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Scotland v The Faroe Islands


Caledonian Craig

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27 minutes ago, romanticscot said:

I was referring to in hindsight when he pulled out, we will be fine tomorrow but we missed Jack big time in the first two games.

Agree said that the last couple of days, think he’s been a huge miss. Actually think he gets us further up the pitch than we were last two games. Vital he is fit for the summer. 

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7 minutes ago, bossman4 said:

Agree said that the last couple of days, think he’s been a huge miss. Actually think he gets us further up the pitch than we were last two games. Vital he is fit for the summer. 

True. I also think we've missed having McTominay at centre back in the last two games.

When he played there he was brilliant at passing the ball forward to feet, or even carrying the ball and getting us up the pitch. Hendry (as a supposedly ball playing CB with excellent passing) hasn't shown us he can do that, at all.

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1 hour ago, Taylor1996 said:

Overlapping centerbacks.

Or a centre back from either side stepping forward into midfield when we have possession. Making it a central three in midfield.

Need McTominay at centre back for that to work.

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48 minutes ago, Dave78 said:

True. I also think we've missed having McTominay at centre back in the last two games.

When he played there he was brilliant at passing the ball forward to feet, or even carrying the ball and getting us up the pitch. Hendry (as a supposedly ball playing CB with excellent passing) hasn't shown us he can do that, at all.

Totally agree, I for one was glad to see McTominay back into midfield but we played well in November, even in the two defeats with him in the back 3 and Jack in the middle. 
 

Hendry may well develop more for that role but McTominay is no doubt our best option back there.

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1 hour ago, Tartan blood said:

Douglas probably would have got in as the 3rd keeper. The rest could stake a claim to start. But basically that's 5 players out of a whole squad that would get in the current squad. That just shows you how massive our talent pool is now in comparison.

I don't want to take anything away from Clarke, but he is very fortunate to have arguably the best group of players to choose from this decade. Circa 2007 aside, you could argue this century as well.

There’s no question we have the strongest squad since the 90s.

It’s yet to be proven if the current manager can motivate the squad or more importantly prepare them for different challenges game to game. 

It’s all too turgid & stand off-ish. Hopefully tomorrow goes well but anything other than a 3-0 victory or more will leave huge question marks still... 

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Saw an interview on SSN with their manager and captain where they both seem in bullish mood.  Strategy seems to be high energy, keep it tight, frustrate us for as long as possible and then pinch something on the counter.  

They definitely seem to fancy it! 

An early goal could knock the stuffing out of them but got a horrible feeling it's going to be an uncomfortable evening.  

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Not sure why people are saying that we have the strongest squad since the 90s.

We don't.

A look at the 00s and we had the likes of McFadden, Fletcher, Fletcher, Hutchinson, Miller, Naysmith, McNamara, Weir, Hutton, McManus, Brown, Naismith, Maloney, etc, in the same squad.

Only Tierney and Robertson would break into the first XI from back then. Maybe McTominay.

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42 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

Not sure why people are saying that we have the strongest squad since the 90s.

We don't.

A look at the 00s and we had the likes of McFadden, Fletcher, Fletcher, Hutchinson, Miller, Naysmith, McNamara, Weir, Hutton, McManus, Brown, Naismith, Maloney, etc, in the same squad.

Only Tierney and Robertson would break into the first XI from back then. Maybe McTominay.

You can't really compare a snapshot in time (current squad) to a full decade. Time will tell if this squad turns out better. Nasymith, Hutchison, Weir and MacNamara were mainly in their prime in the early 2000s, the rest were in their prime in the late 2000s/early 2010s. I'd be interested to see how they would compare looking back in, say, 2025. Most of our best players are still young and got potentially better careers ahead of them than just about every player you mentioned.

Anyway, that is a handful of first team players. We are talking about squad size. Even in 2007 we really just had a very good core of about 14 players. You just have to look at the quality of the players that couldn't even make our current squad to see the difference.

