Scotland v Georgia - Match day thread

[Caledonian Craig]

1 minute ago, vanderark14 said:

That's what we've become accustom too. 

Players IMO didn't care as much for the national side under previous managers. They may have had a winning mentality for their clubs but it never transferred to Scotland. Wasn't it Kenny Miller who said some players saw Scotland trip as a break? 

We also have a proper manager who only wants committed players. Clarkes only focus is Scotland, he's not there to appease club managers who want their players rested, he's there to get results for Scotland 

And he has created a club spirit within the national side. The players also, clearly, will run through walls for each other and their manager. How many times can we say Scotland have had that in the past? It helps too having really feisty characters and leaders if you will in the team such as McGinn, Robertson, McTominay, Dykes to drive us on. In short do not tarnish this side with a stereotyped Scotland team of old mindset.

[Texas Pete]

3 hours ago, vanderark14 said:

Clarke will have our boys prepared for the georgia away fixture. Georgia have already started playing the victim card, their managers post match interview was embarrassing but he has ammo to rile his players up for the home fixture. IMO they can be as riled up as the want. We have a team full of captains who are not afraid to work hard and fight for the points. I'm confident we will beat them again.

Yeah I think it’s time we stopped being scared or going to Georgia. I’m sure the players are not but a lot of supporters seem to be based on what has happened there before. 

This is a completely different team from the one that went there in 2007 and more or less a different team that went to Georgia in 2015. I think the only player who played in 2015 who is still in the current squad is Robertson. 

We know Georgia are no mugs but based on Tuesday night (and Georgia’s ranking) we are clearly better than them and there is no reason we can’t go there and win. 

[kwhitelaw]

3 hours ago, vanderark14 said:

That's what we've become accustom too. 

Players IMO didn't care as much for the national side under previous managers. They may have had a winning mentality for their clubs but it never transferred to Scotland. Wasn't it Kenny Miller who said some players saw Scotland trip as a break? 

We also have a proper manager who only wants committed players. Clarkes only focus is Scotland, he's not there to appease club managers who want their players rested, he's there to get results for Scotland 

This is the biggest change for me.  When was the last time you can remember a Scotland player pulled out the squad "injured" then played 90 mins for his club days later?  Probably not since Clarke's first year in charge at least and he deserves massive credit for changing this.

This is probably the most committed group of players I've seen in the last 30 years of me following the national team and I fucking love each and every one of them!

[Caledonian Craig]

If anyone wants further evidence of the great attitude and will-to-win this squad possesses way more than in recent years look to last Saturday. We went to Oslo with a draw being seen as a great result. We equalised very late on and Scotland sides of recent times would have settled for that and begin hoofing the ball into the stands to ensure the draw. Not this team - they weren't settling for a draw and sealed the win with a slick move from back to front to seal the win.

[Diamond Scot]

Apologies if it was eventually answered somewhere but was there ever a verdict on what would happen if play couldnt have restarted on Tues. 

Would it have started from scratch on Wed or 10 mins in with us 1 nil up?

Viaplay were saying one thing and Sky another.

[Caledonian Craig]

Just now, Diamond Scot said:

Apologies if it was eventually answered somewhere but was there ever a verdict on what would happen if play couldnt have restarted on Tues. 

Would it have started from scratch on Wed or 10 mins in with us 1 nil up?

Viaplay were saying one thing and Sky another.

As I understand it, it would have started from scratch. I think that is evident the way Georgia were desperate for it to be called off when we were leading.

[sjd1972]

4 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said:

Apologies if it was eventually answered somewhere but was there ever a verdict on what would happen if play couldnt have restarted on Tues. 

Would it have started from scratch on Wed or 10 mins in with us 1 nil up?

Viaplay were saying one thing and Sky another.

Pretty sure UEFA rules state that the game would have resumed where it was interrupted with us 1-0 up. 

[Texas Pete]

24 minutes ago, kwhitelaw said:

This is the biggest change for me.  When was the last time you can remember a Scotland player pulled out the squad "injured" then played 90 mins for his club days later?  Probably not since Clarke's first year in charge at least and he deserves massive credit for changing this.

