Orraloon Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Lots of posters on this topic saying things like ''we need to be on the front foot'' and ''have a go'' etc, but these are exactly McLeish's thoughts before the 2-0 defeat, he spoke at length in an interview afterwards about how much he regrets playing 4-4-2 in the last match and that it cost us. Don't get me wrong there were other issues as well, such as injuries,suspensions and fatigue and he mentions that also. But If he had played the 4-1-4-1 and not allowed Georgia anything easy, we may well have kept the game tight and nicked it 1-0 from a set-piece or something. These types of games are notoriously difficult, I think we're best served by playing a bit deeper, inviting Georgia onto us and then counter-attacking the space in behind them with the pace of Anya,Naismith etc. But first thoughts need to be on giving Nothing away early, we've went 1-0 down in the first half of every away qualifier so far and a repeat in Georgia is going to leave us in a difficult situation to contend with. I'm not saying we play ''defensively'' but an open approach will leave us exposed, despite what some think of their quality.....few non-top seeds ever win comfortably in Georgia. I agree with most of that, but the situation was slightly different last time round. It was our second last game and McLeish knew exactly what we had to do. We had to go for the win, as a draw was no better than a defeat in that situation. A draw or a defeat meant we would have to beat Italy at home in the last game. A win in Georgia would have meant that we only needed to draw with Italy at Hampden to qualify. This time round we must get a win if we want 1st or 2nd place but a point from a draw could be important if we end up battling it out with Ireland for 3rd. I'm not saying we should settle for a draw but Strachan knows we cannot afford to lose this one otherwise we might end up 4th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendryselbow Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 1-0, Johhny Russel off the bench as the hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheach Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Reality o'clock: There's a lot of apprehension about this match, mainly due to '07. Georgia are a team ranked below Liechtenstein & Luxembourg. If we were travelling to face them we would fully be expecting a win. Strachan has an excellent record in away games, we have a team playing the best football I have seen us play in 15 years and our squad is far deeper than anything we had in '07. Says a lot about our bizarre relationship with the national team and expectations that Sportsound pundits are saying maybe a draw would be ok against Georgia but confidently predicting a win on Monday?!?! Come on Scotland. This is our time. Georgia 0-2 Scotland (Maloney, Griffiths off the bench) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teethy Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Georgia 0 Scotland 3 (with two late goals to calm the nerves!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westy Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Reality o'clock: There's a lot of apprehension about this match, mainly due to '07. Georgia are a team ranked below Liechtenstein & Luxembourg. If we were travelling to face them we would fully be expecting a win. Strachan has an excellent record in away games, we have a team playing the best football I have seen us play in 15 years and our squad is far deeper than anything we had in '07. Says a lot about our bizarre relationship with the national team and expectations that Sportsound pundits are saying maybe a draw would be ok against Georgia but confidently predicting a win on Monday?!?! Come on Scotland. This is our time. Georgia 0-2 Scotland (Maloney, Griffiths off the bench) This Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningtings Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Georgia 0 Scotland 2 Hanley and Anya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotsgary1 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Reality o'clock: There's a lot of apprehension about this match, mainly due to '07. Georgia are a team ranked below Liechtenstein & Luxembourg. If we were travelling to face them we would fully be expecting a win. Strachan has an excellent record in away games, we have a team playing the best football I have seen us play in 15 years and our squad is far deeper than anything we had in '07. Says a lot about our bizarre relationship with the national team and expectations that Sportsound pundits are saying maybe a draw would be ok against Georgia but confidently predicting a win on Monday?!?! Come on Scotland. This is our time. Georgia 0-2 Scotland (Maloney, Griffiths off the bench) post !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraveheartGordon Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I agree with most of that, but the situation was slightly different last time round. It was our second last game and McLeish knew exactly what we had to do. We had to go for the win, as a draw was no better than a defeat in that situation. A draw or a defeat meant we would have to beat Italy at home in the last game. A win in Georgia would have meant that we only needed to draw with Italy at Hampden to qualify. This time round we must get a win if we want 1st or 2nd place but a point from a draw could be important if we end up battling it out with Ireland for 3rd. I'm not saying we should settle for a draw but Strachan knows we cannot afford to lose this one otherwise we might end up 4th. If you read my post again I mentioned most of the factors you did. And playing counter-attack isn't playing for a draw, its starting from a solid base and keeping ourselves in a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheach Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 One other point, Stephen McManus was on Sportsound last night talking about 2007. He said in that campaign under Smith and McLeish the plan was always to go out compact, frustrate the opponents, play to 'not lose' first and foremost and worry about winning later in games. When the Georgia away game came round, with the raised expectation we went out with the plan of 'let's win' from minute one, played 4-4-2 and got picked off. The team struggled with the total change in emphasis in the plan. This gives me confidence about tomorrow. Strachan's Scotland