Calling All Celtic Fans: How Good Is McDonald? February 2, 2010
Posted by stuart in Middlesbrough, Scott McDonald.Tags: Boro, celtic, Follow The Boro Brick Road, Gordon Strachan, Middlesbrough, Scott McDonald
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Gordon Strachan raided Celtic for the last time yesterday as he convinced Scott McDonald to leave Celtic Park for the Riverside. Last week I did a similar post about the credentials of Stephen McManus and received a very good report about him from the excellent Celtic fans, which will be published later this week.
It’s refreshing to see and read that so many of the Bhoys’ fans are willing to spend a few minutes of their time to talk about ex-players and from the response we received last week it does confirm that the Celtic fans are a very knowledgeable bunch. Thanks for your time once again.
You know the score by now – us Boro fans don’t know much about Scott McDonald so enlighten us with what we are getting and what he will bring to the Middlesbrough team? Also, let us know what your favourite goals were from the Aussie so we can look them up on youtube.
A quick mention about your last minute signing as well from me. Great signing for you guys, top player and I’m sure he will be an instant hit. Good luck!
Follow The Boro Brick Road…
Skippy is a goal scorer, hard working and always keen to put a shift in
He can be a bit moody but a proven goal scorer who should do very well in the Championship, and if you can get back to the Premiership he will excel and become a major player for Boro
Sad to see him go, hail hail Skippy, thanks for the memories
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McDonald is a great goalscorer and he won’t hide in matches. He’ll always get stuck in and give 100%. He’ll get you the scrappy goals and he isn’t too bad in the air for not being the tallest. Youtube his belter at ibrox.
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a good decent striker IMO.
Very active, good on the ball and a natural scorer. Sad to see him go, but we’ll see what this new lad can do;)
He knows where the goal is.
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hmmm,
He’s an old fashioned poacher. Not much use outside of the box, bad first touch and not really fast enough, hence he gets caught offside a lot.
However he will score a barrowload of goals for you. He’s scored for us in a lot of big games against Man U, Milan etc.
People always tended to doubt whether or not he could cut it against world class teams but more often than not he proved his doubters wrong.
We may come to regret letting him go…..
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Skippy on his game is a great player – his goals against Man Ure, AC Milan and a couple of crackers against the Hun prove that he has quality. We’re genuinely upset to see him go.
He was at his best playing with Jan Venegoor of Heselink – a big target man. On the down side he is a moaning wee so and so and his 1st touch can let him down.
He will score at least 10 goals for you this season and could be the player to get you up into the play-offs!
Good Luck!
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McDonald was a great buy for us at around £800,000, not so sure he is worth the reported £3.5m. He is a big game player, who will probably endear himself to you through goals against Newcastle. However he does go through lean spells, one of which was 10 games. He served us well and hope things work out for him at Boro.
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Great goalscorer – his record says it all. Can be a right moaner but who cares if he’s scoring goals?
I’m sorry to see him leave – even with our new signings.
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Gutted he has left. Plays for the jersey and is a clinical finisher.
Scored a winning goal against AC Milan in the CL. Scored a sweet lob against Man Utd in the CL. Scored some great goals against Rangers.
Doesn’t shy away in the games against weaker teams. Even at Motherwell he always gave 100%.
His attitude and fitness have been called into question by some doubters but personally I think the guy was a steal at £700,000 for Celtic and Boro’ have bought a player who has improved since then.
Lee Miller will lay goals on a plate for “Skippy” I’ve always rated Miller as a good target-man. He had an awesome game against Rangers at Pitoddrie earlier in the season and won MotM.
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I think of the several Celtic players Boro have brought in this Jan, McDonald is certainly the best.
One thing Skippy will bring at any level is goals! (51 in 88 games for Celtic according to his Wiki page) His goals mainly tend to come from inside the box and he’s a bit of a poacher.
For a wee man he’s very good in the air too and I can recall him scoring a fair few headers during his time with us. Good strength too and holds the ball up well.
If I’d have anything bad to say, it’d probably be that he’s not the quickest player, and isn’t exactly great at running at defenders.
