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Dazzer
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  1. 1. Who would you prefer and why ?



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One of the great mysteries of our time

 

One of the most passionate supporters of MFC on this forum

 

However

 

Everybody's shite

 

when have i ever said that? there are a couple of players i don't think contribute enough and a couple i feel we could do better than but i rate (and like) the vast majority of our squad.

 

my post about people getting moved on in the summer was realism rather than my own opinion. i'm disapointed that the youngsters haven't had more of a chance, particularly page and pollock.

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Slightly different take on it maybe. I like Higdon. At this time I'm happy with the signing and his goals and link up play. If I'm honest though I would rather have Sutton for a couple of reasons highlighted above. I believe McCall would have been of a similar opinion in the summer.

 

However, Higdon is with us and gets my 100% support, Sutton isn't and I'm not exactly gutted he isn't getting a game and banging in the goals for Hearts.

 

More to the point O'Brien or Humphrey? :lol:

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And Higdon is being asked to play as a lone striker in a 4-5-1, which isn't his natural position either.

 

 

 

 

The fact we have failed to score in 8 league games is more down to McCall's insistence on playing 4-5-1 even at home, and refusing to change it when it doesn't work.

 

A more important stat is league position. Sutton's link up play, heading and general all round Messi-ness didn't manage to get us up to 3rd by this stage last season.

 

you get more chances to score playing through the middle.

 

i agree about the tactics but i'm not sure it would make much difference to higdon. he's always been the same since he came up to the spl, long periods of inaction with clusters of heavy scoring. i don't think he is neccesarily a bad player to have in the squad but his game is too limited to be the only traditional centre forward we have.

 

i think there is more to us being third than the relative merits of higdon and sutton. we've earned it but luck has been on our side on a few occasions and in comparison to last year hearts, united and killie are much weaker.

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Some people on here must have short memories, I remember Sutton got the exact same level of abuse Higdon got when he joined.

 

He's slow, can't jump, can't win headers, lazy etc. were all levelled at him. I remember one thread not long after Gannon took over were folk were wanting rid. It was only really in his second season where he started to win the fans over.

 

I would say give Higdon a chance but I think that ship has sailed. :lol:

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He's slow, can't jump, can't win headers, lazy etc. were all levelled at him. I remember one thread not long after Gannon took over were folk were wanting rid. It was only really in his second season where he started to win the fans over.

 

 

sutton markedly upped his work rate after gannon's 'traffic cone' comments and seemed to be spurred on by jutkiewicz's performances.

 

if higdon ups his contribution in a similar manner he'll get a positive response as well.

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Sutton to my mind is a better player and more accomplished striker than Higdon but Higdon was a good replacement for Sutton on a free.

 

Give the choice I'd pick Sutton over Higdon but we don't have that choice, only Higdon is a Motherwell player and hopefully he gets a few tomorrow!

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Higdon then.

 

Sutton had scored 5 goals in all competitions at this stage last season. Higdon is at 9.

 

Stupid comparison.

 

Sutton had half the starts Higdon has had and a lot of them were at left midfield where Brown in his infinite wisdom choose to play him. Higdon has never played anywhere else than upfront.

 

Baring that in mind, Higdon has 6 league goals (1 a penalty) while at this stage Sutton had 4 league goals (no penalties).

 

So there is 1 strike in normal play of a difference. Given that Sutton had fewer matches in less advanced positions in a team that had a lower average league placing that 1 goal of a difference actually doesn't tell the story you'd like it to.

 

When Sutton played upfront regularly in the second half of the season he got 12 goals between January and May.

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Higgs just.

 

Higgs = straight into the team, endured dogs abuse while being played 30 yards from every other player, scores a packet. Every saints fan warned us when we signed him he should be played in a two and would toil on his own. They were all correct, but he seem to have overcome this issue to the extent that he still looks like a donkey all the time but has taken enough of his chances to make it work. And that's it really, for all his immobility he has an eye for the bottom corner of the net and it is difficult to tell which corner he'll place it in. Sutton had a purple patch but was an inconsistent 'confidence' finisher. Also think Higgs gets less than he should from referees up here, he'd get more in a league where most teams have big strikers.

 

Sutton = a bit more mobile. Brilliant effort and attitude every time he was picked. The fact that more than one manager preferred Clarkson says a lot though, Sutton's stock went up to very quickly when he scored a few goals because he looks the part and had a quality sibling, but he is a very limited striker.

 

On Higgs, I think he has suffered for the fact that we have no appropriate striker to suit a formation which had us in second place. I understand McCall's persevering, but we now need to try 4-4-2 at home with Higgs and Murphy up front. Also a few other variants available, we have loads of formation options with our present squad. Today the perfect day for this experimentation as we can't lose huh.gif

 

 

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to all that prefer higdon....

 

what games has he actually performed in for us?

 

Depends what you mean by "performed".

 

In the Reynolds thread you were quick to point out how many clean sheets we had when he was playing in our defence. So "performing" for a defender means preventing goals.

 

By the same token, presumably a striker performs when he is scoring goals, which puts Higdon at a 9 - 5 advantage over Sutton.

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More to the point O'Brien or Humphrey? :lol:

 

Jesus what a question that is, akin to asking 'who would you rather pump, Annabelle Goldie or Johann Lamont?' They are baith howling and so are O'Brien and Spazzers mate.

 

As for Sutton or Higdon? Higdon every day of the week, Sutton took 2 seasons to really become a 1st pick but some people seem to think he was a modern day Ian St John the way they are lusting after him and massaging their throbbers at the prospect (or not as the case is likey to be) of him coming back.

 

Higdon is our player, has scored 9 goals so far which is a decent return (not fantastic, decent) and is playing in a style that is not suited to him in my opinion. He needs a strike partner and then we'll see the best of him.......

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I am going to opt for Higdon as well.

 

As mentioned above Sutton was always a purple patch player and thus far Higdon's goals have been spread out, but we will be in a better position to judge that at the end of the season.

 

The main difference for me is positional sense. The naive amongst us thought that John Sutton chasing lost causes benefited the team, it didn't. He spent large parts of his Motherwell career out of position (and him being in the wrong place whilst playing upfront, not when he was getting played left mid)

 

Higdon is always in a central position as far forward as possible, meaning he always gives the defenders something to aim at if there is nothing else on and he is more disciplined in his role.

 

Also, I think if you play up front for a team like Motherwell you need to contribute more than just goals. I could count on one hand the amount of times I came away from games saying John Sutton had played well when he didn't score.

 

Anyway, either would do me and I think we've definitely had far worse.

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