Scottish players in action 21/22

[adamntg]

7 hours ago, mccaughey85 said:

Let's recall Olly burke and have two ollys up front for the euros.

And get Nigel Quashie back in midfield.  

[thesaint]

2 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

The Scotland stats are exactly why Dykes will remain in front of him in the pecking order. 

Clarke rewards consistent form at club level, but he doesn't make big changes based on purple patches. See Turnbull, Ralston, Souttar. They all got call ups eventually, but they had to bide their time and show it wasn't temporary.

McBurnie is probably 4th in the queue right now, I'd imagine, so it'll take an injury for him to get into the final 23. 

Don't mind Dykes but he has had a horrible season at QPR which must affect his confidence. 

[vanderark14]

2 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

The Scotland stats are exactly why Dykes will remain in front of him in the pecking order. 

Clarke rewards consistent form at club level, but he doesn't make big changes based on purple patches. See Turnbull, Ralston, Souttar. They all got call ups eventually, but they had to bide their time and show it wasn't temporary.

McBurnie is probably 4th in the queue right now, I'd imagine, so it'll take an injury for him to get into the final 23. 

a sensible post, i agree with you

 I don't think there's any genuine hatred for mcburnie in our support. He's hit a purple patch and there is an argument for him, I'm just not sure the argument is strong enough yet.

If the squad sizes do increase. I'd say his chances go up a lot

[Third Lanark]

2 hours ago, adamntg said:

And get Nigel Quashie back in midfield.  

Now you're just being silly. Burke never did anything in the EPL: McBurnie now has 6 goals.

[ThistleWhistle]

There's an element of damned if he does damned if he doesn't but there shouldn't be room for sentiment in this.  If Dykes is having a season where bovine buttocks are confidently twerking mockingly at him in-front of string instrument emporiums as their owners are confident their arses will remain unspanked then he should fall down the pecking order.  

For me it should be McBurnie, Adams and then one of Shankland or Dykes.  

[Scotty2Hotty]

3 hours ago, Caledonian Craig said:

I agree. Any manager (not just Steve Clarke) would need to be immensely brave to make such a decision and it would be a huge leap in faith for a player who has just not done the business for us in the past. 

Don't agree at all, you pick the best players available that get you a result. There's a big argument there now that McBurnie is or will be a better option to play and this is the time to try it out (hence the reason Shankland played against the Dutch).

[Scotty2Hotty]

1 hour ago, vanderark14 said:

a sensible post, i agree with you

 I don't think there's any genuine hatred for mcburnie in our support. He's hit a purple patch and there is an argument for him, I'm just not sure the argument is strong enough yet.

If the squad sizes do increase. I'd say his chances go up a lot

His argument is as good as anyone elses at the moment, no point in being "loyal" to the same strikers who are no longer doing the business especially with a big tournament coming up, this is where Clarke should be more ruthless IMO especially with friendlies coming up

[ceudmilefailte]

4 hours ago, Caledonian Craig said:

I agree. Any manager (not just Steve Clarke) would need to be immensely brave to make such a decision and it would be a huge leap in faith for a player who has just not done the business for us in the past. 

If he ccntinues to perform and stay fit Clarke will pick him. 
Am I the only one who has noticed that we are seven games without a win. 
 

Out of  curiosity when does not doing the business in the past equate to not doing the business in the present. 

[Tartan blood]

2 hours ago, vanderark14 said:

a sensible post, i agree with you

 I don't think there's any genuine hatred for mcburnie in our support. He's hit a purple patch and there is an argument for him, I'm just not sure the argument is strong enough yet.

If the squad sizes do increase. I'd say his chances go up a lot

I'm not against McBurnie being chosen, and, although he hasn't scored for us, he did have a handful of decent performances. 

However, as you say, his form isn't quite strong enough to justify inclusion. If I'm not mistaken, 2 of his 6 goals have been penalties. 4 open play goals is not a compelling argument.

If the squads do increase, I'd rather have the likes of Fraser, Souttar and Ralston being included rather than another non-scoring striker. 

I also wouldn't be against doing what Clarke did last time and take along future stars for the experience. E.g Max Johnstone, Doig, Doak (if fit again).

Edited April 8 by Tartan blood

[BryanBlessed]

If McBurnie had a chance, he would have been called up for the friendlies unless he was injured like Ryan Fraser. I think he was fit, though.

I don't want to take Dykes because of credit in the bank. I want to take our best players and I'm sure Dykes understands how it works. For whatever reason, he's been poor for a while and he's only there by default in my opinion.

