Scotland v Cyprus and Spain Squad discussion

[scotlad]

4 hours ago, kwhitelaw said:

Aye exactly this.  MLS is an entertaining league to watch but that's because it America and they know the value of entertainment. It's a league that encourages open attacking play rather than sitting deep and defending for your life which sucks any enjoyment out of a game for a neutral.  As such, players like Gauld (who languished in Sporting Lisbons B team and Portugal's lower leagues on loan) and Morgan (who struggled to hold a regular place in the Celtic team as he wasn't really all that effective) are thriving.  Put the pair of them on against a team like Georgia who we've struggled to break down in the past with better players and they'll do SFA (pardon the pun)

Surely having an attacking player or players in the side who can drop a shoulder and beat an opponent is what's required against a team who sit in and are difficult to break down. From what I've seen of Brown (it sounds like I have a huge vendetta against him - I don't!) he isn't that type.

Ideally I'd like to see young Doak in the senior squad soon, because he looks like the type of attacker capable of tearing defences to shreds on his day.

[thesaint]

28 minutes ago, scotlad said:

Surely having an attacking player or players in the side who can drop a shoulder and beat an opponent is what's required against a team who sit in and are difficult to break down. From what I've seen of Brown (it sounds like I have a huge vendetta against him - I don't!) he isn't that type.

Ideally I'd like to see young Doak in the senior squad soon, because he looks like the type of attacker capable of tearing defences to shreds on his day.

Exactly what we are crying out for. A guy who can go by defenders and take them out the game. What do you think Clarke sees in Jacob Brown. I'm buggered if i can see. Any ideas? 

[BraveheartGordon]

1 hour ago, scotlad said:

Aye, apart from the 40 odd games he played for Celtic between 2018 and 2020, including European fixtures.

My point was more about Jacob Brown though, rather than Michael Johnston.

If you think 40 appearances in 3 seasons is regular football with many of these sub appearances I don’t know what to tell you.

The point you made was that Mikey Johnston was somehow overlooked and it was a Clarke failing but there was little prospect of him being a contender for the squad as it stands no matter who was in charge.

It’s fair comment about Jacob Brown but mostly because we’ve not seen him have a real opportunity in a Scotland shirt and I’ve only seen bits and pieces of him for Stoke.

Edited March 16, 2023 by BraveheartGordon

[mccaughey85]

11 minutes ago, thesaint said:

Exactly what we are crying out for. A guy who can go by defenders and take them out the game. What do you think Clarke sees in Jacob Brown. I'm buggered if i can see. Any ideas? 

Tbf adams and dykes will be our main guys in these games.

[scotlad]

3 minutes ago, BraveheartGordon said:

If you think 40 appearances in 3 seasons is regular football with many of these sub appearances I don’t know what to tell you.

He was still a teenager back in 2018 and in 2020 football was suspended for several months for reasons that need no explanation. Had it not been, and had he been been a bit luckier with injuries, then he may have made more appearances.

[scotlad]

23 minutes ago, thesaint said:

Exactly what we are crying out for. A guy who can go by defenders and take them out the game. What do you think Clarke sees in Jacob Brown. I'm buggered if i can see. Any ideas? 

Nope! As far as I can see, he can run and he works hard but that's about it. Those aren't bad qualities but you'd expect an international player to offer a bit more.

[er yir macaroon]

                   Gunn  
          Hendry Porteous
Hickey                      Robertson 
               McGregor
  McTominay            Tierney
                  McGinn
          Christie   Adams 

[thesaint]

Wee bit off kilt with this topic but as it's about the Spain and Cyprus home game.Just looking at the tickets for sale for both these games and there obviously won't be any fans in the usual away section.Suppose any that turn up will be in the main stand.

[thesaint]

Just now, thesaint said:

Wee bit off kilt with this topic but as it's about the Spain and Cyprus home game.Just looking at the tickets for sale for both these games and there obviously won't be any fans in the usual away section.Suppose any that turn up will be in the main stand.

Can understand Cyprus not bringing many but it always surprises me how few some of the bigger teams (in this case Spain) bring.

[GHfaeGTA]

9 hours ago, kwhitelaw said:

Aye exactly this.  MLS is an entertaining league to watch but that's because it America and they know the value of entertainment. It's a league that encourages open attacking play rather than sitting deep and defending for your life which sucks any enjoyment out of a game for a neutral.  As such, players like Gauld (who languished in Sporting Lisbons B team and Portugal's lower leagues on loan) and Morgan (who struggled to hold a regular place in the Celtic team as he wasn't really all that effective) are thriving.  Put the pair of them on against a team like Georgia who we've struggled to break down in the past with better players and they'll do SFA (pardon the pun)

Just to correct you but before moving to mLS, Gauld played in the top flight in a Portugal and was named in team of the season, the only player outside of the big 3 teams to do so. Saying that I do agree that moving to mLS after that was a rather strange move (although I guess earning $2m a year makes sense financially). I expect to see him playing for Canada in a couple of years 

[glasgow jock]

11 hours ago, thesaint said:

Can understand Cyprus not bringing many but it always surprises me how few some of the bigger teams (in this case Spain) bring.

Spain have always had a shite away support for some reason ?

[Third Lanark]

Worrying thing is that McGinn and Christie, whom we have relied on to score, have not been scoring for their clubs this season. So it's not just Adams and Dykes we need to be concerned about. 

[N4Footsoldier]

2 hours ago, glasgow jock said:

Spain have always had a shite away support for some reason ?

