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Forwards for November


daviebee

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52 minutes ago, ProudScot said:

So has O’Donnell. And Patterson & Gilmour have barely played in months. 

It would be very Clarke-esque to start Nisbet on Friday. 

I started thinking he'll start Nisbet after reading his public backing of him to return to form the other day

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Clarke is all about team spirit and the group. It’s against the ethos a bit not to pick Nisbet when there are 3 players out for 2 spaces in the team. Nisbet will think he’s next in line (to partner Adams) and to select Brown in the starting line up risks the harmony of the group. That said, I’m almost certain Brown will come on in the Moldova game. 

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10 hours ago, breeks_mctavish said:

Clarke is all about team spirit and the group. It’s against the ethos a bit not to pick Nisbet when there are 3 players out for 2 spaces in the team. Nisbet will think he’s next in line (to partner Adams) and to select Brown in the starting line up risks the harmony of the group. That said, I’m almost certain Brown will come on in the Moldova game. 

I don’t think picking someone because they are next in line is something any manager would do, including Clarke. 

A big part of Clarke’s job is to assess the players in training prior to each game and to use what he sees (along with what he already knows) to pick the starting 11 for the match. If Brown does well in training and Nisbet is as pish as he has been for his club recently then Clarke is more likely to go with Brown. 

Would he even want to play Nisbet and Adams together? He might discover over the next couple of days that they don’t compliment each other very well. I don’t remember them playing together much. 10 minutes against the Faroes at Hampden maybe?

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Have a feeling that Brown will start in Moldova but haven’t really been reading any of the commentary over the course of the week. Hopefully he makes his mark if he gets his chance. 
 

If Nisbet gets his chance then he really could do with a goal. As others said -  not having a great season so far. 

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59 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

I don’t think picking someone because they are next in line is something any manager would do, including Clarke. 

A big part of Clarke’s job is to assess the players in training prior to each game and to use what he sees (along with what he already knows) to pick the starting 11 for the match. If Brown does well in training and Nisbet is as pish as he has been for his club recently then Clarke is more likely to go with Brown. 

Would he even want to play Nisbet and Adams together? He might discover over the next couple of days that they don’t compliment each other very well. I don’t remember them playing together much. 10 minutes against the Faroes at Hampden maybe?

I think it’s more pertinent in international football when some players often travel thousands of miles and many international breaks watching from the bench. When you do that and remain upbeat and enthusiastic, im sure you’re doing it in good faith you will be repaid that your chance will come. I’m quite sure international managers would use that as a ploy to keep fringe players motivated. Sure Clarke could say that Brown is a straight replacement for Dykes, but it could be a killer blow for Nisbet’s morale. 

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6 minutes ago, breeks_mctavish said:

I think it’s more pertinent in international football when some players often travel thousands of miles and many international breaks watching from the bench. When you do that and remain upbeat and enthusiastic, im sure you’re doing it in good faith you will be repaid that your chance will come. I’m quite sure international managers would use that as a ploy to keep fringe players motivated. Sure Clarke could say that Brown is a straight replacement for Dykes, but it could be a killer blow for Nisbet’s morale. 

Any manager that does that isn’t doing their job properly in my opinion. It must be demoralising for guys like McLaughlin, Nisbet, Cooper, McKenna McLean etc. to turn up to most squads and get very little game time but the have plenty of opportunity to impress Clarke when playing for their clubs and when training with Scotland.

I think Nisbet can consider himself very lucky to be in this squad given his current form so he shouldn’t start on Friday just because it’s his turn. 

If Clarke thinks he’s the best option then great but if he plays him ahead of Brown just because he wants to keep him happy then it could end up costing us a place in the playoffs. 

Not that I think Brown should start ahead of Nisbet. I just don’t think it should come down to who has been in the squad before. Clarke should be considering everything before picking his starting 11. 

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9 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

Any manager that does that isn’t doing their job properly in my opinion. It must be demoralising for guys like McLaughlin, Nisbet, Cooper, McKenna McLean etc. to turn up to most squads and get very little game time but the have plenty of opportunity to impress Clarke when playing for their clubs and when training with Scotland.

I think Nisbet can consider himself very lucky to be in this squad given his current form so he shouldn’t start on Friday just because it’s his turn. 

If Clarke thinks he’s the best option then great but if he plays him ahead of Brown just because he wants to keep him happy then it could end up costing us a place in the playoffs. 

