Your Scotland squad (and first XI) for Euro 2020

[Tartan blood]

25 minutes ago, gonzohiggy said:

I think that is a really good point and I’m sure that imbalance is not something lost on Clarke.

I know he is a loyal manager and it will be hard to drop O’Donnell at this point but as you’ve pointed out above, Patterson has absolutely everything in his locker other than experience. 
 

Although O’Donnell hasn’t really done much wrong, I still feel as if HE displays naivety in his positioning and pass selection, despite being more “experienced”. If Patterson does really well in training and friendlies I can see him forcing his way in. 🤞

Yes, experience isn't everything, but it is an important variable. Another factor to consider is that Patterson has never played in front of fans. Not thousands anyway. It may have no impact on him at all. But when you have thousands of people's eyes bearing down on you and reacting to every move you make, it can have an effect. That is another reason why O'Donnell could have the edge.

[gonzohiggy]

23 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

Yes, experience isn't everything, but it is an important variable. Another factor to consider is that Patterson has never played in front of fans. Not thousands anyway. It may have no impact on him at all. But when you have thousands of people's eyes bearing down on you and reacting to every move you make, it can have an effect. That is another reason why O'Donnell could have the edge.

Yes perhaps. He has played in front of fans before but I take your point, given his age and the pandemic not as often as O’Donnell.

An interesting call for the manager and one that could change right up until much closer to the game.

[er yir macaroon]

21 hours ago, Blantyre_Braveheart said:

I would personally start him over O'Donnell.

Patterson is quicker, stronger and more technically gifted than O'Donnell. Patterson also has a pretty decent strike on him, that could come in handy.

I'm a Rangers fan so I obviously have a bit of bias, but outside of experience. I really can't see anything O'Donnell has over Patterson.

Due to our 2 strongest players being at LB and LCB our left hand side gets overloaded by opposition players. This creates lots of space for our RB to exploit. So RB is a key position for us.

I’m not sure there is any evidence that Patterson is stronger. O’Donnell is a big lad. Patterson hasn’t fully filled out yet, and won’t for another couple of years at least. 

[gonzohiggy]

1 hour ago, er yir macaroon said:

I’m not sure there is any evidence that Patterson is stronger. O’Donnell is a big lad. Patterson hasn’t fully filled out yet, and won’t for another couple of years at least. 

Not sure strength is that big a thing in that position. His athleticism and composure are very important and he is certainly ahead of O’Donnell in those respects.

[Tartan blood]

3 hours ago, gonzohiggy said:

Yes perhaps. He has played in front of fans before but I take your point, given his age and the pandemic not as often as O’Donnell.

An interesting call for the manager and one that could change right up until much closer to the game.

One of my only concerns about Clarke was his loyalty and stubbornness to change. However, he has completely put that argument to bed with the final 26 he chose. 

But also, in the last group of games, he was still calling up new players and changing his first 11. Both Hanley and Hendry were thrown right in, when I think some of us thought he'd have stuck with Gallagher and McTominay.

So it's certainly not inconceivable that Patterson could turn Clarke's head. Same goes for just about everyone in the squad. I trust Clarke.

[er yir macaroon]

2 hours ago, gonzohiggy said:

Not sure strength is that big a thing in that position. His athleticism and composure are very important and he is certainly ahead of O’Donnell in those respects.

He’s technically better and quicker certainly and I’d play him, but it is important not to embellish criticism of someone who has been a reliable player. 

[Taylor1996]

2 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

One of my only concerns about Clarke was his loyalty and stubbornness to change. However, he has completely put that argument to bed with the final 26 he chose. 

But also, in the last group of games, he was still calling up new players and changing his first 11. Both Hanley and Hendry were thrown right in, when I think some of us thought he'd have stuck with Gallagher and McTominay.

So it's certainly not inconceivable that Patterson could turn Clarke's head. Same goes for just about everyone in the squad. I trust Clarke.

Steve Clarke won me over when he stuck to his guns with the 3 at the back. McLeish and Strachan flirting with a three, but their bottle crashed when the fans and the media made it crystal clear that 3 at the back would never work.

Clarke proved so many people wrong on that one.

