BucksburnDandy
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Posts posted by BucksburnDandy
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I think that says it all about what a lot of us thought - Celtic vastly overplayed the lad for far too long.
Ultimately it looks like the SFA have bought into his rehabilitation process and hopefully that will come to fruition in March. Not sure if I trust that this will be the case but we have to hope that it all works out.
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3 hours ago, AndyDD said:
Sadly Souttar is injured and not expected back until the new year.
Ah sugar. Was hoping he would be back sooner. Ok, if Halkett is also still out then either Mulgrew or Gallagher although neither inspires me greatly
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My 25:
Keepers: Marshall, McLaughlin, Kelly
Defenders: Robertson, Tierney, Taylor, Palmer, McKenna, Souttar, Findlay, Devlin, SOD
Midfielders: Forrest, Fraser, McTominay, Armstrong, Christie, McGinn, McGregor, Fleck, McLean, Mikey Johnston (if fit)
Strikers: Griffiths (if fit), McBurnie, Shankland.
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Having seen Bulgaria last week, I feel we have nothing to fear there. Playing Israel again wouldn't fill me with confidence, neither playing Romania.
Realistically, if we are to have any chance, if we even make the final, we need it to be at home. We would get beat away from home as this team is flaky. A home final would give us a great chance.
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23 minutes ago, mrniaboc said:
Seriously though dude, your man has a valid point. It's not so much that we're not up for considering or discussing a change in formation, it's that you turn so many different threads into this one discussion.
Can't you see how that would make people exasperated? I guess maybe not, as you have self-identified as being "not a people person", so as a people person myself trust me when I tell you it really does make people exasperated. This is why you are being met with such negativity. It's not the idea of a formation change that does it, it's your style of presentation.
This is a football forum. We want to discuss formations. But we also want to talk about other stuff too! Why don't you create a thread for discussing formation experimentation and try and keep the majority of it there? Then people who genuinely do want to think about it and discuss it with you have an appropriate place to do it.
I think a formations thread would be good, as this one is about McTominay, who had another good game yesterday. Fire up a formations thread @The_Dark_Knight, I'm happy to contribute as seen above, so long as everybody's opinion is respected and not patronised.
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10 hours ago, The_Dark_Knight said:
I've watched every minute of United in the EPL this season. To say that they've been awful is an understatement. Watching them is kinda watching Scotland, they've just been a shambles all season. If they didn't fluke it against Chelsea at the start of the season they'd be in deep, deep trouble. They also play 4-2-3-1 (like us) and it's understandable that they'd scrap their double pivot of anchored, because like us, they don't have a decent anchorman.
I'm not sure if it would improve results, but i'd love to find out. Let's be honest, results couldn't get any worse.
People here don't want to discuss it. They've made that clear.
I don't know if that's true. If I didn't know any better I would swear that some people in this place didn't support Scotland. I mean, we are being disnantled on a regular basis and yet people, en mass, don't even want to mention the word "experiment".
The people that say "Oh, we tried 3 against Israel and it failed - so let's never try it again" are probably the same people who think we shouldn't employ a foreign manager because Vogts wasn't a success.
People here are fairly happy to discuss anything related to Scotland. What annoys them is when they put up a counter point, they are patronised for being not knowledgeable.
Like you, I am somewhat of a mind that maybe we do need to implement 3-5-2 for a while. But I'm not going to patronise those who disagree as I was recently one of them who couldn't see 3-5-2 working.
The biggest barrier to us at present using the system is the lack of time we have to train as a national team, working on that new system. It is a big issue with the current setup of constant games is no time to work on tactical stuff on the training park. The reason it failed last year was because we had a group of naive, inexperienced players playing the system without through tactical work and instruction.
It worked against England as we had a far more experienced team, not needing as much tactical instruction.
I have no doubt that given time, Clarke could make 3-5-2 work, but he doesn't have enough time to make it work before March.
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5 minutes ago, The_Dark_Knight said:
Manchester United fans are discussing the 3-4-3 they played against Liverpool. If wasn't perfect, but it improved them. Reminiscent of when we used it in the 2-2 draw with England.
