BucksburnDandy

The big problem with young Scottish goalkeepers is that they are all very much the same. Reasonable shot stoppers with average distribution and a poor command of their area. As good as all three have been for the national team, Gordon, Marshall and McGregor all fall into a similar skill set to varying degrees. Speaking with my club hat on, Joe Lewis commands his area far better than any Scottish keeper I have seen at Pittodrie in my 20 years going and that gives him a huge advantage over young Scottish keepers. Until we can sort that issue out, through better coaching, clubs like Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibernian will tend to go foreign in order to secure a better keeper.

Outside of Ritchie, Martin and Christie, a fair enough experimental squad. Generally players on good recent form / who have had a good season. I generally do not like Matt Ritchie, just not my kind of wide player at all. Bannan for me does not carry the ball forward enough, his passing also is quite limited. On Kenny McLean, he and McKenna have been the only shining lights in the dross recent weeks for Aberdeen. McLean is a lot more deserving of his call up now than in November, where he'd taken his usual 3 months to lose the half stone he puts on every summer resulting in a slow start to the season. On John Souttar it looks like his rag dolling on Friday night has cost him a place. Fair play to Big Eck, let's see who cuts it over the two games looking forward to the summer. These are the two games to experiment a bit round the fringes before looking to bring back into the squad the likes of Morrison, Berra, Gordon, Griffiths, McArthur and Snodgrass in the summer if possible.

Used to stay round there and drink there from time to time but wasn't part of their TA. Cracking pub until it closed. Lot of good lads drank in there. Sorely missed!

Ted is literally the only defender holding our absolute gang of a defence together. As mentioned by Drew. Been one of the few positives in a season of utter averageness for us. He offers plenty threat in the air and is a good physical threat. Coupled with a ball playing centre half and he could make it at international level. He's still got a lot to learn but he has a very good attitude and has had all through his academy days.

My other reasons for Mulgrew over Hanley is he is better with the ball at his feet which is increasingly important, less mistake prone and he formed part of a much improved defence in 2017, whereas when Hanley played more often in the previous 3 years, we were very poor at the back.

He was a member of the problem slow midfield at the start of last campaign along with Ritchie. Need more pace in there than those two. Worthy of a squad place but he wouldn't start for me due to often ponderous play.

My view is Hanley is very slow and cumbersome, quite prone to a mistake for Scotland. Hence my preference of Mulgrew. I haven't seen enough of young Hendry to comment either way. Agreed on the need for quick play in the middle of the park. When we got that last campaign, we started to get deserved results.

Nonetheless the dynamism of Armstrong was as key as Brown. Our play in the last two games was a lot slower when Bannan reappeared. To ignore Armstrong purely on the basis of the league he plays in would be counter productive. For what it is worth Snoddy flattered to deceive over the last two years and Hanley is too mistake prone for us.

Interesting the contrast in feeling, the Anglos being derided and the SPFL players also being derided. For what it is worth, our storming run last campaign came when WGS blended the best of both, with the Celtic spine combining with a few from down south. We have to find a happy medium between the two and I hope my 23 did that. Personally I would also continue with what Strachan stumbled across, that we play better with pace and possession rather than the somewhat laboured and pedestrian displays of 2015 and 2016. If nothing else, my squad has caused some debate which is what it was intended to do!

My own squad would likely be: Allan McGregor, David Marshall, Jon McLaughlin; Callum Paterson, Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson, Christophe Berra, Scott McKenna, John Souttar, Charlie Mulgrew, Liam Lindsay; John McGinn, Scott McTominay, James McArthur, Ryan Fraser, James Forrest, Tom Cairney, Callum McGregor, Stuart Armstrong (if he can get back to fitness), Robert Snodgrass; Leigh Griffiths, Oliver McBurnie, Jason Cummings. Standby players would be: Greg Docherty, Matt Phillips, Chris Martin, Grant Hanley, Jordan Archer, Matt Ritchie, James Morrison. If Darren Fletcher doesn't make it playing wise, would like to see him in and around the squad as a coach.

