Which player had the biggest drop off after the amount of potential they initially showed?

[Stylish Kid]

1 hour ago, Jacky1990 said:

2) John Fleck.

Heard the buzz when he was still only 14 or 15 so was buzzing when this young Scottish starlet started getting game time at 16. From Scottish Wayne Rooney to EFL League One for a large chunk of his career wasnt exactly what was expected.

Probably a classic of being big for his age so was generally ahead of his age group. I think he's played for a the National Team recently in midfield, but nothing special TBH 

[Stylish Kid]

1 hour ago, Jacky1990 said:

1) Aiden McGeady.

Was a few years ahead of me at school but was talked up as the next big thing with all the big English clubs and sponsors sniffing around from an early age. Thought he was destined for hige things when he first broke in to Celtics team. Ended up with a mediocre career.

I'd actually thought about McGeady. For the hype when he was 15/16 he definitely hasn't hit the heights expected 

[coprolite]

This thread is quite saddening tbh. The number of promising youngsters we've had coming through that i 've had high hopes for and turned out to be on the fringes of full-time standard at best is way higher than those that have broken through. 

Bit if i had to nominate one, Bayern Munich being (allegedly) interested in Zander Diamond is it. 

[Theroadlesstravelled]

David Goodwillie…

Was excellent at DU before moving to Blackburn for a decent fee.

 

[Clown Job]

23 minutes ago, Stylish Kid said:

Probably a classic of being big for his age so was generally ahead of his age group. I think he's played for a the National Team recently in midfield, but nothing special TBH 

Always stories about when living in Yoker hanging about with some unpleasant characters and enjoyed a pint & kebab a bit too often 

Getting out of Glasgow was probably a good thing for him, but the hype was absolutely ridiculous way, way overboard 

[Miguel Sanchez]

33 minutes ago, Stylish Kid said:

Probably a classic of being big for his age so was generally ahead of his age group. I think he's played for a the National Team recently in midfield, but nothing special TBH 

Fleck's listed at 5 foot 7 now, he can't have been that big for his age when he was growing up.

[RandomGuy.]

1 minute ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

Fleck's listed at 5 foot 7 now, he can't have been that big for his age when he was growing up.

TBF my memory is he was built like a tank at 16, which is where the Rooney comparisons came into things.

[Clown Job]

2 minutes ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

Fleck's listed at 5 foot 7 now, he can't have been that big for his age when he was growing up.

Not his height but he was built like a fully grown man when he was 15/16 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Clown Job

[Jacky1990]

1 hour ago, Clown Job said:

Behave 

McGeady came in with the hype that he would go on to become a top end player for a big European club.

All he amounted to was a few titles at Celtic, a money spinning stint doing f**k all in Russia and was in the second tier of English football by 30.

Definition of wasted potential.

[VincentGuerin]

38 minutes ago, Jacky1990 said:

McGeady came in with the hype that he would go on to become a top end player for a big European club.

All he amounted to was a few titles at Celtic, a money spinning stint doing f**k all in Russia and was in the second tier of English football by 30.

Definition of wasted potential.

Nah. McGeady won almost a hundred caps for Ireland, playing at two major tournaments in the process. He won three leagues and three cups at Celtic, and played in a team that took AC Milan to extra time in the CL last sixteen, a round they reached two years running. He was bought by the biggest club in Russia for the thick end of ten million quid, then played two seasons in the English Premier League.

Just because he never signed for Real Madrid, it doesn't mean he didn't have an excellent career. If he's had a poor career, then most other players in the world need to chuck it.

You look at the difference with someone like Danny Wilson. Came onto the scene playing first-team fitba for Rangers and absolutely cruised it as a 17 year-old. Moved to Liverpool and you'd have genuinely backed him for a top-level career. But he's ended up cruising around Scotland's top two tiers and then America. Similar to how the late Liam Miller's career stalled and ended up in Australia and at Hibs after his big move to Manchester United.

McGeady has had a great career.

Edited December 26, 2022 by VincentGuerin

[Benjamin_Nevis]

11 hours ago, johnnydun said:

Another regarded as the 'Next big thing' at the time, became the youngest goal scorer in the top flight at 16, (at the time, this might have changed).

Iain 'Ando' Anderson.

 

Good shout. At one stage we had Neil McCann on one wing and Ando on the other. He went to Toulouse, then did fairly well at Preston. His career tanked after that. 

[Stylish Kid]

1 hour ago, Clown Job said:

Not his height but he was built like a fully grown man when he was 15/16 

Yep this. Wasn't just about height. 

[Jacky1990]

5 hours ago, VincentGuerin said:

Nah. McGeady won almost a hundred caps for Ireland, playing at two major tournaments in the process. He won three leagues and three cups at Celtic, and played in a team that took AC Milan to extra time in the CL last sixteen, a round they reached two years running. He was bought by the biggest club in Russia for the thick end of ten million quid, then played two seasons in the English Premier League.

