Can we break the hoodoo?

[gkm_vancouver]

Whilst it's great to be back amongst it have we got what it takes to get past the first round this time? We were only one goal short at Euro 96 with the likes of Hendry, Collins and McCoist. Do we have the bottle to get that extra goal with this team? Will we freeze on the big occasion? Will we get a bit of luck? Can we change tactics during a game to get a result?

We did hold the nerve to come back from a last minute goal and score 5 penalties to qualify. We have got some top players, a stable growing squad with some youthful talent. We've got a level-headed manager. We've got a good recent record against our opposition. Maybe this time we might just do it.... 

[Texas Pete]

41 minutes ago, gkm_vancouver said:

Whilst it's great to be back amongst it have we got what it takes to get past the first round this time? We were only one goal short at Euro 96 with the likes of Hendry, Collins and McCoist. Do we have the bottle to get that extra goal with this team? Will we freeze on the big occasion? Will we get a bit of luck? Can we change tactics during a game to get a result?

We did hold the nerve to come back from a last minute goal and score 5 penalties to qualify. We have got some top players, a stable growing squad with some youthful talent. We've got a level-headed manager. We've got a good recent record against our opposition. Maybe this time we might just do it.... 

Of course we can but sadly we’ve been more than capable of getting out of our group in the past and have never managed it. 

Positives this time include the fact it’s easier to get out the group. 4 points should be more than enough to do it and 3 points might even be enough. 2 of our games are at Hampden so we’ve never had that advantage before.

Czechs are definitely beatable and the Croatians are nowhere near as good as they were in 2018.

We’ve got a great chance to do it this time but where have I heard that before? 

[Blantyre_Braveheart]

35 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

Of course we can but sadly we’ve been more than capable of getting out of our group in the past and have never managed it. 

Positives this time include the fact it’s easier to get out the group. 4 points should be more than enough to do it and 3 points might even be enough. 2 of our games are at Hampden so we’ve never had that advantage before.

Czechs are definitely beatable and the Croatians are nowhere near as good as they were in 2018.

We’ve got a great chance to do it this time but where have I heard that before? 

Yeah there is a great chance due to the 4 best 3rd places making the knockouts.

I think we could realistically take 3 points from Czech Republic and a point from Croatia. That would probably be enough to make it in best 3rd place teams. It will be difficult as the Czechs and Croatians are good teams, who could go deep in the tournament depending on their luck.

 

[Tartan blood]

6 hours ago, Blantyre_Braveheart said:

Yeah there is a great chance due to the 4 best 3rd places making the knockouts.

I think we could realistically take 3 points from Czech Republic and a point from Croatia. That would probably be enough to make it in best 3rd place teams. It will be difficult as the Czechs and Croatians are good teams, who could go deep in the tournament depending on their luck.

 

I'd add that playing England could work in our favour. I know they are classed as an elite side, but the rivalry and history between the teams means form and talent can sometimes be thrown out the window. Kind of like an Old Firm game. Form is very often meaningless, and why, even when Rangers were weak and in the lower leagues, were able to beat Celtic in a one off cup game. We are also a far better team now than when we drew 2-2 with England a few years ago.

We are getting stronger by the fortnight. I do believe we have the players to put on a good show. It's the inexperience and mentality that could be our downfall, rather than a lack of ability.

[ceudmilefailte]

I would say not qualifying for the last 16 would be abject failure. 

This is a better squad than 96 and they made the last 16.

Only last 8 would be a meaningful achievement. 

[ProudScot]

39 minutes ago, ceudmilefailte said:

I would say not qualifying for the last 16 would be abject failure. 

This is a better squad than 96 and they made the last 16.

Only last 8 would be a meaningful achievement. 

There’s a lot more good teams in Europe now than in 96 though. 

I agree we can qualify but also we could finish bottom with zero points too In reality. 

[Texas Pete]

1 hour ago, ceudmilefailte said:

I would say not qualifying for the last 16 would be abject failure. 

This is a better squad than 96 and they made the last 16.

Only last 8 would be a meaningful achievement. 

What on Earth are you basing this on? I wouldn’t agree that it is a better squad than 1996 but even if it is we only made the “last 16” in 1996 as there was 16 teams in the finals. 

We are the 4th best team in the group in terms of rankings so it will be very tough to qualify. Having 2 games at Hampden will help but hone advantage will be nullified a good bit by the reduced crowd. 

Third place will be difficult to achieve and even if we do finish third we aren’t guaranteed to reach the last 16. I think you need to lower your expectations a wee bit or you are likely going to be very disappointed. 

[er yir macaroon]

2 hours ago, ceudmilefailte said:

I would say not qualifying for the last 16 would be abject failure. 

This is a better squad than 96 and they made the last 16.

Only last 8 would be a meaningful achievement. 

Holy shit, you really pull them out the bag! 

[ceudmilefailte]

2 hours ago, ProudScot said:

There’s a lot more good teams in Europe now than in 96 though. 

