Scotland Squad - Spain and France discussion

[er yir macaroon]

1 hour ago, BryanBlessed said:

Is Patterson who we want at RB when we'll be up against it? 

I don’t see why not, especially if Hickey is playing left centre half in a 3. Patterson is also dangerous on the counterattack.

[scotlad]

On 10/6/2023 at 4:56 PM, BryanBlessed said:

Dykes isn't international standard either. He's underrated  to an extent and good at the job he does for us but Shankland is a better overall player in my opinion. I say that as someone who never rated him but his all-round game has really improved. 

It has, and I think he's a good SPFL player, but I don't think he's any better than Dykes, who, in fairness to him, has scored a decent number of goals at international level.

There's a reason why our current batch of strikers play for the likes of QPR, Hearts and Millwall though - none of them are really much to write home about, sadly.

[Scot1]

I think Ross Stewart is nearing return from injury, hopefully after this international break, but I’ve read sometime in October. Ideally he comes back and returns to scoring regularly for Southampton, helps them get promotion and becomes a regular in the Premier League. 

49 minutes ago, scotlad said:

It has, and I think he's a good SPFL player, but I don't think he's any better than Dykes, who, in fairness to him, has scored a decent number of goals at international level.

There's a reason why our current batch of strikers play for the likes of QPR, Hearts and Millwall though - none of them are really much to write home about, sadly.

With a bit of luck we could have Stewart, Adams and Armstrong back in the premier league next season.

Edited October 10, 2023 by Scot1

[Judith]

5 hours ago, BryanBlessed said:

Our centre backs are still my worry, especially Jack Hendry who is playing in a joke of a league. At the same time, he's put in great performances when not having much first-team football.

You have seen who plays in the Saudi Arabian league now? Yes?

[Judith]

Big decisions for Steve Clarke with the absence of Tierney.

Not really sure what I would do. Probably slotting McKenna in there causes the least damage.

He hasnt played much but he is young enough and has a bit of height/pace about him.

Alternatively to we go flat 4 and give Spain a different problem to solve from the Hampden game.

4-5-1 with Ferguson the extra man in midfield wouldnt be the craziest decision. 

Certainly the flat 4 worked against Ukraine who had our number playing the 3/5 at the back.

[Texas Pete]

On 10/6/2023 at 4:56 PM, BryanBlessed said:

Dykes isn't international standard either. He's underrated  to an extent and good at the job he does for us but Shankland is a better overall player in my opinion. I say that as someone who never rated him but his all-round game has really improved. 

Whatever that means. At least half of all international teams are absolute bollocks so at least 50% of international footballers probably aren’t ‘international standard’. 

Dykes might not be a fantastic player but he is (arguably) our best striker although I would say that Shankland is a better finisher. 

[ProudScot]

13 hours ago, BryanBlessed said:

Norway aren't that great and, even against us where they probably just deserved a win or a point they weren't great. I do expect us to lose to Spain just because they're really a much better side than us and won't be making all the changes they made at Hampden.  I hope I'm wrong, too.

Our centre backs are still my worry, especially Jack Hendry who is playing in a joke of a league. At the same time, he's put in great performances when not having much first-team football.

Jack Hendry is playing in a league vastly superior to the Scottish league 

[BryanBlessed]

8 hours ago, Judith said:

You have seen who plays in the Saudi Arabian league now? Yes?

Largely, but not exclusively, players at the end of their careers looking for a pay day. Jack Hendry is also looking for a pay day which I don't blame him for.

[BryanBlessed]

2 hours ago, Texas Pete said:

Whatever that means. At least half of all international teams are absolute bollocks so at least 50% of international footballers probably aren’t ‘international standard’. 

Dykes might not be a fantastic player but he is (arguably) our best striker although I would say that Shankland is a better finisher. 

I was quoting someone else but I do see your point. I guess it would be a player that most international teams would be happy to have. I wouldn't put Dykes or Shankland in that category. I don't want it to seem like I don't rate the job that Dykes does for us but if it's a half chance, I'd rather it fell to Shankland or McTominay etc.