Edited by Tartan blood
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8 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

You can't really compare a snapshot in time (current squad) to a full decade. Time will tell if this squad turns out better. Nasymith, Hutchison, Weir and MacNamara were mainly in their prime in the early 2000s, the rest were in their prime in the late 2000s/early 2010s. I'd be interested to see how they would compare looking back in, say, 2025. Most of our best players are still young and got potentially better careers ahead of them than just about every player you mentioned.

Anyway, that is a handful of first team players. We are talking about squad size. Even in 2007 we really just had a very good core of about 14 players. You just have to look at the quality of the players that couldn't even make our current squad to see the difference.

Yeah. I know. It's fun, though. ;)

I just checked. The average age of our team vs Israel was 27. Surprising.

Would be interesting to see how many of our current players would make it into the strongest XI since the 90s. I'm guessing, only Tierney and Robertson would make a consistent appearance. 

It's crazy to think that Tierney is still only 23.

 

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9 minutes ago, duncan II said:

Bet you also write "Dalgleish".  🙄

Excuse me?

I do?

When? 

I pronounced it correctly in the link.

Think you're mistaking me for someone else, mate. Even if I did. Who cares if I spell a name wrong.

Guess we know what happened to dohadeer.

lol

Edited by Taylor1996
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5 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

Yeah. I know. It's fun, though. ;)

I just checked. The average age of our team vs Israel was 27. Surprising.

Would be interesting to see how many of our current players would make it into the strongest XI since the 90s. I'm guessing, only Tierney and Robertson would make a consistent appearance. 

It's crazy to think that Tierney is still only 23.

 

Very true, it is fun. It also gives me a heck of a lot of encouragement going forward. We've had some cracking players in the past couple of decades, but just didn't have the right personnel around them. Imagine prime McFadden in this team, for example. Brown has been badly missed in the centre of the park. I even miss Caldwell. I know others don't agree with that, but I loved his tenacity and his willingness to put his life on the line to stop a goal. I see a little of that in Hanley.

I can see Tierney going to Real Madrid or the likes. He is already that good.

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57 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

Not sure why people are saying that we have the strongest squad since the 90s.

We don't.

A look at the 00s and we had the likes of McFadden, Fletcher, Fletcher, Hutchinson, Miller, Naysmith, McNamara, Weir, Hutton, McManus, Brown, Naismith, Maloney, etc, in the same squad.

Only Tierney and Robertson would break into the first XI from back then. Maybe McTominay.

I do agree that we were stronger in the past.  I think you need to pick one squad to compare to this one.  The Euro 2008 campaign squad was good - how would you compare the two?

This was the initial squad for the Lithuania (H) and France (A) double header -

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Sunderland), David Marshall (Norwich City), Allan McGregor (Rangers)

Defenders: Graham Alexander (Preston), Russell Anderson (Sunderland), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Alan Hutton (Rangers), Jay McEveley (Derby County), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United), David Weir (Rangers).

Midfielders: Scott Brown (Celtic), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Paul Hartley (Celtic), Lee McCulloch (Rangers), Stephen Pearson (Derby County), Barry Robson (Dundee United), Gary Teale (Derby County).

Forwards: Craig Beattie (West Brom), Kris Boyd (Rangers), James McFadden (Everton), Shaun Maloney (Aston Villa), Kenny Miller (Celtic), Garry O’Connor (Birmingham City).

I've highlighted the ones that I think would get in a combined squad.  However, we do have more players playing at the top end of the table in England now.  Far more Celtic and rangers (RIP) players back then.  

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4 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

Very true, it is fun. It also gives me a heck of a lot of encouragement going forward. We've had some cracking players in the past couple of decades, but just didn't have the right personnel around them. Imagine prime McFadden in this team, for example. Brown has been badly missed in the centre of the park. I even miss Caldwell. I know others don't agree with that, but I loved his tenacity and his willingness to put his life on the line to stop a goal. I see a little of that in Hanley.

I can see Tierney going to Real Madrid or the likes. He is already that good.

So true about Brown and McFadden. Imagine the difference those would make!  Caldwell, too, even Stephen McManus. Those two in 3 would've been interesting.

