The goal-scorer reigns supreme in football.
Lewandowski, Vardy, and Messi are the men who can find the net when others can’t find a pass, and they win matches and electrify crowds.
Lawrence Shankland may not be at their rarefied levels but his magnificent goal against St Mirren last weekend reaffirms him as a hitman of serious calibre.
With little room to manoeuvre to meet a ball at an awkward height, he still managed to adjust his body to clip an acutely judged and weighted shot past the keeper and into the top corner.
It’s a talent which few possess and the reason top strikers are worth the wages and transfer fees that they attract.
Lawrence Shankland claimed his first top-flight goal to help Dundee United beat St Mirren 2-1 at Tannadice. pic.twitter.com/v2Vu3SnokS
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 20, 2020
Many also bring smart link-up play and hard graft to their craft, but it’s the ability to rattle the onion bag which is their forte.
Impeccable timing, an acute positional sense and instinctive reflexes are the great strikers’ stock in trade.
After a slight worry over his recent ankle injury, Shankland has dispelled any concerns – his aim remains deadly.
How St Johnstone could do with a striker like the United man.
Older Saints fans will warmly recall one of the finest box men to wear the blue shirt: Henry Hall.
As all of St Johnstone’s fine outfield play comes to grief on the barren rocks of striking inadequacy, how they could use their hero of yesteryear and his innate talent to squirm, turn, dodge, jink and poke home while surrounded by tight defences.
Callum Davidson is right to praise his men for much of the fine work between the 18-yard boxes but you can bet he’ll be talking extensively to every one of his contacts to find the man who can convert chances into goals.
Having endured many a disappointing European trip abroad with Scottish clubs, this week’s results did little to cheer me up.
Other than Rangers’ fine 4-0 win in Holland at Willem II, Celtic scraping a 1-0 win in Latvia and Motherwell’s 3-0 defeat in Israel does very little to enhance our club reputation abroad.
Aberdeen’s 1-0 defeat at Sporting Lisbon is more forgivable given the pedigree of opposition but our efforts still rank as miserable.
If European and international football are the measures by which our game is judged, we’re still a long way off an acceptable standard.
With the Highland league concerned that they may not start their season, the worries will intensify for the future of the game outside of Premiership level.
I had a long blether with a League One club director in Broughty Ferry in midweek. He’s got over 40 years of experience and knows the football scene inside out.
He was rightly concerned not just about whether his and other clubs can get through this season, but the longer term if we can’t have fans back in the grounds soon.
It’s hard enough for teams at that level who are getting no income even if they did pick up £50,000 from Edinburgh philanthropist James Anderson.
For the Highland league and others there’s no philanthropist, ragged-trousered or otherwise, waiting in the wings to save them.