It would appear that most of them are willing to give it a go. Wish people here were as knowledgeable.
Bear in mind, United are in an appalling state (sound familiar?) and they're riddled with limited players (surely that must sound familiar?)
It would appear that journalists from the Sun read this forum. Well, I hope someone close to the Scotland setup does, too.
Let's not pretend Man United fans are more knowledgeable. The formation worked today against a far superior opponent as it did for us against England. Both of which are one offs where it has happened.
My club side, Aberdeen, pulled off a shock 3-0 against Rijeka in Croatia using 3-5-2. We've tried it on numerous occasions since and failed every time. I understand that you want to try 3-5-2, and I might tend to agree with you. But let's not pretend that it will magic up results or that people are more knowledgeable for wanting to play it.
It has a number of merits, which I'm happy to discuss. But attacking people for not wanting to play it by claiming that they are not knowledgeable is a bit of a false economy and is likely to turn people off from the idea of debating its merits.
Happy to see the debate The_Dark_Knight but please don't insult people in the process. We all want the best for Scotland on here
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McLeish played 3 at the back against Albania at Hampden also. Souttar, Mulgrew and a strangely fit Tierney played as the three. It got binned after the Israel game in Haifa where we invited too much pressure on players who had not had the tactical instruction needed to play that formation. It was very obvious that night in the ground that the defence didn't have a clue, particularly SOD and Robertson at wing back.
Now I'm not against 3 at the back, I think it could ultimately be a good idea but we would need a manager with tactical nous to instruct the players how to play it as well as plentiful time on the training field to work on it. Essentially we need to scrape our way to Euro 2020 then use the time pre tournament to work day in, day out on it with this group of younger players.
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Always sad to see a player retire but truthfully his time was heading towards a close. Thursday in Moscow really did show that up. I'd rather he had kept himself available for the playoff just incase. But if it means a chance for Mikey Johnston, then I can accept it. All the best Snoddy.
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Ultimately we have to be happy with today. Six goals and an enjoyable enough performance against a dreadful outfit. Good to see McGinn grab a few goals, Shankland and Findlay grab their first goals and for Armstrong to remind everyone of his quality. Very little more we could ask. McGregor really should have been rested but that is my only gripe
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If everyone is fit and I'm playing 4-2-3-1: Marshall; Tierney, Souttar, McKenna, Robertson; McTominay, Fleck; Fraser, Armstrong, Christie; Griffiths.
If I play 3-5-1-1: Marshall; Souttar, McKenna, Tierney; Fraser, McTominay, Fleck, Armstrong, Robertson; Christie; Griffiths.
So basically the same personnel but different shapes. Ultimately I'm minded to head towards 3/5 at the back just now, to try to stem the tide of goals against us. However the one thing putting me off it is the performance in Israel, which is by far the worst I've ever witnessed as a Scotland fan. Mind you, 4 at the back hasn't been working either!
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9 hours ago, ceudmilefailte said:
He played 90 minutes for Aberdeen the week before the international break.
How long are you supposed to wait before being fit enough for international duty after you start playing for your club?
A lot was made of the Teirney situation particularly by one or two Dons fans on here but when required to call up another central defender the obvious choice was left out.
It's starting to look like clubs read a lot into the Jack affair in the previous international break.
The clubs know that the SFA are an absolute pushover when it comes to letting players miss out. Until the SFA start calling up players who are fit, the clubs will continue to ask their players to be excused. While there may be circumstances where players do need left out, what we have now has gone too far the other way, where clubs are dictating squads to the national team.
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It really depends on what formation we are playing.
If we switch to 3-5-1-1 then: Marshall; Gallagher, Findlay, Taylor; Fraser, Armstrong, McTominay, Fleck, Robertson; Christie; Burke.
If we are sticking with 4-2-3-1 then: Marshall; Palmer, Gallagher, Findlay, Robertson; McTominay, Fleck; Fraser, Armstrong, Christie; Burke
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I'm not here to talk about managers or the rotten system of development here in Scotland. They have been done to death but nothing will change because no one in football cares enough to think of the bigger picture.
