Diamond Scot

Not really as its about risk / reward. Nobody is saying he is injured. He is saying he is better served using the international break to recover from knocks and niggles which in turn allow him to keep playing every week for his club. He would rather do that than play U21 football which is at a lower level than he plays normally. Theres much more to be gained by playing for the full squad than the U21s which is actually just a developmental level. Theres no doubt he is making a decision but its his decision to make. If he goes on to play for a top 5 club in a major league week in week out and Clarke elects not to select him because of his stance on U21 football then so be it. I cant see Clarke doing that though. We do this all the time with players. Question their commitment etc. I remember Tierney getting the same but look how thats turned out. Vice Captain for Arsenal and a regular in our most successful international team for decades. Id much rather that outcome than him playing a bunch of U21s or friendlys earlier ib his career. As ive said before its different for every player. There is no right or wrong way at that age.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9303439/amp/Aaron-Hickey-battled-Covid-19-joining-Bologba-star-loving-life-Italy.html Theres actually a few interviews where he says he wants to play for Scotland. Im not saying its not possible for some young players to play week in week out and play at International level. Every player is different. Also, im not sure how often Owen played for the U21s and he also suffered horrible muscle injuries quite young so maybe not the best example to suggest Hickey should be doing the same. Id like him to play but im not going to be overly critical if he doesnt.

Im not saying he isnt physically able to play international football. He clearly is as he is already playing at a higher level than the U21s. What im saying is that if a chief of medical says the majority of players carry injuries throughout the season then its pretty safe to say that a still developing youngster playing every week in a tough league will be aswell. Both Gilmour and Patterson had about 2 months inbetween their clubs games when they played U21s so recovery time was not a live issue. What do you think Hickey has to gain from playing in these games? Is he going to learn anything. Likewise, what is Gemmil / Clarke going to learn about him? They already know that he is and will be a top player. Then look at what he could risk. Its not even the possibilty of picking up injury but also the fact his body wont get a rest from the toil of playing every week in Italy.

Neither Gilmour or Patterson were playing week in week out though so the comparison doesnt work. They would have been keen for game time. Would you rather Hickey played 2 games for the U21s and then lost his club place or miss out the U21s and keep his place? Im not saying I entirely agree with his position. Obviously as a fan id love him to play nomatter what however I can understand his thinking. As others have said, we already have 2 world class left backs. So how is playing for the U21s going to get him ahead of them? Concentrating on club football for a short period of time, earning a move to a top club gives him a much better chance than a couple of standout U21 performances.

Hickey is making a calculated decision based on his career. Ben Foster does a very good postcast where he had a chief of medical on who basically said that at any given time the vast majority of players arent fully fit. Having a break during international week helps players regain fitness, thats why so many players in early 30s give it up. Hickey is 19. He isnt a particuarly developed 19 year old physically and is playing week in week out in one of the best leagues in the world. He missed out on alot of football last year due to injury. If he feels that his long term goals are better served from resting during these periods rather than play U21 football then so be it. The important thing is the full team. He will know that it would be easier to just attend and play but I reckon he is banking on being a top top player in a couple of years time. If he earns a move to AC Milan or the likes then theres no way any Scottish manager isnt picking him because he didnt play a few u21 games. Its hard for us fans because we would give anything to play for Scotland but players have more things to consider. If you look at his season so far, he has made the right choice to not attend U21s as its allowed him to be a regular at club level, something he might not physically have been able to do if he had played.

Why are they allowed then given its the clubs who make the rules? As somebody said above, theres only 1 in the top flight atm but no motion to ban then which would pass with flying colours if you were correct. Clubs understand finances. Fans dont.

Initially I wasnt worried about Patterson but 45 mins against a non league side in about 7 months by June could be an issue. Ralston is getting some game time but he is 2nd choice and in my opinion is a limited footballer. He is exposed anytime he comes up against quality and thats probably why he doesnt tend to play in those games. Ramsey was always one for the future and really needs some more game time and consistent performances before being considered. ODonnell is ODonnell. Very limited but has shown he can do a shift. One to be phased out when better options prove themselves. Hickey for me is a must start in the friendly games. 19 years old and has played the most minutes by any teenager in Europes top leagues. The idea that we wouldnt play somebody starring week in week out in Italys top flight would have been crazy only a couple of years ago. For the friendlys id start with a non Gordon or Marshall GK. Probably McLaughlin. Robertson, McKenna, Hanley, Hendry with Hickey RWB. Id then swap Hickey to LWB and bring on Patterson at half time.

When is the time to experiment then? To have continued success you always have to have one eye on the future. The games will allow us to bring in Hickey and get him introduced to the squad, phasing out guys like Taylor and possibly ODonnell. Also allows us to try out somebody like the Sunderland forward, not neccesarily in the gake but allowing Clarke to see him train with the squad to assess him. The issue with friendlys previously was that we made wholesale changes and thus they became meaningless. This time round we have the opportunity to make some minor tweaks and learn what might work better for the future. Staying still is moving backwards afterall. Id much rather somebody like Hickey got 2 friendlys and 1 squad under his belt than make his debut in a world cup semi final play off should we need him.

We have been saying for ages how difficult its been recently to have a look at new players or tweaks to formation because all of our games are competitive. This gives us a chance to bring in guys like Hickey. Maybe try another striker for 30 mins or so. Different combinations in midfield or defence.

