Caledonian Craig Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 9 minutes ago, ProudScot said: Looks like Hickey will be in the full squad, excellent 👍🏾 How do you work that one out? If Clarke was going to include him he would have told Gemmill not to select him. Evidently, this did not happen and Gemmill wanted to include him in the U-21 squad but Hickey declined again citing fatigue last time and another unacceptable excuse this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Ramy 1314 Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 1 hour ago, wee-toon-red said: Or Hickey (rightly) thinks he's too good to be pissing about in the U21s when the options ahead of him in the full squad are Ralston, SOD and a guy who has hardly played first team football in his career. I would Ralston any day of the week, not because I support Celtic, it's because of his attitude. The boy would bleed for Scotland, jury still out on Hickey. Ralston gives everything he has, and he is very good going forward. He may no be a Tierney, or a Robertson, but that lad will give everything for the famous dark blue.. 🏴🏴🏴 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 2 hours ago, mcguffin said: If Hickey remains fit, and if he gets called up for the friendly, surely he would seize the chance? What are you basing that on? He’s never bothered his erse with any sort of internationals apart from a couple of u17 matches. He might think differently when it comes to the senior squad but I wouldn’t bet on it. Especially when it comes to friendlies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcguffin Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 1 minute ago, Texas Pete said: What are you basing that on? He’s never bothered his erse with any sort of internationals apart from a couple of u17 matches. He might think differently when it comes to the senior squad but I wouldn’t bet on it. Especially when it comes to friendlies. Yes, I see your point. I just find it difficult to believe that any professional footballer would miss an opportunity to play for their country's National Team? (Unless they were injured, or had family issues of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccaughey85 Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Clarke needs to make it clear that these friendlies will be important in deciding the play offs team/squad. That should hopefully make sure that theres very few call offs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVIDB46 Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 So is it confirmed Poland and the loser of wales Austria both at home then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 57 minutes ago, mcguffin said: Yes, I see your point. I just find it difficult to believe that any professional footballer would miss an opportunity to play for their country's National Team? (Unless they were injured, or had family issues of course). I agree but not everyone cares about their national team and, sadly, this includes some professional footballers. I’m sure Hickey would love to play at the World Cup so he’d likely have jumped at the chance of joining the squad this month if our game with Ukraine was going ahead but would he be happy to turn up for a friendly? I also doubt Clarke will be impressed with his attitude towards the U21s so would he even be selected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian Craig Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Texas Pete said: I also doubt Clarke will be impressed with his attitude towards the U21s so would he even be selected? And neither should any Scotland fan. A desire to play for your country is necessary and Hickey has shown far from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Pete Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 2 hours ago, DAVIDB46 said: So is it confirmed Poland and the loser of wales Austria both at home then I don’t think anything has been officially confirmed yet but it’s looking like Poland at Hampden on the 24th and the loser of Wales v Austria away on the 29th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 6 hours ago, wee-toon-red said: Or Hickey (rightly) thinks he's too good to be pissing about in the U21s when the options ahead of him in the full squad are Ralston, SOD and a guy who has hardly played first team football in his career. Better players than Hickey have turned up time and time again for Scotland u21s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceudmilefailte Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Squirrelhumper said: Better players than Hickey have turned up time and time again for Scotland u21s. Not sure about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 8 hours ago, ceudmilefailte said: Not sure about that. I am. Plenty of players at bigger clubs that Bologna have turned out for our U21s. Certainly cant remember a player refusing to play for the 21s 3 or 4 times. Especially not one that has 2 players light years ahead of him in his position. He seems to be becoming a better player in some folks eyes the more he pulls out u21 squads when in reality he wouldn't be playing for the full team even if he made the squad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian Craig Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 And pulling out of multiple U-21 squads for Scotland is not something any Scotland fan should be comfortable or happy with. He needs to improve his attitude before he represents us - if he even wants to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond Scot Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Hickey is making a calculated decision based on his career. Ben Foster does a very good postcast where he had a chief of medical on who basically said that at any given time the vast majority of players arent fully fit. Having a break during international week helps players regain fitness, thats why so many players in early 30s give it up. Hickey is 19. He isnt a particuarly developed 19 year old physically and is playing week in week out in one of the best leagues in the world. He missed out on alot of football last year due to injury. If he feels that his long term goals are better served from resting during these periods rather than play U21 football then so be it. The important thing is the full team. He will know that it would be easier to just attend and play but I reckon he is banking on being a top top player in a couple of years time. If he earns a move to AC Milan or the likes then theres no way any Scottish manager isnt picking him because he didnt play a few u21 games. Its hard for us fans because we would give anything to play for Scotland but players have more things to consider. If you look at his season so far, he has made the right choice to not attend U21s as its allowed him to be a regular at club level, something he might not physically have been able to do if he had played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian Craig Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 4 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said: Hickey is making