Scots_Wha_Hae
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Posts posted by Scots_Wha_Hae
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Twitter suggesting a hamstring injury. Not good at all. What’s the typical recovery time for a hammy? 6+ weeks?
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9 hours ago, ger intae them said:
Hickey won’t be in Germany.
Patterson has no chance really of playing at Everton this season unless they have a catastrophic injury crisis in that part of the defence. Coupled with a pretty disastrous game against NI he shouldnt start in Euro’s. But he will, as there’s nothing else. He just has to step up. Easy to say as it’s his confidence that is shot, and the boo’s make it worse.
Having watched NI back, as well as the calamitous stuff, I think he still has it and can be a class above other options, but needs the confidence. Has to be 90mins and good performances in both of the friendlies.
If Patterson doesn’t start another game this season then he won’t be match fit either. I’d rather Hickey than Patterson if I’m choosing between two players who’ve barely kicked a ball this year.
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Never ever ever bet against Germany showing up at a major tournament. Ever.
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U21s
in TA specific
4 hours ago, Burj_Alba said:Really enjoyed that though the only player I can see challenging the euro squad would be Johnston if Hickey doesn't make it. Definitely an upgrade on Ralston. His team are second in the Austrian league and getting game time and starts for good old Sturm.
Ones like Conway, Bowie, Barron, King could be close in two to four year's time.
The crazy thing about that is that Hickey is still eligible for the team, as is Calvin Ramsay.
I agree there is little chance of any of them making the Euro. Barron will be a good few years if only because the competition is so fierce in that central area. I could see him taking the Ryan Jack squad role in time, but he probably needs a big move first too. That'll come this summer it seems.
King is very good and very much the modern centre-back with his technical ability and his ability to step out. I really hope he isn't the next in a long line of standout OF youth players who fail to make the next step and become a top player.
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U21s
in TA specific
That was much better, albeit against a very weak team. The next game is September (I think), quite a few of these boys could have quite a different outlook by then - let's hope it's positive and those who are ready but not currently getting a lot of football are at least out on loan (looking at you King). I could see David Watson and Lennon Miller pushing hard to break into this side over the next year too, so promising at least from a depth perspective.
I thought Barron was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. So tidy with the ball, impeccable technique, always available for a pass even under pressure and willing to show a bit of bite when the ball was lost. His body shapes on receipt of the ball are fabulous, always moving the ball into a good position with his first touch. Really really impressed by him.
On the other side of the coin, Mebude (who is a player I was excited about for a while) looks like a guy with zero confidence. He got involved which was good, but so much play broke down around him.
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U21s
in TA specific
26 minutes ago, syecosse said:This sums it up gor me with Stark but how did Ryan One only come on in the 78th minute for the u19s, I know it's Sheff UTD, but the guy has gone from starting a few games at Hamilton to making his prem debut against Arsenal this season, been on the bench a fair few times and sure he was involved in some cup games.
Looking at the teamsheet what I *think* he has done is prioritised the ones getting gametime in senior football. So Bavidge, who is playing a lot on loan, started because he is playing at every week at Kelty hearts. I would happily say a player (like Miller or Watson) playing every week in the Scottish Prem should be picked over a PL2 player, but not one playing at that level IMO.
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U21s
in TA specific
59 minutes ago, DesiScotsman said:Totally agree. We’ve got a good crop of young players in these setups that can play some decent attacking football. Stark & Gemill don’t seem to prefer that & would rather opt for the “two pass and pump it up the park” approach.
Any ideas when either of their contracts come to an end? Hope we get some better coaches at these age groups that will play to their players strength rather than opt for these old fashioned approaches.
Stark has been in post for about 6 years now so has presumably been extended at least once which is baffling. At 67 though you would think retirement is now on the horizon. The sum total of his time in charge is 3 elite round qualifications, which is the best 28 in Europe.
Gemmill, even more bafflingly, has been in charge of the 21s for 8 years, so probably extended twice now. We have not qualified for a single tournament in that time. He has won 12 of the 38 competitive games he has managed, that's under 32%. 12 games in 8 years ffs, baffling.
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U21s
in TA specific
6 hours ago, BookhouseBoys said:Never mind that. There was a midfield three of Lennon Miller, David Watson and Bailey Rice. Three technically gifted players who all have experience of senior football and Stark’s like: “punt it o’er the top of thum, lads”. Bypassed them completely and put the entire game on a plate for Italy.
We’ve finally got players that can play a bit but we’re using managers at u19 and u21 that stick to the tactics from the times when we didn’t.Absolutely correct. David Watson's goal in the second half came out of the only half-decent bit of coordinated pressing we saw all game. I presume it happened by accident, as most of the game we sit deep in our own half in a compact 4-5-1 and punted the leather off any ball that came near us. The Italians were instantly rattled when pressed, so we obviously sat off them all game.