I agree that summer football is the way forward. I was merely highlighting the misconception that artificial is bad and grass is good. Ive played on some exceptional artificial pitches in my time. The one that used to be at Spartans was better than most grass pitches. Dont know what was different about it but it was brilliant. As ive said previously Livi's is a disgrace and shouldnt be allowed. Its uneven, you can see it with the naked eye. For me grass is the ideal but there has to be standards. Ultimately it comes down to cost. I think clubs should have to spend a certain amount on the upkeep of their pitch along with a certain amount on youth development. If that was a rule then it wouldnt matter to the finances of clubs as all teams would be doing it so would still be a level playing field. Might mean not being able to sign certain players but equally the opposition couldnt either.

Would you rather watch a game on an artificial pitch (not the one at Livi as that one is a disgrace) or on pitches like the one at St Johnstone?

I think thats really smart. Navy or White Shorts with yellow trim and Navy socks with yellow trim.

McTominney seemed a tad lathargic on Sunday which maybe expected as he was just back from illness. Man Utd are a total mess atm though so must be very hard for him. In the 1st half the defence held a high line which allowed Utd to keep the game compressed and Utd could then spring the counter. In the 2nd half Utds back line dropped right off and the gaps between defence and midfield and then midfield and attack were huge. It was an impossible task to cover that distance and totally played into the hands of City. Utd dont have defenders who can play out from the back and they dont like pushing up because Maguire leads the line and he is so slow. They could do alot worse than drop Maguire and go to a back 3 of McTom, Varne and Linderof.

Thats the law. The problem with determining the mans belief, so much of what possibily led to him having that belief isnt allowed into evidence these days.

This isnt correct. If a women consents to sex then its not rape. If the man reasonably believes that the women consented to sex, even if she didnt then again its not rape. The circumstances in this case dont look good for Goodwillie on paper but very few nights out would look good on paper when looked at in the cold light of day. Rape and sexual assault are ripe in society. Things like grabbing women in nightclubs etc as they walk past are commonplace and correctly have been called out as something that needs addressed. One thing thats also common place is incorrect accusations, lying or mistelling the truth for a variety of reasons. This is the reality but you wont ever hear it because of the uproar it would cause and the damage it would do to getting convictions which are already very hard. Another thing that has gone way too far is the courts application of what evidence can and cant go before the court. Its almost impossible to mount a reasonable defence nowadays because in some cases the jury cant even hear about the accused and complainer kissing etc earlier in the night because somehow thats not relevent.

Im not surprised that Patterson hasnt just walked straight into the Everton team but really surprised and concerned that he is behind Kenny who is a very limited footballer.

Its 100% correct that the Russian sports teams get punished. You cant break down a war into whose fault it is or not. The Russian soldiers wont want to be in Ukraine either but end of the day they are. Its about sending a clear message to Russia / China that if you behave in certain ways then you loose all international privileges. Getting kicked out of everything, freezing banking assets, not selling stuff to Russia etc makes it more likely that the general Russian public will get disgruntled with Putin. I get what people are saying about Iraq / Isreal etc but like it or not, the world is run a certain way. A classic take our ball back, your no playing scenario.

Gilmour is just a good example of how good players play better with other good players. Take Gilmour and McLean for example. McLean does the simple things well and as such rarely puts in an obviously poor display for Scotland however he isnt comfortable receiving the ball unless in lots of space, doesnt have the vision or range of passing Gilmour does and as a result it changes the way the team has to play. All of a sudden guys like Robertson are having to play speculative balls up the line or 50 yards into the striker and people think that its Robertson who is having the bad game but really its McClean who is the route cause.

Gilmour needs to play in a team where players have the confidence to give him the ball early and then other players have good movement so Gilmour has something to pass to. I watched the full game last night and alot of Norwichs games this season. Norwich players consistently delay passing the ball, especially when the prospective pass has a player near them. This results in them constantly going to the back 4 or keeper who go long up the line. This and this one are why games are bypassing Gilmour. There was a spell towards end of 1st half and mid 2nd half where Norwich were actually brave and in both spells Gilmour was very involved. He rarely misplaces a pass. Problem being with Norwich delaying that means most of his passes just go to back 4 instead of forward. Theres a reason why Norwich look so poor. They have too many chamionship level players who dont have the confidence to play in tight spaces.

Agreed, very strange team selection. Might still perform well but clearly a weakend non 1st choice team which is strange as this is a competition that Celtic should have ambitions of going deep into.

Fancy Celtic to get a result tonight. Think Rangers might still go out. Away goals being scrapped has really helped Celtic and not Rangers on this occasion. If Dortmund had to win by 3 in 90 mins then I could see them over committing and getting hit on the counter. As it is a 2 goal win would hardly be a surprising result to take it to extra time.

I wouldnt even say that they dont take it seriously in the group stages. The difference in the group stages is that the big teams know that they dont need to play their strongest teams for every match to qualify. This means you are more likely to see the odd big upset but more often than not, even after the upset the big team ends up in the top 2. It was a great result for Rangers and a poot one for Celtic. Saying that if I was a betting man I would still fancy Celtic to qualify over Rangers.

For me Gilmour and McGinn are must picks. Gilmour is a step above anything we have in terms of keeping the ball ticking over, making himself available etc. He really does set the temp for us which at such a young age is amazing.

Really disappointed in Celtic. Felt this competition was very winnable.

No Gilmour?