers.

I never thought of it like that - however I think Waggy may just join the others as a great goal scorer. ?

[hammer93 15,484]

Negri......that guy could have scored blindfolded in the first 6 months.

why did we not play him when his eye got fucked then lol

[gmcf 35,411]

They can still work hard, for me it's someone who finishes instinctively, often in one or two touches. They don't hesitate, they don't pause long enough to get nervous.

Think I'd agree with this , though I'd add it's someone who also instinctively knows where to be at the right time . It's a sense that you either have or don't , like McCoist or Boyd. Not sure if Waghorn has it , though he makes up for that in other ways .

[KeyserSoze 15,281]

Think I'd agree with this , though I'd add it's someone who also instinctively knows where to be at the right time . It's a sense that you either have or don't , like McCoist or Boyd. Not sure if Waghorn has it , though he makes up for that in other ways .

I think I would agree too - but why would you need someone like this if your goals are coming from all over the park? To accommodate this type of player we would need to change our system I think.

[KeyserSoze 15,281]

why did we not play him when his eye got fucked then lol

He never lost an eye it was just badly injured. I think he chucked it when he fell out with porinni over it. Either that or big Amo pumped his bird. Although I might have made the last bit up

[Prso is King 64]

We don't need a poacher. We need someone who will get involved in general play with good technique.

[gmcf 35,411]

I think I would agree too - but why would you need someone like this if your goals are coming from all over the park? To accommodate this type of player we would need to change our system I think.

Yeah i think it would . I do sometimes think we are a wee bit light in the box when a cross comes in , but the price of putting someone in there ( ie a Boyd or a McCoist ) would mean us lighter in midfield and the chance may not have been made in the first place. I suppose it's the choice of the devil or the deep blue sea .

By the way , I'm not advocating MW changes his style , because it's a system he knows and works with , and is working out for us.

[KeyserSoze 15,281]

Yeah i think it would . I do sometimes think we are a wee bit light in the box when a cross comes in , but the price of putting someone in there ( ie a Boyd or a McCoist ) would mean us lighter in midfield and the chance may not have been made in the first place. I suppose it's the choice of the devil or the deep blue sea .

By the way , I'm not advocating MW changes his style , because it's a system he knows and works with , and is working out for us.

[The No.9 763]

A natural goal scorer is like everyone has said a mccoist archetype.

Regarding our system and speaking of past players.

I honestly don't know how no one else ever mentions how well a mark hateley type player in the middle of our front 3 would work the best - pace , power , goals from the ground and in the air

[markem 7,407]

Instinctively knows where and when the opportunity is an takes it more often than not. Cleary it's about finishing however it's the knack of turning up in the right place that's separates them.

That's a natural goal scorer for me.

[TonyRice1872 105]

I think just having the eye for goal and ability to finish when you want like Waghorn & Tavernier, to an extent Waldo too, And Holt makes you a natural goal scorer

Finding the right positions comes into it and they always do, having a good finish helps and they all do, I think that being more hungry for goals perhaps comes into it too

All of them have great composure too

To look at world class football my perfect examples of natural goalscorers would be players like Muller, Lewandowski, Aguero, Ronaldo, Messi, Suarez

[Smile 26,624]

Somebody like say Mccoist who had an ability to make space and find areas in the box to score from.

[Smile 26,624]

A natural goal scorer is like everyone has said a mccoist archetype.

Regarding our system and speaking of past players.

I honestly don't know how no one else ever mentions how well a mark hateley type player in the middle of our front 3 would work the best - pace , power , goals from the ground and in the air

The problem now is if when we/clubs have a good big player we automatically make him into a defender.

[The No.9 763]

Haha aye that's true mate it's a shame

[miracle 7,852]

It boils my piss when folk bump their gums about needing an 'out and out striker' when we're +42 to the good in the league.

The days of the poacher dropping the shoulder and unpicking the defence are long gone. Any tactically aware team knows how to deal with that.

Our system requires a strong forward who will hold up the ball, bring others into play and is comfortable with the ball at his feet. To that end, give me 1 Martyn Waghorn over 10 Kris Boyd's any day.

[Briton 394]

Gerd Muller was the epitome of the natural goalscorer. Not that that helped him when he played against Rangers of course.

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,700]

Adam Armstrong could be a good fit for the "natural striker" role for us then.

[Bobby Hume 13,873]

A "Natural" goal scorer is one who takes most of his chances with accurate coolness, from a half or clear chance, whether he is under pressure or not, in all games, but especially in important games when the difference is the league or the cup, I sight Ally McCoist in this category.

We have had many who fall under this category, all of them as different as snowflakes, but with the one attribute, to be able to find the target with seeming ease on a very regular basis.

Negri and Mols (to name two of our recent players), fall into the category of "Natural" goal scorers.

Jimmy Millar's (one of our finest "Naturals") predecessor Jim Forrest, was a "Natural" also, able to seemingly score at will, and had he not been one of the Berwick scapegoats, had the natural talent to put Ally McCoist's goal scoring record well into second place.

Boyd was also a great goal scorer, but you have to wonder why he was never on target in important league, cup and European games, possibly because of the manager at that time's tactics , and not being able to work on his own up front, we will all have our own reasons, but he was also a "Natural" deserving of the title in his own way.

I could go on, and wax lyrical about Derek Johstone, Colin Stein, Derek Parlane, and all the other greats I have witnessed, but the narrative would be similar as they were all examples of "Natural" goal scorers.

Waghorn is an example of a "Budding Natural", is a great worker, and has an eye for goal, and is cool when converting penalties (± 8 this season?), but does not yet fall under the "Full Natural" tag in my mind, as he has squandered many more chances than he has converted, but hopefully he will prove me incorrect in my opinion in time.

