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The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Kieron Bowie is primed to be Scotland's No.9 heir apparent
It was an agreeable start to what could be a pivotal campaign in the 22-year-old's young career. Because, if things go well, we may not just be looking at a future Hibernian poster boy – and potentially someone they could sell on for a decent chunk of money – but a potential long-term answer for Scotland at the No.9 role. With Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams coming into the latter stages of their career, and their availability and productivity for the national team having already dropped off over the last year or so, manager Steve Clarke has tried out a few younger options at the point of attack in recent international breaks. Tommy Conway and George Hirst from down south have each been given chances, while James Wilson at Hearts was made Scotland's youngest international of the modern era earlier this year. Then there's also Bowie, who was given his first cap as a substitute against Liechtenstein in June. With Bobby Wales, once of Kilmarnock and now at Swansea City, also emerging as an exciting young talent, we could soon be entering a bright future at what's long been a problem position for the national team. You may indeed be wondering why this writer has singled out Bowie as Scotland's heir apparent in attack. Wilson and Wales, for instance, contributed about the same to the William Hill Premiership last season and are both younger, which therefore means they are perceived to have greater potential. And you don't have to look far into Bowie's past for reasons as to why it may seem foolish to bank on him becoming a Scotland hero: 14 goals in 85 games for Northampton hardly gets the pulses racing, after all. But unless a Scottish striker goes to the very top and becomes the type of world-class attacking talent that can put a modest team on their back, it would likely come down to who suits the system the best. And unless things change dramatically for the better in what's already been an accomplished period for the international team across recent decades, Scotland's place in the food chain demands a certain type of player to lead the line. The No.9 for most of the Steve Clarke era has been Lyndon Dykes – who himself has both a modest pedigree and record in front of goal. There's no doubt the Aussie-turned-Jock has his detractors within the Tartan Army support. He's not the most technically proficient of players, while his decision-making can also be erratic. He has matches where everything he touches turns to dust. But he's also had many big moments in a Scotland shirt and turned in performances where he's enabled the rest of the attack to function better around him. You can argue causation and correlation, but Scotland's fortunes undeniably improved once Dykes switched allegiances from his homeland. He gave the team a focal point up front that Clarke had failed to find in Oli McBurnie, Oli Burke, Callum Paterson or the dying embers of Leigh Griffiths' prime years. Dykes contributes not only by scoring a higher rate for Scotland than he has at club level, but by putting in a power of work. He's a willing runner and fighter and his huge, athletic frame, which enables him to make life miserable for opposing defenders. It's the type of player in attack that Scotland have required for quite some time now. Even these days with Italian football darlings Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson among the ranks, our talent pool is still too shallow to try and go toe-to-toe with the best of world football. In order to continue dining at the high table we still need to play pragmatically. Bowie is the up-and-comer who most resembles Dykes' game. He's a huge presence in attack who doesn't need to be provoked to get into a 90-minute fight with his marker. He isn't quite as mobile as Dykes but he still gets around the final third. And, promisingly, early evidence would suggest a stronger eye for goal. Bowie netted six goals in 21 games for Hibs last term, but by doing so in only 871 minutes, he had a better goals-per-90 minutes than all but three Scottish Premiership strikers — they were Player of the Year Daizen Maeda, top goalscorer Cyriel Dessers and Celtic's human victory-cigar Adam Idah. In a campaign that, in many ways, never properly got going for the striker due to a hamstring injury which kept him out for months, there were many more promising numbers which stood out for Bowie. I compared his stats to 33 other Premiership centre-forwards from last term and he finished in the top three for percentage of shots on target and goal conversion, as well as touches inside the penalty area per 90 minutes. Demonstrating his willingness to battle, he also led all strikers in defensive actions, interceptions and fouls won (again, per 90). The advanced stats also show some clear indications for improvement if he is going to discover his potential. Though he won fouls at a higher rate than any other striker, it was offset by committing the most as well (3 conceded to 2.89 won per game). He also only won 18.18 per cent of his aerial duels (the fifth worst tally) and he ranked quite poorly for many of the passing accuracy metrics. The latter two will be key if he is to establish himself at a higher level. He needs to win more flick-ons for team-mates to run onto, while it's little use initially making the ball stick in attack if you're going to give it right back again. Returning to the positives, the game which stood out the most as an example of Bowie's ability to be a real force came in Hibs' 2-1 victory over Celtic at Easter Road in February. The youngster dominated both Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty in a first-half performance where the hosts scored twice without reply. He would tire badly in the second period and be replaced on the hour. And this is where we may have to pump the breaks a little in terms of expectations based on what we saw last year. Bowie largely made his corn coming off the bench and wasn't as effective when he started matches. But the player admitted himself that the hamstring injury robbed him of 90-minute fitness that he wouldn't be able to fully regain until pre-season. If he can reproduce what he did in 871 minutes across three/four times as much playing action this term then what could we be looking at? A player of the year nomination? A contender for the Premiership's golden boot? A regular place in the Scotland squad? None of that is implausible and that should be very exciting for both Hibs fans and Scotland supporters.
