Chripper
-
Posts
1,717 -
Joined
-
Days Won
8
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Tartan Army Message Board News
Media Demo
Posts posted by Chripper
-
-
10 minutes ago, ErsatzThistle said:
He's been doing very well lately. Got to be called up.
Unfortunately there will be the usual idiots (especially in the media) banging on about how calling up a Livingston player is somehow a bad thing.
From what I've seen I'd definitely be in favour of him being called up.
I know, it's this kind of thinking that holds us back... one of many. You would think this snobbery would be a thing of the past, but not so much It's obvious, but it shouldn't matter who a player plays for.
-
41 minutes ago, ErsatzThistle said:
Said this a couple of times before but I would get Craig Halkett, who plays centre half for Livi, called up for the national team to at least to train with the team.
Halkett looks a good player and is worth a closer look.
He was man of the match against Rangers, and richly deserved. He was absolutely solid.
-
50 minutes ago, Haggis_trap said:
^ Good points.
Craig Brown certainly got the most out of scottish players with 5-3-2.Worryingly McLeish clearly doesnt know his best team / formation.
Though he has not had much time to tinker....
Peru / Mexico was pointless with end of season call offs then Belgium and Portugal both tough fixtures.
Team really needs some confidence.
Biggest problem now is that Albania away match is huge.
Winning group is our best chance of making Euros
... plus nations league also decides seeding for the main Euros draw
Pot 2 vs. Pot 4 would make a big difference.Agreed. The SFA put the blockers on McLeish and his attempts to form any sort of confidence and unity with the team. As per usual with the SFA, they put their own self-interest in front of what's happening on the park. The ideal thing would've been to play, at least, a couple of lower ranked teams, for nothing else than to gain some confidence and cohesion.
I know. It's massive. Some people will say that it's "only Albania", but our players tend to choke when it comes to the clinch. Let's just hope they can step-up and pull out a win.
-
1 hour ago, Haggis_trap said:
5-3-2 could be a great formation for Scotland...
Problem is
1) We don't have many good center halves that play that system.
McKenna and Soutar (who is injured) probably our best centre backs?
Both still young and inexperienced at international level though.
2) Playing out from back has resulted in simple errors being made
3) In modern game the 5-3-2 -> 3-5-2 with mobile wing backs.
However I am not sure that is entirely McLeish's vision.
He had an obsession with that formation for over 10 years!
4) Robertson doesn't seem to play so well as left midfielder.
Needs winger to link up with. Tierney is not natural centre half.
Both players better for clubs in natural position.Fair points, but the very fact that we don't have many good center halves is the reason why we should be playing with a three. When a team is hopeless in a position it's folly to play less in said position. When we made the three at the back successful (relatively) we were sparse in the central defensive area, so much so that we had to shoe-horn Tom Boyd (left back) into the three. There's parallels, what with Tierney (left back) being played in the middle.
I think 3-5-2 can be more fluid than it looks, when we're attacking (since most teams play with one striker) a centre back step into midfield, allowing a central midfielder to drift forward, or giving cover to the wing-backs, forming the defence into a four.
People keep saying that "the defenders play and train in a four with their clubs", but when was the last time that our defence looked comfortable? People are saying that we should play to our strengths, but I don't see any strengths. We are lacking in defence, midfield and attack, so we should be looking to overload the middle of the park with eight players. There's strength in numbers.
-
4 hours ago, Blackpool78 said:
Nothing to do with the players at all, fault is with the manager as he doesnt have a clue about modern day football
100% correct.
-
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful and insightful comments, you all make very good points.
Apart from one person who bewilderingly decided to attack me personally. I suppose one personal attack from nine comments on an internet posting board is very good going.
I get the "shoe-horning" thing, but I do think that Tierney does have the potential to be a very good central defender. It's not like he can't defend, he can, I'd say that he's as good at the back as he is going forward. The one big thing, though, is I just don't have faith in Alex McLeish and I don't think he has the ability to create the mentality in the team that we require to move forward.
-
Around one quarter into the SPL season (If anyone has a problem with me calling it the "SPL" they can write the complaint on a piece of paper and bin it. The "Scottish Premiership" sound too fancy for what the competition actually is) has come and gone and Livingston are currently showing that the three at the back system can work. This is a club who, on a weekly basis, is facing clubs with a bigger wage bill, more fans, better facilities, better players and larger budgets, and yet Livingston is leading Aberdeen, Rangers and Hibs and they're only one point behind Celtic and only three points away from the top.
Three of their central defenders scored at the weekend, and one of them is tipped for a Scotland call-up.