[Guest Scot1]

I believe to get the best out of this squad we need to go 4-3-3

with the inclusion of Patterson, Gilmour and the season that Cooper and Hanley have had. 
I think the time is now. 
Tierney Gilmour Mctominay

would be my midfield 3 and they can play together for another decade

[Tartan blood]

16 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

Steve Clarke won me over when he stuck to his guns with the 3 at the back. McLeish and Strachan flirting with a three, but their bottle crashed when the fans and the media made it crystal clear that 3 at the back would never work.

Clarke proved so many people wrong on that one.

By sticking with the 3, it showed he was his own man and sticks with his convictions, but his willingness to try out new personnel and adapt formations early in games shows he isn't stubborn either. A good balance between the 2.

He has also demonstrated no one gets a place based on sentiment either. Patterson was included because he is better than Palmer at this moment in time. Same goes for Considine. Cooper, McKenna and Hendry edged him out, despite not being in some previous squads.

[Tartan blood]

11 minutes ago, Scot1 said:

I believe to get the best out of this squad we need to go 4-3-3

with the inclusion of Patterson, Gilmour and the season that Cooper and Hanley have had. 
I think the time is now. 
Tierney Gilmour Mctominay

would be my midfield 3 and they can play together for another decade

What would be your 11 then? 

I can't see it happening, but I would love to see Tierney in midfield as well.

[Taylor1996]

Just now, Tartan blood said:

By sticking with the 3, it showed he was his own man and sticks with his convictions, but his willingness to try out new personnel and adapt formations early in games shows he isn't stubborn either. A good balance between the 2.

He has also demonstrated no one gets a place based on sentiment either. Patterson was included because he is better than Palmer at this moment in time. Same goes for Considine. Cooper, McKenna and Hendry edged him out, despite not being in some previous squads.

Agreed.

Just wish he found a spot for Gauld, though. But the inclusion of Golmour, Turnbull and Patterson were great.

[vanderark14]

15 minutes ago, Scot1 said:

I believe to get the best out of this squad we need to go 4-3-3

with the inclusion of Patterson, Gilmour and the season that Cooper and Hanley have had. 
I think the time is now. 
Tierney Gilmour Mctominay

would be my midfield 3 and they can play together for another decade

Mcginne will play in midfield and deservedly so, he scores goals and he is becoming our talisman.

 

[Guest Scot1]

4 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

What would be your 11 then? 

I can't see it happening, but I would love to see Tierney in midfield as well.

         Gk

Patterson Hanley/Gallagher Cooper Robbo

 McTominay Gilmour/McGregor Tierney 

Fraser/ Turnbull Dykes McGinn

Something along those lines.

Fraser /Turnbull and McGinn can rotate easily enough

[Tartan blood]

18 minutes ago, Scot1 said:

         Gk

Patterson Hanley/Gallagher Cooper Robbo

 McTominay Gilmour/McGregor Tierney 

Fraser/ Turnbull Dykes McGinn

Something along those lines.

Fraser /Turnbull and McGinn can rotate easily enough

You could only whittle it down to 14 players from up on that fence then? 😋

There is a big difference in what I think the 11 will be and what I want it to be. So I see why it is so hard to pick just 11. Long term, I think Gilmour, Patterson and Turnbull will be first 11s, but my head tells me that it'll be McGregor, O'Donnell and Fraser. (Using your 14 names)

[Tartan blood]

30 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

Agreed.

Just wish he found a spot for Gauld, though. But the inclusion of Golmour, Turnbull and Patterson were great.

Same. But I've made my peace with it now. Gauld's time will come. Let's focus on the 26 that are there, and not players that could have been there.

[Guest Scot1]

4 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

You could only whittle it down to 14 players from up on that fence then? 😋

There is a big difference in what I think the 11 will be and what I want it to be. So I see why it is so hard to pick just 11. Long term, I think Gilmour, Patterson and Turnbull will be first 11s, but my head tells me that it'll be McGregor, O'Donnell and Fraser. (Using your 14 names)

Be interesting to see what Clarke does in the friendlies, but it’s obvious to me that to get the best out of our players, 4-3-3 is the way forward, if he plays Tierney in midfield.