All in all though, he’s a quality player who’s goals hopefully won’t be missed at Celtic in the coming months.
Hope he does the business for you!
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Gutted we have lost Skippy! Even with the Keane signing he will be missed. A goal machine who will work his butt off all game. Has some great touches around the box to open space for himself and team mates.
A bargain buy for you……….
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Skippy will get you goals no doubt , has the knack in the box for sure , not so clever outside it though , ball doesn’t tend to stick to well , moves would break down around him . But he’s paid to score goals and he’ll do that in spades given the chances , not afraid of hard work either will do more than his fair share on top, scores all kinds and suprising the amount he gets with the head . Flipping moaning little bugger aswell if he don’t get the ball ,which isn’t a bad thing.! WGS will get the best out of him , did up here anyway.! favourite goals ..? any against the Orcs.!!
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I would say Skippy is a reasonable striker who can score goals however key here is consistency…. His 1st touch also lets him down from tim to time… He has scored some truly magnificent goals for Celtic for which I will always be grateful
I am not too upset at losing him as his mood swings were painful at times however a decent signing and we got a decent return… best of luck Skippy!
Hail Hail
Singapore Celt
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When you need a goal, this is the wee man that will come up with the goods. He loves the big games & seems to excel in them.
Lacks a bit in his all round game, but def knows where the onion bag is. He will be your top scorer from now on. Of that i have no doubt.
Good luck Scott & thanks for the memories. Hail Hail.
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Skippy is a conundrum, our top scorer but against little competition from a greek hairdresser and a dutch statue
He will infuriate you with the chances he misses, but surprise the hell out of you with the chances he takes, he scored some great goals for us, including the winner against Man U in Europe, and he is always likely to nick one
At 3.5M the price is right for all involved, we wish him well at Celtic South
Ming
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McDonald is a good wee striker who has a proven scoring record at the highest level. One thing about him is the amount of headers he scores, he’s only around 5′7″ but always seems to be in the right place at the right time. His real weakness is his first touch. Quite often the ball bounces off him due to his lack of control.
He will score goals for Boro though. £3.5m is a pretty decent price for somebody who can score goals. He’s a far better player than some of the other guys who have left the SPL and have done well in the Championship like Ross McCormack at Cardiff and Charlie Adam at Blackpool. I wish him and Boro well.
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Skippy’s a decent wee player – short and stocky so more of a poacher than a target man. He finds good space in the box, even at corners. He should do well for you. He’s no good at holding the ball up though and he’s not quick so if you’re not getting the ball into the box enough he’ll be fairly anonymous. He is also Australia’s number one whinger, so get used to that.
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Scott had to leave celtic to get his world cup dream back on track.
He favours the penalty box prowler supported by two wider players who are willing to give him the staring role.
Rumours of Scotts’ links to the press, changing room moodiness, smoking and drinking where thought to be the reasons Mogga got rid along with a nice profit being turned.
No doubt he will score goals but the petted lip was becoming increasingly irritable when the ball wasn’t delivered perfectly for him and my feeling was that Scott started to think he was a better player than he actually is.
All that said I wish Scott success and look forward to seeing him playing in the top league if probably not next year the following
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Natural poacher, who will undoubtedly grab goals for you – good deal for ‘Boro, and (if the news is correct with regard to the actual price) a good deal for us, with him being sold on for 525% of his original cost.
First touch is woefully frustrating, but you guys are well documented to be needing goals, and he can provide them – no doubts about that.
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He’ll do well down there.
He does do a hell of a lot of moaning, but will find the net on a regular basis.
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I’d more or less reiterate what’s been already said. He’s a penalty box player with a knack of being in the right place at the right time. He definitely wears his heart on his sleeve and, when things aren’t going well, he’s a bit petulant and can often be seen disagreeing with his own players.
He’s a proven goalscorer, likes the big occassion and is a real handful for defenders. A good signing for you guys and I’m sad to see him go.
Good luck to you wee Skippy.