You can bet that before David Hopkin changed the Livingston formation none of the defenders had ever played with three at the back before, and yet they have taken the league by storm. They played with three at the back for three seasons, which included two consecutive promotions. They've been playing with three at the back for three years and now they are proficient with it, and yet the clear majority of Scotland fans aren't willing to go three matches, never mind three seasons, with three at the back, before wanting to go back to a tried and failed system. Gary Holt has continued where Hopkin left off. The first time I watched them this season was against Rangers and they were absolutely superb, they won 1:0 and it could've been 4. They were brilliant. Their defence were organized and structured, they hunted in packs and they created tons of chances. They rendered Rangers into a clueless outfit.
Livingston remind me of Scotland under Craig Brown. They have inferior players, but they bridge this gap by being organized, being compact and working as a single unit.
On a weekly basis Livingston defy the experts and they prove that a three at the back system can work.
Scotland fans are obsessed with four at the back, with very little (Or no) justification. Maybe Scotland people are just fundamentally scared of change, a glance towards the referendum would prove this.
Do I think for one second that this post will convert Scotland fans to at least giving the three at the back system a fair crack of the whip? Not for a millisecond. I just want McLeish to stick with it.
-
2 hours ago, slasher said:
The only thing Smith has over McLeish is that he's not an incoherent jakey cunt. Both are yesterday's men. Football has moved on.
Yikes. A little bit strong but OK.
Smith would've been able to organize and forge a team-spirit, at the very least.
-
Whatever people think of Walter Smith, he's a million times better than McLeish.
The SFA should've snapped Smith up when they had the chance, instead of dithering and then appointing a manager who is a serial failure and someone who doesn't know whether he's coming or going.
-
6 hours ago, Chripper said:
Oh, that's nothing.
Coral are probably the best online bookmakers as they have a brilliant loyalty system (If you deposit a certain amount, as well as bet with a certain amount, on a monthly basis, they give you 10 free spins on the casino - Play "Gods of war" and you'll win 1 out of 3 times - a coupe of free "£5 build your bets" as well as them literally giving you cash back. One month they gave me £100 in cash back.)
The trick is to deposit x amount of money, then withdraw it, and repeat till you've reached the loyalty threshold. And if you wager £50 x 30 times on sporting events that have the odds of 0.1 or below, you'll reach the threshold.
Their tennis betting leaves a lot to be desired.
Let's say a tennis match is voided, because a player retires injured, you'd think that because the match is classed as void you'd get your stake back, right? Wrong. If it's your player that retires you'll lose your stake, even if your player is in a winning position at the time of retiring.
I lost £90 learning that bit of information.
Oh, another tip, and this is regarding all online bookmakers, always use PayPal as a way to withdraw your money. This way you only have to wait a few hours to have access to your money, as opposed to withdrawing to a debit card where you'll have to wait 3-5 days.
On a weekly basis, I meant.
-
Oh, that's nothing.
Coral are probably the best online bookmakers as they have a brilliant loyalty system (If you deposit a certain amount, as well as bet with a certain amount, on a monthly basis, they give you 10 free spins on the casino - Play "Gods of war" and you'll win 1 out of 3 times - a coupe of free "£5 build your bets" as well as them literally giving you cash back. One month they gave me £100 in cash back.)
The trick is to deposit x amount of money, then withdraw it, and repeat till you've reached the loyalty threshold. And if you wager £50 x 30 times on sporting events that have the odds of 0.1 or below, you'll reach the threshold.
Their tennis betting leaves a lot to be desired.
Let's say a tennis match is voided, because a player retires injured, you'd think that because the match is classed as void you'd get your stake back, right? Wrong. If it's your player that retires you'll lose your stake, even if your player is in a winning position at the time of retiring.
I lost £90 learning that bit of information.
Oh, another tip, and this is regarding all online bookmakers, always use PayPal as a way to withdraw your money. This way you only have to wait a few hours to have access to your money, as opposed to withdrawing to a debit card where you'll have to wait 3-5 days.
-
On 9/28/2018 at 8:53 AM, Mox said:
Went to Rams Vs Vikings, was a real lesson in how odd American sports is, such an strange set up. Been to Basketball in New York before and Portland Timbers last week and it's all very sanitised.
However, that tonight was thoroughly enjoyable, guy I was sat next to said it was one of the best games he's seen in a number of years and it come across as such.
Quick question though for the heads in here, the quarterback seems to take all the plaudits bit the people he is throwing to, who are essentially wingers, do all the hard work in terms of movement, pace and intelligence, why does the quarterback take all the plaudits? They seem to be the playmakers and the wingers are the finishers and yet the disparity between the two is insane in terms of recognition.