a calculated decision based on his career. Ben Foster does a very good postcast where he had a chief of medical on who basically said that at any given time the vast majority of players arent fully fit. Having a break during international week helps players regain fitness, thats why so many players in early 30s give it up. Hickey is 19. He isnt a particuarly developed 19 year old physically and is playing week in week out in one of the best leagues in the world. He missed out on alot of football last year due to injury. If he feels that his long term goals are better served from resting during these periods rather than play U21 football then so be it. The important thing is the full team. He will know that it would be easier to just attend and play but I reckon he is banking on being a top top player in a couple of years time. If he earns a move to AC Milan or the likes then theres no way any Scottish manager isnt picking him because he didnt play a few u21 games. Its hard for us fans because we would give anything to play for Scotland but players have more things to consider. If you look at his season so far, he has made the right choice to not attend U21s as its allowed him to be a regular at club level, something he might not physically have been able to do if he had played. Hmmm no I am sorry I am not buying that. Two names spring immediately to mind who are around the same age and not at their physical peak yet - Billy Gilmour and Nathan Patterson. Two players who jumped at the chance of international football at all levels. Hickey is the absolute opposite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond Scot Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 42 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said: Hmmm no I am sorry I am not buying that. Two names spring immediately to mind who are around the same age and not at their physical peak yet - Billy Gilmour and Nathan Patterson. Two players who jumped at the chance of international football at all levels. Hickey is the absolute opposite. Neither Gilmour or Patterson were playing week in week out though so the comparison doesnt work. They would have been keen for game time. Would you rather Hickey played 2 games for the U21s and then lost his club place or miss out the U21s and keep his place? Im not saying I entirely agree with his position. Obviously as a fan id love him to play nomatter what however I can understand his thinking. As others have said, we already have 2 world class left backs. So how is playing for the U21s going to get him ahead of them? Concentrating on club football for a short period of time, earning a move to a top club gives him a much better chance than a couple of standout U21 performances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian Craig Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 2 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said: Neither Gilmour or Patterson were playing week in week out though so the comparison doesnt work. They would have been keen for game time. Would you rather Hickey played 2 games for the U21s and then lost his club place or miss out the U21s and keep his place? Im not saying I entirely agree with his position. Obviously as a fan id love him to play nomatter what however I can understand his thinking. As others have said, we already have 2 world class left backs. So how is playing for the U21s going to get him ahead of them? Concentrating on club football for a short period of time, earning a move to a top club gives him a much better chance than a couple of standout U21 performances. No the comparison works even more. You say Hickey is worrying he has not physically developed yet is a first team regular whereas Gilmour and Patterson were not yet were still very much up for having a crack at international football. Also look at other youngsters who were internationals and first team regulars at the same time in the past such as Michael Owen and plenty more. There is no excuse for him turning his back on an U-21 call-up. His call though and his loss I say. If I were Clarke I'd hang him out to dry as in let him plead for a chance before selecting him because at the moment he is zero committed to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz7 Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I agree with majority that hickey is maybe starting to believe his own hype as are a few on here. Yes he is the highest minutes teenager in a top league but he is also miles behind tierney and robertson. If he cant be arsed he cant be arsed but that is quite typical of a lot of players who think they are better than what they are by turning up for internationals when they feel like it. The real top players always show up non stop and that is one of the reasons they are top players. Ronaldo,messi, mbappe, lewandowski even here bale,ramsay,robertson . I have said on another thread why oh why is livramento not called up? He is from what I have seen miles in front of hickey and he is scottish. Quite simple but it doesnt get talked about enough as he was born in England. He can play for us and he even namechecked us and I am sure all would agree he is best available in that position just now easily. Him and Ralston for RWB slot for me as hickey and ramsay are just mibbys and patterson has not played enough and odonnell has been poor for motherwell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggycoo Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 1 hour ago, Diamond Scot said: As others have said, we already have 2 world class left backs. So how is playing for the U21s going to get him ahead of them? Concentrating on club football for a short period of time, earning a move to a top club gives him a much better chance than a couple of standout U21 performances. What I would say though is if Robertson was unavailable, would Clarke move KT to sort this or would be prefer Hickey? Moving KT could have a greater impact on how we'd play if we then started someone like Cooper or McKenna rather than leaving KT as is and started someone like Hickey. That said I'd like to see Hickey turn out for U21s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian Craig Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 17 minutes ago, shaggycoo said: What I would say though is if Robertson was unavailable, would Clarke move KT to sort this or would be prefer Hickey? Moving KT could have a greater impact on how we'd play if we then started someone like Cooper or McKenna rather than leaving KT as is and started someone like Hickey. That said I'd like to see Hickey turn out for U21s. Well all the indicators suggest Hickey doesn't want to play for us so it is a moot point at the moment. We make do with the players at our disposal and person to blame for that is Hickey himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond Scot Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 2 hours ago, Caledonian Craig said: No the comparison works even more. You say Hickey is worrying he has not physically developed yet is a first team regular whereas Gilmour and Patterson were not yet were