This does not take away his contribution or reduce his importance to the team, just an honest personal assessment of the player, as in many situations, had he passed to someone in a better position to score, his game would double in worth, and if this were to happen he would probably be worth more than an outright "Natural scorer", and our system allows for this as we have more than a few "Non Naturals" who can convert, as shown by the current goal tally, and the different scorers the team has at it's disposal.

So If he can do this consistently ...... he may well become "More than a Natural" ..... Naturally.

The best "Natural" goal scorer I have ever seen was Pele (unfortunately only once live against Scotland, the fortunate many times on TV), but he was also a brilliant assister for others to score also, doubling his worth and making him the player he was.

Many have followed him in the game, and proved to be brilliant players, Diego Maradona naturally springs to mind (not as a prolific scorer,) but brilliant all the same, Jimmy Greaves, Gert Mueller, Uwe Seeler, Alfredo Di Stefano and far too many to remember, yet not yet totally forgotten.

Messi and Ronaldo now carry that mantle, and the world of football is the richer for these and all the past and present "Natural" goal scorers.

[siddiqi_drinker 14,635]

Bobby good post. I just hope you stood up when you mentioned Jimmy Millar

Any estimates on what Pele would be worth nowadays. Only ever saw him 'live' on TV and even that was an honour. Neither Messi nor Ronaldo could lace his boots.

[Bobby Hume 13,873]

Bobby good post. I just hope you stood up when you mentioned Jimmy Millar

Any estimates on what Pele would be worth nowadays. Only ever saw him 'live' on TV and even that was an honour. Neither Messi nor Ronaldo could lace his boots.

I most certainly did mate, what a player he was.

As to the value of "The Black Pearl" ? ...... beyond priceless in todays terms I would imagine, he was something else altogether, and as good as they are, Messi and Ronaldo, as you rightly say, couldn't have laced his boots.

I'm sure you would agree that not many, other than possibly Diego Maradona, could even attempt do so.

[baxterboy 476]

usually a player....

who can't dribble

who never sets up plays or goals

who doesn't look anything like a player

who has done fuck all the whole game then, out of nowhere, fuckin' BAM!

the ball is in the back of the net,

you turn to the punter bedside you scratchin' your heid, and ask, 'did you see that?'

and he's replies, 'a'm no' sure.'

the one player that comes to mind - Ian Rush.

[baxterboy 476]

A "Natural" goal scorer is one who takes most of his chances with accurate coolness, from a half or clear chance, whether he is under pressure or not, in all games, but especially in important games when the difference is the league or the cup, I sight Ally McCoist in this category.

We have had many who fall under this category, all of them as different as snowflakes, but with the one attribute, to be able to find the target with seeming ease on a very regular basis.

Negri and Mols (to name two of our recent players), fall into the category of "Natural" goal scorers.

Jimmy Millar's (one of our finest "Naturals") predecessor Jim Forrest, was a "Natural" also, able to seemingly score at will, and had he not been one of the Berwick scapegoats, had the natural talent to put Ally McCoist's goal scoring record well into second place.

Boyd was also a great goal scorer, but you have to wonder why he was never on target in important league, cup and European games, possibly because of the manager at that time's tactics , and not being able to work on his own up front, we will all have our own reasons, but he was also a "Natural" deserving of the title in his own way.

I could go on, and wax lyrical about Derek Johstone, Colin Stein, Derek Parlane, and all the other greats I have witnessed, but the narrative would be similar as they were all examples of "Natural" goal scorers.

Waghorn is an example of a "Budding Natural", is a great worker, and has an eye for goal, and is cool when converting penalties (± 8 this season?), but does not yet fall under the "Full Natural" tag in my mind, as he has squandered many more chances than he has converted, but hopefully he will prove me incorrect in my opinion in time.

This does not take away his contribution or reduce his importance to the team, just an honest personal assessment of the player, as in many situations, had he passed to someone in a better position to score, his game would double in worth, and if this were to happen he would probably be worth more than an outright "Natural scorer", and our system allows for this as we have more than a few "Non Naturals" who can convert, as shown by the current goal tally, and the different scorers the team has at it's disposal.

So If he can do this consistently ...... he may well become "More than a Natural" ..... Naturally.

The best "Natural" goal scorer I have ever seen was Pele (unfortunately only once live against Scotland, the fortunate many times on TV), but he was also a brilliant assister for others to score also, doubling his worth and making him the player he was.

Many have followed him in the game, and proved to be brilliant players, Diego Maradona naturally springs to mind (not as a prolific scorer,) but brilliant all the same, Jimmy Greaves, Gert Mueller, Uwe Seeler, Alfredo Di Stefano and far too many to remember, yet not yet totally forgotten.

Messi and Ronaldo now carry that mantle, and the world of football is the richer for these and all the past and present "Natural" goal scorers.

Jim Forrest and Negri absolute natural goal scorers.

Jimmy Millar, aww cum on, eh!

i fuckin' loved, Jimmy! He was a great player.

Jimmy, unlike the 'natural goal scorer', worked like a fuckin' horse in every game, making tackles and fighting for every ball - even the ones that were nowhere near him, and going right through McNeil to get to it

Imagine Jimmy standing on the penalty spot when the ball is crossed.

When the goalie catches the ball 3 yards from the goal line, Jimmy's makes a beeline towards him and, with a fair shoulder charge, the goalie is pirouetting majestically 4 yards up in the air and into the back of the net.

The winning GOAL!

Jimmy turns around, stands still, covered in mud from head to toe, and both arms in the air.

Aye, those were the days!

[HG5 12,257]

I think I would agree too - but why would you need someone like this if your goals are coming from all over the park? To accommodate this type of player we would need to change our system I think.

I wouldn't like to return to the days when 90% of our effort was geared to presenting Boyd with tap-ins.