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Diamond Scot

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  1. Totally agree however one thing thats often overlooked for the cause if this is when we play. In Scotland there is a very small window when both the pitches and weather are good. Most of the season is spent playing in the wind / rain or when the pitches have suffered from the cold or getting churned up. None of that is ideal for passing the ball around. I believe one of the many benefits of summer football would be a better style of football being adopted by managers. Managers are paid to win and currently the best chances of that are by getting the ball up the pitch asap.
  2. Most European countries our size do produce elite players. Countries nearest to our population in order. Croatia, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Slovakia, Denmark, Bulgaria, Serbia, Switzerland. Only Finland havent really had any elite players playing in the last 20 years. Possibly Bulgaria. Elite being somebody who plays reguarly for one of the top 4 or 5 teams in Engalnd, Spain, Italy or Germany. Why do Ireland produce so many more elite players than Scotland? Thats probably the nearest we have to a country the size and culture of ours. Ireland ship pretty much all their players to England at the earliest opportunity and they have produced about 5 times the number of elite players than we have in the last 30 years.
  3. This point only stands up if you have examples of the opposite happening. We dont produce elite players regardless of the route. The only guys to reguarly hold down a starting position at an elite club in the last 20 odd years are Fletcher and Robertson. As others have said, its different for every player, 1st team football is very important. I dont think anybody is saying its not important however just playing football will only take you so far. You need people to learn off and they are in much greater numbers at clubs in big leagues.
  4. As much as its frustrating that we have to qualify through the strongest section, I view it like I do the champions league. The competition shouldnt be about having the best X number of teams in Europe / the world. Its meant to represent World football. Part of the reason why the Champions League has lost alot of appeal to me is that it now largely serves 4 leagues.
  5. Im sorry but you are just wrong regarding top players for elite clubs. I randomly picked Bayern Munich and 7 out of their starting 11 in the Champions League came through at clubs playing in the top leagues. Now this will vary from club to club however its nowhere near the 80% you state. You say that elite clubs have youth setups because they can hoard players but thats not the question I asked. I asked why the clubs all play in the youth leagues. Up until this season they could buy as many players as they wanted and then just loan them out to clubs to get what you are saying is rhe best development route. So why werent they doing it. Why werent all the lower leagues and non elite leagues of Europe literally littered with players from the elite leagues? If thats the best way for players to develop why would any club not go down this route? Look at pretty much any sport and the countries that have the best setups, invest the most into coaching and technology etc tend to always get the best results. Take cycling just as an example. Every country in the world has access to bikes amd yet the UK consistently get gold medals. Why? Because we have the best facilites and coaches. Why would football be any different. For every Andy Robertson that drops down the leagues and gets game time there will be thousands who either drop out the game or never make it to any decent level. Being at a big club is not a guarentee of success however it does give you the best platform to fulfil your potential. This combined with a good loan move to get adult football is the ideal situation imo.