In Spanish club football the culture of die hards going to all home and away games is not really the done thing, save for a few dozen people even with the big teams

[wanderer]

2 hours ago, glasgow jock said:

Spain have always had a shite away support for some reason ?

For starters you could probably discount the majority of Barca and Bilbao fans.... Real fans have something of a chip on their shoulder that they are bigger than the national team (except when they are actually winning things, and more so when its a result of Real players doing it).

Last game in Glasgow the majority of fans I was chatting with in the pubs were Valencia and Atletico Madrid fans (and it was very much "our group" and "their group", rather than a mixture), or were fans who lived in London.

[Big Ramy 1314]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYHgKBEv/

He is in the squad, just heard. SCOTTISH granny apparantly !!!

[thesaint]

1 hour ago, N4Footsoldier said:

In Spanish club football the culture of die hards going to all home and away games is not really the done thing, save for a few dozen people even with the big teams

Yes. It's amazing. Even when Real or Barcelona are away from home and they score all you see is a group of about 100 people cheering. So strange for clubs with such a huge fan base. 

[Diamond Scot]

19 hours ago, scotlad said:

Nope! As far as I can see, he can run and he works hard but that's about it. Those aren't bad qualities but you'd expect an international player to offer a bit more.

Kenny Miller made an entire career out of those!!!

[Diamond Scot]

3 hours ago, Third Lanark said:

Worrying thing is that McGinn and Christie, whom we have relied on to score, have not been scoring for their clubs this season. So it's not just Adams and Dykes we need to be concerned about. 

I suspect McGinn may be one of those players for us who just score regardless of club form. Similar to Faddy in that sense.

I dont actually think McGinn has played that well in many of the recent games for us, constantly giving the ball away, trying to get fouls with his ass which can be a good thing (but not learning that ref isnt giving them early on and keeps trying) but then he comes up with a moment of magic or an assist etc so at the end of the game its really hard to weigh up his performance. 

[Tartan blood]

2 hours ago, Diamond Scot said:

I suspect McGinn may be one of those players for us who just score regardless of club form. Similar to Faddy in that sense.

I dont actually think McGinn has played that well in many of the recent games for us, constantly giving the ball away, trying to get fouls with his ass which can be a good thing (but not learning that ref isnt giving them early on and keeps trying) but then he comes up with a moment of magic or an assist etc so at the end of the game its really hard to weigh up his performance. 

That is the sign of a special player. All the best players can have off days and still conjour up a moment of magic. 

That aside, I feel like it is a bit odd that Clarke has called up such a small squad for 2 home games. Especially the Scotland based players. It would hardly be an imposition to take along Shankland, Nisbet, Turnbull, Ralston etc to train with the squad. Or even call in a couple of local promising youngsters.

[csinclair]

54 minutes ago, Tartan blood said:

That is the sign of a special player. All the best players can have off days and still conjour up a moment of magic. 

That aside, I feel like it is a bit odd that Clarke has called up such a small squad for 2 home games. Especially the Scotland based players. It would hardly be an imposition to take along Shankland, Nisbet, Turnbull, Ralston etc to train with the squad. Or even call in a couple of local promising youngsters.

Clarke said in an interview he was looking at calling up Shankland until he got injured. 

[thesaint]

38 minutes ago, csinclair said:

Clarke said in an interview he was looking at calling up Shankland until he got injured. 

Robbie Neilson said today that Shankland would have been fit for Scotland if selected.. 

[Hertsscot]

7 minutes ago, thesaint said:

Robbie Neilson said today that Shankland would have been fit for Scotland if selected.. 

Strange one. I'm surprised if he's been snubbed as I feel he's more likely to get a goal than Jacob Brown, crossed wires somewhere?

[thesaint]

42 minutes ago, Hertsscot said:

Strange one. I'm surprised if he's been snubbed as I feel he's more likely to get a goal than Jacob Brown, crossed wires somewhere?

Also the Celtic boss said Taylor was fit for Scotland. Seems a bit odd that these two players were declared fit by their managers but not by Clarke. It's usually works the other way round with club managers withdrawing their players as unfit. Odd.

[Tartan blood]

15 hours ago, thesaint said:

Also the Celtic boss said Taylor was fit for Scotland. Seems a bit odd that these two players were declared fit by their managers but not by Clarke. It's usually works the other way round with club managers withdrawing their players as unfit. Odd.

 I wonder if it's residual bitterness from what Celtic did last time. I.e not release Taylor, Ralston, Turnbull and McGregor because they "needed" them for a friendly. That would be unfair on the players though. 

Maybe Clarke is just trying narrow down his core group that will be together for a long time. A smaller squad means it's more intimate. No disrespect to Taylor, Shankland, McRorie etc, but they more than likely would just be flashes in the pan before they are replaced with something better.

[thesaint]

2 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

 I wonder if it's residual bitterness from what Celtic did last time. I.e not release Taylor, Ralston, Turnbull and McGregor because they "needed" them for a friendly. That would be unfair on the players though. 

Maybe Clarke is just trying narrow down his core group that will be together for a long time. A smaller squad means it's more intimate. No disrespect to Taylor, Shankland, McRorie etc, but they more than likely would just be flashes in the pan before they are replaced with something better.

Maybe,but at least Shankland is having a good spell just now(which is when it matters)scoring goals which is more than can be said for the forwards included in the squad. Frightening lack of recent goals by any of them. Think Shankland or Nisbet could at least have been on the bench to provide an option if we are struggling. No fire power on the bench in this squad at all.