bazmidd Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 What do you reckon the squad should be for the qualifiers in June... I reckon Goalkeepers Bain, Kelly, Gordon Defenders Robertson, Taylor, Cooper, McKenna, Bates, Souttar, O'Donnell, Palmer Midfielders Fleck, McLean, McGregor, Armstrong, McGinn, McTominay, Turnbull Attackers Fraser, Forrest, Snodgrass, Burke, Griffiths, Harper, McBurnie I'm guessing Tierney will be unavailable again, I struggle to think of any other right backs unfortunately and our back up wingers to Forrest and Fraser are so thin that I'd have Burke back in even though he hasn't been playing of late. Turnbull and Harper as two wild cards to see what they can do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintsparky Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 With the EFL now finished, and some of the players above with nothing to do until the Cyprus game, who is guiding them with their training regime? Without a manager, does anyone keep in touch with them, arrange for them to come up to SFA training camps? They should be gathering from now, keeping ticking over, having a few practice games, and as each league finishes, more players arrive. However, without any leadership, they have probably buggered off to Ibiza on the piss for a couple of weeks, and will struggle to regain match sharpness in time for two big games... I seriously worry about our direction at the moment..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartan Chris Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Forgot about the summer games....Belgium is write off, Cyprus important though as a) it will be another embarrasment not to beat them at home and b) 3rd would be under serious threat then, Are they even going to appoint a manager before those games?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanderark14 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Is Christie out till next season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazmidd Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 1 hour ago, saintsparky said: With the EFL now finished, and some of the players above with nothing to do until the Cyprus game, who is guiding them with their training regime? Without a manager, does anyone keep in touch with them, arrange for them to come up to SFA training camps? They should be gathering from now, keeping ticking over, having a few practice games, and as each league finishes, more players arrive. However, without any leadership, they have probably buggered off to Ibiza on the piss for a couple of weeks, and will struggle to regain match sharpness in time for two big games... I seriously worry about our direction at the moment..... Our last few performances look like they have just come of a weekender in Ibiza as well tbf! Hopefully they are all professional enough to stay away from that caper till after the games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazmidd Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 58 minutes ago, Tartan Chris said: Forgot about the summer games....Belgium is write off, Cyprus important though as a) it will be another embarrasment not to beat them at home and b) 3rd would be under serious threat then, Are they even going to appoint a manager before those games?! Surely they will have the new man in after the last games of the season next week, I'm banking on it being Steve Clarke and him getting the nod after Killies last game of the season. Although I would be willing to bet the SFA haven't actually held talks with anyone yet going by their past record Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASTA Mick Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Assuming Douglas, Tierney, Paterson, Christie and Griffiths are all unavailable because of injury and Snodgrass and Cairney still don't want to be selected. Goalkeepers: Bain, Clark, Kelly. Defenders: Bates, Berra, Bryon, Findlay, McKenna, O'Donnell, Robertson, Souttar. Midfielders: Armstrong, Fleck, McGinn, McGregor, McLean, McTominay, Turnbull. Forwards: Burke, Fletcher, Fraser, Forrest, McBurnie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErsatzThistle Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Get David Turnbull called up anyway. Bypass the U21s altogether, we need him in the senior team. Bring him on as a sub and tell him to not to be scared to have a go at goal. Andy Robertson must have more freedom to go forward, McLeish's defensive game-play stifled him. Scott McTominay must start regularly now. Will Ryan Fraser turn up or will Bournemouth come up with another lame excuse to stop him playing ? Liam Cooper will surely have to be called up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazmidd Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 31 minutes ago, ErsatzThistle said: Liam Cooper will surely have to be called up. I kind of think we need someone like Cooper. By all accounts he has been the best Scottish centre half in the Championship this season, but he is also the captain of Leeds. We need more leaders in the squad. Fleck was also captain of Sheff Utd for a while not sure if he still is. Obviously Robertson has experience and is leading the team just now but we don't have much natural leaders in the side to guide the younger guys. When it went tits up and we conceded early in Kazakhstan we badly needed guys in there with experience to get through that rough spell. I think McGregor was captain that night but I don't ever remember him even being captain before at Celtic. Guys like Cooper could help greatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 7 hours ago, Tartan Chris said: Forgot about the summer games....Belgium is write off, Cyprus important though as a) it will be another embarrasment not to beat them at home and b) 3rd would be under serious threat then, Are they even going to appoint a manager before those games?! We’ll beat Cyprus at home. 3rd place gets you hee haw so it’s hardly something to aim for. If we don’t get second place our final group position is meaningless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 9 hours ago, bazmidd said: What do you reckon the squad should be for the qualifiers in June... I reckon Goalkeepers Bain, Kelly, Gordon Defenders Robertson, Taylor, Cooper, McKenna, Bates, Souttar, O'Donnell, Palmer Midfielders Fleck, McLean, McGregor, Armstrong, McGinn, McTominay, Turnbull Attackers Fraser, Forrest, Snodgrass, Burke, Griffiths, Harper, McBurnie I'm guessing Tierney will be unavailable again, I struggle to think of any other right backs unfortunately and our back up wingers to Forrest and Fraser are so thin that I'd have Burke back in even though he hasn't been playing of late. Turnbull and Harper as two wild cards to see what they can do Palmer should be nowhere near the squad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyBlueScot Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 3 hours ago, bazmidd said: I kind of think we need someone like Cooper. By all accounts he has been the best Scottish centre half in the Championship this season, but he is also the captain of Leeds. We need more leaders in the squad. Fleck was also captain of Sheff Utd for a while not sure if he still is. Obviously Robertson has experience and is leading the team just now but we don't have much natural leaders in the side to guide the younger guys. When it went tits up and we conceded early in Kazakhstan we badly needed guys in there with experience to get through that rough spell. I think McGregor was captain that night but I don't ever remember him even being captain before at Celtic. Guys like Cooper could help