Not that I think Brown should start ahead of Nisbet. I just don’t think it should come down to who has been in the squad before. Clarke should be considering everything before picking his starting 11. 

I hear you, your point is well made. I would only counter that it shouldn’t be automatically discounted from the manager’s thoughts. Getting the best out of a group isn’t always picking the best / in form players of the day. It’s also managing the dynamic and giving players the feeling you’ve got their back. For too long, Scotland managers have selected huge numbers of players from the current flavour of the month. We end up with not enough international experience from a core group of players. That doesn’t mean that players don’t drop out or come into the squad, of course. It’s not a closed shop. It’s also not a case of it being Nisbet’s turn. Clarke has shown enough faith in him to select him for 12+ months. If he wasn’t/isn’t good enough he shouldn’t be in the squad.

I actually don’t have a strong preference for Nisbet, by the way. It’s more my impression of how Clarke works. Of course, I might be totally wrong!

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1 hour ago, breeks_mctavish said:

I hear you, your point is well made. I would only counter that it shouldn’t be automatically discounted from the manager’s thoughts. Getting the best out of a group isn’t always picking the best / in form players of the day. It’s also managing the dynamic and giving players the feeling you’ve got their back. For too long, Scotland managers have selected huge numbers of players from the current flavour of the month. We end up with not enough international experience from a core group of players. That doesn’t mean that players don’t drop out or come into the squad, of course. It’s not a closed shop. It’s also not a case of it being Nisbet’s turn. Clarke has shown enough faith in him to select him for 12+ months. If he wasn’t/isn’t good enough he shouldn’t be in the squad.

I actually don’t have a strong preference for Nisbet, by the way. It’s more my impression of how Clarke works. Of course, I might be totally wrong!

Only Clarke knows for sure I suppose. In all honestly I don’t really care as long as we stuff Moldova on Friday! 

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20 hours ago, Texas Pete said:

Any manager that does that isn’t doing their job properly in my opinion. It must be demoralising for guys like McLaughlin, Nisbet, Cooper, McKenna McLean etc. to turn up to most squads and get very little game time but the have plenty of opportunity to impress Clarke when playing for their clubs and when training with Scotland.

I think Nisbet can consider himself very lucky to be in this squad given his current form so he shouldn’t start on Friday just because it’s his turn. 

If Clarke thinks he’s the best option then great but if he plays him ahead of Brown just because he wants to keep him happy then it could end up costing us a place in the playoffs. 

Not that I think Brown should start ahead of Nisbet. I just don’t think it should come down to who has been in the squad before. Clarke should be considering everything before picking his starting 11. 

Fair enough.

I'd put it down to how brave Clarke is feeling and how much he trusts in Brown for such a big game to drop him in. If Clarke feels we have more than enough within the team available to be comfortable about getting the win then he may well see it as a double win by playing Brown such as getting a win and getting a real look at this level in a high pressure game at Brown. If he has more confidence in Nisbet and his greater experience and knowing he can score at international level then Nisbet will get the nod.

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1 hour ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Fair enough.

I'd put it down to how brave Clarke is feeling and how much he trusts in Brown for such a big game to drop him in. If Clarke feels we have more than enough within the team available to be comfortable about getting the win then he may well see it as a double win by playing Brown such as getting a win and getting a real look at this level in a high pressure game at Brown. If he has more confidence in Nisbet and his greater experience and knowing he can score at international level then Nisbet will get the nod.

No disrespect to Moldova but they are very poor and any of our available strikers should be able to score, if they are provided with chances, tomorrow night. 

I know we only beat Moldova 1-0 at Hampden (I would bite your hand off for the same result tomorrow night) but it was played like a training match after we went 1-0 up. 

As long as everyone does their job properly tomorrow night we should win comfortably regardless of who starts up front. 

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On 11/10/2021 at 7:24 PM, breeks_mctavish said:

I think it’s more pertinent in international football when some players often travel thousands of miles and many international breaks watching from the bench. When you do that and remain upbeat and enthusiastic, im sure you’re doing it in good faith you will be repaid that your chance will come. I’m quite sure international managers would use that as a ploy to keep fringe players motivated. Sure Clarke could say that Brown is a straight replacement for Dykes, but it could be a killer blow for Nisbet’s morale. 

I think this is why I have a lot of respect for Russell. He’s travelled a ridiculous amount in the past to be in Scotland squads and a lot of the time to sit on the bench and not come on but he doesn’t mind because he’s proud to be called up.

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