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U21s
in TA specific
I think there also needs to be some thought given to the chance of actually progressing to a tournament. I don't see much hope for the U21s to progress but the U19s have a chance. The 19s haven't progressed past the elite round since 2006 and have a decent chance to do so this time. That would put them into the top 8 sides in Europe at the age-group, and as we saw with the 2006 group only a couple of good performances from a major youth football final. Playing in a tournament like that at U19 level has more value in my opinion than the U21 qualifiers.
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10 hours ago, LoganRoy said:
Tino Livramento with another impressive display.
If he’s interested I think there is a strong possibility he comes into the squad in the upcoming games, but as a right back not left back. Patterson is getting very limited gametime and Hickey is going to come back from his injury worryingly close to the tournament (if he manages any more league games this season at all). We need another backup; Johnstone isn’t playing too much in Austria and neither is Ralston at Celtic. His ability to play on the left would give us an ‘extra’ squad place too, much like Hickey.
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33 minutes ago, scotlad said:
It's possibly just paper talk, although, he is a regular and respected performer in Serie A, so maybe there is something to it.
Probably. Having said that their coach (Allegri) is expected to move on from Juventus this summer and Motta is being heavily linked so perhaps a bit more weight there too.
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Rumours around Lewis Ferguson being tracked by Juventus again with the ban of Pogba potentially leaving a gap in their squad. Not sure I believe it myself and I would fear him being a bit-part player in a bigger club over the heart of a smaller club. Nevertheless, great to see our players interesting clubs like that if true.
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19 hours ago, Burj_Alba said:
How many of these moves actually work out? Apart from Gilmour, I cannot think of another 15/16 year old who went from an SPL club to England and became successful.
I would say at the current scale it's a relatively new phenomenon. There have always been kids who moved down south of course, but the active scouting and signing of kids in the 15-17yo age bracket by the biggest EPL clubs is pretty new and the signing of kids on their first professional contract of any type is definitely new. I first really became aware of it with Gilmour 5 or so years ago. Arguably Gilmour and Hickey are the two successes so far, with Hickey obviously different having played professionally before he left. Most of the high profile transfers I can think of are 20 and under so it's probably too early to say if this has been advantageous or not to our youth development aims at a national level. Looking at our youth squads we should start to see a number of these break through soon though if they are good enough. Some to look out for in my opinion (some more obvious than others)
- U21: Doak, Mebude, Bowie, Ure, Morrison, Kerr Smith
- U19: Rory Wilson, Gabe Forsyth, Ethan Laidlaw, Charlie McArthur, Ryan One, Dylan Reid
- U17: Lewis Pirie, Aidan Borland
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39 minutes ago, gonzohiggy said:
I feel fairly well qualified to talk on this topic having moved at 16 from an SPL club to an English premier league club.
There are parts from previous posters I agree with and others I don’t. Generally no one player is the same and player’s development is not linear. I would say that first team football is essential at the right stage in a players development and with the right club. Most players will stay at their parent club from 16 until at least 18. The coaching at the top professional clubs is excellent, the boys are still boys and are developing physically and mentally and they benefit from being around their peers.
For a player who has obvious talent such as Doak a loan could be beneficial but he’s also barely 18 and prior to his injury he’ll have been training with world class players and getting unbelievable day to day experience of working with salah. That is an unbelievable opportunity for a young player and at his age is more beneficial to his potential of being an elite player than going on loan to SPL or championship at the moment. Having said that, there’s a point where that learning needs to be put into practice and he starts to get real experience in first team football. That could be a loan next season for him.
There was talk earlier about clubs “hoarding” young players. This is absolutely the case and it’s getting worse with kids signing at 8 years old but my overriding experience / feeling is that the best players (ie those who have the correct combination of technical ability, mentality, game intelligence and physical ability) invariably find a way to their level regardless of how many players they are competing with. It may take longer but they’ll find a way through.
McGaughey85 makes a valid point in the sense that at a certain point a young player needs to be playing senior football. When that happens totally depends on their own situation physically/ mentally / technically as well their position within their own club.
Really interesting to get some insight from someone who has been there, thanks for sharing.
How did your journey work out? I hope you managed to stay in the game through your experiences even if not at EPL level.
Out of interest, if you still have links to the game, what is the feeling amongst young Scottish players based at Scottish clubs with regard to player development? Do they believe there is a real pathway to first team and ultimately elite football or is there a perception that development is secondary in Scottish football? Of course every club is different but I get the sense that there is growing distrust of the ability of Scottish clubs to develop elite talent or even to properly prioritise development of our own players.
