Scottish players in action 21/22

[er yir macaroon]

5 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

He still growing at 24/25? Didn't think that was possible.

Not sure an extra couple of inches is going to make him alot better. 

Either way I agree he needs first team football.

I think he must have grown till about 22 or so. We’ve not seen much of him since. He’s filled out a lot and looks like he could really command his box. Allan McGregor was second choice at 25. I think McCrorie could have a great career provided he gets first team football soon. 

[syecosse]

Lewis Ferguson was captain again as he led his team to a 2-0 win over Roma, another who's form is excellent at the moment. 

[thesaint]

13 hours ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Great watch.

Superb stuff.Now that's the Billy Gilmour we want to see more of.He only needs to be playing regular premier league games and  his confidence will bloom.He has so much techical ability.

[er yir macaroon]

11 hours ago, thesaint said:

Superb stuff.Now that's the Billy Gilmour we want to see more of.He only needs to be playing regular premier league games and  his confidence will bloom.He has so much techical ability.

He very much is playing regular EPL games. He’s looking physically stronger than last season, too. 

[Third Lanark]

14 hours ago, syecosse said:

Lewis Ferguson was captain again as he led his team to a 2-0 win over Roma, another who's form is excellent at the moment. 

We need to find a way to get him into the team at the start as he is a potential scorer. With Christie possibly playing deeper (maybe in lieu of McGregor) then perhaps he could play in a 3 behind the number 9 - McTom, Ferguson and McGinn. Might go some way to alleviating our fears about the CF not scoring too much. Problem is - we'd need to play a back four for it to work.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Third Lanark

[ProudScot]

1 hour ago, Third Lanark said:

We need to find a way to get him into the team at the start as he is a potential scorer. With Christie possibly playing deeper (maybe in lieu of McGregor) then perhaps he could play in a 3 behind the number 9 - McTom, Ferguson and McGinn. Might go some way to alleviating our fears about the CF not scoring too much. Problem is - we'd need to play a back four for it to work.

McGregor has been class for us but you’d think Ferguson is going to take his place eventually 

[mccaughey85]

12 minutes ago, ProudScot said:

McGregor has been class for us but you’d think Ferguson is going to take his place eventually 

Ferguson plays further forward. Not sure who will replace McGregor when he goes unless we play mctominay there.

Hackney looked like an ideal replacement but hes switched to England.

[thesaint]

28 minutes ago, ProudScot said:

McGregor has been class for us but you’d think Ferguson is going to take his place eventually 

Wouldn't be averse to Ferguson starting but not replacing McGregor. McGregor is a vital part of our team. It's a good problem having so many quality midfielders though. Wish we had the same problem up front. 

[bdgsct]

2 hours ago, thesaint said:

Wouldn't be averse to Ferguson starting but not replacing McGregor. McGregor is a vital part of our team. It's a good problem having so many quality midfielders though. Wish we had the same problem up front. 

I wouldn't be averse to trying Ferguson up front in one of the friendlies. Dykes has done a great job and helps create space and opportunities for the like of McGinn and McT but that aspect might be worth sacrificing in order to bring in a better quality player who would no doubt link play better and still have a goal threat. You can't ignore what dykes has done in a Scotland shirt and their respective ages but you are talking about someone worth approx £3m versus someone worth £15-£20m.

[stocky]

On 12/6/2023 at 8:12 PM, mccaughey85 said:

 

Lewis Ferguson getting great praise in this article....

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/dec/18/bologna-roma-thiago-motta-jose-mourinho-serie-a

 

 

Sorry @mccaughey85 I can't get rid of the quote box .

[broraboy]

2 hours ago, stocky said:

Lewis Ferguson getting great praise in this article....

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/dec/18/bologna-roma-thiago-motta-jose-mourinho-serie-a

 

 

Sorry @mccaughey85 I can't get rid of the quote box .

Good article, continuing to improve and almost certain to make the Euro Squad 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 

Not that long ago, Scotland would have built there Midfield around L.Ferguson. Just shows the strength we have in Midfield nowadays!!  
Barring any injuries you’d imagine the Midfield will consist of - 

J.McGinn S.McTominay B.Gilmour C.McGregor S.Armstrong K.Maclean L.Ferguson R.Christie 
 

 

[Scots_Wha_Hae]

19 hours ago, bdgsct said:

I wouldn't be averse to trying Ferguson up front in one of the friendlies. Dykes has done a great job and helps create space and opportunities for the like of McGinn and McT but that aspect might be worth sacrificing in order to bring in a better quality player who would no doubt link play better and still have a goal threat. You can't ignore what dykes has done in a Scotland shirt and their respective ages but you are talking about someone worth approx £3m versus someone worth £15-£20m.

