New Signings: Eamonn Brophy and Collin Quaner

New Signings: Eamonn Brophy and Collin Quaner 

Let's start with Eamonn Brophy given we've seen him play for Hamilton and Kilmarnock (and Scotland once!) previously. Jim Goodwin has stated "He loves to get his shot off, which I really encourage from all my players...Other than just scoring goals I love his all-round attitude. He’s my type of player. He works hard for the team and he doesn’t give centre-halves a second on the ball" (Source: James Cairney in The Herald).

There's no doubt Eamonn Brophy is a Jim Goodwin player. As mentioned in my last blog, we actually rank fifth in the league for shots per 90 minutes at 10.06, and fourth for shots outside the box (94). Brophy this season is third in the league for shots per 90 minutes with 3.66, lagging behind Edouard (4.05) and Christie (3.85). We have several players in the top 30 (MacPherson, the departed Morias, Durmus, Erwin) but, more interestingly, the only other Kilmarnock player to feature this season is Chris Burke with 1.94 - and he hits freekicks and penalties! Perhaps this was a facet to Brophy's game Alex Dyer didn't appreciate, but he's more than welcome to have a pop at goal now he's swapped blue-and-white for black-and-white.

His best campaign to date was 2018/19: Kilmarnock finished third, Brophy broke double figures (11 in Premiership, 12 all comps), and he started for Scotland at home to Cyprus in a Euros qualifier - Steve Clarke choosing him in what was his managerial debut for the national team. This is unquestionably the level Brophy will be striving to reach again, but it was disheartening to read that of those 11 league goals, 6 were penalties. It remains to be seen if he will displace McGrath as spot kick taker for the Buddies, but to score 5 from open play across 1919 minutes (so that's less than 1 every 4 matches) suggests Brophy might not be much more prolific than we're accustomed to. 

The Saints manager in his interview touched upon other qualities he'll bring to the team. Let's start with defensive duels - defined by Wyscout as "When a player attempts to dispossess an opposition player to stop an attack progressing". Brophy has attempted 3.5 of these per 90 minutes this season, compared to Obika, who is very low at 2.43, Erwin at 3.65, and Dennis at 3.57. However, Brophy is much of a muchness with our other number 9s in terms of interceptions and recoveries, suggesting a lot of his defensive prowess will come from his energy and determination to press the opposition, leading from the front and driving the team on. 

A slight worry has to arise from Brophy's lack of creativity, as he's unlikely to be an excellent facilitator in terms of creating chances. His passing accuracy in the top flight this season at 76.61% is practically on par with Obika (76.53%), slightly worse than Dennis (79.71%), although notably better than Erwin (68.33%). None of our strikers have had an assist in the Scottish Premiership yet, but here's the probability of them having done so by now:

Brophy      Minutes played: 668           xA(per 90): 0        xA(total): 0.01

Erwin        Minutes played: 987           xA(per 90): 0.05   xA(total): 0.6

Obika        Minutes played: 1166         xA(per 90): 0.02   xA(total): 0.31

Dennis      Minutes played: 277           xA(per 90): 0.17   xA(total): 0.53

Kristian Dennis is a slight outlier given his relative lack of minutes, plus he benefitted from playing against the 9 men of Ross County to make his stats look healthier. However, even if we go back to last season, Brophy wasn't any more creative than Obika (per 90 xA of 0.03 vs 0.05). Based on this data, and what has been discussed already, Eamonn Brophy is adept at fashioning chances for himself, but is not necessarily going to help the team become more fluid or creative.

Collin Quaner is not as familiar to football fans in Scotland, but his pedigree is actually quite impressive for a free agent picked up in January. He's played in the English top flight with Huddersfield, the English Championship with Huddersfield and Ipswich Town, and the 2. Bundesliga with several clubs, latterly Union Berlin. While he failed to score a goal in the self proclaimed Best League In The World™ he was picked as a right winger more often than not. He did manage to grab 4 assists in 30 games - including setting up former Saint Aaron Mooy in a match against Watford - and what these assists had in common was a clever, slide-through pass into an area of the park a teammate was almost bound to score from.

He's very tall - billed as 6ft 3 - and Jim Goodwin in his interview to the Saints website said possesses "a great turn of pace", which, while perhaps a slight exaggeration, shows he certainly isn't cumbersome either. However, it is worth noting he only played 66 minutes across 5 games in 2019/20 for Huddersfield and has yet to play this campaign, meaning match sharpness is definitely going to be an issue in these early weeks.

A loan spell at Ipswich Town in 2018/19 was his last stint of competitive football, where he had 4 goals and 2 assists in 16 games (with a per 90 xG and xA of 0.17 and 0.12, which is neither bad nor brilliant). Having watched these goals back, he shows a poacher's instinct for a couple - the Leeds keeper spilling while the German was in close proximity, and meeting a decent cross to the six-yard box first time. He did score a header, although this isn't a particularly crucial aspect to his game, as his aerial duel win percentage for Ipswich was 22.6%. His last goal was a lovely finish, an arrowed right-foot strike from just outside the box into the bottom left-hand corner.  

Quaner is a technically capable player - not just the stereotypical 'big man upfront'. One of his assists in the 18/19 English Championship was carrying on a brilliant sweeping counter, allowing a teammate to stride on and finish from outside the box clear of any defenders. He has a career passing accuracy of 78.5%, which is more than acceptable considering how close to goal he plays, and on average attempts 3.53 dribbles a game. While this is far below our wingers this season (Durmus is second in the league at 7.41, McAllister with 6.04, Connolly 4.48), it is more than Obika (3.09), Erwin (3.19) and Dennis (0.65).

The verdict

Eamonn Brophy is the ambitious signing St Mirren fans have been crying out for and the board are due a lot of praise for making it happen. To get him when there were other suitors, plus to secure him on loan this month before he permanently signs, is undoubtedly a coup for the club. He turns 25 in March and has put pen to paper on a 3-year deal, meaning we have a player entering his prime with us, with future sell-on value. His energy, work-rate and long-range shooting should make him an exciting player to watch, even if we don't want him to be too selfish by having digs from everywhere.

It doesn't appear Brophy will be the '20 goals a season' striker we crave, but sometimes in a certain environment players find another level. Look at Michael Higdon exploding for Motherwell after being solid but unspectacular for us (minus that absolute stunner he scored at home to Falkirk). He's had a taste of international football, finishing in the upper reaches of the division we're in, and this is a chance showcase his talents and revive his career. Having a manager who fully backs him and a squad of young, promising players with pace and creativity in abundance, should be a welcome change of scenery.

Collin Quaner has far less expectations on his shoulders. While presumably commanding a decent wage considering where he's spent his career, the deal expires in the summer meaning this is a relatively low-risk gamble. If it doesn't work out, then we part ways in a few months. If it does work out, then we surely reap the rewards of a few goals and assists, while the German can decide if he wants to stay for longer or ply his trade elsewhere. At 29, he's a decent age with plenty of experience, and presumably not too much of a physical drop-off yet.

It's hard to see how Quaner becomes a regular starter without a formation switch to accommodate both him and Brophy upfront. He could play on the right but, with Connolly and McAllister available, there's a very slim probability of this being a frequent occurrence. As previously stated, lack of first-team football has been an issue lately, meaning the likelihood is that we have added another 'Plan B' option from the bench, in games where we are pursing a winner or equaliser.

Until next time - COYS

Lewis