Team for forthcoming matches

[Third Lanark]

11 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

Tierney could play there but I think we should give O’Donnell a start. 

We’ve been crying out for a natural right back since Hutton retired and O’Donnell is pretty good by all accounts. 

Souttar and Tierney in a back four? Think Tierney played in a back 3 v England.

[Texas Pete]

10 minutes ago, Third Lanark said:

Souttar and Tierney in a back four? Think Tierney played in a back 3 v England.

He did but he played at centre half in a back 4 against The Netherlands last year and played pretty well. 

Such an inexperienced central defence is a wee bit scary though.

[Third Lanark]

1 minute ago, Texas Pete said:

He did but he played at centre half in a back 4 against The Netherlands last year and played pretty well. 

Such an inexperienced central defence is a wee bit scary though.

V a Grezda-less Albania? Surely not.

[Texas Pete]

4 minutes ago, Third Lanark said:

V a Grezda-less Albania? Surely not.

Against anyone. We need a win and any defensive slip ups could cost us big time  

Mulgrew is just as likely to make an arse of himself right enough.

Only Scotland could turn having two fantastic left backs into such a challenging problem.  

 

[TDYER63]

57 minutes ago, Orraloon said:

5 hens ? 

If they are of the headless variety they should fit in quite well with the current squad.

 

On the other hand if we were France we would have 3 hens in the miiddle, 2 turtle doves at the back and a partridge in goal. Try breaking that lot down 🤢

[henry george]

                                McGregor

Tierney     Souttar     Mulgrew            Robertson

                  McTominey       McGinn

Forrest                       McGregor               Fraser

                                    Griffiths

Think we need McTominey's height for set pieces as neither Souttar or Mulgrew are particularly good in the air.

We also need to win the battle in midfield before we earn the right to play so that means either McGregor or Armstrong starting.  For me, McGregor's ball retention is much better so he starts with Armstrong coming on later when there'll be much more space for his trademark runs.

Fingers crossed - let's just get through this one, get the three points and hope we have more options in the next round of games.

[Rab The Crab]

I’d put Tierney alongside Souttar in a back 4, Mulgrew has been the weak link in the defence since McLeish took over.

I’d also be inclined towards the 4-2-3-1 that Strachan used as it would allow Fraser to play in an advanced position.

[Hertsscot]

15 hours ago, henry george said:

                                McGregor

Tierney     Souttar     Mulgrew            Robertson

                  McTominey       McGinn

Forrest                       McGregor               Fraser

                                    Griffiths

Think we need McTominey's height for set pieces as neither Souttar or Mulgrew are particularly good in the air.

We also need to win the battle in midfield before we earn the right to play so that means either McGregor or Armstrong starting.  For me, McGregor's ball retention is much better so he starts with Armstrong coming on later when there'll be much more space for his trademark runs.

Fingers crossed - let's just get through this one, get the three points and hope we have more options in the next round of games.

That's the team I would go for.

[stewarty66]

We have a guy playing RB week in week out in Stephen ODonnell. 

That should be our option instead of trying to put players in unfamiliar positions. 

If we have to accommodate Tierney (he is a cracking player) then play him left midfield. 

Gives us the option of him or Robertson going forward. Tierney can cover for Robertson if he goes upfield. 

 

 

[PASTA Mick]

45 minutes ago, stewarty66 said:

We have a guy playing RB week in week out in Stephen ODonnell. 

That should be our option instead of trying to put players in unfamiliar positions. 

If we have to accommodate Tierney (he is a cracking player) then play him left midfield. 

Gives us the option of him or Robertson going forward. Tierney can cover for Robertson if he goes upfield. 

 

 

But we have left midfielders...and much better than SOD is at RB. 

[romanticscot]

4-2-3-1 

GK - Gordon

Tierney Souttar Mulgrey Robertson

  McTominay McGinn

Paterson McGregor Fraser

        Griffiths

 

If we find ourselves in a position of looking comfortable and winning, I would have Robertson and Tierney to swop sides and see how Robertson is looking on the right.  

