HighlandScot

Yes and Stuart Armstong and John McGinn also Players of the Match!

Talking of form players, apart from Ferguson the other playing really well in Serie A is Josh Doig. He is a big physical unit making storming forward runs, and I would play him on left side of midfield. Especially when established squad midfielders like McTominay, Armstrong, Gilmour, Turnbull are hardly getting game time. Unfortunately Clark considers loyalty to old favorites over form, so very unlikely to happen.

This is a pretty dire performance, and we are lucky not to be down more. Gilmour is too lightweight in midfield. I am not sure what Fraser is, but definitely not a right wing back. I would bring Ferguson on for Gilmour and Ramsey for Fraser. Also Gordon is a fantastic shot stopper, but his kicking is woeful.

This is the Robertson/Tierney conundrum redux, but on the opposite flank. And I would like to see a similar solution which accommodates both. With his rampaging runs Patterson is a fantastic attacking threat. But Hickey is far too good to be left out of any Scotland team, and so I would play him in central midfield. Of course he can also cover on the left if Robertson or Tierney is unavailable. I would not swap full-backs with any other nation.

Kingsley is a good shout, the bonus being he is really good at taking set-pieces. But I would prefer him at left back. My preferred back line would be. Hickey Hendry Gallagher Kingsley or Ralston Hendry Gallagher/Kingsley Hickey. I dread the thought of either Taylor (too light-weight) or Porteous (too rash), but unfortunately Clark loves Taylor.

Just when things were looking promising it is a massive blow to lose Tierney and McKenna. Taylor is a huge downgrade from Robertson or Tierney, and I would go Ralston at right back and Hickey on the left. At least Ralston has some physicality about him which Taylor lacks. But Clark obviously likes Taylor so he likely will get the nod. To replace McKenna I am hoping it will be Gallagher as he has the experience, plus Porteous is too rash. To get a result now is much harder.

Thankfully Gordon is available, and it sounds like both Tierney and Hickey are also ok. This gives us a fighting chance, and all will definitely be needed as today Ukraine rested virtually their entire first team. I would not fancy the sight of Yarmolenko running at Taylor who is nowhere near international class, 90% of the time going backwards. Hickey cannot replicate the rampaging runs of Patterson, but what a class act, never wastes a ball and really good in tight spaces. Once Patterson is fit again Hickey is too good to drop and still needs to be fitted into the side, probably holding midfield.

Stewart got injured in the Sunderland warm-up, and has to go for a scan. Not good news for Scotland.

McTominay has all the tools to be a top player, physique, height, engine, temperament, but is not progressing. In spite of all his caps I cannot recall one outstanding performance, but definitely many poor ones. He will get found out at Manchester United, and may do better at another club. For me, in spite of his obvious potential, he is never a starter for Scotland.

Ryan Jack was poor for Rangers yesterday. Hopefully it was an off night, and he will rediscover his form. But if not I suggest Tierney, Hickey or Souttar for midfield holding role. Although not their natural position I would have no problem with any of the 3, especially since Tierney is far too good to leave out, and Hickey arguably so. For away games against top sides, maybe play back 3, hitting on the counter, so long as Tierney is one of the 3. Otherwise I prefer flat back 4 with holding midfielder, as otherwise our midfield gets overwhelmed, as against Ukraine and Ireland.

It would ge great if Steve Clarke was the one to make a shock retirement or "take a break" from Scotland duty.

Ok game over. This is embarrassing. Clarke is absolutely hopeless at making changes to change the dynamic. He needs to go.

This is still a must win match. We need to get Hanley off and revert to back 4. Bring on Souttar to anchor midfield. Also Armstrong for McGregor or McTominay. But it is not looking good.

This is absolute rubbish but unfortunately Clarke is not good at making the requisite changes. The first obvious change is Christie needs to come off and replaced by Stewart. Adams as lone striker never works.

Hopefully Gordon stays injury free, so we are not forced at any stage to play an inexperienced keeper. Ralston deserves to keep his place, though it is great to have Patterson in reserve, and maybe on for the last 20 minutes. I was against a back 3 for Armenia and felt it should have been altered against Ukraine, but against Ireland away I am all for it, and it is what Clarke will pick anyway. My preference would be Hendry, McKenna, Souttar as Hanley is more likely to get tangled up with an Ireland forward and concede a bad free kick or penalty. McTominay will likely be moved to midfield. Up front Stewart is the best goal-scorer, and I would like to see him supported by either Adams or Christie, though less confident this will happen. But if my assumptions are correct imagine Scotland having 6 aerial players (3 centre backs, Ralston, McTominay, Stewart) to defend and attack set pieces. Ok McTominay is not so great in the air as even if he connects he is not good at directing his headers, but on account of his height alone he is going to cause problems. With that aerial power we minimise the risk of losing to a header by Shane Duffy who is slow and vulnerable on the ground, but a definite threat in the air. All the noises from the camp are this is a must win match, and on paper we are superior to Ireland. Get in tae them!