I agree we can qualify but also we could finish bottom with zero points too In reality. 

There's a lot more good teams is mentioned often, not sure how that works. I suppose there a few countries that weren't about in 96

Your totally right with second bit. 

[ceudmilefailte]

1 hour ago, Texas Pete said:

What on Earth are you basing this on? I wouldn’t agree that it is a better squad than 1996 but even if it is we only made the “last 16” in 1996 as there was 16 teams in the finals. 

We are the 4th best team in the group in terms of rankings so it will be very tough to qualify. Having 2 games at Hampden will help but hone advantage will be nullified a good bit by the reduced crowd. 

Third place will be difficult to achieve and even if we do finish third we aren’t guaranteed to reach the last 16. I think you need to lower your expectations a wee bit or you are likely going to be very disappointed. 

I know there was only 16 at euros in 96 but we qualified in the same manner as the others via a normal qualification route. This time we had a route for third rate countries and we were still lucky to get there.

So far there is no great performance I can recall with this squad. If getting through this group is a bigger achievement than going unbeaten at a world Cup finals or missing out on last eight on goal difference.,fair enough. 

Not sure why so many are happy with achieving mediocrity.

[Taylor1996]

Yes we can.

As far as the strengths of the 96, 98 and 2020 first XI.

Only Robertson and Tierney would break into the 96 and 98 first XI.

[Texas Pete]

1 hour ago, ceudmilefailte said:

I know there was only 16 at euros in 96 but we qualified in the same manner as the others via a normal qualification route. This time we had a route for third rate countries and we were still lucky to get there.

So far there is no great performance I can recall with this squad. If getting through this group is a bigger achievement than going unbeaten at a world Cup finals or missing out on last eight on goal difference.,fair enough. 

Not sure why so many are happy with achieving mediocrity.

So we were lucky to get there but failure to get out of a very difficult group would be abject failure? You been on the deoch already? 

[Malcolm]

This squad is way worse than our euro96 squad.  We are weaker in every area of the pitch apart from left back.

[ceudmilefailte]

29 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

So we were lucky to get there but failure to get out of a very difficult group would be abject failure? You been on the deoch already? 

Blame Nicola she opened the pubs

Any way the fact that I think failure to get out of the group is poor suggests I expect to do at least that. 

[Caledonian Craig]

I can look at it two ways.

We are in a much tougher group than we have had barring Mexico '86 at a major tournament so to expect us to rock up and qualify is stretching it. Yes you could technically say we are at home but COVID has totally negated that.

I can see us getting results though that could see us through. We tend to raise our levels when playing the better teams so the group we are in could work in our failure.

Yes, just now, we may have a weaker squad than Euro 96 but a month from now it could be better if we get to the second phase. That Euro 96 squad was ageing and a number were nearing the end of their international careers. Our current squad has a number of young talents in our squad who could have a decade in front of them.

[Malcolm]

Possible but unlikely.  

[Third Lanark]

53 minutes ago, Malcolm said:

This squad is way worse than our euro96 squad.  We are weaker in every area of the pitch apart from left back.

Aw c,mon. Midfield?

[Caledonian Craig]

6 minutes ago, Malcolm said:

Possible but unlikely.  

Well, actually, just looking at the Euro 96 squad I'd say there are 9 in that squad that would walk into this squad but also a number that would not.

From the Euro 96 squad I'd take Leighton, Goram, Hendry, McCoist, McAllister, Collins, Durie, Burley and Gallacher.

Edited May 22, 2021 by Caledonian Craig

[Caledonian Craig]

Nostalgia often clouds judgement in my opinion.

Edited May 22, 2021 by Caledonian Craig

[Blantyre_Braveheart]

Football has completely evolved in the last 20-25 years. It is very hard to compare footballers from different generations. 

Football is much more tactically, technically and physically nuanced than it was 25 years ago.

[Orraloon]

11 minutes ago, Third Lanark said:

Aw c,mon. Midfield?

Aw c'mon. McAllister, McCall and Collins?

[Taylor1996]

15 minutes ago, Third Lanark said:

Aw c,mon. Midfield?

Collins, McAllister and McCall vs McGregor, McTominay and McGinn.

There's no competition. 96 all the way.

[Big Ramy 1314]

Ah think we will win the whole fuckin thing !!!! Yasssssssssssssssss🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Third Lanark]

5 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

Collins, McAllister and McCall vs McGregor, McTominay and McGinn.

There's no competition. 96 all the way.

Yet you yourself have compared Turnbull to McAllister; Gilmour will be the equal of McCall at least I would say. Think we have good options in mf.

[Caledonian Craig]

15 minutes ago, Taylor1996 said:

Collins, McAllister and McCall vs McGregor, McTominay and McGinn.

There's no competition. 96 all the way.

No not McCall (no way) but yes to Collins and McAllister. Looking at the two squads there is better strength in depth now than 96 but better quality at the very top end in 96.

Edited May 22, 2021 by Caledonian Craig