League's shooting stars seem to have lost their sparkle

JIM REYNOLDS

24 Dec 1994

WITH the Scottish league season approaching its halfway stage, the action so far has thrown up many surprising statistics, like who has the happy knack of scoring at this time of year, or which keeper has had the most shut-outs.

For the answers, read on.

WHERE have all the hat tricksters gone? Scotland's premier division strikers seem to have become shot-shy, and it is a fact that so far this season none of them has managed to score three times in a league match.

In fact, if no-one manages a hat trick in the five matches scheduled for Monday, it will mean that we have gone through a calendar year without the feat being accomplished, because the last man to hit three goals in a premier division match was Partick Thistle's Roddy Grant, against St Johnstone at Firhill on October 1, 1993.

Grant was unique in that he was the only one to do so last season.

Yet during the 1992-93 term, Rangers' Ally McCoist grabbed three hat tricks and Aberdeen's Duncan Shearer, two.

Indeed, McCoist, with 11, is well ahead of anyone else for hat tricks in premier division matches.

Since reconstruction in 1975 the top men have been:

Eleven -- Ally McCoist.

Six -- Brian McClair.

Five -- Tommy Coyne, Keith Wright.

Four -- Derek Johnstone, Frank McGarvey, Davie Dodds.

Three -- Joe Harper, Eric Black, Frank McAvennie, Robert Fleck.

* EOIN Jess, the young Aberdeen and Scotland striker, has not had the best of seasons so far, mainly because of injury, but if anything is likely to spark him off it could be the festive programme.

He has the happy knack of celebrating Christmas by scoring.

And if he is in the line-up for the Boxing Day clash at Pittodrie, then Celtic had better keep a special watch on him.

Since becoming a first-team player, Jess has a remarkable record in the match closest to Christmas:

December 26, 1990 -- Aberdeen 1, St Mirren 0 (Jess scored).

December 28, 1991 -- Aberdeen 2, Celtic 2 (scored).

December 26, 1992 -- Motherwell 0, Aberdeen 2 (scored).

December 27, 1993 -- Dundee United 0, Aberdeen 1 (scored).

* REMEMBER the time when a manager announced his team and the goalkeeper was almost an automatic choice.

As regards consistent inclusion, it was the safest position in the team.

Not, it seems, any more.

We are just halfway through the season and already 50% of the premier division clubs have used three keepers.

The list is:

Dundee United -- Henrik Jorgensen, Alan Main, Kelham O'Hanlon.

Falkirk -- Tony Parks, Billy Lamont, John Burridge.

Hearts -- Henry Smith, Nicky Walker, Craig Nelson.

Kilmarnock -- Bobby Geddes, Colin Meldrum, Dragoje Lekovic.

Partick Thistle -- Craig Nelson, Andy Murdoch, Nicky Walker.

* STILL on the subject of keepers, for sheer consistency you cannot look past the two men who played for Scotland against Greece in the European Championship qualifier in Athens last weekend.

Andy Goram, of Rangers, and Hibernian's Jim Leighton have each had eight shut-outs in 17 league matches.

Compare that with Motherwell, who lie second in the premier division table.

Their man, Steve Woods, has managed only one shut-out in the league, against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in August.

* IT is quite surprising the difference a year makes, especially among the country's goalscorers.

Only two men who headed the scoring lists at this time last year are again the top men with their premier division clubs -- John Robertson, of Hearts, and Rangers' Mark Hateley.

Last Christmas, Duncan Shearer was top of the Aberdeen charts with 16 goals, but has managed just four so far this term.

Mind you, he has missed most of the season, because of injury, and Scott Booth, with nine goals is the current top striker.

Dundee United midfield man Billy McKinlay led the way at Tannadice with nine strikes, but this time he has managed to score only twice, and United's top men are Craig Brewster and Jerren Nixon, both with five.

The rest of the list is:

Celtic -- Pat McGinley (6 last year, 1 this year before moving to Hibernian).

Top man this time -- John Collins (7).

Hearts -- John Robertson (6-8).

Hibernian -- Keith Wright (8-0, but has yet to play this season).

Michael O'Neill 10.

Kilmarnock -- Bobby Williamson (5-3).

Colin McKee (4).

Motherwell -- Dougie Arnott (10-6).

Tommy Coyne (14).

Partick Thistle -- Albert Craig (12-1).

Chic Charnley, Roddy Grant (4).

Rangers -- Mark Hateley (19-13).

* FOUR clubs in the premier division have amassed more points than they have scored goals so far this season:

Rangers (36 points, 31 goals), Hibernian (26 and 23), Celtic (21 and 17), Kilmarnock (18 and 16).

* ONLY four premier division clubs have, at some stage, fielded all-Scottish sides -- Celtic, Kilmarnock, Hearts, and Falkirk, while Rangers, Hearts and Falkirk have used more players than any other club.

The full list of how many players each club has called on this season:

Aberdeen (21), Celtic (22), Dundee United (24), Falkirk (25), Hearts (25), Hibernian (20), Kilmarnock (22), Motherwell (21), Partick Thistle (24), Rangers (25).

* LET us end with just a bit of cheer for Celtic fans.

They should really look on the bright side.

People who are told they have gone 10 league matches without a win should answer by pointing out that they have gone five league games without a defeat, and that they are six points ahead of Aberdeen with a game less played.

Here is another thought.

Celtic strikers are finding it tough to score in the league these days with Andy Walker having three goals to his credit, Willie Falconer one, and Charlie Nicholas and Simon Donnelly none.

In 1977 Tom McAdam had bagged six by Christmas.

It just so happens that McAdam, now 40, is a coach with Celtic, but he was also listed as a player at the start of the season.

Well, John Burridge is forty-something.

Taken from the Herald