I don't think Paterson has played right mid for us, I am aware he hasn't started this season great but he was looking good in that slot tail end of last year, I know what Forrest can do - I want to have a look at Paterson in there - actually now I think about it, I would start Forrest in there and then look at Paterson at about 55 minutes in.  

Edited September 9, 2018 by romanticscot

[Texas Pete]

1 minute ago, romanticscot said:

4-2-3-1 

GK - Gordon

Tierney Souttar Mulgrey Robertson

  McTominay McGinn

Paterson McGregor Fraser

        Griffiths

 

If we find ourselves in a position of looking comfortable and winning, I would have Robertson and Tierney to swop sides and see how Robertson is looking on the right.  

I don't think Paterson has played right mid for us, I am aware he hasn't started this season great but he was looking good in that slot tail end of last year, I know what Forrest can do - I want to have a look at Paterson in there - actually now I think about it, I would start Forrest in there and then look at Paterson at about 55 minutes in.  

Sticking with Gordon? 

I think it’s time McGregor was given the nod. 

As for playing Robertson on the right - no thanks. If Robertson is going to be played out of position he’ll be played as a left wing back or even left midfield. He should be nowhere near the right in my opinion. 

[Clyde1998]

I think I'd go with:

McGregor

O'Donnell - Souttar - Tierney - Robertson

McTominay - McGinn

Fraser - Paterson - Snodgrass

Griffiths

[er yir macaroon]

1 hour ago, PASTA Mick said:

But we have left midfielders...and much better than SOD is at RB. 

I’d rather have Tierney in there as a defensive midfielder, he’d be better than anyone else. 

[SWMM82]

18 hours ago, henry george said:

                                McGregor

Tierney     Souttar     Mulgrew            Robertson

                  McTominey       McGinn

Forrest                       McGregor               Fraser

                                    Griffiths

Think we need McTominey's height for set pieces as neither Souttar or Mulgrew are particularly good in the air.

We also need to win the battle in midfield before we earn the right to play so that means either McGregor or Armstrong starting.  For me, McGregor's ball retention is much better so he starts with Armstrong coming on later when there'll be much more space for his trademark runs.

Fingers crossed - let's just get through this one, get the three points and hope we have more options in the next round of games.

I like the look of this team, plenty of pace and dig in midfield.

Maybe have Armstrong come on for McGregor at some point. 

[Garzo312]

4-3-3 / 4-1-4-1              

                                          McGregor

Tierney/O'Donnell        Souttar        Tierney/Mulgrew        Robertson

                                              McTominay

                Snodgrass/McGregor          McGinn

                Forrest                     Griffiths                     Fraser

 

First things first, Ryan Fraser (the guy with the 2nd most chances created so far behind Mo Salah in the EPL playing LEFT WING) is absolutely wasted playing right 'wing'back. pace like his threatening the channels will put the fear into any defender I don't care if you're Per Mertesacker or Sergio Ramos.

If you had to choose 2 of our best players on current form or otherwise, you'd be hard pressed to find a better 2 than Andy Robertson and Ryan Fraser. Last season, Ryan Fraser played a lot of games at RWB which he referred to as "The Graveyard Shift" because he hardly saw the ball. And we're currently deploying two of our best players in that position? I'm sorry but that defies logic. Can you imagine the threat we would be down the left playing Ryan Fraser in front of Robertson? Roberto Martinez was probably loving life when he saw Ryan Fraser playing on the right of a 5. I know I would be.

I'm not raging because we're terrible, I'm raging because we have players to play wonderful attractive football in their own positions and it's being wasted playing the entire team out of position just to accommodate KieranTierney. I've nothing against Tierney either I think he's fantastic, just don't not play with wingers so we can play him in a back 3.

McLeish has said he wants to play a passing game but why do that with 5 at the back? 1 there's no out-ball and 2 if you want triangles to play a passing game then play a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1! It's not like you can't still sit deep playing 4 at the back when the time fits.