I've been beating this dump for so long that it's no longer a drum... it's a thin piece of round wood, but imagine the teams from the past 20 years in this current system. S midfield three of Brown, Ferguson and Fletcher, with McFadden and Fletcher up front. It would've done well.

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2 minutes ago, PASTA Mick said:

I do agree that we were stronger in the past.  I think you need to pick one squad to compare to this one.  The Euro 2008 campaign squad was good - how would you compare the two?

This was the initial squad for the Lithuania (H) and France (A) double header -

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Sunderland), David Marshall (Norwich City), Allan McGregor (Rangers)

Defenders: Graham Alexander (Preston), Russell Anderson (Sunderland), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Alan Hutton (Rangers), Jay McEveley (Derby County), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United), David Weir (Rangers).

Midfielders: Scott Brown (Celtic), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Paul Hartley (Celtic), Lee McCulloch (Rangers), Stephen Pearson (Derby County), Barry Robson (Dundee United), Gary Teale (Derby County).

Forwards: Craig Beattie (West Brom), Kris Boyd (Rangers), James McFadden (Everton), Shaun Maloney (Aston Villa), Kenny Miller (Celtic), Garry O’Connor (Birmingham City).

I've highlighted the ones that I think would get in a combined squad.  However, we do have more players playing at the top end of the table in England now.  Far more Celtic and rangers (RIP) players back then.  

Very comprehensive and I agree with the highlighted players.

Honestly. I don't think many of the current players would get into a combined XI with the class of 2008.

It would make for a great thread. An amalgamation of strongest XI from each year. If I were to guess, though, only two of today's team would regularly make it.

As much as we like McGinn and McTominay, etc, they can't compete when we talk about the likes of Darren Fletcher and Ferguson. As well as Brown, to bring balance. Then there's the strikers... what I'd give to have a prime.. any of those you highlighted!

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9 minutes ago, PASTA Mick said:

I do agree that we were stronger in the past.  I think you need to pick one squad to compare to this one.  The Euro 2008 campaign squad was good - how would you compare the two?

This was the initial squad for the Lithuania (H) and France (A) double header -

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Sunderland), David Marshall (Norwich City), Allan McGregor (Rangers)

Defenders: Graham Alexander (Preston), Russell Anderson (Sunderland), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Alan Hutton (Rangers), Jay McEveley (Derby County), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United), David Weir (Rangers).

Midfielders: Scott Brown (Celtic), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Paul Hartley (Celtic), Lee McCulloch (Rangers), Stephen Pearson (Derby County), Barry Robson (Dundee United), Gary Teale (Derby County).

Forwards: Craig Beattie (West Brom), Kris Boyd (Rangers), James McFadden (Everton), Shaun Maloney (Aston Villa), Kenny Miller (Celtic), Garry O’Connor (Birmingham City).

I've highlighted the ones that I think would get in a combined squad.  However, we do have more players playing at the top end of the table in England now.  Far more Celtic and rangers (RIP) players back then.  

Even looking at an individual squad, you are still viewing it through the lens of their career. Once we can properly look back at this squad in 10 years, we'll maybe have a different opinion. The problem positions aside, I think some of the players we have now could be comparable. e.g McTominay might end up as good as Fletcher. Fraser might end up as good as Maloney. McGinn as good as Ferguson. Tierney and Roberston are already way better than anyone in that team. 

McFadden, of course, would get in the starting 11 of any squad of the past 30 years, in my opinion. He was that good for Scotland.

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Just now, Tartan blood said:

Even looking at an individual squad, you are still viewing it through the lens of their career. Once we can properly look back at this squad in 10 years, we'll maybe have a different opinion. The problem positions aside, I think some of the players we have now could be comparable. e.g McTominay might end up as good as Fletcher. Fraser might end up as good as Maloney. McGinn as good as Ferguson. Tierney and Roberston are already way better than anyone in that team. 

McFadden, of course, would get in the starting 11 of any squad of the past 30 years, in my opinion. He was that good for Scotland.

I agree fully. I'd even argue McGinn is already above Ferguson as his goals tally proves at international level. Also I'd say there is more strength in depth in the squad today and it has time on its side. Definitely better strikers on offer back then though.

