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Things I'd Change


Caledonian Craig

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For me I'd like to see, in future, more faith put in youngsters or in form players rather than sticking with the same old, same old.

Whereas the likes of Wales have the balls to play a teenager not yet having played (to any degree) for his club in Woodburn we soldier on with the likes of Morrison (just because he plays in the Premiership) even though he is currently unfit and out of form. Get the kids in and ones playing for less fashionable SPL clubs and lets see what they have got. After all the likes of Morrison is coming to the end of his career and on a downward spiral in pace and form. Get the likes of Henderson, Ralstan,  and such-like into the squad early and bed them in - that is the way forward. Look to the future not to the past.

We have seen what fresh faces can do to the side as our fortunes have changed greatly since Tierney and Armstrong have been brought in. It revitalises the side and creates competition as well. Whether Strachan remains or not it is something we really should be doing.

Edited by Caledonian Craig
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I think a less stubborn manager would sort that out. 

If we somehow manage to qualify then I would say Strachan has earned the right to stay if he wants but if we don't get a playoff then he needs to go.

The fact that he was picking completely the wrong team earlier in the campaign has cost us. 

Players like Callum McGregor should be in the squad and he should have been picking Rhodes, McCormack etc. at various times (I'm not suggesting they should be in the squad at the moment) but he refuses to budge on these things as he's the boss and that's that.

We need to be looking to the future now as there are lots of 30 somethings in the squad and Tierney and Robertson aside, not that many young players. 

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6 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

I think a less stubborn manager would sort that out. 

If we somehow manage to qualify then I would say Strachan has earned the right to stay if he wants but if we don't get a playoff then he needs to go.

The fact that he was picking completely the wrong team earlier in the campaign has cost us. 

Players like Callum McGregor should be in the squad and he should have been picking Rhodes, McCormack etc. at various times (I'm not suggesting they should be in the squad at the moment) but he refuses to budge on these things as he's the boss and that's that.

We need to be looking to the future now as there are lots of 30 somethings in the squad and Tierney and Robertson aside, not that many young players. 

This goes deeper than Strachan though. It is a state of affairs that has been going on for as long as I can remember. Players are too often selected more for who they play and experience although at times that just isn't good enough at international level.

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Just now, Caledonian Craig said:

This goes deeper than Strachan though. It is a state of affairs that has been going on for as long as I can remember. Players are too often selected more for who they play and experience although at times that just isn't good enough at international level.

True. 

How many managers kept picking Alan Hutton and guys like that when they weren't starting for their club? 

Burley and Levein were both guilty of that. Even Brown was albeit before Hutton's day.

You need to pick players that are starting and who are in form. What do you suggest though? A selection committee like cricket and rugby?

I think a younger manager would help although you run the risk of losing him to an English club at the first sign of success. 

Maybe a foreign manager is worth another go? I mean Bertie was a disaster but he was a bit of a doughball. 

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Agree with the majority of this and I'm being picky as you only used him as an example, but Henderson (can only assume you mean Liam) is nowhere near the Celtic first team so shouldn't be thrown into the Scotland squad. I really thought he'd kick on after his spell at Hibs and i do rate the boy, but he should have left Celtic this summer for first team football.

For me, anyone in the squad needs to be playing at least regularly, if not well. Hanley, Anya, Chris Martin being the big examples from the last squad of guys who aren't playing - Marshall would have been in the squad if he wasn't injured. 

i really wish we'd give young centre halves a chance regardless of who they're playing for - Lindsay (not the best example as he isn't a regular for his new team), Murray Wallace, Souttar, Devlin. All the manager needs to do is call them up, he doesn't need to play them, but he's not given them a chance. I'd rather see a guy who was playing regularly thrown in than someone like Hanley who has barely kicked a ball all year.

Strachan has had plenty of opportunities to drop the regulars and bring in less experienced players and hasn't done it - the four friendlies in 2016 the prime example. That he hasn't given McGregor or some of the Aberdeen boys a call up in the last three games is a joke.

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I think a manager needs to show more faith in players based on Scotland. How several Aberdeen players haven't been given really any chances is quite frankly criminal, if they played for shite English Championship clubs they'd be established members of the squad. 

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I think that's a bit harsh on Morrison, for me he was one of our best players against Slovenia but it went under the radar because Armstrong made his debut and was decent too. I think that's why in the England game he was nailed pretty early on. He looked always to take the ball against Slovenia and get us moving.