greatly. I think you are right about a lack of leaders. Which is why I think Mulgrew or Berra will be in the next squad. Personally I'd partner Souttar and McKenna and let them develop a partnership but as fans we see things differently to experienced managers. Where players have an effect on the team in the way fans just don't see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyBlueScot Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 3 minutes ago, Texas Pete said: We’ll beat Cyprus at home. 3rd place gets you hee haw so it’s hardly something to aim for. If we don’t get second place our final group position is meaningless. As we know we've got two matches to win the nation's league thing we can use the qualifiers now to build. I don't mind losing to Belgium, or even Russia, if there's clear progression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 23 minutes ago, SkyBlueScot said: As we know we've got two matches to win the nation's league thing we can use the qualifiers now to build. I don't mind losing to Belgium, or even Russia, if there's clear progression. The Nations League is finished. Are you talking about the playoffs? If so, yes I agree that the new manager has to use the qualifiers to build a team capable of winning the playoffs but if he gets off to a flyer and if we get a bit of luck with Russia dropping points then I wouldn’t write off second place just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceudmilefailte Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Matt Phillips is fit again, personally I would prefer him at right back to the other alternatives. The Liam Cooper situation is bizarre, either he has been called up and said no or McLeish and his advisors totally ignored the championship in favour of the SPL. Hope to see Liam Lindsay involved, he was a stand out in the SPL at Thistle and from what I can see has done little wrong at Barnsley. Still only 23 to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim Jim Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 1 hour ago, SkyBlueScot said: As we know we've got two matches to win the nation's league thing we can use the qualifiers now to build. I don't mind losing to Belgium, or even Russia, if there's clear progression. I agree with you there, despite wishful thinking. However, with the games Alex Mcleish was handed, the run of (unsurprising) losses did not help. I'm sure some folk here predicted problems then too. Has June* ever been good for us? We need something soon to start getting enough momentum for those play-offs. *OK I'll stop mysel' there. Best result this decade was the win in Zagreb... in June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazmidd Posted May 7, 2019 Author Share Posted May 7, 2019 10 hours ago, Texas Pete said: Palmer should be nowhere near the squad. Yeah you are probably right I just honestly could not think of a single other right back as cover for O'Donnell. That gave me the fear just typing that knowing those two are our only options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
er yir macaroon Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 1 hour ago, bazmidd said: Yeah you are probably right I just honestly could not think of a single other right back as cover for O'Donnell. That gave me the fear just typing that knowing those two are our only options Since utility players are frequently touted for that role, I’d try Ross McRorie. I don’t doubt he’d be a success there. He’s highly competitive and he’s got pace, strength and reasonable height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASTA Mick Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 20 hours ago, saintsparky said: With the EFL now finished, and some of the players above with nothing to do until the Cyprus game, who is guiding them with their training regime? Without a manager, does anyone keep in touch with them, arrange for them to come up to SFA training camps? They should be gathering from now, keeping ticking over, having a few practice games, and as each league finishes, more players arrive. However, without any leadership, they have probably buggered off to Ibiza on the piss for a couple of weeks, and will struggle to regain match sharpness in time for two big games... I seriously worry about our direction at the moment..... I know Fleck is off to Vegas this week as part of the Sheff Utd promotion celebrations. He is also due to get married the Saturday before Cyprus match, which I'm sure will see some other Scottish players invited. I can't imagine he is the only one with plans between now and 8th June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartan Chris Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 15 hours ago, Texas Pete said: We’ll beat Cyprus at home. 3rd place gets you hee haw so it’s hardly something to aim for. If we don’t get second place our final group position is meaningless. I was just thinking of the pots for the 2022 WC draw although don't know if they'll use world rankings instead. In any case qualifying for a WC is near impossible these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Templeton_Peck Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 (edited) Im giving this game a miss which will be the first competitive home game ive missed in many years. Simple reason for this is that too many scottish (or scottish when it suits them) players dont give a toss and are not turning up, so why the fcuk should I ?? Do players ever asked to be left out of england, wales, or either irish squad? Edited May 7, 2019 by Templeton_Peck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyBlueScot Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 What about Jack at right back? I take the point made earlier that there is nobody there saying to these players, "you'll be in the next squad so keep your fitness up." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASTA Mick Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 2 hours ago, SkyBlueScot said: What about Jack at right back? I take the point made earlier that there is nobody there saying to these players, "you'll be in the next squad so keep your fitness up." I see the Irish have named a 30-man squad for a training camp. At least those players know where they stand and that are a likely to be needed next month. https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/mccarthy-announces-squad-for-training-camp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 8 hours ago, Tartan Chris said: I was just thinking of the pots for the 2022 WC draw although don't know if they'll use world rankings instead. In any case qualifying for a WC is near impossible these days. FIFA will use the world rankings for the pots. Obviously the better we do in this campaign the higher our world ranking should be but I’m not that fussed about getting 3rd place. As long as we beat Cyprus home and away, Kazakhstan at home and San Marino at home then 3rd place should take care of itself anyway. I know we’re struggling at the moment but as long as someone competent is in charge in June then I reckon we’ll beat Cyprus comfortably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 11 hours ago, er yir macaroon said: Since utility players are frequently touted for that role, I’d try Ross McRorie. I don’t doubt he’d be a success there. He’s highly competitive and he’s got pace, strength and reasonable height. I’d rather McCrorie got his starting place back for Rangers before he got a start for Scotland, particularly if he was played out of position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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