Stefan Scougall

[Alfreton14Blade]

In a 4-4-2 it's just not practical to play Scougall or Baxter. If we had a Sergio Busquets or Claude Makelele type player in the team to play alongside one of them, it'd be different. Basham can't play that role.

I wish he could. Just so we could call him Bashquets.

 

[Woodwardfan]

I don't think this division suits 4-4-2 ,too many superfit headless chickens who will stop you playing. Scougall and Reed either side of a ball player (Baxter possibly if he will work) would work with Done Sharp and Sammon up front. Flynn and JCR to come on ,Basham at centre back with Edgar.

I love 2 up front.
I think 3 up front is suicide.
I love Scougall, Baxter, Reed, all for being proper footballers.
Play them as a 3 in midfield of 3 and it's how many up - against.
Agree Basham back 4. or nowhere.
With our current squad 3-5-2 works. With 2 good loanees 4-4-2 can work.
When Brayford is fit how about Freeman in right midfield? Or even now if we play 3-5-2.




Reed, Baxter, Scougall in midfield in 4-3-3 - disaste

I don't think this division suits 4-4-2 ,too many superfit headless chickens who will stop you playing. Scougall and Reed either side of a ball player (Baxter possibly if he will work) would work with Done Sharp and Sammon up front. Flynn and JCR to come on ,Basham at centre back with Edgar.

 

[Darthblade]

Where is it going wrong for this lad.

When we initially signed him he looked like the best signing we had made in years. Excellent on the ball, ghosted past defenders like they wasn't there, weighed in with a few goals and looked like the real deal.

Nearly 2 years later he hardly features, and looks like he is playing at a level or two above his ability. It's a real shame he hasn't kicked on, but apart from one injury last season I can't see why it hasn't happened for him.

Any ideas?

He is far too lightweight for this agricultural division is what the problem is !! When he is fouled, and he always is, its rare for the referee to award it because the referees make allowances for the brick shithouse thugs that patrol the midfield in league 1.
This is why he's more effective in the Cup games. I suggested loaning him out for the season, along with Baxter, as soon as we knew we had consigned ourselves to this Division for yet another season.
Totally ineffective .......
UTB & FTP

 

[Ricky]

Reed, Baxter and Scougall in midfield might be OK if they were all really good technical footballers. Unfortunately only one of them is half decent and he's very inconsistent.

With our squad as big (and poor) as it is we need to be ruthless when it comes to getting rid of some of the players and Scougall is one of them. We have a lot of players who are unconvincing for one reason or another but 'might' be worth keeping. Cuvelier's another and eventually probably Wallace too. We have to draw the line and move on at some point.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Scougall has to make himself take more responsibility in the final third. When he first joined us, he used to arrive into the box many times a game and used to have some sort of effort on goal, often poor mind you. I suspect he had that drilled out of him, maybe rightly maybe wrongly because he did waste a lot of situations. Before his injury he was getting nowhere near goal. If he plays in an advanced position the only way he can justify his place in the team is by providing assists and scoring goals. I'm afraid he will not cement a place in deep midfield, he hasn't the physicality or the power. Reed actually tackles well, Scougall relies on "nicking the ball" off opposition toes.

 

[Revolution]

Doesn't score
Doesn't assist
Very lightweight
First touch of a trampoline

 

[Barney]

Too small, too lightweight, and doesn't have anywhere near the talent to back it up.

Another one for the get rid list.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I think when he arrived, there were a few factors going in his favour.

We had 3 in midfield. Not just any 3. We had a very experienced, specialist defensive midfielder with limited attacking ability and a big, strong, athletic, box to box midfielder. I think that is the perfect combination to play 442 meaning Scougall had all the freedom of a striker without the responsibility of scoring many or making the ball stick up front.

