Taylor1996

Petty much 100% of my posts, I'm not asking for opinions, etc, as I only care about my opinion. Got it? Good. As for actually playing Turnbull in attack. No. I wouldn't. We are weak in midfield, so I'd promote him to the senior team now and play him in a midfield 3.

Yes. But being a striker isn't all about free kicks and penalties, either. The question is: Could David Turnbull play as a striker? My answer: Yes. I'm not asking you to reply. My answer is what I think, if you disagree then fair enough. I'm not asking for your opinion.

Paul Scholes started off as a striker, Eric Cantona in goals, etc. There are tons of examples of players being versatile enough to play in multiple positions. Hell, James Milker has played everywhere (even in goals with leads, when Robinson was sent off). Could Turnbull play upfront? Yes. He strikes the ball better than any of our strikers.

Kennedy recently rejected a new Rangers contract. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.footballinsider247.com/kennedy-rejects-new-rangers-contract/amp/

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/barry-hepburn-completes-bayern-munich-22591809 Another Performance School graduate. Great prospect, hopefully Kai Kennedy makes a similar move, as both are special wingers. Researching Kennedy, Gerrard has told him he can leave. For a player that's recently been courted by Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Roma, that seems like an interesting decision. It strikes me that Steven Gerrard just doesn't like Scottish players.

You can be average and still be able to play in the EPL. That league is good, but let's not pretend that it's filled with Pirlo's and Messi's. I don't think it's a case of McGregor not testing himself elsewhere, it's more of a case of no one from a better league wanting him. There's a reason for that. Take Turnbull, for example. In a couple of years he'll be off to the EPL because Celtic will have received an offer that they can't refuse.

Some people seem to think asking a player to play a different position is akin to asking a football to play another sport. 😛 I don't see why not.

Yeah. There's no way that he's an anchorman. He's a box-to-box midfielder. It's a pity that United play with the same system as we do (4-2-3-1) as it doesn't facility a box-to-box midfielder. His main strength is carrying the ball forward. McGinn is fine, so is Armstrong, but more than decent? No. McGregor and Jack are awful. Agreed.

Yep. Take out the top 6 and it's just an extension of the English Championship. People see EPL teams throw around money like it's confetti and it fogs up their judgement. In this current team, the most Bayern Munich spent on a single player is £27m, and they are an absolute machine. It puts things into perspective.

I don't know. If McGregor, etc, joined the EPL they would hold their own. I mean, if James MacArthur can do it... But you're right, our midfielders are "decent". Nothing more. McTominay, before the lockdown, was on an upward curve, but since the return, he's been dreadful. For anyone to mention McAllister, Collins, Lambert and McCall, in the same sentence as out current midfielder choices, is... Strange. Those four got us to tournaments and won major club honours. They faces top international teams, in finals, and didn't shirk. This midfield mob don't have a drop of what the aforementioned quad had.

Gilmour is (hopefully) going to be a star. He's a performance school graduate. Watch the Scotland u 17s and the u 19s and you'll know what I'm talking about. The performance schools have been the best thing the SFA have ever done. So yes, when people say "We're strong in midfield", it's a fantasy. McGregor is a first pick for us, and last night he didn't look any better than a Scott Brown, who is over the hill

No. Every player has a ceiling, and what we're seeing now IS the ceiling of our midfielders. Collins at Celtic was a Rolls Royce, Lambert was a hidden gem at Motherwell, McAllister captained a team consisting of Cantona. If you're saying that our current midfielder are just waiting to blossom, yeah, well, I respectfully disagree. We have midfielder in the Scotland u17/19 who are light years ahead of players like Jack, McGregor, McArthur, etc. And no. McTominay has no medals in his cabinet.

McAllister, Collins and Lambert were "decent"? They won 6 major trophies between them. As opposed to Jack, McGregor, Fleck, McTominay, McGinn, Armstrong, Christie, etc, who have won zero. And will never get one between them. McTominay could win the FA Cup.* *Trophies in Scotland don't count.

I'm not entirely sure what your point is. Gary McAllister won the first division with Leeds, the FA Cup, Uefa cup and the European super cup with Liverpool. Paul Lambert won the European cup. John Collins won Ligue 1. Those three are three of the most technically gifted midfielders that I've seen in a Scotland shirt. I don't care who was released by whom (Lambert wasn't released by anyone. His contract expired) McCall was a better version of Scott Brown. You've mentioned midfielders that have won major honours and stood toe-to-toe with Brazil, et al, and never disgraced themselves (Watch the Morocco match again, it was closer than it first appeared). Our current crop of midfielders can barely hold their own against the likes of Israel, etc. Imagine them in a real tournament. Their legs would visibly tremble.