The brain of a QB is akin to a computer that has to calculate dozens of different permutations, literally within seconds, before they're sacked. Not only do they calculate but they also have to have the ability to navigate themselves perfectly and know just how much distance that they must put in their pass. If you saw Brady in the previous Sunday night football or Rodgers in Monday night football, both of won their matches through losing positions, literally in the dying seconds, you'd realize why they get the adulation.
Those two are extraordinary.
-
59 minutes ago, McTeeko said:
Agree with the above. I keep reading on here that this is ‘or best group of players for years’.
No idea why people think that.
This and "we have a strong midfield" myth.
When a midfielder emerges people usually roll their eyes and go all "we're well equipped in midfield".
We have about a dozen or so decent midfielders, but we don't have one from the top drawer.
-
1 hour ago, Boynze said:
why do we deserve better?
also remember, the SFA doesn't have much money.
Because we have been loyal through thin and... thin.
Are you being sarcastic? The Icelandic FA probably have a lot less money and yet they manged to build 30 full-size all-weather pitches, seven of which are indoor, and almost 150 smaller artificial arenas that ensure their youngsters at grassroots can continue to play and to train in winter. How many have the SFA built?
-
3 hours ago, er yir macaroon said:
How lazy are you, if you haven’t bothered to check the performances and results of the lower age groups before writing them off?
I didn't say anything about not knowing the results of the lower age groups, I mentioned that I'm not privy to the performances.
-
3 hours ago, Texas Pete said:
The overreaction on here to one bad (admittedly it was terrible) performance/result is ridiculous.
In fairness, I don't think it's just about one match, I think it's a culmination things, the main one being in the football wilderness for 20 years, with one inept qualification after another, as well as the sub-standard players that we consistently churn out.
I think we can all agree that we, as Scotland fans, deserve much better. We hand over our hard-earned money to the SFA and they give us what In return? Nothing that I can see. We have a stadium that the majority don't want, we have a manager that looks dazed and confused and we have footballers that are lacking in so many departments, so much so that they aren't good enough for international level. If the SFA cared as much as the fans then they'd bring in football people, they'd journey to France and Belgium and Holland, etc, and use their blueprints to open up a Scottish football center of excellence.
But no, that's too much like hard work for them. But why should they do anything different? They get paid no matter how inept they are. Should fans do a mass boycott? I say yes. If you aren't with something then you vote with your feet. The Tartan Army continuously attending home matches gives the impression to the SFA that they're happy with the status quo.
-
3 hours ago, Bobby Russell's Lovechild said:
I still think this 'project brave' is a bit of a fad, where we might churn out a few decent players, before it then dies a death.
How many of these six SFA footballing centres were eventually built, that were talked about in the Vogts era?
My thoughts exactly. How lazy are the SFA? All they have to do is go on a plane (something that they're experts in) and travel the France and get the Clairefontaine blueprints.
The "project brave" sounds like lip service to me.
I'm not sure. Probably none.
-
1 hour ago, Texas Pete said:
Coaching at youth level is definitely a problem in this country. Or at least it used to be. I have heard things have improved over the last 10 years but I’m not sure if that’s true or not. There used to be an obsession with winning at all costs and the actual style of football played didn’t matter. Hopefully this isn’t the case any longer. A lot of countries focus on individual achievements in terms of youth tournaments rather than whether the team wins or not.
FIFA don’t take kindly to governments interfering with football associations so I’m not sure what the government could do except withdraw any funding the currently provide.
As far as I can remember, the majority of government funding for the SFA is to do with community projects and grassroots type programmes.
If the government were to stop funding these things then we would only be making things worse.
Hopefully there's a change in ethos and attitude but there's really no way of knowing for another 5-10 years. Personally, I very much doubt it, but I'm cynical. We've heard so much about "change" over the past few years that I'm beginning to think that they're just telling the fans what they want to hear. Our Under 21s certainly don't appear to be better than they've been for the past decade or so, or at least, our results aren't getting much better. And yes, the "winning at all cost" mentality is baffling.
I'm not really sure how the lower age groups are doing (or at least, how they're playing) so I can't comment on the grassroots.
Good point.
I do think if the government did stop funding then it might the SFA into some sort of action. I mean, what are they doing with this funding? It's not like proper indoor facilities cost £100+ million. Just look at Iceland and the amount of facilities that they have, they put the SFA to shame.
-
15 hours ago, Texas Pete said:
Yeah I know what you meant but I wouldn’t call it intelligence.