  6. We havent produced top players regardless of what route they have taken. Fletcher and Robertson are our only really top players in the last 20 or so years. Both took very different routes. Im not sure your 80% estimate is anywhere near being accurate. Alot obviously depends on what country you grew up in. If you take the top 5 in last years ballon dor (if we are looking at the elite players). Messi, Mbappe and Rodri have only ever played in top leagues. Haaland and DeBrunye both played in their countries league before moving to a top league when still young. If youth football has little value then why does it exist. If all the top clubs believed that then why wouldnt they just sign players and send them out to lower leagues and foreign leagues of a lesser standard? The reward for producing elite talent is massive so why would every single big club in the world have these academies and spend so much money on coaching, nuturion, analysis etc when they could just loan players to Ross County? I fully believe that loans benefit players. I think Doak should go out on loan however he is totally correct in leaving Celtic to go to Liverpool to increase his chances of getting to the elite level rather than being the next James Forrest (who has made a good living out of football)
  7. It all depends on what you mean by development. Would a young player gain more experience playing at a lower level? Of course they would. Would that experience help them forge a career in football? More than likely yes. However does playing with and against lesser players help you become an elite player? Thats more questionable. My point about Armstrong is that even though he had loads of experience with Utd and Celtic, and yes that experience was what put him in the Scotland side, that the level of experience most likely contributed to him making the mistake against England. Why do players often struggle to make the step up from a lesser league to a better league? Its because everything in the better league is slightly better. Players are fitter, faster, move the ball faster and with more accuracy, more techincal and tactical and punish mistakes. My point being that playing competitive football from a young age isnt the only factor and can lead to bad habits. Foden being kept at City is an example where they didnt want him to learn bad habits. Training with the 1st team and getting the odd minute was deemed a better path to elite level. Im all for loan spells to the Championship etc but one of the main things for a young player is to be in an enviroment where they are given every possible advantage. Big EPL clubs have vast resources. Gilmour talks about things like a dedicated tailored fitness and nutrition plan, individual learning cards highlighting things he needed to work on etc, a weekly DVD showing his performance and comparing movements and things to established players etc. None of that was in place at Rangers because it costs alot of money.
  8. This debate comes uo every now and then with people on one side pointing to the likes of Robertson and Tierney and those on the other pointing at the likes of Fletcher, McTom and Gilmour. Just taking Gilmour as an example, I am convinced he wouldnt even have become a 1st team regular at Rangers. Neither OF team are any good at bringing through youth but Rangers in particular have a horrific record. If you stay in Scotland then theres probably a much higher chance of you becoming a football but imo if you want to be an elite footballer then your chances are significantly improved by getting elite coaching and playing alongside elite people your age and then eventually training and playing with elite players. An example I always give when talking about the importance of playing at a higher standard is somebody like Stuart Armstrong and the mistake he made against England. At that time he was considered to be a very good player. Had something like 125 appearences for Dundee Utd and 60 odd for Celtic under his belt. He was an established football player however the choice of pass he made was a by product of the oppositon he was used to playing against. Losing the ball the way he did would come to nothing 99% of the time in Scotland but in the EPL it gets punished. Only through getting punished do players learn. Im totally convinced that if the same Stuart Armstrong (in terms of talent) had played 50 games in the EPL he doesnt do that pass. Ben Doak might have had 50 appearences for Celtic by now but none of them would have been against defenders of a decent standard. So he looks like a superstar going past people with ease. Until he comes up against a proper defender in Europe or for Scotland and all of a sudden none of the stuff he normally does works.
  9. How does everybody feel about their teams season so far. Airdrie have slightly exceeded my expectations. I said pre season that I thought we would stay up as we play good football but that squad size might affect us. We have shown that we can give all the teams a game in the division and look to have opened up abit of a gap to 9th and 10th although it can change very quickly in the Championship. Outside chance of playoffs but id settle for mid table and keep building next year.
  10. A few of my mates have moved abroad and loved it. The reason why I havent are things like wanting to be close to family etc but these day to day concerns are largely taken away if you have money. Ie if a parent falls ill you could private jet back in a couple of hours.
  11. I said standard of teams though which is kind of my point. Shankland has never scored at a higher standard because he hasnt proven to anybody in the game that he is at that standard. He moved to Belgium and didnt perform. He has only ever really scored at Scottish domestic level. Adams has scored goals against the best teams in one of the top 3 leagues in the world. If we were purely looking at goalscoring stats then guys like Kenny Deuchar would have got caps back in the day. The level you are scoring at matters and should be taken into account. As I keep saying though, its just one of many factors. One thing to consider though is people are paid loads of money to scout and recommend players. If Shankland is a much better player than Adams then why hasnt an EPL or Championship side snapped him up. It would only take between 3 and 5 million which is buttons to some of these sides.
