Because I support my beloved Scunthorpe, this is probably going to sound like the most biased piece of writing ever; but when the fire is hot you just can’t help to throw things in it… or something like that.
The suggestion is that playing football in Scotland basically means you’re not good enough to play in England. The country’s two best sides are populated with ex-Championship players, unknown eastern Europeans and aging ex-Premiership footballers. I was on-board this generalisation until one of my own fledging heroes jumped ship from the Championship to the SPL, Gary Hooper.
Now I’m no scout and my actual footballing logic has been proved wrong more times than a Darlington promotion push, but I am positive that Hoops is good enough for England. It’s been touted in The Times lately that Capello is considering the former Gravesend striker for the forthcoming friendly against Ghana.
I have seen many footballers tried and failed in the Three Lions shirt, and even more in the claret and blue of Scunthorpe, but watching Hoops was something classy and elegant. I’d say he’s a poor man’s Javier Hernandez, only a little stronger on the ball. It’s far too easy to say the Premier League is a ‘big step’ and that he couldn’t replicate the kind of presence he offers at a higher standard. He has the ability to find acres of space and he finishes more than he misses. He is good with the ball into feet and can head the ball – what more do you want? He is in my opinion the best player to play north of the border since Henrik Larsson, and that’s not a bad comparison is it? He almost single handedly kept The Iron up last year despite being injured for large parts of the season.
What I like even more is if the lad did make it into Fabio’s team, he will join a rare breed of striker to step up all the way from Non-League to full international level… proving wrong the ‘never make it’ theory.
Is Scottish football weaker than the Premiership? Yes. Does this mean that players in the SPL are incapable? Definitely not…
Hooperman and Rooney up front… deadly! Watch this space…
Simon Bourne