We also had Baxter as the false 9 meaning a lot of the time, we had 4 central midfielders as well as the wide men. That made all of them look very good but the team still lacked that presence in the box. I think what a lot of us failed to properly appreciate (including me) was that if we put a more orthodox forward up there in place of Baxter, the midfield 3 wouldn’t look as good. Take Connor Coady out of it and it looks significantly worse still. Basham has gone some way to replacing Coady in that he’s quite big and reasonably athletic but he is a downgrade. Doyle hasn’t been replaced and we don’t play Baxter as a lone striker so Scougall has nowhere near the same platform to flourish.

I like Scougall but I think he’s the type of player who needs a team built around him to flourish. I think the same is also true of Baxter.

Unfortunately, neither has proven themselves to be consistently good enough for us to justify doing that meaning that one of two things has to happen:-

They try to adapt their game and contribute to the team any way they can accepting we probably won’t get the best out of them

Or

We move them on (probably to a lower placed club) where their ability can justify building the team around them.

For now it’s the first option but it’s having limited success. In the long term I can see us going for the latter option and looking to replace with players who are a better fit for what we require.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Seems like only yesterday

http://www.s24su.com/forum/index.php?search/6342575/&q=scougall&t=post&o=date&c[prefix]=36

 

[PeteBlade]

Where is it going wrong for this lad.

When we initially signed him he looked like the best signing we had made in years. Excellent on the ball, ghosted past defenders like they wasn't there, weighed in with a few goals and looked like the real deal.

Nearly 2 years later he hardly features, and looks like he is playing at a level or two above his ability. It's a real shame he hasn't kicked on, but apart from one injury last season I can't see why it hasn't happened for him.

Any ideas?

It's a relatively well known phenomenon known as "Being Bladesed" whereby seemingly good football players come here and seemingly lose the ability to play football. They then leave and magically pick up the ability again.

Noticeably players affected by this curse include Leon Britton and formally Billy Sharp.

 

[Revolution]

It's a relatively well known phenomenon known as "Being Bladesed" whereby seemingly good football players come here and seemingly lose the ability to play football. They then leave and magically pick up the ability again.

Noticeably players affected by this curse include Leon Britton and formally Billy Sharp.

Leon Britton never had it in the first place IMHO.

 

[PeteBlade]

Leon Britton never had it in the first place IMHO.

He did it in a higher division for Swansea after us pretty well.

 

[Revolution]

He did it in a higher division for Swansea after us pretty well.

All he did was make short passes on his own half. That's it. The footballing equivalent of the Emperors New Clothes.

 

[Guesty]

I never fully understood the hype with this lad even in his first season. His goal at Wembley was a marvelous moment for which I'll always be very fond of Scougall but he's never been a consistent force for us. He often looked dangerous but how often did it lead to goals?

 

[TJB.]

He's 5ft7 and looks like a stiff breeze would blow him over. Unless he has a belated growth spurt I fear he'll do very little in the game. Anybody know what age men tend to stop growing at? Pretty sure I'm the same height and frame I am now (minus the beer belly) as I was when I was 22 (now 24).

He clearly has ability in there but, as has been mentioned, he doesn't appear to have a natural position and doesn't seem to fit in anywhere in our squad. I've always said that if he played in a division which gave him much more time on the ball then we'd probably see a very different player. You don't get that luxury in League 1 and the big feckers of this division must see it as a blessing when his name is on the team sheet; they know he'll be easy to shove about.

I do admire his engine. Seems to be in a similar ilk to Done in that he's always chasing the ball down. The difference is that Done is more likely to win the ball and puts players under real pressure, whereas it's probably not quite as threatening to have what appears to be a large child running at you when you're on the ball as you can use your strength to fend him off.

 

[PeteBlade]

All he did was make short passes on his own half. That's it. The footballing equivalent of the Emperors New Clothes.

A somewhat simplistic view of a football player.

 

[SouthportBlade]

Like the lad, but don't quite think he is good enough at any one aspect.

