ABERDEEN v Hibernian

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Originally Posted by Don_Corleone

I agree with much of that - compared to someone like Watkins who puts in a lot of work, holds the ball up well, has good close control and links the play, Cosgrove is way behind. I think it does affect the way we play - the ball doesnt “stick” up front as well with cosgrove and we revert to long ball more often (thankfully not as much as last year or two though). Cosgroves first touch is still dreadful and his running off the ball etc isn’t great.

He does however seem to have a nack of scoring. When I saw him running through on goal the other night it felt like he was running in slow motion and took the ball away from goal - watching back the replay some of his touches look clumsy and he could very easily have overrun it with any one of them - then the finish goes flying into the roof of the net - I can only imagine it caught the keeper off guard because most players would have taken the shot with their left foot from that position.

If he keeps scoring you can’t complain too much, but I’d still cash in it we get an offer of £2m or more.

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Watkins is a good outside the box, but does he score goals? No. And whatever you do, don't credit Cosgrove with a brilliant finish, you must have been spewing when that went in.

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Originally Posted by WeDontNeedEusebio

Watkins is a good outside the box, but does he score goals? No. And whatever you do, don't credit Cosgrove with a brilliant finish, you must have been spewing when that went in.

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If you read my post you'll notice I give Cosgrove credit for scoring goals. I just don't think he's a very good footballer and he impacts on how the team play. Watkins isn't an out and out striker and he doesn't score many, but would he have scored that chance? Clean through on goal with nobody around him? I'd think he would probably be just as likely to score that as Cosgrove. It was a goal, so credit to the boy for putting it in - brilliant finish? Maybe... or maybe he kicked it with his right foot because he is useless with his left, and that caught the keeper off guard as most players would've taken it with their left from that angle?

Either way, he scored, so happy days. As long as we continue to stick with the current system, Hedges and Wright in behind him and the same style of play, I'm happy enough with Sam in the team.

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Originally Posted by Don_Corleone

If you read my post you'll notice I give Cosgrove credit for scoring goals. I just don't think he's a very good footballer and he impacts on how the team play. Watkins isn't an out and out striker and he doesn't score many, but would he have scored that chance? Clean through on goal with nobody around him? I'd think he would probably be just as likely to score that as Cosgrove. It was a goal, so credit to the boy for putting it in - brilliant finish? Maybe... or maybe he kicked it with his right foot because he is useless with his left, and that caught the keeper off guard as most players would've taken it with their left from that angle?

Either way, he scored, so happy days. As long as we continue to stick with the current system, Hedges and Wright in behind him and the same style of play, I'm happy enough with Sam in the team.

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I’ve said the same about Cosgrove, he scores goals but is useless at everything else which was similar to Rooney.

Watkins was good at holding the ball up and linking play but probably wouldn’t score many goals.

Ideally you want a striker who can score goals and the other stuff but they are probably out of our price range.

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Originally Posted by rico94

Ideally you want a striker who can score goals and the other stuff but they are probably out of our price range.

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You would have hoped with our super duper new training facilities that our first class management team would have the ability to train our forward players to control a ball coming down from the clouds and then be able to string quick passes with our defensive midfielders before he launches a shot into the opponent’s net from 45 yards or so.
We are not training hard enough....shut the facilities and go back to the drawing board.

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Originally Posted by rico94

I’ve said the same about Cosgrove, he scores goals but is useless at everything else which was similar to Rooney.

Watkins was good at holding the ball up and linking play but probably wouldn’t score many goals.

Ideally you want a striker who can score goals and the other stuff but they are probably out of our price range.

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It wont surprise anyone for me to remind them that I have been pretty critical of Cosgrove since the day we signed him and that opinion is never going to change, as an actual footballer he is sh1te with limited ability and fk all skill.
I'm not so sure we have to look very far to find a skillful footballing striker who can scores goals, but right now he is at Ayr United on loan. I have a feeling that once Bruce comes back and our manager (or hopefully new manager by then) gives him a regular run of games he will be the next similar Scott Wright story.
Folks may try and argue that Bruce has had a run of games, has he fk and the style of our set up on the opening day of this season against the huns the poor lad was hung out to dry which I solely blame DM and his fkd up tactics on the day for.
Right now Scott Wright is probably the first name on the team sheet and there is no reason that upon his return Bruce Anderson cannot be a similar story. DM over to you.

As for Cosgrove, he was sh1te when we signed him he is still sh1te now and still will be sh1te when he leaves, but hopefully in the funny money world of the football lower leagues in guffland we will get a few quid for the guy and that as I have said before will be his best ever contribution to the dons.

@blowupsheep - setting aside your views on Cosgrove, which I don't entirely agree with, when it comes to wee Bruce, I feel like I've never seen enough of him to know whether he can operate alone, or whether he needs to play off someone else in a partnership.

I've seen him in lots of highlights of U21 games, etc. and obviously his Dons cameos (but they have been mostly cameos) but has anyone on here seen him enough (in the flesh or not) to give a sense of what kind of environment he'd need to flourish?

As we've seen with Wright, Pawlett, Rooney in the later period, etc. McInnes has a tendency to play people out of position, thereby limiting their impact. And then almost by accident sometimes we discover that Wright or Hedges or Pawlett are not really out and out wingers, but are much better played through the middle.

So what would suit Bruce best?

(As an aside, although not a fan of Considine, I do think playing on the left of a back 3, with a wing-back in front of him, really suits him and he's doing much better this season as a result, fair play to him.)