In the Belgium game we were put under pressure at the back because that's where all our players were trying to play football, then we reside to playing it long to the striker (who had no support as we didn't play wingers) only for the ball to be gobbled up by Kompany, Vertonghen and Boyata and possession recycled again for Belgium. 

Supplying a front 3 of Forrest, Griffiths and Fraser through the channels will go a long way to turning our fortunes around. And for what it's worth Scott McTominay's a better DM than Kevin McDonald even if he's not playing every week. He's got more bite, he's quicker and he's learning off Nemanja Matic. SO he should play too IMO.

 

Edited September 9, 2018 by Garzo312
typo

[Alan]

Bizarre intelligent post above 

[mariokempes56]

25 minutes ago, Alan said:

Bizarre intelligent post above 

He's  my sister..leave it.

[stocky]

26 minutes ago, Alan said:

Bizarre intelligent post above 

Something you have yet to master Alan.  😉😁

[Orraloon]

45 minutes ago, Alan said:

Bizarre intelligent post above 

Thank you.

[Orraloon]

If we do manage to go a goal up on Monday, I really hope we push on to try to get more. It would be crazy to try to sit back and settle for a 1-0 win. One reason is that there is a good chance we might let them back into the game and get an equalizer, or worse. The other is that with such small groups there is a good chance of teams finishing on equal points total. We need to make it as hard as possible for them to get the better of us on the head to head in the "return leg" in Albania.

Edited September 9, 2018 by Orraloon

[er yir macaroon]

1 hour ago, Garzo312 said:

4-3-3 / 4-1-4-1              

                                          McGregor

Tierney/O'Donnell        Souttar        Tierney/Mulgrew        Robertson

                                              McTominay

                Snodgrass/McGregor          McGinn

                Forrest                     Griffiths                     Fraser

 

First things first, Ryan Fraser (the guy with the 2nd most chances created so far behind Mo Salah in the EPL playing LEFT WING) is absolutely wasted playing right 'wing'back. pace like his threatening the channels will put the fear into any defender I don't care if you're Per Mertesacker or Sergio Ramos.

If you had to choose 2 of our best players on current form or otherwise, you'd be hard pressed to find a better 2 than Andy Robertson and Ryan Fraser. Last season, Ryan Fraser played a lot of games at RWB which he referred to as "The Graveyard Shift" because he hardly saw the ball. And we're currently deploying two of our best players in that position? I'm sorry but that defies logic. Can you imagine the threat we would be down the left playing Ryan Fraser in front of Robertson? Roberto Martinez was probably loving life when he saw Ryan Fraser playing on the right of a 5. I know I would be.

I'm not raging because we're terrible, I'm raging because we have players to play wonderful attractive football in their own positions and it's being wasted playing the entire team out of position just to accommodate KieranTierney. I've nothing against Tierney either I think he's fantastic, just don't not play with wingers so we can play him in a back 3.

McLeish has said he wants to play a passing game but why do that with 5 at the back? 1 there's no out-ball and 2 if you want triangles to play a passing game then play a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1! It's not like you can't still sit deep playing 4 at the back when the time fits.

In the Belgium game we were put under pressure at the back because that's where all our players were trying to play football, then we reside to playing it long to the striker (who had no support as we didn't play wingers) only for the ball to be gobbled up by Kompany, Vertonghen and Boyata and possession recycled again for Belgium. 

Supplying a front 3 of Forrest, Griffiths and Fraser through the channels will go a long way to turning our fortunes around. And for what it's worth Scott McTominay's a better DM than Kevin McDonald even if he's not playing every week. He's got more bite, he's quicker and he's learning off Nemanja Matic. SO he should play too IMO.

 

i think Tierney should replace Mcdonald in midfield and we revert to a back four. Mulgrew played quite well apart from the howler. 

[romanticscot]

3 hours ago, Texas Pete said:

Sticking with Gordon? 