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Skippy is an excellent finisher but not the best footballer. First touch is generally appalling and his hold up play isn’t the best, although he does shield the ball well with his big ol ass. Works best with a bigger partner, his best season was when he was partnered with Vennegoor of Hesselink, thought whether Killen or Miller is debatable. He’s a really moany wee guy too though half your team will be used to that. As Wu said search for his turn and volley winner against Rangers. His chip against Man U was lovely as well. Of the several players you got from us he is the best and should score a lot in the Championship. Wish him (and the rest of the Old Bhoys) all the best.
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Good player but very petulant
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Morning lads,
In seeing our top goal scorer for the past couple of season leave should be a bit worrying for a team that is challenging for a league and cup.
However, Scott McDonald has always divided much of the Celtic fans. A goal poacher? Yes. A gifted footballer? No.
I will start with the good. He is always likely to get at least 10-15 goals a season. His always seems to be in the right position in the 6 yard box to stick the ball away. Which is greatest attribute.
Now the bad. (To the guys who said he works hard, where have you been this season??) He work rate is poor, his touch is dreadful and his attitude to those around him isn’t great. Anyone who gets caught offside an average of 10 times a game needs to have a word with themselves!
He will definitely score goals for you, but don’t expect him to link up play.
Good luck Skippy, I will miss that beer gut and petted lip!
Hail Hail
Bryan
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He will bag loads of goals, does seem to get caught offside a lot but thats only because he holds such a high line as an old fashion poacher. has scored some screamers in his time as well as have them bounce in off his ass. great wee player will give you all he has got. thanks skippy for all the goals mate.
i think he will do well at celticborough
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I’m sure most Celtic fans will be sad to see skippy go….been more than a decent signing and gave his all for the jersey. However feel its a good time for him to move on as he and the rest of the team seemed to have hit a brickwall. Scored some belters against big teams and will no doubt bag a few for boro. Good luck to him and to your lads.
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You’ve got yourself a really good footballer, in McDonald. His first touch is a lot better than people have been making out and he has an eye for goal. If he’s allowed to believe he’s better than he is, the moaning will start.
If Strachan keeps on top of him about his whining and he keeps the weight off, you’ve got yourself an excellent striker. Very similar to Ross McCormack in stature and style, but with Champions League experience and success. Thanks for the memories, Skippy. Good luck!
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a proven striker in big games for celtic,im sure he will do well for boro.id say most celtic fans are sad to see him go but when your getting robbie keane as a replacement(temporary) you cant complain about celtic selling him.his best goal was v rangers who else hah….
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Skippy is a great wee guy who scores the goals!! He wasnt doing under mowbray, different style of play. But under strach he scored tonnes of goals. But i think he played his best football with big Jan Vennagor of Hessalink. He plays off the big guy well, a target man rather than a flank player.
He’s moany, a pain in the arse some times and his touch is abit.. well bad!! But at the end of the day. Away from the SPL which some championship fans dont rate. Scott Macdonald score winning goals in the Champs LG including a great winner against AC Milan.
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I know you have only asked about Scott McDonald this time but I hope you don’t mind if I give you my tuppence worth on all the ex-celts Gordon has brought down to you.
Scott McDonald
We bought him for Motherwell for £750k and sold him to you for £3.5m. I think he’s worth more than that and had it not been a late deal I think £5m would be a better idea of his true value. He arrived at Celtic a season after scoring 2 goals in a minute to deprive us of the league in 2005 and many took a while to forgive him but I think in the end everyone had. He scored a lot of goals, 65 in 126 appearances overall.
These goals came from all over the place, tap-ins, headers and shots from distance. His goal against Man U in the Champions League was top drawer and he has scored important goals throughout his time at Celtic. He hasn’t been as good this season and maybe his first touch isn’t what it was but he will work hard, even if does moan a lot and will get you goals.
Stephen McManus
A Celtic bhoy through and through and lived the dream becoming club captain. Strong defender but has been blighted by injuries over the past couple of seasons which has deprived him of a bit of speed. If he gets over these injuries, you will have an excellent defender, if not you will still have a very good one.
