mccaughey85

Looking at the 2 teams on paper we should really be looking to beat ukraine or at least get a draw. Obviously the last round of results doesnt favour us but our team has mostly epl players and one of celtics best players. Also ukraine dont have zinchenko which is a big bonus.

Theres a lack of attacking options on the bench. Fraser and dykes is about it. This is why i wanted burke and morgan in the squad. Guys with pace and the ability to beat a man. Saying that i am glad armstrong is starting tonight. He deserves more chances imo.

I am guessing its the 541 with mctominay as a centre back or is it 451 with mctominay in midfield and tierney at left back?

Yeh i havent written him off completely but its not exactly promising. If he has an excellent season then i think he should get back in the squad because as you say we are pretty low on strikers and goalscorers in general. Saying that with guys like stewart, brown and conway around its going to be tough for him to get first team opportunities.

John mcginley had at that point a great record in the second tier of english football. If he was around today he would be bought by an epl club for 20m. Shankland has never scored consistently at a decent level of football and is probably worth 3m at most in todays market. I am not writing him off completely but he needs to be scoring at least 25 goals this season to really warrant a run in the team again. Theres conway and stewart to compete with and dykes and adams will probably be in the squads for a long time, especially adams. I hope he makes it back in the squad but he needs to really crack on this season to have a chance.

Not sure why ppl still have hopes for shankland. Hes 27 (i think)and hasnt had a decent season in the top flight. If he scores 25 or more goals this season for hearts then fair enough call him up but i dont see the point unless we are desperate with injuries etc.

Yeh i think most nationalists understand that pushing a republic as well as independence is a non starter. If we cant get a majority for indy right now then a republic is just a pipe dream for now. Thats why a 'pro royalist party' like the snp gets in. I say pro royalist but i think most snp supporters are anti monarchy but like the nationalist movement they understand that a republic is currently unattainable. In an indy scotland i think the idea of a republic would quickly grow in strength especially if its part of a socialist governments manifesto. I cant see it being decades before we vote on it, its sonething that will be discussed alot imo.

Yeh thats maybe true but i think it would be less than decades before we would choose to have a vote on it. I also think a well run left wing party with an anti monarchy manifesto would be popular in an indy scotland. Saying that we currently have to accept that ppl in scotland like the monarchy and are unwilling to remove them as head of state. Until that happens then this kind of nonense is to be expected.

Its not really surprising. We(scotland)are a country that has a monarchy and until we grow a set and vote for republic then this kind of thing is to be expected.

20 year old and bossing it in the epl. We have ourselves a quality right back who should play for scotland for at least 12 years. Good news all round.

Lol you do realise we lost 3 nil to ireland(shouldve been 4) last time. I would bite the hand off a win and draw from these games. It would be progress in the right direction after those last run of games. On paper we really should be beating ireland and i think pressure will be huge on clarke if we lose another game to them. As for ukraine they are a decent side with players that play mostly in top leagues. Its a massive boost that zinchenko wont be playing but its still a massive ask to expect to beat them in both games. Especially after our last run of games. A win against them at home should be achievable under good management and a good performance away from home is what i hope for. Either way we need improved performances from these games especially against ireland.

I take it your joking?

Thats a decent selection which i think clarke might use.

He was terrible for scotland. I am all for giving the guy another chance but his club form would have to be really good for at least 6 months before i would call him up.

I like that first group but the thought of more israel games makes me sick. I dont want to play them again for at least another 5 or 6 years.

Yeh i forgot about him. Hes still quite young as well.

Yeh hes probably the main contender to replace him if needed. Cant think of too many others who might be worth a shout. Maybe rose at coventry or lindsay at preston.

Conways goal is in there. Nice header from close range. This guy could be the goalscorer we need, certainly started the season well with 7 in 11 so far.

Rhodes was 22 when he started scoring goals in the championship. He did score 40 goals at league1 when he was 21 which was impressive tbf. Conways only just turned 20 and can clearly cut it at championship level already. Rhodes should really have been given more chances with us and i think most of us expected him to move up to the epl and do well there but it never seemed to happen for him unfortunately. Conway might go the same way as rhodes but hes certainly got a better chance at making it at a high level than any of our other young strikers. If he carrys on scoring at this rate then he will be bought in january by an epl club. Lets hope hes the real deal because we need a goalscorer.

Its pretty clear that conway could turn into the goalscorer we need. I dont remember the last time we had a 20 year old striker scoring this many goals in the championship. Another 3 or 4 goals in the next 2 months and he would have to be picked for the main squad. He might have a big decision to make soon on wether he wants accept a call up from our main squad or hold out hopes of maybe playing for england one day. Obviously its clear for us that scotland should be his choice but the lad is born and bred english and only qualifies through his grandad. Hes gonna have to make a career defining choice pretty soon because england will probably have eyes on him if he keeps this up.

Ryan jack starting tonight. Good chance for him to show why he should start in these upcoming games especially seeing as gilmour hasnt played any football this season.

Mikey johnstone got 45 mins for his new club in portugal over the weekend. Might be a good move for him long term. Marcus edwards went there and improved his career so maybe the same could happen with johnstone.

Why dont we play a charity match with the proceeds going to the victims of the qatar world cup.

Surely we can play one game v a world cup team then a game v a non world cup team. Gives clarke a couple of friendlies to give fringe players a chance to impress.

Centre backs a little different than other positions. Players will continue to improve slightly even after the age of 24/25. Other positions that doesnt usually happen as much. If you look at quite alot of centre backs in the epl, a fair amount them spent their early/mid twenties playing championship or a lesser european league like the spl, belgian league etc. Guys like cathcart, duffy, mckenna, ashley williams, conor coady. Ashley william didnt become an epl regular til he was 27/28. Tyrone mings didnt become an epl regular til he was 25/26. Its a position that relies on experience and alot of guys dont really hit their best until early thirties. I would probably say david weir was at his best in his mid thirties. Thats when he was a centre back for everton who were doing reasonably well under moyes and then he must of been 36/37 when he helped rangers(a team built on defence) get to the europa league final and helped us beat france twice. Not saying dom hyam will neccesarily emulate those guys listed but writing him off at 26 is unfair considering his position. Theres a good chance he goes up with blackburn this season and if hes one of main components of that success then why wouldnt he good enough for our squad? We aint france or spain.