theabsentee
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Posts posted by theabsentee
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Don't think he even got a touch tonight but he did well in when he came on in the cup game against Arsenal. He looks a decent sized athletic lad who is apparently comfortable with both feet. Nice to see Clarke taking a serious interest in him, they must think he has a real chance of stepping up if they are watching him already.
Fingers crossed having 2 ex Newcastle guys Carver & Dillon on our coaching staff will help him commit to us.
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On 1/13/2021 at 4:14 AM, Taylor1996 said:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_NkT_CCcjrs
(Watch from 2:50)
I've seen him being interviewed. He seems like a nice, grounded, lad. So I don't blame him in the least if he takes up the offer from Wales.
I agree. In the Greece match we had Middleton (Gerrard is so impressed by him as a winger that he's talking of converting him into a left back...) And McLellan. No disrespect to those two, but to be knocking on the first team door, at 20, supersedes their achievements.
With no one creative on the bench.
Then we have the u19s, with Kai Kennedy, who looked out of his depth at Championship level. Fine, he's only 18, but still.
It's too early to judge, but if Banks does become a mainstay at EPL level, Gemmil, Stark and Mackay have failed us, yet again.
At full level we have Fraser and Forrest and no one else. Johnstone is there, but his career has been blighted by injury... This far.
And don't even get me started on Harry Souttar. With our luck he'll turn into a Tartan Japp Stam*.
*Not saying that he definitely will.
I agree with a lot of what you say here, I don't like slating any player but i think it's quite obvious due to how their careers have stagnated that players such as Middleton, Maguire, McLennan & 2 or 3 others who started in Greece will never be good enough to step up to senior level yet they still stayed mainstays of the under 21 team during qualification while players with much more potential such Banks, Soutter, Turnbull & even Nathan Patterson where either benched or not selected at all.
Surely forward thinking associations don't let that happen.
As for Banks he still has time to commit, though maybe due to the style of player he is if he has been getting tapped up by the likes of Bale & Giggs so no amount of online love from the TA will make the lad see sense😬
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8 hours ago, Diamond Scot said:
He also misplaced several passes, one of which put Livi 1 on 1 with the last defender. Got a stupid booking and generally looked out of his depth even against a Scottish Prem team.
He is so far off the standard required of a Scotland player, now or in the future.
The reality.
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After reading this & doing the research I'm pretty angry. He really does sound a extremely promising player but should we be at all surprised with the coaching staff the sfa employ for our younger groups.
Scott Gemmill & even Billy Stark seem to have job security no matter what results they bring.
I watched that must win under 21 game against Greece (albeit on a Sunday league level pitch) & it was blatantly obvious early on we lacked creativity but Gemmill kept Ferguson in a holding role for the full game & had Turnbull on the bench until the 72nd minute.
Banks didn't even make that squad even though he was already performing very well & even captaining Crystal Palace's PL2 team.
I'm still pretty pissed about losing Harry Souttar who could potentially have solved one half of what's been a team weakness for 20 years & now this.
Sorry this is long winded(I'm rather well oiled😉) but surely if we can be so well informed about youngsters coming through then it's the least we could expect from the paid coaches.. Their job isn't just about picking & coaching the younger groups it's about taking a personal interest & encouraging their development. I find it hard to believe a young lad born & bred in Scotland who has already been representing us, came through our performance schools would be considering defecting to Wales if Gemmill, Mackay, Stark or whoever had been in regular touch with him & taking a interest in his welfare as well as his performances.
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7 hours ago, ErsatzThistle said:
What a poor argument. The same kind of argument that one or two people used on here to disparage Lyndon Dykes before he made his debut.
MacGillivray was the subject of bids from other clubs last year (one allegedly was from Rangers) last year which were all rejected by Portsmouth. He was then frozen out of the team for a while after refusing to sign a new contract. I don't know if he did eventually sign a new contract but he is back playing for them now.
Seen his recent form ? He's kept several clean sheets in a row. If he's playing Championship football regularly next year and McCrorie and Doohan are stuck in the Old Firm reserves then MacGillivray has to be looked at.
Remember that Graham Alexander had spent most of his career playing fourth/third/second division football in England before he finally made his Scotland debut aged was either twenty nine or thirty. He became a useful player for us.
I'll trust your judgement on Macgillivray, i didn't mention him because I've never seen him play. When I've little or no knowledge of a player i try to search fans forums for opinions but found next to no recent mentions of him on the Pompey form. I wasn't aware Rangers & other clubs considered a bid with that in mind there's a chance he could be at the level of Mclaughlin or with a bit of luck even higher
The young lad Slicker from Man City again hard to find any info on apart from the story about how he qualifies for us . Think he is only 17/18 so plenty time to monitor him.
As for Doohan, I'm sure has a chance of having a very decent career but i just dont fancy him making the level we require. He looks rather short & lightweight to me though McGregor, Goram & Leighton certainly weren't giants which i suppose blows my theory out of the water!
