davew

Limited options. I guess we would have to choose from Phillips, Fraser, Anya, Jack ?

One thing I would be interested in, is how the Dutch preparation for the World cup compared to ours. They didn't have better players than us, but they got better results against both Peru and Iran.

He has 5 goals and 4 assists from just 9 starts. But he's not playing right-back. He's playing right midfield in a 3-4-3. He can't defend, he can't pass the ball, and he can't dribble, but he wins everything in the air, he's very hard working, and provides a massive goal threat. Switching to 3-4-3 would allow us to fit both Tierney and Robertson into the team, and it would suit Paterson as well.

Snodgrass is on fire at the moment. Villa have one 6 games in a row and Snodgrass got a goal or an assist in every game. Here's his 90th minute winner from last week

Hanley/Norwich conceded just 1 goal after playing 180 minutes against Chelsea. Admittedly, Hanley looked to be out of position for the goal, but he is still a solid Championship-level defender. And Mick is spot on:

Apparently Falkirk's 18 year old left-back Tony Gallacher is close to signing for Liverpool

Highlights of his last game for Fulham. He's involved in the 2nd, and gets an assist on the 3rd. From the little I've seen of him, he's a similar player to Stuart Armstrong, but potentially also a better passer of the ball than anyone else we have.

Seemingly Hanley is playing well for Norwich. They got a shut out against Chelsea last week, and another shut out at the weekend against Bristol (whoscored even awarded Hanley MOTM in that game). Norwich are apparently also playing 3 at the back at the moment.

A wee while back Charlie Adam was complaining about being overlooked by Stachan: What I never realised was that Bardsley was a Scotland regular before Stachan, but has only played 20 minutes of a friendly in the last 5 years.

BBC online article singled Robertson out for praise:

Glad to see Paterson doing well, but he's doing well as a midfielder, so I'm not convinced he's the solution to our RB problem.

I think the new manager also has to have a look at Barry Douglas, and possibly even Joe Bryan aswell. Maybe Tierney at CB, Robertson at LB and Douglas at LM?

I see Ryan Gauld got brought on after 86 minutes yesterday with his team down 3-1. 4 minutes later it was 3-3 and they went on to win the game on penalties. I wonder if he'll get more game time now?

Barry Douglas and Joe Bryan both getting a mention in a Guardian article about Championship players ready for the step up to the EPL. https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2018/jan/10/championship-players-transfer-window-premier-league-clubs

It's ridiculous when you compare our left-back options to our right-back options: Bardsley Patterson Love Hutton Palmer Martin We potentially have 5 left-backs that are all better than our best right-back

Wolves with Douglas at left-back currently in 1st place Derby with Forsyth at left-back currently in 2nd place Bristol with Bryan at left-back currently joint 3rd and Aston Villa in 5th place with Alan Hutton at left-back

Douglas has been playing as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 for Wolves Doherty plays right wing back afaik

I haven't seen Hearts recently, but I'm sure you're right about Berra. He's probably the best defender we have at the moment and has been for a couple of years now. I think the reason Strachan didn't fancy him (and maybe why an EPL team never took a chance on him) is that he's not much of a footballer (for example, even Hanley is better with the ball at his feet) and he commits a lot of fouls. I want to see Lindsay capped at the next opportunity, but I've a feeling that he's a similar type of player to Berra.

After, Man City, Chelsea, and Man Utd, Burnley have the best defensive record in the league. Bardsley has only played half of their games, but still must take some credit for that. Do we have a better right back at the moment? You have to wonder why Strachan refused to call him up.

The left-back situation is getting ridiculous. It's maybe not likely, but it's possible that Douglas, Forsyth, and Bryan could all get promoted to the EPL this season.

I see Sheffield United haven't won a game since Coutts got injured btw Barry Bannan has now completed more passes than anyone else in the Championship.

He definitely should have been called up against Holland. IMO The earliest he could possibly have been called up before that was the Malta game. But at that point he'd played exactly 1 game for Barnsley.

Now you're just spreading misinformation. His record is a lot better than you're making it out to be. 2014 world cup - failed to qualify 2016 Euros - Qualified directly 2016 Euros group stages - qualified for the next round 2018 world cup - qualified for the play offs

It took him 10 games to get his first win as Norn Ireland manager although 5 of those games were draws.

Barnes is a left-midfielder, a bit of a weak area for us. Adams, as far as I can tell, is an attacking midfielder.