The only other problem is we don’t have great cover in certain positions yet, ie Defensive midfield centre, Right back. But it’s a tournament, we play the first 2 games at home against opposition we can beat. So I say go for it, try and dominate them, let’s attack.

[ceudmilefailte]

2 hours ago, Taylor1996 said:

Steve Clarke won me over when he stuck to his guns with the 3 at the back. McLeish and Strachan flirting with a three, but their bottle crashed when the fans and the media made it crystal clear that 3 at the back would never work.

Clarke proved so many people wrong on that one.

Steve Clarke changed to a back four in the second half against Israel and that won me over if only because it showed he can change things if needed. 

Playing against better opponents we need to play a back three, but would you stick to such a negative formation if we go behind?

Answers must not mention Atalanta or 23 years.

[Taylor1996]

16 minutes ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Steve Clarke changed to a back four in the second half against Israel and that won me over if only because it showed he can change things if needed. 

Playing against better opponents we need to play a back three, but would you stick to such a negative formation if we go behind?

Answers must not mention Atalanta or 23 years.

True. 

Serious answer is, I don't know. Usually I would go with a "no", but we showed against Austria that we have the mettle to come back without changing the system. 

Playing with a four scares the hell out of me. I mean, even when we had the likes of Fletcher and Brown in midfield, we still couldn't pull it off. 

(lol)

[ceudmilefailte]

8 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

but we showed against Austria that we have the mettle to come back without changing the system. 

 

Hadn't thought of it that way.

[Taylor1996]

1 hour ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Hadn't thought of it that way.

We actually came back twice.

For ages, when we went behind, it was over and done with.

That's one of the reasons for my (over?) Confidence. We seem to have the same collective spirit that we had under Brown. Back then, the players never knew when they were beaten... if you take out the Morocco match.

[Tartan blood]

4 hours ago, Scot1 said:

Be interesting to see what Clarke does in the friendlies, but it’s obvious to me that to get the best out of our players, 4-3-3 is the way forward, if he plays Tierney in midfield.

The only other problem is we don’t have great cover in certain positions yet, ie Defensive midfield centre, Right back. But it’s a tournament, we play the first 2 games at home against opposition we can beat. So I say go for it, try and dominate them, let’s attack.

Well apparently both Gilmour and McTominay won't play vs the Netherlands because they just played in European finals. So it won't necessarily be that big of a clue.

As much as I think the system we use generally works well, it does mean we keep an extra attacking midfielder on the bench. Armstrong, McGinn, Turnbull, Fraser, Forrest and Christie are at our disposal, but we'll likely only play a maximum of 2 of them at a time.

[The Black Bra]

35 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

Well apparently both Gilmour and McTominay won't play vs the Netherlands because they just played in European finals. So it won't necessarily be that big of a clue.

As much as I think the system we use generally works well, it does mean we keep an extra attacking midfielder on the bench. Armstrong, McGinn, Turnbull, Fraser, Forrest and Christie are at our disposal, but we'll likely only play a maximum of 2 of them at a time.

Has it been said that McTominay and Gilmour definitely won’t play against Holland? Gilmour didn’t get on the pitch in the Champions league final and McTominay won’t have played for a week when we play Holland so would they not be OK to play at least some of the match.

[Tartan blood]

26 minutes ago, The Black Bra said:

Has it been said that McTominay and Gilmour definitely won’t play against Holland? Gilmour didn’t get on the pitch in the Champions league final and McTominay won’t have played for a week when we play Holland so would they not be OK to play at least some of the match.

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news/match-preview-netherlands-v-scotland/?rid=13925

It says it on the National team website.

[Caledonian Craig]

9 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news/match-preview-netherlands-v-scotland/?rid=13925

It says it on the National team website.

Not totally unexpected in the age of the pandemic. They have just entered the Scotland from outside.

[Tartan blood]

38 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Not totally unexpected in the age of the pandemic. They have just entered the Scotland from outside.

Yeah, I'm fine with not seeing the final 11 before the tournament anyway. You don't want to give too much away.

I'd love to see a midfield duo of McTominay and Gilmour against Luxembourg. It could be a delicious taster of the future.

In fact, stick Patterson and Turnbull in as well from the start. With friendlies being rarer these days, we should take the opportunity to try out new players.