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42 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

Yeah. I know. It's fun, though. ;)

I just checked. The average age of our team vs Israel was 27. Surprising.

Would be interesting to see how many of our current players would make it into the strongest XI since the 90s. I'm guessing, only Tierney and Robertson would make a consistent appearance. 

It's crazy to think that Tierney is still only 23.

 

And even crazier when you consider that he has only 16 caps.

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2 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

I agree fully. I'd even argue McGinn is already above Ferguson as his goals tally proves at international level. Also I'd say there is more strength in depth in the squad today and it has time on its side. Definitely better strikers on offer back then though.

Ferguson is the perfect example of looking back and being deceived by their overall career success. I remember vividly calls to drop him, similar to what McGregor is getting now. I'm not saying Ferguson was a bad player, but he didn't always produce for Scotland, and we all know about the controversy. Even players like McManus, Hartley and Boyd had relatively short international careers. All 3 were great for a few years, but not exactly true servants of the squad.

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23 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

Even looking at an individual squad, you are still viewing it through the lens of their career. Once we can properly look back at this squad in 10 years, we'll maybe have a different opinion. The problem positions aside, I think some of the players we have now could be comparable. e.g McTominay might end up as good as Fletcher. Fraser might end up as good as Maloney. McGinn as good as Ferguson. Tierney and Roberston are already way better than anyone in that team. 

McFadden, of course, would get in the starting 11 of any squad of the past 30 years, in my opinion. He was that good for Scotland.

You make good points and I did try and think about the level those players were at during that campaign.  I have also picked the squad that had our best result between 1998 and November 2020.

It would be interesting to see peoples best XI of all the players since 2000. I think only KT and Robertson would appear regularly in peoples lists from the current squad, but others have the potential to achieve far more than players like McFadden and Fletcher did for us.  

I think we'd have reached Euro 2008 if it had as many teams as Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 has had.  

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26 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

Ferguson is the perfect example of looking back and being deceived by their overall career success. I remember vividly calls to drop him, similar to what McGregor is getting now. I'm not saying Ferguson was a bad player, but he didn't always produce for Scotland, and we all know about the controversy. Even players like McManus, Hartley and Boyd had relatively short international careers. All 3 were great for a few years, but not exactly true servants of the squad.

Absolutely. And McManus was not a stalwart either for years. Also in latter years Brown (like Ferguson) came under fire from the fans for insipid performances. Even Miller got savaged by the fans despite his fine tally of goals.

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19 minutes ago, PASTA Mick said:

You make good points and I did try and think about the level those players were at during that campaign.  I have also picked the squad that had our best result between 1998 and November 2020.

It would be interesting to see peoples best XI of all the players since 2000. I think only KT and Robertson would appear regularly in peoples lists from the current squad, but others have the potential to achieve far more than players like McFadden and Fletcher did for us.  

I think we'd have reached Euro 2008 if it had as many teams as Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 has had.  

To be honest, it's a travesty that team didn't qualify for any tournaments. We were well and truly shafted with the draws we got in qualifying all throughout that period. 

I'd love to try a best 11 of this century but it would be so difficult. McFadden would be the only guaranteed starter.

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10 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Absolutely. And McManus was not a stalwart either for years. Also in latter years Brown (like Ferguson) came under fire from the fans for insipid performances. Even Miller got savaged by the fans despite his fine tally of goals.

I always felt like Miller was playing with a point to prove, because of his critics. Which probably means we got the best out of him. I was a big fan of his.

Brown did have his critics, but, especially now, you realise what he brings to the team. He's carried McGregor for years in that Celtic midfield.

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12 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

To be honest, it's a travesty that team didn't qualify for any tournaments. We were well and truly shafted with the draws we got in qualifying all throughout that period. 

I'd love to try a best 11 of this century but it would be so difficult. McFadden would be the only guaranteed starter.

Travesty? its an average/poor group of players and the euros was 16 teams back then. we did get screwed by groups but i reckon that squad would defo qualify today for a 24 team euro comp

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