In terms of younger players I am always of the opinion our best players should be on the pitch in a competitive game. No matter if they are young or old. Its up to the younger ones to show they are playing at a consistently high level and a better level than an older person in his position. Tierney is a good example of someone who is someone who can break through if playing well. We kept having to pick Hutton for example because he was pretty much the best we had at the time, playing an inferior player just because he is young isn't really something I am keen on

Theres an argument to say younger players could be put into the squad to get used to it, but is their development better served in the u21s for example if they aren't deemed good enough to get minutes for the senior team. Simply enough is there any player U21 just now that could improve our first 16 players, that would get a start or make a sub appearance in a game? Burke would be the obvious example but from what I have seen the players picked in front of him are better just now so he is probably better served in the U21s for now, its up to him to break through. Friendlies are slightly different where you could probably experiment and give game time to fringe players and youngster 

 

In terms of Scottish based players unless they are proving themselves to be performing well in European level or having a ridiculously great season I wouldn't have them if a English championship player is there, its a higher level than the Scottish premiership I'm afraid especially  from mid table upwards. Their league can attract a much higher standard of player. Stachan though has failed to pick guys like Bardsley, Adam and George Boyd who all play in the premiership or have done and not picked in squads. You would need to ask Strachan why, possibly because they don't fit the system

 

 

 

 

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19 hours ago, Texas Pete said:

Maybe a foreign manager is worth another go? I mean Bertie was a disaster but he was a bit of a doughball. 

He got us closer to a tournament than any of his successors so far. He was also instrumental in bringing players like Fletcher, Gordon and McFadden through

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11 minutes ago, McDange said:

He got us closer to a tournament than any of his successors so far. He was also instrumental in bringing players like Fletcher, Gordon and McFadden through

he had no choice to bring those guys through

 

we were also a better seed then

 

 

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21 hours ago, Caledonian Craig said:

For me I'd like to see, in future, more faith put in youngsters or in form players rather than sticking with the same old, same old.

Whereas the likes of Wales have the balls to play a teenager not yet having played (to any degree) for his club in Woodburn we soldier on with the likes of Morrison (just because he plays in the Premiership) even though he is currently unfit and out of form. Get the kids in and ones playing for less fashionable SPL clubs and lets see what they have got. After all the likes of Morrison is coming to the end of his career and on a downward spiral in pace and form. Get the likes of Henderson, Ralstan,  and such-like into the squad early and bed them in - that is the way forward. Look to the future not to the past.

We have seen what fresh faces can do to the side as our fortunes have changed greatly since Tierney and Armstrong have been brought in. It revitalises the side and creates competition as well. Whether Strachan remains or not it is something we really should be doing.

I'm going to call pish on this :)

Morrison has been just fine. He's one of our more reliable center mids in terms of performance. McArthur can be very hit and miss and Fletch had been below par for a while now.

It's easy to look at other team's players like Woodburn and say "well why aren't our woodburns in the side?" but we don't actually have any woodburns, do we? He's in the first team squad for Liverpool, and we have absolutely no one in the squad at any of the big 6 english clubs.

I guess the closes we've got is McTominay at Man Utd, but would you throw him in at center midfield in the 2 remaining vital games? I doubt it. I could see him coming into the squad for the next campaign, as I think regardless of whether we make it to Russia or not, this is probably the last qualifying for the likes of Darren Fletcher and maybe even Brown. Morrison will be 32 at teh start of next season and has been struggling with his fitness the last 2 years. He had a hamstring injury and then didn't complete a lot of 90 minutes last season. So a space exists for McTominay to get into the squad and then try and beat out the likes of McDonald and Bridcutt who will be the likely replacements at defensive mid.

Ralston has only played 4 Scottish Prem games in his life. It's really just a little too soon for him. If he keeps on being involved then next campaign i could see him breaking into the squad as 2nd choice right back.

As for Henderson, it's hard to make a case for him right now. He's not kicked a ball yet this season and only made the bench once. He's only played 12 minutes of first team football this year.

If the players were there then i think we'd use them. I did argue that McBurnie should perhaps be in the squad for a cameo against Malta (throwing him on instead of Martin would have done no harm in my opinion) but hey.

One thing that Strachan has definitely done over his time is bring in younger players to hive them a feel for being in the squad and hopefully encourage them to really push themselves to be good enough to get back in there on merit, . We've also seen a decent number of young players come in and be given an opportunity under Strachan.. Gauld, Burke, Fraser, Robertson, Tierney, McGinn, Archer, Hamilton, Kingsley, May, McLean, McGregor, Paterson, McKay. There's probably more..

As things stand, i dont think there will be a lot of new faces for the final two games. It would be a bit silly to do that now, wouldn't it?

if we win, i think you'll see another delay on new faces. We'll go with the guys who will have just won 5 out of 6.

if we lose, then i think we'll see a few retirements and some rotating of the squad, looking to more youthful talents as we head into the next lot of qualifiers.