He’s not afraid to put his body on the line for the cause and like McDonald, he will always give 100%. His speed isn’t what it once was and as such he may be more liable to get turned by quick defenders and might struggle to recover but Gordon knows all this and I expect he will play him in such a way to minimise any trouble he will have.
He attacks the ball very well and normally does the simple thing. He is also very impressive in the opposition box and I’m sure will get you a few goals. Just a pity Adam Johnson isn’t still there to provide the supply.
Barry Robson
A left foot anyone would be proud off but a right foot that’s only good for standing on. If he plays on the left or in centre midfield, he’ll do a good job for you. An honest pro who again works very hard and isn’t afraid to put himself about. He can score great free-kicks but if he’s taking penalties, they will go down the middle making them easier to save if the keeper doesn’t commit himself too early.
He doesn’t have the same engine that he had but if others can do the running for him, his guile can help you no end.
Willo Flood
Didn’t play much for Celtic but when he showed glimpses of what he can do but his position was taken by Aiden McGeady or Shaun Maloney making it difficult for him to get into the team. When at Dundee United he was their best player and always caused Celtic (and Rangers) difficulties. Plays predominately on the right of midfield and he is a very direct player causing problems for opposing defenders. He’s got tricky footwork but his crossing could be better. Some crosses are liable to go anywhere (like the back of the net!).
Chris Killen
Powerful presence up front but never really got a chance at Celtic. Scored a couple of goals but his style didn’t really suit us as he was more of a target man. I would expect him to be third choice for you now behind McDonald and Lee Miller but if he gets a chance, he might get among the goals.
All in all I think you have got some decent players from us with McManus, Robson and McDonald being first picks when Gordon was here and had they still been with us, would be there or there abouts.
I hope a new challenge is good for them and for Gordon and hope to see you in the Premiership again soon.
All the best
Mort
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Wee Skippy will score a bundle for Boro. He is not the quickest and is a wee greeting faced so and so but he must be murder to play against and he has the heart of a lion. Good luck wee man and thanks
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Skippy is a good player and he will score all kinds of goals for Borough(even headers).
Tends to be a poacher and scores all his goals from within about ten yards of goal..
For 3.5 million he is a steal judging by some of the other valuations in England.
On the other hand he does tend to have a poor first touch and is annoyingly caught offside quite a lot,he’s also a bit of a whinger when things are’nt going for him but all in allhe does the biz.
He is a Celtic fan by the way and he infamously scored twice against us on the last day of the 04/05 season to win the game 3-2 for M’well and hand the league title to that other bunch of racist, sectarian, bigots Rangers.
However he more than made up for that when he eventually joined us and helped us win trophies.
My own fav goals of skippys would have to be his strikes against the huns in our 3-2 win at Celtic park 27/4/08 a must win game for us on the road to the title.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwMju5k0rJc
All the best skippy.!
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He gets caught offside for 2 reasons, 1 he is far too slow and 2 he lacks discipline. He is carrying too much weight at the moment for a pro, which is probably why he works better with strachan, as strachans teams are always the fittest on any pitch. Hence why celtic won so many games late on under him. When he’s on form he scores a lot of goals and can always be relied upon to show up in the big games. Whether he turns out worth it is trully up to him. He needs to get back on the bike and get himself fit, because his pace has dropped this season. Dont really think he is worth 3.5 million, more like 2-2.5 million. He will do the job in the championship but not sure he will be very effective in the premiership, as middlesborough are unlikely to play a game that allows him to sit in the box, he doesnt have the pace to hit anyone on the break
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wee skippy scored goals against all the best teams in europe ,what more can you say, you`ve got a great player enjoy him we did ,all the best for promotion
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Skippy Brilliant Player! Great for celtic we man gave it all will score goals for Middlesbrough.F.C
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After a scatter gun attack on celtic players, strachan has finally got you a real good ‘un.
skip has been top scorer in all his clubs for the last 5 seasons, scored some very vital goals in europe and somce screamers in big leage matches. Hes scored a few scrappy goals too – which is exactly what you want.
Hes not big, but hes strong and knows how to protect the ball, though he can be greedy.