Good call. Everton, Southampton, Leicester City and Leeds have been scouting Lewis Neilson.

Another masterclass from McGregor tonight, displaying his full range of passing (0-5 yards, backwards and sideways) If a midfielder, who is 27 and supposed to be at his peak, can't stamp his authority and dominate a Hungarian midfield, I think it's time to re-asses the universal opinion that we have a strong midfield. He reminds me of Man United's Lingard, who is a figure of fun amongst United fans.

Yeah. He might be a disaster in midfield. "Might" is the word. We already know that McGregor, et al, offers us bugger all. How many times do we need to fail before we decide to change things up? Regardless, Clarke, in my opinion, is not progressive enough to do anything radical, so it's not even worth talking about.

Oh look. Another one of my profiles. How am I doing?

To be honest, mate, I'm sick of talking about it. Clarke will not play 3 at the back. If he's anything like Levein or Strachan, he'll play with a three as a last resort, at the end of his tenure, and for one or two matches, and then revert to form. Formally? No. My nephew used to be in the Hamilton youths (a few years below McArthur and McCarthy), so I take credit for that. He gave up when his kneecap ended up on the wrong side of his leg.

Yeah. One of those profiles is you. Hopefully that taught you not to believe the hype.

If someone asks a question (for the ten-thousandth time), I feel compelled to reply. Not anymore, though. I'm done explaining it to people. If they don't understand by now, they never will.

They were all mooted, none of them have actually did anything of note.

I don't. The fact that I have to justify a perfectly logical reasoning (over and over again) is... Urgh. Austria's midfield is relatively weak? They have several midfielders in the Bundesliga, including Leverkusen and Wolfsburg. Not to mention that Austria are 26th in the ratings, as opposed to our 50th. So, whichever way you want to slice it, Austria are better than us. Much better. Bayern Munich's defense hasn't been brilliant? Dude, they've just won the Bundesliga for the eighth year in a row. This season they won the treble, including the European Cup. In 2020 they won 25 out of 26 matches. Robertson and TAA get the ball so much because Liverpool dominate possession. And TAA has been touted as a future midfielder by some in the English media. They're different players? Both are midfielders. Both are worry in stature and like to drift forward. Neither actually contribute anything. The Man United fans hate Lingard and think of him as a waste of space... I'm guessing they'd think the same of McGregor, if he (somehow) joined Man United. Anyway. I'm done explaining this (as well as the 3-5-2 thing). If you want answers to questions, they're here, just search for them.

Groan. Does anyone want me to go through this, again?!?! I sure as f#@$ don't!! Fine. Once more with feeling. People bitch and whine about Andrew Robertson not being as effective for Scotland as he is for Liverpool. And they're correct. He isn't as effective for Scotland. Why? Because for Liverpool they usually dominate the ball and if you look at the heat map for Liverpool, he spends 75% of his time on the left wing. Whereas, for Scotland, he's either being pinned back in a left back position, because our ball retention is embarrassing, or he simply doesn't see the ball, as our ball retention is embarrassing. Why do Austria play David Alaba as an anchorman? He plays center back or left back with Bayern Munich. They play him there because he's their best player and he can get the ball more often when he's in the middle and influence play. As for McGregor, he reminds me of Lingard of Manchester United. He looks proactive and lively, without actually doing anything. As for Jack. No. Our best football players are Tierney, McTominay, Robertson and McGinn. If they play in the middle, they'll see more of the ball. It's not everything, but at least it's a foundation.

It is. Same in France and Germany and all the major nations In their grassroots they don't assign positions to their kids. One match player x will be playing in one position, the next match he'll be playing in another. We're the only ones who are obsessed by positions. It's not like they're playing a different sport. Look at the recent European Cup final. Both Kimmich and Alaba played everywhere in defence and midfield last season. Muller could play in any outfield position, same with Davies, Thiago, Silva, Boateng. In my opinion, so could Robertson and Tierney, which is what stands them apart from their Scotland team-mates. I'm not saying every one of our players can play in multiple positions... Some of our players can't even play in one position.