[thesaint]

My fear is we might have a few players who will go and to be honest won't have much to offer. Every place in the squad should be precious. Having too many players not at their best is not something we can afford. To be honest it is almost certain Clarke will stick with his usual selections. The only surprise would be if there were any surprises. 🤔

[bdgsct]

I think we have got the best out of dykes and he may still have a bit more to offer but not long term. Mcburnie is out of contract and like it or not will get paid £30-40k next season by a lower EPL or upper championship side. If dykes was out of contract he'd get £10-£15k if he was lucky in the championship. Selection is about far more than the quality of the players but those valuations are the best reflection of quality.

[ceudmilefailte]

3 hours ago, BryanBlessed said:

If McBurnie had a chance, he would have been called up for the friendlies unless he was injured like Ryan Fraser. I think he was fit, though.

I don't want to take Dykes because of credit in the bank. I want to take our best players and I'm sure Dykes understands how it works. For whatever reason, he's been poor for a while and he's only there by default in my opinion.

Hardly played in January February and march due to injury’s or being rushed back too soon so there was no way Clarke was going to pick him. 

Only me and The Saint would have called him up. 

[Big Ramy 1314]

13 minutes ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Hardly played in January February and march due to injury’s or being rushed back too soon so there was no way Clarke was going to pick him. 

Only me and The Saint would have called him up. 

If your scoring, you play. End of. Dykes is mince. I would have McBurnie ahead of him and Adams. Man up, it's not about hurting players feelings, they are grown men FFS. Pick the best 11 to represent Scotland at a major tournament... McBurnie is scoring in a high level league, enough said... I'd play Doak if he is fit !!! If your good enough, your old enough for that jersey.....🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[thesaint]

1 hour ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Hardly played in January February and march due to injury’s or being rushed back too soon so there was no way Clarke was going to pick him. 

Only me and The Saint would have called him up. 

Three of us now...Big Ramy is with us.Maybe not quantity but definately QUALITY.😄😄😄

[mccaughey85]

7 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

I'm not against McBurnie being chosen, and, although he hasn't scored for us, he did have a handful of decent performances. 

However, as you say, his form isn't quite strong enough to justify inclusion. If I'm not mistaken, 2 of his 6 goals have been penalties. 4 open play goals is not a compelling argument.

If the squads do increase, I'd rather have the likes of Fraser, Souttar and Ralston being included rather than another non-scoring striker. 

I also wouldn't be against doing what Clarke did last time and take along future stars for the experience. E.g Max Johnstone, Doig, Doak (if fit again).

Handful of decent performances?

I think I remember 1 game where he played ok. The rest he was absolutely honking. Couldn't control or pass a ball. 

There's a reason Clarke doesn't pick our only epl scoring striker. Normally we are crying out for epl strikers but mcburnie doesn't get picked. There's a reason for that.

[mccaughey85]

1 hour ago, Big Ramy 1314 said:

If your scoring, you play. End of. Dykes is mince. I would have McBurnie ahead of him and Adams. Man up, it's not about hurting players feelings, they are grown men FFS. Pick the best 11 to represent Scotland at a major tournament... McBurnie is scoring in a high level league, enough said... I'd play Doak if he is fit !!! If your good enough, your old enough for that jersey.....🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Ooft dykes is taking a slagging on here. 

Surprising consider what he did against Norway away and all the other important goals and assists he's scored.

He's been poor for his club but the guys been pretty good for us overall considering he's a average championship striker.

[thesaint]

40 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

Handful of decent performances?

I think I remember 1 game where he played ok. The rest he was absolutely honking. Couldn't control or pass a ball. 

There's a reason Clarke doesn't pick our only epl scoring striker. Normally we are crying out for epl strikers but mcburnie doesn't get picked. There's a reason for that.

Certainly controlling and passing the ball now though.Just ask the Sheffield.Utd supporters.If he can keep this standard up to the end of the season there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be considered.Especially if Dykes keeps his current form at QPR going.As i said i don't mind Dykes but his form is worrying.That can't be denied.

[immcinto]

55 minutes ago, mccaughey85 said:

Ooft dykes is taking a slagging on here. 

Surprising consider what he did against Norway away and all the other important goals and assists he's scored.

He's been poor for his club but the guys been pretty good for us overall considering he's a average championship striker.

He has been valuable for us but we need to pick people that will contribute this summer, this isn't the Oscars where you get awards for historical effort. If he starts playing well for QPR then he should still be considered. I am not holding my breath

[mccaughey85]

1 hour ago, immcinto said:

He has been valuable for us but we need to pick people that will contribute this summer, this isn't the Oscars where you get awards for historical effort. If he starts playing well for QPR then he should still be considered. I am not holding my breath

His club form has always been hit or miss. End of the day he is a average championship striker who wouldn't get picked normally but has done pretty well for clarke in the chances he got.

