Anthony Brown: Scots going forward

You could arguably count on one hand the amount of strikers who have done the business consistently for Scotland over the years, and even then it's hardly a stellar cast. Ally McCoist, Kevin Gallacher, John McGinlay, Don Hutchison, Kenny Miller, James McFadden and (at a push) Kris Boyd have been our only semi-regular goal-scorers. However, as our Euro 2012 campaign nears the business end, Craig Levein now seems relatively spoilt for choice in terms of attacking options, as evidenced by the fact so many Scottish forwards have been in demand this summer.

David Goodwillie, available for selection again after his rape charge was dropped, is obviously the jewel in the crown - the man who could carry our nation's hopes on his shoulders for the next decade if he screws the nut. He has all the attributes to be one of Britain's top strikers in a few years' time and will prove a bargain buy at less than 3million. Then there's Cardiff new boy Miller, who's still going strong at 31 and able to command a transfer fee of close to 1m. Craig Mackail-Smith is a genuine goal machine who recently moved from Peterborough to ambitious Brighton for 2.5m, while Leeds' Robert Snodgrass is attracting plenty Premier League attention.

Chris Maguire has earned a move from Aberdeen to Derby, while the irrepressible Jamie Murphy looks like he could be the next bright young thing to be lured away from the SPL. That's a tasty batch of talent before we even account for arguably the most established of the lot in 6.5m Steven Fletcher, who is still sidelined as a result of his childish fallout with Levein. If we add wide men such as Steven Naismith, Ross McCormack and Kris Commons to the mix, then it's safe to say we're as well off for attackers as we have been in recent times.

If everyone was available and Levein, bearing in mind that the days of two central strikers at international level are long gone, was feeling adventurous, he could potentially go with an attacking trio of Naismith (left), Goodwillie (centre), and Fletcher (right), with a back-up triumvirate of Snodgrass-Miller-Commons, and even a third-choice version of McCormack-Mackail-Smith-Maguire.

Granted, the world's top defenders won't be quaking in their boots, but it's certainly the most exciting batch of forwards we've had for many years.

My Malmo mole needs his eyes testing

A FRIEND of mine has lived in Sweden for the past five years and fancies himself as a bit of an expert on the local football scene.

However, events over the past week or so suggest his words must be taken with a large pinch of salt.

After attending the 2-2 draw between Helsingborg and Malmo a week past Saturday, my Midlothian-born Malmo mole fired this pearler of a text message across the North Sea. "Helsingborg were much better than them. Malmo were horrendous! Their wee number 7 is one of the worst footballers I've ever seen in my life. I will be lumping on Rangers to win both legs."

If you're not familiar with the Malmo players' shirt numbers, I'm sure you'll have guessed by now that "their wee number 7" was, of course, Daniel Larsson, the Swedish champions' goal hero in their midweek Champions League qualifying victory over Rangers at Ibrox. Hindsight may, indeed, be a wonderful thing, but, needless to say, any tips or information from my Scandic spy will be politely ignored in future.

Are Killie Wigan's peers?

Is it just me or are Kilmarnock very much the Scottish equivalent of Wigan Athletic?

They both play in blue and white vertical stripes; they both play some lovely football but lack the financial clout to trouble the upper echelons of their respective leagues; their home grounds are both invariably at least half-empty on matchday; they are both difficult teams to dislike (unless you're an Ayr fan, of course); and, with Charles N'Zogbia the latest in a long list of examples, they are both incapable of holding on to their best players.

Would it be stretching a point to describe them as the swashbuckling blue-and-white stepping-stone brothers?

Tweetstreet

A SNAPSHOT of what those in the football world have been tweeting over the past week .?.?.

"Rumour has it that Shaun Hutchinson has lost both of his balls today somewhere on the Rugby Park pitch .?.?. If you find them please hand them in ASAP. Thanks." – Motherwell's Tom Hateley puts out a plea on behalf of his team-mate, who was struck in the nether regions on Saturday.

"Spell police out today. I'm really bothered I can't spell. Brings me down!!!" – Wayne Rooney responds after uppity members of the twitterrati give him abuse for using the word "are" instead of "our".

"Can't believe Blacky just put this in our room. Me and Scott Robinson have never ran so fast." – Alongside a picture of some kind of lizard in a plastic bottle, Hearts kid Jason Holt reveals his terror after teammate Ian Black planted the live reptile in his hotel room in Hungary.

"Poor thing is the same size as Jason Holt. Pair of girls." – Ryan McGowan responds to the picture of the reptile which put the wind up his two young team-mates.

"So far pre-match preparation has involved fishing Dax's poo out of the bath. Thanks wee man!" – Kenny Deuchar's toddler son gives him a tough time of it before Livingston's clash with Arbroath.

Follow me on Twitter @anthonyabrown