He buzzes around the pitch and plays simple (sideways / backwards) passes. This is fine if you are one of two types of player:~

1) Midfield Destroyer - Michael Doyle esque. Sits to protect the back and lay the ball off to the more talented players. Scoogs doesn't offer enough protection.
2) Deep lying playmaker - Xavi / Pirlo, who have the capability to dictate play and play defense splitting balls. Scoogs doesn't dictate play or play any passes over 15 yards.

His other issue is that he doesn't get forward enough, every now and then he ghosts past a player and seems to be running at the oppositions defense, then lays the ball off. What he should do is be busting a gut to get into the box and finish it off, the Lad Holt last year was a limited player but did the late run into the box superbly.

What it boils down to is he is simply a body in midfield. Doesn't offer an real protection to the back 4 and offers nothing going forwards. I bet you could count on one hand the number of goals and assists since he has joined.

He really needs to works on the attacking side of his game, and needs to be able to contribute goals or at least assists.

 

[Revolution]

A somewhat simplistic view of a football player.

Leon Britton played a great pass on his debut and laid on Evans' goal at Cardiff.

That was the sum total of his positive contribution in a Blades shirt.

Quarterback? Horseshit.

 

[super_pig]

I love 2 up front.
I think 3 up front is suicide.

it is.. but that isn't how it is supposed to work.. the midfield is essentially a five but turns into a three when you are attacking and they drop back when you don't have the ball.. problem is you need a special CF to play this style well as he will have to hold the ball whilst the other two are able to get up the field

 

[Woodwardfan]

it is.. but that isn't how it is supposed to work.. the midfield is essentially a five but turns into a three when you are attacking and they drop back when you don't have the ball.. problem is you need a special CF to play this style well as he will have to hold the ball whilst the other two are able to get up the field

I disagree with your interpretation of 4-3-3 but like that version which I think is more like 4-5-1, whereas 4-3-3 has a narrow 3 man midfield and three strikers who may of course drop back but are nevertheless essentially strikers.

 

[BushBlade]

I disagree with your interpretation of 4-3-3 but like that version which I think is more like 4-5-1, whereas 4-3-3 has a narrow 3 man midfield and three strikers who may of course drop back but are nevertheless essentially strikers.

Can you name me a couple of teams that play with three strikers? I'm sure there must be some but I'm struggling to think of any.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Can you name me a couple of teams that play with three strikers? I'm sure there must be some but I'm struggling to think of any.

OK let' me rephrase my " three striker" comment to " three forwards". My previous other comments still hold good though and there's a distinct midfield three.

Of course 4-3-3 becomes 4-2-3-1 easily, 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 easily. We agree really but I still hate 4-3-3.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

The best example of a 433 being more 433 than 451 off the top of my head would be Man U when they had Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez interchanging, passing and moving etc. All 3 are capable of defending from the front and bursting forward at pace. Not many teams have the players to pull it off in that way though.

I suppose another example would be Barca with Neymar, Suarez and Messi. Or old Barcelona and Holland teams. Thinking of players like Kluivert or Eto'o being flanked by the likes of Overmars, Zenden etc. They are more traditional wingers but they were given a lot of attacking license. That's how I would see us playing it in the long run with Adams and Done wide but encouraged to get close to Sharp when we are in possession. As it stands, Sammon would probably be one of the wider players but he is more of a natural centre forward so the front 3 would probably be a bit narrower.

I think it could work for us in some games but like all systems at this level, there would be times when we got overrun in certain areas and we would bemoan the fact we don't have hte personnel and say switch back to 442. It's always the same when we don't win. "Change the formation" " get it down and play" "go more direct". The grass always looks greener on the other side if your team have just failed to win a game.

 

[Woodwardfan]

The best example of a 433 being more 433 than 451 off the top of my head would be Man U when they had Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez interchanging, passing and moving etc. All 3 are capable of defending from the front and bursting forward at pace. Not many teams have the players to pull it off in that way though.