Just because he never signed for Real Madrid, it doesn't mean he didn't have an excellent career. If he's had a poor career, then most other players in the world need to chuck it.

You look at the difference with someone like Danny Wilson. Came onto the scene playing first-team fitba for Rangers and absolutely cruised it as a 17 year-old. Moved to Liverpool and you'd have genuinely backed him for a top-level career. But he's ended up cruising around Scotland's top two tiers and then America. Similar to how the late Liam Miller's career stalled and ended up in Australia and at Hibs after his big move to Manchester United.

McGeady has had a great career.

Nah, stand by it.

If you had said when he first broke through that after leaving Celtic his next longest stint would be for Sunderland in League One you would have said he must have massively dropped off.

Didnt win anything at Spartak and was a failure at Everton.

As for the "nearly 100 caps for Ireland", so does Glenn Whelan. Hardly a barometer of greatness.

McGeady has had a good career by most player's standards. But he didnt live up to the massive potential he showed early on. Which is the whole point of this topic.

[gannonball]

Mcgeady is a terrible suggestion imo.

He won POTY and I seen him turn the likes of Puyol and Maldini inside out , he was great for us at Champions league level.

It became obvious however for me he was never going to be world class as he never had the real nous to play the killer ball that you can’t really teach, he was never a sublime finisher either. Strachan realised this and simplified his game for the better making him work on his conditioning and using his pace more. He became a far more effective and consistent player after a season or two  under him despite the dislike of each other. The ‘drop off’ came way later on in his career after a season at Everton where he admitted his fitness and motivation had gone.

Edited December 27, 2022 by gannonball

[Mitch]

Jake Hastie. 
Was thrown in by Robinson in Jan 2019 and he had a ridiculous purple patch of a couple of months. Was out of contract in the summer and got a move to Rangers. Can’t blame him for jumping at it as it turns out he isn’t actually very good.

Dont think he ever played a competitive match for Rangers and has had mediocre to dugshit loan spells at Rotherham, back to Motherwell, Partick and Linfield. Now plying his trade as a regular unused sub at Hartlepool. Suspect he will be punted from there soon enough.

[Monkey Tennis]

I'm surprised Mark Burchill hasn't had a mention (unless I've missed it).  

I suspect that in his case, the initial hype was as much the issue, as the career that subsequently transpired.

[Monkey Tennis]

43 minutes ago, Mitch said:

Jake Hastie. 
Was thrown in by Robinson in Jan 2019 and he had a ridiculous purple patch of a couple of months. Was out of contract in the summer and got a move to Rangers. Can’t blame him for jumping at it as it turns out he isn’t actually very good.

Dont think he ever played a competitive match for Rangers and has had mediocre to dugshit loan spells at Rotherham, back to Motherwell, Partick and Linfield. Now plying his trade as a regular unused sub at Hartlepool. Suspect he will be punted from there soon enough.

It must genuinely be difficult to cope with a career nosediving like that.  Harry Cochrane has also had a couple of mentions.  He's currently out of the picture at the worst Queens side seen for over twenty years.  It must be weird to break through in the top flight that early, totally look as if you belong at that level, then quickly find you're actually nowhere near it.

I suppose it shows how demanding it is to maintain an elevated career.

Psychologically though, it must be a difficult thing to deal with.  Having the career and lifestyle that had looked likely, simply dissolve, must leave you puzzled and probably resentful.

Does Gary Kenneth also fit the bill here?

Edited December 27, 2022 by Monkey Tennis

[Dons_1988]

Craig storie. Once a reasonably promising midfielder, no idea if he could have made it but his fall to jakey *** mink was quite spectacular. 

[Dons_1988]

Also mcgeady definitely doesn’t belong in this thread 

[Jacky1990]

2 hours ago, gannonball said:

Mcgeady is a terrible suggestion imo.

He won POTY and I seen him turn the likes of Puyol and Maldini inside out , he was great for us at Champions league level.

It became obvious however for me he was never going to be world class as he never had the real nous to play the killer ball that you can’t really teach, he was never a sublime finisher either. Strachan realised this and simplified his game for the better making him work on his conditioning and using his pace more. He became a far more effective and consistent player after a season or two  under him despite the dislike of each other. The ‘drop off’ came way later on in his career after a season at Everton where he admitted his fitness and motivation had gone.

So initially showed the potential to rinse some of the best defenders of the past 30 years and ended up falling away to the point he was in the lower leagues by 30? 

Thats far more of a drop off in standard than some youngsters having a good few games then not kicking on.

Not suggesting he was pish. Far from it.

But he more than fits the category here in my interpretation of it.

Edited December 27, 2022 by Jacky1990