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Team for albania


Malcolm

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9 minutes ago, andyD said:

I did have McGregor in for GMS originally, i think i might have got a bit excited. ;)

GMS is a player I really wanted to do well at Celtic but he simply wasn't quite good enough.  

When things work for him, it looks great but it doesn't happen often enough.  

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We better just hope Cairney is as good a Midfielder as he's being touted as down south because our Midfield is really not that great at keeping the ball. The days of Ferguson and Fletcher at his best were taken for granted it seems now. I'd go with

                          McGregor

Tierney.  McKenna.  Mulgrew. Robertson

                  McGinn.    Cairney

Fraser.         Armstrong.    McGregor

                          Griffiths

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19 hours ago, sandyb said:

McGregor

tierney Hanley McKenna Robertson.       Hanley because he is right footed

Ritchie Crainey McGinn Fraser

                McGregor

                 Griffiths

Ritchie should be nowhere near the squad. 

He’d only pull out anyway. 

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19 minutes ago, PASTA Mick said:

GMS is a player I really wanted to do well at Celtic but he simply wasn't quite good enough.  

When things work for him, it looks great but it doesn't happen often enough.  

Barely seen him since he left Dundee Utd tbh.
I guess with Forrest and Sinclair he was never likely to play much, but surprised he didn't make a bigger impact when he did play. Looked like he'd found his feet a bit in terms of goals towards the end of the first season, but then got a knock and didn't get anywhere near the team again really. Haven't seen enough of Aberdeen to say if he's playing to a consistently high level now, so will have to rely on the opinion of others on that one.

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50 minutes ago, andyD said:

It feels like whichever way we play McLeish will get it wrong.

We've played 352 in some recent games.. But generally we've only played with 1 holding midfielder in those games. If you look around the EPL at the teams playing 3 at the back, they all have 2 defensive-minded mids because that's what you need to keep the defensive block steady while the wingbacks bomb on. You need 2 players who are willing to put in the work to really shield the back 3 and even get back at additional centerbacks when one of the outside men of the 3 are pulled wide. If we played 352 with Shinnie and Armstrong in there, with perhaps McGregor or Fraser with a license to get forward, then I think we'd do ok with it.

Right now tho, I think I'd go with 4411.

McGregor
O'Donnell - Mulgrew - McKenna - Robertson
Fraser - Shinnie (c) - Armstrong - Tierney
Mackay-Steven
Griffiths

Part of me wants to throw Mackay-Steven in, given that he showed he has the confidence and ability to make something happen the other night. Made me think of Faddy in that he has the ability to just do something a bit different and we very much need that up front. Slotting him in behind the striker makes sense, let him use his skill with runners either side in Fraser and Tierney.
Hand Shinnie the captaincy as he's been doing it for Aberdeen and Robertson seems to have been struggling since he's had it. Robertson to left back where he's at his best. Tierney ahead, as Tierney seems far happier to run at people that Robertson does these days, could see him intching to break forward against Israel.
Mulgrew's experience is still needed at the back imo, we were a bit naive at times against Portugal, especially the 1st and 2nd goals. Use him while he's still good enough to play give McKenna confidence. Once McKenna's settled we can bring in Souttar along side. Putting all young players in together is a sure-fire way to hurt all of them (Berti).

A balanced side, a hard-working side, and with experience and a little bit of the unknown.
 

Shinnie should be neat our starting line up and GMS deserves a squad place only. GMS is on form for Aberdeen and he did well in what limited time he had last night, that's enough to earn a squad place but not a starting place.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, vanderark14 said:

Shinnie should be neat our starting line up and GMS deserves a squad place only. GMS is on form for Aberdeen and he did well in what limited time he had last night, that's enough to earn a squad place but not a starting place.

We're lacking cohesion and invention in the attacking 3rd under McLeish. Scoring wasn't a rpoblem under Strachan, but something's shifted. That's why I'm feeling like we need a bit of a wild card player, capable of doing something different. Not many from our player pool have the ability to lay on the ball like GMS did against Portugal. Sure, it's just once, but I'd be willing to give him the chance.

For my, Ryan Fraser should be a key player for us, but he's been incredibly unlucky when it comes to being fit for internationals. We've sort of lost the pace from the side again, and that's a weapon we really need. Remember what a difference Anya had when he first came into the side? It pushes teams back or punishes them if they don't. That's something we really lack right now. For me it's not always about "who's the best player in the position?" it's about who brings the most to the 11.

Pace matters, and invention matters. Israel and Albania feel like a level at which GMS could make a difference.

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