Pleased that McTominay has chosen to play for Scotland. Gives us another option in midfield thankfully. Fair play to Alex McLeish, first big task in the intray and passed with flying colours. Well done to the big guy.

Ironically the young Mr Taylor was back in our setup again as you can see: Perhaps just me but I do not understand those who can chop and change their nationality. Obviously I take far too much pride in mine!

Looking long term, McGinn looks a reasonable shout, as does McTominay and McCrorie. If we can get McTominay in, That would be a major boost going forward, a good option to have. Certainly need far more Scottish players competing at the highest level possible. Captaincy wise, I would let Kieran Tierney take over the band permanently. He is mature beyond his years and will thrive with it.

To me this is the right move. Offer to buy it and if QP aren't forthcoming then Murrayfield will welcome Scotland with open arms. QP fans will be unhappy however ultimately this is the right move for the SFA. They need major backing and sponsorship to properly develop Hampden. The national game deserves a better ground.

As expected at the start, it would be an uninspired and lazy appointment. Classic Scottish FA. Anyway I wish Alex McLeish the best of luck. He needs it. His task is simple - qualify or get tae. Nothing less. As for the Scottish FA, the top level of it needs a drastic reform with far more executive power and far less committee structured decision making. Equally the clubs have to give up some power. Their lack of ability to think beyond their own interests for the greater good sees us where we are now.

No surprise that Smith has thrown his rattle out the pram. The whole thing had to be done at his pace or not at all. As we all feared at the start, the inevitable Alex McLeish or Malky appointment draws ever closer. The Scottish FA really needs a gutting. Embarrassingly bad recruitment process and nowhere near enough executive power. The committee and board system leads to woefully slow appointments. Still they will be delighted as they aren't paying out a wage.

I'd place my country above Aberdeen but previously when I was younger it was the other way around. Aberdeen is the bread and butter but I find the league too repetitive due to the 3-4 games a season stuff. I also find the club game frustrating due to the increasing difference between the wealthy clubs and the rest of us, that's worldwide and not just here. Internationals are a refreshing break from the club scene, often a chance to watch players I don't get to see often or in the case of more obscure opponents, ever. I would give anything to represent Scotland.

Fairly content with the changes. Pretty much in line with my club team's own loyalty scheme. It works well IMO.

Walter Smith certainly would not be my first choice for the job given his length of time out of the game and his style of play. However when measured against the possibility of racist Malky or a totally unprepared Scot Gemmill getting it, it's not the worst. The worry is we seem to have gone from wanting to make a big appointment to making an easy one. I would be more comfortable if the Scottish FA also spoke to Bilic, Clarke and a wild card like Prandelli or Bielsa rather than settling for Smith. If Smith then emerges as the best candidate from there then fair enough. It all seems a bit rushed to be going for one person. If Smith does get appointed then we must have younger assistants in with him to learn the ropes and take over when he heads into the sunset. What Strachan and McGhee did with Docherty and Davidson in 2017 was a sensible idea and Smith doing that with two assistants would be welcome.

Regan was long overdue his binning by around 6 years. The fact that his reign ends with no manager, no major sponsor and no resolution to the home ground sums up the shambles of his tenure. Pathetic ending to an ultimately abject 8 years.

So if we are to get a resolution to this, we either wait for a new CEO or put Rod Petrie in charge of the search. Absolutely brutal.

Sky Sports reporting that Scot Gemmill is being backed within the board. Yup, looks like the cheapest possible option idea is growing again in the corridors of Hampden. Despite pretty average results at under 21 level. Good results further down the age groups but not really been massively impressive with the 21s. Not entirely convinced that would work.

Rangers and Celtic have put their bid in now for games: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42824301

From a personal point of view, three teams was more than enough financially for me. Two competitive trips and maybe a friendly more than enough for me this year.

The dread of it being Malky or McLeish has just capped off a depressing day all round. Utterly grim prospects. For what it is worth I'd like to see us be ambitious and look at Prandelli or Bilic. However McLeish will be on speed dial no doubt. Rotten.