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1 hour ago, wanderer said:
Bayern have recalled Barry Hepburn from his loan at Queens Park
Can't see him lasting much longer at Bayern if he was unable to stay in the QP team.
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15 hours ago, scotlad said:
He's been pissing about on QP's bench since September. Seemingly he started the season as first choice, got dropped after conceding a glut of goals, and hasn't played since.
Obviously someone who knows what they're doing sees something in him, but if he is the real deal I'd have thought even at 17 he'd be able to hold down a place in a bottom of the table Championship team.
He wasn't dropped, he got injured and then has been unable to force his way back in, which is somewhat different.
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1 hour ago, Diamond Scot said:
From Fergusons showing so far he isnt as much of a threat as McTom and he doesnt work as hard as Christie / Armstrong so its hard to see how he gets in until that changes.
Don't agree with this at all.
McTominay has 25 career club goals in 258 apps, Ferguson has 47 in 235. A lot of Ferguson's came at a lower level so to make it a fairer comparison McTominay has 6 in 38 (a goal each 6.3 games) over the last two seasons of EPL football, Ferguson has 10 in 48 (a goal each 4.8 games) over the last two seasons of Serie A football. Ferguson is a goal-scoring threat in Serie A just as much as McTominay in the EPL. We cannot compare at international level as Ferguson has played only around 100 competitive minutes across 6 games whereas McTominay has over 3000 minutes across almost 40 competitive games where he has scored 8 goals.
In terms of work-rate, Bologna are the second farthest running team in Serie A and Ferguson has played all but 3 minutes of their campaign this year.
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19 hours ago, bdgsct said:
I wouldn't be averse to trying Ferguson up front in one of the friendlies. Dykes has done a great job and helps create space and opportunities for the like of McGinn and McT but that aspect might be worth sacrificing in order to bring in a better quality player who would no doubt link play better and still have a goal threat. You can't ignore what dykes has done in a Scotland shirt and their respective ages but you are talking about someone worth approx £3m versus someone worth £15-£20m.
As far as I am aware Ferguson has never played up front. He plays quite far forward in a central position for Bologna. I could see him working well in a variation of the position Christie/Armstrong take (they tend to play as somewhere between an attacking mid/winger/second striker).
Something like this:
McGregor McTominay
McGinn Ferguson
Dykes/Adams
That's basically how we lined up in the (home) Spain game except with Christie in the Ferguson role.
Ferguson would play the position quite differently but I think he would be really effective linking up with Tierney and Robertson down that side, offering a better ball retention and passing option than Christie/Armstrong who for me are both good at ball progression which is well covered down that wing.
Ferguson and McGinn cutting inside from wider central midfield positions, McTominay bursting past them through the middle and Hickey/Patterson and Tierney/Robertson providing width and ball progression on the wings - yes please!
Of course the big issue with this is you are leaving our Gilmour who is absolutely bossing it right now and also Christie who is on a great run of form in a deeper playmaking role. Someone very good will miss out regardless of who you pick.
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3 hours ago, Squirrelhumper said:
Scot Gemmill doesn't think
Fixed that for you.
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4 minutes ago, todd said:
I take it you weren't watching it as it happened?
It's us mate, it's us!
I was but on mute, just read on the bbc website! Yaldy!
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Presume Germany will play the opening game, are there rules on who they play first from the group?
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2 minutes ago, Tartan Chris said:
Hungary did well in the last euros, draw v France (albeit at "home") and then they were about 5 minutes from beating Germany in Munich.
Since then they've had good results in nations league and won the qualifying group so they are a legitimate pot 2 team now.
Would rather Germany just beat Swiss and Hungary but that's far from certain given how mediocre their results have been for the last few years.
I know what you mean, sometimes you want an unbeatable team in your group just to make the goal that bit clearer.
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Some good some bad with that draw. Germany beatable, Hungary considerably better than most casual fans will expect, Swiss tough but at least it’s not Italy.
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U21s
in TA specific
2 hours ago, adamntg said:I thought your criticisms were more general than just one specific match. I was just pointing out that despairing at how poor our under 21s are compared to Hungary’s ignores the fact that we horsed them only a month ago.
My criticisms were more general - Gemmill has been in charge for over 6 years and 50+ matches, that's exactly why an hour of football in a game a month ago is largely irrelevant.
For the record, we beat them 3-1 but we weren't particularly good. We weren't as terrible as Tuesday but it was a very even game where the scoreline flattered us.
Injury Watch
in TA specific
Posted
Absolutely. There was a point (at least in my mind) when we had Hickey, Patterson and Ramsay all playing (relatively) often and well plus Johnstone breaking through and the prospect of Gray and/or Livramento possibly playing for us too. It seemed an embarrassment of riches, and now we are scraping the barrel.