Caledonian Craig

Agreed. What we had V Serbia works just fine. Why change it? That, for me, should be the defensive line-up going forward as in O'Donnell, Gallagher, McTominay, Tierney and Robertson.

Yes that is fair enough. Its grim but it is where we are as far as striking options go and there is no hidden candidate out there screaming out for selection or impressing. And it needn't be all doom and gloom as the majority of our goals come from attacking midfielders which has served us well. The Nations League has been great for us but the only downside is that it lessens friendlies where we can experiment and look at other options.

At present our most productive area for getting goals is via Dykes supported by one of Christie or Fraser.

People are having too high expectations on him - definitely. The fact is we are mighty thin on the ground up front. Dykes is being seen as the big answer six games into his career with us that's how much we are struggling for strikers. Griffiths is nowhere near match sharp/fit to start a game for us but may be an option to give him the first 45 on Wednesday. Burke and Shankland - mark my words - the same will happen with them. Put them in the hot seat if Dykes is out and they'd become the new scapegoats to earn the wrath of fans. Then what? Nisbet or Hornby ?(who is not playing club football at present) then who? For so long now our goal threats have come from attacking midfielders. Look at who has scored the goals for us in the last couple of years and the majority have come from Forrest, McGinn and Christie. I see that as continuing in the lead up to the Euros and probably beyond until we can unearth a real hitman in attack.

I am enjoying the Nations League. Why wouldn't we when it has been so good to us. However, it does seem that, strategically, we are better off staying in sections like we have this time around. It enables us to build confidence, put a run together and top tables giving us play-off chances. Promotion though could see us dumped in groups where we could get hammered, confidence knocked and loss of momentum. Tough one.

That is stretching it a bit saying he's been poor every time. He did well coming on and holding up the ball to run down the clock in recent matches V Czechs and Slovakia and with more luck could have grabbed a couple of goals. And sorry but can you please explain what happen to your mantra that you have to be good to play in the EPL/Serie A, La Liga etc? Plus why on earth did Sheffield United splash out so much money on him if he is so crap? Just to clarify I am not making him out to be our next Kenny Miller or Joe Jordan and I'd like to see us look at other options, which are very limited I must add, but fans go from the sublime to the ridiculous with regards to him with people saying 'how did he become a professional footballer' and calling him utter crap. I don't think he's international quality just now....no but I am certainly not going to go overboard with the derision towards him. It really did make for hysterical and comical reading yesterday.

They'd be happy for 45 minutes I'd say. That is my point here. A missed chance or lack of chances created and we'd get the same as McBurnie got yesterday. It is just some fans' way. They cannot look beyond that. The players who run out onto that pitch all give their best. People choose to ignore pertinent facts about McBurnie in that he is not a prolific goalscorer and he is in a poor run of form for a club struggling badly so confidence is bound to be low too. I challenge anyone here to excel in those circumstances.

No not by you but others have. I've had discussions on here with others about Shankland and when I point out stuff like he has scored for us all I got was pffft against crap teams no he isn't good enough. And I can see it happening - one 45 minutes where he plays and we don't create much and people here will have their next scapegoat. The same would happen with Burke of that I am sure. Their faces just do not fit. But I say again to people - name the creditable alternatives? My point here is those being selected just now ae the best that are available to us.

Shankland and Burke have already been lambasted as not good enough too. I guarantee fans will not be able to come up with three other strikers to replace them with which would be an improvement. I mean can Hornby even be considered given he is not even playing club football?

The hardcore fact here os we are woefully short in one area - in attack. We cannot hide from that fact. I have heard many of our fans deride McBurnie and Shankland and before that Burke so lets say fans get what they want and are axed from.the squad then who replaces them?

I would say though that there are more teams in pot 2 that look takeable at present than don't. Pot 2 teams I would want to avoid would be Switzerland, Poland and Russia. Ones that sit somewhere in the middle being Serbia, Ukraine and Wales. Ones I wouldn't mind getting being Sweden, Slovakia, Turkey and Austria.

Worst case scenaio:- Belgium Poland SCOTLAND Finland Cyprus Moldova

Yes and it is a possible group too so emphasises that finishing in the top two right now is by no means impossible with the right draw.

Agreed. In any case Robertson has done just fine in the last few games. If it ain't broke don't mend it. Robertson and Tierney to remain where they play for us just now. What Tierney is, I'd say, is more versatile so moving Tierney is okay but then it means you have to drop Robertson as he cannot play in a back three.

Well, with a favourable draw, second place should not be beyond us. The way the seeding pots stand just now a group like this would see us in with a good shout:- Denmark Slovakia SCOTLAND Belarus Andorra San Marino

I fully agree here with you. There is absolutely no need to change anything on that front. Yesterdat just told us what we already knew - we have two great options for left-back/left-wing back at the moment. Going forward, at present, I'd say our best defence was the one that started V Serbia.

Yes they could be relegated if they don't win and Slovakia do.

It will be tough. Israel are well-organised. They defend in numbers and attack with pace. We have seen how we have struggled to break them down recently and Wednesday will be no different. If we win it will be a 1-0 win as we are not prolific scorers at the moment.

Czechs win 1-0 against Israel. Israel out of contention now going into Wednesday night but Czechs reviving their chances.

Austria have equalized.

Israel have had a player sent off. Hatem Abd Elhamed will miss the match against us.

Agreed. They play to a system that they are comfortable with that makes them tough to break down. Czechs are going to the Euros next summer and they are only beating Israel narrowly at the moment too plus Israel beat Slovakia (Euros-bound) last month.

Your point? My point is people on here are renowned for having scapegoats. FFS people wanted Clarke out six weeks or so ago. Galagher, O'Donnell were pilloried as not good enough by people on here as were others who have dug in with good performances for us. And it goes back further than just recent times. McCallister, Iwelumo etc etc etc.

The reason to me is clear. Supporters MUST just MUST have a scapegoat. A player to deride, a player to vent their anger out on. Shame they don't have the spirit Clarke has instilled in the side. Win as a team and lose as a team.

At the end of the day there is no Joe Jordan-type player lurking around that hasn't been unearthed. We are where we are up top. But it needn't kill us. For ages now we have been a side with midfielders more likely to weigh-in with the goals for us in the form of McGinn, Forrest, Christie and Fraser. I feel that will continue to be the case in the near future.