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I honestly believe that a change in management would be a step back, we can all agree that there are elements hurting the national team which are outside of the scope of the Manager. I am firmly of the the believe that surely Strachan and his staff have learned a few things in the past 4 years.  In the last ten years ago we have had 5 including WGS different Managers, Burley came in I was enthusiastic look what happened, Levein came in I was enthusiastic - make us difficult to beat was the motto of the day, that didn't happen and Billy Stark doesn't really count and Alex McLeish didn't want the job.  I don't care for the way WGS carries himself atleast to the media and he does come over as arrogant, as seen in his pre-2017 squad choices. 

If another manager comes in and calls up the six or so names that get mentioned, do we honestly think they will form a cohesive team from day one?  No, it takes time and patience and possibly a campaign or at least a half of one but by that point things are bust beyond repair for making EURO 2020.  If we had beaten Ireland, we would have made the play off's last time, if we had beaten England and/or Lithuania we would still be looking at a tough end to the campaign so it seems to me the margin of error is real narrow - We re talking about 1 or 2 games that we are shy of.  if we made a change of Manager it has to be better than what we have or we are conceding that yet another campaign is down to a learning curve.

My strategy is if we make the World Cup, make a change afterwards but if in that scenario and we made it, I would prefer to keep WGS than twist for the likes of Moyes who ten years ago I would have loved but now......not so much. 

Edited by romanticscot
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Disaster might be a bit harsh but it felt like that coming off the back of Craig Brown's two finals and a playoff record. 

He picked the players you mentioned because they were the best players available to him. He also picked a lot of duds as well. In fact, I'm surprised I didn't get a cap under him!

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5 hours ago, andyD said:

It's easy to look at other team's players like Woodburn and say "well why aren't our woodburns in the side?" but we don't actually have any woodburns, do we? He's in the first team squad for Liverpool, and we have absolutely no one in the squad at any of the big 6 english clubs..

<img src="http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article10846624.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/Andrew-Robertson-new-signing-for-Liverpool-at-Melwood-Training-Ground.jpg" />

Andrew-Robertson-new-signing-for-Liverpo

Edited by Rude Gullit
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/8/2017 at 9:02 PM, Rude Gullit said:

<img src="http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article10846624.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/Andrew-Robertson-new-signing-for-Liverpool-at-Melwood-Training-Ground.jpg" />

 

heh fair. :)

i was meaning of around woodburn's age.. so 16-19.

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On ‎08‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 3:30 PM, andyD said:

I'm going to call pish on this :)

Morrison has been just fine. He's one of our more reliable center mids in terms of performance. McArthur can be very hit and miss and Fletch had been below par for a while now.

It's easy to look at other team's players like Woodburn and say "well why aren't our woodburns in the side?" but we don't actually have any woodburns, do we? He's in the first team squad for Liverpool, and we have absolutely no one in the squad at any of the big 6 english clubs.

I guess the closes we've got is McTominay at Man Utd, but would you throw him in at center midfield in the 2 remaining vital games? I doubt it. I could see him coming into the squad for the next campaign, as I think regardless of whether we make it to Russia or not, this is probably the last qualifying for the likes of Darren Fletcher and maybe even Brown. Morrison will be 32 at teh start of next season and has been struggling with his fitness the last 2 years. He had a hamstring injury and then didn't complete a lot of 90 minutes last season. So a space exists for McTominay to get into the squad and then try and beat out the likes of McDonald and Bridcutt who will be the likely replacements at defensive mid.

Ralston has only played 4 Scottish Prem games in his life. It's really just a little too soon for him. If he keeps on being involved then next campaign i could see him breaking into the squad as 2nd choice right back.

As for Henderson, it's hard to make a case for him right now. He's not kicked a ball yet this season and only made the bench once. He's only played 12 minutes of first team football this year.

If the players were there then i think we'd use them. I did argue that McBurnie should perhaps be in the squad for a cameo against Malta (throwing him on instead of Martin would have done no harm in my opinion) but hey.

One thing that Strachan has definitely done over his time is bring in younger players to hive them a feel for being in the squad and hopefully encourage them to really push themselves to be good enough to get back in there on merit, . We've also seen a decent number of young players come in and be given an opportunity under Strachan.. Gauld, Burke, Fraser, Robertson, Tierney, McGinn, Archer, Hamilton, Kingsley, May, McLean, McGregor, Paterson, McKay. There's probably more..

As things stand, i dont think there will be a lot of new faces for the final two games. It would be a bit silly to do that now, wouldn't it?

if we win, i think you'll see another delay on new faces. We'll go with the guys who will have just won 5 out of 6.

if we lose, then i think we'll see a few retirements and some rotating of the squad, looking to more youthful talents as we head into the next lot of qualifiers.

Agreed on Morrison. The most consistent central midfielder amongst the many who have played there the past few years. And often in a deeper role than is his best position. Ridiculous when he gets singled out for criticism.

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