As far as I am aware Ferguson has never played up front. He plays quite far forward in a central position for Bologna. I could see him working well in a variation of the position Christie/Armstrong take (they tend to play as somewhere between an attacking mid/winger/second striker).

Something like this:

            McGregor   McTominay

McGinn                                  Ferguson

                  Dykes/Adams

That's basically how we lined up in the (home) Spain game except with Christie in the Ferguson role.

Ferguson would play the position quite differently but I think he would be really effective linking up with Tierney and Robertson down that side, offering a better ball retention and passing option than Christie/Armstrong who for me are both good at ball progression which is well covered down that wing.

Ferguson and McGinn cutting inside from wider central midfield positions, McTominay bursting past them through the middle and Hickey/Patterson and Tierney/Robertson providing width and ball progression on the wings - yes please!

Of course the big issue with this is you are leaving our Gilmour who is absolutely bossing it right now and also Christie who is on a great run of form in a deeper playmaking role. Someone very good will miss out regardless of who you pick.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Scots_Wha_Hae
spelling

[Scot1]

Ferguson’s most obvious role is that which McTominay fills at the moment. So it’s good that we have a natural replacement/cover/competitionfor McTominay. 
Id say that Ferguson is probably the most well-rounded midfielder that we have (perhaps Christie) in that he could potentially play a number of roles in midfield. I believe the article above also mentions this. I still think we need to find a more balanced midfield before we go to Germany. So I’d like to see Ferguson played deeper alongside 1 of McGregor, Gilmour or Christie. I’d also like to see Hickey tried in there. McTom Ferguson McGregor

or 

McTom. Hickey McGregor

or

McTom Ferguson Gilmour

McTom Hickey Gilmour

And Christie could also be tried out in the McGregor/Gilmour role 

[Diamond Scot]

Imo Gilmour starts alongside McGreggor with McTom and McGinn behind a striker in the games against similar or worse opposition.

For games against the top tier sides then Gilmour likely drops out, McTom moves deeper and either Christie or Armstrong come into the attacking mid role. This is because both Christie and Armstrong provide really good energy, pressing and defensive cover. 

From Fergusons showing so far he isnt as much of a threat as McTom and he doesnt work as hard as Christie / Armstrong so its hard to see how he gets in until that changes.

On a plus side, as others have mentioned, to have somebody playing well in Italy as a sub (often unused) shows how far we have come.

[Scot1]

24 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said:

Imo Gilmour starts alongside McGreggor with McTom and McGinn behind a striker in the games against similar or worse opposition.

For games against the top tier sides then Gilmour likely drops out, McTom moves deeper and either Christie or Armstrong come into the attacking mid role. This is because both Christie and Armstrong provide really good energy, pressing and defensive cover. 

From Fergusons showing so far he isnt as much of a threat as McTom and he doesnt work as hard as Christie / Armstrong so its hard to see how he gets in until that changes.

On a plus side, as others have mentioned, to have somebody playing well in Italy as a sub (often unused) shows how far we have come.

Germany, Hungary and Switzerland are all ranked above us. Are you going to have McTominay play in a deep midfield role the whole tournament? A role which he’s been played in for years at club level and where his performances have been inconsistent.

[ceudmilefailte]

1 hour ago, Diamond Scot said:

Imo Gilmour starts alongside McGreggor with McTom and McGinn behind a striker in the games against similar or worse opposition.

For games against the top tier sides then Gilmour likely drops out, McTom moves deeper and either Christie or Armstrong come into the attacking mid role. This is because both Christie and Armstrong provide really good energy, pressing and defensive cover. 

From Fergusons showing so far he isnt as much of a threat as McTom and he doesnt work as hard as Christie / Armstrong so its hard to see how he gets in until that changes.

On a plus side, as others have mentioned, to have somebody playing well in Italy as a sub (often unused) shows how far we have come.

Who do we have in Italy playing as a substitute? Don’t think Ferguson has missed a game yet this season.

[Scots_Wha_Hae]

1 hour ago, Diamond Scot said:

From Fergusons showing so far he isnt as much of a threat as McTom and he doesnt work as hard as Christie / Armstrong so its hard to see how he gets in until that changes.

Don't agree with this at all.

McTominay has 25 career club goals in 258 apps, Ferguson has 47 in 235. A lot of Ferguson's came at a lower level so to make it a fairer comparison McTominay has 6 in 38 (a goal each 6.3 games) over the last two seasons of EPL football, Ferguson has 10 in 48 (a goal each 4.8 games) over the last two seasons of Serie A football. Ferguson is a goal-scoring threat in Serie A just as much as McTominay in the EPL. We cannot compare at international level as Ferguson has played only around 100 competitive minutes across 6 games whereas McTominay has over 3000 minutes across almost 40 competitive games where he has scored 8 goals.