I think it’s time McGregor was given the nod. 

As for playing Robertson on the right - no thanks. If Robertson is going to be played out of position he’ll be played as a left wing back or even left midfield. He should be nowhere near the right in my opinion. 

I am sticking with Gordon, he reflex saves are still sharp in my view.  

[borojock]

2 hours ago, Garzo312 said:

4-3-3 / 4-1-4-1              

                                          McGregor

Tierney/O'Donnell        Souttar        Tierney/Mulgrew        Robertson

                                              McTominay

                Snodgrass/McGregor          McGinn

                Forrest                     Griffiths                     Fraser

 

First things first, Ryan Fraser (the guy with the 2nd most chances created so far behind Mo Salah in the EPL playing LEFT WING) is absolutely wasted playing right 'wing'back. pace like his threatening the channels will put the fear into any defender I don't care if you're Per Mertesacker or Sergio Ramos.

If you had to choose 2 of our best players on current form or otherwise, you'd be hard pressed to find a better 2 than Andy Robertson and Ryan Fraser. Last season, Ryan Fraser played a lot of games at RWB which he referred to as "The Graveyard Shift" because he hardly saw the ball. And we're currently deploying two of our best players in that position? I'm sorry but that defies logic. Can you imagine the threat we would be down the left playing Ryan Fraser in front of Robertson? Roberto Martinez was probably loving life when he saw Ryan Fraser playing on the right of a 5. I know I would be.

I'm not raging because we're terrible, I'm raging because we have players to play wonderful attractive football in their own positions and it's being wasted playing the entire team out of position just to accommodate KieranTierney. I've nothing against Tierney either I think he's fantastic, just don't not play with wingers so we can play him in a back 3.

McLeish has said he wants to play a passing game but why do that with 5 at the back? 1 there's no out-ball and 2 if you want triangles to play a passing game then play a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1! It's not like you can't still sit deep playing 4 at the back when the time fits.

In the Belgium game we were put under pressure at the back because that's where all our players were trying to play football, then we reside to playing it long to the striker (who had no support as we didn't play wingers) only for the ball to be gobbled up by Kompany, Vertonghen and Boyata and possession recycled again for Belgium. 

Supplying a front 3 of Forrest, Griffiths and Fraser through the channels will go a long way to turning our fortunes around. And for what it's worth Scott McTominay's a better DM than Kevin McDonald even if he's not playing every week. He's got more bite, he's quicker and he's learning off Nemanja Matic. SO he should play too IMO.

 

Great post and after reading it ive changed my mind for the 100th times and im now going for 4 - 2 - 3 - 1, i think your right on playing as many players in their natural position as possible and Fraser is wasted at RWB. I'd play Tierney at RB as i think we have better CB's then RB's so makes more sense and he knows the full back position better then the centre back. If i was McLeish i'd be telling him he better get practising on his right foot. One thing i disagree is McTominay just dont see it and i think many are blinded by the fact he plays (sometimes) for Man Utd  

Would got for 

                   Mcgregor

Tierney Souttar Mulgrew Robertson

            McDonald McGinn

McGregor    Armstrong     Fraser

                         Griff 

[mccaughey85]

6 minutes ago, borojock said:

Great post and after reading it ive changed my mind for the 100th times and im now going for 4 - 2 - 3 - 1, i think your right on playing as many players in their natural position as possible and Fraser is wasted at RWB. I'd play Tierney at RB as i think we have better CB's then RB's so makes more sense and he knows the full back position better then the centre back. If i was McLeish i'd be telling him he better get practising on his right foot. One thing i disagree is McTominay just dont see it and i think many are blinded by the fact he plays (sometimes) for Man Utd  

Would got for 

                   Mcgregor

Tierney Souttar Mulgrew Robertson

            McDonald McGinn

McGregor    Armstrong     Fraser

                         Griff 

Tbf mctominay probably wouldnt of made the basic error McGinn made on Friday night.