still very much up for having a crack at international football. Also look at other youngsters who were internationals and first team regulars at the same time in the past such as Michael Owen and plenty more. There is no excuse for him turning his back on an U-21 call-up. His call though and his loss I say. If I were Clarke I'd hang him out to dry as in let him plead for a chance before selecting him because at the moment he is zero committed to us. Im not saying he isnt physically able to play international football. He clearly is as he is already playing at a higher level than the U21s. What im saying is that if a chief of medical says the majority of players carry injuries throughout the season then its pretty safe to say that a still developing youngster playing every week in a tough league will be aswell. Both Gilmour and Patterson had about 2 months inbetween their clubs games when they played U21s so recovery time was not a live issue. What do you think Hickey has to gain from playing in these games? Is he going to learn anything. Likewise, what is Gemmil / Clarke going to learn about him? They already know that he is and will be a top player. Then look at what he could risk. Its not even the possibilty of picking up injury but also the fact his body wont get a rest from the toil of playing every week in Italy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caledonian Craig Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 18 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said: Im not saying he isnt physically able to play international football. He clearly is as he is already playing at a higher level than the U21s. What im saying is that if a chief of medical says the majority of players carry injuries throughout the season then its pretty safe to say that a still developing youngster playing every week in a tough league will be aswell. Both Gilmour and Patterson had about 2 months inbetween their clubs games when they played U21s so recovery time was not a live issue. What do you think Hickey has to gain from playing in these games? Is he going to learn anything. Likewise, what is Gemmil / Clarke going to learn about him? They already know that he is and will be a top player. Then look at what he could risk. Its not even the possibilty of picking up injury but also the fact his body wont get a rest from the toil of playing every week in Italy. No I am am not buying it. Michael Owen was playing league and international football at 17 - two years younger than Hickey. Other youngsters too such as Gareth Bale all were first team regulars and playing international football at his age. To me it sends out a rank rotten message that he isn't interested. Until I see him speaking in the press stating how much he wants to play for us I'll always suppose he is not interested until I see evidence to suggest otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond Scot Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 6 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said: No I am am not buying it. Michael Owen was playing league and international football at 17 - two years younger than Hickey. Other youngsters too such as Gareth Bale all were first team regulars and playing international football at his age. To me it sends out a rank rotten message that he isn't interested. Until I see him speaking in the press stating how much he wants to play for us I'll always suppose he is not interested until I see evidence to suggest otherwise. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9303439/amp/Aaron-Hickey-battled-Covid-19-joining-Bologba-star-loving-life-Italy.html Theres actually a few interviews where he says he wants to play for Scotland. Im not saying its not possible for some young players to play week in week out and play at International level. Every player is different. Also, im not sure how often Owen played for the U21s and he also suffered horrible muscle injuries quite young so maybe not the best example to suggest Hickey should be doing the same. Id like him to play but im not going to be overly critical if he doesnt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 4 hours ago, Diamond Scot said: Hickey is making a calculated decision based on his career. Ben Foster does a very good postcast where he had a chief of medical on who basically said that at any given time the vast majority of players arent fully fit. Having a break during international week helps players regain fitness, thats why so many players in early 30s give it up. Hickey is 19. He isnt a particuarly developed 19 year old physically and is playing week in week out in one of the best leagues in the world. He missed out on alot of football last year due to injury. If he feels that his long term goals are better served from resting during these periods rather than play U21 football then so be it. The important thing is the full team. He will know that it would be easier to just attend and play but I reckon he is banking on being a top top player in a couple of years time. If he earns a move to AC Milan or the likes then theres no way any Scottish manager isnt picking him because he didnt play a few u21 games. Its hard for us fans because we would give anything to play for Scotland but players have more things to consider. If you look at his season so far, he has made the right choice to not attend U21s as its allowed him to be a regular at club level, something he might not physically have been able to do if he had played. In that case he would turn down the full squad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9303439/amp/Aaron-Hickey-battled-Covid-19-joining-Bologba-star-loving-life-Italy.html Theres actually a few interviews where he says he wants to play for Scotland. Im not saying its not possible for some young players to play week in week out and play at International level. Every player is different. Also, im not sure how often Owen played for the U21s and he also suffered horrible muscle injuries quite young so maybe not the best example to suggest Hickey should be doing the same. Id like him to play but im not going to be overly critical if he doesnt. Ok then. James Milner, 60+ caps for England at youth level before he got his first full cap and 61 full caps after that. Still playing at the highest level at 36. Xavi, 58 caps at youth level then 133 full caps and over 500 first team games for Barca. Iniesta - 45 caps at youth level for Spain, 2 for Catalonia, 600 first team appearances (and counting) and 131 caps with Spain. Pique - 40 caps at youth level for Spain, 102 at full level, 450 top level appearances and still playing at 35 Jordan Henderson - 29 youth caps for England, 68 full caps (and counting) and over 400 first team appearances. Messi - 23 youth caps for Argentina, 158 full caps (and counting) and over 550 top flight appearances. You can pick an example to suit any argument. Some of the best players in the world there who never thought it was beneath them to play at youth level, nor did it hold them back. Edited March 10, 2022 by Squirrelhumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.