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
'Different' Celtic verdict landed for 85-goal striker as transfer puts Scotland ace's future in doubt
The former Celtic hitman made his first appearance for his new club earlier this week. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The arrival of ex-Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi at Birmingham City is likely to push Scotland striker Lyndon Dykes towards the St. Andrew's exit door this summer, according to one leading pundit. The 30-year-old former Hoops hitman became a cult hero at Celtic Park after scoring 85-goals in three-and-half seasons in Glasgow, but departed in order to sign for Rennes for a reported fee of £10million in January. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Japanese striker endured a nightmare six months in France though, playing just six times for the Ligue 1 outfit, which resulted in him making a cut-price summer move to Birmingham earlier this month, where he is hoping to fire them to a second successive promotion in the EFL Championship this coming season. Kyogo Furuhashi has struggled in Ligue 1 after leaving Celtic in January. | AFP via Getty Images Kyogo's arrival at St. Andrew's has already saw the English second-tier club allow striker Alfie May to depart in order to join Huddersfield Town, and Dykes could be the next player to exit the Midlands club. The 42-cap Scotland ace managed to score just one league goal for the Blues during their record breaking EFL League One title win last season, and his poor goal scoring record could see Birmingham sanction an exit this summer, according to Sky Sports pundit and former Motherwell striker Don Goodman. 'I think you have to go back to 2020/21 to see the last time that Lyndon Dykes managed double figures in the Championship,' said Goodman. 'It's been a tough few years for him, don't think that he's going to get a lot of game time at Birmingham City this season in the EFL Championship. I don't really think he's a prolific scorer of goals. 'I think there's only once, since he's been in England, that he's managed to get double figures – I think that was Queens Park Rangers in his first season there. If I were him, I would absolutely be looking to find an avenue out and find a way to a club that is going to play me week in and week out.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Birmingham head coach Chris Davies admits he could not have dreamed of signing a player of the quality of Furuhashi until recently, and conceded he is seriously considering pairing England Under-21 international Jay Stansfield with the ex-Celtic star ahead of the upcoming season. Lyndon Dykes future is under serious threat following the arrival of Kyogo Furuhashi. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group 'If you had said that to me a year ago I would have said absolutely no chance [of signing Furuhashi],' said Davies. 'Because he was Celtic's striker. But we saw an opportunity there with him not quite settling in France and thought could we get him here and he believed in what we are doing. I've been encouraged by his sharpness and both foot finishes but he has only played 30 minutes in a training game and 60 minutes here [Burton pre-season friendly], so his fitness is growing steadily.
BBC News
07-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scotland must 'stay strong' & get 'hunger back'
Injured striker Lyndon Dykes says Scotland need to "stay strong" and get their "hunger back" after Friday's abject defeat to match report & watch highlights
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Pundits react to calamitous Iceland defeat
Michael Stewart on BBC Radio Scotland: "Very difficult [situation for Steve Clarke to manage Cieran Slicker now]."There is another game coming up, Angus Gunn looks like he's not going to be fit, and I think it is quite apparent that it will be a big call."Do you stick with him and hope he can put in a performance that gives him some belief and feels like he's capable, or do you go for damage limitation and recognise that he's not really going to be playing for Scotland in the future and give Robby McCrorie an opportunity?"I don't think there's a right or wrong way to play this. I feel for Slicker, it's a horrible situation to be in, but that is the ruthlessness of football at this top level, and it's been exposed there badly."Willie Miller on BBC Radio Scotland: "You have to find out what's in the player's mind as well, how he's feeling about it."What you're looking for is honesty from him [Slicker]. Does he feel like he can take on the challenge in the next game, or that he doesn't want to?"Does the manager want to take him out of the firing line?"There are a lot of questions there, and I think it's difficult for us to answer what decision the manager should make without knowing all of the facts and without having spoken to the player himself."Scotland striker Lyndon Dykes on BBC Scotland: "Football is a lot about momentum."When you're playing you need to be winning games. When you don't win them, and you're not winning, you don't perform, it's extra hurt, it's extra eyes looking in."I think we need to go back to our basics. We've been here before, people doubted us all the time. We need to make sure we get back to it and get the hunger back."Former Scotland forward James McFadden on BBC One Scotland: "There has to be a concern."We need to start building momentum going into this qualification campaign because it is a tough group."Former Scotland forward Steven Thompson on BBC One Scotland: "We're getting closer to the real stuff and it's been so long since we qualified for a World you go back only a very short period of time Steve Clarke could do no is still a defeat, at home, to a weaker nation than ourselves and questions will be asked. When you go into proper World Cup qualifying, these performances won't be tolerated.
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Dykes tips Leonard for Scotland call-up
Scotland striker Lyndon Dykes reckons his Birmingham City team-mate Marc Leonard could soon be pushing for a place in Steve Clarke's squad. (Scottish Sun), externalManager Brian Riemer insists he will accept no excuses if Denmark don't beat Scotland in their World Cup qualifying opening game and go on to win the group because they are better than Steve Clarke's side. (The Herald, external - subscription required)Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.