  12. Anybody can choose random players to suit their agenda though. It is a fact more EPL players have scored international goals than Championship or league 1. I could say Harry Kane scored more than David Healy but that doesnt really move along the debate does it. Better players play in better leagues. Thats common sense. Now of course that doesnt always translate to performing well at international level and isnt the be all and end all. However its a good starting point for judging a players general ability. Adams is a low end EPL / top end Championship level player. Dykes and Shankland are probably mid level Championship players. They all have different strengths and weaknesses though and Clarke will play them in the games / moments that play to their stengths.
  13. If you take the top 10 teams that Adams and Shankland have scored against in the career then Adams record is levels above Shankland Its not fair or accurate to not look at the whole picture. Adams has scored goals against the likes of Man City, Chelsea, Newcastle etc so he has the ability to score against top teams. If anything using this criteria goes against Shankland as I imagine the best he has scored against will be Rangers or Celtic. In terms of starts Shankland is probably 4th choice. In terms of coming on a sub when we need a goal he is 1st choice. For that reason if we only take 3 strikers, he will be one of them and Brown will miss out.
  14. Its not an unusual situation when a club get relegated and a player looks to be moving on. The manager, especially a new manager makes plans without the player so is often not included if the deal breaks down. Generally a manager will want to move forward with players who want to be at the club. If its suspected that Adams will mive in January theres little value in having him start in front of somebody who is going to be there after January.
  15. You hit the nail on the head. Why are other clubs not outraged? Thats not Rangers fault that other clubs just accept bad decisions or incompetence. These clubs should step up their game. Again I stress that how Rangers go about things is wrong. You say the decision isnt even wrong but sometimes its not about the outcome. Its the process to get to the outcome. There is a reason why processes are in place. Checks and balances. On the face of it the ref and VAR have decided that it wasnt a handball. I understand that VAR made this decision very quickly. Ive yet to hear anybody that doesnt think it was a handball. 30 mins later somebody has released the offside pictures. Whether Sima was offside or not is irrelevent if that wasnt part of the decision making at the time. Even if the outcome eventually might have been no penalty. Rangers are entitled to ask for clarity. If the ref and VAR dont think it was a penalty then thats something the ref bosses will deal with. Its similar to the disallowed McTominay goal where the ref seemed to award one thing when in fact it was another. Once everything was cleared up then people moved on. Were Scotland wrong to ask for clarity on that?
  16. I dont think we are actually in disagreement. I dont agree with the public nature of how Rangers go about things but I do think they are correct to seek answers. Its not Rangers concern about wrongful decisions against other clubs, even if in some cases the decisions benefited Rangers. Theres obviously a balancing act. Im not suggesting clubs demand meetings with the SFA for every ref mistake however when its a case where a process hasnt been followed, a blatant inconsistency etc then imo its a clubs responsibility to seek answers. Ive watched a good few Aberdeen games this season, both domestically and in Europe and can think of at least 3 or 4 cases where id expect them to be demanding written / formal answers. Calling for refs heads / not to do clubs games etc is totally wrong and is part of the playing to the masses thing thats out of order.
  17. Im not overly concerned about that aspect atm. Clarke has shown that he is more than willing to play youth when the time is right. By the time Armstrong and Christie are winding down, Ferguson will have been in the squad for years, have a decent amount of caps and im sure Clarke will start to gradually increase his game time, probably after this Euros. We finally seem to be producing a steady stream of players. Maybe not all top top class but you can pick pretty much any position except GK and CF and see a good few potential replacements. There was a time when a big player retiring or getting injured would have meant a massive drop off in quality. Thats not the case anymore. Our 4th or 5th choice left backs are either playing in Italy or for Celtic. We have multiple CBs all around the same standard. 2 solid RBs and then another 2 or 3 with potential. Midfield we are strong with a good few potentials in and around 1st team football. My bigger fear is what happens after Clarke. I really hope we are looking at managers with similar approaches.