I want to talk about the players tonight who once again absolutely failed to take any professional pride once we lost the opening goal. It's such a basic thing but being 1 down does not mean stopping doing the basics of the role that they are playing. See Andy Robertson fail to track his man at the third goal, supposedly our best player.
Not many passes tonight but I thought tonight was the night that should see Charlie Mulgrew phased out the team. He was absolutely awful in that second half. He's in for experience but he does not bring any fight or quality in his defending. Absolutely pointless having him in. Would rather see Findlay play.
Ultimately if players don't care enough to do their jobs, why should the fans turn up?
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9 hours ago, scotlad said:
There's something about the grandparent rule that leaves me cold, but if you look at Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, teams with similar or weaker resources than us but who have arguably been more successful in recent years (and who many on here seem impressed by), their squads are full of players who qualify to play for them via a parent or a grandparent.
Correct. While I agree with you that the grandparent rule feels wrong, we need to get over ourselves when it comes to exploiting it. Ultimately other nations have no qualms about it, so we should be the same. See England poaching Declan Rice who had played three times for Ireland. For many footballers, there is little loyalty to a country anymore, particularly when they are dual nationals. So we should absolutely exploit things as much as we can. God knows we need all the talent in our squad that we can get just now.
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At the moment, we have a pretty brutal selection of players for this match. Tossing up between the usual formation and playing a different formation.
Usual formation: Marshall; Taylor, Findlay, Mulgrew, Robertson; Snodgrass, Armstrong, Christie, Fleck, Fraser; Burke.
5-3-1-1 (wing backs): Marshall; Fraser, Gallagher, Mulgrew, Findlay, Robertson; Armstrong, Fleck, McGinn; Christie; Burke. I appreciate this is a big change on what we have been used to playing but truthfully, we have been absolutely honking defensively recently, merely a different idea to try to stem the defensive issues.
Ultimately I'd expect our usual formation to be stuck with but I'm open to being more defensive for this match
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Right now I'd sell my soul to the devil to actually see us qualify for a major tournament. As such, as much as it is somewhat humiliating, I'd call him up and see if he is any use.
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The performance schools closing would be the biggest act of self harm yet by the SFA. There are numerous superb young players going through these just now, with some good coaching. Clubs have zero desire to improve the game nationally, this is a measure purely to bag a few thousand pounds extra.
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9 hours ago, andyD said:
It does feel like we have some players who aren't as good as we hoped they were.
Robertson, i think dropped in form the moment he became captain. It's a shame, cos he's a good guy, but if it's negatively affecting his performance to be captain, then maybe for his own good he needs to pass on the armband. I agree with Wanderer tho, his 2nd half was much better and he looked more like the Robertson of old. That's the player we need to see more of.
Mulgrew was mostly decent over the two games. Yep, got done for the 3rd last night, but the accusation to level at him there is "you're not as good as Alderweireld". Which is kind of obvious and uncontested. No one we have is as good as Alderweireld.
McTominay has looked ok over the two games. He wasn't really helped out by those around him in either game, with McGregor disappearing against Russia and McLean seemingly not wanting the responsibility of marking anyone. He'll be a good player, but at time last night he looked like exactly what he is, a young player that could use support rather than the weight being on his shoulders already.
McGregor disappeared for most of the Russia game, and did the same for long periods of the Belgium game. Such a shame because he has talent. Maybe he's burnt out, but this isn't the first couple of times it's happened. Starting to wonder if he's a confidence player. With Celtic he knows he's always one of the best players on the park and so plays with confidence and freedom. At international level it's a different story and it seems he might need some mental shift in order to produce his best for us.
McLean, sad to say, but he just doesn't look good enough to me. Came on and put us under pressure against Russia. Was solely responsible for the 2nd goal, just not marking his man. He was wasn't paying any attention and was stood on the penalty spot as Vermaelen knocked it in from inside the 6 yard box. I might be paranoid, but he then seemed to make runs to take him away from men, thereby dumping them onto someone else, particularly De Bruyne. That to me is hugely worrying.
Snodgrass, was ok, got more involved that Forrest did against Russia. Tired towards the end and got a bit sloppy, but still. Freekicks were a bit disappointing tho.