This is probably the most committed group of players I've seen in the last 30 years of me following the national team and I fucking love each and every one of them!

I’m not 100% sure but I’d happily bet £100 that it was Ryan Fraser. 

[vanderark14]

42 minutes ago, kwhitelaw said:

This is the biggest change for me.  When was the last time you can remember a Scotland player pulled out the squad "injured" then played 90 mins for his club days later?  Probably not since Clarke's first year in charge at least and he deserves massive credit for changing this.

This is probably the most committed group of players I've seen in the last 30 years of me following the national team and I fucking love each and every one of them!

 

16 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

I’m not 100% sure but I’d happily bet £100 that it was Ryan Fraser. 

I remember people on here used to back some players, things like "his club employs him so what should scotland do" 

Clark ended all that buy getting the players to show commitment. 

[Judith]

5 hours ago, Caledonian Craig said:

I agree.

I am surprised that our own fans have not noticed a whole new mindset the Scotland team has now. A determined and will to win mindset that goes way above teams of ours of recent years. Confidence too is coursing through their veins. It is surprising how some of our fans have this almost supersticious thought that our team will bottle it instilling automatically traits of different set of players onto our current set of players. Why?

50 years of psychological programming! 😆

Edited June 22, 2023 by Judith

[Judith]

I dont think there is anything wrong with us, as supporters, being cautious about upcoming games based on past experience. Its mostly self protection of your mental health!

I totally agree that this set of players wont be thinking that way though, and will be fully focused on going to Georgia to pick up the 3 points.

Its still a difficult place to go with the amount of travel and the time difference involved, but at least is wont be as warm in November as it was on the previous occasions we were there.

And as much as the Georgians will be trying to play the victim card over the game on Tuesday night, I think our players will be super motivated to prove the conditions had nothing to do with the result and pay the Georgians back for their antics in trying to get the game stopped.

In summary, still a tough place to go and 3 points are by no means guaranteed, but I would be surprised if this team shits the bed and throws in a stinker.

[ProudScot]

2 hours ago, Texas Pete said:

I’m not 100% sure but I’d happily bet £100 that it was Ryan Fraser. 

Fraser has been great for us too, some very important goals. Hopefully he gets more regular footy and gets back in the squad. 

[kwhitelaw]

2 hours ago, Texas Pete said:

I’m not 100% sure but I’d happily bet £100 that it was Ryan Fraser. 

Who? 😜

[Texas Pete]

26 minutes ago, ProudScot said:

Fraser has been great for us too, some very important goals. Hopefully he gets more regular footy and gets back in the squad. 

I could be wrong but I doubt we’ll see Fraser in a Scotland squad again. Unless he changes his attitude (his general attitude towards football, not just international football) then his career will go nowhere. 

[Toepoke]

3 hours ago, Judith said:

50 years of psychological programming! 😆

At least 50 😄

We have a habit of shooting ourselves in the foot when on a good run of results (even under the current manager). Nobody would be more delighted than me if we've turned a corner and rid the self destructive tendencies from our psyche. But history suggests we should go ca' canny until qualification is guaranteed. 

 

[Texas Pete]

9 minutes ago, Toepoke said:

At least 50 😄

We have a habit of shooting ourselves in the foot when on a good run of results (even under the current manager). Nobody would be more delighted than me if we've turned a corner and rid the self destructive tendencies from our psyche. But history suggests we should go ca' canny until qualification is guaranteed. 

 

Yeah the job is nowhere near done. We are one bad result away from hoping Spain do us a favour by winning the rest of their games and Norway draw with Georgia again and we fall over the line. 

As long as we keep the winning streak going in October I think we should be fine but there’s always that nagging feeling at the back of my mind that it’s all going to go wrong  

 

[Shaundy]

29 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

Yeah the job is nowhere near done. We are one bad result away from hoping Spain do us a favour by winning the rest of their games and Norway draw with Georgia again and we fall over the line. 