I agree this is a typically uninspiring line-up from Clarke with negative back 3 for must-win home match. Not only does he seem unwilling or unable to learn from his mistakes, his reluctance to accept criticism smacks of not believing he even makes mistakes! Adams is not a target man, and I would have preferred Stewart up front. Hopefully the likes of Patterson and Stewart may come on from the bench, though Clarke's substitutions are token gestures made far too late. Nevertheless I hope all those selected play well. After the disappointment of Ukraine I expect a response from the players, and predict a scraped jammy win. Ireland are no great shakes, but we will need a more enterprising line-up to beat them away. Patterson is a must against Ireland.

Clarke is lucky to have inherited the strongest Scotland squad in years, plus having won a number of vital games on penalties or late goals. He does genuinely seem to have the confidence of the players though, with a good spirit in the camp and far fewer call-offs than normal. I also give him credt for the great display against Denmark. But I agree with other posters he is too conservative, and too slow to make changes when things are going wrong. Ukraine was a classic example where the starting formation was such Gilmour and McGregor were completely over-run in midfield. At half time bringing on Christie for Dykes hardly addressed the problem, and that change was enforced anyway due to Dykes' injury. 3 at the back works with Tierney fit, but not with static defenders like Hanley and Cooper. He is also too faithful to ex-Kilmarnock players O'Donnell and Taylor who show up in every squad no matter what. He does not seem willing or able to learn from mistakes. And when asked today how he was dealing with criticism replied, "What criticism?", straight out of the Levein playbook. He could be more gracious and apologetic to the hurting Scotland fans. But at the moment there are no strong alternatives. Some time ago David Moyes expressed a desire to manage Scotland, so he could be an option in the future, but not yet. I will be very curious to see the line-up for Armenia which we need to win, and hopefully with something to spare.

A back 3 was developed to accommodate Tierney along with Robertson, and it worked really well with Tierney occasionally bursting forward at pace, sometimes in combination with Robertson and sometimes alternating, making it very difficult for the opposition to track. But in Tierney's absence we should revert to a conventional back 4, especially against Armenia at home. It is getting time to phase out Hanley and Cooper, and for Wednesday my back 4 would be Patterson Hendry McKenna Robertson. In Jack's absence I would have Souttar or Hickey anchor midfield in the holding role. Ok I know this is controversial, but Souttar played midfield for Dundee United, and Hickey is versatile enough for the role. Even though Craig Levein was a failure as Scotland manager, he also thinks Hickey can play the holding role, and I have to find myself in agreement! The advantage of Souttar is aerial ability defending and attacking set pieces.

If Patterson is fit I think he should start. He and Tierney provide some of our best attacking threat, and in Tierney's absence it is even more important to have Patterson.

It is good to see Jack Hendry back playing for Club Brugge.

Robertson is not in the Liverpool line-up today. Hopefully he is being rested, though it is odd he is not even on the bench.

A player I have always liked is Tom Cairney who has a couple of caps and last played in 2018. This season he has mostly been injured but is back playing as captain of Fulham. He has a tremendous left foot and today scored Fulham's 100th goal of the campaign with a "thunderous first half strike". I hope he has not completely fallen off Clark's radar. Turnbull is another good midfielder with record of scoring from distance and likely to be in the playoffs squad, but on current form I would pick Cairney over Turnbull.

Regarding McTominay I thoroughly agree with TheSaint, and could not have expressed better.

Not a bad Scotland side, especially when Daily Record was forecasting essentially a second string. So yes Clarke seems focused on going for a win which is good. It is great to see Patterson getting another run out, and also the return of Jack. With Old Firm clash looming Jack will not play the whole match, and I would love to see Hickey come on as holding midfielder. Ok I know that will never happen, so otherwise he could replace either Patterson or Robertson - He is too good to leave out. I was also hoping Ross Stewart to get a run, but mysteriously not even on the bench. Austria look pretty full strength apart from Alaba who is not even in the squad, but released back to Real Madrid. Kalajdzic definitely needs watching as he scored a double at Hampden, and very unlucky not to get a hat-trick. I anticipate Austria to control most of the possession with us hitting on the counter.

I entirely agree with Robbo '81, if we have the good fortune to face Wales, we need to be very disciplined not to concede free-kicks in Bale range, plus nullify talisman Bale by applying the man-marking treatment. But for latter job I would designate McTominay rather than Gilmour. McTominay has the physical presence to match Bale, plus Gilmour is a more creative force better suited as a midfield fulcrum pulling the strings.