the_fadiator
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Posts posted by the_fadiator
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Aaarrrggh!! How can I retain any credibility and have some sympathy with the views of Alan & Boyd.
And if we're going for form Scottish-based players, Dylan mcgeouch can feel hard done by.
The squad shows there's a shortage of international quality players.
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8 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said:
McArthur has played in a higher standard of league with better players and against better players for years. McGinn plays in an average league having previously played in a very poor standard league. McGreggor plays for a good team but is mainly a sub.
On what basis are either better than McArthur.
If McGinn was so good a team would have paid 2 million for him in the summer. Can you explain why no scout or manager felt he was good enough to pay such a small few for if he is better than McArthur or as good as many on here make out?
I think there's an odd resentment or reservation for the England-based players amongst many fans on here. I wish we had better players than Bannan & McArthur and others, but there's little to suggest Scottish Premiership stand outs are better than players in the English Championship or bottom end of the EPL. Any player that's a stand out and deemed capable is eventually sold for transfer fees Scottish clubs can't resist.
The England-based players are more used to coming up against bigger, faster players like those they face at international level. Bannan's highly regarded by fans and managers alike. McArthur has an FA Cup winners medal and over 150 games in England's top league. Both of them are fairly obvious squad choices.
We'll need to freshen it up, but the Scottish-based players aren't some panacea to our qualification woes as much as we want them to be.
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4 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:
Anyone who is not a stubborn twat.
Derek McInnes? Would he take it?
Davie Moyes? Alex McLeish?
I’d even take John Collins over Strachan.
McLeish maybe, but no thanks to the others.
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Lost the midfield, showing 4-4-2 isn't for our players. They aren't good enough. McArthur, Bannan, Fletcher, Phillips didn't work, though I thought Fletcher had a very good game.
Ultimately Lithuania at home killed us.
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1 hour ago, PASTA Mick said:
Fraser has pulled out of the squad.
Really weird he reportedly said that Strachan, who lives in England, wasn't heading south enough to watch him play [typically from the bench].
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We need to address what we lacked on Thursday which for me was a lack of drive & goal threat in centre midfield. The coaches really need to think hard about the fitness of the players from Thursday and conclude McGinn or McArthur need to start, with McGregor providing the goal threat. Slovenia are out; we need energy and fight to remind them not to bother.
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9 hours ago, Auld_Reekie said:
Thought we were average. Tactics were poor. Substitutions were like for like. I'm not going to pat myself on the back for beating a team down to ten men for an hour or so. Aye probably just edged it over the 90 minutes but lacked any kind of class. I'll take it but it was terrible fare.
C'mon, Martin for Forrest & Anya for Tierney ain't 'like for like'. Not the substitutions I wanted, but credit where it's due for changing things and getting the goal.
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I thought the centre mid selection was wrong and so it proved. We lacked drive in there. Glad McArthur came on, but should've been earlier. Fletcher hit some good passes, but looked like he didn't have the legs at times. Didn't think Morrison offered much. Bannan was better on the left. I wouldn't play all 3 against Slovenia.
Tierney rightfully subbed as defender kept showing him inside as he knew he wasn't playing with his right foot.
Fair play to Strachan with his subs getting the win. Hit the crossbar twice and a couple of great saves and penalty shouts.
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Unless we lose both games then I hope he stays. He's moved towards picking confident, form players. That demonstrates learning in the role from previous mistakes and just about justifies him staying on rather than ripping it up and starting afresh. I don't care about interviews or whether he picks Aberdeen players who are very much borderline and wouldn't make a tangible difference anyway.
If he goes then Michael O'Neill will do nicely.
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35 minutes ago, kumnio said:
He should go, and I say that regardless of us not getting to a playoff or somehow making it to the final in Moscow next year and humping Germany 3-0 in the final.
He has went took us backwards IMO, and a good win against Lithuania and a game of boredom against Malta isnt going to change my mind.
Still fancy De Boer in the role?
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25 minutes ago, Scotland Ever More said:
And should start. He matches Armstrong for energy and goal threats IMO.
I doubt he will. I think it'll be the 2nd team Jamboman posted. I can't see him dropping McArthur, regardless of the recent game time. He'll be asked to close down Hamsik, with Fletcher organising everything beside him. The 1 behind Griffiths is the most difficult to predict.
