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.

I think you might be conveniently omitting one important stat - the one that most people would use in their definition of a ‘horsing.’

I don’t see that as a reason to drop him. Others may disagree. I’d always judge someone on their club performances throughout the season, rather than the odd international game here and there. Players who play at a much higher level than most of their international teammates are always going to come under the microscope more than most, but we are certainly not a good enough team to consider dropping someone who plays at that level. The commentator in the Poland - Sweden game the other night said that some Poland fans complain that Lewandowski doesn’t replicate his club form, when he plays for Poland. I felt relieved that it’s not only our fans that come out with such nonsense! I would expect that a player would look better playing for Bayern Munich than they do for Poland. Equally, I’d expect that a player would look better playing for Manchester United, or Liverpool in Andy Robertson’s case, than they do for Scotland.

McTominay plays - very regularly - for Manchester United, because he is a good player. There’s a reason he plays for Man. Utd. and Callum McGregor plays for Celtic. It’s not luck or coincidence. Players tend to end up playing their club football at the level they should be at. A player who is good enough for Man. Utd. is obviously more than good enough for Scotland. We’re crying out for players of that quality in fact.

Tierney as a central defender in a back three is a push. He’s certainly not a central defender in a back four, regardless of whether he’s ended up there halfway through a match on occasion.

McTominay, Robertson and Tierney are all a class above any of our other players. The three of them wouldn’t and shouldn’t be left out of any Scotland team. Also, what’s required at home to the Faroes, is very different to what’s required away to Denmark, you must know that? Ryan Fraser responsible for the right-sided defensive duties away to a team ranked in the top 10 in the world? Come on.

Em..... Why would Ryan Fraser be in that position? Why would McGregor be ahead of McTominay?

I don’t get the reference, because I’m not that person!!! 😂😂

That isn’t me. There’s no mask to slip. I’m not sure what heinous crimes this poster who was banned multiple times committed, and why I’ve been compared to them within a couple of days, but that’s not me. Not sure what I can do to prove that, or convince you, but I’m open to suggestions.

Like I said, the managerial merry-go-round is getting us nowhere, and in my opinion is part of the problem. We’re already appointing the most experienced Scottish managers available, who have proven themselves previously and learned their trade at various clubs, so we should then leave them to it, and see where they take us. It needs to be a long term project of ‘Can you move us back into the top 20 teams in Europe?’ rather than the short term and short-sighted approach that we seem to have adopted of ‘Can you help us qualify for the next tournament? No? Thank you, next.’ In fact, ‘Thank you, next’ is a total fallacy, normally our managers depart on the back of a barrage of insults, criticisms and complete character assassination.

What about if someone was banned? How does this banned poster that people keep referring to keep coming back? Is that not against the rules?