  18. Totally agree with your initial point regarding Clarke. He has shown that in order to take somebodys place in the squad / team then you need to be clearly better than them. This is probably because the current occupant knows the setup, systems, phases of play etc and have done a job. I think this way of thinking is a big part of our success as there has been way less chopping and changing. It feels like getting a call up is much more of a thing now, more earned than previously. It comes with frustrations for fans though. Many including myself think Ferguson should have had more chances, especially late in games or friendlies but instead Clarke brings on guys like Christie and Armstrong. Its a similar thing with Shankland. Im not sure I agree with your assessment of Shankland though. He is a much more natural and better finisher but he is nowhere near as strong as Dykes or Adams. He can hold the ball up much better than he used to and lay off others but this tends to be more around the half way line than in and around the box. The one thing that the other 2 do better in my opinion is occupy the centre backs either by bullying them or running them out of position. Thus allowing space for midfielders. Imo this is the main reason why Shankland will only be used as an impact sub.
  19. I agree. I dont like how Rangers do things, especially what seems to be pandering to the lowest of their support however I dont dont understand the criticism of some on here for them seeking answers. Every club has had questionable decisions made against them. Some much worse than what might have happened to Rangers last week but its the responsibility of each club to seek answers and fight their case. The fact that other clubs havent done that much and then Rangers have gone all in should be a criticism of the other clubs, not Rangers. Its about time the other 10 non OF clubs got together and formed as collective to give their voice more weight. Why this hasnt been done makes me question the motives of the owners.
  20. Apparently Rangers have been allowed to listen to the audio and there is no mention of offside. Decision made purely on basis of handball. I didnt watch the game but im lead to believe that any handball review didnt take long which having now seen the incident seems like madness to me. Jonhsons hand clearly takes an independent change of direction to hit the ball. Im not overly sure if he means it or not, my 1st thought was that he was trying to grab / manoveure Sima but if its hardly been reviewed then thats really poor from the VAR ref. Especially (and this shouldnt make a difference) in the biggest most contentious game in our footballing calender.
  21. Thats why I think having the ref ask a direct question is better. For example the ref blows for a foul. Before giving a card he says to the VAR, I want you to check where the red player has connected with the yellow player and if leg was straight or bent at point of contact. VAR does a quick check and comes back and says, on the shin, straight leg. Ref then says, ok confirmed im going to give a red is there anything else I should be aware of. No, good, red card. As long as refs werent going to VAR for every challenge then I think people would accept this. It would also allow us to see the thought process of the ref which is part of the problem atm. For the Rangers / Celtic game at the weekend there would be an assistant on that side of the goals. If the assistant and ref dont see the handball then nothing happens. If they do and want to confirm if its deliberate then just go to VAR. VAR, can you check if Green players hand moves towards the ball and makes contact. Thats what I believe happened, yes, ok thanks penalty. Offside can be fully automated now as per world cup and champions league so the conversation wouldnt even get that far if Sima was offside. Everybody in the stadium and at home would be in the loop so vastly reduces the scope for all this nonsence. Of course the problem comes when none of the 6 (ive added 2) officials see something obvious but for me thats sport and can be dealt with by authorities in their review of how the officials handled the game.
  22. My point being is that its a choice that footballers dont really have to make although I agree they 100% should commit to as Ferguson has done. Some footballers spend many years in a foreign country without learning the language etc. Their priviledge as a footballer allows them this luxury. Ie it would be impossible for an IT person or a nurse etc to move to Spain and not learn Spanish. Day to day would be extremely difficult and doing the job would be impossible.
  23. If fit Adams and Dykes start. For a tournament of 3 games minimum I think Clarke looks at his 3rd choice striker and goes with somebody who can do something different which Shankland falls into. Ie needing a goal you bring him off the bench (like Georgia). This would make sence using the Norway game as an example. Many wanted and thought Shankland would replace Brown however Dykes did. We were winning 3-2 at that stage (70 mins) and therefore needed somebody to continue the role rather than change it. Had it been 3-3 then I suspect Shankland might have got the nod. Again, personally I think that Shankland could play the role and Norway would have been an ideal time to find out but Clarkes sees him in training and will have studied videos etc so maybe he thinks differently.
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