In terms of work-rate, Bologna are the second farthest running team in Serie A and Ferguson has played all but 3 minutes of their campaign this year. 

[todd]

1 hour ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Who do we have in Italy playing as a substitute? Don’t think Ferguson has missed a game yet this season.

I think he means a sub for Scotland 

[Diamond Scot]

3 hours ago, Scot1 said:

Germany, Hungary and Switzerland are all ranked above us. Are you going to have McTominay play in a deep midfield role the whole tournament? A role which he’s been played in for years at club level and where his performances have been inconsistent.

Top tier side, the only one in our group is Germany. Swiss and Hungary are sides similar to us so to answer your question I wouldnt be surprised to see McTom start deeper against Germany and Gilmour the other two games.

McTom has been inconsistent / poor as a holding mid for Man Utd. Now he gets played as a number 8 (box to box) and he is in the form of his career.

For Scotland he is more like a box to box number 8 when starting deeper and almost a number 10 alongside McGinn when playing further forward. Although its not quite a number 10 as they have alot more defensive duties.

[Diamond Scot]

2 hours ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Who do we have in Italy playing as a substitute? Don’t think Ferguson has missed a game yet this season.

 

1 hour ago, todd said:

I think he means a sub for Scotland 

Correct, an unused sub for Scotland. Hence the strength in depth point. Having a stand out player in Italy finding it hard to not only break into our starting 11 but also getting any gametime shows how strong we are in that position.

[Diamond Scot]

2 hours ago, Scots_Wha_Hae said:

Don't agree with this at all.

McTominay has 25 career club goals in 258 apps, Ferguson has 47 in 235. A lot of Ferguson's came at a lower level so to make it a fairer comparison McTominay has 6 in 38 (a goal each 6.3 games) over the last two seasons of EPL football, Ferguson has 10 in 48 (a goal each 4.8 games) over the last two seasons of Serie A football. Ferguson is a goal-scoring threat in Serie A just as much as McTominay in the EPL. We cannot compare at international level as Ferguson has played only around 100 competitive minutes across 6 games whereas McTominay has over 3000 minutes across almost 40 competitive games where he has scored 8 goals.

In terms of work-rate, Bologna are the second farthest running team in Serie A and Ferguson has played all but 3 minutes of their campaign this year. 

Talking about international football. It may be a one off but McTom was our biggest goalscoring threat in the last campaign.

Ferguson does look like a threat in a Bolonga shirt and he may very well work very hard for them however in a Scotland shirt he hasnt shown he is a goal threat or offer as much workrate as Christie amd Armstrong. Those are the barriers he needs to overcome to play for us. I do agree regarding gametime though, he should have got more and hopefully when he does he can show that he is a better option.

[ceudmilefailte]

1 hour ago, todd said:

I think he means a sub for Scotland 

Of course, my bad.

[Scot1]

1 hour ago, Diamond Scot said:

Top tier side, the only one in our group is Germany. Swiss and Hungary are sides similar to us so to answer your question I wouldnt be surprised to see McTom start deeper against Germany and Gilmour the other two games.

McTom has been inconsistent / poor as a holding mid for Man Utd. Now he gets played as a number 8 (box to box) and he is in the form of his career.

For Scotland he is more like a box to box number 8 when starting deeper and almost a number 10 alongside McGinn when playing further forward. Although its not quite a number 10 as they have alot more defensive duties.

Not for me, in my opinion the wrong set up in midfield. I’d bet we will lose the midfield battle and end up with nearly everyone dropping deep to compensate. We will end up resorting to long balls and trying to hit on the break / counter. I’d rather go to Germany and have a go, take the game to Hungary, Switzerland and even Germany. Don’t be shocked if the games resemble those against Croatia and Czech Republic in the last Euros. 

[Diamond Scot]

57 minutes ago, Scot1 said:

Not for me, in my opinion the wrong set up in midfield. I’d bet we will lose the midfield battle and end up with nearly everyone dropping deep to compensate. We will end up resorting to long balls and trying to hit on the break / counter. I’d rather go to Germany and have a go, take the game to Hungary, Switzerland and even Germany. Don’t be shocked if the games resemble those against Croatia and Czech Republic in the last Euros. 

Its always a balance though isnt it. To have a go you first need to get the ball and in certain games Gilmour clearly hasnt been fancied or done the job that Clarke wants.

Personally I think our strongest 4 is McGreggor, Gilmour, McTom and McGinn and thats what id go with however I can see Clarke being abit more pragmatic in certain games like the Germany one.

[theabsentee]

Patterson was poor defensively the first half against Fulham tonight though a lot better the 2nd including a excellent block which denied Fulham a late winner.  To no avail though as Fulham won the shoot out .

  He still has a lot to learn, hope he gets the first team time to improve.