The reality is that you look at his stats and they say this
106 games played
21 goals scored
Some people will go 'oh but how many were as a sub or out of position'... The facts in play - he is good for about 5 goals based on his average.
His stats are even worse when you look at his last four seasons (in Greece, Korea and the A-League): only 35 games played and 3 goals (average of nine games a season and less than one goal a season 2010 - 2014):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Burns#Career_s...
It took him two and a half years before he scored his first and only goal for AEK Athens in the Greek Super League.
Incheon in Korea paid Burns one million dollars to play three games:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/ga...
"He has played just three K-League games in two years at Incheon, largely due to a knee injury suffered early in his stay. Burns is on about $500,000 a year and it is believed the club would be happy to release him."
If you wanted to be optimistic, Huysegems was in a similar position when he arrived in Wellington, having struggled with injury for a few years. He'd only played about half the league games for a few seasons due to injury and in his last 65 games had scored five goals.
Huysegems' scoring rate at the Phoenix of one goal every three games was the best of his career. In Europe, his over-all career rate was one goal every five games (339 apps; 68 goals). His ten goals in 26 games in 2013-14 for the Phoenix was the single best season of his career.
So, Ernie does seem to be able to get more goals out of previously struggling forwards (except Brockie)....
"In Ernie we trust"?