As long as we keep the winning streak going in October I think we should be fine but there’s always that nagging feeling at the back of my mind that it’s all going to go wrong  

 

Totally get your trepidation. Like myself you’re experienced with disappointment.

this campaign I have not shared your feelings. I genuinely hoped for 12 points from the first 4 games. I expected 9 or ten . 

[Shaundy]

It’s not that I’m booking any travel plans ( that’s pointless given the many choices available) but I am researching already. 
 

my hope is this squad qualify as one of the top six , thinking that snatch and grab in Oslo might have swung that.

[Texas Pete]

2 minutes ago, Shaundy said:

Totally get your trepidation. Like myself you’re experienced with disappointment.

this campaign I have not shared your feelings. I genuinely hoped for 12 points from the first 4 games. I expected 9 or ten . 

You thought that before the campaign started? Or after we beat Spain? 

Personally I won’t believe we have qualified until it officially happens. We are in a great position but we have three away games in a row (2 of which will be very tough and could easily end in defeat) and could easily be going into our final match against Norway needing a draw or win to qualify.

Funnily enough we would all have been happy with that situation when the draw was made but we are all now wanting to seal our spot in Germany well before we play Norway again. Changed days. 

[Texas Pete]

4 minutes ago, Shaundy said:

It’s not that I’m booking any travel plans ( that’s pointless given the many choices available) but I am researching already. 
 

my hope is this squad qualify as one of the top six , thinking that snatch and grab in Oslo might have swung that.

In all likelihood we’ll need to at least draw with Spain to win the group and finish in the top 5 of the overall rankings. Not necessarily if we win our other 3 games right enough but we’d be looking to lose by only one goal in Spain or hope they drop points elsewhere. 

In all honesty I will be happy just to qualify at this point. If that happens sooner rather than later then I will start to worry about how high up we are in the overall rankings. 

Being anything other than pot 4 in the finals draw would be good. Pot 1 would be fantastic but even pot 2 would be lovely. 

[Caledonian Craig]

7 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

 

Being anything other than pot 4 in the finals draw would be good. Pot 1 would be fantastic but even pot 2 would be lovely. 

If we don't win the group then it is most likely we will be in the third seeds pot. The group winners take up all but one of the first two seeded pots with final spot going to the team with the best runners-up record.

[Texas Pete]

2 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

If we don't win the group then it is most likely we will be in the third seeds pot. The group winners take up all but one of the first two seeded pots with final spot going to the team with the best runners-up record.

True but we could realistically be the best second placed team and take up that final pot 2 place. 

In any case pot 3 would be better than pot 4. 

[Caledonian Craig]

15 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

True but we could realistically be the best second placed team and take up that final pot 2 place. 

In any case pot 3 would be better than pot 4. 

I think Pot 3 would be pretty much assured as a lot of pot 4 is for those that qualify through the pkay-offs.

[todd]

39 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

In all likelihood we’ll need to at least draw with Spain to win the group and finish in the top 5 of the overall rankings. Not necessarily if we win our other 3 games right enough but we’d be looking to lose by only one goal in Spain or hope they drop points elsewhere. 

In all honesty I will be happy just to qualify at this point. If that happens sooner rather than later then I will start to worry about how high up we are in the overall rankings. 

Being anything other than pot 4 in the finals draw would be good. Pot 1 would be fantastic but even pot 2 would be lovely. 

Yep, qualifying is all that I'm concerned with.  Is seeding at the Euros really that huge of an advantage? It is clearly an advantage but I think in a World Cup it is more significant as that is more likely to contain some lesser teams.  Whereas every country that qualifies for the Euros will be very decent.

[Texas Pete]

13 minutes ago, Caledonian Craig said:

I think Pot 3 would be pretty much assured as a lot of pot 4 is for those that qualify through the pkay-offs.

Yeah it would be half because 3 teams would qualify through the playoffs. 

I think our strong start to the campaign would see us comfortably into pot 3 if we end up in second place. Hopefully we’ll still be at the top of our group when the campaign is over and pot 1 or 2 would be guaranteed.