Top 5: Footballers To Have Played In Scotland...

[Sonoftherock]

Sadly, I'm not old enough to have really appreciated players like Alex McLeish and Willie Miller while they were in their prime. However, I take a real interest in the history of Scottish football and I've watched many videos of all the greats from bygone eras, but I still find it very difficult to gauge the likes of more contemporary players, like Brian Laudrup, against guys like Jimmy Johnstone, Jim Baxter and Davie Cooper. I'd especially be interested to hear, from some of the older AFC Chatters, who they believe are among the top players to have graced the Scottish game (trying, if possible. to objectively leave any Aberdeen bias out of your thinking).

 

I can't go particularly far back myself, however, the top 5 players I've witnessed, in my time as Scottish football supporter, are as follows (Unfortunately no Dandies! ):

 

1) Andy Goram - A complete arsehole but the best player, bar none, that I've ever seen in Scottish football. While shot-stopping was his fort

[cgs1706]

Zoltan Varga will be in there I'm sure for people that were lucky enough to see him.

[Guest SS RED]

Gasgoign?

[cgs1706]

Gasgoign?

 

Gascoigne?

[Scarface]

Off the top of my head, I'd say (in no order):

 

1. Henrik Larsson

2. Paolo Di Canio

3. Brian Laudrup

4. Rino Gattuso

 

with 5th spot being a toss-up between De Boer, Van Hoojidonk, Gascoigne or Byrne.

[Scarface]

 

And for the English Premiership, I'd say:

 

1. Zola

2. Bergkamp

3. Henry

4. Ronaldo

 

and either Anelka, Cantona, Shearer or Scholes.

[OneZanderDiamond]

Players from my lifetime that I remember

 

1) Larsson

2) Laudraup

3) De Boer

4) McCoist

5) Zerouali

 

Premiership

 

1) Scholes

2) Ronaldo

3) Giggs

4) Henry

5) Gerrard

 

World

 

1) Shevchenko

2) Nedved

3) Scholes

4) Zidane

5) Kaka

[Sonoftherock]

Off the top of my head, I'd say (in no order):

 

1. Henrik Larsson

2. Paolo Di Canio

3. Brian Laudrup

4. Rino Gattuso

 

with 5th spot being a toss-up between De Boer, Van Hoojidonk, Gascoigne or Byrne.

 

Wouldn't have said Gattuso really reached the heights while playing in Scotland.

[NPRC]

Who's the retard that says Goram is the best player to have ever played in Scotland? Screw Craig Gordon not being fit to lace his boots, Goram wasn't fit to lace Jim's boots (and a disgrace to mankind, to boot).

 

I can't see many people arguing with Larsson and Laudrup being right at the top.

 

I'm a bit young to have any kind of opinion on the matter but I can imagine that Zoltan Varga is up there for the short time he was at the club, however, can't be compared to the season upon season fantasmagorical wonderment of Larsson and Laudrup.

 

Gattuso would definately have been up there on current status but was only a bairn when he frequented our pastures.

 

Gascoigne, McCoist, De Boer, Di Canio, Moravcik, Blaha...all in with a shout.

[Guest LondonScottish]

Who's the retard that says Goram is the best player to have ever played in Scotland? Screw Craig Gordon not being fit to lace his boots, Goram wasn't fit to lace Jim's boots (and a disgrace to mankind, to boot).

I can't see many people arguing with Larsson and Laudrup being right at the top.

 

 

[Ingolfsson]

1. Larsson

2. Laudrup

3. Moravcik

4. Sauzee

5. Whelan

[JC1903]

In my lifetime;

 

Scottish

1. Laudrup

2. Larsson

3. Di Canio

4. McCoist

5. Pre-injury Michael Mols

 

English

1. Henry

2. Ronaldo

3. Shearer

4. Bergkamp

5. Cantona

[Sonoftherock]

Who's the retard that says Goram is the best player to have ever played in Scotland? Screw Craig Gordon not being fit to lace his boots, Goram wasn't fit to lace Jim's boots (and a disgrace to mankind, to boot).

 

 

This is the retard! I'm not old enough to comment much before the early 1990s and I stand by my original comment.

 

Goram was an outstanding player and along with Henrik Larsson, has contributed the most to his respective team and I believe, produced the most consistant level of performance I have seen in the SPL.

 

In the same way, that their were games where Larsson looked destined to score, their were occassions where Goram looked impossible to beat. The Tommy Burns era at Celtic is case in point.

 

Of course, opinions are like arseholes......

 

Craig Gordon hasn't been great this year... my boss is a Sunderland season ticket holder, and is forever complaining about his hesitancy and poor positional sense. He was also dropped for a number of weeks earlier in the season after some decidedly abject performances. Gordon is a very good keeper, but he's not brilliant... yet. On this seasons league/european form, I'd have shagger as Scotlands numbers one... having said that, Gordon hasn't done anything wrong in Scotland jersey.

[jeffers]

Cant argue with the majority, however, Andy Thom was good and probably Ray Wilkins in his pomp!

