fraz65

At least he wouldn't have to pick any Asians.

George Burley was sacked after 14 games, Craig Levein (with a 41% win ratio) after 24.

Fletcher in his prime vs. Fletcher past his prime. Barry Ferguson vs. Barry Bannan. Scott Brown in his prime vs. MacArthur- a player who couldn't get a game ahead of Scott Brown in his thirties. Faddy vs. Snodgrass post injury. Lee McCulloch vs. - OK I'll give you that one.

Interestingly, Michael O'Neill had a win ratio of 10% after thirty games. I wonder how long he would have lasted as Scotland manager?

Goalkeeper, central defence and midfield were undeniably better. Full backs and forwards you could argue either way.

It's strange that so many seem to be losing interest when the general consensus on here is that we're only a change of manager away from reaching the last 16 of the Euro's.

Five- Christian Dailly, Davie Weir, James McFadden, Darren Fletcher, Lee McCulloch. Craig Gordon joined Sunderland a few months later. Alan Hutton became right back mid way through the campaign and played in the Premiership for years, as did Gary Naismith, who was left back for most of the campaign. The Rangers players were part of a side that reached the UEFA cup final around that time as well.

If you compared the starting line-up versus Ukraine with the side who played Slovakia, how many of the current side would you pick?

Really?

There's a good reason neither Ferguson or Dalglish would take it- they know that it's a near-impossible job with supporter expectations far outweighing what the squad is capable of.

1. The 2008 squad was significantly stronger than the current one (most played for decent Old Firm sides or in the Premiership) 2. It could be argued that if Strachan had left after a similar period in charge to Smith and McLeish (17 and 10 games respectively), he would have been viewed historically as a success. 3. None of the sides you mention have qualified for a World Cup since Ireland in 2002, when Roy and Robbie Keane were at the peak of their careers. 4. I don't think that Northern Ireland would have qualified from our Euro 2016 group. Poland and Germany are better than the sides you mention, with the possible exception of Wales. 5. Can we do better than losing 3-0 to Slovakia? Of course we can, however there are much bigger issues here than simply changing our manager.

I'm no fan of Levein's but he did well at Dundee United and has now had two successful spells at Hearts. Lambert lasted six months at Blackburn, with a 36% win ratio. He left Norwich in 2012 and has been a failure since. I'm not convinced he would be any better than Strachan.

The lack of quality players has been evident for years but we'll still go through the ritual of blaming the manager after every failure. It's like England after a major tournament but more depressing.

It's possible. Why does the ability of the squad always escape censure when past failures are being discussed? I'm uneasy with the knee-jerk reaction of blaming the manager every two years. Is it too difficult to admit that the squad has been poor for 20-plus years and only likely to get worse?

I don't really know or remember all that much about either manager's spell in England to be honest, only the occasional viewing of a dreadful Villa side on MOTD, although he did sign Benteke. "Lost the plot" is a bit harsh.

We were in one of the harder groups for 2016.

A dour, un-inspirational ex-player who failed in his most recent appointment at a high-profile midlands club, with no prior international pedigree as a manager. There are a few similarities. As i've stated previously though, even Sir Alex wouldn't qualify our current squad for a World Cup. The Euros are a different matter- with the right draw and a bit of good fortune Strachan would probably manage qualification to the expanded tournament, so it's possible Lambert or an alternative choice would achieve it.

Roy Hodgson would be a better choice than any of those mentioned above. Hugely experienced and he did well with Switzerland, with a 100% qualification record with England. He failed at major tournaments but so did Sven, Capello, Hoddle and Keegan. Lambert would just be another Levein.

Big Sam would be offski as soon as the Premiership came calling. His stock is still reasonably high as a club manager- not a chance he'd be interested in Scotland.

It's also not inconceivable that Smith and McLeish both left at the right time. If Strachan had quit after his first 15 games, history would view him very differently.

You're far too sensible for this forum.

I asked about World Cup qualification, not Euros.

Can you give an example of a comparable or poorer squad who have qualified for a World Cup in recent years?

When did any of those sides last qualify for a World Cup? Northern Ireland managed seven points in the 2014 campaign.

...to start a Lambert Out 2018 thread?