Dykes is also a very unselfish player and will always set up another player if he feels that they have a better chance of scoring. I wouldn't say the same about Adams, for example.

[BryanBlessed]

32 minutes ago, ProudScot said:

Jack Hendry is playing in a league vastly superior to the Scottish league 

But most of our players don't play in the Scottish league. We all know McGregor could play at a higher level and Souttar stayed in Scotland for family reasons. Shankland could certainly do a job for an English championship team or Rangers or Celtic.

Jack Hendry couldn't make it at Celtic and has had a pretty unsuccessful club career. There are games where he's been outstanding for Scotland but you never know which Jack Hendry you're going to get. We got the bad one against England.

[BryanBlessed]

13 hours ago, er yir macaroon said:

I don’t see why not, especially if Hickey is playing left centre half in a 3. Patterson is also dangerous on the counterattack.

Has Patterson been doing particularly well at Everton because it seems like he's in and out of a struggling team? I'm not sure about putting Hickey in at LCB, though. Has he ever played there? I know he's currently playing at left back for Brentford but I'd be inclined to move as few players around as possible. 

[Judith]

17 minutes ago, BryanBlessed said:

Largely, but not exclusively, players at the end of their careers looking for a pay day. Jack Hendry is also looking for a pay day which I don't blame him for.

I think you need to look again.

Ronaldo and Benzema may be coming to the end of their careers but they were the best in the world.

I dont think you can call Neymar, Mahrez, Malcolm, St Maximam and Mane past it!

The Saudi League may be many things, but its not a joke league and Jack Hendry will be playing against far better forwards there than he was in Belgium.

[BryanBlessed]

1 minute ago, Judith said:

I think you need to look again.

Ronaldo and Benzema may be coming to the end of their careers but they were the best in the world.

I dont think you can call Neymar, Mahrez, Malcolm, St Maximam and Mane past it!

The Saudi League may be many things, but its not a joke league and Jack Hendry will be playing against far better forwards there than he was in Belgium.

Neymar, Mahrez and Mane are all the wrong side of thirty and are all on a downward trajectory. They also have local players playing next to them who, no offence to Saudis intended, aren't exactly top quality. The rest of the players are there for the payday. How important do you think winning the Saudi league is to any of these players, really? There is no history behind the league, the crowds are small and it appears to be just like some other leagues that have come with big promises that haven't been fulfilled.

 

Hendry looked way off it the last time as did Henderson the last time he played for England. 

[Judith]

2 minutes ago, BryanBlessed said:

Neymar, Mahrez and Mane are all the wrong side of thirty and are all on a downward trajectory. They also have local players playing next to them who, no offence to Saudis intended, aren't exactly top quality. The rest of the players are there for the payday. How important do you think winning the Saudi league is to any of these players, really? There is no history behind the league, the crowds are small and it appears to be just like some other leagues that have come with big promises that haven't been fulfilled.

 

Hendry looked way off it the last time as did Henderson the last time he played for England. 

Not the point I responded to.

You said it was a joke league.

It isnt.

You may not rate Hendry, and thats fine. I also dont approve of the Saudi League and what they are trying to do.

But he is playing against top quality strikers.

[Bobby Russell's Lovechild]

On the discussion of Dykes, there was analysis on how he played against Spain, after the match and his main job was to stay with Rodri and put him off his game, which he did tremendously

Edited October 11, 2023 by Bobby Russell's Lovechild

[Dodger]

14 hours ago, er yir macaroon said:

I don’t see why not, especially if Hickey is playing left centre half in a 3. Patterson is also dangerous on the counterattack.

There is no chance we're playing Hickey in the back 3 tomorrow. He'll be playing on the right, whether that's part of a back 4 or a back 5.

[BryanBlessed]

38 minutes ago, Judith said:

Not the point I responded to.

You said it was a joke league.

It isnt.