[robbo]

1. larsson

2. laudrup

3. albertz

4. di canio

5. moravcik

[zig-a-zig-ah]

1. Eoin Jess

2. Willie Miller

3. Jim Leighton

4. Craig Hignett

5. Dean Windass

[a1-don]

Outside the old firm, top 5 I've seen:

 

1) Leighton

2) Jess

3) Nevin

4) Gordon

5) McFadden

[paulkaneatemyhamster]

1. Willie Miller - a truely world class player should really be talked about in same breath as Beckenbaeur, Baresi & Moore.

 

2. Jim Leighton - again at his peak truely brilliant

 

3. Henrik Larsson - Simply the finest striker I've ever seen in Scotland

 

4. Brian Laudrup - what a fantastic player , and a true gent

 

5. Chris Woods - the only goalie who has ever come close to Leighton in Scotland, much, much better than Goram ever was.

[Guest LondonScottish]

1. Willie Miller - a truely world class player should really be talked about in same breath as Beckenbaeur, Baresi & Moore.

 

2. Jim Leighton - again at his peak truely brilliant

 

3. Henrik Larsson - Simply the finest striker I've ever seen in Scotland

 

4. Brian Laudrup - what a fantastic player , and a true gent

 

5. Chris Woods - the only goalie who has ever come close to Leighton in Scotland, much, much better than Goram ever was.

 

 

I like that list, but I'd have Di Canio in instead of Woods.

[BubbaRayDon]

Davie Cooper MUST be in there somewhere !!!

 

Pains me to say it but............ McCoist as well.

 

Paul McStay, Danny McGrain maybe??

[Guest LondonScottish]

Davie Cooper MUST be in there somewhere !!!

 

Pains me to say it but............ McCoist as well.

 

Paul McStay, Danny McGrain maybe??

 

 

Bore off.......

 

 

You have got to be fishing or too young to remember.

[fatshaft]

1. Willie Miller - a truely world class player should really be talked about in same breath as Beckenbaeur, Baresi & Moore.

 

2. Jim Leighton - again at his peak truely brilliant

 

3. Henrik Larsson - Simply the finest striker I've ever seen in Scotland

 

4. Brian Laudrup - what a fantastic player , and a true gent

 

5. Chris Woods - the only goalie who has ever come close to Leighton in Scotland, much, much better than Goram ever was.

Hard to argue with that list.

 

 

In no particular order:

 

Willie Miller - probably the most under-rated player ever. If he wasn't Scottish, and hampered by playing in the era of the vastly over-rated Hansen, then the comment above would not have been needed.

Leighton - better than the flying pig in his prime. Scotland's greatest ever goalie.

Kenny Dalglish

Henrik Larsson

Brian Laudrup

[BubbaRayDon]

Bore off.......

You have got to be fishing or too young to remember.

 

Come on be fair - I would take any one of them 4 players in a heartbeat if they were around playing today

 

AFC most likely would not manage to afford ANY of them.

[Guest LondonScottish]

Come on be fair - I would take any one of them 4 players in a heartbeat if they were around playing today

 

AFC most likely would not manage to afford ANY of them.

 

 

What are you rabbitting on about?

 

What is the title of the thread?

[paulkaneatemyhamster]

hmmm not sure about Danny McGrain or Paul McStay

 

McCoist WAS a very good poacher, but like Lineakar down south - you never think of him as being an amazing player

 

I thought about Davie Cooper too, an exceptional player on his day.

[Guest LondonScottish]

hmmm not sure about Danny McGrain or Paul McStay

 

McCoist WAS a very good poacher, but like Lineakar down south - you never think of him as being an amazing player

 

I thought about Davie Cooper too, an exceptional player on his day.

 

Davie Cooper, very good player, but not one of the top 5 players ever to play in Scotland.

 

(And he couldn't even lace Peter Weir's boots)

 

 

So this thread has now become, "name any player that was half decent on their day........" Might be quite a long list.

[BubbaRayDon]

Davie Cooper, very good player, but not one of the top 5 players ever to play in Scotland.

 

(And he couldn't even lace Peter Weir's boots) So this thread has now become, "name any player that was half decent on their day........" Might be quite a long list.

 

Think you are getting a bit excited there pal

[Guest LondonScottish]

Think you are getting a bit excited there pal

 

Absolutely not. I'd have taken Peter Weir in my team over Cooper every day of the week. I don't know many that wouldn't.

[paulkaneatemyhamster]

Absolutely not. I'd have taken Peter Weir in my team over Cooper every day of the week. I don't know many that wouldn't.

 

 

not much between the 2 really.

 

certainly have Strachan over both.

 

just goes to show how much quality the AFC team of early 80's had.

[fatshaft]

Absolutely not. I'd have taken Peter Weir in my team over Cooper every day of the week. I don't know many that wouldn't.

agree 100%. Weir was better, and far far more consistent. Cooper only turned it on once in a while, he gets rated higher nowadays because he died young IMO.