Auld_Reekie Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Remarkable the number of people that read something completely different to what I wrote. At no point did I criticise him for passing backwards - think it's an essential quality for a holding midfielder. My comment was that the video showed nothing of how he would cope when under pressure on the ball - the Liverpool game was a stroll, let's be honest. Part of that was because he's a good player but part of it was also because Liverpool were poor. The simplicity of his game is his biggest asset that's maximised in a team of top tier players. Im not so sure that translates so well when you stick him in a team of Championship and SPL players. Someone harsher than me would point out that the defence has been the weakest part of the Scotland team in recent years and a top defensive midfielder will have to do more than always give it to them to play football with. All in all, I like the look of him but don't really see that performance translating to a Scotland squad. And that's partly a criticism of the Scotland support more than anything - I don't think we have the tolerance or patience for blooding this kind of player especially when folk get over-excited about a YouTube video. And it's massively unfair on him to compare him to the likes of Ferguson, Fletcher and Lambert. All three had the engine and/or ability to boss a midfield as well as play a pressure-releasing sideways/backwards pass. Ferguson and Lambert had the class and the engine, while Fletcher pretty much carried the team for a few years on energy alone. McTominay is a long way yet from being discussed in the same bracket as these guys. I'll get excited about McTominay when he's got more games under his belt, got a bit more experience and proven he can reproduce this form under more ball pressure. Would definitely be giving him game time though if that calms you lot down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceudmilefailte Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 7 hours ago, Auld_Reekie said: Remarkable the number of people that read something completely different to what I wrote. At no point did I criticise him for passing backwards - think it's an essential quality for a holding midfielder. My comment was that the video showed nothing of how he would cope when under pressure on the ball - the Liverpool game was a stroll, let's be honest. Part of that was because he's a good player but part of it was also because Liverpool were poor. The simplicity of his game is his biggest asset that's maximised in a team of top tier players. Im not so sure that translates so well when you stick him in a team of Championship and SPL players. Someone harsher than me would point out that the defence has been the weakest part of the Scotland team in recent years and a top defensive midfielder will have to do more than always give it to them to play football with. All in all, I like the look of him but don't really see that performance translating to a Scotland squad. And that's partly a criticism of the Scotland support more than anything - I don't think we have the tolerance or patience for blooding this kind of player especially when folk get over-excited about a YouTube video. And it's massively unfair on him to compare him to the likes of Ferguson, Fletcher and Lambert. All three had the engine and/or ability to boss a midfield as well as play a pressure-releasing sideways/backwards pass. Ferguson and Lambert had the class and the engine, while Fletcher pretty much carried the team for a few years on energy alone. McTominay is a long way yet from being discussed in the same bracket as these guys. I'll get excited about McTominay when he's got more games under his belt, got a bit more experience and proven he can reproduce this form under more ball pressure. Would definitely be giving him game time though if that calms you lot down. Agree with all of that but we will have to wait and see what happens when he plays with 10 others that are no were near Man Utd class. But then a lot of the opposition should be no were near Liverpool class. He won't make us beat Brazil but he should be up to Albania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bino's Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 7 hours ago, ceudmilefailte said: Agree with all of that but we will have to wait and see what happens when he plays with 10 others that are no were near Man Utd class. But then a lot of the opposition should be no were near Liverpool class. He won't make us beat Brazil but he should be up to Albania Man u made Liverpool look poor in that game primarily by shutting down their attacking midfielders which was done by matic and McTominay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlamDuncan Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 (edited) I also wonder to what extent the role and instructions he's following from Jose has him playing more conservatively than his natural game would be. Just a couple of things he's said in interviews recently about getting on the ball and driving the team forward etc sound like he might want to do more than just the simple keep ball stuff he's doing in his current role at his club. Of course it could just be a young guy throwing out safe phrases as he's getting used to being interviewed... Does anyone know if he played a similar role with the youth teams? I had a quick look to see if I could find anything on YouTube and the only thing was this from 2016 where he's playing number 9! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42m-kR5RUdE&t=3s Edited March 23, 2018 by SlamDuncan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld_Reekie Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 3 hours ago, SlamDuncan said: I also wonder to what extent the role and instructions he's following from Jose has him playing more conservatively than his natural game would be. Just a couple of things he's said in interviews recently about getting on the ball and driving the team forward etc sound like he might want to do more than just the simple keep ball stuff he's doing in his current role at his club. Of course it could just be a young guy throwing out safe phrases as he's getting used to being interviewed... I've no doubt some of that is coming from the coaching, and that's not a bad thing. I see similar with Robertson at Liverpool - most games he's been keeping it simple, not being overly ambitious and turning in steady, rather than spectacular performances. I expect that's what is most important to guys like Mourinho and Klopp who will give game to dependable younger players. I think this is the difference between club and international football, especially where there's a difference in class. Club's are happy to develop the players more slowly, while on the international scene, we want them to be world class today if they come from Man United. Very unfair on the players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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