Mickey The Brave

That’s not who I am. Please. You’ve got it wrong. You have to consider that option, that you’re just harassing some innocent forum member, without evidence. Please stop it, or come up with a way to prove it either way, because this isn’t fair.

😬😬😕

That’s such a vague statement, ‘get us to another tournament.’ We won’t be going to many World Cups for a long time, because we’re nowhere near good enough. A little bit of improvement, to make us one of the top 24 teams in Europe, and in with a chance of qualifying for the next European Championships should be our main aim, shouldn’t it? At least that buys us a bit of time to try things and make a few mistakes along the way as well.

You are correct. I am just ‘some other poor bloke,’ with no connection to this infamous forum member, who as you say, appears to still haunt a lot of people on here. I understand that people have to be vigilant, and try to prevent someone who has been a nuisance previously, under many different aliases, from returning. However, the flip side of that is that it isn’t fair to throw a barrage of false accusations and abuse against someone, without proof that they’re this person, which is what I’ve been subjected to so far on here. Hopefully that was just an unfortunate coincidence that one of my initial posts looked like the poster in question, and over time I’ll be able to show that I’m not them.

I’m not ‘throwing anyone off’ and I wasn’t doing that to Stuart Armstrong either. What a lovely turn of phrase though 😬🙄 So now, I can’t win apparently. When I post like this other person, it means I’m them, and when I don’t post like this other person, it means I’m them also. Brilliant. Can some smart cookie please come up with some way that I can prove that I’m not this person, so we can resolve this? It’s not the nicest of false accusations, and it’s a bit draining to be repeatedly accused of lying, when that isn’t the case, and when I don’t have a way to prove that I’m telling the truth.

You are wrong. That isn’t me.

That’s because that isn’t me. I can’t help if I’ve done something the same as that previously banned poster, but I’m not that person. Please don’t assume that’s me, because I made one lengthy post!

Honestly, it wouldn’t stop being a coincidence for me. Taking the example that is being discussed here, if I was asked to select between Callum McGregor and Scott McTominay, to play in midfield for Scotland, my decision would always be based on analysing how good a player they are, based on the level they play their club football at. At no point could I justify analysing something on around 10 international games per season, rather than around 50 club games. I think a lot of our fans like to bear grudges - ‘so and so left that guy unmarked, when we conceded a goal in the last Scotland game,’ ‘so and so hasn’t played well for us for a while.’ I don’t tend to remember which players have had bad games or good games for Scotland, by the time the next international break comes around. My opinion of each player is solely based on an analysis of how good they are, based on the level they play their club football at. International games are so few and far between, I don’t think it’s a fair way to assess someone’s abilities. Just my personal opinion, and way of looking at things. I can understand why some people would see it differently though.

I would assume that the fact that they’ve not played well for Scotland is nothing more than coincidence, based on a small sample size. I’d love our national team to be in a position to have an option whether or not to select a Man. Utd. regular, but that’s definitely not the position we’re in at the moment! McTominay, Robertson and Tierney are a level above anybody else we’ve got, and quite rightly are guaranteed their places in the team.

No. That’s not me. What makes you say that?

Ok, it seems there’s a bit of a debate about that - some people call it a 4-3-3, some people call it a 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield. It seems to have varied a bit, depending on the opponent. I’d always heard of it as a 4-3-3, I didn’t realise it was sometimes considered a diamond. Either way, I’m not sure a formation from 1966 will help us in 2021!

As in, England men’s team, in 1966? I was meaning in modern football, and also, I thought England quite famously played 4-3-3 in 1966?

I don’t think you can compare Charlie Adam and Oliver Burke to Scott McTominay. The former two both had one season, and twenty-odd appearances at the level you have mentioned, which would suggest that that wasn’t their true level. McTominay has four seasons and counting, 90 appearances, and has spent his entire career at that level, which would suggest so far that that probably is a level he belongs at.

Do any (successful) teams ever play a ‘diamond?’ I can’t think of any team that does, I thought it wasn’t even a real option, just something that people suggest when they’re trying to shoehorn four central midfielders into the same team!

It’s not two different people though. If someone proves over the 50 games of a club season that they’re a good footballer, who can play at a high level, then that means they’re a good player. Whether they happen to have had good matches previously in the 10 international matches per season doesn’t bother me. 50 games trumps 10 games. I want the best players in the team, not a random mismatch of players who happen to have had good matches for Scotland previously.