He's definitely not a guaranteed starter but he's certainly earned his place in our squad regardless of club form.

I agree though that he needs to show a bit more in a Scotland shirt as recently he hasn't done much.

I would give either shankland or Adams the starting position for the euro matches especially if they do well in the two upcoming friendlies.

[Caledonian Craig]

17 hours ago, ceudmilefailte said:

If he ccntinues to perform and stay fit Clarke will pick him. 
Am I the only one who has noticed that we are seven games without a win. 
 

Out of  curiosity when does not doing the business in the past equate to not doing the business in the present. 

Doing the business is key here though. Some players have proven they can do it at international level (Dykes) and some players have not (McBurnie). Now lets play devil's advocate here and say McBurnie gets selected above Dykes and we bomb out in the First Round then Clarke would get utterly slaughtered by the fans fot r it and slaughtered a bit more too for selecting McBurnie over Dykes. Fans would be apopleptic that a player with 9 goals for us was axed for a player with zero goals for us.

Perhaps ideal scenario for Clarke would be if UEFA reverse their earlier decision and allow 26-man squads which would allow him to select McBurnie and Dykes. However, even with that scenario I still doubt McBurnie would make it right now but if he chips in with another 3 or 4 goals in the remainder of the season he may force Clarke's hand.

 

[ProudScot]

Dykes will never get moved aside for McBurnie, this is Clarke we are talking about.

McBurnie has also proven many times he can’t score at international level and is a very poor all round footballer when he plays - he seemed to not even be able to trap a ball or play simple passes etc when in a Scotland shirt.

The squad sizes are likely to go up to 26 now but we will always only ever play 1 uptop so he will still only pick 3 strikers in the squad, he’s just had a 26 man squad and there were only 3. The 3 will be Shankland, Adams & Dykes. 

[vanderark14]

28 minutes ago, ProudScot said:

Dykes will never get moved aside for McBurnie, this is Clarke we are talking about.

McBurnie has also proven many times he can’t score at international level and is a very poor all round footballer when he plays - he seemed to not even be able to trap a ball or play simple passes etc when in a Scotland shirt.

The squad sizes are likely to go up to 26 now but we will always only ever play 1 uptop so he will still only pick 3 strikers in the squad, he’s just had a 26 man squad and there were only 3. The 3 will be Shankland, Adams & Dykes. 

Clarke is showing signs that shankland will be the number one forward for the Euros. He's also dropped dykes for Adams when Adams came along 

He's dropped players for others before so let's not make stuff up. It's not like He's stayed with the same lineup since he took over. 

[Caledonian Craig]

41 minutes ago, vanderark14 said:

Clarke is showing signs that shankland will be the number one forward for the Euros. He's also dropped dykes for Adams when Adams came along 

He's dropped players for others before so let's not make stuff up. It's not like He's stayed with the same lineup since he took over. 

Agreed.

He picked totally inexperienced Billy Gilmour for the crunch match V England at the last Euros. Plenty of fans on here did not rate Ryan Porteous but he bucked that trend and gave him the chance and has been proven right so far. He brought in Angus Gunn and lots more and dispensed with the likes of Stephen O'Donnell, Declan Gallacher, John Fleck and plenty more. Players that have been dispensed with and replaced by an upgrade that much is clear. Nobody hear can prove McBurnie is an upgrade going on all the evidence before us so far.

Edited April 9 by Caledonian Craig

[vanderark14]

48 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Agreed.

He picked totally inexperienced Billy Gilmour for the crunch match V England at the last Euros. Plenty of fans on here did not rate Ryan Porteous but he bucked that trend and gave him the chance and has been proven right so far. He brought in Angus Gunn and lots more and dispensed with the likes of Stephen O'Donnell, Declan Gallacher, John Fleck and plenty more. Players that have been dispensed with and replaced by an upgrade that much is clear. Nobody hear can prove McBurnie is an upgrade going on all the evidence before us so far.

Mcburnie is going through a purple patch, everytime this happens to a player we end up with posters on here calling for them to be called up. 

I like clarkes approach, he's happy to make changes but they aren't knee jerk changes, this helps the squad and the team mentality IMO.

I have already said mcburnie is making a case or himself although I believe its not a very solid case.....yet. I don't believe he will get to the Euros and I'm fine with that. I could see him getting the call if he continues this form and carries on scoring at the start of next season.