theabsentee

These 2 along with Rory Wilson are probably our best teenage hopes for finding that future elusive class striker. Ryan One seems to have a lot of attributes, strength, speed & size as well as good technique & he is only 17. I'm pretty excited to watch his progress. There's a few comments about Mellon on the Morecambe & Burnley forums, he had a bad leg fracture a couple of years ago so that's obviously delayed his progress but he is highly rated by both clubs. Here's his hat rick from the weekend.

Patterson started for Everton, he is under pressure as his team are to perform, he really needs a good mature performance today as Ashley Young is only suspended for one game.

Whether Hanley was our best player in the last champs or not come next summer that's 3 years ago , he shouldn't be selected based on anything to do with that! I see Shane Duffy had been playing for Norwich, unless they want to play with a 3 I can't see There being room for both when is fit . Obviously I rate Hanley better that Duffy but let's see Hanley fit & playing well before presuming he will be in the squad. I like Hanley but Souttar can play on the right of a 3 as well as the middle, Hanley is only good for the central role.

Yeh it's disappointing & not as much fun to try predicting a squad of 23 . I saw a video of Russell Martin this week chatting about Armstrong & he said due to personal reasons he hasn't been enjoying football for the last 18 months but recently he has been smiling around the training camp & looking more like his old self. I know he had COVID but I don't know if there was other more personal stuff affecting him. Anyway if Armstrong applies himself at club level until the end of the season I reckon he definitely makes it. 2/3's of the current squad are probably guaranteed even if some of them are bit part players at club level but I really hope the final 1/3 is made up of players on form not just the ones that have done it for us before.

Adams is strong & pretty quick & a good technical player but of course he has his limits as he certainly isn't a natural finisher but not many of our choices are. I think it'd be madness to consider dropping him for some of the options we have . Okay he might have been poor on his last couple of Scotland outings but we should remember how good he has been in the past. If he is on form he is a great asset for us. I only see Stewart as a genuine threat to his or more so Dykes places in the starting line up the rest simply aren't good enough. Nisbet might be a good finisher but I don't think he works hard enough to play up front alone. Shankland decent technique but not quick or strong enough to play up top alone I don't think. Brown looked good against France but let's not kid ourselves, Stoke fans had mixed feelings about him, he is apparently fast, strong & committed player but poor technique & decision making holds him back . Very similar player to Oli Burke I reckon. McBurnie a seriously good defender of set pieces & would be a real asset to bring off the bench if we're under pressure in the Euros protecting a lead late in a game but he is a forward so we need to judge him in the opposition box . In that regard it hasn't worked for him so far for Scotland .

Lille was definitely too soon but a lot can happen before Germany.

Very well said, I agree totally I think we all agree Adams & Dykes are our 1st & 2nd choice only if either are injured or have a seriously terrible season would they not be selected. We also will know with a 23 man squad & the fact we almost always start with only 1 up means there's only a place for a maximum 1 more centre forward & in my opinion the best of the current bunch is Ross Stewart. I believe he is a very hard working player with a physical presence & pretty good technique. I reckon due to his workrate would suit or system & I would not be surprised at all if long term he replaces Dykes. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Stewart does at Southampton now he is close to fully fit. If any of the above 3 don't make it I rate McBurnie ahead of Shankland, Nisbet or Brown on current form & I trust McBurnie playing up top on his own a lot more than any of the other 3. Obviously still hope there's a place in the squad for a wide player & we all want that to be Doak .

Let KT & Robbo have a couple of months rest & come back raring to go in the new year. Playing a full season in such competitive leagues as they do doesn't benefit players going into a summer major championships . The worry especially with KT is he'll get another injury before the season ends. I'm saying this obviously only because we've qualified, it would have been serious squeaky bums time if we had to go to Georgia needing a point without those 2 & possibly Gunn . Thankfully there's no need for any nightmare flashbacks to Tbilisi 2007😊

McBurnie wont go on a scoring spree while playing in the EPL for such a poor outfit as Sheff United that's for sure but as currently all our other centre forwards( Brown is not a centre forward) are playing at a lower level that shouldn't be the divining factor. It could be Clarke finds he isn't a good fit in the dressing room but I doubt there's anything in that. We shouldn't forget how good in the air he is in his own box, if he was brought back he would arguably be our best defender at set pieces. I think he just needs to lead the line well at club level, stay fit & chip in with a few EPL goals ,maybe 4 or 5 preferably from open play & he should be close to a recall come our games in the spring.