You may not rate Hendry, and thats fine. I also dont approve of the Saudi League and what they are trying to do.

But he is playing against top quality strikers.

I disagree. How many players have gone to the Saudi league for anything other than money. If the money was the same as in the EPL, do you think any of them would go? If there is no history behind the league and no prestige in winning it, players are not going to take it seriously. It's the league equivalent of a friendly. You turn up and you play but you're not giving 100%. It'll be gone in a few years.

 

[Tartan blood]

15 minutes ago, Dodger said:

There is no chance we're playing Hickey in the back 3 tomorrow. He'll be playing on the right, whether that's part of a back 4 or a back 5.

Listening to Hampden Roar podcast, they mentioned no player has dribbled past Hickey in the EPL. That is an outrageous stat, and why he is being linked with some elite teams. Spain away from home is exactly the type of match we need Hickey playing right back. 

I love Patterson, and he is almost certainly the better attacker of the 2, but I'm choosing to keep Hickey on the right against anyone we are likely to be dominated by.

I'd be pretty shocked if we changed the formation. It'll almost certainly just be a straight swap of McKenna or Cooper for Tierney. In a back 5.

[BryanBlessed]

48 minutes ago, Bobby Russell's Lovechild said:

On the discussion of Dykes, there was analysis on how he played against Spain, after the match and his main job was to stay with Rodri and put him off his game, which he did tremendously

He does a very good job for us and, although I don't think he gets as many goals as you'd expect for a forward, his work helps set up those playing behind him. Maybe I'm being too harsh on him because I can think of two occasions where he didn't score where he should have: Israel at home with a header and against Spain at Hampden (a chance which he largely created for himself.  

[Bobby Russell's Lovechild]

Nisbet pulls out

[ceudmilefailte]

1 hour ago, Bobby Russell's Lovechild said:

Nisbet pulls out

Too late to call McBurnie up. 

Best striker we have. 

[BryanBlessed]

45 minutes ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Too late to call McBurnie up. 

Best striker we have. 

It must be frustrating for him. EPL striker who did better in the championship than both Dykes and Nesbit.  I wonder if there are other factors at play there.

[Diamond Scot]

6 hours ago, BryanBlessed said:

Neymar, Mahrez and Mane are all the wrong side of thirty and are all on a downward trajectory. They also have local players playing next to them who, no offence to Saudis intended, aren't exactly top quality. The rest of the players are there for the payday. How important do you think winning the Saudi league is to any of these players, really? There is no history behind the league, the crowds are small and it appears to be just like some other leagues that have come with big promises that haven't been fulfilled.

 

Hendry looked way off it the last time as did Henderson the last time he played for England. 

The local saudi players beat Argentina at the world cup!!!

Slightly the wrong sife of 30 means nothing when you are talking about the best players for the biggest countries.

Do you think Hendry will have a harder time against Neymar or Martin Boyle?

[Templeton_Peck]

Interesting to see Norway have called up Oscar Bobb after a total of 1.5 games in senior football albeit for man city.

Would love to see Scotland fast track more players in that look the part in youth football. Doak being the obvious one but looking like there could a few others in next few years and we will soon have no choice but to bring in new faces soon as some stalwarts are wrong side of 30. 

[er yir macaroon]

5 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

Listening to Hampden Roar podcast, they mentioned no player has dribbled past Hickey in the EPL. That is an outrageous stat, and why he is being linked with some elite teams. Spain away from home is exactly the type of match we need Hickey playing right back. 

I love Patterson, and he is almost certainly the better attacker of the 2, but I'm choosing to keep Hickey on the right against anyone we are likely to be dominated by.

I'd be pretty shocked if we changed the formation. It'll almost certainly just be a straight swap of McKenna or Cooper for Tierney. In a back 5.

I think we are pretty ineffective when we have a conventional centre half instead of Tierney in a 3, because in that role he carries the ball forward. I think Hickey could do that job and he’s a wee bit taller than Tierney.

Personally I’d prefer 4-5-1 with Ferguson in midfield.