James Forrest

A lot of the time he is a main player in goals though, he might not be playing the final pass but he is a major part of the goal.

 

James Forrest will always have the problem of fans complaining due to what he "should've" or "could've" been, rather than appreciating him for what he is, which is a very useful player.

 

Think he is a cracking player, but like so many before him in that kind of position, hasnt fulfilled his potential.

Never hides either, even when not playing well.

 

That's actually one of his faults, going missing sometimes.

 

I think he's been very good this season and I was about to give up on him to be honest, although have always rated him.

A lot of his appearances have been as a sub this season which I think makes his stats look misleading. I think he would be a 100% starter every game if he never had his injury problems, but Ronny seems to preserve him for the bigger games. I could be wrong but I think he started about 90% of our European games this season but was tested before all of them.

His final product isn't world class, but he's always a threat, and like others have said, we need someone who can get us up the pitch when we play in Europe against decent opposition, an outlet. His workrate has also improved this season. I still think we're yet to see the best of him, he's at a stage now where he's finally been injury free for quite a while and has racked up a fair bit of game time, once that continues he should keep progressing and he'll be a better player by the time he's 27/28.

 

Aye, he does drift in and out, but sometimes you see players making it obvious they dont want the ball.....hiding behind opposition players when instead of looking for the space, i havent seen that from him.....or maybe havent detected it.(on my screen!)

 

If he was able to actually make a decent cross that our forwards could get to especially in Europe i would say keep him but his crossing of a ball after running past the opposition, let's him and the side down too often.

 

A player who'll ultimately be remembered for failing to build on his potential from when Lenny broke him into the first team! That early period he was electric, scored goals, was creative and looked a genuine talent! fast forward 5 yrs and being honest, he has gone backwards from his debut season.

A decent option to have still, but I have a feeling he's gonna go Maloney on us. Years of injuries while getting paid, but relatively injury free in the last year of his contract and he'll go on a Bosman. Strange how that happens a lot in world football eh?

 

I think a lot of the criticism stems from frustration more than any agenda against him. We have seen that on his day he can be excellent and tear teams apart. The problem is consistency. There's expectation on him and when he isn't at the races it's maybe more noticeable. I think he deserves the chance to build that level of consistency but it remains to be seen if he can actually do it or if he will continue to go from superstar to passenger. Reckon he deserves next season to see if he can do it.

 

That tends to happen when you have been injured pretty much the whole time since your debut season.

There is a reason why he has stagnated as so many people like to tell us.

 

His first full season injury free since his debut season and he has been one of our stand out performers.

Driving us forward, drawing defenders towards him, creating space for others, linking up well and our one genuine out ball in Europe.

Sure lets punt him though because we are are * drowning in speed merchant wingers...

 

I think he the opposite. If things aren't going his way, and the fans get a bit on his back, then he isn't interested. Seen it plenty times from him.

 

He definitely goes missing in games, has to be a lot more consistent and has to work on his final ball. Things that have been said for a while now. I still think he has the potential to be a top player for us if he stays fit and becomes more consistent. I've been really impressed with him at times this year. He looks as if he could rip anyone apart and then he goes missing. A bit like Sammy with pace.

 

His biggest problem is he tends to hide when it isn't goimg his way, if he was a bit braver and still tried to stand up and be counted when it isn't quite clicking for him the fans would appreciate him much more.

The likes of McGeady and Maloney done it, Forrest can learn from that.

 

Aye, I said that the other day as well about McGeady, when folk were trying to draw comparisons between the two.

 

You really think Forrest is better than all of them? You've picked 3 Bournemouth & 3 Swansea wingers in there alone. I'm don't think he'd get a game for either team. The likes of Ritchie, McClean & Montero are far superior players.

 

Another thing about most of those players listed, is that they put in a defensive shift as well. Something Forrest doesn't do in my opinion.

 

If he hasn't learned to do that by his mid 20's, is he ever going to? Maloney & McGeady were at their peak at his age.

Do you think he was a better player in 2010? I think he comfortably was. I think he's lost a bit of pace too, I don't see an area of his game where he's actually improved from 6 years ago.

 

He really, really hasn't mate.

First couple of months of the season aye he was, but he's been average for the past while, with the odd moment here and there.

GMS' performance against St Johnstone was better than anything we've seen from Forrest in the league so far this season.

 

James has only got speed, he does not even have a trick, all Scottish teams force him inside and he runs along the 18 yard line and mostly makes a mess of it