Expectation and Reality

[thesaint]

34 minutes ago, daviebee said:

No comfort at all. We should be embarrassed to have been on the receiving end of them.  Our goalie making a total tit of himself and then a guy who'd spent the whole first half running the game still being allowed the freedom of Hampden in the second.  Both were totally preventable.

I suppose we finished where our seeding said we would, but 2 games at Hampden and 5 goals conceded?  Criminal.

Agree 100%.Poor team selections,and no willingness to change our tactics during a game.Trying to take comfort that a couple of the goals we lost were quality,is an easy way out.There is still hope for us in the world cup qualifiers,but Steve Clarke will have to learn from mistakes that he made,or it will be all over come the first week in September.

[ProudScot]

28 minutes ago, thesaint said:

Agree 100%.Poor team selections,and no willingness to change our tactics during a game.Trying to take comfort that a couple of the goals we lost were quality,is an easy way out.There is still hope for us in the world cup qualifiers,but Steve Clarke will have to learn from mistakes that he made,or it will be all over come the first week in September.

If we line up in September with O’Donnell right back, 352 and hoofball to Dykes then it is going to be beyond depressing 

[Third Lanark]

45 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

True. It was no surprise to me at all that Modric got that space at the edge of the box. I've said many times that marking up and closing men down outside the semi-circle is our achilles heel. I'm actually surprised it wasn't exploited more. 

We are also absymal at set pieces. Defending and attacking them. England pretty much got to a semi-final and a final because they practised set pieces so much. 

To be fair I don't think this tournament England were all that great at set pieces either - their one tactic seemed to be to find Maguire at the back post. What we lack are defensive midfielders. Don't know where I read it but one analysis showed that most teams at the Euros lined up with two holding midfielders, whereas we had McGinn and Armstrong in those roles against Croatia and neither of them can hold up their bootlaces in that position. Although McGinn normally plays alongside Douglas in a 2 for his club.

[Tartan blood]

3 minutes ago, Third Lanark said:

To be fair I don't think this tournament England were all that great at set pieces either - their one tactic seemed to be to find Maguire at the back post. What we lack are defensive midfielders. Don't know where I read it but one analysis showed that most teams at the Euros lined up with two holding midfielders, whereas we had McGinn and Armstrong in those roles against Croatia and neither of them can hold up their bootlaces in that position. Although McGinn normally plays alongside Douglas in a 2 for his club.

Attacking, no. But they defended them pretty well. Where as I had the fear every time we conceded a corner or free kick in all 3 games.

To be fair, we are improving on that aspect, but we still have quite a bit to do. Set pieces are a huge asset to have. That is why I want Turnbull in the team. Or at least to bring on the last 30 minutes if plan A isn't working.

[thesaint]

3 hours ago, ProudScot said:

If we line up in September with O’Donnell right back, 352 and hoofball to Dykes then it is going to be beyond depressing 

What a thought.Surely we have learned that's never going to work.

[thesaint]

2 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

Attacking, no. But they defended them pretty well. Where as I had the fear every time we conceded a corner or free kick in all 3 games.

To be fair, we are improving on that aspect, but we still have quite a bit to do. Set pieces are a huge asset to have. That is why I want Turnbull in the team. Or at least to bring on the last 30 minutes if plan A isn't working.

Don't think we ever have a plan B.Had to laugh when i heard that the Germany fans thought that Joachim lows idea of plan B was to do everything that he did in plan A all over again.Remind you of anyone?

[ProudScot]

42 minutes ago, thesaint said:

What a thought.Surely we have learned that's never going to work.

Time will tell. Will he admit he’s wrong and made mistakes and do what needs done? Or will he just continue as is. 

Edited July 15, 2021 by ProudScot

[Tartan blood]

2 hours ago, thesaint said:

Don't think we ever have a plan B.Had to laugh when i heard that the Germany fans thought that Joachim lows idea of plan B was to do everything that he did in plan A all over again.Remind you of anyone?

It looked like we did pre-tournament. It wasn't working versus Austria and Clarke switched it to a back 4. He also tried out both Forrest and Fraser as wingbacks in games we'd be more attacking. So it seemed like he had alternative options. But when it came to the tournament, he seemed to be deathly afraid to deviate from it. 

[ceudmilefailte]

1 minute ago, Tartan blood said:

It looked like we did pre-tournament. It wasn't working versus Austria and Clarke switched it to a back 4. He also tried out both Forrest and Fraser as wingbacks in games we'd be more attacking. So it seemed like he had alternative options. But when it came to the tournament, he seemed to be deathly afraid to deviate from it. 

It was Israel he switched to a back four, pretty sure he didn't against Austria.

If he did in both games but wouldn't at the Euro's he should be hung, drawn and quartered .

[Tartan blood]

1 hour ago, ceudmilefailte said:

It was Israel he switched to a back four, pretty sure he didn't against Austria.

If he did in both games but wouldn't at the Euro's he should be hung, drawn and quartered .

Just checked, and you're right. He brought Christie on for Hendry at half time v Israel. Though I do recall him switching the system fairly early on against Austria as well. 

Anyway, that gave me hope that he wasn't married to the 532. But here we are. All 3 games. We even had McTominay back in defence after 1 game.

[ceudmilefailte]

7 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

Just checked, and you're right. He brought Christie on for Hendry at half time v Israel. Though I do recall him switching the system fairly early on against Austria as well. 

Anyway, that gave me hope that he wasn't married to the 532. But here we are. All 3 games. We even had McTominay back in defence after 1 game.

The Israel game gave us hope that he had the ability to adapt depending on what was actually happening in a game it's the thing that separates club managers from international ones. I'm not saying one is harder than the other but they require  different skills.

Don't think I'm the only person who cursed when we equalised against Croatia, we pretty much knew the ball was burst then.

 

 

[Tartan blood]

1 hour ago, ceudmilefailte said:

The Israel game gave us hope that he had the ability to adapt depending on what was actually happening in a game it's the thing that separates club managers from international ones. I'm not saying one is harder than the other but they require  different skills.

Don't think I'm the only person who cursed when we equalised against Croatia, we pretty much knew the ball was burst then.

 

 

International managing is significantly harder. Club football is far more forgiving. 2 draws and a win in the league is promising, and can be tinkered with immediately. Internationally, that's more than a quarter of your "season" gone. Then you have months before you can try and change things up. By that point your squad could be flipped upside down with injuries and fluctuations in form. Not to mention you can literally purchase better players if your current crop aren't performing. 

I'm not defending Clarke's tactics, but one bad decision in an international game can be fatal. 

And, yes, you're right. Had McGregor not scored before half time, who knows what would have happened. The history of Scotland is riddled with "what ifs".