I've often wondered why Zander Clark has never been called him, when I've saw him he looks very decent but no disrespect to any St.Johnstone fans if he was that good why has he never moved on?
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Someone mentioned starting a future goalie thread so even though I'm not sure there's enough talent coming through to warrant one here we go.
It's a good move for Liam Kelly to be getting a move for regular football but for me he isn't big or commanding enough to be a future international keeper.
I hope Marshall stays on for at least one more campaign after the Euros as i dont think any of keepers mentioned recently are capable of stepping up. Jon Mclaughlin seems a confident & solid keeper so probably wouldn't let us down short term but he certainly isn't at the level we've been spoiled with for years.
Best long term prospects i can think of are Robbie McCrorie, all though he has currently lost his first team place at Livi he has the physical presence i like to see a keeper.
There's 2 young Scottish keepers on Norwich's books, the one that sounds most promising is Archie Mair, 19 years old, 6 5 & currently out on loan at Kings Lynn Norwich signed him from Aberdeen. Angus Gunn's(sorry had to mention him 😉) dad seems to think he has a good chance.
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Gallagher has really surprised me playing at national level, i really didn't expect much but the guy has beeb rock solid.
The obvious positive for us would be if his alleged Celtic dream is fulfilled it'll prove one way or the other if he is good enough to be starting in the Euros.
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On 12/26/2020 at 9:20 PM, Caledonian Craig said:
Well we all know he is never going to ask given he has refused three times. But if he asks then it will be up to Steve Clarke.
Only time will tell. He is a player who's stock is rising, some on the Southampton forum think he is good enough for England but want him to choose Scotland as he will get more of a chance.
The reality is in his heart is with England though his head might end up surprising or upsetting a few on here.
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Though i would also welcome Steven Caulker into the squad, English cap or not he has stated his desire to represent us publicly & is probably better than most if not all our current central defenders.
If any players commitment is good enough for Steve Clarke it should also be good enough for all of us to except.
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9 hours ago, Taylor1996 said:
I'd welcome him back.
He'll be in the EPL in a year or so, with or without Stoke.
I would also be very happy to welcome him back as the way he has been performing of late there's every chance your right & he will be EPL centre back in the not to distant future.
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Some good prospects already mentioned here, one youngster that hasn't been is Crystal Palace 19 year old attacking midfielder Scott Banks. Some Palace fans think he is ready to be tested at first team level now.
Ciaran Dickson of Rangers & Scott Robertson of Celtic who is currently doing very well on loan at Gillingham also look like they have a chance..
All Midfielders of course 😉
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2 minutes ago, theabsentee said:
I also checked his Aussie appearances yesterday & his 2 caps where WC qualifiers so i thought that was that as 1 competitive appearance meant your committed. From that link you've posted I'm still not clear as the player mentioned who switched appears to have done so after only under 21 appearances.
As for Souttar junior he has been getting high praise on the Stoke forum for a while now so I'm pissed off that he apparently felt the need to accept Australia's offer as Scotland didn't show enough interest. Big brother maybe could have encouraged him to be patient though the sfa scouts are probably more culpable for letting him slip through net.
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4 hours ago, Super_Scotlandfan said:
Watched Harry Souttar play for Stoke against Spurs. Despite making a few mistakes he didn't look out of place against one of the best teams in England. And has had a strong start to the season in the Championship
Looked up to see if he was still eligible after playing for Australia last year. He's played 2 competitive games for them in World Cup Qualifiers.
I had always thought he now had no chance of playing for Scotland again. But according to this article https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54211943 there has been a rule change that will allow players to change nation provided that they have played no more than 3 times competitively under the age of 21.
I'm obviously annoyed he chose Australia initially but he's young and naive. I'd hope that Clarke has an informal chat with him to allow him to discuss why he made the decision
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2 hours ago, 0Neils40yarder said:
Yeah forgot about Armstrong, problem is who drops out?
It's a real tough one but think it would have to be a defender. Tierney is obviously undroppable, Gallagher is also a deserving cert. I would also include Hanley, he is fully fit & playing well lately, he is also right footed which gives the option of using McTominay elsewhere . So it's a toss up between our 2 left footed current 2nd choice central defenders. I read fans forums from time to time & unless his form has dipped the last couple of weeks Mckenna has been quite impressive since joining Forest. Even though Leeds are a far superior side playing at a higher level for me Cooper Club captain or not has yet to prove himself capable of holding his own at epl level to stay in the squad.
So after much deliberation if the euros where this month it's your squad minus Cooper for Armstrong.
The good news is we've 6 months + to chat & no doubt change our minds numerous times 😁
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3 hours ago, 0Neils40yarder said:
It's not creating havoc, its giving the manager decisions to make, something we havent had for years...its a great position to be in.
Going back to the right back thing...both Palmer and SOD are pretty poor by international standards, I'm not having it at all that someone like Tierney or Jack couldn't adequately cover that position if we only took one of our right backs.
