Starting XI vs Cyprus

[todd]

21 minutes ago, vanderark14 said:

He must be one sad prick to want to log in after being banned, not only does he do that, he repeats the same shit he kept repeating before being banned. 

 

True story 😂

[daviebee]

3 hours ago, The_Dark_Knight said:

It's time for people to stop kidding themselves. I keep reading "McGinn got rave reviews in the championship play offs, etc", "We have several EPL players","McGregor is a classy midfielder", "we're well stocked in midfield", "four at the back is what we do best", etc. But it's time to face the realization that were one level above the likes of San Marino and the Faroe islands. 

People can talk about organisational all they want, it only gets you so far, and if you're dealing with players who have less technical ability than their Kazakhstan and Cypriot equivalent (Not believe me? Watch the two matches) then the ceiling will be low.

For 90 minutes against Kazakhstan they were technically better than us and for the majority of the match last night Cyprus were better.

And back to 3/5 at the back, teams like Cyprus and Kazakhstan can swallow their pride and admit that they're not good at centre back, so to combat this they pack the middle of defence, by for some reason we are unable to follow suit.

It's time to take our heads out of the clouds and face the facts that our players (apart from Robertson, McTominay, Fraser and Tierney) are technically mediocre: we have no keepers playing at a top standard; same with center backs; our midfielders (apart from McTominay) are playing for either Championship clubs or EPL clubs who win nothing) and we have no striker at a top level.

We're a level above San Marino and the Faroe Islands. That's where we are.

You reap what you sow. The SFA, Scottish domestic clubs, etc, have neglected youth development and the grassroots for as long as they've existed. It's no surprise why we are where we are, the only thing that surprises me is that it's taken so long to hit this level.

We have never been so bad, it won't be cured, as the SFA and the clubs are fine with the status quo.

FFS not all this sh*te again! 

[Orraloon]

1 hour ago, daviebee said:

FFS not all this sh*te again! 

That's exactly what I thought when Cyprus equalized.

[andyD]

So, first and foremost. Obviously not a great performance, but no real criticism of Clarke. He's had barely any time and I wasn't expecting an instant revolution. Got the result, and we showing him some bad things, which will be useful for him to see.

Quick run thru of the performances:

Marshall - Didn't have anything really testing to do. Showed some poor distribution and for me, he should be coming to claim for the goal. It's a header by a guy standing on the edge of the 6 yard box. Not impressed.
O'Donnell - Did well enough. Great engine and wish that wee chip had gone in.
Robertson - Good goal, but undone by his marking at the corner.
Mulgrew & McKenna - Did very little wrong all game.
McLean - Added very little, but gave up 2 good chances that a better team would have punished. If it's a choice between him and McTominay as a 6, I don't know why anyone would take McLean.
McGregor - Mostly ok. Felt a bit slow in possession, wanting too many touches. Still fancy Christie more.
McGinn - Exactly the performance I expect from McGinn. Energy, won the ball a few times. But also a bombscare, and completely unnecessarily gave two really good chances to the opposition that should have been punished. Just not reliable enough.
Fraser - Linked up well enough with Robertson, good assist, unlucky not to score.
Forrest - Did well for me. Busy, took people on, Brophy and McGregor should probably have scored from chances he made.
Brophy - Got a bit lost. Height disadvantage was one issue, but he had 2 good chances and didn't get close with either.

The subs all didn't have much time to do anything, but the midfield pair moved the ball on well enough and Burke obviously made a difference with the goal. Would start him up top against Belgium.

So for me, goalkeeper's still open, and hopefully Clarke got a view of what that midfield 3 is good at and what it's not good at. Belgium is unlikely to be useful, as I can't see anything happening other than us losing by 3-4. Going straight into the Russia game after that is a bit harsh, given how vital that fixture is and how well they seem to be playing right now. Can just hope for the best. As long as we see some improvement over the course I'm fine, even if we ultimately don't qualify this campaign.

[scotlad]

I think the game on Saturday highlighted the team's strengths and its weaknesses.  Fraser and Robertson were our two best players - I was impressed with McLean too - but it took a wonder goal from Robertson to open the scoring. Other than the save from Mulgrew's free kick I can't think of their goalie having much else to do outwith the goals.

I'm not convinced by Oliver Burke (to put it mildly) but I can see why coaches keep giving him chances - the boy is beast! Built like a rhino but as fast as a gazelle, defenders must shite themselves when they see him running at them! I think he's done enough to feature against Belgium. I know his pace would provide an outball but I still think he's more suited to coming on as an impact player.

John McGinn does as much good as he does bad - makes the pass for Robertson's goal but then gives it away in a dangerous area trying an unnecessary fancy flick and putting the team under pressure, being two classic examples.

The goal we conceded was soft - virtually a free header. The lack of a decent centre half pairing will leave us increasingly vulnerable as the standard of opponent improves.

A win's a win though, and we deserved it. Cyprus are no push-overs and I'd be delighted with a similar outcome when we play them over there.

Now to the small matter of Belgium....

[andyD]

1 hour ago, scotlad said:

I'm not convinced by Oliver Burke (to put it mildly) but I can see why coaches keep giving him chances - the boy is beast! Built like a rhino but as fast as a gazelle, defenders must shite themselves when they see him running at them!

I think this is a good part of what he offers. Where I think decent defenders will take one look at Brophy and figure that they can keep him in their pocket all day long, very few look at Burke with his attributes and will be confident of handling him. While his end product might be a little questionable, he's scary and will draw players to cover him. That opens space for others and Forrest and Fraser should be able to exploit that.