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Hamsik has scored today. One off Maradona's record for Napoli. He really is a class player and we'll need to stop him, possibly justiying McArthur's inclusion with his harassing style!
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19 minutes ago, Parklife said:
Well, it'd be if you were having a serious discussion on it, it'd be fairly easy for someone to question your knowledge of the standard of the football, given you didn't even know that the SPL stopped over 4 years ago.
I didn't know? Really. Some people fall into habits. I have the Esh-Pee-Ell ingrained. I have absolutely no doubt you spend far more of your time than I do watching and thinking about Scottish football. I wouldn't have it any other way.
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16 minutes ago, Parklife said:
There's no such thing as "the SPL".
No hugely relevant to the point being made, but take that one.
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12 minutes ago, ErsatzThistle said:
He suffered two serious injuries that kept him out for prolonged periods. It wasn't through lack of effort or ability.
He didn't exactly set the Championship on fire in his first season. There couldn't have been too many clubs willing to take a punt on him so it's good he's gone down a level to hopefully show what he can do.
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3 minutes ago, macy37 said:
Folk bleating on about players in the championship. Have you actually been to any games in this league? The standard is not exactly mind blowing.
It's definitely not, but it's better than the SPL.
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6 minutes ago, Parklife said:
Seen as in the best goal-scoring season of his career, he managed 13 goals, i'd guess not very many.
I'd also argue the last time he could be considered to have had a "successful" season was the 2012-13 season, which was quite some time ago now...
Maybe. Agree Fletcher isn't exactly prolific. Started 24, scored 11 last season is respectable enough, especially when he has decent link up play.
I like May and hope he does well and gets a move to a bigger club. It's disappointing that he didn't do much in England and has stagnated for a few years.
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16 minutes ago, Parklife said:
I'm just not sure how sharp he is. Think he still needs to do a bit more before he gets back in the squad. Although i'd be more confident bringing him off the bench than Fletcher if we're looking for a goal vs Lithuania or Malta.
Having been away and successful at a higher level, I wonder how many goals Fletcher would score against a Dundee defence.
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There's decent arguments for all of them.
Darren Fletcher's one of our leaders, is a good organiser and whilst his Scotland career may be coming to an end, I don't think it's wise to ditch him at this stage, especially when he's playing 90 mins in the EPL.
Snodgrass is lucky to get in, but is a better wide player than Shinnie and McGregor. He's also proven he can score and create goals for us so that threat probably shaded it for him.
Bannan has started the season on fire, so saying he shouldn't be in may be more about greater exposure to the Scottish game.
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Burke praises Dougie Freedman as a "father figure" at Forest.
Palace linked with move for Burke.
Freedman appointed Palace's Director of Football.
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The Shinnie and McGregor thing is not great from the point of view that the international squad should be about rewarding form. Who would you leave out?
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Just now, drew said:
Might have read it wrong but it might have been Steven Fletcher rather than Darren Fletcher.
If it was Steven, he scored at the weekend and don't see any better option. Griffiths will start anyway.
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21 minutes ago, Brummie Hibs said:
Looks like Olver Burke's Scotland career is over while Strachan is in charge. Saying that, his career at Liepzig also looks over.
I don't see it that way. Sure if he hits some form, probably at a new club, he'd be selected.
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20 minutes ago, Squirrelhumper said:
Bannan and Fletcher out.
McGregor and Shinnie in.
Really don't see how that'd make much of a difference, especially when we're still just about in it.
For McGregor, there's a bigger argument to swap Armstrong who's been out of sorts. Not much point when Armstrong's integrated into the squad and systems,
Bannan played 90mins at the weekend, maybe MoM(?), suits Strachan's passing game and is by all accounts loved by Sheffield Wednesday fans.
Fletcher played 90mins at the weekend in Stoke's win against Arsenal. He's unlikely to start, but his experience and leadership is bound to be useful at the tail end of the campaign.
Shinnie's surely viewed as just a decent battling SPL player.
Malky's Squad
in TA specific
Posted
That said, what does Boyd mean by this:
""As for central midfield; I watched [Celtic trio] Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong and Callum McGregor run all over the top of him last week."
Three players playing in the country's best team collectively outplay a player from a lesser resourced, worse side? Hardly surprising. Was Shinnie expected to win the midfield battle alone? Is the bar set higher for him? I don't see a player that'd make much difference to us, but that seems pretty harsh or I'm missing the point.