If it's a 23man squad I'd go;
Marshall
Gordon
And a younger back up, like McRorie
ODonnell
Hickey
Tierney
Robertson
Cooper
Gallagher
McKenna
Hanley
Gilmour
McGinn
Mctominay
Christie
McGregor
Jack
Forrest
Fraser
Burke
Dykes
Griffiths
McBurnie
3 keepers
4 full backs
4 centre backs
6 central midfielders
3 wide players/supporting striker
3 strikers.
A young keeper as there is no point taking McLaughlin along with the other two old guys, and it would be good experience for Kelly or McCrorie
Hickey, Tierney, Jack...all potentially capable of covering should anything happen to ODonnell because he really is our weakest link anyway.
4 centre backs maybe isn't enough when you play a 3 at the back, but Mctominay and Tierney are also options there and actually probable starters there.
Midfield 6 and forward 6 is pretty straightforward
I was about to post saying i don't need to bother posting my squad as I'll happily assist you coaching this one 😁
Then i glanced again & realised you've left Armstrong out, i guess that was oversight on your part? As apart from that you've chosen a very well balanced squad.
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19 hours ago, Blantyre_Braveheart said:
16 year old Scottish CB Ben Nelson made the bench for Leicester tonight.
19 year old Aaron Pressley made his debut for Brentford on Tuesday. Came on the last few minutes up front. Son of Stephen Pressley.
W
19 hours ago, Blantyre_Braveheart said:16 year old Scottish CB Ben Nelson made the bench for Leicester tonight.
19 year old Aaron Pressley made his debut for Brentford on Tuesday. Came on the last few minutes up front. Son of Stephen Pressley
I've always liked to look out for our young players breaking through at good levels & i wasn't aware previously of these 2 so cheers for the info.
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Think we just need to be patient with this one. From what I've saw he looks to have plenty attributes, a physical presence, obviously good in the air, good attitude, links play quite well & seems technically decent. What is a worry is Everton wanted to offload him & the belgian club he was on loan at last season not wanting to take up the option to buy.
Be shocked if he didn't make it as a decent pro at some level, only time will tell if it's a level we want him to reach.
One things for sure, it's total madness to suggest as some have on here that he is ready to be tested at senior Scotland level on the back of a few goals at under 21's.
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Glad to see someone else bring Steven Caulker up again. Good to hear the guy finally seems to have found some stability in his life. I don't think there's much doubt that at his best he has the quality to represent us.
He actually asked to be considered last year when we where struggling so what's not to like 😉
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Elliot Anderson a attacking midfielder who has just turned 18 in on the bench for Newcastle tonight. Supposed to be a outstanding talent with comparisons to a young Ross Barkley.
I think he was born in Whitley Bay but has been representing us since under 16's.
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I'm not so worked up or against him being selected. The guy was barely out of his teens when we approached him previously & he didn't want to commit at that time. That i can respect as i think it's a lot different to someone having the I'm not interested as I'm English type of attitude.
I haven't seen much of him but from what I've saw he looks a pacy powerful player with decent technique who can actually finish. If we want to continue with our current feel good factor can we really afford to ignore a eligible player like that?
So if Steve Clarke thinks he is the type of forward & character we need I'd welcome him with open arms..
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There's been some good selections posted here & i enjoyed reading the reasons why. I trust Clarke & expect him to go with his strongest & most experienced big game players.
Personally as long as Tierney plays & O'donnell doesn't I'll be relatively happy.
l think it's total madness to even contemplate leaving a player of Tierney's quality out.
As for O'donnell, sorry from what I've saw he simply isn't good enough, he isn't too bad going forward but he looks extremely slow & defensively weak. I thought even the Celtic reserve right back made him look rather uncomfortable when we played Israel last month.
As for the 3 at the back, i expect McTominay & Tierney to play & though it's tough on Gallagher in particular on current form I'd go with McKenna for the central spot.
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16 hours ago, Malcolm said:
Marshall
Tierney Mctominay Gallagher cooper robertsonJack Mcgregor
armstrong Mcginn
Dykes
Not bad at all, going for the 3 big lads at the back but essentially still finding room for Tierney.
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14 hours ago, PASTA Mick said:
Best team I've seen quoted so far, only change is I'd go for McKenna over Cooper..
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7 hours ago, PASTA Mick said:
He made his debut when he was 20, which is pretty young for a centre-back.
He did play in some bad results (but so did a lot of other players). He also played when we won 1-0 in Croatia, and again when we beat them 2-0 at home.
I think it's very unfair to put any significant blame on him for any of the poor results we had whilst he was playing.
And he's not played 10 seconds in the EPL. He's been at 3 different clubs in the EPL and been a regular for two of them. In my opinion, he is a better player than Cooper, Gallagher, McKenna and Considine.
He is certainly better than 3 of them.
Elliott Anderson.
in TA specific
Posted
My initial thought also 👍