Armstrong.. breath of fresh air when he came on. Energy, drive, much like Christie in the Russia game he came in and made a difference. Makes a great case for him starting.
Phillips, still not a striker.
Forrest seems like he may have reverted to form for us. So could be time to look at others, be that Johnston or Hastie or Burke or back to Snodgrass when the game suits it.
To me it feels like we have an ok 11 for the most part.
Griffiths
[Johnston/Burke/etc] - Christie - Fraser
Armstrong - McTominay
Robertson - McKenna - Mulgrew - [Tierney/O'Donnell]
MarhsallThe problem is there's not much quality behind those players if they're not available.
I agree with a great deal of this. However, I would more heavily criticise Mulgrew, who doesn't control the defence to the extent an experienced player like him should.
McGregor is knackered but he also has not looked all that good in a Scotland shirt in his appearances. Must do better
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That was absolutely brutal. Just mince. Until we scored, we looked bright and effective but we went into total retreat mode. Rather than trying to go toe to toe, we surrendered to Russia, who are a good team.
The midfield was absolutely overran. McGregor was absolutely shocking, one of the worst individual performances I've seen in a long time. McGinn, bar scoring, was his usual ineffectual self. Running round like a madman is not actually that useful without some nous on winning the ball and moving forward.
Our right side is so weak that it is scary. Forrest is mince for Scotland, a good Premiership player who gets found out in a Scotland shirt. Stephen O'Donnell has never and will never be good enough to be an international footballer.
Plenty people happy to slag Oli McBurnie but with the level of service and total lack of support coming from midfield, he's always going to be left exposed and unable to do much at all.
We are so mentally weak as a team, it is frightening. Instead of taken a lift from taking the lead, we treated it as a burden. It is beyond me why this team see it like that. Part of it is absolutely down to Steve Clarke, who got his starting lineup badly wrong tonight. The other part is down to a weak mentality and the usual defeatist nonsense that we are continually served up.
Ultimately this team are so far off qualifying for a tournament. Once again, as a fanbase, we are likely going to miss out due to the ineptitude of our national team. A truly depressing night
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Marshall; SOD, Cooper, Mulgrew, Robertson; Armstrong, McTominay, McLean; Forrest, Naismith, Fraser.
Fully aware Armstrong hasn't played much but we are an infinitely better team with him than without him. McLean earns his start after his games in June. Don't trust McBurnie enough to play up front.
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All these guys who have seen Scotland when we were relatively successful. Whereas I barely remember 1998 and as such remember only fallow times.
Gordon; Dailly, Weir, Hendry, Robertson; D.Fletcher, Ferguson; Fraser, Maloney, McFadden; Miller
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On 8/21/2019 at 6:19 PM, BucksburnDandy said:
At present, I'd like the squad to be:
Keepers: Marshall, Gordon, Kelly
Defenders: Robertson, Mulgrew, McKenna, Lindsay, Fredericks (if ready to declare), Paterson. Ideally would include Souttar and Tierney but not sure if either will be fit.
Midfielders: Forrest, Fraser, McTominay, McGinn, Armstrong, Christie, McGregor, Fleck, Cairney, Snodgrass
Strikers: Griffiths, Naismith, S.Fletcher, McBurnie
Looks like McKenna will miss out with injury. Not sure if John Souttar will make it. As such, will be interesting to see who Steve Clarke goes with. Personally would call up Liam Cooper but I imagine Stuart Findlay will get the call.
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At present, I'd like the squad to be:
Keepers: Marshall, Gordon, Kelly
Defenders: Robertson, Mulgrew, McKenna, Lindsay, Fredericks (if ready to declare), Paterson. Ideally would include Souttar and Tierney but not sure if either will be fit.
Midfielders: Forrest, Fraser, McTominay, McGinn, Armstrong, Christie, McGregor, Fleck, Cairney, Snodgrass
Strikers: Griffiths, Naismith, S.Fletcher, McBurnie
Scotland Podcast
in TA specific
Posted
Will hopefully give it a listen tomorrow. All the best with the ongoing recovery from the ACL reconstruction. Glad to hear you boys back on the pod, sorely missed the content last month.