At £3.5m – i’m pretty sickened. thats marginally above what we sold miller to wolves for – and there is no comparison.
robbo was a decent buy, the rest…emmm. but skip – in my opinion you have done well. you can pat yourselves on the back for getting a good player cheap.
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Deceptively quick and good positional sense and can score from all angles. Only downside that he is a moaning wee git and by all accounts a bit of a bully. Hope he makes up for any blunders by big Mick. Perhaps SM will improve his game down south away from the Glasgow goldfish bowl and with less pressure to win every game. Good luck to all the ex Celts.
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Good luck to the wee man-but I don’t think he’ll need it. As most have said he’s an out and out goalscorer (50 in 88 apps says it all). Don’t believe all you read about Scotland, there are some well drilled defences up here and he’s breached them all and AC Milan’s as well. In your position, he’ll do well and probably wouldn’t need replaced if you get promoted. Having said that, he is a moaning little c*** with the first touch of a lampost, but lacking its pace. Bottom line- you haven’t wasted your money, he will do the biz for you.
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He is a moany little bastard, but that certainly doesn’t make you a bad player – quite the opposite in some cases.
Certain areas of his game are lacking – his touch isn’t great for example, and he gets caught offside a fair bit – but he will score goals – of that I have no doubt. He scored loads for Celtic and not just against the diddy teams (see Boyd, Kris)… scored important goals against Rangers, Man U, Milan etc.
His goals against Rangers in December 2008 and against Man U at Celtic park are gems and definitely worth looking up on YouTube.
In short, I think that he will do very well for you and I’ll be very surprised if he’s not your top goal-scorer for the next few years.
All the best wee man and thanks for all the goals. You never let yourself down.
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Hit and miss, Celtic thru and thru but I thought he was an ok player depending on his mood and weight, 3.5 mill is a good bit of business for Celtic but I hope he does a good job for you along with the other ex Celtic players, all the best for the rest of the season
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great goal getter. Touch of a creep. thats him in a nut shell
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McDonald is a good penalty box striker who will definitely score goals for you if given the right service from midfield/wingers/target man.
He’ll make an effort in build-up outside the box if asked to, but tends to pass the buck and make the easy pass if there is nobody moving in on goal rather than hold on to the ball and try to create some space himself. He’ll graft away all day if asked to work the channels out wide, but it’s a waste of his natural scoring ability IMO. He’s also got excellent timing in the air and scores a helluva lot of headers for a wee tubby bloke.
His biggest weakness is poor reading of the offside line – not an issue if you park him in the penalty box playing off a target man, but if he is asked to sit a bit deeper and get involved in the build-up he’ll be caught off-side 3 or 4 times a game.
Another potential weakness (depending on your opinion) is that he can be greedy when he gets a sight of goal, even if a team-mate is open for a tap-in. Personally I don’t have a problem with that, I think good strikers should be greedy. He’s also a whinger who will berate any team-mate who takes a shot at goal and misses rather than trying to play him in.
Oh, and don’t let him anywhere near penalties….but then again that seems to be a disease that afflicts all of the recent Celtic squad (5 missed out of 8 this season!) so he may rediscover his touch from the spot.
All in all you’ve got a good wee striker who will definitely score goals in the Championship.
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just loved the guy, all heart, fearless and scored against top class teams unlike some other forwards we’v had.
score loads for the boro i hope.
sorry to see you go skippy, i wish you all the very best, and dont you forget you’r a tim forever you know!!!
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Great signing for Boro, hope he does well for you. He’ll score goals, thats for sure. Got 55 / 80 games for us.
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Scottie was and still is an excellent player, of all the celts that have left during this transfer window (in particular those to Boro) McDonald will be the one missed the most. He will never give you less than full comitment whilst on the field, although as previously said by others a little huffy at times. Very best of luck to Skippy,WGS and boro for the coming seasons, i will watch with a “Keane” interest. Hail Hail.
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Didnt like the guy as a player, too slow second touch a tackle and a moany little git, but I cant argue with his record and he scored in the big games not like that other player on the other side of the city. Not sorry to see him go £3.5m a good price, but wish him all the best.