have gone out aiming to win every game. Strachan's away games have seen some of our best team performances - Macedonia, Croatia, Poland away from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orraloon Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 If you read my post again I mentioned most of the factors you did. And playing counter-attack isn't playing for a draw, its starting from a solid base and keeping ourselves in a game. My point is that this time round a point is better than zero points. As it could help us to get 3rd place. In 2007 a draw would have had exactly the same impact as a defeat. Both results meant we had to beat Italy at home. So, McLeish had nothing to lose by taking a few risks. A draw was no good to him. Strachan won't be settling for a draw but he knows we can't afford to lose this game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 One other point, Stephen McManus was on Sportsound last night talking about 2007. He said in that campaign under Smith and McLeish the plan was always to go out compact, frustrate the opponents, play to 'not lose' first and foremost and worry about winning later in games. When the Georgia away game came round, with the raised expectation we went out with the plan of 'let's win' from minute one, played 4-4-2 and got picked off. The team struggled with the total change in emphasis in the plan. This gives me confidence about tomorrow. Strachan's Scotland have gone out aiming to win every game. Strachan's away games have seen some of our best team performances - Macedonia, Croatia, Poland away from home. Strachan had them playing for a draw in Ireland. We should have been going for the win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHFC Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Nervous now. Just want us to pick up the win we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Of Paisley Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I agree with most of that, but the situation was slightly different last time round. It was our second last game and McLeish knew exactly what we had to do. We had to go for the win, as a draw was no better than a defeat in that situation. A draw or a defeat meant we would have to beat Italy at home in the last game. A win in Georgia would have meant that we only needed to draw with Italy at Hampden to qualify. This time round we must get a win if we want 1st or 2nd place but a point from a draw could be important if we end up battling it out with Ireland for 3rd. I'm not saying we should settle for a draw but Strachan knows we cannot afford to lose this one otherwise we might end up 4th. Which would have meant the heartbreak of Italy bagging the winner in injury time even more hard to bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orraloon Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Which would have meant the heartbreak of Italy bagging the winner in injury time even more hard to bear. Aye, but that's what following Scotland is all about - the heartbreak. After we had equalised we wouldn't have needed to go chasing the win. We could have just sat back and soaked up the pressure of an all out attack from Italy. Wouldn't have been nerve racking in the slightest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotsgary1 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 One other point, Stephen McManus was on Sportsound last night talking about 2007. He said in that campaign under Smith and McLeish the plan was always to go out compact, frustrate the opponents, play to 'not lose' first and foremost and worry about winning later in games. When the Georgia away game came round, with the raised expectation we went out with the plan of 'let's win' from minute one, played 4-4-2 and got picked off. The team struggled with the total change in emphasis in the plan. This gives me confidence about tomorrow. Strachan's Scotland have gone out aiming to win every game. Strachan's away games have seen some of our best team performances - Macedonia, Croatia, Poland away from home. Good post The point being we are a squad that knows our job/game playing away or at home. Adjust for each game bring on the win tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Of Paisley Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Been thinking of a wee punt on Scotland 2-0 and Maloney to score anytime. Any decent odds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix_Santos Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 never bet on Scotland!!! If ye gonna bet, bet on us tae lose, then at least you've got some consolation if we do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotsgary1 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 never bet on Scotland!!! If ye gonna bet, bet on us tae lose, then at least you've got some consolation if we do... Can honestly say this is the worst piece of advice I have EVER read on this board. shame on ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringo Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Can honestly say this is the worst piece of advice I have EVER read on this board. shame on ya. You must be new here then ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotsgary1 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 You must be new here then ? aye But thats shite man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringo Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 aye But thats shite man Only joking . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewisEDI Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) stuck £50 on us to beat georgia last time, thinking was if we win double delight if we lose the cash isnt going to make me feel any lower than i would already be feeling. nae chance im doing that tomorrow mind you. Edited September 3, 2015 by LewisEDI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Govanhill Jacobite Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 2-0 Scotland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I'm sticking something on, don't know how much yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Black Bra Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Thinking of backing Russell Martin to score first goal, 40-1 with Ladbrokes. Not scored for us yet, got 2 for Norwich already this season & chips in regularly. Great odds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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