Composure is what a lot of our players are lacking.
The football always seems to be heavier as well when a lot of our players have it compared to when better players have the ball.
Really? I would. I think it's a combination of things, "off the ball", "concentration", and a few more other mental attributes. I just think our kids are trained in the wrong way, even professionally, you hear about the players saying that they train 90% without the ball (fitness) and only 10% with the ball (basics). Surely this has something to do with our lack of composure? Plus children training of full sized pitches is a bit of a scandal. They should train on 5-a-size pitches from the ages of 8-14/15.
I don't blame this entirely on the SFA/SPFL, I also blame the clubs. If the clubs have the focus and the determination of bringing on their own kids and training them the right way, teaching them the fundamentals, (even if it meant making money from them.) then they could have. Celtic are the main culprits, they could have academies dotted all over Scotland and they could use the blueprint of Spanish clubs. (I mention Celtic as they have the most money. Other clubs could do it to a lesser scale)
Culpability has to be spread to all quarters.
I read a post from someone about the Scotland fans complaining to their MSP about the ineptitude and mismanagement of the SFA, that they aren't fit for purpose. I do think it might have to come down to this. I might sound like a ridiculous notion, but image if 10,000/30,000 people complain about the SFA, I don't think the Scottish parliament would be able to ignore it.
However, organizing the petition, that's the problem.
-
1 hour ago, Malcolm said:
As a full back you are always taught to tuck in and provide cover... so the right back goes out to press the ball... the left back tucks in tomprovide cover to the centre halfs. Simples.
Now explain it to McLeish. 😉
-
2 hours ago, kumnio said:
Unless Baresi, Maldini, Costacurta, Nesta and Cannavaro are coming out of retirement, and have somehow changed their nationality, its a fucking ridiculously stupid comparison. Its almost as daft as comparing them to the current Italian back line, none of whom are even remotely close those names mentioned.
In the last few months, weve seen German defenders look like juniors, Brazils look like statues etc etc
Youre comparing steak with spam, whats the point of doing that, seriously?
Ummm… Who was I comparing them to? I was listing intelligent defenders. And yes, those were intelligent defenders.
Did you even read my post? 😄
-
2 hours ago, Texas Pete said:
I get what you’re saying but some of the best players I have ever seen have been as thick as pig shit. Paul Gascoigne immediately springs to mind. Even from a Scotland point of view, Barry Ferguson could read a game beautifully and he’s not too bright. Same goes for Scott Brown. I realise these players aren’t defenders but it still applies.
There’s a difference between intelligence and having good football brain and good awareness.
I really don’t see the benefit in continuing with a back 3. Tierney just isn’t that good as a CB so what’s the point? Get an actual centre back in there. It’s a dangerous position to play someone in that isn’t used to it. Tierney’s impressive OG is evidence of this. Robertson isn’t a great wing back either. McLeish has turned two exciting young players into nervous, average players in one fell swoop.
I would rather Robertson at LB and Tierney at left mid. Why not give that a go? It could work out well.
I didn't mean actual intelligence. lol. I meant intelligence of the football pitch.
Exactly, that's what I was saying, maybe I didn't make it clear. I don't want Maths wizards on the park, just someone who can actually control the ball with as few touches as possible. I'm actually serious, these players train every day at a good level, so why do they freeze when they feel the minimal of pressure? It's absolutely maddening!
Mate, I'd just want to give anything a go. I just want it to work, I'm not bothered what the formation is or who plays where, I'm just sick and tired of us being trounced by everyone. I think as a Scotland fan I'm at my lowest ebb.
-
2 hours ago, SWMM82 said:
Believe me, I completely understand how difficult it is to be positive in the current climate, but things are happening now at youth level which we can be a lot more optimistic about.
Out of the current u21 squad, only a handful will become regular full internationalists in my opinion..... Porteous, Gilmour, Johnstone, and Hornby.......maybe Morgan and Ferguson.......all of which have another year in that age group.
I hope you're right. At the minute I'm just fed up.
To be honest, after believing the hype behind Burke and then McTominay (and countless others before them) I'm done with predicting who will make it and who won't. lol.
-
7 minutes ago, SWMM82 said:
How long have the performance schools and Project Brave been in existence? We’ve got to give it time before we reap the benefits!
Jack Harper wasn’t even developed in this country!😝
At this point I think it's all lip service.
I know, I just meant pointing to a youngster and pinning our hopes on them. 😋
Scottish Players in Action 18/19
in TA specific
Posted
Robertson with an assist and he should've scored.