John McGinn - signed (Captain)

[Toronto Villa]

It’s just great to see SJM enjoying his football again.

[Villa Lew]

He now moves up to 7th in Scotland's all time Top Goalscorers list, pretty impressive.

[adrenachrome]

BBC Sport:

14:59
Main man McGinn

Scotland 1-0 Cyprus

John McGinn has been involved in 22 goals - scored 16, assisted six - since Steve Clarke took charge. That's 12 more than any other Scotland player in that period.

Imperious.

[Sexual Ealing]

He now moves up to 7th in Scotland's all time Top Goalscorers list, pretty impressive.

The top scorer for Scotland is (I think) Kenny Dalglish with 30-something. It's ridiculously low anyway. Possibly to do with their bizarre policy of not picking excellent strikers like Andy Gray and Graeme Sharp back in the day.

[Footy-Vill]

John McGinn after scoring again for Scotland
"I have gone 46 [games] without a goal at Villa which is eating away at me – and I score after 20 [minutes] for Scotland. I am sure when I get down to Birmingham I will be getting reminders of that and I need to try and get back on the goal trail with the club."

Yes, I'll tell you that the reason you scored after 20 minutes was because you were playing against Cyprus McGinn!  They have an extremely limited pool of players from which to choose. A country in football terms which is a minnow. In all honesty he should be scoring against them if hes the main goal threat for Scotland given the difference in abilities.
What is the significance of his comparison? Does our captain believe there is no difference between the Premier League and the quality of opposition he faces for Scotland?

Fact
Internationallly 10 or even more of McGinn's 16 goals have come against lowly ranked sides and the smaller countries, he has never scored against a major footballing power. In actuality, he has never even scored more than one goal except when playing against San Marino with a Hat Trick and a brace against the Faroe Islands.

Fact
The reality Ginny has faced France, Portugal, England, Croatia, Holland, Italy, Mexico, and did not score. Some of these countries he's faced mire than once.

Context
Credit where credit is due, but the opposition must be considered in addition to the role and position he plays internationally compared to playing at Villa.

Prediction on Evidence
Based on his international record and having seen him at Villa be a very non existence goal threat or unavke to convert John McGinn will never complete a hat trick in the Premier League, in my opinion.

Based on this level he may have a hat trick against a lower-level team in a domestic cup

Theory
McGinn is expected to appear against Spain soon. If he is to demonstrate any sign that he can compete with the best, and where we expect our Villa players to be capable, I want to see him score against Spain on Tuesday.

Prediction
I doubt he will unlikely given the type of opposition Ginny scores against for Scotland.

Conclusion
And that, to me, shows that, while he is a spirited and good player for Villa and a key player, goalscorer, and danger for Scotland, he is someone who can be upgraded at Villa and we bring in a midfielder capable of scoring against top 10 World/European sides.

[Flamingo Lane]

I'm sure that will be exactly the sort of dressing down that Emery will have it in mind to deliver to McGinn, the minute he's back at Bodymoor Heath.

[Chris Smith]

The reality Ginny has faced France, Portugal, England, Croatia, Holland, Italy, Mexico, and did not score. Some of these countries he's faced mire than once.

That’s the equivalent of criticising a midfielder from a League One side for failing to score against Premier League teams. Scotland is a tiny footballing nation so will inevitably be on the back-foot in games agains the bigger countries.

[Monty]

Agreed, I always found that harsh, but I think people from Big Football Nations can sometimes find it hard to vibe with the mindset of smaller ones. I remember talking to a Brazilian friend of mine who refused to accept George Best as a candidate for best-ever as 'he did nothing in the World Cup'. As if that's fair!

[OCD]

Context
Credit where credit is due, but the opposition must be considered in addition to the role and position he plays internationally compared to playing at Villa.

Then there's the context that Scotland aren't exactly world beaters themselves either. And also have a small pool of talent to choose from.

[eamonn]

Great essay lay-out, Footy. BE will finally become a fan of yours!

[VILLA MOLE]

Have you given it much thought Footy ?🤔😉

[Footy-Vill]

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Signing a player who has scored against a top ranked nation on the international stage would be an upgrade on McGinn.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

[Monty]

Hal Robson-Kanu scored against Belgium.

[Risso]

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Signing a player who has scored against a top ranked nation on the international stage would be an upgrade on McGinn.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

I think that would be a silly way to judge players. I mean, I'd really like Martin Odegaard in the Villa team, but he's only scored two international goals, and they weren't against top flight teams, so he must be shit.

[Footy-Vill]

Hal Robson-Kanu scored against Belgium.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Signing a player who has scored against a top ranked nation on the international stage would be an upgrade on McGinn.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

I think that would be a silly way to judge players. I mean, I'd really like Martin Odegaard in the Villa team, but he's only scored two international goals, and they weren't against top flight teams, so he must be shit.

Robson Kanu has retired and doesn't play as a midfielder.
Odergaard hasn't scored against a top ranked nation.

So I'm suggesting replacing McGinn with an international player who regularly scores against the established top footballing countries would be beneficial to Villa progressing. An established international player of a higher pedigree than McGinn would win us more games.