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Sad to see him go – he will moan but will get goals for you.
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He’s a good goal-scorer. He doesnt offer much else, but is a predator in the box. He moans a lot and is too short. I think £3.5m is a good buy for you guys, if it wasnt for the fact that we now have 5 first-team strikers then I think we’d have held out for double that or more.
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I feel a wee bit sorry for him. His biggest strengths are his positioning and finishing in and around the box, quite quick feet when inside the box too. He also tends to hit the target in big games, old firm and champions league games, so he doesn’t bottle it easily. But for me, his main problem at Celtic was when he got involved in build up play he slowed the game down. I think the fact that Celtic recently (and I mean for the past year or so) have been struggling to break teams down, has meant he has been coming deeper to help in the build up, but he can often be counter productive. But different teams have different styles, and if Strachan can get the team feeding him, letting him spend more time in the box and do what he is good at, I have absolutely no doubts he will score for fun. He is an out and out poacher. Youtube his goal against manure, or his goals against the huns. He also scored a fantastic hat trick about a year ago against Killie, I think, which was absolutely top drawer.
One last thing, I really think if he’s played right he will be a success, and don’t worry about the standard of the SPL being too low, plenty of guys who didn’t stand out up here have done very well in the championship; Chris Burke, Ross McCormack, Charlie Adam to name a few. Graham Dorrans at West Brom has probably been one of the best players in your division, and couldn’t get a team in the SPL to take a chance on him. McDonald should be at least as good as any of these.
All the best for the rest of the season, with all the ex-Celts in your squad, and with Strachan at the helm, I’d love to see you do well!
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Good goalscorer. his attitude was awful at times. all the moaning and huffing ended up to be his downfall at celtic. mowbray took an immediate dislike to mcdonald because of this moaning. if what i hear is true then mcdonald caused this departure with a statement to mowbray ” you sort the defence out i carry this team”. will be a different story with strachan the two of them get on and mcdonald owes alot to strachan for taking the chance on him and bringing him to celtic. never should have been givin the no 7 shirt. scored some really important goals and gave us some great memories. wish him all the the best in the championship im sure he will score goals.
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As someone who saw The Middlesborough Newcastle game recently all of the recent signings from Celtic will vastly improve your team, with the obvious exception of Killin! Scott McDonald most definitely comes into this category. I am very dissapointed to see him go, despite the fact that he absolutely infuriates me at times. There are two reasons for this, firstly his unerring and consistent penchant for being caught offside which is extaordinary. Secondly, his first touch at times is Chris Killen like, and believe me that is not good! Having said that he is a great goalscorer, the vast majority of his goals being scored inside the penalty box, and the six yard line in particular. He his very good in the air. He is strong for a relatively small player, and not afraid of the battle. But the one thing that makes him so good so vital is that he scored important and significant goals for Celtic against the likes of Milan and Man Utd. You have got a very good player. He is worth a lot more than the £800,000),indicated by another poster, (who I presume has never seen him play). I believe that if he had been transfered between english teams he would have cost over £5million. There is no doubt he will score goals for you.
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Sori to see skippy go. he got you goals when you needed them espically in big games. and he nevr stoped working for the entire 90mins. dont think he got a chance under tony but will defiently get you goals and will be a fans favourite very quickly. he is the best player to leave in janurary with robbo a close second and would have loved to have kept him. but all in all a good signing for you. thanks for the memorys skippy hail hail!
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Good box player who has a habit of popping up with the odd spectacular goal. Not going to win a lot of long balls up which is why he’d suit playing alongside a big number nine type who can win the high balls for McD to feed off. However, he’s actually quit good at taking the ball into to feet and bringing widemen into play before getting into the box looking for a return.
His level is probably bottom third/quarter of the PL so he should do well in the championship and might just excell if he strikes up a partnership with someone.
Here’s a few of his best goals:
V Man U in CL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW-wNmmFC_s
V Rangers 12/08 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZTiaNik4Yc
Compilation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39GoytjOlyc
Best of luck!!
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class player. Will score a load of goals.
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