Good updates. No embarrassment in Johnston only on the bench for a side that's top of the league , I'm sure his time will come. Also great to see Bowat & Morrison getting regular first team football.

Binks is just too old for our under 21's I guess & obviously not yet ready for the full squad but he seems to be doing well at Coventry recently as fans regularly praising him as their best defender & are especially complimentary about his technical ability. Clarke will be having him monitored I'm sure of it .

Maybe but in front of Hickey but like Hickey he is probably capable of playing numerous positions so would be a real asset . Livramento played for England under 21's last week as did Haydon Hackney so don't think either are very likely to switch .

Ryan One, 17 year old & deemed ready enough to be on the bench for Sheff United tonight in the EPL, surely the most exciting news of the day🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪

These 2 are definitely the ones to watch. Need them both fit & scoring regularly the 2nd half of the season then Clarke has a big decision to make as I feel both might be better options than Nisbet, Shankland or Brown.

Yeh arguably behind Doak Rice could be our best prospect. 1-0 against mighty Malta at half time, Lowry penalty. Doak not playing

Sounds good, let's see if Rangers can recognize his potential in that position.

That list of guarantees looks about right though maybe Hanley isn't so sure if his place, the guys getting on & had his fair share of injuries. Even though he is club captain at Norwich let's see if he is a automatic pick for them when he is fit again.

I hope a few of the above list push on & give Clarke some food for thought. The ones I particularly like in are Doak ( 100% we nearly all agree) Anderson & Barnes( quality players who would improve us but we all know the reasons they may not make it) I'd also like a couple of youngsters to be integrated into the squad even if they don't play. The likes of Conway, Binks , Johnston & even Calvin Ramsey ( when he is finally fit) would be the ones most likely I reckon . I'd also still like Clarke to have a closer look at Ryan Gauld especially if Anderson finally knocks us back. From our current squad even though the spirit is fantastic Clarke has to start to freshen it up, we don't want to end up like the end of the Craig Brown era when our squad needed a total overall due to its age.

Oh that's great news.

I came over the border yesterday though from Ghent not Charleroi & we had a 45 mins or so delay which I thought was just due to roadworks or a accident. It may have been another reason. Just prepare yourself to be stuck for a hour or so as there will almost certainly be border controls. All being well you'll still be having your first pint by tea time😉

Well I hope your right, during these high security alert times there's all sorts of possibilities , fake stadium bomb threats, terrorist attacks etc etc. We are also a high risk group due to our passports. Don't know much about Lille, in Europe I've certainly seen worse areas than the Porte des Postel area where I'm staying but there's plenty French Arabs around here so no harm being a little bit vigilant I think. Maybe I'm sounding negative but I'm just trying to be mentally prepared for what the day may bring.

Yeh Charleroi, wise choice to fly into that city in the morning as it's certainly not the most interesting place to be stuck in overnight. Good luck crossing the border, you'll need to be patient as I'm sure the control will be a lot stronger than normal.

There's been 2 Sweden fans shot dead by a Islamist extremist, games been postponed & fans been kept in the stadium as the attacker ironically wearing a Ajax shirt is trying to take more innocent people out before either shooting himself or being shot by the police. Not confirming as I'm following online but it looks like he may have already shot 2 more😡 Horrible situation & Europe has to be on high alert for more of these attacks in the coming days/months. I'm sat in my hotel in Lille, we are very close to this so I would not be surprised at all if our game tomorrow was cancelled.

Idk arguably we do need defensive midfielders who can put their foot in & protect the back. Only Ryan Jack is that type & he looks past his best. Though it's way too early for King to be quoted as potentially good enough in any position.

I totally agree mate. It's not easy keeping up with the Austrian league but I'm reading about Binks at Coventry & he is potentially a very good player for us in the future. Always positive posts from you as you keeping us updated on what really matters, our team, our players & our potential future players, respect 👌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🩷