I suppose another example would be Barca with Neymar, Suarez and Messi. Or old Barcelona and Holland teams. Thinking of players like Kluivert or Eto'o being flanked by the likes of Overmars, Zenden etc. They are more traditional wingers but they were given a lot of attacking license. That's how I would see us playing it in the long run with Adams and Done wide but encouraged to get close to Sharp when we are in possession. As it stands, Sammon would probably be one of the wider players but he is more of a natural centre forward so the front 3 would probably be a bit narrower.

I think it could work for us in some games but like all systems at this level, there would be times when we got overrun in certain areas and we would bemoan the fact we don't have hte personnel and say switch back to 442. It's always the same when we don't win. "Change the formation" " get it down and play" "go more direct". The grass always looks greener on the other side if your team have just failed to win a game.

To my mind 4-3-3 involves serious pressing further upfield and also really mobile and aggressive forward full back play. As a natural consequence of that the team plays further up the pitch and defenders need to be mobile and pacey.

We ain't got the players.

When we sign a couple of loanees on Monday (93 days to the Wigan match) and when Brayford, Done, Kennedy and Coutts return, there will be more options but at present we only have the players for 4-5-1 or 3-5-2.

After next month surely we'll have better luck with injuries too.

 

[Pinchy]

The grass always looks greener on the other side if your team have just failed to win a game.

The grass always looks greener to the diehard S2 We Hoof Brigade. They prefer us not to use it very much at all.

Gerritintbox....

 

[Slim Man]

If he could develop his crossing, passing and put some serious work into his wide and attacking play, he could make a good winger. He has plenty of pace, energy and tenacity - a good dribbler too.

He's too small and lightweight to be a midfielder, Reed would beat him in an arm wrestle even if Scougs was using both hands.

 

[BushBlade]

To my mind 4-3-3 involves serious pressing further upfield and also really mobile and aggressive forward full back play. As a natural consequence of that the team plays further up the pitch and defenders need to be mobile and pacey.

We ain't got the players.

When we sign a couple of loanees on Monday (93 days to the Wigan match) and when Brayford, Done, Kennedy and Coutts return, there will be more options but at present we only have the players for 4-5-1 or 3-5-2.

After next month surely we'll have better luck with injuries too.

If we haven't got the players for 433 why have we got the players for 352? Our CHs aren't mobile enough and we don't have wing backs.

It's a conundrum for NA and in many ways one that he's caused himself by opting to bring in two strikers.

Btw, I don't know the answer either. But I suspect it involves some transfers.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I think this situation is a consequence of chopping and changing managers regularly. Some of the squad (Baxter, Scougall etc) are suited to 451/433 but others (Sharp/Sammon etc) seem more suited to 442 meaning we're not ideally set up for either.

The fact that players at this level are incomplete footballers also means that whatever system you play, it seems like certain players aren't "good enough" to play it. Some say Basham isn't good enough to play 442. Yet at this level, I don't think you would find a better 2 man midfield than Basham and a fit James Wallace.

 

[Woodwardfan]

If we haven't got the players for 433 why have we got the players for 352? Our CHs aren't mobile enough and we don't have wing backs.

It's a conundrum for NA and in many ways one that he's caused himself by opting to bring in two strikers.

Btw, I don't know the answer either. But I suspect it involves some transfers.

3-5-2:

Back: Edgar, Collins, McGahey, Alcock, Harris, Basham, Kennedy

Middle wide: Flynn, Ryce, Adams, Done, Harris, Freeman.
maybe Alcock and Freeman in the defensive role.

Up front: Sharp, Sammon, McNulty, Done, Adams.

We are crying out for a central midfield ball winner/ organiser, bit like Doyle.

 

[Woodwardfan]

How annoying - can't edit above post where I am.

Central midfield line missing: Baxter, Basham, Scougall, Reed, Wallace x2, them "maybe Alcock or Freeman"